Based on findings from a Canadian-based study, this article examines the stories of young adult women carers. Young adult women caring for a parent or grandparent were interviewed using social network maps, participant-driven photography and care timelines. The findings reveal numerous
 impacts on the women's lives, which we categorise according to three temporal periods: the past (how they came to be carers); the present (their daily realities of care); and the future (how they imagine what is ahead). We conclude with a discussion regarding the tensions between the
 women's personal stories and the social forces that shape young women's caring.


High metabolic rates are associated normally with small differences of electric potential, whereas low metabolic rates are associated with large differences of electric potential as measured on the extremities of the body. Within the normal range of metabolism there appears to be a definite correlation between the metabolic rates and the difference of electric potential over a specified area of the skin, provided the person under test has no abnormalities of the circulatory system or of the functions of the skin. If there are no dysfunctions of the circulation or of the skin, the metabolic rate may be calculated, within ±4 points, from the expression See PDF for Equation where x is the metabolic rate and y is the difference of electric potential across the specified areas of skin (electrodes 12 cm. apart). In general, there are abnormalities of the circulation of the blood or of the functions of the skin of persons for whom the metabolic rates determined by the two methods (difference of electric potentials and gasometric procedures) do not agree with ±4 points. Manifest retardation or return to normality in the rate of circulation of the blood, such as may be produced by the sphygmomanometric cuff under varying pressures, produces marked changes in the difference of electric potentials obtained across a specified intervening area of skin. Retardation of flow of blood produces increased differences of electric potential. Preliminary investigations indicate that there is an inverse correlation between cutaneous temperatures and differences of electric potential. Day by day variations, emotive effects and the partaking of food have less effect, in general, on the electric potentials across a specified area of skin than they have on the metabolic rates. These experimental results indicate that there may be a more direct correlation between electric potentials and the circulation of the blood per se than between electric potentials and the metabolism of the body per se. When normality of circulation of the blood and of the functions of the skin exists in the areas under test for differences of electric potential, there is apparently a correlation between metabolic rates and electric potentials.


Abstract- This paper presents a control strategy for parallel operation of distributed generation system. The proposed control technique, is based on the modified droop control method without any interconnection. This method is usually applied to achieve proper active and reactive power sharing when communication between each of distributed generation is difficult due to its physical location. In this paper investigate active and reactive power sharing of parallel operation. The power sharing is achieved by adjusting the frequency and voltage amplitude of each unit. Each unit has its own controller then the total active and reactive power can be shared by each unit in proportion with their rated power. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective in displaying a reliable and control performance. A system consisting of three distributed generation represented by inverters has been simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. Different cases of power rating and load condition are verified by the simulation results.


IN THE management of many hematologic and hepatic disorders, it is useful to know the daily output of fecal urobilinogen. The values for output may serve as an index of the degree of activity of a hemolytic process, since there is a direct relationship between the rate at which degradation of hemoglobin occurs and the daily excretion of urobilinogen in the stool. Destruction of hemoglobin occurs in the reticuloendothelial system, chiefly in the liver and spleen. Bilirubin is formed in the liver and excreted into the intestine. There it is reduced by bacterial action to urobilinogen, which in reality consists of mesobilirubinogen and stercobilinogen, according to Watson.1aThe amount of urobilinogen depends on the reduction of bilirubin to urobilinogen. Part of the fecal urobilinogen is reabsorbed into the portal circulation and returned to the liver to be reexcreted in the bile. A smaller part is absorbed into the general


WILLIAM DAVID McELROY died 17 February 1999. He not only distinguished himself as an experimentalist in the biological sciences, but through his leadership of several major scientific institutions greatly influenced the development of the basic sciences in the United States. Although his research and training were scientifically based, as the fourth chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, he encouraged the expansion of the arts, humanities, and social sciences on that campus and was very successful in forging links between the university and the San Diego community. Bill McElroy was born and raised in Rogers, Texas. After graduation from high school he enrolled in Pasadena Junior College-at that time a training ground for football talent for the University of Southern California. He became interested in a scientific and academic career through courses in chemistry and biology at Pasadena. He accepted a football scholarship at Stanford University in 1937 and became a premedical major. Professors L. R. Blinks at Stanford and C. B. van Niel at Stanford profoundly influenced Dr. McElroy's choice of a scientific career. Blinks introduced him to original research and turned him on to graduate studies. It was van Niel, a legendary figure in microbiology, who introduced Bill to the phenomenon of bioluminescence through his studies on luminous bacteria in summer microbiology courses at the Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove. McElroy began to work on radioactive phosphate and was introduced to the key energy compound ATP while taking these courses. At that time the concept of phosphate bond energy had been only recently introduced by European scientists, including Fritz Lipmann and Herman Kalckar. McElroy also was influenced at Stanford by the teaching of George Beadle, one of the great geneticists of the twentieth century. He obtained a master's degree from Reed College in Oregon in 1941 and a doctorate in biochemistry and biology from Princeton University in 1943. When Bill was a graduate student at Princeton, E. Newton Harvey, the father of bioluminescence in the United States, Frank Johnson, and Henry Eyring introduced him to photosynthetic bacteria and deepened his interest in bioluminescence. After completing his Ph.D. studies at Princeton, Bill McElroy returned to Stanford to do postdoctoral work with George Beadle. In 1947 he accepted the position of assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, where he remained as a faculty member for twenty-three years. In the summer of 1947 he initiated an independent research program in bioluminescence, a decision that would launch him on an illustrious scientific career in the biological sciences. In view of the plentiful supply of the firefly, Photinus pyralis, during the summer months in Baltimore, it is not surprising that he was attracted to this insect as a major source of luminous organisms for his research. During the summer months, McElroy recruited large numbers of young individuals and students to collect fireflies. Some fireflies were used immediately; the lanterns of others were excised and frozen for future work. Bill and his students elucidated the mechanism of light emission by the firefly, including the key roles of the enzyme luciferase and the compounds ATP and luciferin in this process. This was not only a fundamental discovery in bioluminescence and bioenergetics; it also provided a sensitive method for the quantitative measurement of the high-energy compound ATP in biological systems. The use of the firefly bioluminescence system in the development of diagnostic assays and in basic gene expression studies continues to grow to this day, particularly with the availability of a recombinant DNA source of the firefly luciferase. It is perhaps fitting that the firefly luciferase gene was constructed by Bill McElroy's wife, Marlene DeLuca, and collaborators at the University of California, San Diego, using the recombinant DNA technology. …


Correspondence: Gregory M Pastores Neurogenetics Division, Department of Neurology and Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA Email email@example.com Abstract: Anderson-Fabry disease (AFD) is an X-linked storage disorder caused by a defi ciency of the lysosomal hydrolase a-galactosidase A (AGAL) and the resultant accumulation of its glycosphingolipid substrate (Gb3) in several tissue types. Major morbidity and reduced life expectancy among affected individuals are a consequence of renal, cardiac and cerebrovascular involvement. Symptomatic males and females with AFD have been described, although the onset of clinical manifestations may be delayed and more variable among the latter patient group, partly attributed to lyonization. Agalsidase alfa (Replagal) is a recombinant formulation of human AGAL which has been demonstrated to modify the course of AFD in treated patients. Factors that may infl uence clinical outcomes include disease stage at the point of treatment initiation and antibody formation. There is incomplete understanding of AFD pathophysiology. Early diagnosis and timely intervention may be essential. The use of adjunctive therapies, directed at risk reduction (eg, aspirin for stroke prophylaxis), require careful scrutiny, but such agents are likely to be vital components of a comprehensive approach to patient care. Long-term studies may clarify the optimal dose and frequency of enzyme administration. Meanwhile, budding strategies such as chaperone-mediated enzyme enhancement may offer the potential for an alternative or multimodality approach to the management of AFD.


Abstract Using detailed information on policy interventions by US sub-national governments between 2009 and 2019, the contribution of such public bodies to Sino-US geopolitical rivalry is examined, in particular since President Trump took office in 2017. While US sub-national governments accounted for 28% of all US policy interventions that harmed Chinese commercial interests, awarding firm-specific subsidies in 88% of cases, the timing and sectoral incidence of such intervention suggests that economic statecraft considerations could only be part of the explanation for their actions. Ironically, the interventions of US sub-national governments and their weak commitment to transparency have much in common with their frequently maligned Chinese counterparts.


