The authors present results of investigation of the state of microbiocenosis of the intestine and immune status of organism of 139 patients after emergency operations on the gastro-intestinal tract organs. Disbiosis and reduced indices of the immune system in the postoperative period was a cause of using biocenosis sparing treatment resulting in stabilization of microecology of the gastro-intestinal tract, higher colonization resistance and general reactivity of organism.


Previous clinical studies with the FDA-approved alpha-adrenergic antagonist, phenoxybenzamine, showed apparent efficacy to reverse the symptoms and disabilities of the neuropathic condition, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome; also, the anatomic spread and intensity of this syndrome has a proliferative character and it was proposed that phenoxybenzamine may have an anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory mode of action. A previous study gave evidence that phenoxybenzamine had anti-proliferative activity in suppression of growth in several human tumor cell cultures. The same report demonstrated that the drug possessed significant histone deacetylase inhibitory activity. Utilizing the Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Broad Institute genomic database, CLUE, the present study suggests that the gene expression signature of phenoxybenzamine in malignant cell lines is consistent with anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory activity and suppression of tumor expansion by several possible mechanisms of action. Of particular note, phenoxybenzamine demonstrated signatures that were highly similar to those with glucocorticoid agonist activity. Also, gene expression signatures of phenoxbenzamine were consistent with several agents in each case that were known to suppress tumor proliferation, notably, protein kinase C inhibitors, Heat Shock Protein inhibitors, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, and glycogen synthase kinase inhibitors. Searches in CLUE also confirmed the earlier observations of strong similarities between gene expression signatures of phenoxybenzamine and several histone deacetylase inhibitors.


Abstract The paper presents three case studies of ancient Gospel Books which were reworked and adapted to changing liturgical and monastic practices. The reasons for the choice of a specific older manuscript are discussed, which could be the real or presumed connection with the foundation, but also the archaic character of the script. The methods of reworking include visual signs like bookmarks, nota bene signs, or display scripts to emphasize lecture texts. Whereas these revisions concentrate on the Gospel Book as a textbook, in another case the transformations focus on the whole manuscript as an object. The introduction of miniatures, purple pages, and gold script combined modern elements with allusions to ancient practices to create a tradition of ancient fundatio.


As power systems transit to a state of high renewable penetration, little or no presence of synchronous generators makes the prerequisite of well-regulated frequency for grid-following inverters unrealistic. Thus, there is a trend to resort to grid-forming inverters which set frequency directly. We propose a novel grid-forming frequency shaping control that is able to shape the aggregate system frequency dynamics into a first-order one with the desired steady-state frequency deviation and Rate of Change of Frequency (RoCoF) after a sudden power imbalance. The no overshoot property resulting from the first-order dynamics allows the system frequency to monotonically move towards its new steady-state without experiencing frequency Nadir, which largely improves frequency security. We prove that our grid-forming frequency-shaping control renders the system internally stable under mild assumptions. The performance of the proposed control is verified via numerical simulations on a modified Icelandic Power Network test case.


Purpose: Determining and incorporating the perspective of the target population is important to the developments of effective and sustainable HIV prevention efforts. Cameroonian preadolescent females remain at high risk for contract-ing HIV and have not benefitted from targeted HIV prevention efforts. In this report, findings are presented from data collected from 60 Cameroonian preadolescent females; ages 10-12 years; following their completion of an HIV preven-tion intervention. Methods: The theory-based intervention utilized the World Health Organization's Responsible Be-havior: Delaying Sex curriculum which had been tailored for the target population with the assistance of Cameroonian experts. The data reported here were collected as part of a questionnaire participants completed post-intervention. Re-sults: With only a few exceptions, participants perceived the intervention to be appropriate and relevant. No significant differences were found in participants' assessment of the intervention across different ages and ethnic groups. Discus-sion: Evaluating the appropriateness of interventions to the developmental level, gender, and culture of participants is an essential step in developing effective and sustainable interventions. Findings in this study are encouraging and indi-cate that interventions adapted with the assistance of local experts can be perceived relevant and appropriate by par-ticipants.


Background Before infusion with a syringe pump, drug preparation requires often dilution and more steps compared to most other injection practises, thus involves risks for patients and Health Care Workers (HCWs). The literature indicates that prefilled syringes (PFSs) address these issues successfully but most data do not apply to intravenous infusions. Purpose BD ran a multicentre study to evaluate the expected impacts of a new BD Sterifill 50 ml PFS on patient and HCW safety, comparing an infusion with a syringe pump using either the PFS or a conventional system (drug in ampoule, diluent, 50 ml syringe filled at time of use). Materials and Methods 120 HCWs performed infusions in a randomised order, 4 with the new PFS, 4 with the conventional system, mimicking regular dobutamine preparation and infusion (250 mg/ 50 ml, 10 ml/h). For all 960 cases, an observer recorded any handling errors. Results were analysed by sub-groups using FDA Human Factors guidelines. A risk score was calculated for each syringe type and for each step based on the error occurrence and its severity according to the risk class: dosing error, microbial contamination and unexpected adverse event. This Health Hazard Risk Evaluation (HHRE) method has been published by BD. Results With PFSs the handling error rate was lower and the HHRE score was better. Dosing error and microbial contamination occurred respectively in 12.7% and 43.1% of infusions with the conventional system but only in 4.8% and 0.2% with PFSs. 6% of conventional system infusions showed a risk of needle stick injury (one injury actually happened) versus 0% for PFS. 84% of HCWs would use the new PFS in their daily practise mainly to decrease the risk of contamination and administration errors, and to save time. Conclusions Prefilled 50 ml infusions with a syringe pump help reduce patient risks (especially dose error and contamination) and HCW injuries. PFS is also preferred by HCWs. No conflict of interest.


BACKGROUND
Although computed tomography is used widely in evaluating injuries from blunt abdominal trauma, grading of injuries does not reliably predict the need for intervention. Objective reporting is essential to evaluate accuracy and facilitate patient triage. We established and tested a five-point grading system for overall severity of injury.

METHODS
A total of 392 computed tomographic trauma cases were objectively classified according to the type and severity of abdominal injuries, by two experienced radiologists. Interobserver variability between the original interpretation and the consensus of the film reviewers was evaluated. The computed tomographic grading system was measured against rate of admission, exploratory laparotomy, and further imaging.

RESULTS
Patients with higher grades of injury on computed tomography were increasingly likely to have surgical management (odds ratio, 3.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.86-8.58; p < 0.0006), with sensitivity 100%, specificity 89.5% for level 2 injuries and higher. Although there was almost perfect agreement between the official interpretation and the reviewers' blinded consensus interpretation (raw agreement 84%, weighted kappa 0.86), indeterminate studies were reduced from 23% (16 of 67) to 12% (8 of 67) on review: these were more likely to have metallic or motion artifacts (5 of 16 vs. 1 of 51 p < 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS
Standardizing reporting of injuries enhances accuracy, and grading eliminates equivocation. Diagnostic certainty in computed tomography of blunt abdominal trauma is reduced by motion and metallic artifacts.


The effect of atropine on insulin secretion stimulated by glucose administration in the duodenum was studied in chronic experiments on dogs prior to and following supradiaphragmatic vagotomy. The control experiments on 10 dogs have demonstrated that in the first 10 min. after glucose administration in the duodenum pancreatic islet B-cells show a raised sensitivity to glucose expressed in a higher value of the insulinogenic index at this time than in later periods. After vagotomy no significant differences in insulin secretion and glucose tolerance in animals were found as compared to preoperative values. However the experiments with atropine administration have shown that the blockade of M-choline receptors results in considerable weakening of insulin secretion and glucose tolerance in animals irrespective of the integrity of the nerves vagus. It has been assumed that an important role in the mechanisms of the intestinoinsular axis is played by the nervous connections of the duodenum with the pancreas through interaction of the intraorganic neurons of these organs.


While lifestyle-related conditions such as heart diseas, obesity and diabetes are on the rise, district nurse numbers are falling. At the same time, traditional methods for providing lifestyle advice on factors such as smoking, alcohol intake and exercise have proven to be ineffective. This article examines how a technique called motivational interviewing, which seeks to build a partnership with the client, can promote positive change by strengthening the person's own motivation to change.


The copper access-network operators face the challenge of developing and maintaining cost-effective digital subscriber line (DSL) services that are competitive to other broadband access technologies. The way forward is dictated by the demand of ever increasing data rates on the twisted-pair copper lines. This forces a deployment of the DSL transceivers in cabinets closer to the customers with a joint expansion of the accompanying optical-fiber backhaul network. The equipment of the next generation copper network is therefore becoming more scattered and geographically distributed, which often leads to increased maintenance for the operator. Another challenge for the operators is to maintain high quality of service even when the signal-to-noise-ratio margin is reduced in favor of higher bit-rates, required by new services such as IP-TV and high-definition TV (HD-TV). Moreover, the emerging multi-user techniques for increasing the total throughput in the copper network utilize spectrum management, which relies on accurate information of the usually unknown crosstalk channels in the cable binders. What these challenges have in common is the need of an efficient tool for estimating the properties and the states of the transmission lines. A viable solution is to use the already installed DSL transceivers for line qualification and monitoring, combined with rapid fault detection and localization, in order to prevent unnecessary and costly manual intervention. This thesis addresses estimation of various kinds of line properties based on one-port or two-port measurements. For the purpose of line qualification and fault detection, the focus is on: low-order and causal cable modeling (Paper I), estimation of the characteristic impedance (Paper II), detection and localization of load coils (Paper III), and estimation of line topology (Paper IV). For the application of dynamic spectrum management (DSM), the focus is on: estimation of the crosstalk channels (Paper V) and the impact of estimation errors on the DSM performance (Paper VI). Finally, estimation of the echo transfer function for echo cancellation is addressed (Paper VII). (Less)


Determination of porosity, permeability, and pore volume compressibility of reservoir rocks and those variations with effective stress changes are of great interest in petroleum engineering. This paper has studied the influence of pore types of carbonate reservoir rocks on pore volume compressibility as well as Klinkenberg permeability and porosity at different stress values. In the current study pore volume compressibility tests have been done on 38 limestone and 8 dolomite samples. The experiments show the importance of rock type description of the reservoir rocks. Carbonate rocks with touching vug pores have different behavior from the other studied carbonates in this paper. This complex behavior is related to the role of connecting paths closure on the characteristics of hydraulic conductivity of the rock while there is no more changes in porosity or volume change. It means that the planar connecting paths have more effect on hydraulic conductivity of this rock type, while it has not more effect on porosity. Also, in all rock types excluding touching vuggy pores limestone, increasing the initial porosity leads to increase the permeability at the same effective stress value.


