This paper is concerned with the fatigue characteristics of LIPCA (LIghtweight Piezo-Composite Actuator) device system. LIPCA device system is composed of a piezoelectric ceramic layer and fiber reinforced light composite layers, typically a PZT ceramic layer is sandwiched by a top fiber layer with low CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) and base layers with high CTE. The advantages of the LIPCA design are using the lightweight fiber reinforced plastic layers without compromising the generation of high force and large displacement and to have design flexibility by selecting the fiber direction and the size of prepreg layers. In addition to the lightweight advantage and design flexibility, the proposed device can be manufactured without adhesive layers when we use resin prepreg system. To investigate the degradation of actuation performance of LIPCA due to the repeated fatigue loading, the repeated loading tests up to several million cycle were performed and the actuation displacement for a given excitation voltage was measured during the test. The fatigue characteristics was measured using an actuator test system consisted of an actuator supporting jig, a high voltage actuating power supplier, and a non-contact laser measuring system and evaluated.


In the multistage machining processes (MMPs), SPC is widely utilized to control the quality of machining processes and diagnose the processing error. But there is a defect, that it can not compensate the error when the machining process is abnormal. For this issue, a new method of quality diagnosis and error compensation is proposed based on EPC (engineering process control). A new framework for processes quality diagnosis and error compensation about the description of machining processes and controlling mechanism of machining process quality is proposed first. And the mapping model of machining error propagation is introduced to explore the model of the error compensation decision. From theoretical level, modeling level and solution level, the mapping model from the decision model based on EPC to SPC is studied, in which the key technologies are the machining error propagation model and the error compensation model. Therefore, the machining error propagation network is utilized to build the error propagation model, and an adaptive control method based on the stability theory is introduced to make error coordination optimization.


Important biochemical reactions in conventional tests were compared with counterpart reactions in two multiple test systems, API-20E (Analytab Products, Plainview, N.Y.) and Aeromonas hydrophila medium, to evaluate their accuracy for the identification of motile Aeromonas spp. isolated from fish. In a total of 49 Aeromonas spp. isolates and 10 A. hydrophila reference strains, false-negative or -positive reactions were detected in the Voges-Proskauer test, indole production, gelatinase activity, production of gas, fermentation of arabinose, and lysine decarboxylase reaction. A good correlation was found, among the three identification systems, for the fermentation of mannitol and inositol as well as for the arginine dihydrolase and ornithine decarboxylase tests. The failure of A. hydrophila medium in the detection of gas indicates that this medium is not entirely suitable for defining aerogenic or anaerogenic strains. From the results of the present study, we consider that of the identification method and taxonomic scheme to be adopted for environmental Aeromonas spp. must be standardized.


Aiming at disadvantages of Genetic Algorithm (GA) and learning from the immune system theory, this paper introduces immune memory cell of immune theory, vaccine extraction and vaccination operator based on immune theory, and adaptive probability crossover and mutation operator to GA, to improve the optimization ability and search efficiency of GA, and proposes Adaptive Immune Vaccine Algorithm (AIVA). Then proves the convergence of the algorithm, gives the composition mechanisms of the key operators, and verifies the role of each operator. Finally, four test functions have been optimized using GA, AIGA and AIVA. The experimental results show that AIVA effectively overcomes the GA Defects, greatly prevents the degradation of population, and has perfect convergence stability and excellent global optimization capability.


The paper introduces the configuration of a multi-legged walking robot with hand-food-integrated mechanism arm. In order to study the kinematics and the dynamics of the robot, three-dimensional entity model of the multi-legged walking robot is built up in solid-works based on inner relation of different simulation softwares. And then the model is leaded in ADAMS to simulate the dynamics and the kinematics of the robot. The paper describes the corresponding process. As an example, the robot ZQROT-1 walking along straight line is investigated. Dynamic parameters of the robot are obtained and analyzed by using ADAMS. The results can be used to optimize the robot structure and to determine its characteristic parameter. The methods and the thoughts of the paper can be referenced to solve similar problem in some aspects.


A series of polymethylacrylic acid (PMAA) standard samples were prepared from fractionated PMMA samples followed by a two-step hydrolysis. The six PMMA standard samples with narrow molecular weight distributions were produced by free radical polymerization and fractionated with toluene-petroleum ether. Their average molecular weights ranged from 3.1 × 103 to 4.3 × 104, dispersion coefficients were less than 1.5, and their gel permeation chromatography (GPC) peak shapes were symmetrical. The PMMA standard samples were dissolved in dioxane, and then hydrolyzed in a saturated NaOH-methanol solution for 24 h, the methanol then evaporated, and after that the PMMA samples were hydrolyzed in a 2 mol ·L −1 NaOH aqueous solution for 24 h. The 1H-NMR results showed that the two-step hydrolysis degree was higher than 98.70%. The PMAA standard samples were obtained after acidifying the hydrolysates, namely polymethacrylic acid sodium salt, and their molecular weights were constant during the separation process. The acid–base titration results showed the purities of the PMAA samples were greater than 98.6%, and their molecular weight distributions were symmetrical and narrow. The molecular weights of the PMAA were determined by the stoichiometric relationship of the hydrolysis reaction. Compared with viscosimetry, the results of both methods were basically the same, and their errors were less than 10%.


This research aims to examine and analyze the influence of spiritual leadership on organizational culture implemented by Bank Syariah Mandiri (hereinafter will be referred as "BSM") Branch Ofce and Sub Branch Ofce Depok. Spiritual leadership can be measured by using the concept of spiritual leadership developed by Fry (2003) with fve dimensions, namely: vision, altruistic love, hope/faith, meaning/calling, membership, and organizational culture as measured by the ETHIC (Excellence, Teamwork, Humanity, Integrity, and Customer Focus) dimensions in Bank Syariah Mandiri's organizational culture. This research utilized a quantitative approach wherein research data were collected through survey conducted to all employees in the BSM Branch Ofce and Sub Branch Ofce Depok, with 55 respondents being involved in this research. The research data were subsequently analyzed by using descriptive statistics analysis and simple linier regression analysis. The results of this research show that spiritual leadership of the Head of BSM Branch Ofce Depok has a 56 percent positive effect on the implementation of ETHIC organizational culture in BSM.


1. The standard rate of oxygen consumption, ventilatory frequency and heart rate of adult Lampetra fluviatilis were measured during the light phase of the photoperiod and at times corresponding to various stages in the upstream migration. 2. All three parameters increased during the spawning run but only in mature individuals were significant differences found between the sexes. 3. The regression coefficients for the logarithmic relationship between oxygen consumption and body weight of immature animals were 0.912 and 0.925 at 9.5 and 16 degrees C respectively. 4. Both the standard rate of oxygen consumption and the amount of oxygen taken up during activity increased greatly during the hours of darkness. 5. Oxygen consumption, ventilatory frequency and, to a lesser extent, heart rate increased significantly at 9.5 degrees C over the 100-20% range of saturation with air. 6. Below 20% saturation with air, lampreys no longer remained attached by their oral disc for prolonged periods and the ventilatory frequency rose even more rapidly to reach a maximum of 175 beats/min at 12.5%. Exposure to 7.5% resulted in death within 5-8 h.


The purpose of this study was to examine the sensitivity and reliability of two tracking tests designed to measure control of handgrip force and finger movement. In one test, the subject exerts careful control of handgrip force on a dynamometer, which is interfaced with a computer, and attempts to guide a cursor as accurately as possible along a stationary target track displayed on the computer screen. In the second test, the subject attempts to trace a different target track by precise flexion-extension movement of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger to which an electrogoniometer is attached. For both tests, the computer quantifies the subject's performance with an accuracy index. Fourteen healthy subjects participated in the force tracking test (FTT), which involved three pretest tracking trials, a 20-minute inactivity period, and three posttest trials. Thirteen different healthy subjects participated in the joint-movement tracking test (JMTT) using the same testing format. One-tailed, paired t tests of the pretest-posttest tracking scores showed significant (p less than .01) improvement in tracking accuracy for both the FTT and the JMTT. Additionally, intraclass correlation coefficients for both the pretest and the posttest trials showed acceptable reliability in the FTT and the JMTT. We concluded, for healthy subjects, that 1) these tracking tests are sensitive to small changes in force control and joint-movement control, and 2) the tracking scores are reliable. We believe that these tests could be very useful in documenting objectively the effects of treatment applied to the hand.


Abstract The tectonic position of the intraplate, alkaline volcanic province of N. Tanzania in a broad rift-controlled area astride the boundary between the Tanzania Craton and the circum-cratonic Mozambique Fold Belt, strongly resembles that of the Gardar province of S. Greenland. Earlier-identified petrological analogies between Gardar magmatism and that in the Kenya sector of the East African Rift Valley can be extended to volcanism in N. Tanzania, and analogies specifically with the Gardar agpaitic suite are strengthened by the occurrence of eudialyte and aenigmatite in some Tanzanian peralkaline, silicic volcanics.


