Research into effective remanufacturing is recently new and is often concentrated on ensuring that the design of new products to market considers the reuse and reclaim after use. However, the pressure on landfill is already high and remanufacturing solutions are required for products currently at the end of their useful life. The vast majority of these items were produced without consideration of an end-of-life strategy. Remanufacturers are often not the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) but may be third-party contract remanufacturers or independent remanufacturers. OEMs are often very protective of their intellectual property and will not share information even with their contracted partners [1]. Consequently, successful remanufacture is often complicated by the need to "reverse engineer" (often by the disassembly and measurement of new purchased core) a product owing to a lack of available technical information. This can have a significant impact on the speed to market of a remanufactured product. Research [1] has shown that one of the key indicators for remanufacture is a short lead-time to market. This has been partly addressed by research into establishing the viability of remanufacture, however the complex mathematical models developed [2, 3, 4, 5], usually based on remanufacturing costs, do not seem to have been widely adopted by industry. There is a paucity of research into the business of remanufacturing once the initial decision to remanufacture is made and in particular into the order in which remanufacturers should concentrate their efforts. Empirical evidence together with the author's experience working for a remanufacturer, who is both an OEM and contract remanufacturer, suggests that timely remanufacture of complex assemblies is often jeopardised by the unexpected need to develop remanufacturing solutions for individual components. These components are often relatively minor in the overall assembly but their importance is elevated when a new remanufacturing solution is required. The majority of focus is usually placed onto large, high-value components, although this may not always be the most efficient use of resource. Remanufacturers have grown used to developing innovative in-house solutions to problems but the time taken and the cost involved can threaten a viable remanufacturing programme.


Recent studies suggest that myeloperoxidase (MPO)-dependent oxidative stress plays a significant role in brain injury in stroke patients. We previously showed that N-acetyl lysyltyrosylcysteine amide (KYC), a novel MPO inhibitor, significantly decreased infarct size, blood-brain barrier leakage, infiltration of myeloid cells, loss of neurons, and apoptosis in the brains of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) mice. Inhibition of MPO also noticeably reduced neurologic severity scores of MCAO mice. Thus, our data support the idea that MPO-dependent oxidative stress plays a detrimental role in tissue injury in ischemic stroke. However, the mechanisms of MPO-induced injury in stroke are still largely unknown. Here, we present new evidence showing that KYC treatment greatly reduced inflammation by decreasing the number of proinflammatory M1 microglial cells and N1 neutrophils in the brains of MCAO mice. KYC also markedly reduced the expression of high-mobility group box 1, receptor for advanced glycation end products, and nuclear factor-κB in the brains of MCAO mice. Both neurons and neural stem cells (NSCs) were oxidatively injured by MPO-dependent oxidative stress in MCAO mice. Inhibiting MPO-dependent oxidative stress with KYC significantly reduced oxidative injury and apoptosis in neurons and NSCs. KYC treatment also protected transplanted exogenous NSCs in the brains of MCAO mice. Thus, our studies suggest that MPO-dependent oxidative stress directly injures brain tissues by oxidizing neurons and NSCs and increasing inflammation during stroke. Inhibition of MPO activity with KYC preserves neuronal function and helps the brain recover from injury after stroke.


The temperature variation of the defect densities in a crystal depends on vibrational entropy. This contribution to the system thermodynamics remains computationally challenging as it requires a diagonalization of the system's Hessian which scales as $O({N}^{3})$ for a crystal made of $N$ atoms. Here, to circumvent such a heavy computational task and make it feasible even for systems containing millions of atoms, the harmonic vibrational entropy of point defects is estimated directly from the relaxed atomic positions through a linear-in-descriptor machine learning approach of order $O(N)$. With a size-independent descriptor dimension and fixed model parameters, an excellent predictive power is demonstrated on a wide range of defect configurations, supercell sizes, and external deformations well outside the training database. In particular, formation entropies in a range of $250{k}_{B}$ are predicted with less than $1.6{k}_{B}$ error from a training database whose formation entropies span only $25{k}_{B}$ (training error less than $1.0{k}_{B}$). This exceptional transferability is found to hold even when the training is limited to a low-energy superbasin in the phase space while the tests are performed for a different liquid-like superbasin at higher energies.


Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) accumulates the anthocyanin cyanidin 3-dimalonyl glucoside in etiolated mesocotyls in response to light. Inoculation with the nonpathogenic fungus Cochliobolus heterostrophus drastically reduced the light-induced accumulation of anthocyanin by repressing the transcription of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes encoding flavanone 3-hydroxylase, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, and anthocyanidin synthase. In contrast to these repression effects, fungal inoculation resulted in the synthesis of the four known 3-deoxyanthocyanidin phytoalexins and a corresponding activation of genes encoding the key branch-point enzymes in the phenylpropanoid pathway, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and chalcone synthase. In addition, a gene encoding the pathogenesis-related protein PR-10 was strongly induced in response to inoculation. The accumulation of phytoalexins leveled off by 48 h after inoculation and was accompanied by a more rapid increase in the rate of anthocyanin accumulation. The results suggest that the plant represses less essential metabolic activities such as anthocyanin synthesis as a means of compensating for the immediate biochemical and physiological needs for the defense response.


This study analyses the appropriation process of electronic journals by academics at three Brazilian post graduation research programs (Master and Doctoral). The objective is to understand the internal structure of technological practices in the context of potential users, exploring two main characteristics of the appropriation process: the duality and the flexibility of technology. The technological structuring model, proposed by Orlikowsky was expanded to verify the relationship between electronic journals and scientific communities. Results reveal electronic journals as both product of and medium for human action. As a product, technology only comes into existence through creative human action. It has no meaning until given meaning through manipulation; as a medium, technology promotes certain types of work and constrains others (duality). When interacting with electronic journals, academics showed to be influenced by the institutional properties of their setting. They based their action on existing stocks of knowledge and resources and norms to perform their work. As such, electronic journals are products of the organisational context, and will reflect the knowledge, materials, interest, and conditions present at a given locus. Electronic journals are flexible in the sense that they allow more than one interpretation. i.e., their concept vary according to the individual conditions of interaction.


: Cystostomy catheterization of urinary bladder is the commonest method of choice in the treatment of patients with prostatic adenoma complicated by pronounced intercurrent pathology. To avoid the necessity of male urinals the technique of intraurethral splinting was used in 5 patients with nitinol spiral introduced in the prostatic part of the urethra. Therefore, the urination was normalized in three of them (one person had cystostomy catheter). The long-term observation evidenced of spiral stable position and step-by-step rehabilitation of detrusor function. There was a case of spiral incrustation and still another of spiral displacement when an attempt was made to pass the urethral catheter down the inside of nitinol splint. Though the aforementioned method of recovery of normal urination is a promising one, further clinical trials are required.


Job dissatisfaction often culminates in a desire to get out of the business/intention to quit. Some of the effects of high level intention to quit (are) i.e. the productivity of employee is declining, the company's business activity is disrupted, moral issues arising out of the work of other employees, the cost of recruiting, interviewing, and the high level selection, the administration cost checking of processing new employees the allowance and the cost of lost opportunities because of new employees had to learn new skills. Based on the results of the research found that Job Insecurity influence significantly intention to quit on employees at PT. PLN Manado area. The commitment of the employees did not influence significantly on intention to quit on employees outsourcing at PT. Asia PLN Manado area. Job satisfaction influence significantly to the Intention to Quit on employees at PT. Asia PLN Manado area. Keywords: Job Insecurity, Employee Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Intention To Quit .


Abstract Although claiming the authority of an eye-witness account, frater Simon's letter is almost certainly a ficticious description of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. This presumed lack of authenticity has obviously prompted modern scholarship for a long time to be oblivious to this contemporary and exclusive source on the events, preferring well-known and reliable sources such as Leonard of Chios and Isidore of Kiev. However, since frater Simon's letter has survived in two different versions and ten manuscripts from the 15th century, it is clearly more than a marginal note. Rather is it a remarkable contribution to the literary treatment of the Turkish threat and timeless moral instruction.With his portrayal of the pagan Mehmed II as a just ruler, the recurring moral instructions and the lack of a call to arms. Simon's text stands out against themyriad of more or less contemporary depictions. In preparation for a critical edition the paper gives an analysis of the text and an overview of the extant manuscripts.


Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, the Mississippi Governor's Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding, and Renewal collaborated with the Congress for the New Urbanism to generate rebuilding proposals for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. One of the ideas generated from this partnership was the Katrina Cottage - a small home that could improve upon the FEMA Trailer. The State of Mississippi participated in the resulting Alternative Housing Pilot Program, which was funded by the U.S. Congress. Five years after Katrina, this study examines how local governments have responded to the Mississippi Cottage Program. The study poses two research questions centered around the barriers residents face when they try to place Mississippi Cottages on their properties. What are the regulatory barriers local governments have put in place to limit the siting of Mississippi Cottages? Are the strategies that local governments are using a violation of state and federal laws, including the Fair Housing Act? This study finds that while the Mississippi Cottage program provided citizens with needed housing following Hurricane Katrina, there are significant policy and implementation challenges to providing post-disaster housing.