It is not every issue that one of our articles starts with a quotation in medieval English, and it is appropriate as two of our articles cover the use of spectroscopy in cultural heritage. This is yet another field where the rich information provided by spectroscopy, along with its non-destructive nature (for many techniques), portability and ability to generate chemical images make it the answer to many questions. Kate Nicholson, Andrew Beeby and Richard Gameson are responsible for the medieval English at the start of their article "Shedding light on medieval manuscripts". They describe the general use of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of historical artefacts, and, in particular, their work on medieval European manuscripts and 18th century watercolour pigments. They stess the importance of checking the actual laser power density to avoid damage to priceless artefacts.


Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a small vessel disease characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) accumulation in and around the cerebral blood vessels and capillaries and is highly comorbid with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Familial forms of CAA result from mutations within the Aβ domain of the amyloid β precursor protein (AβPP). Numerous transgenic mouse models have been generated around expression of human AβPP mutants and used to study cerebral amyloid pathologies. While behavioral deficits have been observed in many AβPP transgenic mouse lines, relative to rats, mice are limited in behavioral expression within specific cognitive domains. Recently, we generated a novel rat model, rTg-DI, which expresses Dutch/Iowa familial CAA Aβ in brain, develops progressive and robust accumulation of cerebral microvascular fibrillar Aβ beginning at 3 months, and mimics many pathological features of the human disease. The novel rTg-DI model provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the severity and forms of cognitive deficits that develop over the emergence and progression of CAA pathology. Here, we present an in-depth, longitudinal study aimed to complete a comprehensive assessment detailing phenotypic disease expression through extensive and sophisticated operant testing. Cohorts of rTg-DI and wild-type (WT) rats underwent operant testing from 6 to 12 months of age. Non-operant behavior was assessed prior to operant training at 4 months and after completion of training at 12 months. By 6 months, rTg-DI animals demonstrated speed–accuracy tradeoffs that later manifested across multiple operant tasks. rTg-DI animals also demonstrated delayed reaction times beginning at 7 months. Although non-operant assessments at 4 and 12 months indicated comparable mobility and balance, rTg-DI showed evidence of slowed environmental interaction. Overall, this suggests a form of sensorimotor slowing is the likely core functional impairment in rTg-DI rats and reflects similar deficits observed in human CAA.


For personalized ranking models, the well-calibrated probability of an item being preferred by a user has great practical value.
 While existing work shows promising results in image classification, probability calibration has not been much explored for personalized ranking.
 In this paper, we aim to estimate the calibrated probability of how likely a user will prefer an item.
 We investigate various parametric distributions and propose two parametric calibration methods, namely Gaussian calibration and Gamma calibration.
 Each proposed method can be seen as a post-processing function that maps the ranking scores of pre-trained models to well-calibrated preference probabilities, without affecting the recommendation performance.
 We also design the unbiased empirical risk minimization framework that guides the calibration methods to learning of true preference probability from the biased user-item interaction dataset.
 Extensive evaluations with various personalized ranking models on real-world datasets show that both the proposed calibration methods and the unbiased empirical risk minimization significantly improve the calibration performance.


Multimodality imaging, including MRI, bone scintigraphy, and FDG PET/CT, was performed to evaluate a 49-year-old man who had right hip and lower limb pain for 4 months because possible malignancy was suspected. All 3 modalities showed obvious Paget disease of the lumbar spine. However, less impressive increased activity was also noted on FDG PET/CT images. Subsequent laboratory tests and pathology examination leads to diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Our case further confirms the notion that it is insufficient to focus on the most obvious and unintentionally overlook the less impressive findings in interpreting nuclear medicine images.


Abstract : I present a unified account of interpretation preferences of stressed and unstressed pronouns in discourse. The central intuition is the Complementary Preference Hypothesis that predicts the interpretation preference of a stressed pronoun from that of an unstressed pronoun in the same discourse position. The base preference must be computed in a total pragmatics module including commonsense preferences. The focus constraint in Rooth's theory of semantic focus is interpreted to be the salient subset of the domain in the local attentional state in the discourse context independently motivated for other purposes in Centering Theory.


The reversibility of cesium adsorption in contaminated soil is largely dependent on its interaction with micaceous minerals, which may be greatly influenced by various cations. Herein, we systematically investigated the effects of NH4+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ on the adsorption/desorption of Cs+ into different binding sites of vermiculitized biotite (VB). Original VB was initially saturated by NH4+, K+, or Mg2+; we then evaluated the adsorption of Cs+ on three treated VBs, and the desorption by extraction with NH4+, K+, Mg2+, or Ca2+ was further evaluated. Our structural analysis and Cs+ extractability determinations showed that NH4+ and K+ both collapsed the interlayers of VB, resulting in the dominant adsorption of Cs+ to external surface sites on which Cs+ was readily extracted by NH4+, K+, Mg2+, or Ca2+ irrespective of their species, whereas Mg2+ maintained the VB with expanded interlayers, leading to the overwhelming adsorption of Cs+ in collapsed interlayer sites on which the Cs+ desorption was difficult and varied significantly by the cations used in extraction. The order of Cs+ extraction ability from the collapsed interlayers was K+ ≫ Mg2+ ≈ Ca2+ ≫ NH4+. These results could provide important insights into Cs migration in soil and its decontamination for soil remediation.


The central corneal thickness (CCT), Vitreous chamber depth (VCD) and axial length (AL) are important ocular parameters used in the assessment of ocular health in relation to some ocular morbidities. Determining the differences in these parameters in relation to each other is fundamental to understanding the general eye health and also aid in developing strategies to help early diagnoses and management of some ocular conditions. Sixty-six (66) participants consisting of thirty-one (31) males and thirty-five (35) females between 18 to 68 years participated in this study. CCT and other ocular biometry was measured with Ultrasound pachymetry and ultrasonography. VCD was obtained by subtracting the sum of anterior chamber depth and lens thickness, from AL. All data were analyzed with Statgraphics plus version 5.1 and SPSS version 22.0. The mean age, CCT, VCD and AL were 37.2 ± 11.6 years, 536.71±23.89 μm, 16.30±0.80mm and 23.60±0.80mm respectively. Statistically significant positive correlation was found between VCD and AL (r= 0.83, r2= 69.3%, p<0.0001). The difference in mean VCD (0.49mm) between males (16.63±0.89mm) and females (16.14±0.66mm) was statistically significant (p= 0.015). Similarly, the difference in mean AL (0.54mm) between males (23.89±0.78mm) and females (23.35 ± 0.74mm) was statistically significant (p= 0.005). The linear association between CCT, VCD and AL was not significant. AL and VCD were not significantly affected by age but a significant negative linear relationship was found between CCT and age. The result of this study will aid in early diagnoses of some ocular morbidity by identifying risk factors associated with these parameters. Keywords : Central corneal thickness, Vitreous chamber depth, Axial length


The Bangladesh economy has largely benefited from the growth of the clothing and textile manufacturing sector, yet it faces considerable challenges in efficiently managing the natural resources required for textile wet processing, particularly water and energy. The complicated and heterogeneous structure of Small-Medium Enterprises (SME) textile processing factories are a barrier to the diffusion of industry-wide standards. This study demonstrates how an innovative and collaborative approach involving many stakeholders between the Responsible Sourcing Initiative (RSI) and Partnership for Cleaner Textile, (PaCT) has been developed to identify and address resource management challenges in the Bangladeshi clothing industry. Stakeholders included in this collaborative initiative are the Bangladeshi government, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the private sector stakeholders including global clothing brands and textile manufacturing facilities. The study also highlights the success of the PaCT program in ten different textile processing factories around Dhaka, Bangladesh in reduction of cost, natural resource use, and pollution generation (GHG, wastewater effluent). The initiative is well recognized and highly valued throughout the industry and has shown potential in water and energy conservation in industry processing. If the low-cost resource savings recommendations are implemented in 50 percent of the textile processing units in Bangladesh, the estimated annual savings would be 75 million USD; 63 billion liters of water; 650 million cubic meters of gas and 300 gigawatt-hours of electricity. Additionally, a significant reduction in wastewater and greenhouse gas (GHG) generation would be observed in textile and apparel wet processing facilities.