Languages evolve, adapting to pressures arising from their learning and use. As these pressures may be different in different sociocultural environments, non-linguistic factors relating to the group structure of the people who speak a language may influence the features of the language itself. Identifying such factors, and the mechanisms by which they operate, would account for some of the diversity seen in the complexity of different languages. This thesis considers two key hypotheses which connect group structure to complex language features and evaluates them experimentally. Firstly, languages spoken by greater numbers of people are thought to be less morphologically complex than those employed by smaller groups. I assess two mechanisms by which group size could have such an effect: different degrees of variability in the linguistic input learners receive, and the effects of adult learning. Four experiments conclude that there is no evidence for different degrees of speaker input variability having any effect on the cross-generational transmission of complex morphology, and so no evidence for it being an explanation for the effect of population size on linguistic complexity. Three more experiments conclude that adult learning is a more likely mechanism, but that linking morphological simplification at the level of the individual to group-level characteristics of a language cannot be simply explained. Idiosyncratic simplifications of adult learners, when mixed with input from native speakers, may result in the linguistic input for subsequent learners being itself complex and variable, preventing simplified features from becoming more widespread. Native speaker accommodation, however, may be a key linking mechanism. Speakers of a more complex variant of a language simplify their language to facilitate communication with speakers of a simpler language. In doing so, they may increase the frequency of particular simplifications in the input of following learners. Secondly, esoteric communication — that carried out by smaller groups in which large amounts of information is shared and in which adult learning is absent — may provide the circumstances necessary for the generation and maintenance of more complex features. I assess this in four experiments. Without a learnability pressure, esoteric communication illustrates how complexity can be maintained, but there is generally no evidence of how smaller groups or those with greater amounts of shared information would develop comparatively more complex features. Any observable differences in the complexity of the languages of different types of groups is eliminated through repeated interaction between group members. There is, however, some indication that the languages used by larger groups may be more transparent, and so easier for adult learners to understand.


Background: Apoptosis has been repeatedly linked with diabetic kidney disease (DKD), which is a programmed cell death mediated by effector caspases-3, 6 and 7, targeting >600 substrates. However, the pathophysiologic correlations of this process remain obscure. As a putative tumor suppressor, gasdermin E (GSDME) was recently reported to be cleaved by caspase-3 to produce a GSDME-N fragment which targets the plasma membrane to switch apoptosis to secondary necrosis. However, it remains elusive whether GSDME is involved in the regulation of DKD. Methods: To evaluate the therapeutic potential of caspase-3 inhibition in DKD, we administered caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK to STZ-induced diabetic mice for eight weeks. Albuminuria, renal function, pathological changes, and indicators of secondary necrosis and fi brosis were evaluated. In vitro, human tubule epithelial cells (HK-2 cells) were subjected to high-glucose treatment. Secondary necrosis was determined by LDH release, GSDME cleavage, and morphological feature under confocal microscopy. Z-DEVD-FMK and GSDME inhibition by shRNA were administered to suppress the cleavage and expression of GSDME. Flow cytometry, cytotoxicity assay and immunoblot were used to assess cell death and fi brogenesis. Results: Caspase-3 inhibition by Z-DEVD-FMK ameliorated albuminuria, renal function, and tubulointerstitial fi brosis in diabetic mice. The nephroprotection mediated by Z-DEVD-FMK was potentially associated with inhibition of GSDME. In vitro, molecular and morphological features of secondary necrosis were observed in glucose-stressed HK-2 cells, evidenced by active GSDME cleavage, ballooning of the cell membrane, and release of cellular contents. Here we showed that caspase-3 inhibition prevented GSDME activation and cell death in glucose-treated tubular cells. Speci fi cally, knocking down GSDME directly inhibited secondary necrosis and fi brogenesis. Conclusion: These data suggest GSDME-dependent secondary necrosis plays a crucial role in renal injury, and provides a new insight into the pathogenesis of DKD and a promising target for its treatment. Abbreviations: NG, glucose; HG, high glucose; DEVD, Z-DEVD-FMK; NS, not signi fi cant.


ABSTRACT The treatment of choice for Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT). Fluoroquinolones (FQs) have in vitro activity against S. maltophilia; however, there is limited published information on their effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of FQs and SXT for the treatment of S. maltophilia. A retrospective review of 98 patients with S. maltophilia infections who received SXT or FQ monotherapy was conducted. Patients ≥18 years old with a positive culture for S. maltophilia and clinical signs of infection who received treatment for ≥48 h were included. Microbiological cure and clinical response were evaluated at the end of therapy (EOT). In-hospital mortality and isolation of nonsusceptible isolates were also evaluated. Thirty-five patients received SXT, and 63 patients received FQ; 48 patients received levofloxacin, and 15 patients received ciprofloxacin. The most common infection was pulmonary. The overall microbiological cure rate at EOT was 63%. Thirteen of 20 patients (65%) who received SXT and 23 of 37 patients (62%) who received FQ had microbiological cure at EOT (P = 0.832). The overall clinical success rate was 55%, 52% for those who received FQ and 61% for those who received SXT (P = 0.451). In-hospital mortality was 24%, with similar rates in the two groups (25% for FQ versus 22% for SXT; P = 0.546). Development of resistance on repeat culture was 30% for FQ and 20% for SXT (P = 0.426). Fluoroquinolone and SXT monotherapies may be equally effective for the treatment of S. maltophilia infections. Resistance was documented in subsequent isolates of S. maltophilia in both groups.


We present the clinical case of the patient with nitrofurantoin (FUR) lung toxicity. Diagnosis was made from detailed history of the patient and by studying CT images before the start of FUR treatment. An extensive interstitial changes were evident on HRCT scan at the presentation at our clinic. The definitive diagnosis was supported by negative microbiology and autoantibody screening and almost complete regression of changes after FUR treatment withdrawal. There was no need for corticosteroid treatment or immunosuppressive medication.


In this paper, an Agent-Based Model (ABM) is proposed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 vaccination drive in different settings. The main focus is to evaluate the counter-effectiveness of disparity in vaccination drive among different regions/countries. The proposed model is simple yet novel in the sense that it captures the spatial transmission-induced activity into consideration, through which we are able to relate the transmission model to the mutated variations of the virus. Some important what-if questions are asked in terms of the number of deaths, the time required, and the percentage of population needed to be vaccinated before the pandemic is eradicated. The simulation results have revealed that it is necessary to maintain a global (rather than regional or country-oriented) vaccination provisioning in case of a new pandemic or continual efforts against COVID-19, instead of a self-centered approach.A simplistic agent-based model of virus transmission is used consisting of minimal states of susceptible, vaccinated, infected, and recovered. A moving agent in one of these states is tightly bound to the underlying space, where the space is divided into regions to evaluate the region-based vs. global vaccination drive. Additionally, the virus gets mutated, where the extent of mutation is directly related to spatial activity representing the transmissions. And the inactivity is directly proportional to the mutated variant at a location. The results of the simulation suggest that it is necessary to maintain a global (rather than regional or country-oriented) vaccination drive in case of a new pandemic or continual efforts against COVID-19. It results in a lesser number of deaths, time, and quantity of vaccination required.


Zero-shot learning has been well explored to precisely identify new unobserved classes through a visual-semantic function obtained from the existing objects. However, there exist two challenging obstacles: one is that the human-annotated semantics are insufficient to fully describe the visual samples; the other is the domain shift across existing and new classes. In this paper, we attempt to exploit the intrinsic relationship in the semantic manifold when given semantics are not enough to describe the visual objects, and enhance the generalization ability of the visual-semantic function with marginalized strategy. Specifically, we design a Marginalized Latent Semantic Encoder (MLSE), which is learned on the augmented seen visual features and the latent semantic representation. Meanwhile, latent semantics are discovered under an adaptive graph reconstruction scheme based on the provided semantics. Consequently, our proposed algorithm could enrich visual characteristics from seen classes, and well generalize to unobserved classes. Experimental results on zero-shot benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed model delivers superior performance over the state-of-the-art zero-shot learning approaches.


With the increased Institute of Medicine recommendation for vitamin D, more consumers are taking vitamin D from over-the-counter or prescription sources. The purpose of this study was to determine the content of commercially available, single-ingredient vitamin D supplements. Eleven commercially available dietary supplement calciferol products were purchased, repackaged, and analyzed for vitamin D content in a laboratory that was blinded to brand or manufacturer of the supplement. Vitamin D was extracted and isolated for analysis by a high-performance liquid chromatography method. Measured vitamin D content was compared with the stated label amount of vitamin D. The percentage of actual vitamin D contained in the supplements ranged from 82% and 119% of the stated label amount. Despite anecdotal reports of products with substantial content deviations from the labeled amount, no remarkable departures from labeled content were found in this set of vitamin D preparations.


Objective: The Cognitive Activity Theory suggests an association between participation in cognitive activities during midlife and cognitive functioning in the short term. We examined the impact of participation in cognitively stimulating activities conveyed during leisure activities on crystallized and fluid tests' performance among adults with intellectual disabilities (ID). Method: Adults (n = 32; chronological age = 25–55) with non-specific ID and with Down syndrome rated the frequency of their participation in leisure activities. Pursuits included more cognitively involving (reading, participating in academic courses) and less cognitively involving (cooking, dancing) activities. Three judges ranked activities according to their cognitive load on a 1 (few cognitive components) to 5 (many cognitive components) points scale. The findings indicate two new scales: cognitively stimulating activities and recreational stimulating activities. The crystallized battery included phonemic fluency, synonyms, idioms, and verbal metaphors. The fluid battery included the Homophone Meaning Generation Test, Metaphoric Triad Test, Novel Metaphors Test, and Trail Making Test. Results: Hierarchal regression with chronological and mental age, recreational, and cognitively stimulating activities indicated that participation in recreational activities contributed significantly to the explained variance of word fluency. Participation in cognitive activities contributed significantly to the explained variance of most of the crystallized and fluid tests. Conclusions: The findings support the Cognitive Activity Theory in populations with ID. The findings also support the Compensation Age Theory: not only endogenous factors (age, etiology, IQ level), but also exogenous factors such as life style determining the cognitive functioning of adults with ID. However, frequency and the cognitive load of the activities influenced their cognitive functioning.


