This thesis examines the representation of post-courtly love in two Victorian novels, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. I define the post-courtly genre as literature from the nineteenth century that portrays the conflict between two ideologies of love, one that follows the courtly tradition of pursuing endless though unattainable love, and one that is expected to result in a marriage based on social Victorian values of domestic stability. The Victorian realist novel aims to offer a study of how individuals function in society and how society can be positively and negatively affected by the actions of its individuals. My central argument is that Wuthering Heights and Great Expectations demonstrate this realism by portraying how courtly love conventions are at odds with the fictional worlds in which the novels are set. The social and emotional need for a physical union with his beloved will prevent the post-courtly lover from following the conventional trajectory of courtly Iove. This can lead to the emotional deterioration of the post-courtly lover, will hinder his social progress, and may even hinder the social progress of other characters within his community as well. The post-courtly lover will thus be obliged to adjust his approach to love in order to be capable of properly functioning in the social world, or be forced into isolation and alienation from the social community.


Surface curvature has been shown to have significant effects on the film cooling performance of round holes, but the literature include few studies of its effects on shaped holes despite their prevalence in gas turbines. Experiments were performed using two rows of holes placed on the suction side of a scaled-up turbine blade in a low Mach number linear cascade wind tunnel with low freestream turbulence. The rows were placed in regions of high and low convex surface curvature. Geometries and flow conditions for the rows were matched to those from previous flat plate studies. Comparison of the adiabatic effectiveness results from the high curvature and flat plate rows revealed the same trends as those in the literature using round holes, with increased performance for the high curvature row at lower blowing ratios and the opposite at higher ones. The low curvature row had similar performance to the flat plate row at lower blowing ratios, suggesting the mild convex curvature had little beneficial effect. At higher blowing ratios, the low curvature row had inferior performance, which was attributed to the local freestream adverse pressure gradient that generated additional turbulence, promoting jet-to-mainstream mixing and decreasing performance.


Decentralized optimization algorithms have attracted intensive interests recently, as it has a balanced communication pattern, especially when solving large-scale machine learning problems. Stochastic Path Integrated Differential Estimator Stochastic First-Order method (SPIDER-SFO) nearly achieves the algorithmic lower bound in certain regimes for nonconvex problems. However, whether we can find a decentralized algorithm which achieves a similar convergence rate to SPIDER-SFO is still unclear. To tackle this problem, we propose a decentralized variant of SPIDER-SFO, called decentralized SPIDER-SFO (D-SPIDER-SFO). We show that D-SPIDER-SFO achieves a similar gradient computation cost—that is, O(ε−3) for finding an ϵ-approximate first-order stationary point—to its centralized counterpart. To the best of our knowledge, D-SPIDER-SFO achieves the state-of-the-art performance for solving nonconvex optimization problems on decentralized networks in terms of the computational cost. Experiments on different network configurations demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.


This paper presents a Model Predictive Control (MPC) for grid-tied Packed U Cells (PUC) multilevel inverter. The system under study consists of a single-phase 3-cell PUC inverter connected to the grid through filtering inductor. The proposed topology allows the generation of 7-level output voltage with reduction of passive and active components compared to the conventional multilevel inverters. The aim of the proposed MPC technique is to achieve grid-tied current injection, low Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of the current, unity power factor, while balancing the capacitor voltages at maximum power point (MPP). The feasibility of this strategy is validated by simulation using Matlab/Simulink environment.


To investigate the epidemiology and normal course of infection with HIV the prevalence and incidence of the infection were studied among two cohorts of homosexual men in Amsterdam in 1980-7. The cumulative incidence of infection increased from a weighted 2.2% in 1980 to 39.0% in 1987. The estimated yearly incidence of HIV was 3.0% in 1981, rose to 8.8% in 1984, and fell gradually to 0% in 1987. During the study the sexual behaviour of the cohorts was examined. The number of men with whom anopenetrative intercourse was practised fell from a mean of 10.6 to 1.4 for those positive for HIV antibody, whereas the number with whom anoreceptive intercourse was practised fell from a mean of 3.7 to 0.5 for those negative for the antibody. In addition, there was a reduction in the number of cases of hepatitis B and syphilis among men in general. The decline in infection with HIV was assumed to be linked to changes in sexual behaviour. Such changes practised early in the course of the epidemic probably had a strong effect on the number of cases of AIDS among homosexual men in Amsterdam.


Burgess, R C. (1946), "Deficiency Diseases in Prisoners-o!,War at Changi, Singapore, February, 1942, to August, 1945 , The Lancet, Volume II, page 411. Ecker, A. D., and Woltman, H. W. (1939), "Wernicke's Disease: Neuro-Ophthalmic Syndrome of Nutritional Deficiency", Proceedings ot the Staff Meetings ot the Mayo Clinic, Volume XIV, page 520. Jolliffe, N., Wortls, H., and Fein, H. D. (1941), "Wernicke Syndrome", Archives ot Neurology and "sychiatry, Volume XLVI, page 569. . 'r.· . • Sheehan, H. L. (1939), Proceedings of the'Royal SocIety ot Medicine, Volume XXX, page 584. Stander, H. J. (1932), "HlI!morrhagic Retinitis in Vomiting of Pregnancy", Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Volume LIV, page 129. •


The canopy effects of an exotic and indigenous tree species on soil properties and understorey herbaceous plant species were investigated on the Njemps Flats, Baringo district, Kenya. Samples of soil and herbaceous plant species were obtained within the canopies of systematically selected P. juliflora (exotic) and A. tortilis (indigenous) trees, and from adjacent open areas. Standing biomass, frequency and cover of understorey plant species were significantly (P P. juliflora , 82% under A. tortilis and 90% in open areas. All forbs occurred under the canopies indicating that they are more adapted to the shaded microenvironments than grasses. Soils under the tree canopies had significantly (P A. tortilis had significantly (P P. juliflora . The results suggested that A. tortilis trees are more beneficial to soil physical and chemical properties than P. juliflora . Accordingly, the common practice of clearing woody trees indiscriminately to improve grassland for livestock production or for crop cultivation should not be recommended.


This article talks about issues related to sexuality among the disabled. Both disability and sexuality are defined initially. A rationale is developed as to why a subject, which is considered a taboo, should be studied, written about and discussed. It also deals with 'what problems surface when question of marriage of a person with disability is raised'? Problems and barriers in sexual functioning of main four disabilities, and disability in general are written about. Three sections: self, caretakers and society which are important to manage sexuality issues among the disabled are mentioned. In this article, help has been taken from author's paper presented in a conference on disability and sexuality, in GMCH Chandigarh, a decade before.


Abstract : The lambda transformation of Box and Cox was applied to 56 sets of data from five areas of biological research to determine the optimum transformation for a given type of data. Data from one area of research (mask) were improved by a transformation of lambda 1 = 0. This corresponds to a log transform and has been applied routinely to such data. Data from other areas of research were less affected by the transform. For these non-mask data, significance of main effects was not changed, interactions were generally unaffected, and variance homogeneity was achieved in only two of the six possible cases where the lambda transform was compared with no transform. The study corroborates the analysis that has been performed regularly on data from one area of research but indicates that an analysis on untransformed data would generally be as meaningful for the other four areas of research examined. Where it was helpful, the main influence of the transform was in stabilizing variance. For the small (eight) number of cases examined no real improvement in additivity was noted.


In recent years, there has been extensive investment in e-government throughout the developing world. Still, little is known about the impact of those investments, partly due to a lack of assessment guidance. This paper reports development of an assessment methodology that could be used in developing countries to justify investments in e-government, as well as to establish a performance benchmark for future projects. This framework identifies key stakeholders, dimensions on which the impact needs to be measured, and a methodology of measurement. Client value is measured primarily in two dimensions: 1) cost to the client of accessing services, and 2) perception by the client of quality of service and governance. In a limited way, the financial cost-benefit impact to the agency implementing the project is also studied. The paper takes India as its example location for application of the framework, presenting assessment results from eight e-government projects which estimate the difference between client ratings of computerized and (earlier) manual systems. Clients indicated an overwhelming preference for computerized service delivery, with reports of fewer journeys, less waiting time, and some reduction in corruption (marginal in places). The results provided a tentative affirmation of the improvements that may be possible through the use of ICTs in delivering government services in developing countries. Overall impact showed wide variation across projects, highlighting the need to pay greater attention to process reform in the design of e-government projects. Measurement of direct monetary benefits to the clients provides a basis for determining the service fees that could be charged. An assessment of incremental costs of processing a transaction can help evaluate the feasibility of a public-private partnership model. The Government of India has adopted the framework used in this study to assess the impact of all mature projects implemented at the national, state, and local levels.


Beale and Ramadan-Jaradi initiated in 2001 the first large scale survey in Lebanon to trace the main routes of migrating raptors and other soaring birds, aiming at contributing to the conservation of flyways and stopover sites through the identification of areas where protection is most needed. Nowadays, the study of the flyways and stopover sites at micro level becomes necessary following the development of the national wind atlas map that will assist among others in locating potential wind farms which on their turn may influence the migratory birds' flyways, especially that the wind farms use winds for their function and the soaring birds use wind for their transportation. The present work starts from where the work of Beale and Ramadan-Jaradi ended but in an attempt to provide policy makers, scientists and experts with a conceptual framework, as well as methodological and operational tools for dealing with wind farms impacts and to prevent collisions of birds with blades of wind turbines. The study is meant to be conducted during spring and autumn passage of birds. This paper concerns the spring migration as at the time of writing it the autumn migration didn't start yet. The present spring season study revealed among others that the migratory soaring birds that may use the wind ridge lifts for their soaring travel in windy areas are more influenced by two other main factors: 1) presence of depressions perpendicular to mountain's ridges and 2) abundance of the thermals in these depressions, a matter that naturally reduces the impact of wind turbines by attracting the birds away from their blades.


