Policies that curtail social and economic activities during a pandemic are predominantly decided upon at the national level, but have international ramifications. In this paper we examine what type of inefficiencies this may create and how cooperation across countries may improve outcomes. We find that inefficiencies arise even among completely identical countries. We show that countries are likely to choose excessively lenient policies from the perspective of world welfare in later stages of the pandemic. This provides a rationale for setting minimum containment standards internationally. By contrast, in early and intermediate stages of the pandemic, national containment policies may also be excessively strict. Whether or not this is the case depends on country's degree of economic integration relative to (outward and inward) mobility of people.


Numbering action vertices in workflow graphs Workflow graphs, consisting of actions, events, and logical switches, are used to model business processes. In order to easily identify the actions within a workflow graph, it is useful to number them in such a way that the numbering reflects the structure of the workflow. However, available tools offer only rudimental numbering schemes. In the paper, a set of natural requirements is defined that a logical numbering should fulfill. It is investigated under what conditions there is an appropriate numbering at all, when it is uniquely defined by the set of requirements, and when it can be computed efficiently. It is shown that for an important special class of workflow graphs, namely, structured workflow graphs, the answer to all these questions is affirmative. For general workflow graphs, a set of requirements is presented that can always be fulfilled, but the numbering is not necessarily unique. An algorithm based on a depth-first search can be used to compute an appropriate numbering efficiently.


Helicopters exhibit a very particular Doppler radar signature caused by the movement of rotor blades. This signature can easily be derived using a short-time approximation: the blades are assumed to be static during each pulse. In wideband linear frequency modulated (LFM) radars, however, this assumption cannot be made. The work presented here describes the echo of rotary blades illuminated by LFM radars without the short-time assumption and provides useful information for detection and recognition purposes.


Introduction Smoking starts and progresses rapidly during adolescence. Therefore, it is important to prevent youths from smoking. Previous research is mostly conducted on adolescent samples. This innovative study will focus on smoking of children aged 9–11 years old. The aim is to test whether parental smoking-specific communication and parental smoking add to smoking-specific cognitions derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in predicting smoking onset. Method A total of 1478 pairs of mothers and children participated. Structural equation models in Mplus were used to examine whether parental smoking-specific communication are important in shaping children's smoking cognitions, which affects smoking onset. Results Pro-smoking attitude, higher frequency of communication and high parental smoking were associated with smoking onset. No significant association was found for self-efficacy, perceived norm of mother, (best) friends on smoking onset. We also found that a frequency of communication, quality of communication and parental smoking were related to smoking cognitions. Conclusion At this age, smoking-specific communication and smoking behaviour of parents are associated with smoking cognitions. From the cognitions, only attitude is related to smoking onset. The extension of TPB is comparable with earlier research on adolescents. A difference between adolescent and child research is that cognitions have no association with smoking onset. A possible explanation can be that smoking-specific cognitions are not developed at this age because children are not engaged in smoking yet. Results can be used to develop effective family-based smoking prevention programs.


This writing draws on an ongoing narrative inquiry with 10 Indigenous youth as they negotiated their lives within a high school leadership pathway. Our research demonstrates the need to resist starting in concepts as an intentional shift to being and becoming wakeful to storied lives on and off school landscapes. Three resonant threads are highlighted as we listened across the youths' lives. These threads are framed as pathways the youth asked us to consider in terms of reimagining schools as places of unfolding kinship, reimagining schools beyond notions of becoming responsible adults, and reimagining in-between spaces as landscapes that matter.


The Ontological Modeling Platform described in this paper is a class library for extended ontological operations, to support extension of ontology languages, composition of interconnected elements, and high-level product modeling services, such as specialization of product models. In this report, we explain the structure, implementation, and design decisions of the platform. The platform has an Application Programming Interface (API) architecture that enables it to be implemented on multiple off-the-shelf Ontology Web Language (OWL) APIs. It provides model spaces to distinguish and integrate modeling languages, models, and instances of models. Each model space can only instantiate classes defined from the immediate upper level model space. A tutorial is given to demonstrate how to construct a simple plate-fixing assembly by using the platform.


The electrochemical behavior of nucleobases has been studied in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS), pH 7.4 without removing oxygen, using glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance experiment (EIS) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) were employed in the measurements of the nucleobases electrochemical signals at GCEs. Guanine (G) and adenine (A) produced well-defined oxidation peaks at about +0.66 and +0.96 V under the CV sweep at 100 mV/s, respectively. SWV was particularly useful in investigating the electrochemical behaviour of pyrimidine bases. In the SWV detection, thymine (T) clearly appeared an oxidation peak at 1.1 V, while cytosine (C) and uracil (U) did a complex oxidation peak at 1.3 V. Nucleobases possess an irreversible and adsorption-controlled electrochemical process at GCEs in 0.1 M PBS (pH 7.4). The average surface concentrations (Γ) of G and A on the surface of the GCE were estimated to be about 1.6515×10−10 and 8.8232×10−11 mol/cm2, respectively. Due to the selective interactions of nucleobases with each other, the nucleobase oxidation peaks shift and new oxidation peaks appeared. The new oxidation peaks at +1.62 and 1.55 V may correspond to the oxidation of GC pairs and AT pairs, respectively. The detection of the electrochemical behaviour and selective binding of nucleobases in a physiological PBS at pH 7.4 is of particular interest for electrochemical sensor applications in physiological media.


One of the challenges with reverse-time migration based on finite-difference method is the problems of computational costs, in terms of free disk space and/or computational time. This report discusses the principle of a new imaging condition, referred as 'first arrival imaging condition', and shows the advantage of less computational costs of this method, compared to the widely used source-normalized crosscorrelation imaging condition for reverse-time migration. Principally, with crosscorrelation imaging conditions, all the multiples inside both forward modelling and reverse-time migration wavefields are involved; on the other hand, with the first arrival imaging condition, the multiples in the wavefields are not included.


The objective of this study is to estimate the levels of technical efficiency of the small pineapple farmers of Santander, Colombia, using the stochastic frontier approach. In addition, this study attempts to determine whether the acreage and some of the socio-economic characteristics of farmers can influence the efficiency of their pineapple farms. By exploiting the information that was gathered in a survey of 194 pineapple farmers in the region, these farmers' technical efficiency was estimated using a Cobb-Douglas-type stochastic frontier model and a technical inefficiency model. The results suggest that acreage and the variables that are associated with the human capital, e.g., the level of schooling and the years of experience in agricultural activity, explain the levels of technical efficiency to a significant degree.


Unlike normal-form games, where correlated equilibria have been studied for more than 45 years, extensive-form correlation is still generally not well understood. Part of the reason for this gap is that the sequential nature of extensive-form games allows for a richness of behaviors and incentives that are not possible in normal-form settings. This richness translates to a significantly different complexity landscape surrounding extensive-form correlated equilibria. As of today, it is known that finding an optimal extensive-form correlated equilibrium (EFCE), extensive-form coarse correlated equilibrium (EFCCE), or normal-form coarse correlated equilibrium (NFCCE) in a two-player extensive-form game is computationally tractable when the game does not include chance moves, and intractable when the game involves chance moves. In this paper we significantly refine this complexity threshold by showing that, in two-player games, an optimal correlated equilibrium can be computed in polynomial time, provided that a certain condition is satisfied. We show that the condition holds, for example, when all chance moves are public, that is, both players observe all chance moves. This implies that an optimal EFCE, EFCCE and NFCCE can be computed in polynomial time in the game size in two-player games with public chance moves, providing the biggest positive complexity result surrounding extensive-form correlation in more than a decade.


A range of popular hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes -large eddy simulation (RANS-LES) methods are tested for a cavity and two labyrinth seal geometries using an in-house high-order computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code and a commercial CFD code. The models include the standard Spalart–Allmaras (SA) and Menter shear stress transport (SST) versions of delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) and the Menter scale adaptive simulation (SAS) model. A recently formulated, enhanced, variant of SA-DDES presented in the literature and a new variant using the Menter SST model are also investigated. The latter modify the original definition of the subgrid length scale used in standard DDES based on local vorticity and strain. For all geometries, the meshes are considered to be hybrid RANS-LES adequate. Very low levels of resolved turbulence and quasi-two-dimensional flow fields are observed for the standard DDES and SAS models even for the test cases here that contain obstacles, sharp edges, and swirling flow. Similar findings are observed for both the commercial and in-house high-order CFD codes. For the cavity simulations, when using standard DDES and SAS, there is a significant under prediction of turbulent statistics compared with experimental measurements. The enhanced versions of DDES, on the other hand, show a significant improvement and resolve turbulent content over a wide range of scales. Improved agreement with experimental measurements is also observed for profiles of the vertical velocity component. For the first labyrinth seal geometry swirl velocities are more accurately captured by the enhanced DDES versions. For the second labyrinth seal geometry, the mass flow coefficient prediction using the enhanced models is significantly improved (up to 30%). Standard, industrially available hybrid RANS-LES models, when applied to the present canonical cases can produce little to no resolved turbulent content. The standard SA- and Menter-based DDES models can yield lower levels of eddy viscosity when compared to equivilent steady RANS simulations which means that they are not operating as RANS or LES. It is recommended that hybrid RANS-LES models should be extensively tested for specific flow configurations and that special care is exercised by CFD practitioners when using many of the popular hybrid RANS-LES models that are currently available in commercial CFD packages.