Chaotic time series exist in many natural economic phenomena. The commonly used forecast methods including adding-weight one-rank local-region method and forecast method based on the maximum Lyapunov exponent. The first method which could cause the forecast showing a smooth trend and the forecast result of the second method may have a drastic change in the trend. So the scope of application of these two methods is different. In the prediction of road day traffic time series, the time series is smooth overall and it also contains rich volatility. For this characteristic, a combination forecasting model is proposed in this paper based on organic combination of the two methods. It can solve the determination of the embedding dimension in chaos forecast and the evidence showed that the prediction is effectively.


Human life occurs within a complex bio-psycho-social milieu, a heterogeneous system that is integrated by multiple bidirectional interrelations existing between the abstract-intangible ideas and physical-chemical support of environment. The mind is thus placed between the abstract ideas/ concepts and neurobiological brain that is further connected to environment. In other words, the mind acts as an interface between the immaterial (abstract/ intangible) data and material (biological) support. The science is unable to conceives and explains an interaction between the immaterial and material domains (to understand nature of the mind), this question generating in literature the mind-body problem. We have published in the past a succession of articles related to the mind-body problem, in order to demonstrate the fact that this question is actually a false issue. The phenomenon of immaterial-material interaction is impossible to be explained because it never occurs, which means that there is no need to explain the immaterial-material interaction. Our mind implies only a temporal association between the immaterial data and material support, this dynamic interrelation being presented and argued here as a solution to the mind-body problem. The limited psycho-biologic approach of the mind-body problem is expanded here to a more comprehensive and feasible bio-psycho-social perspective, generating thus three distinct (biopsychological, bio-social, and psycho-social) equations. These three equations can be solved through a solution represented by a dynamic cerebral system (two distinct and interconnected subunits of the brain) which presumably could have the capability of receiving and processing abstract data through association (with no interaction) between immaterial and material data.


We propose a scalable computerized approach for large-scale inference of Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) final assessment categories in narrative ultrasound (US) reports. Although our model was trained on reports created using a LI-RADS template, it was also able to infer LI-RADS scoring for unstructured reports that were created before the LI-RADS guidelines were established. No human-labelled data was required in any step of this study; for training, LI-RADS scores were automatically extracted from those reports that contained structured LI-RADS scores, and it translated the derived knowledge to reasoning on unstructured radiology reports. By providing automated LI-RADS categorization, our approach may enable standardizing screening recommendations and treatment planning of patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, and it may facilitate AI-based healthcare research with US images by offering large scale text mining and data gathering opportunities from standard hospital clinical data repositories.


The angular measure on the unit sphere characterizes the first-order dependence structure of the components of a random vector in extreme regions and is defined in terms of standardized margins. Its statistical recovery is an important step in learning problems involving observations far away from the center. In the common situation that the components of the vector have different distributions, the rank transformation offers a convenient and robust way of standardizing data in order to build an empirical version of the angular measure based on the most extreme observations. However, the study of the sampling distribution of the resulting empirical angular measure is challenging. It is the purpose of the paper to establish finite-sample bounds for the maximal deviations between the empirical and true angular measures, uniformly over classes of Borel sets of controlled combinatorial complexity. The bounds are valid with high probability and, up to logarithmic factors, scale as the square root of the effective sample size. The bounds are applied to provide performance guarantees for two statistical learning procedures tailored to extreme regions of the input space and built upon the empirical angular measure: binary classification in extreme regions through empirical risk minimization and unsupervised anomaly detection through minimum-volume sets of the sphere.


Construction industry has play a major role for increasing the growth of the country. All developed and developing countries directly depend on construction for the fulfilment of requirements of their citizen. But the certain losses through the construction process has impacted the economy of the country. Construction waste is one of them. For the construction period construction waste, has increased the budget of the project also increase the pollution level in country. For investigating the top most factor which increases the construction budget and waste in India have surveyed on Gwalior construction sites. In this survey a quantitative questionnaire has formed and surveyed on 31 respondents in Gwalior region. These factors are analyzed and ranked the topmost factor which has responsible for increases the waste in construction.


Chalcone derivatives or 1,3-diphenyl-2-propen-1-ones and imidazopyridine are known for multiple antiinfective activities such as nematicidal activity. The advances in the computational chemistry can be use full for designing of new chemical entities. The pharmacophore identification and QSAR studies on imidazopyridine analogs have been carried out. 3D QSAR model developed considering training and test set approaches with step wise variable selection method. QSAR models which were further validated for statistical significance and predictive ability by internal and external validation. The hydrogen bond accepter, hydrogen bond donor, positively charged, aromatic carbon, steric and hydrophobic parameter is the important features which are contributing towards the activity. The selected best QSAR model A has a training set of 20 molecules and test set of 6 molecules with correction coefficient of 0.9641.


The study of some factors of nonspecific immunity in 85 patients with cirrhosis and in 9 patients with primary cancer of the liver revealed a decrease of all factors of nonspecific immunity under consideration, while in primary cancer of the liver--selective and more sharp fall of properdin level. The complement, as compared with the control, was not changed, whereas lysozyme was statistically reliably higher than in healthy persons.


To build holistic protection against complex and blended network threats, multiple security features need to be integrated into unified security architecture, which requires in a unified threat management (UTM). However, most existing UTMs operate by simply stringing together a number of security applications working independently without system level optimization that streamlines processing flow and leverages shared information and resources to reach high performance. In this paper, a generic framework is proposed to optimize the performance of UTMs at both algorithmic and architectural aspects by exploring the idea of integrated protocol processing (IPP). The algorithm proposed in this paper improves overall protocol processing complexity of ACL and IDS from Theta(log(M) + log(N)) to Theta(log(M +N)) . Experiments on Intel IXP2850 network processor show that our scheme outperforms existing solutions with 30% increase of throughput.


Abstract Introduction: Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) are one of the most common complains of the early pregnancy period and are bothersome for pregnant women. Some prefer to use herbal medicine instead of chemical agents. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the effects of ginger, pyridoxine (vitamin B6), and placebo for the treatment of NVP. Method: The study was performed as a triple blind clinical trial on pregnant women suffering mild to moderate NVP between 6 and 16 weeks of pregnancy. In these women ginger, 500 mg twice daily, vitamin B6 40 mg twice daily and placebo twice daily were administered for 4 d. Rhodes questionnaire was used for evaluation of the severity of symptoms. The severity of NVP was evaluated 24 h before entering the study and up to 4 d after using medications and results were compared among the three groups. Results: Seventy-seven women finished the study (28 in the Ginger group, 26 in the B6 group, and 23 in the placebo group). The women of the three groups did not have significant differences according to age, gestational age, parity, and severity of each symptom before treatment and educational status. Total score of Rhodes questionnaire for nausea was decreased significantly in three groups after treatment. (p < .001, p = .012, and p = .03 for ginger, vitamin B6, and placebo, respectively.) Also total score of Rhodes questionnaire for vomiting was decreased in three groups (p = .03 for ginger, p = .02 for B6, and p = .04 for placebo). Ginger and vitamin B6 could reduce the severity of all items of Rhodes questionnaire significantly; however, placebo was significantly effective only on the frequency of nausea, intensity of vomiting and frequency of retching. Ginger and vitamin B6 were more effective than placebo (p = .039 and p = .007, respectively); however, total score of Rhodes did not show significant difference between ginger and vitamin B6 (p = .128). Ginger was more effective for nausea (intensity and distress) and distress of vomit. Conclusion: Ginger is more effective than placebo for the treatment of mild to moderate NVP and is comparable with vitamin B6. Trial registration number and registry website: IRCT2015020320923N1


Membrane proteins and lipids have the capacity to associate into lateral domains in cell membranes through mutual or collective interactions. Lipid rafts are functional lateral domains that are formed through collective interactions of certain lipids and which can include or exclude proteins. These domains have been implicated in cell signaling and protein trafficking and seem to be of importance for virus–host interactions. We therefore want to investigate if raft and viral membrane proteins present similar structural features, and how these features are distributed throughout viruses. For this purpose, we performed a bioinformatics analysis of raft and viral membrane proteins from available online databases and compared them to nonraft proteins. In general, transmembrane proteins of rafts and viruses had higher proportions of palmitoyl and phosphoryl residues compared to nonraft proteins. They differed in terms of transmembrane domain length and thickness, with viral proteins being generally shorter and having a smaller accessible surface area per residue. Nontransmembrane raft proteins had increased amounts of palmitoyl, prenyl, and phosphoryl moieties while their viral counterparts were largely myristoylated and phosphorylated. Several of these structural determinants such as phosphorylation are new to the raft field and are extensively discussed in terms of raft functionality and phase separation. Surprisingly, the proportion of palmitoylated viral transmembrane proteins was inversely correlated to the virus size which indicated the implication of palmitoylation in virus membrane curvature and possibly budding. The current results provide new insights into the raft–virus interplay and unveil possible targets for antiviral compounds.


This letter introduces a kind of new idea for corrosion monitoring of reinforcing concrete structures with the techniques of electrochemical reactions and wireless sensor networks in civil engineering. The electrochemical noise generated by corrosion is used not only as sensing signal but also as energy source for a wireless sensor. The research is preliminary, the realization of the self-powered wireless corrosion monitoring sensors and networks can be considered as a milestone in the field of structural health monitoring.


