Pyknotic nuclei, observed in the thymus of steroid-treated rats, are dense, homogeneous, intensely basophilic and Feulgen positive. Under the electron microscope, the image is that of a complete segregation of the chromatin from the nuclear sap producing a margin or crescent of condensed chromatin. Approximately 30% of all small thymocytes appeared to undergo this type of degeneration within 3–4 hr after administration of the synthetic corticosteroid, dexamethasone. At this time, pyknotic thymocytes were observed in clusters, probably as a result of the activity of dense reticular cells and macrophages. Topographical and experimental data suggest the existence of a select population of steroid-sensitive thymic cells. Furthermore, on the basis of thymidine-3H incorporation studies, it appears that the steroid-sensitive population of thymocytes does not correspond to "aged" cells. In addition, many plasma cells became pyknotic after the same steroid treatment, indicating an unexpected similarity between their nuclei and those of lymphocytes. Finally, steroid failed to induce pyknosis of thymocytes in a variety of in vitro experiments, suggesting that the in vivo effect of steroid is of an indirect nature. The results are discussed in terms of (a) the nature of the nuclear changes characterizing pyknosis, (b) the hypothetical mechanism whereby steroids trigger such changes, and (c) the population of cells susceptible to steroid-induced pyknosis.


This paper is an update of papers written in 1991 and in 1997 by Rod Byrns and this author concerning estimating the cost of refrigeration for superconducting magnets and cavities. The actual costs of helium refrigerators and coolers (escalated to 2007 dollars) are plotted and compared to a correlation function. A correlation function between cost and refrigeration at 4.5 K is given. The capital cost of larger refrigerators (greater than 10 W at 4.5 K) is plotted as a function of 4.5-K cooling. The cost of small coolers is plotted as a function of refrigeration available at 4.2 K. A correlation function for estimating efficiency (percent of Carnot) of both types of refrigerators is also given.


The observation of stable microbubbles was instrumental to the discovery of lung surfactant and has been turned into a clinical tool for the prediction of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. However, the colloidal properties of lung surfactant microbubbles have not been well characterized prior to this study. We show here that a common exogenous lung surfactant, Survanta, is capable of routinely stabilizing approximately a billion microbubbles per mL, most of which are less than 10 µm diameter, when perfluorobutane was used as the filling gas. The formulation therefore has remarkably rapid adsorption kinetics and surface tension lowering ability. The addition of an emulsifier did not significantly enhance microbubble production. Fluorescence microscopy showed prominent collapse structures on these microbubbles, and freeze-fracture electron microscopy showed undulation patterns of the monolayer surface. Zeta potential analysis indicated that Survanta microbubbles were highly negatively charged. Quantitative measurements of microbubble production allowed an analysis of competitive adsorption. Bovine serum albumin inhibited Survanta adsorption in a dose-response manner. Microbubble production was not reactivated by the addition of the nonionic polymer, poly(ethylene glycol). Lung surfactant microbubbles can serve as a tool to evaluate surfactant function and, potentially, as a theranostic agent for ultrasound.


In-vitro antioxidant activity of methanolic extract of Rhinacanthus nasutus leaves was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay and Reducing Power assays. Ascorbic acid was used as standard and positive control for both the analysis. All the analysis was made with the use of UV-Visible Spectrophotometer. The methanolic extract of Rhinacanthus nasutus leaves had shown very significant DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) radical scavenging activity compared to standard antioxidant. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of the extract was increased with the increasing concentration. In DPPH free radical scavenging assay IC50 value of leaves extract of Rhinacanthus nasutus was found to be 34.4 ig/mL. The reducing power activity of the leaf extract was moderately exhibited. The results concluded that the extract have a potential source of antioxidants of natural origin.


Having the smallest atomic radius, hydrogen can easily enter into many metals either by intentional doping or by inadvertent exposure to humid air. For Ti-Ni-based shape memory alloys, our recent studies have shown a specific effect of hydrogen in this important class of alloys, i.e., the interaction between hydrogen and twin boundaries can result in a very high damping peak in the martensitic state; thus hydrogen can be utilized to develop high damping materials. In the present study, aiming to provide a more comprehensive investigation to the role of hydrogen in Ti-Ni-based shape memory alloys, we systematically studied the hydrogen effect on martensitic transformation behavior, and twinning stress. By comparing the results from two sets of samples, one with and another without hydrogen, we obtained the following results. Firstly, hydrogen can lower the martensitic transformation temperature and reduce the transformation heat. Secondly, the twinning stress increases with hydrogen doping, and a typical yielding was found in the tensile testing for the sample containing hydrogen, which is absent in the H-free sample. This indicates that the hydrogen-twin boundary interaction also affect dc mechanical properties.


Foreign language learning is one of the most significant endeavours for people in all countries in the world. Turkey has given importance to foreign language learning for years. Nevertheless, it has been an unresolved problem for Turkish people. The purpose of the present study is to determine why people fail to learn foreign languages in Turkey and the psychological reasons behind it by focussing on perception, foreign language anxiety and learned helplessness. The participants were 100 volunteer students (56 female, 44 male) who were selected randomly from different faculties and departments at Bursa Uludag University. The data were collected from a questionnaire, which consisted of five main sections to identify participants' background, perception of foreign language learning, level of foreign language anxiety, and level of learned helplessness. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The data were analysed in relation to the research questions that guided the study. The results indicated that the participants' perceptions of foreign language learning were positive owing to past positive experiences, but their level of foreign language anxiety was high due to lack of practice in language skills in the past; and their level of learned helplessness was low because of the positive perceptions they possessed. In addition, the findings suggested that the four language skills should be taken into consideration when the contents of foreign language lessons at schools and foreign language courses at universities are prepared and determined.


In this study I have explored scientific insights towards establishing how the biochemistry of the human being could have a significant impact on human learning in a number of different ways. I have discovered that the biochemistry within the whole human being is triggered by the molecules of emotion occurring in a psychosomatic network active throughout the whole being. The molecules of emotion are neuropeptides such as endorphins, linked to their receptors, such as opiate receptors. This triggering of the molecules of emotion constitutes the pleasure principle which enables and encourages learning. In addition, the growth of myelin ensheathing all the neurons, through a process of myelination, also informs human learning biochemically. These biochemical processes make human learning 'active'. These biochemical processes also constitute a network of subtle energies operating in the viscera of all human beings, and so account for the anthropology of learning, viz. what is common to all human learning, regardless of ethnic group, language, economic circumstances, religious belief system, level of education, social class, age, gender, rural or urban location, inter alia. I have then drawn on my own learning experiences – my autobiography - and the experiences of others – an autoethnography - for evidence of the operation of the biochemistry in my and their learning. I have presented evidence of the emotions of joy, love and fun activating whole-being-learning that occurs in all of personal, spiritual and educational human learning. I have described my living spiritual and living educational theory as one where human learning happens when there is joy-filled love and love-filled joy within a safe community of practice. Within this safe community of practice, at least three aspects are argued to be features of whole-being-learning:  the relationships between the learners, their teachers and the subject are characterised by joy-filled love and love filled joy.  the talents and gifts of both the learners and the teachers are explored, celebrated, and used for inclusive benefit.  the knowledges of, about, and between, learners and teachers become integrated and coherent. My original contributions to the body of scholarly knowledge evidenced by my study include the following :  I have established the link between human learning as a biochemical process and the efficiency of games as a learning tool, thereby showing the link between learning and fun.  I have explored the holistic, organic intrinsic connections between personal, spiritual and educational human learning.  I have contributed to a growing understanding of the study of self as a subject and object in terms of my ways of human knowing (my epistemology), my ways of being human (my ontology) and my values (my axiology) which (in)form my attitudes of joy-filled love and love filled joy in all that I do.


Pumping efficiency and rotordynamic stability are paramount to subsea multiphase pump operation since, during the life of a well, the process fluid transitions from a pure liquid to a mixture of gas in liquid to just gas. Circumferentially grooved seals commonly serve as balance pistons in pumps while also restricting secondary flow. Prior experimental results obtained with a grooved seal operating with a mixture of air and mineral oil show the seal rotordynamic force coefficients vary significantly with the gas volume fraction (GVF). This paper, complementing an exhaustive experimental program, presents a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to predict the leakage, drag power, and dynamic force coefficients of a circumferentially grooved seal supplied with air in oil mixture with a GVF varying from 0 to 0.7. The test seal has fourteen grooves, an overall axial length of 43.6 mm and a radial clearance of 0.211 mm. The 127 mm diameter rotor spins at constant angular speed (Ω = 3,500 rpm). The mixture enters the seal at a supply pressure (Pin) of 2.9 bar(a), and the seal exit pressure (Pout) is 1 bar(a). The CFD two-phase flow simulations utilize the Euler-Euler multiphase model to predict the mass flow rate and the pressure field as a function of the operating conditions. Using a multi-frequency shaft orbit motion method, the CFD simulations deliver the variations of reaction force on the rotor with respect to the excitation frequency. For a pure liquid condition (GVF = 0), both the CFD and experimental results produce constant stiffness, damping and added mass coefficients. The experimental and CFD results demonstrate the seal rotordynamic force coefficients are quite sensitive to the gas volume fraction (GVF). When introducing a small amount of air into the oil (GVF = 0.1), the direct damping coefficient increases by approximately 10%. For operation with a mixture with inlet GVF > 0.1, the cross-coupled stiffness coefficients develop strong frequency dependent characteristics. In contrast, the direct damping coefficient has a negligible variation with excitation frequency. The CFD predictions, as well as the experimental results, evidence that air injection in a liquid stream can significantly change the seal rotordynamic characteristics, and thus can affect the rotordynamic stability of a pump. An accurate CFD analysis thus enables engineers to design reliable grooved seals operating under two-phase flow conditions.