Physical unclonable functions have emerged as promising hardware security primitives for device authentication and key generation in the era of the Internet of Things. Herein, we report novel physical unclonable functions built upon the crossbars of nanoscale diffusive memristors that translate the stochastic distribution of Ag clusters in a SiO2 matrix into a random binary bitmap that serves as a device fingerprint. The random dispersion of Ag led to an uneven number of clusters at each cross-point, which in turn resulted in a stochastic ability to switch in the Ag:SiO2 diffusive memristors in an array. The randomness of the dispersion was a barrier to fingerprint cloning and the unique fingerprints of each device were persistent after fabrication. Using an optimized fabrication procedure, we maximized the randomness and achieved an inter-class Hamming distance of 50.68%. We also discovered that the bits were not flipping after over 104 s at 400 K, suggesting superior reliability of our physical unclonable functions. In addition, our diffusive memristor-based physical unclonable functions were easy to fabricate and did not require complicated post-processing for digitization and thus, provide new opportunities in hardware security applications.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


Introduction: Testicular torsion is a surgical emergency which requires early diagnosis and prompt surgical management to avoid testicular damage. The aim of this study is to survey the clinical findings and outcome of the patients treated for testicular torsion in a university hospital in Babol, northern Iran. Methods: In this cross sectional study, a retrospective survey of all cases presenting with acute scrotum and primarily diagnosed as testicular torsion was conducted during 2001 and 2012 in Babol, northern Iran. All 103 cases were reviewed and several clinical data, including duration of symptoms and operative findings were collected. Findings: Of 103 patients who presented to the emergency department with acute scrotum, the median age of the cases was 16.0 years. Thirty four percent of the patients presented emergency unit less than 6 hours from symptom exposure. Pain (95.1%) was the major symptom in all patients. Surgery revealed that 72 (70.9%) cases were diagnosed firmly as testicular torsion that 23 patients underwent orchidectomy for a necrotic torsed testis. There were significant differences between orchiectomized versus non-orchiectomized torsion cases in affected side, symptom presentation to operation time. Conclusion: According to our results more than half of the cases presented more than in the golden time. Late presentation to hospital was the major cause of delay leading to orchidectomy in patients with testicular torsion. Greater effort in health education and direct or selfreferal to hospital may reduce this delay.


Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), together with speech therapy, is known to relieve the symptoms of aphasia. Knowledge about amount of current to apply and stimulation location is needed to ensure the best result possible. Segmented tissues are used in a finite element method (FEM) simulation and by creating a mesh, information to guide the stimulation is gained. Thus, correct segmentation is crucial. Manual segmentation is known to produce the most accurate result, although it is not useful in the clinical setting since it currently takes weeks to manually segment one image volume. Automatic segmentation is faster, although both acute stroke lesions and nectrotic stroke lesions are known to cause problems.Three automatic segmentation routines are evaluated using default settings and two sets of tissue probability maps (TPMs). Two sets of stroke patients are used; one set with acute stroke lesions (which can only be seen as a change in image intensity) and one set with necrotic stroke lesions (which are cleared out and filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)). The original segmentation routine in SPM8 does not produce correct segmentation result having problems with lesion and paralesional areas. Mohamed Seghier's ALI, an automatic segmentation routine developed to handle lesions as an own tissue class, does not produce satisfactory result. The new segmentation routine in SPM8 produces the best results, especially if Chris Rorden's (professor at The Georgia Institute of Technology) improved TPMs are used. Unfortunately, the layer of CSF is not continuous. The segmentation result can still be used in a FEM simulation, although the result from the simulatation will not be ideal.Neither of the automatic segmentation routines evaluated produce an acceptable result (see Figure 5.7) for stroke patients. Necrotic stroke lesions does not affect the segmentation result as much as the acute dito, especially if there is only a small amount of scar tissue present at the lesion site. The new segmentation routine in SPM8 has the brightest future, although changes need to be made to ensure anatomically correct segmentation results. Post-processing algorithms, relying on morphological prior constraints, can improve the segmentation result further.


The Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model was run over South-east Australia from 1985 through 2008. The model used the following physics schemes: WRF Single Moment 5-class microphysics scheme; Rapid Radiative Transfer Model longwave radiation scheme; Dudhia shortwave radiation scheme; Monin-Obukhov surface layer similarity; Noah land-surface scheme; Yonsei University boundary layer scheme and Kain-Fritsch cumulus physics scheme. The model simulation uses boundary conditions from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis with an outer 50km resolution nest and an inner 10km resolution nest. Both nests used 30 vertical levels. In order to assess WRF's potential for use in investigating the current and future climate, the simulation is evaluated against gridded surface temperature and precipitation observations created as part of the Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP). The WRF simulation is found to reproduce the climate of the south-east Australian coast reasonably well. WRF was able to improve on the climate produced by the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis (NNRP) which provided the boundary conditions for the WRF simulation. Investigation of the time series of precipitation anomalies show that WRF is able to capture the recent drought in the SE Australia. While the overall time series captured the drought well, the spatial patterns associated with the anomalies produced by WRF differed from those found in the AWAP dataset. Further work will investigate the reasons for these spatial differences as well as WRF's performance at shorter time scales.


The purpose of this VES panel is to encourage discussion and exchange of views about current and new trends for Virtual and Immersive/Blended Systems and the transference of knowledge over multiple domains. As the market and/or industrial interest in virtual environments increase, new technologies and techniques are proposed. In recent years we have observed a trend on the use of low-cost devices, sometimes taken from the gaming industry in industrial applications. Furthermore, companies are investing billions into making immersive virtual worlds and augmented reality widely available to mainstream public in mass quantities (i.e., especially for "gamer" consumers, but also a wide range of other applications). We have also seen a trend in customization. Nowadays, thanks to the availability of 3-D AM technologies as well as open-source electronic prototyping platform, custom interfaces can be easily designed and build. In addition to the above, we have observed a shift of interest from Virtual Environment to Mixed ones, sometimes called Augmented, sometimes named "Blended." As the number of applications increases, new challenges are presented to the scientific community. The various issues and topics will be presented and discussed by the panel.


The information outage probability of a shot-noise limited direct detection multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) optical channel subject to block fading is considered. Information is transmitted over this channel by modulating the intensity of a number of optical signals, one corresponding to each transmit aperture, and individual photon arrivals are observed at multiple receive photodetector apertures. The transmitted signals undergo multiplicative fading. The fading occurs in coherence intervals of fixed duration in each of which the channel fade matrix remains constant, and changes across successive such intervals in an independent and identically distributed fashion. The transmitter and the receiver are assumed to be provided with perfect channel state information (CSI). An optimization formulation for the outage probability problem is outlined and an exact characterization of the optimal average conditional duty cycles is provided.


Road infrastructure has been a key input in the economic growth and poverty reduction strategies of China and India. The two countries have used very different instruments for road financing with China mobilizing substantial resources through directed credit by state-owned banks and India heavily relying on international institutions and fuel taxes. However, current modalities of road financing will be insufficient to meet future investment needs requiring both countries to explore new mechanisms to attract private capital and expand the fiscal space of central and sub-national governments. Different instruments of resource mobilization and intermediation are assessed and compared extracting lessons that could be valuable to many developing countries. Facilitating the participation of the private sector in road development would require inter alia strengthening regulatory frameworks and deepening and broadening domestic financial markets. But given the strong public good characteristics of large segments of the road networks in China and India most of the funding for road construction and maintenance would need to come from the establishment of efficient and sustainable systems of earmarked road-related charges, including a fuel tax in China.


Purpose: To compare the effects of a physical activity (PA) intervention of group meetings versus group meetings supplemented by personal calls or automated calls on the adoption and maintenance of PA and on weight stability among African-American women. Design: Randomized clinical trial with three conditions randomly assigned across six sites. Setting: Health settings in predominately African-American communities. Subjects: There were 288 women, aged 40 to 65, without major signs/symptoms of pulmonary/cardiovascular disease. Intervention: Six group meetings delivered over 48 weeks with either 11 personal motivational calls, 11 automated motivational messages, or no calls between meetings. Measures: Measures included PA (questionnaires, accelerometer, aerobic fitness), weight, and body composition at baseline, 24 weeks, and 48 weeks. Analysis: Analysis of variance and mixed models. Results: Retention was 90% at 48 weeks. Adherence to PA increased significantly (p < .001) for questionnaire (d = .56, 128 min/wk), accelerometer (d = .37, 830 steps/d), and aerobic fitness (d = .41, 7 steps/2 min) at 24 weeks and was maintained at 48 weeks (p < .001), with no differences across conditions. Weight and body composition showed no significant changes over the course of the study. Conclusion: Group meetings are a powerful intervention for increasing PA and preventing weight gain and may not need to be supplemented with telephone calls, which add costs and complexity.


Co.1971.Pp.208.Price9O@. In many ways, this book is a classic. First published in 1950, it went through a second printing before entering its second edition ten years ago. The present issue is a paperback facsimile of the later edition. While the content may appear to be dated, it is by no means obsolete. In the book, Professor Vernon describes in a comprehensive but concise and readable presentation what was then known of the structure of human abilities. He collated information from factor-analytic studies of intellectual, educational and occupational abilities, among others, and in addition to integrating these findings has examined the ways in which these are influenced by practice, difficulty, speed etc. While there have been major developments since 1959, these by no means invalidate his conclusions. It is therefore likely to remain as essential and basic reading for anyone concerned with the study of human abilities. For this reason alone, its publication as a paperback is most welcome. psychology the novice reader is bound to get a biased view of the nature of psychological science. MARIA Wy@.


