An internship programme is career-related professional work experiences that can enhances student's education by giving the experience by apply the knowledge and skills in the workplace. However, the existing internship workflow system is based on manual bases. Number of problems can be identified such as loss of internship students' information detail, high printing cost, students monitoring as well as too time consuming and also can cause weakness in the system. Therefore, in order to address this, the online web-based system will be developed. This system will allow students to do registration and application placements process and submit forms and do daily reports (logbook) online. It also allows both supervisors to do evaluation online and helps CSIML to sort and endorse students' application placement. With this system, any forms submissions are well-organized because the system will automatically submit the forms to Centre of student internship, mobility and adjunct lectureship (CSIML) and students easy to do and manage their logbook. This system wills also helps centralized and manage the information securely. At the same time, this system can help CSIML to provide high quality service also to ensure the success of internship program and to enhance the relationship between UTP and the industries.


BACKGROUND
Delayed onset of lactogenesis (OL) is most common in primiparas and increases the risk of excess neonatal weight loss, formula supplementation, and early weaning.

OBJECTIVE
We examined variables associated with delayed OL among first-time mothers who delivered at term and initiated breastfeeding (n = 431).

DESIGN
We conducted in-person interviews during pregnancy and at days 0, 3, and 7 postpartum and extracted obstetric and newborn information from medical records. We defined OL as delayed if it occurred after 72 h and used chi-square analysis to examine its association with potential risk factors across 6 dimensions: 1) prenatal characteristics, 2) maternal anthropometric characteristics, 3) labor and delivery experience, 4) newborn characteristics, 5) maternal postpartum factors, and 6) infant feeding variables. We examined independent associations by using multivariable logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS
Median OL was 68.9 h postpartum; 44% of mothers experienced delayed OL. We observed significant bivariate associations between delayed OL and variables in all 6 dimensions (P < 0.05). In a multivariate model adjusted for prenatal feeding intentions, independent risk factors for delayed OL were maternal age > or =30 y, body mass index in the overweight or obese range, birth weight >3600 g, absence of nipple discomfort between 0-3 d postpartum, and infant failing to "breastfeed well" > or =2 times in the first 24 h. Postpartum edema was significant in an alternate model excluding body mass index (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The risk factors for delayed OL are multidimensional. Public health and obstetric and maternity care interventions are needed to address what has become an alarmingly common problem among primiparas.


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease resulting in increasing disability, being uniformly fatal. Since its approval in the 1990s, riluzole remained for long time the unique treatment, offering modest survival benefit. Most recently a second drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment of ALS: edaravone. Significant advances have been made in the symptomatic management of the disease but more effective drug therapy targeting disease progression is still dreadfully needed, the success appearing almost a miracle. Recent discoveries related to genetics indicate divergent mechanisms of disease encouraging precision medicine leading to molecularly tailored interventions. The search for effective therapy still faces important challenges in the areas of both basic science and animal research, adequate translation of results into human clinical trials, inherent bias in human studies, and issues related to delays in clinical diagnosis. It is interesting to point out that ALS research may speed up drug development not only for this disease, but also for other more prevalent neurodegenerative diseases: the reverse is also conceivable.


Household survey responses regarding levels of input use are sometimes affected by bias of which even the households themselves are not aware. Some examples include poor quality seed with a mixture of the fertile and infertile types, and pesticide content that has been substituted with less effective chemicals. We analyze in our paper the effect of low quality fertilizer, which contains less nitrogen than is advertised on the packaging. We show that this could lead to bias in the estimation of marginal effect and technical efficiency. Using panel data from the Hebei province of China, we calculate the magnitude of the bias across different levels of fertilizer quality. We find that the bias could be between -2% and -7% for marginal effect of fertilizer at mean input levels, and between 1% and 4% for technical efficiency.


This study explored the effects of propofol on c-Fos and Egr-1 in neuroblastoma (N2A) cells. We demonstrate that propofol induced the expression of c-Fos and Egr-1 within 30 and 60 min of exposure time. At 16.8 μM concentration, propofol induced a 6 and 2.5-fold expression of c-Fos and Egr-1, respectively. However, at concentrations above 100 μM, propofol failed to induce expression of c-Fos or Egr-1. Propofol-induced c-Fos and Egr-1 transcription was unaffected by bicuculline, a &ggr;-aminobutyric acid-A receptor antagonist, but was abolished by PD98059, a mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor. Our study shows that clinically relevant concentrations of propofol induce c-Fos and Egr-1 expression through an extracellular signal-regulated kinase mediated and &ggr;-aminobutyric acid-A independent pathway.


The infectious complex of Abelson murine leukemia virus was altered by replacing its usual helper virus, Moloney leukemia virus, with radiation leukemia virus (RadLV). After intrathymic injection of the Abelson-RadLV complex, thymomas arose rapidly, as described previously for injection of the Abelson-Moloney complex. Cell lines were derived from thymomas induced by each Abelson virus complex and were classified according to normal thymus cell phenotypes. Each virus complex induced some cell lines which were like a 0.7% subpopulation of murine thymocytes in that they failed to express the Thy-1 cell-surface antigen. These lines are thus far indistinguishable from some Abelson-derived bone marrow transformants classified as pre-B cells. However, the Abelson-Moloney complex induced some cell lines which expressed low levels of Thy-1 and which shared most markers with immature blast cells of the thymic medulla, whereas the Abelson-RadLV complex induced some lines which were clearly like thymic cortex blast cells. Thus, Abelson virus can induce thymoma cell lines of at least two, and possibly three, distinct phenotypes corresponding to normal thymocyte blast subsets, the determination of which can be influenced by helper virus sequences.


This body of work sought to explore kinematic impairments which may underlie falls incidences during turning following stroke and review the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving aspects of locomotor coordination which are key to controlling turning. A systematic review of the literature identified insufficient homogeneity of high quality evidence to determine if task specific locomotor practice interventions are effective in improving aspects of gait coordination which are key to the controlling turning. The review highlighted a need for a better understanding of the nature of coordination deficits in functional walking tasks, such as turning, after stroke. In order to provide a base of knowledge regarding abnormalities in the coordination of locomotor patterns during turning while walking, two experimental studies were undertaken. The studies employed analysis of full-body kinematics during turns made under pre-planned and reactive conditions as well as turns of different magnitudes and those made by participants with and without a falls history. Findings from Study 1 showed a strong trend for participants with stroke (in particular those with lesions involving the basal ganglia) to initiate pre-planned turns later than their age-match counterpart. Turns made in response to an external cue were made in a similar manner to healthy controls. Results from study 2 indicate that while participants with stroke and falls history took significantly longer to turn, all other aspects of the movement pattern were similar to healthy controls and non-fallers. Therefore, incidences of falls during turning following stroke may not be due to impaired movement patterns alone. On this basis, we suggest that rehabilitation efforts and further studies should address the interplay of impaired movement production with other factors such as attention.


Lipids are accumulated as giant droplets alongside coalescing emerging droplets under excessive lipid storage, in contrast to the multiple micron-sized droplets formed at normal conditions. Microalgae have great prospects as a sustainable resource of lipids for refinement into nutraceuticals and biodiesel, which increases the need for detailed insights into their intracellular lipid synthesis/storage mechanisms. As an alternative strategy to solvent- and label-based lipid quantification techniques, we introduce time-gated coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy for monitoring lipid contents in living algae, despite strong autofluorescence from the chloroplasts, at approximately picogram and subcellular levels by probing inherent molecular vibrations. Intracellular lipid droplet synthesis was followed in Phaeodactylum tricornutum algae grown under (1) light/nutrient-replete (control [Ctrl]), (2) light-limited (LL), and (3) nitrogen-starved (NS) conditions. Good correlation (r2 = 0.924) was found between lipid volume data yielded by CARS microscopy and total fatty acid content obtained from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. In Ctrl and LL cells, micron-sized lipid droplets were found to increase in number throughout the growth phases, particularly in the stationary phase. During more excessive lipid accumulation, as observed in NS cells, promising commercial harvest as biofuels and nutritional lipids, several micron-sized droplets were present already initially during cultivation, which then fused into a single giant droplet toward stationary phase alongside with new droplets emerging. CARS microspectroscopy further indicated lower lipid fluidity in NS cells than in Ctrl and LL cells, potentially due to higher fatty acid saturation. This agreed with the fatty acid profiles gathered by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. CARS microscopy could thus provide quantitative and semiqualitative data at the single-cell level along with important insights into lipid-accumulating mechanisms, here revealing two different modes for normal and excessive lipid accumulation.


The selection criteria play an important role in the portfolio optimization using any ratio model. In this paper, the authors have considered the mean return as profit and variance of return as risk on the asset return as selection criteria, as the first stage to optimize the selected portfolio. Furthermore, the sharp ratio (SR) has been considered to be the optimization ratio model. In this regard, the historical data taken from Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) has been considered. A metaheuristic technique has been developed, with financial tool box available in MATLAB and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Hence, called as the hybrid particle swarm optimization (HPSO) or can also be called as financial tool box particle swarm optimization (FTB-PSO). In this model, the budgets as constraint, where as two different models i.e. with and without short sale, have been considered. The obtained results have been compared with the existing literature and the proposed technique is found to be optimum and better in terms of profit.


