Abstract Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. Investigating the environment through an ES framework has gained wide acceptance in the international scientific community and is applied by policymakers to protect biodiversity and safeguard the sustainability of ecosystems. This approach can enhance the ecological and societal relevance of pre‐market/prospective environmental risk assessments (ERAs) of regulated stressors by: (1) informing the derivation of operational protection goals; (2) enabling the integration of environmental and human health risk assessments; (3) facilitating horizontal integration of policies and regulations; (4) leading to more comprehensive and consistent environmental protection; (5) articulating the utility of, and trade‐offs involved in, environmental decisions; and (6) enhancing the transparency of risk assessment results and the decisions based upon them. Realisation of these advantages will require challenges that impede acceptance of an ES approach to be overcome. Particularly, there is concern that, if biodiversity only matters to the extent that it benefits humans, the intrinsic value of nature is ignored. Moreover, our understanding of linkages among ecological components and the processes that ultimately deliver ES is incomplete, valuing ES is complex, and there is no standard ES lexicon and limited familiarity with the approach. To help overcome these challenges, we encourage: (1) further research to establish biodiversity–ES relationships; (2) the development of approaches that (i) quantitatively translate responses to chemical stressors by organisms and groups of organisms to ES delivery across different spatial and temporal scales, (ii) measure cultural ES and ease their integration into ES valuations, and (iii) appropriately value changes in ES delivery so that trade‐offs among different management options can be assessed; (3) the establishment of a standard ES lexicon; and (4) building capacity in ES science and how to apply ES to ERAs. These development needs should not prevent movement towards implementation of an ES approach in ERAs, as the advantages we perceive of using this approach render it more than worthwhile to tackle those challenges. Society and the environment stand to benefit from this shift in how we conduct the ERA of regulated stressors.


The increasing complexity of industrial systems requires more efforts to be invested in the process of system verification and validation. The quality of such systems depends on the different types of techniques that are used to verify and ensure their correct functionality. The cost of maintaining systems in the latter phases of development is usually very high and may lead in most of the cases to inefficient solutions. Therefore, checking the correctness and validity of systems early in the design phase is greatly desirable. Different verification and validation techniques such as those involving testing and simulation are helpful and useful but may lack in many cases the desired level of rigor and completeness. Moreover, these conventional techniques are generally costly, laborious and time consuming. Conversely, using formal techniques, such as model-checking and program analysis along with design metrics complementary to the conventional verification techniques provides an elevated level of confidence since they are based on theoretical foundations. Systems Engineering is an interdisciplinary approach that aims to enable the successful realization and deployment of complex systems. Many modeling languages emerged in the systems engineering arena in order to provide the means for capturing and modeling of system's specifications and requirements. The most prominent languages are Unified Modeling Language (UML) 2.0 and Systems Modeling Languages (SysML). Formal verification and software engineering techniques can be applied in order to assess the correctness of different diagrams belonging to the aforementioned modeling languages. This research work presents a unified paradigm for the verification and validation of software and systems engineering design models expressed in UML 2.0 or SysML. The proposed paradigm relies on an established synergy between three salient approaches, which are model-checking, program analysis, and software engineering techniques


Background: Given the very limited data, this study aimed to determine the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB: Ajzen, 1991) in the study of high-fat snacking in Greek high-school students, whilst taking into consideration gender and culture-relevant factors. Methods: Predictor variables were measured at Time 1 (N=147), and actual high-fat snacking a week later (N=129). Additionally, three focus groups (N=28) were conducted to elucidate culture-relevant factors influencing high-fat snacking. Findings: The TPB variables predicted 19.6% of intended high-fat snacking, with attitudes being the strongest predictor (? =.40, p< .001). Moreover, the model predicted 35% of subsequent high-fat snacking. Gender did not influence intended or subsequent high-fat snacking. Of the culture-relevant influences, the involvement of grandmothers and the 24-hour easy access to snacks at kiosks were particularly salient. Discussion: The TPB can be used to study high-fat snacking among Greek students, whilst accounting for culture-relevant influences.


A field experiment was conducted at Awada Agricultural Research Sub-Center, Ethiopia, to study the magnitude of phenotypic diversity among Hararge coffee ( Coffea arabica L.) germplasm accessions based on quantitative traits. A total of 104 entries consisting of 100 accessions from Hararge and 4 standard cultivars were evaluated using nested design. Analyses of variance showed significant differences among the accessions for all the traits considered, indicating the presence of high genetic variability among the Hararge coffee germplasm accessions. Cluster analysis grouped the entries into 6 groups of different sizes, ranging from 5 entries in cluster VI to 44 in cluster III. The maximum inter-cluster distance was obtained between clusters II and VI while the minimum was observed between clusters I and III. Clusters I and V, I and VI, II and IV, II and V, II and VI, III and VI, IV and V and V and VI were significantly divergent. The first four principal components constituted 78.5 percent of the total variation prevalent within the germplasm accessions, while 38.5 percent was represented by the first principal component. The length of the longest primary branch, stem diameter, average length of primary branches, total number of internodes per plant and total number of primary branches per plant were the
five important characteristics that contributed most to the total variation in the first principal component, implying that there is high potential to improve these traits through selection. The study revealed the presence of high genetic diversity among Hararge Coffee germplasm accessions and the possibility of developing improved varieties through selection and hybridization. Keywords : Cluster Analysis; Coffea arabica ; Genetic Diversity; Germplasm; Hararge; Quantitative Traits East African Journal of Sciences Vol. 2 (1) 2008: pp. 13-18


In the cells of the phototrophic bacteria Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodopseudomonas palustris the two enzymes of the cAMP system enzymes - adenylate cyclase and cAMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) exist in a soluble and membrane-bound forms. After mild disruption of the cells (sonication up to 3 min) the activity of both enzymes is found in the chromatophores. In the cells of the two types of bacteria grown under anaerobic conditions soluble adenylate cyclase is predominant. In the cells of R. rubrum the soluble form of PDE posesses higher activity, whereas in the cells of Rh. palustris a higher activity is observed in the membrane-bound form. In addition to their different localization in the cells, the PDE forms of Rh. rubrum differ in their ratios to the concentrations of hydrogen ions and bivalent metals; the latter difference, however, may be accounted for by the effect of a protein modulator of PDE. The pH optimum of membrane-bound PDE is 9.15. Soluble PDE has two activity maxima at pH 7.5 and 8.7. It is probable that similar to the animal tissue enzyme, PDE from Rh. rubrum exists in the soluble phase in at least tw forms. Close pH optima for soluble adenylate cyclase and for one of the soluble PDE forms (about 8.5) may indicate the unidirectional control of these enzymes by hydrogen ion concentration.


Presentation of two cases of Crohn's disease seen in our Service in which the urological symptoms were of special relevance. One patient presented clinically with a picture of anaemic gross haematuria. The other one, was a patient already diagnosed with Crohn's disease who developed an enterovesical fistula in spite of receiving medical treatment. Both cases were resolved surgically. The clinical aspects, natural history and treatment of this uncommon form of urinary tract involvement are discussed.


Policy measures are needed to reduce the risks associated with pesticides' application in agriculture, resulting in more sustainable agricultural systems. Pesticide taxes can be an important tool in the toolkit of policy-makers and are of increasing importance in European agriculture. However, little is known about the effects of such tax solutions and their impacts on the environment, farmers, and human health. We aim to fill this gap and synthesize experiences made in the European countries that have introduced pesticide taxes, i.e., France, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The major findings of our analysis are: (1) overall, the effectiveness of pesticide taxes is limited, but if a tax on a specific pesticide is high enough, the application and the associated risks will be reduced significantly; (2) in all countries, hoarding activities have been observed before a tax introduction or increase. Therefore, short-term effects of taxes are substantially smaller than long-term effects; (3) differentiated taxes are superior to undifferentiated taxes because fewer accompanying measures are required to reach policy goals; (4) tax scheme designs are not always in line with the National Action Plan targets. Low tax levels do not necessarily lead to a reduction of pesticide input and differentiated taxes do not necessarily lead to fewer violations of water residue limits.