We explore the range of values of the in-medium width of a {rho}-meson at rest which is compatibale with the QCD sum rule approach in a nuclear medium assuming vector meson dominance and a Brown-Rho scaling law of the {rho}-meson mass with the chiral condensate. The lower and upper bounds for the in-medium width are found to be strongly increasing with the decreasing mass of the {rho}-meson (increasing nuclear density). We also study the bounds for the in-medium width in models not satisfying the Brown-Rho scaling law. It is shown that the in-medium width depends on how rapidly the mass decreases in comparison to the change of the quark condensate. The bounds for the in-medium width increase with density only if the relative change of the quark condensate is stronger than the relative decrease in mass. This is important for experimental tests of the Brown-Rho scaling paradigm and other dropping {rho}-mass scenarios.


CFB technology has gained more attention over the past few years. Most probably
due to its efficiency and ability of achieving low emissions. New strict governmental
regulations regarding emissions are continuously imposed which makes CFB boilers
a promising candidate for future industries. One way to facilitate the implementation
of CFB boilers is by making it cheap option. Currently these boilers are
equipped with expensive urgent feed water systems for boiler safety, in case of electricity
loss. Since there are no accident records this equipment is still in controversy.
This thesis analyses the physical process of steam in a 350 MW super critical
circulating fluidized bed boiler during sudden electricity failure. By obtaining information
about the dynamic process of steam properties it will be possible to estimate
the necessity of the urgent water feeding system in future applications.
With some simplifications a three dimensional model was created to solve energy
equations. The model includes thermal processes like conduction, radiation
and convection of steam, bulk material and air. The final model predicts the dynamic
progress of these.
The highest temperatures achieved is located in the bottom of the furnace, the
conductive part, and lies around 875 K which is slowly continuing to increase. However,
this temperature lies in the acceptable span for wall conditions which indicates
a possibility for economic savings. Further studies need to be conducted in order to
conclude whether the emergency system can be neglected.


We use Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft data to study a group of Chromospheric ultraviolet bursts (UVBs) associated with an active region. We classify the UVBs into two types: smaller ones that can only be measured once by the scanning slit, and larger UVBs that are measured twice by the slit. The UVBs' optically thin Si IV 1402.77 Å line profiles are studied intensively. By fitting the smaller UVBs' lines with 1–2 Gaussians, we obtain a variety of line-of-sight flow measurements that hint various 3D orientations of small-scale magnetic reconnections, each associated with a UVB. The larger UVBs are, however, unique in a way that they each have two sets of measurements at two slit locations. This makes it possible to unambiguously detect two oppositely directed heated flows jetting out of a single UVB, a signature of magnetic reconnection operating at the heart of the UVB. Here, we report on the first of such an observation. Additionally, all the optically thin Si IV 1402.77 Å line profiles from those UVBs consistently demonstrate excessive broadening, an order of magnitude larger than would be expected from thermal broadening, suggesting that those small-scale reconnections could be driven by large scale (macroscale) turbulence in the active region. Unified Astronomy Thesaurus concepts: Solar magnetic reconnection (1504); Interplanetary turbulence (830); Solar ultraviolet emission (1533); Solar chromospheric heating (1987)


Th17 and Th1 play an important role in multiple sclerosis for which copolymer I (COP-I) is a treatment option. We described here that the treatment effect of COP-I correlated with its unique regulatory properties on differentiation and survival of Th17 in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis mice, which was mediated through down-regulation of STAT3 phosphorylation. The effect of COP-I on Th17 differentiation required CD14+ monocytes through IL-6 signaling as a key mediator to regulate STAT3 phosphorylation and subsequent RORγt expression in Th17 cells. The observed effect was markedly dampened when monocytes were genetically deficient for IL-6. Similar regulatory properties of COP-I were demonstrated in human Th17 differentiation. The study revealed the differential regulatory roles and the novel mechanism of action of COP-I chiefly responsible for its treatment efficacy in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis.


Objective: Adults with serious mental illness have a relatively high risk of criminal justice involvement. Some risk factors for justice involvement are known, but the specific interaction of these risk factors has not been examined. This study explored the interaction of gender, substance use disorder, and psychiatric diagnosis among patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to identify subgroups at higher risk of justice involvement. Methods: Administrative service records of 25,133 adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who were clients of Connecticut's public behavioral health system during 2005–2007 were merged with state records of criminal convictions, incarceration, and other measures of justice involvement. The main effects and the effects of interactions of gender, substance use disorder, and psychiatric diagnosis on risk of justice involvement ("offending") were estimated by using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Men with bipolar disorder and co-occurring substance use disorder had the highest absolute risk of offending in every category of justice involvement. For both men and women, bipolar disorder was associated with an increased risk of offending versus schizophrenia, but the increase was significantly greater for women. Substance use disorder also increased risk of offending more among women than men, especially among those with schizophrenia. Conclusions: Men and women with bipolar disorder and substance use disorders have much higher risk of justice involvement than those with schizophrenia, especially those without a substance use disorder. Research is needed to validate these effects in other populations and specify risk factors for justice involvement among adults with mental illness. (Psychiatric Services 65:931–938, 2014; doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300044)


Canada is working on improving the diagnosis and treatment of Canadians with cognitive impairment and promoting living well with dementia. Despite the availability of support network, Canadians living with dementia are identified to commonly experience social isolation and exclusion. This issue is particularly significant among migrants and refugees, for whom access to dementia care and support programs are found to be significantly less than the non-migrated Canadians. The purpose of this critical analysis is to examine the existing literature related to the sociocultural factors that contribute to the access of dementia care and support programs by persons with dementia. Specifically, a literature review was conducted to examine the barriers and facilitating factors that influence equitable access to dementia care and support programs among migrants and refugees. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify the following four major themes: (1) stigma, (2) culturally preferred coping strategies, (3) misconceptions regarding aging and dementia, and (4) language barriers.. This review identifies the need for future research to explore the key barriers faced by migrants and refugees with dementia in accessing timely and appropriate dementia care and support programs, as well as developing equitable programs and culturally sensitive services that adequately address their needs.


Minimal surfaces date back to Euler and Lagrange and the beginning of the calculus of variations. Many of the techniques developed have played key roles in geometry and partial differential equations. Examples include monotonicity and tangent cone analysis originating in the regularity theory for minimal surfaces, estimates for nonlinear equations based on the maximum principle arising in BernsteinAEs classical work, and even LebesgueAEs definition of the integral that he developed in his thesis on the Plateau problem for minimal surfaces. This book starts with the classical theory of minimal surfaces and ends up with current research topics. Of the various ways of approaching minimal surfaces (from complex analysis, PDE, or geometric measure theory), the authors have chosen to focus on the PDE aspects of the theory. The book also contains some of the applications of minimal surfaces to other fields including low dimensional topology, general relativity, and materials science. The only prerequisites needed for this book are a basic knowledge of Riemannian geometry and some familiarity with the maximum principle.


Identity and Access Management (IAM) is an important aspect of information security. The deployment of cloud computing (CC) and cloud-based computing (CbC) creates a complex information security scenario involving multiple global stakeholders and geographically dispersed infrastructures. Therefore, implementing IAM in CC/CbC requires the consideration and consolidation of multiple factors. A trust-based approach towards information security may not be a credible option for the CC/CbC environment as trust-based relationships among different architectural elements and including human beings may pose an additional security threat to the cloud space. In this paper, we propose a zero-trust framework for federated IAM in CC/CbC. The proposed framework incorporates a decentralised approach towards IAM that aims to minimise any single entity's controlling power over the digital assets in the CC/CbC space. The critical component of the proposed framework is the decentralised audit log.


The last two years have seen the most volatile financial markets for decades with steep losses in asset values and a deteriorating world economy. The insolvency of several banks and their negative impact on the economy has led to criticism of their risk management systems for not being adequate and lacking foresight. This thesis will study the performance of two broadly adopted portfolio risk measures before and during the current financial turbulence to examine their accuracy and reliability. The study will be carried out on a case portfolio consisting of American and European fixed income and equity. The portfolio uses a dynamic asset allocation scheme to maximize the ratio between expected return and portfolio risk. The market risk of the portfolio will be calculated on a daily basis using both Value-at-Risk (VaR) and expected shortfall (ES) in a Monte Carlo framework. These risk measures are then compared with prior measurements and the actual loss over the period. The results from the study indicate that the implemented risk model do not give totally reliable estimates, with more frequent and larger real losses than predicted. Nevertheless, the study sees a significant worsening in the performance of the risk measures during the current financial crisis from June 2007 to December 2008 compared with the previous years. This thesis argues that VaR and ES are useful risk measures, but that users should be well aware of the pitfalls in the underlying models and take appropriate precautions.


