The quest for predictive indicators for the collapse of coal mines has led to a robust criterion from scale-model tests in the laboratory. Mechanical collapse under uniaxial stress forms avalanches with a power-law probability distribution function of radiated energy P∼E^{-}^{ɛ}, with exponent ɛ=1.5. Impending major collapse is preceded by a reduction of the energy exponent to the mean-field value ɛ=1.32. Concurrently, the crackling noise increases in intensity and the waiting time between avalanches is reduced when the major collapse is approaching. These latter criteria were so-far deemed too unreliable for safety assessments in coal mines. We report a reassessment of previously collected extensive collapse data sets using "record-breaking analysis," based on the statistical appearance of "superjerks" within a smaller spectrum of collapse events. Superjerks are defined as avalanche signals with energies that surpass those of all previous events. The final major collapse is one such superjerk but other "near collapse" events equally qualify. In this way a very large data set of events is reduced to a sparse sequence of superjerks (21 in our coal sample). The main collapse can be anticipated from the sequence of energies and waiting times of superjerks, ignoring all weaker events. Superjerks are excellent indicators for the temporal evolution, and reveal clear nonstationarity of the crackling noise at constant loading rate, as well as self-similarity in the energy distribution of superjerks as a function of the number of events so far in the sequence E_{sj}∼n^{δ} with δ=1.79. They are less robust in identifying the precise time of the final collapse, however, than the shift of the energy exponents in the whole data set which occurs only over a short time interval just before the major event. Nevertheless, they provide additional diagnostics that may increase the reliability of such forecasts.


e20190686 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0034-7167-2019-0686 7 of ABSTRACT Objective: To know the experiences and perceptions of nurses who care for dying cancer patients. Method: A descriptive, qualitative study, developed in a private hospital in Sao Paulo, with a total of nine nurses, aged between 24 and 46 years old, who participated in a semi-structured interview. Results: Through Bardin 's Content Analysis, three categories were highlighted: Death as a natural process and the final stage of the life cycle; Although it is difficult, it is important to get emotionally involved with dying patients and their family; and Reflecting on their experiences in the care of dying patients and their family. Final Considerations: The nurses' experiences and perceptions of the death of cancer patients showed the professional's involvement and feelings of anxiety and anguish. Adopting effective strategies to address people who are suffering, in the context of the study, can provide subsidies that will guide clinical practice in health. Descriptors: Nurses; Neoplasms; Death; Attitude to Death; Patient Care.


This study related ATP levels with membrane damage, lipid abnormalities, and cell death in energy-depleted LLC-PK1 cells. Oxidative phosphorylation was inhibited by antimycin A, and glycolysis was regulated by graded glucose deprivation to achieve stepwise ATP depletion. Over a range of ATP levels down to approximately equal to 5% of normal, over 5 h, cells were altered only minimally, or injured reversibly. Such cells maintained mitochondrial potential, and retained more K+ than cells without an energy source. Over the same duration, cells without an energy source were lethally injured. Treatment with antimycin induced increments of triglycerides and decreases of phospholipids. With severe ATP depletion (approximately equal to 5-10% of normal after 5 h), decrease of phospholipids was marked. Cells in which ATP was not measurable (or was less than 5% of normal) showed comparable phospholipid declines but, in addition, showed massive and progressive increase of unesterified fatty acids. The results identified a low threshold of ATP, at best 5-10% of normal, which preserved viability in LLC-PK1 cells despite major loss of membrane phospholipids. This threshold also determined the ability of cells to maintain their normally low levels of unesterified fatty acids. Failure of energy-dependent mechanisms that normally metabolize unesterified fatty acids may be a correlate of the extent of energy depletion that determines lethal injury.


The feasibility of the use of the Navier-Stokes equations in aerodynamic design is examined. The Navier-Stokes equations can include the rotational viscous physics at transonic speeds, and hence are expected to produce more reliable designs. The target pressure is specified and a least-squares optimization is used to minimize the pressure discrepancy between the target and designed airfoils. The sensitivity analysis which determines the response of the flow to a geometry perturbation is performed based on a finite-difference evaluation. The performance of the design method is evaluated with various design practices.


Aim of Study: The use of weighed food diaries in nutritional studies provides a powerful method to quantify food and nutrient intakes. Yet, mapping these records onto food composition tables (FCTs) is a challenging, time-consuming and error-prone process. Experts make this effort manually and no automation has been previously proposed. Our study aimed to assess automated approaches to map food items onto FCTs. Methods: We used food diaries (~170,000 records pertaining to 4,200 unique food items) from the DiOGenes randomized clinical trial. We attempted to map these items onto six FCTs available from the EuroFIR resource. Two approaches were tested: the first was based solely on food name similarity (fuzzy matching). The second used a machine learning approach (C5.0 classifier) combining both fuzzy matching and food energy. We tested mapping food items using their original names and also an English-translation. Top matching pairs were reviewed manually to derive performance metrics: precision (the percentage of correctly mapped items) and recall (percentage of mapped items). Results: The simpler approach: fuzzy matching, provided very good performance. Under a relaxed threshold (score > 50%), this approach enabled to remap 99.49% of the items with a precision of 88.75%. With a slightly more stringent threshold (score > 63%), the precision could be significantly improved to 96.81% while keeping a recall rate > 95% (i.e., only 5% of the queried items would not be mapped). The machine learning approach did not lead to any improvements compared to the fuzzy matching. However, it could increase substantially the recall rate for food items without any clear equivalent in the FCTs (+7 and +20% when mapping items using their original or English-translated names). Our approaches have been implemented as R packages and are freely available from GitHub. Conclusion: This study is the first to provide automated approaches for large-scale food item mapping onto FCTs. We demonstrate that both high precision and recall can be achieved. Our solutions can be used with any FCT and do not require any programming background. These methodologies and findings are useful to any small or large nutritional study (observational as well as interventional).


The application of the finite element method to electromagnetic problems often yields a sparse, positive definite, symmetric. and very high order system of linear algebraic equations. Solving such a system is a major computational task. The SSOR preconditioner is applied to vector FEM for analysis of large 3-dimensional Helmholtz vector equations in electromagnetic boundary value problems.


Career advancement prospects rank high in the order of importance to every enthusiastic person when they enter a profession. This is so because the new entrant may be looking for upward mobility in his/her chosen profession or career. Opportunities for career advancement must be sought for and be known, or explained to, such new staff. To some personnel, the future prospects available for job mobility must be seriously examined at the beginning. Career advancement is affected by the following factors: Job performance; Contextual performance; Gender; Characteristics of human capital; Mentors, networking and commitment to development; Commitment to career development and career orientations; Satisfaction with the psychological contract; Selection criteria and methods; Organizational technology; Human resource planning; Organizational restructuring. Career plateau which involves employees stagnating temporarily or permanently in their careers is a serious career management problem that many employees are facing. This not only affects individual employees in terms of reduced morale, but organizations as well due to decline in productivity. Does the severity of this problem depend on gender or age of the employees? Future researchers can consider establishing if there is a relationship between biographical variables and severity of career plateau problem.


X zeolite behaves excellent properties of shape selective catalysis, molecular sieves and iron-exchange for its unique tunnel structure and large specific surface area. In this paper magnetic core has been introduced into the zeolite structure and magnetic zeolite with high stability and adsorption properties have been prepared. Synthesis conditions and adsorption of Pb2+ also have been studied. Magnetic zeolite composite was hydrothermally synthesized with a traditional hydrothermal method by adding magnetic Fe3O4 suspension in the zeolite synthesis system. Synthesis conditions and adsorption of Pb2+ also have been studied. The products were characterized with X Ray diffraction (XRD), IR spectrometer (IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), Thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) instruments. The results show that the products have an X zeolite crystal structure and present super paramagnetic properties. The saturation magnetization value of the product is about 3.7 emu•g-1. The weight ratio of magnetic Fe3O4 in the magnetic zeolite composite is calculated to be about 5%. The magnetic zeolite composites have high surface area and the absorption capability of the products is 196.8mg/g.


This paper compares disability perceptions of Black with white older cancer survivors' to document racial disparities in these perceptions and the factors that contribute to them. The data are from a randomly selected tumor registry sample of 321 older adult cancer survivors from an NCI funded study. OLS regression models of disability perceptions, nested by race, examined the effects cancer and non-cancer health factors along with important covariates. Black older adult cancer survivors perceived themselves to be more disabled than did white survivors. Multivariate analyses showed a strong relationship between functional difficulties and disability perceptions for both Black and white survivors. However cancer-related factors such as continuing symptoms of the illness or treatment were relatively more important for Blacks. The findings suggest that race and cancer are both important factors in our understanding of disability in later life. These findings can then inform clinical best practices among minority older adults.


In this report we present findings from Phase IV of a programme of work assessing the economic impact of early intervention (EI) services for people with psychosis. We have focussed on the following areas: (i) the impact of EI on vocational outcomes, (ii) the impact of EI on homicide costs, (iii) the impact of EI on suicide costs, and (iv) the long-term economic impact of EI. The main findings are as follows: (i) EI results in substantially reduced costs of lost employment. This is due to estimated employment rates of 36% and 27% for EI and standard care respectively. Using a minimum wage rate the average savings are £2087 in addition to healthcare savings previously demonstrated. (ii) The cost of homicide is low for both EI and standard care. However, for EI the annual costs of homicide (£6 per person) are £80 per person lower than for standard care (£86 per person). (iii) Suicide is assumed to occur for 1.3% of EI patients and 4% of standard care patients. The estimated annual saving in suicide costs due to EI is £957 per person. (iv) The long-term economic impact of EI depends on what happens to readmission rates after a patient is discharged from the EI team. If the readmission rates remain constant then the expected savings over eight years are £36,632. If rates converge immediately after EI team discharge the figure is £17,427. Finally, if the rates converge gradually the expected savings are £27,029. This paper has reinforced the findings from earlier work that EI is likely to have beneficial impacts. These will be experienced in terms of increased work, decreased suicide and decreased homicide.