A common feature of commercial relationships, standard-form contracts (SFCs) have been a product of organized commerce in some fields (e.g. marine shipping, banking) for many centuries, and in others (e.g. mass production industries) more recently as a modern form of a business service contract for consumers. Modern SFCs have many positives; they encourage trade by increasing transactional efficiency, being used in multiple, repeated events for a broad range of consumers and presented on a 'take-it-or-leave-it' basis without negotiation, significantly decreasing transaction costs. However, SFCs have also been questioned for their potential abuses as, by their nature, they leave one party (i.e. the adherent, or the entity who is being served) subject to the will of the other (i.e. the drafter, or the entity providing the service). Given the increasing pervasiveness of the SFC in the digital environment, we must now ask ourselves how SFCs function in an networked, information society, as well as to consider possible solutions that may provide more transparency of their context and affordances. This project develops an articulated theory regarding the role of SFCs through an analysis of two case studies—a sample of Terms of Service (ToS) agreements from popular platforms and a look toward the future of SFCs as they might exist with 'smart contract' technology that makes use of distributed ledger technology and can potentially encourage a lucrative market of SFCs in a networked world.


This guide is designed to help you get started on your research for your American History 2010 course. Use the tabs above to find reference works, articles, books, citing information and librarian-approved websites.


Technological innovation is a matter of interest to governments, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and researchers due to its impact on competitiveness, which is why publications in this field have grown exponentially. To synthesize the main research topics and highlight possible lines for future research, this work aims to develop a bibliometric analysis of technological innovation in the field of the food industry, based on the review of 1015 papers published in specialized journals. The methodology consists of analyzing bibliometric indicators of quantity and quality using the VOSviewer and SCIMat tools. The results show recognition of the different lines in which the research has organized the debate, grouping them into 12 main themes positioned on a strategic map. Furthermore, this study presents directions for future research obtained from the analysis of existing gaps. This study contributes to the literature on innovation by providing a systematization of technological innovation in the food industry.


Through a critical interpretivist frame, the authors use ethnography and archives to examine themes associated with society's ongoing denial of literate citizenship for people with perceived intellectual disabilities. They link this denial to the experiences of other devalued and marginalized groups to challenge the common perception that citizenship in the literate community is an organic impossibility for people defined as intellectually disabled. The authors present four themes of literate disconnection and, in the conclusion, ponder the moral shift necessary to craft a science of literacy for all.


The low electronic conductivity of sulfur and the high solubility of polysulfides seriously hinder the practical application of lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Therefore, the incorporation of sulfur into carbon-based materials is considered as a suitable solution. Here, a porous pomelo biochar/graphene composite (PBG) was prepared via a simple and green method combining hydrothermal carbonization and KOH activation. The obtained material was used as a host to encapsulate sulfur for the cathode of Li–S batteries, and the three-dimensional pore structure with enhanced conductivity is beneficial for the utilization of sulfur and absorption of soluble polysulfides. As a result, the PBG-S composite (63.3 wt% sulfur) delivered an initial discharge capacity of 1053 mA h g−1 at 0.1C (1C = 1675 mA g−1) and retained 418 mA h g−1 at 3C, even with a high sulfur loading of 4.0 mg cm−2. In addition, the performance of the composite was further improved by reducing the content of sulfur to an appropriate ratio in the PBG-S composite. The optimized PBG-S composite (48.6 wt% sulfur) exhibited a high initial discharge capacity of 1368 mA h g−1 at 0.1C and retained 638 mA h g−1 at 3C, and the discharge capacity remained as high as 664 mA h g−1 and 354 mA h g−1 even after the 200th and 600th cycles at 1C, respectively. The results indicated that PBG, with excellent electrochemical properties, is an ideal electrode material for lithium–sulfur batteries, and can also be prepared economically on an industrial scale.


Abstract People with dementia can experience shrinkage of their social worlds, leading to a loss of independence, control and reduced well-being. We used 'the shrinking world' theory to examine how the COVID 19 pandemic has impacted the lives of people with early to middle stage dementia and what longer-term impacts may result. Interviews were conducted with 19 people with dementia and a thematic analysis generated five themes: the forgotten person with dementia, confusion over government guidance, deterioration of cognitive function, loss of meaning and social isolation, safety of the lockdown bubble. The findings suggest that the pandemic has accelerated the 'shrinking world' effect and created tension in how people with dementia perceive the outside world. Participants felt safe and secure in lockdown but also missed the social interaction, cognitive stimulation and meaningful activities that took place outdoors. As time in lockdown continued, these individuals experienced a loss of confidence and were anxious about their ability to re-engage in the everyday practises that allow them to participate in society. We recommend ways in which the government, communities and organisations might counteract some of the harms posed by this shrinking world.


A comparison of imino proton NMR spectra of yeast tRNAPhe recorded at various solution conditions indicates, that polyamines have a limited effect on the structure of this tRNA molecule. Polyamines are found to catalyse the solvent exchange of several imino protons in yeast tRNAPhe not only of non hydrogen bonded imino protons, but also of imino protons of the GU and of some AU and tertiary base pairs. It is concluded that at low levels of catalysing components the exchange rates of the latter protons are not determined by the base pair lifetime. In the presence of high levels of spermidine the solvent exchange rates of imino protons of several base pairs in the molecule were assessed as a function of the temperature. Apparent activation energies derived from these rates were found to be less than 80 kJ/mol, which is indicative for (transient) independent opening of the corresponding base pairs. In the acceptor helix the GU base pair acts as a dynamic dislocation. The AU base pairs at one side of the GU base pair exhibit faster transient opening than the GC base pairs on the other side of this wobble pair. The base pairs m2GC10 and GC11 from the D stem and GC28 from the anticodon stem show relatively slow opening up to high temperatures. Model studies suggest that 1-methyladenosine, an element of tRNA itself, catalyses imino proton solvent exchange in a way similar to polyamines.


In this work, we computationally study the photoinduced electron transfer in fullerene inclusion complexes of two phenine nanotubes pre-pNT⊃C70 and pNT⊃C70 and their nanographene analog [4]CHBC⊃C70. Charge separation is shown to efficiently occur in [4]CHBC⊃C70. In contrast, the electron transfer process between the host and guest units in the pre-pNT⊃C70 and pNT⊃C70 complexes is blocked by the structural changes incorporated in the nanographene framework.


While the intersection of blockchain and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has received considerable research interest lately, the conflict between the high resource requirements of blockchain and the generally inadequate performance of IIoT devices has not been well tackled. On one hand, due to the introductions of mathematical concepts, including Public Key Infrastructure, Merkle Hash Tree, and Proof of Work (PoW), deploying blockchain demands huge computing power. On the other hand, full nodes should synchronize massive block data and deal with numerous transactions in peer-to-peer network, whose occupation of storage capacity and bandwidth makes IIoT devices difficult to afford. In this paper, we propose a lightweight blockchain system called LightChain, which is resource-efficient and suitable for power-constrained IIoT scenarios. Specifically, we present a green consensus mechanism named Synergistic Multiple Proof for stimulating the cooperation of IIoT devices, and a lightweight data structure called LightBlock to streamline broadcast content. Furthermore, we design a novel Unrelated Block Offloading Filter to avoid the unlimited growth of ledger without affecting blockchain's traceability. The extensive experiments demonstrate that LightChain can reduce the individual computational cost to 39.32% and speed up the block generation by up to 74.06%. In terms of storage and network usage, the reductions are 43.35% and 90.55%, respectively.


BACKGROUND
The most-cited articles. (MCAs) are likely those that impressed other researchers and had profound influence on clinical practice or future developments in the related scientific field.

AIM
This study was conducted to explore a bibliometric approach to assess in where the cutaneous malignant melanoma. (CMM) related MCAs have been published.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We identified journals for publications with the word "melanoma" in the title by using the ISI Web of Knowledge Database between 2000 and 2010. The term MCAs arbitrarily defined as equal or more than 100 citations.

RESULTS
A total of 425 MCAs were published in 93 journals, led by the Cancer Research. (n = 58) and Journal of Clinical Oncology. (n = 53). Journal categories with the MCAs were the Oncology with 232 articles, followed by the Medicine with 138. articles. The median number of citations was 147. The total numbers of citations were most prominent for the journal Nature and the New England Journal of Medicine. (NEJM) (median 385 and 354, respectively). Total number of citations was the highest for the Science.categorized journals. (median 211). Articles categorized as Dermatology and Melanoma was the least (median 132.5). The median number of citations per year was 14.91. The most valuable cited articles of per year were also published in the journal Nature. (median 59.67) and the NEJM. (median 48.67). The number of citation was the highest for the Science-categorized journals. (median 25.92).

CONCLUSION
Majority of the MCAs on CMM were published in non-dermatology/melanoma specialized journals.


Dementia is a rapidly rising global health crisis that silently disables families and ends lives and livelihoods around the world. To date, however, no early biomarkers or effective therapies exist. It is now clear that brain microglia are more than mere bystanders or amyloid phagocytes; they can act as governors of neuronal function and homeostasis in the adult brain. Here, we highlight the fundamental role of microglia as tissue-resident macrophages in neuronal health. Then, we suggest how chronic impairment in microglia-neuron cross-talk may secure the permanence of the failure of synaptic and neuronal function and health in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Understanding how to assess and modulate microglia-neuron interactions critical for brain health will be key to developing effective therapies for dementia.


