We present a study of the prevalence of optical and radio nuclear activity with respect to the environment and interactions in a sample of SDSS galaxies. The aim is to determine the independent effects of distinct aspects of source environment on the triggering of different types of nuclear activity. We defined a local density parameter and a tidal forces estimator and used a cluster richness estimator from the literature to trace different aspects of environment and interaction. The possible correlations between the environmental parameters were removed using a principal component analysis. By far the strongest trend found for the active galactic nuclei (AGN) fractions, of all AGN types, is with galaxy mass. We therefore applied a stratified statistical method that takes into account the effect of possible confounding factors like the galaxy mass. We found that (at fixed mass) the prevalence of optical AGN is a factor 2–3 lower in the densest environments, but increases by a factor of � 2 in the presence of strong oneon-one interactions. These effects are even more pronounced for star-forming nuclei. The importance of galaxy interactions decreases from star-forming nuclei to Seyferts to LINERS to passive galaxies, in accordance with previous suggestions of an evolutionary time-sequence. The fraction of radio AGN increases very strongly (by nearly an order of magnitude) towards denser environments, and is also enhanced by galaxy interactions. Overall, the results agree with a scenario in which the mechanisms of accretion into the black hole are determined by the presence and nature of a supply of gas, which in turn is controlled by the local density of galaxies and their interactions. A plentiful cold gas supply is required to trigger star-formation, optical AGN and radiatively-efficient radio AGN. This is less common in the cold-gas-poor environments of groups and clusters, but is enhanced by one-on-one interactions which result in the flow of gas into nuclear regions; these two factors compete against each other. In the denser environments where cold gas is rare, cooling hot gas can supply the nucleus at a sufficient rate to fuel low-luminosity radiatively-inefficient radio A GN. However, the increased prevalence of these AGN in interacting galaxies suggests that this is not the only mechanism by which radiatively-inefficient AGN can be triggered.


Abstract. The term nowcasting reflects the need of timely and accurate predictions of risky situations related to the development of severe meteorological events. In this work the objective is the very short term prediction of the rainfall field from geostationary satellite imagery entirely based on neural network approach. The very short-time prediction (or nowcasting) process consists of two steps: first, the infrared radiance field measured from geostationary satellite (Meteosat 7) is projected ahead in time (30 min or 1 h); secondly, the projected radiances are used to estimate the rainfall field by means of a calibrated microwave-based combined algorithm. The methodology is discussed and its accuracy is quantified by means of error indicators. An application to a satellite observation of a rainfall event over Central Italy is finally shown and evaluated.


INTRODUCTION
Arsenic and fluoride are recognized globally as the most serious inorganic contaminants in drinking water. As there is no safe and effective treatment for the cases of fluoride poisoning and combined arsenic-fluoride toxicity, the present study was planned to assess (i) the mechanism of combined exposure to arsenic and fluoride via biochemical and spectroscopic data; (ii) the effect of a thiol chelating agent, meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), either individually or in combination with the antioxidant vitamin C in reversing arsenic-fluoride toxicity; and (iii) whether combination therapy enhances arsenic and fluoride removal from blood and soft tissues.

METHODS
Rats were exposed to arsenic (50 mg l-1) and fluoride (50 mg l-1) individually and in combination for 9 months and later administered DMSA (50 mg kg-1) via an i.p. route and vitamin C (25 mg kg-1) orally for 5 days. Biochemical parameters suggestive of alterations in the heme synthesis pathway, oxidative stress in blood, the liver and the kidneys, and concentrations of arsenic and fluoride in blood and soft tissues were studied. We also studied the infrared (IR) spectra of DNA extracted from the livers and kidneys of the normal and exposed animals.

RESULTS
It was found that chronic arsenic and fluoride exposure led to an increased oxidative stress condition and impaired heme synthesis (67% inhibition in δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity and 38% increase in δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase activity). The decreased antioxidant defense mechanism was marked by a 2.25 fold increased concentration of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and a 28% decrease in the Glutathione (GSH) level. Interestingly, concomitant exposure to arsenic and fluoride did not lead to antagonistic effects as the toxic effects were the same as those seen during the individual exposure to both the toxicants. It suggests that toxicity depends on the dose and duration of exposure. Combination therapy with DMSA and vitamin C showed a better efficacy than monotherapy in terms of reducing the arsenic and fluoride burden (more than 70% in blood and soft tissues) as well as reversal in the altered biochemical variables indicative of oxidative stress and tissue damage (80-85%). The infrared (IR) spectra of DNA isolated from the liver and kidneys suggested that the treatment with vitamin C and DMSA had no beneficial effects in terms of reversing DNA damage.

CONCLUSION
On the basis of the above observations, we suggest that the combinational therapy of DMSA and vitamin C would be more effective in arsenic and/or fluoride toxicity; however, more detailed studies are required to address recoveries in DNA damage.


Fatty acid binding protein 5 (FABP5), an intracellular lipid binding protein, has been shown to play a role in various cancers, including breast cancer. However, FABP5 and its role in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) have not been studied. We show FABP5 protein expression correlates with TNBC, high grade tumors, and worse disease-free survival in a tissue microarray containing 423 breast cancer patient samples. High FABP5 expression significantly correlates with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in these samples. Decreased tumor growth and lung metastasis were observed in FABP5−/− mice othotopically injected with murine breast cancer cells. FABP5 loss in TNBC tumor cells inhibited motility and invasion. Mechanistic studies revealed that FABP5 knockdown in TNBC cells results in decreased EGFR expression and FABP5 is important for EGF-induced metastatic signaling. Loss of FABP5 leads to proteasomal targeting of EGFR. Our studies show that FABP5 has a role in both host and tumor cell during breast cancer progression. These findings suggest that FABP5 mediates its enhanced effect on TNBC metastasis, in part, through EGFR, by inhibiting EGFR proteasomal degradation. These studies show, for the first time, a correlation between FABP5 and EGFR in enhancing TNBC metastasis through a novel mechanism.


In this paper, the problem of online estimation of subsynchronous frequency components in the measured grid voltage is treated. Two estimation methods, one based on the use of lowpass filters and a recursive least square algorithm, are investigated and compared. In particular, due to its higher degree of freedom in the design, the lowpass filters-based estimation method is found to be the most appropriate and accordingly further analyzed. The method is improved to cope with inaccurate knowledge of the subsynchronous frequency. The simulation results prove the effectiveness of the investigated method both for the ideal and the disturbed case.


Earthquake ruptures offshore of north-central Sumatra in 2004 (Sumatra-Andaman segment) and 2005 (Nias segment) exhibited variable shallow slip behaviour that is well resolved by tsunami, seismologic, and geodetic observations. Closely spaced 2D MCS profiles collected covering these rupture segments, the segment to the south (Mentawai segment), and the segment boundaries allow an unprecedented opportunity to study the detailed along- and across-strike variation in the structure and properties of the wedge and plate boundary that may be related to the variable shallow slip behaviour. The large tsunami generated by the 2004 earthquake is thought to have been the result of unexpected shallow slip on the shallow plate boundary of the southern Sumatra-Andaman segment; whereas in the Nias segment the shallow plate boundary showed evidence of significant afterslip and the 2005 earthquake did not generate a significant tsunami. In the northern Mentawai segment, Batu Segment Boundary Zone, and southern Nias segment the shallow plate boundary is relatively weak and the weakened plate boundary is likely related to dehydration reaction occurring below the frontal prism and potential fluid flow focussing on basement topographic highs. In these areas, imbricate faulting in the frontal prism occurs along landward and/or seaward dipping faults. At the mid-slope break, the slip rate along these imbricate faults, formed in the frontal prism, decreases and they are potentially crosscut by out-of-sequence faults. In the southern Sumatra-Andaman segment, our findings of a relatively strong plate boundary fault are consistent with increased compaction and early dehydration of material within the thick incoming section which strengthens the incoming section and results in a potentially seismogenic shallow plate boundary. The accretionary prism here is characterised by an unusual prism profile with a narrow steep toe and broad flat plateau. We propose that the steep prism toe is built up by coeval faulting on both seaward and landward dipping faults. At the break in slope, underplating becomes the dominant prism and the transition from frontal accretion to underplating contributes to the development of the unusual prism geometry. Within our study area, we find that there is significant variability in the frictional strength of the shallow plate boundary and mechanisms of accretion, which can be correlated with the geometry and faulting within the prism. We show that these changes are related to a combination of subducting plate topography, trench sedimentation rates, overall sediment thickness and sediment/fault permeability.


The early Cold War historiography on Turkish-American relations has long been dominated by chronological narratives that explained post-WWII developments in relations between the two countries either through an ideological account, or through an attempt to identify which officials, usually on the U.S. side, pushed for and promoted closer ties between the two states. This dissertation, based on research performed in the U.S. National Archives in College Park, Maryland and the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, breaks with the traditional post-WWII historiography on Turkish-American relations by focusing on one official, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson, in order to provide a more comprehensive account of how Turkish-U.S. relations developed between 1945 and 1953. Through concentration on Acheson's life, character, career, and approach to diplomacy, this dissertation explores the decisions that Acheson took concerning U.S. relations with Turkey, and his interactions with Turkish officials, especially Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Feridun Cemal Erkin. Additionally, the text focuses on the postwar U.S. political and social context in order to provide a more complete examination of the factors which Secretary Acheson considered while formulating policies towards Turkey that eventually resulted in Turkish accession to NATO. Ultimately, this thesis provides a new conceptual framework for post-WWII Turkish-U.S. events, and concludes that Acheson was the single most important U.S. official responsible for developments in post-WWII Turkish-American affairs. Furthermore, the U.S. Congress is identified as the single greatest impediment, on the U.S. side, to faster development in Turkish-U.S. relations after WWII.