Gradiva was able to return the love which was making its way from the unconscious into consciousness, but the doctor cannot. Gradiva had herself been the object of the earlier, repressed love; her figure at once [sofort] offered the liberated current of love a desirable aim. To indicate the expedients and substitutes [Auskunftsmitteln und Surrogaten] of which the doctor therefore makes use to help him to approximate [nahern] with more or less success to the model [Vorbilt] of a cure by love which has been shown us by our author--all this would take us much too far away from the task before us. Sigmund Freud, Delusions and Dreams in Jensen's "Gradiva" A receptionist must know how connections are tolerably made, determining which opening will establish communication between two parties or two things--in brief, she must understand how to manipulate the switchboard or she would lose her post. Avital Ronell, The Telephone Book Introduction As is clear from the terms in which the citation above is couched, Sigmund Freud's 1906 study, Delusions and Dreams in Jensen's "Gradiva," is in part concerned with directness, proximity, and distance. Although certain "expedients and substitutes" are an irreducible part of the doctor's method, his task is nonetheless to reduce the dimension of distance and detour as far as possible: he is to "approximate" a certain immediacy, modeled by Gradiva. To indicate the relation between mediation and immediacy, however, Freud writes, would "take us much too far away from the task before us." In this paper, I intend to follow up, not "the task before us," but rather the very detour that Freud cuts off--to proceed along the lines that he indicates but does not follow in the passage cited, in order to end up "much too far away" from the immediate task. That is, I will not privilege immediacy and proximity over distance and detour; rather, I will examine the relation between the two, by analyzing the technical structures of mediation that enable (an approximation to) immediacy in Gradiva. I do not specify here whether I mean Freud's 1906 study or Jensen's 1903 novel. Indeed, for reasons that will become clearer in the course of this analysis, I will consistently resist drawing a simple distinction between Jensen's Gradiva and Freud's reading of it; rather, I will consider Freud's Jensen's Gradiva (or Freud's Jensen's "Gradiva") as its own entity, the text-in-its-reception. This is not to say, however, that Gradiva, the character in Jensen's novel as it is received by Freud, receives a determinable identity that the "original" Gradiva lacked, or that Freud's reading of Gradiva gives us more direct (or, for that matter, more mediated) access to a Gradiva who could be considered outside of the inter-textual relation in which she is caught. In fact, I argue that, insofar as Gradiva can be said to have an "identity," this identity is constituted by the particularity of the relation between mediation and directness, between an original context (in Jensen's novel, say) and a reception (in Freud's study), in which she participates. By reframing the distinction between mediation and directness, the figure of Gradiva allows us instead to read the structures of mediation that allow direct communication between present and past texts. I will show this through a reading of Gradiva's footprint, which connects first-century C.E. Pompeii with (fictional) early twentieth-century Germany, just as a telephonic receptionist connects disparate parties across distances on a technical apparatus. My task here, too, is a receptionist's task: establishing a "tolerable" connection between the two quotations with which I opened this paper. Although nothing in either text immediately authorizes me to place them in communication--Avital Ronell's text does not address Gradiva, for example--it should be clear that Ronell, like Freud, attends in the passage cited to distance, closeness, mediation, and immediacy; moreover, her attention to teletechnological figures suggests that distance and detour may be an irreducible dimension of connection or reception. …


A new RLS adaptive Volterra filter is presented. The nonlinear filtering problem is transformed into an equivalent multichannel, but linear, filtering problem. The multichannel input signal is completely orthogonalized using sequential processing multichannel lattice stages. Thus, a fast convergent, highly modular and, simple filter with good numerical properties is designed. In the identification of magnetic recording channels, the filter identifies the channels directly and parameters for the channel nonlinearity are quantified simultaneously. In the equalization of magnetic channels, the most effective equalizer length can be assigned dynamically.


Type D (distressed personality) comprises the joint tendency to experience negative emotions (negative affectivity) and to inhib− it these emotions in social situations (social inhibition). The dis− tressed personality can be assessed by the Type D scale (DS14). In the present study, the German version of the DS14 was to be validated especially with regard to its interrelation with anger, aggression and hostility. The study included a clinical sample of 90 patients with coronary heart disease and a nonclinical sample of 86 participants. The two−factor structure of the DS14 could be confirmed in both samples. As expected, the subscale negative affectivitycorrelates highly with neuroticism; the subscale social inhibition correlates highly with extraversion. Negative affectiv− ity also relates to almost every anger and aggression scale ap− plied in this study. Participants classified as Type D report higher anger experience than non−Type D−classified persons. They show both heightened anger−in and anger−out and encounter others with more cynicism and hostility. It seems promising to provide special psychological treatment for these patients.


We study the influence of bank branch closure on new firm formation in Sweden, with a panel database that captures the geographical locations of all the Swedish bank branches from 2000 to 2013. Using spatial econometric analysis at a municipal level, we show that bank proximity to firms is vital for entrepreneurship to thrive and sustain in Sweden. From the Fixed-Effects spatial models, the increase in distance to the banks due to bank branch closure is shown to affect new firm formation negatively. The further a firm is located away from the bank, the higher the monitoring cost is for the banks. The increase in distance also results in an increase in information asymmetries because of the banks' eroded ability to collect soft information about the borrower firm. Due to high risks associated with the lack of information and uncertainty, banks might not be as willing to loan money to a distant firm compared to a nearby firm. Furthermore, the presence of neighbourhood spillover effects is evidenced through the Moran's I statistics, which means that the omission of spatial effects in the analysis would have resulted in biased estimates.


Since the mid-nineteenth century, poultry and livestock animals have increasingly been seen as out of place in, and excluded from, modern United States cities. Yet, since 2000, increasing numbers of urban residents have begun keeping chickens and other small livestock in backyards. Through an analysis of the re-emergence of this practice in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, we show that chicken-keepers are not raising chickens simply to save money or to pursue an eccentric hobby, but rather as an explicit effort to promote and enact alternative urban imaginaries. Such imaginaries make possible alternative practices, and in turn, the performance of everyday practices reshapes urban imaginaries. In interviews, participants critique the industrial food system, urban economies and social life, and "think differently" about human-animal relations and productive animals in cities. Through chicken-keeping practices, they establish sustainable backyard agro-ecosystems, build sociability, resist consumerism, and work simultaneously to improve the life and health of animals, humans, and the urban environment.


Collective motion in animal groups, such as swarms of insects, flocks of birds, and schools of fish, are some of the most visually striking examples of emergent behavior. Empirical analysis of these behaviors in experiment or computational simulation primarily involves the use of"swarm-averaged"metrics or order parameters such as velocity alignment and angular momentum. Recently, tools from computational topology have been applied to the analysis of swarms to further understand and automate the detection of fundamentally different swarm structures evolving in space and time. Here, we show how the field of graph signal processing can be used to fuse these two approaches by collectively analyzing swarm properties using graph Fourier harmonics that respect the topological structure of the swarm. This graph Fourier analysis reveals hidden structure in a number of common swarming states and forms the basis of a flexible analysis framework for collective motion.


Background A single bout of strenuous running exercise results in perturbations to numerous biomarkers. An understanding of these is important when analysing samples from individuals who have recently performed such exercise. Methods A literature search was undertaken using the search terms, exercise, marathon and delayed onset of muscle soreness. The search was then refined using the terms for key biomarkers known to be altered by exercise. Results The magnitude of changes to biomarkers is proportional to the severity of the running bout. Familiar, moderate intensity running exercise produces brief transient changes in common biomarkers such as lactate, whereas more severe bouts of running exercise, such as marathons and ultra-marathon events can produce changes to biomarkers that are normally associated with pathology of the muscles, liver and heart. Examples being changes to concentrations and/or activity of myoglobin, leucocytes, creatine kinase, bilirubin, cardiac troponins, lactate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase. While persisting for longer, these changes are also transient and full recovery occurs within days, without any apparent long-term adverse consequences. Additionally, unfamiliar exercise involving forceful eccentric muscle contractions, such as running downhill, can cause increases in creatine kinase and delayed onset of muscle soreness that peaks 36–72 h after the exercise bout. Conclusions Strenuous running exercise can produce changes to biomarkers that are normally associated with disease and injury, but these do not necessarily reflect chronic pathology.


There is a growing concern about chronic diseases and other health problems related to diet including obesity and cancer. The need to accurately measure diet (what foods a person consumes) becomes imperative. Dietary intake provides valuable insights for mounting intervention programs for prevention of chronic diseases. Measuring accurate dietary intake is considered to be an open research problem in the nutrition and health fields. In this paper, we describe a novel mobile telephone food record that will provide an accurate account of daily food and nutrient intake. Our approach includes the use of image analysis tools for identification and quantification of food that is consumed at a meal. Images obtained before and after foods are eaten are used to estimate the amount and type of food consumed. The mobile device provides a unique vehicle for collecting dietary information that reduces the burden on respondents that are obtained using more classical approaches for dietary assessment. We describe our approach to image analysis that includes the segmentation of food items, features used to identify foods, a method for automatic portion estimation, and our overall system architecture for collecting the food intake information.


The mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) protein complex in the inner-ear hair cells is essential for hearing and balance perception. Calcium and integrin-binding protein 2 (CIB2) has been reported to be a component of MET complex, and loss of CIB2 completely abolishes MET currents in auditory hair cells, causing profound congenital hearing loss. However, loss of CIB2 does not affect MET currents in vestibular hair cells (VHCs) as well as general balance function. Here, we show that CIB2 and CIB3 act redundantly to regulate MET in VHCs, as MET currents are completely abolished in the VHCs of Cib2/Cib3 double knock-out mice of either sex. Furthermore, we show that Cib2 and Cib3 transcripts have complementary expression patterns in the vestibular maculae, and that they play different roles in stereocilia maintenance in VHCs. Cib2 transcripts are highly expressed in the striolar region, and knock-out of Cib2 affects stereocilia maintenance in striolar VHCs. In contrast, Cib3 transcripts are highly expressed in the extrastriolar region, and knock-out of Cib3 mainly affects stereocilia maintenance in extrastriolar VHCs. Simultaneous knock-out of Cib2 and Cib3 affects stereocilia maintenance in all VHCs and leads to severe balance deficits. Taken together, our present work reveals that CIB2 and CIB3 are important for stereocilia maintenance as well as MET in mouse VHCs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Calcium and integrin-binding protein 2 (CIB2) is an important component of mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) complex, and loss of CIB2 completely abolishes MET in auditory hair cells. However, MET is unaffected in Cib2 knock-out vestibular hair cells (VHCs). In the present work, we show that CIB3 could compensate for the loss of CIB2 in VHCs, and Cib2/Cib3 double knock-out completely abolishes MET in VHCs. Interestingly, CIB2 and CIB3 could also regulate VHC stereocilia maintenance in a nonredundant way. Cib2 and Cib3 transcripts are highly expressed in the striolar and extrastriolar regions, respectively. Stereocilia maintenance and balance function are differently affected in Cib2 or Cib3 knock-out mice. In conclusion, our data suggest that CIB2 and CIB3 are important for stereocilia maintenance and MET in mouse VHCs.


