Abstract Globalization has had an immense impact on traditional political concepts such as sovereignty. This paper argues that the modern nation-state is no longer the principal form of political rule across the globe and that legal pluralism could be on the rise. In South America, as globalization diminishes the size and burdens of traditional nation-states, legal pluralism seems to reappear in order to fill normative spaces that are left empty. This seems to happen, thanks to the new shape of a minimal state, as a result of a new world order. Legal pluralism can also represent a cluster of alternatives against the normative destruction that globalization has effected in the world's legal cultures. Conflict between institutions in a worldwide trade of cultural values suggests the victory of the stronger. A sort of social Darwinism has been in operation and the weakest partners in today's globalized world are facing the implementation of new forms of conflict compositions. Because there is a weak and minimal state present in most of South America today, traditional sources of power have been the objects of popular distrust. As one can easily find out in Brazil's forensic and non-forensic realms, many different legal experiences have been unfolding. Several patterns of non-traditional jurisdiction, alternative dispute resolution in the field of labor law, neighborhood councils to prevent crime, lay arbitrators, etc. suggest there is something new in the air. The declining authority of the state has implications for the ordinary citizen, who wants options to solve the problems under which he or she labors. The paper reveals an unexpected relationship between globalization and legal pluralism in South America, presenting a case study in Brazil. It shows that instead of creating a world shaped by sameness, globalization can be responsible for the empowerment of local institutions. So there is a chance of rescue from an imminent tragedy of cultural loss that we are all about to face in less developed countries.


Home intravenous therapy is a standard form of treatment for many recipients of healthcare in the United States. The use of intravascular devices can, however, be complicated by a variety of local or systemic infectious complications. A study was undertaken to address the role that patient noncompliance with infusion protocols plays in the complication rate of those receiving infusion therapy in the home. This article examines the compliance of patients involved in the self-administration of home infusion products, their compliance with the protocols set forth by the home infusion provider, and the resultant infection rates. Home infusion patients at risk for infection should be prospectively monitored in a quality management program. On the basis of our findings, this program should be expanded to include surveillance for patient adherence to standards of treatment. Education and reinforcement of protocols, combined with a sound monitoring program, will decrease infection rates and improve patient outcomes.


In almost every industry, firms launch digital transformation (DT) initiatives. However, not all of these initiatives have been successful. Despite its growing popularity in both research and industry, the term DT is used in a fragmented manner and ambiguity exists concerning the organizational characteristics of DT initiatives. While both academic and industry-oriented outlets have published a wide array of articles on DT initiatives, they are not comprehensive and have been published to satisfy different purposes. We argue that building a taxonomy of DT initiatives based on empirical cases will yield multiple benefits, such as providing a uniform categorization scheme for DT case studies that can be used to structure future field research. For this purpose, we follow an adapted version of the common taxonomy construction methodology. As a first step toward this goal, we have conducted case studies of DT initiatives of companies from different industries. We then applied the taxonomy building methodology to derive a working taxonomy of DT initiatives based on comprehensive, in-depth analysis. With our research, we aim to investigate a variety of DT initiatives. The resulting taxonomy can be used by practitioners to assess and compare their own DT initiatives and by researchers as a conceptual basis for future research projects on DT. robustness, comprehensiveness, extendibility and explanatory value.


Organic residues from grocery, restaurant, cafeteria, greens and domestic markets (browns back) should no longer be disposed in technical and sanitary landfills. These residues have a good richness in nutrients that can be recovered. On the other hand, some of these residues contain a very high proportion of liquid loaded with mineral and organic substances in solution and in suspended form, which constitutes a high risk of environmental pollution. Several technology transfer projects overseen by the author of this paper consisted of composting very liquid-rich residues such as fruits and vegetables from grocery stores. The objective of these projects was to recover all the liquids extracted from these residues without affecting the composting process and without compromising the quality of the composts produced. Solutions to this problem are based on measurements, analysis and calculations for the formulation of effective mixtures.


Propolis, a natural product collected by honeybee from exudates of plants, is widely used in traditional medicine due to its known therapeutic properties. In this paper, the quality of ethanol extracts of propolis (EEP) from different regions of Antioquia (Colombia) is compared through the determination of flavonoids and total phenolic compounds content, and thein vitro antioxidant activity, using three assay systems: radical scavenging activity by means of the DPPH• (1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS•+ (2,2'-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid cation) assays, and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Determinations of total phenolic compounds content are found between 22.11 ± 0.54 and 75.22 ± 1.35 mg GAE/g of EEP, and total content of flavonoids between 4.75 ± 0.01 y 34.50 ± 0.07 mg QE/g of EEP. The radical scavenging activity varies from 33.9 ± 9.7 to 324.6 ± 15.0, and from 455.5 ± 7.8 to 1091 ± 17.3 μmol TE/g of EEP (TEAC) in the DPPH and ABTS system, respectively. In the FRAP method, the activity is found between 40.9 ± 13.3 and 338.4 ± 22.4 μmol AAE/g of EEP (AEAC). Results show a positive linear correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. The antioxidant activity of some propolis indicates its potential role as nutraceutical.


This paper presents a long short-term memory (LSTM)-based ensemble learning approach for time-dependent reliability analysis. An LSTM network is first adopted to learn system dynamics for a specific setting with a fixed realization of time-independent random variables and stochastic processes. By randomly sampling the time-independent random variables, multiple LSTM networks can be trained and leveraged with the Gaussian process (GP) regression to construct a global surrogate model for the time-dependent limit state function. In detail, a set of augmented data is first generated by the LSTM networks and then utilized for GP modeling to estimate system responses under time-dependent uncertainties. With the GP models, the time-dependent system reliability can be approximated directly by sampling-based methods such as the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). Three case studies are introduced to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed approach.


A synthesis method was developed capable of obtaining pristine gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using the lowest possible amount of auxiliary compounds. An aqueous solution of HAuCl4.3H2O was irradiated, in the absence of any stabilizing species, with the 532-nm radiation of a Nd:YAG laser. Spherical shaped AuNPs were produce by this method with sizes below 10 nm. The crystalline structures were stable for up to 28 days. A mechanism for this process is also proposed based on the initial cleavage of water molecules by the laser irradiation followed by the formation of hydrogen peroxide that reduces the gold species Au. The resulting species of these reactions (H2 and O2) were identified by mass spectrometry. This new method suggests that laser irradiation is a feasible alternative to produce ready-to-use AuNPs, for drug delivery, diagnostics or bio-imaging.


In the past, productivity and effectiveness were not issues in hospitals. Modifying past attitudes and devising motivational forces appropriate to the new situations we face will not be easy. Patient expectations may not coincide with the results of these modifications. This article examines trends in hospital labor productivity, identifies constraints which the hospital environment imposes on the search for improvements in labor productivity and speculates on the potential effects of this search on patients and communities.


OBJECTIVE
To assess depression recognition, barriers to accessing help from health professionals and potential sources of help for depression among rural adolescents.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING
Two rural secondary schools in south-east South Australia.

PARTICIPANTS
Seventy-four secondary school students aged 14 to 16 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)
Depression recognition was measured using a depression vignette. Helpfulness of professionals, barriers to seeking help and help-seeking behaviours for depression were assessed by self-report questionnaire.

RESULTS
Depression was identified in the vignette by 73% (n = 54) of participants. Participants indicated that it would be more helpful for the vignette character to see other health professionals (98.6%, 95% CI, 92.0-100.0%) than a doctor (82.4%, 72.1-89.6%). Barriers to seeking help from doctors and other health professionals were categorised into logistical and personal barriers. Participants agreed more strongly to personal (mean = 2.86) than logistical barriers (mean = 2.67, P < 0.05) for seeing a doctor. Boys and girls responded differently overall, and to personal barriers to seeing an other health professional. Sources of help were divided into three categories: formal, informal and external. Informal sources of help (mean = 4.02) were identified as more helpful than both formal (mean = 3.66) and external sources (mean = 3.72, P < 0.001). Gender differences were observed within and between the three sources of help categories.

CONCLUSIONS
Recognising symptoms of depression was demonstrated in this study. Helpfulness of professionals, barriers to seeking help and potential sources of help for depression were identified. More work is required for improving depression literacy and providing effective interventions specifically for rural adolescents.


Effective implementation of actual tasks on social economic development of Russia is certainly determined by significant increasing of health level of laboring people. Death rate of economically active population is an appropriate and highly informative indicator of both population health and society social well-being. Main trend in implementation of program of poverty elimination and in enhancement of national competitive capacity is effective carrying out of public program? Health of laboring population in Russia: 2004 - 2015? with highest possible employers' resource support.


