Much of our understanding of how organisms develop and function is derived from the extraordinarily powerful, classic approach of screening for mutant organisms in which a specific biological process is disrupted. Reaping the fruits of such forward genetic screens in metazoan model systems like Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, or zebrafish traditionally involves time-consuming positional cloning strategies that result in the identification of the mutant locus. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has begun to provide an effective alternative to this approach through direct pinpointing of the molecular lesion in a mutated strain isolated from a genetic screen. Apart from significantly altering the pace and costs of genetic analysis, WGS also provides new perspectives on solving genetic problems that are difficult to tackle with conventional approaches, such as identifying the molecular basis of multigenic and complex traits. GENETIC model systems, from bacteria, yeast, plants, worms, flies, and fish to mice allow the dissection of the genetic basis of virtually any biological process by isolating mutants obtained through random mutagenesis, in which the biological process under investigation is defective. Such forward genetic analysis is unbiased and free of assumptions. The rigor and conceptual simplicity of forward genetic analysis is striking, some may say, beautiful; and the unpredictability of what one finds—be that an unexpected phenotype popping out of a screen or the eventual molecular nature of the gene (take the discovery of miRNAs as an example; Lee et al. 1993)—appeals to the adventurous. Even though mutant phenotypic analysis alone can reveal the logic of underlying biological processes (take Ed Lewis' analysis of homeotic mutants as an example; Lewis 1978)—it is the identification of the molecular lesions in mutant animals that provides the key mechanistic and molecular details that propel our understanding of biological processes. The identification of the molecular lesion in mutant organisms depends on how the mutation was introduced. Classically, two types of mutagens have been used in most model systems: biological agents such as plasmids, viruses, or transposons whose insertions disrupt functional DNA elements (either coding or regulatory elements) or chemical mutagens, such as ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) or N-ethyl N-nitroso urea (ENU), that introduce point mutations or deletions. Point mutation-inducing chemical mutagens are in many ways a superior mutagenic agent because their mutational frequency is high and because the spectrum of their effects on a given locus—producing hypomorphs, hypermorphs, amorphs, neomorphs, etc.—is hard to match by biological mutagens. Moreover, chemical mutagens do not display the positional bias of many biological agents. In addition, point mutations in a gene are often crucial in dissecting the functionally relevant domains of the gene product. In spite of the advantages of chemical mutagens, model system geneticists often prefer biological mutagens simply because the molecular lesions induced by those agents are characterized by the easily locatable DNA footprint that these agents generate. In contrast, the location of a point mutation (or deletion) has to be identified through conventional mapping strategies, which tend to be tedious and time consuming. Even in model systems in which positional cloning is quite fast and straightforward (e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans, which has a short generation time and a multitude of mapping tools available), it nevertheless is a significant effort that can occasionally present hurdles that are difficult to surmount (e.g., if the gene maps into a region with few genetic markers that allow for mapping). These difficulties explain why RNAi-based ''genetic screens'' have gained significant popularity in C. elegans; they circumAddress for correspondence: Columbia University Medical Center, Department of Biochemistry, 701 W. 168th St., HHSC 724, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Genetics 184: 317–319 (February 2010) vent mapping and reveal molecular identities of genes involved in a given process straight away (Kamath and Ahringer 2003). However, genes and cells show differential susceptibility to RNAi; off-target effects and lack of reproducibility can be a problem, and the range of effects that RNAi has on gene activity is generally more limited compared to chemically induced gene mutations. The recent application of next generation, deep sequencing technology (see Bentley 2006; Morozova and Marra 2008 for technology reviews) is beginning to significantly alter the landscape of genetic analysis as it allows the use of chemical mutagens without having to deal with its disadvantages. Deep sequencing technology incorporated into platforms such as Illumina's Genome Analyzer or ABI's SOLiD, allows one-shot sequencing of the entire model system's genome, resulting in the detection of mutagen-induced sequence alterations compared to a nonmutagenized reference genome. Proof-of-concept studies have so far been conducted in bacteria, yeast, plant, worms, and flies, all published within the last year (Sarin et al. 2008; Smith et al. 2008; Srivatsan et al. 2008; Blumenstiel et al. 2009; Irvine et al. 2009; Rigola et al. 2009). Many more studies are under way; for example, since our first proofof-principle study (Sarin et al. 2008), my laboratory has identified the molecular basis of .10 C. elegans strains defective in neuronal development and homeostasis (V. Bertrand, unpublished data; M. Doitsidou, unpublished data; E. Flowers, unpublished data; S. Sarin, unpublished data). The advantages of whole genome sequencing (WGS) are obvious. The process is extraordinarily fast with the sequencing taking only 5 days and the subsequent sequence data analysis only a few hours, particularly if the end user employs bioinformatic tools customized for mutant detection (Bigelow et al. 2009). The process is also remarkably cost effective. For example, a C. elegans genome can be sequenced with a required sequence coverage of 10 times for ,$2,000 in reagent and machine operating costs. The capacity of deep sequencing machines—and hence the costs associated with sequencing a genome—apparently follow Moore's law of doubling its capacity about every 2 years, like many technological innovations do (Pettersson et al. 2009). That is, the ,$1,000 genome for C. elegans ( 100-Mb genome) and Drosophila ( 123-Mb genome) is just around the corner and other models will sooner or later follow suit. The cost effectiveness becomes particularly apparent if one compares the cost of WGS to the personnel and reagent costs associated with multiplemonth to multiple-year mapping-based cloning efforts. WGS identifies sequence variants between a mutated genome and a premutagenesis reference genome. Chemical mutagens randomly introduce many mutations in the genome and, therefore, the phenotypecausing sequence variant needs to be identified as such out of a large pool of sequence variants. Sequence variants that have no impact on the phenotype can be outcrossed before sequencing or eliminated through some rough mapping of the mutation, which allows the experimenter to focus only on those variants contained in a specific sequence interval. Ensuing functional tests such as transformation rescue or phenocopy by RNAi and the availability of other alleles of the same locus are critical means to validate a phenotype-causing sequence variant (Sarin et al. 2008). The latter approach—the availability of multiple alleles of the same locus—is in many ways the most powerful one to sift through a number of candidate variants revealed by WGS. In this approach, candidate loci revealed by WGS are resequenced by conventional Sanger sequencing in allelic strains and only those that are indeed phenotype causing will show up mutated in all allelic variants of the locus (Sarin et al. 2008). The availability of multiple alleles of a locus is highly desirable for many aspects of genetic analysis anyway and therefore does not represent an additional and specific burden for undertaking a WGS project. The importance of WGS on model system genetics will be substantial and wide ranging. Speed and cost effectiveness means that the wastelands of genetic mapping can be trespassed fast enough to allow an experimenter to multitask a whole mutant collection in parallel, thereby closing in on the ''holy grail'' of genetic analysis—the as-complete-as-possible mutational saturation of a biological process and the resulting deciphering of complete genetic pathways and networks. What will become limiting steps are not any more the tediousness of mapping, but rather the effectiveness with which mutant collections can be built. Novel technologies that involve machine-based, semiautomated selection of mutant animals have been developed over the past few years to study a variety of distinct biological processes in several metazoan model systems, e.g., gfp-based morphology or cell fate screens in worms (Crane et al. 2009; Doitsidou et al. 2008) or behavioral screens in flies (Dankert et al. 2009) and are important steps in this direction. Such an ''industrial revolution'' of genetic screening (i.e., the mutant selection part, followed by WGS) moves us geneticists away from, not into the trenches of factory life and frees us up to do what we should like to enjoy most—thinking of designing interesting screens, seeing how genes interact, and interpreting it all. Another important impact of WGS is that it will allow tackling problems that were previously hard to deal with. For example, the tediousness of following subtle phenotypes, low penetrance phenotypes, or phenotypes that are cumbersome to score often hampers positional cloning approaches that rely on identifying rare recombinants in a large sibling pool. Moreover, many genetic traits such as behavioral genetic traits are very sensitive to genetic background and


Introduction The system of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins (cas) is a new technology that allows easier manipulation of the genome. Its potential to edit genes opened a new door in treatment development for incurable neurological monogenic diseases (NMGDs). The aim of this systematic review was to summarise the findings on the current development of CRISPR-cas for therapeutic purposes in the most frequent NMGDs and provide critical assessment. Methods and data acquisition We searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases, looking for original studies on the use of CRISPR-cas to edit pathogenic variants in models of the most frequent NMGDs, until end of 2017. We included all the studies that met the following criteria: 1. Peer-reviewed study report with explicitly described experimental designs; 2. In vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo study using human or other animal biological systems (including cells, tissues, organs, organisms); 3. focusing on CRISPR as the gene-editing method of choice; and 5. featured at least one NMGD. Results We obtained 404 papers from MEDLINE and 513 from EMBASE. After removing the duplicates, we screened 490 papers by title and abstract and assessed them for eligibility. After reading 50 full-text papers, we finally selected 42 for the review. Discussion Here we give a systematic summary on the preclinical development of CRISPR-cas for therapeutic purposes in NMGDs. Furthermore, we address the clinical interpretability of the findings, giving a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art. Duchenne's muscular dystrophy (DMD) paves the way forward, with 26 out of 42 studies reporting different strategies on DMD gene editing in different models of the disease. Most of the strategies aimed for permanent exon skipping by deletion with CRISPR-cas. Successful silencing of the mHTT gene with CRISPR-cas led to successful reversal of the neurotoxic effects in the striatum of mouse models of Huntington's disease. Many other strategies have been explored, including epigenetic regulation of gene expression, in cellular and animal models of: myotonic dystrophy, Fraxile X syndrome, ataxias, and other less frequent dystrophies. Still, before even considering the clinical application of CRISPR-cas, three major bottlenecks need to be addressed: efficacy, safety, and delivery of the systems. This requires a collaborative approach in the research community, while having ethical considerations in mind.


