Digital media offer spaces to many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ+) for connection, support, and friendship and hosts vital resources for learning and practicing diverse genders and sexualities. In this chapter, the authors review key research on LGBTQ+ communities and identities in digital spaces over several decades, dividing the chapter into three main sections: (1) community and connection, (2) romance and dating, and (3) identity work. In the first section on community and connection, they examine research centered on how LGBTQ+ people use digital media to forge connections and build "communities." While this term is contested in the literature, many LGBTQ+ people use it to describe their experiences of digital networks. Second, they outline the growing body of research on how LGBTQ+ people use digital media in their romantic and sexual lives, from dating/hook-up apps to social media. They consider the challenges, pleasures, and opportunities in how LGBTQ+ people use digital media for sex and dating practices and potential. Third, they reflect on how these connections have figured into ongoing research on LGBTQ+ identities, where digital media allow LGBTQ+ people to develop shared languages to describe their experiences, to reflect on their lives, and to rehearse modes of self-representation.


Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a pleiotropic autosomal dominant disorder with marked variability of clinical expression. As in other heritable disorders, the mapping and cloning of the gene responsible for NF1 have increased our understanding of the pathogenesis of the condition. In particular, the phenotypic variability and variable expressivity can be studied using molecular techniques. In this article we summarize the current knowledge of genotype/phenotype correlation in NF1 and examine the potential molecular basis for variable expressivity. Am. J. Med. Genet. (Semin. Med. Genet.) 89:7-13, 1999.


Blood and bone features in JAK2V617F mutated prefibrotic essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV) are overlapping in terms of increased cellularity due to increased erythropoiesis and pleomorphic megakaryocytes indicating the need to measure red cell mass (RCM) according to PVSG and WHO criteria. The JAK2V617F mutated myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) appeared to be a broad biological continuum of normocellular ET, ET with features of polycythemia vera (prodromal PV), classical PV, advanced PV, Inapparent PV (IPV) with splenomegly, masked PV or hypercellular ET due to megakaryocytic granulocytic myeloproliferation (ET.MGM) when the 2013 WHO and European Clinical, Molecular and Pathological (WHO-CMP) criteria are applied. The megakaryocytes morphology may change from pleomorphic to dysmorphic in advanced PV, in IPV and in masked PV (ET.MGM) as bone marrow cellularity, the degree myelofibrosis and the JAK2V617F mutation load increase during long-term follow-up. Erythrocytes above the upper limit of normal (5.8×1012/L), but not hemoglobin and hematocrit is clearly correlated with increased red cell mass (RCM) above (30) ml/kg) and therefore diagnostic for PV and idiopathic erythrocythemia (IE) on top of pathognomonic MPN bone marrow histology in newly diagnosed PV patients with normal mean cell volume (MCV) of erythrocytes and no or minor of splenomegaly. Erythrocyte count remain above the upper limit of normal in PV and IE in complete hematological remission by phlebotomy alone as the consequence of iron deficiency induced microcytic erythrocytes that correct the blood volume (RCM), hemoglobin and hematocrit to normal. The combination of increased RCM, increased plasma volume, and normal or low erythrocyte counts is characteristic for IPV with significant splenomegaly as the only cause of increased blood volume without symptoms of hypervolumemia.


Leon Chesley published Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy in 1978 to outline major and common complications that occur during pregnancy [4] and manifest in abnormally high blood pressures in pregnant women. The book was published by Appleton-Century-Crofts in New York, New York. Chesley compiled his book as a tool for practicing obstetricians and teachers. The book focuses on preeclampsia and eclampsia, but it also describes other common and rare hypertensive diseases and disorders of pregnancy [4] and discusses their histories, diagnoses, management plans, pathologies, and immediate and remote prognoses for mothers and fetuses. Doctors used the book and all subsequent editions to help diagnose and manage complications during pregnancy [4] and to avoid deaths for pregnant women and fetuses.


The p73 gene is able to encode transcriptionaly active TAp73, as well as a dominant-negatively acting DeltaNp73 transcript isoforms. We studied differential expression of these forms in normal brain as well as glial tumors, by semiquantitative RT-PCR. The expression of p73 was low or undetectable in normal brain tissues. Most of the tumors and non-tumor brain tissues also lacked significant expression of p73 in patients with low-grade astrocytomas. In contrast, most high-grade glial tumors displayed strong up-regulation of TAp73, whereas only a few displayed DeltaNp73 expression. These aberrations may reflect the inactivation of retinoblastoma pathway in these tumors which result in the activation of E2F transcription factors, since TAp73 is a known target of E2F1 gene. The study of TAp73 expression in brain tumors may serve as a means to evaluate the retinoblastoma pathway-dependent tumor progression.


We used the method of theoretical modeling and simulation to study how changes in wing kinematics influence the production of inertia forces and moments in flapping flight. We examined 153 separate sets of kinematic patterns that differed with respect to stroke amplitude, mid-stroke angle of attack, acceleration and deceleration duration of flip rotation and acceleration and deceleration duration of azimuthal rotation. For each pattern, we also calculated mean stroke- or quarter - averaged values of the inertia forces and force moments. The results of the analysis may be divided into three main point: (i) The insect wing's chordwise inertia is much higher than its spanwise inertia--higher by an order of magnitude; (ii) The influence of inertia moment of azimuthal rotation is much higher than that of inertia moment of flip rotation, so the inertia moment of flip rotation can be ignored; (iii) Consider the flapping motion is approximate symmetrical if the stroke is symmetrical and the flapping motion is absolute symmetrical if the stroke and the flip is both symmetrical, then the inertia force can be ignored.


According to the microstructure defects of laser claded nickel alloy, such as crack and nets brittle phase, the friction stir processing (FSP) method is utilized in this paper to modify microstructure defects by the coupled effect of thermal and stress of FSP. For this purpose, two key scientific problems of large deformation condition and microstructure evolution theory during FSP, are proposed in this paper. Based on this, the following issues are highlighted in this work. Firstly, obtain the friction condition of larger deformation by continuous dirved friction experiment. Secondly, study on the temperature (T), stress (σ), and strain velocity under different processing parameters via self-developed physical simulation apparatus. Thirdly, disclose the effects of T、σ、 on the microstructure evolution and then obtain the microstructure evolution equation by dynamic re-crystallization. The above work could provide theory support for the new technique of laser cladding and FSP for preparing high performance coating.


Global liquidity has been more and more important in the last couple of years and everbody from media to policy makers are talking about it. In order to shed light on the effects of global liquidity, we investigate the impact of global liquidity expansion on major macroeconomic variables of G-7 countries by using panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model and four different global liquidity indicators. We find that our data is non-stationary, there is cross sectional dependence and no cointegration relationship exits. Impulse response results show that an increase in global liquidity lowers government bond yields and has very limited effect on output, inflation and real exchange rate. Additionally, global liquidity explains up to 10 percent of the variation in government bond yields. Our model results imply that the impact of global liquidity on the macroeconomic variables of G-7 countries is not very striking as some other studies suggest.


The time course (0.5-24 hours) of incorporation of labelled cholesterol in the tissues of guinea pig hearts, aortas, livers, and brains was examined on acute and chronic (3 months) administration of ethanol (3 g/kg). It was found that at the onset of the experiments, the hearts from control and experimental animals displayed higher radioactivity that did the other tissue under study. Within the first 24 hours, there was a linear increase in specific radioactivity of [3H]-cholesterol in the sera of intact animals. Acute and chronic ethanol caused enhanced incorporation of [3H]-cholesterol and its delayed release in all tissues, except the liver tissue. The latter showed unchanged relative specific radioactivity two hours after [3H]-cholesterol incorporation.


This paper reports on aspects of a larger project conducted on learning and teaching practices in a tertiary musical theatre program. Learning and teaching activities that focus strongly on performance outcomes are often difficult to assess objectively, particularly in relation to the balance of process and performance. This project reported on here sought to illuminate the perceptions of teachers in relation to assessment practices. The site in question has implemented and evaluated a process of continuous assessment in which staff members provide detailed feedback about student progress on a weekly basis. Marks are awarded for up to twenty sub-activities within the broad areas of acting, dance (with sub-categories for each of jazz, tap and ballet), performance project, singing and speech. This assessment process is embedded in a degree structure that has adopted a sliding scale of formative and summative assessment across the three-year degree: the first year is marked almost entirely on progress, and the final year almost entirely on performance. Through focus group interviews with staff members, the efficacy of this assessment process was documented. Teachers who worked with students in the second year of the program were interviewed to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach. As such it complements an earlier paper in which student perceptions were reported. The findings give a nuanced picture of the staff members' interface with the assessment process. These findings, combined with artefacts from the program are presented as a model for teachers in institutional and private studio settings. It is anticipated that this may be of interest to those who seek to prepare students who aim to prepare for the realities of the profession in musical theatre and other voice-based training programs.


A meta-theory of motivation is described and used to establish norms among farm cooperative employees and managers in Nebraska. One hundred eighty six farm cooperative employees and managers were administered the Motivation Sources Inventory (MSI) and the five sources of work motivation–intrinsic process, instrumental, self-concept external, self-concept internal, and goal internalization– were examined. Results demonstrate a high proportion of self-concept internal work motivation among rural workers. The other four sources were evenly distributed across the sample population. This baseline study implies that employers, supervisors and educators may engage the interest and involvement of rural workers most effectively when they incorporate influence attempts that appeal to workers' internally derived standards and sense of the ideal self. Limitations and further implications for education, practice and future research are discussed.