Remembering to perform an intended task at the appropriate time (prospective memory) is an important aspect of memory functioning in the real world. Previous research has suggested that recreational drug use has a detrimental effect upon this ability. To date relatively few studies have investigated the effect of cannabis use on prospective memory performance. In addressing this hiatus, the present thesis extended this initial research to encompass three aims. Firstly, the thesis evaluated the psychometric properties of an objective prospective memory video procedure in order to mitigate criticisms associated with the use of self-report assessment of memory failures in many of these initial studies. Secondly, the thesis documents a series of quasi-experimental studies comparing cannabis users and non-users in order to examine the effect of cannabis use on prospective memory. Finally, the thesis explored the nature of the deficits observed in an attempt to better understand the neurobiological vulnerability of the cognitive processes underpinning prospective memory to the psychopharmacological effects of cannabis.

The findings across all of the studies documented suggested that cannabis use, even in relatively light users with short duration of use, has a detrimental effect on prospective memory in young adults. In addition, the findings presented suggested that the deficits observed in current cannabis users recover on cessation of cannabis use and that time-based prospective memory was more vulnerable to the effects of cannabis use than event-based prospective memory. Furthermore, the findings presented suggested that these deficits arise as a consequence of problems in retrieval of the intentions rather than problems in their encoding and that these retrieval problems arise as a consequence of failures in cue identification rather than problems retrieving the task to be performed. The findings presented found no evidence that the prospective memory deficits observed were related to the number of joints smoked per week, duration of use, estimated lifetime consumption or to the age at which cannabis use commenced. Although the scale of the deficits appeared trivial with cannabis users recalling, on average, only two items fewer than nonusers, the magnitude of the effect was moderate suggesting practical significance, particularly as the deficits were observed in independent cohorts comprising cannabis users with light use and relatively short duration of use.


Knitting is one of the most exciting textile technologies, due to its endless potential for various applications, from fashion industry to medical, industry, geotextiles, car upholstery ones. Knitting technologies are various and achieveing competencies in knitting products development is not an easy task for the enrolled students in the textile field. On the other hand, the level of competencies required from the textile engineers by the rapidly knitting industry progress, is high. Therefore, the higher education in the field must be strong correlated with the industry level and with the requests for high qualified personnel. In this context, the tutors must be creative in developing teaching and evaluating tools, for assesing the technical knowledge acquired by the students. Interactive lessons have been introduced to the learners, to provide them a sustainable training, independent of knitting and CAD laboratory and to meet their own studying rhythm. The relevant skills that students should achieve at laboratory classes for CAD knitting technology are concerning the design preparation with professional software, programming the design, design processing, setting the knitting parameters and manufacturing the fabric.

The paper highlights an interactive lesson, organised as an comprehensive guide for studying in details the group of weft knits with tuck patterns, produced on electronic flat knitting machines. Weft knitting represents a method of making a fabric by forming rows of stitches across its width, from the same yarn. In terms of work for fashion or technical applications, the tucks patterns demonstrate a good potential for design and functionality given to a product. Tuck stiches make the basic knit fabric wider, thicker and slightly less elastic. Tucks are usually patterned to increase fabric weight and thickness, to insert yarns difficult to knit, to knit-in intarsia yarns, to shorten long jacquard floats. The content of the laboratory class is covered by text information, drawings, flash animations of the loop formation, simulation of the knitted structure and demonstrative videos. This particular application deals with the: classification of weft knit patterns, principle of producing tuck stitches, design potential of tucks and applications of these fabrics. A self-assessment stage of the knowledge acquired during the course is completing the e-learning content, by using tests based on 'drag-and-drop" and "multiple choice" methods, reflecting thus the knowledge level, as an individual study result. The application is available for the students in html format, on the moodle paltform: http://www.moodle.tex.tuiasi.ro, and it is part of the module of "Advanced Knitting Technologies", developed within the project Adan2Tex, financed through the program Erasmus Plus, for supporting the professionals in the textile industry.


False information, rumours and hate speech can incite violent protest and rioting during electoral periods. To counter such disinformation, United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKOs) routinely organize election-education events. While researchers tend to study how PKOs affect armed group and state behaviour, this study shifts the focus to civilians. It argues that PKOs' election education reduces violent protest and rioting involving civilians during electoral periods via three pathways. First, learning about PKOs' electoral security assistance during election-education events may convince people that political opponents cannot violently disturb elections, thereby mitigating fears of election violence. Second, election-education events provide politically relevant information that can strengthen political efficacy and people's ability to make use of peaceful political channels. Finally, peace messages during election-education events can change people's calculus about the utility and appropriateness of violent behaviour. Together, these activities mitigate fears, reduce political alienation and counter civilians' willingness to get involved in violence. To test these expectations, I combine survey data on people' perceptions and attitudes, events data on violent protest and rioting, and a novel dataset on local-level election-education events carried out by the PKO in Côte d'Ivoire before four elections held between 2010 and 2016. The results show that when the PKO is perceived to be an impartial arbiter, its election-education events have violence-mitigating effects at the individual and subnational levels.


Forty patients with neurosensory hearing disorders of vascular genesis were examined and divided into two groups. Patients with tone hearing disorders in conventional (0.125-8 kHz) and extended (9-16 kHz) frequency ranges entered group 1, those with such disorders in the extended range--group 2. Patients of group 1 had more pronounced cardiovascular dysfunction. Control group consisted of 15 persons with normal hearing. Electroencephalography (EEG) has shown that initial neurosensory hearing disorders were accompanied with redistribution of the main EEG rhythms especially in group 1. Compared to controls, these patients demonstrated significantly (p<0.05) reduced representation of alpha-rhythm while that of beta-activity rose showing involvement of cerebral cortical structures. Adequate preventive measures in patients with initial neurosensory hearing disorders of vascular genesis are able to protect such patients against development of neurosensory hypoacusis of vascular genesis.


Although monocytes have previously been demonstrated to contribute to lymphatic vessel formation in vivo, monocyte transdifferentiation into lymphatic endothelial cells and the specific conditions required remain unclear. In this study, monocyte cultures isolated from human peripheral blood were stimulated to transdifferentiate into lymphatic endothelial cells under specific in vitro induction conditions. These results demonstrate primary isolates of CD14 (+) monocytes express low levels of lymphatic endothelial cell specific markers or pan-endothelial markers under routine culture conditions. Using fibronectin (FN) coated flasks and EGM-2 supplemented culture medium, monocytes were induced to express lymphatic endothelial markers Prox-1, VEGFR-3, LYVE-1, Podoplanin, and pan-endothelial markers vWF, CD144, and VEGFR-2. Furthermore, using the FN/EGM-2/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) culture conditions, monocytes displayed dramatically increased expressions of Prox-1, VEGFR-3, Podoplanin, LYVE-1 and vWF, while the expression of CD144 and VEGFR-2 sharply decreased. In addition, VEGF-C secretion by monocytes exposed to fibronectin coated plates with EGM-2 medium with FN/EGM-2/LPS in vitro was significantly increased over levels seen in routine culture conditions. These findings demonstrate that monocytes can be induced to undergo transdifferentiation becoming more lymphatic endothelial-like cells and increase their VEGF-C production in an FN/EGM-2/LPS environment.


Compressed air energy storage in porous media (PM-CAES) has recently been suggested as a promising alternative to existing CAES plants. PM-CAES incurs repetitive two-phase fluid flow caused by the cyclic injection and withdrawal of air to/from the porous medium that is initially saturated with the formation water during the operation. Therefore, predicting the overall macro-scale performance of porous media for energy storage requires a better understanding of repetitive two-phase fluid flow in the pore network at the fundamental pore-scale level. To answer this need, we conducted an experimental study using the microfluidics technology; we constructed polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based micromodels with two different geometries (Type I: circular solids and Type II: square solids) and three different structural heterogeneities (coefficient of variation: COV=0, 0.25 and 0.5). Then, we applied a total of ten injection-withdrawal cycles to each micromodel (i.e. , ten cyclic drainage-imbibition processes) at different flow rate conditions (Q =0.01 and 0.1 ml/min). It was observed that the displacement patterns of the initially residing fluid (wetting fluid; oil in this study) and the injected fluid (non-wetting fluid; water in this study) were greatly influenced by the geometry and heterogeneity of the pore structure, and imposed flow rate. Results such as the effective sweep efficiency and residual saturation of the non-wetting fluid were analyzed at each drainage-imbibition cycle to aid in understanding the impact of repetitive fluid flow. The experimental observations imply that the flow rate and structural heterogeneity may influence the efficiency of PM-CAES more than the pore geometry does.


