OBJECTIVE
The aim was to determine angiotensin II receptor binding and its relationship to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) binding and fibrous tissue formation in the rat heart.

METHODS
A model of tissue repair (pericardiotomy and myocardial infarction with left coronary artery ligation) was used together with the following: quantitative in vitro autoradiography to determine angiotensin II receptor (125I[Sar1, Ile8]AngII) and ACE (125I-351A) binding densities. Angiotensin II receptor subtype was determined using an AT1 receptor antagonist (DuP753, losartan) and an AT2 receptor antagonist (PD123177). Five groups were studied: age and sex matched controls receiving this operative procedure without subsequent myocardial infarction (sham operated); rats with coronary artery ligation and myocardial infarction; rats with coronary artery ligation and lisinopril (20 mg.kg-1.d-1 in drinking water); sham operated rats receiving lisinopril; and unoperated rats which served as controls to pericardiotomy. Hearts were collected from each group on postoperative day 3 and weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8.

RESULTS
There was (1) low angiotensin receptor binding in normal myocardium; (2) markedly increased angiotensin II receptor binding at the site of left ventricular myocardial infarction and endocardial fibrosis of the interventricular septum at day 3 and weeks 1, 2, 4, and 8; (3) high angiotensin II receptor binding in the pericardial fibrosis that followed pericardiotomy, and in the fibrosis that appeared in response to suture insertion around the left coronary artery, in both infarcted and sham operated rats; (4) total displacement of normal and connective tissue angiotensin II receptor binding by DuP753, but not by PD123177; (5) ACE inhibition by lisinopril, but no change in angiotensin II receptor binding, at all sites of fibrosis; and (6) significant attenuation by lisinopril of collagen formation in the visceral pericardium of sham operated controls.

CONCLUSIONS
In this model of tissue repair, increased AT1 receptor binding density is associated with ACE binding and fibrillar collagen formation that appears within sites of fibrous tissue formation, including myocardial infarction, endocardial fibrosis, foreign body (silk suture), and pericardiotomy. AT1 receptors may play a role in mediating the fibrogenic response to tissue injury in the rat heart.


Density functional calculations are used to systematically evaluate phase stabilities and mechanical properties of two recently proposed carbon crystals (K4 and M-carbon), along with graphite, cubic diamond and hexagonal diamond. It is found that the K4 carbon, which can be referred to as a twin of the cubic diamond crystal, is mechanically unstable, implying that it cannot be formed. Remarkably, our calculations not only substantiate the M-carbon phase is a highly incompressible and potentially superhard material but also show that it exhibits mechanical stability. Moreover, a surprisingly small activation barrier (about 0.018 eV/atom) for the transformation of M-carbon to graphite explains some paradoxical experimental observations.


Gwadar Port has huge potential of transforming not only the economy of Pakistan, but also the region. This paper highlights the future scenario of energy transactions for both China and Pakistan, and looks at how Gwadar Port can revive the economy of Pakistan under the fast growing mutual interdependence between the two countries. The connectivity will greatly impact upon the economy of Pakistan as China will invest huge sum of capital in terms of investment, assistance, and transfer of technology in building many mega-projects over a long period of time. Based upon the literature review, the paper also investigates into the vital role Gwadar Port could play in regional economic integration of South and Central Asia.


A conceptual design of a muon acceleration scheme based on recirculating superconducting linacs is proposed. In the presented scenario, acceleration starts after ionization cooling at 245 MeV/c and proceeds to 20 GeV, where the beam is injected into a neutrino factory storage ring. The key technical issues are addressed; such as: the choice of acceleration technology (superconducting versus normal conducting) and the choice of RF frequency and finally, implementation of the overall acceleration scheme: capture, acceleration, transport and preservation of large phase space of fast decaying species. Beam transport issues for large-momentum-spread beams are accommodated by appropriate lattice design choices. The proposed arc optics is further optimized with a sextupole correction to suppress chromatic effects contributing to emittance dilution.


Gamma-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) is an integral membrane protein that catalyzes posttranslational carboxylation of a number of vitamin K-dependent (VKD) proteins involved in a wide variety of physiological processes, including blood coagulation, vascular calcification, and bone metabolism. Naturally occurring GGCX mutations are associated with multiple distinct clinical phenotypes. However, the genotype-phenotype correlation of GGCX remains elusive. Here, we systematically examined the effect of all naturally occurring GGCX mutations on the carboxylation of three structure-function distinct VKD proteins in a cellular environment. GGCX mutations were transiently introduced into GGCX-deficient human embryonic kidney 293 cells stably expressing chimeric coagulation factor, matrix Gla protein (MGP), or osteocalcin as VKD reporter-proteins, then the carboxylation efficiency of these reporter-proteins were evaluated. Our results show that GGCX mutations differentially affect the carboxylation of these reporter-proteins and the efficiency of using vitamin K as a cofactor. Carboxylation of these reporter-proteins by a C-terminal truncation mutation (R704X) implies that GGCX's C-terminus plays a critical role in the binding of osteocalcin, but not in the binding of coagulation factors and MGP. This has been confirmed by probing the protein-protein interaction between GGCX and its protein substrates in live cells using bimolecular fluorescence complementation and chemical cross-linking assays. Additionally, using a minigene splicing assay, we demonstrated that several GGCX missense mutations affect GGCX's pre-mRNA splicing rather than altering the corresponding amino acid residues. Results from this study interpreted the correlation of GGCX's genotype and its clinical phenotypes, and clarified why vitamin K administration rectified bleeding disorders but not non-bleeding disorders.


Exact inference of marginals in probabilistic graphical models (PGM) is known to be intractable, necessitating the use of approximate methods. Most of the existing variational techniques perform iterative message passing in loopy graphs which is slow to converge for many benchmarks. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for marginal inference that is based on the incremental build-infer-approximate (IBIA) paradigm. Our algorithm converts the PGM into a sequence of linked clique tree forests (SLCTF) with bounded clique sizes, and then uses a heuristic belief update algorithm to infer the marginals. For the special case of Bayesian networks, we show that if the incremental build step in IBIA uses the topological order of variables then (a) the prior marginals are consistent in all CTFs in the SLCTF and (b) the posterior marginals are consistent once all evidence variables are added to the SLCTF. In our approach, the belief propagation step is non-iterative and the accuracy-complexity trade-off is controlled using user-defined clique size bounds. Results for several benchmark sets from recent UAI competitions show that our method gives either better or comparable accuracy than existing variational and sampling based methods, with smaller runtimes.


High-resolution, sea-floor mapping techniques, including sidescan-sonar and subbottom profiling, were used to investigate how the geologic framework of the inner-continental shelf influenced the Holocene evolution and modern behavior of the Fire Island barrier-island system, Long Island, New York. The inner-continental shelf off Long Island is divided into two physiographic provinces by a broad outcrop of Cretaceous coastal-plain strata offshore of Watch Hill; this outcrop was part of a subaerial headland during the Holocene marine transgression. Erosion of the headland during transgression furnished sediment to the inner-continental shelf downdrift to the west. The sediment was, in turn, reworked by oceanographic processes into a series of shoreface-attached sand ridges. The oldest (~ 1200 yr BP) and most stable part of the barrier-island system is immediately landward of the outcropping coastal-plain strata and thickest sand ridges. East of Watch Hill, Pleistocene sediment either is exposed on the inner-continental shelf or is buried by a veneer of modern reworked sediment. Here the barrier-island system has migrated landward at a faster rate than the segment west of Watch Hill and has been breached by numerous historic inlets. Because the Pleistocene sedimentary deposit is generally of uniform thickness throughout the study area and unconformably overlies the Cretaceous coastal-plain strata, both the Holocene and historical evolution of the Fire Island barrier-island system are controlled by the physiography of this regional unconformity. In particular, the shoreface-connected sand ridges appear to be a significant source of sediment to the western portion of Fire Island. Previous attempts to develop a sediment budget for this coastal system have failed to explain volumetric discrepancies, primarily because poor assumptions were made about the nature of sediment transport in the system. A more realistic sediment budget must include a significantly larger spatial scale, including sediment input from the inner-continental shelf.


The compressibility and phase stability of Y bB2 are investigated under high pressure using high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell. The bulk modules of high purity Y bB2 is obtained as ∼182 GPa using the Birch–Murnaghan equation of state. The patterns measured up to 20 GPa and the pressure dependence of normalized lattice parameters, a/a0 and c/c0, reveal that the compressibility of Y bB2 is low and fairly isotropic, and this material can be classified as a hard material. X-ray photoemission studies demonstrate that Yb in Y bB2 has a mostly trivalent valence state at room temperature. Moreover, sample preparation details provide a new insight into the high purity synthesis of Y bB2 at ambient pressure and moderate temperatures. The presented structural and compressibility results are in agreement with the available theoretical and experimental data on binary rare-earth borides and can serve as a reliable reference for future studies.