An enhanced, xylose-utilizing strain of Rhizopus arrhizus was successfully developed via modification using media with increasing concentrations of xylose. Xylose, a relatively cheap monosugar that can be easily obtained from corncobs, rice straw, and vinasse, was the sole carbon source used for both the seed culture phase and the fermentation process. After modification, this newly improved strain showed tremendous industrial potential for fumaric acid production using xylose. The fumaric acid production increased to 28.48 g/L (parental strain was 13.23 g/L) at 8% initial xylose, a carbon:nitrogen ratio of 200, and a residence time of 7 days. The volumetric productivity was 169.52 mg/L (78.75 mg/L) per hour.


Context: India has the highest mortality due to pneumonia in the world. Despite advances in management, it still continues to be major cause of under 5 mortality in children with pneumonia. Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the clinico-bacteriological profile and outcome associated with pneumonia in Uttarakhand, India. Settings and Design: This was a prospective hospital-based observational study. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen children 1 month to 5 years of age, fulfilling the WHO criteria of pneumonia over a period of 18 months, were studied. Clinical profile, blood culture, and outcome were evaluated as per predesigned pro forma. Statistical Analysis: Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Results: Most of the patients were infants (65.28%, n = 141) and males (58.8%, n = 127). Cough (98.15%, n = 212), fever (91.67%, n = 198), difficulty in breathing (76.39%, n = 165), and crepitations (97.22%, n = 210) were the most common clinical pictures. Blood culture positivity was 21.3% (n = 46), more in infants (24.8%, n = 35) as compared to 1–5 years of age. Staphylococcus aureus (39.13%, n = 18) was the most common organism, followed by Gram-negative bacilli (26.09%, n = 12). Lack of exclusive breastfeeding (33.3%, n = 72), incomplete immunization (54.2%, n = 117), exposure to smoke (6.02%, n = 13), and malnutrition (26.39%, n = 57) were significantly associated with severe pneumonia (P < 0.05). Bronchopneumonia seen as fluffy infiltrates was seen in 72.2% (n = 156). Bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) was provided in 26% (n = 52), ventilation 14% (n = 28), and change of antibiotics was done in 29.5% (n = 59). Mortality was 8.8% (n = 18). Conclusions: This study highlights increasing incidence of S. aureus as a causative organism, especially in infants. We recommend updating antibiotic guidelines and liberal use of CPAP for better outcome. Infancy, lack of exclusive breastfeeding, incomplete immunization, malnutrition, anemia, and exposure to smoke are key domains that should be addressed for decreasing severity of pneumonia and its better outcome.


Despite the worldwide increasing interest in entrepreneurship education (EE), little attention has been paid to the game approach as a useful instrument for boosting entrepreneurial attitudes, entrepreneurial intentions and entrepreneurial behaviour. This contribution utilised a structured questionnaire to analyse a new scale tested on a first sample of 41 participants. As a primary basis for further research, this work assesses the impact of game elements in EE with 42 items. In particular, by conducting linear regression analyses the study draws special attention to significant positive impacts of key game elements in EE such as indicators of flow on entrepreneurial attitudes, intention and behaviour, whereas indicators of curiosity appear to decrease entrepreneurial intention and the probability of starting a business. Explanatory factor analyses, and Cronbach's alpha confirm the reliability and validity of the construct. In addition, the findings of this currently neglected issue call for more research to be done on web-based teaching methods in EE, which are considered to be essential not only to academia, but also to business, potential entrepreneurs and policy makers.


This paper focusses on survey expectations and discusses their uses for testing and modeling of expectations. Alternative models of expectations formation are reviewed and the importance of allowing for heterogeneity of expectations is emphasized. A weak form of the rational expectations hypothesis which focusses on average expectations rather than individual expectations is advanced. Other models of expectations formation, such as the adaptive expectations hypothesis, are briefly discussed. Testable implications of rational and extrapolative models of expectations are reviewed and the importance of the loss function for the interpretation of the test results is discussed. The paper then provides an account of the various surveys of expectations, reviews alternative methods of quantifying the qualitative surveys, and discusses the use of aggregate and individual survey responses in the analysis of expectations and for forecasting.


We study limits of interannual to decadal predictability of sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific sector of the Community Climate System Model version 3 (CCSM3). Using a set of low‐frequency and intermittent spatiotemporal SST modes acquired through nonlinear Laplacian spectral analysis (a nonlinear data manifold generalization of singular spectrum analysis), we build a hierarchy of regression models with external factors to determine which modes govern the dynamic evolution and predictability of prominent large‐scale patterns, namely the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO). Retaining key triple correlations between prognostic variables and external factors, as well as the seasonality of the data, we find that the PDO and NPGO modes of CCSM3 can be described with remarkably high fidelity as an outcome of forcing by the intermittent modes (with phase demodulation by the seasonal cycle) and cubic interactions between the low‐frequency modes. Our results differ from the classical picture of ENSO‐driven autoregressive models for North Pacific SST variability, providing evidence that intermittent processes, such as variability of the Kuroshio current, limit long‐range predictability in this climate model.


Suaeda acuminata produces two morphologically distinct types of seeds on the same plant. This study was conducted to compare oil content and fatty acid composition of the two seed morphs. Though oil characteristics between dimorphic seeds showed statistically significant difference, these differences were relatively small. The seed oil content of this species ranged from 14.3 to 15.5% by dry weight. Both seed morphs contain ca. 90% unsaturated fatty acids, with linoleic (>65%) and oleic acid (>14%) being the most abundant. The results show that oil reserve of S. acuminata seeds depends mainly on seed weight rather than seed morphology. Key words: Suaeda acuminata, fatty acid, linoleic, seed oil.


By the studying and comparing of some old house in Nanning, we find something same: they have simple structure, good ventilation, preventing over sun, homely decoration, and so. They are fit for their surroundings: sub-tropic, pan, river bank. they have something resemble with the houses of minority in Guangxi municipality. They can be used for reference to the building in county without air-condition. The attention and research of these buildings contributes much to the further promotion of green architecture in this region.template explains and demonstrates how to prepare your camera-ready paper for Trans Tech Publications. The best is to read these instructions and follow the outline of this text.


We present a method that integrates off-line rule identification and an on-line adaptive approach to improve the accuracy of a rolling load prediction model for a plate rolling process. Based on the physical model of a plate rolling process, this work presents an empirical and adaptive approach to improve the accuracy of a rolling load prediction model. Our method consists of an off-line rule identification method and an on-line adaptive method. Using a hierarchical clustering method, our rule identification method finds a set of optimal rules that determine appropriate model parameters depending on an operational environment. In contrast to traditional approaches where such rules are determined in an ad-hoc manner, our method provides a systematic method to find optimal rules under the specification on model accuracy. Then, using a recursive least-square error method, our on-line adaptive method tunes model parameters by feeding back the observed model errors. Our off-line approach is effective to deal with nonlinear characteristics of the process, and our adaptive approach guarantees to maximize and to maintain the accuracy even if time passes. A successful application of the proposed approach to the plate rolling process is also shown.


In electromechanical products form design, there still exist problems such as CAD supporting incompletely and low-usage of existent excellent case form information, this paper proposed a comprehensive method of product form design, which integrated morphological matrix, BP network, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Gray Relating Analyze (GRA) and Genetic Algorithms. According to the heritability of product form features, this method deconstructed case product modeling components and form elements to obtain the form features, then the features and feature values of product form were represented by morphologic matrix, finally product form design scheme were combined with reasonable solutions. Grading method and AHP were used to quantify the modeling components feature, form elements and perceptual image vocabularies of case product, and a BP network model was trained for form scheme image prediction. This article constructed the genetic algorithm fitness function with the weighed grey relation grade to optimize the product form scheme based on customers' requirements. VC++ was applied to develop the design software, the design of electric bicycle form scheme was taken to illustrate the application process of this method.


Confinement in TCV electron cyclotron heated discharges was studied as a function of plasma shape, i.e. as a function of elongation, 1.1 < kappa < 2.15, and triangularity, -0.65 less than or equal to delta less than or equal to 0.55. The electron energy confinement time was found to increase with elongation, owing in part to the increase of plasma current with elongation. The beneficial effect of negative triangularities was most effective at low power and tended to decrease at the higher powers used. The large variety of sawtooth types observed in TCV for different power deposition locations, from on-axis to the q = 1 region, was simulated with a model that included local power deposition, a growing m/n = 1 island (convection and reconnection), plasma rotation and finite heat diffusivity across flux surfaces. Furthermore, a model with local magnetic shear reproduced the experimental observation that the sawtooth period is at a maximum when the heating is close to the q = 1 surface.


Objective of this paper is to enchance the security while tranfering data between two host through internet. It is very obvious that technology is evolving. As technology evolves the threat for user's data also increases. Enhancement in data security has become a basic necessity. This paper also works towards enhancing the security of data through 6 layers. The data that have to be sent to the receiver will pass 6 layers of security on the sender's side. The first layer comprises of any encryption algorithms. The second layer involves compression techniques. The third layer involves a new technique of key generation. In the fourth layer the data will be traversed in any one of the 9 existing patterns. Fifth layer is to append the data with another text, audio, video or image file. Final layer combines both the two basic networking protocols, Transmission Control Protocol and User Datagram Protocol. The byte array of this appended file will be sent through the User Datagram Protocol. The Generated key will be sent through the transmission Control Protocol. Transmitting data and the key in different protocols improves the security to a greater extent. The working of all these 6 layers will be discussed in this paper. Improvements will be made refer to increasing the performance and security without affecting the complexity level on client and server side. Region based segmentation can be used to hide the data in a particular part of the image. The implementation of these improvements is in process, to enhance the security of the data.