— This paper reflects on the low social status of Japan"s leatherworkers, whose position in the social hierarchy has for centuries been that of untouchables or Burakumin (outcastes) and who were sometimes called by the most derogatory of Japanese terms, " eta,' which means "filth." There are three economic and historical roots to this enduring social stigma, two of them having to do with the demand of the military for leather armor, saddlery and other gear. First, in the 16 th century, a truce between warring clans, achieved by the Tokugawa shogunate, brought with it a decrease in the demand for leather armor and other military trappings, thereby undermining the economic base of buraku communities; (2) at the same time, weak Japanese guilds left leather workers in servitude to leather merchants and the state, ultimately forcing them to accept their social status as untouchable pollutants and (3) the Meiji restoration in the late 19 th century included a modernized military that required copious amounts of leather gear, and the business, so lucrative made powerful business élites wrested control from the Burakumin. The occupational taboo against working with leather remained attached to the modern Buraku community, as Japanese leather workers failed in their struggle for improved social status. The paper compares Japanese craft guilds, which kept the leather workers as bonded labour, with European medieval craftsmen guilds, which had already provided a system of training through apprenticeship, contracts, and fixed wages for skilled workers.


Most applications using network connection services require information to be transferred within specific constraints (or Quality of Service). Parlay enables applications to access functionality of underlying networks while preserving network integrity. Connection service functionality of underlying networks is currently provided to applications by Parlay in the Call Control and Data Session Control SCFs. Parlay does not however provide access to the QoS functionality of connection services although this functionality may be provided by networks. This report presents the design, specification and simulation of a QoS framework for connection services provided by Parlay. The QoS framework provides applications with access to the QoS functionality of connection services in the underlying networks. The design is divided into 3 parts (or models): the object model (defines the objects that make up the QoS framework), the information model (deals with how objects specify QoS and mappings between different QoS specifications), and the interaction model (defines how objects interact). A formal, technology-independent specification of the QoS framework is presented using UML. The specification is composed using the three parts of the design. A simulation of the QoS framework presented in this report is also described to validate the framework. The simulation is a multi-threaded, distributed CORBA application implemented in JAVA (Java SDK version 1.5) and is based on the UML specification of the QoS framework. Details about the simulation design and implementation are summarised in this report. The QoS framework provides per-application, per-connection QoS support for Parlay's connection services, supports existing and future Parlay connection services, follows existing Parlay design paradigms, and co-exists with and makes use of existing and future Parlay infrastructure. Parlay guidelines relating to permitted changes are followed strictly in the design of the QoS framework, which ensures the backward compatibility of Parlay if the QoS framework is added to the Parlay API. All Parlay design guidelines are also followed to allow for the easy integration of the QoS framework into the Parlay API. The simulation validates that the design of the QoS framework is: complete (in terms of specification), realistic, compatible with a standard Parlay implementation (JAVA and CORBA), and scalable (easy integration of new connection services).


Since the Syrian conflict broke out, a significant number of Western citizens travelled to the warzone to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). By common definitions, some of the persons travelled as 'children'. However, since the defeat of ISIS, Western countries are facing a conundrum on how to treat these young former fighters. The status of these children has been contentious. Among the Western countries, there does not seem to be a clear position or consistent approach on how such children should be treated. It would appear that the approaches towards the dilemma on these young persons have, predominantly, been dictated by the political whims of individual states. Generally, the children have been regarded as young 'terrorists' likely to pose danger to Western societies if repatriated back. However, the perceptions and actions towards these minors seem to depart from the normative approaches to children associated with armed conflict. The widely reported case of British teenager Shamima Begum shone the spotlight on the predicaments of children formerly associated with ISIS. This article makes a case for the treatment of ISIS-associated children to be considered as child soldiers. When analysed closely, these children deserve protections accorded to all children recruited for purposes of warfare. Recent case law seems to imply that such protection does not cease even after the age of 18 years. All considered, the denial of repatriation appears inimical to normative standards on children associated with armed conflict. Furthermore, the approaches of some of the Western countries could be vulnerable to criticism for violation of the rule of law. The arbitrary revocation of citizenship and barring of returns appear starkly in conflict with norms of natural justice. With this in mind, this article asserts that a consistent approach would require the Western approaches to treat ISIS-associated children as victims first and accord them protections recognised in international law.


Across Europe, there is a complex mosaic of urban population development.Characterized by great diversity and heterogeneity, this development does not follow acommon pattern and cannot be attributed to specific regional trends (e.g. Eastern orWestern European geographic location, or post-socialist, old industrial or developedcapitalist economic models). In this article, we show how this mosaic can be explained,relating it to various driving forces and overarching processes. Using a multilevelapproach and looking at the period 1991–2008, we identified various European citypopulation growth or decline clusters; these indicated that urban population developmentdoes not necessarily follow strictly national lines. Further, we argue that similar clustersof growing and declining cities may occur within European countries as diverse as Polandand the UK. Overarching driving forces such as demographic change interfere withnational specificity and the peculiarities of local settings. The most significant finding ofthis article is that overlapping driving forces currently lead in their interplay to divergingcourses of urban population development on different spatial scales (and will probablycontinue to do so in future).


The microstructural and mechanical properties of an ultra-clean low carbon steel sheet with 0.035% Cr have been evaluated. The isothermal recrystallization kinetics at 800 oC is analyzed by using the Kolomogorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (KJMA) equation. The obtained results indicate that Cr retards the recrystallization kinetics owing to the presence of fine particles of chromium carbides. The annealing process produces a fully recrystallized microstructure. The main texture components in the specimens are: {111}<112>, {112}<110> and {111}<110>. These are related with the Lankford value and the elongation. The obtained results suggest that the formability of this steel is excellent.


Learning in stochastic games is a notoriously difficult problem because, in addition to each other's strategic decisions, the players must also contend with the fact that the game itself evolves over time, possibly in a very complicated manner. Because of this, the convergence properties of popular learning algorithms - like policy gradient and its variants - are poorly understood, except in specific classes of games (such as potential or two-player, zero-sum games). In view of this, we examine the long-run behavior of policy gradient methods with respect to Nash equilibrium policies that are second-order stationary (SOS) in a sense similar to the type of sufficiency conditions used in optimization. Our first result is that SOS policies are locally attracting with high probability, and we show that policy gradient trajectories with gradient estimates provided by the REINFORCE algorithm achieve an $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{n})$ distance-squared convergence rate if the method's step-size is chosen appropriately. Subsequently, specializing to the class of deterministic Nash policies, we show that this rate can be improved dramatically and, in fact, policy gradient methods converge within a finite number of iterations in that case.


Abstract Objective To investigate the effectiveness of combining mirtazapine with serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants for treatment resistant depression in primary care. Design Two parallel group multicentre phase III randomised placebo controlled trial. Setting 106 general practices in four UK sites; Bristol, Exeter, Hull, and Keele/North Staffs, August 2013 to October 2015. Participants 480 adults aged 18 or more years who scored 14 or more on the Beck depression inventory, second revision, fulfilled ICD-10 (international classification of diseases, 10th revision) criteria for depression, and had used an SSRI or SNRI for at least six weeks but were still depressed. 241 were randomised to mirtazapine and 239 to placebo, both given in addition to usual SSRI or SNRI treatment. Participants were stratified by centre and minimised by baseline Beck depression inventory score, sex, and current psychological therapy. They were followed up at 12, 24, and 52 weeks. 431 (89.8%) were included in the (primary) 12 week follow-up. Main outcome measures Depressive symptoms at 12 weeks after randomisation, measured using the Beck depression inventory II score as a continuous variable. Secondary outcomes included measures of anxiety, quality of life, and adverse effects at 12, 24, and 52 weeks. Results Beck depression inventory II scores at 12 weeks were lower in the mirtazapine group after adjustment for baseline scores and minimisation or stratification variables, although the confidence interval included the null (mean (SD) scores at 12 weeks: 18.0 (12.3) in the mirtazapine group, 19.7 (12.4) in the placebo group; adjusted difference between means −1.83 (95% confidence interval −3.92 to 0.27); P=0.09). Adverse effects were more common in the mirtazapine group and were associated with the participants stopping the trial drug. Conclusion This study did not find evidence of a clinically important benefit for mirtazapine in addition to an SSRI or SNRI over placebo in a treatment resistant group of primary care patients with depression. This remains an area of important unmet need where evidence of effective treatment options is limited. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN06653773.