We review the knowledge about the thermal reaction norms of larval growth in Odonata with a focus on the temperature response function. We re-analyze literature data and present our own results on growth rates of larvae of 14 species of Libellulidae reared at different temperatures. Temperature response curves (TRC) were fitted in order to estimate two relevant components of the thermal reaction, namely the optimum temperature for growth (Topt) and the increase of growth rate with temperature (Q10). We also examined what is known about the thermal minimum (Tmin) and the thermal maximum (Tmax) for growth to delimit the thermal ranges of odonates. All information indicates that larval growth is generally warm adapted, with species-specific variation of Topt of 21–31°C, Tmin of 8–12°C, and Tmax of up to 44°C (the latter being the upper lethal limit, the true Tmax for growth remains unknown). The values of Q10 distinguish some more specialized species, mostly with high Topt and of tropical origin, and others being more thermal generalists, often being temperate species and/or from lotic habitats. We examine some biotic and abiotic factors affecting the temperature response of growth and we discuss the temperature response in the light of global warming.


Abstract This review aims to summarize the methods that have been used till today, highlight methods that are currently being developed, and predict the future roadmap for anticancer therapy. In the beginning of this review, established approaches for anticancer therapy, such as conventional chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, monoclonal antibodies, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are summarized. To counteract the side effects of conventional chemotherapy and to increase limited anticancer efficacy, nanodrug- and stem cell-based therapies have been introduced. However, current level of understanding and strategies of nanodrug and stem cell-based therapies have limitations that make them inadequate for clinical application. Subsequently, this manuscript reviews methods with fewer side effects compared to those of the methods mentioned above which are currently being investigated and are already being applied in the clinic. The newer strategies that are already being clinically applied include cancer immunotherapy, especially T cell-mediated therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and strategies that are gaining attention include the manipulation of the tumor microenvironment or the activation of dendritic cells. Tumor-associated macrophage repolarization is another potential strategy for cancer immunotherapy, a method which activates macrophages to immunologically attack malignant cells. At the end of this review, we discuss combination therapies, which are the future of cancer treatment. Nanoparticle-based anticancer immunotherapies seem to be effective, in that they effectively use nanodrugs to elicit a greater immune response. The combination of these therapies with others, such as photothermal or tumor vaccine therapy, can result in a greater anticancer effect. Thus, the future of anticancer therapy aims to increase the effectiveness of therapy using various therapies in a synergistic combination rather than individually.


Nitramines constitute an important class of explosive materials. In the present study three isomeric dinitro derivatives (nitramines) of the title structure have been investigated quantum chemically within the constraints of density functional theory at the level of B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p). Certain energies, quantum chemical and spectral properties of these three isomeric dinitro derivatives of the parent tetraazatricyclo structure have been obtained and discussed.


The first scientific approach to vitamin D was made in the first half of the 20th century. The discovery had an important impact on the prevention and treatment of rickets, as well as enabling the knowledge and documentation of its role in regulating the balance of calcium-phosphate metabolism. Further reports have also suggested other health-relevant properties of vitamin D, including effects on: muscular, nervous, immune, cardiovascular, carbohydrate metabolism, obesity, cancer risk, and (relevant today) the issue of effects on the course and incidence of COVID-19. Six forms of vitamin D differing in the structure of the side chains was identified. The vitamin D group includes: cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) of animal origin or occurring in fungi ergocalciferol (vitamin D2). Vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets, osteomalacia and osteoporosis. Vitamin D supplementation allows, among other things, to reverse muscular atrophy, due to the fact that expression of the gene encoding VDR decreases with age. Insufficient synthesis of vitamin D or its low supply from diet can influence the development of cognitive disorders. A positive effect of the vitamin has been observed in the treatment of psoriasis and in obstructive diseases (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). A special risk group for vitamin D deficiency are obese people who, according to recommendations, require an increased dose of vitamin D relative to the dose recommended for people with normal body weight. Supplementation should be conducted with simultaneous control of 25(OH)D3 metabolite concentration in blood. In supplementation and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in Poland and Europe mainly cholecalciferol (D3) is used, on American market also ergocalciferol (D2) is popular. The aim of this manuscript is to introduce the role and importance of vitamin D in pharmaceutical practice. High popularity of preparations containing vitamin D does not go hand in hand with the state of knowledge of patients and medical personnel, therefore, in addition to the role and function, the article also focuses on the problem of vitamin D deficiency (and its causes), recommendations of supplementation, and discusses toxicological issues. © Polskie Towarzystwo Farmaceutyczne.


Lateral puncture of the cisterna magna cerebellomedullaris offers a more efficient conception of the lateral approach for the use of positive and negative contract medium in myelography and cisternography. The extracranial part of the cisterna magna cerebellomedullaris gives enough space to ensure the definite fixation of the needle without any major risk after puncture through the atlanto-occipital membrane. Positioning of the needles tip is possible without x-Ray control. Injury of the spinal cord is most unlikely to occur.


The paper presents a proposal for incorporating a group communication paradigm into an object-based environment. Group communication is an interaction involving an arbitrary number of participants. Its application simplifies specification and implementation of complex systems. Object-oriented programming can significantly profit from the addition of a group mechanisms. The proposed mechanism, Multiple Object Invocation, provides group communication among objects. The paper first presents a model of general structure of group services and the use of group communication in this model. Multiple Object Invocation is presented and its characteristics and application in the general model is discussed. Implementation of Multiple Object Invocation in the Emerald object-oriented language and distributed operating system is presented.<<ETX>>


In the framework of the Mediterranean cultural heritage, the term "fictile tubule" identifies a peculiar type of brick, characterized by a cylindrical shape and a hollow core. Its unique geometry and characteristics rank it among the first hollow clay bricks in history. The large-scale production of fictile tubules allegedly began in the Roman provinces of Northern Africa during the 2nd Century A.D., where they were employed for building vaulted and domed structures without the need of centrings. Over the following Centuries, the construction technique of fictile tubules embedded in mortar was constantly refined and improved. This led to an extensive use of such technique in several buildings - as part of different structural elements (vaults, domes, floors, walls) - all over the Mediterranean area, and especially in Southern Italy. In 1909, after the disastrous earthquake in Messina and Reggio Calabria, Calabrian engineer Pasquale Frezza devised and patented an anti-seismic construction system which evolved the technology of casa baraccata. Frezza's take on this traditional Calabrian way of erecting buildings involved the use of a specific type of fictile tubule, named carosello, alternated with common bricks in masonry walls, which are then encased in a timber frame. This paper presents an investigation on the structural behavior of Frezza's evolution of casa baraccata, aimed at its possible revival as a relevant anti-seismic construction technique. Two specimen walls with dimensions equal to 60×60×15 cm3 are built according to Frezza's patent and experimentally examined through a diagonal compressive test at the Civil Engineering Laboratory of University of Calabria. For the first specimen wall the test is carried out until failure to identify the collapse load. Conversely, for the second specimen wall the test is halted immediately after the formation of the first vertical cracks. The specimen is subsequently repaired using B-FRCM (Basalt Fiber-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix) as reinforcement, and the diagonal compressive test is repeated, this time until failure. The results in terms of collapse load and shear strength for both specimens are then compared and critically discussed, highlighting the increased load-bearing capacity of the wall built according to Frezza's patent and reinforced with B-FRCM.


Abstract The theory of invariants is used to find the best forms of the general amplitude for the decay of a scalar or pseudoscalar particle into four identical spinless bosons. These forms of the amplitude are consistent with the conservation of energy, momentum, and angular momentum, as well as with Bose-Einstein statistics. Kinematical zeros of the pseudoscalar amplitude are located. The differential probability for decay into four identical unpolarized particles of an arbitrary unpolarized boson has symmetry properties of the scalar amplitude. This fact suggests some specific methods of data analysis.


The toxicity, under various conditions, of cupric sulphate and mercuric chloride to the marine amphipod, Marinogammarus marinus , has been studied. With optimum conditions copper is virtually non-toxic over the range of concentrations studied (e.g. becoming effective as a poison on decrease in salinity or oxygen tension). The toxic action of mercury is not greatly affected by changed conditions. At very low concentrations, copper has a pronounced effect on animals undergoing mercury poisoning. Subtoxic traces of mercury have no effect on the course of copper poisoning. It is suggested that in M. marinus , mercury acts directly by poisoning of the protoplasm while the effect of copper is indirect, involving the upset of some metabolic process. The relation of this work to other studies of the action of heavy metals is briefly discussed.


Hypotension reduces cerebral O2 supply, which may result in brain cell damage and loss of brain cell function in the near-term neonate. The aim is to elucidate 1) to what extent the functional disturbance of the cerebral cortex, as measured with electrocortical brain activity (ECBA), is related to cerebral cortical tissue damage, as estimated by MAP2; and 2) whether there is a relationship between the glutamate, nitric oxide (NO), cGMP pathway and the development of cerebral cortical tissue damage after hemorrhagic hypotension. Seven lambs were delivered at 131 d of gestation. Hypotension was induced by withdrawal of blood until mean arterial blood pressure was reduced to 30% of normotension. Cerebral O2 supply, consumption, and ECBA were calculated in normotensive conditions and after 2.5 h of hypotension. Concentrations of glutamate and aspartate in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), NO2 and NO3 (NOx) in plasma, and cGMP in cortical brain tissue were determined in both conditions. CSF and brain tissue from siblings were used to determine normotensive values. Cortical neuronal damage was detected after 2.5 h of hypotension. ECBA was negatively related to the severity of the cortical damage. ECBA was related to respectively glutamate, NOx, and cGMP concentrations. In conclusion, cortical neuronal damage is detected after 2.5 h of hemorrhagic hypotension in the near-term born lamb. The damage is reflected by a reduction of ECBA. The glutamate, NOx, cGMP pathway is likely to be involved in the pathogenesis of cerebral cortical damage.