Base on 3 m×3 m grid in sloping cornfield with soil auger in Yingwugou Small Watershed of the Dan River Basin, a total of 39 sampling points were collected, and soil water content and nutrient content were measured in different soil depths. Meanwhile, the soil properties of different depth have been analyzed by traditional statistical and geo-statistics approaches. The results showed: the mean value of total nitrogen and soil organic carbon reduced as soil depth increased in general. But soil water content increased as the soil depth increased. The change of total phosphorus with soil depth was not obvious. The total nitrogen, soil water content, soil organic carbon and total phosphorus presented a moderate intensity variation and strong spatial dependence. In these four sampling depths, semi-variance model can simulate the precisions of total nitrogen, soil water content and total phosphorus in the spatial structures of 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 20 cm well. But the spatial structure of soil organic carbon was not good, which could not be simulated with semi-variance model. The analysis with Kriging interpolation showed that, the total nitrogen, soil water content and total phosphorus presented layered distribution in the spatial structures of 0 to 10 cm and 10 to 20 cm; when the spatial distribution changed to 10 to 20 cm from 0 to 10 cm, the average total nitrogen content reduced to 0.310 g/kg from 0.598 g/kg, while the average water content and total phosphorus increased from 12.988% to 15.439% and from 0.229 g/kg to 0.366 g/kg, respectively.


Given the high cost of crude oil, uncertainties regarding future reserves as well as the phenomenon of global warming, alternative fuels such as bioethanol need to be developed and deployed. This work presents an economic analysis (operating cost analysis) of one annexed African distillery operating in a landlocked and rural location. Specifically, the study attempts to analyze the impacts that some of the critical factors influencing bioethanol production will have on its viability and also present an analysis of the breakdown of the operating costs of the distillery, in an equation format to enable easier and more rapid use of the data in numerical and economic models, and in the preliminary design and optimization of bioethanol plants. The cost of ethanol production was estimated at $19.57/HL with cost of feedstock (molasses "type C") constituting about one third of the production cost. The study also identified other major, intermediate, and minor input factors, which can provide insights to both the possible barriers to implementation that should be overcome, and on the technological improvement options that should be stimulated by research and development in ethanol industry. Finally, from the operating cost analysis of the annexed distillery, it emerged that the factorial approach to estimation is principally a sound one, with no indication of untypical cost items. Some of the typical cost items do however display ratios to the base cost that are outside of previously reported limits. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2011


Bioacousticians have argued that ecological feedback mechanisms contribute to shaping the acoustic signals of a variety of species and anthropogenic changes in soundscapes have been shown to generate modifications to the spectral envelope of bird songs. Several studies posit that part of the variation in sound structure across spoken human languages could likewise reflect adaptation to the local ecological conditions of their use. Specifically, environments in which higher frequencies are less faithfully transmitted (such as denser vegetation or higher ambient temperatures) may favor greater use of sounds characterized by lower frequencies. Such languages are viewed as "more sonorous." This paper presents a variety of tests of this hypothesis. Data on segment inventories and syllable structure is taken from LAPSyD, a database on phonological patterns of a large worldwide sample of languages. Correlations are examined with measures of temperature, precipitation, vegetation, and geomorphology reflecting the mean values for the area in which each language is traditionally spoken. Major world languages, typically spoken across a range of environments, are excluded. Several comparisons show a correlation between ecological factors and the ratio of sonorant to obstruent segments in the languages examined offering support for the idea that acoustic adaptation applies to human languages.


Suppressing rapid capacity decay caused by the shuttle effect of dissolved lithium polysulfides between two electrodes is crucial to the realization of a practical lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Herein, the shuttle effect of polysulfides was efficiently inhibited by using a lightweight and thin functional separator in the form of coating three-dimensional interconnected nitrogen-doped graphene-like porous carbon nanosheets on one surface of a commercial polypropylene separator. This structure for a thin functional separator heightens the reversible capacity and cycle performance by doping nitrogen to chemically bond with polysulfides and the porous carbon layer to physically block polysulfides. As a result, the Li–S batteries based on the functional separators deliver an initial capacity of 1169.0 mA h g−1 at current rate of 1C and a substantial capacity of 845.3 mA h g−1 after 500 cycles, corresponding to a low capacity decay of only 0.055% per cycle. Even at a high rate of 3C, the batteries can still deliver a high reversible capacity of 743.6 mA h g−1 with good cycle performance.


This paper describes a computer simulation study on performance of lateral guidance system for Dual Mode Truck. A stability limit of vehicle lateral motion is analyzed by using 9 DOF vehicle dynamic model. Relations between steering parameters and stability limit are shown. Experiments with actual Dual Mode Truck is carried out to show the effectiveness of the simulation study. Both the simulation study and experiment show that lateral guidance with one side guide rail causes unstable vehicle motion. It is shown that the unstable motion can be suppressed by cutting off the power steering equipment in the guideway.


The low-frequency resistance noise in sputtered-deposited magnetic tunnel junctions with MgO barriers has been measured as a function of annealing time at different annealing temperatures. The noise has a 1/f spectrum and it is quantified by a Hooge-like parameter α given in units of μm2. Unannealed devices have the highest noise levels and their α parameters exhibit a pronounced dependence on the voltage bias across the junction. A significant increase in tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) is observed for short annealing times (on the order of minutes) at high temperatures and it is correlated with a large reduction in noise and in its bias dependence. The maximum TMR and minimum noise levels are reached at a later time that depends on temperature, being shorter at higher annealing temperatures. Devices annealed at 380 and at 430 °C exhibit the same minimum noise levels, α≈2×10−10 μm2. The origin of the resistance noise, its annealing time evolution, and its bias dependence are discussed and they are attr...


The rapid penetration of photovoltaic generation reduces power grid inertia and increases the need for intelligent energy resources that can cope in real time with the imbalance between power generation and consumption. Virtual power plants are a technology for coordinating such resources and monetizing them, for example on electricity markets with real-time pricing or on frequency reserves markets. Accurate short-term photovoltaic generation forecasts are essential for such virtual power plants. Although significant research has been done on medium- and long-term photovoltaic generation forecasting, the short-term forecasting problem requires special attention to sudden fluctuations due to the high variability of cloud cover and related weather events. Solar irradiance nowcasting aims to resolve this variability by providing reliable short-term forecasts of the expected power generation capacity. Sky images captured in proximity to the photovoltaic panels are used to determine cloud behavior and solar intensity. This is a computationally challenging task for conventional computer vision techniques and only a handful of Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods have been proposed. In this paper, a novel multimodal approach is proposed based on two Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTM) that receives a temporal image modality of a stream of sky images, a temporal numerical modality of a time-series of past solar irradiance readings and cloud cover readings as inputs for irradiance nowcasting. The proposed nowcasting pipeline consists of a preprocessing module and an irradiance augmentation module that implements methods for cloud detection, Sun localization and mask generation. The complete approach was empirically evaluated on a real-world solar irradiance case study across the four seasons of the northern hemisphere, resulting in a mean improvement of 39% for multimodality.


Forty-nine tef, Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter, genotypes comprising 36 improved and 10 farmers' varieties, and, three elite breeding lines were field evaluated using 7 × 7 simple lattice design at two contrasting locations (Debre Zeit and Alem Tena) in central Ethiopia during the main cropping season. The objective was to assess the extent and pattern of genetic diversity for 23 quantitative pheno-agro-morphological traits. Differences among the varieties were significant for most of the traits except lodging index, thousand seed weight, plant weight and grain yield per plant at each location. Similarity, the pooled analysis over locations showed significant genotype effect for most of the traits except number of total and fertile tillers, lodging index, plant weight and grain yield per plant. The varieties were grouped into seven clusters of different sizes. Improved varieties resulting from direct selection and hybridization were clustered together while local varieties mostly remained solitary. Principal component analysis depicted cumulative effects of a number of traits resulted in the differentiation of the varieties into clusters. Genetic distances among most of the clusters were significant such that crosses between parents selected out of them are expected to generate desirable genetic recombination. Hence, incorporation of farmers' varieties in the breeding program would be imperative for broadening the genetic base of the released varieties. Moreover, future research strategies on germplasm collection, conservation, rejuvenation, characterization, selection and incorporation must be given due emphasis in the tef breeding program.

 Key words: Clustering, genetic diversity, improved varieties, farmers' varieties, pheno-agro-morphological traits, principal component analysis, tef.