Amphibians are a focus of conservation programs worldwide. Among all vertebrate groups, amphibians are the most threatened, with about 40% of species facing extinction. The large diversity of this group and their ecological importance requires accurate knowledge of species distributions in order to develop conservation and management actions that can mitigate amphibian decline. This requires an active engagement between amphibian specialists and researchers from other areas in order to improve survey and monitoring strategies. Environmental DNA has emerged as a powerful, non-invasive tool for species detection, which will potentially overcome the limitations associated with traditional biodiversity surveys. Despite its increasing application in recent years, most eDNA surveys in aquatic systems have focused on low-turbidity waters and the efficacy of eDNA methods in turbid systems remains understudied. Regardless of the high sediment loads, turbid aquatic environments can harbour a large diversity of amphibian species. The challenges of biodiversity assessment using eDNA in turbid environments should be better understood, and the comparison of currently available sampling methods as well as the development of new methods needs to be addressed. In the first chapter of this thesis, three capture methods (precipitation, filtration with disc filters and filtration with capsules) were evaluated across a turbidity gradient. Sampling was conducted in an amphibian meta-population system composed of temporary puddles and small ponds at Mindelo Ornithological Reserve, northern Portugal. The performance of each method was evaluated based on both total captured eDNA and detection rates of a single target species Salamandra salamandra – with two approaches (qPCR and high-throughput sequencing). Compared to the two filtration methods, precipitation underperformed both in terms of total eDNA captured and species detection rates. Capsules captured a higher quantity of total eDNA than disc filters, but species detection was similar among the two methods. The lower price and the possibility to detect species in highly turbid environments seem to favour the use of disc filters for sampling in aquatic turbid ecosystems, however, more research is needed in the future to validate this conclusion. Although the sensitivity of the qPCR assay was higher than that of high-throughput sequencing, for eDNA captured using disc filters, no difference between assay sensitives was noted otherwise. The efficiency of eDNA methods in aquatic systems can be affected by several biotic and abiotic factors. Understanding the processes limiting eDNA detection is crucial in order for accurate eDNA-based surveys. Accounting for those factors by optimizing FCUP ix Improving eDNA methodologies to detect amphibians in turbid waters sampling designs will provide better estimates of species distribution and increase the reliability of eDNA biodiversity monitoring. In the second chapter of this thesis, the probability of detection of amphibian species was assessed according to the volume of water filtered and several environmental variables (pond area and depth, water clarity, conductivity, pH and temperature). Sampling was conducted in a natural park on the coastal plain of southwest Portugal. A significant influence on species detection was observed for most of the variables measured, but not in a consistent pattern among species. Generally, increasing pond depth and water conductivity decreased species detection, while increasing pond area and pH increased species detection. The only variable influencing detection in more than one species was water clarity, exhibiting opposite patterns. Overall, this study brings new insights into eDNA research in aquatic environments. The work developed in this study provides accurate comparisons between three sampling methods, offering important elucidations regarding the best method for biodiversity assessment in turbid aquatic environments as well as the effects of environmental variables on amphibian eDNA detection in Mediterranean temporary ponds. This work has also helped to identify new research areas and highlight important aspects that have been overlooked by previous studies, potentially leading to erroneous conclusions. This will provide the development of optimized sampling designs in the future that can increase the efficiency and reliability of eDNA biodiversity monitoring in aquatic habitats and help combat global amphibian declines effectively.


Spectroscopic observations of Nova Vulpeculae 1976 in the region surrounding H-alpha are reported. Line identifications and radial velocities are given for the prominent lines. Results confirm that Nova Vulpeculae 1976 was a slow nova.


In October 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced to the world that Rio de Janeiro would host the 2016 Olympic Games. Cariocas, as Rio's residents are called, were euphoric. Nearly 30,000 gathered on Copacabana Beach to celebrate, and then-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva broke down in tears in Copenhagen, where the deliberations were being held. Yet barely two weeks later, a violent shoot-oat between drug gangs in Rio spiraled out of control, resulting in 14 people killed, eight injured, and a police helicopter shot down. Witnessed by the world in light of the recent Olympics decision, the incident was a sobering reminder of the challenges facing Brazil as it prepares to host not only the Games, but also the 2014 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup. At the heart of these challenges is the endemic violence of the favelas, the slums bordering many Brazilian cities. Rio de Janeiro's unique topography makes its favelas particularly prominent: while the city is located on low-lying ground by the beach, the favelas sprawl above, perched on the hills surrounding the city. Their spectacular views notwithstanding, these favelas reveal that Brazil's rapid economic growth and emergence on the world stage do not tell the whole story. There have been multiple interventions by the government, mostly unsuccessful, to remove or rehabilitate favelas. However, the 2014 and 2016 competitions to be held in Brazil have lent a renewed urgency to these attempts. They are a test for the country as to whether it can ensure security for the thousands that will be pouring in, especially in a city where 6,000 people are killed each year. Indeed, many have questioned the judgment of FIFA and the IOC in choosing a host that continues to suffer from such instability. But beyond assessing Brazil from abroad, these deadlines provide a unique opportunity for Brazilian leaders to finally reverse the cycle of violence and poverty in the favelas, ensuring that their residents share in the economic benefits the rest of Brazil has already begun to reap. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] History of the Hills The Brazilian government has sought ways to deal with the favelas since their very inception. In Rio de Janeiro, the first residents were fugitive African slaves who established homes on the hills outside the city in settlements called "quilombos." Not until the mid-20th century, however, was there rapid expansion. Urbanization in the 1950s provoked mass migration from the countryside to the cities throughout Brazil by those hoping to take advantage of the economic opportunities urban life provided. Those who moved to Rio de Janeiro, however, chose an inopportune time. The change of Brazil's capital from Rio to Brasilia in 1960 marked a slow but steady decline for the former, as industry and employment options began to dry up. Unable to find work, and therefore unable to afford housing within the city limits, these new migrants remained in the favelas. Despite their proximity to urban Rio de Janeiro, the city did not extend sanitation, electricity, or other services to the favelas. They soon became associated with extreme poverty and were considered a headache to many citizens and politicians within Rio. In the 1970s, Brazil's military dictatorship pioneered a favela eradication policy, which forced the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents. During Carlos Lacerda's administration, many were moved to public housing projects such as Cidade de Deus ("City of God"), later popularized in a wildly popular feature film of the same name. Poor public planning and insufficient investment by the government led to the disintegration of these projects into new favelas. By the 1980s, worries about eviction and eradication were beginning to give way to violence associated with the burgeoning drug trade. Changing routes of production and consumption meant that Rio de Janeiro found itself as a transit point for cocaine destined for Europe. …


Gata3 is a DNA-binding transcription factor involved in cellular differentiation in a variety of tissues including inner ear, hair follicle, kidney, mammary gland and T-cells. In a previous study in 2009, Maeda et al. (Dev. Dyn. 238, 2280–2291; doi:10.1002/dvdy.22035) found that Gata3 mutants could be rescued from midgestational lethality by the expression of a Gata3 transgene in sympathoadrenal neuroendocrine cells. The rescued embryos clearly showed multiple defects in lens fibre cell differentiation. To determine whether these defects were truly due to the loss of Gata3 expression in the lens, we generated a lens-specific Gata3 loss-of-function model. Analogous to the previous findings, our Gata3 null embryos showed abnormal regulation of cell cycle exit during lens fibre cell differentiation, marked by reduction in the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors Cdkn1b/p27 and Cdkn1c/p57, and the retention of nuclei accompanied by downregulation of Dnase IIβ. Comparisons of transcriptomes between control and mutated lenses by RNA-Seq revealed dysregulation of lens-specific crystallin genes and intermediate filament protein Bfsp2. Both Cdkn1b/p27 and Cdkn1c/p57 loci are occupied in vivo by Gata3, as well as Prox1 and c-Jun, in lens chromatin. Collectively, our studies suggest that Gata3 regulates lens differentiation through the direct regulation of the Cdkn1b/p27and Cdkn1c/p57 expression, and the direct/or indirect transcriptional control of Bfsp2 and Dnase IIβ.


To determine the appropriate level of infrastructure spending, there is no alternative to aggregating the results of project-by-project cost-benefit analysis. With widespread variation in both the benefits and costs of projects within broad infrastructure asset classes, it is important to recognize that the returns to some additional highway lanes are much higher than others, and that the costs of extending wire-line broadband coverage in some locations may exceed the benefits relative to the next-best alternative technology. Because comprehensive project evaluation is enormously information-intensive and can be gamed, many of the widely discussed estimates of the infrastructure gap in the United States are based on alternative methodologies, such as benchmarking infrastructure spending levels against international or historical averages. Such exercises may not recognize that infrastructure projects in the United States often cost more than arguably comparable projects in other nations. As infrastructure spending ramps up, heightened attention to procurement comments, Sanchez Greenstein, Makovšek, Clifford Faith Witryol for input and discussions, Hilary Gelfond for research assistance. Sections of this chapter draw on the infrastructure economics project that is in Glaeser and Poterba practices and to project management could yield high returns in avoiding unnecessary spending. Cost-benefit calculations must also consider maintenance spending as an important infrastructure outlay, since the bias of the political system toward ribbon-cuttings for new projects can often short-change high-return upgrade and maintenance work. Financing infrastructure is a perennial challenge. User fees, while politically difficult to adopt, can be an important way of ensuring that infrastructure is used efficiently and of aligning funding with those who reap the benefits of new projects. In many cases, infrastructure use is progressive. In cases in which user fees may be regressive, such as fares on public transit buses, it may be possible to design compensatory policies, such as transit system vouchers for low-income households, to offset distributional concerns while preserving the efficiency benefits of use-related charges. Public-private partnerships require careful analysis on a case-by-case basis. While they can deliver operational and procurement benefits relative to similar projects managed exclusively by the public sector, they can also impose unpriced risks on taxpayers, and in some cases can impose a long-term increase in the cost of infrastructure use in return for a short-term relaxation of public sector liquidity constraints.


A simple expansion method, based on partial fractions of a special type, is described for the construction of bi-variate polynomials of interpolation. A distinctive feature is the choice of a system of straight lines, no three of which are concurrent, in order to define the points for interpolation. The expansion formula, which contains considerably fewer terms than others in general use, can be extended to more variables. The applications considered relate to the expansion and solution of determinantal equations of a type frequently encountered in investigations on the flutter and stability of aeroplanes. Reference is made to the possible use of a d.c. network analyser, based on an electrical interpretation of the expansion formulae, as an aid to rapid solution.