We build an agent-based model to study how coordination failures, credit constraints and unequal access to investment opportunities affect inequality and aggregate income dynamics. The economy is populated by households who can invest in alternative projects associated with different productivity growth rates. Access to investment projects also depends on credit availability. The income of each household is determined by the output of the project but also by aggregate demand conditions. We show that aggregate dynamics is affected by income distribution. Moreover, we show that the model features a trickle-up growth dynamics. Redistribution towards poorer households raises aggregate demand and is beneficial for the income growth of all agents in the economy. Extensive numerical simulations show that our model is able to reproduce several stylized facts concerning income inequality and social mobility. Finally, we test the impact of redistributive fiscal policies, showing that fiscal policies facilitating access to investment opportunities by poor households have the largest impact in terms of raising long-run aggregate income and decreasing income inequality. Moreover, policy timing is important: fiscal policies that are implemented too late may have no significant effects on inequality.


Style transfer has been an important topic both in computer vision and graphics. Since the seminal work of Gatys et al. first demonstrates the power of stylization through optimization in the deep feature space, quite a few approaches have achieved real-time arbitrary style transfer with straightforward statistic matching techniques. In this work, our key observation is that only considering features in the input style image for the global deep feature statistic matching or local patch swap may not always ensure a satisfactory style transfer; see e.g., Figure 1. Instead, we propose a novel transfer framework, EFANet, that aims to jointly analyze and better align exchangeable features extracted from the content and style image pair. In this way, the style feature from the style image seeks for the best compatibility with the content information in the content image, leading to more structured stylization results. In addition, a new whitening loss is developed for purifying the computed content features and better fusion with styles in feature space. Qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate the advantages of our approach.


Within the collective memory literature, very few scholars have sought to examine commemoration through the lens of globalization theory even though it poses challenges to understandings of time and space that underpin memory studies. This article examines the local political conditions and global institutional environment influencing memory discourses. Drawing on the case of Bloody Sunday (1972), I examine the role of memory choreographers in constructing universalizing commemorative idioms and the local conditions and global setting influencing this memory work. I argue that the mid-1990s was characterized by an increasing emphasis on Bloody Sunday's globally `chic' qualities that seemed to liquidate its earlier localized meaning, and that this was achieved through drawing analogies between the Bloody Sunday experience and other global casualties of injustice and oppression. This narrative reframing of the event is explained in terms of Irish, British, European, American and global influences as well as political, economic and demographic shifts, which came together in the mid-1990s, to create a propitious environment for a global turn in Bloody Sunday memory.


Alveolar echinococcosis of the liver is caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis. Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS) is a hepatic venous outflow tract obstruction and involves abdominal pain, hepatomegaly and high-gradient ascites. A low-gradient ascites in connection with the syndrome rarely occurs in case of alveolar echinococcosis of the liver. Here we report a 20-year-old man with the syndrome and low-gradient ascites due to a huge liver mass. Further diagnostic examination revealed alveolar echinococcosis of the liver. Diuretic agents and albendazole were used as palliative therapy in the case.


Sir: Ependymal cysts of the spinal cord are rarely encountered and reported. The usual presentation is pain, associated with a slowly progressive neurological deficit, the distribution being dependent on the level of the cyst. By contrast, the case of a patient with acute sensorimotor paraplegia caused by an ependymal cyst of the spinal cord is presented. On 8 August 1986, a 25 year old black male experienced the acute onset of severe, midline upper thoracic back pain while exercising with weights. Three days later he developed band-like chest pain in a TI-T3 distribution and bilateral lower extremity weakness. The following day he noted that he was dragging both feet when walking. The next day he awoke to find that he could not move either lower extremity and was numb below his nipples. His chest pain and upper thoracic spinal pain persisted. He was then brought by ambulance to the Harbor/UCLA Medical Center. The patient had a flaccid paraplegia, patulous anal sphicter, an absent bulbocavernosus reflex, absent patellar reflexes. and normal Achilles reflexes bilaterally. The plantar response was absent bilaterally. Pin and touch sensation were absent below T4 on the right and below T6 on the left. Position and vibration sensation were absent in both lower extremities. The upper thoracic spine was markedly tender to palpation over the spinous processes ofT1 and T2. No cutaneous abnormalities were noted. Plain radiographs of the spine were normal. Positive contrast myelography with a water soluble agent showed a complete intradural, extramedullary block of the contrast column corresponding to the TI-T2 disc space on both cervical and lumbar injections of contrast. CT scan of the region of the block showed it to be caused by a rightsided intraspinal mass lesion anterolateral to the spinal cord. The patient was taken immediately to the operating room where a C7-T2 laminectomy was performed. The exposure was extended to allow visualisation of the anterolateral aspect of the spinal cord by removing the right T1-T2 facet joint and the T2 pedicle with a high speed drill. Upon opening the dura, a tense, 4cm, extramedullary cyst with an extremely thin, translucent wall was identified anterolateral to the spinal cord. The cyst contained clear, colourless fluid that appeared similar to cerebrospinal fluid. The cyst was easily dissected from the inner surface of the dura, but sharp dissection was required to free it from the spinal cord. Microscopically, the cyst was lined by a single layer of nonciliated cuboidal to columnar epithelium with regular ovoid nuclei and a moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm. Immunoperoxidase method for cytokeratin was strongly positive, whereas those for S-100 and glial fibrillary acidic protein were negative. Mucicarmine stain for mucin was negative. The final pathologic diagnosis was neuroepithelial lined cyst, consistent with ependymal cyst. On the first postoperative day the patient had recovered partial sensation below the nipples, and was able to move his toes bilaterally. By one week he had anti-gravity strength in the left lower extremity, and


To detect landslides by object-based image analysis using criteria based on shape, color, texture, and, in particular, contextual information and process knowledge, candidate segments must be delineated properly. This has proved challenging in the past, since segments are mainly created using spectral and size criteria that are not consistent for landslides. This paper presents an approach to select objectively parameters for a region growing segmentation technique to outline landslides as individual segments and also addresses the scale dependence of landslides and false positives occurring in a natural landscape. Multiple scale parameters were determined using a plateau objective function derived from the spatial autocorrelation and intrasegment variance analysis, allowing for differently sized features to be identified. While a high-resolution Resourcesat-1 Linear Imaging and Self Scanning Sensor IV (5.8 m) multispectral image was used to create segments for landslide recognition, terrain curvature derived from a digital terrain model based on Cartosat-1 (2.5 m) data was used to create segments for subsequent landslide classification. Here, optimal segments were used in a knowledge-based classification approach with the thresholds of diagnostic parameters derived from If-means cluster analysis, to detect landslides of five different types, with an overall recognition accuracy of 76.9%. The approach, when tested in a geomorphologically dissimilar area, recognized landslides with an overall accuracy of 77.7%, without modification to the methodology. The multiscale classification-based segment optimization procedure was also able to reduce the error of commission significantly in comparison to a single-optimal-scale approach.


Abstract. Resilient, productive soils are necessary to sustainably intensify
agriculture to increase yields while minimizing environmental harm. To
conserve and regenerate productive soils, the need to maintain and build soil
organic matter (SOM) has received considerable attention. Although SOM is
considered key to soil health, its relationship with yield is contested
because of local-scale differences in soils, climate, and farming systems.
There is a need to quantify this relationship to set a general framework for
how soil management could potentially contribute to the goals of sustainable
intensification. We developed a quantitative model exploring how SOM relates
to crop yield potential of maize and wheat in light of co-varying factors of
management, soil type, and climate. We found that yields of these two crops
are on average greater with higher concentrations
of SOC (soil organic carbon). However, yield
increases level off at ∼2 % SOC. Nevertheless, approximately
two-thirds of the world's cultivated maize and wheat lands currently have SOC
contents of less than 2 %. Using this regression relationship developed
from published empirical data, we then estimated how an increase in SOC
concentrations up to regionally specific targets could potentially help
reduce reliance on nitrogen (N) fertilizer and help close global yield gaps.
Potential N fertilizer reductions associated with increasing SOC amount to
7 % and 5 % of global N fertilizer inputs across maize and wheat
fields, respectively. Potential yield increases of 10±11 %
(mean ± SD) for maize and 23±37 % for wheat amount to 32 %
of the projected yield gap for maize and 60 % of that for wheat. Our
analysis provides a global-level prediction for relating SOC to crop yields.
Further work employing similar approaches to regional and local data, coupled
with experimental work to disentangle causative effects of SOC on yield and
vice versa, is needed to provide practical prescriptions to incentivize soil
management for sustainable intensification.