Grid computing aims to seamlessly deliver computing power as a resource similar to how electrical power is delivered over the electrical power grid.This thesis studies the scalability of Grid information systems, which enable the discovery of resources in a Grid computing infrastructure and provide further information about their structure and state.It is motivated by the observation that existing approaches for query processing in a Grid environment do not take into consideration the dynamic nature of the information.The concept of static and dynamic information has been widely used in Grid computing to describe the information about resources even though a detailed definition does not exist and its use may be misleading. This work claims that all information is dynamic and that it is the expected frequency of change which defines the relative dynamic nature of information types.As Grid infrastructures increase in size, the volume of information describing all the resources in the infrastructure increases and hence the number of changes due to its dynamic nature will also increase. Since not all information changes at the same frequency, one can use a measurement that defines the freshness of information to optimise a Grid information system.Ultimately, the freshness is maximized if each change is propagated through the system as soon as it occurs at the resource, and hence the time taken to propagate this information, the latency, is minimized. This thesis proposes a novel Grid information system architecture that reduces the latency for dynamic information by sending each change as it occurs.The proposed architecture not only improves the system's ability to manage dynamic information, but in addition improves the efficiency of the system by reducing both the network throughput and operational overhead. The proposed architecture is evaluated by considering the real use cases from the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid, and is compared against the performance results of the system currently used in production today.The proposed architecture is shown to significantly improve the information freshness for dynamic information.


Abstract:Penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI) is the most common partnered (hetero)sexual behaviour in North America. Many women participate in PVI but do not acquire the clitoral stimulation they may need to orgasm as desired resulting in a gender-based orgasm gap during partnered sex. This phenomenological study situates itself at the intersection of sexological studies, which validate the importance of the clitoris (e.g. Kinsey and colleagues; Hite), and feminist scholarship that explores the problem of a sexual script constructed in a patriarchy that largely devalues the clitoris (e.g. Koedt; Boston Women's Health Collective) in interrogating and describing solutions to inequitable orgasm experiences during PVI. In this study, 15 cisgender women, who do not orgasm from PVI alone, shared in semi-structured interviews how they acquire orgasmic clitoral stimulation during PVI. Four partners, who were cisgender men, were also interviewed and their perspectives were included when they added greater detail to the primary participants' experiences. Fourteen out of the 15 women learned to induce orgasm during masturbation before experiencing their first orgasm during PVI. Masturbatory experiences helped participants learn effective stimulation techniques. Women then communicated these preferences to partners or self-stimulated during PVI. Orgasmic stimulation was achieved by either stimulating the clitoris against the male body or by creating space around the clitoris (2-3") where preferred stimulation could occur. No two women had the same preferred clitoral stimulation technique. Understanding that one's preferred stimulation technique is likely different and nuanced from others may be key to effective partner communication.


Despite the wide application of functional neuroimaging techniques to the study of neurological disorders, few reports have examined patterns of brain activity following severe injuries. In this review, we discuss recent functional brain imaging studies of patients in the vegetative state (VS) and pilot studies of patients meeting diagnostic criteria for the newly formulated minimally conscious state (MCS). 1 These neuroimaging studies support the clinical model of VS and provide neurophysiologic correlates of the condition. In addition, the studies suggest a foundation for the conceptual separation of VS and MCS on the basis of distinct physiological underpinnings. We consider the widely varying responses drawn by the definition of MCS 2,3 and argue for the relevance and importance of nosological distinctions, even within the lowest functional levels observed among patients who remain severely disabled. As further neuroimaging efforts are applied to study the outcomes of severe brain injuries, it is expected that fundamental questions will arise surrounding the underlying mechanisms of similar functional disabilities. Although it is possible that some MCS patients may harbor greater residual cognitive capacities, other MCS patients may never reach a level of reliable communication. Functional imaging studies in conjunction with other physiological and anatomical measurements will help develop an approach to these disorders based on differences in underlying mechanisms, eventually broadening the expertise of the neurologist.


Aim: The study aimed to review the literature on the effectiveness of microwave and chemical disinfection methods on denture base resins and their effects on physical properties such as hardness, roughness, dimensional stability, and colour stability. Methods: Online electronic databases such as PubMed-Medline, Embase, and Scopus were searched using appropriate keywords from the earliest available date till 12th January 2021 with no restriction on language. Additional sources like Google Scholar, major journals, unpublished studies, conference proceedings, and cross-references were explored. Information curated for data extraction included microwave and chemical disinfection methods on denture base resins and their effects on the physical properties such as hardness, roughness, dimensional stability, and colour stability. Results: Five articles out of 267 titles were found to meet the eligibility criteria. For surface properties, chemical disinfection led to comparatively smaller changes, and it created a rougher surface that can lead to plaque accumulation. Hardness was not much affected by any of the disinfectant methods. Hence, microwave disinfection showed better results amongst the two. Conclusion: Two methods used for the disinfection purpose effectively remove the denture microbial layer; however, the microwave method was more effective as it required less time for disinfection procedures. However, these studies were undertaken entirely in the laboratories under conditions that usually are different from the actual oral environment making the comparison and generalizability doubtful.


BACKGROUND
Whether hypothermic therapy improves neurodevelopmental outcomes in newborn infants with asphyxial encephalopathy is uncertain.

METHODS
We performed a randomized trial of infants who were less than 6 hours of age and had a gestational age of at least 36 weeks and perinatal asphyxial encephalopathy. We compared intensive care plus cooling of the body to 33.5 degrees C for 72 hours and intensive care alone. The primary outcome was death or severe disability at 18 months of age. Prespecified secondary outcomes included 12 neurologic outcomes and 14 other adverse outcomes.

RESULTS
Of 325 infants enrolled, 163 underwent intensive care with cooling, and 162 underwent intensive care alone. In the cooled group, 42 infants died and 32 survived but had severe neurodevelopmental disability, whereas in the noncooled group, 44 infants died and 42 had severe disability (relative risk for either outcome, 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68 to 1.07; P=0.17). Infants in the cooled group had an increased rate of survival without neurologic abnormality (relative risk, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.12; P=0.003). Among survivors, cooling resulted in reduced risks of cerebral palsy (relative risk, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.96; P=0.03) and improved scores on the Mental Developmental Index and Psychomotor Developmental Index of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (P=0.03 for each) and the Gross Motor Function Classification System (P=0.01). Improvements in other neurologic outcomes in the cooled group were not significant. Adverse events were mostly minor and not associated with cooling.

CONCLUSIONS
Induction of moderate hypothermia for 72 hours in infants who had perinatal asphyxia did not significantly reduce the combined rate of death or severe disability but resulted in improved neurologic outcomes in survivors. (Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN89547571.)


Abstract. At present, airborne laser scanner systems are one of the most frequent methods used to obtain digital terrain elevation models. While having the advantage of direct measurement on the object, the point cloud obtained has the need for classification of their points according to its belonging to the ground. This need for classification of raw data has led to appearance of multiple filters focused LiDAR classification information. According this approach, this paper presents a classification method that combines LiDAR data segmentation techniques and progressive densification to carry out the location of the points belonging to the ground. The proposed methodology is tested on several datasets with different terrain characteristics and data availability. In all case, we analyze the advantages and disadvantages that have been obtained compared with the individual techniques application and, in a special way, the benefits derived from the integration of both classification techniques. In order to provide a more comprehensive quality control of the classification process, the obtained results have been compared with the derived from a manual procedure, which is used as reference classification. The results are also compared with other automatic classification methodologies included in some commercial software packages, highly contrasted by users for LiDAR data treatment.


The purpose of this study was to determine if knowledge of diabetes could be increased through use of a learning device designed for insulin-dependent diabetic children, aged 7-12 yr. The instrument, consisting of a book and game, combines cognitive and affective elements to provide diabetic information and to reinforce and to evaluate this knowledge in subjects. Serial exposure to the instrument resulted in a significant increase in knowledge and retention of information in 26 experimental subjects. Five subjects receiving one teaching intervention showed an initial increase in knowledge, but without reinforcement, demonstrated minimal retention. Six control subjects, receiving no intervention, showed no increase in knowledge.