Using a broad multi-country sample we find that individuals who contribute to the public good of environmental protection report higher levels of life satisfaction and happiness. We provide several pieces of evidence that this positive relationship between contributions and well-being is due to a warm-glow motive. First, well-being does not increase proportionally with contributions, consistent with the warm-glow assumption that it is the act of giving that generates utility. Second, individuals who think of themselves as socially responsible derive greater satisfaction from their contribution to environmental protection as would be the case if the contribution reinforces a favorable self image. Interestingly, conforming to a social norm may be a motivation for some individuals, but the presence of this motive depends on individual attitudes towards social responsibility. Among those who express the highest level of social responsibility, conforming to the norm makes them less satisfied with life. However, individuals with a moderate level of social responsibility do report higher levels of happiness when their public goods contributions conform to societal norms.


Information and Network Security Management (Strategic Concept Applications) Second Edition is a comprehensive, modern and resourceful textbook for both undergraduate and graduate students. This book provides a unique, in-depth look at the business challenges and Information security strategic concept currently being applied in various organizations, including Software and Database security concepts, and how other security protocols vulnerabilities are exploited through unethical hacking and cracking activities. The hands-on activities, PowerPoint presentation for Instructors and Students support questions and answers can be requested directly from the author. Key features in this textbook include various security protocols and architecture definitions to understanding what Information Security and Assurance are. This book veered deeply into specifics of Network security in information processing and Management. This textbook teaches and focuses on the techniques, policies, operational procedures, and technologies needed to design, implement, administer, secure, and troubleshoot Computer networks and common security procedures. Topics like Information Security Requirements and Threats, Network Security Assessments, Risk and Threat Analysis, Security against common Network attacks, Principles of Cryptography in Internetworking, Intrusion Detection Systems and Management and other important security and management procedures were analyzed. Students and other IT and security professionals will find this textbook exceedingly useful.


Abstract When two or more stimuli are presented to describe a hypothetical person, people often report their impression of the person as if they are averaging these stimuli. The weighted averaging model of impression formation (N. Anderson, 1981) fits empirical data; however, it has been criticized for its lack of psychological plausibility. A psychological process model of the averaging phenomenon is presented, which combines the heteroassociative matrix memory model (Anderson, 1972) and a distributed representational adaptation of the variable perspective model (Upshaw, 1962). The model proposed here is consistent with the weighted averaging model and can explain empirical findings about order effects in impression formation that are inconsistent with the anchoring-adjustment model (Hastie, 1988). The model also predicts time variability and response dependency, which are not predicted by existing models of prototype production (a task similar to impression formation). The results of an experiment are reported in support of the present model.


Critics have debated at length whether George Fox's Journal is primarily to be understood within the tradition of seventeenth-century autobiographical writing, or as an historical account of the early Quaker movement. This article suggests that this is a false dichotomy, and argues instead that the Journal might be reconceived as a 'technology of presence': that is, in its attention both to the figure of Fox and to the detailed chronicling of time and place, its principal narrative impetus was to record, demonstrate and reproduce the presence of the returned and indwelling Christ. The Journal thus constitutes, in its form and narrative procedure, an enactment of core Quaker belie£


Previous studies on Diptera have shown the potential for the use of cuticular hydrocarbons' analysis in the determination of larval age and hence the postmortem interval (PMI) for an associated cadaver. In this work, hydrocarbon compounds, extracted daily until pupation from the cuticle of the blowfly Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae), have been analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The results show distinguishing features within the hydrocarbon profile over the period of the larvae life cycle, with significant chemical changes occurring from the younger larvae to the postfeeding larvae. Further interpretation of the chromatograms using principal component analysis revealed a strong correlation between the magnitudes of particular principal components and time. This outcome suggests that, under the conditions of this study, the cuticular hydrocarbons evolve in a systematic fashion with time, thus supporting the potential for GC–MS analysis as a tool for establishing PMI where such a species is present.


ABSTRACT Various tectonic models have been proposed to account for the widely distributed igneous activities in the southeastern part of the South China Block (SCB) during the Triassic–Jurassic period. One of the major contending debates is on the timing of initiation of the palaeo-Pacific plate subduction under the SCB, due to lack of unequivocal evidence for arc magmatism during the period in this region. The 191 ± 10 Ma (N = 5, MSWD = 12) calc-alkalic high-K I-type Talun metagranite occurs in the southern Tailuko belt of the Tananao metamorphic complex, Taiwan. In terms of age, this metagranite belongs to the Early Yanshanian igneous activity in the southeastern part of the SCB. However, its geographic position does not accord with the well-known general oceanward younging trend of the Yansnanian igneous rocks. In view of the large age uncertainty reported, this metagranite is redated in this study. Some zircons of this metagranite are high in U content and are metamict. Zircons with low U contents are analysed by SHRIMP yielding a more precise age of 200 ± 2 Ma (N = 10, MSWD = 4). In particular, the εHf(t) of these dated zircons ranges from +4.5 to +12.9. The metagranite mainly consists of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, with minor amounts of garnet, biotite, zircon, apatite, and pyrrhotite. Chlorite and calcite are secondary phases overprinted by the later tectonic event(s). Its initial Sr isotope compositional range is 0.70473–0.70588, and εNd(t), +2.4 to +3.6. The results demonstrate that the genesis of this metagranite could be attributed to the assimilation-fractionation of a depleted mantle-derived basaltic magma, which was most likely related to arc magmatism. The present study therefore offers key evidence that during the Mesozoic, the palaeo-Pacific plate subduction underneath the SCB would have taken place no later than the very early Jurassic.


Unlike standard cameras that send intensity images at a constant frame rate, event-driven cameras asynchronously report pixel-level brightness changes, offering low latency and high temporal resolution (both in the order of micro-seconds). As such, they have great potential for fast and low power vision algorithms for robots. Visual tracking, for example, is easily achieved even for very fast stimuli, as only moving objects cause brightness changes. However, cameras mounted on a moving robot are typically non-stationary and the same tracking problem becomes confounded by background clutter events due to the robot ego-motion. In this paper, we propose a method for segmenting the motion of an independently moving object for event-driven cameras. Our method detects and tracks corners in the event stream and learns the statistics of their motion as a function of the robot's joint velocities when no independently moving objects are present. During robot operation, independently moving objects are identified by discrepancies between the predicted corner velocities from ego-motion and the measured corner velocities. We validate the algorithm on data collected from the neuromorphic iCub robot. We achieve a precision of ∼ 90% and show that the method is robust to changes in speed of both the head and the target.


Experimental data from the Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider suggest that the quark gluon plasma behaves almost like an ideal fluid. Due to its short lifetime, many QGP properties can only be inferred indirectly through a comparison of the final state measurements with transport model calculations. Among the current phenomena of interest are the interdependences between two collective flow phenomena, elliptic and triangular flow. The former is mostly related to the initial geometry and collective expansion of the system whereas the latter is sensitive to the fluctuations of the initial state. For our investigation we use a hybrid transport model based on the ultra-relativistic quantum molecular dynamics (UrQMD) transport approach using an ideal hydrodynamic expansion for the hot and dense stage. Using UrQMD initial conditions for an Au–Au collision, particles resulting from a collision are mapped into an energy density distribution that is evolved event-by-event with a hydrodynamic calculation. By averaging these distributions over different numbers of events, we have studied how the granularity/smoothness of the distribution affects the initial eccentricity, the initial triangularity, and the resulting flow components. The average elliptic flow in non-central collisions is not sensitive to the granularity, while triangular flow is. The triangularity might thus provide a good measure of the amount of initial state fluctuations that is necessary to reproduce the experimental data.


The velocity and angular velocity autocorrelation functions obtained by molecular-dynamics simulations of liquids composed of hard spheroids indicate the existence of damped oscillations with periods as long as 40 times the mean time between molecular collisions. In addition, little correlation is found between successive collisions. This suggests that the damped oscillations are not due to semicoherent molecular librations in cells.


Cells are physically contacting with each other. Direct and precise quantification of forces at cell–cell junctions is still challenging. Herein, we have developed a DNA-based ratiometric fluorescent probe, termed DNAMeter, to quantify intercellular tensile forces. These lipid-modified DNAMeters can spontaneously anchor onto live cell membranes. The DNAMeter consists of two self-assembled DNA hairpins of different force tolerance. Once the intercellular tension exceeds the force tolerance to unfold a DNA hairpin, a specific fluorescence signal will be activated, which enables the real-time imaging and quantification of tensile forces. Using E-cadherin-modified DNAMeter as an example, we have demonstrated an approach to quantify, at the molecular level, the magnitude and distribution of E-cadherin tension among epithelial cells. Compatible with readily accessible fluorescence microscopes, these easy-to-use DNA tension probes can be broadly used to quantify mechanotransduction in collective cell behaviors.


The use of robots in aviation is widespread, for use as targets, decoys, remote sensing, reconnaissance, and increasingly for combat missions. Robots come in all forms and capabilities, from handheld micro air vehicles to hypersonic versions capable of high altitude long distance missions. At the same time, ground-based robots have proven effective for both military and civilian applications such as manufacturing and remote sensing / manipulations. Certainly, Talon and Packbot robots have proven their worth in battle conditions. Just as there is great variance in the type of robot being developed and utilized, so too is there tremendous variation operator requirements. Thus, it is essential the individual possess the requisite knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics to do so. Our work specifies the requirements for a prototypical robot operator through an examination of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration's Occupational Information Network (O*NET). The applicable aviation occupations include UAV operations and also many other robots used in the aviation domain. Results yield the following for operator characteristics. Knowledge : The high frequency types are mechanical, production and processing, computers and electronics. Skills : high language component with high active learning, active listening and reading comprehension, critical thinking and mathematics. Abilities : Seven specific types cognitive ability are deemed important: problem sensitivity, information ordering, oral comprehension, deductive reasoning, oral expression, inductive reasoning, and written comprehension. Our paper documents the full operator profile that can be used for a variety of purposes including selection, training, and human factors design and specifications.