Many sequence prediction tasks admit multiple correct outputs and so, it is often useful to decode a set of outputs that maximize some task-specific set-level metric. However, retooling standard sequence prediction procedures tailored towards predicting single best outputs tends to produce sets containing very similar sequences; failing to capture the variation in the output space. To address this, we propose ∇ BS, a trainable decoding procedure that outputs a set of sequences, highly valued according to the metric. Our method tightly integrates the training and decoding phases and further allows for the optimization of the task-specific metric addressing the shortcomings of standard sequence prediction. Further, we discuss the trade-offs of commonly used set-level metrics and motivate a new set-level metric that naturally evaluates the notion of "capturing the variation in the output space". Finally, we show results on the image captioning task and find that our model outperforms standard techniques and natural ablations.


As the challenges associated with hydrocarbon exploration rises with upsurge in energy demand, the need to minimize risk associated with hydrocarbon exploration if supply is to keep up with demand. In this work, high resolution aeromagnetic, 3D seismic and well-logs data were adopted and integrated to aid in exploration and characterization of reservoirs in ''XYZ'' field in offshore Niger Delta. Fast Fourier Transform Filter using Oasis Montaj software was applied to the Total Magnetic Intensity grid in horizon and fault interpretation also used to produce subsurface structural maps for sedimentary layer thickness estimation. Direct hydrocarbon indicators (bright spots) on the seismic section was shown using seismic signal. Petrel software and wireline log signatures were used to Original Research Article Akinsete et al.; AIR, 21(8): 28-42, 2020; Article no.AIR.58527 29 identify hydrocarbon-bearing sands and determine petrophysical parameters such as porosity, hydrocarbon saturation and net thickness. The structural maps generated showed: Three major (synthetic) faults dips south and one minor (antithetic) fault dips north in the field; three identified prospective sands (A, B, C) were delineated. Possible presence of oil accumulation was indicated by the combined Neutron-Density log response. The range of values of effective porosity, hydrocarbon saturation and net thickness were 18-22%, 34-58% and 19.1-28.1 m, respectively. This study established that integration of magnetic, 3D seismic and well-log data are desirable innovative techniques to better understand and analyze subsurface for hydrocarbon potential and exploration.


The Hippocratic treatise De Octimestri Partu has been transmitted in two separate parts, regarding deliveries at the seventh month and eighth month, respectively. The thesis is that fetuses delivered after the seven month of pregnancy survive, whereas after eighth month not. The explanation given that during the eighth month a sickness of the mother damages the fetus, so that he cannot survive suffering of delivery. The analysis of the text evidences that two different terms, e.g. [Greek] and [Greek], have been used, the first one associated to pathological events, the second to sufferings for delivery. The unfavourable prognosis for the disease of the eighth month is due to a sickness of the mother during the 6th quarantine: terms used put forth the opinion that the disease is due to hemodynamic changes. Epidemiological research on the current pathology of the last trimester of pregnancy shows a performance of cesarean section ranging between 18% (national average) and 90% (eclampsia in main hospitals). The only deadly condition which occurs during the eighth month seems to be gravidic hypertension or mild preeclampsia, conditions which do not allow the fetus to reach the ninth month when cesarean section was not available. Thus, the disease of the eighth month described in the Hippocratic treatise seems to be mild preeclampsia, i.e. gravidic hypertension.


High-level synthesis (HLS) of memory-intensive applications has featured several innovations in terms of enhancements made to the basic memory organization and data layout. However, increasing performance and energy demands faced by application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are forcing designers to alter the fundamental architectural template of the HLS output, namely, a controller datapath associated with a memory subsystem (monolithic, partitioned, etc.). An architectural template for the HLS output that consists of a controller-datapath circuit associated with a memory subsystem into which computation units have been integrated is proposed. The enhanced memory subsystem is called computation-unit integrated memory (CIM). A CIM offers higher memory bandwidth (relative to what is offered through the system bus) to computation units present locally within it and reduces the overall communication between the memory subsystem and the controller datapath, thus providing a template highly suitable for deriving efficient implementations of memory-intensive applications. This paper addresses the challenge of providing a systematic synthesis framework for a CIM-based architecture. This framework can analyze the various tradeoffs involved in selecting suitable operations in a behavior for execution using a CIM and generate a high-performance low-overhead implementation. Efficient data reuse of register files have also been fully exploited to further improve system performance. Experiments with several behaviors indicate that an average performance improvement of 2.02times(a maximum of 2.70times) is possible with very low area overheads. The energy-delay product improves by an average of 2.5times(maximum of 3.8times)


Nowadays the massive forming leads to have smaller production-series and less production's steps, in order to save huge resources, which are spent for following machining processes. This tendency moves the production to Net-shape/Near Net-shape forming, which requires high load conditions. It is therefore necessary to measure the deflections of the press under high loads and to estimate the role of these deflections on the quality of final product. From this critical problem was born the idea of EU-IMPRESS project (Improvement of Precision in Forming by Simultaneous Modeling of Deflections in Workpiece-Die-Press System), whose aim is the development of a Finite Element Code able to predict press deflections.
 This master thesis is done as a part of the EU-IMPRESS project, where it represents a part of Work-Package 8. It documents the measuring of press deflections of 1000 tons-hydraulic press placed by Buurskov og Lassen Maskinfabrik in Holstebro, Denmark.
 The aim of the thesis is the comparison between experimental measured press-deflections and predicted deflections, coming from the Finite Element Code developed (FORGE3®).
 As shape to test for the experiments a hammer-head has been chosen, because it can generate oblique reaction force when forged. In this way the press is stressed also with horizontal load, causing movements of the press-ram. The optimization of this shape was based on criteria, which previewed to maximize the ratio between horizontal and vertical component of the reaction force. A set of simulations have been run in two and three dimension, in order to plot different load-stroke curves for different geometrical proportions of the billet. Real tests have been carried out on the hydraulic press mentioned above and experimental data have been compared with the simulation done for a specific position of the die and the workpiece on the press table, which allowed reaching great displacements values. Only one loading case is analyzed, due to problems at present time for partners in modeling the material characteristic. Results showed a big discordance between measurements and numerically predicted deflections. Thus the first attempt in validating the software did not give a positive evaluation. Other simulations are going to be run at present time and results relative to these new studies will be presented in further works.
 Closed to the deadline, a new FORGE3® simulation is still running and part of these new results shown a concordance of the loads with the ones of experimental data. A full description of this new simulation is expected to be presented at the oral defense of this project.


Purpose Nylon 6/6 interstitial brachytherapy catheters may stretch when exposed to moisture, mechanical tension, and body temperature. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the magnitude of catheter stretch during a course of multi-catheter interstitial breast brachytherapy for nylon 6/6 treatment catheters, and to assess the impact this has on treatment plan dosimetry. Material and methods Catheters were exposed to water at 37°C for six days and the internal catheter length change (ΔL_W) was measured daily. Additionally, the measured internal catheter length change (ΔL_P), performed prior to each treatment fraction, for seven interstitial breast brachytherapy patients (total of 76 catheters) were retrospectively analyzed. The maximum length change seen in ΔL_P and ΔL_W were introduced as a source positional error to retrospective treatment plans, and treatment plan dosimetry was analyzed. Results ΔL_W and ΔL_P were on average +4.0% and +1.6% of the catheter lengths in water or tissue after 48 hours. Weak correlation was seen between the average ΔL_P per catheter and both the catheter length within tissue (ρ = 0.36, p = 0.0007), and the mid-catheter depth in tissue (ρ = 0.42, p < 0.0001). The D90CTV decreased 1.5% (p < 0.05) and 8.2% (p < 0.05) when the ΔL_P and ΔL_W were introduced to the initial plans. Conclusions Nylon 6/6 catheters stretch during a course of multi-catheter interstitial breast brachytherapy treatment. The observed stretch may affect treatment plan dosimetry, if the catheter internal length is only measured immediately after the insertion. Additional catheter length checks are recommended to verify the actual catheter internal length during the treatment.


This essay looks at Benjamin's "Moscow Diary", the record of his trip to the Soviet city in 1926-1927.  While Benjamin may have left Russia with an interest in what it allowed him to say about Europe (Gilloch, "Benjamin's Moscow", 165), this essay will take the opposite approach, and look at what his understanding of 19th century Europe reveals about the Russian notions of the interior and the exterior in the 1920s. Moreover, it will suggest that this complex moment eluded Benjamin's framework of understanding: he approached the city from the perspective of modernity – a frame of mind that is always difficult in the Russian context.


Interpersonal skills such as public speaking are essential assets for a large variety of professions and in everyday life. The ability to communicate in social environments often greatly influences a person's career development, can help resolve conflict, gain the upper hand in negotiations, or sway the public opinion. We focus our investigations on a special form of public speaking, namely public debates of socioeconomic issues that affect us all. In particular, we analyze performances of expert debaters recorded through the Intelligence Squared U.S. (IQ2US) organization. IQ2US collects high-quality audiovisual recordings of these debates and publishes them online free of charge. We extract audiovisual nonverbal behavior descriptors, including facial expressions, voice quality characteristics, and surface level linguistic characteristics. Within our experiments we investigate if it is possible to automatically predict if a debater or his/her team are going to sway the most votes after the debate using multimodal machine learning and fusion approaches. We identify unimodal nonverbal behaviors that characterize successful debaters and our investigations reveal that multimodal machine learning approaches can reliably predict which individual (~75% accuracy) or team (85% accuracy) is going to win the most votes in the debate. We created a database consisting of over 30 debates with four speakers per debate suitable for public speaking skill analysis and plan to make this database publicly available for the research community.