The evolution oftinnitus research now in progress is considered to embody three components: a) verbal; b) morphological and c) neurootological functional approaches. However, modern functional analysis tries to convert numerical data of function into graphs. Thus we have the possibility to graph our minds. Tinnitus is a basic experience of a sensory disorder. In the years 25 to 35 A.D., the Roman Encyclopedist, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, wrote his encyclopedia on human and veterinary diseases. In this book, the chapter on ear diseases mentions the symptom of tinnitus; however, it is only a verbal description. Tinnitus is described as a ringing or buzzing noise in the ears 2000 years ago and medical experts could only speculate about this subjective symptom.


The work material in metal working operations always showssome kind of anisotropy. In order to simplify the theoreticalanalysis, especially considering bulk deformation processes,anisotropy is usually neglected and the material is assumed tobe isotropic. On the other hand, the analysis that consideredthe influence of anisotropy seldom incorporates the influenceof friction. For predicting the material flow during plasticdeformation and for predicting the final material properties ofthe product, adequate descriptions of both flow stress curvesand coefficients of friction have to be developed.In the present work a number of experimental methods fordetermining the anisotropy have been utilized and compared:Yield loci, strain ratios (R-values) and establishing flowstress-curves in different directions. The results show thatthe yield loci measurements are weak in predicting anisotropywhen the material strain hardening is different in differentdirections. It is concluded that also the strain ration(R-value) measurements are unreliable for describinganisotropy. The most trustable and useful results were foundfrom multi-direction determinations of the flow stresses.Three typical cases of ring upsetting conditions wereanalyzed by theory (3D-FEM) and experiments: An anisotropic ring, oriented 900 to the axis ofrotational symmetrical anisotropy. The friction coefficientwas the same in all directions An isotropic ring. The friction coefficient was differentin different directions An anisotropic ring oriented 00 to the axis of rotationalsymmetrical anisotropy. The friction coefficient was the samein all directionsThe cases 1) and 2) reveal that the influence of anisotropyon the ring deformation is quite similar to that obtained bychanging the frictional condition. The case 3) exposes that ifthe material flow caused by anisotropy is incorrectly referredto friction, the possible error of the friction coefficient canbe as high as 80% for a pronounced anisotropic material. Amodified two-specimen method (MTSM) has been establishedaccording to an inverse method. Experiments were carried ascylinder upsetting. Here both ordinary cylinders were used aswell as so-called Rastegaev specimen. Also plane straincompression tests were utilized. The results show that MTSM isable to evaluate the validity of a selected mathematical modelwhen both the friction coefficient and the flow stress areunknown for a certain process. MTSM can also be used toestimate the friction coefficient and flow stress provided thatthe selected mathematical model is adequate.Key words:Anisotropy, friction coefficient, flowstress, modified two-specimen method and FE-analysis


Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing as it also known, is a technique used for the direct manufacture of parts, one which is becoming more accessible to not just engineers in industry, but also non-technical users with minimal technical knowledge or experience. The aim of the research was the investigation of the possibilities that AM presents for realising the manufacture of obsolete parts from older systems. Consideration of multiple AM techniques and their individual benefits and drawbacks is presented. To reverse engineer (RE) a part for additive manufacture requires the use of 3D modelling software packages as well as access to AM equipment to fully investigate how to best produce replacement parts. The thesis also considers various data creation and scanning technologies, used to digitise the geometry of parts, a key component in the RE process. The digitised component can then be manipulated in modelling software to provide the files required for AM. To replace components from older systems that are no longer in production can incur massive costs with respect to their manufacture using various moulds, machinery and tools. Using AM, it is shown that these costs could be greatly reduced, and material waste kept to an absolute minimum. With the incorporation of 3D modelling and simulation/analysis software, the mechanical performance of a component is also analysed. A component from an obsolete coffee roaster was subjected to the process of RE for replacement. The desktop AM machine used produced a part of sufficient quality to allow its use as a sandcasting pattern. By using AM instead of a traditional pattern, time savings and thus cost savings were achievable in the manufacturing process. A larger version of the component was scanned to create the 3D model from which the sandcasting pattern could be created. This was not successful as the 3D scanners could not produce a scan of satisfactory detail to work with. An investigation into the capabilities of the scanner was then carried out to determine if lower priced scanners are a worthwhile investment. This showed that while they are not ideal for 1:1 scaled replications of geometries, they are useful should a miniature version be required. It is recommended that scanners do not represent the same value for money in terms of quality produced that low end desktop AM machines do.


Proteins have been used as templates to stabilize fluorescent metal nanoclusters thus obtaining stable fluorescent structures, and their fluorescent properties being modulated by the type of protein employed. Designed consensus tetratricopeptide repeat (CTPR) proteins are suited candidates as templates for the stabilization of metal nanoclusters due to their modular structural and functional properties. Here, we have studied the ability of CTPR proteins to stabilize fluorescent gold nanoclusters giving rise to designed functional hybrid nanostructures. First, we have investigated the influence of the number of CTPR units, as well as the presence of cysteine residues in the CTPR protein, on the fluorescent properties of the protein-stabilized gold nanoclusters. Synthetic protocols to retain the protein structure and function have been developed, since the structural and functional integrity of the protein template is critical for further applications. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, a CTPR module with specific binding capabilities has been used to stabilize gold nanoclusters with positive results. Remarkably, the protein-stabilized gold nanocluster obtained combines both the fluorescence properties of the nanoclusters and the functional properties of the protein. The fluorescence changes in nanoclusters fluorescence have been successfully used as a sensor to detect when the specific ligand was recognized by the CTPR module.


This research was conducted to examine the association between experience and situation awareness (SA) of duty officers in the fire service of the Netherlands. For SA perception, comprehension and projecting the near future are important. Experience is researched in several ways, like the number of years of experience, training, incident experience, full-time or retained duty officers and subjective experience.
Several hypothesis and research questions were proposed. One of the expectations was that SA would be higher when a firefighter has a higher number of years of employment (experience). This does not seem to be true. However, more years of experience do lead to a better comprehension of the fire and its environment. Apparently believing that you have more experience with specific, similar or large incidents is associated with a better comprehension of the intervention and environment of the incident. A remarkable finding was that training did not lead to a better understanding of a real fire or the projection of the future status of the fire. No difference in SA or bias was found between full-time and retained duty officers.
A striking finding was that in this research duty officers who were not active as a firefighter or crew commander, seemed to have a greater tendency to reject information as false even if true and a greater tendency to zoom in, compared to duty officers who were still active as a firefighter or crew commander. The results confirmed the critical aspect about bias tendencies of firefighters. Displayed bias tendencies may well be only appropriate for the particular situation it is measured in. Investigation of bias tendencies would seem critical to understand the factors that influences these tendencies and if these tendencies are consistent over time and place.
This research can be a big steppingstone for future research about experience on the fire ground. It showed that just the number of years of experience is not sufficient for professions with high risk, low frequency incidents. Subjective incident experience seems to be a better indicator for experience of duty officers of the fire service in the Netherlands. Also the way the fire service organises their training should be evaluated when looking at its contribution to situation awareness. To answer the main research question: a small percentage of the variance in situation awareness can be explained by difference in experience. There is a relation between situation awareness and experience of the fire service, it all depends on how you define experience.


Conventional wisdom states that New England was unsympathetic toward the South in the decades before the Civil War. The region's attitudes, however, were not homogeneous. In Newport, Rhode Island, a town dependent upon tourism and real estate investment, residents empathized with Southerners and the sectional issues that concerned them.


With a uniform VLT SINFONI data set of nine targets, we have developed an empirical grid of J, H, K spectra of the atmospheres of objects estimated to have very low substellar masses of ∼5–20 MJup and young ages ranging from ∼1–50 Myr. Most of the targets are companions, objects which are especially valuable for comparison with atmosphere and evolutionary models, as they present rare cases in which the age is accurately known from the primary. Based on the youth of the sample, all objects are expected to have low surface gravity, and this study investigates the critical early phases of the evolution of substellar objects. The spectra are compared with grids of five different theoretical atmosphere models. This analysis represents the first systematic model comparison with infrared spectra of young brown dwarfs. The fits to the full JHK spectra of each object result in a range of best fit effective temperatures of ±150–300 K whether or not the full model grid or a subset restricted to lower log (g) values is used. This effective temperature range is significantly larger than the uncertainty typically assigned when using a single model grid. Fits to a single wavelength band can vary by up to 1000 K using the different model grids. Since the overall shape of these spectra is governed more by the temperature than surface gravity, unconstrained model fits did not find matches with low surface gravity or a trend in log (g) with age. This suggests that empirical comparison with spectra of unambiguously young objects targets (such as those presented here) may be the most reliable method to search for indications of low surface gravity and youth. Based on comparison with previous observations, the SINFONI spectra represent a second epoch for the targets 2M0141 and DH Tau B, and the combined data show no variations in the spectral morphology over time. The analysis of two other targets, AB Pic B and CT Cha B, suggests that these objects may have lower temperatures, and consequently lower masses, than previously estimated.


