The Beaufort Gyre (BG) is the largest liquid freshwater reservoir of the Arctic Ocean. The liquid freshwater content (FWC) significantly increased in the BG in the 2000s during an anticyclonic wind regime and remained at a high level despite a transition to a more cyclonic state in the early 2010s. It is not well understood to what extent the rapid sea ice decline during this period has modified the trend and variability of the BG liquid FWC in the past decade. Our numerical simulations show that about 50% of the liquid freshwater accumulated in the BG in the 2000s can be explained by the sea ice decline caused by the Arctic atmospheric warming. Among this part of the FWC increase, 60% can be attributed to surface freshening associated with the reduction of the net sea ice thermodynamic growth rate, and 40% to changes in ocean circulation, which makes freshwater more accessible to the BG for storage. Thus, the rapid increase of the BG FWC in the 2000s was due to the concurrence of the anticyclonic wind regime and the high freshwater availability. We also find that if the Arctic sea ice had not declined, the liquid FWC in the BG would have shown a stronger decreasing tendency at the beginning of the 2010s owing to the cyclonic wind regime. From our results we argue that changes in sea ice conditions should be adequately taken into account when it comes to understanding and predicting variations of BG liquid FWC in a changing climate.


Background
Antidepressant drugs have shown antitumor activity in preclinical glioblastoma studies. Antidepressant drug use, as well as its association with survival, in glioblastoma patients has not been well characterized on a population level.

Methods
Patient characteristics, including the frequency of antidepressant drug use, were assessed in a glioblastoma cohort diagnosed in a 10-year time frame between 2005 and 2014 in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied for multivariate analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate overall survival (OS) data and the log-rank test was performed for comparisons.

Results
A total of 404 patients with isocitrate dehydrogenase wild-type glioblastoma were included in this study. Sixty-five patients (16.1%) took antidepressant drugs at some point during the disease course. Patients were most commonly prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors at any time (N = 46, 70.8%). Nineteen patients (29.2%) were on antidepressant drugs at the time of their tumor diagnosis. No differences were observed in OS between those patients who had taken antidepressants at some point in their disease course and those who had not (P = .356). These data were confirmed in a multivariate analysis including age, Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS), sex, extent of resection, O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status, and first-line treatment as cofounders (P = .315). Also, there was no association of use of drugs modulating voltage-dependent potassium channels (citalopram; escitalopram) with survival (P = .639).

Conclusions
This signal-seeking study does not support the hypothesis that antidepressants have antitumor efficacy in glioblastoma on a population level.


It is often maintained that the criminal law is supposed to intervene only when a certain social norm has become so significant within a given society to justify its protection by means of penal sanctions. The criminal law is thus thought to mirror a hierarchy of values it neither shapes nor contributes to building; rather, it is required to stand at least one step behind social change. This article challenges this view, presenting a normative account that contributes to the debate on what is permissible for the criminal law to try to achieve. It does so by defining and theoretically substantiating the "transformational function" of the criminal law. The term refers to the use of criminalization and punishment to change, rather than merely reflect, social norms, attitudes, and beliefs alongside, and combined with, non-penal policy-making tools in contested domains. Four operational conditions of legitimacy are identified and discussed. Within such operational boundaries, this article contends that the criminal law can play an important role in promoting social change—i.e., the establishment of new norms and values—as well as helping the coagulation of norms, attitudes, and beliefs not yet fully entrenched within the societal body.


This insightful new conceptualization of American political history demonstrates that-despite the clear separation of church and state-religion lies at the heart of American politics. From the Puritan founding to the present day, the American story is a moral epic, James Morone says, and while moral fervor has inspired the dream of social justice it has also ignited our fiercest social conflicts. From the colonial era to the present day, Americans embraced a Providential mission, tangled with devils, and aspired to save the world. Moral fervor ignited our fiercest social conflicts-but it also moved dreamers to remake the nation in the name of social justice. Moral crusades inspired abolition, woman suffrage, and civil rights, even as they led Americans to hang witches, enslave Africans, and ban liquor. Today these moral arguments continue, influencing the debate over everything from abortion to foreign policy. Written with passion and deep insight, Hellfire Nation tells the story of a brawling, raucous, religious people. Morone shows how fears of sin and dreams of virtue defined the shape of the nation.


Since 1970, vehicle's exhaust pollutions have received increasing attention as a source of air pollution at both local (human health concerns) and global (global warming) scales. This study mainly discusses diesel and gasoline vehicles because, today, over 90% of vehicles on the road use gasoline and diesel fuels. The major concerns of gasoline exhaust contaminants are carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), carbon dioxide (CO2) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); the major concerns of diesel exhaust emissions contaminants are nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM). The aim of this study is mainly to compare gasoline and diesel fuels, and to determine which fuel and its developed forms are less harmful to humans, and which are most suitable for the natural environment at both a local and global level. The results show that burning gasoline fuels will emit less PM and NOX emissions than burning diesel fuels, but it will generate about 50% more CO2 than diesel fuels, and it also emit about ten times more CO, PAHs and around five times more HC than diesel fuels; burning diesel fuels will produce less CO2 emissions than gasoline fuels, but will emit around ten times more NOX and PM than gasoline fuels. Consequently using a gasoline car in urban areas might help to reduce the human health effects; using a diesel car on motorways or in rural areas might help to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and minimize the global warming effects. Biofuels, biodiesel and ethanol, have the potential to minimize the vehicle exhaust emissions and adverse effects. Nonetheless, there are still many debatable issues around biodiesel, such as insufficient fuel supply and health concerns (especially, ultrafine particles (UFPs)). In the future, there remains a need to continue the further studies of vehicle exhaust emissions, and to improve the understanding of all vehicle exhaust emissions and all of their impacts, especially the vehicle exhaust health research.


Hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients commonly have low platelet counts; however, the exact role of HCV infection in thrombocytopenia is unknown. This work aimed to study the serum levels of interleukins (IL) 10 and 12 in patients with mild and moderate thrombocytopenia associated with chronic hepatitis C infection. Our study included 15 patients with chronic HCV infection and newly diagnosed isolated autoimmune thrombocytopenia (Group I) and 15 patients with chronic HCV infection and normal platelet count as controls (Group II). All patients were examined for personal history and clinical aspects, complete blood count, bone marrow aspiration, liver function tests, HCV antibody assay by ELISA and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), abdominal ultrasound, Helicobacter pylori stool antigen test, evaluation of serum levels of IL-10, IL-12 and platelet specific antibodies. Our results revealed that eight patients from Group l had mild thrombocytopenia and seven patients had moderate thrombocytopenia. Serum IL-10 level was significantly elevated (t = 9.301, p < 0.001) while serum IL-12 showed a significant decrease (t = 6.502, p < 0.001) in Group I compared to the control group. No correlation was detected between platelet counts and the serum levels of either IL-10 [r = 0.454, p = 0.089 (Group I), r = 0.038, p = 0.89 (Group II)] or IL-12 [r = 0.497, p = 0.06 (Group I), r = 0.499, p = 0.058 (Group II)]. However, in Group I, a significant correlation was present only between moderate thrombocytopenia and serum levels of either IL-10 (r = 0.794, p = 0.033) or IL-12 (r = 0.967, p = 0.001), while no correlation was detected between these interleukin parameters and mild thrombocytopenia (r = 0.311 and p = 0.453 for IL-10 and r = -0.08 and p = 0.851 for IL-12). Based on our data, we may conclude that interleukins 10 and 12 are involved in low platelet levels.


The possibility to cryopreserve oocytes to be used in IVF treatment later in life has not only enlarged the reproductive options of cancer patients who are faced with gonadotoxic treatments, but also holds the promise of enlarging the reproductive options of healthy women whose personal circumstances (most often the absence of a partner) do not allow them to reproduce in their most fertile years. Opinions for and against this application of the cryopreservation technology are often based on different portrayals of the women who might use it. Three different portrayals can be discerned in the debate about the ethics of so-called 'social egg freezing' or 'non medical egg freezing'. First, these women have been portrayed as selfish career-pursuing women. Second, healthy women who might benefit from oocyte cryopreservation have been portrayed as victims of a male-oriented society that makes it difficult for women to combine motherhood with a good education or professional responsibilities. Third, healthy women opting to cryopreserve oocytes have been portrayed as wise, proactive women who will not have to depend on oocyte donors should they suffer from age-related infertility by the time they are ready to reproduce. Each of these three portrayals has its own shortcomings that one should be wary of, as they lead to an oversimplification of the ethical debate.


ABSTRACT There have been numerous artists, architects and designers whose encounters with traditional Japanese garden aesthetics have produced creative works. The author examines John Cage's Ryoanji, a musical translation of the famous karesansui garden in Kyoto, as an important musical precedent and uses it to position his own methodologies for transmediating the spatial predilections of the Japanese garden Sesshutei. He also documents various mapping techniques and data visualizations used to inform his recent multi-channel sound installation/performance environment, Sesshutei as a spatial model.


To understand the seismic performance of inclined joints with gusset plate between double C steel beam-column, in this paper, I used finite element method ABAQUS, and did a good performance in simulating seismic performance of inclined joints between double C steel beam-column. It executed six models by changing gusset-plate's thickness and bolt space in this simulation. Elements of S4R can give a good description of cold-formed steel's bearing-capacity, and coupling restriction simulated bolted connections well. This modeling method is facilitating, and the operation time of simulation is not long-playing, and calculation results are accurate. The results of this paper can give a reference to the engineering application of cold-formed thin-walled steel structure.