The European Commission is currently seeking advice from EFSA (Mandate M-2012-0272) to assess for Arabis mosaic virus, Raspberry ringspot virus, Strawberry latent ringspot virus, Tomato black ring virus, Strawberry mild yellow edge virus, Strawberry crinkle virus, Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Eutetranychus orientalis, Parasaissetia nigra, Clavibacter michiganensis spp. michiganensis, Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria, Didymella ligulicola and Phytophthora fragariae the risk to plant health for the EU territory and to evaluate the effectiveness of risk reduction options in reducing the level of risk. In addition, the Panel is requested to provide an opinion on the effectiveness of the present EU requirements against these organisms laid down in Council Directive 2000/29/EC. As a consequence EFSA needs insight in the cropping practices of Citrus spp., Fragaria x ananassa, Ribes spp., Rubus spp., Vaccinium spp., Humulus lupulus, Vitis vinifera, Prunus armeniaca, P. avium, P. cerasus, P. domestica and P. persica, which are host plants for these pests. An extensive and systematic literature search was done in which scientific and grey/technical literature was retrieved from the 28 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. All references were stored in EndNote libraries, separately for scientific literature and grey/technical literature. For each reference information is provided on the source/search strategy, the crop, the country, the topic (cropping practice, propagation, protection or irrigation (only for Citrus)) and protected cultivation vs. field production. Yields of references depended on the crop and on the country. Over 27,000 references were provided to EFSA. This allows EFSA to quickly find information on crop production, both indoors and outdoors, of all crops that were studied in this extensive literature search. The data can be used by EFSA for the present mandate, but are also an excellent basis for other current and future mandates.


Advances in personalization of digital services are driven by low-cost data collection and processing, in addition to the wide variety of third-party frameworks for authentication, storage, and marketing. New privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act, increasingly require organizations to explicitly state their data practices in privacy policies. When data practices change, a new version of the policy is released. This can occur a few times a year, when data collection or processing requirements are rapidly changing. Consent evolution raises specific challenges to ensuring GDPR compliance. We propose a formal consent framework to support organizations, data users, and data subjects in their understanding of policy evolution under a consent regime that supports both the retroactive and non-retroactive granting and withdrawal of consent. The contributions include (i) a formal framework to reason about data collection and access under multiple consent granting and revocation scenarios, (ii) a scripting language that implements the consent framework for encoding and executing different scenarios, (iii) five consent evolution use cases that illustrate how organizations would evolve their policies using this framework, and (iv) a scalability evaluation of the reasoning framework. The framework models are used to verify when user consent prevents or detects unauthorized data collection and access. The framework can be integrated into a runtime architecture to monitor policy violations as data practices evolve in real time. The framework was evaluated using the five use cases and a simulation to measure the framework scalability. The simulation results show that the approach is computationally scalable for use in runtime consent monitoring under a standard model of data collection and access and practice and policy evolution.


Firms often choose to raise capital from multiple creditors even though doing so may lead to inefficient liquidation caused by coordination failure. Potential coordination failure can, however, improve a firm's incentive to repay its debt, thus increasing its debt capacity. Given this trade-off between higher liquidation risk and enhanced pledgeability, it is important to understand how firms choose the number of creditors and how this decision changes over time. I build a dynamic rollover model to analyze these questions. Consistent with empirical findings, I show that firms optimally increase the number of creditors when they perform badly. Even though having more creditors increases the liquidation probability, allowing for potential coordination failure from multiple creditors is valuable. Policies that commit the creditors to ex post efficient coordination exacerbate rollover difficulty and the reduction in firm value ex ante. Finally, if the firm can renegotiate its debt very frequently, the extra pledgeability from multiple creditors diminishes. The model also generates empirical implications for the firm value, the interest rates, and the probabilities of liquidation, renegotiation, and default.


Why does society punish criminals? What political principles underlie the determination of punishment to suit the crime? In "Founding the Criminal Law," Pestritto studies policies concerning crime and punishment in early America to better understand political thought during the founding era, bringing fresh insights to modern debates about the consequences of lawbreaking. Basing his research on original government documents, state constitutions, the arguments of America's founders, and the writings of such influential reformers as William Penn, William Bradford, and Thomas Jefferson, Pestritto analyzes the complex mix of punishment philosophies at work in early America. He shows how the political principles that guided America's founders in their selection of criminal punishments contribute to the current debate over crime and justice in America. Impressive and interdisciplinary, "Founding the Criminal Law" holds particular interest for political scientists, American and legal historians, and criminal justice scholars.


This article argues that the effect of corruption on competition is dependent on the institutional environment. When institutions are relatively efficient, observed corruption is likely to be associated with relatively less competition. Conversely, in areas with low quality institutions (e.g., excessively burdensome regulations), corruption may lead to relatively more competition. I employ unique data on competition, corruption, and institutional quality across U.S. states from 1997 to 2009 and report that a higher level of corruption is associated with relatively more competition in states with low levels of institutional quality. However, as institutional quality improves, the effect of corruption worsens. Thus, institutional quality is a fundamental determinant of the corruption‐competition relationship. Improving institutional quality, while at the same time reducing corruption, will increase competition and likely improve economic outcomes.


The color of the book's cover alludes to the time and context in which this important volume originated: the 3rd Interdisciplinary Conference Celebrating International Women's Day at the New School for Social Research in New York City. At that time 'orange alerts' were issued by the United States to create a climate of fear and thereby stifle any critical debate of its foreign and domestic policy. The feminist thinkers presented in this volume are alert that such a critique is needed. They draw on the various languages of their fields to address wide-ranging topics and key questions in feminist politics, theory and philosophy. They all confront the state of urgency concerning the role of women in all classes of society, in all fields of research and the academy. This unique collection ranges across disciplines; as such the four major topics- aesthetics and female representation, love and psychoanalysis, care and ethics, the different understandings of 'women' - represent current topics of cross-disciplinary interest for Women's and Gender Studies, Philosophy, and Political Science.


Background and Objectives: Disease is a matter with which each person may face in his life. If caregivers want to provide real and complete health care services, comprehensive attention to the spiritual needs of a patient is indispensibe. Since many people obtain spirituality through religion, appropriate religious care can promote spiritual health of patients. This research aimed at examining religious care program and determining the impact of religious care on spiritual health of hospitalized patients provided by the clergymen at the patients' bedsides. Methods: In this clinical trial, 142 patients hospitalized in Qom Nekuoei hospital were selected randomly and divided into experimental and control groups. After completing the questionnaire on demographic information and spiritual health questionnaire by the participants, religious care program was implemented in the experimental group and then the two groups were followed after intervention. Results: The two groups had no statistically significant difference before intervention in spiritual health score and its domains (religious health and existential health) but after intervention there were statistically significant differences. Spiritual health score and its domains increased after the intervention (P<0.000). Conclusion: Religious care provided by clergymen at the patients' bedsides increases patients' spiritual health and their ability to cope with illness as well as reduce complications of the disease.


MODELING, VISUALIZING, AND UNDERSTANDING COMPLEX TECTONIC STRUCTURES ON THE SURFACE AND IN THE SUB-SURFACE Steven Wild Old Dominion University, 2012 Co-Directors: Dr. Declan De Paor Dr. Jennifer Georgen Plate tectonics is a relatively new theory with many details of plate dynamics which remain to be worked out. Moving plates can interact by divergence, lateral sliding, convergence, or collision. At a convergent plate boundary, a lithospheric slab of oceanic crust and upper mantle is subducted at a trench and dips down under a magmatic arc either oceanic or continental. Textbooks show a static view of conver gent boundaries but plate dynamics require that subduction zones and magmatic arcs must migrate with time. Therefore I develop animated models to help convey this motion. Also, convergent plate boundaries cannot continue along strike or down dip indefinitely without changing. Subduction zones change orientation and eventually terminate. They may bend and shear or tear and open a window for asthenospheric flow. Two different convergent plate boundaries are the primary focus of my studies: the Tonga subduction zone where the Pacific plate moving beneath an island arc is torn along the Samoan Island Archipelago, and the Andean subduction zone in central South America where the Nazca plate moves beneath a continental arc. I choose these zones because they exhibit tears or shears, where subduction stops, or changes dip suddenly. To examine these features I use several modeling and visual ization techniques. COLLADA (COLLabrative Design Activity) models in Google Earth and Google Earth Application Programming Interface (API) are used for vi sualizing and teaching of plate boundary systems. The testing of COLLADA models for geoscience concepts showed positive learning gains. Kinematic models are made to study strain rates and possible methods of plate evolution. Dynamic COMSOL numerical models are created to probe temperature and flow fields in the subduction zone. Animated COLLADA models are designed for different models of subduction initiation and development for the Tonga trench for both research and educational purposes. The development of these models led to a new hypothesis of this region's formation. Using these models and Google Earth materials studies in undergraduate classes tested the effectiveness of Google Earth based lab activities for enhancing student understanding of geoscience. In the central Andean subduction zone, emergent COLLADA models are made from mining GeoMapApp (http://www.geomapapp.org) and published contour data to demonstrate the unique geometry of the Nazca plate having adjacent subduction angles of 10° and 30°. This led to the research question, can the Nazca plate sup port this geometry by shearing without tearing? A literature review shows efforts to explore this topic by means of hypocenter, teleseismic, and thermal data to have no consensus on the topic. To this end a new approach is taken to examine this region by applying the methods of kinematic and dynamic modeling to further explore this question. These different models of the Andean system lead to the conclusion that no major magmatic window could have opened between the flat and steep subduction areas given the time and deformation mechanisms available.