ABSTRACT This paper provides a personal look at counseling and counselor education in Hong Kong and Singapore. A section on the availability of formal and informal training resources in counseling notes that many practitioners in the counseling profession in Hong Kong or Singapore go abroad to pursue graduate studies, since, comparatively speaking, Hong Kong and Singapore can offer no better option for graduate training in counseling than what can be obtained abroad. Opportunities for professional development in Hong Kong and Singapore do exist, however, and they include counseling courses offered by the Institute of Education and the National University of Singapore through the Department of Social Work and Psychology; the services of a variety of counseling experts obtained by the counseling associations in Singapore and Hong Kong; and the presence of a professional association, the Association of Psychological and Educational Counselors of Asia. A section on the emerging job identity of counselors looks at distinctions among counselors, social workers, and psychologists and at the attitudes of the federal government toward counselors and counseling. A section on problems presented to counselors identifies the areas of behavioral and emotional problems of children and youth, parent-child relationships, and marital problems in Hong Kong; and relationship problems, psychological proolems, physical problems, material problems, and sexual problems in Singapore. The paper concludes with a summary of problems in counseling in Hong Kong and Singapore. (NB)


Interactions between Antarctic ice shelf regions and the ocean and their contribution to oceanic water mass formation: Ice shelves represent the main areas of ice discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet into the Southern Ocean. At the transition between ice and ocean, ice shelves affect both, the mass balance and dynamics of the ice sheet and the water mass formation in the Southern Ocean by ice shelf melting and calving at the shelf front, respectively. Under constant boundary conditions (mass flux from the ice sheet, ice accumulation and melting) a balance between mass gain and mass loss exists, and the ice shelves, except for recurring calving events, establish an almost invariant shape. In addition, ice shelves exert a buttressing force on the ice sheet and, therefore, are a regulating factor of ice discharge. Under changing climatic conditions, manifested for example in a changing oceanic circulation and temperature, this equilibrium state might be disturbed.
In a model study with a coupled ocean - ice shelf - ice sheet model, the influence of changing climate boundary conditions on the mass loss in the Atlantic sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, the water mass formation in the Weddell Sea, and the sea level is investigated. Starting from scenario runs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report IV (AR4), which describe the climate development to the year 2100, the dynamic coupling of ocean circulation and ice sheet dynamics predict a significant mass loss for the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and in particular a retreat of its southern grounding line. This mass loss is equivalent to a doubling of today's observed losses of glaciers and ice caps and sets the previously assumed stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to climate change into question.


The coat protein (CP) of Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) is required to initiate infection by the viral tripartite RNA genome whereas infection by the tripartite Brome mosaic virus (BMV) genome is independent of CP. AMV CP stimulates translation of AMV RNA in vivo 50- to 100-fold. The 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the AMV subgenomic CP messenger RNA 4 contains at least two CP binding sites. A CP binding site in the 3'-terminal 112 nucleotides of RNA 4 was found to be required for efficient translation of the RNA whereas an upstream binding site was not. Binding of CP to the AMV 3' UTR induces a conformational change of the RNA but this change alone was not sufficient to stimulate translation. CP mutant R17A is unable to bind to the 3' UTR and translation in vivo of RNA 4 encoding this mutant occurs at undetectable levels. Replacement of the 3' UTR of this mutant RNA 4 by the 3' UTR of BMV RNA 4 restored translation of R17A-CP to wild-type levels. Apparently, the BMV 3' UTR stimulates translation independently of CP. AMV CP mutant N199 is defective in the formation of CP dimers and did not stimulate translation of RNA 4 in vivo although the mutant CP did bind to the 3' UTR. The finding that N199-CP does not promote AMV infection corroborates the notion that the requirement of CP in the inoculum reflects its role in translation of the viral RNAs.


A new inhibitor of plant virus infection from fruiting bodies of Lentinus edodes was purified by a method using fractionation with DEAE-Cellulose, gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, and column chromatography on CM-Toyopearl 650M. The purified inhibitor thus obtained was homogeneous on disc and SDS disc electrophoreses, and the molecular weight of the inhibitor was 23,000. The inhibitor consisted of 17.4% nitrogen, which was found to be a basic simple protein, but contained no neutral sugar, hexosamine nor sialic acid. The inhibitor was estimated to be composed of about 199 amino acid residues. This inhibitor was named "fruiting body protein (FBP)."


Background: To avoid the need for blood transfusions and reducing complications in cases of placenta previa during cesarean section delivery by a new simple innovative technique developed by Dr ASHOK ANAND known as Ashok Anand's stitch. Methods: This stitch is based on the reasoning that taking the stitch bilaterally occludes the collaterals supplying the lower segment. As these are end arteries, their occlusion causes hemostasis in the lower segment. Sample size: 20 cases in each study group. Blood loss was estimated by standardized visual method (fixed container and mop). Results: By applying this technique in 20 cases, there was significant reduction in the blood loss compared to the control group, thereby reducing the need for blood transfusion ( p value <0.05). Conclusions: Ashok Anand's stitch is a simple and effective technique in controlling lower segment bleeding in cases of placenta previa during cesarean section thus avoiding the need for blood transfusions for operative blood loss and obstetric hysterectomy. The technique is easy to apply, less invasive and does not require any special instruments. It can be life-saving.


Abstract The relative stabilities of different ferricinium cations were studied in buffer or serum-containing solution and in vivo and compared with their cytostatic effects in cultures of Yoshida ascites tumor cells. Although the ferricinium cation itself was the most unstable cation compared with the dimethyl-ferricinium cation and the deuterated ferricinium derivatives it showed the highest cytostatic effect.


The glucuronidation of 6-hydroxylated bile acids by human liver nicrosomes has been studied in vitro; for comparison, several ,major bile acids lacking a 6-hydroxyl group were also investigated. Glucuronidation rates for 6a-hydroxylated bile acids were 10-20 times higher than those of substrates lacking a hydroxyl group in position 6. The highest rates measured were for hyodeqxyand hyocholic acids, and kinetic analyses were carried out using these substrates. Rigorous product identification by highfield proton nuclear magnetic resonance and by electron impact mass spectrometry of methyl ester/peracetate derivatives revealed that 6-O-jD-glucuronides were the exclusive products formed in these enzymatic reactions. These results, together with literature data, indicate that 6a-hydroxylation followed by 6-0glucuronidation constitutes an alternative route of excretion of toxic hydrophobic bile acids.


: Five cases of eclampsia are reported where, since the cervix was immature, pregnancy was terminated with local application of prostaglandin E2 by means of a portio-adapter. Induction-delivery time was short in each instance; in only one patient mild side effects common to prostaglandins were observed. In all five patients operative delivery could be avoided. Shortly after expulsion of the fetus all patients were symptom-free, all post partum courses were uneventful. Three fetuses were already dead before induction of labour, the remaining two weighing 850 g and 1000 g died of respiratory distress syndrome on post partum day five and nine. Local application of PGE2 by means of a portio-adapter can be considered a serious improvement in the therapy of convulsive eclampsia.


Due to rapid developments in climate science, scientists are now able to quantifiably link significant greenhouse gas emissions caused by major oil and gas corporations to specific climate impacts. These scientific advances have been accompanied by the publication of documents and studies suggesting that the oil and gas industry allegedly had knowledge of climate change as early as sixty years ago, and yet it actively worked to promote climate change denial and to delay governmental regulation on this matter. Though climate-related litigation is proceeding against the industry in different jurisdictions, proceedings brought against oil and gas corporations mainly focus on actions at the national level, seeking damages for climate change impacts and on lawsuits brought by state Attorneys General in the United States. There has not been any attempt to hold these companies criminally accountable in the international sphere for the widespread and irreversible global consequences of their alleged conduct.

This article examines whether fossil fuel corporations––or their officials––should be held accountable for their alleged conduct at the international level, and, in particular, whether these corporations (or corporate officials) could be investigated and prosecuted for the crimes listed in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Through this prism, this article aims to evaluate a broader question: whether the Rome Statute is applicable for the prosecution of corporate environmental crimes. In this sense, the article engages with the most recent policy paper by the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor—which set forth, inter alia, the goal of prosecuting Rome Statute crimes that result in the destruction of the environment—and further explores the suitability of such proceedings for corporate actions.


Abstract This article investigates the gendering of the fountain pen as a product category mainly used in the office environment. It draws on hobbyists' accounts and evaluations of fountain pen use from online forums. The accounts suggest that hobbyists perceive the fountain pen market to take executive men as its authentic user group, whereas pens that target women often reflect stereotypical femininities. At the office, this gendering process impacts users' everyday experiences especially with reference to the managerial norms that govern the use of suits and accessories, since the fountain pen is considered by its users as part of an array of men's status objects. The article contributes to the literature on the gendering of artifacts by describing a hegemonic manner in which artifacts are gendered, that is, as a range of products that target diverse masculinities and femininities in contradistinction to a single, masculine product type.


In his monographic article on Michelangelo9s Laurentian Library in Florence, first published in 1934, Rudolf Wittkower relegated the history of its siting within the canonica (claustral buildings) of San Lorenzo to a third appendix. Since then a number of scholars have given detailed consideration to the site history, realizing it to be a significant aspect of Michelangelo9s early career as an architect. The present paper maintains that some study of the canonica as Michelangelo probably encountered it should be prerequisite to any account of the site and presents new observations, measurements, and previously unnoticed 18th-century plans preserved in Prague to make such a study. The comprehensive publication of Michelangelo9s correspondence, records, and drawings during the past 20 years facilitates reconstruction of the sequence of events in his development of the site, and this further illuminates the artist9s working methods and relations with both his patron and his assistant. Consideration is also given to an abandoned idea for a library beyond the confines of the canonica, bordering on piazza San Lorenzo and perpendicular to the church facade. Documents from the Florence State Archive confirm the identity and location of properties as shown on Michelangelo9s own plan of the vicinity, which is newly oriented, and the rejected scheme is briefly examined in relation to contemporary urban redevelopment in Florence.