Uncoupling protein (UCP)-2 and UCP-3 are two recently discovered proteins similar to UCP-1, which regulates thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue (BAT). Whereas UCP-1 expression is restricted to BAT, UCP-2 is widely expressed. UCP-3 is found mainly in skeletal muscle and BAT. A large body of evidence exists that the expression of UCP-2 and UCP-3 in skeletal muscle of mice is regulated by feeding/fasting, and some studies have suggested that this effect might be caused by the changing concentration of plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs). In an attempt to determine whether the increased import of triacylglycerol-derived NEFAs can also affect UCP expression, we determined the mRNA levels of UCP-1, UCP-2 and UCP-3 in BAT and muscle of induced mutant mouse lines that overexpressed or lacked lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in these tissues. The expression levels of UCP-1 and UCP-2 in BAT and in skeletal and cardiac muscle respectively were not affected by variations in tissue LPL activities. In contrast, UCP-3 mRNA levels were induced 3.4-fold in mice with high levels of LPL in skeletal muscle, and down-regulated in mice that lacked LPL in skeletal muscle. The presence or absence of LPL in BAT had no effect on UCP-3 expression levels. The response of UCP-3 mRNA expression to variations in LPL activity in skeletal muscle was independent of the feeding status or of plasma NEFA concentrations. These findings indicated that NEFAs as lipolytic products of LPL-mediated triacylglycerol hydrolysis markedly affect UCP-3 expression and that increased LPL activities occurring during fasting in skeletal muscle contribute to the induction of UCP-3 expression by promoting the increased uptake of NEFAs. In addition, our results demonstrate that UCP-2 and UCP-3 are differentially regulated in response to LPL-mediated NEFA uptake in skeletal muscle of mice.


Data for detecting magnetic flux surfaces at the edge plasma in tokamaks are presented here. When magnetic flux surfaces are moved by a plasma jog, it is observed that a current increment appears in the two sets of double probes whose front surfaces are shifted by a small distance and that a difference between these two currents through the differential amplifier giving a signal of the arrival of the separatrix also appears; we refer to consider the separatrix point as a typical position of the magnetic flux surfaces. It is confirmed that magnetic flux surfaces are located a few cm outward from that calculated by the eqfit-code (EQFIT) and that the absolute value of its deviation is identified. This identification is supported by the result of the observation of the correlation of the floating potential fluctuation between two different points using one probe pin of the same differential as the same double probes. The ion temperature and the space potential are observed by the another use of the differential double probe are modified following the estimated real magnetic surfaces positions.


In 2010-2011, investment-grade borrowers such as the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Norfolk Southern Corporation, Rabobank Netherlands, United Mexican States (UMS), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Southern California issued 100-year bonds with no call provisions; and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) issued a 50-year bond with no call provisions. AAA-rated TVA's 50-year bond, and BBB-rated UMS's 100-year bond had coupons of 4.625%, and 6.125%, respectively. Also in the same period, Goldman Sachs twice issued 50-year bonds with attractively-priced five-year call provisions, as the retail market traditionally under prices bond call options. Similar to Goldman Sachs, Telephone and Data Systems Inc, and its subsidiary United States Cellular Corp issued retail-targeted 49 NC-5s (non-calls) with attractively priced call provisions. The confluence of record-low 30-year Treasury yields and relatively tight corporate spreads are among the factors driving the issuance of bonds with 50 to 100-year maturities. The market for 50- and 100-year bonds (ultra-long, or super-long bonds) was invigorated in 1992 and 1993 by the: first-of-its-kind deal-of-the-year TVA 50 NC-20 (50-year non-call 20), Texaco 50 NC-20, Boeing 50 NC-L (non-call life), Walt Disney 100 NC-30, and Coca Cola 100 NC-L bonds. Typically, asset-liability managers such as insurance companies buy ultra-long bonds to match the duration of their assets and liabilities. The duration and, thus, the quarterly mark-to-market sensitivity of such bonds are only marginally higher than 30-year bonds. Asset managers may also buy ultra-long bonds to mitigate the negative convexity of their mortgage portfolios. Therefore, even small amounts of additional yield may tend to compensate investors for the incremental risks that they undertake.


OBJECT
Electrocortical stimulation mapping is regarded as the gold standard of intraoperative mapping for predicting functional outcomes. Nevertheless, methodologies across institutions are inconsistent. Although many vary and maximize stimulation currents at each cortical site, some use a single current level to map the entire exposed cortex. The former comes at the cost of possibly inducing additional afterdischarge activity. The authors retrospectively reviewed their eperience with intraoperative electrocortical stimulation mapping to characterize variability of both mapping and afterdischarge thresholds.

METHODS
Seventeen patients satisfied the study inclusion criteria. Significant variability in mapping thresholds was identified within individuals and across the patient population. Moreover, a statistically significant difference in mapping thresholds was demonstrated between the frontal and parietal/temporal lobes (p = 0.007, one-way analysis of variance). The authors report a surprisingly high incidence of afterdischarge during mapping, wide variability in afterdischarge thresholds within individuals and across the study population, and mapping thresholds regularly exceeding afterdischarge thresholds in neighboring cortex. Differences in afterdischarge thresholds across lobes only approached significance (p = 0.086).

CONCLUSIONS
To maximize identification of eloquent cortices in some clinical situations, it may be advantageous to maximize currents at each cortical site regardless of adjacent afterdischarge threshold rather than to map the entire exposed cortex at a single current level. Moreover, the current findings highlight the need for electrocorticography during electrocortical stimulation mapping, both to identify when afterdischarges occur and to verify stimulation by recording stimu lation artifacts. The advantages and limitations of maximizing currents at each cortical site as well as mapping at a single current level are discussed.


Meta-analysis can be broadly defined as the quantitative review and synthesis of the results of related but independent studies into a single overall result. It is a statistical analysis that combines or integrates the results of several independent clinical trials considered by the analyst to be "combinable". In many biomedical research areas, especially clinical trials in oncology, researchers often use time to some event (or death) as the primary endpoint to assess treatment effects. As the amount of survival analyses continues to increase, there is a greater need to summarize a pool of studies into a coherent overview.It is well established that in Cox proportional hazard models with censored survival data, estimates of treatment effects with some important covariates omitted will be biased toward zero. This is especially problematic in meta-analyses which combine estimates of parameters from studies where different covariate adjustments are made. Presently, few constructive solutions have been provided to address this issue. We propose a meta-analytic framework for combining incomparable Cox models using both aggregated patient data (APD) and individual patient data (IPD) structures. For APD, two meta-regression models (meta-ANOVA and meta-polynomial models) with indicators of different covariates in Cox models are proposed to adjust for the heterogeneity of treatment effects across studies. Both parametric and nonparametric estimators for the pooled treatment effect and the heterogeneity variance are presented and compared. For IPD, we propose a hierarchical multiple imputation method to handle the unique missing covariates problem when we combine individual data from different studies for a meta-analysis, and results are compared with estimations from the conventional multiple imputation method. We illustrate the advantages of our proposed analytic procedures over existing methodologies by simulation studies and real data analyses using multiple breast cancer clinical trials.The public health significance of our work is to provide practical guidance of designing and implementing meta-analyses of incomparable Cox proportional hazard models for researchers in the fields of clinical trials, medical research, and other health care areas. Such guidance is important due to the emerging role of meta-analysis in assessing important public health studies.


In today's society more and more activities are digitalized. This means that everyone has to be able to use information and communication tools (ICT) in order to take part in the digital world, otherwise they will be left out of the digital community. There is a so called digital gap between for instance elderly and young people, where elderly do not know how to use the tools and there for cannot gain access to the digital society. What happens when people, not only grow old, but also have a communication disorder, such as aphasia? How are they included? The purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not surf pads are good tools for bridging the digital gap for people with aphasia, and which activities and situations that encourages people with aphasia to work with the surf pad. This has been investigated by conducting a qualitative study where ten people with aphasia who owns a surf pad have been interviewed. Also one person who has aphasia but does not want a surf pad has been a part of this study. The interviews have been complemented with a participating observation that has been conducted over a period of one year. The study shows that the surf pad might be a good tool to bridge the digital gap, even though the participants in this study do not think that they have gotten more social by using surf pads. It shows that it takes more than just handing out the tool. It needs support and motivation in order to learn how to use it. Finally, and maybe the most important finding is that it is about a lack of confidence, both in the tool but also in one self that is the biggest indicator for wanting to learn and daring to do so.


It is widely recognised that meeting current emissions reduction targets will require radical changes to the sustainability performance of the built environment. Dominant approaches to sustainable building rest upon technological innovation, regulation and behavioural change initiatives. These represent a centralised command and control approach to governance. This thesis contributes to existing literature which contends that these approaches are inadequate because they fail to recognise the simultaneously socio-technical nature of systems, thus focusing on narrow interventions aimed at isolated aspects of dynamic systems. Instead, the thesis develops and applies a novel conceptual approach to explore the reflexive governance of systems of social practice.

The thesis draws on new empirical data from a multi-site in depth qualitative study of the system of practice that emerged around a sustainable building project at the University of East Anglia. This involved 58 interviews with key actors and residents, 12 months participant observation and documentary analysis conducted during the construction process and first months of occupancy.

Key novelty of the thesis is found in producing a map of a "live" system of practice. The mapping process enabled the identification of the multiple and diverse relations between practices through which governance occurs, and an exploration of numerous overlapping forms of governance happening at different points in the system. Sustainability is identified as a situated element of practice, taking different forms at different points in the system. The thesis concludes by drawing out implications for governing systems of practice for sustainability. It outlines an idealised system of governance based on principles of: i) systematic mapping of connections within systems of practice to understand both current context and likely outcomes; ii) anticipatory policy visioning; iii) co-design of interventions with key practitioners; and iv) developing distributed reflexivity across whole systems of practice to better attend to multiple forms of sustainability.