Regeneration of the teleost retina following surgical extirpation of 25% to 100% of the neural retina was investigated in goldfish (Carrasius auratus) and sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). The retina will regenerate following removal of up to 95% of the neural retina, however complete extirpation prevented regeneration. Visual sensitivity was assessed by examining components of the electroretinogram (ERG) and the dorsal light reflex (DLR) during regeneration. B-wave amplitudes in the experimental eyes increased throughout the study and central connections were reestablished as indicated by the progressive improvement in the dorsal light reflex. The recovery of visual function was closely correlated with retinal regeneration. Visual recovery progressed more slowly than following complete cytotoxic destruction of the mature retina (Mensinger & Powers, 1999) because the surgery removed a large number of the pluripotent cell population and restricted the number and distribution of regenerating foci.


The protein releasing kinetics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells were investigated by using the ultrasonication method. The effects of acoustic power, duty cycle % of a sonicator, medium pH and cell concentration on protein release were examined. An attempt was also made to enhance cell disruption further by adding glass beads to the solution. An increase with protein release was observed with increasing acoustic power, duty cycle and glass beads loading %. The protein release was found almost independent of cell concentration and optimum pH was obtained as 7. The relationship between protein release and processing time at various process conditions were studied; and the data were fit to a first order kinetic expression. By using the kinetic data, energy calculations with respect to protein release % were made; and found that using high acoustic power is not feasible for disruption process. By increasing the duty cycle %, no significant energy alteration was observed to achieve the same protein release %. However, disruption time decreased considerably. The effect of ultrasonic energy which is a function of both acoustic power and duty cycle % on the kinetic coefficients was also investigated using an exponential expression based on Arrhenius equation; and the activation energy of protein release was found as 0.44 kJ L –1 .


Virtual platforms are widely used for system-level modeling, design and simulation. In this paper, we propose a virtual platform-based, top-down, system-level design methodology for developing and testing hardware/software right from the concept level and even before the architecture is finalized. The methodology is based on using tools such as QEMU, SystemC and TLM2.0 that starts with a functional, high-level description of the system and gradually refines the intricate architectural details. We present our results by testing a novel concept aimed at performing audio blogging. The system under consideration involves the design of a low-power wearable audio recorder, an Android application for user interface and a server for audio analysis. A virtual system consisting of three instances of QEMU and other tools was created to demonstrate the concept and to test this approach. Finally, we describe a suite of tools useful for quickly validating concepts and creating virtual platforms for early hardware/software codesign.


In multiagent systems, most of the time, an agent does not have complete information about the preferences and decision making processes of other agents. This prevents even the cooperative agents from making coordinated choices, purely due to their ignorance of what others want. To overcome this problem, traditional coordination methods rely heavily on inter-agent communication, and thus become very ineecient when communication is costly or simply not desirable (e.g. to preserve privacy). In this paper, we propose the use of learning to complement communication in acquiring knowledge about other agents. We augment the communication-intensive negotiating agent architecture with a learning module, implemented as a Bayesian classiier. This allows our agents to incrementally update models of other agents' preferences from past negotiations with them. Based on these models, the agents can make sound predictions about others' preferences, thus reducing the need for communication in their future interactions.


Amidst discussions regarding the nature of a musical work, tensions within and between score- and performance-based approaches often increase ideological entrenchment. Opera's textual and visual elements, along with its inherently social nature, both simultaneously complicate understanding of a work's nature and provide interdisciplinary analytical inroads. Analysis of operatic performance faces challenges of how to interrogate onstage musical behaviors, and how they relate to both dramatic narrative and an opera's identity. This article applies Martin Heidegger's dichotomy of technē and poiēsis to relationships between scores, performances, and works, characterizing works as conceptual, and scores and performances as tangible embodiments. Opera scholarship relies primarily upon scores, creating a lacuna of sound-based examinations. Adapting analyses developed in CHARM's "Mazurka Project," this essay incorporates textual considerations into tempo hierarchy as a means of asserting each performance's nuanced uniqueness and thus provides a window into performers' creative processes. Interviews with the performers considered in this study confirmed postulations derived from analyzing temporal-textual emphases. This approach is adaptable to other expressive elements employed in creating a role onstage. In addition to the hybrid empirical-hermeneutic application, the datasets created in this approach could be valuable as ground truth in machine learning applications.


Preferential flow has been identified as an important secondary process to transport through the soil matrix in controlling solute movement in soils. However, it remains unknown to what extent a fast-transporting flow regime governs solute leaching and whether it persists for various seasons at field scale. For 3 yr, KBr was applied in late autumn to the surface of a tile-drained field site (0.5 ha in size) and monitored in drain outflow for 5 mo each year. All three seasonal breakthrough curves (BTC) were dominated by an early first concentration maximum and intensive tailing, indicating preferential flow to be a strong intrinsic soil property at the experiment site. A bimodal probability density function (pdf) was adequate to describe the concentration courses of the first 2 yr of investigations. The coefficient of determination was not satisfying when the model was fitted to the BTC of the last season, which was the only one to have a distinct secondary (matrix) peak. The optimized weighting factor combining the two pdfs suggested that preferential transport mechanisms governed the flow process to about 60% during all 3 yr. Simple linear regression analysis among now rates and solute concentrations showed that both measures increased and decreased simultaneously during the early stages of the first test, which was interpreted as a confirmation of the dominance of preferential flow. The same method, however, revealed that Br - was leached predominantly through the soil matrix during the corresponding observation period of the last season.


We report a high-resolution (R = 3000-4000) spectroscopic observation of the DA white dwarf G191-B2B in the extreme-ultraviolet band 220-245 Å. A low-density, ionized He component is clearly present along the line of sight, which if completely interstellar implies a He ionization fraction considerably higher than is typical of the local interstellar medium. However, some of this material may be associated with circumstellar gas, which has been detected by analysis of the C IV absorption-line doublet in a Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectrum. A stellar atmosphere model assuming a uniform element distribution yields a best fit to the data that includes a significant abundance of photospheric He. The 99% confidence contour for the fit parameters excludes solutions in which photospheric He is absent, but this result needs to be tested using models allowing abundance gradients.


Although a great deal of communication in science and the humanities is conducted through the medium of spoken language, 'talk' had long led a shadowy existence in research in science communication and only recently begun to receive scholarly attention. The purpose of this chapter is to offer an overview of this slowly growing body of research. By foregrounding the role and status of participants, this overview focuses on communication 1) between experts, 2) between experts and novices, and 3) experts and lay audiences. In doing so, this chapter provides a comprehensive understanding of the critical role of spoken language in communicating scientific and academic matters across contexts. It shows that spoken language is not just a tool of information exchange but a dynamic and indispensable resource used to interactively co-construct and share knowledge, expertise and evidence. It also raises awareness of the challenges that the different participant constellations pose for effective communication in science and the humanities


Although recent healthcare reform has expanded health insurance coverage and increased the coverage for selected major diseases, healthcare is still a heavy financial burden for many patients. The advance payment total method commonly used by government health insurance sector in paying medical care providers cannot effectively control the waste and inefficiency in the use of health insurance funds. As a result, abuse of medical examination and surgery, shirking critically ill patients, arbitrary medical charges, indiscriminate drug prescription, artificially high drug prices, and fraudulent insurance claims still exist in some medical institutions. To make healthcare accessible and affordable to China's 1.3 billion people, the author proposed that "1 + N" universal health insurance would be a solution where "1" represents one model—the "413" model, and "N" stands for a number of corresponding supporting measures. The "413" model has been pilot launched in Jiu Jiang City among employees of some financially challenged state-owned enterprises and has been proven effective in improving health service quality and containing healthcare budget. This model includes "four fixed," "one freedom," and "three-party payment." The four fixed are fixed visiting hospital for the patient, fixed per capita health care costs (based on age and covering clinic, hospital, and preventive care), fixed health care responsibility, and fixed number of patients for a given hospital. Based on this, the government health insurance sector assigns the total health care costs to contracted hospitals (or hospital groups) and the hospitals keep any left-over in costs but will not get reimbursed if costs overrun. The "one freedom" means the patients have the freedom of changing their hospital choice once a year when unsatisfied with current hospital. Under the "three party payment," the hospital pays the most part of the healthcare costs, the patient pays a small portion, and the government health care agencies pay the special costs caused by major infectious diseases or natural disasters. This model requires a number of supporting measures. First, a close network of urban and rural community general hospital group must be established to effectively cover clinic, hospital, and preventive care with the fixed per capita health care costs. Second, to improve the efficiency and service quality of public hospitals, private general hospitals or hospital groups must be encouraged. Third, allow patients to choose voluntarily between the 413 model and other health care management models according to the ability to pay of the individuals and their employers. Fourth, hospitals should improve management in order to control cost and enhance service quality. Fifth, government health care funds should focus on the universal health insurance which encourages prevention and early treatment of diseases, especially for the impoverished people. Finally, government health care agencies should give the hospitals the right of using the per capita health insurance funds below the threshold. Government agencies should focus on the coordination of the funds for major diseases above the threshold. In summary, the "1+N" method bases on the "413" health insurance model and calls for a number of supporting measures. It will be effective in improving the health service quality and making healthcare affordable to China's 1.3 billion people.