Treponema pallidum rapidly disseminates from a genital site of inoculation to diverse organs where it establishes persistent infection. T. pallidum has long been regarded as a stealth pathogen because of its poorly antigenic and non‐inflammatory surface. There is now increasing evidence that antigenic variation also contributes to the ability of the spirochaete to evade host defences. Among the small number of proteins encoded by the T. pallidum genome with sequence similarity to well‐characterized transcription factors is TP0262, an orthologue for cAMP regulatory protein (CRP) of Escherichia coli. Giacani and co‐workers identified sequences matching the CRP consensus‐binding motif upstream of the promoters of tprE, tprG and tprJ, three members of the T. pallidum repeat (tpr) gene family (subfamily II). Using electrophoretic mobility shift assay, DNaseI footprinting and an E. coli‐based reporter system, they demonstrated that TP0262 specifically recognizes the putative binding sequences and that DNA binding is cAMP‐dependent. Their report, a major methodological advance for syphilis research, suggests that T. pallidum has appropriated a paradigmatic global regulator of metabolic processes in heterotrophic bacteria to further its capacity for immune evasion in its obligate human host.


This paper draws upon data generated by an autoethnographic research project on sporting embodiment within the physical cultures of boxing. The researcher, H, actively started participating in women's boxing in the Midlands (UK) with an aim to become a fully-fledged insider member of a boxing club in 2012. The methods of data collection and analysis included keeping very detailed and critical field notes in personal logs and reflective journals. Commensurate with a phenomenological approach, lived, corporeal experiences of boxing are portrayed through the use of vignettes. Key findings are grounded in the researcher's female lived-body, with a focus on the gendered dimensions of embodiment, as well as the intense and heightened sensorial forms of embodiment encountered in the physical and masculinist cultures of boxing. Analyses of the findings draw upon this previous research which includes rich detail of carnal experience to explore the intense and heightened sensorial aspects whereby the hard-contact, bloodying, bruising, sensory dimensions of boxing strongly emerge. Findings of this research offer a greater understanding through a critical analysis of female sporting embodiment with an aim to generate potent insights to the female boxing experiences as lived and felt in the flesh.


The incidence of thyrotoxicosis in northern Tasmania rose significantly in 1964, two years before an epidemic of iodine-induced thyrotoxicosis was precipitated by the addition of iodate to bread to prevent goitre. Each time older patients accounted for most of the increase. The 1964 increase was probably iodine-induced as the use of iodophor disinfectants on dairy farms, which causes iodine residues in milk, began in 1963 and a fall in the prevalence of goitre in young children suggested an increase in dietary iodine at about that time. A further small increase in thyrotoxicosis in 1971 may also have been iodine-induced as it followed an extension of the use of iodophors. Dietary iodine is rising substantially in many places because of high iodine levels in milk and the use of iodine compounds in automated bread making, and this may be causing unsuspected iodine-induced thyrotoxicosis. Dietary iodine should be monitored regularly and clinicans alerted to any rise. Contamination of common foods with iodine should be more strictly controlled.


In this paper we analyze the relationship between the computational capabilities of randomly connected networks of threshold gates in the time-series domain and their dynamical properties. In particular we propose a complexity measure which we find to assume its highest values near the edge of chaos, i.e. the transition from ordered to chaotic dynamics. Furthermore we show that the proposed complexity measure predicts the computational capabilities very well: only near the edge of chaos are such networks able to perform complex computations on time series. Additionally a simple synaptic scaling rule for self-organized criticality is presented and analyzed.


Intracellular accumulation of lipids and swollen dysfunctional lysosomes are linked to several neurodegenerative diseases including lysosomal storage disorders (LSD). A detailed characterization of lipid metabolic changes in relation to the onset and progression of neurodegeneration is currently missing. In this study, we systematically analyzed lipid perturbations in spinster (spin) mutants, a Drosophila model of neurodegeneration associated with LSD. Our results highlight an imbalance in brain ceramide and sphingosine as a crucial phenotype in the early stages of neurodegeneration. This perturbation in ceramide metabolism precedes the accumulation of endomembranous structures, manifestation of altered behavior and buildup of lipofuscin (the ageing pigment). Manipulating levels of ceramidase, and, consequently further altering these lipids in spin mutants have allowed us to conclude that ceramide/sphingosine homeostasis is the driving force in disease progression and is integral to spin function in the adult nervous system. Furthermore, we have identified 29 novel and direct interaction partners of Spin. We specifically focused on the lipid carrier protein, Lipophorin (Lpp), and demonstrate its localization with Spin in the adult nervous system and in organs specialized for lipid metabolism including fat bodies and oenocytes. Our observations in spin mutants of altered Lpp immunostaining, and of increased levels of lipid metabolites produced by oenocytes, allude to a functional relevance of the Spin-Lpp interaction. Overall, these results detailing the kinetics of ceramide perturbations in the context of lipofuscin accumulation, as well as the proteomics experiment, represent a valuable resource to further unravel the mechanistic link between systemic changes in lipid metabolism and lysosomal storage disorders. Summary Statement Elevations in specific brain lipids and connections to relevant metabolic genes are identified in a fly model for lysosomal storage disorders. This enables a better understanding of disease progression.


ABSTRACT Mammalian genomes are replete with retrotransposable elements, including endogenous retroviruses. DNA methyltransferase 3-like (DNMT3L) is an epigenetic regulator expressed in prospermatogonia, growing oocytes, and embryonic stem (ES) cells. Here, we demonstrate that DNMT3L enhances the interaction of repressive epigenetic modifiers, including histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), SET domain, bifurcated 1 (SETDB1), DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A), and tripartite motif-containing protein 28 (TRIM28; also known as TIF1β and KAP1) in ES cells and orchestrates retroviral silencing activity with TRIM28 through mechanisms including, but not limited to, de novo DNA methylation. Ectopic expression of DNMT3L in somatic cells causes methylation-independent retroviral silencing activity by recruitment of the TRIM28/HDAC1/SETDB1/DNMT3A/DNMT3L complex to newly integrated Moloney murine leukemia virus (Mo-MuLV) proviral DNA. Concurrent with this recruitment, we also observed the accumulation of histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) and heterochromatin protein 1 gamma (HP1γ), as well as reduced H3K9 and H3K27 acetylation at Mo-MuLV proviral sequences. Ectopic expression of DNMT3L in late-passage mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) recruited cytoplasmically localized HDAC1 to the nucleus. The formation of this epigenetic modifying complex requires interaction of DNMT3L with DNMT3A as well as with histone H3. In fetal testes at embryonic day 17.5, endogenous DNMT3L also enhanced the binding among TRIM28, DNMT3A, SETDB1, and HDAC1. We propose that DNMT3L may be involved in initiating a cascade of repressive epigenetic modifications by assisting in the preparation of a chromatin context that further attracts DNMT3A-DNMT3L binding and installs longer-term DNA methylation marks at newly integrated retroviruses. IMPORTANCE Almost half of the mammalian genome is composed of endogenous retroviruses and other retrotransposable elements that threaten genomic integrity. These elements are usually subject to epigenetic silencing. We discovered that two epigenetic regulators that lack enzymatic activity, DNA methyltransferase 3-like (DNMT3L) and tripartite motif-containing protein 28 (TRIM28), collaborate with each other to impose retroviral silencing. In addition to modulating de novo DNA methylation, we found that by interacting with TRIM28, DNMT3L can attract various enzymes to form a DNMT3L-induced repressive complex to remove active marks and add repressive marks to histone proteins. Collectively, these results reveal a novel and pivotal function of DNMT3L in shaping the chromatin modifications necessary for retroviral and retrotransposon silencing.


The Turkish Veterinary Medical Association was founded in 1954, pursuant to Law 6343 on the Execution of the Veterinary Medical Profession and the Establishment and Tasks of the Turkish Veterinary Medical Association and Veterinary Chambers. The first veterinary chambers to represent the Association in the various provinces of Turkey, were established the same year. Of these chambers, the Veterinary Chamber of the Erzurum Region served veterinarians working within the borders of the Kars province for many years. In the course of time, when the number of veterinarians working in Kars reached a level sufficient (at least 30) to establish a separate professional chamber in this province in 1989, the Veterinary Chamber of the Kars Region (Kars VC) was established. This study was aimed to provide an insight on the activities of the Kars VC on veterinary services and livestock production. Primary resources were obtained from the archives of the Kars VC and the Department of the History of Veterinary Medicine and Deontology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, constituted the basic material of this study. These resources were assessed by means of the document analysis method. In this study it was determined that, since its establishment in 1989, the Kars VC has organized multiple meetings to raise awareness among its members and the local people of the region. Furthermore, the Chamber was ascertained to have carried out vocational trainings for the veterinary practitioners working in the region with a view to improve their professional skills. In this respect, it is concluded that the Kars VC has been successfully accomplished its original targeted development and has had a significant role in serving both the veterinary profession and its members and local animal breeders. However, in our opinion, the Chamber must increase its effectiveness on sanctions control framework and continue to publish its ceased journal.