The corrosion inhibition characteristics of Sulfamerazine(SFM) on mild steel immersed in 1 M HCl solution were investigated. Weight loss, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarisation (PDP) was used as basis for studying the corrosion inhibition behavior of the compound. The results show that the inhibition efficiency increase with increase in SFM concentration in the acidic solutions but decreases with increase in temperature. Specifically. Langmuir isotherm best fits the data obtained suggesting chemical and physical adsorption as the adsorption mechanism between the SFM and the mild steel substrate. Polarization curves indicate that compound is mixed-type inhibitor, affecting both cathodic and anodic corrosion currents. The morphological study indicated adsorption of inhibitor molecules on the surface of the mild steel. The density functional theory (DFT) was employed for theoretical calculations. The results obtained from experimental measurements and those from theoretical calculations are in good agreement.


Throughout the world, competing interest groups lay claim to the material remains of the past. Archaeologists, developers, indigenous 'first peoples' , looters, museum curators, national government officals, New Age worshippers, private collectors, tourists - all want their share. This introduction to contemporary debates surrounding their rival claims deals with defining, owning, protecting, managing, interpreting, and experiencing the archaeological heritage. Fundamental questions are considered: What is 'archaeological heritage'? Who should own and control the material culture of the past? How should these remains be protected? How should the archaeological heritage be presented to the public? Robin Skeates calls for greater communication and co-operation between archaeologists and other interest groups, urging archaeologists to increase the involvement of local people in the culturally valuable and vulnerable material remains of their past, and in archaeological research that attempts to be objective.


This note describes nestling mortality in Arctic Peregrine Falcons ( Falco peregrinus tundrius ) due to the biting effects of blood-feeding black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae). At a nest site near Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, Canada (62˚49′ N, 92˚05′ W), a brood of four nestlings died on 20 July 2013 from the direct effects of severe bites attributed to black flies. Within three hours of the onset of blood-feeding, black flies had caused widespread, uniformly distributed hemorrhagic coalescent lesions over the head and body of all nestlings. Approximately seven hours after the first flies appeared, the female falcon removed the carcasses of the dead nestlings from the nest. Nestlings at eight additional sites also suffered the effects of biting black flies in 2013, resulting in the deaths of 13 of 35 nestlings. A less pronounced outbreak also occurred in 2012 and resulted in the deaths of seven nestlings at four sites. No nestling mortality due to black flies has been documented in any other year from 1982 through 2015. To our knowledge, these observations document the northernmost lethal attack by ornithophilic black flies in North America.


: Too often information systems have not provided the information executives need, in the necessary time frame and at the level of usability that they require. Executive information systems, which are designed to quickly cull through critical information and present it in a highly usable format, are appropriately positioned to fill this growing need.


Zinc sulfide clusters produced by direct laser ablation and analyzed in a time-of-flight mass-spectrometer, showed evidence that clusters composed of 3, 6, and 13 monomer units were ultrastable. The geometry and energies of neutral and positively charged Zn(n)S(n) clusters, up to n = 16, were obtained computationally at the B3LYP/6-311+G level of theory with the assistance of an algorithm to generate all possible structures having predefined constraints. Small neutral and positive clusters were found to have planar geometries, neutral three-dimensional clusters have the geometry of closed-cage polyhedra, and cationic three-dimensional clusters have structures with a pair of two-coordinated atoms. Physical properties of the clusters as a function of size are reported. The relative stability of the positive stoichiometric clusters provides a thermodynamic rationale for the experimental results.


. Traditional diamond grits used for making resin bonded abrasives are monocrystalline in acicular shape and with smooth surface, so they are easy to fall off prematurely during grinding, the use effect is not good. Taking the powder graphite and the iron-base alloy catalyst as the raw material by adopting a new indirect heating craft, under the high pressure and high temperature conditions within cubic press, this project developed a new variety of diamond -- CSD abrasive with crumb structure. They have equi-axed shape and rough surface. It has been proved that the abrasive wheels made with CSD diamond have self-sharpening characteristics and high bondability. The grinding efficiency and service life of the abrasive wheels made with CSD can be doubled.


Contraction of the distal sphincter of the common bile duct (as distinct from the sphincter of Oddi) may produce a pseudocalculus defect. A typical case is described where the defect was thought to be a retained stone on T-tube cholangiography. The anatomy of the defect is emphasized by its persistence after sphincteroplasty. A diagnostic feature is the immediate abolition of the defect by hyoscine butylbromide (Buscopan, Boehringer Ingelheim).


In this work, we are presenting a technique that allows for accurate estimation of frequencies in higher dimensions than the original image content. This technique uses asymmetrical Principal Component Analysis together with Discrete Wavelet Transform (aPCA-DWT). For example, high quality content can be generated from low quality cameras since the necessary frequencies can be estimated through reliable methods. Within our research, we build models for interpreting facial images where super-resolution versions of human faces can be created. We have worked on several different experiments, extracting the frequency content in order to create models with aPCA-DWT. The results are presented along with experiments of deblurring and zooming beyond the original image resolution. For example, when an image is enlarged 16 times in decoding, the proposed technique outperforms interpolation with more than 7 dB on average.


Abstract In this commentary, we attempt to broaden thinking and dialogue about how our ancestral past might have affected attachment and reproductive strategies. We highlight the theoretical benefits of formulating specific predictions of how different sources of stress might impact attachment and reproductive strategies differently, and we integrate some of these ideas with another recent evolutionary model of human mating.


The 11 India's Economic Development Plan(2007-2012) proposes a very important goal of "Power for all": supply electricity to all Indian households without interruption y the end of the plan in 2012. Currently the potential demand for electricity in India exceeds by about 15% ,resulting in regular power cuts households, business and industries. Power loss in distribution system occurs due to resistance of transmission line. This resistance of line included from generating station to load i.e. resistance of distribution and transmission line. Resistance of distribution system is large compare to transmission system. Therefore, 80% losses occur in the distribution system. Ideally, losses in a power system should be around 3 to 6%. In developed countries it is not more than 10%. However, in developing countries like India, the percentage of active losses is around 20%. Therefore, It should be minimized to meet excess demand of 15%. Keywords— Distribution System; Network Reconfiguration; Loss Minimization; Radiality; Tie Switches; Sectionalize Switches.


The issues related to the potential of ICT tools in the education of young children are addressed by a significant number of authors. Consequently, the importance of the implementation of the modern ICT tools in educational work is pointed out because of its extensive impact on child development.
The reasons for insufficient use of the ICT tools in kindergartens are analysed, indicating that their application is conditioned by a large number and variety of factors that may be general, conditioned by the social context and the degree of the computerization in a particular social context, or factors of a personal nature - which are determined by the attitudes and competences of teachers.
The methodological part is dedicated to the interpretation of the results of the empirical research that is aimed at examining the attitudes of teachers in regard to the reasons for poor implementation of ICT tools in the educational work with young children. The main instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire that was specifically designed for the research purposes. The survey was conducted on a sample of teachers employed in preschool institutions in Serbia. Hypotheses are: (1) that educators believe that the potential of ICT tools are underutilized, especially in working with children; (2) that their views on the application of ICT tools are conditioned by dependent variables: education and years of service. Research results confirmed the hypotheses and pointed to a positive correlation between the studied variables. Specifically, it was found that there is a statistically significant difference in the attitudes of teachers about the reasons for poor implementation of ICT tools in kindergartens in relation to the qualifications and seniority.
In conclusion, the research points to the need for systemic changes which would imply better ICT equipment in kindergartens, as well as the necessity of professional training programs for competence development of teachers in the field of new technologies application.


Aim To determine the absolute and relative reliability of functional trunk tests, using a functional electromechanical dynamometer to evaluate the isokinetic strength of trunk flexors and to determine the most reliable assessment condition, in order to compare the absolute and relative reliability of mean force and peak force of trunk flexors and to determine which isokinetic condition of evaluation is best related to the maximum isometric. Methods Test-retest of thirty-seven physically active male student volunteers who performed the different protocols, isometric contraction and the combination of three velocities (V1 = 015 m s−1 , V2 = 0.30 m s−1, V3 = 0.45 m s−1) and two range of movement (R1 = 25% cm ; R2 = 50% cm) protocols. Results All protocols to evaluate trunk flexors showed an absolute reliability provided a stable repeatability for isometric and dynamic protocols with a coefficient of variation (CV) being below 10% and a high or very high relative reliability (0.69 < intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] > 0.86). The more reliable strength manifestation (CV = 6.82%) to evaluate the concentric contraction of trunk flexors was mean force, with 0.15 m s−1 and short range of movement (V1R1) condition. The most reliable strength manifestation to evaluate the eccentric contraction of trunk flexors was peak force, with 0.15 m s−1 and a large range of movement (V1R2; CV = 5.07%), and the most reliable way to evaluate isometric trunk flexors was by peak force (CV = 7.72%). The mean force of eccentric trunk flexor strength with 0.45 m s−1 and short range of movement (V3R1) condition (r = 0.73) was best related to the maximum isometric contraction. Conclusion Functional electromechanical dynamometry is a reliable evaluation system for assessment of trunk flexor strength.