African football players have long sought out professional careers beyond their national borders in their pursuit of economic livelihoods and wider aspirations in their personal, familial and professional life trajectories. In the midst of the advance of wider neoliberal policies which have constrained economic opportunities, football has increasingly come to represent a source of hope and aspiration in the imaginaries of male African youth. This chapter identifies and accounts for the multifarious nature of the factors that impact on the decision-making and career trajectories of those who both aspire to and are able to enact transnational mobility through football. It does so by assessing the big picture, macro-level dynamics that contour the out-migration of African football labour. But it also explores more localised cultural influences that feed into the micro- and meso-level construction of football, and transnational mobility through football, as pivotal to the life projects of young African players. While our focus is on Ghana, our conclusions shed light on how football migration and the aspirations for mobility through football are formed, negotiated and navigated across West Africa.


Job shop scheduling problem has been a typical scheduling problem that has been thoroughly studied over the last few decades. It has been proven to be a NP-hard problem. The purpose of job scheduling is to assign the work pieces to each machine according to a certain sequence and accomplish the work process with the minimum time. This paper, based on the quantum algorithm theory and quantum chromosome coding knowledge as well as the traditional genetic algorithm, raises an improve quantum genetic algorithm for job shop scheduling. Under the process expression form, it suggests to present the codes as quantum chromosome in order to solve the job shop scheduling problem and make it easy for the information of the elitist to be used to control the variation and make the population to evolve towards the excellent pattern with a large probability and accelerate the convergence rate. The simulation results indicate that the algorithm has better searching and convergence performances.


The incidence of physical mobility impairment and pain that caused by excess of uric acid in the joints is on the increase. Uric acid is a product of purine metabolism that tends to occur in the elderly but now is common in younger men and women. The purpose of this activity is to prevent the excess of uric acid, complaint of pain and maximize the quality of life independently through Posyandu cadres optimizing. This is a health intervention to improve the knowledge and skills of cadres and the elderly in the Gunung Lurah Village, Banyumas through lectures, discussions, practice, technology transfer and mentoring of uric acid examination. Implementation method consists of problem identification, formulating intervention, and implementation of cadre empowerment and mentoring package. Pre and post data were analyzed quantitatively. The results showed that there were significant differences in the ability of cadres in managing gout. Cadres can apply their knowledge and skills in empowering elderly to reduce pain and prevent gout. The empowerment package model of cadres and elderly is effective in reducing pain and preventing the incidence of gout in rural area.


Lab test result reporting has been fully implemented in Denmark since early 2000. Labtest ordering is much more complicated due to different handling and labeling procedures in more than 70 Danish labs. Until 2004 all orders were based on preprinted paper forms. A new electronic national lab test order solution based on national MedCom standards and codes was introduced in 2005 and it was fully implemented in all 2100 GP clinics and 1000 private specialist clinics in 3 years. It also included 42 biochemistry labs, 14 Microbiology labs and 16 histopathology and cytology labs. Implementation was organized by MedCom and planned in rough details. During the implementation period a set of planed and ad-hoc activities to reach 100 % implementation was successfully launched. Today more than 6.000.000 lab test orders (100%) are now handled electronically each year. The implementation process, the challenges: organizational and technically as well as outcome is described in the paper.


The fading channel is a significant problem in many communications environments. We examine the performance of unitary space-time modulation in a time-varying channel. We use a Gauss-Markov model of the continuously varying channel to characterize performance of differential and trained modulation. We find a performance ceiling at high SNR where the effect of the changing channel dominates. We show that while trained modulation provides an advantage at low SNR, above a certain SNR differential modulation gives better performance. We conclude with simulation results that support our analysis.


ABSTRACT Objectives To describe patterns of multimorbidity in six diverse Latin American and Caribbean countries, examine its effects on primary care experiences, and assess its influence on reported overall health care assessments. Methods Cross-sectional data are from the Inter-American Development Bank's international primary care survey, conducted in 2013/2014, and represent the adult populations of Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama. Robust Poisson regression models were used to estimate the extent to which those with multimorbidity receive adequate and appropriate primary care, have confidence in managing their health condition, and are able to afford needed medical care. Results The prevalence of multimorbidity ranged from 17.5% in Colombia to 37.3% in Jamaica. Most of the examined conditions occur along with others, with diabetes and heart disease being the two problems most associated with other conditions. The proportions of adults with high out-of-pocket payments, problems paying their medical bills, seeing multiple doctors, and being in only fair/poor health were higher among those with greater levels of multimorbidity and poorer primary care experiences. Multimorbidity and difficulties with primary care were positively associated with trouble paying for medical care and managing one's conditions. Nonetheless, adults with multimorbidity were more likely to have received lifestyle advice and to be up to date with preventive exams. Conclusions Multimorbidity is reported frequently. Providing adequate care for the growing number of such patients is a major challenge facing most health systems, which will require considerable strengthening of primary care along with financial protection for those most in need.


The Advanced Hydropower Turbine System Program (AHTS) was created in 1994 by the U.S. Department of Energy, Electric Power Research Institute, and the Hydropower Research Foundation. The Program's main goal is to develop "environmentally friendly" hydropower turbines. The Program's first accomplishment was the development of conceptual designs of new environmentally friendly turbines. In order to do so, two contractors were competitively selected. The ARL/NREC team of engineers and biologists provided a conceptual design for a new turbine runner*. The new runner has the potential to generate hydroelectricity at close to 90% efficiency. The Voith team produced new fish-friendly design criteria for Kaplan and Francis turbines that can be incorporated in units during rehabilitation projects or in new hydroelectric facilities**. These include the use of advanced plant operation, minimum gap runners, placement of wicket gates behind stay vanes, among others. The Voith team will also provide design criteria on aerating Francis turbines to increase dissolved oxygen content. Detailed reviews of the available literature on fish mortality studies, causation of injuries to fish, and available biological design criteria that would assist in the design of fish-friendly turbines were performed. This review identified a need for more biological studies in order to developmore » performance criteria to assist turbine manufacturers in designing a more fish-friendly turbine.« less


Objective: Conventional Pulsatility Index (PI) analysis of the flow velocity waveform (FVW) of uterine artery Doppler involves velocities throughout the entire cardiac cycle. The range of velocities observed in systole are sensitive to local vessel characteristics of elasticity and recoil. Forward-flow velocities in diastole reflect the degree of 'run-off' during the relaxation phase of the cardiac cycle and hence, are a reflection of placental resistance downstream. We describe a new method of analysis of the forward-flow in diastole, which we have termed the diastolic flow index (DFI) and investigate its performance in the prediction of pre-eclampsia (PET). Methods: Pulsed-wave Doppler was prospectively used to obtain FVWs of uterine artery Doppler between 11–14 weeks and again between 21–23 weeks' gestation in 1500 pregnancies. The velocitytime integral (VTI) of the waveform in diastole was measured. The index was controlled for variations in heart rate (HR) since the length of diastole is rate-dependent. The placental bed is viewed as an end-organ and flow to it must therefore be corrected for body surface area (BSA).


In a previous study, we developed a prognostic prediction rule, based on nine prognostic variables, capable to estimate and to adjust the mortality rate of patients admitted in intensive care unit for severe community-acquired pneumonia. A prospective multicenter study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of this rule. Five hundred eleven patients, over a 7-year period, were studied. The ICU mortality rate was 29.0%. In the 3 initial risk classes, we observed significantly increasing mortality rates (8.2% in class I, 22.8% in class II and 65.0% in class III) (p<0.001). Within each initial risk class, the adjustment risk score identified subclasses exhibiting significantly different mortality rates: 3.9% and 33.3% in class I; 3.1%, 12.9% and 63.3% in class II; and 55.8% and 82.5% in class III. Compared with mortality rates predicted by our previous study, only a few significant differences were observed. Our results demonstrate the performance and reproductibility of this prognostic prediction rule.


The aim of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to present subspace embedding properties for $s$-hashing sketching matrices, with $s\geq 1$, that are optimal in the projection dimension $m$ of the sketch, namely, $m=\mathcal{O}(d)$, where $d$ is the dimension of the subspace. A diverse set of results are presented that address the case when the input matrix has sufficiently low coherence (thus removing the $\log^2 d$ factor dependence in $m$, in the low-coherence result of Bourgain et al (2015) at the expense of a smaller coherence requirement); how this coherence changes with the number $s$ of column nonzeros (allowing a scaling of $\sqrt{s}$ of the coherence bound), or is reduced through suitable transformations (when considering hashed -- instead of subsampled -- coherence reducing transformations such as randomised Hadamard). Secondly, we apply these general hashing sketching results to the special case of Linear Least Squares (LLS), and develop Ski-LLS, a generic software package for these problems, that builds upon and improves the Blendenpik solver on dense input and the (sequential) LSRN performance on sparse problems. In addition to the hashing sketching improvements, we add suitable linear algebra tools for rank-deficient and for sparse problems that lead Ski-LLS to outperform not only sketching-based routines on randomly generated input, but also state of the art direct solver SPQR and iterative code HSL on certain subsets of the sparse Florida matrix collection; namely, on least squares problems that are significantly overdetermined, or moderately sparse, or difficult.