Plasmonics is a promising field of nanophotonics dealing with light interaction with metallic nanostructures. In such material systems, hybridizationof photons and collective free-electron oscillation can result in sub-wavelength light confinement. The strong light-matter interaction can be harnessed for,among many applications, high-density photonic integration, metamaterial design, enhanced nonlinear optics, sensing etc. In the current thesis work, we focus on experimental fabrication and characterization of planar plasmonic metamaterials and waveguide structures. The samples are fabricated based on the generic electron beam lithography and characterizations are done with our home-made setups. Mastering and refinement of fabrication techniques as well as setting up the characterization tools have constituted as a majorpart of the thesis work. In particular, we experimentally realized a plasmonic absorber based on a 2D honeycomb array of gold nano-disks sitting on top of a reflector through a dielectric spacer. The absorber not only exhibits an absorption peak which is owing to localized surface plasmon resonance and is insensitive to incidence's angle or polarization, but also possesses an angle- and polarization-sensitive high-order absorption peak with a narrow bandwidth. We also demonstrated that the strong light absorption in such plasmonic absorbers can be utilized to photothermally re-condition the geometry of gold nanoparticles. The nearly perfect absorption capability of our absorbers promises a wide range of potential applications, including thermal emitter, infrared detectors, and sensors etc. We also fabricated a plasmonic strip waveguide in a similar metal-insulator-metal structure. The strip waveguide has a modal confinement slightly exceeding that of the so-called plasmonic slot waveguide. We further thermally annealed the waveguide. It is observed that the propagation loss at 980 nm has been decreased significantly,which can be attributed to the improvement in gold quality after thermal annealing.


The Spert-II fixed point vector microprocessor system performs training and recall faster than commercial workstations for neural networks used in speech recognition research. We have packaged a prototype full custom vector microprocessor, TO, as the Spert-II (Synthetic Perceptron Testbed II) workstation accelerator system. We originally developed Spert-II to accelerate multiparameter neural network training for speech recognition research. Our speech research algorithms constantly change. Also, neural nets are often integrated with other tasks to form complete applications. We thus desired a general purpose, easily programmable accelerator that could speed up a range of tasks.


The first monograph to compile observations about the post-embryonic development of the morphologically and ecologically diverse subclass Copepoda. Analyses provide insights into the correspondence of developmental stages among species, architecture of the naupliar body, and patterning of copepodid body and limbs.


The biostratigraphic importance, current zonations, and potential for the recognition of the standard chronostratigraphic boundaries of five palaeontological groups (benthic foraminifers, ammonites, belemnites, inoceramid bivalves and echinoids), critical for the stratigraphy of the Santonian through Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of extra-Carpathian Poland, are presented and discussed. The summary is based on recent studies in selected sections of southern Poland (Nida Synclinorium; Pulawy Trough including the Middle Vistula River composite section; and Mielnik and Kornica sections of south-eastern Mazury-Podlasie Homocline) and of western Ukraine (Dubivtsi). The new zonation based on benthic forams is presented for the entire interval studied. Zonations for ammonites, belemnites and inoceramid bivalves are compiled. All stage boundaries, as currently defined or understood, may easily be constrained or precisely located with the groups discussed: the base of the Santonian with the First Occurrence (FO) of the inoceramid Cladoceramus undulatoplicatus ; the base of the Campanian with the Last Occurrence (LO) of the crinoid Marsupites testudinarius and approximated by the range of the foraminifer Stensioeina pommerana ; and the base of the Maastrichtian approximated by the FO of the inoceramid bivalve Endocostea typica and the FO of the belemnite Belemnella vistulensis . The positions of substage boundaries, as currently understood, are constrained in terms of the groups discussed.


In this article, the author revisits his seminal paper on tactical asset allocation published over 10 years ago in The Journal of Wealth Management. How well has this market strategy—a simple quantitative method that improves the risk-adjusted returns across various asset classes—held up since its 2007 publication? Overall, the author finds that the model has performed well in real time, achieving equity-like returns with bond-like volatility and drawdowns. The author also examines the effects of departures from the original system, including adding more asset classes, introducing various portfolio allocations, and implementing alternative cash management strategies.


The main focus of the research presented in this thesis is a usability evaluation framework for mass market mobile devices, allowing measurement, comparison and presentation of the usability of hand held devices. The research has been a cooperation between an academic and an industrial partner, based on an action research approach, following the processes of Cooperative Method Development (CMD). It has used a case study approach, where the data has been analysed using techniques taken from grounded theory. Ethnography and participatory design have been central to both the research and the cooperation. With its basis in the evaluation framework, and its use of quantitative measurements and qualitative judgments framed by a focus on usability testing, this thesis contributes to aspects related to capturing real world usage in a continuously changing society, and supporting information needs in the process of building software. The evaluation framework can be used as a quality assurance tool in a wide perspective. It measures usability and the user experience, quickly and flexibly, and in so doing measures aspects of quality in use. It has been tested in a complex industrial development project and is a valuable and flexible tool that is easy for a usability expert to learn and use, to measure and help build quality on the customer's terms. The results we have arrived at are of practical and theoretical interest within software engineering and the industrial telecom sphere. Several features and aspects of the evaluation framework are new and challenging. These are: its mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, allowing it to target many different stakeholders; experience in applying these methods in the technology-focused and rapidly changing mobile phone area; the challenge of addressing end users in a mass market; the challenge of finding presentation models for the many different stakeholders; the challenge of making sure the framework can be used in different stages in the industrial software development process. The framework is related to three areas of software engineering, Market Driven Requirements Engineering, Statistical Usage Testing, and Organisation and Product Together. Our work includes a discussion of the need for agility, which has not so far been focused upon and discussed within the area of software engineering and usability. The combination of factors included in the framework means that is unique in solving a number of the problems that are found in these different areas within software engineering, especially in a rapidly changing marketplace. We also contribute to the field, through the qualitative element of the evaluation framework, which is inspired by ethnography and participatory design. It thereby makes a contribution that can improve practice in the field of software engineering, and that contributes to the theoretical work that is being performed within these different research areas.


Abstract:This article examines autobiographic documentaries about families that expose "dissensus" in the mapping of transborder migration and diasporic desire that were the results of the Cold War in North Korea, South Korea, and Japan. Jae-hee Hong (dir. My Father's Emails) and Yong-hi Yang (dir. Dear Pyongyang and Goodbye Pyongyang) document the ongoing Cold War in their fathers' histories through their position as a "familial other," who embodies both dissensus and intimacy. Hong reveals that anticommunism in South Korean postwar nation building reverberated in the private realm. Yang documents her Zainichi father, who sent his sons to North Korea during the Repatriation Campaign in Japan. The anticommunist father in South Korea (Hong's) and the communist father in Japan (Yang's) engendered family migration with contrasting motivations, departure from and return to North Korea, respectively. Juxtaposing these two opposite ideologies in family histories, as well as juxtaposing the filmmakers' dissonance with the given ideologies in domestic space, provide the aesthetic form for "dissensus." The politics of aesthetics in domestic ethnography manifests in that the self and the Other are inextricably interlocked because of the reciprocity of the filmmaker and the communist or anticommunist subject.


Objective: The goal of this study was to assess the nature and frequency of interruptions during medication administration and the interruptions' effects on task efficiency to guide healthcare managers/executives in improving patient safety and staff productivity. Background: Interruptions have been identified as causal factors in medication administration errors. Research, however, is needed to assess the nature and frequency of interruptions throughout specific stages of the medication administration process and to develop mitigation interventions. Method: A direct observation study was conducted to document the nature, frequency, and timing of interruptions during specific stages of medication administration in a chemotherapy daycare unit. Results: Nurses were interrupted, on average, 22% of their time and were frequently interrupted while performing safety-critical tasks. Task completion times were greater for interrupted tasks than for uninterrupted tasks. Conclusion: Nurses are frequently interrupted during safety-critical stages of medication administration, which decreases task efficiency and could lead to adverse events.


A fast neutron (FN)-mutagenised population was generated in Pisum sativum L. (pea) to enable the identification and isolation of genes underlying traits and processes. Studies of several phenotypic traits have clearly demonstrated the utility of the resource by associating gene deletions with phenotype followed by functional tests exploiting additional mutant sources, from both induced and natural variant germplasm. For forward genetic screens, next generation sequencing methodologies provide an opportunity for identifying genes associated with deletions rapidly and systematically. The application of rapid reverse genetic screens of the fast neutron mutant pea population supports conclusions on the frequency of deletions based on phenotype alone. These studies also suggest that large deletions affecting one or more loci can be non-deleterious to the pea genome, yielding mutants that could not be obtained by other means. Deletion mutants affecting genes associated with seed metabolism and storage are providing unique opportunities to identify the products of complex and related gene families, and to study the downstream consequences of such deletions.


Lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) and tin (Sn) composites are successfully prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. The objectives of this research were to obtain a spinel structure of LTO at a calcination temperature of 500C, and to improve performance of LTO by addition of Sn. The thermal, crystal structure, microstructure and electrical properties of the samples have been characterized by DT/TGA, XRD, SEM/EDX, and EIS, respectively. Meanwhile, electrochemical properties were analyzed using a charge-discharge battery analyzer. The results showed that the spinel phase was obtained for  LTO 500oC and 10%Sn composite with the highest conductivity value of  9.06 x 10-7 S/cm. Cyclic voltammetry test showed a couple of anodic-cathodic reduction-oxidation (redox) voltages at 1.48V and 1.74 V for  LTO and at  1.65 V and 2.11 V for TiO2. Lithiation voltage for Sn occurred at 0.61 V. The charge/discharge test of LTO 500oC and 10%Sn composite showed that the addition of Sn exhibited capacity at  low current-voltage (0.6 V), identifying the advantages of composite which still had discharge capacity at low voltage. The specific capacity for LTO 500oC and 10%Sn composite increased from 76 to 110 mAh/g at 0.3C rate. And the spinel LTO sample can work up to 60C rate.