Background/Aims: Exercise training enhances vasodilatation to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF165) in collateral-dependent coronary arterioles. Interaction of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) and the non-tyrosine-kinase receptor, neuropilin-1 has been reported to potentiate VEGF165-mediated signaling. In the current study, we tested the hypotheses that neuropilin-1 mediates the exercise-enhanced VEGF165-mediated vasodilatation in collateral-dependent arterioles and that neuropilin-1 and/or VEGFR-2 protein levels are increased in these arterioles. Methods: Ameroid occluders were surgically placed around the proximal left circumflex coronary artery of miniature swine. Eight weeks after surgery, the animals were randomized into sedentary or exercise training (treadmill run; 5 days/week; 14 weeks) protocols. Coronary arterioles (∼100 μm diameter) were isolated from both collateral-dependent and control (left anterior descending) myocardial regions and studied by in vitro videomicroscopy or frozen for immunoblot analysis. Results: Exercise-enhanced VEGF165-mediated vasodilatation in collateral-dependent arterioles was reversed by inhibition of the VEGF165-neuropilin-1 interaction. VEGF121, which does not interact with neuropilin-1, induced similar vasodilatation in arterioles from all treatment groups. Immunoblot revealed significantly elevated VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and neuropilin-1 protein levels in collateral-dependent arterioles of exercise-trained pigs. Conclusions: Neuropilin-1 plays a vital role in the exercise-enhanced VEGF165-mediated vasodilatation of collateral-dependent coronary arterioles and is associated with increased neuropilin-1 receptor protein levels.


We provide cross-country evidence on the relative importance of cyclical and structural factors in explaining unemployment, including the sharp rise in U.S. long-term unemployment during the Great Recession of 2007-09. About 75% of the forecast error variance of unemployment is accounted for by cyclical factors—real GDP changes ("Okun's Law"), monetary and fiscal policies, and the uncertainty effects emphasized by Bloom (2009). Structural factors, which we measure using the dispersion of industry-level stock returns, account for the remaining 25 percent. For U.S. long-term unemployment the split between cyclical and structural factors is closer to 60-40, including during the Great Recession.


The mechanisms underlying the effects of long-term deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) as a therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) remain poorly understood. The present study examined whether functionally effective, long-term STN DBS modulates glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and/or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in both unlesioned and unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats. Lesioned rats that received two weeks of continuous unilateral STN DBS exhibited significant improvements in parkinsonian motor behaviors in tests of forelimb akinesia and rearing activity. Unilateral STN DBS did not increase GDNF in the nigrostriatal system, primary motor cortex (M1), or hippocampus of unlesioned rats. In contrast, unilateral STN DBS increased BDNF protein 2-3 fold bilaterally in the nigrostriatal system with the location (substantia nigra vs. striatum) dependent upon lesion status. Further, BDNF protein was bilaterally increased in M1 cortex by as much as 2 fold regardless of lesion status. STN DBS did not impact cortical regions that receive less input from the STN. STN DBS also was associated with bilateral increases in BDNF mRNA in the substantia nigra (SN) and internal globus pallidus (GPi). The increase observed in GPi was completely blocked by pretreatment with 5-Methyl-10,11-dihydro-5 H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801), suggesting that the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors was involved in this phenomenon. The upregulation of BDNF associated with long term STN DBS suggest that this therapy may exert pronounced and underappreciated effects on plasticity in the basal ganglia circuitry that may play a role in the symptomatic effects of this therapy as well as support the neuroprotective effect of stimulation documented in this rat model.


Guidelines urge general practitioners (GPs) to discuss smoking with patients as frequently as possible. Using data collected before and after consultations, this study confirms that GPs are more likely to discuss smoking in the context of smoking-related problems. Encouraging GPs to make greater use of problem-orientated opportunities to discuss smoking may have more effect on rates of advice giving than urging them to advise all smokers.


This study was carried out to determine effects of plant density and number of eyes per seed pieces on yield and tuber size of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Agria) in Turkey during 2011 and 2012 crop seasons. Treatments were arranged as a split plot design with plant density (distance on rows 20, 25 and 30 cm) as main plots, eyes number (2, 4 and 6 eyes) per seed piece as sub plots. Total tuber yield, yield of Grade C (45-35 mm) and Grade D (35-25 mm) sized tubers significantly increased with the increasing planting density. Number of tubers per plant, average tuber weight, tuber yield per plant and yield of Grade A (>60 mm) sized tubers significantly decreased with the increasing of plant density. With the increasing number of eyes in seed pieces, while tuber number per plant and yield of Grade C and Grade D sized tubers increased, average tuber weight decreased. The highest total tuber yield (40.6 t/ha) and Grade B (13.0 t/ha) and Grade C (15.3 t/ha) were obtained in the distance of rows at 20 cm and four eyes cut seed tubers. In conclusion, with the increase of the planting density and eyes number in seed piece, we noticed some decline in marketability and an increase the yield of seed tubers.


The work described in this thesis was shaped by the goal---coming up new approaches to fabricate plasmonic materials with electron beam induced deposition (EBID). One-step, bottom-up and direct-write are typical adjectives that are used to indicate the advantageous properties of this technique. These properties enable us to produce complex, three-dimensional materials even on non-flat substrates in a rapid fashion. However, to fabricate plasmonic materials with EBID one needs to overcome some difficulties and limitations. The major challenge to solve is the impurity issue of the deposited metallic structures. We circumvent the impurity problem by deposition of silica instead of a metal. Metallic nanostructures are obtained by subsequent conformal thin gold film coating. At the end of the coating process we obtain a core-shell type plasmonic structures.

Additionally with the local deposition feature of EBID we load the gap of plasmonic split-wire gold nanoantennas. The loading is established with silica deposition. The gap field of the nanoantennas are loaded with various amount of silica. The optical properties of the loaded antennas are investigated with CL spectroscopy. The results reveal that the gap loading shifts the antenna resonance towards longer wavelengths as a function of the amount of deposited silica.

Light-matter interaction related studies beyond the classical limits of the optics (nanophotonics) is a broad field. Both fundamental and applied nanophotonics investigations require state-of-the-art nanostructures with various geometries and material properties to push the boundaries. The work in this thesis demonstrates that EBID is an attractive nanofabrication technique to produce nanostructures that are three-dimensional, tunable (active or passive), with different materials, on different types of surface.


The security in a mobile ad hoc networks is more vulnerable and susceptible to the environment, because in this network no centralized environment for monitoring individual nodes activity during communication. The intruders are hacked the networks either locally and globally. Now a day's mobile ad hoc network is an emerging area of research due to its unique characteristics. It's more vulnerable to detect malicious activities, and error prone in nature due to their dynamic topology configuration. Based on their difficulties of intrusion detection system, in this paper proposed a novel approach for mobile ad hoc network is Fuzzy Based Intrusion Detection (FBID) protocol, to identify, analyze and detect a malicious node in different circumstances. This protocol it improves the efficiency of the system and does not degrade the system performance in real time.This FBID system is more efficient and the performance is compared with AODV, Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping with the following performance metrics: Throughput, Packet Delivery Ratio, Packets Dropped, Routing overhead, Propagation delay and shortest path for delivering packets from one node to another node. The System is robust. It produces the crisp output to the benefit of end users. It provides an integrated solution capable of detecting the majority of security attacks occurring in MANETs.


Agricultural Cooperatives help their members to increase their yield and incomes by pooling their resource to support collective service provisions and economic empowerment. The objective of this paper is to provide empirical evidences of the impact of potato seed producing cooperatives on the livelihoods of rural households in the study area. The study has used cross-sectional data of year 2013. Primary data were collected from the sample of 172 households (82 from Haramaya and 90 from Kersa districts) from both members of cooperative and non-member. A propensity score matching method was used to evaluate the impact of potato seed producing cooperative on household income, expenditure and asset. The evaluation results revealed that member of potato seed production cooperative have got higher income from crop production, total annual income and asset holdings amounting to Birr 29 006, 33 901 and 47 768 respectively. Members also spent Birr 11 728 more than non-member households. This indicates membership to potato seed cooperative is found to have a positive and significant on livelihood indicators. Therefore, the government and other non-government organization like ISSD should provide more support to expand seed producing cooperative to improve the livelihood and food security statues of the rural households.


Network survivability gauges the ability of a network to support the committed Quality of Services (QoS) continuously in the presence of various failure scenarios. MPLS Mesh-Based network can be used to provide network survivability in case of link and node failure through predesign path protection techniques. In the Preplanned self-healing networks, we have to provision adequate spare capacity to provide fast restoration in the presence of failure. In this paper, we propose a Modified Split Backup Algorithm (MSBA) that allocates two spare backup paths for each primary path. Instead of dividing the amount of primary bandwidth path by two to obtain the required bandwidth of each backup path, we consider current reserved spare capacity values of links and calculate the fraction of spare capacity bandwidth for each backup path. We will show that our new algorithm reduces the spare capacity requirement by 3 to 13 percent in comparison with split backup method. MSBA has all of the advantages of split backup method such as the full recovery from multiple failures and avoiding the "hot spot" caused by the traffic switched from primary paths. Simulation results are used to validate the proposed model.


In this paper we propose a novel simulation tool for indoor Light Fidelity (LiFi) networks based on Wavelength Division (WD) with real optical filters characteristics. Firstly we present the measured passband spectra of optical filters, along with a system model validation relying on such acquired spectra. Secondly, we propose a simulation tool developed to extend the work of adaptive wavelength division multiple access to the multiple-input multiple-output case, suitable for conducting Monte Carlo simulations. Then, we validate such tool by considering an example scenario with fixed positions and orientations, including increasing number of users in an indoor LiFi network using WD. In order to better clarify the interference contributions to the quality of service provided, we consider the first user as reference, and evaluate how the presence of progressively higher number of users in its vicinity impacts the interference that the main user is experiencing. We then analyse how the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio, interference-to-noise ratio and signal-to-interference ratio figures of the main user change depending on how many interfering users are included in the considered scenario.