We demonstrate theoretically a large transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect (TMOKE) in subwavelength gratings consisting of alternating magneto-insulating and nonmagnetic dielectric nanostripes. The reflectivity of the grating reaches 96% at the frequencies corresponding to the maximum of the TMOKE response. The combination of a large TMOKE response and high reflectivity is important for applications in 3D imaging, magneto-optical data storage, and magnonics.


~~~-~~~ ~~- r #I~- ~~11 ~- ~~.)..l.! ~ )=.! - )=.! a.u~ - r _,.w1 ~ - ~~4)1 ~ - ~?. ~"" ABSTRACT In this work the authors develop a mathematical model for the dynamics of a major helminth parasite of man, schistosomiasis. The model is a system of coupled non-linear equations. Numerical experimentations with the model reveal the remarkable stability of the dynamics of schistosomiasis. The steady state is invariably reached within 10-15 years of the start of the infection. A numerical solution of the model supports the often-stated and often-debated observation that "the usual shape of the curve of the intensity of infection by age is produced through variability of water-contact behaviour among age groups and a slowly-acquired immunity to re-infection." It also indicates that convexity of the age-intensity profile can be due to variability of water-contact activities among age groups alone. The model can be used to answer questions of the ''what if' variety about the dynamics of schistosomiasis especially as they relate to proposed schemes for the control of the disease.


A popular belief for explaining the efficiency in training deep neural networks is that over-paramenterized neural networks have nice landscape. However, it still remains unclear whether over-parameterized neural networks contain spurious local minima in general, since all current positive results cannot prove non-existence of bad local minima, and all current negative results have strong restrictions to the activation functions, data samples or network architecture. In this paper we answer this question with a surprisingly negative result. In particular, we prove that for almost all deep over-parameterized non-linear neural networks, spurious local minima exist for generic input data samples. Our result helps give a more exact characterization of the landscape of deep neural networks and corrects a long-believed misunderstanding in the past decades.


Coupled sea ice - ocean models used for Arctic- or Antarctic-wide simulations of sea ice kinematics and dynamics have usually been operated at spatial resolutions on the order of 100 km. Consequently, the validation of such models has been carried out using data from spaceborne passive microwave radiometers or scatterometers. Recently, a number of models work on finer regular grids or on grids with flexible spatial resolution which is high adjacent to the coast or in areas with spatially highly variable ocean conditions. The Finite Element Sea Ice Ocean Model (FESOM) is based on the latter approach.

Areas of specific interest are e. g. coastal polynias since the continuous production of new ice and the resulting release of brine as well as the increased heat flux affect both ocean and atmosphere on local or even regional scales. In a number of studies the evolution of polynias in dependence of environmental conditions was investigated using local flux balance models which describe the balance between the advection of sea ice from the coast and the production rate of new ice. These models neglect interactions with the ocean and internal forces in the ice. In our study we focussed on the simulation of the evolution of coastal polynias using FESOM with three different atmospheric forcing data sets that differ in spatial and temporal resolution. We compared the variation of polynia extent and drift patterns obtained from the model simulations with two time series of Envisat ASAR wide swath images that were acquired in austral summer 2008 (February) and late fall 2008 (June). Our test site was the Ronne Polynia in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

For the evolution of the polynia extent we found that simulations of the employed sea ice ocean model agree with the observations. The comparison of drift velocities showed that the modeled ice velocities were too small in many cases, and turning angles were slightly too large relative to the data obtained from the radar imagery. This was attributed to the forcing data, in which the wind velocities may have been too low. In summary our results demonstrate that the evolution of polynias can be realistically simulated with coupled sea ice models such as FESOM, provided that the modelling grid is dense (1-3 km) and the atmospheric forcing data are provided at high spatial resolution (less than 50 km). Furthermore the study demonstrates the usefulness of high-resolution satellite radar imagery for gathering validation data on regional and local scales.


Manganese catalysed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of various zeolites was investigated at different pH values, Mn concentrations and zeolite:Mn ratios. Depending upon the level of these parameters the zeolites studied displayed both catalytic and inhibitive effects on the rate of decomposition. At a high pH (10.8) Mordenite 10A in a twofold excess on an ion-exchange capacity basis acted as an inhibitor whereas the other zeolites had little or no effect on the reaction rate. At a lower pH (9.0) zeolite A when added in large excess resulted in a remarkable inhibitive effect whereas the same zeolite resulted in a promotion of the catalytic action of manganese at an intermediate pH (9.9). The complex catalytic nature of the zeolite-peroxide-Mn systems is discussed.


Karst terrains that develop in bodies of rock salt (taken as mainly of halite, NaCl) are special not only for developing in one of the most soluble of all rocks, but also for developing in one of the weakest rocks. Salt is so weak that many surface-piercing salt diapirs extrude slow fountains of salt that that gravity spread downslope over deserts on land and over sea floors. Salt fountains in the deserts of Iran are usually so dry that they flow at only a few cm/yr but the few rain storms a decade so soak and weaken them that they surge at dm/day for a few days. We illustrate the only case where the rates at which different parts of one of the many tens of subaerial salt karst terrains in Iran flows downslope constrains the rates at which its subaerial salt karst terrains form. Normal seawater is only 10% saturated in NaCl. It should therefore be sufficiently aggressive to erode karst terrains into exposures of salt on the thousands of known submarine salt extrusions that have flowed or are still flowing over the floors of hundreds of submarine basins worldwide. However, we know of no attempt to constrain the processes that form submarine salt karst terrains on any of these of submarine salt extrusions. As on land, many potential submarine karst terrains are cloaked by clastic and pelagic sediments that are often hundreds of m thick. Nevertheless, detailed geophysical and bathymetric surveys have already mapped likely submarine salt karst terrains in at least the Gulf of Mexico, and the Red Sea. New images of these two areas are offered as clear evidence of submarine salt dissolution due to sinking or rising aggressive fluids. We suggest that repeated 3D surveys of distinctive features (± fixed seismic reflectors) of such terrains could measure any downslope salt flow and thus offer an exceptional opportunity to constrain the rates at which submarine salt karst terrains develop. Such rates are of interest to all salt tectonicians and the many earth scientists seeking hydrocarbons associated with salt bodies.


The effects of the soybean isoflavonoid genistein on the development of bombesin-enhanced peritoneal metastasis from intestinal adenocarcinomas induced by azoxymethane (AOM) were investigated in male inbred Wistar rats. From the beginning of the experiment, rats were given 10 weekly s.c. injections of AOM (7.4 mg/kg body weight) and s.c. injections of bombesin (40 microg/kg body weight) every other day, and from week 16, s.c. injections of genistein (5 or 10 mg/kg body weight) every other day until the end of the experiment in week 45. Bombesin significantly increased the incidence of intestinal tumors and of cancer metastasis to the peritoneum. Although genistein administered at either dose had little or no effect on the enhancement of intestinal carcinogenesis by bombesin or on the location, histologic type, depth of involvement, labeling index, or growth pattern of intestinal cancers, it significantly decreased the incidence of cancer metastasis. Genistein also significantly decreased the incidence of lymphatic vessel invasion of adenocarcinomas, which was enhanced by bombesin. Our findings indicate that genistein attenuates cancer metastasis by inhibiting cancer cell invasion into lymphatic vessels through activities that do not affect the growth of intestinal cancers.


ABSTRACT RhoGTPases are known regulators of intracellular actin dynamics that are important for maintaining endothelial barrier function. RhoA is most extensively studied as a key regulator of endothelial barrier function, however the function of the 2 highly homologous family-members (> 88%) RhoB and RhoC in endothelial barrier function is still poorly understood. This study aimed to determine whether RhoA, RhoB and RhoC have overlapping or distinct roles in barrier function and permeability in resting and activated endothelium. By using primary endothelial cells in combination with siRNA transfection to establish individual, double or triple knockdown of the RhoA/B/C RhoGTPases, we found that RhoB, but not RhoA or RhoC, is in resting endothelium a negative regulator of permeability. Loss of RhoB accounted for an accumulation of VE-cadherin at cell-cell contacts. Thrombin-induced loss of endothelial integrity is mediated primarily by RhoA and RhoB. Combined loss of RhoA/B showed decreased phosphorylation of Myosin Light Chain and increased expression of VE-cadherin at cell-cell contacts after thrombin stimulation. RhoC contributes to the Rac1-dependent restoration of endothelial barrier function. In summary, this study shows that these highly homologous RhoGTPases differentially control the dynamics of endothelial barrier function.


One of the key problems in machine vision is color constancy: the ability to match object colors in images taken under different colors of illumination. This is a difficult problem because the apparent color will depend upon the spectral reflectance function of the object and the spectral distribution function of the incident light, both of which are generally unknown. Methods to solve this problem use a small number of basis functions to represent the two functions, and some sort of reference knowledge to allow the calculation of the coefficients. Most methods have the weakness that the reference property may not actually hold for all images, or will have too little information to recover enough of the functions to make an accurate determination of what the color should be. We have developed a method for color constancy that uses a color chart of known spectral characteristics to give stronger reference criteria, and with a large number of colors to give enough information to calculate the illuminant to the desired degree of accuracy. We call this approach "supervised color constancy" since the process is supervised by a picture of a known color chart. We present here two methods for computing supervised color constancy, one using least squares estimation, the other using a neural network. We show experimental results for the supervised calculation of the spectral power distribution of an unknown illuminant. Once this has been calculated, the color of any object with known reflectance can be reliably predicted. We arc developing an extension to allow the prediction of color appearance for an object whose spectral reflectance function is not known. We also propose a method of "incremental color constancy" which determines object color by repeated application of supervised color constancy under changing illumination.