We have investigated the ionospheric response close to the subsolar point in South America due to the strong solar flare (X2.8) that occurred on 13 May 2013. The present work discusses the sudden disturbances in the D region in the form of high‐frequency radio wave blackout recorded in ionograms, the E region disturbances in the form of the Sq current and equatorial electrojet intensifications, and the enhancement and decay in the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) as observed by a network of Global Navigation Satellite Systems receivers, the last of these manifestations constituting the main focuses of this study. The dayside ionosphere showed an abrupt increase of the TEC, with the region of the TEC increase being displaced away from the subsolar point toward the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest region. The decay in the ΔTEC following the decrease of the flare EUV flux varied at a slower ratio near the EIA crest than at the subsolar point. We used the Sheffield University Plasmasphere‐Ionosphere Model to simulate the TEC enhancement and the related variations as arising from the flare‐enhanced solar EUV flux and soft X‐rays. The simulations are compared with the observational data to validate our results, and it is found that a good part of the observed TEC variation features can be accounted for by the model simulation. The combined results from model and observational data can contribute significantly to advance our knowledge about ionospheric photochemistry and dynamics needed to improve our predictive capability on the low‐latitude ionospheric response to solar flares.


ABSTRACT Described here is a pilot development of a method for analyzing the structural content of a set of teaching materials, underwritten by the Committee for Cooperation on English in Japan and conducted in cooperation with the Fulbright Program in Japan and the English Language Education Department of the Faculty of Education at Hiroshima University. A basic assumption underlying the study was that teaching materials have a direct influence on learning and that some root causes of inefficiency in the teaching-learning process could be identified by rigorous and detailed analysis of the teaching materials. The most basic guideline of the study was intelligibility by those involved in teaching English and training teachers in Japan. The set of teaching materials examined was the three-volume junior high school English language textbook "New Horizon." The first part of the study concentrated mainly on the overall plan for the selection, sequencing and textual presentation of a set of teaching points. Pattern analysis was made on the basis of the verb "be" and four sentence patterns. The utterances were examined in terms of their grammatical usage and distribution, and verb structures. This method of analysis was then applied to another set of materials and the results were compared. The second project analyzed the structural content of the practice exercises in the first set of materials. (AMM)


We study e^+e^- pair production in proton-proton and central Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=2.76 TeV within two models: an extended statistical hadronization model (SHM) and the Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD) transport approach. We find that the PHSD calculations roughly agree with the dilepton spectrum from hadronic sources with the 'cocktail' estimates from the statistical hadronization model matched to available data at LHC energies. The dynamical simulations within the PHSD show a moderate increase of the low mass dilepton yield essentially due to the in-medium modification of the rho-meson. Furthermore, pronounced traces of the partonic degrees of freedom are found in the PHSD results in the intermediate mass regime. The dilepton production from the strongly interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) exceeds that from the semi-leptonic decays of open charm and bottom mesons. Additionally, we observe that a transverse momentum cut of 1 GeV/c further suppresses the relative contribution of the heavy meson decays to the dilepton yield, such that the sQGP radiation strongly dominates the spectrum for masses from 1 to 3 GeV, allowing a closer look at the electromagnetic emissivity of the partonic plasma in the early phase of Pb+Pb collisions.


Purpose of review We aim to summarize the utility of strain in monitoring the effects of cancer therapy-related cardiotoxicity (CTRC) on the development of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Recent findings Serial assessment of cardiac function at baseline and during treatment is recommended in patients undergoing cancer treatment. Historically, the use of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) has been used to monitor for cardiac toxicity from cancer therapies but myocardial mechanic parameters, in particular global longitudinal strain (GLS), have emerged as powerful adjunctive tools. On the basis of longitudinal cohort studies in patients treated with anthracyclines and trastuzumab and retrospective studies of childhood survivors of cancers, strain has been used to detect subclinical LV dysfunction prior to changes in LVEF. Strain parameters decrease during both anthracycline and trastuzumab and these changes can persist after completion of therapy. Baseline GLS and changes in GLS during therapy can be independently prognostic for developing CTRC. Further, GLS has appeared to have an additive predictive value in addition to the traditional clinical parameters and baseline LVEF in the development of cardiotoxicity. The inclusion of strain parameters in clinical decision making and therapeutic planning is an area of intense research. Summary This review seeks to highlight the importance of echocardiographic strain measurements in early detection, treatment and prevention of LV dysfunction from CTRC.


The problem of efficient data hiding robust to lossy compression is divided into two subproblems. First is to maximize the resource-which is the permitted distortion of images. The second is the efficient use of the resource by means of sophisticated signaling techniques . We conclude that a good solution to the first problem is choosing magnitude discrete Fourier transform as the domain in which the message signal is embedded. For the signaling method we use a sophisticated signaling technique, using periodic functions to tile the space with signal constellations.


Population density and intercropping of sorghum {sorghum bicolour (L) and Soybean {Glycine max Merril (L)} may alter their growth and yield patterns through responses to light and physiological attributes as compared to their performance in standard densities and monocultures. There is limited field information on this hypothesis. Thus the objective of this study was to determine the influence of intercropping and population density on protein and oil yield components, photosynthesis of sorghum and Soybean at the canopy closure. The study was conducted at the University of Nairobi farm during the long rains. There was a significant increase in the number of Soybean pods per plant between the low density and normal density populations followed by a decline at high plant populations. Whereas population density increased the protein seed yield of Soybean, intercropping hardly altered it. In contrast, both population density and intercropping significantly decreased Soybean seed oil content. The observed protein and oil content is explained by the photosynthetic responses of partial shaded and fully exposed leaves. There was a significant decrease and increase of Soybean photosynthetic rates of both non-shaded and partially shaded leaves respectively within the intercrops, whereas population density caused a significant decline in non-shaded and partially shaded leaves. The interactive effects between population density and intercropping caused an increase in percent Soybean seed protein and decreases in its percent oil content and photosynthetic rates of partially shaded sorghum and Soybean leaves. These results demonstrate that population density and intercropping may be a viable alternative of manipulating the productivity of these crops through their changes in physiological processes. The Journal of Food Technology in Africa Volume 6 No.3, 2001, pp. 96-103

 KEY WORDS: Population density, intercropping, Soybean, sorghum, yield components, photosynthesis percent protein and oil yields.


does not increase girth. Direct use of weights hanging from the penis has been shown to decrease girth and cause tissue damage. Certain Holy Men from the Sadhu tribes in India have practiced penile stretching via hanging stones from their penises using grass or lianas. Egyptian pharaohs as well may have used weights to increase penile length. The most prominently featured technique of penile stretching is the Arabic jelqing method. Jelqing is still practiced by some to this day, and it involves a regimented milking or massaging of the semi-erect penis from base to tip repeatedly. The man then stops jelqing prior to ejaculation so that the process can be restarted. Jelqing has not been rigorously studied in the medical literature, however one British physician reported on use of jelqing for penile length gain in the 1970s. Richards' study reported on 30 men, who followed a regular program of jelqing three months. According to Richards, 87 percent of the participants experienced increases in penile length with an average 1 inch increase in the length of their penises and a 1 inch increase in girth. A similar milking and exercise method has been used by Sudanese practioners to achieve increased penile size. CONCLUSIONS: There is a long-standing use of penile stretching and traction practices across many cultures and historical time points. Only recently has the medical literature begun to elucidate best practices and objective benefits that men have been seeking for many years.


World economy has changed since the 20th century. Although changes in the world happened in all scientific areas, but this survey is focused on economics only. In the present study, for illuminating the new picture of the new world on economics and the gaps between the developed and developing countries, panel data model and time series are used for analyzing the macroeconomics of sample countries. The efficiency of independent variables on dependent variable GDP is illustrated by data test that analyzes the relationship between the variables. The results revealed that the new world is based on innovation. Therefore, in most countries investing on R&D sector is increased. This rising caused employing educated talents who could reveal the new ways of optimizing the benefits of the resources in the world that increases development, decreases poverty, and increases standard of living and welfare. This might be effective on finding new ways of relation between countries and facilitate trading. Such studies on ways of reduction of the production costs and decreasing tariff is important in simplifying the market potentials productivities and finding demands through the world to create new vantages. Although restrictions in macro and micro economics is occurred in some countries, there are examples that by finding the solution could increase their development rank as well as standard of living and poverty reduction.


In 1989, the United Kingdom Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) recommended measures that eventually led brewers to divest themselves of 14000 public houses. The MMC claimed that their recommendations would lower retail prices and increase consumer choice. Since that time, however, retail prices have risen. This paper contains an econometric analysis of the transition period. The analysis is based on a model of the relationship between retail price and retail- organizational form that emphasizes how exclusive-dealing clauses and strategic factors interact.


In this study the tropical light hardwood species jelutong (Dyera costulata), terbulan (Endospermum diadenum), batai (Paraserianthes moluccana), rubberwood (Hevea brasiliensis), and pulai (Alstonia pneumatophora) were treated with benzene diazonium salt to improve their dynamic Young's modulus (Ed), and thermal stability. Benzine diazonium salt reacted with cellulose in wood and produced 2,6-diazocellulose by a coupling reaction, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Values of Ed were calculated from the free-free flexural vibration method and found to increase on treatment. The morphological properties were studied by FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found to be changed. Thermal properties of treated wood samples were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The treated wood samples exhibited an increased thermal stability relative to the untreated wood samples; this increase may be related to the formation of 2, 6-diazo cellulose compound.