1. The activity of Ecdyonurus torrentis Kimm., Heptagenia lateralis (Curt.) and Baetis rhodani (Pict.) has been measured over a series of 24 hr. periods by recording their movements over 10 min. periods every hour. 2. Diurnal rhythms have been found to occur under conditions of natural daylight and darkness in all three species, but the periods of activity occur at different times, according to the species. 3. These rhythms are maintained under conditions of continuous light or darkness and under conditions of 'reversed' illumination. 4. In Ecdyonurus torrentis the rhythm is not seen in nymphs bred from eggs in continuous light, but appears abruptly, in almost fully developed form, after exposure of the nymphs to natural daylight and darkness for a period of no more than 24 hr.


Rationale and Objectives
There is convincing evidence that physical activity (PA) reduces risk of colon cancer (CC) and may improve survival after cancer, although few older adults achieve recommended PA guidelines. Numerous barriers to participation exist, though few studies focus on socio-cultural influences. This study explores barriers specific to individuals at elevated risk of CC following screening colonoscopy, as well as how health professionals or a 'diagnosis' may provide additional motivation to change.
Methods
Interviews were conducted with colonic polyp patients and CC survivors over 60 years old, selectively sampled from a feasibility study for a randomised controlled PA intervention. Narrative accounts enabled discussion of influences on health behaviour throughout participants' lifetimes, the impact of their recent 'diagnosis', and attitudes towards PA. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with health professionals to triangulate data collection.
All interviews were transcribed verbatim and a constructivist grounded theory approach to data analysis was followed.
Findings
Despite not meeting current PA guidelines, participants perceived a lifetime of 'natural' PA. CC survivors were more inclined to initiate PA engagement to improve their health; conversely, elevated risk individuals were often not aware of their change in health status, leading them to conclude that no lifestyle change was necessary.
Professionals confirmed that no PA guidance is currently offered to screening patients, but believed that there may be scope to implement health promotion advice. Barriers towards this however, are complex and numerous.
Conclusions
The 'meaning of PA' is situated and understandings may differ. Despite reporting perceptions of high PA, this study sample did not seem to understand what constitutes sufficient PA to elicit a positive health response.
Risk status awareness and the benefits of PA is lacking in elevated risk individuals. For the screening setting to be utilised, questions around 'why', 'when' 'who' and 'how' health promotion should be delivered, need to be addressed.


Double proton transfer (PT) reactions in guanine-cytosine OH radical adducts are studied by the hybrid density functional B3LYP approach. Concerted and stepwise proton-transfer processes are explored between N1(H) on guanine (G) and N3 on cytosine (C), and between N4(H) on C and O6 on G. All systems except GC6OH display a concerted mechanism. 8OHGC has the highest dissociation energy and is 1.2 kcal/mol more stable than the nonradical GC base pair. The origin of the interactions are investigated through the estimation of intrinsic acid-basic properties of the *OH-X monomer (X = G or C). Solvent effects play a significant role in reducing the dissociation energy. The reactions including *OH-C adducts have significantly lower PT barriers than both the nonradical GC pair and the *OH-G adducts. All reactions are endothermic, with the GC6OH --> GC6OHPT reaction has the lowest reaction energy (4.6 kcal/mol). In accordance with earlier results, the estimated NBO charges show that the G moiety carries a slight negative charge (and C a corresponding positive one) in each adduct. The formation of a partial ion pair may be a potential factor leading to the PT reactions being thermodynamically unfavored.


The paper deals with providing a specification methodology to enable flexible monitoring in large scale distributed information systems (DIS). The goal is to allow the monitoring of compliance to properties deemed as critical for functioning of a DIS. Since information attacks due to external intrusion and/or component failures often manifest as deviations from critical behaviors expected of a DIS, a violation of compliance to a specified critical property can be viewed as symptomatic of information attacks. Based on this principle, users can prescribe critical properties in the form of event predicates, which are Boolean conditions on the externally visible interface state distributed among computation nodes and can be detected by distributed algorithms. Our specification methodology manifests in two facets: i) designing a meta-language which allows the interface behavior of a system to be prescribed through possible occurrences of events in the external environment; and ii) incorporating the specification language into a programming interface that exposes the computation-level states symbolizing the occurrence of events. Any target application can then plugged-in to the generic monitor tool to test for its compliance to critical functionality requirements. The realization of monitor in distributed object-oriented programming languages (such as JAVA) reduces the software development costs of implementing a DIS: due to the ease of specification, development and maintenance of the DIS.


Reconfigurable Optically Interconnected Systems Yiwen Shen With the immense growth of data consumption in today's data centers and highperformance computing systems driven by the constant influx of new applications, the network infrastructure supporting this demand is under increasing pressure to enable higher bandwidth, latency, and flexibility requirements. Optical interconnects, able to support high bandwidth wavelength division multiplexed signals with extreme energy efficiency, have become the basis for long-haul and metro-scale networks around the world, while photonic components are being rapidly integrated within rack and chipscale systems. However, optical and photonic interconnects are not a direct replacement for electronic-based components. Rather, the integration of optical interconnects with electronic peripherals allows for unique functionalities that can improve the capacity, compute performance and flexibility of current state-of-the-art computing systems. This requires physical layer methodologies for their integration with electronic components, as well as system level control planes that incorporates the optical layer characteristics. This thesis explores various network architectures and the associated control plane, hardware infrastructure, and other supporting software modules needed to integrate silicon photonics andMEMS based optical switching into conventional datacomnetwork systems ranging from intra-data center and high-performance computing systems to the metroscale layer networks between data centers. In each of these systems, we demonstrate dynamic bandwidth steering and compute resource allocation capabilities to enable significant performance improvements. The key accomplishments of this thesis are as follows. In Part 1, we present high-performance computing network architectures that integrate silicon photonic switches for optical bandwidth steering, enabling multiple reconfigurable topologies that results in significant system performance improvements. As high-performance systems rely on increased parallelism by scaling up to greater numbers of processor nodes, communication between these nodes grows rapidly and the interconnection network becomes a bottleneck to the overall performance of the system. It has been observed that many scientific applications operating on high-performance computing systems cause highly skewed traffic over the network, congesting only a small percentage of the total available links while other links are underutilized. This mismatch of the traffic and the bandwidth allocation of the physical layer network presents the opportunity to optimize the bandwidth resource utilization of the system by using silicon photonic switches to perform bandwidth steering. This allows the individual processors to perform at their maximum compute potential and thereby improving the overall system performance. We show various testbeds that integrates both microring resonator and Mach-Zehnder based silicon photonic switches within Dragonfly and Fat-Tree topology networks built with conventional equipment, and demonstrate 30-60% reduction in execution time of real high-performance benchmark applications. Part 2 presents a flexible network architecture and control plane that enables autonomous bandwidth steering and IT resource provisioning capabilities between metroscale geographically distributed data centers. It uses a software-defined control plane to autonomously provision both network and IT resources to support different quality of service requirements and optimizes resource utilization under dynamically changing load variations. By activelymonitoring both the bandwidth utilization of the network and CPU or memory resources of the end hosts, the control plane autonomously provisions background or dynamic connections with different levels of quality of service using optical MEMS switching, as well as initializing live migrations of virtual machines to consolidate or distribute workload. Together these functionalities provide flexibility and maximize efficiency in processing and transferring data, and enables energy and cost savings by scaling down the system when resources are not needed. An experimental testbed of three data center nodes was built to demonstrate the feasibility of these capabilities. Part 3 presents Lightbridge, a communications platform specifically designed to provide a more seamless integration between processor nodes and an optically switched network. It addresses some of the crucial issues faced by the works presented in the previous chapters related to optical switching. When optical switches perform switching operations, they change the physical topology of the network, and they lack the capability to buffer packets, resulting in certain optical circuits being unavailable. This prompts the question of whether it is safe to transmit packets by end hosts at any given time. Lightbridge was developed to coordinate switching and routing of optical circuits across the network, by having the processors gain information about the current state of the optical network before transmitting packets, and being able to buffer packets when the optical circuit is not available. This part describes details of Lightbridge which is constituted by a loadable Linux kernel module along with other supporting modifications to the Linux kernel in order to achieve the necessary functionalities.


To improve detection accuracy, Utilizing HMM (Hidden Markov model) and BW to building model, the detection accuracy improves greatly. First, the research progress of intrusion detection is recalled, then the model based on Markov and BW is presented. An example of using system call trace data which is used in intrusion detection, is given to illustrate the performance of this model. Finally, comparison of detection ability between the above detection method and others is given. It is found that the IDS based on HMM System Call sequence has improve the accuracy greatly.


Lego RCX Mindstorms kits have been used for teaching traction and ballasting of tractors in the Agricultural Equipment and Machinery course at the University of Missouri for several years. Students design and program autonomous model tractors and observe their performance in a competition involving a simulated tractor pulling a set of weights. With this activity, students observe the effects of drive mechanisms and ballasting on the amount of weight a tractor can pull. In addition to tractor performance activities, we developed a methodology to demonstrate the instabilities taking place during tractor operation on uneven terrain. We used the sensors of a smartphone to monitor the tractor stability on sloping ground. A smartphone application transmitted the data from its inbuilt sensors to a computer over a Wi-Fi network. The physical dimensions of the tractor and the data from the smartphone were used in a mathematical model to determine a stability index value for the tractor operation. The laboratory experiments indicated that the inbuilt sensors of smartphones can be used to wirelessly collect information regarding a tractor's stability. The developed methodology is suitable for teaching rollover prevention of tractors.