The connectivity between habitat patches or between populations indicates the potential for transfer of genetic material between habitat patches or populations. In plants, genetic material is usually transferred by dispersal of seeds or pollen. A sufficient level of connectivity is essential for regional species survival. Firstly, because it prevents inbreeding and loss of genetic material and adaptability. Secondly, because it is required for re-colonization of habitat patches in which populations have gone extinct, colonization of new habitat patches, migration, and range expansion.
Connectivity is dependent on the dispersal ability of an organism and the spatial configuration of habitat patches or populations of that organism. Habitat fragmentation affects the spatial distribution of habitat patches or populations, and thus connectivity. The effect of habitat fragmentation on connectivity is relatively well-studied in animals, but not in plants; partly, because dispersal of plants is extremely difficult to assess. This study quantifies the effect of habitat fragmentation on connectivity for four plant species with different dispersal abilities (Centaurea jacea, Cirsium dissectum, Hypochaeris radicata and Succisa pratensis). The species' main dispersal mechanism is seed dispersal by wind. Their habitat consists of nutrient-poor, wet to moist grasslands.
The dispersal ability of the plant species was simulated with a mechanistic seed dispersal model. Simulation allows assessment of long-distance dispersal under different conditions, while measurement of long-distance dispersal is extremely difficult. Tests of simulation results against field data show that the model is accurate and gives more realistic results than previously developed models. Similarities and differences between the model and previous models are discussed. Simulations show that wind dispersal distances are not as long as commonly assumed; long-distance dispersal over >100 m is extremely rare in the current small populations, even for species with plumed seeds.
The spatial habitat configuration in an 11x10 km study area in The Netherlands was mapped for a time series spanning the 20th century. The time series shows the rate and extent of habitat fragmentation. During the 20th century, more than 99.9 % of the grassland habitat was lost and minimum distances between the grassland patches increased from several meters to several hundreds of meters. The largest part of these effects occurred already during the first half of the 20th century.
Habitat fragmentation greatly reduced the connectivity of the studied grassland habitat during the 20th century. This was mainly caused by the increasing distances between the habitat patches, but also by the decreasing sizes of the habitat patches and populations. Smaller populations produce fewer seeds and thus the probability that some of these seeds disperse over the long distances that separate habitat patches becomes even lower. Paradoxically, habitat fragmentation reduced the connectivity for plant species with plumed seeds with high long-distance dispersal ability more than for plant species with seeds with lower long-distance dispersal ability. This is because before fragmentation the connectivity was higher for the former plant species, but now populations of all species have become isolated regarding seed dispersal by wind. Suggestions for improvement of connectivity between habitat patches and between populations are given


The objectives of this study were to compare the clinical effects and glycemia induced by medetomidine and xylazine in healthy cats and to demonstrate the reversal of the effects by atipamezole. A prospective blinded randomized experimental trial was used with twenty-four healthy adult cats. The animals were allocated into 4 groups of 6 animals each to receive by intramuscular route (IM): Group M (medetomidine - 50 μg/ kg); Group X (xylazine - 1.1 mg/kg); Group MA (medetomidine - 50 μg/kg and 60 minutes later atipamezole - 0.2 mg/kg); Group XA (xylazine - 1.1 mg/kg and 60 minutes later atipamezole - 0.2 mg/kg). Rectal temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, systolic arterial pressure, electrocardiogram, intraocular pressure, degree of sedation were measured at 0, 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes, and the serum glucose concentration was measured at 0, 60, 120 and 180 minutes. The xylazine at a dose of 1.1 mg/kg and medetomidine at a dose of 50 μg/kg (both intramuscular) induced hypothermia, decreased heart rate, respiration and blood pressure and also 1st-degree A-V block in some cats, but it did not interfere significantly with intraocular pressure. The medetomidine induced a more pronounced hypothermia, sedation and hyperglycemia than xylazine in cats. The atipamezole was an excellent antagonist of the effects induced by medetomidine and xylazine in cats. Also, it did not interfere with the intraocular pressure values.


The rapid growth of tourism in Hungary and the labour migration to abroad resulted in a serious labour shortage in the industry. One of the sources of skilled and motivated workforce is the system of tourism vocational education and training, which can just slowly react to market changes due to its inertness. In addition, the highly centralized system provides low-level of freedom to respond to regional differences, as the National Core Curriculum and its related regulatory documents are compulsory for the institutions and maintainers implementing them.
This paper seeks for possible solutions to the prevailing challenges by a comparative examination of the tourism VET system in Finland and Hungary. As a result the author propounds possible alternatives to develop secondary tourism education.


We carried out a 5-year follow-up study of suicidal behavior among depressed patients who earlier had determinations of cerebrospinal fluid levels of monoamine metabolites. Patients who reattempted suicide during the follow-up had significantly lower cerebrospinal fluid levels of both the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and the dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid. The findings were most striking among melancholic patients. These follow-up results suggest that reduced central turnover of serotonin and dopamine may be associated with further suicidal behavior among depressed patients who have previously attempted suicide.


The aim of this thesis was the exploration of shame. Four experiments are among the very first to empirically test the validity of Tomkins' shame concept. The relation between internalized shame and memories of early interactions was examined, as well as Tomkins' concept of shame as an innate, momentary emotion. The influence of internalized shame as a personality trait on momentary shame emotion was also explored. Thirdly, how momentarily activated shame influences perception of self and others was studied. Finally, consequences of conscious versus unconscious shame activation was compared. Data from two survey studies implied that memories of ignoring and abandoning behaviors from mother are those that correlate most strongly with internalized shame. In the four experimental studies, internalized shame did not seem to influence momentary shame emotion, although two experiments implied different reactions to the praise that constituted part of the shame activating sequence depending on degree of internalized shame. Two experiments in part supported Tomkins' notion of shame as a consequence of impeded positive emotion. However, participants with a high degree of internalized shame reacted with shame emotion to the praise feedback intended to elicit positive emotion. Therefore Tomkins' concept of shame was successfully tested only with participants with a low degree of internalized shame. With this group, Tomkins' conceptualization, however, received support. In addition these two experiments implied different processes for consciously versus unconsciously activated shame, since consequences for social perception and self-image following shame were reversed depending on whether the activating circumstances were conscious or not. The two subsequent experiments did not support the conclusions from the previous two, but gave some implications that shame activation, its consequences, and the effects of conscious versus unconscious activation are highly dependent on personal characteristics and social context. Taken together, data give some support to the validity of Tomkins' shame conceptualization, but implies that it might be far too general, and that shame emotion might be primarily socially dependent.


Instant messaging among mobile phone allows rapid transmission of short messages that permit any person to share ideas, opinions and other appropriate information. In this paper, the proposed control system is based on the 3G technology, which allows sending a text message with the control command from a remote area to the desired location. The mathematical model and the design PID speed controller for the brushless DC motor drive system are presented. A Hybrid Bacterial Foraging Particle Swarm Optimisation (HBF–PSO) algorithm is employed in order to obtain the controller parameters assuring enhanced step response performance criterion. Simulation results of the designed controllers are compared with that of classical evolutionary algorithm controllers whose parameters are adjusted using Practical Swarm Optimisation (PSO) and Bacterial Foraging Optimisation (BFO). Experimental and simulations results signify the superiority of the proposed technique over the PSO and BFO methods and allow the proposed system a greater degree of freedom to control and monitor the electric drive system.


ImageNet is a large-scale database of object classes with millions of images. Unfortunately only a small fraction of them is manually annotated with bounding-boxes. This prevents useful developments, such as learning reliable object detectors for thousands of classes. In this paper we propose to automatically populate ImageNet with many more bounding-boxes, by leveraging existing manual annotations. The key idea is to localize objects of a target class for which annotations are not available, by transferring knowledge from related source classes with available annotations. We distinguish two kinds of source classes: ancestors and siblings. Each source provides knowledge about the plausible location, appearance and context of the target objects, which induces a probability distribution over windows in images of the target class. We learn to combine these distributions so as to maximize the location accuracy of the most probable window. Finally, we employ the combined distribution in a procedure to jointly localize objects in all images of the target class. Through experiments on 0.5 million images from 219 classes we show that our technique (i) annotates a wide range of classes with bounding-boxes; (ii) effectively exploits the hierarchical structure of ImageNet, since all sources and types of knowledge we propose contribute to the results; (iii) scales efficiently.


Treatment of 2,3,5-ri-O-benzyl-β-D-ribofuranosylethyne (2) with a large excess of paraformaldehyde and potassium hydroxide in ethanol gave 3-(2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-β-D-ribofuranosyl)prop-2-yn-1-ol (5) in 70% yield. Oxidation of (5) with chromic oxide (Jones reagent) afforded the carboxylic acid (4)(75%), esterification of which with diazomethane gave the known ester (7). Similar reactions and correlations have been carried out in the α-series.Reaction of the Grignard reagent (14) of 3-(tetrahydropyran-2-yloxy)propyne with 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-D-ribofuranose (19) followed by ring closure and removal of the tetrahydropyranyl ether group gave the alcohol (5) in 52% overall yield.Careful oxidation of (5) gave the corresponding aldehyde (3) which yielded the known pyrazole (1)(72%) on treatment with hydrazine. When 1,2-dideoxy-4,5:7,8-di-O-isopropylidene-D-manno-oct-1-yn-3-ulofuranose (22) was treated with hydrazine, 3(5)-(1,2:4,5-di-O-isopropylidene-D-manno-pentahydroxypentyl)pyrazole (23) was isolated in 93% yield.


We study the late-time evolution of the Universe where dark energy (DE) is presented by a barotropic fluid on top of cold dark matter (CDM) . We also take into account the radiation content of the Universe. Here by the late stage of the evolution we refer to the epoch where CDM is already clustered into inhomogeneously distributed discrete structures (galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies). Under this condition the mechanical approach is an adequate tool to study the Universe deep inside the cell of uniformity. More precisely, we study scalar perturbations of the FLRW metric due to inhomogeneities of CDM as well as fluctuations of radiation and DE. For an arbitrary equation of state for DE we obtain a system of equations for the scalar perturbations within the mechanical approach. First, in the case of a constant DE equation of state parameter w, we demonstrate that our method singles out the cosmological constant as the only viable dark energy candidate. Then, we apply our approach to variable equation of state parameters in the form of three different linear parametrizations of w, e.g., the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder perfect fluid model. We conclude that all these models are incompatible with the theory of scalar perturbations in the late Universe.