Developers of program visualization (PV) systems generally claim positive affective effects of PV usage such as increased motivation. This work attempts to characterize and measure these effects. The methodology is based on video analysis of classroom activity for behavior patterns that are associated with uncooperative attitude and attention loss. These patterns are correlated with the different learning and teaching activities that occur. The results show a near-total reduction in "bad" behavior while using PV, supporting the positive affective effects claimed for PV.


Limitation in liner and head options available to the surgeon may be the most practical disadvantage of alumina-on-alumina total hip arthroplasty (THA). This may be more problematic in the revision THA. We evaluated the results of 57 revision THAs (average, 46.2 years old) performed with a contemporary alumina-on-alumina bearing surface after a 5-year minimum follow-up (average, 67 months; range, 60-85 months). A third generation alumina-on-alumina bearing (BIOLOX® forte, CeramTec AG) and a cementless PLASMACUP®-BiCONTACT® hip revision system (AESCULAP AG & Co.) had been used in all patients. Alumina bearing was chosen for a relatively young active patient in whom an acetabular bone defect was not severe and an extremely long neck of artificial head was not required for the restoration of hip joint mechanics. The average Harris hip score improved from 65.0 points to 88.9 points. No implant loosened, no stem or cup was re-revised, and no additional reoperations were required. Ceramic wear was undetectable in 14 hips where differentiation of the femoral head from the cup was possible on radiographs and no osteolysis was observed. During the follow-up period, no hip demonstrated signs of infection or ceramic failure. Short-term results of revision THAs performed with analumina-on-alumina bearing are encouraging. We believe that physiological age and activity level of a patient, severity of acetabular bone loss, and availability of alumina head and liner options required for the restoration of proper limb length and joint stability should be considered to choose this alumina bearing surface during the revision THA.


As a new approach to analyze grinding energy, this paper introduces a specific grinding energy model based on the average grain. Using this model, grinding characteristics such as specific grinding energy of SM45C were investigated with changing variables such as grain size of CBN, workpiece velocity(v) and apparent depth of cut(Z) in down-surface grinding. From the experimental results, the specific grinding energy decreases as the maximum undeformed chip thickness increases.


Landscape-scale restoration planning requires cost estimates that reflect different site conditions and project goals. Estimates that assume a homogenous landscape are insufficient for project budgeting and optimizing scenarios. Currently, few resources and little guidance exist for those seeking restoration cost data. We developed a method to generate cost estimates for prairie and wet meadow restoration in the Upper Midwest United States. Using scenarios to provide hypothetical site- and project-specific detail, we surveyed restoration practitioners about their preferred actions and associated costs for 16 restoration transitions from common start states, reflecting vegetative cover, and end states, reflecting restoration targets and project goals. We estimated average seed cost for each end state using example seed mixes and pricing information from regional vendors. Baseline hydrologic restoration costs for wet meadows were estimated via expert consultation. We summed average costs for seed and individual restoration actions to produce total estimated costs for each transition. As expected, average restoration transition costs varied widely, with costs ranging more than four-fold. Differences were driven primarily by seed cost and intensity of vegetation management. Practitioners also varied considerably in both their reported sequence of actions and estimated costs for each action; individual transition costs ranged by as much as 25-fold. Within-practitioner variability of this magnitude presents serious challenges for restoration planning at multiple scales. Scenarios are an effective tool for generating coarse-resolution restoration cost estimates that reflect important site and project differences; however incentivizing practitioners to provide cost data and understanding sources of variability in their estimates remain important challenges.


We survey the recent literature on designing auctions and mechanisms for dynamic settings. Two settings are considered: those with a dynamic population of agents or buyers whose private information remains fixed throughout time; and those with a fixed population of agents or buyers whose private information changes across time. Within each of these settings, we discuss both efficient (welfare-maximizing) and optimal (revenue-maximizing) mechanisms.


Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) includes Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), both chronic, relapsing, incurable conditions. Phenotypical expression may vary, and a fraction of patients respond appropriately to conventional drugs without complications or need for hospitalization. At the opposite end of this spectrum, 30-40% of patients have severe, aggressive disease poorly responsive to conventional drugs. These latter patients urgently need more advanced therapy options, which also represent additional safety concerns. IBD management has become increasingly complex, and specialist care is deemed associated with better outcomes in the management of patients with IBD.


Practically every major artistic figure of the mid-twentieth century spent some time at Black Mountain College: Harry Callahan, Merce Cunningham, Walter Gropius, Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, Robert Rauschenberg, Aaron Siskind, Cy Twombly - the list goes on and on. Yet scholars have tended to view these artists' time at the college as little more than prologue, a step on their way to greatness. With The Experimenters, Eva Diaz reveals the influence of Black Mountain College - and especially of three key instructors, Josef Albers, John Cage, and R. Buckminster Fuller - to be much greater than that. Diaz's focus is on experimentation. Albers, Cage, and Fuller, she shows, taught new models of art making that favored testing procedures rather than personal expression. The resulting projects not only reconfigured the relationships among chance, order, and design - they helped redefine what artistic practice was, and could be, for future generations. Offering a bold, compelling new angle on some of the most widely studied creative minds of the twentieth century, The Experimenters does nothing less than rewrite the story of art in the mid-twentieth century.


This paper discusses the development of a real-time Virtual Reality (VR) application for the University of Southern Mississippi's proposed university-related research and technology park. The park is known as the Hattiesburg "Innovation and Commercialization Park" (ICP), located in the City of Hattiesburg. The VR application is developed based on real-world CAD data, then processed using 3D modeling software, and implemented in BuildIT. BuildIT is a modified version of Garagegames' Torque Game Engine (TGE) which has been modified for architecture and construction visualization purposes. BuildIT maintains all the features currently available and adds database functionality in addition to Digital Elevation Map (DEM) terrain generation tools, quick project creation tools and compression tools. The development of the ICP's VR environment involves four main stages: terrain generation, development of road systems, development of parking lots and modeling of buildings. In each stage, techniques employed and the challenges encountered are discussed. The intended main goals of the ICP's VR environment have been accomplished which are: 1) the VR application to be able to run on average desktop computer, and 2) the VR application to maintain an acceptable minimum of 30 frames per second of image generation at any given time.


The presence of filamentous fungi in drinking water has become an area worthy of investigation with various studies now being published. The problems associated with fungi include blockage of water pipes, organoleptic deterioration, pathogenic fungi and mycotoxins. Fungal biofilm formation is a less developed field of study. This paper updates the topic and introduces novel methods on fungal biofilm analysis, particularly from work based in Brazil. Further recommendations for standard methodology are provided.


Two wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) cultivars with different sensitivities to drought were either grown under regular irrigation or subjected to water deficit by withholding water for 14 d. Water-stressed plants of both cultivars underwent similar decreases in leaf water potential, but the drought-tolerant cultivar showed higher relative water content and turgor. Neither osmotic nor elastic adjustment mechanisms appeared to be active under the conditions described here. Thylakoids isolated from the stressed, drought-tolerant wheat showed an increase in lipid-to-protein ratio, in comparison with the control, whereas this ratio remained unchanged in the sensitive wheat. In both cultivars, water deficit determined different rearrangements in the composition of the thylakoid individual polar lipids, but their unsaturation level remained unaffected with the exception of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol. In the drought-sensitive cultivar, an accumulation of free fatty acids together with a reduction in polar lipid amount was observed. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements of spin-labeled proteins of stressed plants from the sensitive cv Adamello showed a higher spin label rotational correlation time together with lower sulphydryl group and mobile proteic portion levels, in comparison with the control. In the tolerant cv Ofanto, the first two parameters changed to a lesser extent following water depletion, and the mobile proteic portion was not altered.


Since we are living in the information era, it is highly important that people can reach the desired knowledge whenever required. Mobile devices have become in-dispensable in the everyday lives of humans. The recent developments in the field of technology have affected all sectors as well as the education sector, and have thus increased the importance of mobile learning. However, in order to gain the maximum benefit from mobile learning, it is important to know the specifications of the mobile devices used by the students so that the teaching materials can be prepared accordingly. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the factors that affect students' choices when they are making the decision to purchase a mobile phone. Differences are observed between countries, as there are differences be-tween students. In this context, when the literature is studied, it is seen that insufficient research has been conducted in many countries, particularly in Northern Cyprus. This study focuses on investigating the factors affecting university students' mobile phone purchasing behaviors in North Cyprus. Data was collected from 472 voluntary students by using a survey research model. The factors affecting students' mobile phone purchasing behaviors, such as brand image, price, product/application features, and peer group influence were considered in this study. Consequently, four hypotheses were proposed and only one of these hypotheses was not supported. In other words, brand image, product/application features, and peer group influence were found to be effective factors in students' choice, while the price seemed not to be an important factor. The most important result of the study was that the smartphones occupy a very important place in students' everyday lives and they were not affected by price considerations. Therefore, it is thought that these high demands of students for smartphones will be very advantageous in the transition of educational institutions to mobile learning, particularly from the perspective of teachers. It can be said that students' familiarity with using mobile technologies will affect their motivation positively and this may also positively affect their academic success rates in mobile learning. Therefore, it is hoped that the results obtained in this study will guide teachers in developing countries to prepare their course materials and consequently revise their curriculum in the context of mobile learning.


In this paper we study the problem of protecting privacy in the publication of set-valued data. Consider a collection of transactional data that contains detailed information about items bought together by individuals. Even after removing all personal characteristics of the buyer, which can serve as links to his identity, the publication of such data is still subject to privacy attacks from adversaries who have partial knowledge about the set. Unlike most previous works, we do not distinguish data as sensitive and non-sensitive, but we consider them both as potential quasi-identifiers and potential sensitive data, depending on the point of view of the adversary. We define a new version of the k-anonymity guarantee, the km-anonymity, to limit the effects of the data dimensionality and we propose efficient algorithms to transform the database. Our anonymization model relies on generalization instead of suppression, which is the most common practice in related works on such data. We develop an algorithm which finds the optimal solution, however, at a high cost which makes it inapplicable for large, realistic problems. Then, we propose two greedy heuristics, which scale much better and in most of the cases find a solution close to the optimal. The proposed algorithms are experimentally evaluated using real datasets.