It is, of course, well-known that Scotland is highly 'open' with respect to external trade, with, for example, exports and imports representing 80% and 87% of 1994 GDP respectively.1 However, it is probably fair to say, that, in terms of policy discussion and formulation, considerably more attention is paid to Scotland's performance in export markets than to the impact of import penetration in Scottish markets. This is perhaps unfortunate since, at least at the most general level, 'export promotion' and 'import substitution' can be seen as substitute (or, better still, complementary) policies for enhancing Scottish economic activity.2 In order to inform discussion of the merits or otherwise of import substitution policies for Scotland, the present paper provides quantitative estimates of the effects on the Scottish economy of a marginal change in imports, separately from the Rest of the UK (RUK) and from the Rest of the World (ROW). As part of the 'Scotland's Trade in Skills' project3 the results presented emphasise the impact of changing imports on Scotland's requirements for skilled labour. Formally, this is an embodied factor content analysis, with 'skilled labour' being the sole identified production factor.


The Massachusetts Water Resource Authority's 11-year effort to clean up Boston Harbor is in full swing. The nerve center of the project is Deer Island, a 210 acre site that will house a new primary and secondary wastewater treatment plant, two tunnels that will carry sewage and treated wastewater, stacked clarifiers and high-tech, egg-shaped digesters that will process sludge from the new plant and conserve space on the tight site. When the project is complete, the wastewater treatment plant will be second largest in the U.S., treating up to 1.3 billion gpd and increasing current capacity by 300%. While construction of this $6 billion project is fairly straightforward, the more daunting challenge is project management, especially with MWRA under pressure to meet 19 federal court-ordered deadlines for bringing the harbor into compliance with clean water regulations, or be subject to fines. To date, all 10 deadlines have been met on or ahead of schedule. Project management has focused on a strong owner presence, with MWRA hiring a 50-person team, mostly from the private sector, to guide the project through completion in 1999. Also, MWRA has standardized the computerized design packages and many parts of the plant, such as motors, to make the project more efficient. The Authority also implemented a water transportation plan to keep construction equipment and personnel out of a neighboring town. All equipment and half the employees arrive at the site on barges and water shuttles.


Carotenoids are the most powerful nutrients (medicine) on earth due to their potent antioxidant properties. The ability of these tetraterpenoids in obviating human chronic ailments like cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes has drawn public attention toward these novel compounds. Conventionally, carotenoids have been extracted from plant materials and agro-industrial byproduct using different solvents, but these procedures result in contaminating the target compound (carotenoids) with extraction solvents. Furthermore, some utilized solvents are not safe and hence are harmful to the environment. This has attracted criticism from consumers, ecologists, environmentalists, and public health workers. However, there is clear consumer preference for carotenoids from natural origin without traces of extracting solvent. Therefore, this review seeks to discuss methods for higher recovery of pure carotenoids without contamination from a solvent. Methods such as enzyme-based extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, microwave-assisted extraction, Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic extraction, and postextraction treatment (saponification) are discussed. Merits and demerits of these methods along with health concerns during intake of carotenoids were also considered.


We prove some lower bounds on certain twists of the canonical bundle of a subvariety of a generic hypersurface in projective space. In particular we prove that the generic sextic threefold contains no rational or elliptic curves and no nondegenerate curves of genus 2.


Double j stent is commonly used in urological procedures. Its main purpose is to afford the sufficient drainage from the renal pelvis to the urinary bladder. Following increased usage of double-J stent, several consequences associated to it have been reported. In this work, we report on a case of "forgotten" double j stent for 1 year in a 32-year-old male patient who visited emergency department with bilateral flank pain, fever, and vomiting for a duration of 3 days. A double-J stent was detected in the plain abdominal X-ray. It was also observed that a 20 × 15 mm stone has impacted the left renal pelvis. Therefore, two operations were performed successfully until the full recovery of the patient. Hence; the main aim of this paper is to increase awareness about the potential complications of "forgotten" double J Stent.


Always, in the educational process, it has been attempted to create a comfortable environment for transmitting information to small preschoolers so that the process itself is not vitiated by various interferences or sources of discomfort. Most research has focused on identifying and removing noise sources, improving air circulation and thermal comfort, and perhaps less on the chromatic analysis of the educational environment. These aspects, whether they are in the educational space of the educational unit, or whether they are in the personal home, can influence the capacity for memorizing, concentrating and assimilation of knowledge by children that will lead, in the long run, to the drop in training capacity of children and, last but not least, of lowering the performances of the educational act. In the first part of the paper are analyzed the aspects related to determining the influence of the state of comfort on the behavioral parameters and in the second part of the paper are emphasized the specific aspects of the educational environment for pre-school children. In the third part of the paper are presented three specific situations of work areas in the educational system and the ergo-vision levels with implications on the children's visual system are determined. The final part of the paper presents and analyzes the results obtained by the procedures mentioned in the paper. Thus, a series of conclusions emerge from these studies that highlight the need to build an educational space on ergo-visual principles in order to create an interactive environment, a developer for children. Choosing the most suitable combination of color/light for each learning space is the biggest challenge but also the most effective solution for improving performance and increasing the degree of assimilation of children's knowledge during educational training.


This commissioned essay summarised selected themes from my invited paper for the 'Domestic Exposure: Photography at Home' interdisciplinary research symposium of 2008 at the Geffrye Museum, London. 'Domestic Exposure' focused jointly on photography and domesticity and was organised by Jane Hamlett and Rebecca Preston. My paper, 'It is not art but it is history: Domestic architecture and the interwar amateur photographer', examined the advice given to camera enthusiasts on imaging the home in photography periodicals of the 1920s and 1930s.


The development of static power converters capable of transforming DC energy obtained from alternative sources into AC has become one of the main challenges in renewable energy systems. In this context, the buck-boost inverter is advantageous for being capable of providing an AC output voltage higher or lower than the input DC voltage in a single power conversion stage. In this paper, a controller based on the non-linear sliding mode theory is proposed for a three-phase buck-boost inverter to track a desired AC reference voltage. Unlike conventional linear sliding mode controllers that depend on the errors of the state variables, the control law used here depends only on the input and output voltages of the converter without the need to the inductor current measurement, which reduces the system complexity and cost. The proposed controller can not only track the desired reference quickly and accurately, but also achieve a high immunity to external perturbations, such as input voltage and output load disturbances. Several simulation studies are presented in order to investigate the performance of the proposed controller.


ABSTRACT Sandberg, Mattias, 2012, 'They are not outdoors that much'. Nature close to home – its meaning and place in the everyday lives of urban children. Publications edited by the Departments of Geography, University of Gothenburg, Series B, no. 122. Department of Human and Economic Geography, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg. ISBN 91-86472-69-0. The aim of this thesis is to study children's contact with nature near to their homes, and to examine its meaning in an urban context. With a growing range of leisure activities indoors, lack of green space and with an increasing residential segregation, larger cities stand out as an especially challenging context for children to experience nature. Possible barriers to the direct experiencing of nature are one important focus in this thesis. The second important focus is the experiences and impressions that children have of nature near to their homes, and how it differs among children with various backgrounds and in different urban settings. A time-geographical approach provides the overarching theoretical perspective providing a focus on time and space as fundamental resources for individuals in their performance of various projects. As a complement to time-geography, theoretical approaches of affordance, place attachment and phenomenology of the body are used to analyse children's experiences and impressions of nature close to home. The empirical data is drawn from two studies each of which incorporates study areas with contrasting socioeconomic profiles, ethnic mixes and access to nature. A study of about forty ten-year-old children was conducted in two areas, one relatively affluent in Gothenburg and one poorer area in Stockholm with more residents with immigrant backgrounds. The main method for this study was semi-structured group interviews complemented by participant observation during a number of excursions. In a second study parents of sixty children were interviewed, half living in inner city apartments in Gothenburg and half in houses on the outskirts of the city. The two groups were similar with respect to ethnic background and level of education, but differed in terms of proximity to nature. The study found that children with wealthier backgrounds, and especially where a majority have a Swedish background, gain more experience of nature, both close to home and further away, than the children from studied areas where a large proportion of the population are from immigrant backgrounds. Schools have a key role in enabling children to have encounters with nature when these would otherwise be limited. Children building dens in areas under pressure of being 'developed' defended these strongly, demonstrating how direct relations with nature can spur a moral response. Overall, children with a more frequent nature contact are seen as an exception and parents reported being outdoors more during their own upbringing than children today generally are. They regret this development although they become reconciled to this in the light of their children's engagements with other commitments, for example sport training. Patches of nature are particularly valued by the inner-city parents who also, however, stress the importance of second homes in the countryside for providing experiences of nature lacking in children's everyday life.