Here we report the first examples of 3d-4f compounds based on LnII cations. We have obtained a series of Ni2[LnCl6] isostructural compounds where LnII = Ce 1, Eu 2 and Gd 3 which were characterized in a cubic crystalline system with a Fm3[combining macron]m space group. Magnetic and optical characterization was also performed on this new class of compounds.


With the rapid development of Information Communication Technology (ICT), the libraries changed their nature of services from traditional to modern. Therefore, users have online access to millions of information today. Sri Lankan national university libraries are also moving towards the digital information repository system to provide access to efficient e-resources. These e-resources are enriched with e-books, theses and dissertations, research publications, preprints, conference proceedings. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) are reflected as a first target form of above e-resources. Because ETDs are providing 365 days of access to current research outputs. Therefore, this research tends to find out the several research questions such as availability of ETDs, Mode received, types of ETDs, authority approval, policies and procedures, method of access, fund allocations as well as associated problems of ETDs. The research was carried out by selecting Sri Lankan national university libraries and data was collected via a structured online questionnaire while observing the relevant ETD websites. This study found that the majority of Sri Lankan University libraries moving towards digitizing Theses and Dissertations. Three national university libraries have not introduced ETD services at the present. However, they are willing to introduce the same service in the near future. Copyright issues and lack of professional staff, as well as lack of training opportunities, identified as problems to maintain efficient ETD services in the Sri Lankan university library sector.


We present a new method for treating the electronic structure of thin films which is based on a generalization of the bulk linearized augmented-plane-wave (LAPW) method. This method avoids using the slab-superlattice geometry and combines the advantages of energy-independent muffin-tin Hamiltonian methods [fast root evaluation and rapid convergence for $d$-band metals as well as for nearly-free-electron (NFE) crystals] with the simple matrix element determination of the original augmented plane-wave (APW) method. As in the bulk LAPW method, the asymptote problem of the APW method is avoided, and the basis functions are everywhere continuous and differentiable. In addition, the film LAPW method retains such desirable features of the APW method as the ability to treat general potentials with no shape approximations, the ease with which relativistic effects can be included, and the fact that the basis size does not increase substantially for heavier elements. As a first application and test of the method, non-self-consistent calculations are performed in the local-density approximation for exchange and correlation and with the one-electron potential constructed from a superposition of atomic charge densities. A semirelativistic formulation is employed in which the Dirac equation is solved in the limit of zero spin-orbit coupling inside the muffin-tin spheres. Results are reported for up to five atomic layer thin films (slabs) of the transition metals Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu and a nine-layer film of the NFE metal Al. The results are in generally good agreement with other theoretical calculations. Some trends in the transition-metal band structures are discussed. A surface-state surface-resonance band for Al(001) is found to completely account for and clarify behavior observed in very recent photoemission measurements.


The reaction of stock prices to bankruptcy filing announcements has been very frequently analysed in the financial literature. In the current work we adopt a different approach to that of the traditional event study, trying to determine if the reaction of the markets is conditioned by the orientation of the bankruptcy legislation that regulates cases of corporate insolvency. With this aim in mind, we undertake an analysis on a sample of firms in financial distress in France, Germany, Spain and the UK between 1990 and 2002. Our results lead us to conclude that the valuation of the firms' securities is indeed conditioned by the type of bankruptcy law. In addition, we find that firms under creditor-oriented systems (Germany before the 1994 reform and the UK) present more negative returns due to the transference of wealth from the shareholders to the bondholders of the firms. JEL CODE: G33, G38, G14


Creep deformation process of austenitic stainless steel foil with thickness 0.25 mm was investigated. The foil specimen was creep tested at 750oC, 54 MPa to establish baseline behavior for its extended use as primary surface recuperator in advanced microturbine. The creep curve of the foil shows that the primary creep stage is brief and creep life is dominated by tertiary creep deformation. The curve is well represented by the modified theta-projection concept model with hardening and softening terms. Morphology of fractured foil surface reveals intergranular fracture with shallow network of faceted voids. The formation of w-type creep cavities is significant, as revealed by microstructure of ruptured specimen. Composition analysis indicates the formation of carbides, namely, Cr23C6, NbC and Fe3Nb3C.


Proton range verification based on prompt gamma imaging is increasingly considered in proton therapy. Tissue heterogeneity normal to the beam direction or near the end of range may considerably degrade the ability of prompt gamma imaging to detect proton range shifts. The goal of this study was to systematically investigate the accuracy and precision of range detection from prompt gamma emission profiles for various fractions for intensity modulated proton therapy of prostate cancer, using a comprehensive clinical dataset of 15 different CT scans for 5 patients. Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 were performed to generate spot-by-spot dose distributions and prompt gamma emission profiles for prostate treatment plans. The prompt gammas were scored at their point of emission. Three CT scans of the same patient were used to evaluate the impact of inter-fractional changes on proton range. The range shifts deduced from the comparison of prompt gamma emission profiles in the planning CT and subsequent CTs were then correlated to the corresponding range shifts deduced from the dose distributions for individual pencil beams. The distributions of range shift differences between prompt gamma and dose were evaluated in terms of precision (defined as half the 95% inter-percentile range IPR) and accuracy (median). In total about 1700 individual proton pencil beams were investigated. The IPR of the relative range shift differences between the dose profiles and the prompt gamma profiles varied between  ±1.4 mm and  ±2.9 mm when using the more robust profile shifting analysis. The median was found smaller than 1 mm. Methods to identify and reject unreliable spots for range verification due to range mixing were derived and resulted in an average 10% spot rejection, clearly improving the prompt gamma–dose correlation. This work supports that prompt gamma imaging can offer a reliable indicator of range changes due to anatomical variations and tissue heterogeneity in scanning proton treatment of prostate cancer patients when considering prompt gamma emission profiles.


Abstract Dilatation of the fetal cerebral ventricles (ventriculomegaly) is a generic sonographic sign common to several pathological entities carrying different prognoses. The main causes of fetal ventriculomegaly are aqueductal stenosis, Chiari II malformation, Dandy-Walker complex and agenesis of the corpus callosum. Ventriculomegaly is easily recognized by ultrasound by measuring the atrial width. This simple measure allows the recognition of mild forms of ventricular dilatation and is used as a screening method for ventriculomegaly. However, although the diagnosis of ventriculomegaly is easy, the prenatal identification of the cause of ventricular dilatation is a more difficult task. To this end, the evaluation of the posterior fossa in association with the visualization of the corpus callosum is a useful landmark. Research into the cause of ventriculomegaly is clinically useful, since the prognosis mainly depends on the etiology and on the presence of associated anomalies. In this article the role of prenatal sonography in recognizing the cause of ventriculomegaly and the prognostic value of the prenatal sonographic findings are discussed.


Electronic publishing constitutes one of the most exciting themes nowadays, amongst academics, at least, though substantial effects of IT usage for communication purposes in other than academic sceneries have also set off enthusiasm on people involved with that. Within the academic environment the use of IT for communicating research by scientists and scholars from different bodies of knowledge has brought about significant changes in the scholarly communication process, particularly in journal production and distribution, conference organisation and a number of other actions regarding making knowledge public. Alternatively, the use of IT within business and technological environments has also triggered changes concerning their stakeholders' interactions. As a consequence, significant changes in communication have been observed, much of them clearly identified in the works submitted to and presented at ElPub2003. a quick glance at ElPub proceedings from 1997 to 2002 allow to observe the evolution of such an It is important to note that changes are also an important and stimulating theme in whatever context. In the academic environment, changes have been approached by Kuhn as either giving birth to new paradigms or being born from them. In fact, Kuhn (1970), Meadows (1998), Pahre (1996) and others have approached paradigm as something very important in the academic world, as it constitutes a conceptual framework involving both theory and practice, and providing guidance on what problems deserve investigation and how they should be tackled. In this sense, this speech aims to highlight the major issues under Elpub2003 authors' concerns, and the way they have been both looked at and dealt with.


Abstract. The low-energy precision application (LEPA) irrigation concept was developed 40 years ago (ca. 1978) to address the depletion of irrigation water from the Ogallala Aquifer and the sharp increase in pumping costs caused by the 1970s fuel crisis occurring at that time in the Texas High Plains. The LEPA method applies water to the soil surface at low pressure using a tower-truss irrigation system that continually moves through the field. This method brought changes in irrigation equipment and management that resulted in improvements in water productivity, particularly in semi-arid locations with diminishing water supplies. A review of published information pertaining to LEPA history, evaluation, and usage was performed. On landscapes of less than 1% slope, negative crop yield effects caused by irrigation runoff and start-stop system alignment were overcome with appropriately spaced basins, or furrow checks, and multiple irrigations over the course of the growing season. No consistent yield advantage at any level of irrigation was documented by placing water in every furrow (1 m spacing) compared to alternate furrows (2 m spacing). In irrigation treatments having =50% of the estimated full irrigation quantity, LEPA resulted in a 16% yield increase over sprinkler methods, although subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) resulted in a 14% yield increase over LEPA. At irrigation levels >50% of full irrigation, crop yields of sprinkler treatments were only slightly less than those of LEPA, and SDI yields were 7% greater than LEPA. The LEPA irrigation method was the catalyst for innovations in chemigation, no-till planting, and site-specific irrigation. As irrigation water becomes more limited, use and proper management of optimum irrigation methods will be critical. Keywords: Basin tillage, Chemigation, Evapotranspiration, Irrigation methods, LEPA, Low-energy precision application, Runoff, Spray irrigation, Sprinkler irrigation, Uniformity, Water use efficiency.