It is well demonstrated in the literature that cocaine use has been well linked to the formation of various forms of acute and chronic cardiovascular problems including but not limited to acute coronary syndromes. However, cocaine has been commonly associated with coronary vasospasms and less commonly with myocardial infarction and the formation of atrial thrombus. Through this case presentation, we illustrate the findings of a 35-year-old gentleman with history of cocaine use presenting with acute coronary syndrome and complicated by thrombus formation. Furthermore, through this report, we illustrate in a patient with no other risk factors and at a young age, how chronic cocaine use or even a history of usage may result in complications even weeks after its consumption.


A mathematical model capable of determining suitable operating conditions to produce TiO2 nanoparticles with specified average diameter is presented. The model consists of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations. Particle dynamics processes under consideration include particle formation by nucleation, growth by both condensation and coagulation as well as the loss of the product particles due to deposition on the reactor wall. The aim of this model is to predict the effect of inlet temperature and reactants concentrations on the average diameter of TiO2 nanoparticle products taking into account particle deposition on the wall due to thermophoresis. Strong non-linear coupling between energy and mass balance equations makes numerical integration of the stiff ordinary differential equations (ODE) a problem. The simulation results obtained provide useful information about the influence of the operational conditions (initial temperature and TiCl4 concentration) and particle wall deposition rate on the average nanoparticle diameter at reasonable computational time. The performance of the present monodisperse model was validated by comparing its predicted results with previously published numerical data. Good correlations between the predicted and numerical results were achieved.


Money laundering is the clandestine movement of cash from one region to another without notifying it to the government authorities with the purpose of evading taxes, disguising ill-gotten incomes, and converting illegally earned money into legitimate assets. Money laundering involves three steps: the placement of cash into a foreign bank, performing transactions as layers of cash, and then capitalizing the withdrawn cash into legitimate investments. The failure of financial institutions, including banks, in detecting the laundered cash is a major reason for money laundering.  On  the  other  hand,  round  tripping,  cash  structuring,  bank controlling, N.G.O. funding, and foreign exchange agencies' illegal money transferring activities are some of the methods of performing money laundering, which in the long run cause disastrous effects to the economy, especially on the private sector and emerging markets. Money laundering also invites social costs, which expedite the elevation of other serious crimes such as drug trafficking, smuggling, arms trafficking, and the financing of terrorism. Through effective legislation and implementation of anti- money laundering laws, as well as cooperating with international anti-money laundering agencies, the illicit crime of money laundering can be prevented at both regional and global levels.


While most private-owned enterprises (POEs) in China are engaged in subcontracting or do not own the product brands, the number of POEs with their own brands has increased rapidly, while some are even globally recognized. Since these POEs face high opportunity costs for own branding, given their dominant presence in the global subcontracting community, their own branding actions require contextual understanding of doing business in China. This study starts with the notion of how these POEs shift from subcontracting to own branding, and explores their respective own branding paths. We interviewed seven Chinese POEs in the fashion industry in Zhejiang Province: Babei, Baili, Sunrise, Aokang, Youngor, Kangnai, and JNBY. The case studies suggest how these firms built their brands in the global market, and why their trajectories differentiated in the course of own branding. Our study configures three types of own brand models for POEs: the competitive subcontracting, the toehold, and the home-linked organic models. POEs can continue subcontracting in their core business, while implementing own branding through diversification. Alternatively, they can segregate markets, pursuing own branding in one group of countries, while subcontracting elsewhere. In addition, they may establish wholly owned enterprises, and introduce their brands in a way that preserves their home market advantages. We identify two stimuli for Chinese POEs' global branding choices. Global branding strengthens domestic position as it becomes a signal for reputation. As the online platform reduces costs for global branding, and becomes popular, POEs are more likely to pursue global branding to become more competitive in the domestic market. Many POEs also continue to collaborate with the previous customers through strategic inter-dependence, such as distribution channel exchange.


The aim of this study is to analyze the feasibility of building private residential space on top of existing publicly-owned inner-suburban Toronto community centres and library buildings through a public-private partnership.

The numerous benefits and feasibility of these 'vertical expansions' to the community and government is validated by the potential ability to increase local access to services, compatibility with wider government planning objectives such as smart growth, and by the capacity to kickstart a virtuous economic cycle to increase quality of place. The appeal to private developers is demonstrated through considerations of the market, money, production, people and environment.

Pilot sites where vertical expansions could best succeed are identified based on facility type, 'city 3' suburban status, potential marketability, and basic physical & structural considerations. 16 pilot sites were identified, which were further refined based on property value to identify the pilot sites with the highest potential for success.

A model for a reductionist and mutually equitable P3 arrangement for both the development and post-construction management was proposed and informed by the literature review of past P3 case studies.


INTRODUCTION I. THE ECONOMIC COSTS AND BENEFITS OF SECURITIES CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITS A. The Burdens on the Federal Judiciary B. The Costs to Individual Companies C. The Costs to the United States Capital Markets and Economy D. Analysis of the Purported Benefits of Securities Class-Action Lawsuits II. ARBITRATION OF SECURITIES LAW CLAIMS A. The Development of the Law B. The Integrity of Securities Arbitration C. Key Benefits of Arbitration D. Criticisms of Arbitration III. ARBITRATION OF SECURITIES CLASS-ACTION CLAIMS AFTER THE MOTION-TO-DISMISS STAGE IV. ALLOWING NEW ISSUERS TO ELECT ARBITRATION AT THE TIME OF THE INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION In the aftermath of the global economic collapse of 2008, policymakers from around the world have been considering regulations designed to reduce the risk of future economic turmoil. Their focus has been on powers and procedures designed to reduce systemic risk and to help ensure financial stability in the world markets. (1) Although policymakers should explore prophylactic measures and use counterfactual reasoning, they should not confine their analysis to preventing the next crisis. Regulating against the risk of unpredictable disaster--a so-called "black swan" (2)--is imprecise and, if done improperly, can hinder economic growth. Along these lines, policymakers must be cautious to avoid a regulatory overreaction to the current economic problems. (3) In an effort to promote long-term economic prosperity, policymakers should avoid the temptation to overregulate in the near term. Policymakers also must alleviate unnecessary burdens to economic growth, both in the United States and abroad. But a monetary response, such as a stimulus spending package, provides only short-term economic relief and could cause a host of problems not discussed in this Article. To promote long-term and sustainable growth, policymakers must consider regulatory measures designed to facilitate capital formation and encourage investment, while providing appropriate safeguards against fraud to investors. Of course, the legal and regulatory systems may pose the greatest impediment to economic growth. (4) The United States has its own unique hindrance to economic growth: private securities class-action litigation. Along with Canada and Australia, the United States is one of three G-20 nations to permit securities class actions. (5) Although originally envisioned as a means to provide relief to aggrieved investors, securities class-action litigation has become an inefficient and grossly incomplete means of redress for investors, a costly encumbrance to businesses, and a threat to capital formation in the United States. To be sure, access to a properly administered class-action framework provides aggrieved plaintiffs with a valuable legal recourse. Despite the drawbacks, class actions--as opposed to individual actions--are necessary to avoid the collective action problem that exists when investors accrue claims against publicly held corporations. In the absence of a class action, an individual shareholder might have little incentive to litigate an alleged securities law violation because he would be forced to bear all the costs of litigation while receiving only a fraction of the potential benefits paid to all shareholders. Class-action litigation avoids the collective action problem by allowing a class of shareholders, following the efforts of lead plaintiffs and plaintiffs' attorneys, to share the costs and benefits of a unified action proportionately. The problem with the existing class-action framework in the United States is the overuse and abuse of the litigation system. The magnitude of securities class-action litigation in the United States is astonishing. Nearly half of all class-action lawsuits in 2004 involved allegations of federal securities law violations. …


The rupture disasters occurred in more than 110 shafts in Eastern China in recent 23 years, and that caused a significant economic loss. The stress evolution in shaft is investigated by R/S method based on in-situ measured additional strain caused by ground drainage in present study. The results indicated that the R/S method predicts the variation of additional strain well. The Hurst index for additional strain lies in the range of 0.5~1 and the sequence is random walk with positive skew. In other hand, the positive skew of stress in shaft is less evident at the depth of 120 m. The research proposes guidance for prevention similar shaft rupture disaster is provided for similar shaft.


Introduction Acetazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, remains the only FDA approved pharmaceutical prophylaxis for acute mountain sickness (AMS) though its effectiveness after rapid transport in real world conditions is less clear. Methods Over 2 years, 248 healthy adults traveled by airplane from sea level (SL) to the South Pole (ALT, ~3200m) and 226 participants provided Lake Louise Symptom Scores (LLSS) on a daily basis for 1 week; vital signs, blood samples, and urine samples were collected at SL and at ALT. Acetazolamide was available to any participant desiring prophylaxis. Comparisons were made between the acetazolamide with AMS (ACZ/AMS) (n = 42), acetazolamide without AMS (ACZ/No AMS)(n = 49), no acetazolamide with AMS (No ACZ/AMS) (n = 56), and the no acetazolamide without AMS (No ACZ/No AMS) (n = 79) groups. Statistical analysis included Chi-squared and one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc tests. Significance was p≤0.05. Results No significant differences were found for between-group characteristics or incidence of AMS between ACZ and No ACZ groups. ACZ/AMS reported greater LLSS, BMI, and red cell distribution width. ACZ/No AMS had the highest oxygen saturation (O2Sat) at ALT. No significant differences were found in serum electrolyte concentrations or PFT results. Discussion Acetazolamide during rapid ascent provided no apparent protection from AMS based on LLSS. However, it is unclear if this lack of effect was directly associated with the drug or if perhaps there was some selection bias with individuals taking ACZ more likely to have symptoms or if there may have been more of perceptual phenomenon related to a constellation of side effects.