Knowing the wave influence on the yaw motion of a ship, a more complex heading control law for autopilot system can be implemented. The time series prediction of the yaw angle's measured values using neural networks has been investigated in this paper. Several neural networks are analyzed using different training data sets and noise conditions. The predictor is working well even if both the training and testing sets are affected by measurement noise.


Problem Continuing education for NAD Korean SDA pastors' ministry has been conducted since 1981. To make this continuing education program relevant a needs assessment was necessary. This study attempted to assess the specific needs of Korean pastors in knowledge and professional skills. Method All Korean SDA pastors in the NAD were included. Data were gathered through a written questionnaire. A graphic comparison method and other complementary instruments were adopted in terms of a discrepancy model. Results Among ten general subject-matter areas, the results from the survey show the area of biblical knowledge as most in need of continuing education. This is followed by evangelism/church growth and biblical/- historical/systematic theology. Though biblical backgrounds is strongly discrepancy-oriented, preaching/- worship/ceremonies seems to rank more highly in needs. SDA heritage and pastoral care place adequately in the middle range. Church administration placed higher than church history/comparative religion and biblical languages. An interpretation of discrepancy-oriented or importance-oriented must be accounted for. The pastors assigned as their highest priority of need to their spouses and children—except for personal spiritual growth and professional development. Pastors with graduate education gave evidence of greater doctrinal-biblical knowledge and a small advantage in ministerial skills. The top five motivations for continuing education were: (1) increased knowledge and skills for ministry, (2) meeting self-expectation, (3) spiritual refreshing, (4) fellowship and mutual support, and (5) meeting church members' expectation. The top four deterrents were: (1) contentment with previous education, (2) a lack of encouragement and financial support from conference officers, (3) a lack of time, (4) inconvenient schedule. Respondents show a preference for 4- to 7-day seminars or workshops at the SDA Theological Seminary in Michigan during September or June. Most preferred the present program with some changes and improvement. Almost 90 percent evaluate the present program as effective. Conclusions and Recommendations Nineteen specific recommendations were drawn from the conclusions. These fell into six categories: (1) the need of continuing education, (2) the subject- matter for continuing education, (3) learning situations, (4) changes and improvement, (5) pastors with and without graduate education, and (6) developing support systems for pastors. Eight recommendations were presented for further study.


Objective: Prokineticin-1 (PROK1) is a recently described protein with a wide range of functions including tissue specific
angiogenesis, modulation of inflammatory responses and regulation of haematopoiesis.
PROK1 has been found in the steroidogenic organs like ovary, testis, adrenal
and specially placenta and they have been found to have a role in development
of the olfactory system and GnRH system. The aim was to update the role of
PROK1 and PROK2 inhuman
reproduction since the review was provided by Maldono-Perez (2007) on the potentials
of prokineticins in reproduction. Design: A review of international scientific
literature by a search of Pubmed and the authors files was done for citation
of articles relevant to prokineticins in reproduction, be it its role in ovary,
testis, uterus with special emphasis on implantation, normal pregnancy, in
labour, pathophysiological states like tubal pregnancy, pcos, various
genital tumours, and cases of isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism with mutations
with PROK2/ PROKR2 and studies detailing functional mechanisms. Results: In the normal cycle, PROK1 has been found to
have important roles in implantation, regulating several genes like COX-2, IL-8,
IL-11, CTGF related to implantation. Initially
murine studies revealed a critical role of PROK2 pathway on olfactory
bulb morphogenesis and GnRH secretion which was accidentally discovered and
since then several studies on mutations in PROK2/PROKR2 showed that they
underlie some case of KS in humans. Although in mouse heterozygote state is
not associated with clinical phenotype, most of human mutations are
heterozygous. Conclusions: Role of PROK-1
 in the process of implantation, with a deeper understanding of the process success rates in IVF and ART can be
improved, besides understanding the pathophysiology of tubal pregnancy. Further
presence in ovarian follicles of PROK1 can be used to plan a strategy for
treating pcos. Development of antagonism of PROK'S may be a helpful strategy in
treating preterm labour.


Epilepsy is one of the
most common serious neurological disorders. Pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients
are poorly controlled or their seizures are refractory to drug treatment.
Resective surgery is frequently a promising therapy in this population,
however, not all the patients meet the eligibility criteria for the surgical
treatment. Deep brain stimulation has
been investigated in clinical studies and animal studies as an alternative
treatment, but the optimal stimulation parameters remain an issue. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of unilateral high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of
hippocampus on seizure development by using the hippocampal rapid kindling
method (hRK) in rats, and compared the results with those of low-frequency stimulation previously published by
our group. We used male Wistar rats implanted with electrodes in the ventral
hippocampus. All rats underwent hRK (biphasic square wave pulses, 20 Hz for 10
seconds) during three consecutive days (twelve stimulations per day). The
control group (hRK; n = 7) received only RK stimulus, while
the treated group (HFS-hRK; n = 9) received also
HFS (biphasic square wave pulses, 130 Hz for 30 seconds) immediately before the
RK stimulus, during three consecutive days. At the end of behavioral testing
78% (p 0.01) of the animals receiving HFS
treatment were still not fully kindled staying in stages 0 -III (p 0.01). HFS group needed a higher
number of stimulations to achieve stage III (p 0.05) with respect to control group.
However, no
significant differences in the cumulative daily afterdischarge duration were
observed. HFS did not present significant differences compared with LFS in any of studied parameters. The findings suggest that unilateral HFS applied on hippocampus
effectively inhibited the epileptogenic process induced by hippocampal rapid
kindling. According to the comparative results about hippocampal rapid kindled
animals stimulated with HFS and LFS (5 Hz), we found no conclusive information on which treatment is most
efficient.


Prostate Cancer is a cancer that occurs in the prostate- a small walnut shaped gland in men. This gland helps in the production of seminal fluid which is used to nourish and transport the sperm. One of the most common types of cancer in men is prostate cancer. A microarray dataset contains the microarray gene expression information. On a genome wide scale, gene expression profiles make it easy to analyze the patterns between genes and cancers, however the analysis of gene expression data is very difficult as it has a high dimensionality and low Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). In this paper, a transformation-based Tri-level feature selection using wavelets for prostate cancer classification has been proposed. For the input microarray data, initially wavelets are applied and then the essential features are selected. Then the standardized gene selection techniques are implemented such as Relief-F, Fishers Score, Information Gain and SNR for a second level feature selection stage. Finally, before proceeding to classification, a third level feature selection by means of optimization techniques are implemented. The optimization techniques incorporated in this work are Marriage in Honey Bee Optimization Algorithm (MHBOA), Migrating Birds Optimization Algorithm (MBOA), Salp Swarm Optimization Algorithm (SSOA) and Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA). This kind of an approach is totally new, and the best results show when SNR with WOA is classified with Artificial Neural Network (ANN) giving a classification accuracy of 99.48%. The second highest classification accuracy of 99.22% is obtained when Relief-F test with MBOA is classified with Naïve Bayesian Classifier (NBC).


This thesis deals with the topic of passive integrated nanophotonic devices realized in silicon on insulator material. The project has been concerned with all the steps of the process: Design, fabrication and characterization. The focus has been on using the inverse design method topology optimization.The method has been employed extensively to obtain various nanophotonic components. One of the outcomes of the project has been the development of a solid understanding of the benefits and limitations of topology optimization. This thesis presents numerous designs that have been characterized both through simulations and experiments. Among these are converters and (de-)multiplexers for mode division multiplexing, both realized with a record small footprint. Wavelength multiplexing devices were used as a basis for investigating the correlation between structure sizes and performance. Fortunately a larger footprint does not always give rise to better performance, however allowing for smaller feature sizes will. The design of compact tapers was commenced. Difficulties were met when working with very wide waveguides but methods for overcoming these were suggested. A novel form of cladding modulated Bragg gratings, utilizing continuous rails to modify the refractive index and cause the reflections, has also been proposed and experimentally verified as part of this project. This work has contributed additional components to the toolbox of devices necessary for integrated photonics. It has been shown that topology optimization is a strong method for creating extremely compact devices, the small features do however mean that they are not yet possible to fabricate on a large scale. Complex device functionalities can be obtained. Building on previous work of simpler structures it is comparatively easy to remake the new designs and then increase complexity without much impact on the footprint. The benefit of inverse design tools, like topology optimization, is that they lead to structures without geometrical constraints and which are independent of the designer. This project has however shown, that the best results are obtained when iterating on the optimized structures and providing the tool with well-chosen starting point structures.


Abstract. The GaoFen-3 (GF-3) satellite is the first fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) satellite in China. It has three fully polarimetric imaging modes and is available for many applications. The system has been taken on several calibration experiments after the launch in Inner Mongolia by the Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IECAS), and the polarimetric calibration (PolCAL) strategy of GF-3 are also improved. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the image quality before any further applications. In this paper, we evaluated the polarimetric residual errors of GF-3 images that acquired in July 2017 in a steppe site. The results shows that the crosstalk of these images varies from −36 dB to −46 dB, and the channel imbalance varies from −0.43 dB to 0.55 dB with angle varying from −1.6 to 3.6 degree. We also made a PolCAL experiment to restrain the polarimetric distortion afterwards, and the polarimetric quality of the image got better after the PolCAL processing.