The apical intercellular junctions between the hamster ovary surface epithelial cells were studied by freeze-fracture. The results showed tight junctions consisting of intertwining ridges on P faces and complementary furrows on E faces. Typical gap junctions, in the form of clusters of particles on P faces and complementary pits on E faces, were also observed associated with the tight junctional elements. Sometimes the gap junction are the outermost element of the junctional complexes. These observations explain data previously obtained in tracer experiments with lanthanum.


I examine how firms strategically bundle news reports to offset the negative effects of a privacy breach disclosure. Using a complete dataset of privacy breaches from 2005 to 2014, I find that firms experience a small and significant 0.27% decrease in their stock price on average following the breaking news disclosure of the privacy breach. But controlling for media coverage, this small decline is offset by an increase in the effect of a larger than usual number of positive news reports released by the firm on that day, which could increase the returns by 0.47% for every additional positive news report compared to their usual media coverage. I further find that disclosure laws have a significant and negative effect on the returns, even when news releases are used to alleviate the decrease. Moreover, a portfolio constructed with breached firms controlling for state disclosure laws outperforms the market over the 2007-2014 period, especially in the case of breached firms in mandatory disclosure states.


In the Era of embedded technology, the Zigbee protocols are used in more and more applications. Because of the rapid development of sensors, microcontrollers, and network technology, a reliable technological condition has been provided for our automatic real-time monitoring of coal mine. The application designs a monitoring system for coal mine safety based on Zigbee wireless sensor network. The underground system collects temperature, humidity and methane values of coal mine through sensor nodes in the mine; it also collects the number of personnel inside the mine with the help of an IR sensor, and then transmits the data to information processing terminal based on ARM. The terminal sends the data to the ground section through Zigbee, and in the ground section, the processing terminal monitors the data and sends the data to the PC to save them and for remote users to inquire .An SMS is also send to the corresponding member through GSM modem which is connected to the controller. If any data is received, the received data is compared with the predefined threshold values, if the received values are more than the threshold values then buzzer will be on. So that warning to the personnel will occur.


Abstract There are billions of annual transactions between citizens and government; most of these are between citizens and local government. Both central and local government share the same target for electronic service delivery: 100 per cent of key services online by 2005. In Northern Ireland, however, district councils are being left behind on the e-government agenda. The Northern Ireland Assembly, currently suspended, has no provisions or recommendations for local e-government, although many transactional services of interest to ordinary citizens are provided by local councils. The absence of a strategy for local e-government means that district councils are left to their own devices, and this contrasts with the rest of the UK. A snapshot of local councils is used to assess the extent of provision of electronic service delivery, highlighting examples of innovation, and indicating significant challenges for Northern Ireland local e-government during a period of suspended devolution.


In the era of structural genomics, with a large number of protein structures becoming available, identification of domains is an important problem in protein function analysis as it forms the first step in protein classification. Domain identification has been an active area of research for over four decades and a wide range of automated methods have been proposed. In the proposed network-based machine learning approach, NML-DIP, a combination of supervised (SVM) and unsupervised (k-means) machine learning techniques are used for domain identification in proteins. The algorithm proceeds by first representing protein structure as a protein contact network and using topological properties, viz., length, density, and interaction strength (that assesses inter- and intra-domain interactions) as feature vectors in the first SVM to distinguish between single and multi-domain proteins. A second SVM is used to identify the number of domains in multi-domain proteins. Thus, it does not require a prior information of the number of domains. The k-means algorithm is then used to identify the domain boundaries that are assessed using CATH annotation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on four benchmark datasets and compared with four state-of-the-art domain identification methods. The performance of the approach is comparable to other domain identification tools and works well even when the domains are formed with non-contiguous segments. The performance of the program is significantly improved for prior information about the number of domains. The algorithm is available at: https://bit.ly/NML-DIP.


The composite magnetic nanoparticles of coated SiO nano film with about 8 nm size can be dispersed in various liquid media, widely known as magnetic fluids or ferrofluids with both magnetic and liquid properties. In this paper, a bio-medicine coating technology on surface of magnetic nanoparticles and the optimum fabrication condition and the magnetism of composed bio-nanoparticles are investigated. Through observation of micro-structure of the bio-nanopaticles on coating surface, and evaluation of magnetic property and safety to apply to biomaterials, we know the bio-medicine coated on surface of magnetic nanoparticles is suitable of bio-solutions into surface of biomaterials.


Since the start of Roll Back Malaria (RBM) in 1998 funding for malaria control has increased dramatically, resulting in the current peak of $2.5billion spent on global malaria control annually. Vector control has been a major source of expenditure, with the focus in sub-Saharan Africa being free Long-Lasting Insecticidal Net (LLIN) distribution and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS). Use of pyrethroid insecticides in agriculture and rapid scaling up of pyrethroid LLINs and IRS for malaria vector control has led to the development and spread of pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae malaria vectors. In community use, the level of insecticide resistance at which malaria control is compromised remains uncertain, but experimental hut trials in Benin, an area of high frequency pyrethroid resistance, showed that holed pyrethroid Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) failed to protect sleepers from being bitten and no longer had a mass killing effect on malaria vectors. If LLINs and IRS are to remain effective it is essential that new public health insecticides are developed to address the growing problem of resistance. All insecticides that are currently recommended by the World Health Organization Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) for LLIN or IRS belong to just four classes of chemistry that act on nerve and muscle targets; namely pyrethroid, organophosphate (OP), carbamate, and organochlorine (DDT). The Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management (GPIRM) states that in areas of pyrethroid resistance or high LLIN coverage, alternative insecticide classes should be used for IRS in a rotation. Rotation of insecticides is very difficult to implement due to a lack of new public health insecticides. The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) came into effect in 2004, yet the use of DDT (classified as a POP) for malaria control has been allowed to continue under exemption since then due to a perceived absence of equally effective and efficient alternatives. Alternative classes of insecticide for IRS such as pirimiphos-methyl (OP) and bendiocarb (carbamate) have a relatively short residual duration of action (2-6 months according to WHOPES). In areas of year-round transmission, multiple spray cycles are required resulting in significantly higher costs for malaria control programs and user fatigue. For continued cost-effectiveness of IRS programs it is important to develop new longer-lasting formulations of currently available insecticides, while also developing insecticides with new modes of action. Pyrethroids are the only insecticides that are currently recommended by WHOPES for LLIN. Therefore, it is essential to develop and evaluate new insecticides for LLIN before effectiveness of pyrethroid LLIN is compromised.
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This thesis consisted of a sequence of tests to evaluate the efficacy of several new formulations of WHOPES recommended insecticides and novel insecticides both in the laboratory and against wild mosquitoes entering experimental huts.
Specifically these studies have shown that:
 Addition of eave baffles in experimental huts succeeded in reducing the potential for mosquito escape and is preferable to the assumption of doubling veranda catch to allow for unrecorded escapes (research paper 2).
 A Capsule Suspension (CS) formulation of pirmiphos-methyl used for IRS showed a significant improvement in terms of longevity on mud, concrete and plywood when compared with the previously recommended Emulsifiable Concentrate (EC) formulation in laboratory and experimental hut bioassays (research paper 3).
 A new formulation of deltamethrin with polymeric binder (SC-PE) for IRS showed only a slight improvement over the existing Water Dispersible Granules (WG) formulation in bioassays, but both formulations equalled DDT in experimental huts and should provide annual mosquito control. Deltamethrin SC-PE or WG should only be considered for use by malaria control programs where there is low pyrethroid LLIN coverage (research paper 4).
 In experimental hut trials, chlorfenapyr (pyrrole) IRS was equivalent to alphacypermethrin against pyrethroid susceptible An. arabiensis but superior against pyrethroid-resistant Cx. quinquefasciatus. The unique non-neurological mode of action shows no cross-resistance to existing resistance mechanisms and should be successful for control of pyrethroid resistant mosquitoes (research paper 5).
 In experimental hut trials, chlorfenapyr ITNs produced relatively high mortality rates of pyrethroid susceptible An. arabiensis but due to low irritability there was only a small reduction in blood-feeding (research paper 8). Mortality rates were similar to those produced by deltamethrin ITN.
 Unlike neurotoxic insecticides, such as pyrethroids and carbamates, chlorfenapyr owes its toxicity to the disruption of molecular pathways which enable cellular respiration to occur. Conventional 3 minute contact bioassay based on WHOPES guidelines is suitable for pyrethroids but does not predict field performance of
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chlorfenapyr, which is metabolic in nature and sensitive to temperature and the phase of the insect's circadian activity rhythm (research paper 9).
 Combining chlorfenapyr with a more excito-repellent pyrethroid on mosquito nets produced higher levels of blood-feeding inhibition than chlorfenapyr alone, in tunnel tests with both pyrethroid susceptible and resistant strains of Cx. quinquefasciatus (research paper 10).
 Restricting insecticide to particular surfaces of the nets (top only or sides only) indicated that An. arabiensis contacts both the top and sides of a mosquito net during host-seeking behaviour. These results support the rationale behind the '2-in-1' mosquito net, in which the top of the net is treated with a non-pyrethroid insecticide and the sides with pyrethroid (research paper 11).