The exploration of contaminated sites represents a demanding task. Geophysical methods are predestined to deliver a high resolved spatial distribution of underground parameters. A promising strategy is to combine several geophysical methods. The development of qualified equipment and interpretation techniques should take place under undisturbed conditions. A large scale hydraulic experiment was carried out in February 1998 at VEGAS-facility (Versuchseinrichtung zur Grundwasser- und Altlastensanierung) at University of Stuttgart. One main part of the research doing there at VEGAS consists in the investigation of movement and spreading of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL' s) in the vadose zone. The objective was to monitor a hydraulic experiment using geophysical methods (complex conductivity tomography and cross-borehole radar tomography) and nongeophysical procedures (TDR, fluid level measurements, fluid pressure measurement).


Fourteen suspected hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal carcinoma cases with microsatellite unstable (microsatellite instability-high; MSI-H) tumors but no germ-line MSH2, MSH6, or MLH1 mutations were examined for hypermethylation of CpG sites in the critical promoter region of MLH1. The methylation patterns were determined using methylationspecific PCR and by sequence analysis of sodium bisulfite-treated genomic DNA. In one case, DNA hypermethylation of one allele was detected in DNA isolated from blood. In the MSI-H tumor from this case, the unmethylated MLH1 allele was eliminated by loss of heterozygosity, and the methylated allele was retained. This biallelic inactivation resulted in loss of expression of MLH1 in the tumor as confirmed by immunohistochemistry. These results suggest a novel mode of germ-line inactivation of a cancer susceptibility gene.


A 6-way out-of-order issue custom VLSI implementation of the Alpha architecture runs at >1 GHz. The 13.1/spl times/14.7 mm/sup 2/ die contains 15.2 M transistors and utilizes 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS which includes 7 aluminum interconnect layers and flip-chip packaging. The design of this chip is highly leveraged from an existing 0.35 /spl mu/m, 6-way issue, 6 metal layer implementation with wire-bond packaging technology. The chip contains two on-chip cache arrays; a 64 kB 2-way set associative instruction cache and 64 kB 2-way set associative dual-ported data cache.


The variation found across languages with respect to verb movement has been extensively discussed in the generative literature. Much of this discussion has been driven by the insight that verb movement seems to be related somehow to richness in inflectional morphology (agreement). This correlation, often referred to as the Rich Agreement Hypothesis (RAH), has been expressed in different ways. According to the strong version of RAH (cf. e.g. Rohrbacher 1999, Koeneman and Zeijlstra 2014), the relation between syntax and morphology is biconditional: A language has verb movement iff it has rich agreement. A weaker version of the RAH (cf. e.g. Bobaljik 2006, Bobaljik and Thrainsson 1998), suggests that rich agreement morphology entails the occurrence of verb movement but nothing can be said about languages with impoverished agreement morphology. Finally, certain authors argue that the RAH cannot be maintained at all, not even in its weaker form (e.g. Alexiadou and Fanselow 2002, Anderson 2002, Jonas 2002). This paper re-evaluates the debate on the relation between verb movement and agreement morphology on the basis of new evidence from the history of English, and it shows that the RAH cannot capture the diachronic developments in English in a satisfactory way.


The essence strategic marketing for profitable value delivery process in present day hyper competitive economy is found to incontrovertible. This research investigates the impact of celebrity endorsement on strategic brand management. It established a correlate between the success of celebrity endorsement of brands and the power of the brand in the market place. The paper found out that the power of a brand in the market place springs forth a cumulative function of the effectiveness of the whole endorsement process reflecting high profile brand market acceptability convergent on identifiable brand scape characterised by both the cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes of the endorser. This convergence reflect nor only consistency in repeat preference but also centrality and high intensity, in the promotion on brand value, nearing brand addiction. This paper however recommends a global brand management team for marketing organizations adopting multiple endorsements.


Data from the Personal Software Process (PSP) courses indicate that the PSP improves the quality of the developed programs. However, since the programs (exercises of the course) are in the same application domain, the improvement could be due to programming repetition. In this research we try to eliminate this threat to validity in order to confirm that the quality improvement is due to the PSP. In a previous study we designed and performed a controlled experiment with software engineering undergraduate students at the Universidad de la Republica. The students performed the same exercises of the PSP course but without applying the PSP techniques. Here we present a replication of this experiment. The results indicate that the PSP and not programming repetition is the most plausible cause of the important software quality improvements.


Effective water use planning relies on the ability to first quantify the distribution of water within a system and then evaluate alternative strategies to identify the outcome that offers the greatest improvement of accountability and conservation. Since the outcome is typically dependent on complex systems that are difficult to predict, even the most sophisticated planners may conclude that the unknowns are insurmountable, and end up making decisions based on intuition. Dynamic system models provide a decision framework that can be used to evaluate strategies ranging from an intuitive to more rational, quantitative approach.


The compressive experimental produce is assigned to measure the compressive force, moving compressive length and their time consumption for the purpose of obtaining the quality and economical solid fuel briquette of rice and soybean straw. The two compressive processes are proposed in the analysis of the first compressive process. The results show that for the rice straw, the second compressive process is favorable for fabricating solid fuel briquette. While the hard soybean stems are intend to become the soft stems due to the presentation of broken stems under the high compresses in the first compressive process. The experiment reveals that the soft and hard stems of biomass feedstock shows the different properties which should be paid vital attention when design the pelletisers.


Background: The normal decline in systolic blood pressure during recovery phase of treadmill exercise dose not occur in most patients with coronary artery disease, in others recovery values systolic blood pressure may even exceed the peak exercise value.Objectives: Treadmill exercise test parameters indicating the presence and extent of coronary artery disease have traditionally included such as exercise duration, blood pressure and ST-segment response to exercise. The three –minute systolic blood pressure ratio is another important indicator of presence and significance of coronary artery disease is useful and obtainable measure that can be applied in all patients who are undergoing stress testing for evaluation of suspected ischemic heart disease and this increase the sensitivity of exercise test .Type of the study: A prospective study.Methods: Between April 2011 and April 2012 ,all patients underwent treadmill exercise test , echocardiography coronary angiography in Ibn Ab-bitar Hospital Cardiac Surgery. Clinical and procedural data for patients undergoing treadmill and coronary angiography were prospectively collected and entered into database specially designed for the present study.To calculate mean systolic blood pressure ratio for each , Measurement of blood pressure in the 3rd minute of recovery time and divided by peak systolic blood pressure during exercise test ,after excluding patients . Coronary angiography was done for all patients who under went treadmill exercise test and multiple views were taken accordingly to clarify the lesion and critical lesion defined as >50% stenosis in LMS and >70% stenosis in LAD,LCX and RCA.Results: We studied 100 patients In the period from April 2011 to April 2012, 78(78%) male and 22 (22%) a female with a mean age 55.49±7.60 who undergone treadmill exercise testing and coronary angiography to assess the chest pain, 32 patient had normal blood pressure 68 had hypertension and 24 patients had normal coronary angiography and 76 patients had abnormal coronary angiography. SBP/3 minute recovery blood pressure ratio was significantly higher in patient with coronary artery disease than patient without coronary artery disease (mean ±SD O.92±0.09 VS 0.81 SBP/3 minute recovery blood pressure ratio was significantly related with the severity of coronary artery disease its higher in three vessels than one vessel disease 0.95±0.10 vs0. 91 ±0.01 p-value 0.0001.Conclusions: post exercise blood pressure response in patients with coronary artery diseaseis higher than patients with normal coronary artery .post exercise blood pressure is related to the severity of coronary artery disease.


A new material, MgAl-LDHs/Al2O3 fiber (abbreviated as MAF), was prepared using the classical hydrothermal method with a modification in this paper. The influence of different pH values on the structure and catalytic performance of catalysts for propane dehydrogenation was studied. The as-prepared materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, SAED, N2-physisorption, NH3-TPD, and TPO. Experimental results show that the pH value of the solution directly controlled the vertical growth of LDH sheets on Al2O3 fibers. After the suitable growth of LDH sheets, the dispersed state of active metal Pt was improved and the sizes were stabilized successfully at high temperature. Due to the effect of these LDH sheets, the BET surface and the regular pore system of the PtSn/15MAF catalysts were enhanced compared with the PtSn/CPMA catalysts. Finally, the propane dehydrogenation performance indicates that, when the pH was equal to 8.5, the catalysts (PtSn/15MAF) showed the highest conversion, selectivity and stability.


We compute the general expression of the one-loop vertex correction in an arbitrary plane-wave background field for the case of two on-shell external electrons and an off-shell external photon. The properties of the vertex corrections under gauge transformations of the plane-wave background field and of the radiation field are studied. Concerning the divergences of the vertex correction, the infrared one is cured by assigning a finite mass to the photon, whereas the ultraviolet one is shown to be renormalized exactly as in vacuum. Finally, the corresponding expression of the vertex correction within the locally constant crossed field approximation is also derived and the high-field asymptotic is shown to scale according to the Ritus-Narozhny conjecture, although the terms featuring the leading-order dependence on the field are found not to contribute to physical transition amplitudes.