With the proliferation of color display and input devices it has become less expensive to demonstrate and teach color image processing techniques. When teaching color image processing, it is important to emphasize that it is not a multichannel extension of monochrome image processing. This paper indicates the elements of color image processing and color image displays that every student and instructor should know. We give examples that can be used to illustrate these concepts.


Solid-state drives (SSD) offer a significant performance improvement over the hard disk drives (HDD), however, it can exhibit a significant variance in latency and throughput due to internal garbage collection (GC) process on the SSD. When the SSDs are configured in a RAID, the performance variance of individual SSDs could significantly degrade the overall performance of the RAID of SSDs. The internal cache on the RAID controller can help mitigate the performance variability issues of SSDs in the array; however, the state-of-the-art cache algorithm of the RAID controller does not consider the characteristics of SSDs. In this paper, we examine the most recent write cache algorithm for the array of disks, and propose a synchronous independent write cache (SIW) algorithm. We also present a pre-parity-computation technique for the RAID of SSDs with parity computations, which calculates parities of blocks in advance before they are stored in the write cache. With this new technique, we propose a complete paradigm shift in the design of write cache. In our evaluation study, large write requests dominant workloads show up to about 50 and 20 percent improvements in average response times on RAID-0 and RAID-5 respectively as compared to the state-of-the-art write cache algorithm.


Nestmate recognition is fundamental for the maintenance of social organization in insect nests. It is becoming well recognized that cuticle hydrocarbons mediate the recognition process, although the origin of recognition cues in stingless bees remains poorly explored. The present study investigates the effects of endogenously‐produced and environmentally‐acquired components in cuticular hydrocarbons in stingless bees. The tests are conducted using colonies of Plebeia droryana Friese and Plebeia remota Holmberg. Recognition tests are performed with four different groups: conspecific nestmates, conspecific non‐nestmates, heterospecifics and conspecific, genetically‐related individuals that emerge in a heterospecific nest. This last group is produced by introducing brood cells of P. droryana into a P. remota colony, and the resulting adult bees are tested for acceptance 10 days after emergence. For all groups, 15 individuals are sampled for chemical analysis. The results show the acceptance of all conspecific nestmates, and the rejection of almost every conspecific non‐nestmate and every heterospecific bee. Genetically‐related individuals emerging from heterospecific nests present intermediate rejection (66.7% rejection). Chemical analysis shows that P. droryana individuals emerging in a P. remota nest have small amounts of alkene and diene isomers found in P. remota cuticle that are not found in workers from the natal nest. The data clearly show that the majority of the compounds present in P. droryana cuticle are endogenously produced, although a few unsaturated compounds are acquired from the environment, increasing the chemical differences and, consequently, the rejection percentages.


We completed a readership survey that was tied to technology review articles published in the May/June and July/August 2005 issues of Computing in Science Engineering. This paper is part of our effort to engage readers in the iterative process of improving the usefulness of this magazine's technology reviews. We understand that utility is related not only to the content's relevance but also to its presentational format in the broadest sense, including organization, perspectives, and levels of detail


Abstract Young adults (16–30 years) and old adults (64–86 years) (N=96) viewed a staged videotaped crime event involving a young and old perpetrator. Prior to viewing either target present (TP) or target absent (TA) line-ups, half the participants received context reinstatement photographs. For the young line-up a significant effect of age group was found with old participants demonstrating poorer performance. However, on the old line-up there was no significant effect of age group. Importantly, a significant beneficial effect of context reinstating photographs existed for participants viewing the old TA line-up. An own-age bias did not exist for either age group in terms of accuracy but young participants were significantly more likely to choose a line-up member from the old line-ups compared to the young line-ups. It was concluded that given certain circumstances it may be possible for old adults to perform at an equivalent level to young adults.


DNA with Cu2+ ions in solution and films is studied by IR and Raman spectroscopy at different relative humidities (R.H. = 51 divided by 98%). DNA complexed with Cu2+ ions is shown to transit to the double-helix conformation, passing A-form, the water content per nucleotide (n) being essentially larger: 12 for Cu2+/P = 0.4 (n = 8 for DNA without ions). Cu2+ decrease the biopolymer hydration at R.H. 50-76% interactions with Cu2+ are stated to depend on the hydration degree of macromolecules. The analysis of the absorption band shifts of Raman spectra evidences the changes in the base torsion angle around the glycoside bond to the values characteristic of the syn-conformation and the interaction both with phosphates and nitrogen bases.


Abstract. We present a comprehensive model that can be employed to describe and correct for degradation of (scan) mirrors and diffusers in satellite instruments that suffer from changing optical Ultraviolet to visible (UV–VIS) properties during their operational lifetime. As trend studies become more important, so does the importance of understanding and correcting for this degradation. This is the case not only with respect to the transmission of the optical components, but also with respect to wavelength, polarisation, or scan-angle effects. Our hypothesis is that mirrors in flight suffer from the deposition of a thin absorbing layer of contaminant, which slowly builds up over time. We describe this with the Mueller matrix formalism and Fresnel equations for thin multi-layer contamination films. Special care is taken to avoid the confusion often present in earlier publications concerning the Mueller matrix calculus with out-of-plane reflections. The method can be applied to any UV–VIS satellite instrument. We illustrate and verify our approach to the optical behaviour of the multiple scan mirrors of SCIAMACHY (onboard ENVISAT).


Introduction Chagas disease is a major cause of cardiomyopathy and sudden death in our country. It has a high mortality when their patients develop New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV. Objective The objective of this study is to analyze the clinical outcome of patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure with optimized pharmacological therapy, undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy. Methods Between January 2004 and February 2009, 72 patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy in NYHA class III and IV underwent cardiac resynchronization therapy and were monitored to assess their clinical evolution. We used the t test or the Wilcoxon test to compare the same variable in two different times. A P value < 0.05 was established as statistically significant. Results The average clinical follow-up was 46.6 months (range 4-79 months). At the end of the evaluation, 87.4% of patients were in NYHA class I or II (P<0.001). There was response to therapy in 65.3% of patients (P<0.001), with an overall mortality of 34.7%. Conclusion In patients with chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy, we found the following statistically significant changes: improvement in NYHA class and increase of left ventricle ejection fraction, a decrease of the systolic final diameter and systolic final left ventricle volume and improvement of patient survival.


Magnetorheological dampers have raised as promising devices for structural seismic protection since they have many attractive features such as small power requirements, reliability, and relatively low cost. These devices have strongly nonlinear behaviour which is very difficult to characterize. For this reason, the modelling of MR dampers has been an active field during the last years and has produced several models by combining a physical insight with a black-box approach. Among them, the so called "viscous + Dahl model" has been introduced as a
particular case of the normalized version of the Bouc-Wen. Viscous + Dahl model is indeed significantly simpler than some other approaches and has well established conditions to ensure its physical and mathematical consistency.
This work deals with the modelling and identification of a small scale MR damper which is described by the viscous + Dahl model. The obtained model is validated experimentally into a real time hybrid test (RTHT) configuration where the MR damper is working as the seismic protection of a civil structure. The results show a good match between experimental and predicted forces.


Electrochemical methods have been used to study the structure and function of nucleic acids for more than 50 years. These approaches complement other experimental techniques, which we illustrate by using examples from studies of processes involved in the repair of DNA damage. The excellent sensitivity of the electrochemical approaches makes them good candidates for use as biosensors of a wide range of molecules and biological processes.


The adsorption of Basic yellow 2 (BY2), from aqueous solutions onto Granular activated carbon (GAC) and its adsorption kinetics at different concentrations, GAC masses, initial pH values and temperatures were studied. The adsorption process was followed by an on-line spectrophotometric analysis system, which consisted of UV-spectrophotometer, a designed spectrophotometric cell, peristaltic pump and a glassy reactor. The effect of initial dye concentration, mass of GAC, initial pH and temperature on adsorption was studied over 60 min adsorption period. The results showed that at first the removal percent of BY2 increases with the increase in initial concentration, then the trend is reversed. The results also showed that removal percent of BY2 at pHi around 7 is more than acidic pHi. Also the removal percent of BY2 increases with the increase in mass of GAC and temperature. For kinetic study, the obtained data were treated according to various kinetic models. The results showed that first order kinetic model is fitted to experimental data better than second order and intraparticle diffusion models. The Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson and BET adsorption models were applied to describe the equilibrium isotherms. Type 1 Langmuir isotherm and non-linear Redlich-Peterson isotherm seemed to be the best-fitting models for the experimental results with similar values of coefficient of determination.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to standardize a method to determine whether two strains of Cryptococcus neoformans could be considered epidemiologically linked. We hypothesized that strains isolated from the same patient were epidemiologically linked and that those isolated from different patients were unrelated. We used 17 environmental isolates and 97 clinical isolates from 31 patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis (1 to 14 isolates per patient). Using the plasmid pCnTel-1-labeled probe CENTEL, we were able to differentiate some unrelated strains that yielded the same hybridization profile with the C. neoformans middle-repetitive-element CNRE-1 probe. The genetic distances separating the strains isolated from the same patient and those separating the strains isolated from different patients were estimated, and the results obtained with the two probes were compared. Analysis of the results enabled the calculation of two Dice coefficient limits defining the zones containing the pairs of linked strains and the pairs of unrelated strains, as well as an intermediate uncertainty zone for which it was not possible to establish whether the pairs of strains were linked.