Because of the growing influence of China, the rapid economic development and the transformation of Chinese society have attracted the attention of analysts, politicians and mass media. There are, however, many aspects of these changes that are less well known. This is not only because of the sheer size of China ‐ with a population of more than 1.3 billion – but also because of the lack of information on the enormously large and varied rural areas, where still now more than 55% of the Chinese population lives. The great reform of the Chinese economy began 30 years ago in 1978. The basic change was liberalization of foreign trade, the so‐called "Open Door Policy". This involved a deep reform of the economy and in particular of agriculture, which entailed the dismantling of the collectives and the establishment of a family‐based farming structure, the so‐called "Household Responsibility System". The rapid development of the Chinese economy in recent decades is the result of the combined effect of these reforms. However the role that reforms in agriculture and rural areas have played in this transformation have often been overlooked, and in particular the effect of reliable food supplies on a continually growing population, such as the Chinese one. The great reduction in hunger and malnutrition, which in the past affected millions of Chinese citizens, has had a decisive impact on the reduction of poverty, thus increasing the social stability of the whole country.


The authors introduce a novel electrostatic precipitator using a wet-porous electrode (WPE) array, for application to various work processes (e.g., molding and extrusion), to improve the removal performance of ultrafine particles and water-soluble gaseous pollutants generated during manufacturing. The WPE array electrostatic precipitator (WPE-ESP) consists of an ionization component for particle charging and a collection component equipped with the WPE array to maintain a high humidity environment. The performance of the WPE-ESP was evaluated in terms of the removal efficiency of airborne particles and water-soluble gases under ESP operating conditions in which the ionization charge current, the applied electric field strength of the collection component, and the relative humidity (RH) were varied. The collection efficiency of the WPE-ESP was enhanced by increasing the RH, due to water adsorption on the particle surface and the enhanced electric field strength near the collecting plate. The maximum total collection efficiency of the ESP system was ˜99.2% for a 73% RH collection environment, which was approximately 3.3% higher than that of conventional dry-type ESP (C-ESP). The proposed system also removed sulfur dioxide (SO2), a representative source (90.7%) of undesirable emissions during manufacturing processes, and mitigated ozone (O3, <10 ppb), a by-product of the corona discharge in the ESP, regardless of the field strength. The proposed WPE-ESP included a simple mounting system; additionally, the system generated a more uniform water film than that of wet-ESPs. Thus, the WPE-ESP shows great potential for application to workplaces and machining devices that require the simultaneous removal of ultrafine particles and water-soluble gaseous pollutants. Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research


Using the Born-Oppenheimer parameter lambda = (m/M)(1/4) as a perturbation parameter, we find that for allowed transitions, the zeroth order approximation of the spectral intensity gives rise to the Condon approximation, the first order vibronic coupling and anharmonic effect appear in the first order approximation of the spectral intensity, which gives us the non-Condon scheme, and only the intensity of the transitions of totally-symmetric modes with nonvanishing normal coordinate displacements is affected by the inclusion of the first order vibronic coupling and anharmonic effect. For symmetry-forbidden but vibronic-allowed transitions, the first nonvanishing term of the spectral intensity is second order with respect to lambda and the B-O couplings do not appear in the calculation of the spectral intensity until the fourth order approximation with respect to lambda; in this case, other high order vibronic couplings and anharmonic effect are competing with the B-O couplings.


Background
The objective of this study was to explore how health professionals perceived the effect of the economic crisis and associated austerity measures on the detection of and cares for intimate partner violence (IPV) in primary care in Spain.

Methods
Qualitative study designed using semi-structured interviews carried out with 145 health professionals in 16 primary health care centres in different regions of Spain. An inductive thematic analysis was made of the transcriptions.

Results
Three main themes were identified: 'Women endure more violence during times of economic crisis', 'Fewer resources, fewer professionals and less time to respond to IPV' and 'Professionals' motivation as a requirement to respond to IPV'. Professionals perceived that economic precariousness triggered violence against women and made women more hesitant to put an end to violent relationships. They also reported that the austerity measures applied to primary health care negatively affected their ability to detect and adequately care for cases of IPV due to a heavy workload, reduced human resources, difficulties in training and the loss of resources to which women could be referred. To counteract these obstacles, health professionals' motivation played a vital role in the response to IPV.

Conclusions
Institutional efforts to organize awareness programmes and training in order to improve and promote early diagnosis, care and rehabilitation of these women cannot stop during times of crisis and primary health care centres should facilitate health professionals' access to these programmes.


Most microbes have become resistant to antibiotic drug therapy, aggravating this public health problem; with bacterial diseases becoming harder to eliminate. When new antibiotics are introduced in the market, gradual resistance emerges depending on how it has been dispensed. This study was done to determine and compare the resistance patterns of three enteric pathogens (Salmonella, Shigella and E. coli) from isolates of selected rural and urban populations. Faecal samples were obtained from children under the age of 5 years at Mbagathi (urban) and Siaya (rural) District Hospitals in Kenya. Isolation and identification of samples was done on the basis of characteristics on differential media (Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate and MacConkey), and by use of the standard biochemical methods. The strains of bacteria obtained were indiscriminately subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing using the single disc diffusion method. The zones of inhibition were measured in millimeters and recorded as the lowest concentration of drug preventing growth, and depending on the zone sizes they were classified as susceptible (S), intermediate (I) or resistant (R) to generate the data for comparison. These were compared against control strains. Upon isolation of the resistant strains, plasmid DNA analysis was carried out, and a comparison was made of the two populations; rural and urban. The findings from this study showed that out of 279 samples selected, 26.52% were E.coli, 11.08% Shigella and 1.08% Salmonella. Ampicillin faced most resistance; over 90% of the organisms were resistant to it. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, gentamycin, kanamycin and nalidixic acid were fairly effective in clearing pathogens in both populations. Cefepime, cefetazidime, chloramphenicol, ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were highly efficacious. This variation in resistance patterns could be due to exposure to antibiotics in the urban population. Proper diagnosis of infections and cautious consumption of antibiotics may reduce and eliminate this menace of antibiotic drug resistance.


The first real-time high frequency ultrasound system capable of visualizing and measuring blood flow parameters in the superficial microvasculature has been developed. The system uses a recently reported method, called swept-scan or swept-Doppler, to rapidly acquire 2-D frames for color flow frame rates approaching 10 fps. To optimize the system, a new high frequency flow phantom was constructed. RF data from the phantom was processed to optimize wall filter order, cutoff and attenuation for a 25 MHz, f/2 transducer for both M-mode and swept-mode. These parameters were then used in processing measurements of flow velocity and volume flow rate from within the phantom at a typical operating PRF of 500 Hz (scan speed of 1 mm/sec). For swept-scanning at 500 Hz, the mean and maximum flow velocities were found to be linear over a range of mean axial velocities ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 mm/sec (0.88 to 8.8 mm/sec angle corrected), though the mean velocities were over estimated due to the wall filter cutoff. The measured flow rates were consistent with the known flow rates, after considering the finite size of the resolution cell. Optimized color flow settings were then applied to in vivo imaging of the microcirculatory flow within the nail bed region of a human finger.


Cellular radio networks are continually growing in both node count and complexity. It therefore becomes more and more difficult to manage the networks and necessary to use time and cost effective automatic computer algorithms to organize the network's neighbor cell relations. Ericsson has developed such an algorithm, called automatic neighbor relations (ANR), which solves a part of this problem by automatically creating and updating neighbor cell relation (NCR) lists, based on measured network data. Network operators need to have an understanding of the algorithm and of its reliability and performance, which is not easily perceived. This paper presents a visualization tool that visualizes the performance of ANR and gives the user a possibility to control it via policies. The tool allows the operators to follow the evolution of the network and to find problems occurring over time. In addition, it also supports finding potential problems that can occur in the future. The tool was evaluated by a group of relevant domain users and the results from the evaluation were highly positive.


In view of contributing to the discussion about the rickets of newborn, whether an antenatal factor can play an etiological role or not, a following experiment was carried out. White rats were used as experimental animals, and a diet provoking rickets after Steenbock No. 2965 was administered, the component of which being partially changed. Then the rats were made to couple with healthy males fed with normal diet (rice, dried fish, green) and pregnancy was thus repeated in order to obtain youngs in different series. Of the newborns were examined, the body weight, the number of the same litter, histological and roentgenological findings of the bones, chemical analysis of calcium and elementary phosphorous in the bones etc. As the contrast healthy normal youngs were examined at the same time, On the other hand, the youngs of the experiment as well as of the contrast were fed with the rachitic diet from the beginning of the third week after birth and in a long duration of ten or fifteen weeks roentgenological and histological examinations were carried out at different times for the purpose of ascertaining the eruption of rachitic symptomes. The results of the experiment are summarized as follows: 1) During the experiment, the animals lost sometimes the gloss of the fur and became rough-furred. When pregnancy and delivery was repeated, the fur was pulled out to a large extent. The sexual cycle remained regular for a comparatively long time, but it ceased finally, if pregnancy was repeated. 2) By administering the rachitic diet, it was ascertained that the abortion or premature interruption of pregnancy and resorption of intrauterine fetuses took place in a marked degree. The longer the feeding with the rachitic diet, the more marked was this tendency. 3) By feeding with the rachitic diet for a certain time, the animals acquired a condition of low amount of blood phosphorous and symptoms of osteomalacia revealed by roentgen and histoiogical examinations. 4) In the newly born youngs there was no especial change in the body weight, the number of the litter and in the histological findings of the bones, but the amount of calcium in the bones was lowered to a moderate extent. 5) The bodily development of the youngs was general1y bad; those in the experiment being worse than in the contrast, and as time elapsed, the difference became more and more marked. 6) All the Wborns finally acquired the symptoms of rickets; those in the experiment were more rapid in its eruption and more marked in its begree than in the contrast.
From the above-results it can be stated that the newborns from the mother fed with the rachitic diet during pregnancy acquired a disposition liable to the rickets or in other words, they were born in a condition of "praerachitis". An antenatal factor was thus revealed to play an important role in the causation of the rickets.