GPR7 and GPR8 are orphan G protein-coupled receptors that are highly similar to each other. These receptors are expressed predominantly in brain, suggesting roles in central nervous system function. We have purified an endogenous peptide ligand for GPR7 from bovine hypothalamus extracts. This peptide, termed neuropeptide B (NPB), has a C-6-brominated tryptophan residue at the N terminus. It binds and activates human GPR7 or GPR8 with median effective concentrations (EC50) of 0.23 nM and 15.8 nM, respectively. In situ hybridization shows distinct localizations of the prepro-NPB mRNA in mouse brain, i.e., in paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, hippocampus, and several nuclei in midbrain and brainstem. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of NPB in mice induces hyperphagia during the first 2 h, followed by hypophagia. Intracerebroventricular injection of NPB produces analgesia to s.c. formalin injection in rats. Through EST database searches, we identified a putative paralogous peptide. This peptide, termed neuropeptide W (NPW), also has an N-terminal tryptophan residue. Synthetic human NPW binds and activates human GPR7 or GPR8 with EC50 values of 0.56 nM and 0.51 nM, respectively. The expression of NPW mRNA in mouse brain is confined to specific nuclei in midbrain and brainstem. These findings suggest diverse physiological functions of NPB and NPW in the central nervous system, acting as endogenous ligands on GPR7 and/or GPR8.


Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) and steroids are known to promote insulin resistance, and their avoidance after islet transplantation is preferred from a metabolic standpoint. Belatacept, a B7‐specific mediator of costimulation blockade (CoB), is clinically indicated as a CNI alternative in renal transplantation, and we have endeavored to develop a clinically translatable, belatacept‐based regimen that could obviate the need for both CNIs and steroids. Based on the known synergy between CoB and mTOR inhibition, we studied rhesus monkeys undergoing MHC‐mismatched islet allotransplants treated with belatacept and the mTOR inhibitor, sirolimus. To extend prior work on CoB‐resistant rejection, some animals also received CD2 blockade with alefacept (LFA3‐Ig). Nine rhesus macaques were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin and underwent islet allotransplantation. All received belatacept and sirolimus; six also received alefacept. Belatacept and sirolimus significantly prolonged rejection‐free graft survival (median 225 days compared to 8 days in controls receiving basiliximab and sirolimus; p = 0.022). The addition of alefacept provided no additional survival benefit, but was associated with Cytomegalovirus reactivation in four of six animals. No recipients produced donor‐specific alloantibodies. The combination of belatacept and sirolimus successfully prevents islet allograft survival in rhesus monkeys, but induction with alefacept provides no survival benefit and increases the risk of viral reactivation.


Combined with the pile foundation engineering of a super-large highway bridge, vertical static loading test of pile with expanded diameter was carried out. The pile's load-settlement curves, axial forces of the different pile's section and the pile-soil interaction friction were obtained from the test. The load transfer mechanism and bearing behavior of the pile with expanded diameter under vertical load were studied. The results show that the ultimate load of the testing pile is more than 6000kN. The pile-soil interaction of the pile with expanded diameter behaviors as friction pile, and the bearing capacity of the segment with expanded diameter accounts for 40% of the ultimate load. These studies provide important references for similar projects.


The purpose of this study was to know how emotions can influence on the users of directed activities' satisfaction and their repercussions in behavioural intentions. A questionnaire was developed to know which are the predominant emotions in directed activities consumption in a sport center in Valencia. The questionnaire was designed from the adaptation of Han y Jeong (2012) on the questionnaire Consumption Emotion Set (CES) and it was distributed to a sample of 281 guides sport activities users, of which 279 were valid. Findings show that not only the comfort emotion dimension has a direct effect on satisfaction but also has a indirect effect on behavioural intentions via satisfaction. In turn, annoyance emotion and stimulation emotion have a negative direct effect on satisfaction. In a sport management level, and specifically for guided activities, our results suggest that emotional experiences (emotions) is a factor which can contribute to satisfaction and behavioural intentions positively. Hence, the need for further work in this context in future research


Objective: To determine if a 12-week yoga intervention (YI) was associated with increased gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels and decreased depressive symptoms in participants with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Subjects were randomized to a high-dose group (HDG) of three YIs a week and a low-dose group (LDG) of two YIs a week. Thalamic GABA levels were obtained using magnetic resonance spectroscopy at Scan-1 before randomization. After the assigned 12-week intervention, Scan-2 was obtained, immediately followed by a YI and Scan-3. Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) scores were obtained before Scan-1 and Scan-3. Settings/Location: Screenings and interventions occurred at the Boston University Medical Center. Imaging occurred at McLean Hospital. Subjects: Subjects met criteria for MDD. Intervention: Ninety minutes of Iyengar yoga and coherent breathing at five breaths per minute plus homework. Outcome measures: GABA levels and the BDI-II. Results: BDI-II scores improved significantly in both groups. GABA levels from Scan-1 to Scan-3 and from Scan-2 to Scan-3 were significantly increased in the LDG (n = 15) and showed a trend in the total cohort. Post hoc, participants were divided into two groups based on having an increase in GABA levels at Scan-2. Increases in Scan-2 GABA levels were observed in participants whose mean time between their last YI and Scan-2 was 3.93 ± 2.92 standard deviation (SD) days, but not in those whose mean time between their last YI and Scan-2 was 7.83 ± 6.88 SD. Conclusions: This study tentatively supports the hypothesis that one of the mechanisms through which yoga improves mood is by increasing the activity of the GABA system. The observed increase in GABA levels following a YI that was no longer observed 8 days after a YI suggests that the associated increase in GABA after a YI is time limited such that at least one YI a week may be necessary to maintain the elevated GABA levels.


In this paper we propose a probabilistic model for online document clustering. We use non-parametric Dirichlet process prior to model the growing number of clusters, and use a prior of general English language model as the base distribution to handle the generation of novel clusters. Furthermore, cluster uncertainty is modeled with a Bayesian Dirichlet-multinomial distribution. We use empirical Bayes method to estimate hyperparameters based on a historical dataset. Our probabilistic model is applied to the novelty detection task in Topic Detection and Tracking (TDT) and compared with existing approaches in the literature.


"This paper aims to contribute to the development of an analytical framework that provides the space for the understanding of female migrants as reproductive workers in a cross-national transfer of labor. It will first provide some hypothetical guidelines for the explanation of female migration in the context of reproductive labor. Based on accessible data, a discussion on the case of Japan will be presented to highlight the main issues and problems concerning female migrants as reproductive workers. Finally, implications on policy-making and networking at the international and national level will be analyzed and discussed, taking into account the specific ideological, political and socioeconomic constraints."


Identifying handled objects, i.e. objects being manipulated by a user, is essential for recognizing the person's activities. An egocentric camera as worn on the body enjoys many advantages such as having a natural first-person view and not needing to instrument the environment. It is also a challenging setting, where background clutter is known to be a major source of problems and is difficult to handle with the camera constantly and arbitrarily moving. In this work we develop a bottom-up motion-based approach to robustly segment out foreground objects in egocentric video and show that it greatly improves object recognition accuracy. Our key insight is that egocentric video of object manipulation is a special domain and many domain-specific cues can readily help. We compute dense optical flow and fit it into multiple affine layers. We then use a max-margin classifier to combine motion with empirical knowledge of object location and background movement as well as temporal cues of support region and color appearance. We evaluate our segmentation algorithm on the large Intel Egocentric Object Recognition dataset with 42 objects and 100K frames. We show that, when combined with temporal integration, figure-ground segmentation improves the accuracy of a SIFT-based recognition system from 33% to 60%, and that of a latent-HOG system from 64% to 86%.


An experimental data flow analyzer for PL/I programs has been implemented within the PROBE system developed at the GM Research Laboratories. PROBE is an experimental software package that examines the internal structure of PL/I programs in order to expose error-prone design and programming features. This paper describes 1) the algorithms and data structures used by the data flow analyzer, 2) the salient aspects of PL/I usage in the analyzed production-level programs, and 3) the results of the data flow analysis.


Dancing is a popular form of physical exercise and studies have show that dancing can decrease anxiety, increase self-esteem, and improve psychological wellbeing. The aim of the current study was to explore the motivational basis of recreational social dancing and develop a new psychometric instrument to assess dancing motivation. The sample comprised 447 salsa and/or ballroom dancers (68% female; mean age 32.8 years) who completed an online survey. Eight motivational factors were identified via exploratory factor analysis and comprise a new Dance Motivation Inventory: Fitness, Mood Enhancement, Intimacy, Socialising, Trance, Mastery, Self-confidence and Escapism. Mood Enhancement was the strongest motivational factor for both males and females, although motives differed according to gender. Dancing intensity was predicted by three motivational factors: Mood Enhancement, Socialising, and Escapism. The eight dimensions identified cover possible motives for social recreational dancing, and the DMI proved to be a suitable measurement tool to assess these motives. The explored motives such as Mood Enhancement, Socialising and Escapism appear to be similar to those identified in other forms of behaviour such as drinking alcohol, exercise, gambling, and gaming.