Childhood obesity in America is reaching epidemic proportions. This study explored whether daily online lunch menu information was sufficient to enable parents to advise their children about healthy and unhealthy menu choices in 350 Texas middle schools and whether online menu information strongly correlated with the descriptions of the offerings given by 52 school cafeteria managers in telephone interviews. Although schools are making efforts to describe their offerings, they are not vigorously taking advantage of the opportunity to aggressively inform or educate. They are not coding their descriptions in such a way as to explicitly brand food as healthy or unhealthy. They are also not labeling food as generally required by law for consumer services that provide food (except for the fresh produce that lines supermarket shelves). Instead, they only briefly describe what they are serving in the way of fruit in one or two word snippets. Finally, cafeteria managers' online descriptions were inconsistent with what they described in interviews. Online and verbal descriptions were sometimes contradictory, raising questions about the accuracy of either type of description.


Chickpea, the second most important legume crop, suffers major yield losses by terminal drought stress (DS). Stronger root system is known to enhance drought yields but this understanding remains contro-versial. To understand precisely the root traits contribution towards yield, 12 chickpea genotypes with well-known drought response were field evaluated under drought and optimal irrigation. Root traits, such as root length density (RLD), total root dry weight (RDW), deep root dry weight (deep RDW) and root:shoot ratio (RSR), were measured periodically by soil coring up to 1.2 m soil depth across drought treatments. Large variations were observed for RLD, RDW, deep RDW and RSR in both the drought treat- ments. DS increased RLD below 30 cm soil depth, deep RDW, RSR but decreased the root diameter. DS increased the genetic variation in RDW more at the penultimate soil depths. Genetic variation under drought was the widest for RLD ∼ 50 DAS, for deep RDW ∼ 50–75 DAS and for RSR at 35 DAS. Genotypes ICC 4958, ICC 8261, Annigeri, ICC 14799, ICC 283 and ICC 867 at vegetative stage and genotypes ICC 14778, ICCV 10, ICC 3325, ICC 14799 and ICC 1882 at the reproductive phase produced greater RLD. Path- and correlation coefficients revealed strong positive contributions of RLD after 45 DAS, deep RDW at vicinity of maturity and RSR at early podfill stages to yield under drought. Breeding for the best combination of profuse RLD at surface soil depths, and RDW at deeper soil layers, was proposed to be the best selection strategy, for an efficient water use and an enhanced terminal drought tolerance in chickpea.


Pathophysiology and pharmacology subjects are keystone to the pre-registration Bachelor of Nursing Science degree at James Cook University. These disciplines are typically considered by nursing students to be difficult to understand, and academic achievement in these subjects is often lower than in other subjects within the Bachelor of Nursing Science program. On-campus and off–campus students are provided with a range of resources to aid learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the engagement of on–campus students with the resources provided for learning pathophysiology and pharmacology, to determine which resources promoted active learning, and to use this information for comparison with the responses of the off–campus cohort. Students were invited to complete a questionnaire which collected information about student demographics, interactions with learning resources, and subject grades. On–campus and off–campus cohorts reported different patterns of engagement with learning resources, however both the total amount of engagement and the total amount of active learning, showed positive relationships with academic achievement. Delivery of key pathophysiology and pharmacology concepts through formats in which students engage with more often and more actively may be strategic in promoting academic achievement and enjoyment in learning pathophysiology and pharmacology.


Sickle cell anemia (homozygous hemoglobin S disease) occurs in approximately one out of every 600 black American newborns. This high prevalence, combined with well-recognized morbidity and mortality, make it an important health problem in this country—a far greater problem than other genetic diseases for which early detection programs have been legally mandated for more than a decade. Until recently, there have been few programs for the early detection of sickle cell anemia. There are two justifications usually cited for this lack of action: first, the diagnosis may be technically difficult to establish in the first few months of life because of the large amounts of hemoglobin F characteristic of this period, and second, since there is no cure or even effective therapy for sickle cell anemia, it is widely believed that there is no particular advantage to early diagnosis. The article by Sexauer and associates (p 805) is primarily addressed


Background: Clinical tests involving sustained cervical spine rotation and/or extension are commonly applied pre-manipulatively to screen for patients at risk of stroke due to vertebral artery pathology. This is despite the fact that the validity of these manoeuvres is disputed and their effect on vertebral artery blood flow poorly understood. Recent research has employed duplex ultrasound (Doppler with Bmode real-time imaging capability) to quantify positional haemodynamic parameters and determine whether subjects testing positive differ from negative subjects. However, the reliability of Doppler sampling of the upper cervical part of the vertebral artery in positions involving rotation and extension has not been established. Thus the aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and measurement variability associated with this investigative procedure. Methods: Twenty normal subjects volunteered to participate in the study. Haemodynamic measurements were taken of a randomly selected vertebral artery using duplex ultrasound with colour flow and power Doppler imaging capabilities. Blood flow was recorded at both the atlanto-axial and the C2/3 regions of the vessel in neutral, end-range extension and end-range contralateral rotation. The protocol was then repeated. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients (2, 1) and 95% limits of agreement indicated that sampling at the more vulnerable but less accessible atlanto-axial site was generally more repeatable, notably in end-range contralateral rotation. In particular, the key measures of atlanto-axial peak systolic velocity and resistance index in end-range rotation demonstrated excellent reliability (0.82; 0.76). Between group differences of ‐12.9 to 16.6 cm/s and ‐0.11 to 0.17 respectively would be necessary to discount measurement variability. Conclusions: Accurate interpretation of the results of ultrasonographic investigation of vertebral artery tests utilising rotation and extension requires consideration of measurement variability and reliability. Haemodynamic parameters of acceptable reliability and associated ranges of measurement variability have been identified for use in future research. Darren A Rivett, Katrina J Sharples, Peter D Milburn. (2003) Reliability of Ultrasonographic Measurement of Vertebral Artery Blood Flow. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy 31(3): 119-128.


At a crime scene, the presence and pattern of gunshot residue can help forensic scientists piece together the events that occurred. To assist this, we determined the relationship between shooting distance and nitrite residue patterns left on fabric targets. Using the Modified Griess Test, we also investigated whether fabric type plays a role in gunshot residue (GSR) amounts. Cotton and polyester targets were shot from five different distances, and the targets were processed using the Modified Griess Test to measure the nitrite components of the GSR particles. An image processing program called ImageJ was used to approximate the total area of the residue. Results show that from 0 cm to 25 cm away, there was a rapid increase in GSR, but beyond 25 cm, there was a decrease in GSR, which is consistent with previous studies. Also, fabric type played a significant role in GSR patterns, with polyester fabrics holding more GSR on average than cotton at 25 cm, but less than cotton at 0 cm. The results of this study can potentially provide new and innovative ways to determine shooting distances and GSR patterns on different fabric types.


This paper studies the learning of two functions given positive samples of their composition, motivated by an empirical problem in natural language phonology. Empirically relevant conditions under which this is possible are identified and a provably correct algorithm is given that can semi-strongly identify the two functions in polynomial time and data. In order to clearly illustrate the learning problem and related concepts, we focus on a simple subset of input strictly 2-local functions. But we further argue that the general learning procedure we propose can be extended to more general classes of functions.


From the mid-2000s onwards, the Brazilian ethanol production returned to thrive. In the meantime, in 2007 the discovery of large reserves of oil in the pre-salt layer in the Brazilian coastline was announced. Thus, the promising outlook for the Brazilian ethanol industry began to give way to the development of pre-salt oil with an ambitious investment program. Beyond that, between 2011 and 2014 the Government adopted a new domestic pricing policy for gasoline and diesel, aiming to reduce inflationary pressures, but gradually reducing ethanol competitiveness, besides imposing a high commitment of Petrobras' financial situation, hampering investment in the pre-salt itself. Considering such challenges and the importance of the oil and ethanol sectors to the Brazilian economy, this study aims to evaluate the long run economic impacts of the pre-salt oil production, with special attention to the consequences to the ethanol sector. An evaluation of the 2011-2014 gasoline price control policy impacts on the ethanol sector is realized. An adapted recursive dynamic general equilibrium model is employed in which the pre-salt oil sector is added as a backstop technology. The results suggest that premature stimulus of pre-salt production to achieve the Government's expected oil production brings more costs than benefits to the Brazilian economy. It was found that without Government interference, the pre-salt oil production would be competitive only after 2025-2035. With respect to the impact on the ethanol industry, it was found that the pre-salt development does not impair the Brazilian ethanol production. Nonetheless, the gasoline price control policy had a negative impact on the ethanol sector.


In less than three years, The McFarland Institute has grown from the equivalent of a single hospital department to a school of pastoral care and counseling serving over 100 students and 18 different institutions. It remains to be seen whether the community will support the education and service provided through grants and donations. If additional funding is secured, there are unlimited opportunities for learning and service in New Orleans and in the surrounding region.