The World Health Organization declared mpox (formerly monkeypox) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in July 2022. Aotearoa New Zealand has reported cases of mpox since July, with reports of locally acquired cases since October 2022. The 2022 global mpox outbreak highlights many features of the illness not previously described, including at-risk populations, mode of transmission, atypical clinical features, and complications. It is important that all clinicians are familiar with the variety of clinical manifestations, as patients may present to different healthcare providers, and taking lessons from the HIV pandemic, that all patients are managed without stigma or discrimination. There have been numerous publications since the outbreak began. Our narrative clinical review attempts to bring together the current clinical evidence for the New Zealand clinician.


In this paper, we consider beamformer design for multi-group multicasting where a common message is transmitted to the users in each group. We propose a novel effective alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) formulation in order to reduce the computational complexity of the existing state-of-the-art algorithm for multi-group multicast beamforming with per-antenna power constraints. The proposed approach is advantageous for the scenarios where the dimension of the channel matrix is less than the number of antennas at the base station. This case is always valid when the number of users is less than that of antennas, which is a practical situation in massive-MIMO systems. Simulation results show that the proposed method performs the same with significantly less computational time compared to the benchmark algorithm.


In this work, a photoamperometric glucose biosensor based on glucose oxidase (GODx) was developed in flow injection analysis (FIA) system using ZnS-CdS quantum dot (QD) modified multiwalled carbon nanotube/glassy carbon electrode (ZnS-CdS/MWCNT/GCE). Cyclic voltammograms of the proposed electrode (GODx/ZnS-CdS/MWCNT/GCE) showed a pair of well-defined reversible redox peak attributing that direct electron transfer between the protein and electrode. The current of the reduction peak became more cathodic in the presence of O2 due to the electrocatalytic activity of the electrode towards the reduction of dissolved O2, but reduction current shifted to a less negative value upon addition of glucose in the solution. The obtained CV currents were affected by the irradiation of the electrode surface. Thus, the photoelectrochemical biosensing of glucose in the FIA system was studied by monitoring of the changes in the electrocatalyzed reduction peak current of dissolved O2 at the proposed electrode dependent on glucose concentration. The proposed photoelectrochemical FIA method has a linear response to glucose ranging from of 0.01 to 1.0 mM with detection limit of 3.0 μM under optimized conditions. Photoelectrochemical biosensor was successfully fabricated in FIA system for selective, sensitive and repeatable detection of glucose and has been satisfactorily applied to determination of glucose in real sample.


The general objective of this research is to determine the indicator characteristics in Conger —Kanungo model that can be use to scale charismatic leadership in internasional bank in Jakarta, and to analyze influence of charismatic leadership characteristics in Conger — Kanungo model to another leadership style. According to the research, the result all characteristics in Conger-Kanungo model can be use to scale charismatic leadership. There are influence from charismatic leadership (Conger-Kanungo Model) to all another leadership style. This is show relationship between characteristics charismatic with Task-Oriented Leadership, relationship between environmental sensitivity, vision and articulation with participative leadership, relationship between vision and articulation, sensitivity to member needs to people oriented leadership dan relationship between sensitivity to member needs, vision and articulation with Bass Charisma Scale.Keywords : Charismatic Leadership, Task-Oriented Leadership. Participative Leadership, People-Oriented Leadership, Bass Charisma Scale


Crudely speaking, there are two main suggestions about teaching gifted and talented student: we can move them to a separate class section, or we can mix them with other students. Both options have pluses and minuses. In this paper, we formulate this problem in precise terms, we solve the corresponding mathematical optimization problem, and we come up with a somewhat unexpected optimal solution: mixing, but with an unusual twist.


ABSTRACT This study investigated the overall quality of the interpersonal relationship students have with faculty and staff, that is, relationship quality (RQ). In relationship management research, RQ is paramount for the creation of bonds with customers, which in turn is necessary for the sustainability of organizations, that is, continuity and growth. In higher education, it is not only recent changes in funding of education that urge us to further investigate RQ, as students having relational bonds with their teachers and faculty/staff is important as well. These relationships are expected to positively influence students' college experiences. Although educational literature addresses the importance of student–faculty relationships, little is known about students' perceptions of the quality of their relationship with their program. The aim of this study was therefore to get a more in-depth understanding of the concept and measurement of RQ within a higher education context. To that end, an existing RQ scale was used measuring five dimensions: trust in honesty, trust in benevolence, satisfaction, affective commitment, and affective conflict. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on survey responses of 551 students from a Dutch university of applied sciences. Next to the CFA, a small-scale focus group discussion was held to validate the quantitative findings of students' perceptions on RQ. The findings confirm that the RQ instrument is an adequate instrument to investigate RQ in a higher education context. Additional qualitative findings also suggest that students acknowledge the relevance of RQ and the need for having a good relationship with their faculty and staff.


Study of low-velocity impact (LVI) performance of fabric reinforced polymer (FRP) composites has drawn keen interest from the research community due to its application in various fields. In this direction, material designers and scientists have reported the behavior and performance of advanced composites subjected to LVI. In this paper, the existing literature and current research relating to LVI behavior and performance of fabric reinforced polymer composites and nanocomposites are briefly reviewed. The impact behavior of some representative fabric reinforcements such as glass, carbon, Kevlar, Twaron, and hybrid fabric reinforcements in different matrix formulations have been discussed. The effect of fabric hybridization and nanofiller incorporation has also been reviewed. The fabrication methods, process parameters to achieve LVI application-centric fabric reinforced polymer composites, their characterization methods and testing standards are reported. Also, the failure mechanisms observed in FRP composites when subjected to LVI events are briefly discussed. Such information relating to LVI resistant polymer composite materials has significant implications in the development of advanced composite systems and to achieve material sufficiency for a wide range of structural applications. of failure mechanisms in Kevlar, carbon and glass hybrid composites.


This paper presents a set of controllers for TCP/IPv6 networks. These controllers are developed from the traditional Proportional Integral Controller, and can support differentiated Quality of Service Requirement of the end users. Those requirements are labeled in the IPv6 header of the packets, checked by the controllers upon their arrival to the routers, so as to provide guidance to further dropping actions when congestions occur. Simulation results demonstrate the controllers' ability of guaranteeing certain levels of Quality of Service to the end users according to their demands.


Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada has been experiencing the consequences of a rising sea level and intense storms on its coasts in recent years. The most recent severe event, Post Tropical Storm Dorian (Dorian), began impacting Prince Edward Island on 7 September 2019 and lasted for over 20 h until the morning of 8 September 2019. The measurement of highwater marks (HWM) from the storm was conducted between 25 September and 25 October 2019 using a high precision, survey grade methodology. The HWM measured included vegetation lines, wrack lines, beach, cliff, and dune morphological features, and tide gauge data at 53 locations in the Province along coastal areas that are exposed to high tides, storm surge, high winds, and wave runup. Photos were taken to provide evidence on the nature of the HWM data locations. The data reveal that Dorian caused extensive coastal floods in many areas along the North and South Coast of Prince, Queens and Western Kings Counties of Prince Edward Island. The floods reached elevations in excess of 3.4 m at some locations, posing threats to local infrastructure and causing damage to natural features such as sand dunes in these areas. The HWM data can provide useful information for community and emergency response organizations as plans are developed to cope with the rising sea level and increased frequency of highwater events as predicted by researchers. As Dorian has caused significant damage in several coastal areas in PEI, better planning using an enhanced storm forecasting and coastal flood warning system, in conjunction with flood stage values, could possibly have reduced the impacts of the storm in the impacted areas. This could help enhance public understanding of the potential impacts in local areas and how they can prepare and adapt for these events in the future.


A 23-year-old woman presented for assessment of positive celiac disease serologic testing. The testing was performed at the patient's request because her 15-year-old brother was diagnosed with celiac disease. Based on her test results, the patient was advised to commence a gluten-free diet. However, she believed that a small intestinal biopsy would be appropriate to confirm her diagnosis and sought another opinion.

The patient did not report any symptoms. She was the eldest of 6 children who were healthy except for the 1 sibling with celiac disease. Her mother had a history of thyroid cancer. Results of her physical examination were normal except for dental enamel defects (with both color and structural changes; Figure). Her body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) was 21, and her level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was low at 18 ng/mL (reference range, 20-50). There was no evidence of other vitamin or mineral deficiency, anemia, or thyroid dysfunction.


s International Conference & Exhibition on Asian Emergency Care & Defence Medicine S119 With the objective of reducing the number of medical errors made due to inadequate patient history, LifeMedic seeks to provide this information to emergency care doctors through the use of the Internet, telecommunication, and wireless communications technologies.