To establish cheese as a dairy product with health benefits, we embarked on examining the multifunctional role of cheeses, especially in the field of cancer prevention. The current study was designed to investigate whether different types of commercial goat cheeses may possess antiproliferative activity, using an HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line as a cancer cell model. Among 11 cheese extracts tested at 500μg/mL, 6 (Crottin de Chavignol, Pouligny Saint-Pierre, Chabichou du Poitou, Valencay, Kavli, and Sainte-Maure de Touraine) resulted in a significant decrease of cell viability, which is consistent with a decrease in viable cell number. Compared with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) value of individual cheeses in cellular proliferation assays, the Pouligny Saint-Pierre extract showed strong inhibition. Incubation of cells in the presence of Pouligny Saint-Pierre extract resulted in induction of cellular morphological changes and apoptotic DNA fragmentation as well as expression of the active form of caspase-3 protein. Based on the quantification of the ratio of free fatty acids to triglycerides in different cheese samples, a significant correlation was detected between lipolytic ripeness and IC(50) values for antiproliferative capacity tested in HL-60 cells. Collectively, these results support a potential role of highly lipolyzed goat cheeses in the prevention of leukemic cell proliferation.


Recombination is an evolutionary mechanism intrinsic to the evolution of many RNA viruses. In retroviruses and notably in the case of HIV, recombination is so frequent that it can be considered as part of its mode of replication. This process not only plays a central role in shaping HIV genetic diversity worldwide, but has also been involved in immune escape and development of resistance to antiviral treatments. Recombination does not create new mutations in the existing genetic repertoire of the virus, but creates new combinations of pre-existing polymorphisms. The simultaneous insertion of multiple substitutions in a single replication cycle leaves little room for the progressive coevolution of regions of proteins, RNA or, more in general, genomes, to accommodate these drastic sequence changes. Therefore, recombination, while allowing the virus to rapidly explore larger sequence space than the slow accumulation of point mutations, also runs the risk of generating non functional viruses. Recombination is the consequence of a switch in the template used during reverse transcription and is promoted by the presence of structured regions in the genomic RNA template. In this review, we discuss new observations suggesting that the distribution of RNA structures along the HIV genome may enhance recombination rates in regions where the resultant progeny is less likely to be impaired, and could therefore maximize the evolutionary value of this source of genetic diversity.


Water scarcity is a key limiting factor in agriculture. Grapevines react at the physiological, biochemical and genetic level to tolerate water constraints. Even though grapevines are considered relatively tolerant to water deficits, grapevine growth and yield can be seriously reduced under water deficit. Drought-tolerant rootstocks are expected to enable the scion to grow and yield when water supply is limited. Genetic machinery allows rootstocks to control water extraction capacity and scion transpiration. Numerous works have demonstrated the positive role of drought-tolerant rootstocks on the control of cultivar's leaf stomatal conductance and therefore on canopy transpiration. The mechanisms, in terms of signalisation and gene functioning, need further study. Furthermore, there is no standardised methodology to rank rootstocks in terms of their tolerance to drought. A potential effect of rootstocks on stomatal development is also discussed. This review will critically discuss the current knowledge of the mechanisms of drought tolerance afforded by rootstocks, taking into account the scion/rootstock interaction, and will present some of the challenges for future investigations.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the survival of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSC) and periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC) in BMMSC/PDLSC cell sheets which transplanted ectopically into subcutaneous dorsum of nude mice.

METHODS
The canine BMMSC and PDLSC from primary culture were tranfected with lentiviral vectors carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene (Lentivirus-GFP) or red fluorescent protein (RFP) gene (Lentivirus-RFP) respectively. The immunophenotypes of GFP-labeled BMMSC and RFP-labeled PDLSC were identified by flow cytometry. Adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of them were detected by alizarin red or oil red O respectively. Then, both GFP-labeled BMMSC cell sheets and RFP-labeled PDLSC cell sheets were fabricated respectively using normal culture dish (6 cm) after stimulation of extracellular matrix formation. Each was enveloped by collagen membrane (Bio-Gide) and then transplanted into the subcutaneous dorsum of nude mice. In vivo non-invasive biofluorescence imaging(BFI) was performed at 1, 2, 4 and 8 w post-tranplantation to trace and quantify the survival and growth of RFP-labeled PDLSC and GFP-labeled BMMSC via the BFI system of the NightOWL. The fluorescence intensity change of GFP/RFP signal was monitored and compared. The mice were sacrificed 8 weeks after cell sheets transplantation and the survival of stem cells was verified by fluorescence immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS
The flow cytometry showed that GFP-labeled BMMSC positively expressed CD29, CD44, CD34, STRO-1 were 93.07%, 92.84%, 3.23%, 67.67%, and RFP-labeled PDLSCs were 89.91%, 88.47%, 6.04%, 74.11%, respectively. Both of them had the potency of differentiating into osteoblasts and adipocytes. The stemness of both of them was almost same. After being transplanted into nude mice, the signal strength of GFP(BMMSC) was weaker and weaker in 1, 2, 4 and 8 w [(83.1±3.1)×10(6), (65.1±2.3)×10(6), (51.5 ± 2.3)×10(6), (33.8 ± 2.0)×10(6) ph/s, respectively.]. The signal strength of RFP(PDLSC) was weakenedin 1, 2 and 4 w [(53.8±3.0)×10(6), (42.2±2.6)×10(6), (34.5±2.1)×10(6) ph/s], then recovered in 8 w ([ 45.1±2.9)×10(6) ph/s]. The signal strength of RFP(PDLSC) was signifcantly stronger in 8 w than in 4 w(P < 0.01). The survival of RFP-labeled PDLSC was significant higher than that of GFP-labeled BMMSC. After 8 weeks, lots of RFP-labeled PDLSC were observed by microscope, but less GFP-labeled BMMSC were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
Histometric analysis revealed that the survival of stem cells in the RFP-labeled PDLSC cell sheets was significantly higher than that of in the GFP-labeled BMMSCs cell sheets.


Investigating alternative navigation approaches for use when GPS signals are unavailable is an active area of research across the globe. In this paper we focus on the navigation of small, fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that employ vision-based approaches combined with other measurements as a replacement for GPS. We demonstrate with flight test data that vehicle attitude information, derived from cheap, MEMS-based IMUs is sufficient to improve two different types of vision processing algorithms. Secondly, we show analytically and with flight test data that range measurements to one other vehicle with global pose is sufficient to constrain the global drift of a visual inertial odometry-based navigation solution. Further, we demonstrate that such ranging information is not needed at a fast rate; that bounding can occur using data as infrequent as 0.01 Hz.


Experimental data have shown that combustor temperature non-uniformities can lead to the excessive heating of first-stage rotor blades in turbines. This heating of the rotor blades can lead to thermal fatigue and degrade turbine performance. The results of recent studies have shown that variations in the circumferential location, or clocking, of the first-stage vane airfoils can be used to minimize the adverse effects of the hot streaks due to the hot fluid mixing with the cooler fluid contained in the vane wake. Less effort has been put into determining the effects of the hot streak/airfoil count ratio on the heating patterns of turbine airfoils. In the present investigation, threedimensional unsteady Navier-Stokes simulations have been performed for a single-stage high-pressure turbine geometry operating in high subsonic flow. Simulations were initially performed without hot streaks to compare with the experimental data. The ratio of the number of hot streaks to the number of vanes and rotors was then varied. The predicted results demonstrate a complex interaction between the hot streak *Associate Professor, Senior Member AIAA t Senior Analyst, Senior Member AIAA 1 Assistant Professor, Member AIAA Copyright 01999 by Daniel Dorney, Douglas Sondak and Paul Cizmas. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. with permission. and the secondary flows in the rotor.


In the present investigation, some biological aspects of Tilapia zillii from Lake Timsah were studied. This was carried out on 700 fish samples collected during the period from October, 2002 to September, 2003. Total length of females ranged from 7 to 16 cm and males from 8 to 21 cm. Age determination based on length frequency distributions showed that the life span are two and four years for females and males, respectively. Estimates of growth parameters are widely used for detailed assessment and modeling of fish species and fisheries. The length-weight relationship, age at length zero (to), growth coefficient (K), asymptotic length (L¥) and rates of natural (M) and total mortality (Z) were estimated for T. zillii from Lake Timsah. Length-weight relationships were calculated from individual fish length and weight records collected from sampling using gill nets. Analyses were obtained by sampling direct from the fisher's catches. Data were analyzed using the FISAT software. T. zillii, the estimate of K was 0.320 and 0.680 year-1 for males and females, respectively, whilst L¥ was approximately 22.05 and 17.85 cm, for males and females, respectively. T. zillii (males) had the lowest value of K and the largest L¥ than females. Natural mortality was the lowest for T. zillii (females) (M=0.464 and 0.38 year-1) and fishing mortality was highest for T. zillii (males) (F=2.656, 1.88 year-1). In addition, exploitation rate was estimated at E=0.83 and length at first capture (Lc) was calculated at 11.30 cm for males while E=0.78 and (Lc) was estimated as 6.68 cm for females. The majority of fish caught of the main commercial species in the Lake Timsah fishery were from the first age group, at a size far below the optimal length at capture. This suggests growth overfishing for T. zillii in Lake Timsah.