The paper explores the complex role of drinking in Sweet Home Farm (an informal settlement) through an examination of its contextual setting and its spatial characteristics. It examines, through a social-spatial ethnographic method and focus on a series of case studies, how shebeens are positioned in terms of their relationship to urban settlement, their role in providing publicly accessible venues within an over-crowed slum and influence on drinking outcomes. Our analysis of space focuses on the context of the informal settlement as an (un)regulated space which permits emergent spatial expressions and arrangements. Through a detail examination of four case studies, we consider the intimate configuration and organisation (place) of specific venues. From the perspective of place, the analysis examines the use (and non-use) of equipment/objects and internal architecture to define the character of particular typologies of establishments and their positioning vis-a-vis market niches. We reflect on the role and impact of shebeens on life within Sweet Home Farm, both in terms of providing space for socialisation and in supporting diverse cultures of drinking and business forms.


Lymphangiomas are rare benign lesions of the lymphatic vessels that are most commonly diagnosed in childhood. Intraperitoneal localization is unusual as, typically, they are located in the head and neck areas. In general, abdominal lymphangiomas seem to be asymptomatic, however, patients may occasionally suffer from acute abdominal symptoms, due to intestinal obstruction or peritonitis. The study presented a case of a 41-year-old female patient, clinically asymptomatic, who was accidentally diagnosed with a multiseptated cystic lesion of the right liver lobe surrounding the gall-bladder fossa in a routine ultrasound examination. Further examinations including computed tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) aroused suspicion of a polycystic lesion of the gall-bladder and hepatoduodenal ligament. The cystic lesion of the gall-bladder and hepatoduodenal ligament filled with lymphatic fluid was diagnosed intraoperatively. Simultaneous cholecystectomy and radical resection of the cystic lesion was undertaken. The histopathological examination revealed the presence of a lymphangioma. Additionally, the authors of the study reviewed literature data concerning gall-bladder lymphangiomas.


The Mediterranean green crab Carcinus aestuarii Nardo, 1847 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Portunidae) is a common inhabitant of the shallow waters of Homa Lagoon in Izmir Bay, Turkey, in the eastern Mediterranean. Monthly samples were collected in Homa Lagoon from June 2006 to May 2007 using trammel nets, fyke nets, beach seines and fence traps. In total, 608 males and 559 females of C. aestuarii were collected. The highest sex ratio (81–86% females) was recorded between October and December, and in August (58% females). Ovigerous females were obtained only from November to February with the highest ratio of ovigerous females (55%) observed in January 2007. The maturation curve presenting the carapace width showed that 50% of female crabs with the carapace width of 26.84 ±1.58 mm (r= 0.72) were physiologically mature. Regression analyses indicated that the number of eggs was positively correlated with carapace width and wet weight (P < 0.05, in both cases).


Abstract Conditional mean spectrum (CMS) is increasingly being accepted as a more reasonable target spectrum for selecting earthquake records than uniform hazard spectrum. Construction of CMS requires the determination of correlation coefficients of spectral accelerations. This article presents the first investigation of correlation coefficients based on earthquake records from China. First, an original methodology to verify the appropriateness of a ground‐motion prediction equation (GMPE) to determine correlation coefficients is proposed and illustrated considering seismic hazard in China. A dataset of ground motions recorded from 2007 to 2014 in China, with magnitudes ranging from M s  5.5 to 7.0 and epicentral distances less than 200 km, is then selected and analyzed to obtain correlation coefficients based on a newly developed GMPE. The obtained results indicate the same trends as the prediction model proposed by Baker and Jayaram (2008) based on Next Generation Attenuation‐West ground motions and GMPEs. The sensitivity of correlation coefficients to magnitude is also verified and the obtained results are provided in comprehensive tables. The results of this work provide the essential data required to develop CMS considering seismic hazard in China.


A simple device to measure electrical resistivity has been developed for field and laboratory use. The measurement system comprises a probe unit, current wave generator, amplified, A/D converter, data acquisition unit with RS-232C interface and notebook personal computer. The system is applicable to soils and soft rocks as long as the probe needles can pierce into them. Frequency range of the measurement system extends from 100 Hz to 10 MHz. The total error of the system is less than 5%. In situ measurements of the resistivity and shear resistance by means of pocket-sized penetrometer were applied to Pleistocene clayey beds. Some laboratory tests were also conducted to examine the interpretation of the in situ resistivity. Marine and non-marine clayey sediments are different in their resistivities of the stratum by in situ test and the clay suspension sampled from the strata. Physical and mechanical properties were compared with the resistivity and general relationships among them were explored to clarify the characteristics of inter-particle bonding. Some possible mechanism regarding the peculiar weathering of clayey sediment or mudstone beds is discussed from the viewpoint of physico-chemical process, which is conspicuous especially near the ground surface.


The central challenge is to simulate the time-accurate aeroelastic coupling of the flexible aircraft body with a non-linear aerodynamic solver for specific flight manoeuvres which are introduced by rigid body motions of large amplitude. The approach described in this work is one of two investigated variants in the DLR project SikMa and is characterized by the use of a multibody system (MBS) to account for the elastic structure as well as the flight mechanics and its loose coupling to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The exchanged data is interpolated with a general mesh coupling tool and transferred through an internet socket allowing a distributed computational environment.
The presented applications are coupled simulations for the wind tunnel setup of an elastic delta wing in both guided and free-to-roll manoeuvres.


Future high-performance computing systems will require optical I/O to achieve their aggressive bandwidth requirements of multiple terabytes per second with energy efficiency better than 1 pJ/b. Near-term optical I/O solutions will integrate optical and electrical components in the package, but longer-term solutions will integrate photonic elements directly into the CMOS chip to further improve bandwidth and energy efficiency. The presented near-term optical I/O uses a customized package to assemble CMOS integrated transceiver circuits, discrete VCSEL/detector arrays, and polymer waveguides. Circuit simulations predict this architecture will achieve energy efficiency better than 1 pJ/b at the 16 nm CMOS technology node. Monolithic photonic CMOS process technology enables higher bandwidth and improved energy efficiency for chip-to-chip optical I/O through integration of electro-optical polymer based modulators, silicon nitride waveguides, and polycrystalline germanium (Ge) detectors into a CMOS logic process. Experimental results for the photonic CMOS ring resonator (RR) modulators and Ge detectors demonstrate performance at up to 40 Gb/s and analysis predicts that photonic CMOS will eventually enable energy efficiency of 0.3 pJ/b with 16 nm CMOS. Optical interconnect technologies with multilane communication or wavelength-division multiplexing will further increase bandwidth to provide the multiple-terabyte-per-second optical interconnect solution that enables scaling of high-performance computing into and beyond the tera-scale era.


Assessing the value of fire planning alternatives is challenging because fire affects a wide array of ecosystem, market, and social values. Pragmatic approaches to assessing the value of fire management are yet to be developed. Previous approaches to assessing the value of forest management relied on connecting site valuation with management variables. While sound, such analysis is too narrow to account for today's broader ecosystem services. Ecosystem management brought the design of fire regime condition class but it is entirely biophysical. Its void of economic information cripples its utility to support decision-making. By focusing on marginal analysis and the value of improvement obtained by fire management, we define and present a means of assessing the deviation of a landscape from its desired fire management condition. Using a case study site in Colorado, we displayed the deviation across a landscape and summed the deviations to produce a summary metric. This summary metric was used to assess the value of alternative fire management strategies on improving the desired fire management condition. It enabled us to identify which sites are most valuable to restore, even if they are in the same fire regime condition class. The case study site exemplified how a wide range of disparate values can be incorporated such as watershed, wildlife, property and timber. Positive deviations in the landscape from desired condition present opportunities for improvement or restoration through fuels treatment and negative deviations present opportunities for improvement through fuel efforts such as suppression.


Various measures have been used to investigate number processing in children, including a number comparison or a number line estimation task. The present study aimed to examine whether and to which extent these different measures of number representation are related to performance on a curriculum-based standardized mathematics achievement test in kindergarteners, first, second, and sixth graders. Children completed a number comparison task and a number line estimation task with a balanced set of symbolic (Arabic digits) and non-symbolic (dot patterns) stimuli. Associations with mathematics achievement were observed for the symbolic measures. Although the association with number line estimation was consistent over grades, the association with number comparison was much stronger in kindergarten compared to the other grades. The current data indicate that a good knowledge of the numerical meaning of Arabic digits is important for children's mathematical development and that particularly the access to the numerical meaning of symbolic digits rather than the representation of number per se is important.