Technology and widespread smartphone adoption is fundamentally changing the ways customers access financial services. Banks and technology firms are increasingly offering digital services that help customers more effectively track and manage their finances. As customers use these digital services, they are creating an unprecedented amount of data. This data can facilitate the creation of new banking products and services and has created a market for consumer financial service data. To enable customers to access these services, banks are actively developing ways to facilitate safe and secure data transmission via application programming interfaces, or APIs, which allow different software components to communicate and exchange information. For example, the Facebook API enables companies to let their users "sign in via Facebook." API data portals Some banks have formed individual partnerships with data aggregators and third-party service providers to facilitate secure data transmission. For example, in early 2017, both J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo announced a data sharing agreement with Intuit. These agreements will enable customers to authorize their banks to securely share their personal financial data with Intuit's financial management applications--without forfeiting their username and password. Customers will first be required to authenticate their identity to verify the request. After authentication, a one-use token will be issued to allow Intuit to access the data via an API. Tokenization is used to protect sensitive account credentials and customers have the ability to revoke access at any time. The creation of a secure portal allows customers to share their data with third parties more securely. The legacy practice known as "screen scraping" requires customers to forfeit their online banking username, password and other account access credentials, exposing them to risk should the third party be compromised. APIs can facilitate a secure connection that provides data aggregators a "read only" portal to retrieve data from a customer's account that ensures the customer retains control of their data. API developer portals In addition to partnerships, some banks are developing secure API developer portals that allow authorized third parties to access specific customer data sets in a secure, bank-controlled environment. The BBVA API Market, for example, currently offers four APIs to developers in the U.S. for applications in the areas of payments, customers, cards and accounts. The payments API allows third parties to access the services required to move money from a BBVA customer's account. The customers API enables third parties to create, update or retrieve customer profile records. The cards API enables third parties to integrate information regarding the credit and debit cards of BBVA customers and the accounts API returns a list of customer accounts and certain details about each account. The API Market offers three additional APIs exclusively in Spain: for loans, PayStats and notifications. …


ABSTRACT The study of far-right parties and politics is one of the most high-profile research areas in political science and related disciplines. Far-right parties have been the subject of vast amounts of varied scholarship since their turn-of-the-century resurgence. However, as the far right has become a mainstay, with Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in 2016 blurring the boundaries between mainstream and far-right politics, it has become crucial to pay attention to the process of mainstreaming. Beyond a focus on far-right electoral success, studies of mainstreaming, as well as a critical account of the concept and role of the 'mainstream', have proved elusive. This article provides a heuristic framework to understand these concepts and the mainstreaming of the far right. Key to our approach is a more holistic analysis, extending beyond traditional approaches which focus mostly on the electoral outcomes of far-right parties, positioning the mainstream as a relatively inert target or bulwark against them. To achieve this, we seek to reframe the focus towards the centrality of discourse both in the process, and as an outcome, of mainstreaming. Only by doing so can we account for the significant role played by the mainstream in this process.


This study was conducted in a bid to better understand the student cohort at the new campus of the University of Southern Queensland. The project was designed to follow on from the findings of a recent nation-wide review of first year students conducted by the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Melbourne (Krause, Hartley, James, & McInnis, 2005). Studies focusing on the experiences and perceptions of vulnerable student cohorts provide valuable information to academic and support staff at universities and enable institutions to better meet student needs. The cohort in this context differed in several respects from those of previous studies, specifically in terms of the much greater proportion of students who were of a low to middle socio-economic status, as well as a larger proportion of mature-age students. The findings are relevant in terms of providing meaningful student experiences, assisting students to connect theoretical frameworks with their home experiences, engaging students, developing innovative teaching and learning practices within this context and improving students' perceptions of quality assurance. The demographics of the current sample indicate a cohort of students in previously marginalised groups and as such the current research constitutes a unique contribution to the investigation of first year experiences.


The erosion wear behavior of TiN coatings with growth defects was studied. The TiN coatings were produced on a hard metal by ion beam enhanced pulsed filtered vacuum cathode arc deposition. The erosion wear was tested with a gas blast apparatus. In the test, TiN coatings were impacted at an impingement angle of 90° by angular SiC solid particles with an average diameter of 124um. The maximum depth of the erosion scar measured by the optical profiler was used to evaluate the erosion wear loss of the coatings. The coatings proved to have much lower erosion rate than that of the substrate material and consequently, the erosion rate increased significantly to the high level of the hard metal substrate after the coatings were penetrated. The failure mechanism was revealed by examining the surface morphologies of the coatings before and after the erosion test. The erosive wear of the TiN coatings with growth defects behaved as typical brittle materials. The damage mechanism of the coatings with growth defects was described.


Subarachnoid Hemorrhage is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity
throughout the World and patients who survive usually experience neurological deficit.
In addition it happens frequently in women.
This research is aimed to find the clinical profile of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
patients in RSUD Dr. Soetomo Surabaya within July 2013 – June 2016. This research
is an observational – descriptive research. The data collection of this research is total
sampling of Subarachnoid hemorrhage patients in RSUD Dr. Soetomo Surabaya within
July 2013 – June 2016.
In this research there are 191 patients of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage patients in
RSUD Dr. Soetomo Surabaya in July 2013 – June 2016. The number of female patients
is still dominated with a total of 112 patients (59%), while for males in 79 patients
(41%). The age group 46-65 is the age range most often found with a number of 118
patients (62%). Of the various other risk factors from past medical history, hypertension
is a risk factor that is most commonly experienced by patients with the number of 112
patients (73%). Loss of consciousness is the most common symptom seen in patients
upon hospital admission with a number of 109 patients (57%). The number of patients
who had grade 4 WFNS with the number of 82 patients. Surgical therapy is recorded
only 22 patients (11%) who use this therapy. Coilling method is most commonly used
by patients with a number of 20 patients (91%). Because the mortality rate is still quite
high, outcome death in patients with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in the Hospital Dr. Soetomo still often the case with the number of 94 patients (49%). The common causes
for the death of a patient due to Cerebral herniation experienced by 75 patients (80%).
The mortality of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage patients in RSUD Dr. Soetomo
Surabaya in July 2013 – June 2016 is still high; patients who suffer the most based on
the age group are 46 – 65 years old, while based on Sex is Woman.


Introduction The ability to self-assess is essential to the practitioner who often works independently, and reflective practice is entrenched within the paramedic process of care. In order to develop these practices a paramedic student must be able to self-identify mistakes and learn from their errors. However, student assessment has traditionally focused heavily on outcomes, with errors being penalised. Justification for traditional approaches to assessment of paramedic students acknowledges the potentially catastrophic consequences associated with mistakes being repeated in the real world out-of-hospital setting. Responding to the challenge of balancing the reflective practice skills set with 'real world' implications of a paramedic's mistakes, an assessment process was re-designed. The 'Student-Tutor Consensus Assessment' (STCA) was created to rebalance assessment weighting from being exclusively outcomes focussed, and encourage students to apply similar critical lens to events as the paramedics who are assessing them. Parallel tutor and student self-assessments are applied to simulated scenarios, with scores awarded to criteria where consensus has been reached between student and tutor judgements. Methods Final year undergraduate Bachelor of Paramedic Science students enrolled in a capstone topic were invited to complete a paper-based questionnaire at the end of their studies. Questions sought student perceptions about the STCA features and effectiveness. Results There was a 95% response rate (n=90). Responses to the six different questions showed a range of 85.6–95.6% broad agreement regarding the value, effectiveness and suitability of the method. Conclusion The pilot STCA approach proved highly successful, with student endorsement for the continued and expanded application of this teaching approach.


In this present study, 10 mm diameter of 316 stainless-steel is used in powder-pack boronizing by using solid medium boron, Ekabor 1. The boronizing experiment is carried out in a high temperature furnace at 850, 900 and 950 C for 2, 4 and 6 hours. Powder condition and powder-pack surrounding are also featured in this study to analyze the effective powder usage of the treatment. Borided layer surface is characterized using XRD analysis and SEM micrographs. The hardness, wear properties and kinetics atoms of diffusion using Arrhenius equation will be determined in this study. Preliminary results showed hardness of boronized sample is higher than the untreated sample.


This paper intends to examine what fraction of house prices can be accredited to the distance between residential properties and proximity to parks, water and city centers. Although a large body of work on the subject of amenities and house prices using a hedonic model already exists, we wish to contribute with an in-depth analysis on these variables of focus. The empirical analysis uses a dataset concerning 8319 single family house purchases in the Swedish municipality of Jönköping, collected during the years 2000 to 2011. The main findings show that house prices are negatively effected as the distance increases to amenities and that by testing for land value as the dependent variable, we highlight the importance of geographical location while ignoring characteristics surrounding the house.