Objective To compare P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy after 3-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with 12-month DAPT according to the type of P2Y12 inhibitor in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods The Smart Angioplasty Research Team: Comparison Between P2Y12 Antagonist Monotherapy vs Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Patients Undergoing Implantation of Coronary Drug-Eluting Stents (SMART-CHOICE) randomised trial compared 3-month DAPT followed by P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy with 12-month DAPT. In this trial, 2993 patients undergoing successful PCI with drug-eluting stent were enrolled in Korea. As a prespecified analysis, P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy after 3-month DAPT versus 12-month DAPT were compared among patients receiving clopidogrel and those receiving potent P2Y12 inhibitor (ticagrelor or prasugrel), respectively. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction or stroke at 12 months after the index procedure. Results Among 2993 patients (mean age 64 years), 58.2% presented with acute coronary syndrome. Clopidogrel was prescribed in 2312 patients (77.2%) and a potent P2Y12 inhibitor in 681 (22.8%). There were no significant differences in the primary endpoint between the P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy group and the DAPT group among patients receiving clopidogrel (3.0% vs 3.0%; HR: 1.02; 95% CI 0.64 to 1.65; p=0.93) as well as among patients receiving potent P2Y12 inhibitors (2.4% vs 0.7%; HR: 3.37; 95% CI 0.77 to 14.78; p=0.11; interaction p=0.1). Among patients receiving clopidogrel, P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy compared with DAPT showed consistent treatment effects across various subgroups for the primary endpoint. Among patients receiving potent P2Y12 inhibitors, the rate of bleeding (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium types 2– 5) was significantly lower in the P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy group than in the DAPT group (1.5% vs 5.0%; HR: 0.33; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.87; p=0.03). Conclusions Compared with 12-month DAPT, clopidogrel monotherapy after 3-month DAPT showed comparable cardiovascular outcomes in patients undergoing PCI. Trial registration number NCT02079194.


The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is an example of a species that has gone through a severe bottleneck, leading to near extinction in Scandinavia around 1930 — a pattern shared with several other large carnivorous mammals. Here we extend previous genetic analyses of northern European lynx, confirming that lynx from the Scandinavian Peninsula represent a distinct clade differing clearly from European conspecifics. Furthermore, and despite a recent bottleneck and subsequent range expansion, we detect marked genetic differentiation within Scandinavia. This differentiation is largely manifested as a north–south gradient, with a linear increase in the quantity FST/(1 − FST). Aided by computer simulations we find that this pattern is unlikely to have arisen by random genetic drift in the short time since lynx started to expand in the 1950s, suggesting that the spatial structure may predate the bottleneck. Individual‐based analyses indicate that, instead of a continuous gradient, Scandinavian lynx may be structured into three more or less distinct groups, possibly corresponding to northern, central and southern subpopulations. The presence of such structuring was unknown previously and was unexpected from general considerations on the mobility of the species, historical data and the absence of geographical barriers. Our study demonstrates how molecular markers may be used to detect cryptic population structure, invisible using traditional methods.


Kinks near the Fermi level observed in angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) have been widely accepted to represent electronic coupling to collective excitations, but kinks at higher energies have eluded a unified description. We identify the mechanism leading to such kink features by means of ARPES and tight-binding band calculations on σ bands of graphene, where anomalous kinks at energies as high as ∼4  eV were reported recently [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 216806 (2013)]. We found that two σ bands show a strong intensity modulation with abruptly vanishing intensity near the kink features, which is due to sublattice interference. The interference induced local singularity in the matrix element is a critical factor that gives rise to apparent kink features, as confirmed by our spectral simulations without involving any coupling to collective excitations.


In this work, fundamental understanding of phase displacements involved in polymer-enhanced air foam is investigated which was not well discussed in the available literature. To do this, a series of foam injection experiments were performed on heterogeneous rock-look-alike micromodels in the presence and absence of a single fracture. The models were initially saturated with crude oil and experienced post polymer-enhanced foam injection process. We observed for the first time the mechanism of synergetic upstream snap-off and lamella division in the vicinity of the area where the permeability contrast was obvious. Observations showed two opposite effects of oil emulsioning and bubble coalescence when gas bubbles came in contact with oil in pore bodies. Fractal dimension analysis of front polymer-enhanced foam illustrates a noticeable improvement in oil displacement. Primary enhanced foam injection to oil saturated micromodel causes bubble coarsening which leads to less efficient oil displacement process. The lower the polymer concentration, the less stable the foam; consequently, the less efficient oil displacement is observed. Lower viscosity oil results in lower recovery efficiency as the stability of foam decreases. To shed light on the dynamic behavior of polymer–surfactant interface, some dynamic surface tension tests were conducted. Results showed that repellency between surfactant and polymer molecules causes surfactant molecules to be present on the surface making the initial dynamic interfacial tension (IFT) decrease. Results of this work help to better understand how polymer could enhance the efficiency of foam floods in heterogeneous systems.


The use of TED talks in EAP has gained popularity in recent years and they are promoted through coursebooks as a means of simultaneously developing listening and critical thinking skills. However, a traditional comprehension approach to teaching listening; one that focuses on testing lower-order thinking skills through discrete questions may be inadequate as a gateway into a critical consideration of broader issues for second language learners. With the practical purpose of developing a teaching approach to using TED talks informed by current theory, the chapter begins with a consideration of how critical thinking processes and top-down and bottom-up listening processes can be integrated into a singular model. Based on this framework, a genre analysis of the TED talk is made by taking a learner's perspective in order to identify cognitive and affective barriers to listening that may restrict opportunities for critical thinking. In the discussion that follows, five activities are suggested for use with TED talks in listening classes that support top-down and bottom-up listening processes, and which set students up to analyse and evaluate the thesis and underlying structure of a TED talk, providing a solid foundation from which to approach discussion topics critically and reflectively.


Abstract : The purpose of this cost-effectiveness specification is to facilitate the purchase, monitor, and evaluation of computer-based training systems. This standardized structure for deriving and communicating training system costs and effectiveness is presented in three volumes, corresponding to the life cycle of a computer-based training system: (1) development, (2) procurement, and (3) operation and maintenance. The cost methodology focuses on identifying and quantifying total inputs required by the system over its life cycle. Effectiveness dimensions include objectives-based achievement and time measures for within course and end-of-course criteria. Other measures, such as attrition rates, instructor ratings, and attitude scales, are also discussed.


Rare event search experiments, such as those searching for dark matter and observations of neutrinoless double beta decay, require ultra low levels of radioactive background for unmistakable identification. In order to reduce the radioactive background of detectors used in these types of event searches, low background photosensors are required, as the physical size of these detectors become increasing larger, and hence the number of such photosensors used also increases rapidly. Considering that most dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay experiments are turning towards using noble liquids as the target choice, liquid xenon and liquid argon for instance, photosensors that can work well at cryogenic temperatures are required, 165 K and 87 K for liquid xenon and liquid argon, respectively. The Silicon Geiger Hybrid Tube (SiGHT) is a novel photosensor designed specifically for use in ultra low background experiments operating at cryogenic temperatures. It is based on the proven photocathode plus silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) hybrid technology and consists of very few other, but also ultra radio-pure, materials like fused silica and silicon for the SiPM. The introduction of the SiGHT concept, as well as a feasibility study for its production, is reported in this paper.


Health agencies at every jurisdictional level are exploring new ways to promote healthy eating and physical activity. At the federal level, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made "nutrition, physical activity and obesity" a top priority. Ultimately, however, a non-health agency has primary authority over what is arguably the most important modifiable determinant of obesity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plays an enormously important role in shaping our nation's food system — the food that's available in stores, restaurants, schools, workplaces, and our homes; how it is produced and sold; how it is consumed and by whom. And in turn, that food system is crucial to public health — how long people live and how healthy they are, not just as a matter of individual medical treatment but as a matter of population-level causes, patterns, and disparities among and between social and economic groups. Historically, USDA has principally served the interests of the food and agriculture industries. This is not just a matter of agency capture; as public health advocates have pointed out, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture's statutory mandate includes duties to foster "new or expanded markets" and move "larger quantities of agricultural products through the private marketing system to consumers." Now, a growing coalition of advocates and commentators are pressuring Congress and USDA to reform federal nutrition and agriculture programs in light of public health goals. This Article investigates the extent to which USDA-administered programs — including dietary guidelines, agricultural subsidies, nutrition assistance, and school meal subsidies — have been (and are being) shaped by cross-sector advocacy. I situate this investigation within a broader global movement to recognize the importance of "Health in All Policies." This Article's discussion of public health-focused USDA reform seeks to demonstrate that the HiAP approach requires coordinated advocacy and coalition building to exert pressure on the legislative and executive branches of government. This external pressure should be aimed at producing substantive mandates from the legislature to administrative agencies in "non-health" sectors, rather than simply focusing on imposing procedural requirements that health impacts be taken into account in the work of those agencies.


Significant research and development in Europe in recent years has been focused on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). Many ITS functions are available on portable navigators and Smartphones and their market penetration is increasing considerably. Nevertheless no standards directly related to the use of Aftermarket and Nomadic Devices in vehicles exist and there is little published knowledge about their impact on the driver behavior. Field Operational Trials (FOTs) being undertaken within Europe, funded under the EU TeleFOT project, are assessing the impact that such devices have focusing upon 4 domains; Safety, Mobility, Efficiency and the Environment. User uptake and acceptance is also being considered. This paper describes the UK FOTs and presents examples of analyses using the different data sources available at the time of writing.


Aquaculture has grown rapidly for food production around the world. However, outbreaks of infectious diseases have also increased in aquaculture, causing serious economic losses. For many years, fish farmers have applied conventional treatments such as anti‐parasitics and chemical treatments to control fish parasites. However, previous studies have revealed an accumulation of these chemical residues in fish tissues, and a negative environmental impact from farms to aquatic organisms. As an alternative to conventional methods, many plant‐derived compounds such as essential oils (e.g. Origanum sp. and Lippia spp.) and plant extracts (e.g. Allium sativum and Mentha spp.) have been used as an efficient treat‐ ment to control parasites in freshwater, brackishwater and marine aquaculture systems. Our objective with this review is to highlight the advantages of the use of plant extracts as an alternative treatment against parasites in aquaculture (e.g. protozoans, myxozoans and monogeneans) and to show the possible negative environmental impacts of conventional treatments used in fish farming systems. Finally, we also highlight the potential of discover‐ ing new plant‐derived bioactive compounds that have been increased in the last year due to the use of new tools such as the application of nanotechnology and microencapsulation to control diseases in fish farming.