American attitudes toward marijuana have varied greatly from the time it was criminalized in the 1930s through the present day, and public opinion favoring the legalization of marijuana has steadily risen since 1990. It is generally well accepted that the media played a large role in shaping not only marijuana laws but also the general public's attitudes toward marijuana. As such, this study utilized General Social Survey data to examine the relationship between media exposure and attitudes toward the legalization of marijuana from 1975 through 2012, 1975 through 1990, and 1991 through 2012. The findings indicate that while media exposure was not significantly related to attitudes about marijuana legalization from 1975 through 1990, both television and newspaper exposure had a significant positive relationship with favor toward the legalization of marijuana from 1991 through 2012.


This paper is an analysis of the basic and extended meanings of temperature lexemes and the grammar of temperature expressions in Kambaata in comparison to related Highland East Cushitic languages of Ethiopia. Globally, Kambaata has a system of two opposing temperature values, 'cold' vs. 'warm/hot'. The lexeme iib- 'be(come) warm/hot' contrasts with caal- 'be(come) tactile cold' in the tactile frame of temperature evaluation, while it contrasts with gid- 'be(come) non-tactile cold' in the domain of ambient (weather) and personal-feeling (inner) temperature. In addition to these central lexemes, Kambaata has a number of terms that are semantically more restricted, are less frequent and/or have an unequivocal positive or negative connotation, including, e.g., sigg- 'be(come) comfortably cold or warm, cool' and buss- 'burn (tr.); be dangerously, excessively hot'. Irrespective of the temperature value, the expression of personal-feeling temperature is constructionally different from that of ambient temperature and tactile temperature; for the former a transitive, for the latter an intransitive construction is used. As for the extended uses of temperature terms, Kambaata maps warmth/heat onto freshness, busyness, and anger, and links burning heat to anger, spiciness and raging thirst. Unlike many other languages in the world, Kambaata does not relate warmth/heat to affection. Furthermore, Kambaata conceptualizes inactivity, ineptness and fear as tactile cold but the absence of emotional and physical pain as non-tactile cold. Coolness is linked metaphorically to calmness and absence of thirst. In the Highland East Cushitic branch of languages, 'warm/hot' is the most stable term, whereas six seemingly non-cognate roots are used for 'tactile cold' and/or 'non-tactile cold'.


Several satellite-derived databases of the surface solar irradiance (SSI) are available. There are mandatory tools to evaluate solar resources in electric production. Users of such databases need to know their performances. The latter is usually known by comparing the satellite estimates against in-situ measurements. Several authors have reported that performances of a given database differ from one site to another depending on the geographical region, topography, orography, climate, viewing angle from the satellite… As a consequence, quality assessment must be performed for a large number of sites and the present communication contributes to that. The aim is to explore the possible changes in quality in Morocco: Ben Guerir, Erfoud, Missour, Tantan and Zagora.
Ground measurements of hourly global irradiation were collected by IRESEN, the national research institute for solar energy and new energies in Morocco. Instruments are rotating shadowband irradiometers or combination of pyranometers, shaded pyranometers and pyrheliometers. Measurements were quality-checked using recognized procedures. There are compared to three well-known databases: CAMS Radiation service, HelioClim-3 version 4 and HelioClim-3 version 5. The CAMS Radiation service combines products of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) on gaseous content and aerosols in the atmosphere together with cloud optical properties deduced every 15 min from Meteosat imagery to supply estimates of the SSI. Part of this service is the McClear service that provides estimate of the SSI that should be observed in cloud-free conditions. The second database is HelioClim-3 v4 that is derived from Meteosat images using the Heliosat-2 method and the ESRA clear sky model, based on the Linke turbidity factor. HelioClim-3 v5 is the third database and differs from v4 by the partial use of McClear and CAMS products.
It was found that as a whole, the three databases perform fairly well, demonstrating the reliability of each database in Morocco. These results are discussed against those published for sites in other climate areas.
This work adds evidence on the reliability of these databases already find for Europe, Brazil, Egypt, Oman and UAE.


An airborne LiDAR survey of the Nan Madol World Heritage Site and adjacent Temwen Island revealed a complex, irrigated cultivation system, the first found in the Central and Eastern Caroline Islands. This informs the goals of the sustainable conservation project, funded by the U.S. Department of State Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, that inspired the survey, and expands understanding of Nan Madol and its place in the network of Pacific island interaction and trade. Fieldwork verified the presence, across Temwen, of low, wet, cultivable areas, many of which are connected by water channels or separated by earthen berms. The berms themselves may also have been cultivated. In complexity, labor investment, and organization, the system is comparable to Nan Madol itself, the largest archaeological site in Micronesia, with structures on about 100 artificial islets built of stone and coral on a reef flat. Constructed over a millennium, Nan Madol was the seat of the Saudeleur Dynasty, which persisted from about 1200 to 1600 CE. The cultivation system appears to have been able to provide ample food for consumption, feasting, and redistribution or trade. If the landscape alteration described here proves to date to the time of the Saudeleur Dynasty, it will offer many avenues of research into the economic basis of Nan Madol's regional dominance.


'Psedomonas aeruginosa' is a prevalent nosocmial pathogen predominantly associated with infections in immune compromised individuals and long term colonisation and pathogenesis in the lungs of Cystic Fibrosis patients. With multi-drug resistant strains increasingly common, the discovery of novel targets for antimicrobial chemotherapy is of utmost importance and expansion of data on 'P. aeruginosa's' complex genome could facilitate this. Azoreductases are a group of enzymes mainly noted for their reductive capacity against azo and quinone compounds. Ubiquitous amongst many classes of organism including prokaryotes and eukaryotes, the primary physiological role of azoreductases remians unclear. This study characterises azoreductase-like enzymes from 'P. aeruginosa' in terms of biochemical properties, substrate specificity and structural analysis. The effect of these enzymes on bacterial physiology in 'P. aeruginosa' is also explored in relation to antibiotic susceptibility.

Three azoreductase-like genes from 'P. aeruginosa' (pa1224, pa1225 and pa4975) were overexpressed in 'E. coli' strains following molecular cloning. Recombinant proteins were biochemically characterised by means of Thin Layer Chromatography, Differential Scanning Fluorimetry and ezymatic assays. All enzymes were noted to be selective for FAD as the flavin cofactor and NADPH as the preferred reductant. All three enzymes were confirmed as NAD(P)H dependent quinone oxidoreductases (NQOs) with PA1224 also catalysing reduction of the azo substrate methyl red, albeit at a rate an order of magnitude lower than that observed for the quinone compounds. The preferred flavin cofactor for four previously characterised azoreductase and NQO enzymes (PA2280, PA2580, PA1204 and PA0949) was also explored and PA2280 and PA0949 were observed to select for FMN while PA2580 and PA1204 were selective for FAD. The crystal structure of PA2580 was solved with the nicotinamide group of NADPH bound and was noted to form a homodimer with the same short flavodoxin-like fold as previously described for other members of this enzyme family. Complemented strains of azoreductase-like gene deletion mutants of 'P. aeruginosa' PAO1 were generated via molecular cloning and used to monitor the effects of these enzymes on antibiotic susceptibility. Antimicrobial sensitivity assays were carried out and although the knockout strains displayed increased sensitivity to fluroquinolones, they did not revert to the wild type phenotype upon reinsertion of the genes of interest.

This study has for the first time characterised three new NQO's from 'P. aeruginosa' PAO1 and solved the crystal structure of an azoreductase/NQO with nicotinamide bound. With these findings and a library of complemented strains generated, this original study offers a platform for the continued research into the physiological role of these enzymes.


Capturing large fields of view with only one camera is an important aspect in surveillance and automotive applications, but the wide-angle fisheye imagery thus obtained exhibits very special characteristics that may not be very well suited for typical image and video processing methods such as motion estimation. This paper introduces a motion estimation method that adapts to the typical radial characteristics of fisheye video sequences by making use of an equisolid re-projection after moving part of the motion vector search into the perspective domain via a corresponding back-projection. By combining this approach with conventional translational motion estimation and compensation, average gains in luminance PSNR of up to 1.14 dB are achieved for synthetic fish-eye sequences and up to 0.96 dB for real-world data. Maximum gains for selected frame pairs amount to 2.40 dB and 1.39 dB for synthetic and real-world data, respectively.


This paper confirms both technical feasibility and economic potential via the use of redundant brick kilns as an alternative option for disposal of the combustible fractions of construction and demolition wastes by a three-stage analysis. To assess such an idea, one brick kiln was selected for performing an engineering feasibility study. First of all, field sampling and lab-analyses were carried out to gain a deeper understanding of the physical, chemical, and thermodynamic properties of the combustible fractions of construction and demolition wastes. Kinetic parameters for the oxidation of the combustible fractions of construction and demolition wastes were therefore numerically calculated from the weight loss data obtained through a practice of thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Secondly, an engineering assessment for retrofitting the redundant brick kiln was performed based on integrating several new and existing unit operations, consisting of waste storage, shredding, feeding, combustion, flue gas cleaning, and ash removal. Such changes were subject to the operational condition in accordance with the estimated mass and energy balances. Finally, addressing the economic value of energy recovery motivated a renewed interest to convert the combustible fractions of construction and demolition wastes into useful hot water for secondary uses.


There has been very limited research on the use of self-worth protection strategies in the achievement context of school physical education (PE). Thus, this study aimed to examine some antecedents and consequences of defensive pessimism and self-handicapping. The sample comprised 534 (females n = 275; males n = 259) British pupils recruited from two schools who responded to established questionnaires. Results of structural equation modelling analysis indicated that self-handicapping and defensive pessimism were positively predicted by fear of failure and negatively predicted by competence valuation. In addition, defensive pessimism was negatively predicted by physical self-concept. In turn, defensive pessimism negatively predicted enjoyment in PE and intentions to participate in future optional PE programs. Self-handicapping did not predict enjoyment or intentions. Results from multi-sample structural equation modelling showed the specified model to be largely invariant across males and females. The findings indicate that although both strategies aim to protect one's self-worth, some of their antecedents and consequences in PE may differ.