Circuity, the ratio of network distances to straight-line distances, is an important measure of urban street network structure and transportation efficiency. Circuity results from a circulation network's configuration, planning, and underlying terrain. In turn, it impacts how humans use urban space for settlement and travel. Although past research has examined overall street network circuity, researchers have not studied the relative circuity of walkable versus drivable circulation networks. This study uses OpenStreetMap data to explore relative network circuity. We download walkable and drivable networks for 40 US cities using the OSMnx software, which we then use to simulate four million routes and analyze circuity to characterize network structure. We find that walking networks tend to allow for more direct routes than driving networks do in most cities: average driving circuity exceeds average walking circuity in all but four of the cities that exhibit statistically significant differences between network types. We discuss various reasons for this phenomenon, illustrated with case studies. Network circuity also varies substantially between different types of places. These findings underscore the value of using network-based distances and times rather than straight-line when studying urban travel and access. They also suggest the importance of differentiating between walkable and drivable circulation networks when modeling and characterizing urban street networks: although different modes' networks overlap in any given city, their relative structure and performance vary in most cities.


Machine tool selection process has been a critical issue for companies for years, since improper selection of a machine tool might cause many problems, affecting negatively the productivity, precision, flexibility and company's responsive manufacturing capabilities. On the other hand, selecting the best machine tool from its increasing number of existing alternatives in the market is a multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem in the presence of many quantitative and qualitative attributes. Therefore, most companies have utilized various methods to successfully carry out this difficult and time-consuming process. In this paper, both of the most used MCDM methods; the Analytic Network Process (ANP) and PROMETHEE II (Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enriching Evaluations) with fuzzy logic (F-ANP and F-PROMETHEE II) are integrated to present a performance analysis on machine tool selection problem. The F-ANP method is used to determine the relative weights of a set of multiple quantitative and qualitative criteria, as the F-PROMETHEE II method is utilized to rank competing alternatives in terms of a set of evaluation criteria in order to reach to the final solution. In addition, a case study is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach for potential practitioners and readers.


This paper proposes, through the combination of concepts and tools from different fields within the computer vision community, an alternative path to the selection of key points in face images. The classical way of attempting to solve the face recognition problem using algorithms which encode local information is to localize a predefined set of points in the image, extract features from the regions surrounding those locations, and choose a measure of similarity (or distance) between correspondent features. Our approach, namely shape-driven Gabor jets, aims at selecting an own set of points and features for a given client. After applying a ridges and valleys detector to a face image, characteristic lines are extracted and a set of points is automatically sampled from these lines where Gabor features (jets) are calculated. So each face is depicted by R2 points and their respective jets. Once two sets of points from face images have been extracted, a shape-matching algorithm is used to solve the correspondence problem (i.e., map each point from the first image to a point within the second image) so that the system is able to compare shape-matched jets. As a byproduct of the matching process, geometrical measures are computed and compiled into the final dissimilarity function. Experiments on the AR face database confirm good performance of the method against expression and, mainly, lighting changes. Moreover, results on the XM2VTS and BANCA databases show that our algorithm achieves better performance than implementations of the elastic bunch graph matching approach and other related techniques.


Purpose This study compared treatment patterns of Turkish patients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who were treated with innovator Remicade® (infliximab [IFX]) and either continued IFX or switched to CT-P13. Materials and methods Adult RA patients with ≥1 IFX claim were identified from the Turkish Ministry of Health database. Eligible patients initiated and continued IFX treatment (continuers cohort [CC]) or initiated IFX and switched to CT-P13 (switchers cohort [SC]) during the study period. The initial IFX claim date was defined as the index date. The switch/reference date was defined as the CT-P13 switch date for the SC or a random IFX date during the period of CT-P13 availability for the CC. Cohorts were matched by age, sex, and number of IFX prescriptions during baseline. Patient demographics, discontinuation, and switching were summarized. The baseline period was defined as the period from the index date to the switch/reference date. The follow-up period ranged from the switch/reference date to the end of data availability. Results After matching, 697 patients were selected: 605 patients for the CC and 92 patients for the SC. Mean IFX duration for the baseline period was 422 days in the CC and 438 days in the SC. Median time on any infused tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist therapy was 1,080 days in the CC and 540 days in the SC during the study period. During the follow-up period, discontinuation was lower in the CC (CC=33.9% vs SC=87.5%; P<0.001). The mean time to discontinuation was longer in the CC (CC=276 days vs SC=132 days; P<0.001). A switch to another biologic medication during the follow-up period was observed in 19.0% of patients in the CC (n=115) and 81.5% of patients in the SC (n=75; P<0.001). Conclusion Treatment patterns differed between patients prescribed IFX and CT-P13. In Turkey, RA patients maintained on IFX had greater treatment persistence (ie, fewer and later discontinuations) than those who initiated IFX and switched to CT-P13.


For a Markov decision problem in which unknown transition probabilities serve as hidden state variables, we study the quality of two approximations to the decision rule of a Bayesian who each period updates his subjective distribution over the transition probabilities by Bayes' law. The first is the usual rational expectations approximation that assumes that the decision maker knows the transition probabilities. The second approximation is a version of Kreps' (1998) anticipated utility model in which decision makers update using Bayes' law but optimize in a way that is myopic with respect to their updating of probabilities. For a range of consumption smoothing examples, the anticipated utility approximation outperforms the rational expectations approximation. The anticipated utility and Bayesian models augment market prices of risk relative to the rational expectations approximation.


To log into an application, users need quite often to have an account, i.e. usernames and passwords. This becomes a problem when the number of accounts keeps increasing. Mobile Connect offers a simple and fast way for users to log into an application by matching the users to their mobile phones. In order to achieve that the user should be authenticated by their Mobile Network Operator (MNO). Until now this happens with various methods, i.e. SMS, Smartphone App Authenticator (SAA), etc, which have either security or complexity issues. To address these drawbacks, we propose an alternative authentication method which utilize the EAP Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) mechanism of the 3rd generation mobile networks, specified for Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). We suggest this mechanism to be deployed as a SAA. What is more, for the EAP packets to be transferred through the internet, a method like HTTP Authentication with EAP or IPsec could be used.


Thiophene-containing molecular materials are recognised as efficient substrates in organic photovoltaics. Herein, we have demonstrated the effect of substitution patterns of thiophenes on the electron accepting ability of perylene bisimide derivatives, which in turn dictates the photovoltaic performance. The thiophene units were integrated through α- or β-positions on the 1- or 1,7-bay positions of perylene-bisimide through alkyne spacers in order to modulate the electronic properties of PBI. The target molecules are structurally robust as per electrochemical studies and exhibited broad absorption in the visible region. Better light harvesting ability and favourable LUMO energy levels render these dyads and triads suitable as electron acceptors in organic solar cells. Bulk heterojunction solar cells were constructed from thienyl–PBI (1–4) as acceptors and a polymer P as a donor. α-Linked 1 and 3 showed a PCE of 5.72% and 6.94% with a remarkable energy loss of 0.55 eV and 0.58 eV, respectively whereas, β-linked 2 and 4 showed an overall PCE of 4.93% and 6.06% with an energy loss of 0.52 eV and 0.54 eV, respectively.


Abstract The finding of a decrease in endometrial cancer incidence among breast cancer survivors following the use of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) has led to speculation that CHPs might play a role in breast cancer prevention. This study provides an overview of breast cancer incidence, comparing CHP users with those who do not use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), referred to as non-TCM users. The results can provide information to clinicians for counseling women about the preventive use of TCM. A total of 184,386 women (20–79 years of age) were recruited from a nationwide 1-million-person representative sample of those covered by National Health Insurance in Taiwan and were followed from 1999 to 2012. A total of 1853 incidents of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed. The person-year approach with the Poisson assumption was used to estimate the incidence density rate. The age-specific hazard ratios of breast cancer in relation to either CHP or siwutang (SWT) use were calculated with multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression. More than 78% of patients had used a CHP at some point previously. The overall incidence density rate of breast cancer for non-TCM users was estimated at 1.73 per 10,000 patient-years. The corresponding values for CHP and SWT users were lower than those of the non-TCM group (CHP group = 0.85; SWT group = 0.63 per 10,000 patient-years). The covariate adjusted HRs for breast cancer were 0.57 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50–0.65) and 0.36 (95% CI 0.28–0.46) in women using CHPs and SWT, respectively. The findings were confirmed using propensity score matching. Consumption of CHPs reduces the incidence of invasive breast cancer. Although the mechanism of action of these products is unclear, their use as a preventive agent for breast cancer is appropriate for many women at an increased risk of breast cancer.


Competition at elite level can require athletes to perform optimally in extreme environmental conditions. This review focuses on mood responses in such conditions and proposes practical guidelines for those working with athletes. Different environments are considered, including altitude and extreme heat and cold. Performing in extreme heat, cold or at altitude can produce a stress response characterized by increased negative mood and relatively poor performance. Positive adaptations to extreme conditions can be accelerated, but the rate of adaptation appears to be highly individualized. Monitoring mood responses to training under normal conditions provides a basis for identifying the psychological effects of extreme conditions. It is suggested that practitioners carefully monitor the interplay between vigour, fatigue and depressed mood. Reductions in vigour and increases in fatigue are normal responses to hard training, but other aspects of mood disturbance, especially symptoms of depressed mood - however small - may be indicative of a maladaptive response, and practitioners should consider intervening when such symptoms first appear.