 Key words: Lake Timsah, Tilapia zillii, age and growth, mortality, gonadosomatic index, length at first maturity, population structure.


The purpose of this work was to investigate whether changes in oxysterol and apolipoprotein levels over 5 years are associated with disease course and disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study included 139 subjects [39 healthy controls (HCs), 61 relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) patients, and 39 progressive MS (P-MS) patients]. Oxysterols [24-hydroxycholesterol (24HC), 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), 7α-hydroxycholesterol (7αHC), and 7-ketocholesterol (7KC)] were measured at baseline and 5 years using a novel mass spectrometric method, and apolipoproteins were measured using immunoturbidometric diagnostic kits. Levels of 24HC (P = 0.004), 25HC (P = 0.029), and 27HC (P = 0.026) increased in P-MS patients. 7KC (P = 0.047) and 7αHC (P = 0.001) levels decreased in RR-MS patients, and there were no changes in any oxysterols in HCs. In MS patients, ApoC-II (all P ≤ 0.01) and ApoE (all P ≤ 0.01) changes were positively associated with all oxysterol levels. Increases in 24HC (P = 0.038) and ApoB (P = 0.038) and decreases in 7KC (P = 0.020) were observed in RR-MS patients who converted to secondary P-MS (SP-MS) at follow-up and in SP-MS patients compared with RR-MS patients. Oxysterols and their associations with apolipoproteins differed between MS patients and HCs over 5 years. Oxysterol and apolipoprotein changes were associated with conversion to SP-MS.


The ecological role of the sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula was examined in shallow subtidal reefs on the west coast of Italy from December 1994 to July 1996. The density of sea urchlns was manipulated experimentally in patches of vertical substrata without erect algae. The following propositions were examined: (1) that sea urchins were responsible for the persistence of patches of bare rock and encrusting coralhnes in shallow subtidal habitats, (2) that their effects were density dependent, and (3) that these effects were consistent in time. The experimental manipulations consisted of 3 replicate patches randomly assigned to one of the following treatments: ( l ) Ox (total ren~ovals), (2) 0 5 x (50% of the average density found in untouched patches), ( 3 ) l x (untouched patches), and (4) 2x (200% of the average density found in the untouched patches). The removal of sea urch~ns significantly increased the coverage of the filamentous and fleshy algae in permanent plots, and these effects were cons~stent over time. In contrast, grazing had no effect on the encrust~ng coralhnes, Peyssonnella spp. and invertebrates (barnacles, bryozoans and limpets) The response of the filamentous algae was proportional to the density of sea urchins, with percent cover values In the 0 5 x treatment being intermediate to those observed in the Ox and l x treatments. Conversely, the response of the fleshy algae was non-linear: only when sea urchins were totally removed d ~ d the coverage of these plants lncrease significantly. Doubling the density of sea urchins significantly increased the erosion of the margins of the patches, while their removal caused no change along the perimeter. In general, there was considerable variability from patch to patch in the abundance of most of the response vanables analysed, while temporal changes were less important. The results show that sea urchins can have significant but variable effects on vertical patches of barren habitat; alternative explanations are suggested to account for the persistence of these patches despite the removal of grazers.


The use of self-checking checkers in the design of highly reliable systems has many significant advantages. It allows errors to be detected upon occurrence without testing, whether the error is caused by a permanent or intermittent fault. However, there are relatively few codes for which efficient self-checking checkers have been designed. In this paper we present procedures for designing efficient self-checking checkers for m-out-of-n codes (i.e., codes where each valid code word consists of m bits with value 1 and n – m bits with value 0). Codes for arbitrary values of m and n are considered. Realizations which require significantly less logic than previously known realizations are presented for all cases except n = 2m and m = 1. These checkers are totally self-checking for all single and unidirectional multiple stuck-type faults. They are also very easy to test compared with previously presented realizations. Saving in logic complexity and testing complexity of 70 to 97 percent is demonstrated.


Context. Variability management (VM) in automotive domain is a promising solution to reduction of complexity. Feature modeling, as starting point of VM, deals with analysis and representation of available features in terms of commonalities and variabilities. The work is done in the context of an automotive industry – Adam Opel AG. Objectives. This work studies the automotive specific problems with respect to feature modeling, investigates what decomposition and structuring approaches exist in literature, and which one of them satisfies the industrial requirements. The approach to feature modeling is synthesized, evaluated and documented. Methods. In this work a case study with survey and literature review is performed. Survey uses semi structured interview and workshops as data collection methods. Systematic review includes articles from Compendex, Inspec, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, Science Direct and Engineering Village. Approach selection is based on mapping requirements against discovered approaches and discussion with industry practitioner on the regular meetings. Evaluation is proposed according to Goal Question Metric paradigm. Results. The approach that can be followed in the case organization is described and evaluated. The reasoning behind feature modeling approach construction and selection can be generalized for other organizations as well. Conclusions. We conclude that there is no perfect approach that would solve all the problems connected to automotive software. However, structuring approaches can be complementary and while combining give a good results. Tool support that integrates into the whole development cycle is important, as the amount of information cannot be processed using simple feature modeling tools. There is a need for further investigation in both directions – tool support and structuring approaches. The tactics that are proposed here should be introduced in organizations and formally evaluated.


We examine the dynamics of VOT in Polish stops under lexical stress and focus. We elicit real Polish words containing voiced and voiceless stop+/a/ syllables in primary, secondary and unstressed, as well as focus positions. We also correlate VOT with speech rate estimated on the basis of equisyllabic word length. Our results show that the relationships between prosody and VOT are consistent with the status of Polish as a true voicing language.


According to the problems of low efficiency and high cost in blisk manufacturing, based on large margin slotting and rough machining, a kind of compound and efficient powerful milling process was proposed, that is, disc milling-plunge milling-flank milling. In order to compare the effect of this new process and the traditional plunge milling or flank milling, experiment on disc milling and plunge milling processing performance was carried out. Compared with plunge milling, the cutting force and tool vibration of disc milling are larger, but its processing efficiency was improved significantly. The experiment proved that the compound and efficient powerful milling process is feasible and effective for the large margin slotting and rough machining of blisk.


Most existing works in Probabilistic Simple Temporal Networks (PSTNs) base their frameworks on well-defined, parametric probability distributions. Under the operational contexts of both strong and dynamic control, this paper addresses robustness measure of PSTNs, i.e. the execution success probability, where the probability distributions of the contingent durations are ordinary, not necessarily parametric, nor symmetric (e.g. histograms, PERT), as long as these can be discretized. In practice, one would obtain ordinary distributions by considering empirical observations (compiled as histograms), or even hand-drawn by field experts. In this new realm of PSTNs, we study and formally define concepts such as degree of weak/strong/dynamic controllability, robustness under a predefined dispatching protocol, and introduce the concept of PSTN expected execution utility. We also discuss the limitation of existing controllability levels, and propose new levels within dynamic controllability, to better characterize dynamic controllable PSTNs based on based practical complexity considerations. We propose a novel fixed-parameter pseudo-polynomial time computation method to obtain both the success probability and expected utility measures. We apply our computation method to various PSTN datasets, including realistic planetary exploration scenarios in the context of the Mars 2020 rover. Moreover, we propose additional original applications of the method.


The tenth edition of Grant's Method of Anatomy by John V. Basmajian carries on the tradition of clarity and simplicity in the presentation of essential anatomical information established by the late J. C. B. Grant of the University of Toronto, whose first edition of this book was published in 1937. This present edition of 625 pages in 50 chapters covers seven regions of the human body. This reflects the contemporary trend to condense anatomical information into regions, rather than the encyclopedic systemic method customarily used prior to World War II. In each chapter, the anatomical material is presented in summary paragraphs, using precise and uncomplicated language. On almost every page, there are diagrammatic line and stipple-tone drawings and color plates, which summarize and clarify the material described in the text. These illustrations are remarkably practical and helpful for understanding anatomical structures. Clear diagrams such as these can present principles better


A key concept towards reliable, robust, and safe AI systems is the idea to implement fallback strategies when predictions of the AI cannot be trusted. Certifiers for neural networks have made great progress towards provable robustness guarantees against evasion attacks using adversarial examples. These methods guarantee for some predictions that a certain class of manipulations or attacks could not have changed the outcome. For the remaining predictions without guarantees, the method abstains from making a prediction and a fallback strategy needs to be invoked, which is typically more costly, less accurate, or even involves a human operator. While this is a key concept towards safe and secure AI, we show for the first time that this strategy comes with its own security risks, as such fallback strategies can be deliberately triggered by an adversary. In particular, we conduct the first systematic analysis of training-time attacks against certifiers in practical application pipelines, identifying new threat vectors that can be exploited to degrade the overall system. Using these insights, we design two backdoor attacks against network certifiers, which can drastically reduce certified robustness. For example, adding 1% poisoned data during training is sufficient to reduce certified robustness by up to 95 percentage points, effectively rendering the certifier useless. We analyze how such novel attacks can compromise the overall system's integrity or availability. Our extensive experiments across multiple datasets, model architectures, and certifiers demonstrate the wide applicability of these attacks. A first investigation into potential defenses shows that current approaches are insufficient to mitigate the issue, highlighting the need for new, more specific solutions.