The synthesis of water-soluble quantum dots (QDs) in aqueous phase has received much attention recently. To date various kinds of QDs such as CdTe, CdSe, CdTe/CdS and CdSe/ZnS have been synthesized by aqueous methods. However, generally poor-quality QDs (photoluminescent quantum yield (PLQY) lower than 30%) are obtained via this method and the 3-mercaptopropionic acid stabilizer is notorious for its toxicity and awful odor. Here we introduce a novel thiol ligand, N-acetyl-l-cysteine, as an ideal stabilizer that is successfully employed to synthesize high-quality CdTe/CdS/ZnS QDs via a simple aqueous phase. The core/shell/shell structures of the CdTe/CdS/ZnS QDs were verified by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. These QDs not only possess a high PLQY but also have excellent photostability and favorable biocompatibility, which is vital for many biological applications. This type of water-dispersed QD is a promising candidate for fluorescent probes in biological and medical fields.


Background:
 Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) is etiologically related to the occurrence of gout and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Dietary recommendations for SUA reduction are largely based on observational studies. In an ancillary study to the DASH-Sodium feeding study conducted at the Johns Hopkins clinical center (N=103), we examined the effects of the DASH diet and of sodium intake on SUA levels.

 Methods:
 The DASH-Sodium trial was a randomized, crossover feeding trial among adults without cardiovascular disease not using antihypertensive medications. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control diet or the DASH diet; during both diets, participants were fed each of three sodium levels in random order in 4-week periods separated by 5-day breaks. Body weight was held constant. The three sodium levels were: low (50 mmol/d), medium (100 mmol/d), and high (150 mmol/d). SUA was measured at baseline and after each feeding period, allowing for comparisons by diet (DASH vs control) and sodium levels.

 Results:
 Trial participants were 55% women and 76% black; mean age was 52 years (SD, 10) and mean SUA was 5.0 mg/dL (SD, 1.3). Mean baseline alcohol intake was low at 1.3 g/day. Compared with the control diet, the DASH diet reduced SUA by -0.35 mg/dL (95% CI: -0.65, -0.05; P = 0.02). Among participants with a baseline SUA ≥6 and <7 mg/dL (N=16), the mean effect was -0.8 mg/dL; among participants (N=8) with a baseline SUA ≥7 mg/dL the mean effect was -1.3 mg/dL (P-interaction = 0.04) (Figure). Compared to the low sodium intake, the medium sodium intake lowered SUA by -0.3 mg/dL (95% CI: -0.5, -0.2; P < 0.001) and the high sodium intake lowered SUA by -0.4 mg/dL (95% CI: -0.6, -0.3; P < 0.001). The effects of sodium intake on SUA were greater among participants with high blood pressure at baseline (P-interaction = 0.02, see Figure).

 Conclusions:
 This study demonstrates that the DASH diet lowers SUA, that this effect differs by sodium level, and that SUA reduction is greatest in those with hyperuricemia at baseline.


The first person‐to‐person transmission of the 2019 novel coronavirus in Italy on 21 February 2020 led to an infection chain that represents one of the largest known COVID‐19 outbreaks outside Asia. In northern Italy in particular, we rapidly experienced a critical care crisis due to a shortage of intensive care beds, as we expected according to data reported in China. Based on our experience of managing this surge, we produced this review to support other healthcare services in preparedness and training of hospitals during the current coronavirus outbreak. We had a dedicated task force that identified a response plan, which included: (1) establishment of dedicated, cohorted intensive care units for COVID‐19–positive patients; (2) design of appropriate procedures for pre‐triage, diagnosis and isolation of suspected and confirmed cases; and (3) training of all staff to work in the dedicated intensive care unit, in personal protective equipment usage and patient management. Hospital multidisciplinary and departmental collaboration was needed to work on all principles of surge capacity, including: space definition; supplies provision; staff recruitment; and ad hoc training. Dedicated protocols were applied where full isolation of spaces, staff and patients was implemented. Opening the unit and the whole hospital emergency process required the multidisciplinary, multi‐level involvement of healthcare providers and hospital managers all working towards a common goal: patient care and hospital safety. Hospitals should be prepared to face severe disruptions to their routine and it is very likely that protocols and procedures might require re‐discussion and updating on a daily basis.


A46 ARCH 501A Designing With Words Writing is a creative act; a means by which designers cra the story of their vision with words. Writing is also a critical act; a way of thinking that refines and sculpts our ideas, sharpening and shaping the depth and clarity of the design process. And yet, writing at times can feel treacherous. We can frequently feel as if we are stumbling over words or even swimming up a river against them. How do we transform words into another way of designing? How do we put writing at our own command? This course will help to develop writing skills as another tool for the designer by addressing how we use writing in our own field, particularly in portfolios, presentations and research. We will practice techniques to make writing meaningful as a critical and creative practice so that words are not barriers or add-ons, but a colorful complement to creative vision. This course will be geared toward supporting students at all writing levels, particularly students writing in English as a second language. Credit 3 units. Arch: GARW, HT


The new generation of ADAS systems based on cooperation between vehicles can offer serious perspectives to the road security. The inter-vehicle cooperation is made possible thanks to the revolution in the wireless mobile ad hoc network. In this paper, we will develop a system that will minimize the imprecision of the GPS used to car tracking, based on the data given by the GPS which means the coordinates and speed in addition to the use of the vision data that will be collected from the loading system in the vehicle (camera and processor). Localization information can be exchanged between the vehicles through a wireless communication device. The creation of the system must adopt the Monte Carlo Method or what we call a particle filter for the treatment of the GPS data and vision data. An experimental study of this system is performed on our fleet of experimental communicating vehicles.


John Fox Jr. published this great romantic novel of the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky and Virginia in 1908, and the book quickly became one of America's favorites. It has all the elements of a good romance -- a superior but natural heroine, a hero who is an agent of progress and enlightenment, a group of supposedly benighted mountaineers to be drawn into the flow of mainstream American culture, a generous dose of social and class struggle, and a setting among the misty coves and cliffs of the blue Cumberlands.Reprinted with a foreword by John Ed Pearce, "The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" has all the excitement and poignance that caught and held readers' interest when the book first appeared.


Industrial discharges resulting in contaminated groundwater is a global environmental problem. For such contaminated groundwater cases, bioremediation is a cost efficient and environmentally friendly approach. The determination and quantification of these pollutants has gained great importance and researchers are currently seeking to develop labor extensive, accurate and reliable methods for evaluating their biodegradation process. In this study, a HPLC method was developed and optimized for the quantification of 11 industrial pollutants studied as two different mixtures: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o, m/p-xylene, indane, indene, and naphthalene (mixture A) and benzene, monochlorobenzene, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, and 1,4-dichlorobenzene (mixture B). The method uses two different detectors: fluorescence detection and diode array. The fluorescence detector was used for mixture A to achieve lower quantification limits and to quantify separately o-xylene and indene due to them showing similar wavelength behaviors. The limit of detection was found to be between 2 and 70 μg L-1 for mixture A and 290 μg L-1 for mixture B. The limit of quantitation was between 6 and 210 μg L-1 for mixture A and 980 μg L-1 for mixture B, respectively. The novel part of this study is that aqueous samples can be directly measured with one-step sample preparation and it comes with other advantages such as low volumes of sampling from batch bottles and also avoidance of high cost, relative to other analytical techniques. Therefore, this analytical method aims to facilitate the quantification of various aromatic hydrocarbons in laboratory batch samples and can be used as a routine monitoring tool for biological degradation processes of these 11 prevalent contaminants.


In water supply installations, noise pollution often occurs. As a basic component of a system, a flush valve may frequently be a source of noise and vibration generated by cavitation or high turbulence levels. During valve closing or valve opening, cavitation can be a problem. In order to decrease the noise and to improve the design inside a flush valve, some experimental and numerical analyses were carried out in our laboratories. These analyses led to some improvements in the design of the valves. Cavitation occurrence was more specifically addressed, using numerical simulation, and this is the main aim of the present paper. Particularly, the use of a simplified numerical test without cavitation model is compared with one using a cavitation model. In order to define potential cavitation risks in some parts of the valve, it has been found that a simplified approach provides an accurate overview. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of cavitating flow of water through an industrial flush valve were performed using the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with a near-wall turbulence model. The flow was assumed turbulent, incompressible and steady. Two commercial CFD codes (Fluent 6.3 and Star CCM+ 3.04.009) were used to analyse the effects of inlet pressure as well as mesh size and mesh type on cavitation intensity in the flush valve.


Intertidal sediments usually contain a high amount of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and therefore represent environments with a potentially high emission of dimethylsulfide (DMS). However, knowledge on production and release of DMSP in intertidal sediments is limited. Here, we present data on the diel variation of the total DMS and DMSP content (DMS(P)total) and the DMS(P) concentration in the porewater (DMS(P)porewater) in an intertidal sediment covered by diatoms. Measurements were made at low tide during the day and during the night. Both DMS(P)total and DMS(P)porewater were constant and did not respond to the changing conditions of light and oxygen in the sediment, indicating that production and consumption processes were in equilibrium. Incuba- tion of diatoms under light/oxic, dark/oxic and dark/anoxic conditions suggested that no large amounts of DMSP were excreted under the different conditions applied. DMS(P)porewater was around 100 nM, which was about 3 orders of magnitude lower than DMS(P)total. Only after the onset of a heavy rainfall DMS(P)porewater in the sediment suddenly increased above 1 µM, which was explained by excretion of DMSP by DMSP-containing microorganisms in response to the osmotic shock. Both DMSP and DMS were rapidly degraded in sediment slurries, especially under oxic conditions, and degradation closely followed first order kinetics. We conclude that although intertidal sediments con- tain high total amounts of DMSP, a relatively low amount of DMSP is released by the microphyto- benthos under naturally fluctuating light and oxygen conditions, and once released, DMSP and DMS are rapidly degraded in the upper oxygenated sediment. This explains the low flux of DMS from intertidal sediments to the atmosphere reported in the literature.