Nanosize nickel powders were successfully produced by electrical explosion of wire (EEW). In EEW, the nickel wire was discharged in a chamber filled with nitrogen or argon gas, and the produced powders were subsequently stabilized by air-passivation at room temperature for 2 h. X-ray diffraction only showed the nickel phase of FCC crystal structure, whereas TEM and XPS analyses showed the formation of a very thin oxide layer of NiO on the surface of particles. Particles were spherical in shape, and the mean particle size calculated by specific surface area was about 100 nm. The particle size decreased with increasing charging voltage and with increasing ambient gas pressure. Argon gas was more effective in producing finer particles than nitrogen gas.


PURPOSE
Several placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that megestrol acetate can result in appetite stimulation and nonfluid weight gain in patients with cancer anorexia/cachexia. The present trial was designed to compare megestrol acetate doses ranging from 160 to 1,280 mg/d.

METHODS
This trial randomized 342 assessable patients with cancer anorexia/cachexia to receive oral megestrol acetate at doses of 160, 480, 800, or 1,280 mg/d. Patients were evaluated monthly by history, examination, patient-completed questionnaires, and serum albumin levels.

RESULTS
The data demonstrate that there is a positive dose-response effect for megestrol acetate on appetite stimulation (P < or = .02). In concert, there was a trend for more nonfluid weight gain with higher drug doses. Megestrol acetate was well tolerated in this group of patients with advanced malignant disease.

CONCLUSION
The positive dose-response effect that we observed for megestrol acetate on appetite stimulation supports both our prestudy hypothesis and other available literature. Nonetheless, based primarily on the cost and inconvenience associated with the use of higher doses of this drug, it is reasonable to use 160 mg/d for the initial treatment of cancer anorexia/cachexia in routine clinical practice.


To investigate the role of diamine oxidase (DAO) in the intestinal mucosa, we compared its expression with cell proliferation and differentiation in the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2. DAO synthesis was evaluated in subconfluent and confluent cultures and in the presence of epidermal growth factor (EGF), a polypeptide hormone known to have specific trophic effects on the small intestinal mucosa. EGF stimulated DNA synthesis, significantly increased cellular DAO activity and the amount of enzyme secreted into the culture medium, but decreased expression of dipeptidyl peptidase IV, a marker of cell differentiation in confluent Caco-2 cells. Immunoprecipitation of DAO from cells labeled metabolically with [35S]methionine failed to demonstrate an increased enzyme synthesis in EGF-treated cells, suggesting that this hormone acted primarily at a posttranslational level by reducing DAO degradation before intracellular storage or secretion. A possible relationship between changes in cellular DAO activity and cell proliferation was also investigated by using aminoguanidine, a specific and potent DAO inhibitor. Although DAO activity was markedly suppressed, aminoguanidine had no significant effects on the rate of DNA synthesis. These results demonstrated that in Caco-2 cells EGF stimulated DNA synthesis and DAO expression; however, cell proliferation and differentiation were not correlated with the levels of cellular DAO, suggesting that this enzyme does not play a major role in the regulation of intestinal epithelial cell turnover.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
To determine whether thalamocortical signaling between the thalamus and the neocortex decreases from wakefulness to nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.

DESIGN
Electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected simultaneously at 02:30 after 44 h of sleep deprivation.

SETTING
Clinical research hospital.

PARTICIPANTS
There were six volunteers (mean age 24.2 y, one male) who yielded sufficient amounts of usable, artifact-free data. All were healthy, right-handed native English speakers who consumed less than 710 mL of caffeinated beverages per day. Psychiatric, neurological, circadian, and sleep disorders were ruled out by reviewing each patient's clinical history. A standard clinical nocturnal polysomnogram was negative for sleep disorders.

INTERVENTIONS
N/A.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
A functional connectivity analysis was performed using the centromedian nucleus as the seed region. We determined the statistical significance of the difference between correlations obtained during wakefulness and during slow wave sleep. Neocortical regions displaying decreased thalamic connectivity were all heteromodal regions (e.g., medial frontal gyrus and posterior cingulate/precuneus), whereas there was a complete absence of neocortical regions displaying increased thalamic connectivity. Although more clusters of significant decreases were observed in stage 2 sleep, these results were similar to the results for slow wave sleep.

CONCLUSIONS
Results of this study provide evidence of a functional deafferentation of the neocortex during nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep in humans. This deafferentation likely accounts for increased sensory awareness thresholds during NREM sleep. Decreased thalamocortical connectivity in regions such as the posterior cingulate/precuneus also are observed in coma and general anesthesia, suggesting that changes in thalamocortical connectivity may act as a universal "control switch" for changes in consciousness that are observed in coma, general anesthesia, and natural sleep.


A single TMS pulse (110% resting motor threshold, RMT) to the left dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) (CS2) suppresses the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from a test pulse (TS) over the right motor cortex (M1), and facilitates MEPs from the left motor cortex. We probed how this interaction was changed by a prior conditioning pulse over PMd (CS1) using a paired pulse TMS design. In the main experiments, the intensity of CS1 was 80% RMT. Basal suppression of right M1 was removed when CS1–CS2 was 1 ms or 5 ms with a similar tendency at 15 ms. Basal facilitation of left M1 was suppressed at CS1–CS2 of 5 ms. A similar time course was seen if CS2 was increased to 100% RMT, but there was no significant effect if CS1 was 70% RMT. Preconditioning PMd with continuous or intermittent theta burst repetitive TMS (cTBS, iTBS) abolished the basal CS2–TS interaction between premotor and motor cortices. Finally, if very short interstimulus intervals between CS1 and CS2 were explored to detect interactions similar to I‐wave facilitation in M1, we found that the basal suppression of right M1 was abolished at CS1–CS2 intervals of 1.8 and 2.8 ms. We suggest that paired pulse TMS may be capable of investigating properties of intrinsic circuits in PMd and that their properties differ from those in the nearby M1. Paired TMS may be a useful method of studying the excitability of intrinsic circuits in non‐primary areas of the motor system.


This paper analyses the performance of real estate securities and their relationship to other asset classes as well as to consumer price inflation in an international comparison over the period from 1990 to 2004. The analysis focuses on the long run relationships, applying three different cointegration tests. It covers the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. Results show that real estate securities in most countries had a high performance in nominal and real terms. The average performance over the whole period (1990 – 2004) has been particularly high in capital market oriented countries in the sample (US, Australia), and also in France. Real estate securities have outperformed bond markets on a risk adjusted basis only in the US and in Australia, while an outperformance of stock markets can be observed also in Japan and France. Particularly in the period 2001 to 2004 real estate security market have soared in most countries with the notable exception of Germany. In general, real estate securities seem to represent an asset class distinct from bonds and stocks in most countries. In the long run they seem provide a potential for further diversification of asset portfolios. Additionally, real estate stocks provide a (weak) hedge against consumer price inflation in almost every country.


In this paper, we address the problem of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) channel estimation in the presence of phase noise (PHN) and carrier frequency offset (CFO). In OFDM systems, PHN and CFO cause two effects: the common phase error (CPE) and the intercarrier interference (ICI) which severely degrade the accuracy of the channel estimate. In literature, several algorithms have been proposed to solve this problem. Nevertheless, in all these existing schemes, both the PHN and the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) powers are assumed to be known. Because no a priori knowledge of PHN and AWGN powers is available at the receiver, we propose different strategies for the estimation of channel impulse response (CIR), CFO, PHN, and also the PHN and the AWGN powers. Based on Monte Carlo methods, the proposed approaches estimate these many unknowns in the time domain from a training OFDM symbol using either offline or online estimators. In the online case, we propose sequential Monte Carlo algorithms and especially an original maximization step of the joint a posteriori probability density function for the unknown parameters. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms in terms of mean square error (MSE) on channel, phase distortions, and also noise power estimation.


Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) is a low-grade lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma that strongly expresses CD20 on the cell surface. This study was undertaken to determine the response rate of patients with untreated or previously treated WM to the monoclonal antibody rituximab, which is directed against CD20+ expressed by B-cell lymphomas. Thirty-four untreated and thirty-five previously treated patients received rituximab 375 mg/m2 weekly for 4 consecutive weeks by intravenous infusion on days 1, 8, 15, and 22. Sixty-nine patients were evaluable for response; 19 (27.5%) achieved an objective response and 17 (24.6%) achieved a minor response. The overall response rate was 52.2% (90% CI [41.6%, 62.6%]). Of previously untreated patients 35.3% vs. 20% of previously treated patients achieved an objective response. Median response duration was not significantly different between previously untreated (27 months) and previously treated patients (not reached, P = 0.8). Rituximab produced objective or minor responses in 52.2% of patients and is an active agent in the treatment of WM. Grade 4 toxicity was seen in 11%.


BACKGROUND
Beneficial clinical effects have been demonstrated with the addition of enamel matrix derivative (EMD) to demineralized freeze-dried bone allograft (DFDBA) compared to EMD alone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of DFDBA combined with EMD compared to DFDBA alone in the treatment of intraosseous defects of chronic periodontitis.