Women who undergo uterine instrumentation are considered at risk for pelvic infections by Chlamydia trachomatis, which may derive either from ascending endocervical infections or from reactivation of micro-organisms persisting in the genital tract after previous chlamydia infections. Women presenting at fertility clinics frequently undergo uterine instrumentation (e.g. hysterosalpingography and laparoscopy with hydrotubation). Studies in subfertile women using DNA amplification techniques have shown that the prevalence of endocervical chlamydia infections is low (1.8%). In contrast, in 30-60% of subfertile women chlamydia IgG antibodies can be found in serum, indicating previous chlamydia infections. It has been demonstrated that, several years after chlamydia infections, viable micro-organisms may still be present in the upper genital tract. Therefore, subfertile women with chlamydia antibodies should be considered at risk for reactivation of persistent chlamydia infections after uterine instrumentation, even after exclusion of endocervical chlamydia infections. Moreover, in subfertile women without chlamydia antibodies, the presence of viable micro-organisms in the genital tract cannot be excluded. As a consequence, prophylactic antibiotics before uterine instrumentation should be considered in all subfertile women, instead of endocervical screening for C. trachomatis and treatment of positive cases only.


The study attempts to investigate the determinants of housing demand in urban areas of Pakistan. The empirical analysis is carried out using the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement (PSLM) survey 2004-05 and 2010-11. The hedonic price model is used for the estimation of house prices. In order to control the selectivity bias between the tenure choice and the quantity of housing services demanded, Heckman's two-step selection procedure is used. The empirical analysis shows that housing price and income (temporary and permanent) play an important role in the determination of the housing units' demand. An increase in houses' prices causes decrease in demand for the housing units while the housing demand increases when the permanent income increases. On the face of change or increase in the transitory income, the demand for housing units remains static, since people do not desire to make long-term decisions based on volatile income. To manage rising housing demand, government should focus on developing effective and enforced price control mechanisms. Keywords: Urban Housing Demand, PSLM, Pakistan


The main objective of this study is to evaluate the comparative performance of three artificial neural network techniques (radial basis functions "RBF", multilayer perceptron "MLP", and group method of data handling "GMDH") based approach with the Penman–Monteith "PM" method for determining the group reference evapotranspiration "ET 0 " on monthly basis in Basrah City, south of Iraq. Climate information extends over 22 years (1991- 2012), monthly records of maximum temperature (Tmax), mean temperature (Tmean), minimum temperature (Tmin), wind speed (U) and relative humidity (RH) are used in this research. The architecture of artificial neural network models is performed during the process of training. The efficiency of trained model is checked by using the testing data, which is not used in the process of training. The evaluating of the artificial neural model performance is carried out by using cross-validation, a set of rows for each validation fold is determined randomly after stratification on the target variable "ET 0 ". Various set of climate inputs variables are used for creating nine artificial neural network models. The efficiency of artificial neural network models with two predictor variables (Tmean & U) for simulating ET 0 is highly efficient according to the evaluation criteria. There is a significant improvement in the results of all artificial neural network models when using three input combination variables (Tmean, U, & RH) compared with the models that have only two-climate variables. Artificial neural network models especially (RBF, MLP, and GMDH) are efficient and powerful techniques for simulating ET 0 .


In June 2008, a study by Sen confirmed previous findings that 10b5-1 insider stock sale programs ("plan sales") are conducted after unusual price run ups, but Sen also found that, in months subsequent to plan sales, stock performance then essentially matched the market. Sen's results on post plan sale stock performance contrast sharply with a well publicized study by Jagolinzer. Jagolinzer reported that stocks underperform by 4% in the 90 days after a plan sale. Because insider stock sales executed within the confines of 10b5-1 rules receive a safe harbor against insider trading charges, Jagolinzer's work implied insiders receive the safe harbor yet still manage to trade advantageously. Sen claims to refute Jagolinzer's findings and implications. Sen attributes the entire disparity in results to Jagolinzer's "non standard" statistical methods. According to Sen, Jagolinzer's findings reflect "weighting bias" (flawed averaging method), "sampling bias", (flawed sampling method), and "look ahead bias" (flawed data definition) The current review provides a brief summary of Sen's key claims and offers the perspective that Sen's assertions mark an opening skirmish in an impending war of statisticians. The most likely outcome is that performance (and, by implication, deemed "use" or "misuse") of 10b5-1 programs will be the subject of greatly intensified study and debate, and corporations should be prepared for increased scrutiny. Taken to the extreme, pressure could build to demand disclosure of 10b5-1 order instructions since, after all, these orders, by definition, contain no inside information.


Within a context of growing efforts to develop sustainability strategies, one of the main challenges is promoting value creation while using fewer resources. In this perspective, how can we design attractive urban neighborhoods generating endogenous economic activity and fostering socio-cultural dynamics, while moving towards local energy self-sufficiency? Answering that question requires major changes in the way we consider energy in the construction sector, by thinking beyond the scale of a single building and by including a greater number of design parameters. Filling this gap in current research, the Symbiotic Districts project examines dimensions influencing energy self-sufficiency at neighborhood scale by integrating parameters related to buildings, infrastructure, mobility, food, goods and services. The present paper analyzes the results of a case study on an urban sector in the city of Yverdon-les- Bains (Switzerland). Taking lifestyles as a starting point, the project explores three scenarios (technological, behavioral and symbiotic) for the future development of this neighborhood for 2035. The scenarios test different design strategies related to industrial symbioses, production, storage, transportation or urban agriculture. In order to calculate an estimated global balance, an energy flow analysis allows the assessment and comparison of the energy performance of each scenario. In parallel, an urban form adapted to the proposed vision evaluates how architectural and urban design is likely to foster the necessary behavior changes towards the expected energy turnaround.


High cost and limited resources of pediatrics renal transplant in low-resource countries limits the number of transplants. However, the collaboration between government and community sector provided high quality care for these patients. Here we highlight the impact of a non-governmental organization in facilitating pediatrics renal transplant. Data was collected from files of all pediatric patients withend stage renal disease who received renal transplant between January 2010 and December 2017 at Soba University Hospital (77 patients). The 8-year period was divided into 16 intervals of 6 months each. The number of patients who received renal transplant ranged from 1 to 12 patients in each interval. There was a rise in 2017 when 21 (28.7%) patients received kidney transplant. In the last 6 months in 2017 there was a significant reduction in duration of hospital stay compared to the rest of the period; it dropped from 16.36 to 9.92 days (P=0.003). Partnership between governmental and non-governmental sectors is a good strategy in low resource area to bridge some of the gaps of healthcare delivery system.


The dynamic voltage restorer as a means of series compensation for mitigating the effect of voltage sags has become established as a preferred approach for improving power quality at sensitive load locations. Meanwhile, the cascaded multilevel type of power converter topology has also become a workhorse topology in high power applications. This paper presents the detailed design of a closed loop regulator to maintain the load voltage within acceptable levels in a DVR using cascaded multilevel converters. The paper presents system operation and controller design approaches, verified using computer simulations and a laboratory scale experimental prototype


The aim of this thesis was to analyse possible effects of prenatal arsenic exposure on foetal and infant health. The setting is Bangladesh, where two cohorts were studied, both part of a health and demographic surveillance system in Matlab. A historical cohort 1991-2000 included 29,134 pregnant women with information on drinking water sources and arsenic testing of tube well water. A prospective cohort study included pregnant women 2002 - 2003 where urinary arsenic concentrations were assessed twice during pregnancy; 2,924 women and their pregnancy outcomes were evaluated for foetal loss, perinatal and infant mortality; 1,578 mother-infant pairs were analysed for size at birth; and 1,552 were analysed for morbidity during infancy. Women exposed to arsenic levels ≥ 50 µg/L in water had an increased risk of foetal loss and infant death in comparison with women exposed to arsenic levels < 50 µg/L. These findings were confirmed in the prospective cohort study. Women with urine arsenic concentrations at the 5th quintile had 62% increased risk of spontaneous abortion (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.04 - 2.55) in comparison with women who had arsenic concentrations at the 1st quintile level. Increased risks of perinatal morality (RR 3.01, 95% CI 1.07 - 8.45) and infant mortality (RR 5.01; 95% CI: 1.41 - 17.84) were also observed at the 5th quintile of exposure. Significant negative dose-effect associations were found between arsenic exposure and birth weight, head and chest circumferences at a relatively low level of exposure (<100 µg/L in urine). In this range of exposure birth weight decreased by 1.68 g (SE 0.62) for each 1 µg/L increase of arsenic in urine. In comparison with exposure at the 1st quintile level the risk of lower respiratory tract infection was significantly increased (RR 1.68, 95% CI 1.35-2.07) for women who had urinary arsenic concentrations at the 5th quintile level. The risk was also increased for diarrhoeal diseases. The study findings highlight the negative effects of arsenic exposures on pregnancy outcomes and infant health. Mitigation programs need to be strengthened and women of reproductive ages should be prioritized in arsenic affected regions worldwide.


The unprecedented growth of IP traffic is leading Internet service providers and network operators worldwide to investigate architectural alternatives for cost effective, reliable, scalable, and flexible multiterabit IP backbones. In this paper, several overlay, service, and transport layer networking architectures, which employ IP, MPLS, SONET/SDH, and DWDM technologies, are proposed and analyzed. Multiple parameters, such as network capacity, cost, restoration strategy, reconfigurability, and accommodation of preemptable traffic, are considered for the architectural comparison. Detailed network design and economic analysis are provided for the different alternatives considering a typical nationwide U.S. backbone with projected IP traffic in approximately three years. Several sensitivity analysis results are also shown, to evaluate the effect of cost changes in some of the critical technological factors in these architectures, such as 10 Gb/s optics cost or IP router cost. The results show the value of transport layer networking architectures for multiterabit IP backbones, and how, when compared to service layer architectures, they provide additional desirable features such as wavelength reconfigurability and restoration scalability.