This paper presents the use of angular position control approaches for a flexible robot manipulator with disturbances effect in the dynamic system. Delayed Feedback Signal (DFS) and Proportional-Derivative (PD) controller are the techniques proposed in this investigation to actively control the vibrations of flexible structure. A constrained planar single-link flexible manipulator is considered and the dynamic model of the system is derived using the assume mode method. A complete analysis of simulation results for each technique is presented in time domain and frequency domain respectively. Performances of the controller are examined in terms of vibration suppression and disturbances cancellation. Finally, a comparative assessment of the impact of each controller on the system performance is presented and discussed.


Research summary: We examine the influence of CEO and compensation committee liberalism on top management teams (TMT) pay arrangements. Given that politically liberal individuals tend to value egalitarianism, we test whether firms with liberal CEOs tend to (1) reduce pay dispersion among non-CEO executives; and (2) reduce pay gaps between CEO and non-CEO executives, and whether compensation committee liberalism moderates these relationships. We find some evidence of a direct effect of CEO liberalism on TMT pay arrangements as well as some interaction between CEO and compensation committee liberalism on the pay arrangements. This study provides a better understanding of the antecedents of TMT pay arrangements and empirical evidence showing the influence of values at the top of organization.

Managerial summary: Do the values of the CEO and compensation committee influence the pay of other top managers? Our study provides evidence that political ideology affects top manager pay. We examine whether CEO liberalism produces more egalitarian pay arrangements among top managers, and whether the liberalism of the compensation committee affects that relationship. We find that CEO liberalism reduces differences in the total pay among top managers, but does not influence the difference between CEO total pay and the total pay of top managers. We also find that compensation committee liberalism strengthens the negative influence of CEO liberalism on differences in total pay among top managers. Finally, we find that CEO liberalism reduces the difference between CEO bonus pay and the bonus pay of other top managers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The article presents an analysis of stresses in the current tool system of the die during the implementation of the third forging operation of the screw M12 class 10.9 with cylinder head and hexagonal socket. It was assumed that the level of negative cracking due to stress can be reduced by using a mounting interference between the die and the tube blank. Due to the design of the tool system value of the die, the interference value cannot be too large. Therefore, an analysis of the influence of the interference between the die and the tube blank in a die tool system on the value and distribution of stresses in the individual components. An analysis of the assembly stresses and the stresses occurring during the process of deformation of the shaped head of the screw was done. The calculations were performed using a commercial software package MARC / Mentat.


OBJECTIVE
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the main part of the total body energy expenditure. The value of BMR is individual and depends on a lot of factors. The goal of the research was to discover the influence of anthropometric parameters, age and gender, on changes of the BMR values.

METHODS
A total of 177 individuals of Czech Caucasian origin from South Moravia (BMI 27.3 ± 7.88 kg/m2) aged 18-55 (117 women, 60 men) were included in the study. Selected anthropometric characteristics were measured using a stadiometer (SECA 213) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (Inbody 230). BMR was measured by indirect calorimetry (Cortex Metalyzer 3B). The measured values were statistically evaluated by the regression analysis and least square method (LSM).

RESULTS
From the following results that the factors that influence the BMR value statistically significantly (p < 0.05) are: age, gender, body mass index, total body water, and percent of body fat.

CONCLUSION
Body fat and age have both an indirect impact on the basal metabolic rate of the Czech population in working age. However, BMI and the total body water were discovered to have a direct influence on the BMR.


Children's experiences of food insecurity (FI) may be conceptually distinct and different from those of adults. Previous study of children's experiences of FI has relied primarily on their parents' perspective. This study explored, described, and conceptualized experiences of FI in children attending 5 public schools in peri-urban areas of the Miranda State, Venezuela, South America using a naturalistic approach. Children aged 10-17 y were studied through focus groups (n = 42) and individual interviews (n = 13). Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using grounded theory. Children were cognitively aware of FI, worry in their parents, and causes both external and internal to their households. Children were also emotionally aware of FI, with feelings of concern, anguish, and sadness, and manifestations such as crying. Children reported being physically hungry, experiencing reduced quantity and quality of food intake, having smaller meals, and recognizing thinness and fainting as consequences. Children's responses to FI included reduction of quality and quantity of food, child labor, sacrifice in food consumption, food from waste, support from extended family members, and strategies for purchasing, acquiring, preparing, and cooking food. Children were not always protected, especially when the head of the family was unemployed, had drug-alcohol problems, or was extremely poor. Protection could come from parents to children and from older children to parents and younger children. Children should have certain access to food that is dignified, timely, efficient, and adequate in harmonious social conditions to prevent and resolve situations that compromise their physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional well-being.


First, tensile creep curve and creep propagation tests are conducted for austenitic stainless steel 0Cr18Ni9, i.e. 304 stainless steel at 550°C. The corresponding time hardening creep law is given for stresses ranging from 240 to 320 Mpa and the creep crack propagation length under a tension load of 10kN is measured by using QUESTAR long focus microscope system. Second, with the commercial finite element (FE) code ANSYS, the critical crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) is considered as crack propagation criterion to simulate the creep crack growth in the standard compact tension (CT) specimen. The FE predictions of the creep crack length in the primary and secondary stages are found to agree reasonably with the experimental results. The maximum computational error between the predictions and the experiment results is within 10%. Hence, the critical CTOD is a feasible criterion for crack growth simulations at elevated temperatures.


&NA; Future climate scenarios predict increases in both ocean temperature and dissolved carbon dioxide (pCO2) over the next century. Calcifying invertebrates, which depend on specific conditions of temperature and carbonate chemistry for many processes, may be especially affected by these changes. In our study, juvenile blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, were exposed to one of four temperature/pCO2 treatments (ambient/low, ambient/high, high/low, and high/high) for two complete molts. Our study is the first to examine the effect of multiple climate stressors on blue crab and therefore basic responses, including the growth per molt (GPM), inter‐molt period (IMP), and food consumption, were quantified. GPM was not affected by either increased temperature or pCO2. Although increased pCO2 did not significantly influence the duration of crab IMP, crabs in warm water had significantly shorter IMP (10.6 ± 3.1 days (± SD)) than crabs in ambient water (12.5 ± 2.8 days). Increased pCO2 did not significantly affect the amount of food crabs consumed, but crabs in warm water ate significantly more food than those in ambient water. These data suggest that the impact of warming outweighs the impact of acidification in juvenile blue crab. The effects of these changes on more complex physiological parameters such as metabolism and carapace chemistry remain to be examined. Additionally, quantifying the changes to the Chesapeake Bay food web that may occur due to the observed increase in crab growth and consumption is important to ensure sustainability of this resource in the face of future climatic changes.


Majority of hypothyroid patients achieve and maintain euthyroidism on doses of levothyroxine in the range of 100 to 200 ug per day. This is a report of three patients with hypothyroidism requiring 300 - 450 ug of levothyroxine daily to be euthyroid. These comprised one case of central and two cases of primary hypothyroidism. Contributory factors to high doses of levothyroxine in the patients include use of efavirenz in one patient, morbid obesity and cimetidine therapy in another patient and sodium valproate treatment in the third patient. High doses of levothyroxine may be required to achieve euthyroidism in patients receiving efavirenz, sodium valproate and cimetidine. J Med Cases. 2014;5(8):452-454 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1822w


Abstract Measuring the service flow and the stock value of condominium apartments in Canada and decomposing these values into constant quality price and quantity components is important for many purposes. In addition, the System of National Accounts requires that these service flows and stock values for condos be decomposed into constant quality land and structure components. In Canada and most other countries, such a land and structure decomposition of condominium apartment sale prices does not currently exist. In this article, we provide such a decomposition of condominium apartment sales in Ottawa for the period 1996–2009. Specific attention is paid to the roles of communal land and structure space on condominium apartment unit selling prices. Key findings include methods to allocate land and building space to a single condominium unit, identifying the characteristics that best explain condominium prices, and developing an average depreciation rate for condos for the 14-year time period.


Title of this research is "Completion and Insurance for the Employees in PT. Mitra Adi Jaya Cigarette Manufacturing Firm Against Health Loss Risks Affected by Any Possible Diseases from the Work Place." This research was performed to know and obtain data about completion and insurance for the employees in PT. Mitra Adi Jaya Cigarette Manufacturing Firm against health loss risks affected by any possible diseases from the work place and factors influencing the emergence of the diseases. Method in this research used empirical laws and principles which focused on law societies or law communities. In this law research being performed quantitatively analysis through reasoning processes to infer a deductive-processed conclusion. Result of this research shows that PT. Mitra Adi Jaya Cigarette Manufacturing Firm does not give job security insurance for the employees suffering from health loss affected by the diseases come from the work place in the form of Job Accident Insurance instead of Autonomous Health Insurance (JPK Mandiri). PT. Mitra Adi Jaya insures its employees against diseases come from risks of work place to JPK Mandiri because there are many claims proposed by its employees are rejected by JAMSOSTEK within reasons that the claims are not emegency actions thus there are many employees do not get the payment for claims ofthe loss. PT. Mitra Adi Jaya has been insuring its
employees in accordance with what is ordered by the regulation even better than it and factors that are influencing the emerging diseases come from the work place are dust or nicotine from the tobacco-leaveas directly inhaled by the employees, especially those who do not wear masker during their working times, and also because of the contract work that causes the lack of resting times for those employees because they have to fulfil the targets.