Beautifully written and carefully reasoned, this bold and provocative work upends the conventional wisdom about the American reaction to crisis. Margulies demonstrates that for key elements of the post-9/11 landscape-especially support for counterterror policies like torture and hostility to Islam-American identity is not only darker than it was before September 11, 2001, but substantially more repressive than it was immediately after the attacks. These repressive attitudes, Margulies shows us, have taken hold even as the terrorist threat has diminished significantly. Contrary to what is widely imagined, at the moment of greatest perceived threat, when the fear of another attack "hung over the country like a shroud," favorable attitudes toward Muslims and Islam were at record highs, and the suggestion that America should torture was denounced in the public square. Only much later did it become socially acceptable to favor "enhanced interrogation" and exhibit clear anti-Muslim prejudice. Margulies accounts for this unexpected turn and explains what it means to the nation's identity as it moves beyond 9/11. We express our values in the same language, but that language can hide profound differences and radical changes in what we actually believe. "National identity," he writes, "is not fixed, it is made."


In this paper, we present patterns for building customer relationships in a pattern language for value-creation marketing. This pattern language is a collection of practical knowledge to realize successful business and commerce that offers new value, proposes a deeply wonderful life, and shares excitement with customers through products and services with mutual respect, so that sales will naturally increase as an extension of pleasure. This practical knowledge has been nurtured in Japan for about 20 years in a community of practice comprised of approximately 1,500 participating shops and companies. This pattern language consists of a total of 40 patterns; this paper covers 10 patterns related to building customer relationships, namely, Special Existence, Connect at First Meetings, Approach Just Right, Small Self-Presentation, Behave Naturally, Unforgettable Experiences, Connect to Business, Grow Own Style, Keep Enchanting, and Fan Community. These patterns can be categorized into three groups: BEGIN BONDING (beginner level), OFFER EXPERIENCES TO GROW CLOSE (intermediate level), and MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER (advanced level).


The Geesink studio, which was named after its director Joop Geesink and operated between1942 till 1972, specialised in puppet animation under the name of Dollywood. It also producedlive-action films under the name of Starfilm. Geesink produced hundreds of commercials forclients all over the world. It approached advertisements as a form of entertainment. This articleanalyses how Geesink commercials appropriated various genres of entertainment such asmusicals, westerns and comedies and used them for advertising purposes. The size and internationalclientele of the Geesink films suggests that Dutch cinema should not only be identifiedwith the genre of documentaries, as is usually the case, but it should also be recognisedfor great achievements in entertainment. With their high entertainment value, commercialsuccess and American approach, Geesink films therefore occupy a special place within Dutchfilm history.


Palliative embolization in patients with gynaecological malignancies is indicated, if other methods of treatment like irradiation, surgery and chemotherapy are impossible or contra-indicated. The experience in 9 patients is reported, with embolization of one renal artery because of metastasis in the kidney and in eight patients the hypogastric arteries uni- or bilaterally by means of Gelfoam and/or Gianturco coils because of inoperable bleeding malignancies.


Actinomycetes enhance soil fertility and have antagonistic activity against wide range of plant root-pathogens. These microorganisms were isolated from agricultural soils of Kerman as pure cultures. Phytophthora drechsleri Tucker, causes gummosis and root rot of pistachio trees worldwide. From 130 Actinomycetes isolates, 12 inhibited growth of the pathogen of pistachio gummosis in culture plates and four of the most active isolates exhibited biological control of the pathogen under greenhouse conditions. When plants were grown in sterile soil mix and treated both with Actinomycetes and the pathogen, the number of healthy plants increased dramatically and the symptoms on diseased plants were less severe in comparison with seedlings treated with the pathogen alone. From the collected data it was well conclusive that in greenhouse tests, soil applications of Actinomycetes controlled causal agent of root rot of pistachio seedlings. Antifungal activity was of fungicidal type on the pathogen mycelia. From the stand point of biotechnological goals, the results indicate that the active isolates can be investigated for use as biofertilizers, biofungicides and use in future development of recombinant DNA in pistachio trees bearing elevated resistance to gummosis. Field trials of the active isolates are under investigation


Objectives:To assess the changes in HIV prevalence and incidence between 1996 and 2006 in urban areas of Bissau. Design:A cross-sectional survey of 384 randomly selected houses within a community-based follow-up study of HIV-1 and HIV-2. Methods:A total of 3242 individuals aged at least 15 years were eligible for inclusion. Participants were interviewed about behavioral and socio-economic factors and had a blood sample drawn. A total of 2548 individuals were tested for antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2, of whom 649 had taken part in a similar survey in 1996. Results:With 0.5% HIV dual reactions included, the overall HIV-1 prevalence was 4.6% (118 out of 2548) and the HIV-2 prevalence was 4.4% (112 out of 2548). The prevalence of HIV-1 increased more for women than men especially in the 25–34-year age group. HIV-2 prevalence decreased below 45 years of age but not for individuals more than 45 years old. The incidence rate between 1996 and 2006 was 0.5 per 100 person-years for HIV-1 and 0.24 per 100 person-years for HIV-2. Compared with a previous period from 1987 to 1996, the incidence of HIV-2 is declining whereas no significant increase in the incidence of HIV-1 was observed. Conclusions:The present study shows an increasing prevalence of HIV-1 and a decreasing prevalence of HIV-2 in Guinea-Bissau. HIV is generally a bigger problem for women. Despite the general decline in prevalence, HIV-2 may continue as an infection in older people, especially women.


Na3PS4 is one of the most promising Na+ conductors, relevant for applications that can leverage its high ionic conductivity, such as solid-state batteries. Currently, two crystalline phases of the material have been identified, and it has been thought to melt above 500 °C. In contrast, based on diffraction, ab initio simulations, impedance spectroscopy, and thermal analysis, we show that Na3PS4 remains solid above this temperature and transforms to a third polymorph, γ, exhibiting fast-ion conduction and an orthorhombic crystal structure. We show that the fast Na+-conduction is associated with rotational motion of the thiophosphate polyanions pointing to a plastic crystal. These findings are of major importance for the development and understanding of new polyanion-based solid electrolytes.


According to dominant perspectives on educational mobilities, India is not an obvious study destination choice and more so not a favoured one for students from South Korea. The aim of this paper is to question this prevalent discourse by drawing attention to the small-sized but rather steady flow of Korean students who have gone to Indian universities for both short-term and long-term educational programmes. Obviously, this unique but underexplored phenomenon is at odds with the prevailing episteme surrounding international student mobilities (ISM) focused on the 'world-class' imaginary and East–West, South–North binaries. By presenting empirical data on and from Korean degree-seeking students in India, this study offers fertile understanding of student experiences and imaginings of transformations – those that take place in what have been typecast as 'peripheral' study destinations such as India. Drawing on critical scholarship on ISM, this paper seeks to find out what changes and shifts are generated in and through the periphery as a place of study. In particular, it asks: what discourses on transformation do students construct as they experience, imagine and desire changes in their lives through their everyday encounters with and negotiation of India? How are these transformations articulated and how do these articulations, in turn, manifest (de)constructed views of place, of self and of others? And, lastly, how do these narratives shape the broader discourse on educational mobilities and study abroad? In approaching these questions, this paper introduces diverse discourses on 'everyday transformations' articulated by students through comparison, contradiction and conjecture.


Background Emergency general surgery (EGS) patients presenting at tertiary care hospitals may bypass local hospitals with adequate resources. However, many tertiary care hospitals frequently operate at capacity. We hypothesized that understanding patient geographic origin could identify opportunities for enhanced system triage and optimization and be an important first step for EGS regionalization and care coordination that could potentially lead to improved utilization of resources. Methods We analyzed patient zip code and categorized EGS patients who were cared for at our tertiary care hospital as potentially divertible if the southern region hospital was geographically closer to their home, regional hospital admission (RHA) patients, or local admission (LA) patients if the tertiary care facility was closer. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared for RHA and LA patients. Results Of 14 714 EGS patients presenting to the tertiary care hospital, 30.2% were categorized as RHA patients. Overall, 1526 (10.4%) patients required an operation including 527 (34.5%) patients who were potentially divertible. Appendectomy and cholecystectomy comprised 66% of the operations for potentially divertible patients. Length of stay was not significantly different (P = .06) for RHA patients, but they did have lower measured short-term and long-term mortality when compared to their LA counterparts (P < .05). Conclusions EGS diagnoses and patient geocode analysis can identify opportunities to optimize regional operating room and bed utilization. Understanding where EGS patients are cared for and factors that influenced care facility will be critical for next steps in developing EGS regionalization within our system.


Motivated by the dynamics within terrestrial bodies, we consider a rotating, strongly thermally stratified fluid within a spherical shell subject to a prescribed laterally inhomogeneous heat-flux condition at the outer boundary. Using a numerical model, we explore a broad range of three key dimensionless numbers: a thermal stratification parameter (the relative size of boundary temperature gradients to imposed vertical temperature gradients), $10^{-3}\leqslant S\leqslant 10^{4}$ , a buoyancy parameter (the strength of applied boundary heat-flux anomalies), $10^{-2}\leqslant B\leqslant 10^{6}$ , and the Ekman number (ratio of viscous to Coriolis forces), $10^{-6}\leqslant E\leqslant 10^{-4}$ . We find both steady and time-dependent solutions and delineate the regime boundaries. We focus on steady-state solutions, for which a clear transition is found between a low $S$ regime, in which buoyancy dominates the dynamics, and a high $S$ regime, in which stratification dominates. For the low- $S$ regime, we find that the characteristic flow speed scales as $B^{2/3}$ , whereas for high- $S$ , the radial and horizontal velocities scale respectively as $u_{r}\sim S^{-1}$ , $u_{h}\sim S^{-3/4}B^{1/4}$ and are confined within a thin layer of depth $(SB)^{-1/4}$ at the outer edge of the domain. For the Earth, if lower mantle heterogeneous structure is due principally to chemical anomalies, we estimate that the core is in the high- $S$ regime and steady flows arising from strong outer boundary thermal anomalies cannot penetrate the stable layer. However, if the mantle heterogeneities are due to thermal anomalies and the heat-flux variation is large, the core will be in a low- $S$ regime in which the stable layer is likely penetrated by boundary-driven flows.