We tested the hypothesis that area represents the primary explanation for the latitudinal diversity gradient using breeding terrestrial birds of North America, the northern Palearctic, Australia and the Afrotropics as our focal group. We tested two propositions inherent to the area hypothesis: (1) tropical biomes are larger than extra-tropical biomes, and (2) there is a significant species-area relationship for birds at the biome scale of resolution. Using a more realistic definition of biomes which incorporates the effects of both energy and water, we find no support for either proposition, leading us to conclude that the area per se does not explain terrestrial latitudinal diversity gradients.


This paper proposes a new application of fuzzy logic to variable step size least mean square (VS-LMS) adaptive beamforming algorithm in CDMA systems. The proposed algorithm adjusts the step size of the least mean square (LMS) by using the application of fuzzy logic in which the increase or decrease of step size depends on the fuzzy inference results of the mean square error (MSE). Computer simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has a better capacity of tracking compared with the conventional LMS algorithms and other variable step size LMS algorithms.


The majority of in vivo applications of near infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) monitoring use transcutaneous optode placement over the tissue of interest. Invasive application of optodes is occasionally described for monitoring tissue too deep for transcutaneous study, principally in animal models, but sometimes in humans. Invasive fibre-optic probes have been developed for a range of other spectroscopic applications including some in vivo. We describe the design and feasibility testing in a human subject of a vaginal probe to extend the scope of recently developed techniques for NIRS monitoring in urology. Design criteria included: use of optodes and cables with dimensions compatible with appropriate overall probe size; dual channel capability (for simultaneous monitoring of bladder wall and urethral sphincter); secure interoptode separation at correct distance for required penetration; ease of insertion, orientation and avoidance of movement artifact. Components were obtained that met design criteria and allowed use of the probe connected to a commercial NIRS instrument. Iterative development established optimal interoptode distance and secure positioning of a probe that could be housed for in vivo study within a disposable vaginal speculum. The feasibility of monitoring changes in chromophore concentration in the bladder detrusor and urethral sphincter using this intravaginal probe was evident from four separate studies during voiding and a series of physiologic events (cough, Valsalva and Kiegel contractions) in a healthy female volunteer. This small series suggests that reproducible data free of movement artifact, with consistent patterns and magnitudes of chromophore change can be obtained with the probe designed.


Simple Summary Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) remains a clinical challenge with a considerable impact on the effective treatment of cancers and quality of life during and after concluding chemotherapy. Given the limited understanding of CIPN, there are no options for the treatment and prevention of CIPN. Decades of research with the unsuccessful translation of preclinical findings to clinical studies argue for the requirement of human model systems. This review focuses on the translational potential of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in CIPN research. We provide an overview of the current studies and discuss important aspects to improve the translation of in vitro findings. We identified distinct effects on the neurite network and cell viability upon exposure to different classes of chemotherapy. Our study revealed considerable variability between donors and between neurons of the central and peripheral nervous system. Translational success may be improved by including multiple iPSC donors with known clinical data and selecting clinically relevant concentrations. Abstract Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common and potentially serious adverse effect of a wide range of chemotherapeutics. The lack of understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying CIPN limits the efficacy of chemotherapy and development of therapeutics for treatment and prevention of CIPN. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have become an important tool to generate the cell types associated with CIPN symptoms in cancer patients. We reviewed the literature for iPSC-derived models that assessed neurotoxicity among chemotherapeutics associated with CIPN. Furthermore, we discuss the gaps in our current knowledge and provide guidance for selecting clinically relevant concentrations of chemotherapy for in vitro studies. Studies in iPSC-derived neurons revealed differential sensitivity towards mechanistically diverse chemotherapeutics associated with CIPN. Additionally, the sensitivity to chemotherapy was determined by donor background and whether the neurons had a central or peripheral nervous system identity. We propose to utilize clinically relevant concentrations that reflect the free, unbound fraction of chemotherapeutics in plasma in future studies. In conclusion, iPSC-derived sensory neurons are a valuable model to assess CIPN; however, studies in Schwann cells and motor neurons are warranted. The inclusion of multiple iPSC donors and concentrations of chemotherapy known to be achievable in patients can potentially improve translational success.


The potential for nitric oxide (NO) metabolites (e.g. inorganic nitrite) to act as stable stores of "Transported Nitric Oxide" has excited huge interest due to the substantial potential therapeutic avenues. The prospect developing of a "silver bullet" that could target areas most in need of vasodilatation, by releasing NO in areas of hypoxia and ischaemia, could prove a massive advance in the treatment of vascular disease. In this thesis I examine the effects of nitrite infusion in both hypoxia and normoxia. I examine the effects both in health and heart failure, and investigate the potential roles of Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) and Xanthine Oxidase (XO) in mediating the reduction of nitrite. We found, and were the first to report in man, that intra-arterial infusions of nitrite had little effect upon the vasculature in high oxygen tension environments but led to significant vasodilatation during hypoxaemia. We found that patients suffering with Chronic Heart Failure responded differently to nitrite infusion to healthy controls, possibly as a result of differences in redox-stress. In healthy volunteers, at rest, neither NOS nor XO appeared to play a significant role in nitrite induced vasodilatation in normoxia and mild hypoxia. We found that vascular myoglobin contributes to the reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide and may play a role in prolonging the vasodilatation induced by nitrite infusion.


Background:UNAIDS aims for 90% of HIV-positive individuals to be diagnosed by 2020, but few attempts have been made in developing countries to estimate the fraction of the HIV-positive population that has been diagnosed. Methods:To estimate the rate of HIV diagnosis in South Africa, reported numbers of HIV tests performed in the South African public and private health sectors were aggregated, and estimates of HIV prevalence in individuals tested for HIV were combined. The data were integrated into a mathematical model of the South African HIV epidemic, which was additionally calibrated to estimates of the fraction of the population ever tested for HIV, as reported in three national household surveys. Results:The fraction of HIV-positive adults who were undiagnosed declined from more than 80% in the early 2000s to 23.7% [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 23.1–24.3] in 2012. The undiagnosed proportion in 2012 was substantially higher in men (31.9%, 95% CI 29.7–34.3) than in women (19.0%, 95% CI 17.9–19.9). Projected probabilities of experiencing disease progression (CD4+ cell count <350 cells/&mgr;l) without diagnosis are more than 50% for most HIV-positive adults over the age of 40. The fraction of HIV-positive adults who are undiagnosed is projected to decline to 8.9% by 2020 if current targets (10 million tests per annum) are met. Conclusion:South Africa has made significant progress in expanding access to HIV testing, and at current testing rates, the target of 90% of HIV-positive adults diagnosed by 2020 is likely to be reached. However, uptake is relatively low in men and older adults.


: A method was developed for active surgical treatment of phlegmons of the maxillofacial region with the application of intraarterial regional drug therapy. The suggested method was used in operations on 75 patients. The results were compared with those in 65 patients who were treated by the traditional method--opening of the phlegmon. In 95.7% of patients in whom the active method of surgical treatment was applied, the postoperative wound healed by first intention. The treatment produced the best clinical and aesthetic effect. The period of incapacity of the patients reduced almost by half.


Apocalypse should not be thought of as merely a synonym for chaos or disaster or cataclysmic upheaval; more properly we should think of disclosure, unveiling and revelation. The exact status of literary apocalyptic is the subject of some debate, and in an attempt to help clarify matters an introductory historical survey examines both the formal characteristics of apocalypse and the various critical positions taken in regard to the genre's social influence. Texts considered in the chapter include the Revelation of John and Thomas Pynchon's short story Entropy (1959); theoretical works by Frank Kermode, John Barth, and Jean Baudrillard (amongst others) are also discussed. Chapter One traces the development of William S. Burroughs's apocalyptic sensibility through readings of his correspondence with Allen Ginsberg and the novel The Naked Lunch (1959); the latter's apocalyptic title referring to the "frozen moment when everyone sees what is on the end of every fork". Chapter Two considers Burroughs's experiments with the "cut-ups" and their application in a number of texts, most notably Nova Express (1964). Chapter Three is concerned with Burroughs's work in the 1970s and 80s, and specifically his concept of Here to Go, a theory of mutability presented as a transcendental antidote to the threat of nuclear annihilation (the author's alleged misogyny and the views of radical US feminists are also taken into account). Chapters Four and Five explore the apocalyptic fiction of J. G. Ballard; topics covered include Ballard's concept of inner space, his debt to Surrealism, and the coded landscapes of his more experimental texts; in particular the "condensed novels" which comprise The Atrocity Exhibition (1970). A concluding chapter returns to the work of Thomas Pynchon, offering a reading of Gravity's Rainbow (1973) which allows us to consider his treatment of such related themes as Paranoia, Holocaust, Apocalypse, and finally, Counterforce.