ABSTRACT We evaluated the molecular mechanism for resistance of 360 enterococci for which the gentamicin MICs were ≥128 μg/ml. The aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2")-Ia, aph(2")-Ic, and aph(2")-Id genes were identified by PCR in isolates from animals, food, and humans. The aph(2")-Ib gene was not identified in any of the isolates. Two Enterococcus faecalis isolates (MICs > 1,024 μg/ml) from animals failed to generate a PCR product for any of the genes tested and likely contain a new unidentified aminoglycoside resistance gene. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis showed a diversity of strains. However, 1 human and 18 pork E. faecalis isolates from Michigan with the aac(6′)-Ie-aph(2")-Ia gene had related PFGE patterns and 2 E. faecalis isolates from Oregon (1 human and 1 grocery store chicken isolate) had indistinguishable PFGE patterns. We found that when a gentamicin-resistant gene was present in resistant enterococci from animals, that gene was also present in enterococci isolated from food products of the same animal species. Although these data indicate much diversity among gentamicin-resistant enterococci, the data also suggest similarities in gentamicin resistance among enterococci isolated from humans, retail food, and farm animals from geographically diverse areas and provide evidence of the spread of gentamicin-resistant enterococci from animals to humans through the food supply.


Natural and man-made disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, plane crashes, high-rise building collapses, major nuclear facility malfunctions, pose an ever-present challenge to public emergency services. Disasters may result in a large volume of responders arriving on-scene to provide assistance to victims. Coordination of responding resources is a major problem in disasters. In this paper we introduce a decision support framework built on rapid information collection and resource tracking functionalities. Based on this information collected from emergency response service agencies, operation research techniques are used to find an optimal solution for resource deployment and dispatching.


Design, implementation and some practical results of the pulsed digital LLRF system (amplitude, phase and tuning loops) of the RFQ for the RAL (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) FETS (Front End Test Stand) are presented. The design is based on a fast analog front-end for RF-baseband conversion and a model-based Virtex-4 FPGA unit for signal processing and PI regulation. Complexity of the LLRF timing is significantly reduced and the LLRF requirements are fulfilled by utilizing the RF-baseband conversion method compared to the conventional RF-IF approach. Validity of the control loops is ensured practically by hardware-in-the-loop cosimulation of the system in MATLAB-Simulink using an aluminium mock-up cavity. It was shown through extensive tests that the LLRF system meets all the requirements including amplitude and phase stability, dynamic range, noise level and additionally provides full amplitude and phase control range and a phase margin larger than 90 degrees for loop stability.


Phenotypic evaluation and the culling of candidate animals for traits by applying traditional animal breeding are usually costly tasks, which need to be carried out over a considerable span of time. The use of molecular genetics as an alternative method enables animal breeders to select eligible animals for the desirable trait, or traits, at earlier ages. Selection based upon markers could result in increased accuracy as well as a better selection response of animals. The Booroola gene has long been recognized as a candidate gene responsible for a higher rate of ewe ovulation, which results in increased litter size. In this study, blood samples were taken from 150 Sangsari sheep breed (140 ewes and 10 rams) in the Damghan animal breeding center using Venojects treated with an anticlot substance (EDTA). The sample DNA contents were salted out and extracted. After extraction, and after undertaking quantitative and qualitative tests (including spectrophotometry and gel agarose, 8%), the required amounts of DNA for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were determined. Using the relevant primer, the related part was reproduced (190 bp) and then the PCR products were cut by AvaΠ enzymes for the gene, and 2 parts (30 bp and 160 bp) were produced for the target site. The results obtained in this study revealed that only the wild-type allele (+) was observed in the samples, indicating that, most likely, only genotype ++ was present in the population under consideration.


Free Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) is an encompassing term, which refers to the licenses associated with making the source code that is the instructions and language per se, which define how software works and is made available for others to read, modify and share. Providing a brief history of FLOSS, this paper presents a hypothetical situation, whereby elements of FLOSS are applied to reimagining institutional change within the context of a contemporary arts venue and organisation. Framed as an artistic intervention, the art institution's structure and its existing forms are considered as the living materiality of the practice. The paper presents a set of processes, defined as 'Acts of Transition', whereby the values of Free Libre and Open Source are collaboratively explored with the institution's staff and executed together, across and within the organisation's teams. As 'Acts of Transition' they aim to support more commons-based peer-production processes, by reimagining the arts organisation as an open source civic organisation.


Continuous manufacturing (CM) introduces the benefits of cost efficiency, reliability and scalability for the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. Higher flexibility, smaller facility footprints and cost of goods benefits are advantages of this production mode. It offers high flexibility in regard of demand changes from clinical to launch and for volatile market dynamics. In combination with disposable equipment, faster time-to-market and closed processing seems feasible. Bayer ́s unique CM platform consists of a series of downstream processing (DSP) unit operations through which the drug substance moves continuously and all unit operations happen more or less in parallel at the same time. The technology offers the potential to make Quality by Design (QbD) a reality (with continuously monitored process parameters and real-time feedback process control to maintain qualityindicating parameters within limits at all times, multi-variate data analysis). Individual unit operations are intelligently integrated and critical process parameters are monitored and controlled in real-time. Conditioning modules allow immediate corrective actions to be executed in an automated fashion to maintain the entire process in a state of control with low batch-to-batch variability. In addition, online sampling and testing functions provide early warning of potential excursions. By reduced manual interference this will also lead to reduction of operator errors and according deviations. Manufacturing facilities will be significantly less capital-intensive (e.g. by simpler layout) than large, traditional batch facilities as disposable technology and aseptic connections offer superior protection against bioburden ingress and other forms of contamination. The presentation also intends to illustrate comparability of CM versus batch processing in a side-by-side approach covering process information, real time analysis as well as quality data from intermediates and final drug substance of an antibody product.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the characteristics of patients with influenza A (H1N1)-associated pneumonia treated at two hospitals in the region of Liguria, Italy, as well as to describe their treatment and outcomes.

METHODS
This was a prospective observational study including all patients older than 16 years of age with a confirmed diagnosis of influenza A (H1N1) who were admitted to Villa Scassi Hospital, in the city of Genoa, Italy, or to the Sestri Levante General Hospital, in the city of Sestri Levante, Italy, between September of 2009 and January of 2010. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 60 days after diagnosis. Secondary outcome measures were the need for mechanical ventilation and the length of hospital stay.

RESULTS
Of the 40 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of influenza A (H1N1), 27 presented pneumonia during the study period. The mean age of the 27 patients was 42.8 ± 14.8 years, and the mean length of hospital stay was 11.6 ± 8.2 days. Of the 27 patients, 20 had respiratory failure, 4 underwent invasive mechanical ventilation, and 5 underwent noninvasive ventilation. One patient had comorbidities, developed multiple organ failure, and died.

CONCLUSIONS
During the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, the associated mortality rate was lower in Italy than in other countries, and cases reported in the country typically had a milder course than did those reported elsewhere. Nevertheless, 9 of our cases (33%) rapidly evolved to respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation.


The kinetics of inhibition of human and bovine alpha-thrombin and human factor Xa by antithrombin III were examined under pseudo-first-order conditions as a function of the concentration of pentosan polysulphate [a fully sulphated (beta 1-4)-linked D-xylopyranose with a single laterally positioned 4-O-methyl-alpha-D-glucuronic acid]. Double-reciprocal plots of the observed first-order rate constant against concentration of pentosan polysulphate gave straight lines, intercepts on the axes giving values for maximum increase in second-order rate constant (by calculation) and apparent dissociation constant. These values were: for human alpha-thrombin 1.52 X 10(7) M-1 . min-1 and 3.6 microM respectively, for bovine alpha-thrombin 6.56 X 10(6) M-1 . min-1 and 0.16 microM and for factor Xa 6.86 X 106 M-1 . min-1 and 20 microM. In the presence of pentosan polysulphate the dissociation constant for the initial complex of antithrombin III and thrombin was shown to be reduced from approx. 2 X 10(-3) M to 61 X 10(-6) M without apparent change in the limiting rate constant of 750 min-1. An oligosaccharide (primarily 8-10 saccharide units) prepared from heparin and with high affinity for antithrombin III but low potency in the thrombin-antithrombin III interaction did not diminish the rate of interaction catalysed by pentosan polysulphate. The catalysis was shown to be due to a weak electrostatic interaction, since it was completely reversed by concentrations of NaCl greater than 0.3 M. It is concluded that the mechanism is independent of the heparin high-affinity binding site on antithrombin III and is probably due to binding of the high-charge-density polysaccharide to the proteinase. It is calculated that the acceleration in rate achieved, although lower than that of heparin, approaches that required to be of physiological significance and may be of importance in the anticoagulation role of antithrombin III at sites of high charge density which may occur in vivo.


Reconstruction of fractured, distorted, or missing parts in human skeleton presents an equal challenge in the fields of paleoanthropology, bioarcheology, forensics, and medicine. This is particularly important within the disciplines such as orthodontics and surgery, when dealing with mandibular defects due to tumors, developmental abnormalities, or trauma. In such cases, proper restorations of both form (for esthetic purposes) and function (restoration of articulation, occlusion, and mastication) are required. Several digital approaches based on three‐dimensional (3D) digital modeling, computer‐aided design (CAD)/computer‐aided manufacturing techniques, and more recently geometric morphometric methods have been used to solve this problem. Nevertheless, comparisons among their outcomes are rarely provided. In this contribution, three methods for hemimandibular body reconstruction have been tested. Two bone defects were virtually simulated in a 3D digital model of a human hemimandible. Accordingly, 3D digital scaffolds were obtained using the mirror copy of the unaffected hemimandible (Method 1), the thin plate spline (TPS) interpolation (Method 2), and the combination between TPS and CAD techniques (Method 3). The mirror copy of the unaffected hemimandible does not provide a suitable solution for bone restoration. The combination between TPS interpolation and CAD techniques (Method 3) produces an almost perfect‐fitting 3D digital model that can be used for biocompatible custom‐made scaffolds generated by rapid prototyping technologies. Anat Rec, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Although a number of methods have been proposed for representing uncertainty in spatial information, there has been relatively little testing of how users interpret uncertainty from those methods. Using results of a fuzzy classification of satellite imagery, this study looks at users' perceptions of a number of different methods for visualization of uncertainty. Both relatively expert and novice users are highly successful at determining classification uncertainty among pixels when shown in greyscale images and histograms, as well as having moderate success with random animations. Viewers considered that although random animation is a good method of showing overall classification uncertainty, greyscale images are a better way to extract specific information. Serial animation was not widely appreciated. In general, the accuracy of answers to specific questions was greatly improved when linked views and ancillary graphic information were available. All the methods examined in this study, in short, were rela...