The unusual syndrome Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome has been found to be linked to a mutation in a gene expressing the Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp). Due to the conservation of certain mechanisms and the homologous proteins from lower to higher eukaryotes, yeast has been used to study the molecular mechanisms that underlie diseases in humans. The yeast WASp homologue, Las17p (Local Anaexthetic Sentivie 17) and the yeast homologye Vrpp of its (i.e. human WASp) partner protein known as WIP (WASp-interacting protein), have been studied with the intention to investigate the phenotypes that arise in cells deficient in Vrp1p. A protein-protein interaction is believed to occur in the absence of Vrp1p, the interaction between the SH3 domain of the yeast F-Bar protein Hof1p and the FH1 domain of the yeast formin protein Bnr1p. This interaction is thought to have pathological effects, such as inhibition of cell proliferation and other phenotypes. This study has been conducted in an attempt to map the binding site of Hof1p SH3 domain in the Bnr1p FH1 domain more specifically, based on previous studies suggesting that Fragment 1(755-905) of Bnr1p Full Interacting Fragment(755-1375), including the prolinerich FH1 domain, interacts with Hof1p SH3 domain in cells deficient in Vrp1p. Both Hof1p and Bnr1p are involved in the cytokinesis stagemof the yeast cell cycle. The hypothesis implies that the excessive interaction of Hof1p SH3 domain and Bnr1p FH1 domain may interrupt the cytokinesis, which thereby can lead to the growth of defects. There was no finding of binding site within the Bnr1p FH1 domain for the Hof1p SH3 domain during this study. This can be due to various reason as explained later. Even though, this study has cast some doubts on previously conducted studies.


Factors governing recharge in fractured crystalline rock aquifers are poorly understood. It is unclear whether recharge is primarily controlled by the properties of the heterogeneous underlying aquifer or the overlying soil characteristics, which can also be strongly heterogeneous. Further, in semi-arid and arid environments, soil properties vary strongly and non-linearly as a function of soil moisture. Soil moisture is controlled in part by soil water retention properties and rainfall intensity, but also, increasingly, by land use and human influence. Current large-scale hydrological models often do not account for heterogeneity and the nonlinear variability of soil hydraulic properties. The aim of this study is to identify and quantify the driving forces that shape spatial recharge patterns in crystalline rock aquifers, while critically assessing the models used, model uncertainty and parameter sensibility.

Reference recharge maps were obtained previously by applying an improved water table fluctuation (WTF) technique to a well-characterized and continuously monitored catchment in South India at a 685x685m scale (a scale at which underground lateral transfers are assumed to be negligible). Land use maps, irrigation practices, soil maps and associated hydraulic properties are well documented from previous studies. The first step of this study was to calibrate a simple soil moisture balance model (SMBM) against WTF recharge estimates, but it quickly became apparent that assuming constant hydraulic properties for the whole observation period lead to over- or underestimation of recharge relative to soil moisture conditions. Thus, in a second stage, a very simple pseudo-2D physically based unsaturated flow model was applied at a 100x100m scale. This permitted the model to incorporate time-variable water retention properties, and smaller-scale land use and soil type patterns. It was found that land use had a strong effect on recharge, more than soil type distribution. Soils which are kept flooded for rice cultivation are generally poorly transmissive, although, counter-intuitively, these act as zones of enhanced recharge. This is due to their high water content, which increases the effective soil permeability. Parameter uncertainty and the possible existence of lateral transfers are also discussed.


Geomechanics is the discipline dealing with the prediction and management of rock deformation and failure. Geomechanical problems resulting from the change of stress in the rock induced by drilling and production make many hydrocarbon production projects challenging. Examples of geomechanical problems include wellbore stability and fracturing of the formation during drilling that may lead to financial loss due to losses, kicks, stuck pipe, extra casing strings, and sidetracks. Other problems are due to reservoir stress changes occurring during production such as reservoir compaction, surface subsidence, formation fracturing, casing deformation and failure, sanding, reactivation of faults, and bedding parallel slip.


High frame rate ultrasound is an emerging technique for medical ultrasound imaging. However, spatial resolution and contrast are degraded compared to conventional beamforming using focused transmit beams. In the present study, a kind of minimum variance beamformer, namely, amplitude and phase estimation (APES) beamformer, was examined for improvement of the spatial resolution. The APES beamformer estimates the desired signal, i.e., echo from the focal point, using delay-and-sum beamforming without considering the element directivity and removes it from the spatial covariance matrix. By omitting the element directivity, the error in estimation of the desired signal increases and, as a result, more part of the desired signal remains in the spatial covariance matrix. Consequently, sub-array averaging is necessary for further suppressing the desired signal contained in the spatial covariance matrix. In the present study, the APES beamformer was modified so as to consider the element directivity in estimation of the desired signal. Also, the proposed APES beamforming was further modified to be applied to outputs of sub-aperture beamforming to reduce dimension of the spatial covariance matrix. In the present study, the effect of the element directivity on APES beamforming was evaluated by a basic experiment using a phantom. In parallel beamforming with the conventional DAS, lateral spatial resolution, which was evaluated from the lateral full width at half maximum of the amplitude profile of an echo from a fine wire, was 0.50 mm. Using conventional APES, the lateral spatial resolution was improved to 0.26 mm. Lateral spatial resolution was further improved to 0.25 mm using the modified APES. In both APES beamforming, sub-array averaging was not used, and outputs from 6 sub-apertures were processed. Also in B-mode imaging of a carotid artery, undesired echoes are suppressed significantly by the modified APES.


Since the early phase of the country modernization, the center of gravity of China's economy has been alternately located in the coastal area (Blue China) and in inland area (Yellow China). Such a shift is now taking place in China's economic geography: the interior regions are catching up the coastal area (which was the engine of economic takeoff the last thirty years), thanks to an outstanding convergence speed in industry. This rebalancing goes hand in hand with China's new growth regime which relies increasingly on its expanding domestic market. The analysis is based on the data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the PRC: the statistical yearbooks provide the long term macroeconomic series at provincial level (1952-2011); the data from the census of industrial firms allow an in-depth analysis of the period 1997-2009, a period in which the manufacturing industry has played a leading role in the spectacular growth of the Chinese economy.


Distinguished by clarity, scholarship, and excellent photographs, this explanation of complex cutaneous signs is a first-choice textbook for internists, dermatologists, and others concerned with systemic disorders that involve the skin. Readers not acquainted with Braverman's first edition need to know that his book does not concern eczema, warts, impetigo, and such skin disorders, but it does concern metastatic cancer, carcinogenesis, dysproteinemias, all the new connective tissue diseases, hidden infections, the histocytoses, gastroenterological syndromes, necrotizing vasculitis, sarcoidosis, endocrine diseases, and much more. The second edition has been enlarged and improved over the first, reflecting the growing expertise and maturity of the author. The sections on endocrine and pigmentary disorders are especially well discussed, in part because these are of particular interest to the faculty at Yale University. Braverman's own special interest in the collagen-vascular-rheumatoid cluster of diseases is demonstrated in his well-documented chapter, which includes his own analysis of some new


Objective.
To determine the concentration of colistin, preventing the selection of colistin-resistant mutants of K. pneumoniae, and to evaluate the effect of antibiotics of different groups on the development of mutational resistance to colistin.

Materials and Methods.
Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of colistin were determined for 88 K. pneumoniae strains by the method of serial microdilutions in broth, and carbapenemase genes were detected. The selection of colistin-resistant subpopulations was performed on cation-adjusted MüllerHinton agar (MHA) with the addition of 16 mg/l colistin. Mutant prevention concentration (MPC) of colistin is determined on MHA containing 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 mg/l of colistin. Also, MPCs of colistin were determined in the presence of a fixed concentration of the second antibiotic: clarithromycin (2 mg/l), azithromycin (2 mg/l), rifampicin (1 mg/l), clindamycin (0.5 mg/l), meropenem (8 mg/l), linezolid (2 mg/l), amikacin (1 mg/l), vancomycin (2 mg/l), doxycycline (2 mg/l).