This paper proposes a fast and confident approach to face detection. Initially we detect and segment the regions of image with human skin color. The regions with similar features are merged in order to generate a bigger region. Following the extraction of each region`s features, the resulted data is given to the fuzzy system trying to determine regions which are most likely to belong to skin. After performing preprocessing, the regions with highest possibility of containing face are examined and similar regions are merged to generate a large region. After segmenting the face regions of image, the regions are divided into two categories of face and non-face by applying the Generalized Symmetry Transform (GST) algorithm. The results prove that new algorithm not only runs relatively fast but also provides an improved performance.


The effect of gravitational fluctuations on the quantum effective potential for scalar fields is a key ingredient for predictions of the mass of the Higgs boson, understanding the gauge hierarchy problem and a possible explanation of an---asymptotically---vanishing cosmological constant. We find that the quartic self-interaction of the Higgs scalar field is an irrelevant coupling at the asymptotically safe ultraviolet fixed point of quantum gravity. This renders the ratio between the masses of the Higgs boson and top quark predictable. If the flow of couplings below the Planck scale is approximated by the Standard Model, this prediction is consistent with the observed value. The quadratic term in the Higgs potential is irrelevant if the strength of gravity at short distances exceeds a bound that is determined here as a function of the particle content. In this event, a tiny value of the ratio between the Fermi scale and the Planck scale is predicted.


The interaction of angiotensin analogs modified at position 8 with specific antibodies has been studied. Modification of phenylalanine in the angiotensin molecule results in a decrease or disappearance of activity of the compounds tested. This allowed to develop a selective approach for determination of angiotensin antagonists in the blood.


This study presents the analysis and fabrication of artificial materials with metallic cuboid inclusions (termed here as meta-atoms) in a dielectric host material. These synthetic materials or metamaterials have been additively manufactured with a fused deposition modelling three-dimensional (3D) printer. The effective permittivity and permeability have been numerically analysed using the Maxwell-Garnett and Lewin's approximation. Simulations and measurements have shown good agreement with analytical calculations. The anisotropy of the heterogeneous mixture due to the orientation of the meta-atoms has been demonstrated. The effective permittivity has been increased by the presence of the meta-atoms, which has the potential of producing 3D-printing metamaterials with tailored electromagnetic properties.


The study addresses a threefold research question: (I) What factors contribute most to the feeling of satisfaction with SFU; (2) What factors discriminate between students who are thinking of leaving and those who are not; (3) What is the relationship between students' satisfaction with SFU and their intention to drop out. A feedback survey of existing international students, analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods, reveals the following: international students are less likely to drop out of SFU if they are satisfied; if their expectations about SFU are met ('confirmation'); or if they come from one of the East Asian countries. Our core recommendations for SFU International include ways to: (I) proactively orient new international students to SFU's teaching and learning systems; (2) re-position itself as a welcoming place for international students, including improved physical facilities; (3) manage international students' perceptions of SFU, thus increasing their level of satisfaction.


The purpose of this paper is to test Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) as a tool to build quality into the new product and processes and ensure that it meets the customer expectations. Research method is qualitative method using so called case-study to study the suitability of PPAP as a tool for quality management by building quality right into the new product and process. The case studies have been made with three different kinds of companies. PPAP is suitable tool for quality management in NPD processes when taking into account many requirements about personnel, processes, documentation etc. The paper has some limitations such as limited sample size. The results are encouraging managers to use PPAP as a tool for managing their company's product development processes, quality work and supply chain partnerships. The manner in which the stakeholders could use to facilitate a sense of partnerships or co-workers aiming the same goals rather than have a traditional customer-seller relationship was valued in this study.


Non-cooperative resource allocation in amplify-and-forward relay-assisted DS/CDMA networks is tackled in this paper. The relay allocates its amplify-and-forward matrix for achievable sum-rate maximization, whereas the mobile transmitters selfishly allocate their spreading codes for individual achievable rate maximization. Convergence of the proposed algorithm is proved and its performance contrasted against a centralized approach. Moreover, the proposed approach is extended to the case in which the direct path between transmitters and receiver is taken into account.


ABSTRACT Over the past decade, several review articles have evaluated the techniques and outcomes of robotics vs traditional methods in spine surgery. Recently, robot-assisted pedicle screw placement has emerged, representing an important milestone in the evolution of spine surgery. In the present article, the authors aim to provide the historical context regarding the use and growth of spinal robotics through the lens of the Industrial Revolution and the personal computer revolution. While the former provides insight into the current implications of robotics in spine surgery, the latter predicts future steps in this arena.


SUMMARY: The influence of Mg2+-limitation on the growth of a typical Gram-positive organism—Bacillus subtilis—was investigated and the data compared with that obtained with Aerobacter aerogenes grown under similar conditions. The magnesium contents of both organisms varied with growth rate but were very similar at corresponding growth rates. With Mg2+-limited chemostat cultures of each organism, uptake of Mg2+ was almost complete at specific growth rates less than 0.7 × maximum. Cellular Mg2+ was tightly bound, none being removed by suspension of the organisms at 20° in 0.85% (w/v) NaCl. When Mg2+-limited organisms were suspended in environments containing Mg2+, this ion was rapidly adsorbed; the amount adsorbed varied with both the initial extracellular Mg2+ concentration and the composition of the diluent. B. subtilis had a greater capacity for Mg2+ adsorption than A. aerogenes but its affinity for this ion was less. The latter difference correlated with the ability of A. aerogenes to outgrow B. subtilis rapidly in Mg2+-limited chemostat cultures containing both organisms. The significance of these results is discussed in relation to the reports from other laboratories concerning differences between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in Mg2+ content, uptake of Mg2+ and ability to grow in media of low Mg2+ content.


Machine Learning Identification of Protein Properties Useful for Specific Applications Abdullah Mohammed Abdullah Khamis Proteins play critical roles in cellular processes of living organisms. It is therefore important to identify and characterize their key properties associated with their functions. Correlating protein's  structural,  sequence  and  physicochemical  properties  of its amino acids (aa) with protein functions could identify some of the critical factors governing the specific functionality. We point out that not all functions of even well studied proteins are known. This, complemented by the huge increase in the number of newly discovered and predicted proteins, makes challenging the experimental characterization of the whole spectrum of possible protein functions for all proteins of interest. Consequently, the use of computational methods has become more attractive. Here we address two questions. The first one is how to use protein aa sequence and physicochemical properties to characterize a family of proteins. The second one focuses on how to use transcription factor (TF) protein's domains to enhance accuracy of predicting TF DNA binding sites (TFBSs). To address the first question, we developed a novel method using computational representation of proteins based on characteristics of different protein regions (Nterminal, M-region and C-terminal) and combined these with the properties of protein aa 5 sequences. We show that this description provides important biological insight about characterization of the protein functional groups. Using feature selection techniques, we identified key properties of proteins that allow for very accurate characterization of different protein families. We demonstrated efficiency of our method in application to a number of antimicrobial peptide families. To address the second question we developed another novel method that uses a combination of aa properties of DNA binding domains of TFs and their TFBS properties to develop machine learning models for predicting TFBSs. Feature selection is used to identify the most relevant characteristics of the aa for such modeling. In addition to reducing the number of required models to only 14 for several hundred TFs, the final prediction accuracy of our models appears dramatically better than with other methods. Overall, we show how to efficiently utilize properties of proteins in deriving more accurate solutions for two important problems of computational biology and bioinformatics.


shortly after terminating cardiopulmonary bypass. It was noted that fluid was leaking from the infusion connection. Externally the connection appeared normal; on disconnection the injection site was found to be fractured causing leakage. Although no demonstrable harm was done to these patients, in each case there was the potential for complications: loss of an unknown quantity of drug; air embolus; sepsis; infusion failure. In no case had the injection sites been instrumented frequently or with excessive force. The potential advantages of a needleless system are obvious and it would be unfortunate if these major benefits to staff and patients were lost due to mechanical failure. Until the injection hub is strengthened to meet everyday use, care and caution are required when using the InterLink system.


The activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) exerts potent antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects; however, its participation in the modulation of chronic inflammatory pain and on the antinociceptive effects of μ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists has not been evaluated. We investigated whether the induction of Nrf2 could alleviate chronic inflammatory pain and augment the analgesic effects of morphine and mechanisms implicated. In male C57BL/6 mice with inflammatory pain induced by complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) subplantarly administered, we assessed: 1) antinociceptive actions of the administration of 5 and 10 mg/kg of a Nrf2 activator, sulforaphane (SFN); and 2) effects of SFN on the antinociceptive actions of morphine and on protein levels of Nrf2, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) enzymes, microglial activation and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) overexpression, as well as on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and MOR expression in the spinal cord and paw of animals with inflammatory pain. Results showed that treatment with SFN inhibited allodynia and hyperalgesia induced by CFA and increased the local antinociceptive actions of morphine. This treatment also augmented the expression of Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1, and MOR, and inhibited NOS2 and CD11b/c overexpression and MAPK phosphorylation induced by inflammation. Thus, this study shows that the induction of Nrf2 might inhibit inflammatory pain and enhance the analgesic effects of morphine by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammatory responses induced by peripheral inflammation. This study suggests the administration of SFN alone and in combination with morphine are potential new ways of treating chronic inflammatory pain.