In the paradigm of open innovation, it is recognized that valuable innovation-related knowledge is being increasingly widely distributed to different actors, organizations and communities. Social media can provide novel and useful ways of interacting and collaborating in innovation, as well as for creating new information and knowledge about customers for innovations. These have not yet been much investigated because of the novelty of social media concepts and approaches. Furthermore, the possibilities of social media are not yet well understood in the contexts of innovation and customer interaction, and importantly, while the business-to-consumer sector standpoint is more researched and understood, the business-to-business sector standpoint is very little studied in the above contexts. With the help of a literature study and a survey in Finnish companies, we studied the current state-of-the art concerning the potential and possibilities of social media in facilitating customer interaction in the innovation process.


A NEW ERA in the treatment of epilepsy has been ushered in with approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the first implantable medical device to reduce the number of seizures, development of a plethora of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and advances in surgery, imaging techniques, and genetics research. At the 22nd International Epilepsy Congress, held this summer in Dublin, Ireland, more than 5000 neurologists, neurosurgeons, primary care physicians, and allied health professionals from more than 70 countries heard presentations that reflected the spectrum of change in the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. "The number of options that have become available to physicians and patients is enormous," said David W. Chadwick, MD, professor of neurology at the University of Liverpool, in Liverpool, England. "Once, you could teach medical students all they needed to know about the management of epilepsy, fairly confident that the information about


This paper provides a non-contact approach to reconstruct the distributed or concentrated force applied to a plate in the time domain. This approach is based on sound pressure measurements and is realized by coupling the techniques of real-time near-field acoustic holography (RT-NAH) and force reconstruction. A microphone array is used to measure the sound pressures in the near field of the plate. The measured sound pressures are taken as the inputs of the RT-NAH to reconstruct the vibration responses, including the normal acceleration, velocity, and displacement, on the surface of the plate. With the reconstructed vibration responses, the equation of motion governing the forced vibration can be further processed to reconstruct the force applied to the plate in the time domain. In the process of reconstructing the vibration responses, a displacement–pressure impulse response function is derived for the first time and is used in the RT-NAH. Results of numerical simulations as well as experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach can identify the location of the force accurately and reconstruct the time history of the force effectively, thereby helping to diagnose the mechanical cause of the radiated noise.


The recognition of coal-rock interface in the top caving was investigated via the vibration signals of the tail beam of the hydraulic support. Wavelet packet transform was used to process the vibration signals. A newly feature based on wavelet packet energy spectrum was proposed to identify the coal-rock interface in top coal caving. The interface was determined by comparing the features in the two cases of coal dropping and rock dropping. The experimental results show that the energy proportion of vibration signal in high frequency bands when rock dropping is greater than that when coal dropping.


Authorization in workflow systems is usually built on top of role-based access control (RBAC), security policies on workflows are then expressed as constraints on the users performing a set of tasks and the roles assigned to them. Unfortunately, when role administration is distributed and potentially untrusted users contribute to the role assignment process, like in the case of Administrative RBAC (ARBAC), collusions may take place to circumvent the intended workflow security policies. In a collusion attack, a set of users of a workflow system collaborates by changing the user-to-role assignment, so as to sidestep the security policies and run up to completion a workflow they could not complete otherwise. In this paper, we study the problem of collusion attacks in a formal model of workflows based on stable event structures and we define a precise notion of security against collusion. We then propose a static analysis technique based on a reduction to a role reachability problem for ARBAC, which can be used to prove or disprove security for a large class of workflow systems. We also discuss how to aggressively optimise the obtained role reachability problem to ensure its tractability. Finally, we implement our analysis in a tool, WARBAC, and we experimentally show its effectiveness on a set of publicly available examples, including a realistic case study.


In this paper a biologically motivated active vision system to recognize complex objects within a non-uniform environment is presented. The system is based on simulating the behavior of striate complex cells by extracting oriented contour segments. Object recognition is done in a multistage fashion by first hypothesizing the presence and location of an object and afterwards identifying the object by its parts. A computer controlled pan-tilt unit was used as the experimental platform for evaluating proposed concepts. We show first results gained from a toy world environment.


Abstract Many multilateral environmental agreements have adopted differentiated rules for different countries, based on the recognition of the 'common but differentiated responsibilities' (CBDRs) of states. By establishing two rigid groups of countries with and without emissions reduction obligations, the intergovernmental climate regime represents the most extreme case of such differentiation. The regime has struggled to overcome this rigidity and the resulting political deadlock between developing and developed countries. Transnational climate governance (TCG) initiatives have emerged as an alternative to provide mitigation, adaptation or finance outside the multilateral process. By drawing on synergies between public and private actors, it is hoped that they overcome the paralysis of the intergovernmental process. Yet, they take place in the same world of unequal peers, with different levels of capacity and responsibility for climate change. This article investigates the extent to which such TCG initiatives reflect the CBDR principle. Do different types of initiative – involving different types of actor or with different climate-related goals – address differentiation in distinct ways? Does taking account of CBDRs affect the membership of transnational initiatives? This article explores these questions empirically by analyzing a sample of TCG initiatives in terms of how they include differential treatment of states and non-state members. It concludes that TCG initiatives address differentiation in a pragmatic way. Most frequently, they either offer participants flexibility in how to implement their commitments, or provide support to members from developing countries. Such support is, so far, still insufficient to address the limited involvement of developing country actors.


BACKGROUND To reduce the high rate of soft tissue complications in the treatment of displaced intra-articular fractures of the calcaneus, several minimally invasive techniques have been developed. Little evidence exists on the clinical outcome of these techniques. METHODS We performed a study on a cohort of 46 fractures treated by the 3-point distraction technique. In 41 fractures, clinical outcome was available. Fractures were classified according to the Essex-Lopresti and Sanders classifications. The clinical outcome was determined using the 3 most frequently used outcome scores. RESULTS The clinical outcome of our cohort of percutaneous treated intra-articular calcaneal fractures was good to excellent in 69% with the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot scale (AOFAS) score. This percentage increases to 100% for tongue type fractures alone but decreases to 52% for joint depression type fractures. Infectious complications occurred in 1 (2.4%) and secondary arthrodesis was needed in 3 fractures (7.3%). The Sanders classification showed no prognostic value. The Essex-Lopresti classification was a strong prognosticator with a median AOFAS score of 92 (interquartile range [IQR], 87.8-97.8) for tongue type fractures and 75 (IQR, 63.0-85.0) for joint depression type fractures (P < .001). CONCLUSION The treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures by the 3-point distraction technique was an acceptable alternative to open surgery and other percutaneous techniques. It had a low amount of infectious complications with comparable outcome to open treatment. The computed tomography-based Essex-Lopresti classification had a strong prognostic value when fractures were treated by the 3-point distraction technique. The results of this study support the use of the 3-point distraction technique, especially in tongue type fractures. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level IV, retrospective case series.


Supplemental glycine, via activation of glycine-gated chloride channels that are expressed on a number of types of cells, including Kupffer cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, platelets, cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells, has been found to exert anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, cytoprotective, platelet-stabilising and antiangiogenic effects in rodent studies that may be of clinical relevance.1–17 The plasma concentration of glycine in normally nourished individuals—around 200 µM—is near the Km for activation of these channels, implying that the severalfold increases in plasma glycine achievable with practical supplementation can be expected to further activate these channels in vivo.18 ,19 The impact on membrane polarisation of such activation will hinge on the intracellular chloride content; cells which actively concentrate chloride against a gradient will be depolarised by channel activation, whereas other cells will experience hyperpolarisation. In cells that fail to concentrate chloride and that express voltage-activated calcium channels, glycine tends to suppress calcium influx; this effect is thought to mediate much of the protection afforded by glycine.1 The role of chloride channel activation in the mediation of glycine's physiological effects is commonly assessed by the concurrent application of the chloride channel inhibitor strychnine; if this abolishes glycine's effect, this effect is most likely mediated by chloride channels.

From the standpoint of vascular health, a recent report that glycine can stabilise platelets is of evident interest.7 When rats were fed diets containing 2.5–5% glycine, bleeding time approximately doubled, and the amplitude of platelet aggregation in whole blood triggered by ADP or collagen was halved. This effect was blocked by strychnine, and the investigators were able to confirm that platelets express glycine-gated chloride channels. They also demonstrated that human platelets likewise were glycine responsive and expressed such channels. Studies evaluating the interaction of glycine with aspirin or other pharmaceutical platelet-stabilising agents would clearly be appropriate, as …