Production rates of dileptons and photons from the quark-gluon (QGP) phase are calculated taking into account effects of confinement and spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking (\chi SB) not far from the transition temperature $T_c$. We find that the production rates of dileptons with large momenta and of photons originating from the QGP around $T_c$ are suppressed by the \chi SB effect. We also discuss to what extent information about details of the chiral transition, such as its characteristic temperature range and the steepness of the crossover, are reflected in these quantities.


Although commercial cultivation of Bt cotton was not officially allowed in Pakistan until very recently, the area under Bt cultivation has increased every year, and during the 2009/2010 cotton season it stood at around 70% of all cropland. This trend has raised many interesting questions, and this article attempts to answer some of these questions using the pest-scouting data of 3,000+ cotton farmers collected during the 2005/2006 season. We used the Agriculture Decision Support System to process and analyze the primary raw data. This article shows the relationship between Bt and non-Bt cotton cultivation with reference to (1) farm size, (2) pest and pesticide groups, (3) predators and pesticide sprays, (4) sucking pests, and (5) chewing pests. Results show that small landowners are mainly attracted by Bt cotton and that the bollworm complex (except the spotted bollworm) had a low incidence on Bt cotton; this was not true for sucking pests, especially the newly emerged mealybug pest. However, the growth regulator was found to control jassid and whitefly on Bt cotton.


SNARE proteins mediate fusion of intracellular eukaryotic membranes and their alpha-helical transmembrane domains are known to contribute to lipid bilayer mixing. Synthetic transmembrane domain peptides were previously shown to mimic the function of SNARE proteins in that they trigger liposome fusion in a sequence-specific fashion. Here, we performed a detailed investigation of the conformational dynamics of the transmembrane helices of the presynaptic SNAREs synaptobrevin II and syntaxin 1a. To this end, we recorded deuterium/hydrogen-exchange kinetics in isotropic solution as well as in the membrane-embedded state. In solution, the exchange kinetics of each peptide can be described by three different classes of amide deuteriums that exchange with different rate constants. These are likely to originate from exchange at different domains of the helices. Interestingly, the rate constants of each class vary with the TMD sequence. Thus, the exchange rate is position-specific and sequence-specific. Further, the rate constants correlate with the previously determined membrane fusogenicities. In membranes, exchange is retarded and a significant proportion of amide hydrogens are protected from exchange. We conclude that the conformational dynamics of SNARE TMD helices is mechanistically linked to their ability to drive lipid mixing.


Electronic packages are frequently exposed to thermal cycling during their service life between low to high temperature extreme. Similar phenomena can be observed in solder joints during the characterization of thermal-mechanical fatigue behavior. This variation in temperature causes the evolution of mechanical and microstructural behavior of solder joints. Also, dwelling at high temperature extreme causes the mechanical properties reduction of solder joints due to thermal aging phenomena which eventually leads to the change in microstructure. In literature, the effect of thermal aging on the mechanical behavior evolution has been reported by several research groups, but the evolution of mechanical and microstructural properties under different thermal cycling exposure is limited. In our prior study, reduction of mechanical properties of SAC305 lead-free solder material under different thermal cycling exposures have been reported for up to 5 days of thermal cycling. It was found that thermal cycling with long ramp period and dwell time has severe effect on mechanical properties reduction. In our present study, previous study has been extended up to 100 days along with the mechanical behavior evolution of solder joints under stress free condition at different thermal cyclic loading. Particularly, the evolutions of mechanical behavior in both bulk SAC305 miniature solder bar samples and small SAC305 solder balls under stress free condition have been investigated for several thermal cycling profiles, and then the results were compared.
 Reflow solidification technique with a controlled temperature profile has been used to prepare bulk solder specimens for uniaxial tensile testing. Optical microscopy has been used to figure out the single grain BGA solder balls after grounding and polishing to avoid grain orientation effect during nanoindentation technique. Then, both bulk solder bars and solder balls were thermally cycled between −40 C to +125 °C under a stress-free condition (no load) in a thermal chamber. Several thermal loading were adopted such as (1) 150 minutes cycles with 45 minutes ramps and 30 minutes dwells, (2) air-to-air thermal shock exposures with 30 minutes dwells and near instantaneous ramps, (3) 90 minute cycles with 45 minutes ramps and 0 minutes dwells (thermal ramp only), and (4) Isothermal aging at high temperature extreme (no cycle). After each thermal cycling exposure, mechanical properties evolution of both solder bars and solder balls were recorded in terms of effective elastic modulus (E), hardness (H), yield strength (YS), and ultimate tensile strength (UTS). For the BGA solder balls, the evolution of mechanical properties was measured using nanoindentation. Moreover, mechanical properties evolution of both specimens was compared in terms of normalized properties with respect to elapsed time under different thermal cycling exposures. Finally, the microstructural evolution of bulk solder bars was observed under slow thermal cycling exposures with elapsed time.


For many years, mass media health campaigns have strived to change population health-related attitudes and intentions. While it is important to assess the direct effects of exposure to health campaign messages on these campaign outcomes, it is equally valuable to examine whether messages can be further propagated into the public communication environment. When people decide to replicate (replication) the core arguments used in campaign messages as they diffuse them to additional campaign targets, this enhances the reach of a campaign. Moreover, when people extend (extension) the core arguments of campaign messages by diffusing arguments in the same category as the campaign theme but those not specifically targeted in campaign messages, this increases the diversity of campaign-relevant communication. This dissertation aimed to examine how exposure to anti-smoking campaign messages influences patterns of replication and extension with four experimental studies. The first two studies examined whether message exposure can lead to replication and extension. Then, guided by construal level theory, the latter two studies examined whether different message characteristics and mindsets can increase or decrease patterns of extension. Study 1 found that exposure to why appeal messages (messages about reasons to quit smoking) and how appeal messages (messages about methods to quit smoking) influenced people to choose arguments that were targeted by the messages they were exposed to, to send to smokers. Study 2 focused on whether exposure to these messages influenced the selection of arguments that were consistent with the appeals (why and how), but were not targeted by the messages participants were exposed to, and found partial support. Study 3 found that exposure to why appeal messages with proximal temporal frames could hinder the selection of non-targeted why arguments. However, no support was found for the hypothesis that inducing different construal mindsets could increase or decrease the selection of non-targeted arguments (Study 4). The studies provided empirical tests of replication and extension—both outcomes that are important for advancing campaign effects. They also delved into the research question of whether certain message characteristics can promote or undermine the pattern of extension. Study results can inform campaign developers about which message strategies could be successful in further propagating campaign-relevant information into the public communication environment. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Communication First Advisor Robert C. Hornik This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2417


This paper addresses the problem of learning long binary codes from high-dimensional data. We observe that two key challenges arise while learning and using long binary codes: (1) lack of an effective regularizer for the learned high-dimensional mapping and (2) high computational cost for computing long codes. In this paper, we overcome both these problems by introducing a sparsity encouraging regularizer that reduces the effective number of parameters involved in the learned projection operator. This regularizer not only reduces overfitting but, due to the sparse nature of the projection matrix, also leads to a dramatic reduction in the computational cost. To evaluate the effectiveness of our method, we analyze its performance on the problems of nearest neighbour search, image retrieval and image classification. Experiments on a number of challenging datasets show that our method leads to better accuracy than dense projections (ITQ [11] and LSH [16]) with the same code lengths, and meanwhile is over an order of magnitude faster. Furthermore, our method is also more accurate and faster than other recently proposed methods for speeding up high-dimensional binary encoding.


We present in this paper the alternating minimization method on CAT(0) spaces for solving unconstraints convex optimization problems. Under the assumption that the function being minimize is convex, we prove that the sequence generated by our algorithm converges to a minimize point. The results presented in this paper are the rst ones of this type that have been given for theses spaces and alternating type methods. Moreover, the method proposed in this paper is attractive for solving certain range of problems.


Recently, fiction writers have begun to address and revision under-represented aspects of wartime and post-war experience to focus on the lives of the unacknowledged 'many', such as women, the working classes, and Black migrants. This paper focuses on one of these 'alternative narratives', Andrea Levy's prize-winning novel, Small Island (2004), which provides four interconnected accounts of the second world war and its aftermath from the perspective of its protagonists, Hortense, a Black Jamaican woman, Gilbert, a Black Jamaican Man, Queenie, a white British working class woman, and Bernard, a white British man. Utilising the resources of trauma theory and narratology, I examine Levy's use of a variety of literary techniques including analepsis, prolepsis, multiple narration, and temporal dislocation in order to enact a decentring of orthodox history and narrative in the face of traumatic events. In this way, the text registers the impact of war and its aftermath on characters' psyches and, paradoxically perhaps, enables the reader to come to an empathic understanding, through such narrative manoeuvres, of how public events and personal stories are intertwined. Moreover, in foregrounding the processes of storytelling, the novel testifies to the importance of historical reconstruction and cultural memory. It arguably functions as a self-reflexive act of remembering and forgetting, exploring the gaps, silences, and contradictions, the 'memory frictions', in accounts of British wartime experience. As a result, Small Island evinces a desire both to record untold or overlooked aspects of collective British history, and to intervene in History by giving symbolic and narrative shape to previously marginalised Black and working class experiences.


: In the bacteriological survey of 410 patients with purulent mastitis Staphylococcus aureus was found to be the main etiological factor of the disease. In most cases the strains of phage group I, phage type 80 were isolated. In unilateral mastitis during the acute period staphylococci were isolated from the the milk samples taken from the affected mammary gland in 77.4% of cases, and from the milk samples from the healthy mammary gland in 62.3% of cases. The strains isolated from the milk of both mammary glands and the surgical wound were identical. By the time of clinical convalescence staphylococci could be isolated from the milk of the affected and healthy mammary gland in 21.8% and 10.1% of cases, respectively, and from the surgical wound in 31.5% of cases.