METHODS
Thirty-two patients with 41 intrabony defects > or = 3 mm were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Intrabony defects were treated with DFDBA alone or in combination with EMD. Soft tissue measurements included probing depth (PD), gingival recession, and clinical attachment level (CAL). Hard tissue measurements included height of the alveolar crest, defect depth, and defect morphology. Following 6 months of healing, all measurements were repeated with the use of a surgical reentry procedure on 29 patients. Data were analyzed to determine PD reduction, CAL gain, change in recession, crestal resorption, defect fill, defect resolution, percentage of defect fill, and percentage of defect resolution.

RESULTS
Analysis of soft and hard tissue measurements demonstrated a statistically significant difference from baseline within each group (P <0.001); however, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups.

CONCLUSION
Both treatments were shown to be safe and effective therapy for periodontal defects; however, the addition of EMD to DFDBA provided no statistically significant improvement to the soft and hard tissue parameters measured.


Research has shown that gum arabic from Acacia senegal var . kerensis can be used in beef rounds, at a level of 2.5% of the formulated product weight, as a binder and texture modifier. However, the effect of gum arabic addition on the microbial quality and shelf life of the resulting meat product has not yet been reported. Thus, the objective of this work was to study the microbial quality of beef rounds containing 2.5% gum arabic and to study shelf life based on the growth parameters of Total Viable Counts (TVC) and Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). Beef round samples were injected at 30% with curing brines containing gum arabic and cooked through boiling. The growth kinetics of LAB and TVC were studied for vacuum packaged sliced beef round samples stored at 7 o C and 15 o C for a period of 21 days. Baranyi and modified Gompertz models were used to fit the LAB and TVC data obtained using DMFit. Results of microbial analysis indicated that coliforms, yeasts and molds as well as pathogenic bacteria; Salmonella , Escherichia coli , and Staphylococcus aureus, were below detection limit. In addition, TVC and LAB were found to be 1.87 ± 1.09 and 1.25 ± 0.75 Log 10 CFU g -1 , respectively. The results of accuracy analysis showed that both the Baranyi and modified Gompertz models were adequate in representing the bacterial growth in beef rounds injected with curing brines containing gum arabic. The predicted shelf life was found to be between 84.3 – 88.1 h and 158.0 – 173.1 h at 15 o C and 7 o C, respectively.


In the Pennines of North-West Yorkshire the mainphysical divisions include the major valleys of Wensleydale, Swaledale, Nidderdale, Wharfedale and Ribblesdale, with the Vale of York to the east and the Graven Lowland to the south. Ever since Anglo-Saxon times these regions have been much more intensively farmed and have always supported denser populations and bigger villages. Most outstanding in these respects, apart from the lowlands bordering the Pennines, have always been the wider valleys of Wensleydale (below Hawes), Lower Nidderdale (below Pateley Bridge), Middle Wharfedale (around Grassington) and Lower Wharfedale (below Bolton Abbey).This regionalism in relation to the physical aspects is. seen also in settlement morphology and the extent to which dwellings are nucleated or dispersed. Street villages and those with the square plan are today limited to the lowlands and Major: Valleys, as also are village greens. The Graven Lowland, a great trans-Pennine route, is distinguished by a linear pattern of population distribution and village growth. The Pennine border on the east, where there are few major relief contrasts, is best taken as the edge of the humraocky drift which characterises the Vale of York. This boundary, which to some extent affects soils, finds its reflection very broadly in farming and settlement. The land to the east, often with bigger villages, has more arable cultivation and has had ever since Domesday Survey times. There are further differences here, as in architecture and building materials. The geological or lithological divisions of the Pennines (Craven Highlands, Yoredales Pennines, Millstone Grit Dipslope) are most clearly reflected in settlement in the Prehistoric Period when there was a tendency for the Graven Highlands, with well-drained limestone tracts and open grasslands, to attract the peoples and cultures.


With the automatic exchange of information on tax matters (AEOI) developing into the new international standard, large quantities of information have been or will be subject to cross-border transfer. As a result, data play a significant role in the mechanism. Although the European Union is equipped with various legal sources in data protection, guarantees provided to taxpayers in AEOI legal instruments need to be further developed in order to be consistent with those provided by data protection rules in the European Union. This article analyses taxpayers' right to data protection by studying the interrelationships between rules in EU Directives regarding administrative administration and those regarding data protection. Moreover, relevant Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law will be discussed in light of the afore-mentioned rules, highlighting the insufficiencies of prevailing AEOI legislation in ensuring proportionality and taxpayer protection in third countries. Finally, the newly adopted General Data Protection Regulation will be assessed.


We consider a scheduling problem with two parallel processors, where one task may need the processing of more than one processor simultaneously. Alternatives are available to allocate processors to process a task. Under a given alternative, a task is assigned to some specific processor(s), and requires correspondingly a specific processing time. Task preemption is allowed. The problem is to minimize the maximum tardiness of task completion times from their due dates, through determining the following: 1) the optimal assignment of each task to processor(s) and 2) the optimal schedule for each processor to process the tasks assigned to it. We present a two-stage approach, which can generate an optimal solution in pseudopolynomial time. We also apply/extend the two-stage approach to other problems where the number of processors required by each task is prespecified, preemption is prohibited, and the total completion time is to be minimized.


Optimal performance of a manufacturing layout consisting of several mobile robots performing specific transportation tasks is addressed. A synergistic approach based on decentralized path planning, heuristic-algorithm-based navigation, and localized collision avoidance is presented. A comprehensive, flexible multiple mobile robots system (MMRS) consisting of standard patterns, a local controller, and individual mobile robots is described. The mobile robots are capable of performing their own path planning and collision avoidance by means of ultrasonic sensors, standard patterns, and rotary optical encoders. Specially designed algorithms for the mobile robot and local controller are presented. To ensure greater flexibility in designing the layout, the MMRS was interfaced with a specially designed CAD subsystem. Simulations using varying numbers of robots were performed on a sample layout that was designed using the CAD subsystem. The results of the simulation illustrate the validity of the approach. >


To go beyond the simple model for the fold as two flexible surfaces or faces linked by a crease that behaves as an elastic hinge, we carefully shape and anneal a crease within a polymer sheet and study its mechanical response. First, we carry out an experimental study that involves recording both the shape of the fold in various loading configurations and the associated force needed to deform it. Then, an elastic model of the fold is built upon a continuous description of both the faces and the crease as a thin sheet with a non-flat reference configuration. The comparison between the model and experiments yields the local fold properties and explains the significant differences we observe between tensile and compression regimes. Furthermore, an asymptotic study of the fold deformation enables us to determine the local shape of the crease and identify the origin of its mechanical behaviour.


We describe the challenges arising from tracking dark matter particles in state of the art cosmological simulations. We are in the process of running the Indra suite of simulations, with an aggregate count of more than 35 trillion particles and 1.1PB of total raw data volume. However, it is not enough just to store the particle positions and velocities in an efficient manner -- analyses also need to be able to track individual particles efficiently through the temporal history of the simulation. The required inverted indices can easily have raw sizes comparable to the original simulation.
 We explore various strategies on how to create an efficient index for such data, using additional insight from the physical properties of the particle motions for a greatly compressed data representation. The basic particle data are stored in a relational database in course-grained containers corresponding to leaves of a fixed depth oct-tree labeled by their Peano-Hilbert index. Within each container the individual objects are sorted by their Lagrangian identifier. Thus each particle has a multi-level address: the PH key of the container and the index of the particle within the sorted array (the slot).
 Given the nature of the cosmological simulations and choice of the PH-box sizes, in consecutive snapshots particles can only cross into spatially adjacent boxes. Also, the slot number of a particle in adjacent snapshots is adjusted up or down by typically a small number. As a result, a special version of delta encoding over the multi-tier address already results in a dramatic reduction of data that needs to be stored. We follow next with an efficient bit-compression, adapting to the statistical properties of the two-part addresses, achieving a final compression ratio better than a factor of 9. The final size of the full inverted index is projected to be 22.5 TB for a petabyte ensemble of simulations.


During RNA interference and related gene regulatory pathways, the endonuclease Dicer cleaves precursor RNA molecules to produce microRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Human cells encode a single Dicer enzyme that can associate with two different double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-binding proteins, protein activator of PKR (PACT) and trans-activation response RNA-binding protein (TRBP). However, the functional redundancy or differentiation of PACT and TRBP in miRNA and siRNA biogenesis is not well understood. Using a reconstituted system, we show here that PACT and TRBP have distinct effects on Dicer-mediated dsRNA processing. In particular, we found that PACT in complex with Dicer inhibits the processing of pre-siRNA substrates when compared with Dicer and a Dicer–TRBP complex. In addition, PACT and TRBP show non-redundant effects on the production of different-sized miRNAs (isomiRs), which in turn alter target-binding specificities. Experiments using chimeric versions of PACT and TRBP suggest that the two N-terminal RNA-binding domains of each protein confer the observed differences in dsRNA substrate recognition and processing behavior of Dicer–dsRNA-binding protein complexes. These results support the conclusion that in humans, Dicer-associated dsRNA-binding proteins are important regulatory factors that contribute both substrate and cleavage specificity during miRNA and siRNA production.