Results.
All strains remained susceptible to colistin (colistin MIC 0.06–1.0 mg/l). Resistance to meropenem (MIC > 8 mg/l) was detected in 48 strains (54.5%), 46 of them were carbapenemase producers: KPC – 6 strains (6.8%), OXA-48 – 26 strains (29.5%), NDM – 14 strains (15.9%). Growth of colonies on MHA with 16 mg/l of colistin was found for 96.6% of the strains. The frequency of mutational resistance occurrence ranged from 6 × 10-9 to 10-6 (median: 2 × 10-7). The mutational nature of colistin resistance was confirmed for 36.4% of the strains. The MPC values of colistin were in the range of 16–256 mg/l; (MPC50 32 mg/l, MPC90 256 mg/l) and significantly (32–1024 times) exceeded the MIC values. In the presence of 1 mg/l of rifampicin, the MPC of colistin decreased 4–64 times (MPC50 4 mg/l, MPC90 4 mg/l). In the presence of 2 mg/l of doxycycline, MPC of colistin decreased 2–64 times for all strains (MPC50 8 mg/l, MPC90 16 mg/l). The presence of linezolid (2 mg/l) and vancomycin (2 mg/l) did not significantly change MPC of colistin. Meropenem at a concentration of 8 mg/l had no significant effect on colistin MPC for carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae strains. None of the antibiotics lowered the MPC50 of colistin to its clinically achievable serum concentrations.

Conclusions.
A high frequency of formation of mutational resistance to colistin in K. pneumoniae was revealed. The MPC values of colistin are outside the range of clinically achievable serum concentrations and may decrease in the presence of other antibiotics.


Purpose: To determine whether there were significant differences in self-report and objective measures of physical fitness and function between women post–breast cancer (BC) treatment with and without clinically significant fatigue. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of baseline data collected from 281 postmenopausal women post–BC treatment (62 ± 10 years; time since diagnosis = 5.6 ± 3.9 years) who participated in prior exercise trials. Scores on the SF-36 (36-Item Short Form Health Survey) vitality subscale (0-100) were used to identify women with clinically significant fatigue, where a score of 45 or less represents fatigue and a score of 70 or more represents no fatigue. Objectively measured function included maximal leg press strength (kg), physical function battery, timed chair stand, Unipedal Stance Test, and gait characteristics. Self-reported outcomes included physical function, pain, mental health, sensory symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), habitual physical activity level, and fall history. Results: Twenty percent of women (n = 57) reported clinically significant fatigue 6 years postdiagnosis, whereas 34% (n = 100) reported no fatigue. Except for leg strength, unipedal stance, step length, and base of support while walking, fatigued women had significantly worse objectively measured function than women without fatigue. Fatigued women also reported poorer physical function, greater bodily pain, and poorer mental health and were twice as likely as nonfatigued women to report symptoms of CIPN and having fallen. Conclusions: Women with a history of BC, and in particular those with CIPN, should be routinely screened for clinically significant fatigue in the survivorship period. Clinical and survivorship care plans aimed at limiting functional decline and reducing falls in survivors of BC should include fatigue-reduction strategies.


This thesis is concerned with apprentice footballers' understanding of identity and Personal Development (PD). For those young footballers offered apprenticeships with professional football clubs aged 16, by the age of 21, five out of every six will be out of the game professionally (Professional Footballers Association, 2019). Rejection from such a career can lead to transition and adjustment issues due to the impact on identity (Lavallee, 2005, Gilbourne and Richardson, 2006, Roderick, 2006b, Brown and Potrac, 2009, Brownrigg et al., 2012). Personal Development (PD), defined through an emphasis for the continued growth of the whole person (Danish et al., 1993), not just the athlete, is one concept through which athletes are encouraged to develop their understanding of identity, beyond their athlete status, by engaging within practical activities outside of sport, whilst concurrently employed within sport (Stambulova et al., 2014). Study 1 of this thesis consisted of qualitative interviews with 12 apprentice footballers, to explore their understanding of identity and PD. Multiple players interpreted their club environments as encouraging them to view themselves as footballers, constantly, and become a 24hr (24/7) footballer. Concurrent to Study 1, a relationship formed with League Football Education (LFE) which led to the thesis occupying a lead role in the planning and delivery (Study 2, Part A) and evaluation (Study 2, Part B) of an informative workshop delivered to apprentice footballers for the 2015/16 season entitled My Future Today (MFT). The workshop aimed to support and develop apprentices' understanding of identity and PD. To achieve this, the MFT narrative was created to challenge the 24/7 narrative (Douglas and Carless, 2014). Study 2, Part B, consisted of qualitative interviews with 12 apprentice players who had attended MFT, to explore their understanding of identity and PD. Through MFT, interviewees' understanding of identity and PD was supported and developed, beyond that of the 24/7 footballer, during their career. Their understanding was underpinned in relation to their futures after football (i.e., appreciating the potential loss of identity that might accompany being released) and/or through a belief that this understanding would support them and their performances, as footballers, in the immediate sense. Indeed, empirical data suggested that the 24/7 approach was not seen as conducive to performance. The outcome of this understanding also resulted in numerous interviewees becoming more proactive in their post-apprenticeship transition planning


This chapter seeks to inspire designers to demonstrate leadership in business thinking. Designers are in an ideal position to combine design thinking with business thinking but, for a variety of reasons, they have failed to do this through senior management and particularly at boardroom level. If you have a vision for a fairer, more sustainable and satisfying economic system then this chapter suggests some strategies that designers might apply in business leadership. The creation of our future world of artefacts, services and systems requires the application of new strategic thinking and it's the business of designers to get involved. If the design professions don't lead from the front this opportunity for creative strategic influence will surely be grasped by others in the business community.


Abstract Scholars of American religion are increasingly attentive to material culture as a rich source for the analysis of religious identity and practice that is especially revealing of the relationships among doctrine, bodily comportment, social structures, and innovation. In line with this focus, this article analyses the ways nineteenth-century African American Methodist women turned to dress as a tool to communicate religious and political messages. Though other nineteenth-century Protestants also made use of the communicative powers of dress, African American women did so with a keen awareness of the ways race trumped clothing in the semiotic system of nineteenth-century America. Especially for women entering into public fora as preachers and public speakers, dress could act as a passport to legitimacy in an often hostile setting, but it was not always enough to establish oneself as a Christian lady. Considering the related traditions of plain dress and respectability within the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, this essay finds that AME women cultivated respectability and plainness within discourses of authenticity that tried—with some ambivalence—to use dress as a marker of the true soul beneath the fabric. Based primarily on the autobiographical and journalistic writings of women such as Jarena Lee, Amanda Berry Smith, Hallie Q. Brown, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, as well as accounts from AME publications such as the Christian Recorder and the Church Review, and other church documents, the essay also draws on the work of historians of African American women and historians of dress and material culture. For nineteenth-century AME women, discourses of authenticity could be both a burden and a resource, but either way they were discourses that were often remarkably critical, both of selfmotivation and of cultural markers of class, race, and gender in a world that made a fetish of whiteness.


Both the timing (i.e., when) and amount (i.e., how much) of language exposure affect language-learning outcomes. We compared speech recognition accuracy across three listener groups for whom the order (first versus second) and dominance (dominant versus non-dominant) of two languages, English and Spanish, varied: one group of Spanish heritage speakers (SHS; L2-English dominant; L1-Spanish non-dominant) and two groups of late onset L2 learners (L1-dominant English/Spanish learners and L1-dominant Spanish/English learners). Sentence-final word recognition accuracy in both English and Spanish was assessed across three "easy" versus "difficult" listening conditions: (1) signal-to-noise ratio (SNR; +5 dB SNR versus 0 dB SNR), (2) sentence predictability (high versus low sentence predictability), and (3) speech style (clear versus plain speech style). Overall, SHS English recognition accuracy was equivalent to that of the L1-dominant English Spanish learners, whereas SHS Spanish recognition accuracy was substantially lower than that of the L1-dominant Spanish English learners. Moreover, while SHS benefitted in both languages from the "easy" listening conditions, they were more adversely affected by (i.e., they recognized fewer words) the presence of higher noise and lower predictability in their non-dominant L1 Spanish compared to their dominant L2 English. These results identify both a benefit and limit on the influence of early exposure. Specifically, the L2-dominant heritage speakers displayed L1-like speech recognition in their dominant-L2, as well as generally better recognition in their non-dominant L1 than late onset L2 learners. Yet, subtle recognition accuracy differences between SHS and L1-dominant listeners emerged under relatively difficult communicative conditions.