Populism can be described as the behaviour of politicians who choose a sub-optimal stance or policy in order to pander to the electorate and gather consensus. We model populism in a political agency framework and find the conditions for an honest and social welfare-maximising politician to act as populist in order to be re-elected. It turns out that the occurrence of populism hinges on the need to keep rent-seeking, corrupt, politicians away from power and, so, is more common where the share of corrupt politicians is large. We also prove that the populist equilibrium is more likely the worse are the economic conditions of the country, the larger are the rents to be captured by people in power and the less effective is economic policy to fight instability and economic crises.


Many trust models have been proposed to evaluate seller trustworthiness in multiagent e-marketplaces. Their performance varies highly depending on environments where they are applied. However, it is challenging to choose suitable models for environments where ground truth about seller trustworthiness is unknown (called unknown environments). We propose a novel framework to choose suitable trust models for unknown environments, based on the intuition that if a model performs well in one environment, it will do so in another similar environment. Specifically, for an unknown environment, we identify a similar simulated environment (with known ground truth) where the trust model performing the best will be chosen as the suitable solution. Evaluation results confirm the effectiveness of our framework in choosing suitable trust models for different environments.


I am very thankful to Kuznetsov for his comments on our recent paper about serial structures published in this journal. I hope this is just the beginning of a much wider, and holistic, discussion on the evolution of serial homologous structures, and of so‐called "serial structures" in general, whether they are truly serial homologs or the secondary result of homoplasy. Strangely, Kuznetsov seems to have missed the main point of our paper, what is particularly puzzling as this point is clearly made in the very title of our paper. For instance, he states that "Siomava et al. claim that the serial homologues are false because they are ancestrally anisomeric (dissimilar)' and that" Siomava et al., (Siomava et al., Journal of Morphology, 2020, 281, 1110–1132) expected that if serial homology was true, then the serial homologs would be identical at the start and then only diverge. " However, our paper clearly did not state this. Instead, we stated that (a) serial homology is a real phenomenon, and (b) ancestral dissimilarity is actually likely the norm, and not the exception, within serial homology. In particular, our paper showed that, as clearly stated in its title and abstract, within the evolution of serial homologues these structures "many times display trends toward less similarity while in many others display trends toward more similarity, that is, one cannot say that there is a clear, overall trend to anisomerism." Serial homology is therefore a genuine and much widespread phenomenon within the evolution of life in this planet. It is clearly one of the most important issues—and paradoxically one of the less understood, precisely because of the a priori acceptance of long‐standing assumptions that have never been empirically tested, some of them repeated in Kuznetsov's paper—within macroevolution and comparative anatomy.


Ideal point estimators are typically based on an assumption that all legislators are equally responsive to modeled dimensions of legislative disagreement; however, particularistic constituency interests and idiosyncrasies of individual legislators introduce variation in the degree to which legislators cast votes predictably. I introduce a Bayesian heteroskedastic ideal point estimator and demonstrate by Monte Carlo simulation that it outperforms standard homoskedastic estimators at recovering the relative positions of legislators. In addition to providing a refinement of ideal point estimates, the heteroskedastic estimator recovers legislator-specific error variance parameters that describe the extent to which each legislator's voting behavior is not conditioned on the primary axes of disagreement in the legislature. Through applications to the roll call histories of the U.S. Congress, the E.U. Parliament, and the U.N. General Assembly, I demonstrate how to use the heteroskedastic estimator to study substantive questions related to legislative incentives for low-dimensional voting behavior as well as diagnose unmodeled dimensions and nonconstant ideal points.


Presented here, is an extensive 35 parameter experimental data set of a cylindrical 21700 commercial cell (LGM50), for an electrochemical pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) model. The experimental methodologies for tear-down and subsequent chemical, physical, electrochemical kinetics and thermodynamic analysis, and their accuracy and validity are discussed. Chemical analysis of the LGM50 cell shows that it is comprised of a NMC 811 positive electrode and bi-component Graphite-SiO x negative electrode. The thermodynamic open circuit voltages (OCV) and lithium stoichiometry in the electrode are obtained using galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) in half cell and three-electrode full cell con fi gurations. The activation energy and exchange current coef fi cient through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Apparent diffusion coef fi cients are estimated using the Sand equation on the voltage transient during the current pulse; an expansion factor was applied to the bi-component negative electrode data to re fl ect the average change in effective surface area during lithiation. The 35 parameters are applied within a P2D model to show the fi t to experimental validation LGM50 cell discharge and relaxation voltage pro fi les at room temperature. The accuracy and validity of the processes and the techniques in the determination of these parameters are discussed, including opportunities for further modelling and data analysis improvements.


Exploration (performing actions to obtain information) is a critical cognitive function necessary for learning and decision-making. Effective decision-making requires finding the right balance between exploration and exploitation (taking action to obtain immediate reward). We can distinguish two types of learning and decision-making that differ crucially in how they approach exploratory behavior that are thought to be served by partially distinct neural systems. Reflexive decision-making is thought to be more habitual or automatic, computationally cheap, and mediated largely by processing in the striatum. Reflective decision-making is more goaldirected, relatively computationally expensive, depends on executive processing, and is thought to crucially depend on the prefrontal cortex. Reflective learning involves building a rich mental representation of the environment. This representation can allow the learner to use uncertainty in the environment to direct exploratory choices when they will be most valuable. To be most effective, one should explore when and where there is more uncertainty in the environment in order to gain more information to guide future choices. In contrast, reflexive strategies lead to "random" exploration. In a series of studies I examined the involvement of prefrontal cortex in reflective learning and the role of reflective processing in exploratory decision-making. In two studies, I investigated the contribution of prefrontal cortex to reflective and reflexive learning by iv examining the effects of prefrontal transcranial infrared laser stimulation on category learning. Reflective, but not reflexive, category learning was improved by laser stimulation. In three studies, I investigated factors influencing reflective and reflexive processing in exploratory decision-making. Study 3 found that greater levels of depression symptoms were associated with less frequent reflective strategy use. Study 4 found that genotype on a gene modulating prefrontal dopamine levels (COMT) was associated with reflective strategy use under cognitive load. Study 5 investigated reflective exploratory behavior in older (>60 years) and younger (<30 years) populations, finding that rather than a reflective processing deficit, older adults' performance suffered (relative to younger adults) due to applying the wrong reflective strategy. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms of exploratory behavior and suggest a critical role for the prefrontal-based learning system.


The Nam Con Son Basin is situated within 6°6'-9°45'N and 106°0'-109°30'E. Its southern and southeastern boundaries are in the Vietnamese waters which border the neighbouring countries, and its eastern, northern and western boundaries are on the Vietnamese continental shelf. The exploration history of the Nam Con Son Basin can be divided into four periods: the Pre 1975 period, the 1976-1980 period, the 1981-1989 period, and the 1990-present period. The heterogeneous basement of quartz diorite, granodiorite and Mesozoic metamorphic rocks is unconformably covered by Paleocene-Quaternary sediments composed of the Cau, Dua, Thong-Mang Cau, Nam Con Son and Bien Dong Formations. All the geological formations in the Nam Con Son Basin can be divided into two complexes of major structural elements, the basement composed of Pre-Cenozoic strata and the cover composed of Cenozoic sediments. The Nam Con Son Basin can be divided into the following tectonic zones, namely, the Western Differentiated Zone, the Northern Differentiated Zone and the Dua-Close-to-Natuna Zone. Good source rock sequences are developed in Oligocene lacustrine claystones and in Miocene fine grained clastics. Paleogene reservoir rocks include Oligocene clastics and Lower Miocene reservoir rocks. There are Oligocene and Miocene cap rocks. Potential for both structural and stratigraphical traps are considered to exist in the N am Con Son Basin.


In just over a decade the optical frequency comb technique has completely transformed the field of frequency metrology. These devices have made the measurement of the frequency of light a much easier and affordable task when compared to with earlier techniques. With both research and technology development on these devices becoming more mature, optical frequency combs have been affecting other science areas. Applications are already found in spectroscopy, attosecond physics and astrophysics and more science and engineering areas can be expected to be affected in the near future. The dissemination over optical fibre of optical frequency combs between research labs, or between research labs and industry, could facilitate and accelerate this process. In particular, with optical frequency standards currently exhibiting a fractional accuracy better than 10^-17 and optical frequency combs making this accuracy available across a wide spectrum, new experiments could be devised in a wide range of research fields if ultra accurate microwave and optical frequencies were to be made available beyond the walls of metrology laboratories. However, before the work presented in this thesis, limited research was undertaken to test how accurately an optical frequency comb could be transferred over optical fibre. Environmentally-induced noise in the fibre, dispersion issues and other processes taking place during the propagation and detection of the optical signal could all degrade its quality to a level incompatible with the desired applications. The experiments described here demonstrate that optical frequency combs can be disseminated over optical links, from several-km to many tens of km-long, whilst preserving the stability and accuracy of its mode frequency spacing and mode frequency to a level compatible with the majority of the most demanding frequency metrology applications.