Background: Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a hypersensitivity reaction to Aspergillus mycelia that colonize in the bronchi. The susceptibility of asthmatic patients to develop ABPA is not fully understood.
Aim: To evaluate the clinical, immunological, microbiological and radiological features of Aspergillus infection in patients with asthma.
Methodology: 50 Patients with Bronchial Asthma as cases and 20 age and sex matched non asthmatic individuals as controls were selected for study from OPD of Department of TB and Respiratory Diseases, University Hospital, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi during the period of January 2013 to July 2014. Various clinical, immunological, microbiological and radiological features of aspergillus infection in patients were recorded. The observed data was analyzed and intergroup comparisons were done.
Result:  In patients of bronchial asthma with positive aspergillus the percentage of presence of breathlessness, cough, family history, allergic rhinitis, history of ATT intake, AEC, IgE, IgG, BAL and CECT Thorax lied between 62.5% to 100% and most of these showed statistically significant difference.
Conclusion The development of ABPA is probably the combination of many genetic susceptibility factors. Understanding of the genetic risks and immuno-pathogenesis of ABPA will lead to early diagnosis and improved treatment of ABPA.

Keywords:  Aspergillus, Aspergillosis, Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA), Bronchial Asthma


The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) inhibits blue light-induced apoplastic acidification of guard cells. The signal transduction pathway of ABA, mediating this response, was studied using ABA-insensitive (abi) mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana. Apoplastic acidification was monitored with a flat tipped pH-electrode placed on epidermal strips, in which only guard cells were viable. Blue light-induced apoplastic acidification was reduced by vanadate and diethylstilbestrol (DES), indicating involvement of plasma membrane-bound H + -ATPases. In wild type epidermal strips, ABA reduced blue light-induced acidification to 63%. The inhibition did not result from an increased cytoplasmic free Ca 2+ concentration in guard cells, since factors that increase the Ca 2+ concentration stimulated apoplastic acidification. Apoplastic acidification was not inhibited by ABA in abi1 and abi2 mutants. In abi1 epidermal strips ABA had no effect on the acidification rate, while it stimulated apoplastic acidification in abi2. The ABA response in both mutants could be partially restored with protein kinase and phosphatase inhibitors. The abi1 guard cells became ABA responsive in the presence of okadaic acid, a protein phosphatase inhibitor. In abi2 guard cells the wild type ABA response was partially restored by K-252a, a protein kinase inhibitor. Apoplastic inhibition is thus mediated through the protein phosphatases encoded by ABI1 and ABI2. The results with protein kinase and protein phosphatase inhibitors indicate that ABI1 and ABI2 are involved in separate signal transduction pathways.


The case histories of 175 dogs with ureteral ectopia were reviewed; there were 156 females and 19 males. Golden retrievers, labrador retrievers and Skye terriers appeared to be over-represented. Their median age when examined was 10 months, and the males were significantly older than the females. Fifty-six animals were affected bilaterally, 50 were affected on the left side alone and 69 on the right side alone. One hundred and twenty-two cases had other abnormalities and 67 had more than one; they included hydro-ureter, hydronephrosis, pyelonephritis, bladder hypoplasia and congenital incompetence of the urethral sphincter mechanism. Forty-one cases were not treated, and the other 134 were treated by ureteronephrectomy, extravesicular ureteric transplantation or intravesicular ureteric transplantation. One hundred and twelve cases were available for follow-up for a median period of over two years (range one month to 15 years). The response to surgery and the incidence of complications was similar after each method of treatment. Sixty-five of the 112 cases were cured of incontinence and 26 were improved. The complication rate (14 per cent overall) was similar for each procedure although different types of complications occurred. Hydronephrosis occurred most commonly after extravesicular transplantation and dysuria occurred most commonly after intravesicular transplantation.


The Hydro Electric Corporation (HEC) in Tasmania experienced transformational change (Dunphy & Stace, 1992) which has provided an opportunity to examine the context and processes of change. It has been argued that contextual analyses provide for a greater understanding and explanation of change than other approaches, including those based on organisational development (OD) and contingency theory (Pettigrew, 1985; Dawson, 1996). Processes of change focus on why and how organisational changes unfold, rather than the content of what changes are actually made (Pettigrew, 1990; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991). As organisations struggle to achieve a competitive advantage in environments that are constantly in a state of flux, a comprehensive understanding of the complex issues involved is required so that a smooth transition may be negotiated from one state to another.
The two broad themes for this thesis are analysis of change strategy and theory development. First, analysis of change involves investigation of longitudinal factors associated with the contextualist approach developed by Pettigrew (1985) and widely recognised by others (Collins, 1998). The research approach adopted by this thesis is aimed to permit contextualisation of the findings particularly with regard to the strategic management of change (Dunphy, 1996).
Second, this thesis aims to operationalise and extend the theoretical advancement of organisational change theory. In order to analyse the development of change theory, the contingency model of Dunphy and Stace (1990) is examined as a precursor to the processual model of Dawson (1994), which can be regarded, along with the work of Pettigrew (1985) as establishing dynamic, rather than static, models of change.
Two major research questions were identified for investigation. Employing a qualitative methodology, the case study used NUD•IST software (Richards & Richards, 1991) to analyse interview transcripts and provide categories of subject matter for analysis. Careful attention was given to the historical antecedents leading up to the commercialisation changes, in keeping with the contextual approach adopted for this investigation. Key findings relate to implementation strategies and processes. It was found that the management team responsible for implementing change ignored the significance of the historical context, the effects of restructuring and the control and coordination of change.
The discussion and analysis of the findings lead to conclusions with respect to implications for organisations undertaking major transformational change. The research holds a number of implications for models of change which do not take into account the dynamic environment in which organisational change takes place.


Background/Aims We explored Korean physicians' policies for surveillance of colorectal cancer (CRC) after curative surgery. Methods Web-based self-report questionnaires were developed. Invitations to participate were emailed to physicians who diagnosed and treated CRC from October 1 to November 15, 2015. The questionnaire consisted of the role doctors played in the surveillance, examination of surveillance, and duration of postoperative surveillance according to CRC stage or primary site of the cancer. Results Ninety-one physicians participated in the online survey, and 78 completed the survey. Sixty-seven participants (13%) answered "up to 5 years" for stage I surveillance duration; and 11 (13%) responded with a duration of > 5 years for stage I. A total of 61 (75%) responded with a surveillance duration of up to 5 years for stage II; and 19 (24%) responded with a duration of > 5 years for stage II. Sixty-seven (97%) and 61 (91%) physicians monitored patients with stage II/III every 3 or 6 months by laboratory examination and by abdominopelvic computed tomography scan for the first year, respectively. A total of 43 (53%) responded with a surveillance duration of up to 5 years for stage IV; and 46 (46%) responded with a duration of > 5 years for stage IV after curative resection. Conclusions Korean physicians mostly followed up CRC using intensive postoperative surveillance. In preference to monitoring over a comparatively shorter period of time, the physicians tended to prefer monitoring patients post-operatively over a > 5 year period, particularly in cases of advanced-stage CRC.


Inferring group membership of social media users is of high interest in many domains. Group membership is typically inferred via network interactions with other members, or by the usage of in-group language. However, network information is incomplete when users or groups move between platforms, and in-group keywords lose significance as public discussion about a group increases. Similarly, using keywords to filter content and users can fail to distinguish between the various groups that discuss a topic—perhaps confounding research on public opinion and narrative trends. We present a classifier intended to distinguish members of groups from users discussing a group based on contextual usage of keywords. We demonstrate the classifier on a sample of community pairs from Reddit and focus on results related to the COVID-19 pandemic.


The objective of this review is to introduce significant research findings mainly on cytokine responses to exercise. First, some basic background information on cytokines is provided. Then, some of our data according to exercise modes and key experimental research on the factors affecting cytokine responses to exercise are explained. Furthermore, the mechanisms and modulations of the cytokine responses are described to understand stress and inflammatory reactions and their prevention/recovery.


We present an overview of the state of the art and future trends in high performance parallel and distributed computing, and discuss techniques for using such computers in the simulation of complex problems in computational science. The use of high performance parallel computers can help improve our understanding of complex systems, and the converse is also true — we can apply techniques used for the study of complex systems to improve our understanding of parallel computing. We consider parallel computing as the mapping of one complex system — typically a model of the world — into another complex system — the parallel computer. We study static, dynamic, spatial and temporal properties of both the complex systems and the map between them. The result is a better understanding of which computer architectures are good for which problems, and of software structure, automatic partitioning of data, and the performance of parallel machines.


We translate a theory into the practice of intelligence assessments. Following Karl Weick's (1993) retrospective approach, the translation relies on previously published evaluations of intelligence assessment practices. Intelligence assessments are used in organizations to inform leaders of threats and opportunities. The theory we apply describes how an intelligence analyst learns through dialogue during the practice of conducting an intelligence assessment, and it consists of four learning archetypes: cooperative, focused, survival, and reflective. The theory is based on the differential effects on learning caused by the interaction between information overload and equivocality. We use the role of dialogue in the theory as a way to compare two different practice contexts: national security and law enforcement. We offer three contributions: First, we find that the final stage of the practice— the review process—should occur organizationally where authoring analysts and their senior analyst reviewers reside. Second, we find that equivocality has differential effects on dialogue: In low equivocali-ty conditions (cooperative and focused learning), hierarchical structures affect dialogue; and in high equivocality conditions (survival and reflective learning), organizational politics affect dialogue. Third, we identify a benefit of and a challenge in retrospective translation studies.