: In conditions of a laboratory experiment using illumination of various light sources (by incandescent, luminescent, arc-mercury, natrium lamps), determination of visual acuity, visual field, color perception, restoration time of visual acuity after macular flash lighting (photostress test), Heidinger's phenomenon as well as visocontrastometry after V. V. Volkov, Weston's correction test were conducted in 46 patients (92 eyes) with macular dystrophy and 50 healthy persons in the dynamics of a working day. It was found that the spectral composition of the visible light has a remarkable influence on the function of color perception, contrast sensitivity, reaction of visual analyser on light load, visual ability to work. In patients with macular dystrophy, the dependence on the light medium was expressed much greater than in healthy persons. The highest functional state of the retina and visual ability to work in patients with macular dystrophy were provided by natrium lamps having a maximum radiation in the yellow part of the spectrum. The short-wave visible light of arc-mercury and luminescent lamps somewhat suppressed the functional state of the retina and reduced visual ability to work. The results obtained are important for selection of optimal conditions of work for patients with macular dystrophy.


This report describes the clinical course and management of a patient with Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) type 2. In 2003, a 31-year-old male was diagnosed with acute aortic dissection type B; in the following six years he underwent multiple surgical and endovascular aortic procedures at different thoracic and abdominal levels secondary to progressive enlargement of both the non-dissected thoracic aorta and the false lumen distal to the left subclavian artery. LDS is characterized by arterial tortuosity and aneurysms as a result of heterozygous mutations in genes encoding transforming growth factor-β receptor 1 and 2. Further studies are required to establish the proper surgical management.


Background Evidence on the effects of dietary interventions on inflammatory markers in individuals with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is scarce. Our study evaluated the effects of extra-virgin olive oil alone and in combination with a traditional Brazilian diet on inflammatory markers and glycemic profiles in adults with both T2DM and class II/III obesity. Methods Adults aged 18-64 years with T2DM and class II/III obesity were randomized into two intervention groups: 1) extra-virgin olive oil only and 2) extra-virgin olive oil + a traditional Brazilian diet (OliveOil+DietBra). Data on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, anthropometry, biochemical markers and inflammatory markers were collected. The primary outcomes were glycemic parameters and inflammatory markers. The body mass index (BMI) and weight were the secondary outcomes. Results Forty individuals with T2DM and class II/III obesity were enrolled, and 34 (85%) completed the intervention course. The intake of olive oil was 37.88 ± 12.50 mL/day in the olive oil group and 37.71 ± 12.23 mL/day in the OliveOil+DietBra group, with no significant difference between groups (p = 0.484). Compared to the olive oil only group, the OliveOil+DietBra group had significantly lower levels of fasting insulin (p = 0.047) at the end of the intervention, whereas the other glycemic parameters were not altered. In the OliveOil+DietBra group, serum levels of inflammatory cytokines, IL-1α (p = 0.006) and adiponectin (p = 0.049) were lower and those of TNFα were higher (p = 0.037). There was a significant reduction in BMI and weight compared to the baseline values in the OliveOil+DietBra group (p = 0.015). Conclusions The intervention with OliveOil+DietBra effectively decreased the levels of fasting insulin, IL-1α and adiponectin, suggesting its beneficial role in improving the inflammatory profiles and fasting insulin levels in adults with class II/III obesity and T2DM. Clinical Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02463435


: The main principles of organisation of medical laboratory diagnostics are efficiency of analysis, mobility of laboratory services and quality of researches. These goals can be achieved by the use of portative laboratory analizers, by automation and computerization of the laboratorial service, by development and adoption of new laboratory technologies, integrating different methods and types of research. It is necessary to pay attention to the problem of NPT and indication of pathogenic germs. Priority areas of medical laboratory diagnostics development are: development and use of portative laboratory analyzers; development of chemical, that help to speed up and cheapen researches, improve effectiveness of laboratory diagnostics of infections and indications of pathogenic and other germ; development of new, more sensitive, specific, but simple methods of laboratory analysis; development of complex methods and types of researches, further implementation of methods and researches with different principles of action; development and implementation of new methods of NPT results recording; automation and computerization of the laboratorial diagnostics.


The objective of this article is to realistically analyze fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) retrofitted reinforced concrete structures under cyclic loading taking into account FRP–concrete bond-slip law with cyclic bond degradation. In literature, even though numerous studies have been conducted in FRP–concrete interface bond-slip modeling under cyclic loads, a small number of them consider the influence of cyclic degradation on FRP–concrete interface bond behavior. Within this framework, the bond-slip law for carbon fiber-reinforced plastics–concrete interface is revised by utilizing Harajli's and Ko-Sato's approaches. The procedure is distinct from others because it develops existing deficiencies of these approaches, whereas a more reliable modeling process is proposed for use in practice. Conventional bond-slip law of Lu et al. is compared with this interface relationship stated in this investigation and the difference is clearly shown in terms of structural parameters. Experimental tests are conducted at the same time for verification. It is proved that cyclic bond degradation affects the interface behavior; thus, the structural response cannot be omitted in structural evaluations. Structural performance measures are obtained in good agreement for each level of cycles. The technique proposed clearly exhibits structural response difference between monotonic and cyclic loadings while good agreement is reached with experimental results. POLYM. COMPOS., 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers


Physical-mechanical properties of rubber filled by mineral filler (micro and nanoparticles of shungite) were studied experimentally. To date, shungite is one of the most promising materials used in the tire industry as active reinforcing fillers. Experiments on uniaxial tensile at break showed that input of this filler leads to a significant increase in rubber strength. Investigation of thermo-viscoelastic properties of these materials using dynamomechanical analyzer (DMA) were also carried out. As a result, the dynamic and viscous modulus dependences on the frequency (at 20°C) and their temperature dependences (from –50 to +100°C) were constructed.


This research was conducted to improve the students'writing skill at grade VIII-7 SMP Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan.. It was due to the lack of the students' interest and less of communication or sharing ideas in writing activity, so they were not able to complete their writing tasks by organizing their ideas, use correct grammar, and choose vocabulary during learning and teaching process. This research was intended to improve the students' writing skill by using cooperative learning (think, pair, share) technique at grade VIII-7 SMP Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan. It was hoped that by using this technique the students' writing skill of grade VIII-7 SMP Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan could be improved. The participants of this research were the students of grade VIII-7 SMP Negeri 1 Padangsidimpuan in 2012 – 2013 acdemic year. After finishing the first and second cycle of the research, there was some improvement in writing test scores.


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The benefits of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps in the management of type 1 diabetes are widely recognized. However, glaring disparities in access exist, particularly in groups that stand to benefit significantly from diabetes technology use. We will review recent data describing drivers of these disparities and approaches to address the disparities.

RECENT FINDINGS
Several qualitative studies were published in recent years that have investigated the drivers of disparities reported over the past decades. These studies report that in addition to typical barriers seen in the diabetes technology, these patients have unique challenges that make insulin pumps and CGMs less accessible.

SUMMARY
Barriers to technology use in these groups include stigmatization, lack of support, and financial constraints, provider biases, stringent insurance policies and clinic infrastructure. To address these inequities, multifaceted strategies across community, healthcare, and provider sectors are essential. Key initiatives include enhancing public awareness, refining health policies, ensuring access to high-quality care, and emphasizing patient-centered approaches. The equitable use of technology can further narrow the gap in T1D outcomes. The social and economic implications of suboptimal T1D management further underscore the urgency of these efforts for both improved health outcomes and cost-efficient care.


The paper describes mechanical property tests on a Concorde aircraft tyre rubber. The tyre rubber is taken from the tyre tread, and consists of nylon reinforcement, laid up in an angle ply form. The constitutive behaviour of the rubber is characterised using the Mooney Rivlin approach, in which deformation is expressed in terms of strain energy. Static and dynamic tensile tests are conducted along the major reinforcement and minor reinforcement axes in the plane of the tread, and compression tests are conducted through the tread thickness. This data is then input into a finite element model of the tyre, using DYNA.


In this paper, we present two heuristic energy-aware scheduling algorithms (EGMS and EGMSIV) for scheduling task precedence graphs in an embedded multiprocessor system having processing elements with dynamic voltage scaling capabilities. Unlike most energy-aware scheduling algorithms that consider task ordering and voltage scaling separately from task mapping, our algorithms consider them in an integrated way. EGMS uses the concept of energy gradient to select tasks to be mapped onto new processors and voltage levels. EGM-SIV extends EGMS by introducing intra-task voltage scaling using a Linear Programming (LP) formulation to further reduce the energy consumption. Through rigorous simulations, we compare the performance of our proposed algorithms with a few approaches presented in the literature. The results demonstrate that our algorithms are capable of obtaining energy-efficient schedules using less optimization time. On the average, our algorithms produce schedules which consume 10% less energy with more than 47% reduction in optimization time when compared to a few approaches presented in the literature. In particular, our algorithms perform better in generating energy-efficient schedules for larger task graphs. Our results show a reduction of up to 57% in energy consumption for larger task graphs compared to other approaches.