Regional location factors exert a strong influence on urban property markets, and measures of accessibility are foremost among them. More local influences, such as proximity to urban highway links, also may positively or negatively influence the desirability of a location. This study used a cross section of home sales in Hennepin County, Minnesota, from the years 2001 through 2004, along with a set of disaggregate regional accessibility measures, to estimate the value of access to employment and resident workers. The effects, whether as amenity or disamenity, were estimated for locations near major freeway links that had recently undergone major construction to add capacity (or were scheduled to undergo such construction) at the time of the home sales. The richness of the home sales data set allowed for control of a number of structural attributes, as well as some site characteristics. Additional neighborhood characteristics (such as income levels and local educational quality) were added from supplemental data sources. Empirical results indicated that households highly valued access to employment. Access to other resident workers (i.e., competition for jobs) was considered a disamenity. Proximity to local highway access points associated positively with sale price, whereas proximity to the highway link itself associated negatively with that price. The study concluded with some implications for research and practice of the concept and measurement of the relationship between location and land value.


New series of blue light emitting diphenylquinoline (DPQ) and its derivatives based on Chlorine-Methoxy (Cl-MO-DPQ) and Chlorine-Methyl (Cl-M-DPQ) were synthesized in Argon atmosphere at 140?C by Fried- lander condensation. These all samples were soluble in many organic solvents like Acetic acid, Formic acid, Dichloromethane etc. in different molar concentrations up to micro molar. It emits blue light in above sol- vents under UV source. All samples in different organic solvents were studied. Structural characterization was made by FTIR. Ultraviolet, fluorescence and excitation spectroscopy were used for analysis of photo physical properties. Thermal properties were characterized by TGA and SDTA. The derivatives Cl-MO-DPQ and Cl-M-DPQ show absorbance peaks in the range 264 - 370 nm and 264 - 338 nm respectively. In both the cases the emission spectra are in blue region. The TGA and SDTA studies show not only the DPQ but also it's derivatives have good thermal stability even though they are low molecular weight organic compounds, which may in turn improve the stability and operating lifetime of the device. The physical and chemical properties of these polymers are useful as a blue emitting organic material for OLED's.


A hallmark of cultured smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is the rapid down-regulation of several lineage-restricted genes that define their in vivo differentiated phenotype. Identifying factors that maintain an SMC differentiated phenotype has important implications in understanding the molecular underpinnings governing SMC differentiation and their subversion to an altered phenotype in various disease settings. Here, we show that several G-protein coupled receptors [alpha-thrombin, lysophosphatidic acid and angiotensin II (AII)] increase the expression of smooth muscle calponin (SM-Calp) in rat and human SMC. The increase in SM-Calp protein appears to be selective for G-protein-coupled receptors as epidermal growth factor was without effect. Studies using AII showed a 30-fold increase in SM-Calp protein, which was dose- and time-dependent and mediated by the angiotensin receptor-1 (AT1 receptor). The increase in SM-Calp protein with AII was attributable to transcriptional activation of SM-Calp based on increases in steady-state SM-Calp mRNA, increases in SM-Calp promoter activity and complete abrogation of protein induction with actinomycin D. To examine the potential role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk1/2), protein kinase B, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and protein kinase C in AII-induced SM-Calp, inhibitors to each of the signalling pathways were used. None of these signalling molecules appears to be crucial for AII-induced SM-Calp expression, although Erk1/2 may be partially involved. These results identify SM-Calp as a target of AII-mediated signalling, and suggest that the SMC response to AII may incorporate a novel activity of SM-Calp.


Ciprofloxacin-induced renal failure in an elderly patient To the Editor: Ciprofloxacin is a new quinolone antibiotic with a broad spectrum and favourable sideeffect profile and is increasingly used in the elderly. Renal side effects are rare (less than 1%) and include crystalluria, mild reversible deterioration of renal function, non-specific nephritis and allergic interstitial Michael Whitby, FRCPA Director of Infectious Diseases Princess Alexandra Hospital lpswicn Road. Woolloongabba. OLD 4102 1 Cossart YE Hepatitis B Immunisation [letter). Med J Ausl 1991: 154 70 Update of rubella Immunisation in a school-based campaign. Med J Aust 1990; 153: 741·742. 3 Bndges-Webb C. Measles immunisation In Australian children. Med J Ausl 1991. 154: 428 4 Roget PM. Introduction to the oriqinal edition. 1852 [of Rogel's thesaurus). In: Lloyd SM. ed. Rogel's thesaurus of English words and phrases. Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1982: xxm


Global supply chain management (GSCM) is increasingly complex and managers find that traditional methods fall short in adequately addressing many associated challenges. As such, it calls for innovative managerial measures. In this paper, we discuss how the system of systems (SoS) approach and big data technologies can be applied to improve GSCM. We first show that the global supply chain is an SoS and examine various principles of the SoS approach. Then, we review various big data related technologies which are commonly employed in global supply chain management. After that, we propose how big data related technologies can be incorporated into the SoS approach to enhance global supply chain operations by presenting an example. This paper provides practitioners a new perspective on how big data related technologies can be used for global supply chain management with an SoS mindset.


The title of this demo is "Low Complexity Multi-standard Video Player for Portable Multimedia Applications". This system can support three modern video coding standards that are MPEG-4, H.264, and VC-1. The proposed multi-standard video player is our research fruitage due to endless efforts so it is not a commercial product. In the past, we devoted ourselves to performance improvement for all kinds of video coding standards. Therefore, we integrate these optimized video decoders into a multi-standard video player for sake of exhibiting a prototype of portable multimedia applications.


Osteoporosis is an increasingly common condition leading to fragility fractures of bone. It may be age related, or have a secondary cause. Over the past decade, new preventative treatments have arisen, which need to be targeted to the population at highest risk of fracture. To achieve this, bone assessment by densitometry is performed, mainly using large, immobile and expensive scanners, which use a small dose of ionising radiation. New, ultrasound, devices have been designed to be portable, less costly and avoid radiation. The main potential roles of densitometry devices are initial assessment of risk for fracture, follow up to define natural history, to assess response to treatment, and as a surrogate end point to assess efficacy of new preventative treatments. It is not fully understood how ultrasound interacts with bone, nor how alterations to bone as a result of age, disease or treatment will effect ultrasonic measurements. To investigate the interaction of transmitted ultrasound with bone. To investigate how alterations to bone as a result of age, disease or treatment will affect ultrasonic measurements. To assess the likely efficacy of an ultrasound device in any of the main roles of densitometry. This work has shown that ultrasound velocity is a stable and reproducible measure, which is systematically higher in males than females, declines in an age related manner and has the potential to discriminate between individuals with and without certain disease states. Specifically those states are osteoporosis, hyperparathyroidism, hyperglucocorticoidism, and Paget's disease of bone. This work has also shown that ultrasound velocity measurements remain stable over periods of at least three years, in spite of measurable decline of bone mineral density in the same time period. In addition, ultrasound velocity has not shown any change in response to treatment with the bisphosphonate, clodronate, in spite of a measurable rise in bone mineral density. It can be concluded that ultrasonic measurement using the "SoundScan 2000" may be of some use for initial assessment of risk for fracture. The device has shown no potential for use in the other roles of densitometry. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).


Abstract. Surface water plays an important role in ecological circulation. Global climate change and urbanization affect the distribution and quality of water. In order to obtain surface water information quickly and accurately, this study uses Google Earth Engine (GEE) as a data processing tool, 309 Landsat 8 series images from 2016 to 2019 are selected to calculate 4 different water indexes, including Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Modified NDWI (MNDWI), Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEIsh) and Multi- Band Water Index (MBWI) to extract surface water in Pearl River Basin. In order to remove the influence of other ground objects, Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Building Index (NDBI) and Digital Surface Model (DSM) are combined with the above four water indexes, and threshold segmentation is used to eliminate the influence of vegetation, buildings and mountains. Finally, take the advantage of morphological filtering algorithm to eliminate non-water pixels. The results show that GEE is able to extract surface water in a very short time; AWEIsh has the highest overall accuracy of 94.12%, which is 7.20% higher than the classical NDWI method; There is no significant difference in the width and shape of rivers from 2015 to 2018; The locations of the rivers extracted by the four methods are consistent with the 1 : 100,000 river system basic data of 2015 provided by the Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China.