Reverse transcriptase (RT) is an appropriate target for anti-HIV chemotherapy. In recent years several entirely new leads for the design of different structural classes of HIV-1-specific RT inhibitors were provided (also called non-nucleoside RT inhibitors or NNRTI). We performed profound studies on (i) the structure-antiviral activity relationship of TSAO (a prototype NNRTI compound), (ii) the biochemical and molecular mechanism of anti-viral action of TSAO and other NNRTI's, (iii) metabolism and antimetabolic effects of TSAO's in cell culture, and (iv) the pharmacokinetic properties of TSAO in mice. In addition, the molecular basis of resistance development of HIV-1 RT against other NNRTI's have also been profoundly studied. A mapping of the resistance mutations in the binding pocket of the RT and the sensitivity/resistance spectrum of the most important NNRTI's that are subject of clinical trials have been determined. Based on the information that became evident from these studies, a molecular model of interaction of the NNRTI inhibitor TSAO with the binding pocket in the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase has been proposed, and now provide the rational basis for the development of second generation TSAO molecules that may become suppressive to mutant HIV-1 strains. Also, resistance development could be markedly delayed, modulated, attenuated, or even fully suppressed by at least two different original approaches: (i) the knock-out drug concentration principle that exploits the limited capacity of mutant HIV-1 reverse transcriptases to respond to high NNRTI drug concentrations and (ii) the rational paired drug combination therapy that exploits the mutually exclusive sensitivity/resistance properties of NNRTI drugs against the different NNRTI-specific resistance mutations in the RT. Our findings have provided us with several powerful tools to have a more efficient chemotherapeutic impact on the HIV-1 infection and to better control the emergence of viral resistance.


INTRODUCTION
Body mass index (BMI) categories and physical fitness are associated but the reciprocal relationship between BMI categories and physical fitness has not been investigated. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal reciprocal relationship between BMI categories and physical fitness.

METHODS
This is a population-based 4-year cohort study in 48 elementary schools. Children aged 6 to 9 years at recruitment were included. BMI categories and physical fitness including handgrip strength, core muscle endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory fitness were measured using standard equipment and protocol.

RESULTS
Among 26 392 eligible participants, 19 504 (73.9%) were successfully followed for 3 years. Baseline obesity prevalence was 5.9%. After 3 years, those who were unfit at baseline had an increased risk of obesity (risk ratio [RR] 1.41, 95% CI 1.16-1.71, P < .001) and those who were fit at baseline had a decreased risk of obesity (RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.60-0.80, P < .001) compared with moderately fit children. Furthermore, improvement of fitness predicted decreased risk of obesity. Similarly, normal body weight also predicted better physical fitness. The path analysis confirmed a strong reciprocal relationship between physical fitness and obesity.

CONCLUSIONS
Better physical fitness was prospectively associated with normal weight and vice versa. Physically fit children were more likely to maintain a healthy weight and those with a healthy weight were more likely to be physically fit, which is important for healthy development.


Firms are becoming increasingly knowledge intensive but we know very little about the ways in which they create and use knowledge. In this paper, we provide a representation of the knowledge base of a firm, defined as the collective knowledge that a firm can use to produce marketable outputs. Here the knowledge base (KB) of the firm will be mapped using patent statistics. In particular, we study the strategic reorientation and subsequent merger of Rhone Poulenc and of Hoechst. Starting from the EPO database, we select the patents of the two firms for the period 1990-1998. We study the changes taking place in the KBs of the two firms, both by patent statistics and by lexicographic analysis. The latter technique allows us to create a map representing the technological classes contained in the patents of the two firms and their links. In our representation, the KB takes the form of a network with technological classes as nodes and with links determined by the co-occurrence of given key words in different technological classes. The networks representing the KBs of the two firms change in the course of time following their strategic decisions. Our objective is to provide conceptual and operational definitions of the KBs of the firms and to analyse the role that the KBs play in the strategic reorientation of the two firms and in their subsequent merger. Central questions concern how the KBs of Hoechst and Rhone Poulenc changed as a consequence of their re-orientation towards the life sciences, and how the nature of the KBs of the two firms influenced the merger. Also, how did the KBs of the two firms change following the merger? What effect would the new KB have on the decision to separate (or not) the agrochemical and pharmaceutical divisions?


Carbon is the most essential element of the land crown. Due to fluctuation of water table the carbon content of soil would change. This will result in leaching of carbon from the structure for compensation and this might damage the structure. The most important problem associated with most of the structures made up of steel is corrosion. Generally medium of cement is alkaline in nature. this forms a passive oxide layer which protects the steel form corrosion. Carbon leaching can destroy the oxide layer and can make steel prone to corrosion. Due to diffusion of the Due to diffusion of the CO2 gas in the concrete the carbonation of concrete started due to which the corrosion protective layer of the reinforcement is degraded. so that corrosion starts in the concrete which have negative impact on the strength of building. Total uptake of CO2 from various parts of the building is calculated in this project. the process of change of the PH value of concrete is also calculated. The total uptake of the CO2 of a industrial building new the river ganga is calculated through same theoretical as well as practical methods. Keywords— effects of carbon leaching, building structure.


Serious eye injuries occur mostly in the spheres of traffic, work and play. There is an inverse relationship between the length of the wound and the visual acuity. Various authors' groupings according to the type of injury, and the relationship between severity and acuity obtained are given and comprehensively described. With respect to the type of injury an approximate division can be made as regards the choice of corneal or scleral lens. If, due to pronounced deformation, it is not possible by measurement to obtain a corneal profile, then a special impression technique must be used. A lens with the necessary optical data, corresponding to the impression is made. With the aid of individually fitted scleral lenses, a better tolerance is achieved in the majority of cases. Generally an acuity improvement of several lines is attained.


This research examined four touchscreen methods for entering a destination into a route guidance system. Three of the interfaces were character entry-based, including 1) a method using a sequence of two buttons for each alphanumeric entry (referred to as doublepress), 2) a Qwerty-style keypad layout, and 3) a Phone-based keypad where letters were entered using their corresponding number key. The fourth interface provided an alphabetic list through which a user scrolled to select a city or street name. Sixteen subjects used each of the interfaces to enter destinations in a laboratory experiment while "parked" and while driving a simulator. The entry methods were evaluated based on entry time, driving performance, errors, preferences, and perceived difficulty. Overall, address entry times were shortest for the phonepad (43 seconds) and Qwerty (45 seconds) methods, followed by the scrolling list (56 seconds) and doublepress (75 seconds) methods. Entry time was significantly affected by driver age, with older drivers taking about 20% more time. Driving performance (deviation of lane position) was significantly worse when entering a destination as compared with baseline driving performance. Participants rated the difficulty of destination entry only slightly greater than that of conventional driving tasks. According to the subjective data, there was no preferred entry method.


Self-sealed laminar Si3N4/SiC composites, with different cross-section shapes and various thickness ratios of Si3N4 to SiC, have been fabricated. The laminates consist alternately of thicker Si3N4 layers ranging from 100 to 500µm and thinner SiC layers ranging from 6 to 15µm after sintering. Preliminary results indicate that SiC thin layer forms during sintering according to the reaction Si3N4 + 3C ® 3SiC + 2N2, which is confirmed by X-ray diffraction. An excellent physical and chemical compatibility between Si3N4 and SiC layers was observed. The self-sealed Si3N4/SiC composites not only demonstrate a superb resistance to delamination, usually associated with the plate-form ones, but also show a high damage-tolerance behavior. The laminated Si3N4/ SiC composite with a layer thickness ratio of Si3N4 to SiC of approximately 40 gives the highest value of work of fracture (WOF) of approximately 406 kJ/m3, whereas the highest toughness of 21 MPam1/2 was achieved at the layer thickness ratio of 50. The effects of the relative thickness of Si3N4 and SiC layers on the densification of the laminates are examined and fracture behavior and microstructure of the Si3N4/SiC laminates discussed.


Arthroscopic meniscectomy is one of the most common orthopaedic surgical procedures. However, in the long term, it has drawbacks. Ten to 20 years after meniscectomy, there is a 10-fold increase in osteoarthritis, compared to controls. 2 And after 20–30 years, almost three of four patients develop radiographic tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. And, as we very well know, knee osteoarthritis is a leading contributor to disability, worldwide. Over the past decade, we have seen several randomised clinical trials concerning arthroscopic treatment of degenerative knee disease and meniscus surgery. These clearly suggest that arthroscopic meniscectomy offers advantage against neither physical therapy nor sham surgery. Sihvonen et al, for example, report no advantage to partial meniscectomy over sham arthroscopy for patients without osteoarthritis. This confirms that not all meniscal tears need surgery (although it does not go as far as suggesting that none of them do). For a middle-aged patient with knee pain and a degenerative meniscal tear, our best evidence suggests that a regime of physical therapy would be the correct first option. If patients do not respond to this, they can of course be referred for arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. According to the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, patients with mechanical symptoms do present an indication for arthroscopy, even when there is osteoarthritis. Present evidence, therefore, inclines us away from arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, unless there has been a (recent) traumatic event or unless there are mechanical symptoms. Pujol et al present a systematic review of meniscal tears for patients who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. They observe that lateral meniscal-lesions posterior to the popliteal hiatus can be left untreated, with good results, whatever the size of the lesion, and with no additional risks for subsequent surgery. The rationale for meniscal surgery in combination with an ACL reconstruction should always be to preserve as much meniscal tissue as possible, and Pujol's results show that undisplaced meniscal lesions can be left untreated. For medial meniscal lesions, however, up to 15% of cases reported residual pain or needed subsequent meniscectomy. Would these patients have been better off if the meniscal lesions had been sutured at the time of the ACL reconstruction? A recent direct comparison of arthroscopic versus arthroscopic partial meniscectomy reveals that the former (meniscal repair) gives better follow-up results, for an average of 8.8 years, in regard to osteoarthritic changes and rates of preinjury sports level. Brucker et al reported only mild osteoarthritic changes within the related compartment, 21 years following successful open meniscal repair (and these mild osteoarthritic changes were comparable to the contralateral side). What are the lessons we should learn from this? 1. Do not treat asymptomatic lesions. 2. Treat the patient and not the MRI. 3. When you discover asymptomatic meniscal lesions during an ACL reconstruction, consider suturing them. Competing interests None declared.