__________________________________________________________________________________________ There is a need to identify and better understand the impacts of underwater anthropogenic sound on the marine environment. For example, very few investigations concerning anthropogenic sound impacts on crustaceans have been published. Therefore, the research described in this thesis characterises potentially significant anthropogenic sound sources in New Zealand's coastal waters and begins to determine their influence on the settlement-stage larvae of estuarine crabs. Several field-based experiments established that common sources of underwater anthropogenic sound in New Zealand were of appropriate intensities and frequencies to mask, over large areas, the natural underwater sounds found from several habitats. Laboratorybased experiments showed some anthropogenic sounds influenced the natural settling behaviour of settlement-stage larvae in several species of estuarine crabs. Notably, turbine sound was found to delay metamorphosis beyond a silent control. The research also characterised the ambient underwater acoustics from one of the largest estuaries in the world. Subsequent comparisons found that the sound from an operating tidal turbine was of greater intensity across the frequency range 0.1 – 20 kHz compared to the natural estuarine sound. The results also demonstrated that geometric spreading models are not accurate in shallow coastal waters and a simple model for the preliminary assessment of sound spreading was proposed based on field data. The findings presented in this thesis extend our knowledge of the role of natural underwater sound in mediating larval settlement in important coastal organisms. Specifically, this work demonstrated that anthropogenic sound may mask natural underwater sounds in estuaries and is likely to influence the patterns of settlement of estuarine crab larvae. Overall, the results raise concerns about potential long-term ecological impacts of anthropogenic sound in coastal marine habitats.


The effect of ambient pressure with various inspiratory partial pressures of oxygen on the duration of positional alcohol nystagmus (PAN) was investigated in rabbits. In five groups of rabbits, partial pressures of oxygen were applied. Alcohol was administered intravenously in a dosage of 2.85 g/kg body weight. PAN was recorded by electronystagmography. Neither a change of ambient pressure, nor a variation of the inspired oxygen partial pressure had any influence on the duration of PAN. The blood alcohol concentration did not differ significantly between the groups. The theoretical discussion is completed with the practical message that oxygen therapy does not help sobering up. In 6 out of 46 rabbits followed, there occurred a positional alcohol nystagmus type II, i.e. with reversed beat direction.


[1] Incoherent scatter radar (ISR) power profile observations at Arecibo Observatory (AO) have revealed long vertical wavelength (>100 km) quasi-coherent waves with periods of ∼1 hour that are observed to be nearly continuously present over two ∼35-hour geomagnetically quiet observation periods. When properly filtered, results from both 22–23 March 2004 and 5–6 June 2005 provide unambiguous views of these waves. The waves are strong throughout the F region, often spanning 160 to above 500 km in altitude and are present day and night in the F2 layer. Filtering techniques that were used to better reveal the waves are extensively discussed. Barometric pressure and imager data, both of which were taken on site at Arecibo, are used to provide further insight into the nature of these waves. These waves may be linked to high-latitude medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) observed with the superDARN radar network and associated with E region auroral electrojet source(s) that are quasi-coherent under geomagnetic quiet conditions. As auroral-zone MSTIDs are believed to dissipate before reaching Arecibo latitudes (Vadas, 2007), various alternative sources including weather patterns are explored.


General Wesley K. Clark's Waging Modern War: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Combat, a Washington Post bestseller, examined his experience directing the NATO-led war in Kosovo. As Clark saw it, the Kosovo war - limited in scope, measured in effect, extraordinarily complex in execution, waged with an uneven coalition, with instantaneous media coverage, and with a duration measured in days and not years, would serve as a model for contemporary war. He has been proven right. In Winning Modern Wars, General Wesley Clark writes about how the issues and principles discussed in his earlier book were evident in Afghanistan, Iraq, and wherever the war on terrorism has taken us or may take us next, providing a frank and revealing analysis of the gains, risks, and shortfalls of America's current approach and offering informed alternatives to that approach.What Clark, currently a much-watched and much-admired military analyst on CNN and one of the most decorated and influential officers of his generation, has to say on our national plans and tactics - and the lessons of empire - is invaluable, reminded us that as we celebrate our successes, we must also tend to their consequence


Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI) are very common in all age groups. Childhood respiratory tract infections are responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality. It is significant health problem in India also. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2 million children under five years of age die due to pneumonia. Majority of ARTIs have viral etiology. Rhinoviruses, respiratory syncytial viruses, parainfluenza and influenza viruses, human metapneumovirus, and adenoviruses are main causative agents. Among bacteria, group A streptococci, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, N. meningitides, H. influenzae, pneumococcus and Staphylococcus aureus are responsible for ARTIs. Drug utilization studies help to understand the pattern of prescription in that particular area for specific conditions. Our aim was to study the prescribing pattern of drugs and to evaluate the rationality of this pattern in acute respiratory tract infection in children aged 1 to 5 years.
We evaluated 298 prescriptions given to these children. Analysis of these prescriptions was done as well as they are compared with WHO prescription indicators. Cough (96%), fever (93%) and rhinitis (82.5%) were common symptoms observed, but sore throat, earache and breathlessness were also present in these children. Average number of drugs prescribed was 4.1/patient. Following drugs were prescribed, Antipyretics 98.3%, antimicrobials 91.3%, antihistaminics and cough syrups in 75.2%, Leukotriene antagonist in 25.1% patients, Vitamin B complex 11% and glucocorticoids 4.6%. All drugs were prescribed by brand names and not by generic name. 97.3% prescribed drugs were from national list of essential medicine. We found overuse of antimicrobials in our study. Educational programs are needed in order to bring rational use of antimicrobials. At the same time awareness in parents also should be done regarding antimicrobial use.


Total quality management: the challenge for hospitals in the 1990s To the Editor: Professor Eastman provides a good summary of total quality management (TOM) and he proceeds to compare it with conventional quality assurance.' He points out that a fundamental change is needed in the way we work. He concludes that, if TOM is not adopted, it will be forced upon the health care industry. I believe that there is a fundamental flaw in his reasoning and that the Australian health care industry in its present form will not and cannot adopt TOM. The reason for this is that the political and bureaucratic processes which regulate the industry are profoundly anti-quality. Until the relevant bureaucracies, whether they be in government, the industry or trade unions, realise this and apply the principles of TOM to their own activities, progress will not occur. Professor Eastman refers to Deming's 14 points. Readers who have taken the trouble to compare them with the way our bureaucracies work will realise that those bureaucracies, which ostensibly exist to fix our health care problems, are in fact its major problem. Philip Crosby in his excellent little book Quality without tears describes what he calls the four absolutes of quality.' The first of these is "the definition of quality is conformance to requirements". The bureaucratic counterpart of this is "compliance with standards". Although superficially these may seem similar, they are in fact quite different the former implies a positive effort by leadership to understand what is required and to provide an environment in which the requirement can be met. The latter implies regulation, usually of a short term "qulck-flx" variety, by (often poorly informed) management. Crosby's second absolute is "the system of quality is prevention". Bureaucracies react and regulate, they do not prevent. His third absolute is "the performance standard is zero defects". While the concept of zero defects requires thinking about to put it to work in health care, a starting point might be "we will provide a health care system which is able to fix people's hernias, or their arteries, or their hips, and so on, as required and do it on time every time". It seems clear that, by this criterion, our health care system has failed. Crosby's fourth absolute is "the measurement of quality is the price of non-conformance". In most industries in which this idea has been implemented, it has been found that wastage accounts for one-tenth to onethird of all expenditure. It seems very unlikely that the Australian health care industry would prove to be an exception.


and bone marrow transplantation and a final chapter discusses immunosuppressive therapy in relation to general medical diseases. Immunosuppressive therapy is a field which is only 20 years old and important and major changes occur with great rapidity; it is therefore difficult even with a book of this kind to have kept astride of new events with delays in publication. However, the book has collated the historical aspects, the development of the field and the present ideas on this advancing subject in a comprehensive way. The book is useful for clinicians involved in transplantation, since it integrates the experience of different centres of grafting and describes techniques and difficulties in the individual disciplines. Inevitably, there will be some overlap between chapters on drug usage and side effects but overall each chapter has been written by an author expert in his field and in general each is concise and informative with a balance between established factual data and ongoing experimental work. The book is well presented and introductions and conclusions at the beginning and end of each chapter make it very readable. The bibliography following each chapter is extensive and the index sound. The book is recommended for both general reading and reference, and achieves its aim as an overall review of immunosuppressive therapy in clinical situations.


Helen Frankenthaler has received international recognition since the 1950s, when, in her twenties, she emerged as a leading New York artist who played a pivotal role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to the Colorfield painting of the 1960s. While she is perhaps best known for her radiant canvases, it is in her intimate works on paper, which are less familiar, that she first experimented with aspects of her innovative style and techniques. In this body of work can be found her initial essays with staining, an important element in her work of the late 1960s, as well as her 'clumps' of paint set directly on the paper surface, which figure prominently in her most recent production. Over the past decade, in fact, the artist's works on paper have assumed a stature equal to that of her canvases and often catch the most highly charged and vibrant aspects of her art. By focusing on these works on paper, Frankenthaler's masterful use of drawing, space, and colour is redefined to shed new light on her entire career.