The regulatory signaling pathways crucial during embryonic development seem to play key roles in adult tissues homeostasis and are often deregulated in pathological conditions. The Wnt pathway plays a pivotal role in orchestrating cell fate decisions during embryonic development, organogenesis, and adult tissues homeostasis of endoderm-derived tissues. The canonical Wnt signaling is required at different stages of embryonic development, regulating gut patterning and organogenesis, and is instrumental for the maintenance of the intestine epithelium homeostasis in adults. Tumorigenesis arises as a disruption of the homeostatic state of a tissue. Initiation of colorectal tumorigenesis is principally associated with mutations in the APC gene, a central component of the canonical Wnt pathway. Studies of early embryonic events and molecular mechanisms regulating tissue morphogenesis and organogenesis are challenging in higher vertebrates. Due to the large clutch size, ex utero development and transparency of the embryos, zebrafish is a powerful model system to study vertebrate development. Furthermore, in recent years zebrafish has arisen as an amenable vertebrate model to study tumorigenesis in several tissues. In Chapter 3 we studied how aberrant anterior-posterior patterning in zebrafish cdx4 mutants affects foregut development. The canonical Wnt signaling pathway has an early role in establishing the anterior-posterior axis in vertebrate embryos and regulates the expression of the transcription factors from the family of Caudal-related genes, which are major determinants of posterior indentify in the embryo. Misregulation of cdx4 in zebrafish results in compromised regionalization of the gut tube, which ultimately impacts cell fate commitment and organogenesis of liver and pancreas. In Chapter 4 we investigated which transcription factors from the Tcf/Lef family acts as the main downstream effectors of the canonical Wnt pathway during the embryonic development of zebrafish. We found that different endoderm-derived tissues present a differential "Tcf code", which ultimately mediates the tissue-specific Wnt-response in the endoderm. Tcf4 is the major effector of Wnt signaling in the intestine during zebrafish organogenesis while Tcf1 and Tcf3 are relevant during liver development. In Chapter 5 we unraveled the role of Wnt signaling in morphogenesis and adult age homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium of zebrafish. As in mouse, the Wnt signaling pathway maintains the proliferative compartment of zebrafish intestinal epithelium via Tcf4. In Chapter 6 we described a novel zebrafish gene, apc2, an orthologue of human APC2. Apc2 has been identified in several biological models and, similarly to Apc, antagonizes Wnt signaling. We found that unabated Wnt activation due to the overall reduction of Apc activity – dependent of the combined action of Apc and Apc2 – leads to neoplasia in the intestinal epithelium of adult zebrafish.


We have developed a robust, efficient, and accurate tool, which integrates inductance extraction and simulation, called INDUCTWISE. This paper advances the state-of-the-art inductance extraction and simulation techniques and contains two major parts. In the first part, INDUCTWISE extractor, we discovered that the recently proposed inductance matrix sparsification algorithm, the K-method, albeit its great benefit of efficiency, has a major flaw in the stability. We provide both a counter example and a remedy for it. A window section algorithm is also presented to preserve the accuracy of the sparsification method. The second part, the INDUCTWISE simulator, demonstrates great efficiency of integrating the nodal analysis formulation with the improved K-method. Experimental results show that INDUCTWISE has over 250/spl times/ speedup compared to SPICE3. The proposed sparsification algorithm accelerates the simulator another 175/spl times/ and speeds up the extractor 23.4/spl times/ within 0.1% of error. INDUCTWISE can extract and simulate an 118K-conductor RKC circuit within 18 minutes.


In this study we characterize the thermal sensitivity of lateral diodes fabricated in a commercial 180 nm SOl-CMOS process. The current responsivity to temperature and the low-frequency noise were measured and correlated to the device dimensions. We also report on a FPA microbolometer sensor for THz imaging (0.6-1.2 THz) implemented with lateral diode detectors coupled to on-chip antennas.


Access to clean and adequate water is a universal and basic human right that feeds into the 6th of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This goal aims at ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Clean water is referred to as potable water, which is safe for human consumption and offer low risk of immediate or long term harm. Raw water undergoes rigorous processing which consists of coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection and storage, to produce potable water. Each module or stage consumes chemicals and energy resources and thus incurs costs. To achieve the aim of the study, which was to synthesize an optimised potable water treatment network and a water usage analysis model, the Umzinto Water Treatment Plant (UWTP) and its distribution system was used as the study area. This treatment plant is located within Umdoni, a local municipality of the Ugu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. This study's objectives were fourfold and the first objective was to identify and quantify key raw water quality parameters affecting treatment at the UWTP. The second objective was to design a genetic algorithm for the potable water treatment process control. The third objective was to evaluate the Umzinto Water Distribution System's Non-Revenue Water (NRW) while the fourth objective was to develop a model for water usage analysis. For the first objective, data for water quality parameters for the water treatment from July 2006 to June 2013 were statistically analysed. This data were collected from the UWTP's historical records. To improve the data's integrity it was pre-processed using cubic hermite interpolation. After the pre-processing trend lines and box plots were used to determine the parameters' significance compared to the standard values stipulated in the South African National Standard (SANS 241). The trend lines were used to analyse the frequency of observations that were higher than the standard values according to SANS 241. The box plots were used to determine the minimum, median, maximum and mean of the data sets. The mean values for each parameter were compared to the SANS 241 value to determine their significance. The raw water quality parameters were then correlated to the chemical dosages for lime, polymer, potassium permanganate and chlorine. The key parameters selected from the correlation analysis were algal count, manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), Escherichia coli, total coliforms, colour, odour, conductivity, turbidity, suspended solids (SS), pH, temperature, total organic carbon (TOC,) and Hardness. A number of methods can be used to achieve such optimisation, including artificial neural networks, dynamic programming, linear and non-linear programming, and this study utilised a genetic algorithm as an optimisation tool to achieve the second objective of optimising water treatment at the UWTP. For the model development, data from the correlations obtained for objective 1 were used. The model was aimed at reducing the cost of chemical dosage and four chemical dosage prediction models were developed using genetic algorithms and these were then used to produce a combined chemical dosage cost prediction model. The programming interface utilised for these models was Matlab. In developing these models, the data were first pre-processed to remove outliers and fill in the blanks using a Microsoft Excel Add-in that was developed for this particular purpose. The next step involved a curve fitting exercise in Microsoft Excel 2013. Matlab was then used to code the genetic algorithm that combined and optimised the solutions obtained from the curve fittings. The results showed that genetic algorithms can be reliably used to predict the chemical dosages and hence reduce water treatment costs. After treatment, water is pumped into the distribution system for consumption. It is therefore important to ensure that all the pumped out treated water reaches the consumer. The third objective therefore assessed the NRW for the Umzinto Water Distribution System for the period between July 2013 and June 2014. The data used for this objective was provided by the Ugu District Municipality. The method used combined the top-down approach and the component-based approach. This combined approach was modified to enable the calculation of all the components that are required in a standard South African Water Balance. The results showed that the distribution system had a high value of NRW, which was 27.9% of the System Input Volume. The major component of NRW was Real Losses, that is, losses that can be mitigated by improving maintenance. The fourth objective was to develop a model for water usage analysis that would reduce the time taken to evaluate NRW and also improve the analysis of the NRW components using Microsoft Visual Basics 2012 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 development interfaces. The Visual Basics enabled the development of a graphic user interface that was user-friendly and minimised the time taken to learn the software. The software platform developed was able to import the data required to construct a standard International Water Asssociation (IWA) Water Balance, calculate all the components of NRW, store historical data for the water distribution systems and report on a rolling year basis. A model for water usage analysis was developed and made available for usage by practitioners in Ugu District. The model was developed for the specific study area and further studies would be required in order to validate it in a different setting. The results obtained for the first objective led to the conclusion that, there was very high pollution emanating from communities and activities close to the raw water sources, especially the EJ Smith Dam. The results from the first objective were also used to determine parameters for the models developed in the second objective. From objective two it was concluded that genetic algorithms can be reliably used to predict chemical dosages and hence reduce water treatment costs. The third objective's results showed that 27.9% of treated water pumped into the distribution system is NRW. Which is a concern because 65% of this are real losses which have maintenance related problems. The fourth objective's results showed the practicality of designing model that could be used determine all the important components of NRW that would take time to evaluate manually. It would also store historical data for the water distribution system and report on a rolling year basis. Implementation of this software would help minimise the errors associated with manual calculation of NRW and improve the availability of data for research and analysis. From the research findings, it is recommended that the treatment plant should change the way it is dosing chemicals in the balancing tank. The method currently being used is prone to error. The analysis of NRW showed that Real Losses were a major challenge in the Umzinto Distribution System. There is need to develop a maintenance program to cater for leakage. Communities also need to be educated on the importance of reporting leakage in the network.


The timing of pair formation varies within and among species of ducks. In this study we documented the chronology of pair formation in a population of wintering Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) in southwestern British Columbia. Harlequin Ducks began forming pair bonds in October and over half of the females were paired by December. This timing is much earlier than other ducks of similar size. A segment of this population was individually marked, and we documented the reunion of mates in subsequent years. In all cases where both members of the pair returned to their wintering grounds they reunited in the fall. New pair bonds, involving young males and females, were formed in the spring. We suggest that pair reunion in this species reduces the costs of courtship and pair bond maintenance and allows males to pair early in the nonbreeding season, compared to other species.


and circulatory systems. Furthermore, the interactions between mesenchyme and another tissue type, epithelium, help to form nearly every organ in the body.


Dissociated vertical divergence (DVD) is commonly encountered in the infantile strabismus syndrome. The movement is said to be dissociated since alignment differs between right and left eye fixation. It has been hypothesized that DVD is caused by a primitive reflex present in fish. Visual pathways in the fish brain indeed are dissociated with complete crossing at the optic chiasm and projection to the superior colliculus instead of a visual cortex. Neuroanatomical data and clinical characteristics of DVD, however, contradict this hypothesis. From these data a new hypothesis arises: corticotectal lateralization. The absence of binocular development in the cerebral cortex in infantile strabismus gives rise to dissociated activation of subcortical pathways through individual less tightly linked colliculi.