Purpose
Since the 1990s, the International Olympic Committee has offered nations more medal-winning opportunities at every Winter Games. Meanwhile, many countries are constrained by their limited financial resources to target sports strategically. The purpose of this paper is to examine the targeting approaches to Olympic Winter Sports of National Sports Agencies (NSAs), and to identify the factors they assess in the decision-making process.

Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 decision makers of medal-winning NSAs at the 2014 Sochi Games. The data were then analysed with reference to strategic management in an approach which combines a resource-based view (RBV) with a market-based view (MBV) to build a competitive advantage.

Findings
The results show that NSAs, like firms, combine an internal analysis that reflects the RBV on resources and capabilities (e.g. athletes' performance per sport and sport-specific elite sport system), with an external analysis of the competitive environment that reflects an MBV (e.g. sport's medal market size and intensity of competition at Games) to target sports. Using this information, two phases were distinguished: first, the target sports are identified and finance is prioritised accordingly; second, the allocation of the nation's resources is constantly reviewed in order to optimise it.

Research limitations/implications
Even though social desirability bias in the responses could not be fully excluded, the findings can help policy-makers to distinguish between the internal and external factors identified in this study, and to make more strategic decisions by combining RBV and MBV approaches to build-up their nation's competitive advantage.

Originality/value
This paper models the targeting strategies of NSAs during an Olympic cycle by introducing the competitive positioning of firms to sports management.


A new three-dimensional object representation scheme called rectangular parallelepiped coding is presented. Rectangular parallelepiped coding is an extension to three-dimensional space of the two-dimensional rectangular coding scheme. It is a volume-based representation of three-dimensional objects constructed from three orthogonal views (silhouettes) of the object using volume intersection method and is coded as a list of rectangular parallelepipeds. The representation is versatile and easily edited. For the objects coded in this representation, the operations of translation, rotation, and scaling are easily performed and the properties of volume, surface, and moments are easily computed. Examples are given for which processing time and storage requirements are examined.


This Manual explains the thirty-six Rules of the Annex to the 2001 Convention entitled «Rules concerning activities directed at underwater cultural heritage». These Rules present a directly applicable operation scheme for underwater interventions. Over the years they have become a reference in the field of underwater archaeology.
In addition to elaborating on the ethical principles, the Manual offers a
series of guidelines concerning: project design; preliminary work; the formulation of project objectives, methodologies and techniques; fund raising and management; project scheduling; competence and qualification requirements; conservation and site management; documentation procedures;
safety standards; environmental considerations; reporting; curation of
project archives; and dissemination. This Manual is endorsed by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.


Many populations of invasive mice Mus musculus in New Zealand have experienced the removal of mammalian predators and competitors, with the consequence of mouse population irruptions. The effects of these removals on mouse foraging are largely unknown, yet this information is essential for developing and implementing better mouse control. We investigated the effects of direct and indirect predatory cues on foraging of free-ranging mice at a site where mammalian predators were eradicated 5 years previously. We used 17 stations, each containing four trays of millet seeds mixed thoroughly in sand, with three unfamiliar mammalian (a predator, a competitor, and a herbivore) odour treatments and a control (water), during the four phases of the moon. We measured mouse selectivity for treatment/control trays, giving-up densities (GUDs, a measure of food consumption), and tray encounter rates. Foraging by mice was not affected by odour cues from any of the unfamiliar mammals. Moonlight intensity, however, affected mouse foraging, with higher GUDs being recorded on brighter moon phases (full and waxing > new and waning) during the first night of the trials. This effect was less pronounced during the second night. Resource encounter rates were also affected, with the proportion of trays foraged lower during the brighter phases of the moon on both the first and second nights. We suggest that coordinating management efforts according to the phases of the moon has the potential to improve mouse control and reduce bait wastage.


It has become undeniable that English is the global academic lingua franca to the extent that it is mostly used synonymously with globalisation at the tertiary level. This is partly due to its implementation as a medium of instruction (EMI) in an increasing number of the world's universities. In view of this, it has become important for both language and content teachers in such contexts not only to know English, but also about English. With such a kind of knowledge, those teachers can respond to the international reality of English in their worksites. A number of studies have investigated the global role(s) of English in different university contexts and disciplines (see Dafouz et al., 2013) and how this entails certain critical issues related to its definition, varieties and ownership in international universities (see Jenkins, 2014). However, there is still value in researching English roles in different content units within the same international university to understand the context as a whole. In light of that, the present study focuses on investigating language and content teachers' beliefs on Englishisation in their international higher education institution (IHEI). It aims to understand university English language teachers' beliefs with regard to English varieties in academia, content lecturers' beliefs in the areas of Engineering, Natural sciences, Social sciences and Humanities, their teaching and assessment practices with regard to the diversified uses of English enacted by these teachers (language and content) and the relationship between teachers' overtly expressed beliefs and their teaching and assessment practices. For this end, a qualitative research approach has been implemented for this study with the use of semi-structured interviews and classroom observations as research tools. Both Qualitative content analysis (QCA) and discourse analysis (DA) were found methods of choice to approach the data set via the use of NVivo 10 software package. The findings of this study are expected to complement other studies on English in IHEIs where it reveals how irrelevant for teachers in the studied academic setting to demonstrate their native-like proficiency in English. That is, all what is required from the members in such an environment is to master the rules and norms of their own academic disciplines, as cultural models, regardless of their lingua-cultural backgrounds.


The ultimate aim of the immune system is to eliminate pathogens without being harmful to the host. But what if eliminating the pathogen in itself is discomforting for the host? One such emerging case is of Helicobacter pylori. Modern medicine, infantile vaccination, and ultra-hygienic conditions have led to progressive disappearance of H. pylori in different parts of the world. However, the adversities caused by H. pylori's absence are much larger than those caused by its presence. Asthma is rising as an epidemic in last few decades and several reports suggest an inverse-relationship between H. pylori's persistence and early-life onset asthma. Regulatory T cells play an important role in both the cases. This is further supported by experiments on mouse-models. Hence, need of the hour is to discern the relationship between H. pylori and its host and eliminating its negative impacts without disturbing our indigenous microbiota. To resolve whether H. pylori is a pathogen or an amphibiont is another important side. This review explores the biological basis of H. pylori-induced priming of immune system offering resistance to childhood-onset asthma. HP-NAP–Tregs interaction has been predicted using molecular docking and dynamic simulation.


A beam splitter on a phoropter permits fixation of optotypes while retinoscopy is being performed. The eye being examined can see the optotypes in the focus of a lens or on the wall behind the examiner by means of a periscope system. The great distance of the retinoscopic lens from the eye increases the retinoscopic phenomenon.


Limited linearity and local oscillator (LO) harmonics mixing are two major issues that ultra-wideband receivers, and a cognitive radio (CR) in particular, are dealing with. Direct-conversion schemes, based on current-driven passive mixers, have shown to improve the linearity but unable to resolve the LO harmonic mixing problem. They are usually limited to third and fifth harmonics rejection or require a very complex and power hungry circuitry for a higher number of harmonics. This paper presents a heterodyne conversion scheme in the 180-nm CMOS technology for CR applications (54–862 MHz band) that robustly mitigates the harmonic mixing issue for all the harmonics, while by employing an active feedback loop, a comparable state-of-the-art  $\mathrm {IIP_{3}}$  of better than +10 dBm is achieved. Measurements show an average noise figure of 7.5 dB when the active feedback loop is OFF (i.e., in the absence of destructive interference) and of 15.5 dB when the feedback loop is active and a 0-dBm interferer is applied, respectively.


We present development and application of an optimal feature space for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), without explicit calculation of tissue parameters. We generate a three-dimensional (3D) feature space representation of MRI using a linear transformation that optimizes clustering properties of data. The optimal transformation maximizes the ratio of interset to intraset Euclidean distance for normal tissues subject to the constraint that these tissues be clustered at prespecified target positions. In the resulting 3D feature space, abnormalities are clustered at positions different from the prespecified locations for normal tissues. From the 3D histogram (cluster plot), we identify clusters and define regions of interest (ROIs) for normal and abnormal tissues. These ROIs are used to estimate signature (feature) vectors for each tissue type which in turn are used to segment the image. The proposed feature space has been compared to those generated by tissue-parameter-weighted images, principal component images, and angle images, demonstrating its superiority for feature extraction [1]. Here, the method and its performance are illustrated using MR images of phantoms and human brains with tumor.


Lack of information about health risks may limit the adoption of improved nutritional and healthy behavior. This paper studies the effect of a nutrition information intervention on household dietary behavior, hemoglobin levels, and cognitive outcomes of children in rural India. Using experimental data and regression discontinuity design that exploits the exogenous cutoff of hemoglobin level for anemia, we find statistically insignificant treatment effects on dietary improvements, child health, and cognitive outcomes of children. Our findings suggest that light-touch nutrition information alone, even when parents are informed about the health risk of their children, may not promote healthy behavior and factors other than information might constrain households in making nutritional investments for their children. JEL codes: I12, I15, I18, O12


The empirical findings of this study establish that prepositions remain central to Arabic language users. It shows that they utilize them for construction of phrases, linked clauses, and organization of discourse, among other notable functions.