The majority of traffic accidents on the highway is rear-end collision. According to statistics about ninety percent rear-end collision can be avoided if there is 1 second pretreatment time for drivers. So it is necessary to develop automotive rear-end collision warning system to prevent the occurrence of accidents. The anti-rear-end collision warning system based on Zigbee technology is designded in this paper. Vehicle speed, acceleration and other traffic information among the nodes can be exchanged on real-time by using self-organizing wireless sensor networks consisted by Zigbee network nodes. A vehicle safe distance model is established after considered the effects of other traffic safety factors, and then, the actual distance measured by radar is compared with the safe distance so as to provide early warning, alarm and other driving information to drivers. The experiment results show that the system can effectively provide early warning, avoid rear-end collision, and improve active safety of vehicles.


In the course of evolution the ancestral lineages of various animals succeeded in the transition from water to land, thereby meeting the various requirements of this step independently. As most aquatic and terrestrial animals mainly rely on their olfactory sense for orientation and foraging as well as intra- and interspecific communication, one of the most important abilities they had to keep was the ability to sense chemicals in their surroundings. It is well known how terrestrial animals such as vertebrates and insects sense and compute environmental odors from a molecular and an information integration perspective. However, to conclude what the ancestral state of olfaction was, it is necessary to compare those findings with species that never left water. In hermit crab species, crustaceans provide the opportunity to study the current state of a primary aquatic nose in direct comparison to the results of 20 million years of terrestrial olfaction. Terrestrial hermit crabs developed a fully functional aerial sense of smell based on a similar set of variant ionotropic receptors like their aquatic relatives. Differences in the antennal transcriptomes of aquatic and terrestrial hermit crabs are rather small, implying that it required small genetic adaptations to transfer the ancestral aquatic organ to air. Crucial support is presumably given by glandular structures which produce and excrete a mucosal substance to keep the aesthetasc surface moist and the microbial colonization at bay.


This chapter mainly focuses on the concept of reflection as a process, both individual and collaborative, involving experience and uncertainty under the theme of reflective leadership. This type of leadership basically means learning to manage and lead human organizations. It originates from the concept of reflection defining leadership roles and responsibilities in all types of organizations. Focusing on reflection for learning in an effort to create reflective learning communities for all stakeholders taking part in both administrative and executive positions in organizations, this chapter is expected to contribute to leadership theories, to link theory and practice in concrete terms describing new leadership roles and responsibilities under the reflective thought considering its unique impact on organizational functioning.


Recently, a technique referred to as the on-surface radiation boundary condition (OSRC) approach was introduced and applied to a class of perfectly conducting cylinders for computing their scattering. The OSRC method is applied here to a variety of two-dimensional imperfectly conducting geometries. Specifically, analytical solutions and numerical data are presented for the scattering by elliptical and rectangular impedance cylinders and resistive strips. Of primary interest in this investigation is to compare the OSRC approach with the physical optics (PO) approximation in predicting the scattering by the aforementioned structures. It is concluded that in general the OSRC approach predicts more accurate results than the PO approximation for scatterers formed by smooth curved surfaces that do not deviate substantially from a circular one. In addition, for such geometries the applicability of the OSRC approach is not limited to the high-frequency regime but extends in the low frequency region as well. The OSRC approach, however, is not appreciably better when considering polygonal cylinders or more general structures with first-order surface discontinuities.<<ETX>>


This research is about a study on Customers' satisfaction towards the Credit Department Service Quality at Agro Bank, Jalan Hang Tuah Melaka. This study will examine and measure the level of customer's satisfaction and the relationship of the items that will influence their satisfaction with the service provided to them in order to increase and gain more satisfaction of Agro Bank Customers. Factors such as service quality and customers satisfaction have been identified in order to investigate whether or not these factors have relationship with customer's satisfaction. Chapter 1 consists of Introduction and Background of the research, chapter 2 consists of Literature Review, chapter 3 consists of Research Methodology, chapter 4 consists of Finding and Data Analysis and chapter 5 consists of conclusion and Recommendations. The sample size for this study is 58 respondents which are customers of Agro Bank. Data are obtained using two methods that are Primary data and Secondary data. Respondents are required to answer the questionnaire that contains elements that potentially have relationship with Service Quality and Customer's Satisfaction. Finding showed that most of the customers were satisfied with the services provided by Agro Bank. The researcher is also able to give some recommendation on how to improve and increase customer's satisfaction.


Herbivory and fire are two disturbances that often co‐occur, but studies of their interactive effects are rare outside of grassland ecosystems. We experimentally tested the interactive effects of prescribed fire and macropod herbivory on forest understory vegetation and its vertebrate fauna. Fire and herbivory interacted synergistically to affect forest understory vegetation, with palatable plants showing poor post‐fire recovery in unfenced sites compared with herbivore exclusion sites. Despite this strong interactive effect on vegetation, small vertebrates responded to the individual, and not the interactive effects of disturbance. The native insectivorous mammal Antechinus stuartii was more frequently encountered on large herbivore exclusion sites, as was the introduced European rabbit. In contrast, the small skink Lampropholis delicata was more common on sites with high densities of large herbivores. Skinks, snakes and European rabbits were also more active on burnt than unburnt sites. Our results suggest that it may be necessary to manage the macropod herbivore population after fire to prevent the decline of palatable plants, and maintain the dense habitat required by some small mammals. However, as the invasive rabbit was most active in macropod‐free sites after fire, any management must include control of both types of herbivores. A mix of understory densities may also need to be maintained to ensure the persistence of species preferring more open habitats. Our study demonstrates that interactive effects of disturbance on vegetation communities may not lead to predictable effects on animals, and highlights the importance of considering both multiple stressors, and multiple species, in the management of disturbance regimes.


An approach for three-dimensional modelling of thermo-mechanical responses in an arc welding process is developed using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method. It is demonstrated for a simple arc welding configuration by solving the fully coupled three-dimensional elastoplastic and heat transfer analysis. The temperature distribution of the metal in the weld pool and the surrounding parent material are analysed using SPH, and the resulting residual thermal stresses are evaluated. This work establishes the capability of SPH as a tool for simulating the long-term thermo-mechanical responses, including heat transfer and residual stresses in a welded joint, and gaining insights into post-welding structural behaviour of joints during cooling stages.


The importance of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the economic development of any country in recent years cannot be underrated especially with regard to creation of employment, innovation, uplifting the people's standard of living and financial contribution to the growth of the countries' Gross Domestic Product. This sector's growth is hindered by the challenges of lack of financial resources to expand, the entrepreneur managerial skills/attitudes, employment of cheap and unskilled labour, production of poor quality goods, lack of market for their products, inadequate infrastructural facilities and above all unpleasant taxation policy of the government. In the light of all these, this study reviews the role being played by various governmental tax incentives on the growth and development of SMEs growth in developing economy with special focus on Nigeria. The study employed descriptive design, thus, primary data was collected on variables contributing to tax influence and their effect on the growth of SMEs. A sample of 100 respondents representing a percentage of targeted population enterprises in the production sector of Osun State Industrial area was selected through Stratified and Simple Random Sampling techniques. Data collected through questionnaires, interviews and observations when necessary was analyzed using ordinary least square regression model to estimate the contribution of each variable to the growth effect of SMEs. The study found that there was a significant correlation between taxation and SMEs' growth. The study recommends that there should be a friendly tax policy for all start up businesses preferably a tax holiday, or an introduction of a growth limit which can be said to be a level stable enough to sustain tax payment.


We report the molecular cloning of Drosophila genes encoding putative lipase homologs, Dm lip1, lip2 and lip3, the definition of their structure and the expression patterns during development. These Drosophila lipases are related to acid lipases, with a common GHSQG motif, within a more general consensus GXSXG, identified as the active site shared by all the members of lipase superfamily. The lip1 and lip3 genes are transcribed in different tissues and developmental stages, suggesting that they have different functions. The lip1 gene, coding for a protein similar to digestive lipases, is expressed in ovaries and early embryos and, with a different sized transcript, in all the other developmental stages. The lip3 gene, whose translation product is more similar to lysosomal acid lipases, is expressed only during the larval period. The lip2 gene seems non-functional. The Drosophila putative lipases do not show similarity with the Drosophila yolk proteins that are reported to have sequence similarity with lipoprotein lipases, but share a consistent similarity with lepidopteran proteins reported as egg specific or yolk proteins, probably corresponding to lipase homologs. The results reported here are discussed in relation to the evolution and functions of lipases within the between species.