Background and purpose: Due to the poor performance of industrial dye settings about 50% of the washing dye liquor is discharged into the environment. Inappropriate discharge of dye-containing effluents is undesirable because of their color, resistance to biological treatment systems, toxic, and their carcinogenic or mutagenic nature to life forms. In the present study we investigated the photocatalytic degradation of reactive yellow 147 using magnetic Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2. Materials and methods: A central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to study the interaction between some parameters, including photocatalyst dose, solution pH, and temperature in order to optimize the removal condition of Reactive Yellow 147 via photocatalytic process. Therefore, 20 tests were designed in Design Expert Software (version 7.0.0). All of these Factors were classified in 5 levels +α, +1, 0, -1, -α. Results: There was an increase in removal efficiency with increase in the photocatalyst dosage of Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 and with decrease in the temperature. Under acidic conditions, the photocatalytic process was more efficient than that under alkaline conditions. The results also indicated that the application of RSM method not only helped to find the optimum levels of experimental parameters, but also proved that the role of initial pH of the solution and temperature were much more dominant than that of photocatalyst dosage in the photodegradation Reactive Yellow 147 under UV light exposure. Conclusion: Current study showed that photocatalytic process with optimization of effective operational factors, is highly efficient in removal of Reactive Yellow 147. The regenerated as-synthesized photocatalyst shows high stability and high efficiency in the degradation of Reactive Yellow 147 even after ten times of successive reuse without a significant drop in removal efficiency which makes this


Na+/H+ antiporters are integral membrane proteins that are present in almost every cell and in every kingdom of life. They are essential for the regulation of intracellular pH-value, Na+-concentration and cell volume. These secondary active transporters exchange sodium ions against protons via an alternating access mechanism, which is not understood in full detail. Na+/H+ antiporters show distinct species-specific transport characteristics and regulatory properties that correlate with respective physiological functions. Here we present the characterization of the Na+/H+ antiporter NhaA from Salmonella enterica serovar Thyphimurium LT2, the causing agent of food-born human gastroenteritis and typhoid like infections. The recombinant antiporter was functional in vivo and in vitro. Expression of its gene complemented the Na+-sensitive phenotype of an E. coli strain that lacks the main Na+/H+ antiporters. Purified to homogeneity, the antiporter was a dimer in solution as accurately determined by size-exclusion chromatography combined with multi-angle laser-light scattering and refractive index monitoring. The purified antiporter was fully capable of electrogenic Na+(Li+)/H+-antiport when reconstituted in proteoliposomes and assayed by solid-supported membrane-based electrophysiological measurements. Transport activity was inhibited by 2-aminoperimidine. The recorded negative currents were in agreement with a 1Na+(Li+)/2H+ stoichiometry. Transport activity was low at pH 7 and up-regulation above this pH value was accompanied by a nearly 10-fold decrease of Km Na (16 mM at pH 8.5) supporting a competitive substrate binding mechanism. K+ does not affect Na+ affinity or transport of substrate cations, indicating that selectivity of the antiport arises from the substrate binding step. In contrast to homologous E. coli NhaA, transport activity remains high at pH values above 8.5. The antiporter from S. Typhimurium is a promising candidate for combined structural and functional studies to contribute to the elucidation of the mechanism of pH-dependent Na+/H+ antiporters and to provide insights in the molecular basis of species-specific growth and survival strategies.


Objective: Aggressive behavior stems from feelings of frustration, annoying provide stimulus to another, and the inability to control anger is to defend, wars and destruction carried and cause injury to a person, object or system. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between stress and parenting satisfaction parity with mothers of children with aggressive style. Methods: The study sample consisted of all mothers of aggressive students in grades one through six elementary schools in Tehran. 110 mothers of children in the evaluation of Child Behavior Checklist aggression scores were high (clinical and borderline levels), satisfaction surveys parity, style Parenting and parenting stress were completed. Data using SPSS software and analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results: Results of statistical analysis showed that variables related to authoritarian parenting satisfaction parity is negative (p<0.01; r=-0.26). The findings suggest that authoritative parenting style is positively correlated with the variable parity satisfaction (p<0.01; r=0.27). The results showed a significant relationship between the variables of parity not style landscape and the satisfaction (p>0.05; r=-0.02), and The only authoritative style of parenting styles and the satisfaction of parity prediction is that this reflects the importance of parity in the way of parenting is satisfying (p=0.03). Conclusion: When you have problems in the family system roles, responsibilities and parenting practices are reviewed prior to performing a reorganization.


Quantitative structure-activity relationships (OSAR) constitute empirical analogy models connecting chemical structure and biological activity. The analogy approach to QSAR assume that the factors important in the biological system also are contained in chemical model systems. The development of a QSAR can be divided into subproblems: lj_ to quantify chemical structure in terms of latent variables expressing analogy, 2 _̂ to design test series of compounds, 3u_ to measure biological activity and 4. to construct a mathematical model connecting chemical structure and biological activity. In this thesis it is proposed that many possibly relevant descriptors should be considered simultaneously in order to efficiently capture the unknown factors inherent in the descriptors. The importance of multivariately and multipositionally varied test series is discussed. Multivariate projection methods such as PCA and PLS are shown to be appropriate far QSAR and to closely correspond to the analogy assumption. The multivariate analogy approach is applied to a betaadrenergic agents, b haloalkanes, c halogenated ethyl methyl ethers and d four different families of peptides.


ABSTRACT Detrital chromian spinel is an important accessory mineral in chert and volcanic lithic sandstones from the northern Bowser Basin. Microprobe analyses show that Bowser Basin detrital chromian spinels have Cr/(Cr + Al) between 0.21 and 0. 89, Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) between 0.24 and 0.70, and Fe3+/(Fe3+ + Al + Cr) values below 0.12. Comparison with spinels from literature on ultramafic rocks indicates that the compositional range of the detrital spinels closely matches that of spinels from Alpine-type peridotites emplaced by obduction of marginal-basin crust and island-arc complexes. Furthermore, Bowser Basin spinels are compositionally distinct from spinels derived from either mid-ocean ridge, stratiform ultramafic complex, or Alaskan-type peridotite. The composition of the detrital spinel demonstrates that the source for Bowser Basin sediments included extensive Alpine-type peridotite, which probably originated as marginal-sea lithosphere. In addition, there is no evidence for material derived from mid-ocean ridge, Alaskan-type peridotites, or stratiform complexes. This provenance interpretation is in agreement with earlier interpretations that related chert pebbles in the Bowser Basin to chert-rich strata of the Cache Creek terrane and is consistent with the detrital modal analysis of sandstones, which calls for a source terrane consisting of obducted oceanic crust and island arc. The chemistry of the detrital spinels further suggests the source area was eroded prior to emplacement of Alaskan-type peridotites or any regional gree schist or higher-grade metamorphic events. Thus, microprobe compositional analysis of detrital spinels adds important detail to the provenance interpretation that is not available through analysis of detrital modes alone. The inference that marginal-basin lithosphere rather than material derived from mid-ocean ridges was the sediment source suggests that the obducted source terranes were closely associated with North America.


Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) were commissioned by United Utilities plc to undertake an archaeological evaluation prior to the construction of a new water
transfer pipeline between Melling (SJ 3895 9895) and Fazakerley (SJ 3928 9743), to the north of the city of Liverpool, Merseyside (Fig 1). This followed an archaeological desk-based assessment of the proposed route, requested by the Merseyside Archaeological Service, which was carried out in May 2004.
The evaluation consisted of trial trenching across the Alt basin, which targeted the site of a prehistoric axe head findspot (Site 11) and was also in the vicinity of a findspot of a flint core (Site 13).
The evaluation was carried out between the 6th and 9th of December 2004, and comprised two 25m trenches in the vicinity of Site 11 and fifteen 5m trenches heading west from Site 11 towards Site 13 (Fig 2).


This paper deals with the effects of the geographic concentration of economic activity on productivity through agglomeration economies in the U.S. economy. Our empirical study extends the literature on agglomeration economies in two directions. First we measure and compare the effects on productivity of geographic concentration in either information technology related activity (the IT sector) or in all other economic activities (the non-IT sector). Second we follow Jorgenson's (2002) reasoning regarding the significance of the differences between IT-producing sectors and IT-using sectors and assess the differential effects of concentration in IT-producing sectors and concentration in IT-using sectors on productivity. We utilize four measures of agglomeration and analyze effects at two levels of geographic disaggregation: U.S. states and U.S. counties. We perform the analysis using a model drawn from the growth accounting literature in which total labor productivity in a region is the dependent variable. It is modeled as a function of the region's capital-output ratio, the quality of the region's labor supply as measured by the level of education, and an agglomeration variable measured by concentration in the IT or non-IT sectors or in the IT-producing or IT-using sectors. The cross section estimates for a single year yield mixed results. We find weak evidence in favor of an effect of concentration of IT activity on productivity at the state level. We find stronger effects on productivity at the county level from concentration in IT-producing sectors.


Predicate caching is a powerful memory caching technique especially suitable for a class of applications called autonomous systems. These systems can act according to presupplied logic that defines predictable, repetitive data access requests. This class includes rule-based systems, expert systems, logic programs, active database systems, database integrity constraints, triggers, alerters, and autonomous intelligent agents. Some of these systems are data-intensive. Predicate caching improves memory utilization and response time of repetitive queries by prestoring partial results in primary memory, which results in minimizing secondary storage access. With predicate caching, a system applies a predicate to the data on its way from one memory device to another. A predicate, in this context, is any predetermined calculation made by a program. I describe the predicate caching technique and, specifically, the page-predicate approach that I developed to resolve problems of cache partitioning, management, and optimization. The work discussed is based on simulation experiments I devised, programmed, and conducted.


As Estonia has experiencing rapid structural reform, the contraction has meant that air emissions have decreased dramatically in 1990s. Changing industrial structure may result in a completely different type of air pollution map and a different type of behaviour pattern of pollution load images. Air pollution has compounding effect depending on the temporal and geographical patterns of load, on dispersion, and on deposition, depending on the relative sensitivity of receiving sites. Under these circumstances the substitution between sources can be reached manipulating prima~ with location factors. The model establishes cause-effect links between production, emissions, and ambient air quality from the case of single-plant to complex situations. The study explores empirical methods to build predictive models of S02 emission changes. The spatial analytical capabilities of raster system using approximate diffhsion models for S02 pollution load in a 1 km grid are explored. The series of images are examined as a whole and changes are explained according their significance and power. Surrogates demonstrate spatial preferences for air pollution control policies in the framework of European Directives.