Abstract: Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus hemorrhagic disease (EEHV HD) is an acute viral infection of growing Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Four apparently healthy subadult Asian elephants aged between 6 and 10 yr at Nandankanan Zoological Park (NKZP), India, died of EEHV HD during August–September 2019. All four elephants were rescued from different reserved forests of Odisha state at less than 1 yr of age and hand reared in the NKZP. Elephants exhibited the clinical signs of lethargy, head swelling, fever, loss of appetite, abdominal distension, scant urination and defecation, signs of colic, lameness, trunk discharge, cyanosis/ulceration of tongue, erratic behavior, and recumbence before death. Period of illness varied between 28 and 42 h. Thrombocytopenia was the common significant hematological observation. No significant biochemical alterations were recorded except for higher creatinine concentrations. Analysis of blood samples in RT-PCR assay using two different sets of primers and probes that targeted terminase gene and major DNA-binding protein gene followed by cPCR and sequencing was positive for EEHV-1A in all four animals. Postmortem examination of all four carcasses showed hemorrhages in internal organs, including the hard palate, heart, lungs, stomach, mesenteric lymph nodes, mesentery, colon serosa, spleen, liver, kidney, and meninges. Histopathology showed congestion and/or hemorrhages in heart, lung, brain, kidney, and liver. There was presence of intranuclear inclusion bodies in the sinusoidal epithelial cells. The outbreak of EEHV HD that resulted in the acute death of four juvenile captive Asian elephants within <30 d, the first of its kind documented in India, is increasing the fear of similar outbreaks in the future.


This experiment was conducted to evaluate feed withdrawal and addition of citric acid in drinking water on the pH and microflora of gizzard, ceca and feces in preslaughter broiler chickens. A total of 24 male Ross 308 broiler chickens at the age of 42 days with almost equal weight were randomly divided into six treatments with four replicates each. Control group had free access to feed and water, but without supplemental citric acid during preslaughter period. Another group was kept 8 h without feed, but with ad libitum access to unsupplemented drinking water. For other treatments, four concentrations of citric acids were added to the drinking water (1.5, 3, 4.5, and 6%) of broilers with feed withdrawal for 8 h. Fecal samples were collected 1 h before slaughter. After slaughter, gizzard and cecal contents were obtained and used for microbiological studies. The number of clostridium, bacillus, coliform and other bacteria were enumerated on appropriate bacterial media. The pH of gizzard, ceca and feces was significantly (P<0.05) lessened in birds that drank acidified water particularly at 4.5 and 6% citric acid as compared with control and feed withdrawal groups without citric acid supplementation. Also, the addition of citric acid to drinking water resulted in significant (P<0.05) reduction of bacillus, clostridium, coliform, facultative aerobic, and other bacteria in gizzard, cecal and fecal contents of birds with acidified water in comparison to the control and feed withdrawal treatments. Under the condition of this study, addition of citric acid in the drinking water 8 h before slaughter could reduce intestinal microflora colonization and might be a fruitful strategy against bacterial contamination of broiler products during processing.

 Key words: Citric acid, feed withdrawal, intestinal bacteria, broiler


Both alcohol and exposure to violent pornography have been related to sexual aggression toward women. One link in understanding this relationship may lie in understanding the role of men's empathic responding to a female rape victim. This study examined men's empathic responses toward a female victim in a violent pornographic story as well as their self-reported likelihood to behave like the assailant. The degree to which the personality construct hypermasculinity might moderate the effects of alcohol and situational factors was of central interest. One hundred twenty-one men, recruited from the community, participated in a between-subjects experiment varying subjects' beverage (alcohol vs. placebo vs. tonic), story characters' beverage (alcohol vs. mineral water), and female story character's emotional response (pleasure vs. distress). Results showed that hypermasculinity moderated the effects of the manipulated variables on empathic responses to the female character. The manipulated variables also interacted to affect subjects' responses independently of hypermasculinity.


An interactive cell modeling web site, ice11 (http://ssd 1 .bme.memphis.edu/icell/), that integrates research and education, was developed as a simulation- based teaching and learning tool for electrophysiology. The site consists of JAVA applets representing models of various cardiac cells and neurons, and provides simulation data of their bioelectric activities at cellular level. Each JAVA-based model allows the user to go through menu options to change model parameters, run and view simulation results. The site also has a glossary section for the scientific terms. Cell has been used as a teaching and learning tool for four graduate courses at the Joint Biomedical Engineering Program of University of Memphis and University of Tennessee. This modeling tool was also used as a collaboration site among our colleagues interested in simulations of cell membrane activities. Scientists from the fields of biosciences, engineering, life sciences and medical sciences in USA, Canada, China, Brazil, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and Turkey have tested and utilized ice11 as a simulation-based teaching, learning and collaboration environment. The platform-independent software, iCell, provides us with an interactive and user-friendly teaching and learning tool, and also a collaboration environment for electrophysiology to be shared over the Internet. Keywords--simulation data, computational models, single cell membrane models


The subject of electrokinetics has received considerable interests in the field of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) in recent years. Electrokinetic transport mechanism and associated reactions have wide applications in separations and MBRs. The success of electrokinetic-enhanced separations would highly depend on the study of its conceptions, perhaps leading to opening vast research need. It is also conceiv-able that the theoretical study of electrokinetic phenomena, especially in the MBRs, indeed leads to profound success in the bioreactor research, design, and operations. This chapter is aiming to overcome the enigma in this field of research and make the fundamental concepts and recent advances readily accessible to researchers and practitioners in membrane technologies .


NOY, D., Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe. II . The City of Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. xi + 573, 6 maps, 20 plates. Cloth, £80.00/ $125.00. ISBN 0-521-44202-8. With this volume the Cambridge Jewish Inscriptions Project is complete. The majority of Roman inscriptions are from catacombs, and those at Monteverde and Vigna Randanini comprise over half of the collection. There are appendixes covering non-Jewish inscription concerning Jews, of occurrences of the formula das manibus in possibly Jewish inscriptions, of one probably non-Roman inscription, and of a number of non-Jewish ones. Of particular value are the indexes, which cover e.g. languages (some inscriptions are bilingual, some in one language in the alphabet of another); personal names; formulae and individual words. There is also a concordance to CIJ and some addenda to vol. 1.


Background Isolated right aortic arch (RAA) is felt to be a rare finding, present in around 0.1%. The 3 vessel and tracheal view has been part of the fetal medicine departmental screening since 1998 and has now been incorporated into the national screening guidelines. The objective is to define the prenatal associations and postnatal outcomes of fetuses diagnosed with a RAA in utero. Methods Retrospective analysis of fetuses diagnosed with an isolated RAA diagnosed at the Harris Birthright Centre for Fetal Medicine between 2000 and 2014. Prenatal and postnatal findings were ascertained from clinical records. Diagnosis of RAA was made in the transverse three-vessel/tracheal view where the aortic arch was demonstrated passing in front of the trachea.(Figure 1) Prenatal data were combined with outcomes obtained from medical records and telephone interviews with patients. Results 100 cases of isolated right aortic arch were identified in fetal life at a median gestation of 21weeks (range:11–36). The nuchal translucency (NT) was elevated in 10/64 (16%) where the measurement was known and an extracardiac abnormality detected in 23/100 cases of whom 2 had a raised NT. Genetic abnormalities were confirmed in 13/58 (21%) tested cases comprising: 22q11.2 microdeletion (n = 5), trisomy 21 (n = 2), combined 22q11 microdeletion with mosaicism of 45XO (n = 1), unbalanced translocation (n = 1), balanced translocation (n = 1), duplication of chromosome 16p13 with a recessive disorder of lymphogenesis (n = 1) and other syndromes (n = 3). Of those with abnormal genetics 4/13 had no other abnormal fetal sonographic markers. An aberrant left subclavian artery (ALSCA) was identified in 39/98 (40%), the arterial duct was left sided in 67/75 (89%). In the postnatal period, 3 cases were diagnosed with a double aortic arch. Spontaneous intrauterine death occurred in 6 cases and termination of pregnancy in 9 cases. There were 80 live births and one neonatal death. Five children presented with symptoms of airway obstruction at a median age of 2.9 years (range 1–8). Pulsatile airway compression was identified in all and surgical division of the vascular ring was performed at median age: 2.9years (range: 1–8). Within the past two years, three asymptomatic infants (with RAA, ALSCA, left arterial duct) have been shown by bronchoscopy and cross-sectional imaging to have significant airways compression. Thus, we are currently considering whether all infants with RAA, ALSCA and left duct merit investigation irrespective of symptoms. Abstract P45 Figure 1 Prenatal ultrasound showing a right aortic arch and left duct. Conclusions Significant genetic abnormalities were identified of which some had no other abnormal fetal sonographic findings. Many patients were discharged after their first postnatal review, but despite this 8 children have required surgical relief of a vascular ring as a result of pulsatile compression of the trachea. Lack of symptoms does not exclude significant airways compression and the true incidence of airway compromise may be underestimated.


Markovian models describe how the current measurement depends on the previously observed measures and on factors both observed and unobservable in the data. The dissertation underlines the several features that make Markovian modelling an interesting approach for life course studies focusing in particular on latent-based Markov models. In such an approach the dynamics of a characteristic of interest is explained by the evolution in time of a latent variable. This approach is particularly interesting in life course studies since many factors that are unobserved or difficult-to-observe in the data may influence a life history and can change over time. The dissertation discusses on a general framework for modelling longitudinal continuous data by the means of a latent based Markov model. The model incorporates a latent Markov process that governs the switching among regimes of change, the dependence between successive observations with an autoregressive component and the effect of the time-varying covariates. Empirical applications in population studies from three different sources are discussed.


The objective of this study was to determine the palatability, feeding safety, growth performance, and replacement value of field pea (FP) for oats in yearling American Quarter Horses. Forty-eight yearling horses averaging 338.2±0.67 kg were used in a two-year replicated (84-d) study. The horses were randomly assigned based on sex and body weight (BW) to three pelleted experimental growing supplements: 1) 100% Oats and 0% FP (C), 2) 66.7% Oats and 33.3% FP (33.3PEA), and 3) 33.3% Oats and 66.7% FP (66.7PEA). The horses were fed a predetermined amount of alfalfa-bromegrass cubed (pelleted) hay. The supplement fed daily was divided into two meals and fed at 08.30 and 14.00 hours. Horse's BW, body length (BL), wither height (WH), hip height (HH), heart girth circumference (HG), cannon bone circumference (CB), forearm circumference (FA) and gaskin muscle circumference (GM) were taken at 28, 56, and 84 d. There was no statistical difference between supplement treatments for horse average daily gain (ADG) or final BW (P>0.10). There was a linear effect identified for 28, 56, and 84 d periods (P<0.01) for all treatment measurements. There was no statistical difference between supplement treatments for BL, WH, HH, HG, CB, FA, and GM (P>0.10). There was no evidence of discomfort, colic or hoof laminitis identified. When fed as two meals separated by 6 hours, FP was a suitable replacement for oats in yearling horse growing supplements up to a maximum of 66.7%.