ABSTRACT In response to the problem of holiday hunger, hundreds of local "holiday clubs" have recently been established across the UK. This research examines the spatial relationship between income, childhood deprivation, ethnicity and holiday clubs across 32,844 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in England to determine if these clubs are currently operating in an inclusive fashion. Data on the location of holiday clubs comes from a national survey. Binary logistic regression results suggest that holiday clubs are likely to operate in economically disadvantaged areas. At the same time, clubs are not distributed equally by ethnicity. That is, holiday clubs operated by voluntary organisations are more likely to be situated in LSOAs that are disproportionately white and English\British and less likely to be situated in LSOAs that are disproportionately ethnic minority. This finding has important implications for the pursuit of holiday clubs as a policy mechanism for addressing access to food in light of the state's failure to adequately feed all of the country's children.


The objective of the study is to examine the factors which determine the credit worthiness and loan repayment performance among the small-holder farmers in Vavuniya district in Sri Lanka. A sample of 113 small –holder agricultural loan borrowers from five villages who get the loans from SANASA TCCS served as the respondents in the study. A set of structured questionnaire was used to collect the primary data from the respondents who lives in the five villages located in Marukkarambali GS division in Vavuniya district, Sri Lanka during the period of 2018/2019. The dependent variable is the credit worthiness measured as binary variables where it takes as one for defaulters and zero for non - defaulters and the selected demographic characters, farming characters and farmers' attributes were taken as explanatory variables in the study. To identify the above characters on the credit worthiness of the farmers' descriptive statistics, and binary probit model were employed. The results of the descriptive statistics revealed that, 43.4% of the respondents belonged to the defaulters while 56.6% of them belonged to the non – defaulters in the study. Estimated results of the probit model suggest that among the demographic characteristics, age of the farmers, levels of education, number of family members positively influenced the loan repayment performance of smallholder farmers, while among farming characters, income, farm size, land ownership, farming experience, off-farm activities, purpose of loan and possibility of crop failure were positively impact on credit worthiness and repayment performance at different significant levels. On the other hand, knowledge about the loan and responsible guarantors were the major factors of farmers' attributes influencing the repayment performance in the study. The overall findings of the study may help to the farmers as well as to the micro finance institutions to predict the repayment behaviour of the new loan applicants and to make the decision to grant loans in future.


This article presents the development and characterisation of an electrochromic device and its application to detect steel corrosion in reinforced concrete. Steel corrosion inflicts an enormous annual economic damage, which could be reduced by the installation of appropriate monitoring devices. These should be simple, reliable, long lasting, and should not require service or maintenance. The present electrochromic device is constructed in such a way that it uses the macrocell current in an active, chloride-induced corrosion element as power supply to trigger the colour change. This way, the system stays inactive until corrosion occurs. The device consists of diheptyl viologen in a liquid polymer electrolyte made from LiClO4 and poly(ethylene glycol) with M¯w = 400 g mol−1. The addition of viologen lowers the resistance but causes no further changes in the electrochemical properties of the polymer electrolyte. Impedance spectra indicate ion transport rather than capacitance effects to dominate the electrochemical properties. Experiments using direct current in the microampere range show electrochromic switching times of several minutes, which is sufficient for the intended monitoring application.


Introduction: Preventing unintended pregnancy among HIV-positive women constitutes a critical global public health priority for addressing the desperate state of maternal and child health in HIV hyper endemic settings, yet few data exist on contraceptive use among women entering ART follow up in Debre Tabor Referral Hospital. Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess contraceptive utilization and associated factors among women aged 15-49 years living with HIV/AIDS in Debre Tabor Referral Hospital.Methods: Institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 02 to February 03, 2020 on women aged 15-49 years living with HIV/AIDS in Debre Tabor Referral Hospital. A total of 415 reproductive women living with HIV/AIDS were selected for the study using simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using a Structured questionnaires through face to face interview by two trained nurses assigned at ART clinic of DTH during data collection period. The data was presented using descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage and the association between dependent and selected independent variables was determined by inferential statistics of chi-square test.Result: The study analysis shows that there is significant association (p-value<0.05) between educational status (p-value=0.000), knowledge about modern contraceptive (p-value=0.000), spouse approval (p-value=0.000) and receive counseling about modern contraceptive (p-value=0.000) with their modern contraceptive use.Conclusion: This study in generally showed lower utilization of modern contraceptive in the study area.


Magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) particles were synthesized and modified via a reaction-hydrothermal process in the present of NaOH. The resultant magnesium hydroxide was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET specific surface area. It was found that NaOH played a key role in the morphology and dispersion Mg(OH)2 particles.


An effective treatment for Trypanosoma cruzi infection has been investigated, since the 30s. The goals of the specific treatment against T. cruzi infection are, at the individual level, to eliminate the parasite, and to reduce the probability of developing Chagas disease. At the end of the 60s and at the beginning of the 70s, two compounds were clinically investigated in Argentina: Nifurtimox and Benznidazole. After the approval by the Ministry of Health, in 1983 the first guidelines for the treatment of T. cruzi infection were proposed and approved. These guidelines recommended the treatment of cases in the acute phase. Due to the publication of new information in support of the utility of these drugs for treating cases in the indeterminate phase of Chagas disease, in 1997 the original guidelines were revised and new procedures were approved. At present, the treatment is recommended for: 1) all patients undergoing the acute phase; 2) children and young people undergoing the indeterminate phase; 3) adult patients undergoing the indeterminate phase or with incipient heart lesions; 4) laboratory accidents and during surgery, and 5) organ transplant recipients or donors. The general clinical laboratory control is needed for the intra-treatment monitoring of the patient. Titration of specific antibodies with monospecific antigens has been shown to be an adequate marker of therapeutic efficacy.


Headed studs are commonly used as shear connectors to transfer
longitudinal shear force at the interface between steel and concrete in
composite structures (e.g., bridge decks). Code-based equations for predicting the shear capacity of headed studs are summarized. An artificial neural
network (ANN)-based analytical model is proposed to estimate the shear capacity of headed steel studs. 234 push-out test results from previous published research were collected into a database in order to feed the simulated
ANNs. Three parameters were
identified as input
variables for the prediction of the headed stud shear force at failure, namely
the steel stud tensile strength and diameter, and the concrete (cylinder) compressive
strength. The proposed ANN-based
analytical model yielded, for all collected data, maximum and mean relative
errors of 3.3 % and 0.6 %, respectively. Moreover, it was illustrated that, for that data, the neural
network approach clearly outperforms the existing code-based equations, which yield mean errors greater than 13 %.


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved drugs to treat patients with tumor types based on a single anatomic site, such as renal cell carcinoma or melanoma, rather than on a biomarker alone. This standard approach is based on a number of factors, including heterogeneity of drug effects in different biomarker-positive tumor types. Additionally, drug development for some drugs was primarily directed toward a specific genomic abnormality in a specific tumor type (e.g., drugs for anaplastic lymphoma kinase [ALK] fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer). In such cases, differences in biology, differences in natural histories of different cancers, differences in mutation frequencies among cancers, or differences in concomitant therapies may have necessitated diverse development considerations. As described in U.S. regulations [21 CFR 201, CFR 201.57(c)(2)], the indications and usage section of drug labeling "must state that a drug is indicated for the treatment, prevention, mitigation, cure, or diagnosis of a recognized disease or condition or of a manifestation of a recognized disease or condition, or for the relief of symptoms associated with a recognized disease or condition." Such regulations, however, do not require that disease be defined solely as a specific tumor type. This manuscript will highlight scientific/biologic issues, clinical trial designs, and regulatory issues pertaining to the development of drugs agnostic of tumor type. Although the manuscript will discuss regulatory considerations as understood by the authors regarding tissue-agnostic drug development, it should not be considered formal or binding FDA guidance or policy.


Tracheal tumors or masses causing critical airway obstruction require resection for symptom relief. However, the location and extent of these tumors or masses often preclude conventional general anesthesia and tracheal intubation. Peripheral cardiopulmonary bypass often is required before anesthetizing these patients. Herein, two cases of patients with tracheal masses, in whom awake peripheral cardiopulmonary bypass was instituted, are reported. The first case was that of an obese male child weighing 102 kg, with tracheal rhinoscleroma, who developed Harlequin, or north-south, syndrome after institution of femorofemoral venoarterial partial cardiopulmonary bypass. The second case was that of a female patient with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the trachea causing near-total central airway occlusion. She had severe pulmonary artery hypertension, which prevented the use of venovenous bypass. Instead, femoral vein-axillary artery venoarterial bypass was established to avoid Harlequin syndrome. Some of the challenges encountered were the development of Harlequin syndrome with risk of myocardial and cerebral ischemia, type and conduct of extracorporeal bypass, choice of monitoring sites, and provision of regional anesthesia for peripheral extracorporeal cannulations. Management of such patients needs frequent troubleshooting and multidisciplinary coordination for a successful surgical outcome.