Pannexins (Panx1, 2, 3) are channel-forming glycoproteins expressed in mammalian tissues. We previously reported that N-glycosylation acts as a regulator of the localization and intermixing of Panx1 and Panx3, but its effects on Panx2 are currently unknown. Panx1 and Panx2 intermixing can regulate channel properties, and both pannexins have been implicated in neuronal cell death after ischemia. Our objectives were to validate the predicted N-glycosylation site of Panx2 and to study the effects of Panx2 glycosylation on localization and its capacity to interact with Panx1. We used site-directed mutagenesis, enzymatic de-glycosylation, cell-surface biotinylation, co-immunoprecipitation, and confocal microscopy. Our results showed that N86 is the only N-glycosylation site of Panx2. Panx2 and the N86Q mutant are predominantly localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and cis-Golgi matrix with limited cell surface localization was seen only in the presence of Panx1. The Panx2 N86Q mutant is glycosylation-deficient and tends to aggregate in the ER reducing its cell surface trafficking but it can still interact with Panx1. Our study indicates that N-glycosylation may be important for folding and trafficking of Panx2. We found that the un-glycosylated forms of Panx1 and 2 can readily interact, regulating their localization and potentially their channel function in cells where they are co-expressed.


A simple perifusion system for in vitro studies on the rate of insulin secretion of isolated rat islets is described. A biphasic pattern of insulin secretion was produced by glucose whereas tolbutamide stimulated only the first phase of insulin secretion. The perifusion system was used to determine the effect of anti-mitotic agents on the biphasic pattern of insulin secretion. Yinblastine and colchicine destroy microtubules whereas deuterium oxide (D2O) produces stabilization and interference with the function of microtubules. Vinblastine (10-4 M) and D2O (100 per cent) inhibited completely the first and second phase of glucose-induced insulin secretion. The inhibitory effect of D2O was reversible and a biphasic pattern of secretion occurred following the replacement of D2O with water. Colchicine (10-3 M) produced significant inhibition of only the second phase of glucose-induced insulin secretion. The first phase of tolbutamide-induced insulin secretion was inhibited by vinblastine and D2O and the inhibitory effect of D2O was reversible. Colchicine did not inhibit the first phase of tolbutamide-induced insulin release. These findings indicate that the microtubular system is involved in both phases of insulin secretion. The first phase of secretion may be due to the release of beta granules already associated with the microtubular system and the second phase could be the result of stored and newlysynthesized granules becoming associated with the system.


The contribution of central cholinoreactive systems to the control of plasma lipoprotein metabolism was studied in white rats exposed to cold, overheating and immobilization stress. Possible mechanisms of shifts in fatty-acid composition, as well as high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total very low and low density lipoproteins, associated with hypothermia, hypertermia and emotional stress under conditions of excitement and blockade of cerebral m- and n-cholinoreceptors, are discussed. Changes in hypothalamic acetylcholin metabolism in stress-exposed animals are demonstrated. It is suggested that central cholinoreactive systems may play an important role in the control of adaptive metabolic reactions involving composite lipids under exposure to low and high environmental temperatures and emotion factors.


Hacking and file sharing are daily acts that have come to constitute cultural practices. There is a significant political dimension in downloading and transforming files, joining virtual communities and online protests, that is easily detectible in recent developments regarding government transparency and open access to information. This mentality is reflected on contemporary culture, where the participation of the public in the creative act and the "˜remixing' of existing forms are standard practices. As examples that substantiate the concept of cultural hacking, the article presents the works of artists that focus on hacking, hacktivism and piracy, either as acts that bring the artwork into existence or as ways of initiating the public into these practices. Through the examples of artworks that belong in different spheres –the virtual, the hybrid or the urban space- hacking emerges as the common thread that links software-based art, augmented reality art and street art.


This thesis describes both the development and the implementation of novel strategies of mass spectrometry based proteomics used to characterize and investigate human primary circulating immune cells. The studies were performed to gain better insights into protein constituents of these cells and to explore the option of using these cells for obtaining clinically relevant biomarkers. One of these projects involved finding potential biomarkers in circulating cells for coronary artery disease. Contrary to most protein based biomarker studies that target easily accessible patient material which are substantially hampered by dynamic range issues in protein abundance, we investigated circulating cells that should in theory hold disease state specific biochemical information with a more favorable dynamic range. This yielded a total of 2440 quantified proteins of which 62 proteins initially were revealed as significantly different. However upon closer inspection unavoidable and variable contamination of plasma, erythrocyte and leukocyte components became apparent, which could be traced back to the individual patient level. We presented that correlating the quantitative patient/control study with reported quantitative proteomes of potential contaminating cells allows for filtering of false positive biomarkers into the verification phase. Also, a novel method for identifying the platelet releasate was introduced based on a reversed releasate proteomics approach to unambiguously and quantitatively determine the platelets released from activated platelets against a resting platelet background. Using this strategy we were able to quantitatively discriminate the released proteins from uncontrolled lysis products. Monitoring the copy numbers of roughly 4500 platelet proteins it became apparent that following a full stimulation only 124 proteins were significantly released. The released proteins span a concentration range of at least 5 orders of magnitude. Secretion of several of these proteins were confirmed by ELISA analysis. The released proteins were highly enriched in exhibiting the known secretion tags, among them some known high abundant factors. Besides the well-known secreted proteins many novel low abundant proteins could be identified. The proteomes of neutrophil, eosinophil and basophil granulocytes are quantitatively characterized and compared. At present no comprehensive proteomes are available for these 3 granulocytes that are to some extent similar but have diverging roles as well. For each of these cell types a comprehensive proteome was identified and quantified, exposing many novel specific proteins for these three granulocyte types. A first step was taken to find the similarities between neutrophils, eosinophils and basophils, as well as to expose the proteins that may be involved in their diverging roles.


Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) are introduced into thermoplastic matrices (polycarbonate and polyamide) by melt blending using polyethylene (PE) based concentrates with high MWNT loadings (24-44 wt.-%). MWNT surfaces were treated with a metallocene-based complex to afford the in-situ polymerization of ethylene directly from the surface. The resulting concentrates showed excellent MWNT pre-dispersion. Due to the high interfacial energy between MWNT and PE, the nanotubes migrate into matrix polymers with lower interfacial energies, like polycarbonate and polyamide, and thereby remain in their excellent dispersion state. Thus, electrical percolation is achieved at lower MWNT contents as compared to direct incorporation. For polycarbonate it is shifted from 0.75 to 0.25 wt.-%.


Because retinal pericytes have contractile properties and are affected by diabetes, we have studied the responsiveness of pericytes to ET-1, a potent vasoconstrictor, in the presence of various concentrations of glucose. Cultured calf retinal pericytes were exposed to glucose levels of 5.5 or 25 mM for up to 8 days. Radioreceptor studies that used [125I]ET-1 showed that pericytes contained high-affinity binding sites with Kd of 3 × 10−10 M, and these binding affinities were unaffected by glucose concentration. Receptor number appears to be elevated, but this increase was NS. Responsiveness of pericytes to ET-1 was studied with respect to stimulation of DAG and IP3 levels and PKC activities. In contrast to receptor binding, exposure to 25 mM glucose for >6 days blunted pericyte responsiveness to ET-1. The time course of ET-1 stimulation as measured by [3H]glycerol labeling, and IP3 level showed a 98% increase in [3H]DAG at 10 min and a fourfold increase for IP3, respectively. Cells exposed to 25 mM glucose only had a 32% increase for DAG, and no increase for IP3 was observed. Dose-response studies on the stimulation of [3H]DAG increase showed the range of ET-1's effect to be between 10−9 and 10−7 M. At maximum, cells exposed to 5.5 mM glucose had a 70% increase versus only a 30% increase in those exposed to 25 mM glucose. Similarly, ET-1 only increased the total DAG levels in pericytes exposed to 5.5 mM glucose by 41%. PKC activity also was measured because DAG is one of its cellular activators. In cells exposed to 5 mM glucose, ET-1 increased PKC-specific activity in the membraneous pool after 30 min by twoto fourfold without changes in the cytosol. In those cells exposed to 25 mM glucose, no increase in the membranous PKC activity was noted. These findings show that exposure of pericytes to elevated levels of glucose can cause resistance to some of ET-1's biochemical actions at the postreceptor sites. Possibly, the loss of pericyte function as observed in early diabetic retinopathy could be attributable to the developed resistance to ET-1 in the retinal microvessels.


Abstract Cell identity genes are distinct from other genes with respect to the epigenetic mechanisms to activate their transcription, e.g. by super-enhancers and broad H3K4me3 domains. However, it remains unclear whether their post-transcriptional regulation is also unique. We performed a systematic analysis of transcriptome-wide RNA stability in nine cell types and found that unstable transcripts were enriched in cell identity-related pathways while stable transcripts were enriched in housekeeping pathways. Joint analyses of RNA stability and chromatin state revealed significant enrichment of super-enhancers and broad H3K4me3 domains at the gene loci of unstable transcripts. Intriguingly, the RNA m6A methyltransferase, METTL3, preferentially binds to chromatin at super-enhancers, broad H3K4me3 domains and their associated genes. METTL3 binding intensity is positively correlated with RNA m6A methylation and negatively correlated with RNA stability of cell identity genes, probably due to co-transcriptional m6A modifications promoting RNA decay. Nanopore direct RNA-sequencing showed that METTL3 knockdown has a stronger effect on RNA m6A and mRNA stability for cell identity genes. Our data suggest a run-and-brake model, where cell identity genes undergo both frequent transcription and fast RNA decay to achieve precise regulation of RNA expression.