The research is devoted to the constructive analysis of the phenomenon of a «blind spot» in the context of a political reflection of social-historical events and which is part of the thinking. It has a dual nature which influences the formation of our judgments. In the article, it is shown that the action of a "blind spot" belongs to belief. On the one hand, it provides a possibility of the removal of historical judgment, while on the other hand, the nature of the arising doubts about the objectivity of historical knowledge is cleared up. Some of the writings of Hannah Arendt are used as examples in the analytical interpretation of the theory of the ability of judgment. The "blind spot" will paralyze critical thinking since it is a result of the absolutization of theoretical reason, and is also reflected in the political and moral estimates of history. In this research, the investigation of several political appraisals of which Arendt gave of a number of tragedies of the 20th century uncovers the specifics of the results of the "blind spot" in her thinking. The recognition and the understanding of this phenomena promotes an increasingly-sensitive relationship of the particulars of those lives in related history. This recognition softens the ideological commitment for the sake of a more equal relationship between cultures, and averts an involuntary, unintentional cultural arrogance. As a result, it is shown that the intension of the ability of judgment is reflected in the "socialization" of theoretical reason, that the phenomenon of a "blind spot" of thinking exerts an impact on an assessment of historical and political realities and allows for the realization of the value of the restriction of reason, and that the fair, humanistic conclusions of Arendt in a latent form by themselves bear a paradoxical danger of an opposition of various cultural identities.


Based on the optical trapping force of an evanescent wave at a micro-ring resonator alongside a waveguide, we propose a tunable optofluidic sorting unit for micro-nanoparticles by localized thermal phase tuning. With the tuning of field build-up factor of resonator, the depth of trapping potential well and the size of trapped particle are adjustable. Furthermore, by considering the Brownian motion of trapped particles from a statistics perspective, we verify the critical trapping threshold of a potential well, which is usually assumed to be 1kBT. The threshold depends not only on the optical power and particle size, but also on the length of the coupling region. Compared with a wavelength tuning mechanism, localized thermal tuning enables large-scale integration of many independent tunable resonators. As a demonstration, we propose a set of operations with three resonators for nanoparticle manipulation, including sorting, storing, and mixing. Our proposed function units are of great importance for on-chip large-scale integration of optofluidic systems.


Background: Previous studies indicated an association between endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity and maintenance of pregnancy, but it is rather controversial whether polymorphisms of the gene encoding for eNOS are associated with recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSAs). Aim: The aim was to investigate whether the presence of maternal polymorphism Glu298Asp in exon seven of the eNOS gene increase the risk of RSA in Egyptian women. Subjects and Methods: Hundreds women were randomly selected as the case group. They had at least three RSA before 20 th weeks of gestation, same partner and at least one live birth and compared with 100 women, same age range, with no history of abortions or complicated pregnancy as control group. All were investigated for the polymorphism using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms method. Data were expressed descriptively as percentages for qualitative values and mean ± standard deviation for quantitative parametric data and comparison of qualitative data was done. Results: Frequency of GG genotype 50/100% in cases and 67/100% in control group. Heterozygous GT frequency was 46/100% in cases and 26/100% in control (P ≤ 0.01, odds ratio [OR] =2.37, and 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.30-4.34). Homozygous TT was 4/100% in the cases and at 7/100% in control (P = 0.68, OR = 0.77, and 95% CI = 0.21-2.76). GG genotype versus GT and GG (P = 0.01, OR = 2.03, and 95% CI = 1.15-3.60). Cases with TT genotype were more susceptible to abortion at an older age with a mean of 29 (4.76) (P = 0.02). Conclusion: In conclusion, (eNOS) Glu298Asp polymorphism was found to be associated with increased risk of RSA in this sample of Egyptian women.


Background The middle meningeal artery (MMA) has been implicated in chronic headaches, but no studies have examined the relationship between MMA embolization and headaches. Methods Patients treated with MMA embolization for a chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020, were retrospectively assessed. Patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 15 at discharge received a follow-up telephone call to assess their history of chronic headache, defined as a headache ≥2 years before the cSDH and symptoms ≥2 days/month. A Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) was performed during the follow-up telephone call. The primary outcome was resolution or improvement of headaches after embolization. Results Of 76 patients undergoing MMA embolization for a cSDH during the study period, 56 (74%) had a discharge GCS score of 15. Of these 56 patients, 46 (82%) responded to a follow-up telephone call and were analyzed (mean [SD] age 68 [11] years; 36 [78%] men and 10 [22%] women). Nine (20%) reported chronic headaches before embolization. With a mean (SD) follow-up of 489 (173) days, eight of the nine patients reported improvement of chronic headaches, with seven having complete resolution. For these nine patients, the mean (SD) HIT-6 score was significantly higher before embolization than after embolization (64 [7.1] vs 40 [9.1], p<0.001). Conclusion In patients with chronic headaches who underwent MMA embolization for a cSDH, the majority reported improvement of headaches after the procedure. Future prospective studies are warranted to assess the usefulness of MMA embolization to treat chronic headaches.


The objective of this research is to propose two new optical procedures for packet routing and forwarding in the framework of transparent optical networks. The single-wavelength label-recognition and packet-forwarding unit, which represents the central physical constituent of the switching node, is fully described in both cases. The first architecture is a hybrid opto-electronic structure relying on an optical serial-to- parallel converter designed to slow down the label processing. The remaining switching operations are done electronically. The routing system remains transparent for the packet payloads. The second architecture is an all-optical architecture and is based on the implementation of all-optical decoding of the parallelized label. The packet-forwarding operations are done optically. The major subsystems required in both of the proposed architectures are described on the basis of nonlinear effects in semiconductor optical amplifiers. The experimental results are compatible with the integration of the whole architecture. Those subsystems are a 4-bit time-to-wavelength converter, a pulse extraction circuit, a an optical wavelength generator, a 3times8 all-optical decoder and a packet envelope detector.


The outer boundary energetic electron flux is used as a driver in radial diffusion calculations, and its precise determination is critical to the solution. A new model was proposed recently based on Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) measurements to express the boundary flux as three fit functions of solar wind parameters in a response window that depend on energy and which solar wind parameter is used: speed, density, or both. The Dartmouth radial diffusion model has been run using Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) geosynchronous satellite measurements as the constraint for a one‐month interval in July to August 2004, and the calculated phase space density (PSD) is compared with GPS measurements, at magnetic equatorial plane crossings, as a test of the model. We also used the PSD generated from the Shin and Lee model as constraint and examined it by computing the error relative to the LANL geosynchronous spacecraft data‐driven run. The calculation shows that there is overestimation and underestimation at different times; however, the direct insertion of the statistical model can be used to drive the radial diffusion model generally, producing the phase space density dropout and increase during a storm. Having this model based on a solar wind parameterized data set, we can run the radial diffusion model for storms when particle measurements are not available as input. We chose the Whole Heliosphere Interval as an example and compared the result with MHD/test‐particle simulations, obtaining better agreement with GPS measurement using the diffusion model, which incorporates atmospheric losses and an initial equilibrium radial profile.


There was a craze for all things Japanese in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that brought a correspondingly radical shift in Western art, dubbed japonisme. Leading artists, including Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet, were inspired by Japanese art and culture to create works of singular beauty. This lavishly illustrated publication explores this extraordinary moment of cross-cultural exchange by presenting a selection of major paintings, prints, drawings, and decorative arts from the renowned collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Masterpieces by European and American artists are shown along with rare objects, paintings, and prints from the Museums Japanese collection, which is one of the finest in the world. With its two introductory essays, emphasizing first Western and then Eastern perspectives, and its four thematically organized chapters, Looking East imparts the sense of discovery and excitement that characterized the development of japonisme in Europe and North America.


The effect of the interaction between lymphocytes from tumor-bearing mice and stem cells was studied. It was found that in the process of tumor growth the property of lymphocytes to inactivate nonsyngeneic stem cells was not impaired. At the same time, during the process of tumor growth the property of lymphocytes to induce redifferentiation of syngeneic hemopoietic stem cells and to render a stimulating effect on the colony-forming activity of stem cells of the bone marrow is impaired under conditions of a manifested allogenic inhibition.


The miombo woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa contain valuable wildlife populations, support the livelihoods of millions of people and contribute vital ecosystem services across local, national and international scales. Rapid conversion of woodland to agriculture is common, but knowledge gaps exist regarding what drives this land use change, how biodiversity responds, and how these responses affect the availability and accessibility of resources to communities. Such information is needed to make appropriate land use management decisions. This thesis aims to advance understanding by addressing these gaps using a case study from the Mbeya Region of south-west Tanzania, a remote region undergoing rapid land use change. An interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach was used to collect ecological and social data from the Kipembawe Division.
The thesis provides new contemporary insights on the context and nature of rapid change in this area, demonstrating that cultivation of the main cash crop tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is the significant driver of land use change. The thesis examines the impact that land cover change has on the availability of goods, services and biodiversity, providing new data on the interdependencies between local communities and woodland resources. The availability of crucial services such as firewood and water is perceived to be decreasing due to agricultural expansion and increased demand. Tree and butterfly species richness, abundance and diversity also decrease with increasing woodland utilisation; although an intermediate disturbance effect was identified, indicating that moderate levels of disturbance can be tolerated. Finally, the thesis draws together empirical insights and related studies to outline five contemporary challenges for the sustainable management of the miombo woodland landscape. These include the lack of knowledge about where the ecological 'tipping point' lies in relation to utilisation of miombo woodland, a lack of alternative livelihoods and products, high immigration rates, the remoteness of the area, and weak governance. To develop and implement sustainable land use management strategies an integrated landscape approach is suggested. Due to the ecological and social challenges identified land use management would need to be adaptive and encourage participation at differing governance levels, for which an adaptive co-management approach is appropriate.