We developed axial-lateral parallel time-domain optical coherence tomography (ALP TD-OCT) from a single interference image. A two-dimensional camera can produce a depth-resolved interference image using diffracted light as the reference beam and a linear illumination beam without any mechanical scan. An OCT image of biological tissues with sufficient sensitivity requires extraction of interference signals by subtracting the DC image, which contains the intensity of noninterference light and the electrical noise of the camera, from a single interference image and subsequent application of the Hilbert transformation for each axial direction. We measured 300 interference images of a moving human finger in vivo using an indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) camera (320 x 250 pixels) operating at 60 frames per second and then obtained OCT images with an imaging range of 5.0 x 1.7-mm(2) (lateral x axial) using a DC image based on averaged interference images. The system sensitivity was 90.5 dB with a 1.05-ms exposure. As the OCT image depends on the interference signals in a single interference image, the OCT signals were stable compared with OCT images based on the phase-shift method.


This devise addresses the inadequacies of providing a quick means of holding jobs of irregular shapes such as are encountered in small scale fabrication workshops. The conventional bench vise often does not provide the adequate grip for such shapes so that attachments in the form of V blocks are usually provided to enhance the grip before drilling operations are carried out. This versatile work holding device enables fabricators to perform drilling and other production operations on a work piece. This device produced from mild steel plates uses the toggle principle to provide rapid grip. Comparative tests on time span in the use of this device and the bench vice for job set up, production operation and then disassembly showed that time is gained with use of the device.


We used the 2009 Southern Cotton Precision Farming Survey data collected from farmers in twelve U.S. states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia) to understand why farmers do not adopt seemingly profitable precision farming technology. Farmers provided cost, time constraint, satisfaction with the current practice and other as reasons for not adopting precision farming technology. Results from a multinomial logit regression model indicated that manure application on field, more formal education, larger farm size, participation in conservation easement or agricultural easement generally decreases the probability of nonadoption of precision agriculture in cotton production.


This study aimed to evaluate the agreement in cycling power output measurements between the LeMond Revolution cycle ergometer and SRM power meter. The LeMond Revolution measures power output via removal of the rear bicycle wheel and attaching it using a quick-release system, estimating power output through a head-unit that processes drive-train resistance and atmospheric conditions. Fourteen well-trained cyclists completed incremental protocols and power profile assessments on a bicycle fitted with SRM scientific power meter and attached to a LeMond Revolution cycle ergometer. Power output was measured by both devices at 1 Hz. Data from each device were compared using Pearson's correlations, paired t-tests, assessments of heteroscedasticity, Bland-Altman plots and 95% limits of agreement. During incremental tests, errors in power measurement of the LeMond Revolution progressively increased at greater power outputs when compared with SRM (bias: 2-34 W; CV 1.5-6.7%). During power profile assessments, errors in mean power measurement of the LeMond Revolution were also slightly overestimated for all efforts from a rolling start (+3 ± 8%; CV = 5.1%). Conversely, the LeMond Revolution underestimated peak power output during five second sprint efforts and the greatest error was observed between measurements for mean power output during a five second sprint from a stationary start (-7 ± 24%; CV = 10.6%). Overall, the LeMond Revolution is a practical, cost-effective alternative to more expensive ergometers for detecting large changes in mean power output. However, high level of error during high-intensity sprint efforts from a stationary start is a limitation for well-trained sprint cyclists.


Impaired torque production is a major physical impairment following stroke, and has been studied extensively in isometric conditions. However, functional use of a limb requires torque production during movement, and the effects of velocity on maximal torque production may be abnormally enhanced in the paretic limb. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of movement velocity on maximal torque production during isokinetic, concentric flexion and extension of the elbow in poststroke subjects. Three speeds were tested (30, 75, 120 deg/s) over a 100‐deg range of motion. To control for strength variations between subjects and limbs, isokinetic torques were normalized by peak isometric torque. As flexion velocity increased, paretic limb torque decreased at a greater rate than in the unaffected limb. During extension, paretic limb torque was much lower than torque in the unaffected limb at all speeds. In both flexion and extension, the disparity between limbs in the constant‐velocity torque–angle curves became more pronounced as velocity increased. Torque decreased 44% ± 7% in flexion and 63% ± 9% in extension as velocity increased from 30 to 120 deg/s, whereas the corresponding decreases in the unaffected limb were only 9% ± 5% in flexion and 16% ± 4% in extension. No electromyographic (EMG) abnormalities were observed during flexion. During extension, EMG data provided evidence for abnormally increased antagonist coactivation in brachioradialis and markedly reduced activation in triceps as potential contributors to the decreased extension torques. The finding that movement velocity produces large deficits in maximal torque might explain why functional use of the paretic limb is often impaired even though isometric strength appears adequate. Muscle Nerve, 2004


This paper aims to examine the efficiency of ten Malaysian anchor banks from 2001 to 2005, a period representing the first five years of the country's Financial Sector Master Plan (FSMP) which was aimed at developing a more resilient, competitive and dynamic financial system with the best practices, among others. This paper used data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist index to analyse the efficiency and productivity issues surrounding the industry. The results indicated that the FSMP did in fact stimulated efficiency growth in terms of technological innovation but did not seem to have much impact on the technical efficiency or scale efficiency. These findings suggest that there is still some catching-up for the inefficient banks in the sample to be more competitive in order to face a more liberalized and globalized environment in the years to come.


ABSTRACT Based on testimonials of migration journeys of indigenous Cañaris from southern highland Ecuador, this paper examines strategies of mobility and social networking employed by migrants and facilitators in the human smuggling market. Following a series of economic crises in the late 1990s, Ecuadorian transnational migration increased significantly, with a 55.5 percent increase to the United States between 2000 and 2008, and staggering 12,150 percent increase to Spain between 1998 and 2005. This article focuses on the growth of a regional migration industry in the southern highland region, and pays special attention to the roles of indigenous Cañari migrants and migration merchants. The guiding questions are: how does indigeneity figure in mobility strategies; in what ways is indigenous identity strategically employed in the migration journey; and how might indigenous migration merchants contribute to the expansion of migration? As migration routes become increasingly dangerous, migrants and human smuggling actors employ more innovative and riskier strategies. I contend that while indigenous identity may be used strategically and allow migrants to forge new transnational social networks, indigenous migrants struggle for legibility in the face of ethnic and linguistic discrimination, in communities of origin, along migratory routes, and in migration destinations.


Groundwater potential maps are one of the most important tools for the management of groundwater storage resources. In this study, we proposed four ensemble soft computing models based on logistic regression (LR) combined with the dagging (DLR), bagging (BLR), random subspace (RSSLR), and cascade generalization (CGLR) ensemble techniques for groundwater potential mapping in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. A suite of well yield data and twelve geo-environmental factors (aspect, elevation, slope, curvature, Sediment Transport Index, Topographic Wetness Index, flow direction, rainfall, river density, soil, land use, and geology) were used for generating the training and validation datasets required for the building and validation of the models. Based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and several other validation methods (negative predictive value, positive predictive value, root mean square error, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and Kappa), it was revealed that all four ensemble learning techniques were successful in enhancing the validation performance of the base LR model. The ensemble DLR model (AUC = 0.77) was the most successful model in identifying the groundwater potential zones in the study area, followed by the RSSLR (AUC = 0.744), BLR (AUC = 0.735), CGLR (AUC = 0.715), and single LR model (AUC = 0.71), respectively. The models developed in this study and the resulting potential maps can assist decision-makers in the development of effective adaptive groundwater management plans.


The Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) on the Meteorological Operations Platform A (METOP-A) Satellite was successfully launched in October 2006. The AMSU-A, which was provided by NOAA, is one of a new generation of total-power microwave radiometers which have been flown on the NOAA-15 to NOAA-18 Satellites since May 1998. A systematic postlaunch calibration and validation (cal/val) of the instrument performance was conducted with on-orbit data. A brief report of the postlaunch assessment of the instrument performance is presented in this paper. Scan-by-scan examination of the radiometric calibration counts is employed to confirm normal functioning of the instrument and to detect any anomalous events, such as lunar contamination (LC) in the space radiometric counts, which are detected, flagged, and corrected using an algorithm for detection and correction of LC in AMSU-A data. The correction algorithm provides a practical approach for scan-by-scan correction of the LC in AMSU-A data and improves the accuracy of operational calibration of the NOAA Level IB data. The long-term trends of the space and warm calibration counts, channel gains, and housekeeping temperature sensors are monitored. Temperature sensitivity (or NEDeltaT) values for individual channels are also examined. The monthly mean angular distributions of brightness temperatures from the METOP-A and NOAA-15, -16, and -18 over the tropical ocean region of 20deg S-20deg N are obtained and theoretically modeled to demonstrate that the ocean can be used as a cold reference calibration target. The establishment of a natural Earth calibration target is an important addition to the few tools available to date for cal/val of spaceborne microwave radiometers. The measured ocean brightness temperatures from the four satellites provide eight measurements across the diurnal time for a unique opportunity of studying the diurnal variation of ocean brightness temperatures which show a pattern of daytime cooling and nighttime warming.