Sedimentary rocks of late Eocene to early Oligocene age from the Aleutian Islands, have been paleomagnetically studied to determine the paleolatitude of this island arc. Samples were collected from gently dipping, thin-bedded, laminated siltstone, mudstone, and very fine grained sandstone of marine origin. After demagnetization, samples from each locality showed both polarities of a remanent magnetization that thermal, isothermal remanent magnetization, and Js-T experiments suggest is carried by magnetite. After tectonic correction, the α95 decreases in both localities, suggesting magnetization was acquired before folding of the beds. The characteristic magnetization shows that no significant poleward motion of the Aleutian arc has occurred with respect to the North American plate since the early Oligocene (Amlia, F =−4 °, ΔF=5 °; Umnak, F = 0.8 °, ΔF=3.5 °), but the declinations are rotated significantly clockwise (Amlia, R=70 °, ΔR=23 °; Umnak, R=36.7 °, ΔR=11.2 ° ). Using these paleomagnetic data, relevant Euler poles, and hotspot locations, we propose a new model for the formation of the Zodiac fan. In this model, the start of Zodiac fan deposition corresponds to accretionary, igneous, and erosional events in the Pacific Northwest and fragmentation of the Farallon plate along the margin of the North American plate into small plates. Fan deposition on the Pacific plate was controlled by the geometry of the Bowie and Cobb seamount chains, which prevented sediment from being dispersed over the bathymetrically lower oceanic crust to the west, and by the bathymetry of the Pacific plate, which focused sedimentation in the magnetic bight region of the plate. Our model suggests that the present-day Zodiac fan is only a remnant of a much larger fan system.


A five-question survey randomly presented to users at Ohio State University (OSU) as they viewed articles in OhioLINK's Electronic Journal Center (EJC) in fall 2002 probed the user's status, academic unit, reason for viewing, path to the article, and frequency of EJC use. Usage by faculty and graduate students, by frequent users, and by those in the sciences predominated, as did usage for a class assignment and browsing a journal's issues. OSU Polls in 2003 and 2004 probed EJC awareness and actions after viewing articles. Half of undergraduates were non-users. Printing was favored over reading entire articles online.


The inhibition effect of Sulfamethazine (SFMT) on the corrosion of mild steel in 2.0 M phosphoric acid has been investigated by weight loss, polarization potentiodynamic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). SFMT is able to reduce the corrosion of steel effectively in phosphoric acid. Results obtained revealed that these compounds are good mixed-type inhibitors without changing the mechanism of the corrosion process. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior of mild steel in phosphoric acid with addition of SFMT was studied in the temperature range 298–328 K. The studied compounds appeared to function through general adsorption following the thermodynamic–kinetic adsorption isotherm. The thermodynamic and activation parameters were determined and discussed. Quantum chemical calculations were applied to theoretically determine the relationship between molecular structure and inhibition efficiency.


The findings of this study reveal specific events important for the evolution of host specialization in a naturally occurring, obligately intracellular bacterial pathogen. Specifically, they show that host range shifts and the emergence of host specialization may occur during periods of population growth in a generalist ancestor. ABSTRACT In Europe, genetically distinct ecotypes of the tick-vectored bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum circulate among mammals in three discrete enzootic cycles. To date, potential ecological factors that contributed to the emergence of these divergent ecotypes have been poorly studied. Here, we show that the ecotype that predominantly infects roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is evolutionarily derived. Its divergence from a host generalist ancestor occurred after the last glacial maximum as mammal populations, including roe deer, recolonized the European mainland from southern refugia. We also provide evidence that this host specialist ecotype's effective population size (Ne) has tracked changes in the population of its roe deer host. Specifically, both host and bacterium have undergone substantial increases in Ne over the past 1,500 years. In contrast, we show that while it appears to have undergone a major population expansion starting ~3,500 years ago, in the past 500 years, the contemporary host generalist ecotype has experienced a substantial reduction in genetic diversity levels, possibly as a result of reduced opportunities for transmission between competent hosts. IMPORTANCE The findings of this study reveal specific events important for the evolution of host specialization in a naturally occurring, obligately intracellular bacterial pathogen. Specifically, they show that host range shifts and the emergence of host specialization may occur during periods of population growth in a generalist ancestor. Our results also demonstrate the close correlation between demographic patterns in host and pathogen for a specialist system. These findings have important relevance for understanding the evolution of host range diversity. They may inform future work on host range dynamics, and they provide insights for understanding the emergence of pathogens that have human and veterinary health implications.


The Mostra d'Oltremare, the great colonial exhibition that opened in Naples in May 1940 provides perhaps the most significant example of the evolution that took place in Italian colonial representations in exhibitions and fairs at home and abroad in the modern period. It was organized to celebrate the expansion of the Italian colonization by means of a multifaceted communication approach, abundance of financial resources, modern display techniques and the deployment of well-known propaganda methods to show the opportunities provided by Italy's overseas empire. Organized in the months following the conquest of Ethiopia, the Mostra d'oltremare, envisaged to be celebrated every three years, was presented as "the largest and most complete survey of the force of Italian expansion overseas, from Caesar to Mussolini". Indeed, rather than offering a narrowly focused presentation, the material was organized into different sections that presented the historical, geographical and economic dimensions of Italy's colonies, as well as offering a series of entertainment venues. The overall effect of this wide array of displays was a manifestly hybrid experience that quite literally transposed the colonial context into the metropolis.


Firefly luciferase is a relatively unstable protein and commonly loses its activity at room temperature because of structural changes. The structural and functional stability of this protein is critical for its enzymatic applications. Different approaches are applied to increase the stability of this enzyme such as designing of covalent cross-links (disulfide bonds). In this study, luciferase mutants containing one or two disulfide bonds were compared to the native protein for their for their structural, thermodynamic, and functional properties. Mutant forms of P. Pyralis luciferase A²⁹⁶C-A³²⁶C and A²⁹⁶C-A³²⁶C/P⁴⁵¹C-V⁴⁶⁹C were used. Thermodynamic and biophysical studies were carried out using UV-Vis, fluorescence, circular dichroism, luminescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). We observed that both mutant forms of the protein were more stable than the wild-type enzyme. However, the single disulfide bond containing mutant was structurally and functionally more stable than the mutant protein containing two disulfide bonds. Furthermore, the enzymatic activity of the single disulfide bond containing mutant protein was 7-folds greater than the wild type and the double disulfide bond proteins. The A²⁹⁶C-A³²⁶C mutation also increased the reversibility and disaggregation of the protein. The enhanced activity of the single disulfide bond mutant protein was contributed to the expansion of its active site cleft, which was confirmed by bioinformatics tools.


Publication Details Hardiman, R. (2010). The Season of Advent: A timeline of its historical development. Pastoral Liturgy, 40 (1). Abstract Beyond the pragmatic benefit of background briefing about the origins and development of the season of Advent, this Timeline is meant to be a pastoral tool to help focus on the deepest meaning of Advent being a unique time for reflection on the many 'comings' of Christ in the past, in the present and in the future.


Background Ultrasound (US) is widely used as a fast and cost-efficient first-choice imaging technique without relevant side effects for a variety of diagnostic tasks. Due to technical advances, more complex and sophisticated methods such as color-coded duplex ultrasound, image fusion, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS),


Although the number of subsidy and countervailing duty cases, both at national and WTO level is declining, they still hold centre stage in the trade wars that are the hallmark of modern international economy. Suffice it to mention the "Foreign Sales Corporations" case, the "softwood lumber" cases and the ongoing "US-EC large civil aircraft" dispute. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, the multilateral regulation of subsidies can strongly impinge on governmental autonomy in the management of the national economy. On the other, the boundaries of subsidisation are often quite uncertain as subsidies can overlap with quite distinct areas in the public management of the economy, such as taxation.

Probably as a result of the foregoing factors, the multilateral discipline on subsidies was slow to develop and it is only with the Uruguay Round that a fully fledged, wide-ranging regime took shape, while the identification of countervailable subsidies and the conditions under which they can be countered have been left for long to domestic countervailing duty proceedings. The United States, for a long time the main user of CVD proceedings, developed a much more sophisticated and detailed regime than the GATTs. The competitive margin provided by US administrative practice has enabled it to impose its perspective on the shaping of the multilateral regime, firstly as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations, and secondly because of the creative interpretation of the WTO rules, especially by the Appellate Body. On the other hand, in implementing the WTO regime the United States has often been able to withstand attempts to change its domestic regime, although some of its aspects are not necessarily consistent with the WTO rules.

The success of the United States, however, has been far from complete as the US has not been able to impose its viewpoint on decisive aspects of the subsidy regulation in the GATT and in the WTO system.