Five new octahedral transition metal complexes of norfloxacin with Mn(II), Cd(II), Co(II), Zn(II) and Cr(III) metal ion have been synthesized hydrothermally in presence of a nitrogen containing heterocyclic compound 1,10- phenantroline. The complex were characterized with FT-IR, C H N analysis, UV–visible spectroscopy. Spectral studies suggest that the norfloxacin acts as a deprotonated bidentate ligand. Thermal studies were also carried out.


Abstract Public transport in Nairobi city is characterised by inefficiency. This has led to inconveniences to both business owners and clients within the central business district. There is therefore need for a well-planned and operational public transit system that will encourage ridership and reduce over-reliance on personal cars. A reliable and efficient public transit requires well-thought planning and scheduling to ensure on-time performance and temporal and spatial availability of the service. This planning requires tools and manuals which are not available in a form currently applicable to the situation in Nairobi. This research was therefore undertaken with the overall goal of developing transit planning tools and procedures that are applicable to Nairobi. It also seeks to examine the obstacles to bus transit scheduling in Nairobi. The research further investigates the use of software in scheduling within the context of the study. The study commenced by examining discrete and continuous models applicable to transit planning as identified in previous studies. A proposed method applicable to Nairobi was synthesised and a checklist of data necessary for transit planning using this method formulated. Data collection tools were developed based on a hybrid of both the discrete and continuous models. These tools were designed to work with a bespoke software developed for the purpose of analysing the large volume of data generated. A pilot study was undertaken to test the applicability of the proposed method in developing transit networks for Nairobi. The results indicated that using the developed model, various public transit parameters can be determined for Nairobi to support planning and setting transit performance standards. In conclusion, a methodology based on a hybrid of both the discrete and continuous models was found to be adequate for scheduling of public transit in Nairobi. Key words: frequency, headway, temporal and spatial availability, transit system, vehicle and crew schedules


Our
research objective was to expand the very limited knowledgebase pertaining to the
ecology of fringing coral reefs in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Specifically,
determine dominant coral species and investigate why this reef is capable of surviving
at such a high-latitude and extreme harsh environment.
Data collection included annual reef surveys, randomized quadrat sampling, five permanent video transects and in situ seawater temperature. Of the
known Gulf of Suez 35 taxa, only six (Acropora humilis, A. microclados, A.
hemprichii, Litophyton arboretum, Stylophora pistillata, Porites columna, and
P. plantulata), compose 94% of the reef's coral cover. Coral dominance across
species shifted drastically during the study period. However, the six coral
dominance remained unchanged, while some decreased others increased. These six
coral taxa regularly experience daily changes in seawater temperature
and seasonal variations that exceed These extreme temperatures variation
and the fact that only six coral taxa dominance remained unchanged, suggest
that these corals may have developed a mechanism to cope with extreme seawater
temperatures as evidenced by their continued growth and survival over the study
period. We speculate that species dominance shift occurred largely as a result
of a local oil spill rather than exposure to extreme temperatures. Further
scrutiny of these species and the mechanisms by which they are able to thrive
is recommended, as they hold the potential to benefit other coral communities
as a resilient transplant species and model for understanding coral
survivability in extreme environmental conditions.


Purpose To study the treatment of sixth nerve palsies of traumatic or tumoral etiologies using botulinum toxin. The factors and possible influences are analysed. Methods 35 patients with unilateral sixth nerve palsy are studied, 21 presenting traumatic (group I) and 14 with tumoral etiology (group II). They have been treated with botulinum toxin into the medial rectus muscle, using topical anesthesia. In group I the mean preoperative deviation was 59 diopters, in group II it was 37 diopters. The follow-up time, the initial deviation, the dose, the number of injections, the colateral effects and the final results are analyzed. Results In group I, the mean number of injections was 1.7, and the dose 10.23 international units, success was achieved in 38% of the patients, better results are obtained when treatment is injected within six months after traumatism, when less initial deviation and better initial lateral muscle function are present. In group II, the mean number of injections was 1.5 and the dose 8.21 international units, success was achieved in 57%, no influence among these factors was found. Conclusions We consider useful to treat the traumatic palsy with botulinum toxin within six months after traumatism. The results depend on the initial deviation and the previous lateral muscle function. It is also useful as a chronic treatment and as a diagnosis procedure.


A total of 784 faecal samples collected during the 7 months period, January to July 2010 from children under 5 years old with diarrhoea who were admitted at the 3 referral hospitals; Parirenyatwa Hospital, Harare Hospital and Chitungwiza hospital, were tested for presence of rotavirus antigen using enzyme immune-assay (EIA). Fifty faecal samples from children without diarrhoea were also tested for rotavirus antigen. Sixteen (32 %) of 50 non-diarrhoeal samples and 515 (65.7 %) diarrhoea samples were rotavirus positive. The association between diarrhoea and detection of rotavirus in faecal samples was statistically significant with an overall odds ratio of diarrhoea patients of 4.08 (p<0.0001). The rotavirus diarrhoea prevalence (59.4 %) was high in children ≤ 18 months old diarrhoea patients. The high prevalence of rotavirus diarrhoea was found during the dry cool season in diarrhoea patients < 59 months of age. Fifty rotavirus positive isolates from diarrhoea patients were genotyped using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. A large proportion of samples could not be genotyped; 28.6 % did not produce G genotype result, and 43.2 % did not produce P genotype result. Of the strains that could be genotyped, G9 (24.3 %) was more predominant, followed by G2 (10.9 %), and P[6] (31 %) was more predominant followed by P[4] (14.3 %. The G and P combinations which were more predominant were G1P[6], G9P[6] and G8/G12P[4]. The RNA electrophoresis of the rotavirus genome was performed on 30 rotavirus positive samples, 90 % produced migration patterns typical of the group A rotavirus: 70.4 % were long electropherotypes and 22.2 % were short electropherotypes. The identification of unusual P and G combinations in Zimbabwe may affect the efficacy of currently available rotavirus vaccine formulations and may contribute to the design and development of a broadly reactive rotavirus vaccine for use in African countries.


Thanks to its high diversity as regards the forest composition and structure, Romania has a great potential for harvesting several categories of wood and non-wood forests products (NWFPs). The aim of this research was to highlight the most representative NWFPs in the case of Timiș County. Four categories of NWFPs (i.e. Mushrooms, Tree products, Understory plants and Animal origin) and nineteen criteria proposed within the FP1203 COST Action European non-wood forest products network were taken into account. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used in order to evaluate both qualitative and quantitative criteria and to assess the performance of selected alternatives (i.e. NWFPs) by means of pairwise comparisons. The analyses were carried out using the Expert Choice Desktop software package. Penny bun and European hare were the most representatives non-wood forest products, when all the 19 selected criteria received an equal importance. In the view of switching the focus from wood to non-wood forest products harvesting, the forest managers should take also into consideration this kind of analyses in order to assess the potential of certain products in a particular scenario.


As a part of an effective SETAR (self-exciting threshold autoregressive) modeling methodology, it is important to identify processes exhibiting SETAR-type nonlinearity. A number of tests of nonlinearity have been developed in the literature, including those of Keenan (1985), Petruccelli and Davies (1986), Tsay (1986, 1989), Luukkonen (1988), and Chan and Tong (1990). However, it has recently been shown that all these tests perform poorly for SETAR-type nonlinearity detection in the presence of outliers. In this project we develop an improved test for SETAR-type nonlinearity in time series. The test is an outlier-robust variant of the Petruccelli and Davies (1986) test based on the cumulative sums of ordered weighted residuals from generalized maximum likelihood fits (which we call CUSUM-GM). The properties of the proposed CUSUM-GM test are illustrated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The merits, in terms of size and power, of the proposed test are evaluated relative to the test based on ordered residuals from the ordinary least squares fit (which we call CUSUM-LS) and also to that of other tests for nonlinearity developed in literature. The simulations are run for uncontaminated data and for data contaminated with additive and innovational outliers. The simulation study strongly supports the validity of the proposed robust CUSUM-GM test, particularly in situations in which outliers might be a problem.


Voluntary standards have been rising fast, leading to similar standards operating in the same markets. This study finds multiple standards in 86 of 90 markets it reviewed, which creates confusion for consumers and producers alike. This joint report with the European University Institute is the second of a series that goes from identifying social and environmental standards to outlining markets that are most fragmented. It offers recommendations for coordination for standard-setting organizations and policymakers.


The scarcity of fuel oil in Indonesia often occurs due to delays in delivery caused by natural factors or transportation constraints. Theaim of this  research is to develop systems of fuel distribution monitoring online and realtime using rule base reasoning method and radio frequency identification technology. The rule-based reasoning method is used as a rule-based reasoning model used for monitoring distribution and determine rule-based safety stock. The monitoring system program is run with a web-based computer application. Radio frequency identification technology is used by utilizing radio waves as an media identification. This technology is used as a system of tracking and gathering information from objects automatically. The research data uses data of delayed distribution of fuel from fuel terminal to consumer. The monitoring technique uses the time of departure, the estimated time to arrive, the route / route passed by a fuel tanker attached to the radio frequency Identification tag. This monitoring system is carried out by the radio frequency identification reader connected online at any gas station or specified position that has been designed with study case in Semarang. The results of the research covering  the status of rule based reasoning that sends status, that is timely and appropriate paths, timely and truncated pathways, late and on track, late and cut off, and tank lost. The monitoring system is also used in determining the safety stock warehouse, with the safety stock value determined based on the condition of the stock warehouse rules.