The analysis of methods of strengthening reinforced concrete structures showed, that strengthen structures that work for bending can be both a way of the cross-section, and a way to change the calculation scheme of the of structure. To date, the effect of low-cycle loads of high levels on the work of strengthened bending reinforced concrete elements is not fully investigated. Research in this area is relevant and necessary for modern construction. The use of modern carbon-plastic materials and steel-fiber reinforced concrete is an effective way to strengthen bending reinforced concrete elements.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the clinical therapeutic effect of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its mechanism.

METHODS
Twenty patients with Alzheimer's disease were treated by acupuncture with reinforcing kidney and activating blood method for 12 weeks and Baihui (GV 20), Shenshu (BL 23), Xuehai (SP 10) and Geshu (BL 17) were selected. The clinical therapeutic effect were assessed by comparing the scores of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Section (ADAS-Cog) and 8-IPF2alpha concentration in cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine before and after treatment were detected by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS
After treatment, the effective rate was 90.0%. The score of ADAS-Cog was 35. 70 +/- 14. 70 before treatment and 31. 45 +/- 4. 08 after treatment, with a significant difference (P<0. 001). The concentration of 8-IPF2alpha in cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine were all significantly decreased after treatment (all P<0.001).

CONCLUSION
Acupuncture can improve the cognitive ability of AD patients and its possible mechanism may be relative to the decrease in lipid peroxidation in AD patients' brain.


OBJECTIVE
To analyze satisfaction with health care among African American women living with HIV/AIDS.

DESIGN
Secondary analysis of baseline data of African American women who participated in Protect and Respect, a sexual risk reduction program for women living with HIV/AIDS SETTING: HIV Care Clinic in an urban city in the northeast United States.

PARTICIPANTS
One hundred fifty-seven (157) African American women living with HIV/AIDS.

METHODS
Regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between demographic variables, self-reported health characteristics, communication with health care providers, and satisfaction with health care provider.

RESULTS
A majority of women reported satisfaction with medical services (88%, n = 140). Communication with health care providers, detectable viral load, education, income, self-reported health status, and sexual orientation were significantly bivariately associated with satisfaction with healthcare (all ps < .05). In the multivariate models, no variables significantly predicted satisfaction with healthcare.

CONCLUSION
Because satisfaction with health care can influence the quality of care received, health outcomes, and adherence to provider recommendations among patients living with HIV/AIDS, health care providers' ability to elicit satisfaction from their patients is just as important as the services they provide. This project is one of the first studies to find high rates of satisfaction with health care among African American women living with HIV/AIDS. Further examination of satisfaction with health care among African American women living HIV/AIDS may help in narrowing health care disparities and negative treatment outcomes.


Mechanical Engineering Industry is rapidly adopting more automation. This is the companies' response to a declining market. The consequences for the employees are generally negative. So far, unions have not been able to influence the introduction of new technology. This paper discusses how they can gain influence by applying planning theory and preparing local work-environment programs. We describe one company, the mechanical engineering firm of Lindqvists, where the usual drawbacks of new technology have been avoided. We describe experiments carried out using various means of expression, e.g. films, video cassettes and exhibitions, as part of workers' efforts for improved working conditions.


Thyroid-specific transcription factor PAX8 has an indispensable role in the thyroid gland development, which is evidenced by the facts that PAX8/Pax8 mutations cause congenital hypothyroidism in humans and mice. More than 90% of known PAX8 mutations were located in the paired domain, suggesting the central role of the domain in exerting the molecular function. Structure-function relationships of PAX8, as well as other PAX family transcription factors, have never been investigated in a systematic manner. Here, we conducted the first alanine scanning mutagenesis study, in which 132 alanine variants located in the paired domain of PAX8 were created and systematically evaluated in vitro. We found that 76 alanine variants (55%) were loss of function (LOF) variants (defined by <30% activity as compared with wild type PAX8). Importantly, the distribution of LOF variants were skewed, with more frequently observed in the N-subdomain (65% of the alanine variants in the N-subdomain) than in the C-subdomain (45%). Twelve out of 13 alanine variants in residues that have been affected in patients with congenital hypothyroidism were actually LOF, suggesting that the alanine scanning data can be used to evaluate the functional importance of mutated residues. Using our in vitro data, we tested the accuracy of seven computational algorithms for pathogenicity prediction, showing that they are sensitive but not specific to evaluate on the paired domain alanine variants. Collectively, our experiment-based data would help better understand the structure-function relationships of the paired domain, and would provide a unique resource for pathogenicity prediction of future PAX8 variants.


Pseudogley is a typical type of acid soils predominating in both Serbia and the wider region. Acid soils are not suitable for the cultivation of agricultural crops due to the hampered uptake of most nutrients as induced by increased levels of hydrogen ions. In order to make pseudogley soil suitable for crop production, pH improvement measures should be employed. The objective of this study was to use liming to neutralise soil acidity and evaluate the effect of soil pH improvement measures on the Mo content in both root and leaf of the Dutch tomato ( Lycopericon esculentum Mill.) hybrid Belle planted under controlled conditions on pseudogley soil. Molybdenum was studied in this paper due to its role in plant nitrogen metabolism. Moreover, the determination of molybdenum presence in the root and leaf is a sure indicator of successful liming effects. Three liming treatments were employed (1, 3 and 4 t/ha CaCO 3 ). The liming operation used on pseudogley induced a statistically significant increase in molybdenum ion absorption into the root system of tomato. Independently from the aforementioned, the values for the root and leaf molybdenum content of tomato in each treatment were very low and insufficient for successful growth of this plant. In order to make pseudogley suitable for successful development of agricultural production, it is necessary to increase both soil pH and the content of available molybdenum in the soil. Key words: Liming, pseudogley, molybdenum, leaf, root, tomato.


Transmission characteristics of a CPFSK differential detection system with LD direct modulation are studied by computer simulation. Simulation results show that the optimum wavelength for LD direct modulation CPFSK transmission shifts to a wavelength longer than zero dispersion wavelength because of the phase difference between the intensity and frequency modulation components. A precise investigation of the dependence of optimum total dispersion on several parameters reveals the essential role of the phase difference between intensity and frequency modulation induced by LD direct modulation. The transmission distance allowing a 1-dB power penalty at 10 Gb/s is 117 km for a wavelength 30 nm shorter than the zero dispersion wavelength, while the distance is 183 km for a wavelength 30 nm longer. This indicates that the zero dispersion wavelength shift is 11 nm for 100-km transmission. >


In 2009 it was How Not to Write a Novel ("A hilarious, wickedly observed and deeply useful guide". "Observer"). In 2010 it's "Read This Next" - Sandra Newman and Howard Mittelmark have written the perfect book for anyone who has ever struggled to choose what to read next. But this is far more than a guide for book groups. Covering 600 books ranging from "The Shock Doctrine" to "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", and exploring all the important issues like how to tell the difference between Naomis Wolf and Klein, whether anyone really likes Emma Bovary, what makes a really good loo book and whether it's really wrong to marry for money, "Read This Next" reminds you exactly why you love reading and then makes you want to go out and read lots more. And what's more, it's very, very funny.


We present a low-complexity method for approximating the semi-blind best linear unbiased estimate (BLUE) of a channel impulse response (CIR) vector for a communication system, which utilizes a periodically transmitted training sequence. The BLUE, for h, for the general linear model, y = Ah + w + n, where w is correlated noise (dependent on the CIR, h) and the vector n is an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) process, which is uncorrelated with w is given by h = (ATC(h)−1 A)−1 ATC(h)−1 y. In the present work, we propose a Taylor series approximation for the function F(h) = (ATC(h)−1 A)−1 ATC(h)−1 y. We describe the full Taylor formula for this function and describe algorithms using, first-, second-, and third-order approximations, respectively. The algorithms give better performance than correlation channel estimates and previous approximations used, at only a slight increase in complexity. Our algorithm is derived and works within the framework imposed by the ATSC 8-VSB DTV transmission system, but will generalize to any communication system utilizing a training sequence embedded within data.


This dissertation is an analysis of systematic studies of the land in the early American Republic, from the 1790s to the 1840s; more specifically, it explores the role scientific and technical practices played within that era's improvement ethic. I argue that science, as seen through the lens of agricultural chemistry and, to a lesser extent, geology, became an important, acceptable, and credible way to interact with early Republic land because it fit within the multivalent improvement ethic of that period. Through a study of the agricultural press, farmers' diaries, and county and statewide scientific surveys, I examine how scientific and technical practices aided agricultural improvement, how they were promoted or resisted by local farmers, and in what ways they gained social credibility for interpreting and interacting with agrarian nature. Part I, "The Place of Science," explores how science was interpreted by people. I there ask about the social, moral, instrumental, and literary places of agricultural science in rural culture. Part II, "The Science of Place," asks instead how science interpreted the land, there studying county and state scientific surveys in Virginia. Underlying the entire work is an exposition of the georgic ethic (as distinct from the pastoral ethic), which emphasizes the laborbased means through which most rural peoples understood their land and ties the moral plea for cultural improvement to the material pursuit of agricultural progress. The story herein introduces the production of an important set of conditions that allowed later scientific developments across the land to have meaning and significance: forms of communication, precedents of organization, field-tested modes of analysis, a tradition of improvement and experimentation, the long-standing search for solutions to soil exhaustion, increasingly mechanistic philosophies of soil composition, a market force to drive all of these, and a unique American political and agricultural environment into which the above could take shape. The lesson is not that the entirety of our modern scientific worldview can be traced to the activities of a disgruntled antebellum American farming class, but that this example of rural science and agricultural improvement provides a fruitful example of what it takes to make a scientific worldview. Thus, arguments about philosophical and conceptual bases for scientizing the land—topics of great importance in the fields of environmental history and various branches of science and technology studies—gain strength and plausibility by reference to the workings of antebellum agents who first argued over the value of using science to define their land. By putting the circulation of agricultural science in the context of early Republic improvement-minded agents, we can better locate agrarian American culture into a postEnlightenment setting, we are better equipped to recognize how everyday citizens came to treat scientific practices as legitimate means of interacting with their lands, and we have a more developed picture of how morality, materiality, and theory were wedded in the much-revered principles of practice and practicality. The sum of those points highlights how traditional means of managing the land, as with religious doctrine, almanac strictures, the lessons inherited through family lineage by generations of daily practice, or uncodified folk knowledge in general, were being complemented with or displaced by organized, methodical, and systematic—eventually, scientific—practices on the land.