Background: Various medical, psychiatric and social problems affecting alcohol abuser tend to overshadow their oral health. From an epidemiologic viewpoint, chronic consumption of alcoholic beverages is associated with an increased risk for the upper gastrointestinal tract cancer, and tobacco and alcohol are regarded as the major risk factors for oral cancer. The objective of this presentation is to express different hypotheses proposed to explain how ethanol, via oral or systemic route, can act as a risk factor for the development of oral cancer. Methods: A web-based search for all types of articles published was initiated using Medline/PubMed, with the keywords such as "oral cancer", "alcohol consumption" and "prevention". The search was restricted to English articles published up to December 2013. Results: Various hypotheses have been proposed in the explanation for ethanol acting as a risk factor, locally or systemically, in the development of oral cancer. The main local effects of ethanol are: increase in oral mucosa permeability, action of acetaldehyde, and the role of retinoid and the most important systemic effects are: liver suppression and salivary gland dysfunction. Alcohol and tobacco are considered as two principal risk factors in the development of oral cancer. Ethanol itself is not carcinogenic. However, its first metabolite (acetaldehyde) has recently been shown to be a local carcinogen in humans. Establishing a direct cause-effect relationship between both entities turns out to be difficult. This is due to the frequent association of alcohol with other risk bearing practices such as cigarette smoking. The alcohol in contact with the oral mucosa is capable of producing an alteration in morphology characterized by an epithelial atrophy, which means an increase in the susceptibility of the said tissue against other carcinogenic chemicals. In this manner, it was suggested that ethanol is capable of increasing the penetration of carcinogens through the oral mucosa. Conclusion: A large body of evidence from epidemiological studies of different designs and conducted in different populations has consistently supported that alcohol consumption is strongly associated with an increase in risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer.


This article examines a range of mid-twentieth-century American fashions, particularly women's intimate wear, that went by the name of "bikini." In doing so, it identifies the bikini as an overt but unremarkable incident of racial and colonial violence. Treating the nuclear Pacific as conspicuously incidental in mainstream atomic culture enables new insights on the visual interplay between white femininity and primitive sexuality—an interplay that, the author argues, was integral to establishing domestic virtue and modern living as atomic age touchstones of "peace." To elaborate on this argument, this article tracks the bikini's achievement of propriety within a broader fashion revolution spurred by the use of high-tech fibers in swim, sleep, and support garments. It shows how an atomic ideal of "nature" arose from an imperial desire for security in the face of extreme risk—both the global risk of nuclear war and the domestic risk of sexual promiscuity.


Olmesartan is one of the various angiotensin II antagonists currently used for the management of high blood pressure. A sprue-like enteropathy was first described in 2012 in association with this antihypertensive drug. An observational, descriptive study was carried out on a series of 12 patients who met the clinical, histopathological, and outcome criteria for olmesartan-related sprue-like enteropathy from May 2013 to December 2015. All patients had watery diarrhea, weight loss, and negative celiac serology. They all were admitted with severe illness including dehydration with prerenal kidney failure, metabolic acidosis, water-electrolyte imbalance, and malnutrition parameters. Most common laboratory abnormalities included anemia and hypoalbuminemia. Duodenal biopsy histology revealed villous atrophy in all 12 patients. They all responded well to drug discontinuation, and 100% of individuals with follow-up biopsy showed histological recovery. Olmesartan should therefore be considered a potential cause of severe diarrhea, particularly in patients with duodenal villous atrophy and negative celiac serology.


Forest dieback and mortality events induced by drought stress are widely reported. However, few studies have jointly examined the role played by drought on growth and mortality in tree species inhabiting floodplain forests. Here, we focused on mortality events occurring since the early 2000s on large areas in a floodplain forest located within the Ticino regional park in Northwest Italy, where affected native (pedunculate oak, Quercus robur L.) and introduced tree species (black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia L.) coexist. We related growth with climate data and drought severity to discern if these species were similarly affected by drought. Then, we: (i) evaluated the presence of pathogens of the genus Phytophthora in recently dead oak trees since this was the most affected species and pathogens are often associated with oak decline cases; and (ii) compared xylem vessel diameter and tree-ring C isotope discrimination (δ13C) to highlight differences in water-use strategies between living and dead trees in both species. The radial growth of living and dead trees started diverging in the 1970s, although only after warm-drought periods occurred during 1990s did this divergence become significant. Growth of trees that died responded more negatively to drought than in the case of living trees. Moreover, trees that died formed smaller xylem vessels in the past than living trees and also showed more negative δ13C values in both tree species, indicating a higher intrinsic water-use efficiency in living than in dead trees. The pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands was only detected in one recently dead tree, suggesting that it is unlikely that dead oaks were predisposed to drought damage by the pathogen. We conclude that a climate shift from wet to warm-dry summer conditions in the early 1990s triggered forest dieback and induced mortality in both tree species. Temperate floodplain forests are susceptible to drought-induced dieback. The drought-sensitivity of both species could lead to successional shifts driven by a reduction of N inputs through N-fixing by black locust and the replacement of oak by drought-tolerant species.


The thesis that environmental scarcity leads to violent conflict in many parts of the developing world has become ascendant in the literature and has gained much publicity in policy circles in the last decade. According to students of environmental scarcity and conflict, the most conflict-prone renewable resource is fresh water. Indeed, Lake Victoria (the world's second largest fresh water lake, shared by three African countries and affecting or affected by nine others in the basin) exhibits the conditions one would expect, based on the literature, to pro duce conflict, and sooner rather than later. However, based on research includ ing fieldwork conducted in June-July 2000, our findings indicate that while en vironmental degradation is evident in the magnitude expected to trigger conflict, violent conflict has not occurred. This paper seeks to explain why this is so, which may suggest how developing nations can avert the supposed trajec tory into violent conflict.


Abstract.— Northern Red-Bellied Cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris) have a disjunct distribution with a relictual population in southeastern Massachusetts and a larger range across the mid-Atlantic United States. The relictual population is currently listed with protections under the U.S. Endangered Species Act but the status of the population in the remainder of the species' range has not been assessed, and there is concern that it may be at risk of extinction without protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires scientific information of the species' status to inform conservation decisions. There is little empirical information available from P. rubriventris populations and, furthermore, the majority of what exists comes from the disjunct northern subpopulation. To fill data gaps in the species' life history and reduce geographic bias, we supplement available data from P. rubriventris with demographic rate estimates from other Pseudemys species to parameterize an age-structured population projection model. Our estimate of mean population growth rate was 0.987 (0.92–1.04), indicating that P. rubriventris populations may be in decline. However, there was considerable uncertainty in our results, with 35% of projections resulting in stable or increasing populations. Additional uncertainty about parameter values, geographic variation, and current threats limit the assessment. We discuss the merits and limitations of our population projection modeling (PPM) approach where other analytical methods are precluded by lack of available data.


A hybrid molecular dynamics/coarse-grained-particle (MD-CGP) method is proposed for dynamic simulation of crack growth at finite temperatures. In the present method, the MD method is applied for the non-linear elastic region such as the crack tip and dislocation core, while the CGP method is applied for the surrounding linear elastic region. For coupling the atomistic and coarse regions, extra atoms and particles are placed, respectively, beyond the interface of the atomistic and coarse systems. They move according to the Langevin-type equation. The dissipation term in the Langevin-type equation contains the velocity difference between the atomistic and coarse systems. Hence, the coupling is achieved through the damped oscillation of the difference between the two systems. It is shown in a one-dimensional simulation that the present hybrid method achieves the non-reflecting boundary condition at the interface for the entire wavenumber range at finite temperatures. Two-dimensional crack growth simulations are performed using both the present hybrid MD-CGP method and full MD method for accuracy check. In the hybrid simulation, the location of the atomistic region shifts to follow the moving crack tip. In spite of such drastic operations, the results obtained by the present hybrid simulation agree very well with those by the full MD simulation. The hybrid MD-CGP method allows us to simulate very large systems without losing atomistic information at the singular point and non-linear region, with much lesser degrees of freedom than required for the full MD method.


tissue. The laser ablation was followed by an amnioreduction to a maximum vertical pocket of 5 cms in the recipient sac. Results: All patients for whom laser was chosen as therapy are included in the analysis. To date we have 37 completed cases, 29 of whom have delivered. One patient required two laser procedures and in one patient laser was not performed, as amniotic fluid was too turbid secondary to a prior amniocentesis. Mean gestational age (GA) at therapy was 21.9 weeks and mean GA at delivery was 33.2 weeks. Survival data is as follows:


The third part of Ragguagli di Parnaso by Traiano Boccalini, a posthumous publication that was issued at the end of 1614 with the title Pietra del paragone politico , became in a few years an out-and-out European best-seller. However, it was not by chance that the book was never published in Spain, the country that had been the favourite target of Boccalini's satires. Nonetheless, it aroused deep interest there, as attested by several Spanish versions, even if they had a manuscript and clandestine circulation in the 17th-18th century. Through a detailed study of the witnesses, this article defines for the first time all the surviving translations, and gives the background to the forthcoming publication of one of them.