Purpose: The article points out the essence and the role of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) in the implementation of the development policy of a given local government unit (LSGU). It was investigated whether the possibilities of this instrument are actually used in practice. The article compares the main financial volumes of individual Polish provinces in 2018-2020, i.e., the level of income, expenditure, debt, as determinants enabling the relative implementation of development policy. Design/Methodology/Approach: The construction of the MFF makes it possible to assess the financial situation of a given region and to identify the resources earmarked for the implementation of investment tasks aimed at stimulating this development. The set tasks and the defined objective determined the research procedure in which empirical data were analysed, measured and evaluated. The source of data were long-term financial forecasts for self-governed provinces in Poland, data provided by the CSO, the Ministry of Finance and Regional Chambers of Accounts. The research covered the period 2017 2020 and was based on, desk research method, quantitative methods, in particular statistical methods as well as comparative methods, and praxeological methods. Findings: The results of the research carried out indicate that, unfortunately, the possibilities of the MFF and, above all, its reality are not always used in local government practice. Very often (on the example of the analysed provinces) it was changed and property (investment) expenditures were transferred to the next budget year. Practical Implications: Actual and realistic planning of investment expenditures stimulating development and pro-innovative actions in a perspective exceeding a given budget year, using a multiannual financial framework, is a key and necessary condition for achieving long-term development of a given region. The MFF is also a very important instrument for the banking sector, councillors and residents of the region. Originality/Value: The results of the study reflect the applicability and effectiveness of the multiannual financial framework in terms of stimulating and supporting the implementation of development policy.


The description Ausonius has given us of his family and of the teachers and professors of Bordeaux in the mid-fourth century is exceptional among our sources because of its detail and completeness. There is no reason to suppose that the picture he gives is untypical of life in the provinces and it makes a welcome change from the histories of aristocratic politics at Rome or Constantinople. It provides an excellent opportunity for a pilot study in which we may see how the conflicting elements of social status were in practice reconciled and applied. In the traditional, and still prevalent view, the society of the Later Roman Empire was 'crushed … in the iron clamp of castes separated from one another by barriers which could not be passed'. The evidence of Ausonius suggests that this judgement should be qualified. The society of the fourth century may have been stable. It was not static.


Single cell manipulation is important in biosensing, biorobotics, and quantitative cell analysis. Although microbeads, droplets, and microrobots have been developed previously, it is still challenging to simultaneously excise, capture, and manipulate single cells in a biocompatible manner. Here, we describe untethered single cell grippers, that can be remotely guided and actuated on-demand to actively capture or excise individual or few cells. We describe a novel molding method to micropattern a thermally responsive wax layer for biocompatible motion actuation. The multifingered grippers derive their energy from the triggered release of residual differential stress in bilayer hinges composed of silicon oxides. A magnetic layer enables remote guidance through narrow conduits and fixed tissue sections ex vivo. Our results provide an important advance in high-throughput single cell scale biopsy tools important to lab-on-a-chip devices, microrobotics, and minimally invasive surgery.


To reduce fuel consumption and emissions in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), it is equally important to select an appropriate drive train topology as it is to develop a suitable power flow control strategy. While there are many control strategies that have been developed and presented, most are expansions of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) control strategies and do not maximize the true potential the PHEV offers as a result of its ability to operate in electric-only mode over a significant distance. In this paper, state-of-the-art control strategies are reviewed and classified in detail. PHEV controllers mostly operate on either a rule-based or an optimization-based algorithm, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. An overview of the controllers is given, and an analysis on which strategy is more suitable to maximize PHEV performance in different drive cycle conditions is provided. Finally, a new classification for PHEV control strategies based on the operation of the vehicle is presented and verified through simulation results.


Prostatic cancer (PC) became the first diagnosed cancer in western men and is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Wide utilisation of serum PSA and free PSA measurements, identifies patients requiring transrectalultrasonography (TRUS) and TRUS guided biopsies. Most prostatic cancers diagnosed today are locally limited and may be treated by radical surgery or radiotherapy. In case of disseminated disease, hormonal manipulations remain the treatment of choice. In that field, many new drugs have been designed to allow medical castration with less complications, especially regarding sexual potency.


Brunei Darussalam government is putting in efforts to ensure every Muslims regardless citizens or tourists to be well informed on "Halalan Toyyiban" food and beverages. As 'Halal' is a priority for all Muslims, the abused of 'Halal' word equally misused by Muslims and Non-Muslims is not to be addressed lightly. Therefore, in order to provide solutions for the issues, a study is conducted with primary objectives to identify 'Halal' certified restaurants in Brunei Darussalam and to develop a prototype of 'Halal' Verification System using Augmented Reality (AR) Technology. A list of 'Halal' certified restaurants is obtained from Brunei Halal Food Council that is utilized as a guideline for conducting observation and questionnaire survey on every 'Halal' certified restaurant along with its coordinates in Brunei Darussalam. Augmented Reality feature within Android environment is the basis for the proof of concept. An informative, user friendly and interactivity are the main features of the application that functions mainly to identify 'Halal' certified restaurants within user current location. Tests are made with 10 users of smart phone in locating nearest 'Halal' certified restaurants. 107 'Halal' certified restaurants in Brunei Darussalam are used as the data set for the prototype's application development. All tests using the prototype' application is proven success with users able to locate 'Halal' certified restaurants and information pertaining to it. This is aims to promote Brunei Darussalam image as a Muslim's country as well as Islam as a way of life is further promote.


ABSTRACT Microorganisms are essential drivers of earth's geochemical cycles. However, the significance of elemental redox cycling mediated by microorganisms is often underestimated beyond the most well-studied nutrient cycles. Phosphite, (per)chlorate, and iodate are each considered esoteric substrates metabolized by microorganisms. However, recent investigations have indicated that these metabolisms are widespread and ubiquitous, affirming a need to continue studying the underlying microbiology to understand their biogeochemical effects and their interface with each other and our biosphere. This review focuses on combining canonical techniques of culturing microorganisms with modern omic approaches to further our understanding of obscure metabolic pathways and elucidate their importance in global biogeochemical cycles. Using these approaches, marker genes of interest have already been identified for phosphite, (per)chlorate, and iodate using traditional microbial physiology and genetics. Subsequently, their presence was queried to reveal the distribution of metabolic pathways in the environment using publicly available databases. In conjunction with each other, computational and experimental techniques provide a more comprehensive understanding of the location of these microorganisms, their underlying biochemistry and genetics, and how they tie into our planet's geochemical cycles.


The main purpose of this study is to prepare mathematical model for active vibration control of a structure. This paper presents the numerical and experimental modal analysis of aluminum cantilever beam in order to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the structure. The results will be used for active vibration control of structure's experimental setup. Experimental natural frequencies are obtained and compared to verify the proposed numerical model by using modal analysis results. MATLAB System Identification Toolbox and ANSYS harmonic response function are used together to estimate beam's equations of motion which include its amplitude, frequency and phase angle values. Moreover, the mathematical model of beam is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink software to determine the dynamic behavior of the proposed system. Furthermore, another prediction model approach with multiple input and single output is used to find the realistic behavior of beam via an adaptive neural-network-based fuzzy logic inference system, in addition, impulse responses of the proposed models are compared and the control block diagram for active vibration control is implemented. As a first iteration, PID type controller is designed to suppress vibrations against the disturbance input. The results of modal analysis, the prediction models, controlled and uncontrolled system responses are presented in graphics and tables for obtaining a sample numerical active vibration control.


This paper considers the estimation of the three-parameter raindrop size distributions in Durban, South Africa. The two models- modified gamma and lognormal distribution models compare reasonably well with the measured data and are both suitable for the modeling of raindrop size distributions in the region and for computation of specific attenuation. The method of moments is adopted for the estimation of the parameters. The models are compared with the ITU-R model at frequencies of 2-150 GHz. From the performance analysis of the estimated error, the deviations of the models from the measured data are minimal. The three-parameter lognormal distribution model however gives a better performance when compared with the modified gamma distribution model and the ITU-R.


Structure, microstructure and hydriding properties of mechanically alloyed 2Mg-Ni mixture were investigated. Two different nanocomposites were synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) in a low-energy planetary mill, namely MN100 (100 h of milling) and MN200 (200 h of milling). The formation of nanocrystalline Mg2Ni was detected as a function of the milling time. An appropriate combination of MA plus annealing under mild conditions accomplishes the complete formation of Mg2Ni phase. The pressure-composition isotherms of the two samples reveal different hydrogen storage capacities and plateau slopes. In addition, the low temperature Mg2NiH4 (LT) formed by hydriding/cooling of MN100 h decomposes at 190 °C, whereas this hydride produced from MN200 first transforms to the high temperature Mg2NiH4 and then decomposes near 245 °C. The differences in the hydriding/dehydriding properties of MN100 and MN200 were associated with the microstructure and structure of the phases formed during MA followed by heating under argon/hydrogen.