The biogas plant Kungsangens gard, owned by Uppsala Vatten och Avfall AB, produces biogas and biomanure from organic household waste, food processing waste and slaughterhouse waste. In year 2012, 4.4 million Nm3 of biogas were produced from 25 200 tons of waste. Before digestion all substrate is sanitized by pasteurization at 70°C in order to kill pathogens. Another method, integrated thermophilic sanitation (ITS), is of interest in order to decrease the energy demand. The method implies that the substrate is sanitized during ten hours in the digestion chamber, where the temperature is 52°C. The purpose of this thesis was to compare pasteurization with integrated thermophilic sanitation from an energy point of view. The pasteurization´s impact on biogas production and energy yield was examined through experiments with two laboratory digesters, of which one was fed with pasteurized substrate and the other with non-pasteurized substrate. For the present pasteurization system, electricity and heat demand was surveyed. For the integrated thermophilic sanitation, a process design was developed and dimensioned and the electricity and heat demand was calculated. Thereafter, the energy yield and energy demand for the two sanitation systems were compared. The result showed that pasteurization had no effect on biogas production. The energy yield was on average 4.79 kWh/kg VS from non-pasteurized substrate and 4.74 kWh/kg VS from pasteurized substrate. There was no statistically significant difference between the reactors. The energy audit showed that pasteurization required 0.48 kWh/kg VS, which is 85 % of the total energy consumption at the facility. The digester warming demanded 0.077 kWh/kg VS for RK1 and 0.031 kWh/kg VS for RK2. The electricity consumption was 0.041 kWh/kg VS. The process of ITS was designed with a heat exchange from bio manure to substrate, followed by heating to 52°C by steam addition. The heat requirement was 0.24 kWh/kg VS and the electricity demand was 0.034 kWh/kg VS. The warming of the digesters was the same as in the present pasteurization system. The comparison between the existing pasteurization and the ITS showed that switching systems would save 0.243 kWh/kg VS or 46 % of the present energy consumption. This corresponds to annual savings of 1.22 GWh. A sensitivity analysis showed that the results were sensitive to assumptions regarding the heat exchanger in the case of ITS. 10 % energy losses resulted in smaller savings, 34 % or 0.91 GWh per year. There are increased risks of process disruptions if ITS is combined with an increased organic loading rate. 4.2 % reduction of the total biogas production erases the energy savings which means that it is important that process stability is ensured.


: In 37 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis fusions of the cranio-cervical region were performed. The different techniques of fusions are reported and their complications and rate of pseudoarthrosis are mentioned. In detail a modified technique of transarticular screwing according to the method of Magerl are given.


Although left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is an adaptive response to the increased load imposed on the heart in patients with hypertension, it ultimately is itself a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The influence of LVH on left ventricular function and on the coronary circulation, and the occurrence of serious ventricular arrhythmias are the major mechanisms of this increased risk. There is no doubt that regression of LVH occurs, but there are clear differences in this respect among antihypertensive drugs: angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and calcium antagonists produce the best response. Whether regression of LVH also causes an improvement in left ventricular function is unclear; various studies using the same drugs have yielded contradictory results. Furthermore, it has yet to be determined whether regression of LVH has a positive influence on the long-term prognosis in such patients; the results of the European Multicenter Study OvA will help in shedding more light on this important question.


The term Net ZEB, Net Zero Energy Building, indicates a building connected to the energy grids. It is recognized that the sole satisfaction of an annual balance is not sufficient to fully characterize Net ZEBs and the interaction between buildings and energy grids need to be addressed. It is also recognized that different definitions are possible, in accordance with a country's political targets and specific conditions. This paper presents a consistent framework for setting Net ZEB definitions. Evaluation of the criteria in the definition framework and selection of the related options becomes a methodology to set Net ZEB definitions in a systematic way. The balance concept is central in the definition framework and two major oad matching rid interaction types of balance are identified, namely the import/export balance and the load/generation balance. As compromise between the two a simplified monthly net balance is also described. Concerning the temporal energy match, two major characteristics are described to reflect a Net ZEB's ability to match its own load by on-site generation and to work beneficially with respect to the needs of the local grids. Possible indicators are presented and the concept of grid interaction flexibility is introduced as a desirable target in the building energy design.


Forensic odontological examination was performed on one of the 1500-year old human remains of ancient Korea (Gaya) excavated from a burial site at Songhyeon-dong, Changnyeong, South Korea in April, 2008. The main purpose of the examination was to age estimate the remains and record any dental characteristics to aid full-body reconstruction and life history data collection. Oral and radiographic examinations and metric data collection were conducted. During the oral examination, the following observations were made: dental caries, semi-circular abrasion on the maxillary right lateral incisor and enamel hypoplasia on the left and right canines and first premolars in the mandible. The metric data was similar to that of average metric data of modern Koreans. Age estimation was initially conducted using the degree of dental attrition with methods of Takei and Yun, and was estimated to be approximately 40 years. However, it was observed in the radiographic examination, that the maxillary right second molar, together with the mandibular left and right second and third molars had incompletely developed root apices. The age estimation was then performed using the developmental status of the lower second and third molars. The age was estimated to be approximately 16 years using Lee's method which was consistent with the estimation using forensic anthropology. This case study highlights that the degree of attrition should not be used as a sole indicator for age estimation.


As high fetal hemoglobin levels ameliorate the underlying pathophysiological defects in sickle cell anemia and beta (β)-thalassemia, understanding the mechanisms that enforce silencing of fetal hemoglobin postnatally offers the promise of effective molecular therapy. Depletion of the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase complex member MBD2 causes a 10-20-fold increase in γ-globin gene expression in adult β-globin locus yeast artificial chromosome transgenic mice. To determine the effect of MBD2 depletion in human erythroid cells, genome editing technology was utilized to knockout MBD2 in Human Umbilical cord Derived Erythroid Progenitor-2 cells resulting in γ/γ+β mRNA levels of approximately 50% and approximately 40% fetal hemoglobin by high performance liquid chromatography. In contrast, MBD3 knockout had no appreciable effect on γ-globin expression. Knockdown of MBD2 in primary adult erythroid cells consistently increased γ/γ+β mRNA ratios by approximately 10-fold resulting in approximately 30-40% γ/γ+β mRNA levels and a corresponding increase in γ-globin protein. MBD2 exerts its repressive effects through recruitment of the chromatin remodeler CHD4 via a coiled-coil domain, and the histone deacetylase core complex via an intrinsically disordered region. Enforced expression of wild-type MBD2 in MBD2 knockout cells caused a 5-fold decrease in γ-globin mRNA while neither the coiled-coil mutant nor the intrinsically disordered region mutant MBD2 proteins had an inhibitory effect. Co-immunoprecipitation assays showed that the coiled-coil and intrinsically disorder region mutations disrupt complex formation by dissociating the CHD4 and the histone deacetylase core complex components, respectively. These results establish the MBD2 Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase complex as a major silencer of fetal hemoglobin in human erythroid cells and point to the coiled-coil and intrinsically disordered region of MBD2 as potential therapeutic targets.


The effect of increasing dietary sucrose concentration on dentin formation and dentinal caries progression was studied. Weanling Wistar rats received 15, 30 or 43 g/100 g sucrose in a diet; for reference, another group was fed a nonpurified diet. At the onset, tetracycline was injected to mark the dentin formed during the experiment. After 6 wk, lower molars were sectioned sagittally; the areas and thicknesses of the dentin formation during the experiment and dentinal caries lesions were quantified separately in the first and second molars. Feeding the 43% sucrose diet resulted in a significantly lower dentin formation than in other diet groups (P < 0.05). The differences obtained from the area measurements were supported by thickness measurements. In the first molar, the 43% sucrose diet resulted in a significantly greater area of dentinal caries than in the other sucrose groups. The number and severity of caries lesions clearly increased as the concentration of sucrose in the diet increased (r = 0.5, P < 0.05 and r = 0.6, P < 0.05, respectively). This study suggests that the increase in the concentration of sucrose in the diet reduces dentin formation and increases the area of dentinal caries as well as the number and severity of caries lesions; the critical sucrose concentration appears to be between 30 and 43 g/100 g.