The mechanism for selecting the President of the United States (the "Electoral College") causes outcomes that weaken American democracy and that the delegates at the Constitutional Convention never intended. The core selection process described in Article II, Section 1 was hastily drawn in the final days of the Convention based on compromises made originally to benefit slave-owning states and states with smaller populations. The system was also drafted to have Electors deliberate and then choose the President in an age when travel and news took weeks or longer to cross the new country. In the four decades after ratification, the Electoral College was modified further to reach its current form, which includes most states using a winner-take-all method to allocate Electors. The original needs this system was designed to address have now disappeared. But the persistence of these Electoral College mechanisms still causes severe unanticipated problems, including (1) contradictions between the electoral vote winner and national popular vote winner, (2) a "battleground state" phenomenon where all but a handful of states are safe for one political party or the other, (3) representational and policy benefits that citizens in some states receive but not others, (4) a decrease in the political power of non-battleground demographic groups, and (5) vulnerability of elections to outside interference. These outcomes will not go away without intervention. Several paths for reform can address these problems and have an identifiable path to success. The most promising of these is the formation of interstate compacts to allow aggregate action by multiple states at once. Any proposal to reform the Electoral College will likely face legal and policy challenges. But given the substantial and pervasive problems of the current system, citizens and lawmakers must sooner rather than later seriously consider reform.


Recent interest in approximate computation is driven by its potential to achieve large energy savings. This paper formally demonstrates an optimal way to reduce energy via voltage over-scaling at the cost of errors due to timing starvation in addition. We identify a fundamental trade-off between error frequency and error magnitude in a timing-starved adder. We introduce a formal model to prove that for signal processing applications using a quadratic signal-to-noise ratio error measure, reducing bit-wise error frequency is sub-optimal. Instead, energy-optimal approximate addition requires limiting maximum error magnitude. Intriguingly, due to possible error patterns, this is achieved by reducing carry chains significantly below what is allowed by the timing budget for a large fraction of sum bits, using an aligned, fixed internal-carry structure for higher significance bits. We further demonstrate that remaining approximation error is reduced by realization of conditional bounding (CB) logic for lower significance bits. A key contribution is the formalization of an approximate CB logic synthesis problem that produces a rich space of Pareto-optimal adders with a range of quality-energy tradeoffs. We show how CB logic can be customized to result in over-and under-estimating approximate adders, and how a dithering adder that mixes them produces zero-centered error distributions, and, in accumulation, a reduced-variance error. We demonstrate synthesized approximate adders with energy up to 60% smaller than that of a conventional timing-starved adder, where a 30% reduction is due to the superior synthesis of inexact CB logic. When used in a larger system implementing an image-processing algorithm, energy savings of 40% are possible.


This paper proposes a novel technique for the automatic detection of dementia based on the attentional matrices test (AMT) for selective attention assessment. The original test provides three matrices, of increasing difficulty, and the test taker is asked to mark target digits assigned. In our proposal, AMT was developed on a digitizing tablet, equipped with an electronic pen. Tablet technology enables the acquisition of additional measures to those that can be obtained by observing the execution of the traditional paper-based test. These measures reflect the dynamics of the handwriting process, particularly the pauses and hesitations while the pen is not in contact with the pad surface. Handwriting measures can then serve as an input to machine learning algorithms to automatize disease detection. In contrast to the traditional approach, dynamic handwriting analysis can provide a means to better evaluate the visual search of the patient, as well as motor planning. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposal, a classification study was carried out involving 29 healthy control subjects and 36 demented patients. We employed different machine learning algorithms and an ensemble scheme. We observed the first matrix to be the most discriminating, while the ensemble of the best classification models over the three matrices provided the best classification performance [i.e., an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 87.30% and a sensitivity of 86.11%]. Our proposal has the potential to provide a cost-effective and easy-to-use diagnostic tool, which may also support mass screening of the population.


Viewing translation as a linguistic object of research is not a neutral operation. The process presupposes a certain idea of " translator language " which most linguistic theories do not accept easily. The language of translation understood in its maximal variation in a geographical and historical sense may indeed require an original concept of language. An unstable system in real time, it needs to be distinguished from the system of language posited by structural linguistics at the beginning of the XXth century, itself a sublimated form of the languages of nation-states, first constructed ideologically by German scholars and poets alike in the XIXth century. New societal developments in the last ten years point to a radical redefinition of the concept of translation – in some ways echoing models predating modernity – which, in turn, may foster a reevaluation of the traditional relation of Western linguistics to translation studies.


Abstract The purpose of our article is to examine whether corporate governance dimensions and audit reporting lags affect firm performance in Turkey. In this article 30 firms operating in BIST 30 were used. Data cover the 2013-2019 periods. To analyze relationships between variables, we used the Westerlund Cointegration test and CCE Group Estimator. According to results, there is a long-term cointegrated relationship between dependent and independent variables in both models. In both models, there is significantly negative relationship between reporting lags and ROA/ROE. There is significantly positive relationship between firm performance and board independence. This study is one of the few studies measuring audit reporting lag and different corporate governance dimensions and their impact on firm financial performance in Turkey.


A 21-year-old woman with weight loss, palpitations and facial flush was found to have hypertension (up to 200/130 mm Hg) and mild hyperkalaemia (3.4 mmol/l). Extensive diagnostic tests revealed hyperaldosteronism with contrast storing in the right adrenal gland on scintigraphy after injection of dexamethasone (2 mg daily for one week). The hyperaldosteronism could not be suppressed by dexamethasone. Analysis of venous blood separately from each side pointed to aldosterone production in the right adrenal (right renal vein: 80 ng/dl, drainage area of the right adrenal vein: 114 ng/dl, left renal vein: too low to measure). The right adrenal gland was removed. No adenoma was found histologically. After the operation the aldosterone level was reduced and the blood pressure transiently fell. But both had risen again after 3 months. Renewed tests revealed dexamethasone-remediable hyperaldosteronism. On treatment with hydrocortisone (15-5-5 mg) and 50 mg metoprolol the patient became normotensive without any other medication.


Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is an evidence-based short-term psychological treatment for post-traumatic stress in survivors of multiple and complex (sexual) trauma applicable in diverse cultural settings. NET allows reflection on the person's entire life as a whole, fostering a sense of personal identity. In NET, the patient, with the assistance of the counsellor, constructs a coherent chronological narrative of his/her life story with a focus on traumatic experiences. For the traumatic experiences the counsellor asks in detail for emotions, cognitions, sensory information and physiological responses. The patient is encouraged to relive these emotions while narrating, without losing connection to the "here and now". In this way reprocessing, meaning-making and integration are facilitated. Distinctive features of the approach are the restoration of survivors' dignity, the resulting acknowledgement, and the explicit human rights orientation through its 'testifying' element. At the end of treatment the recorded autobiography may be used for human rights advocacy. The procedure is straightforward and can be easily understood. For children KID-NET was developed, which follows the same principles and procedures, however with use of child-appropriate creative elements. NET has proven to be effective when provided by local therapists and counsellors in low-resource setting (i.e. during conflict, war and disaster). In this presentation the theoretical background of NET will be explained, case studies of both child and adult victims of sexual violence who took part in NET will be discussed, and the audience will be actively involved in a short demonstration of the NET technique.


This study contrasts the implantation of 25 μm thick Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes with titanium and gold ions at 10 keV and 35 keV for doses from 1x10^15 at/cm2 to 2.5x10^16 at/cm2 implanted with two different techniques: Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) and Low Energy Broad Ion Beam (LEI). The influence of the ion energy, ion type, and implantation tool on the Young's modulus (E), resistivity and structural properties (nanocluster size and location, surface roughness) of PDMS membranes is reported. At a dose of 2.5x10^16 at/cm2 and an energy of 10 keV, which for FCVA yields sheet resistance of less than 200 ohm/square, the initial value of E (0.85 MPa) increases much less for FCVA than for LEI. For gold we obtain E of 5 MPa (FCAV) compared to 86 MPa (LEI) and for titanium 0.94 MPa (FCVA) compared to 57 MPa (LEI). Resistivity measurements show better durability for LEI than for FCVA implanted samples and better time stability for gold than for titanium.


We report a case of atypical Reiter's syndrome occurring in a female patient who had severe, ulcerative vulvar disease develop in association with conjunctivitis, low back pain, stomatitis, and psoriasiform skin lesions. Vulvar lesions have rarely been described in Reiter's syndrome and are not well characterized.


Proneural genes are crucial regulators of neurogenesis and subtype specification in many areas of the nervous system; however, their function in dopaminergic neuron development is unknown. We report that proneural genes have an intricate pattern of expression in the ventricular zone of the ventral midbrain, where mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons are generated. Neurogenin 2 (Ngn2) and Mash1 are expressed in the ventral midline, while Ngn1, Ngn2 and Mash1 are co-localized more laterally in the ventricular zone. Ngn2 is also expressed in an intermediate zone immediately adjacent to the ventricular zone at the ventral midline. To examine the function of these genes, we analyzed mutant mice in which one or two of these genes were deleted (Ngn1, Ngn2 and Mash1) or substituted (Mash1 in the Ngn2 locus). Our results demonstrate that Ngn2 is required for the differentiation of Sox2+ ventricular zone progenitors into Nurr1+ postmitotic dopaminergic neuron precursors in the intermediate zone, and that it is also likely to be required for their subsequent differentiation into tyrosine hydroxylase-positive dopaminergic neurons in the marginal zone. Although Mash1 normally has no detectable function in dopaminergic neuron development, it could partially rescue the generation of dopaminergic neuron precursors in the absence of Ngn2. These results demonstrate that Ngn2 is uniquely required for the development of midbrain dopaminergic neurons.