A 54-year-old female presented with a presternal abscess and developed axillary lymphadenopathy. Imaging confirmed the presence of sternal osteomyelitis. The osteomyelitis was cured by resection and muscle flap reconstruction. Although tuberculosis was suspected, the organism was only cultured after the fourth surgical procedure. Surgeons should be aware that negative microbiology does not exclude a diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.


Abstract : Should we continue to build there? is a question asked after other past disasters; it is especially more poignant as local, state and federal governments deal with pre-disaster mitigation funding and post-disaster emergency management funding issues. The goal of this research is to develop a way of answering that question through a better understanding of the social, economic, and cultural problems and opportunities of rebuilding. As a result, shortcomings in the assumptions of existing response and recovery plans can be identified, and current community planning can consider future catastrophic events. Through pre-identification of physical, social, and political limitations other communities have faced, proactive land use, response, and recovery planning decisions could be implemented that increase the chance that communities can successfully emerge from disaster. This study investigates examples of past catastrophic disasters and the positive and negative experiences as those communities struggled to return to normalcy. The end result of the research is an assessment that identifies the economic, geopolitical, and social factors of recovery following a catastrophic disaster. The research used historical case studies and their challenges with recovery. Based on the case study findings, an analysis was created of the current economic, geopolitical, and social factors in the City of Seaside, Oregon, following a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsunami to identify future recovery challenges.


This study aims to investigate groundwater geochemical characteristics, and to assess the effects of groundwater contamination in northwest Sinai, Egypt. A geographic information system, geochemical modeling, and statistical analyses tools were used. Twenty-five groundwater samples from a Quaternary aquifer were sampled. These water samples were analyzed for major, minor, and trace elements. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the hydrochemical characteristic as well as the anthropogenic processes of groundwater pollution. On the basis of these analyses, the geochemical parameters and the anomalous concentration of different elements enable the characterization of salinity sources of the brackish waters and the suspected sources of polluted water. Pollution sources are represented by waste disposal and agricultural activities as well as the probable upward leakage of highly saline water from the deeper aquifers and the saltwater intrusion. Pollution risk is high when the depth of the water table is shallow (0.3 to 15.0 m) and the aquifer has high hydraulic conductivity and poor matrix buffering capacity.


A series of computational studies were carried out on Group 14 (C, Si and Ge) elements in organometallic and biological compounds. Theoretical studies on classical and H-bridged A3H3+ (A=C, Si and Ge) as p ligands with different organometallic fragments at B3LYP and B3P86 level reveal a reverse charge transfer from ligand to metal in Si and Ge complexes whereas in C complexes there is a small charge transfer from metal to ligand. The H-bridged complexes are more stable than the complexes based on Si3H3+ and Ge3H3+ ligands with terminal hydrogens. The stability of the bridged systems increases from Si to Ge. Corrective scale factors for computed harmonic CoO vibrational frequencies for 31 organometallic complexes have been determined at the HF and B3LYP levels. The scaled B3LYP frequencies exhibit a greater reliability than do HF frequencies. Experimental data have shown that Si/Ge-substituted decapeptides are advantageous over their C analog in vitro and in vivo studies in modern hormone therapy. A computational investigation was carried out on the synthesized decapeptides focusing on position 5 containing Si and Ge. The results have shown that there are some differences in C, Si and Ge-containing analogs. However, further investigations are needed to elucidate the observed advantages of Si/Ge over C analogs.


There is a well-established tendency for people to see themselves as better than average (self-enhancement), although the universality of this phenomenon is contested. Much less well-known is the tendency for people to see themselves as more human than average (self-humanizing). We examined these biases in six diverse nations: Australia, Germany, Israel, Japan, Singapore, and the USA. Both biases were found in all nations. The self-humanizing effect was obtained independent of self-enhancement, and was stronger than self-enhancement in two nations (Germany and Japan). Self-humanizing was not specific to Western or English-speaking cultures and its magnitude was less cross-culturally variable than self-enhancement. Implications of these findings for research on the self and its biases are discussed.


Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, Colombo, 03, Sri Lanka Abstract: Breast and colorectal cancers are two primary malignancies on which most of the research done worldwide investigates the potential genetic and environmental risk factors and thereby tries to develop therapeutic methods to improve prognosis. Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer type in women, while colorectal cancer is diagnosed in males as the third most and females as the second most cancer type. Though these two cancer types are predominantly seen in adult patients worldwide, in the current context, these malignancies are diagnosed at a younger age with a significant rate of incidents than previous. Such early-onset cancers are generally present at an advanced stage of the most aggressive type with a poor prognosis. In the past, the focus of the research was mainly on studying possible candidate genes to understand the onset. However, it is now recognized that genetics, epigenetics, and other environmental factors play a pivotal role in cancer susceptibility. Thus, most studies were diversified to study the behavior of host microRNAs, and the involvement of gut microbiota and good communication between them surfaced in the occurrence and state of the disease. It is understood that the impact of these factors affects the outcome of the disease. Out of the adverse outcomes identified relating to the disease, immunosuppression is one of the most concerning outcomes in the current world, where such individuals remain vulnerable to infections. Recent studies revealed that microbiome and microRNA could create a considerable impact on immunosuppression. This review focused on the behavior of host microRNAs and gut microbiome for the onset of the disease and progression, thereby influencing an individual's immunosuppression. Understanding the interactions among microRNA, microbiome, presentation of the disease, and impact on the immune system will be immensely useful for developing future therapeutic strategies based on targeting host microRNA and the patient's gut microbiome. Therapies such as inhibitory-miRNA therapies, miRNA mimic-based therapeutics, immune checkpoint blockade therapies, and bacteriaassisted tumor-targeted therapies help modulate cancer. At the same time, it paid equal attention to potential noninvasive biomarkers in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutics in both cancers.


BACKGROUND Aging patients constitute an increasing proportion of patients treated at trauma centers. Previous and existing guidelines addressing care of the injured elder have not adequately addressed emerging data regarding optimal means for undertaking triage decisions, correcting coagulopathy, and the limitations of supraphysiologic resuscitation. METHODS More than 400 MEDLINE citations published between the years 2000 and 2008 were identified and screened. A total of 90 references were selected for the evidentiary table followed by consensus-based discussions regarding the level of evidence and the strength of recommendations that could be derived from the related findings of the individual studies. RESULTS In general, a lower threshold for trauma activation should be used for injured patients aged 65 years or older who are evaluated at trauma centers. Furthermore, elderly patients with at least one body system with an AIS score of 3 or higher or a base deficit of −6 or less should be treated at trauma centers, preferably in intensive care units staffed by surgeon-intensivists. In addition, all elderly patients who receive daily therapeutic anticoagulation should have appropriate assessment of their coagulation profile and cross-sectional imaging of the brain as soon as possible after admission where appropriate. In patients aged 65 years or older with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score less than 8, if substantial improvement in GCS is not realized within 72 hours of injury, consideration should be given to limiting further aggressive therapeutic interventions. CONCLUSION Effective evidence-based care of aging patients necessitates aggressive triage, correction of coagulopathy, and limitation of care when clinical evidence points toward an overwhelming likelihood of poor long-term prognosis.


This review defines evidence-based practice and discusses how the concept has been applied to endodontics. The focus is on treatment procedures in endodontics. The means used in the process and how far our knowledge base has reached are addressed. Aspects are also conveyed as to what future research in clinical endodontics should take into account.


Background Ankle impingement is a common orthopedic problem in sports athletes. It usually results from repetitive ankle sprains, which may lead to long-lasting pain, compromising the athlete's performance. Impingement syndromes of the ankle involve either osseous or soft-tissue impingement and can be anterior, anterolateral, or posterior. Pain is typically provoked by dorsiflexion of the ankle and palpation of the tibiotalar anterior joint space. Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate the outcome of arthroscopic treatment of the anterior bony ankle impingement syndrome. Patients and methods Fifteen patients (12 men and three women), with a mean age of 37.7 years (27–52 years), who complained of chronic ankle pain and were diagnosed as having bony anterior impingement of the ankle, grades I–III lesions, due to a trauma, without therapeutic response to conservative therapy over 3 months, were treated by arthroscopic excision of the bony spur and debridement of the impingement tissues. The results were evaluated with the American Orthopedics Foot and Ankle Society hindfoot score. The study was designed as a retrospective case series. Results At the end of follow-up, seven patients had excellent scores and were very satisfied with the results and six patients had good scores and were satisfied with the results; hence, about 86.7% had excellent or good results. Two patients had fair results, accounting for 13.3% of all patients; there were no poor results. Conclusion Arthroscopic resection of bony spurs, either tibial or talar, or both, after repeated ankle sprains was proven to be a reliable therapeutic approach for post-traumatic impingement syndrome of the ankle that does not respond to conservative treatment.


Regional earthquake early warning (EEW) system is not suitable for Taiwan due to most of the destructive seismic hazard comes from in-land earthquakes, thus makes the lead-time before destructive earthquake wave arrives provided by the regional EEW system can be null. On the other hand, on-site EEW system can provide more lead-time at the region close to an epicenter since only the seismic information on the target site is required. Instead of leveraging the information of several stations, the on-site system extracts some P-wave features from the first few seconds of vertical ground acceleration of a single station and performs the prediction of the coming earthquake intensity at the same station according to these features. Recently, a new method of estimating seismic intensity using the support vector regression (SVR) has been developed. However, till now, most popular on-site algorithms are TauC-Pd-Attenuation (TPA) method and Pd-Threshold method (PdT). The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of these three methods using earthquake data of the Taiwan Strong Motion Instrumentation Program and the earthquake data of EEW stations of National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering in Taiwan. The results show that SVR method can provide more reliable and accurate EEW among these three methods.