Sign languages are the natural languages of deaf people and deaf communities. In the past 50 years, an impressive number of sign languages have come to be studied from a modern linguistic perspective, generating ground-breaking insights into the influence of the communicative channel on language structure. However, only a handful of these studies concern sign languages on the African continent. This is striking, particularly in view of the rich diversity of sign languages and signing communities found in Africa. Despite being limited in number, the studies available on African sign languages reveal unique structural features, not attested in non-African sign languages so far. Thus, research on African sign languages is important for the typology of sign languages, as well as for the general typology of African languages. The diversity in signing communities in sociolinguistic terms offer valuable opportunities for studying the impact of social setting on sign language structure; an issue of current debate in the sign language literature. Studies on African sign languages are relevant for a number of domains in general linguistics as well, including language contact, change, shift, acquisition, creation, and emergence. Last but not least, the scientific examination of African sign languages is of major importance for the emancipation and participation of deaf African in society.


A stability indicating reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for the estimation of Dronedarone in tablet dosage form. A symmetry C18 column having dimensions of 150×4.6mm and 3μm particle size, with mobile phase containing a mixture of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer in the ratio of 60:40 v/v was used. PH of mobile phase was adjusted to 6.8 with sodium hydroxide. The flow rate was 1ml/min and the column effluents were monitored at 290 nm. The retention time for Dronedarone was found to be 2.65min. The proposed method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision, LOD, LOQ and robustness. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 0.018μg/ml and 0.06μg/ml respectively. The method was found to be linear in the range of 10 – 50 μg/ml with regression coefficient (r = 0.9996). The % recovery for the Dronedarone was found to be 99.6 and the forced degradation studies were also carried out as per ICH guidelines. There was complete separation of degradation peak and Dronedarone peak, which demonstrate the specificity of assay method for estimation of Dronedarone in the presence of its degradation products; it can be employed as a stability indicating one. Due to simplicity, rapidity and accuracy of the proposed stability indicating HPLC method is useful for quality control analysis.


The proposed research is directed at an understanding of how to exploit interactions between sodium, toxic metals and sorbents, in order to optimize sorbents injection procedures, which can be used to capture and transform these metals into environmentally benign forms. The research will use a 17kW downflow, laboratory combustor, to yield data that can be interpreted in terms of fundamental kinetic mechanisms. Metals to be considered are lead, cadmium, and arsenic. Sorbents will be kaolinite, bauxite, and limestone. The role of sulfur will also be determined.


Thixoforming involves shaping metal components in the semi-solid state. Work on the thixoforming of high temperature materials, such as steel, is still at its initial stage; this is mainly due to the high processing temperatures involved and the potential for oxidation. For thixoforming to be possible, it is preferable for an alloy to have an appreciable melting range and before forming the microstructure must ideally consist of solid metal spheroids in a liquid matrix. This paper discusses the thixoforming load versus displacement curves of HP9/4/30 steel semi-solid slugs under compression. The data from the corresponding load-displacement curves is converted into viscosity against shear rate adopting Stefan's equation for flow between two parallel planes. The viscosity at processing conditions, i.e. at processing temperatures in the range of 1470 to 1480°C and zero to two minutes soak times, showed a rapid decrease initially, which corresponds to a rapid breakdown in the structure, followed by a steady decrease to a near constant value with increasing rate. The work shows pseudoplasticity (or shear-thinning) behaviour of the HP9/4/30 semi-solid slurries. This data would be required for modeling the die fill with these slurries.


The paper deals with the impact of long‐term persistent interregional disparities on the performance in transition to market economy. In the case of Poland, owing to the turbulent history, partitions and geopolitical displacements, the main institutions were shaped both by the country's traditions and various foreign impositions. First, it is shown that to a large extent, the substantial interregional discrepancies which widened in the 1990s can be traced back to a distant past. Second, we point out that those regions which inherited a higher overall economic development, superior physical infrastructure, and high endowment in social capital, have better performed on the way to market economy. Third, we advance the explanatory model of historical path dependence that includes both self‐reinforcing and reactive historical sequences, and either homogenizing or diversifying external shocks. Finally, we argue that the social capital has been preserved in the form of community norms and customs.


Author(s): Huang, Grace Lan-Shin | Advisor(s): Clubb, Robert T | Abstract: Cell surface display of proteins is a valuable biotechnological tool, with potential in various applications including peptide library screening, protein engineering, vaccine delivery, biosensing, and biocatalysis. Gram-positive bacteria may be especially suited for displaying proteins due to their rigid cell envelope and the wide diversity of known cell wall binding modules that can be used to decorate the cell surface. However, bacterial protein display is not widely used in industrial settings, in part due to factors that limit the number and stability of displayed proteins. In order to facilitate surface protein engineering efforts, work described in this dissertation seeks to define the mechanism of covalent protein attachment to Gram-positive cell surfaces, and to create a stabilized cell surface display system in the model Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. In Chapters 2 and 3 of this dissertation, I reviewed current display systems in the context of microbial cellulose degradation for biocommodity production. The reviews cover in extensive detail the different modes of protein display in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, B. subtilis, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and lactic acid bacteria. They also compare the recombinant cellulolytic activities that have been achieved against different biomass substrates. To further improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which proteins are cell surface attached, in Chapter 4, I discuss the crystal structure of the Staphylococcus aureus class B sortase covalently bound to a substrate analog. In vitro transpeptidation measurements, computational modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations suggests that sortases utilize a substrate-stabilized oxyanion hole to stabilize tetrahedral reaction intermediates. Key structural features were identified, which suggested a conserved mechanism shared by all sortases. Lastly, I created a cell surface display system described in Chapter 5, and elucidated factors affecting surface protein stability in Bacillus subtilis. I constructed a reporter system that displays the Clostridium thermocellum endoglucanase (Cel8A) on the cell surface through the noncovalent cell wall binding motif, LysM. Cell surface associated activity was examined in different genetic backgrounds, revealing solution conditions and strain-specific factors that affect protein display. This study identified conditions that enable stable surface protein display up to two days, and explore the importance of different extracellular proteases on surface protein stability. Combined, this work furthers the development of Gram-positive bacterial systems for surface display by elucidating the mechanism of covalent cell surface protein attachment, and by identifying cellular and solution conditions that improve the stability of proteins on the surface of B. subtilis.


Generating and automatically checking proofs independently increases confidence in the results of automated reasoning tools. The use of computer algebra is an essential ingredient in recent substantial improvements to scale verification of arithmetic gate-level circuits, such as multipliers, to large bit-widths. There is also a large body of work on theoretical aspects of propositional algebraic proof systems in the proof complexity community starting with the seminal paper introducing the polynomial calculus. We show that the polynomial calculus provides a frame-work to define a practical algebraic calculus (PAC) proof format to capture low-level algebraic proofs needed in scalable gate-level verification of arithmetic circuits. We apply these techniques to generate proofs obtained as by-product of verifying gate-level multipliers using state-of-the-art techniques. Our experiments show that these proofs can be checked efficiently with independent tools.


PURPOSE
Measurements of the viscoelastic properties of a thrombus can be used to assess whether blood clots are likely to become occlusive or to break apart and leak into the blood circulation and block smaller vessels. An accurate method for estimating both the shear elasticity and viscosity of a blood clot in vivo is still lacking, which prompted us to use a novel shear-wave approach to measure the viscoelastic modulus of blood clots.

METHODS
The shear-wave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry was used to measure both the elasticity and viscosity of blood clots. The experimental system was verified by measuring the viscoelastic modulus of phantoms containing gelatin at different concentrations. Blood-clot experiments were carried out using porcine whole blood with hematocrits ranging from 3% to 40%. The measured values for both clots and gelatin phantoms were compared to those obtained using an embedded-sphere method in order to validate the accuracy of the viscoelastic modulus estimations.

RESULTS
The shear elastic modulus increased from 406.9 ± 15.8 (mean ± SD) Pa for 3% gelatin to 1587.2 ± 28.9 Pa for 7% gelatin, while the viscosity increased from 0.12 ± 0.02 Pa s to 0.86 ± 0.05 Pa s, respectively. The shear modulus increased from 196.8 ± 58.4 Pa for 40%-hematocrit clots to 641.4 ± 76.3 Pa for 3%-hematocrit clots, while the viscosity increased from 0.29 ± 0.02 Pa s to 0.42 ± 0.01 Pa s, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
The results from the statistical analysis indicated that both the embedded-sphere and shear-wave approaches can provide accurate estimations of the shear elasticity for clots and gelatin phantoms. In contrast, the shear-wave approach as well as other methods of rheological measurements does not provide accurate viscosity estimations for blood clots. However, the measured viscosity range of 0.29-0.42 Pa s is reasonable for blood clots.


Knowing and orienting oneself on a reference territory is a challenge that crosses different perspectives and ways of interpreting times and living spaces. For this reason, an intercultural pedagogist and an art historian, expert in iconology and cultural heritage, decided to work on the exploration of the city of Macerata, through the development of the Urban Ticass and Urban Ticass 2.0 projects. These activities have promoted the cooperation of the university and schools, looking for details and significant contexts within the city walls, as well as in meaningful places for those involved. The initiatives carried out have verified the centrality of the notion of detail and context in the cultural heritage sector, fuelling reflection also in a pedagogical perspective. Starting from the meanings emerged, historical reconstructions in an educational key have been developed, relying on laboratory and experiential teaching. At the end of both projects, the students involved the territory through playful and educational urban explorations open to citizenship as a widespread and contextualized learning model.