We study the impact of a student's ordinal rank in a high school cohort on educational attainment several years later. To identify a causal effect, we compare multiple cohorts within the same school, exploiting idiosyncratic variation in cohort composition. We find that a student's ordinal rank significantly affects educational outcomes later in life. Students with a higher rank are significantly more likely to finish high school and to attend college. Exploring potential channels, we find that students with a higher rank have higher expectations about their future career, as well as a higher perceived intelligence.


Decision-bound models of categorization like General Recognition Theory (GRT: Ashby & Townsend, 1986) assume that people divide a stimulus space into different response regions, associated with different categorization decisions. These models have traditionally been applied to empirical data using standard model-fitting methods like maximum likelihood estimation. We implement the GRT as a Bayesian latent mixture model to infer both qualitative individual differences in the types of decision bounds people use, and quantitative differences in where they place the bounds. We apply this approach to a previous data set with two category structures tested under different cognitive loads. Our results show that different participants categorize by applying diagonal, vertical, or horizontal decision bounds. Various types of contaminant behavior are also found, depending on the category structures and presence or absence of load. We argue that our Bayesian latent mixture framework offers a powerful approach to studying individual differences in categorization.


Renal dysfunction in patients with chronic liver disease encompasses a clinical spectrum of hyponatremia, ascites, and hepatorenal syndrome. Clinical observation has suggested that patients with cirrhosis have hyperdynamic circulation, and recent studies strongly suggest that peripheral arterial vasodilatation and subsequent development of hyperdynamic circulation are responsible for disturbances in renal function. Arterial vasodilatation predominantly occurs in the splanchnic vascular bed, and seems to precede an increase in blood flow in the splanchnic circulation. Nitric oxide plays a central role in progressive vasodilatation, as evidenced by in vivo and in vitro studies. Renal dysfunction negatively affects the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis, as hyponatremia, ascites, and azotemia are associated with increased rate of complications and mortality. Recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of renal dysfunction have enabled clinicians to develop new diagnostic criteria and therapeutic recommendations. Hepatorenal syndrome is regarded as a potentially reversible disorder, as systemic vasoconstrictors with concomitant albumin administration are emerging as a promising management option, especially in terms of providing bridging therapy for patients awaiting liver transplantation.


With power consumption becoming increasingly critical in interconnected systems, power-aware networks become part-and-parcel of many single-chip and multichip systems. As communication links consume significant power regardless of utilization, a mechanism to realize such power-aware networks is on/off links-network links that can be turned on/off as a function of traffic. In this paper, we investigate and propose self-regulating power-aware interconnection networks that turn their links on/off in response to bursts and dips in traffic in a distributed fashion. We explore the design space of such on/off networks, outlining a 5-step design methodology along with various building block solutions at each step that can be effectively assembled to develop various on/off network designs. We applied our methodology to the design of two classes of on/off networks with links that possess substantially different on/off delays, an on-chip network as well as a chip-to-chip network, and show that our designs are able to adapt dynamically to variations in network traffic. Three specific network designs are then constructed, presented, and evaluated. Our simulations show that link power consumption can be reduced by up to 54.4 percent, with a modest increase in network latency


We assessed the association between serum gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity with postprimary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) coronary flow and in-hospital major advanced cardiac events (MACEs) in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Patients with STEMI (n = 425; males 78%; mean age 60 ± 13 years) were enrolled. Patients were divided into 3 GGT tertiles and 2 groups according to thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade. The TIMI flow percentages were similar in the 3 GGT tertiles (32%, 45%, and 42%, respectively, P = .336). Total MACE increased with GGT tertiles (among tertiles, respectively; P < .001). The total MACE was significantly higher in impaired flow group than in normal flow group (23% vs 7%; P < .001). At multivariate analyses, serum GGT activity was an independent predictor of in-hospital MACE (odds ratio [OR] 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.33; P < .001). In conclusion, serum GGT activity is associated with in-hospital MACE in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI.


The Araba–Abu Durba area on the eastern margin of the Gulf of Suez exhibits two superb outcrop examples of extensional hard linkages in a rift basin. Here, three large, domino-style, basement-cored, northeast-dipping fault blocks are formed by a series of major northwest-trending normal faults. These are offset by two north-northeast–trending sinistral oblique-slip transfer faults that terminate in horsetail normal fault splays. The transfer faults do not extend across the entire rift basin. Detailed mapping and structural analysis show that they developed by breakage of initial low-strain relay ramps along reactivated north-northeast–trending basement fabrics between overlapping northwest-trending normal fault segments. Paleostrain analysis of fault-slip indicators shows that both the normal and the sinistral oblique-slip transfer faults were formed synchronously in response to northeast-southwest extension, perpendicular to the main northwest rift trend.


Inexpensive ultrasonic sensors, incremental encoders, and grid-based probabilistic modeling are used for improved robot navigation in indoor environments. For model-building, range data from ultrasonic sensors are constantly sampled and a map is built and updated immediately while the robot is travelling through the workspace. The local world model is based on the concept of an occupancy grid. The world model extracted from the range data is based on the geometric primitive of line segments. For the extraction of these features, methods such as the Hough transform and clustering are utilized. The perceived local world model along with dead-reckoning and ultrasonic sensor data are combined using an extended Kalman filter in a localization scheme to estimate the current position and orientation of the mobile robot, which is subsequently fed to the map-building algorithm. Implementation issues and experimental results with the Nomad 150 mobile robot in a real-world indoor environment (office space) are presented.


Cefotetan (CTT) was administered to 97 patients of infections and laparotomies such as operation of abdominal cesarean section, abdominal hysterectomy and ovarian cancer section in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, and acute phase reactants (APR) in the patients were measured daily. The results obtained are summarized as follows: 1. Values of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1-AG), haptoglobin (Hp) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured as the factors of APR before and after the operation. Values of alpha 1-AG in patients before the operation were 44.04-56.62 mg/dl, and rose to high values, 85.73-116.33 mg/dl, after the operation determined on 7th day and then declined to values of 69.40-99.93 mg/dl. Hp values showed similar tendency to those of alpha 1-AG values but they were usually higher than alpha 1-AG values. Although changes in values of CRP observed also were similar, they returned more rapidly to the level before the operation then other parameters. 2. CTT was clinically effective in all the cases examined. No side effects and no abnormal findings in laboratory examinations were observed. Based on the above results, the measurement of APR values after the operation appeared to be clinically useful to indicate degrees of recovery from the operation and the occurrence of multiple infections.


Perseveration, or responding in a previously relevant way that is no longer appropriate, has been traditionally studied in the context of the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (Zelazo, 2006). This study uses a modified version of the Go/No-Go task, which controls for spatial location of the test cards and perceptual conflict of the display, to examine perseveration. Three-year-old children were found to perseverate in the dimensional switch condition; they could not flexibly modify responding behavior and continued to respond to stimuli when no longer appropriate. Children did not perseverate in the nondimensional switch condition. These findings suggest that perceptual conflict and spatial location associations are not necessary for perseveration errors.


The distribution of proteoglycans and their association with collagen fibrils were studied in human and rabbit sclera following fixation of tissue in glutaraldehyde containing Cuprolinic Blue, a specific stain for proteoglycans when used in the presence of critical concentrations of electrolytes. Proteoglycans were visualized by electron microscopy as fine filaments, approximately 54 nm in length and 5 nm in diameter, associated with the d band in the gap zone of the periodic collagen banding pattern. Filaments were present in three orientations: (1) radiating from the d band to associate with corresponding sites on adjacent collagen fibrils; (2) encircling the collagen fibril at the d band position; and (3) lying along the fibril axis, often linking consecutive d bands. No difference was apparent between the proteoglycan-collagen organization in human and rabbit sclera. A similar arrangement of proteoglycan filaments in association with the d band was also evident throughout all levels of the sclera in spite of considerable variations in fibril diameter from inner to outer stroma. Furthermore, the specific relationship of proteoglycans with the collagen fibrils in sclera closely resembled that previously described in tendon and in articular cartilage, lending support to the view that the association of proteoglycans with collagen may be consistent in a majority of connective tissues, irrespective of their diverse functional specializations.


This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Formal Methods for Industrial Critical Systems, FMICS 2007, held in Berlin, Germany, in July 2007 - colocated with CAV 2007, the 19th International Conference on Computer Aided Verification.