Levels of lead, copper, zinc, nickel and cadium were assessed in artesian well waters of Agua dulce, Linao, Cogon and Punta in Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines. Samples of water in three replicates each from the four study sites were brought to the Visayas State University Analytical laboratory to determine the presence of dissolved trace metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Non-carcinogenic health risk of the trace metals for children and adults was also determined using the chronic daily intake of trace metals and hazard quotient index. Results revealed that lead and cadmium were found to be beyond the WHO permissible limits in all areas studied. Hazard quotient greater than 1 in all study sites was found in lead for both children and adults and in cadmium in children. Total hazard quotient of trace metals in the four study sites was found higher than 1 in both children and adults. These results indicate a non-carcinogenic health risk to the people which call for immediate attention and concern by the local authorities. Keywords: Non-carcinogenic risk, Health risk assessment, Trace metals, Artesian well waters


Tipping points are set in complex systems. To make sense of them requires metaphor and narrative. Metaphor is a useful supplement to scientific enquiry, offering a different type of future-orientated knowledge that can provide a fresh perspective for reaction and accommodation. Metaphors allow for new ways of interpreting scientific prediction and construct, as science itself uses metaphors, so aiding the developing present, by redefining past circumstances for possible adaptive futures. Metaphors can liberate but they can also obstruct: they can communicate and they can trample. The key is to combine the freedom of thought with interdisciplinarity and flexibility of analysis. Metaphors also encourage narrative options and contingencies, thereby enabling a range of interpretative pathways for bifurcated futures.


Background Micro-ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) comprise a class of non-coding small microRNA that regulates gene expression on posttranscriptional level. Altered expression profile of certain microRNAs has been found in the peripheral blood (PB), synovial fluid (SF) and synovial fibroblasts of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. The use of microRNAs as biomarkers for RA in the clinical practice is based on correlation between their expression levels and scores for disease activity and progression. We found that altered expression of certain microRNAs in SF of RA patients correlate with the ultrasound scores for active synovitis. Materials and methods 46 RA patients according to the 1987 ACR criteria were included in the study. Before an arthrocentesis we performed ultrasound assessment and scoring of the joint inflammation by using both grey scale and power Doppler technic for defining the synovial thickening and degree of vascularisation. MicroRNA-155 and -146a expression levels in paired PB and SF samples were investigated through PCR (SYBR Green technology) and compared to healthy controls (HCs). Results SF in 80,43% and in 69,55% (p < 0.05, T-test) of RA patients showed overexpression of microRNA-155 and microRNA-146a, respectively, when compared to the HCs. There was a good correlation of microRNA-155 expression level and the ultrasound score for active synovitis grade ≥ 2 (Spearman's correlation coefficient 0.313, p < 0.016) and for microRNA-146a (Spearman's correlation coefficient 0.241, p < 0.066). The levels of microRNA-155 and -146a correlated with the presence of erosions (Spearman's correlation coefficient 0.373, p < 0.004 and 0.318, p < 0.014, respectively) and the imaging score (Spearman's correlation coefficient 0.412, p < 0.001 and 0.341, p < 0.008, respectively). Conclusion The laboratory and imaging data showed correlation between the expression levels of the chosen microRNAs with the active joint inflammation and destruction. Differences could be explained by the different disease stage and progression characterised by higher erosion score and tendency to lesser synovial thickened and vascularisation as well as by the possibility of different expression levels of microRNA though the disease course. Further analysis with higher number of patients is needed to confirm if these microRNAs could be used in the clinical practice as local biomarkers for both disease activity and progression. Acknowledgement The study was supported by Grant 55/2013 funded by Medical University – Sofia, Bulgaria


The orientations of joints were measured at 142 locations across the northern Michigan Basin in rocks of Cambrian to Devonian age. Four major vertical joint sets were found throughout the area. The average trends of the four sets are 052°, 134°, 091°, and 001°. There are small random fluctuations in mean orientation of all the sets, but they remain remarkably consistent in orientation throughout the area, across lithologic and stratigraphic boundaries, and across a regional strike change around the Michigan Basin of about 115°. The joint pattern does not seem to be related to structural trends in the Precambrian basement, inferred from geophysical data. The joint set at 134° has the same trend as a series of major folds in the Paleozoic rocks of the Michigan Basin, suggesting that this joint set may be related to the folding. The joint set at 052° is parallel with the maximum horizontal compressive stress that exists today throughout the mid-continent region. This joint set may be extension joints formed in response to the present stress regime.


Necessity, when assigned to teach a large introductory class in Construction Science, required I learn quickly the requisite instructional technology and its application. The title, "Reflective Practitioner" is an anachronism that does not capture the actual chronology: practice, finding a theory and applying it, and reflecting on the practice to find grounds for improvement. Practice was grounded in learning how to learn as the final objective of this course. In the process, objectives, goals, syllabus, assignments, projects, evaluations, lectures, and presentation techniques, had to be created. After teaching the course two semesters, I read the following and received coaching from the Center for Teaching Excellence. This provided an opportunity to reflect on what happened, clarify the theories, examine my teaching philosophy and further clarify the principles that inform the framework for the course. This paper reports on the result of this reflection and is based on the wisdom-of-practice scholarship (Weimer, 2006) therefore experience-based and subjective. This paper captures the flow along these major lines of t professional teaching practice, the motivation, and findings from decisions made in the process. Teaching as a dynamic process assures that there will be an evolution in time. This paper also captures the evolution of the course, the areas indicated for further research and more importantly advocates a method for teaching with instructional technology in need of verification by other institutions on its way to morph into a research scholarship with qualitative studies or quantifiable investigations of a dynamic process or a descriptive research.


Abstract The genetic basis of weedy and invasive traits and their evolution remain poorly understood, but genomic approaches offer tremendous promise for elucidating these important features of weed biology. However, the genomic tools and resources available for weed research are currently meager compared with those available for many crops. Because genomic methodologies are becoming increasingly accessible and less expensive, the time is ripe for weed scientists to incorporate these methods into their research programs. One example is next-generation sequencing technology, which has the advantage of enhancing the sequencing output from the transcriptome of a weedy plant at a reduced cost. Successful implementation of these approaches will require collaborative efforts that focus resources on common goals and bring together expertise in weed science, molecular biology, plant physiology, and bioinformatics. We outline how these large-scale genomic programs can aid both our understanding of the biology of weedy and invasive plants and our success at managing these species in agriculture. The judicious selection of species for developing weed genomics programs is needed, and we offer up choices, but no Arabidopsis-like model species exists in the world of weeds. We outline the roadmap for creating a powerful synergy of weed science and genomics, given well-placed effort and resources.


A single-stage launch vehicle with hybrid rocket engine, which uses solid fuel and liquid oxidizer, has been being studied and developed as a next-generation rocket for scientific observation due to the advantages as low cost, safety, re-ignition, and reduced pollution. Therefore, the knowledge regarding hybrid rocket system has been being gained through the forepart of the conceptual design using design informatics. In the present study, the practical problem defined by using three objective functions and seven design variables for aurora observation is treated so as to contribute the real world using evolutionary computation and data mining for the field of aerospace engineering. The primary objective of the design in the present study is that the down range and the duration time in the lower thermosphere are sufficiently obtained for the aurora scientific observation, whereas the initial gross weight is held down. Investigated solid fuels are five, while liquid oxidizer is considered as liquid oxygen. The condition of single-time ignition is assumed in flight sequence in order to quantitatively investigate the ascendancy of multi-time ignition. A hybrid evolutionary computation between the differential evolution and the genetic algorithm is employed for the multidisciplinary design optimization. A self-organizing map is used for the data mining technique in order to extract global design information. Consequently, the design information regarding the tradeoffs among the objective functions, the behaviors of the design variables in the design space to become the nondominated solutions, and the implication of the design variables for the objective functions have been obtained in order to quantitatively differentiate the advantage of hybrid rocket engine in view of the five fuels. Moreover, the next assignments were also revealed.


SUMMARY: A streptomycin-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus, which requires haemin for aerobic growth, grew either aerobically or anaerobically in the absence of haemin provided the medium was supplemented with acetate or pyruvate; growth with these organic acids was increased by uracil and purines. The parent drug-sensitive strain grew aerobically without haemin but when grown anaerobically required either uracil or acetate or pyruvate. With both strains mevalonate replaced acetate and was about ten times more active.
The products of glucose fermentation by both strains showed no gross difference, lactate being predominant (about 85% of the glucose carbon); only small amounts of acetate were detected. Under aerobic conditions suspensions of the parent strain oxidized glucose to acetate which accumulated. The mutant strain oxidized glucose to acetate only when previously grown with haemin or when haemin was added to the suspension of organisms. When the organism was grown with acetate in place of haemin, lactate was the predominant product. The ability of the mutant to form sufficient acetate from glucose for biosynthetic purposes is apparently dependent on a functional electron transport chain involving haemoproteins. A nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide-linked lactate dehydrogenase and a pyruvate oxidizing system are present in extracts of both organisms. The activity of these enzymes in the mutant strain was similar whether the organisms were grown on haemin or acetate.


To investigate whether the first intrinsic mode function, obtained from Hilbert–Huang transform (HHT), of heart rate variability is respiratory related. Electrocardiogram and chest circumference signals were recorded from 10 healthy subjects at supine rest. The HHT was applied to both R-R interval and chest circumference signals to figure out their first intrinsic mode functions (C1RR and C1RESP, respectively) from which the instantaneous amplitude, phase, and frequency were calculated. Although the instantaneous amplitudes and frequencies of C1RR and C1RESP were variable, linear regression analysis indicated a phase lock between C1RR and C1RESP. Intake of 500 ml water significantly elevated the amplitude ratio of C1RR to C1RESP; however, the phase difference of C1RR to C1RESP was still unchanged. The data indicate that the first intrinsic mode function of heart rate variability is respiratory related and may be equivalent to respiratory sinus arrhythmia. As compared to fast Fourier transform, HHT of respiratory sinus arrhythmia provides a comparative spatial measurement with a much higher temporal resolution.