Marital satisfaction has been previously associated with job satisfaction although few studies have addressed this issue among Hispanic physicians. Marital and job satisfaction were assessed in a sample of 92 legally married non-residents physicians working at a Hispanic Academic Medical Center during the 2006-2007 academic year. Marital satisfaction was assessed using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and job satisfaction was measured using a 18-item scale. Response rate was 34.8%. Most (70.7%) of the subjects were males. Forty- five percent (45.0%) belonged to the surgical specialties group. The mean scale value for marital satisfaction was found to be in the average range. Almost all (88.7%) the participants reported being "satisfied "to "very satisfied" with their job. Ninety percent (90.0%) of the surgical specialists and 86.9% of the non-surgical specialists reported being satisfied with their job. The percentage of participants that reported to be "very satisfied" with their job, was higher among the group of surgical specialists (23.3%) than among the non-surgical specialists (13.0%) There was no significant relationship between marital satisfaction and job satisfaction. Also, no statistically significant difference was observed in the level of marital satisfaction and job satisfaction when surgical and non-surgical physicians were compared. The findings on marital satisfaction obtained in this sample were similar to those observed in a previous study of resident physicians at the same academic medical center.


The sharing of intelligence information between and among states is among the most important intelligence practices in the post-9/11 era. Its value from a national security perspective is clear: no one state is so omniscient that it has access to all the intelligence information relevant to its national security interests. This observation is even more pertinent in a period in which the focus on terrorism has prompted increased consumption of intelligence shared with and between the states from which Islamist terrorists operate. At the same time, intelligence information sharing presents serious challenges to key values animating democratic societies. Intelligence sharing lay at the heart, for example, of the comprehensive Canadian public inquiry into the precipitous and unorthodox removal in 2002 of Canadian citizen Maher Arar by the United States to Syria, and his subsequent imprisonment and torture in that country. The Arar matter, read with an eye to other proceedings, suggests a number of collateral impacts associated with intelligence sharing. First, intelligence sharing - especially that which implicates human rights-abusing states - may actually induce violations of fundamental rights and freedoms. Second, even within democratic societies, intelligence sharing risks further undermining the already fragile public rights to information in national security matters that exist under freedom of information laws or under the due process standards applied in court proceedings. Third, information is inherently fungible, and national systems designed to guard how it used may prove ineffective once that information is in international circulation. This paper tests these assertions, drawing examples [in this draft] primarily from the Canadian experience. Part I examines the scope and legal basis of intelligence information sharing. Part II then assesses several implications of information sharing for civil and human rights. The chapter concludes by highlighting what Hans Born has called the accountability gap - the national focus of review and accountability bodies in an era of enhanced cooperation between intelligence agencies. It joins his call for redoubled review body cooperation as a partial means of overcoming the collateral consequences of intelligence sharing.


Abstract This article develops a legal and theological critique of the Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder decision that dismantled portions of the Voting Rights Act. Defending the Voting Rights Act in light of four basic features of voting rights—access, participation, empowerment, and expression of conscience—I refute the Shelby decision in terms of its oversimplified notions of discrimination and its overly narrow construal of federalism as state sovereignty and equality. I draw upon Catholic social teaching's subsidiarity and Johannes Althusius's federalism to defend the individual and communal dimensions of voting rights. I examine post-Shelby developments, including voter-identification laws, and I argue that such laws are unfounded and have deleterious effects. I conclude by offering modest recommendations for a post-Shelby world, including continued roles for Congress and the Department of Justice, the use of intermediary organizations, and the rescinding of felon disenfranchisement laws.


Abstract. It is well understood that the distribution and quantity of liquid water in snow is relevant for snow hydrology and avalanche forecasting, yet detecting and quantifying liquid water in snow remains a challenge from the micro- to the macro-scale. Using near-infrared (NIR) spectral reflectance measurements, previous case studies have demonstrated the capability to retrieve surface liquid water content (LWC) of wet snow by leveraging shifts in the complex refractive index between ice and water. However, different models to represent mixed-phase optical properties have been proposed, including (1) internally mixed ice and water spheres, (2) internally mixed water coated ice spheres, and (3) externally mixed interstitial ice and water spheres. Here, from within a controlled laboratory environment, we determine the optimal mixed-phase optical property model for simulating wet snow reflectance using a combination of NIR hyperspectral imaging, radiative transfer simulations (DISORT), and an independent dielectric LWC measurement (SLF Snow Sensor). Maps of LWC were produced by finding the least residual between measured reflectance and simulated reflectance in spectral libraries, generated for each model with varying LWC and grain size, and assessed against the in situ LWC sensor. Our results show that the externally mixed model performed the best, retrieving LWC with an uncertainty of ~1 %, while the simultaneously retrieved grain size better represented wet snow relative to the established scaled band area method. Furthermore, the LWC retrieval method was demonstrated in the field, imaging a snowpit sidewall during melt conditions, mapping pooling water, flow features, and LWC distribution in unprecedented detail.


During the last decades, the use of advanced optimization algorithms to generate sports timetables has caught the attention of both academics and practitioners. From a managerial standpoint, the competition's structure and the design of the league's schedule represent key strategic decisions with a direct impact in terms of revenue and other important indicators. Argentina's National Basketball League (LNB) has undergone a major transformation since 2014, implementing a tour-based schedule design to reduce the total distance traveled by the teams. In this work, we build upon this experience and evaluate the impact of an alternative league structure for the LNB, considering the interest of the games in a schedule as a key design element. We consider a league structure with a couple-based system and a time constrained schedule that increases the share of games played during weekends. We introduce a metric to measure the interest of a game and explore different Integer Linear Programming (ILP) models to construct the schedule, including a new framework that partially incorporates the touring scheme into the time constrained schedule in a more controlled fashion. Throughout extensive computational experiments over six LNB seasons, we show that our framework reduces the traveled distance in most of the instances and that it translates into higher revenue under moderate stadium attendance assumptions, with increments reaching up to 40 percent.


This research which was undertaken in Mungwi aimed at assessing the communication strategies which the Mungwi District AIDS Task Force has been using to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS in the district. The title of the research is, communication strategies used in HIV and AIDS prevention by the Mungwi District AIDS Task Force (DATF): A Case Study of Mungwi rural. The researcher intended to determine the extent to which Mungwi DATF communication on HIV and AIDS has impacted on people's attitudes, beliefs and behaviour with regard to HIV and AIDS prevention and if possible provide further recommendations.

It is evident enough that the problem of HIV and AIDS has not spared anyone and as such it requires collective efforts to reduce the infection rates to zero. Although both recent reports by UNAIDS and Zambia country report on HIV and AIDS of 2010 indicates signs of success in the fight against the further progression of the HIV and AIDS epidemic as noticed in the reduction in the new HIV infections globally, there is still more work needed to be done because the present formal known HIV prevalence rate estimated at 14.3% is a high figure for Zambia (National AIDS Strategic Framework, 2011-2015, Towards Improving the quality of life of the Zambian people, 2010, p.1).

In order to obtain data the researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Several other methods were used such as the audience survey, staff survey, focus group interviews, in depth interviews, purposive sampling, cluster sampling, quota sampling and participant observation. The software package for social sciences was used to analyse data and triangulation was used.

The results are that there are differences in terms of knowledge on HIV and AIDS between those who live in Mungwi central and those in far distant places. Due to the vastness of the district coupled with little financial resources, Mungwi DATF fails to cover the whole area in its sensitisation pragrammes. It is for this reason that many people in Mungwi rural do not know much about DATF and have not been involved in its programmes. On the other hand, Mungwi DATF staff indicated that they have sensitised some areas on HIV and AIDS through radio programmes, meetings, workshops, events such as world AIDS day commemoration, posters, brochures, pamphlets and popular theatre.

Even if this may be the case, much of the information on HIV and AIDS was said to come from other sources like palliative care, health personnel who visit communities providing antenatal services to the pregnant women and during child health week vaccination campaigns. Some of it is tapped from ZNBC radios 1 and 2. The researcher recommends that Mungwi DATF staff should visit and sensitise people on HIV and AIDS. Further recommendations are that Mungwi DATF should make more use of the radio, train more people who in turn would train others, print HIV and AIDS information in the local language on many utensils, involve both traditional and church leadership, produce DVDs on HIV and AIDS and…


We would like to say that experience prototyping and Wizard of Oz prototyping, taken together, constitute a suitable alternative to true contextual evaluation for early prototypes, one gaining realism at the expense of impartiality, the other impartiality at the expense of realism. As our experiences show, however, each pervasive application design poses unique challenges that you must consider when applying these approaches. Regardless, it's often a good trade-off to sacrifice some measure of realism to evaluate early prototypes. Evaluation of early pervasive computing prototypes in context is a pragmatic exercise, but one that is nonetheless informed by general approaches that reflect and adapt to the challenges of pervasive application development.


A study of the roll damping of a two-dimensional FPSO model produced by bilge keels using CFD method is presented in this paper. The tool to be utilized is the well-known code Star-CCM+, which uses the Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach to capture the free surface. The results are validated by comparison with experiments. Using the results from a number of simulations, the roll damping coefficient resulting from locating the bilge keels at different positions will be calculated. The analysis of the rolling damping coefficients for the different locations will provide a useful design tool for optimising the roll damping of vessels with bilge keels.