Newhouse, M. L., and Wagner, J. C. (1969).Brit. J. industr. Med.,26, 302-307. Validation of death certificates in asbestos workers. The Registrar General has supplied the certified cause of death of 436 past workers in an asbestos factory. An attempt was made to follow up the 301 (69%) deaths which had occurred in hospital or had been the subject of an inquest or coroner's post-mortem examination. Necropsy reports were obtained for 158 (52%) of this group and histological material was reviewed in 84 (28%). The additional information, particularly that obtained from review of the histology, led to the revision and extension of the diagnosis suggested by the certified cause of death in a number of cases. The incidence of carcinoma of the bronchus had not been grossly underestimated, four additional tumours of this type were identified by scrutiny of the necropsy reports, and a further four by review of histological sections. The incidence of mesothelial tumours was underestimated, endothelioma or mesothelioma was the certified cause of death in four of the series, and a further 15 mesotheliomata were identified by review of histological material. Five patients with pleural mesotheliomata had been certified as dying of carcinoma of the lung or pleura. Ten deaths from peritoneal mesotheliomata had been attributed either to carcinomatosis without mention of a primary tumour or to cancer of the gastro-intestinal tract. Lung sections were submitted for review in 67 of the series; some degree of asbestosis was found in all but seven. Asbestosis graded as either moderate or severe was found in all the confirmed cases of carcinoma of the lung.


As software systems increasingly are used to control critical infrastructure, transportation systems and factory equipment, the use of proper testing methods has become more important. Systems that can cause harm to people, equipment or the environment they operate in are called safety critical systems. The suppliers of safety critical systems makes use of safety analysis methods to investigate possible hazards. The ouput from the analysis are possible causes and effects of the hazards found. These results are a large part of the basis for writing safety requirements for the system. The safety requirements should be tested thoroughly to avoid accidents. It is important that the right testing technique is applied to test these systems. The consequences of a system failure can be very high, so it is crucial to make use of a testing technique that has an approach that fits safety testing best. This thesis presents an experiment that looks into these questions. Also, the experiment investigates how the barrier model and safety analysis results helps in writing test cases for these systems.


Study objective: To examine the involvement of Philip Morris in Living Tomorrow 2 and determine the rationale behind its involvement. Design: Research was conducted through a web based search of internal tobacco industry documents made publicly available through litigation. Main results: For approximately €1 000 000 Philip Morris (now Altria) became a co-initiator of Living Tomorrow 2, a tourist complex in Belgium that aims to demonstrate how we will be living in the future. In addition to promoting the company and its grocery products, Philip Morris is using the complex and its website to promote ventilation as a means of accommodating smokers and non-smokers in the indoor environment. Particular emphasis was placed on the bar and restaurant areas. Despite the rationale for its involvement, Philip Morris fails to acknowledge its role as a cigarette manufacturer. As a form of corporate sponsorship Philip Morris thought its involvement could evade any European tobacco advertising ban. Conclusions: Philip Morris is using a tourist attraction to promote its views on control of second hand smoke (SHS) and accommodation of smokers and non-smokers in the indoor environment. However, ventilation does not deal with the health effects of SHS. Policymakers must be cognisant of the devious tactics the industry employs to promote its own agenda, especially in relation to indoor air quality and smoking in public places. Tobacco control legislation should be continually modified and strengthened in response to the changing activities of the tobacco industry as it strives to evade existing legislation and deter the advent of new legislation.


The few controlled studies that have been carried out have shown that bilateral internal globus pallidum stimulation is a safe and long-term effective treatment for hyperkinetic disorders. However, most recent published data on deep brain stimulation (DBS) for dystonia, applied to different targets and patients, are still mainly from uncontrolled case reports (especially for secondary dystonia). This precludes clear determination of the efficacy of this procedure and the choice of the 'good' target for the 'good' patient. We performed a literature analysis on DBS for dystonia according to the expected outcome. We separated those with good evidence of favourable outcome from those with less predictable outcome. In the former group, we review the main results for primary dystonia (generalised/focal) and highlight recent data on myoclonus-dystonia and tardive dystonia (as they share, with primary dystonia, a marked beneficial effect from pallidal stimulation with good risk/benefit ratio). In the latter group, poor or variable results have been obtained for secondary dystonia (with a focus on heredodegenerative and metabolic disorders). From this overview, the main results and limits for each subgroup of patients that may help in the selection of dystonic patients who will benefit from DBS are discussed.


Subscribing to the view that the choice of the Exchange rate regime is crucial for growth and long term development, this paper reviews the experiences of seven MENA countries with exchange rate-based stabilization and explores the future prospects for their graduation to more flexible regimes. The evidence is mixed with some (Egypt, Iran, Sudan, and Turkey) experiencing high and extended episodes of real exchange rate overvaluations, associated with a combination of high inflation inertia, unstable or pegged exchange rate regimes. The unsustainable overvaluations eventually contributed to the collapse of the pegged regimes in Egypt and Turkey. The other three (Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia) are able to maintain very competitive exchange rates while avoiding high inflationary pressures, despite that the first two have pursued relatively rigid pegged regimes. The analysis of this paper suggests that the MENA countries would need to consider: more flexible exchange rate regimes in a world of high private capital flows; implement much stronger policy fundamentals; emulate Chile and Malaysia and only use capital control as complimentary to, not a substitute for, sound policies; select the "appropriate" exchange rate regime that would minimize the likelihood of speculative attacks and crises without sacrificing the long term goal of real exchange rate competitiveness. Finally, there is no one-size-fits all regime, and depending on country-specific characteristics, such 'appropriate' regime might be 'managed floating plus' or 'free floating' with inflation targeting; a modified target zone regime, along the lines of the BBC proposal; or even a variant of the pegged regime, following the Malaysian model.


The microeconomic analysis of labour mobilisation and labour relationships in developing countries, though diverse in its hypotheses, methods and results, still nurtures the idea of dualistically segmented labour markets. This binary rural/urban segmentation leaves in the dark an important stratum of developing countries' labour markets, namely the urban informal sector. How does this huge group of unprotected workers gain access to jobs? Do labour relations comprise a social security dimension? We focus on the contractual forms that unregistered employment relationships take. We successively explore the content of employment relationships and compare it to existing classifications. We also assess the role of friends and families in accessing jobs and the changing social embeddedness over time of labour arrangements to highlight the crucial importance of interpersonal ties for informal work trajectories.


Colleges and universities are faced with the challenge of drawing a fine line between censorship and freedom of speech. With new technology and as students continue to push the limits of computer usage, higher education administrators are being forced to take a stand on issues regarding misuse of campus computer resources and facilities. Education is the key to helping others better understand that, as with any resource, it is also possible to misuse and abuse the Internet. Today, almost every college student has had experience with the Internet. This may be especially true since the typical college or university provides computer labs for student use and some institutions even offer Ethernet connections in residence halls, as well as fraternity and sorority houses (Jackson, 1994). Students know how to locate just about anything on the Internetdirections, research information, spring break locations, internet-relay chat lines, and pornography. There appear to be no boundaries, as new items are constantly being added to the Internet. In the recent whirlwind of technological breakthroughs, administrators have begun to take a closer look at how some students are utilizing their computer skills. Recently, institutions have been faced with situations of misuse of campus computer facilities and resources. Examples of university computer violations include breaching computer security, releasing passwords or forms of confidential information, using computers for personal or commercial gain, forging mail or postings, creating a computer malfunction or interrupting operations, injecting a virus into a system, "mail bombs," copyright infringements, harassment, and computer piracy. One of the most controversial topics in the computer field is censorship. According to Paterson (in press): Virtually every university that permits students to establish a home page or provides Internet access has some material on its servers that is offensive. The offensive material is likely to include nude images; derogatory comments about race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation; and numerous other written and graphic displays. So what does this mean for colleges and universities? Should administrators ignore what students are posting on campus servers? Not according to certain state or community standards regarding obscenity. Although some precedence has been set to assist institutions in determining what does and does not meet the legal standards of obscene, questions exist regarding how to regulate material without violating a student's First Amendment rights. Now, with the Communications Decency Act of 1996, (part of the Telecommunications Act) struck down and deemed unconstitutional (Aguilar & Whitmer, 1996), universities and colleges still do not have any legal guidelines for addressing all the new computer issues. One of the major cases utilized in determining obscenity is Miller v. California (1973). The case provided a more detailed definition of obscenity, compared to the broad definition of "prurient interest" initially used in the 1957 case of Roth v. U.S. (Obscene and Indecent Material, 1995). According to the ruling in Miller v. California, obscene materials are not protected by the First Amendment. The United States Supreme Court ruled that materials are obscene if: 1. The average person, applying contemporary community standards would find materials taken as a whole, appeal to the prurient interest. 2. The materials depict or describe in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically prohibited by applicable state law. 3. The materials, taken as a whole, lack artistic, literary, political, or scientific value (Miller v. California, 1973). As students continue to put forth the concept of "free speech," institutions are becoming more cautious when deciding what information is not acceptable for posting on university servers. Colleges are caught in a predicament when it comes to regulating information. …


The signalling mechanisms required for cell survival remain relatively undefined. We and others have shown that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is an important enzyme in the prevention of apoptosis, and this property is independent of p21ras-MAP kinase activation. It is therefore important to define the downstream targets of this enzyme mediating the inhibition of apoptosis. We report here than p70 S6 kinase, a protein critical for progression through the cell cycle and a downstream effector of PI 3-kinase, is not required for the survival of cytokine-stimulated human T-cells or murine mast cells. The potent inhibitor of p70 S6 kinase activation, rapamycin, was unable to induce apoptosis in cells stimulated with cytokines. As well, PI 3-kinase inhibitors that also blocked the activation of p70 S6 kinase were able to induce apoptosis. These studies, therefore, describe a bifurcation of signalling pathways from PI 3-kinase leading to different physiological outcomes.