The overall aim of this research program was to examine whether there are psychological consequences when teachers perform organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), both for the teachers themselves and for their students. OCB is discretionary workplace behaviour which, in the aggregate, enhances organisational effectiveness (Organ, 1988). Examples of OCB specific to the teaching profession may include organising extra-curricular activities, undertalung optional training, and spending time with students outside official teaching hours. Although the vast majority of OCB research has positioned OCB as a consequence of various individual differences and organisational practices (Chen, Hui, & Sego, 1998), the current thesis positions OCB as an antecedent of important outcomes both for the individual performing them as well as for their clientele. For the purpose of the current research, the psychological outcomes for teachers hypothesised to be affected by engaging in OCB were (1) job competence, (2) job satisfaction, and (3) personal accomplishment. For students, the psychological outcome hypothesised to be affected by teacher OCB was quality of school life. Chapter 1 focuses on defining OCB and discusses related conceptualisations of these forms of workplace behaviour. The extensive literature on the individual and organisational antecedents of OCB is reviewed, followed by a discussion of the smaller body of research concerning the consequences of OCB for organisations, their clients, and their employees. Several apparent gaps in the OCB literature that are addressed by the current research program are noted. Chapter 2 draws on several theories of work motivation as well as empirical evidence to support the proposition that OCB may impact upon the teacher outcomes of job competence, job satisfaction, and a sense of personal accomplishment. These include self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), job characteristics theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1980), achievement motivation theory (McClelland, 1976), and self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1986). Indirect empirical evidence for the argument that OCB affects teacher outcomes is also presented. An argument is also made that job competence is a more proximal outcome of engaging in OCB, whereas job satisfaction and personal accomplishment are more distal outcomes. In other words, job competence is said to mediate the impact of OCB on job satisfaction and personal accomplishment. Finally, given previous research showing that OCBs are often followed by social recognition from others (e.g., Schnake & Dumler, 1997), an argument is made for the moderating role of non-material rewards (namely, praise and recognition) in the OCB-teacher outcomes relationship. Chapter 2 ends with an overview of the current research program as a whole. Chapter 3 presents the results of Study 1, which involved the development of a teacher OCB measure that was used throughout the remainder of the research program. The handful of studies that have specifically investigated teacher OCB are reviewed. These studies suggest that OCB in the teaching profession may be somewhat different to OCB in other occupations and may require measures specific to the profession. A pool of items was derived from various existing OCB measures and piloted during focus group discussions with primary school teachers. The final 24- item OCB questionnaire was then distributed to 538 primary school teachers employed by the State Education Department in Queensland, Australia. Teacher OCB was expected to occur at three levels: (1) OCB directed towards one's students, (2) OCB directed towards one's coworkers, and (3) OCB directed towards the organisation (i.e., school) as a whole. Results of both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that teacher OCB could be categorised according to these three levels. However, three separate organisation-directed subscales emerged. Thus, the final teacher OCB measure contained five subscales: (1) student-centred behaviour, (2) coworker-centred behaviour, (3) consideration, (4) civic virtue, and (5) professional development. Chapter 4 presents the results of Study 2a which, using cross-sectional survey data from 538 primary school teachers, aimed to test whether the five forms of teacher OCB had positive main effects on teachers' levels of job competence, job satisfaction, and personal accomplishment. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided support for these main effects. Study 2a also tested for the mediating role of job competence in the relationship between OCB and job satisfaction, and OCB and persona1 accomplishment, and found partial support for this proposition. Finally, a mediated moderation model (Baron & Kenny, 1986) was tested, whereby praise and recognition was proposed to strengthen the positive relationship between OCB and job competence, which would, in turn, enhance job satisfaction and personal accomplishment. No support was found for the mediated moderation model. However, praise and recognition was found to have positive main effects on all three teacher outcomes. Chapter 5 describes Study Zb, which tested the hypotheses presented in Study 2a using a longitudinal design involving 222 teachers. Data for Study 2b was collected approximately 6 months after Study 2a data collection was complete. The focal hypotheses for this study proposed that Time 1 (TI) OCB would have a positive effect on Time 2 (T2) job competence which would, in turn, have a positive effect on teachers' job satisfaction and personal accomplishment at T2. Additionally, T1 praise and recognition was expected to strengthen the relationships between T1 OCB and T2 job competence, in the prediction of T2 job satisfaction and T2 personal accomplishment. In all analyses, the psychological outcome score from T1 was used as a control variable to assess any effects that T1 OCB had on T2 psychological outcomes over and above the T1 effects. Some evidence emerged for the longitudinal effects of OCB on job competence and job satisfaction. The mediated-moderated model involving praise and recognition was not confirmed. However, praise and recognition at T1 continued to have a positive effect on T2 psychological outcomes. Chapter 6 describes Study 3, which investigated the psychological consequences of teacher OCB on students' quality of school life (SQSL). SQSL was measured using five subscales from Ainley and Bourke (1992) which asked students to respond to questionnaire items concerning their general satisfaction, their satisfaction with student-teacher relations, their sense of achievement, opportunities for learning, and their levels of school-related psychological distress. This study involved 171 teachers and their students (N = 3018). Hierarchical linear modeling (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992) was used to assess the relationships between OCB and SQSL. Furthermore, given the findings that emerged in Studies 2a and 2b regarding the effect of OCB on teachers' sense of job competence, job competence was proposed to mediate the effects of OCB on student outcomes. Some support was found for the main effects of OCB on SQSL, as well as for the mediating effect of job competence in this relationship. It was also revealed that teachers' sense of job competence exerted strong main effects on SQSL. Finally, Study 4 is described in Chapter 7. Study 4 refined the measure of praise and recognition used in Studies 2a and 2b by specifying various sources of praise and recognition for teachers. This study aimed to test whether various sources of praise and recognition interacted differentially with OCB to predict teacher outcomes. Teacher OCB was again measured with the same instrument used in the previous studies. Job competence, job satisfaction, and personal accomplishment were also measured with the same scales as used in Studies 2a and 2b. However, four new measures of praise and recognition were developed. These new measures assessed teachers' perceptions of receiving praise and recognition from four sources; namely, (1) principals, (2) coworkers, (3) students, and (4) students' parents. In a sample of 222 teachers, moderate support was found for the prediction that the source of praise and recognition is important in moderating the relationship between OCB and teacher outcomes. Specifically, praise and recognition from principals and parents enhanced the positive relationship between some forms of OCB and teacher outcomes. No evidence was found to suggest that praise from students or coworkers had an enhancing effect on the relationship between OCB and teacher outcomes. Chapter 8 is the final chapter, which presents a general discussion of the research findings, with particular emphasis on the contributions that they make to the OCB and employee well-being literatures. Limitations of the five studies are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research examining the psychological consequences of performing OCB, both for employees and their clients. Practical implications of the findings, especially for the teaching profession, are also discussed.


A case study of a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave in the solar wind that is strongly correlated with a magnetospheric field line resonance observed by the SuperDARN (Super Dual Auroral Radar Network) radar at Sanae, Antarctica is presented. The data from the ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer) satellite at the solar libration point are analysed. The data time series are bandpass filtered at the pulsation frequency and the analytic signal deduced. From these data the partition of energy between the field components is computed. It is shown that energy is equally partitioned between the kinetic energy and transverse magnetic potential energy densities. The energy flux vector is closely aligned with the background magnetic field. The transverse magnetic and velocity components are in antiphase. This is the first identification of the triggering wave as a transverse Alfven wave which originates upstream from the space craft and is propagated to the magnetosphere to trigger the pulsation.


After the Cold War, especially after the 2008 financial crisis, the international system has undergone major structural changes, and the power in the international system is increasingly showing the trend of shift from the old powers to the emerging powers and from the national states to the civil society. With the rising strength of developing countries, facing the unfair distribution of responsibilities for climate change governance, developing countries must express a call and appeal of justice of climate change governance. Climate change governance has an intrinsic appeal for the value of justice, as it involves the distribution of responsibilities and the sharing of benefits. The current inequality in climate change governance is mainly reflected in the unequal distribution of climate responsibilities between the North and the South. To achieve the justice of climate change governance, the distribution of responsibilities for climate change governance must follow the principles of minimum, common but differentiated responsibilities and historical responsibility, and the sharing of benefits should follow the difference principle.


Abstract Germany reintroduced parity funding of the statutory health insurance scheme in January 2019 by lowering the contribution rates for employees and raising those for employers, leaving the total rate constant. This reduces the tax wedge between total labour costs and net wages. After a small demand impulse on impact, followed by a small downturn in the first two years after implementation, an estimated New Keynesian DSGE model indicates small positive long-run output and employment effects. However, the reduced tax wedge leads to lower public revenues. Aggregate macroeconomic and welfare effects will depend on how the government compensates for these revenue losses.


Most mutations in SCN1A-related epilepsies are novel and when an infant presents with febrile seizures (FS) it is uncertain if they will have simple FS, FS+ or develop a severe epilepsy such as Dravet Syndrome. The main aim of this work has been to translate specific genetic findings in SCN1A related epilepsies not only to the phenotype, but to examine the implications this has on treatment and quality of life in children and their families.

Clinical and genetic data were collected from 273 individuals with SCN1A mutations identified in our laboratory between November 2005 and February 2010. I examined whether the mutation class, distribution or nature of amino acid substitution correlated with the epilepsy phenotype, using the Grantham Score (GS) as a measure of physicochemical difference between amino acids. From structured referral data I analysed a range of clinical characteristics including epilepsy phenotype, seizure precipitants, EEG data, imaging studies, mutation class and response to medication and determined predictors of developmental outcome.

I developed novel ideas on how to characterise mutations in SCN1A related epilepsies, showing that phenotypes are not determined by chance, but are in part determined by defined physico-chemical changes affecting a specific location in the protein structure. I was able to demonstrate that these principles not only apply to the SCN1A gene but also to the wider voltage gated sodium channel family and related diseases.