The application of flat plates to the field of wind harvesting requires a lot of research toward the understanding of the flutter behavior of the plates. There are shortages of articles that discuss the effect of varying the angles of attack to the flutter speed of a flat plate. This research aims to conduct a basic experimental research on the effect of relative position of a thin-flat plates to the direction of the air flow to its flutter speed. In this study, a thin-flat plate was placed in a subsonic wind tunnel to test its flutter speed. The position of the plate was varied in various angles of attack. The effect of the angles of attack to the flutter speed was observed.


The ESA Data User Element (DUE) Permafrost project provides a mid-to-long-term Earth observation service for
permafrost remote sensing derived applications for Northern high-latitudinal permafrost areas. The DUE Permafrost remote sensing products are land surface temperature, surface soil moisture, frozen/thawed surface status, elevation, land cover and surface waters. A major component is the evaluation of the DUE Permafrost products to test their scientific validity for high-latitude permafrost landscapes. These case studies evaluate two DUE Permafrost products (MODIS Land Surface Temperature and ASCAT Surface State Flag) by comparing the results with field-based data obtained by the Global Terrestrial Network of Permafrost (GTN-P). First results showed good correlation which suggests that the DUE Permafrost approach is a promising one for long-term monitoring of permafrost surface conditions. Furthermore it demonstrates the great benefit of freely available ground truth databases for the evaluation of remote sensing derived products.


The adoption and continued use of innovations by societies, organisations and individuals has been a subject of research since before the 1930s. A variety of different theories have been developed to account for the different speeds at which innovations are adopted and the factors that affect the adoption process. This paper reviews theories of the adoption of innovations with particular reference to the recent phenomenon of the e-book as a cultural innovation that is having an impact on individuals, organizations and national policy makers. The paper will suggest which theories are most appropriate for the different levels at which the innovation is employed.


In this study, we have mapped the promoter region of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae ferric iron binding protein-encoding gene fbpA, determined the start point of transcription, and examined the accumulation of fbpA mRNA Primer extension analysis of the fbpA promoter region indicated a single transcriptional start site located 51 bp upstream of the ATG translational start site. Northern blot analysis with a 200-bp fbpA structural gene probe detected one transcript of 1.0 kb in RNAs extracted from gonococcal cultures grown under iron-restricted conditions; the 1.0-kb transcript was observed to accumulate at a steady rate throughout the growth cycle. In comparison, in cultures grown under iron-sufficient conditions, the intensity of the 1.0-kb transcript was reduced considerably. Isolation of total RNA from rifampin-treated cells indicated that the half-life of the 1.0-kb fbpA transcript in cells grown under iron-restricted conditions was 1.2 +/- 0.2 min, while that of the 1.0-kb fbpA transcript obtained from cultures grown under iron-sufficient conditions was 0.5 +/- 0.1 min. Taken together, our results indicate that the fbpA promoter is regulated by iron and that transcription and translation of FbpA are closely linked.


Motivational policy plays a large role in the effective management of personnel. The state of the economy and social relations in Ukraine and, equally important, the state of self-awareness of its citizens is unstable and complicated. During this period, it is especially important to act effectively in the field of enterprise personnel management. The situation is constantly changing and, accordingly, the approaches to the choice of effective methods of work with personnel must change. The methodological basis of the study is the dialectical method of cognition, determining the position of the theory of motivation of domestic and foreign scientific schools. In the course of the research, a systematic and logical approach to the scientific knowledge of the set of phenomena and processes related to the functioning of the personnel motivation system was applied, which revealed the main problems and prospects of improvement of the motivational policy in the enterprises. During the research, the methods of logical generalization and comparison were used to formulate the basic provisions and prerequisites for the formation of a motivational policy, an algorithm for managing a motivational policy; systematic analysis and synthesis, in particular, when substantiating the main directions of improvement of motivation policy at agricultural enterprises; statistical analysis - in the study of changes in the number and wages of employees in agriculture; logical generalization - when formulating conclusions. The article is devoted to the development of theoretical and methodological approaches to the formation of a modern effective motivational policy in agricultural enterprises. The main directions of improvement of motivational policy in agricultural enterprises are revealed. Systematic stages of implementation of motivational policy in agricultural enterprises. The trends of changes in the number and wages of employees in agriculture are determined. Based on the considered approaches, the algorithm of management of motivational policy in agricultural enterprises is formulated. The results of the study will expand the list of important directions of improvement of motivational policy, which are considered in the context of the algorithm of its management. The proposed algorithm for managing the improvement of motivational policy in agricultural enterprises will provide research and analysis of labor efficiency indicators, their monitoring, which will contribute to the increase of labor efficiency. Tracking factors of influence on the motivational orientation of management processes, deepening the study of motivational systems of change management in agricultural enterprises will be a promising area of research.


Knowledge of the broad-scale movement patterns of sharks is essential to developing effective management strategies. Currently there is a large bias in studies focusing on species that are either large apex predators or found in tropical to subtropical regions. There is limited knowledge of the movements and migrations of benthic and temperate shark species. The present study used passive acoustic telemetry to investigate the movement patterns of a benthic shark species, the Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni). Individuals were tagged with acoustic transmitters between 2012 and 2014 and their movements were monitored within Jervis Bay and along the east Australian coastline for up to 4 years. Male and female Port Jackson sharks demonstrated high levels of philopatry to both Jervis Bay and their tagging location across multiple years. Although males and females did not differ in their arrival times, females departed from Jervis Bay later than males. Approximately half the tagged individuals migrated in a southward direction, with individuals being detected at Narooma, Bass Strait and Cape Barron Island. This study provides conclusive evidence of bisexual philopatry in a benthic temperate shark species, confirming previous hypotheses, and presents the most detailed migration route for Port Jackson sharks to date.


On 25 February 1956, twenty-three-year-old Sylvia Plath walked into a party and immediately spotted Ted Hughes. The sensational aspects of the Plath-Hughes relationship have dominated the cultural landscape to such an extent that their story has taken on the resonance of a modern myth. Before she met Ted, Plath had lived a complex, creative and disturbing life. Her father had died when she was only eight, she had gone out with literally hundreds of men, had been unofficially engaged, had tried to commit suicide and had written over 200 poems. Mad Girl's Love Song traces through these early years the sources of her mental instabilities and examines how a range of personal, economic and societal factors - the real disquieting muses - conspired against her. Drawing on exclusive interviews with friends and lovers who have never spoken openly about Plath before and using previously unavailable archives and papers, this is the first book to focus on the early life of the twentieth century's most popular and enduring female poet. Mad Girl's Love Song reclaims Sylvia Plath from the tangle of emotions associated with her relationship with Ted Hughes and reveals the origins of her unsettled and unsettling voice, a voice that, fifty years after her death, still has the power to haunt and disturb.


In this paper requirements, specifications and preliminary system design of a mini-satellite flower constellation for millimeter-wave atmospheric observations are presented together with the main payload technological characteristics. This work has been performed in the frame of FLORAD Phase A project (mini-satellite FLOwer constellation of millimeter-wave RADiometers for atmospheric observations), a feasibility study for a small scientific mission funded by the Italian Space Agency.


BACKGROUND
Warfarin is commonly used for management of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), controlling therapy by means of the International Normalized Ratio (INR).

OBJECTIVES
To identify differences in INR results between patients with thromboembolic and haemorrhagic complications and controls.

METHODS
Two nested case-control studies from within a controlled trial of the duration of warfarin therapy (47 thrombotic and 16 haemorrhagic complications).

RESULTS
Patients whose thromboembolism failed to resolve during treatment or recurred during or after treatment had non-significantly lower INR levels than matched controls (geometric mean 2.2 versus 2.3, p = 0.12). Patients with haemorrhage also had not statistically significant lower INR levels than their matched controls (2.1 versus 2.3, p = 0.22). The variability of INR levels was similar in both case groups and controls. The mean percentage of INR levels in the therapeutic range 2 - 3 was almost identical in thrombotic cases and controls (56.5% versus 56.1%). Compared to the haemorrhagic group, better control was achieved in controls (61.5% versus 43.0%, p=0.01), but controls had slightly more INR values above the therapeutic range (12.1% versus 10.5%, p = 0.74) whilst haemorrhagic cases had more INR values below the therapeutic range (46.6% versus 26.4%, p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION
In this study, higher INR levels were not associated with haemorrhage suggesting that, for patients being treated for DVT/PE, a modest increase in the target therapeutic range could be considered.


The gene ontology (GO) is an important knowledge resource for biologists and bioinformaticians. This paper explores the integration of similarity information derived from GO into clustering-based gene expression analysis. A system that integrates GO annotations, similarity patterns and expression data in yeast is assessed. In comparison with a clustering model based only on expression data correlation, the proposed framework not only produces consistent results, but also it offers alternative, potentially meaningful views of the biological problem under study. Moreover, it provides the basis for developing other automated, knowledge-driven data mining systems in this and related application areas.