We prove that the symmetric and negative semidefinite modified Slutsky matrix derived by Samuelson and Sato (1984) for the money-goods model of the consumer, is identical to that derived by Pearce (1958) a quarter century before and restated sixteen years later by Berglas and Razin (1974). We also prove that these conditions are only sufficient for the problem at hand and are encompassed by a more general, modified Slutsky matrix that is necessary and sufficient as derived by Paris and Caputo (2001). These results have crucial relevance for testing the implications of consumer behavior.


Policy makers concerns for post-2013 CAP create significant interest in the investigation of alternative CAP scenarios impacts on rural areas. Capturing complex economic, social and environmental interactions associated with changes in the CAP requires a holistic and integrated approach. Hence, a system dynamics model integrating agriculture, environment, rural economy and human resources is developed and applied in a typical Greek rural area. Model results indicate that alternative CAP paths could generate very different rural impacts, depending on the territorial characteristics of the rural region. This supports the conclusion that policy makers should considerably take regional specificities into account when designing agriculture and rural development policy interventions.


Logistics service providers are an important factor in the business success of companies engaged in trade activities at national and international level. They play an important role in achieving competitive advantages of business entities directly involved in the buying and selling in international trade. The main objective of engaging logistics intermediaries, such as logistics service providers, is to facilitate the operation of companies that deal with the buying and selling at international level in regards to the organization of shipment and / or delivery of goods. As the business processes and business entities in international trade are becoming more complex, it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage all of the activities on one's own. Logistics intermediaries are, on the other hand, qualified to manage certain areas of business operations.Logistics intermediaries come in different forms and under different names, but they all have the same goal: to provide help to companies in the transportation, storage, shipment and the distribution of goods from the seller to the buyer or the final consumer, of course, for a certain fee. This research revolves around logistics intermediaries in international trade such as international freight forwarders, 3PL, 4PL or LLP. The objective of this paper is to, based on the analysis of the different types of logistics intermediaries, their classification, functions, the ways they facilitate business operations for international companies, indicate the benefits of their engagement and the differences and similarities among them.


Most deep learning classification studies assume clean data. However, when dealing with the real world data, we encounter three problems such as 1) missing data, 2) class imbalance, and 3) missing label problems. These problems undermine the performance of a classifier. Various preprocessing techniques have been proposed to mitigate one of these problems, but an algorithm that assumes and resolves all three problems together has not been proposed yet. In this paper, we propose HexaGAN, a generative adversarial network framework that shows promising classification performance for all three problems. We interpret the three problems from a single perspective to solve them jointly. To enable this, the framework consists of six components, which interact with each other. We also devise novel loss functions corresponding to the architecture. The designed loss functions allow us to achieve state-of-the-art imputation performance, with up to a 14% improvement, and to generate high-quality class-conditional data. We evaluate the classification performance (F1-score) of the proposed method with 20% missingness and confirm up to a 5% improvement in comparison with the performance of combinations of state-of-the-art methods.


Long-range dependence has been observed in many recent Internet traffic measurements. In addition, some recent studies have shown that under certain network conditions, TCP itself can produce traffic that exhibits dependence over limited timescales, even in the absence of higher-level variability. In this paper, we use a simple Markovian model to argue that when the loss rate is relatively high, TCP's adaptive congestion control mechanism indeed generates traffic with OFF periods exhibiting power-law shape over several timescales and thus introduces pseudo-long-range dependence into the overall traffic. Moreover, we observe that more variable initial retransmission timeout values for different packets introduces more variable packet inter-arrival times, which increases the burstiness of the overall traffic. We can thus explain why a single TCP connection can produce a time-series that can be misidentified as self-similar using standard tests.


Towards the safety reliability problems of the quayside container crane under earthquake excitations, the anti-seismic reliability analysis has been carried out. Because of hugeness and complexity of the structure, it is absolutely impossible to carry on seismic testing with prototype. Thus, a FEM mechanical model of quayside container crane is presented by using the ANSYS codes. Based on the modal response spectrum method and the time-history analysis theory, the load-carrying performance is investigated under earthquake excitations. The results show that neither the displacement response nor the stress response is large under the earthquake excitation in every direction, which could satisfy seismic design requirements.


Isopropyl-alkylamines 2 react with 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone (1) to give red 2-chloro-3-isopropyl-alkylamino-1,4-naphthoquinones 3 and with 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone/acetaldehyde to give blue 2-chloro-3-isopropylalkylamino-vinyl-1,4-naphthoquinones 7. It is evident that the formation of 7 is preferred sterically to the formation of 3. The reaction between 2, 1 and acetaldehyde give also red aminoquinones 3 and blue green 2-chloro-3-(4-isopropylalkylamino-buta-1,3-dienyl)-1,4-naphthoquinone like 11.


In this paper, we present a reproduction of the paper of Bertinetto et al. [2019] "Meta-learning with differentiable closed-form solvers" as part of the ICLR 2019 Reproducibility Challenge. In successfully reproducing the most crucial part of the paper, we reach a performance that is comparable with or superior to the original paper on two benchmarks for several settings. We evaluate new baseline results, using a new dataset presented in the paper. Yet, we also provide multiple remarks and recommendations about reproducibility and comparability. After we brought our reproducibility work to the authors' attention, they have updated the original paper on which this work is based and released code as well. Our contributions mainly consist in reproducing the most important results of their original paper, in giving insight in the reproducibility and in providing a first open-source implementation.


INTRODUCTION: Intrauterine infection is an important cause of spontaneous preterm birth. However, evidence-based etiology for the causative role of viral infection is still lacking. Intervillous trophoblasts express adenovirus receptor. Infection of trophoblast cells in vitro by adenovirus early in pregnancy has shown increased apoptosis. Adenovirus early in pregnancy may cause placental dysfunction. Mature syncytiotrophoblasts do not express adenovirus receptor. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that detection of adenovirus in placental tissue is associated with preterm birth and correlates with placental histopathological findings that are suggestive of infection. METHODS: Placentas were prospectively collected from consecutive deliveries. Detection of the adenovirus genome was tested by polymerase chain reaction assay. Placental histology and immunohistochemistry studies with monoclonal antibody CD45 were evaluated for signs of placental inflammation in the samples that tested positive for adenovirus. RESULTS: Between January 2005 and December 2006, 193 placenta samples (71 from preterm deliveries and 122 from term deliveries) were collected in Alexandra's Maternity Hospital in Athens, Greece. The adenoviral genome was isolated in 54 (28%) of 193 placentas. The frequency of adenovirus detection in preterm placentas compared with those from term placentas was significantly increased (29 of 71[41%] vs 25 of 122 [20%]; P = .002; odds ratio [OR]: 2.6 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4–5.1]). Stratification by gestational age (GA) revealed a stronger association between preterm delivery and adenovirus detection as GA decreased below 33 weeks (GA ≤ 29 weeks, OR: 2.8 [95% CI: 1.1–7.0]; and GA 30–33 weeks, OR: 2.7 [95% CI: 1.1–6.5]). In the subgroup of deliveries at 34 to 36 weeks' GA, the association was no longer significant (OR: 2.6 [95% CI: 0.9–7.0]). Adenoviral genome detection followed the seasonal variation of adenovirus respiratory infections (beginning of March to end of June). Chorioamnionitis was present more frequently in the adenovirus-positive preterm placentas compared with term placentas (P = .006). The presence of villitis (P = .03) and chorioamnionitis (P = .02) was significantly increased in the adenovirus-positive preterm placentas compared with preterm adenovirus-negative placentas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that there is an association between placental adenoviral genome detection and spontaneous early premature birth. Adenovirus may cause preterm birth through placental inflammation (chorioamnionitis and villitis).


The problem of interest is the minimization of a nonlinear function subject to nonlinear equality constraints using a sequential quadratic programming (SQP) method. The minimization must be performed while observing only noisy evaluations of the objective and constraint functions. In order to obtain stability, the classical SQP method is modified by relaxing the standard Armijo line search based on the noise level in the functions, which is assumed to be known. Convergence theory is presented giving conditions under which the iterates converge to a neighborhood of the solution characterized by the noise level and the problem conditioning. The analysis assumes that the SQP algorithm does not require regularization or trust regions. Numerical experiments indicate that the relaxed line search improves the practical performance of the method on problems involving uniformly distributed noise. One important application of this work is in the field of derivative-free optimization, when finite differences are employed to estimate gradients.