BACKGROUND
This investigation is one of a series of projects seeking to ascertain whether hyaluronic acid (HA) is therapeutically effective in tissue regeneration procedures. The rationale for these investigations is to test the hypothesis that HA can serve as a bioabsorbable carrier for other substrates as well as itself actively promote the regeneration of tissue.

METHODS
In this paper, we report on the bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties of 3 molecular weight formulations of recombinant HA (low, 141 kD; medium, 757 kD; and high, 1,300 kD) on selected oral and non-oral microorganisms in the planktonic phase. Three concentrations of each HA formulation were screened, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/ml, using a standard broth culture assay.

RESULTS
Recombinant HA exerted varied bacteriostatic effects on all the bacterial strains tested depending on its molecular weight (MW) and concentration. The high concentrations of the medium MW HA had the greatest bacteriostatic effect, particularly on the Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Prevotella oris, Staphylococcus aureus, and Propionibacterium acnes strains. The 1.0 mg/ml concentration of high MW HA had the greatest overall bacteriostatic effect, inhibiting the growth of all 6 bacterial strains tested. Among the bacterial strains studied, HA was found to have no bactericidal effects, regardless of concentration or molecular weight.

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that HA in the MW range of 1,300 kD may prove beneficial in minimizing bacterial contamination of surgical wounds when used in guided tissue regeneration surgery.


A large outbreak of Salmonella Saintpaul associated with raw jalapeño peppers, serrano peppers, and possibly tomatoes was reported in the United States in 2008. During the outbreak, two clusters of illness investigated among restaurant patrons were significantly associated with eating salsa. Experiments were performed to determine the survival and growth characteristics of Salmonella in salsa and related major ingredients, i.e., tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, and cilantro. Intact and chopped vegetables and different formulations of salsas were inoculated with a five-strain mixture of Salmonella and then stored at 4, 12, and 21 degrees C for up to 7 days. Salmonella populations were monitored during storage. Salmonella did not grow, but survived on intact tomatoes and jalapeño peppers, whereas significant growth at 12 and 21 degrees C was observed on intact cilantro. In general, growth of Salmonella occurred in all chopped vegetables when stored at 12 and 21 degrees C, with chopped jalapeño peppers being the most supportive of Salmonella growth. Regardless of differences in salsa formulation, no growth of Salmonella (initial inoculation ca. 3 log CFU/g) was observed in salsa held at 4 degrees C; however, rapid or gradual decreases in Salmonella populations were only observed in formulations that contained both fresh garlic and lime juice. Salmonella grew at 12 and 21 degrees C in salsas, except for those formulations that contained both fresh garlic and lime juice, in which salmonellae were rapidly or gradually inactivated, depending on salsa formulation. These results highlight the importance of preharvest pathogen contamination control of fresh produce and proper formulation and storage of salsa.


Within an established seabird colony the choice of where to settle can be influenced by site fidelity, natal philopatry or public information. To form a new colony individuals must choose before philopatry has been established or public information is available. We explored the intra- colony dynamics of common murres Uria aalge, specifically the formation and persistence of new subcolonies within a larger colony complex composed of numerous contiguous groups. We investi- gated the effects of (1) environmental conditions that influence the prey base, (2) predator distur- bance, and (3) population size change on colonization patterns and modeled the persistence of recently colonized murre subcolonies as a function of their starting population sizes. Marine environ- mental conditions in the 2 winters previous to the breeding season had more influence than demo- graphic and predator factors on whether subcolony colonizations occurred. The number of murres in the first year of colonization helped to explain the persistence of the subcolony, regardless of the amount of available nesting habitat within a subcolony area. Subcolonies that started out larger were more likely to persist. The results support the theory that the proportion of the entire murre popula- tion that attempts to breed in a given year is higher in years with favorable environmental conditions prior to the breeding season. Increased knowledge of murre colony formation may help scientists and managers understand the potential for recolonizations after colony extirpations or better predict the success of management actions such as social attraction or habitat modification.


This paper examined the adoption and acceptance of ICT innovation in Nigerian Public Universities. This study was conducted at the university of Jos Plateau state, Nigeria as a pilot study. One hundred questionnaires were administered and collected, containing 23 UTAUT survey questions and 9 demographic statements totaling 32 questions. In addition, 57% of the respondents were male and 43% were female. The paper attempt to answer the questions (1) What are the barriers to using ICT by an academician? . Question Q32 which talk about barriers to use of ICT, have the majority of the respondents (42%) which said that their problem is time; on the other hand (31%) said that the problem is training. Others respondents (4%) said that cost are their problem, another group (20%) said that they need compensation and the final group (3%) said that, it does not fit their programme. This paper use regression analysis to verify the UTAUT Model. We use the regression analysis to check the influence of the independent variables (PE, EE, SI & FC) on the dependent variable (BI) which is the behavioral intention to accept and use ICT by the university academicians, using SPSS version 17. The major determining factors are the correlation (r), the variance (R2 ) and the p-value of significance. Figures 1-7, discusses the influence of the independent variables (PE, EE, SI & FC) on the dependent variable (BI) with their respective interpretations. From table 8, the best result is obtained by the influence of the four independent variables on the dependent variable BI. This is followed by the influence of the three independent variables ( PE, EE & FC) on BI. Finally the two independent variables that influence the BI most are the PE &EE. The findings have important implications for teaching and learning. PE and EE are found to be the most significant predictors of academic staff acceptance of ICT and use. Therefore the university academicians need to be aware of the possibility of using ICT for teaching and learning without too much difficulty. They need to learn the basics of the technologies that will be most useful in their teaching and learning. Recommendations made were that, all employed teachers in Federal, State and Private universities should undertake mandatory training and retraining on ICT programme.


The academic performance of the Filipino students as of now is at stake especially in the major subjects such as mathematics and science. Since Grade 9 is one among the low performer in high school in the said subject matter based on the results in the National Achievement Test last few years, they are used as respondents to be focused in the study as a ground in searching a solution for the problem in education. The researcher used two groups: control group and experimental group. Comparison of the performance of the groups were measured based on the scores obtained from the pretest and posttest. The methods, principles and objectives of lessons are parallel except the instructional materials used. The 10 weeks study involved the gathering of data using the pretest, posttest, observations, and interviews. The result shows that there is a significant difference =<0.001 in pretest – posttest. Consequently, the experimental group who used the Virtual Laboratory Instructions has higher performance across the topics tested. Thus, the influence of virtual laboratory remarkably stresses its positive contribution to science education. The results and recommendations of the study are intended to improve the skills of students and uplift the achievements in the field of science.


From the Publisher:
There is a great deal of change happening in the technology being used for local networks. As Web intranets have driven bandwidth needs through the ceiling, inexpensive Ethernet NICs and switches have come into the market. As a result, many network professionals are interested in evaluating these new technologies for implementation consideration. If you are looking for advice from experts who can help you realistically compare and decide how to use the options before you. Often, books on this subject are too varied in subject matter, attempting to cover to many subjects in the book. This book addresses the topic of Ethernet Networking from a planning perspective to a bit analysis of the Ethernet packets. It explains in detail information in the new network administrator would find it necessary to know.


Formulating a robust and efficient production optimization and forecasting tool for unconventional oil and gas assets is a challenging task. This is mainly due to the high number of wells involved and the limited predictability of detailed individual well performance until there is sufficient production history.
 Current methods to optimize and forecast production rely on type curves and surface network models, neither of which account for changes in the wellbore condition. Generally, these activities are conducted separately and are rarely fully integrated.
 A solution that can automatically match real-time performance of an unconventional asset well is presented in this paper. The implemented solution replicates performance of unconventional wells using transient models. Input parameters for all models honour a given range of realistic operational conditions and are automatically regressed to match the historical performance. At a specified interval, historical production is updated in the models and regression is performed automatically to keep the multiple models updated.
 This solution can address challenges related to historical well allocation given by lack of remote sensing, by coupling the well model to a network model. The use of automated regression tools to identify outliers reduces the requirement for routine engineering review, thus making forecasting for thousands of wells manageable. Having accurate well models coupled with a network model allows automatic allocation matching at separator levels and hence a calibrated network model leading to production optimization and better field management. Consequently, a robust optimization and forecasting tool for unconventional assets is achieved.


This study was to determine if the importance assigned by health educators (judges) to components of corporate health promotion programs is the same as or different from program components most frequently offered by corporations for employees. This involved establishing a list of program components that judges felt were important for wellness programs and comparing this list with programs actually existing in polled corporations. A literature review was used to establish an initial list of program components. Thirty-eight judges returned questionnaires incorporating the list. A Spearman's rho and scattergram were used to test for correlations between judges' opinions and corporate practices. The report concludes that no correlation exists but that there is agreement among the judges polled that corporations should promote employee wellness programs.