Background:The aim of this study was to develop stable and easily injectable lipid depot preparations of local anesthetics in which the drug concentration can be varied according to desired duration of action. Methods:The formulations contained a 2.0, 5.0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100% eutectic mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine base in medium-chain triglyceride. Duration of sciatic nerve block and local neurotoxicity was investigated in rats with 2.0% lidocaine:prilocaine HCl solution and 99.5% ethanol as controls. The rate of release of local anesthetic from the site of administration and the possibility to predict in vivo depot characteristics from in vitro release data were investigated for the 20 and 60% formulations. Results:The duration of sensory sciatic block was prolonged 3 times with the 20% formulation and approximately 180 times with the 60% formulation, in comparison with the 2% aqueous solution. With the 80 and 100% formulations, all animals still showed nerve block after 2 weeks. The in vivo release of local anesthetic could be approximately predicted from in vitro data for the 20% but not for the 60% formulation. The formulations of 60% or greater and ethanol showed neurotoxic effects. Conclusions:The pharmaceutical properties of these formulations compare favorably with those of other depot preparations. The high-percentage ones showed the longest duration of action yet reported for sciatic nerve block in rats. The possibility of using a high-concentration local anesthetic depot formulation as an alternative to ethanol or phenol for long-term nerve blocks in chronic pain merits further investigation.


This article discusses the importance of biobanking to health research advancement in developing countries by analyzing the impact of the establishment of a tumor bank at the A C Camargo Hospital, a cancer care and research center located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For the past 13 years, the human biological samples provided by the tumor bank have been used by investigators to study various types of cancer. We analyze the impact of biobanking in the overall quality of research projects performed at our institution. We also summarize the main findings of these investigations focusing on breast, prostate, head-neck, and gastroesophageal tumors, as well as the lessons learned over these years. We conclude that biobanking should be part of the strategy employed by scientists and research institutions dedicated to the study of human diseases.


The primary objective of the thesis is to analyze, from an economic viewpoint, the determinants of cooperation among farmers in developing countries. In pursuing this objective, quite diverse but interrelated literature were reviewed: general economic theories of cooperation; property rights; origin and nature of the firm, and indigenous cooperation. From the review of the literature seven factors were deduced as determining agricultural cooperation, with six of them affecting cooperation in general. The validity of these in determining cooperation among farmers was then tested by means of case studies and a sample survey. First is the presence or absence of indivisibilities in productive inputs and/or processes. Second is whether timeliness in the execution of farm tasks is necessary. Third is the degree of elasticity of substitution among such inputs and/or processes. Fourth is the presence or absence of economies, whether size/scale economies or associational economies. Fifth is the extent of transaction costs, which consist of search, information, bargaining, decision-making and monitoring costs. Sixth is the extent of inequality in the distribution of income/assets among the potential members of a group. And seventh is the kind of atmosphere that surrounds the exchange relationship. Empirical research focused on Northern and Central Luzon in the Philippines. The most widespread form of indigenous cooperation in these two regions was the formation of labour teams to transplant and reap paddy. These were analyzed by means of a case study of two agricultural teams and a sample survey of twenty eight agricultural teams. The results indicated that six of the seven hypothetical variables were operative. Indivisibilities were not a relevant factor because they were absent from the farm tasks involved. Nevertheless, this cannot be interpreted to mean that this variable would be irrelevant in other tasks such as irrigation. Income/asset distribution was highly skewed but its potential for diminishing cooperation in the case of the two study teams was countered by the presence of other factors such as neighbourhood and kinship, which created a bond among members. However, it should showed up as a significant variable in the sample survey. As for the other variables, the results indicated that the existence of the labour teams and the degree of cooperation achieved were the result of (1) the necessity for the timely accomplishment of farm tasks; (2) a zero elasticity of substitution between labour and machinery; (3) the realization of both associational and scale economies; (4) low transaction costs; and (5) the existence of a non-calculative atmosphere.


At the peak of the migration crisis in Europe in 2015, the United Kingdom (UK) received 32,733 asylum seeker applications, its highest number of applications since 2004; it has the ninth highest number of applications in the EU (Home Office 2016b). People seeking asylum in the UK may be detained (and re-detained) at any point in the process of their claims. But asylum seekers are not the only people in detention. Anyone subject to UK immigration control can be detained for administrative reasons, with no forewarning or permission to collect one's personal belongings, if already residing in the country, and no time limit in detention. Ensuing removal orders to one's country of origin can also be enforced with advanced notice anywhere between three months and a few hours prior to being escorted to the airport.

Migrants caught in this system of penal power live precarious lives of waiting and uncertainty causing negative impact on their mental health and personal relationships (Turnbull 2016). Detainees may be separated from their family members and/or children, who may be placed into the care system; or they may have arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied minor and, after turning 18 years old, risk being sent back to a country with which they no longer identify. Although social workers and other frontline service workers may support people who have been detained or are at risk of being detained, or their family members, little is discussed in social work practice about how both supporters and those being supported may be affected by the detention regime.

From an inter-disciplinary perspective, this chapter aims to enhance our understanding of how migrants and asylum seekers may be impacted by immigration detention and possible activities to support them in and beyond detention. It provides an overview of the characteristics of immigration detention in the UK and inter-connected web of supporting and monitoring actors and relations inherent to the regime. This chapter also aims to be person-centred and offer constructive, practical guidance for human service workers, whether social work practitioners, managers or academics, while challenging them to maintain a critical stance from the institutional structures and practices that may bound their thinking.

This chapter is organised as follows. In the first section, I provide an overview of who, why, how and where people may be detained. I emphasise the negative impact of detention on the emotional and mental well-being of detainees, particularly vulnerable people such as asylum seekers, women, people already suffering physical or mental health issues prior to detention (Bosworth and Kellezi 2015), and 'adults at risk' (Home Office 2016a, section 11). In the second section, I describe how the support services each facility offers detainees differs depending upon the contractor for custodial care and operations tendered by the Home Office. I draw upon my three-year doctoral research with Yarl's Wood Befrienders (YWB), a voluntary organisation that provides emotional support through a volunteer visiting scheme for detainees in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre (hereafter 'Yarl's Wood'). YWB is highlighted as an example of complementary voluntary sector support services that fills gaps in services offered by the centre to help detainees better cope with detention and decrease isolation (Vincett 2017). In the final section, I discuss factors to consider for frontline service providers (practitioners and managers), social workers, and academics/students working with people who are at risk of being detained, currently in detention, about to be removed from the UK, or recently released in the British community. I argue that 'going the extra mile' requires empathy, resilience and safeguarding of those coping with the challenges of detention, but also self-care of the supporter. I conclude with key practical lessons to take away from this chapter.


Key words: reef fish, spawning aggregations, Seychelles
Many coral reef fish species aggregate at specific times and locations for the purpose of spawning. This study examined the spatial and temporal distribution of spawning aggregations in the Seychelles. An interview-based survey of the principal stakeholders, mainly artisanal fishers, yielded 89 reports of aggregation fishing for 26 demersal and semi-pelagic fish species. Grouper aggregations were largely concentrated in the outer coralline islands of the exclusive economic zone, whilst those of snappers and rabbitfishes were mainly reported from locations on the Seychelles Bank. The spatial patterns among fish families were attributed to a combination of differences in species abundance and distribution as well as variation in fishing effort. Spawning periodicity reported by fishers indicated that for snappers and rabbitfishes, the most activity occurred across a protracted period of October to April/May, with peaks in activity at either end of that period. Grouper spawning activity was concentrated in the northeast monsoon months of November to January. The findings of this study suggest that several spawning aggregations are targeted by fishers on a regular basis, a practice that constitutes a primary issue for artisanal fisheries research and management in the Seychelles. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science Vol.3(1) 2004: 63-69


The availability of precise, impartial and credible information is crucial to building knowledge and empowering citizens to make rational individual and collective decisions. For this reason, the usefulness of information for satisfying identified needs is strongly dependent on the appropriateness of its presentation (language, format, and consideration of cultural and religious sensitivities) and its accessibility (cost of acquiring, mode of dissemination, location of distribution). Nigeria is a country characterised by wide-scale poverty, unemployment, crime, high maternal and infant mortality rates, and high fertility rates - especially in the North-West. Despite the concerted efforts of government agencies, non-government organisations (NGOs), charities and international organisations to reduce fertility and promote family planning (FP), utilisation remains low. Culture, religion, fear of medical side-effects and the dominant decision-making influence of men have repeatedly been identified by researchers as barriers to the adoption of FP by parents and prospective parents in the region. Information-seeking behaviour (ISB) has consistently been recognised as pivotal to developing effective initiatives for promoting sustainable and healthy populations, yet take-up of FP remains low in developing countries, including Nigeria, especially in rural communities. This thesis uses the Information Seeking and Communication Model (ISCM) to analyse the ISB of men and women in the rural Local Government Area of Zaria, northern Nigeria. Thematic analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews revealed evident disparities in the behaviours and choices of favoured advice-givers. While married couples' ISB and major FP sources were more informal than formal – privileging anecdote, received wisdom and personal experience over 'official' advice from government or health professionals - men favoured the authority of religious leaders or community-based sources (e.g. village heads), while women preferred to rely on informal advice sources. However, single men and women's ISB and information sources were majorly semi-formal, in avoidance of being described as deviants in the society. Distrust for government and practical barriers to accessing information (e.g. distance from health centres or problems with understanding the formats of pamphlets and translating literature written in non-native languages) were revealed to be the most significant barriers to the uptake of more formal FP advice. The study ends by recommending a series of possible improvements to the FP communication process, by making information more accessible to the critical sub-groups identified, while also being sensitive to cultural and religious values, so as to better engage with 'hard to reach' individuals and communities.