This study has been the largest to date to systematically examine the prognostic, clinical and demographic features of Dravet syndrome. The overall incidence of Dravet syndrome was found to be at least one in every 28,600 UK births. Clinical features predicting a worse developmental outcome included status epilepticus, interictal EEG abnormalities in the first year of life and a motor disorder. No significant effect was seen for seizure precipitants, MRI abnormalities or mutation class (truncating vs. missense). Sodium valproate, benzodiazepines and topiramate were reported the most helpful medications and aggravation of seizures was reported for carbamazepine and lamotrigine.

Health related quality of life (HRQOL) has emerged as a widely accepted measure to evaluate how chronic disease impacts on an individual's well-being and I examined in detail the comorbidities and predictors of health related quality of life in Dravet syndrome. HRQOL was evaluated with two epilepsy-specific instruments, the Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Scale (IPES) and the Epilepsy & Learning Disabilities Quality of Life Questionnaire (ELDQOL), a generic HRQOL instrument the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and a behavioural screening tool, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). 163 individuals with Dravet syndrome and their families participated in the questionnaire study.

HRQOL was significantly lower for children with Dravet syndrome compared to normative data. One third of children had conduct problems and two thirds had hyperactive or inattentive behaviour. Regression analysis revealed that behavioural problems were the strongest predictors of poorer HRQOL. Identification of specific comorbidities will help us to better recognise and understand the needs of children and families with Dravet syndrome and facilitate a distinct multi-disciplinary approach to management.

Genetic testing in the epilepsies has become an increasingly accessible clinical tool and this is the first study to assess the impact of SCN1A testing on patient management from both carer and physician perspectives.

The vast majority of parents whose children tested positive for a mutation reported genetic testing helpful, leading to treatment changes resulting in fewer seizures, and improved access to therapies and respite care. Nearly half of the physicians reported that a positive test facilitated diagnosis earlier than with clinical and EEG data alone. In two thirds it prevented additional investigations and altered the treatment approach; it influenced medication choice in three quarters of cases and through medication change improved seizure control in forty percent. In addition to confirming a clinical diagnosis, a positive SCN1A test enabled early diagnosis, influenced treatment choice and facilitated improvements in clinical management, especially in the very young.

Finally I hope that this work will contribute to a better understanding of the causes of SCN1A related epilepsies. Furthermore I hope that it will provide evidence to aid earlier diagnosis and treatment of children with severe infantile epilepsies and that it will offer more information for genetic counselling. These improvements in epilepsy care and seizure control could help prevent or reduce the disability associated with SCN1A related epilepsies such as learning and behaviour problems and would improve the quality of life for children and families.


The two-dimensional stability behavior of the supersonic plane wake at transitional Reynolds numbers is investigated using direct numerical simulations. A spatial model is used, with the domain of interest placed around the base of a twodimensional body aligned with the flow. The complete two-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved in a Cartesian coordinate system. They are discretized spatially using fourthorder split finite differences. For time integration, a fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme is employed. Several free-stream boundary conditions were investigated. The flow at two free-stream Mach numbers was considered. At M = 2.46, no absolute instability was found at Reynolds numbers (based on base thickness) up to Re = 100,000. However, sinuous disturbances produce an oscillation in the recirculation region which decays exponentially in time, with the decay rate decreasing with increasing Reynolds number. At M 1.20 and Re = 4,000 the flow was found to be absolutely unstable, with disturbances growing exponentially until a finite amplitude periodic state is reached. As a consequence, the recirculation region oscillates strongly, and a Karman vortex street is formed downstream. The mean flow properties of this state differ significantly from a steady flow computation.


In recent years, because of an increasing aging population there are higher incidences of falling according to epidemiological reports. Because of this high frequency the prevention of falls becomes a major concern. Evidence of the high occurrence and significant cost of falls on health-related quality of life, significant financial load on the health care system, and on their social impact has been provided by various epidemiological studies.

Falls are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is a major cause of death in many countries, especially the United States. Balance impairments are frequent and particularly high among people who suffer from stroke, TBI, incomplete spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and in general for people who suffer from different neurological disorders. For all of these groups, balance disorders have a major social and quality of life implications, which require attention and exploration of effective ways to evaluate risk and develop training programs that prevent falls. According to the literature, the most important factors for fall prevention are suitable training programs and the availability of feasible and cost-effective comprehensive risk measurement [1, 2].

This thesis describes the acquisition of acceleration data of a human body while maintaining balance on a balance board with three-axis accelerometers. Three different algorithms of balance region detection, the wavelet transform, and the neural network were developed to segment and classify the unstable regions of the accelerometer signal. To simplify the calculation of these algorithms vector processing technique was used.

The experimental results show that arms have an effective role in the improvement of balance. From the balance region detection the duration and amount of activity can be found which will be good for prediction of falls. The wavelet transform is the best way to separate unstable periods from one another. For classification of stable and unstable parts of movements, the neural network is the best technique. It is effective to compare the amount of stable and unstable parts in more detail. The results suggest the specific role of the dominant and non-dominant arms.


Purpose: To report a case with spontaneous re-endothelialization of bare stroma after subtotal detachment of Descemet's membrane (DM) due to macroperforation during deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK). Methods: Case report. Results: A 64-year-old patient underwent DALK for deep stromal scarring secondary to herpetic keratitis. During manual dissection, DM macroperforation occurred, and this was successfully managed intraoperatively and postoperatively. The DM with host posterior stroma remained attached for 10 months when it detached from the bare donor stroma. The cornea remained clear, with uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCVA) of 0.17 logMAR. After graft suture removal 30 months later, he was noted to have regular astigmatism and cataract for which he underwent phacoemulsification with toric intraocular lens implantation. Twenty-four months following his cataract surgery and 58 months following his DALK, his UCVA remains 0.17 logMAR and the cornea remains clear with no evidence of edema. His average specular count at 58 months was 1296 cell/mm[2]. Conclusion: This case shows a very good visual outcome with clear cornea at 58 months despite of large DM detachment which happened 10 months following manual DALK with intraoperative macroperforation.


3D fatigue crack opening and propagation behaviors in an Al-Mg-Si alloy have been investigated in this study. A combined methodology of an in-situ 3D crack visualization via the synchrotron X-ray CT and image-based numerical simulation which takes into account real crack morphology has been applied for the study. The details of a crack with non-planar torturous crack morphology have been observed and many essential features of the crack and its opening/propagation inside the material have been identified. Typical example would be the complex deformation behaviors in the region where two crack segments lying on different horizontal planes overlap each other, and the influence of complicated crack front line on local crack driving forces. We recognized that two overlapping crack segments affected significantly the local crack driving force ΔkI each other, and large mode III displacement occurred near the edge of overlapping region. The region next to overlapping was influenced to a relatively large extent through shielding the near-tip stress/strain fields thereby reducing the local crack driving forces. We also found that the sharp extrusion on crack front line had no significant influence on neighboring cracks. The combined methodology of the in-situ 3D crack visualization and the image-based numerical simulation has been demonstrated to be powerful and feasible in revealing and understanding various fracture phenomena inside materials


This paper is to develop a unified algorithm to predict vibration of spinning asymmetric rotors with arbitrary geometry and complexity. Specifically, the algorithm is to predict vibration response of spinning rotors from a ground-based observer. As a first approximation, the effects of housings and bearings are not included in this analysis. The unified algorithm consists of three steps. The first step is to conduct a finite element analysis on the corresponding stationary rotor to extract natural frequencies and mode shapes. The second step is to represent the vibration of the spinning rotor in terms of the mode shapes and their modal response in a coordinate system that is rotating with the spinning rotor. The equation of motion governing the modal response is derived through use of the Lagrange equation. To construct the equation of motion, explicitly, the results from the finite element analysis will be used to calculate the gyroscopic matrix, centrifugal stiffening (or softening) matrix, and generalized modal excitation vector. The third step is to solve the equation of motion to obtain the modal response, which, in turn, will lead to physical response of the rotor for a rotor-based observer or for a ground-based observer through a coordinate transformation. Results of the algorithm indicate that Campbell diagrams of spinning asymmetric rotors will not only have traditional forward and backward primary resonances as in axisymmetric rotors, but also have secondary resonances caused by higher harmonics resulting from the mode shapes. Finally, the algorithm is validated through a calibrated experiment using rotating disks with evenly spaced radial slots. Qualitatively, all measured vibration spectra show significant forward and backward primary resonances as well as secondary resonances as predicted in the theoretical analysis. Quantitatively, measured primary and secondary resonance frequencies agree extremely well with those predicted from the algorithm with mostly <3.5% difference.


Received 5 Oct 2021 Revised 13 Apr 2022 Accepted 12 May 2022 The production of fly ash is mounting steadily every year all over the globe, but the rate of recovery is insufficient compared to its production. The disposal of fly ash is becoming more and more difficult in India. Reusing fly ash for some valuable uses is one of the most convenient solutions to this problem. As a result, the present study has focused on the use of high volume fine grain fly ash as a partial alternative material for cement and sand with a low volume fraction of glass fiber. Glass fiber reinforced concrete mixtures consisting of up to 40% replacement of cement and sand by fly ash were produced for making sustainable concrete. The experimental work was carried out by preparing diverse mixes with a 0.40 water-cement ratio and analyzing the fresh as well as hardened properties of mixes. The experimental results reveal that the separate and combined replacement of cement and sand by fly ash together with glass fiber, enhance the durability and strength of concrete. When combining 20% of cement and 40% of sand replaced by fly ash together with glass fiber, better result was observed than all other mixes. The compressive strength, electrical resistivity (ER), and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) increased by 36.33%, 65.82%, and 7.25% over control mix (C0-0). This discovery is very useful for making dense, durable and sustainable concrete by using proposed mixes.