Energy efficiency and renewable energy become more attractive in smart grid. In order to efficiently reduce global energy usage in building energy systems and to improve local environmental sustainability, it is essential to optimize the operation and the performance of combined heat and power (CHP) systems. In addition, intermittent renewable energy and imprecisely predicted customer loads have introduced great challenges in energy-efficient buildings' optimal operation. In the deterministic optimal operation, we study the modeling of components in building energy systems, including the power grid interface, CHP and boiler units, energy storage devices, and appliances. The mixed energy resources are applied to collaboratively supply both electric and thermal loads. The results show that CHP can effectively improve overall energy efficiency by coordinating electric and thermal power supplies. Through the optimal operation of all power sources, the daily operation cost of building energy system for generating energy can be significantly reduced. In order to address the risk due to energy consumption and renewable energy production volatility, we conduct studies on both stochastic programming and robust optimizations to operate energy-efficient building systems under uncertainty. The multi-stage stochastic programming model is introduced so that the reliable operation of building energy systems would be probabilistically guaranteed with stochastic decisions. The simulation results show that the stochastic operation of building systems is a promising strategy to account for the impact of uncertainties on power dispatch decisions of energy-efficient buildings. In order to provide absolute guarantee for the reliable operation of building energy systems, a robust energy supply to electric and thermal loads is studied by exploring the influence of energy storage on energy supply and accounting for uncertainties in the energy-efficient building. The robustness can be adjusted to control the conservativeness of the proposed robust operation model. For the purpose of achieving adaptability in the robust optimal operation and attaining robustness in the stochastic optimal operation of building energy systems, we also develop an innovative robust stochastic optimization (RSO) model. The proposed RSO model not only overcomes the conservativeness in the robust operation model, but also circumvents the curse of dimensionality in the stochastic operation model. ii DEDICATION To my dear parents And my lovely son Daniel Xu iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a great opportunity for me to express my thanks to those who helped me with various aspects of conducting research and the writing of this dissertation. Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity …


When illuminated by incident plane waves, conducting screens pierced by an array of holes may permit strong diffusions through them even at frequencies where the size of each hole is considerably less than the wavelength, amounting to extraordinary transmission (ET). This well-known phenomenon is herein further investigated beyond conventional topologies by considering square holes with tapered profiles, which are thereupon used as the vehicle for characterizing the degree of ET in a quantifiable manner, achieved by relating the transmissivity of an actual screen with that predicted by classical Bethe's theory. In terms of such quantified ET, the ordinary subwavelength square hole array is compared with a screen of equal thickness and perforated by holes of the same size as the former at the input side but get larger as they tunnel through to the exit apertures. It is found that the latter flared holes provide higher levels of ET than their unflared counterparts, the advantage being more pronounced for larger ratios of exit-to-entry hole sizes. Investigations of several hole-flare profiles also reveal that the flanged-type small input diaphragm directly peering (abruptly flared) into a single large square hole provides the greatest degree of ET. Oblique angles of incidence and conductor losses are investigated as well. Prototypes of perforated screens were also manufactured and measured with success in corroborating with theoretical predictions.


Abstract. Accelerating surface melt on the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has led to a
doubling of Greenland's contribution to global sea level rise during recent
decades. Black carbon (BC), dust, and other light-absorbing impurities (LAIs)
darken the surface and enhance snowmelt by boosting the absorption of solar
energy. It is therefore important for coupled aerosol–climate and ice sheet
models to include snow darkening effects from LAI, and yet most do not. In
this study, we conduct several thousand simulations with the Community Land
Model (CLM) component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) to
characterize changes in melt runoff due to variations in the amount, timing,
and nature (wet or dry) of BC deposition on the GrIS. From this large matrix
of simulations, we develop a kernel relating runoff to the location, month,
year (from 2006 to 2015), and magnitudes of BC concentration within
precipitation and dry deposition flux. BC deposition during June–August
causes the largest increase in annually integrated runoff, but winter
deposition events also exert large (roughly half as great) runoff
perturbations due to reexposure of impurities at the snow surface during
summer melt. Current BC deposition fluxes simulated with the atmosphere
component of CESM induce a climatological-mean increase in GrIS-wide runoff
of ∼ 8 Gt yr−1, or +6.8 % relative to a paired simulation
without BC deposition. We also provide linear equations that relate the
increase in total runoff to GrIS-wide wet and dry BC deposition fluxes. It is
our hope that the runoff kernel and simple equations provided here can be
used to extend the utility of state-of-the-art aerosol models.


AIM
In Turkey and its neighboring countries, few studies have investigated medical students' reactions to ethics education and ethical issues they encounter. The aim of this study was to investigate interns' perceptions of medical ethics education and ethical issues.

BACKGROUND
In students' first three years at the Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, various teaching methods are used in ethics education, including problem-based learning, interactive lectures and movies. During the clinical years, the curriculum helps students consider the ethical dimension of their clinical work, and during the internship period a discussion on ethical issues is held.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to interns in the 2005-2006 academic year. Its questions asked about interns' perceived adequacy of their ethics education, any interpersonal ethical problems they had witnessed, their approaches to ethical problems, obstacles they believe prevented them from resolving ethical problems and whether they felt themselves ready to deal with ethical problems. 67.2 % of interns were reached and all of them responded.

RESULTS
In the assessment of the adequacy of ethics education, the most favorable score was given to educators. Students' most often mentioned ethical problems encountered were between physicians and students and between physicians and patients. Interns believed that difficult personalities on the team and team hierarchy were important obstacles to resolving ethical problems. There were significant differences between the approaches students currently used in dealing with ethical problems and how they anticipated they would approach these problems in their future professional lives.

CONCLUSION
We obtained information about students' perceptions about ethics education and ethical problems which helped us to plan other educational activities. This study may assist other medical schools in preparing an ethics curriculum or help evaluate an existing curriculum.


ABSTRACT Vertical-beam entomological radars provide precise measurements of the body alignment of individual overflying insects but are unable to distinguish which of the two axial directions the insect is heading towards. Insects migrating at altitude typically show common alignment, although with a broad spread. We show here that when observations from multiple individual insects are available, and the insects have airspeeds of about 2 ms–1 or greater, the spread in heading directions allows the heading ambiguity to be resolved (though at the sample rather than the individual level). A vector analysis of radar-measured track direction, track speed, and heading will provide consistent results for all the insects in a sample only when the heading direction is chosen correctly. With the heading then resolved, the analysis can continue to estimation of representative values for the airspeed of the insects in the sample and for the speed and direction of the wind they were flying in. This general approach can be implemented in two different ways, which we term the 'cluster' and 'projection' methods. When applied to an intense migration of large insects, probably moths, these methods produced highly consistent results from hour to hour and from one 150 m height interval to the next. Simulations show that the methods are not liable to directional bias and reveal when they are rendered ineffective by small sample sizes or low insect airspeeds; they also indicate that the cluster method handles small sample sizes better than the projection method, and its use is therefore recommended. A comparison with two previously proposed methods that use meteorological data to resolve the ambiguity shows that the new methods are more reliable. Use of this objective means of resolving the heading ambiguity will increase confidence in radar-based studies of the orientation behaviour of insect migrants and their responses to cues like sky illumination patterns, the Earth's magnetic field, and wind.


This year's Dissolving Boundaries research report focuses on teachers' attitudes to collaboration and explores how successful collaboration occurs between partner schools. The literature on teachers' conceptions of the purpose and nature of collaboration and the different levels of interaction in collaborative working arrangement is reviewed. We also examine the instruments that have been used to measure success of collaborative learning.While a consensus exists about the benefits of collaborative learning and much has been written on teachers' perception of the changing role they occupy in such an environment, little is available on teachers' conceptions of the nature, purpose and levels of interactionthat occur in collaborative learning environments, particularly among younger learners. We argue that it is not sufficient to assume that a teachers' change of role to facilitation will provide a strong enough framework to ensure that class work moves beyond 'shallow constructivism'. Our research focuses on teachers' understanding of collaborative learning resulting from their experience in the Dissolving Boundaries programme.


ABSTRACT It is well known that mechanical engineering students often find mechanics a difficult area to grasp. This article describes a system of equations describing the motion of a balanced and an unbalanced roller constrained by a pivot arm. A wide range of dynamics can be simulated with the model. The equations of motion are embedded in a graphical user interface for its numerical solution in MATLAB. This allows a student's focus to be on the influence of different parameters on the system dynamics. The simulation tool can be used as a dynamics demonstrator in a lecture or as an educational tool driven by the imagination of the student. By way of demonstration the simulation tool has been applied to a range of roller–pivot arm configurations. In addition, approximations to the equations of motion are explored and a second-order model is shown to be accurate for a limited range of parameters.


Time series classification is an important task in robotics that is often solved using supervised machine learning. However, classifier models are typically not 'readable' in the sense that humans cannot intuitively learn useful information about the relationship between inputs and outputs. In this paper, we address the problem of rich time series classification where we propose a novel framework for finding a temporal logic classifier specified in a human-readable form. The classifier is represented as a signal temporal logic (STL) formula that is expressive in capturing spatial, temporal and logical relations from a continuous-valued dataset over time. In the framework, we first find a set of representative logical formulas from the raw dataset, and then construct an STL classifier using a treebased clustering algorithm. We show that the framework runs in polynomial time and validate it using simulated examples where our framework is significantly more efficient than the closest existing framework (up to 920 times faster).