Abstract Gravity–capillary waves propagating along extended liquid cylinders in the inviscid limit are studied in the context of experiments on sessile cylinders deposited upon superhydrophobic substrates, with tunable geometries. In Part 1 of this work (Pham et al., J. Fluid Mech., vol. 891, 2020, A5), we characterised the non-dispersive regime of the varicose waves. In this second part, we characterise the varicose waves in the dispersive regime, as well as the sinuous and the sloshing modes. We numerically study the shape function of the system (the counterpart of the standard $\tanh$ function of the dispersion relation of a gravity–capillary wave in a rectangular channel) and the cutoff frequencies of the sloshing modes, and show how they depend on the geometry of the substrate. A reduced-gravity effect is evidenced and the transition between a capillary- and a gravity-dominated regime is expressed in terms of an effective Bond number and an effective surface tension. Semiquantitative agreement is found between the theoretical computations and the experiments. As a consequence of these results, resorting to the inviscid section-averaged Saint-Venant equations, we propose a Korteweg–de Vries equation with adapted coefficients that governs the propagation of localised nonlinear waves. We relate these results to the propagation of depression solitons observed in our experimental set-up and along Leidenfrost cylinders levitating above a hot substrate (Perrard et al., Phys. Rev. E, vol. 92, 2015, 011002(R)). We extend our derivation of the Korteweg–de Vries equation to solitary-like waves propagating along Plateau borders in soap films, evidenced by Argentina et al. (J. Fluid. Mech., vol. 765, 2015, pp. 1–16).


The investigation of the impact of shipping emissions on the atmosphere is important, since shipping represents a major element of international transportation. This study deals with emission data from ships which also include their atmospheric transformation The properties of aerosol particles from emission during plume processing in the atmosphere to a scale of ship corridors are characterised. The quantity of additional particles in the marine boundary layer over shipping corridors is determined. The change of the optical properties and the additional amount of potential cloud condensation nuclei in the marine boundary layer are subject to investigation.
Within the QUANTIFY SHIPS field study in June 2007, particle emissions from ship engines and their atmospheric transformation were studied. Airborne measurements of a single ship plume were combined with simultaneous measurements of fresh exhaust onboard the source vessel. Additionally, aged aerosol in highly frequented sea lanes was measured. Onboard the research aircraft DLR Falcon 20E, a set of instruments was operated for the in situ measurements of secondary volatile aerosol, primary combustion particles, marine background aerosol, trace gases and meteorological parameters.
The changing properties of fresh to aged aerosol were characterised using measurements in the dispersing plume and in highly frequented ship corridors. An effective emission index of (2,3 ± 0,9)1016 (kg fuel)-1 for total aerosol, (1,8 ± 1,1)1016 (kg fuel)-1 for non-volatile Aitkenmode aerosol and (0,25 ± 0,21)1016 (kg fuel)-1 for accumulation mode aerosol was found.
The additional contribution of particles from shipping to the aerosol budget of the polluted marine boundary layer was determined to be 54% to 68% for total aerosol, 68% to 85% for non-volatile Aitken mode aerosol and 38% to 54% for accumulation mode aerosol.
It is determined, that the aerosol optical depth of shipping is 26% of the aerosol optical depth of the clean marine boundary layer under dry conditions, 35% at a relative humidity of 90% and 36% at a relative humidity of 95%.
The potential cloud condensation nuclei fraction of total emissions from shipping was estimated to be 2.5% at a supersaturation of 0.1% and 39% at a supersaturation of 0.3%.
The results of this study were presented during the European Aerosol Conference (EAC) 2009.


When photons are sent through a fiber as part of a quantum communication protocol, the error that is most difficult to correct is photon loss. Here we propose and analyze a two-to-four qubit encoding scheme, which can recover the loss of one qubit in the transmission. This device acts as a repeater, when it is placed in series to cover a distance larger than the attenuation length of the fiber, and it acts as an optical quantum memory, when it is inserted in a fiber loop. We call this dual-purpose device a "quantum transponder."


With the fast deploying and development of information sharing technologies, the Internet has been extensively applied by modern enterprises to pursue a good, efficient communication with their customers and thus research activities supported by global companies zealously motivate onto the Internet which can be used to advertise their products and provide relevant information within design and manufacturing process. Modern enterprises of manufacturing utilize the benefits of global resource from Internet to make the solution which could cut cycle time and reduce costs during the procedure of product design, development and manufacturing. Due to positive development of graphic technologies and 3D modelling tools, Internet is used as an infrastructure to develop new system and explore potential market by modern enterprises on account of the power of sharing text, value and data but also supports dynamic media such as delivering of high quality and interactive 3D graphical content. In the meantime, much work has been done by companies and numerous modelling systems have been developed to build three-dimensional detailed solid which focuses on designing useful parts and shapes using CAD/CAM technologies. Regarding to the increasing quantities of 3D models and requirement of designers based on design reuse in practice, the investigations suggest the achievement of shape data retrieval is viable and a characteristic 3D model search tool is welcome. This paper presents the framework of web-based system and technologies applied in design and the related barrier to implementation is identified. A method for collection 3D data is described and inevitable recursive analysis and relevant equation are induced.


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is reported to be caused by traumatic events that are outside the range of usual human experience including military combat, violent personal assault, being kidnapped or taken hostage and terrorist attacks. Reports indicate that at least 1 out of 6 Iraq War veterans are exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Virtual Reality exposure therapy has been previously used for PTSD with reports of positive outcomes. This paper will present a brief description of the USC/ICT Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan PTSD therapy application and present clinical outcome data from active duty patients treated at the Naval Medical Center-San Diego (NMCSD) as of October 2009. Initial outcomes from the first twenty patients to complete treatment indicate that 16 no longer meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD at post treatment. Research and clinical tests using the Virtual Iraq/Afghanistan software are also currently underway at Weill Cornell Medical College, Emory University, Fort Lewis and WRAMC along with 20 other test sites.


This study examines the relationship of time to cochlear implant patient performance and the effect of device design on patient performance over time. Data were collected for patients who were implanted with Nucleus 22, Smith & Nephew Richards Ineraid, or 3M/Vienna cochlear implants as part of the Veterans Administration study on cochlear implants. Patients were administered a comprehensive audiological test battery prior to implantation, at stimulation, and 3 months, 1 year, and 2 years poststimulation. Results show that patient performance improved over the course of the study, with performance levels with each multichannel implant being similar at the study end point. The Nucleus device produced maximum performance sooner than the Ineraid device did, and performance of the single-channel 3M was consistently below that of the multichannel devices.


One of the common failure modes of thin cylindrical shell subjected external pressure is buckling. The buckling pressure of these shell structures are dominantly affected by the geometrical imperfections present in the cylindrical shell which are very difficult to alleviate during manufacturing process. In this work, only three types of geometrical imperfection patterns are considered namely (a) eigen affine mode imperfection pattern, (b) inward half lobe axisymmetric imperfection pattern extended throughout the height of the cylindrical shell and (c) local geometrical imperfection patterns such as inward dimple with varying wave lengths located at the mid-height of the cylindrical shell. ANSYS FE non-linear buckling analysis including both material and geometrical non-linearities is used to determine the critical buckling pressure. From the analysis it is found that when the maximum amplitude of imperfections is 1t, the eigen affine imperfection pattern gives out the lowest critical buckling pressure when compared to the other imperfection patterns considered. When the amplitude of imperfections is above 1t, the inner half lobe axisymmetric imperfection pattern gives out the lowest critical buckling pressure when compared to the other imperfection patterns considered. © 2009 JSM. All rights reserved


This article is part of the Special Issue "Parliaments in the Middle East and North Africa: A Struggle for Relevance." Tunisia's parliament has undergone a remarkable internal transformation process since 2011, from a formerly mostly irrelevant institution to an influential locus of policy-making. This successful progress notwithstanding, the parliament's transformation to a democratic assembly has not been fully concluded yet. A main challenge is that the legislature still shows a number of characteristics of an "authoritarian parliament": besides a lack of staff and financial resources, the continuous dominance of personal kinship over institutionalized power structures remains particularly problematic.While private networks of individual decision-makers were perceived as crucial for Tunisia's stability during the turbulent post-revolution years, they concomitantly contain the risk for a resurrection of former authoritarian structures. The article thus traces the Tunisian parliament's major transformation steps from a former irrelevant legislature to a consolidated, influential assembly, and points out the still existing challenges.


Carotenoids are naturally occurring fat-soluble pigments found principally in bacteria and plants including edible plants. Because of their extensively conjugated carbon-carbon double bond system, carotenoids are potent antioxidants.

The most abundant carotenoid and best singlet oxygen quencher found in red tomatoes is lycopene. Using lycopene as a potential dietary chemopreventive agent, a four-arm randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind phase II clinical intervention trial was carried out at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In the investigation, it was found that lycopene supplements at either 30 mg/d or 60 mg/d lycopene for 21 d were well tolerated by healthy men enrolled to the two lycopene intervention arms. Similar increases in serum levels of lycopene were observed in both treatment groups during this intervention study. However, stronger effects were observed for the two antioxidant biomarkers (urinary 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine and 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2) with the high dose intervention arm compared with its placebo control.

Even though significant progress has been made in analyzing carotenoids, there is a continuing demand for more efficient and more sensitive analytical methods. Technologies that have seldom been applied to carotenoid analysis including ion mobility spectrometry and photoionization mass spectrometry were explored for their potential utility in this area.

The use of LC-IM-tandem mass spectrometry helped confirm that in-source isomerization of lycopene, β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin occurred during positive ion electrospray. This in-source isomerization was found to be temperature dependent. After separation using IM, the cis and all-trans isomers of lycopene, β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin were shown by MS-MS with CID to produce unique fragmentation patterns that could be used to distinguish them.