Summary This paper shows how contingent valuation studies can produce relevant information for public nature conservation decisions. The study analyses the preferences of Finnish households for a nature conservation programme, Natura 2000 Network, by applying a dichotomous choice referendum model of the contingent valuation survey. In order to study the influence of attitudes and beliefs on a choice between the status quo and the new conservation project, an attitude‐behaviour framework is applied. Beliefs concerning the outcomes of the nature conservation policy and evaluations of their importance describe how attitudes towards the programme are formed. The choices in the referendum are explained using a logit regression model and are found to be a function of attitude and socio-economic variables. The probability of a person supporting the proposed conservation level depends significantly on the income, age and background (urban‐rural) of the respondent. The estimated model of choice behaviour is used to calculate the average willingness to pay for the Natura 2000 Network, which is also compared to the costs of the conservation programme.


Abstract
 A remarkable range extension of the Neotropical hornwort Phaeomegaceros fimbriatus (Gottsche) Duff, J.C. Villarreal, Cargill et Renzaglia is presented. Phaeomegaceros fimbriatus was found on the alluvium of a river in a montane cloud forest of the Carrasco National Park in Bolivia. The morphological features and habitat preferences of the species are briefly described and its global distribution range is mapped.


Putting Selenium in Proteins The 21st amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec), occurs in the active site of many redox enzymes. Its cognate transfer RNA (tRNA) is first loaded with Ser by seryl-tRNA synthetase and the Ser-tRNASec is then converted to Sec-tRNASec. Itoh et al. (p. 75) determined the crystal structures of the selenocysteine synthase, SelA, that is responsible for this conversion in bacteria, alone and in complex with tRNA. The decameric SelA complex binds to 10 tRNASec molecules. The structures, together with biochemistry, show how SelA discriminates tRNASec from tRNASer, give insight into the mechanism of catalysis, and show that decamerization is essential for function. Structural and biochemical data reveal how selenocysteine is produced from serine on transfer RNA. The 21st amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec), is synthesized on its cognate transfer RNA (tRNASec). In bacteria, SelA synthesizes Sec from Ser-tRNASec, whereas in archaea and eukaryotes SepSecS forms Sec from phosphoserine (Sep) acylated to tRNASec. We determined the crystal structures of Aquifex aeolicus SelA complexes, which revealed a ring-shaped homodecamer that binds 10 tRNASec molecules, each interacting with four SelA subunits. The SelA N-terminal domain binds the tRNASec-specific D-arm structure, thereby discriminating Ser-tRNASec from Ser-tRNASer. A large cleft is created between two subunits and accommodates the 3′-terminal region of Ser-tRNASec. The SelA structures together with in vivo and in vitro enzyme assays show decamerization to be essential for SelA function. SelA catalyzes pyridoxal 5′-phosphate–dependent Sec formation involving Arg residues nonhomologous to those in SepSecS. Different protein architecture and substrate coordination of the bacterial enzyme provide structural evidence for independent evolution of the two Sec synthesis systems present in nature.


Epilepsy is quite a common disorder in the child and adolescent population, and it has been studied for many years. Recently, a better understanding has been achieved regarding the comorbidities in epilepsy, including: major depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, etc.. The comorbidities are extensive and affect many aspects in the life of the patient, and his family members, including: psychological development, learning abilities, independence, etc.. Several mechanisms take part in these comorbidities, starting in the cell and ending with a broadened psychological effect. A better understanding of these mechanisms may assist the physicians in diagnosing their patients and tailoring a wide-approach treatment plan, thereby improving the patient's clinical status and his quality of life (and that of his family). The objective of this article is to describe some of the common comorbidities that are present in epilepsy, and outline the multi-disciplinary approach in treating the epileptic child and his/her family.


The Modboat is a low-cost, underactuated, modular robot capable of surface swimming. It is able to swim individually, dock to other Modboats, and undock from them using only a single motor and two passive flippers. Undocking without additional actuation is achieved by causing intentional self-collision between the tails of neighboring modules; this becomes a challenge when group swimming as one connected component is desirable. In this work, we develop a control strategy to allow parallel lattices of Modboats to swim as a single unit, which conventionally requires holonomic modules. We show that the control strategy is guaranteed to avoid unintentional undocking and minimizes internal forces within the lattice. Experimental verification shows that the controller performs well and is consistent for lattices of various sizes. Controllability is maintained while swimming, but pure yaw control causes lateral movement that cannot be counteracted by the presented framework.


We are developing a large-scale model of language comprehension in ACT-R 6 for use in the creation of a synthetic teammate that can function as the Air Vehicle Operator (AVO) in a three-person simulation of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) team performing a reconnaissance mission. The use of ACT-R 6 to implement the core components of this system reflects the strong cognitive modeling orientation of this research. However, the focus is on creating cognitively plausible linguistic and associated nonlinguistic representations, rather than modeling the finegrained time course of language processing as is more typical of ACT-R models. In this regard, an empirical study aimed at discovering evidence of linguistic representations is discussed. Beside the focus on linguistic and non-linguistic representations, the large-scale nature of this effort distinguishes it from typical cognitive modeling research.


Forest certification is one of the most important issues that have entered the forest sector in the past 15 years. There are many detractors and supporters of this instrument, but merely looking at the number of hectares certified and products carrying the logo of certification, one cannot deny that certification has gained importance, year after year. The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of 15 years of forest certification in the EU forest-based sector, using the Delphi method. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the impact of certification in the EU forestbased sector is positive-neutral with respect to ecological aspects, positive-negative on the economic and positiveneutral on the social ones. However, its positive effect is limited, due to the fact that the changes needed for the certification are minor. An improvement in the information to both society and local people by the actors involved in forest certification could increase the positive impact on the sector.


The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the size of Alabama's public high schools, selected school quality and financial indicators, and their students' performance on standardized exams. When the socioeconomic level of the student bodies is held constant, the size of high schools in Alabama has relatively little relationship with 11th grade student (both regular and special education) performance on the reading and math portions of the AHSGE. High schools' average daily attendance rates and pupil-to-computer (and computer with Internet connections) ratios do not vary in accordance with school size. Higher percentages of highly qualified teachers are found in Alabama's largest high schools. There was very little difference in the percentage of teachers with a master's degree or above across school size categories. Very little difference exists across size categories in regard to mean expenditures per pupil (range = $7,322 to $7,829). However, districts of the large high schools exert over twice the effort of those with small high schools (3.2 mills to 1.5 mills) and approximately 50 percent greater local effort than the districts of the medium-size high schools.


Transportation networks are plagued by frequent delays, which pose crucial challenges to the economic advancement of a country. In previous studies, transportation networks have been envisioned as network structures of vertices with links representing a connection between two vertices. In the present work, the focus is on the delay analysis using tools of complex network analysis of the Amtrak railway network in the US. The Amtrak delay data for a period of 6 years between 2009 and 2014 was analyzed. It was observed that delay distribution varied every year and also for same stations in different years. The effect of conventional network measures on the average daily departure delay at various stations and also on the total daily traffic load on the station were estimated. Contrary to the predictive power of network topology measures in model transportation networks, it was observed that the topology measures had a negligible effect on Amtrak delay, with stations that faced the highest traffic experiencing shorter average delays. The results of this study call for additional realistic network measures and routing schemes, which could capture the features of the real-world transportation networks.


Duck farming business prospects are very promising especially in Bogor and surrounding areas . It is because the demand for meat and duck eggs are quite large and and business development is still slightly in the area of Bogor. Kelompok Ternak Itik Keberlanjutan ( KTIK ) is one of the groups of cattle that can catch these opportunities, however, due to limited knowledge of farm management and support facilities make this difficult group to fulfill market need. The PKM program using case study methods, training, collaboration, mentoring and evaluation for 5 months. Usefulness of the program to create new job opportunities and improving the lives of farmers, and stimulate students to think of creative, innovative, and dynamic. Results obtained from the PKM program is increasing basic knowledge about management duck farming which characterized by decreasing the percentage of answers does not know and incresing answer know and very aware. Income of the group increased from Rp Rp 775.000/month to 2.857.600/month result of the average sales strategies. This will assist in the smooth and KTIK progress in the future in an effort of the duck. This program is in collaboration with Himpunan Mahasiswa Nutrisi dan Makanan Ternak (HIMASITER ) to conduct training and supervision during the agreed cooperation agreement.


To counter the development of salt-sensitive hypertension, multiple brain G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) systems are activated to facilitate sympathoinhibition, sodium homeostasis, and normotension. Currently there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the role of down-stream GPCR-activated Gα-subunit proteins in these critically important physiological regulatory responses required for long-term blood pressure regulation. We have determined that brain Gαi2-proteins mediate natriuretic and sympathoinhibitory responses produced by acute pharmacological (exogenous central nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor (NOP) and α2-adrenoceptor activation) and physiological challenges to sodium homeostasis (intravenous volume expansion and 1 M sodium load) in conscious Sprague–Dawley rats. We have demonstrated that in salt-resistant rat phenotypes, high dietary salt intake evokes site-specific up-regulation of hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) Gαi2-proteins. Further, we established that PVN Gαi2 protein up-regulation prevents the development of renal nerve-dependent sympathetically mediated salt-sensitive hypertension in Sprague–Dawley and Dahl salt-resistant rats. Additionally, failure to up-regulate PVN Gαi2 proteins during high salt-intake contributes to the pathophysiology of Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) hypertension. Collectively, our data demonstrate that brain, and likely PVN specific, Gαi2 protein pathways represent a central molecular pathway mediating sympathoinhibitory renal-nerve dependent responses evoked to maintain sodium homeostasis and a salt-resistant phenotype. Further, impairment of this endogenous "anti-hypertensive" mechanism contributes to the pathophysiology of salt-sensitive hypertension.


Pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma is a rare cutaneous melanocytic proliferation considered high-grade melanocytoma in the 2018 WHO Classification of Skin Tumors. Little has been reported about the associated genetic drivers in addition to BRAF and MAP2K1 mutations or PRKCA gene fusions. Here, we present a series of 21 cases of PRKAR1A-inactivated melanocytic tumors in which we could assess the associated genetic background. We identified 9 different driver genes related to the common, Spitz, blue nevi, and PRKC-fused groups. Nine cases were associated with a canonical BRAF p.V600E mutation, a hallmark of the common nevus group. They occurred mainly in young adults. All were combined (biphenotypic) cases with a variable proportion of compound nevus. The pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma component was made of thin fascicules or isolated epithelioid cells covered by a dense hyperpigmented melanophage background and was predominantly located in the upper dermis. One such case was malignant. Six cases were associated with Spitz-related genetic anomalies ranging from HRAS or MAP2K1 mutations to gene fusions involving MAP3K8, MAP3K3, and RET. They occurred mainly in children and young adults. Morphologically, they showed large confluent junctional nests in a hyperplastic epidermis and a fascicular dermal component of spindled and epithelioid melanocytes with a frequent wedged silhouette. Intravascular invasion was observed in 4/6 cases. Five cases were associated with canonical mutations of the blue nevus group with 4 CYSLTR2 p.L129Q and 1 GNAQ p.Q209L mutations. They were removed mainly in adults and showed a frequent junctional component with epidermal hyperplasia. The dermal component showed dense fascicules of spindled and epithelioid melanocytes predominating over melanophages. One case occurred in a PRKCA-fused tumor in an adolescent with classic morphologic features. These results could potentially shift the concept of PRKAR1A-inactivated melanocytoma, changing from a rather unified model to a more complex one, including genetic subgroup variations with clinical and morphologic specificities. The genetic background of PRKAR1A-inactivated melanocytic tumors should be systematically explored to better understand the extent and clinical behavior of these complex lesions.


What forces have shaped the evolution of the lexicon? Languages evolve under the pressure of having to communicate an unbounded set of ideas using a finite set of linguistic structures. This suggests why the transmission of ideas should be compressed such that one word will develop multiple senses. Previous theory also suggests how a word might develop new senses: Abstract concepts may be construed in terms of more concrete concepts. Here, we bring these two perspectives together to examine metaphorical extensions of English word meanings over the past millennium, analyzing how senses from a source domain are extended to new ones in a target domain. Using empirical and computational methods, we found that metaphorical mappings are highly systematic and can be explained in terms of a compact set of variables. Our work shows how metaphor can provide a cognitive device for compressing emerging ideas into an existing lexicon.


PLGA (75:25)/hydroxyapatite (HA) composite films were fabricated by solvent-casting method to investigate the effect of various hydroxyapatite content ratio to the PLGA film for cellular attachment and proliferation. Mechanical property of the composite film was characterized by tensile test. The ultimate tensile strength of 10% HA content film was two folds higher than control group. The surface of the film was characterized by contact angle measurement. The PLGA/HA composite film was more hydrophilic than control film. In vitro chondrocyte responses to the composite films were measured by cellular attachment and proliferation test. The attached and proliferated cells were significantly higher on PLGA/HA (10%) composite film than control group (1.44 times higher in attachment test and 1.31 times higher for 6th-day at culture in proliferation assaying, p<0.05). Base on these finding, the PLGA/HA (10%) composite was effective for the cell attachment for the initial stage of cultivation and cell proliferation.


Essays on Monetary Policy with Informational Frictions Chengcheng Jia This dissertation contains three essays on monetary policy under informational frictions. All three chapters study the situation in which the private sector has imperfect information about the underlying economy and extracts information about the unobserved shocks from the central bank's interest rate decisions. In this situation, monetary policy has an informational effect, in addition to its direct effect on the nominal budget of the household. Chapter 1 studies how the equilibrium interest rate of an optimizing discretionary central bank is changed when the interest rate has an informational effect. I build a New Keynesian model in which firms are subject to both nominal frictions and informational frictions. There are two types of aggregate shocks in the private sector: the natural-rate shock, which is mapped from the aggregate component of technology shocks, and the cost-push shock, which is mapped from the aggregate component of wage-markup shocks. The central bank has perfect information on the realization of shocks, and has only one policy instrument which is the nominal interest rate. Private agents do not observe the realization of shocks, and use the interest rate as a public signal to extract information about the shocks. I show that the equilibrium discretionary monetary policy reacts more aggressively to natural-rate shocks and less aggressively to cost-push shocks, relative to the optimal response under perfect information. Chapter 2 analyzes how the informational effect of interest rates leads to the gains from commitment, and its implications on optimal direct communication strategy. Built upon the model in the previous chapter, I show how commitment to a state-contingent policy rule can change the sensitivity of expected shocks to the interest rate. The key mechanism that yields the gains from commitment is analyzed through the lens of the Phillips curve, which shows the output gap versus inflation trade-off becomes endogenous to the central bank's interest-rate decisions. In addition to the informational gains from policy commitment, this chapter also studies the optimal direct communication strategy which interacts with the informational effect through policy rates. Finally, Chapter 3 explores the optimal strategy for the central bank to conduct monetary policy when both the private sector and the central bank face imperfect information. Forward guidance is modeled as the central bank providing its expectations on monetary policy, conditional on its own imperfect information. I compare three strategies of forward guidance. The first strategy is called instrument-based forward guidance, in which case the central bank announces and commits to its estimate of future policy actions conditional on its information which is currently noisy. The second strategy is called Delphic forward guidance, in which case the central bank only reveals its noisy information, and waits to decide the actual monetary policy when perfect information becomes available. I show that the optimal Delphic forward guidance involves the central bank doing backward induction, by which it takes into account the change in the beliefs in the private sector due to re-optimization in later periods. Lastly, I show the optimal monetary policy is the rule-based Odyssean forward guidance, which is a state-contingent commitment that specifies how the central bank reacts to both the actual shock and the noise in its own information.


An ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) has been coupled to the CHIMERE chemical transport model in order to assimilate ozone ground-based measurements on a regional scale. The number of ensembles is reduced to 20, which allows for future operational use of the system for air quality analysis and forecast. Observation sites of the European ozone monitoring network have been classified using criteria on ozone temporal variability, based on previous work by Flemming et al. (2005). This leads to the choice of specific subsets of suburban, rural and remote sites for data assimilation and for evaluation of the reference run and the assimilation system. For a 10-day experiment during an ozone pollution event over Western Europe, data assimilation allows for a significant improvement in ozone fields: the RMSE is reduced by about a third with respect to the reference run, and the hourly correlation coefficient is increased from 0.75 to 0.87. Several sensitivity tests focus on an a posteriori diagnostic estimation of errors associated with the background estimate and with the spatial representativeness of observations. A strong diurnal cycle of both these errors with an amplitude up to a factor of 2 is made evident. Therefore, the hourly ozone background error and the observation error variances are corrected online in separate assimilation experiments. These adjusted background and observational error variances provide a better uncertainty estimate, as verified by using statistics based on the reduced centered random variable. Over the studied 10-day period the overall EnKF performance over evaluation stations is found relatively unaffected by different formulations of observation and simulation errors, probably due to the large density of observation sites. From these sensitivity tests, an optimal configuration was chosen for an assimilation experiment extended over a three-month summer period. It shows a similarly good performance as the 10-day experiment.


In the intact heart, various triggers induce alterations in gene expression that impact on contractile function. Because changes in gene expression reflect altered protein expression patterns after 12-48 h, we developed a system in which intact twitching cardiac trabeculae can be studied for multiday periods. Right ventricular trabeculae from pentobarbital sodium-anesthetized rabbits were mounted in a sterile, closed muscle chamber. Over the first 48 h, developed force (Fdev) did not significantly change: 102.3 and 98.9% of the initial Fdev was observed after 24 and 48 h, respectively ( n = 8). Also, neither diastolic force, time from peak to 50% relaxation (RT50), nor protein synthesis measured by a [3H]leucine incorporation assay changed significantly over time. Contractile response after >48 h to an increase in extracellular calcium concentration (1.8 to 2.5 mM; Fdevincreased 43.5%, n = 2) or to 1 μM isoproterenol (Fdevincreased 138.6% and RT50decreased 34.9%, n = 2) was similar to those observed in freshly dissected preparations. In conclusion, this system can investigate contractile function of multicellular preparations under well-defined physiological conditions after events that alter gene and consequent protein expression.


In this paper, an improved hybrid location-based Ad hoc routing protocol (IHLAR) has been proposed. This hybrid approach combines geographic routing with topology-based routing protocol. It overcomes the major problems of reactive routing and the end-to-end delay is reduced by this algorithm. In addition, the path length performance of geographic routing is also improved. Simulation results show that our routing protocol outperforms the pure reactive routing in terms of average delay and packet delivery rate.


Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is divided into 6 serotypes. Occurrence of non-serotypeable strains is known, but background reasons are unclear. We hypothesized that non-serotypeable strains represent new serotypes or have altered expression of serotype-specific polysaccharide antigen (S-PA). We first characterized 311 strains from 189 individuals using both immunoassay- and PCR-based serotyping. Next, using natural human infection and rabbit immunization approaches, we clarified whether the phenotypically non-serotypeable strains expressed S-PA. Immunoassay identified serotypes a–f among 216 strains from 159 individuals. The remaining 95 strains from 30 individuals were phenotypically non-serotypeable. Yet, all these strains were identified by PCR-typing as serotype a-, b-, c-, or f. Non-serotypeability was confirmed by Western immunoblot with respective rabbit antisera. Patient sera remained non-reactive with autologous non-serotypeable strains at the serotype-specific region. Rabbit immunization with a phenotypically non-serotypeable strain induced no antibody production against S-PA. Thus, phenotypically non-serotypeable strains did not include novel serotypes, but lacked S-PA expression.


Background: Weight loss (WL) reduces bone mass and increases fracture risk. Mechanisms regulating calcium metabolism during WL are unclear. Objective: The objective was to assess the effect of 6 wk of WL at 2 different amounts of calcium intake [normal (NlCa): 1 g/d; high (HiCa): 1.8 g/d] on true fractional calcium absorption (TFCA), bone turnover, and bone-regulating hormones in overweight postmenopausal women. Design: Seventy-three women (body mass index, 26.9 1.9 kg/m) were recruited either to consume a moderately energy-restricted diet (WL group) or to maintain their body weight [weight-maintenance (WM) group] and were randomly assigned to either the HiCa or the NlCa group in a double-blind manner. Subjects underwent weekly diet counseling, and measurements were taken at baseline and after 6 wk. Results: Fifty-seven women completed the study and had a baseline TFCA of 24.9 7.4%. Energy restriction significantly decreased the total calcium absorbed (P 0.05) in the WL group (n 32) compared with the WM group (n 25; analysis of covariance). Regression analysis showed that a greater rate of weight loss suppressed TFCA and the total calcium absorbed (P 0.05) in the HiCa group. The women in the NlCa WL group absorbed inadequate amounts of calcium (195 49 mg/d), whereas the women in the HiCa WL group absorbed adequate amounts (348 118 mg/d). Parathyroid hormone explained 22% of the variance in calcium absorbed in the NlCa group only. Conclusions: We suggest that WL is associated with elevated calcium requirements that, if not met, could activate the calciumparathyroid hormone axis to absorb more calcium. Normal intakes of calcium during energy restriction result in inadequate total calcium absorption and could ultimately compromise calcium balance and bone mass. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:123–30.


One of the important issues in the areas of international taxation, international technology transfer and foreign investment by the MNCs that has been drawing greater attention of tax authorities worldwide is the issue of transfer pricing i.e. the compensation paid for intra-group services to related units of MNCs. Though the initial focus of transfer pricing audit by taxation authority was used to check the abuse of transfer pricing by manufacturing industries, with the growing entry of service MNCs in the global arena, more particularly in the field of financial services such as banking and insurance, where there is lot of scope of tax evasion, taxation authorities are tightening their grips to audit transfer pricing issues with respect to these services. In this direction, this paper captures the concept of transfer pricing while quoting a few evidences of its abuse by MNCs, describes its scope in the area of banking and insurance sectors vis-a-vis underscores the Indian legislation on transfer pricing and describes the firm specific implications so that the concerned tax payers (MNCs) may adopt suitable tax planning approach, maintain proper information and documentation and escape form heavy penalties and harassment. At the end, it has been suggested MNCs should go for Advance Pricing Arrangement (APA), which is under active consideration by the Indian taxation authority. The paper also highlights the advantages of APA system and recommends its inclusion in Indian transfer pricing legislation at the earliest as it will prove beneficial for both taxpayers (MNCs) and taxation authority.


Phosphoinositide signaling resides in the nucleus, and among the enzymes of the cycle, phospholipase C (PLC) appears as the key element both in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in mammalian cells. The yeast PLC pathway produces multiple inositol polyphosphates that modulate distinct nuclear processes. The mammalian PLCbeta(1), which localizes in the nucleus, is activated in insulin-like growth factor 1-mediated mitogenesis and undergoes down-regulation during murine erythroleukemia differentiation. PLCbeta(1) exists as two polypeptides of 150 and 140 kDa generated from a single gene by alternative RNA splicing, both of them containing in the COOH-terminal tail a cluster of lysine residues responsible for nuclear localization. These clues prompted us to try to establish the critical nuclear target(s) of PLCbeta(1) subtypes in the control of cell cycle progression. The results reveal that the two subtypes of PLCbeta(1) that localize in the nucleus induce cell cycle progression in Friend erythroleukemia cells. In fact when they are overexpressed in the nucleus, cyclin D3, along with its kinase (cdk4) but not cyclin E is overexpressed even though cells are serum-starved. As a consequence of this enforced expression, retinoblastoma protein is phosphorylated and E2F-1 transcription factor is activated as well. On the whole the results reveal a direct effect of nuclear PLCbeta(1) signaling in G(1) progression by means of a specific target, i.e. cyclin D3/cdk4.


Background The taxane-class agents (paclitaxel and docetaxel) have been among the most important cancer chemotherapy drugs in the past several years. They are microtubule-stabilising anticancer agents which causes mitotic arrest in metaphase. Hypersensitivity reactions may occur in some patients receiving infusions of taxanes. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion of chemotherapy patients who used taxane compounds during their treatment who developed symptoms of hypersensitivity reactions in order to determine the likelihood of hypersensitivity developing and develop procedures to minimise the risk to the patients. Materials and methods The dataset consisted of 30 (59% female and 41% male) patients with ages varying between 29 and 82, who had hypersensitivity reactions during their inpatient or outpatient chemotherapy treatment in VKF American Hospital between December 2008 and May 2011. By investigating the adverse drug reaction reports of these patients The authors separated out the cases that were believed to be the result of treatment with taxanes. Results Of 30 cases of possible hypersensitivity reactions, 55% were considered to be the result of taxane treatment. 7 of these cases arose from paclitaxel, whereas the remaining 9 cases occurred during docetaxel infusion. The proportion of docetaxel-related cases was 56.25% of taxane reactions. Among these, one of them was mild, 7 of them were medium and the remaining one was classified as severe. Among the paclitaxel-related cases, 3 of them were classified as mild and the remaining 4 as medium impact. No meaningful relationship was found between the diagnosis of cancer and the severity of the hypersensitivity reactions. Conclusions The authors concluded that decreasing the infusion speed of the premedication rather than increasing the amount of antihistamine or corticosteroid might be more effective in preventing hypersensitivity reactions due to taxane compounds. The authors informed the physicians and decided to lengthen the infusion time to at least 30 min and to give 30 min resting period between the premedication and chemotherapy. After implementing the new procedure, no hypersensitivity reactions were reported during the control period between July 2011 and September 2011. In addition, in order to treat hypersensitivity reaction symptoms quickly, emergency kits have been programmed into the Pyxis automated systems in the departments where our chemotherapy patients are treated. The authors expect to provide the necessary medicines as fast as possible with minimum human error. The performance monitoring and development phases of both processes still continue at our hospital.


Additive Manufacturing (AM) by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) offers ample scope for producing geometrically complex parts in comparison to the traditional subtractive manufacturing strategies. Developing during the manufacturing process, residual stresses may limit the application of SLM parts by reducing the load bearing capacity as well as induce unwanted distortion depending on the boundary conditions specified in manufacturing.
The present study aims to evaluate the bulk residual stresses in SLM parts by using neutron diffraction measurements performed at E3 line -BER II neutron reactor- of Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Materialien und Energie (HZB) Berlin. Together with microstructure characterization and distortion measurements, it is possible to describe the stress state throughout the whole sample. The sample was measured in as-build condition (on a build plate) and after releasing from the build plate. The used material is the nickel based superalloy 718. This alloy is widely used in aerospace and chemical industries due to its superior corrosion and heat resistant properties.
Obtained results indicated different residual stress states for each of the transversal, longitudinal and normal component. The normal and transversal component exhibits a rather compressive behavior while the longitudinal was tensile in the center part of the sample and became compressive towards the tip. As expected, the absolute values of all stress components decreased after releasing the sample from the building plate. A surface scan utilizing a coordinate-measuring machine (CMM) allowed us to present top surface distortion before and after releasing. The top surface showed a distortion around ±80µm after releasing. Microstructure evolution in the scanning-building cross-section is largely dominated by columnar grains. In addition, many small random orientated grains are prominent in the regions of a laser overlap during SLM.
In summary, for the sample of superalloy 718 manufactured by SLM, a small distortion occurred when removing the sample from the build plate whereby the residual stress state decreases. Moreover, the observed columnar grains in the building direction could give a reason for the lowest stress values in that normal direction. However, the most important parameter controlling the residual stresses is the temperature gradient. Hence, future investigations are planned for a different scan strategy to distribute the laser impact in a more homogenous manner.