ABSTRACT Ancient lakes are hotspots of biodiversity, often harboring a large number of endemic species that make them prime model systems for evolutionary biologists. Besides such well-recognized ancient or long-lived lakes as Baikal, Biwa, Ohrid, and Tanganyika, there are other potentially old and biodiverse lakes in the world with poorly specified ages and under-studied faunas. We here report on the mollusc fauna of one such lake, Lake Trichonis in continental Greece. This graben lake is situated in a highly tectonized area, characterized by karst features and probably of middle to late Pliocene origin. Lake Trichonis is deep, oligotrophic, and rich in such specific habitat types as macrophyte meadows, rocky shores and sublacustrine spring systems. Moreover, it is a hotspot of freshwater biodiversity in Greece, particularly in molluscs. After reviewing newly collected material and the published mollusc records, we found that at least 33 mollusc species occur in Lake Trichonis, with 24 gastropod and 9 bivalve species currently being recognized. This is 24% of the total freshwater mollusc diversity of Greece; 21% of the gastropods (five species) are endemic to Lake Trichonis. If the whole Trichonis Basin is considered, which also includes neighboring Lake Lysimachia, eight species (33%) of the total fauna appear to be endemic. Taking lake surface areas into account, the index of gastropod endemism of 0.442 (log Nendemic species/log Asurface area) for the Lake Trichonis Basin resembles on a world-wide scale values known for Lake Baikal, Russia, and Lake Biwa, Japan, and is only exceeded by Lake Ohrid, Macedonia/Albania, and ancient lakes of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Despite the limited knowledge about the lake's evolutionary history, the suggested age of origin, the palaeogeographical characteristics, and the potential timing of phylogenetic events reviewed here support the presumed status of Lake Trichonis as an ancient lake. From a conservational standpoint, more research, management and conservation efforts are necessary because ancient lakes are among the most vulnerable and threatened ecosystems on earth. Effects of human-induced environmental change are already noticeable in Lake Trichonis. Recognition of Lake Trichonis as a unique system with an unusually high biodiversity may help promoting conservation efforts.


As the crucial cathode reaction of fuel cells and metal–air batteries, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has always required a catalyst to improve the electrochemical reaction rate. In this article, taking Fructus azedarach as the raw material, a nitrogen–phosphorus double-doped carbon nanosheet material was synthesized through microwave-assisted hydrothermal treatment and high temperature calcination. The synthesized amorphous NPDC possessed multi-level pores and abundant edge defects. With an N : P ratio of 1.09, doped N and P achieved the best electronic synergistic effect and thus caused surrounding carbon to show high catalytic activity towards the ORR with a half-wave potential of 0.84 V, onset potential of 0.94 V and limiting current density value of 6.01 mA cm−2 in alkaline media. The NPDC-1.09 also exhibited superior stability (drop of 11% at 0.8 V after 22 h) and methanol tolerance (3.2% decline) compared to 20% Pt/C. When used in zinc–air batteries, its promising application in the field of energy storage and conversion is demonstrated by its 84 h long-term cycling stability (with a current density of 10 mA cm−2). The discovery of such an N and P dual-doped carbon structure with a substantial synergistic effect is of great significance for promoting the replacement of platinum-based catalysts with carbon-based materials.


Previous research has shown that individuals who possess a repressive coping style have significantly poorer recall of negative childhood memories and also exhibit more comparative optimism for negative events than nonrepressors. The current study investigated whether there is a relationship between recall of childhood memories and comparative optimism. Repressors (REP, low trait anxiety–high defensiveness, N = 20) were compared with specific nonrepressor groups on trait anxiety and defensiveness: low anxious (LA, N = 16), high anxious (HA, N = 16) defensive high anxious (DHA, N = 13), and a non‐extreme group (NE, N = 15) chosen from an initial pool of 163 female participants. For REP compared with all non‐REP, age of earliest negative memory recalled was significantly older and REP recalled significantly fewer negative childhood memories. For REP only there was a significant correlation between number of negative memories recalled and comparative optimism, with high comparative optimism correlated with a low number of negative childhood memories recalled. There were no other significant correlations with comparative optimism, overall, or for any of the sub‐groups. These results indicate a link between childhood and adult measures of social judgements for REP only. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are among the most attractive porous materials known today, exhibiting very high surface areas, tuneable pore sizes and shapes, adjustable surface functionality, and flexible structures. Advances in the formation of MOF crystals, and in their subsequent assembly into more complex and/or composite superstructures, should expand the scope of these materials in many applications (e.g. drug delivery, chemical sensors, selective reactors and removal devices, etc.) and facilitate their integration onto surfaces and into devices. This Concept article aims to showcase recently developed synthetic strategies to control the one-, twoand three-dimensional (1D, 2D and 3D) organisation of MOF crystals.


Background: Congestive Heart Failure (HF) is a widespread chronic disease characterized by a very high incidence in elder people. The high mortality and readmission rate of HF strongly depends on the complicated morbidity scenario often characterising it.
Methods: Data were retrieved from the healthcare administrative datawarehouse of Lombardy, the most populated regional district in Italy. Network analysis techniques and community detection algorithms are applied to comorbidities registered in hospital discharge papers of HF patients, in 7 cohorts between 2006 and 2012.Results: The relevance network indexes applied to the 7 cohorts identified death, ipertension, arrythmia, renal and pulmonary diseases as the most relevant nodes related to HF, in terms of prevalence and closeness/strenght of the relationship. Moreover, 3 clusters of nodes have been identified in all the cohorts, i.e. those related to cancer, lung diseases and heart/circulation related problems.Conclusions: Network analysis can be a useful tool in epidemiologic framework when relational data are the objective of the investigation, since it allows to visualize and make inference on patterns of association among nodes (here HF comorbidities) by means of both qualitative indexes and clustering techniques.


During summer heatwaves, heat load exacerbates in urban heat islands (especially in hot climates) and threatens public life in cities. This paper examines the links between urban microclimates, outdoor thermal discomfort and public life through an exploratory case study. Heat resilience is highlighted as the ability of the space to support its normal activities when experiencing out-of-comfort temperatures. It also reports on the correlations between heat sensitive outdoor activities and urban greenery in three disparate case studies in Adelaide. Results indicate that necessary and optional activities start to decline after the apparent temperature reaches the threshold of 28 °C–32 °C, while activities in public spaces with more urban greenery show higher resilience to heat stress. Research findings propose heat resilience as a quality indicator in public space and support the application of urban greenery to make urban settings more resilient to heat stress.


Coeliac disease is a gluten-mediated autoimmune disorder that occurs in genetically predisposed individuals carrying the HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8 alleles. Most patients with coeliac disease can be effectively managed by a strict gluten-free diet. Approximately, 5% of adult patients with coeliac disease lose their clinical and histological response to a strict gluten-free diet and develop refractory coeliac disease (RCD). Based on the clonal and immunophenotypical features of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), RCD is divided into two subtypes. In RCD-I, IELs are polyclonal and show a normal phenotype, while in RCD-II, IELs are monoclonal and immunophenotypically aberrant, expressing cytoplasmic CD3e but not surface CD3e, CD8 and T cell receptor (TCR) antigens.1–3

Coeliac disease mainly causes enteropathy of the small intestine, but can involve the entire gastrointestinal tract. Apart from the classic intestinal syndrome, patients with coeliac disease also show a wide spectrum of extraintestinal manifestations and 10–20% of patients with coeliac disease present with dermatitis herpetiformis. Here, we report a case of RCD with subsequent presentation of skin lesions and show that the neoplastic intraepithelial T cells of the gut also preferentially invade the epidermis.

The patient, a 47-year-old man, presented with a 2-year history of epigastric pain, occasional nausea and vomiting, intermittent light and bulky stool, and weight loss. Oesophagogastroduodenoscopy showed erosion and inflammation in the body and antrum of the stomach and proximal duodenum, and mild erythema in the distal duodenum. Campylobacter-like organism (CLO) test …


Tuberculosis (TB) is known as a disease of poverty and declared as a
global public health emergency by World Health Organization (WHO). Pulmonary
tuberculosis is the most common type of TB and is a wasting disease. It is
expected that the patients who lost weight during the course of disease, will
gain weight during successful treatment. So the aim of this study was to assess
the body weight changes through the treatment and its possible association with
treatment outcome in TB patients in Nishapur, an ancient city in Razavi
Khorasan province in Iran. This is an observational analytical study. Patients
were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and available
information. Treatment Protocol for all patients was Directly Observed
Treatment, short Course Strategy (at least 6 months). All patients were weighed
at the beginning of treatment, after two months and at the end of treatment. Outcome
of treatment was classified into: cured, completed treatment, treatment failure
and death. Then the impact of weight changes during treatment was compared in
subgroups. From 874 patients, 819 patients (93.9%) were new cases, 48 (5.3%)
relapse, 5 patients (0.6%) patients who did not complete their treatment and 2
(0.2%) had failed prior therapy. The most common symptoms in all patients were:
cough, sputum, weight loss, fever, sweats, and hemoptysis. 8.1% of patients had
radiologic signs and the most common signs were cavity (2.9%). The weight
change during treatment was 2.91 ± 5.59 kg in cured group, 3.3 ± 3.29 kg in
completed treatment group, 2.95 ± 5.59 kg in treatment failure group and 1.02 ±
3.27 in dead group respectively. These differences were statistically
significant between the four groups (p


Cancer patients, in particular patients with hematological malignancies, are at increased risk for critical illness upon COVID-19. We here assessed antibody as well as CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in unexposed and SARS-CoV-2-infected cancer patients to characterize SARS-CoV‑2 immunity and to identify immunological parameters contributing to COVID-19 outcome. Unexposed patients with hematological malignancies presented with reduced prevalence of pre-existing SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive CD4+ T cell responses and signs of T cell exhaustion when compared to solid tumor patients and healthy volunteers. Whereas SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses did not differ between COVID-19 cancer patients and healthy volunteers, intensity, expandability, and diversity of SARS-CoV-2 T cell responses were profoundly reduced in cancer patients, and the latter associated with a severe course of COVID-19. This identifies impaired SARS-CoV-2 T cell immunity as determinant for dismal outcome of COVID-19 in cancer patients.


This subject guide will help you to learn about the library's resources relating to topics on sustainability. It includes links to books, articles, databases, websites, and other information sources.