Aims: To explore effects of biological and psychosocial factors on climacteric symptoms in Chilean midlife women (I), to assess the impact of menopause and sociodemographic variables on quality of life (QoL) (II) to learn about Chilean women's reflection about womanhood, and sexuality during midlife and the possible influence of migration whether they lived in Sweden or in Chile (III) to explore how Chilean immigrant women living in Sweden perceived and related their life situations and health status during midlife to their migration experiences (IV) and to find out what Chilean midwives and midifery students regard being Chilean women s health care needs in midlife (V). Material and Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect the data. The inclusion criteria for the studies were healthy Chilean women who accompanied patients to the Primary Health Centres (PHC) in Santiago (I-II), Chilean middle-aged women living in Santiago or who had lived in Stockholm for at least 1520 years (III and IV). Chilean midwives working in PHC in Santiago and Chilean midwifery students in their last study years (4 and 5 year) (V). The quantitative data were collected in two cross-sectional surveys using face to face structured interviews (I-II); three validated scales and two questionnaires to collect data on biological, psychosocial and climacteric symptoms (I), one quality of life (QoL) questionnaire (II). The qualitative data was collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) (IIIV), in depth interviews with key informants (IV) and written narratives (V). Socio demographic data was collected in all the studies. EPI-INFO and STATA softwares were used for analysis of quantitative data (I-II). FGDs, in-depth interviews and written narratives were analysed using manifest and latent content analysis (III-V). Results: Perimenopausal women had a significant increase of stress and climacteric symptoms and perimenopausal state was a risk factor for somatic and vasomotor symptoms (I). Menopausal women had worse quality of life scores than women still menstruating and menopause was the only variable found to cause a significant impairment in QoL (II). A major influential factor in the women s lives had been the strong influence of a gender imbalanced life since childhood. This was a fact whether the women lived in Stockholm, Sweden or Santiago, Chile. The experienced gender imbalance had made the women socially, economically and biologically more vulnerable to exploitation later in life (III). The Chilean women discussed about their struggle to gain social acceptance and position and they reflected about the discrimination they had met in the Swedish society and within the health care system along with health changes they had had during midlife. They connected some of their health related problems to their hardships of migration. Important for their way of coping with their own health seemed to be a recognition of their level of independence, need for an `own space , self-acceptance and awareness of power relationships (IV). The midwives considered that women in midlife have special health care service needs; they considered themselves to be the most appropriate health staff to provide health care for women in midlife. Midwives recognized that they lacked communication skills and competences in assisting psychological, social and cultural health care needs of women in midlife such as violence, abuse and sexuality issues. The midwifery students remarked that many midwives focused their attention on fulfilling the biomedical requirements. Some students also questioned disrespectful attitudes by midwives especially towards poor immigrant women and women with psychosocial problems (V). Conclusion: Gender issues, structure of power relationships and empowerment should be incorporated into and critically discussed during midwifery education, training and in clinical settings. More reflections about and attention to the quality of the client–provider relationship in clinical practice are needed.


This brief provides an overview of literature relating to the mental health of international students from the past two decades. Research has found that both the rate and severity of mental health concerns is higher for international students compared to domestic students. Despite this, rates of detection and intervention remain low. Effective support and treatment to adequately address the specific mental health needs of international students is currently hindered by a range of structural, social, and cultural factors.


An atomic absorption spectrometric method with a preconcentration and separation procedure using a DETA (diethlyenetriamine) polymer is proposed for the determination of Cd, Cu and Zn. The influence various experimental condition on retention and elution efficiencies of the analyte were investigated by applying batch and column techniques. All investigated elements were quantitatively retained at pH 3, then were completely recovered by means of nitric acid. The loading capacity of the DETA polymer is 5.2 mg Cu2+/g polymer. A contact time of one minutes is sufficient for quantitative retention and elution which is shorter than for many other sorbents. In the presence of sodium chloride up to 0.5% the analyte elements were quantitatively separated and recovered.


When used with positively skewed reaction time distributions, sample medians tend to over-estimate population medians. The extent of overestimation is related directly to the amount of skew in the reaction time distributions and inversely to the size of the sample over which the median is computed. Simulations indicate that overestimation could approach 50 ms with small samples and highly skewed distributions. An important practical consequence of the bias in median reaction time is that sample medians must not be used to compare reaction times across experimental conditions when there are unequal numbers of trials in the conditions. If medians are used with unequal sample sizes, then the bias may produce an artifactual difference in conditions or conceal a true difference. Some recent studies of cuing and stimulus probability effects provide examples of this potential artifact.


Nowadays, in this era of development, the construction industry is one of the most important sectors that contribute to the economy and a catalyst for other industries. As a result, the demand for skilled and semi-skilled workers is increasing rapidly. This demand has raised the status of Technical and Vocational Education in line with the other courses. Technical and vocational education system aims to meet the challenge of filling the needs of the country in the field of engineering as well as skills in line with national industrial development. However, there are several issues that arise in the employment sector where based on previous studies, this problem arises due to the weakness of human factors within the context of ineffective leadership. Furthermore, many researchers have made studies and focuses on the importance of leadership as the key to the success of the project. Leadership is an important aspect in the form of an organization to achieve the goals, vision, mission and objectives are kept by the organization. In this title, it will discuss about leadership in education. In fact, we will discuss also the demand for technical and vocational education. Then we will look about the working environment in which the leadership is very important element in the management of an organization.


The intention of this study is to describe the three types of ordination ceremonies in Mon State and their  practices: (1) A splendid Mon ordination ceremony; (2) a simple Mon ordination ceremony; (3) an emergency Mon ordination ceremony; and (4) the practices of these Mon ordination traditions. A splendid ordination ceremony is a ceremony that is mixed with entertainment, many decorations, and an abundance of donations. A simple Mon ordination ceremony is held with few cultural celebrations and those that celebrate adhere only to the requirements of the Vinaya as given by the Buddha. An emergency Mon ordination ceremony occurs  in the event of a serious  illness of a beloved one  or, alternatively, during a funeral ceremony. The practices of a Mon ordination ceremony is most commonly practiced in the form of a splendid ordination ceremony that the Mon people perform in an attempt to represent the occasion of the Bodhisatta Siddhattha Gotama's renunciation and  associated legendary events. It is a beautiful tradition and embodies meritorious deeds which will be illustrated with the Mon traditional ways of life, stories and the stories from the Buddha's time. In summary, this article will show the attitude of the Mon people towards the celebration of an ordination tradition which some could accuse of involving extraneous work and unnecessary additions. However, the Mon takes it as a moral and religious expression of their Buddhist way of life and feels there are many good reasons behind those celebrations. Key Words : Mon ordination; tradition; and practice.


Electric Vehicles (EVs) can help alleviate our reliance on fossil fuels for transport and electricity systems. However, charging millions of EV batteries requires management to prevent overloading the electricity grid and minimise costly upgrades that are ultimately paid for by consumers. Managed chargers, such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) chargers, allow control over the time, speed and direction of charging. Such control assists in balancing electricity supply and demand across a green electricity system and could reduce costs for consumers. Smart and V2G chargers connect EVs to the power grid using a charging device which includes a data connection to exchange information and control commands between various entities in the EV ecosystem. This introduces data privacy concerns and is a potential target for cyber-security attacks. Therefore, the implementation of a secure system is crucial to permit both consumers and electricity system operators to trust smart charging and V2G. In principle, we already have the technology needed for a connected EV charging infrastructure to be securely enabled, borrowing best practices from the Internet and industrial control systems. We must properly adapt the security technology to take into account the challenges peculiar to the EV charging infrastructure. Challenges go beyond technical considerations and other issues arise such as balancing trade-offs between security and other desirable qualities such as interoperability, scalability, crypto-agility, affordability and energy efficiency. This document reviews security and privacy topics relevant to the EV charging ecosystem with a focus on smart charging and V2G.


Aims. We attempt to derive accurate transition probabilities for astrophysically interesting spectral lines of Nb ii and Nb iii and determine the niobium abundance in the Sun and metal-poor stars rich in neutron-capture elements. Methods. We used the time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence technique to measure radiative lifetimes in Nb ii. Branching fractions were measured from spectra recorded using Fourier transform spectroscopy. The radiative lifetimes and the branching fractions were combined yielding transition probabilities. In addition, we calculated lifetimes and transition probablities in Nb ii and Nb iii using a relativistic Hartree-Fock method that includes core polarization. Abundances of the sun and five metal-poor stars were derived using synthetic spectra calculated with the MOOG code, including hyperfine broadening of the lines. Results. We present laboratory measurements of 17 radiative lifetimes in Nb ii. By combining these lifetimes with branching fractions for lines depopulating the levels, we derive the transition probabilities of 107 Nb ii lines from 4d 3 5p configuration in the wavelength region 2240−4700 A. For the first time, we present theoretical transition probabilities of 76 Nb III transitions with wavelengths in the range 1430−3140 A. The derived solar photospheric niobium abundance log � � = 1.44 ± 0.06 is in agreement with the meteoritic value. The stellar Nb/Eu abundance ratio determined for five metal-poor stars confirms that the r-process is a dominant production method for the n-capture elements in these stars.


The structures, strain fields, and defect distributions in solid materials underlie the mechanical and physical properties across numerous applications. Many modern microstructural microscopy tools characterize crystal grains, domains and defects required to map lattice distortions or deformation, but are limited to studies of the (near) surface. Generally speaking, such tools cannot probe the structural dynamics in a way that is representative of bulk behavior. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction based imaging has long mapped the deeply embedded structural elements, and with enhanced resolution, Dark Field X-ray Microscopy (DFXM) can now map those features with the requisite nm-resolution. However, these techniques still suffer from the required integration times due to limitations from the source and optics. This work extends DFXM to X-ray free electron lasers, showing how the 10 12 photons per pulse available at these sources offer structural characterization down to 100 fs resolution (orders of magnitude faster than current synchrotron images). We introduce the XFEL DFXM setup with simultaneous bright field microscopy to probe density changes within the same volume. This work presents a comprehensive guide to the multi-modal ultrafast high-resolution X-ray microscope that we constructed and tested at two XFELs, and shows initial data demonstrating two timing strategies to study associated reversible or irreversible lattice dynamics.