We propose a formal framework to model an automated adaptation protocol based on Quantitative Partial Model Checking (QPMC). An agent seeks the collaboration of a second agent to satisfy some (fixed) condition on the actions to be executed. The provided protocol allows the two agents to automatically agree by iteratively applying QPMC.


As an activity, research through design gives rise to new knowledge from both creative processes and, if there are any, resultant artifacts. Arguably, all creative practitioners are researchers of one kind or another, whether through materials, aesthetics, technologies, ethnographies, or cultural theory. It also can be argued that research methods in creative practice have not so much been invented or applied to validate academic integrity, but instead they have unfolded and emerged as enquiry has deepened. In this way, the design researcher has the means to re-position their projects to frame premeditated research questions and objectives within their work, and in some cases, apply research questions after practice has taken place.


Models of sexual selection often assume dichotomous sex roles, with one sex competing for access to mates, while the other sex is choosy. However, it is well known that mating decisions are realized by integrating information across multiple traits, the relative importance of which may be sex specific. While a large body of work has investigated the influence of sexual signals on mating behavior, such traits have typically been studied in isolation, oversimplifying the multimodal communication associated with natural mating behavior. We investigated the impact of 2 key traits (Major Histocompatibility Class II beta-chain [MHIIb] olfactory cues and body size) on mate choice decisions in the potbellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis), a species considered to have female competition and male choice. We used a hierarchical experimental design (1. olfactory cues only, 2. olfactory and visual cues, and 3. free interaction) to investigate behavioral preferences and mating success of female and male seahorses under increasing levels of multimodal stimulation. Our data show that female seahorses prefer and mate with MHIIb-dissimilar males, while male seahorses mate randomly with respect to this trait. Conversely, males prefer and mate with large females, while females show no size-based mating preference. The multimodal integration of sex-specific mate preferences in mating behavior of the potbellied seahorse suggests the existence of mutual mate choice in this species. The results presented here suggest that more comprehensive studies of mating behavior, considering both female and male preferences for multiple traits, may lead to a more nuanced understanding of how sexual selection operates in natural populations.


In  Central Europe, spruce forests play an important role in forestry and wood  production and cover large surfaces. This study focuses on the mechanical  stability of monocultural, evenaged spruce stands. Measurements were taken in  three different forests in the Western part of Oberosterreich (Austria). Two  of them belong to farmers, the third, the "Weilhartsforst" is run  as a private business. In 18 plots of 20 by 20 meters, an inventory of  diameter, height, crown length, social position and damage by deer was made.  This data were statistically analysed on al parameters in relation to  management and eld. The h/d ratio was used as main parameter, as it is in  many Austrian stability studies. Generally , the mechanical stability of the spruce stands is insufficient,  which is the result of the treatment. A strong thinning, by cutting  neighbouring trees of all candidates will give a satisfactory h/d ratio.  There was found that a first stern reduction should take place in the first  10 years, and a first thinning 5 to 7 years later. Dominant trees are the  most stable ones, but also the most attractive for deer. To prevent damage, a  good wildlife management is necessary. By selecting the dominant trees and  following a consequent thinning, one creates a very uniform stand. This seems  to be the most mechanically stable, following the results of the research,  but it is known as ecologically dangerous.


The common view is that T-lymphocytes activate telomerase, a DNA polymerase that extends telomeres at chromosome ends, to delay senescence. We show that independently of telomerase, T cells elongate telomeres by acquiring telomere vesicles from antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Upon contact with T cells, APCs degraded shelterin to donate telomeres, which were cleaved by TZAP, and then transferred in extracellular vesicles (EVs) at the immunological synapse. Telomere vesicles retained the Rad51 recombination factor that enabled them to fuse with T cell chromosomal ends causing an average lengthening of ∼3000 base pairs. Thus, we identify a previously unknown telomere transfer program that supports T cell lifespan.


Spatial metaphors for affective valence are common in English, where up in space=happy/positive and down in space=sad/negative. Past research suggests that these metaphors have some measure of psychological reality: people are faster to respond to valenced words and faces when they are presented in metaphor-congruent regions of space. Here we explore whether the orientation of a stimulus – rather than its position – is sufficient to elicit such spatialvalence congruency effects, and, if so, which spatial reference frame(s) people use to represent this orientation. In Experiment 1, participants viewed images of happy and sad profile faces in different orientations and had to identify the emotion depicted in each face. In Experiment 2, participants completed this task while lying down on their sides, thereby disassociating environmental and egocentric reference frames. Experiment 1 revealed a metaphor-congruent interaction between emotion and orientation, while Experiment 2 revealed that this spatial-valence congruency effect was only reliable in the environmental frame of reference.


Infant mortality is one of the central public issues in most of the developing countries. In Malaysia, the infant mortality rates have improved at the national level over the last few decades. However, the issue concerned is whether the improvement is uniformly distributed throughout the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the geographical distribution of infant mortality in Peninsular Malaysia from the year 1970 to 2000 using a technique known as disease mapping. It is assumed that the random variable of infant mortality cases comes from Poisson distribution. Mixture models were used to find the number of optimum components/groups for infant mortality data for every district in Peninsular Malaysia. Every component is assumed to have the same distribution, but different parameters. The number of optimum components were obtained by maximum likelihood approach via the EM algorithm. Bayes theorem was used to determine the probability of belonging to each district in every components of the mixture distribution. Each district was assigned to the component that had the highest posterior probability of belonging. The results obtained were visually presented in maps. The analysis showed that in the early year of 1970, the spatial heterogeneity effect was more prominent; however, towards the end of 1990, this pattern tended to disappear. The reduction in the spatial heterogeneity effect in infant mortality data indicated that the provisions of health services throughout the Peninsular Malaysia have improved over the period of the study, particularly towards the year 2000.


Motivated by successful mobile broadband subscription uptake in some
countries, the cellular communication industry around the world is currently aggressively expanding mobile communication networks to third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) systems. These systems include the wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) standard, the IEEE 802.16 standards, and the 3GPP Release 8 (Rel-8) Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless broadband standard. Real time application such as video streaming and real time gaming, are expected to become popular and generate large amounts of traffic in the mobile network. Successful delivery of real time content over mobile networks depends on the network's ability to schedule real time traffic with quality assurance. Without quality assurance, distortion occurs and impacts user experience. Thus, maintaining the quality of service (QoS) such as packet delay, packet loss ratio (PLR), median and cell border throughput requirements in networks dominated by real time traffic, is critical. On the other hand, given the stiff competition in the telecommunication industry, operators seek fast go-to-market solutions for any new types of service to be introduced. Operators need to make informed decisions on network expansion to satisfy performance requirements efficiently. Radio network planners usually face a number of challenges as they need to design networks in a short time frame. This drives the need for an efficient radio network planning methodology with QoS considerations to rapidly estimate the cost of deployment.


Multiple applications that execute concurrently on heterogeneous platforms compete for CPU and network resources. In this paper, we consider the problem of scheduling applications to ensure fair and efficient execution on a distributed network of processors. We limit our study to the case where communication is restricted to a tree embedded in the network, and the applications consist of a large number of independent tasks (Bags of Tasks) that originate at the tree's root. The tasks of a given application all have the same computation and communication requirements, but these requirements can vary for different applications. The goal of scheduling is to maximize the throughput of each application while ensuring a fair sharing of resources between applications. We can find the optimal asymptotic rates by solving a linear programming problem that expresses all necessary problem constraints, and we show how to construct a periodic schedule from any linear program solution. For single-level trees, the solution is characterized by processing tasks with larger communication-to-computation ratios at children with larger bandwidths. For multilevel trees, this approach requires global knowledge of all application and platform parameters. For large-scale platforms, such global coordination by a centralized scheduler may be unrealistic. Thus, we also investigate decentralized schedulers that use only local information at each participating resource. We assess their performance via simulation and compare to an optimal centralized solution obtained via linear programming. The best of our decentralized heuristics achieves the same performance on about 2/3 of our test cases but is far worse in a few cases. Although our results are based on simple assumptions and do not explore all parameters (such as the maximum number of tasks that can be held on a node), they provide insight into the important question of fairly and optimally scheduling heterogeneous applications on heterogeneous grids.


Many algorithms for score-based Bayesian network structure learning (BNSL), in particular exact ones, take as input a collection of potentially optimal parent sets for each variable in the data. Constructing such collections naively is computationally intensive since the number of parent sets grows exponentially with the number of variables. Thus, pruning techniques are not only desirable but essential. While good pruning rules exist for the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), current results for the Bayesian Dirichlet equivalent uniform (BDeu) score reduce the search space very modestly, hampering the use of the (often preferred) BDeu. We derive new non-trivial theoretical upper bounds for the BDeu score that considerably improve on the state-of-the-art. Since the new bounds are mathematically proven to be tighter than previous ones and at little extra computational cost, they are a promising addition to BNSL methods.