A limited number of studies have addressed residential self-selection when considering the relationship between the built environment (BE) and physical activity. Ignoring self-selection may bias the estimate of the strength of the relationship and misinform public policy. Using 2011 data from the Twin Cities, this study employs cross-sectional and quasi-longitudinal analyses to disentangle the impacts between self-selection (through residential preferences and travel attitudes) and neighborhood characteristics on active travel (AT). The two approaches produce somewhat different outcomes: attitudinal factors are extensively present in the cross-sectional analysis and the associations between neighborhood characteristics and AT are greatly attenuated after controlling for attitudinal factors. In contrast, neighborhood characteristics play a dominant role in the quasi-longitudinal analysis, while attitudinal and demographic characteristics carry additional impacts on AT. Overall, both preferences and attitudes help explain the difference in AT. I find that while physical activity infrastructure impacts biking, physical activity infrastructure together with transit and accessibility affects walking, even after controlling for demographic and attitudinal characteristics. The results highlight the importance of shaping the BE in order to provide an infrastructure of alternative modes of transport and access to different land uses in policy efforts to increase AT.


AI Policy is a regular column in AI Matters featuring summaries and commentary based on postings that appear twice a month in the AI Matters blog (https://sigai.acm.org/aimatters/blog/). Selected posts are summarized in issues of AI Matters.


BACKGROUND The Lokomat, one of the most popular robotic exoskeletons, can take the asymmetry in the gait pattern of unilaterally affected patients into account with its opportunity to provide unequal levels of movement support (or 'guidance') to each of the legs. This asymmetrical guidance may be used to selectively unburden limbs with impaired voluntary control and/or to exploit the interlimb couplings for training purposes. However, there is a need to explore and understand these specific device opportunities more broadly before implementing them in training. AIM The aim of this study was to explore the effects of (a)symmetrical guidance settings on lower limb muscle activity in persons with post stroke hemiparesis, during Lokomat guided gait. DESIGN A single group, dependent factorial design. SETTING Rehabilitation center; a single session of Lokomat guided walking. POPULATION A group of ten persons with post stroke hemiparesis. METHODS Participants walked in the Lokomat in eight conditions, consisting of symmetrical and asymmetrical guidance situations, at both 0.28 m/s and 0.56 m/s. During symmetrical conditions, both legs received 30% or 100% guidance, while during asymmetrical conditions one leg received 30% and the other leg 100% guidance. Surface electromyography was bilaterally measured from: Biceps Femoris, Rectus Femoris, Vastus Medialis, Medial Gastrocnemius and Tibialis Anterior. Statistical effects were assessed using Statistical Parametric Mapping. RESULTS The provision of assymetrical guidance did not affect the level of lower limb muscle activity. In addition, no effect (except for Vastus Medialis in the affected leg during 1.5-2.4% of the gait cycle) of symmetrical guidance on muscle amplitude could be observed. CONCLUSIONS The results show no evidence that either symmetrical or asymmetrical guidance settings provided by the Lokomat can be used to manipulate activity of lower limb musculature in persons with post stroke hemiparesis. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT This study provides insights for the use of specific opportunities provided by the Lokomat for training purposes post stroke.


Introducton: Otological surgery has progressed rapidly over the past century. With the recent introducton of the 3-chip camera system and high defniton video systems, endoscopes now provide ultra high resoluton images of the middle ear that were never seen previously. We conducted this study to compare the efcacy of endoscopic tympanoplasty over microscopic tympanoplasty in terms of graf uptake, hearing improvement, pain score and post-auricular hypoesthesia. Methods: The present study is a prospectve observatonal study, conducted over a period of 2 years in a tertary care centre.
Results: Endoscopic tympanoplasty can be a beter alternatve over microscopic tympanoplasty due to its various advantages.
Conclusion: Endoscopic ear surgery provides a beter magnifcaton, wide feld view, and the ability to look around corners without major complicatons. Further, Trans canal endoscopic ear surgery (TESS) approaches transform external auditory canal into a minimally invasive surgical portal to access middle ear disease.


In the previous paper, we proposed Mass Customization Production Planning & Management System (MCPS) based on unfulfilled-order-rate by using Advance Demand Information which is called 'Naiji System' as an unique corporation between a maker and suppliers in Japan, and 3 indicators to estimate the unfulfilled-order-rate. Applying these indicators to the model, we investigated the behavior of unfulfilled-order-rate at the final period in the planning horizon. In this paper, we propose a new model for purchasing, and investigate the unfulfilled-order-rate at each period and the impact to the total inventory. We find that the total inventories become 5.9%-20.0% decreases by using SOn rather than by using SOn(0). And we enhance a base-stock policy to a new one with multi-period. We prove that the MCPS model for purchasing by using SOn(0) is equivalent to the base-stock policy with multi-period under the specified condition. Under this condition, the proposed model by using SOn decreases inventories more than the base-stock policy with multi-period.


The Informed Cities Initiative applied the theory of knowledge brokerage to the field of urban sustainability, in a research project funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. This brochure is one of the project's outputs; it reports the findings from five European case studies, using data collected via structured questionnaires and follow-up telephone interviews with key figures in the brokerage process in the case study cities.


Ba3MoNbO8.5 is an oxide ion conductor with an unconventional hybrid crystal structure that is intermediate between the 9R-perovskite (A3B3O9) and the palmierite (A3B2O8). The crystal structure is highly disordered with vacancies distributed across two cation (M(1) and M(2)) and oxygen sites (O(2) and O(3)), with Mo and Nb in variable coordinate environments. M(1)–O(1)–O(2) and M(2)–O(1) sites are associated with the formation of (Mo,Nb)O6 octahedra, whilst tetrahedral units are composed of M(1)–O(1)–O(3) atoms. Upon increasing the temperature, the structure undergoes a change in occupancy in favour of the O(3) site, which results in a change in metal co-ordination as the tetrahedral to octahedral ratio increases. We demonstrate that the structure can also be tuned using externally applied pressure. Variable pressure studies #4.8 GPa indicate that densification of the unit cell induces the reverse effect, as the occupancy of the O(2) site increases and the palmierite contribution is suppressed. Our results strongly suggest that by 5.2 GPa the O(3) position will be completely empty as the 9R unit cell stabilises with a network of octahedral MO6 units. Pressure induces a flattening of M(1)O4 tetrahedra in the palmierite layers, as M(1) O6 octahedra become more regular in geometry. Bond valence site energy calculations show that pressure increases the height of all energy barriers to migration along the three-dimensional diffusion pathways, increasing the energy of the dominant pathway from 0.35 to 0.95 eV. The relaxation energy, E2, disappears above 2.8 GPa, when the average polyhedral distortion (s(R)) falls below 0.07 Å, indicating the existence of a critical minimum. The bulk modulus of Ba3MoNbO8.5 is exceptionally low (50(2) GPa) for a layered oxide material and is closer to that of the halide perovskites. These results demonstrate a high degree of flexibility, in terms of the softness of the lattice and variable metal coordination, emphasising the potential for these materials in multi sensory and thin film applications.


This series brings you up‐to‐date information about medication safety issues and strategies to prevent medication errors. It draws on Australian incidents and also US experience, including (with permission) material from ISMP Medication Safety Alert! a bulletin published by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, USA . This series is coordinated through the Committee of Specialty Practice in Medication Safety (Chair, Rosemary Burke, Director of Pharmacy, Concord Hospital, NSW). Australian incidents are collated and editorial recommendations made by Penny Thornton (Federal Councillor, SHPA, and Pharmacy Services Manager, The Children's Hospital, NSW; e‐mail: email@example.com).


In this paper, using the discrete element method (PFC2D)particle flow procedure to establish a model of cylindrical silo, in the warehouse filled with particles within the reach of static equilibrium state, then the record of its wall static lateral pressure measurement value, while monitoring the measured dynamic wall pressure during the silo discharging. It was shown that the static pressure as well as the dynamic pressure simulated with the numerical model is in good agreement with the experimental results. So the discrete element method can give a new way to study dynamic question of silos.


Wireless sensor networks using 802.11b long-distance links enable domain scientists to measure physical phenomena in real time and at a scientifically meaningful scale. Although deployments in this setting are increasing, a characterization of the networkthroughput is lacking which makes it difficult to predict the performance of sensing applications on these types of networks. We present a study of the MASE seismic data collection network which includes 64 nodes spread across mountains, valleys, rural plains, and urban environments. The network spans 250km with links as long as 43km and has been operating continuously for more than 2 years. The contributions of this paper are three fold: (a) we present a throughput characterization of wireless links for a network in operational use, (b) we suggest settings for the wireless parameters to improve the performance of the network, and (c) we document the uptime of the nodes and the data yield of the network. Our findings are beneficial for the design of future wireless sensor network deployments using 802.11b. In our networks widely varied settings, we find that while signal-to-noise ratio is not correlated with throughput or distance, throughput is roughly correlated with distance and does not change significantly over time. At the link-layer, enabling the RTS-CTS handshake decreases the throughput while enabling retries improves the throughput. In addition, the default threshold-based rate adaptation algorithm for the transmission bit-rate is suboptimal. We find that the majority of fault cases are due to system issues and not network issues. The data yield over the course of an eight month period was 78%.


Voluntary sector organizations provide services to disadvantaged communities, those that are either beyond the reach of state services or unable to afford services offered by the private sector. Research that explores ICT use by these organizations is scarce. The available studies are limited to identifying barriers that prevent ICT adoption and use of ICTs in large transnational organizations. A theoretical understanding of the post adoption stages of actual and effective use in community based voluntary sector organizations is not evident. This paper presents a provisional modification of the social actor model (Lamb and Kling 2003), and outlines how it could be used to provide a theoretical understanding of the influences of effective ICT use in voluntary sector in their day to day operations.