Atmospheric pressure photoionization is a mass spectrometric ionization technique that is new in carotenoid analysis. In the study, we first reported that carotenoids can be ionized during negative ion APPI. It was also suggested that dopants were essential for the formation of positive carotenoid ions as well as negative ions during APPI. Among the dopants evaluated, methyl-tert-butyl ether was found to be particularly effective towards the photoionization of carotenoids during negative ion APPI. As for positive ion APPI, the dopants anisole and chlorobenzene were the most effective.


Abstract Objective: In this study we report the development of a simple, rapid and efficient capillary electrophoresis method for the simultaneous determination of atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin and simvastin. Methods: Capillary zone electrophoresis proved to be efficient for the simultaneous separation of atorvastatin and fluvastatin, but could not resolve the determination of lovastatin and simvastatin. The simultaneous separation of all four statins was achieved by applying a micellar electrokinetic chromatographic method, after transforming lovastatin and simvastatin in β-hydroxyl acid forms through alkaline hydrolysis. The optimum electrophoretic conditions and analytical parameters were investigated and the analytical performances of the method were verified with regard to linearity, precision, accuracy, LOD and LOQ. Results: The optimum electrophoretic separation conditions were: 25 mM sodium tetraborate with 25 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate buffer electrolyte at pH 9.5, applied voltage + 25 kV, separation temperature 25 °C, injection pressure/time 50 mbar/1 minutes, UV detection at 230 nm. Using the optimized electrophoretic conditions we succeeded in the simultaneous determination of the four statins in approximately 3 minutes, the order of migration being: atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin. The proposed method has been applied to the determination of the analytes in pharmaceutical tablets formulations. Conclusions: The capillary electrophoretic method developed in the present work proved to be suitable for the routine analysis of statins and can be adopted as quality control protocol in pharmaceutical analysis.


We microscopically investigate chiral magnetic orders in the absence and presence of magnetic field in a chiral magnetic crystal CrNb3S6 by means of low-temperature Lorenz transmission electron microscopy and small-angle electron scattering method. Based on detailed analyses in both real and reciprocal space, we directly observe that chiral soliton lattice (CSL) emerges in small magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the chiral crystallographic axis. CSL develops from chiral helimagnetic structure (CHM) with increasing the spatial period from 48 nm toward sample size in rising magnetic fields. Chiral magnetic orders of CSL and CHM do not exhibit any structural dislocation, indicating their high stability and robustness. This is because chiral magnetic orders are macroscopically induced by monoaxial Dzyaloshinkii-Moriya exchange interaction that is allowed in hexagonal CrNb3S6 crystals belonging to noncentrosymmetric chiral space group. Present observations of periodic, nonlinear, tunable, and robust CSL will be the first step to explore fascinating functions of CSL for magnetic and spintronic device applications using chiral magnets.


Cylindropuntia is a genus of cylindrical cacti found in northern Mexico. This study aimed to describe the fruit and seed morphometry, characterize the germination process, as well as determine the seed phytochemicals in three species of the genus Cylindropuntia from the state of Chihuahua in México: C. imbricata, C. spinosior, and C. leptocaulis. To measure the morphometric parameters, 20 fruits and 20 seeds from each fruit were used for each specie. For the characterization of the germination process, two scarification treatments were applied, and the germination was allowed for 42 days. Different parameters of the germination process were calculated as the germination percentage, mean germination time, germination speed, and mean germination speed. The concentration of reducing sugars, total phenols, tannins, flavonoids, antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP), and protein content were determined from seeds under basal conditions. Results revealed significant differences (p ? 0.05) for morphometric parameters in the fruit and seed of the three species examined, showing C. imbricata the highest values in both tissues, followed by those obtained for C. spinosior and C. leptocaulis, respectively. The germination percentage was higher in C. leptocaulis (13.3%), although achieved in a longer mean germination time (27.7 days), facing C. spinosior that presented the lowest values for the germination percentage (3.3%), mean germination time (4.6 days), and germination speed index (0.024 days). Seeds from C. leptocaulis showed the highest values for reducing sugar content (31.82 mg glucose·g?1 of dry weight) and the antioxidant activity determined by DPPH (26.37 mg CE·g?1of dry weight), whereas C. spinosior seeds showed the highest ones for the total phenols content (3.08 mg GAE·g?1 of dry weight) and the antioxidant activity determined by FRAP (11.7 mmol TE·g?1 dry weight). Besides, C. imbricata showed the highest value in the protein content (5.6 mg protein·g?1). This study provides the first data on seed phytochemicals and information on the germination process of these three species of Cylindropuntia, showing differences among them in the diverse parameters measured.


This study examined the relationship between chronic pain and two dimensions of perfectionism that have been linked to poor health outcomes, self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism, in a community sample. Participants completed questionnaires assessing chronic pain, as defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain, as well as two subscales of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale via an online survey. Separate independent samples t-tests revealed that chronic pain was, on average, associated with significantly higher levels of both self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism. This relationship was especially strong in regard to the latter dimension. These findings suggest that individuals in the community who experience chronic pain differ from those who do not in terms of maintaining higher levels of self-oriented and socially-prescribed perfectionism. Degree Type Thesis Degree Name Master of Science in Clinical Psychology (MSCP) Committee Chair Jennifer R. Antick, PhD


In this letter, an improved selection cooperation (ISC) scheme for decode-and-forward relaying is proposed based on selection cooperation (SC) strategy. Assuming that channels suffer from independent non-identical Rayleigh fading, we derive closed-form expression for the exact symbol error rate (SER) of ISC scheme. The result holds for arbitrary number of relays and refers to both M-PSK and M-QAM modulations. Simulations are carried out to validate the theoretical analysis. Results show that the proposed ISC scheme outperforms SC for all the cases we investigate.


During recent years considerable attention has been paid to the post machining finishing operations such as shot peening, laser shock peening, low plasticity burnishing and deep cold rolling. Though shot peening is traditionally being used for most of the components, deep cold rolling offers several advantages over it such as generation of a deeper 'case' of compressive residual stresses and a work hardened microstructure as well as a relatively smoother surface finish. On account of its high productivity, it also saves more on production costs than other conventional processes such as superfinishing, honing and grinding. Deep cold rolling is a process in which a ball or roller is pressed against the surface of a work piece by applying a static pressure. It is a very simple and effective method for improvement in surface finish and can be carried out using existing machines, such as lathe. In the present work, an in-house DCR set-up has been developed. The objective of this work is to develop an economic and efficient DCR set-up to improve the mechanical properties of many of the engineering components which works under heavy and dynamic loads. The set-up is designed and developed in such a way that, it not only deep rolls the surface of the component but also provides support to the component. This is particularly beneficial when the diameter of the component to be rolled is very less. Moreover it is found that the cost of custom made DCR set-up has reduced to 10 - 25% when compared with the commercially available DCR set-up.


An electronic performance support system (EPSS) is a computer-based environment that facilitates skill and knowledge acquisition within a particular domain of study. As well as its pedagogic utility, an EPSS can also be used to augment and enhance an individual's performance beyond those limits that are set by innate natural ability. EPSS techniques can also be embedded within computer-based learning systems in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness by which students can acquire skills and knowledge. Our ongoing research programme in this area has been investigating the potential utility of our EPSS methodology within a range of different domains. This current paper describes an application of the technique within the domain of 'quantitative research methods' as taught within a psychology degree course. As well as describing the design and implementation of the system, this paper also outlines and discusses the results of an evaluative study of the prototype EPSS tool that has been created.


Six-legged robots, also referred to as hexapods, can have very complex locomotion patterns and provide the means of moving on terrain where wheeled robots might fail. This thesis demonstrates the approach of using Model-Based Design to create control of such a hexapod. The project comprises the whole range from choosing of hardware, creating CAD models, development in MATLAB/Simulink and code generation. By having a computer model of the robot, development of locomotion patterns can be done in a virtual environment before tested on the hardware. Leg movement is implemented as algorithms to determine leg movement order, swing trajectories, body height alteration and balancing. Feedback from the environment is implemented as a internal measurement unit that measures body angles using sensor fusion. The thesis has resulted in successful creation of a hexapod platform for locomotion development through Model-Based Design. Both a virtual hexapod in SimMechanics and a hardware hexapod is created and code generation to the hardware from the development environment is fully supported. Results include successful implementation of hexapod movement and the walking algorithm has the ability to walk on a flat surface, rotate and alter the body height. Implementation also contains a successful balancing mode for the hexapod whereas it is able to keep the main body level while the floor angle is altered.


Current electronic voting protocol require a centralized system to control the whole procedure from ballot inputs to result outputs and election monitoring. Meanwhile, blockchain technology provide a decentralized system which open across the whole network of untrusted participants. Applying blockchain technology into electronic voting protocol through a proper architecture can instil characteristic such as data confidentiality, data integrity and data authenticity. In this paper, we going to discuss a proposed method on how to leverage the advantages from blockchain into electronic voting protocol. This blockchain-based electronic voting protocol promise to provide a secure electronic election process given the proposed system works. We implement a protocol using blockchain to turn election protocol into an automated control system without relying any single point of entity. Lastly, we discuss the characteristics of our proposed blockchain-based electronic voting protocol in this paper. However, there are also emerging challenges and limitations awaiting to overcome. This paper gives a comprehensive overview of our proposed protocol.