BACKGROUND
While health systems are striving for patient-centered care, they have little evidence to guide them on how to engage patients in their care, or how this may affect patient experiences and outcomes.

OBJECTIVE
To explore which specific patient-centered aspects of care were best associated with depression improvement and care satisfaction.

METHODS
Design: observational.

SETTING
83 primary care clinics across Minnesota.

SUBJECTS
Primary care patients with new prescriptions for antidepressants for depression were recruited from 2007 to 2009.

OUTCOME MEASURES
Patients completed phone surveys regarding demographics and self-rated health status and depression severity at baseline and 6 months. Patient centeredness was assessed via a modified version of the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care. Differences in rates of remission and satisfaction between positive and negative responses for each care process were evaluated using chi-square tests.

RESULTS
At 6 months, 37% of 792 patients ages 18-88 achieved depression remission, and 79% rated their care as good-to-excellent. Soliciting patient preferences for care and questions or concerns, providing treatment plans, utilizing depression scales and asking about suicide risk were patient-centered measures that were positively associated with depression remission in the unadjusted model; these associations were mildly weakened after adjustment for depression severity and health status. Nearly all measures of patient centeredness were positively associated with care ratings.

CONCLUSION
The patient centeredness of care influences how patients experience and rate their care. This study identified specific actions providers can take to improve patient satisfaction and depression outcomes.


AbstractThis work examines the relationships of entrainment rate to vertical velocity, buoyancy, and turbulent dissipation rate by applying stepwise principal component regression to observational data from shallow cumulus clouds collected during the Routine Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF) Clouds with Low Optical Water Depths (CLOWD) Optical Radiative Observations (RACORO) field campaign over the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site near Lamont, Oklahoma. The cumulus clouds during the RACORO campaign simulated using a large-eddy simulation (LES) model are also examined with the same approach. The analysis shows that a combination of multiple variables can better represent entrainment rate in both the observations and LES than any single-variable fitting. Three commonly used parameterizations are also tested on the individual cloud scale. A new parameterization is thus presented that relates entrainment rate to vertical velocity, buoyancy, and dissipation rate; the effects of ...


It has been argued that just as, say, prejudice or wishful thinking can generate ill-founded beliefs, the same is true of experiences. The idea is that the etiology of cognitively penetrated experiences can downgrade their justificatory force. This view, known as the Downgrade Principle, seems to be compatible with both internalist and externalist conceptions of epistemic justification. An assessment of the credentials of the Downgrade Principle is particularly important in view of the fact that not all cases of cognitive penetration are epistemically malignant. There are good and bad cases of cognitive penetration. I argue that a proper assessment of the Downgrade Principle will have to address two fundamental questions. I identify two general ways of responding to these questions and show why they fail. It will be maintained that an explanationist conception of justification has a better chance of accounting for the distinction between good and bad cases of cognitive penetration. The Downgrade Principle is then discussed in the context of the extended cognition thesis (ECT). In particular, I look at the sensorimotor theory of perception, as a way of broadening the scope of (ECT) to include conscious perceptual experience, that sees senses as ways of exploring the environment mediated by different patterns of sensorimotor contingency. I suggest possible ways in which one could distinguish between good and bad cases of cognitive penetration on such a view compatible with the explanationist view of epistemic justification.


Metal–organic coordination polymers (MOCPs) have emerged as a new family of functional nanomaterials. Here, we report a facile and effective fluorescence method for detecting CIP in tablets using a kind of lanthanide coordination polymer nanoparticle (LCPNP), specifically Eu/GMP NPs, as the sensing platform. Eu/GMP NPs, composed of guanosine monophosphate (GMP) and europium (Eu3+) ion, are by themselves non-luminescent. The addition of ciprofloxacin (CIP) into the Eu/GMP NPs, however, noticeably enhanced their fluorescence due to the strong coordination interaction between CIP and Eu3+, and the improved hydrophobic interior of the LCPNPs resulted in an efficient energy transfer from CIP to Eu3+. The fluorescence intensity of Eu/GMP at 615 nm showed a linear relationship with CIP concentration between 1.0 and 40 μM, with a detection limit of 780 nM. We believe that the proposed time-resolved fluorometric assay based on the Eu/GMP NP lanthanide nanosensor, with its long fluorescence lifetime, has a great potential for using in the testing of biosamples.


An attempt was made for availability of wastewater reuse/reclamation for irrigation purposes using phytoremediation "the low cost and less technology", using six local aquatic macrophytes "e.g. T. angustifolia, B. maritimus, Ph. australis, A. donax, A. plantago-aquatica and M. longifolia (Linn)" as biological waste purifiers. Outdoor experiments/designs were conducted from May 03, 2007 till October 15, 2008, close to one of the main sewage channels of Sulaimani City/Iraq. All processes were mainly based on conventional wastewater treatment processes, besides two further modifications were tested, the first was sand filtration pots, implanted by individual species of experimental macrophytes and the second was constructed wetlands implanted by experimental macrophytes all together. Untreated and treated wastewater samples were analyzed for their key physico-chemical properties (only heavy metals Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu with particular reference to removal efficiency by experimental macrophytes are highlighted in this paper). On the other hand, vertical contents of heavy metals were also evaluated from both pots and the cells of constructed wetland. After 135 days, macrophytes were harvested and heavy metals were analyzed in their biomass (roots/shoots) for removal efficiency assessment (i.e. uptake/ bioaccumulation rate). Results showed that; removal efficiency of all studied heavy metals was much higher in T. angustifolia followed by Ph. Australis, B. maritimus and A. donax in triple experiment sand pots. Constructed wetland experiments have revealed that; the more replicated constructed wetland cells the highest heavy metal removal efficiency was indicated. Keywords—Aquatic Macrophytes, Heavy Metals (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu), Phytoremediation and Removal Efficiency.


Background and Objective: Although the breast cancer mortality rate has drastically decreased, it is still the second cause of cancer-induced death among women worldwide. Biopsy and surgery of sentinel lymph nodes are utilized to assess adjacent lymph nodes. However, this procedure has several side effects. Ultrasonography has been recommended as an alternative choice for distinguishing the involvement of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer. The present study aims to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of axillary ultrasonography in patients with breast cancer to compare the results with the sentinel lymph nodes biopsy. Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on the patients diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 60), referred to Afzalipour and Bahonar Hospitals, Kerman, Iran during 2015–2016. Ultrasonography was carried out using an ultrasound device with the surface probe at 10 MHz. Those patients, whose different ultrasonography parameters such as size, thickness of cortex, and thickness of modulus related to the most accessible susceptible lymph node showed no involvement, were included in the study. Sentinel lymph nodes were studied through concurrent utilization of the isotope injection method (scintigraphy) and blue iso-sulfate injection method. All samples were subjected to pathological analyses, and the results were compared to the ultrasonography results. Results: Results of permanent pathology were positive in all of the 9 patients whose Frozen Section results were positive. Of the 51 patients with negative Frozen Section results, only three demonstrated positive permanent pathologic results, and 48 participants showed negative permanent pathology. Considering the validating assessments, the negative predictive value of ultrasonography is 85%, compared with the frozen section specimens of sentinel nodes. Conclusion: Biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes could be replaced with ultrasonography only by an expert and trained radiologist. It is recommended to use a predefined protocol in collaboration with four medical groups including radiology, nuclear medicine, surgery, and pathology groups.


Characterisation of Trichoderma engineering disease composted growing media Abstract Six isolates of Trichoderma were assessed for suitable attributes for potential inoculation into composted material to develop disease suppressive growing media. Each isolate had previously been shown to possess in vitro suppressive properties against root-rot diseases via the production of inhibitory secondary metabolites. In the present study, isolates were further investigated for in vitro mycoparasitic properties and in vivo suppression of the pathogens Pythium ultimum and Fusarium oxysporum . Mycelial growth of each isolate was also tested in vitro on potato dextrose agar (PDA) against ranges of abiotic properties found in composted materials, such as electrical conductivity(EC), pH and temperature. Four of the six isolates displayed no reduced growth on PDA media with EC values of 9.45 mS cm -1 , with two isolates showing slightly reduced growth. pH was found to have a much more influential effect on mycelia growth, with only two of six isolates displaying uninterrupted in vitro growth across a range of pH6 to pH10. The Trichoderma isolate CS30-01 was found to be the sole isolate with identifiable mycoparasitic properties in vitro . Isolate CS30-01 also displayed no reduced growth at the EC and pH ranges tested. Temperature tests found isolate CS30-01 to possess the highest tolerance at 37C°, while also displaying good growth across a temperature range of 15-35°C. Inoculation of a peat based growing media with a suspension of CS30-01 spores had no negative effects on plant germination or growth, and indicted co-incubation of CS30-01 and P. ultimum significantly reduced disease severity (P=0.005) on Brassica rapa seedlings. Evidence of suppression of F. oxysporum disease severity on Allium cepa was observed, but not found to be statistically significant. The results from this study indicate that the isolate CS30-01, identified as a strain of T. harzianum , possesses suitable biocontrol and growth properties for developing disease suppressive growing media.