Background and Aims: Metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) is a crucial factor determining patient survival. Repurposing of the antipsychotic agent penfluridol has been found to be effective in the inhibition of various cancers. Herein, we addressed the therapeutic potential of penfluridol on the invasion/metastasis of LADC cells harboring different epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation statuses. Methods: MTS viability, transwell migration and invasion, and tumor endothelium adhesion assays were employed to determine cytotoxic and antimetastatic effects of penfluridol on LADC cells. Protease array, Western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF) staining, and expression knockdown by shRNA or exogenous overexpression by DNA plasmid transfection were performed to explore the underlying mechanisms, both in vitro and in vivo. Results: We found that nontoxic concentrations of penfluridol reduced the migration, invasion and adhesion of LADC cells. Protease array screening identified matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) as a potential target to modulate the motility and adhesion of LADC cells. Additionally, we found that MMP-12 exhibited the most significantly adverse prognostic effect in LADC among 39 cancer types. Mechanistic investigations revealed that penfluridol inhibited the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)/uPA receptor/transforming growth factor-β/Akt axis to downregulate MMP-12 expression and, subsequently, reverse MMP-12-induced epithelialmesenchymal transition (EMT). Subsequent analysis of clinical LADC samples revealed a positive correlation between MMP12 and mesenchymal-related gene expression levels. A lower survival rate was found in LADC patients with a SNAl1high/ MMP12high profile compared to those with a SNAl1low/ MMP12low profile. Conclusions: Our results indicate that MMP-12 may serve as a useful biomarker for LADC progression and as a promising penfluridol target for treating metastatic LADC. P2-34 | Differential gene expression in airway epithelial cells after preterm birth


Background Tuberculosis (TB) is global health concern and a leading infectious cause of mortality. Reversing TB incidence and disease-related mortality is a major global health priority. Infectious disease mortality is directly linked to failure to adhere to treatments. Using technology to send reminders by short message services have been shown to improve treatment adherence. However, few studies have examined tuberculosis patient perceptions and attitudes towards using SMS technology to increase treatment adherence. In this study, we sought to investigate perceptions related to feasibility and acceptability of using text messaging to improve treatment adherence among adults who were receiving treatment for TB in Callao, Peru. Methods We conducted focus group qualitative interviews with current TB positive and non-contagious participants to understand the attitudes, perceptions, and feasibility of using short message service (SMS) reminders to improve TB treatment adherence. Subjects receiving care through the National TB Program were recruited through public health centers in Ventanilla, Callao, Peru. In four focus groups, we interviewed 16 patients. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic network analysis and codebook techniques were used to analyze data. Results Three major themes emerged from the data: limits on health literacy and information posed challenges to successful TB treatment adherence, treatment motivation at times facilitated adherence to TB treatment, and acceptability of SMS including positive perceptions of SMS to improve TB treatment adherence. The majority of patients shared considerations about how to effectively and confidentially administer an SMS intervention with TB positive participants. Conclusion The overall perceptions of the use of SMS were positive and indicated that SMS technology may be an efficient way to transmit motivational texts on treatment, health education information, and simple reminders to increase treatment adherence for low-income TB patients living in Peru.


: The paraffin slide culture technique has provided a means of greatly increasing the effectiveness of the paraffin baiting procedure in the identification of Nocardia asteroides. This has been accomplished with paraffin coated slides rather than the conventional paraffin coated rods, which allows for direct microscopic examination of the "in situ" growth because of its flat surface. This microscopic examination is further facilitated by staining with Kinyoun Acid-fast Stain, or combines three important elements necessary for the identification of Nocardia asteroides, namely; "in situ" morphology, acid-fastness and Auramine fluorescence. The conventional paraffin coated rod only shows the ability of Nocardia asteroides to utilize paraffin as a carbon source, and tells nothing about "in situ" morphology, acid-fastness, and fluorescence with Auramine Fluorochrome.


Plants contain a large number of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters belonging to different subclasses. AtPDR8 is the only member of the pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) ABC transporter subclass in Arabidopsis that is constitutively highly expressed. In transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring the AtPDR8 promoter fused to beta-glucuronidase (GUS), reporter expression was shown to be strong in the stomata and hydathode. In the stomata, transcripts of AtPDR8 were particularly frequent in the cells surrounding air spaces. Subcellular fractionation and immunochemical analysis showed that AtPDR8 was localized in the plasma membrane. When a knockout mutant of AtPDR8 (atpdr8) was infected with bacterial and oomycete pathogens, the plants exhibited chlorotic lesions and a hypersensitive response (HR)-like cell death. Cell death was detected in the atpdr8 mutants within 10 h of infection with the virulent bacterial pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae. As a result, the growth of P. syringae in the leaves of the atpdr8 mutant was reduced to 1% of that in the wild type. The defense response genes, PR-1, PR-2, PR-5, VPEgamma, AtrbohD and AtrbohF were highly expressed when the mutant plants were grown under non-sterile conditions. The expression of the AtPDR8 gene was enhanced by infection of virulent and avirulent bacterial pathogens. Our results indicate that AtPDR8 is a key factor controlling the extent of cell death in the defense response and suggest that AtPDR8 transports some substance(s) which is closely related to the response of plants to pathogens.


Structure prediction complemented by density functional theory (DFT) calculation indicates that TeSe2 is the most stable among the various Te(1−x)Sex compounds. Different from the case of bulk Te, the material can equally adopt three different crystal structures: HγT, MH, and Mβα phases, which are similar to 1T-TiSe2, trigonal Te, and orthorhombic Te, respectively. These phases can be transformed from one to another by uniaxial tensile and shear stress of less than 1 MPa; they can be even transformed to their chiral mirror images. Band structure calculations including spin–orbit coupling (SOC) show that all three phases are semiconductors. The band gap (= 0.43 eV) increases with density, being the largest (= 1.86 eV) in the Mβα phase with the highest density. The HγT phase exhibits a hidden spin texture because of centrosymmetry. The other two phases display chiral spin texture due to the lack of symmetry, in that two spin components of frontier bands can split by more than 100 meV in opposite directions.


Material selection for off-highway heavy duty engine bearing applications is becoming more complex as there is a growing requirement to replace the traditionally utilized copper-lead based lining alloys due to adverse health and environmental concerns surrounding heavy metals. Although upcoming legislation is increasing the drive to find alternative lead-free solutions these have not been well adopted for all applications as there are limited products available that are matched to the excellent performance of leaded materials in tolerance to debris, ability to conform and prevention of seizure events.
 This paper details the development of a new lead-free bronze alloy with a focus on improvements in conformability and seizure resistance compared to current lead-free materials. A new alloy composition is introduced which contains bismuth soft phase with optimized tin content which when combined with a lead-free electroplated overlay presents a robust material for applications where seizure performance might be a concern.
 The present development provides a suitable product that will enable the future-proofing of off-highway heavy duty applications and offers a solution to inevitable future restrictions surrounding leaded materials. Results from bespoke rig testing and engine testing are detailed that support the material development.


Manufacturing companies need to be able to respond to customer demand quickly
and accurately. This requires the capability to manage product data effectively.
Product Data Management (PDM) systems have been identified as a solution to
deliver this capability by providing the right information to the right people at the
right time and in the right format.
The foundation of this research is that the concept of PDM is relevant and important
within the product development process. This research focuses upon how the PDM
concept is applied in practice to define and configure products and how it can be
integrated with other major information systems to enable an enterprise wide
information system. To enable the research aim, an extensive review of literature
was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of PDM in enhancing the product
definition process and in creating an interface between different business functional
areas.
A survey ofPDM system usage was undertaken aimed at identifying the current level
of PDM usage within manufacturing enterprises in the UK. This was followed up by
three industrial case studies to provide some degrees of validation of the results
obtained. A need for effective one time order capture was identified from the three
case studies which led to the development of a model specification for a late product
configuration tool. A prototype system was produced to validate the design
specification and was successfully demonstrated to a collaborating company. During
the submission of this thesis, the collaborating company and the university are
working on funding a project to pursue with its implementation.
The work undertaken has firmly established the relevance ofPDM within the product
development process and the importance of effective interfaces between PDM and
other manufacturing information systems. The research will be of interest to small
and medium sized manufacturing companies searching solutions for improving the
management of their product data to enhance product definition and configuration.


In the present work, the forced-convection heat transfer features of different nanofluids in a circular channel with porous baffles are numerically investigated. Nanofluid flow in the porous area is simulated by the simultaneous use of Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer and two-phase mixture models. The flow is considered to be laminar, two-dimensional, steady, axially symmetric, and incompressible. The simulations are conducted in fluent software and by using the finite volume method and SIMPLE algorithm. The influences of various parameters, including Reynolds number, volume fractions of nanoparticles, Darcy number, porous region height, and various nanofluid types on the nanofluid flows and their thermal energy transfer features, are investigated. Results show that porous blocks significantly change the flow characteristics and thermal energy transfer features. For instance, at low Darcy numbers, the permeability of the porous region decreases, and the porous baffles have greater resistance against the nanofluid flow. As a result, the vortex area becomes stronger and taller, and streamlines near obstacles are tighter. However, in high Darcy numbers, due to the high permeability of the porous medium, the flow will be the same as the flow in the channel without barriers, and the porous baffles will not have much influence on the flow. For example, at Darcy number Da = 10−4 the vortex area almost disappears. The growth of conductivity ratio increases the local Nu in the vicinity of the barriers. Properties of the porous medium and nanofluid flow affect the thermal energy transfer rate, and it can be improved by making appropriate changes to these features.