The 15 revised full papers presented together with the abstracts of 2 invited lectures were carefully selected during two rounds of reviewing and improvement from 31 initial submissions. The papers strive to promote research and development for the improvement of formal methods and tools for industrial applications and they are organized in topical sections on control systems, scheduling and time, verification, software, and testing.


Purpose: In this study, a comprehensive analysis of alpha particle dose to bone marrow was developed. Using autopsy spongiosa samples and an in house Monte Carlo program, dosimetry data was calculated for macroscopic dosimetry (MIRD schema) to microdosimetric methods. This investigation provides a uniform comparison of these different methodologies. Methods: Autopsy samples of spongiosa from two bone sites (iliac crest and vertebrae) were sectioned and immunohistochemically stained (anti‐CD34) to identify hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC). Digitized 2‐dimensional image was segmented based on pixel intensity to differentiate between bone trabeculae, red bone marrow and adipocytes. Individual HSPC were also identified. The processed image was used as input for an alpha‐particle Monte Carlo radiation transport program where dosimetric data was calculated for absorbed fractions, hit probabilities and z‐values. Results: Energies of 0.5‐10 MeV were investigated. Source distributions (bone, fat, red bone marrow and bone surface) of alpha particles were obtained. Absorbed fraction of each tissue region and HSPC were obtained. Probability of receiving hit of alpha particles of HSPC and nucleus were also calculated. Data for each source and target combination indicated significant dose differences to the HSPC depending on the methodology used to calculate the final dose estimate. Conclusions: Results of this study indicate the discrepancy between macroscopic and microscopic dose methods. While the microscopic methods provide a more detailed assessment of HSPC dosing they lack clinical utility. Additional work is required to bridge these two dosimetric spatial domains before bone marrow dose calculations may be clinically implemented.


Hip fractures secondary to osteoporosis are common in the elderly. Stabilizing these fractures until union is achieved is a challenge due to poor bone stock and insufficient purchase of the implant to the bone. The reported high rate of complications has prompted extensive research in the development of fixation techniques. Furthermore, manipulation of both the local fracture environment in terms of application of growth factors, scaffolds, and mesenchymal cells and the systemic administration of agents promoting bone formation and bone strength has been considered as a treatment option with promising results. There are only a few evidence-based studies reporting on fixation augmentation techniques. This article reports on the efficacy of bone graft substitutes for the fixation of hip fractures, in particular calcium phosphates, which have been used as granules, cements, and implant coatings.


: Ovine progressive pneumonia was found to be prevalent in many major sheep-producing areas in the United States. The incidence was determined in a sampling of cull sheep (5 to 10 years of age) at slaughter. Diagnostic criteria were based on finding viral-specific immunoglobulins, virus, or lesions. Each method indicated a high incidence in samplings from midwestern and northwestern states and a relatively low incidence in the sampling from southwestern states. Of those sheep examined, precipitating immuno-globulin to the causal virus was seen in 1.0% to 67.5%, virus was isolated from the lungs of 0% to 46.2%, and lymphoid hyperplasia was seen in the lungs of 0% to 38.5%. The most common lesions in the lungs (from which virus was isolated) were multiple lymphoid nodules and increased fibromuscular tissue.


We propose a sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) based on a 2-parameter Weibull distribution for integrated-circuit (IC) failure analysis. The shape parameter of the Weibull distribution characterizes the decreasing, constant, or increasing failure rate regions in the bath tub model for IC. The algorithm (SD) detects the operating region of the IC based on the observed failure times. Unlike the fixed-length tests, the SD, due to its sequential nature, uses the minimum average number of devices for the test for fixed error tolerances in the detection procedure. We find that SD is, on average, 96% more statistically efficient than the fixed-length test. SD is highly robust to the variations in the model parameters, unlike other existing sequential tests. Since the accuracy of the tests and the test length are conflicting requirements, we also propose a truncated SD which allows a better control of this tradeoff. It has both the sequential nature of examining measurements and the fixed-length property of guaranteeing that the tolerances be met approximately with a specified number of available measurements.


'Impure researches' are those that mix methodologies and types of data, and in particular remind readers that reading is an impure bodily as well as mental experience. The article argues that if we neglect how our perception of the material format of a text affects our understanding, we stand to risk being blind to how a text comprises the ever increasing sum of the history of its sensuous presentation and perception. It takes as a case study the publication history of Ouida's most popular short story, «A Dog of Flanders» (1871). The story has uniformly been defined as a children's story from the late twentieth century onwards, yet this labelling is a result of marketing decisions that arose in the 1890s which affected the material format the story appeared in and thereafter the interpretative choices of critics and readers in general. By polluting both literary and book history through my own corporeal encounters with various material forms of this text, I am seeking to exemplify, in an iterable, practical way, claims by feminist and queer critics whose «return to the body» risks at times appearing immaterial and generic.


Large B-cell lymphoma presents with the most varied infiltrating patterns and morphologies. Here we report two cases of unusual large B-cell lymphoma in two old female patients. Both lymphomas show: 1) scattered and clustered large B-cells infiltrating the periphery of polyclonal lymphoid nodules; 2) large B-cells with an immunoblastic morphology; 3) large B-cell infiltration associated with vascular proliferation; 4) coexisting lymphoid nodules with hyaline vascular proliferation. The first case took an aggressive clinical course with transformation into acute leukemia, and imparted a short patient survival, whereas the second case responded to chemotherapy, experienced a local recurrence and long survival for >7 years. To our knowledge, these are the first reported cases of large B-cell lymphomas with a paranodular infiltrating pattern, immunoblastic morphology, and associated vascular proliferation.


The language around social media contributes to perceptions of who is posting content and why. The concept of user generated content (UGC) places an emphasis on authorship and has been defined as online content that is publicly available and created by end-users in a creative effort (Dennhardt, 2013). UGC is a powerful tool for businesses because it taps into one of the most valued marketing tools: verbal consumer-to-consumer communication, which is also known as "word of mouth" (WOM) marketing. However, the tactics used by companies to integrate UGC with their own content and goals has resulted in a blurred line between sponsored content paid by advertisers and UGC independently posted by regular users. Recent attempts to regulate this distinction have struggled to determine how, exactly, audiences can be effectively alerted to paid content on social media platforms, especially Instagram.
This study uses the persuasion knowledge model (PKM) as a theoretical framework to examine if and when audiences' responses and coping mechanisms are triggered in Instagram. It argues that digital media literacy is especially challenged in UGC platforms, and draws on political economy to suggest that the relationships between producers and consumers has been blurred in favor of the producers. Online users who have a well-known or niche brand can make money from his or her brand and online community because companies use "regular people" to push products to reach a specific audience; one that a regular user has the ability to build and maintain. This is why businesses have targeted UGC and why the user interaction with this type of content needs to be re-examined.
This study examines the relationships between viewer perceptions of commercial sponsorship and post content in the social media platform, Instagram. Specifically, it examines whether or not the trust and credibility generally associated with electronic word-of-mouth are affected by hashtags and other cues on Instagram posts. This project asks, Does the commodification of user-generated content change the way the content is perceived by users? It tests these relationships in an experiment that manipulates hashtags and @name text that accompany an image. The study hypothesizes that users will not be more likely to identify content as sponsored when a #promoted tag is present in the caption than when #ad or #sponsored is used; it also hypothesizes that @company_name tags were more likely to be recognized as sponsored than the hashtag text versions. Changes in advertising recognition, persuasive intent of the message, trust in the message, and credibility of the message were examined in between subjects' analyses using ANOVAs, correlations, and t-tests.
The results revealed several findings. Results showed users recognized the @company_handle as an advertisement more than #ad, #sponsored, and #promoted. The results also showed no significant difference between user's perception of the hashtags #ad, #sponsored, and #promoted. Also, even when these cues were present, some participants were not aware of their presence and did not recognize any advertising on the post within the survey. It was also found that once identified as an advertisement, the trustworthiness and credibility towards the post was not affected.


MapReduce, as a programming model, has become an important solution to large-scale data-intensive processing. It has been widely used in various fields such as Web search, machine learning and e-commerce. Hadoop, as an open-source implementation of MapReduce, is widely used for offline massive data job. It consists of MapReduce and HDFS. In the study of Hadoop, we found data parallel in Hadoop is coarse grained, and it cannot take full advantage of multi-core system. Eventually, this would lower utilization and efficiency of the whole cluster. To improve Hadoop into a fine grained data-parallel frame, we propose a strategy that scales the parallelism of task execution in map/reduce task. We implement our strategy as a new feature for Hadoop. And our experiments show that strategy can not only optimize utilization of MapReduce cluster resources, but also speedup job completion time up to 3x.


Physical methods of wastewater treatment are useful in water purification and recycling. We have proposed the role of nanoparticle in combination with ultrasound. Ultrasound (US), nanoparticle (NP) or in combination (US + NP) may offer an attractive proposition in the area of water purification. Ultrasound irradiation applications is that acoustic cavitation can affect a number of mechanical, acoustic, chemical and biological changes in wastewater analysis. Our present study also defines the interaction of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) present as contamination in wastewater during treatment process. Owing to ultrasonication and nanoparticle treatment, ROS may generate in water samples, and disrupt the bacterial cell. Number of research has been done on water purification by using ultrasound, ultraviolet and nanoparticle. Present study established the combined effect of US + NP and suggested that it may be more effective than individual. We have proposed that this may be a useful technique in water purification system.