Low-dose computed tomography (CT) imaging provides a method for obtaining accurate anatomical information without the full radiation exposure inherent in standard CT protocols, and is primarily used in lung cancer screening. Segmentation of the pulmonary arteries from low-dose chest CT images is a vital first step in improving computer-aided detection of frequently missed pulmonary nodules near major arteries. This thesis presents the first fully automated method for segmenting the main pulmonary arterial trees in low-dose CT images. The correlation between the arterial and airway trees was used to develop an automated pulmonary artery seed point detector. The main basal pulmonary arteries are identified by searching for candidate vessels near known airways, using a progressive morphological opening method. The arteries are tracked into the lungs by means of a cylindrical vessel tracker that iteratively fits model cylinders to the CT image. Vessel bifurcations are detected by measuring the rate of change of vessel radii. Subsequent vessels are segmented by initiating new cylinder trackers at bifurcation points. Quantitative analysis of both the number of arteries and veins segmented, as well as the error per vessel, was accomplished with a novel evaluation metric called the Sparse Surface (SS) metric. The SS metric was developed to capture the details of the true vessel surface while reducing the ground-truth marking burden on the human user. This metric is a unique new tool for ground truth marking and segmentation validation, with particular importance in problems with complex geometries. The segmentation method and SS metric were applied to a dataset of seven CT images, and achieved an overall sensitivity of 0.62 and specificity of 0.90 of all manually identified vessels. The average root mean square error between the vessel surface and the segmentation surface was 0.63 mm, or less than 1 voxel. Additionally, seed points were detected automatically for a majority (80%) of cases with labeled airways. This method is an important first step towards robust pulmonary artery segmentation and artery/vein separation in low-dose chest CT, and is the first fully automated method designed for accomplishing this task.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the anti-proliferation of three different structural curcumin pigmen monomers on the bovine VSMC stimulated by ox-LDL and the effect on the expression of LDL-R.

METHOD
MTT and FCM were used to observe the anti-proliferation of three different on the bovine VSMC stimulated by ox-LDL and the effect on the expression of LDL-R.

RESULT
ox-LDL(2.5,5, 10 mg x L(-1)) had obvious proliferative effect on VSMC, P < 0.05, curcumin (16.5,33,66 micromol x L(-1)), demethoxycurcumin (33,66 micromol x L(-1)) and bisdemethoxycurcumin (66 micromol x L(-1)) had obvious inhibition effect on the proliferation of VSMC stimulated by 10 mg x L(-1) ox-LDL (P < 0.05, curcumin > demethoxycurcumin > bisdemethoxycurcumin) . Three curcumin (16.5,33,66 micromol x L(-1)) could obviously activate the expression of LDLR of VSMC.

CONCLUSION
The three different structural curcumin pigmen monomers can not only inhibit the proliferation of bovine VSMC obviously stimulated by ox-LDL, but also promote the expression of LDL-R on bovine VSMC, that may be the mechanism of delaying the development of arteriosclerosis.


The second and fourth digit length ratio (2D:4D) is sexually dimorphic in many vertebrates. This ratio has been suggested to provide an estimate of steroid levels encountered during prenatal development, which may have organizational consequences for physiology and behavior of adults. However, recent studies showed that the relation between digit ratio and steroids seems inconsistent and may vary among species and populations. We tested the hypothesis that digit ratios would be correlated with the expression of secondary sexual characters, using the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) as a model system. This was done by testing whether variation in 2D:4D ratio was correlated with tail length and features of song, which are important secondary sexual characters positively correlated with circulating steroid concentration in adult birds. Furthermore, we examined the prediction that male and female digit ratios would correlate with body mass in an antagonistic way. There was no significant sexual dimorphism in digit ratio, which may be due to low levels of sexual selection in this population. Adult right 2D:4D ratio was negatively linked to tail length but not to male song output. Moreover, right 2D:4D ratio was negatively correlated with body mass in male and positively in females. These results are consistent with high digit ratios reflecting low levels of testosterone in this bird species. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.


The theory of outer automorphism groups allows us to better understand groups through their symmetries, and in this thesis we approach outer automorphism groups from two directions. In the first direction we start with a class of groups and then classify their outer automorphism groups. In the other direction we start with a broad class of groups, for example finitely generated groups, and for each group Q in this class we construct a group G_Q such that Q is related, in a suitable sense, to the outer automorphism group of G_Q.

We give a list of 14 groups which precisely classifies the outer automorphism groups of one-ended two-generator, one-relator groups with torsion. We also describe the outer automorphism groups of such groups which have more than one end. Combined with recent algorithmic results of Dahmani–Guirardel, this work yields an algorithm to compute the outer automorphism group of a two-generator, one-relator group with torsion.
We prove a technical theorem which, in a certain sense, writes down a specific subgroup of the outer automorphism group of a particular kind of HNN-extension. We apply this to prove two main results. These results demonstrate a universal property of triangle groups and are as follows. Fix an arbitrary hyperbolic triangle group H. If Q is a finitely generated group then there exists an HNN-extension G_Q of H such that Q embeds with finite index into the outer automorphism group of G_Q. Moreover, if Q is residually finite then G_Q can be taken to be residually finite. Secondly, fix an equilateral triangle group H = ⟨a, b; a^i, bi, (ab)^i⟩ with i > 9 arbitrary. If Q is a countable group then there exists an HNN-extension G_Q of H such that Q is isomorphic to the outer automorphism group of G_Q. The proof of this second main result applies a theory of Wise underlying his recent work leading to the resolution of the virtually fibering and virtually Haken conjectures.
We prove a technical theorem which, in a certain sense, writes down a specific subgroup of the outer automorphism group of a semi-direct product H


Performance based budgeting system focusing on the performance in the frame of outputs and results is accepted by many countries in our days and tried to be implemented. The fundamental purpose of this budgeting system is not directing the resource allocations directly depending on the shown performance but increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector by including the performance information in the budget process. In order to fulfill this purpose, performance based budget was started to be implemented during 2000s in Turkey. The Public Financial Management and Control Law no 5018 accepted at the end of 2003 was put into actual application in 2005. In this essay, new policy documents and processes as well as the institutional changes and applications brought by the Law no 5018 and the secondary regulations at the institutional and executive levels are explained. In the conclusion part of the essay, approximately ten years' experience of Turkey in transition to the performance based budgeting is analyzed.


After a dynamically active emergence phase, magnetic flux at the solar surface soon ceases to show strong signs of the subsurface dynamics of its parent magnetic structure. This indicates that some kind of disconnection of the emerged flux from its roots in the deep convection zone should take place. We propose a mechanism for the dynamical disconnection of the surface flux based upon the buoyant upflow of plasma along the field lines. Such flows arise in the upper part of a rising flux loop during the final phases of its buoyant ascent towards the surface. The combination of the pressure buildup by the upflow and the cooling of the upper layers of an emerged flux tube by radiative losses at the surface lead to a progressive weakening of the magnetic field in several Mm depth. When the field strength has become sufficiently low, convective motions and the fluting instability disrupt the flux tube into thin, passively advected flux fragments, thus providing a dynamical disconnection of the emerged part from its roots. We substantiate this scenario by considering the quasi-static evolution of a sunspot model under the effects of radiative cooling, convective energy transport, and pressure buildup by a prescribed inflow at the bottom of the model. For inflow speeds in the range shown by simulations of thin flux tubes, we find that the disconnection takes place in a depth between 2 and 6 Mm for disconnection times up to 3 days.


For structural concrete members that may expose to serious earthquake, overload or accident impact, the design of ductility must be given the same importance as the flexural strength. The aim of this investigation is to study the change in ductility of structural concrete flexural members during their exposure to limited cycles of repeated loading. Twenty full-scale beam specimens have been fabricated in to two identical groups; each group consisted of ten specimens. The first group was tested under monotonic static loading to failure and regarded as control beams, while the specimens of the second group were subjected to ten cycles of repeated loading with constant load interval, which ranged between 40% and 60% of ultimate load. Specimens in each group were categorized as follows: two traditional reinforced concrete specimens with different intensity of tension reinforcement; three partially prestressed specimens with bonded strands; three partially prestressed specimens with unbonded strands; and two fully prestressed concrete specimens. The main variable, which was considered for all specimens was the partial prestressing ratio (PPR). It was observed that, the ductility of reinforced concrete beams was insignificantly increased during subjecting to limited repeated loading. For fully prestressed and partially prestressed concrete beams with high level of PPR, the ductility was significantly enhanced, while, it was decreased for specimens with small level of PPR.


History anticipates a link between religion and innovation, and religious aspects could be expected to impact also current innovation activities, positive or negative. This paper describes and discusses the relations between innovation and religion by means of a systematic literature review. The review points to six different causal claims between religion and innovation: (i) the Church as a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship; (ii) religion enabling or inhibiting innovation adaptation and diffusion; (iii) spirituality and ethics, and their relation to innovation, organisational development and human relation management; (iv) creation and utilisation of innovations in religious settings; (v) doctrinal innovation; and (vi) religion as scientific underpinning. This evokes an initiative for further studies on religion and innovation, and contributes to current understanding through providing a first-of-its kind literature review.