Purpose of the Study. Adult children are often directly affected by aging parents' decision to limit or stop driving. This qualitative study examined the process of driving reduction and cessation (DRC) from the perspective of adult children, with a focus on family communication. Design and Methods. Four focus group interviews were conducted with 37 adult children (29/37 female; mean age = 45.5) of older parents using a structured protocol. Transcripts were analyzed by two independent coders to identify major themes. Results. Themes represented three aspects of the DRC process: family communication and dynamics (i.e., discussion, negotiation, and planning; avoidance and side stepping; resignation and refusal), taking action to end a parent's driving career (i.e., engaging a third party; taking away the car), and post-cessation reflection (i.e., relief; social benefits; resentment and guilt). Implications. Despite the potential benefits of planning for DRC, families are unsure about how best to approach this topic. Adult children worry about assuming responsibility for their parents' transportation needs and their parents' reactions to restricted mobility. Despite a reluctance to communicate openly about DRC, adult children and their parents share similar and significant concerns that merit increased attention.


Background: Undergraduate learning is a sensitive and challenging period for students and has been reported to result in high rates of psychological distress in them. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of psychological distress among undergraduate students at Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a stratified sample of 500 undergraduate students from five faculties at Jazan University. All participants completed an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire, which included questions about their sociodemographic details and a measuring scale of general psychological distress, the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18). Results: A total of 450 students satisfactorily completed the questionnaire. Of these, 139 (30.9%) were screened positive for psychological distress based on the BSI-18 scale. Females scored significantly higher than males on the somatization (P = 0.002) and anxiety subscales (P = 0.006) as well as on the total symptom scale (the General Severity Index; P = 0.005). However, there was no significant difference between males and females regarding the depression subscale (P = 0.149). Twenty-eight students (6.2%) reported moderate to extreme levels of distress due to suicidal thoughts in the past 1 week before inclusion in this study. Conclusions: This study found that ~31% of undergraduate students at Jazan University are psychologically distressed. This finding necessitates the need for rigorous efforts to develop proper screening and intervention programs targeting this population.


The γ-aminobutyric acid, type A (GABAA), receptor ion channel is lined by the second membrane-spanning (M2) segments from each of five homologous subunits that assemble to form the receptor. Gating presumably involves movement of the M2 segments. We assayed protein mobility near the M2 segment extracellular ends by measuring the ability of engineered cysteines to form disulfide bonds and high affinity Zn2+-binding sites. Disulfide bonds formed in α1β1E270Cγ2 but not in α1N275Cβ1γ2 or α1β1γ2K285C. Diazepam potentiation and Zn2+ inhibition demonstrated that expressed receptors contained a γ subunit. Therefore, the disulfide bond in α1β1E270Cγ2 formed between non-adjacent subunits. In the homologous acetylcholine receptor 4-Å resolution structure, the distance between α carbon atoms of 20′ aligned positions in non-adjacent subunits is ∼19 Å. Because disulfide trapping involves covalent bond formation, it indicates the extent of movement but does not provide an indication of the energetics of protein deformation. Pairs of cysteines can form high affinity Zn2+-binding sites whose affinity depends on the energetics of forming a bidentate-binding site. The Zn2+ inhibition IC50 for α1β1E270Cγ2 was 34 nm. In contrast, it was greater than 100 μm in α1N275Cβ1γ2 and α1β1γ2K285C receptors. The high Zn2+ affinity in α1β1E270Cγ2 implies that this region in the β subunit has a high protein mobility with a low energy barrier to translational motions that bring the positions into close proximity. The differential mobility of the extracellular ends of the β and α M2 segments may have important implications for GABA-induced conformational changes during channel gating.


The COVID-19 pandemic has created unusually challenging and dangerous workplace conditions for key workers. This has prompted calls for key workers to receive a variety of special benefits over and above their normal pay. Here, we consider whether two such benefits are justified: a no-fault compensation scheme for harm caused by an epidemic and hazard pay for the risks and burdens of working during an epidemic. Both forms of benefit are often made available to members of the armed forces for the harms, risks and burdens that come with military service. We argue from analogy that these benefits also ought to be provided to key workers during an epidemic because, like the military, key workers face unavoidable harms, risks and burdens in providing essential public good. The amount of compensation should be proportional to the harm suffered and the amount of hazard pay should be proportional to the risk and burden endured. Therefore, key workers should receive the same amount of compensation and hazard pay as the military where the harms, risks and burdens are equivalent. In the UK, a form of no-fault compensation has recently been made available to the surviving families of key workers who suffer fatal COVID-19 infections. According to our argument, however, it is insufficient because it offers less to key workers than is made available to the families of armed services personnel killed on duty.


B-spline snake methods have been used in cartographic generalization in the past decade, particularly in the generalization of nautical charts where these methods yield good results with respect to the shoal-bias rules for the generalization of chart contours. However, previous studies only show generalization results at particular generalization (or scale) levels, and show only two states of the algorithm: before and after generalization, but nothing in between. This thesis presents an improved method of using B-spline snakes and other auxiliary functions and workflows for generalization in the context of nautical charts which can generalize multiple nautical chart features from large scale to small scale without creating any invalid intermediate features that require special processing to resolve. This process allows users to generate charts at any intermediate scale without cartographic irregularities, and is capable of extension to include more specialized generalization operators. This thesis is available at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/7 GRADUAL GENERALIZATION OF NAUTICAL CHART CONTOURS WITH A B-SPLINE SNAKE METHOD


: Although a cautious approach is essential, there is still no safe and effective chronic medical therapeutic regimen that can substitute for surgical management of primary hyperparathyroidism in the elderly. The primary care physician should recognize that: the natural history of this disease is variable and unpredictable; symptomatic disease in the elderly patient may be easily overlooked; and therefore, older patients who have vague and varied nonspecific neuromuscular, GI, and constitutional complaints or acquired behavior disturbances should be carefully scrutinized. This approach to hyperparathyroidism should lead to earlier diagnosis and symptomatic relief in many patients who would otherwise be viewed as merely "old" or as chronic complainers.


Abstract The number of telecommunications user in Indonesia increase during 2009-2013 period. In 2013 noted about 300 million customers of cellular services and bigger than Indonesia society which approximately 243,6 million. PT Telkomsel Indonesia is one of cellular providers company which 131,5 million customers or about 49% in market share. One of the most important infrastructures to support operational activities of cellular operator is BTS (Base Transceiver Station). If failure functions of BTS occur will affect loss of potential revenue and customer satisfaction. Operate BTS in long period can increased hazard rate and aging of BTS. Therefore it is necessary to determine optimum retirement age of BTS. While BTS failure, therefore it is handed by maintenance site crew. If the number of maintenance site crew increase will affect to increasing maintenance cost, but if the number is few will affect to increasing shortage cost. Therefore it is also necessary to determine the number of optimum maintenance site crew. Methods which will be used for optimization is the life cycle cost method. Life cycle cost method combine retirement oga and the number of maintenance site crew to achieve minimum life cycle cost. Plotting the distribution and determination of the distribution calculate based on data TTF and TTR. Then, Calculation of sustaining cost and acquisition cost obtain to achieve minimum life cycle cost. Based on life cycle cost calculation, the smallest total LCC is Rp54,467,056,568.00 with the optimum retirement age is 5 years and the optimum number of maintenance site crew is 5. Keywords : Optimization, Maintenance Management, LCC


In 1977, when teacher education inSwedenwas incorporated into the university system, the main reason was to transform it into an academic tradition. Now, nearly 30 years later, there is still tension between the academic and the vocational tradition; they show up as different and separated elements in a program that is meant to prepare students for a career as a teacher and for a possible future career as a researcher in this field. This tension gives rise to a risk of allowing parallel "tracks" to develop and of isolating the degree thesis work from other courses. On the teacher-training program in which we are involved, close co-operation with partner-schools, where the practical part of the program takes place, has been established. Here, the students´ degree theses are an important factor in making this co-operation work on a concrete level. Accordingly, the purpose of the degree thesis is both to reflect problems in schools and contribute to better teaching in the individual school, but also to offer relevant educational subject matter to the students, which may be adapted as an element in the university's research environments. From these points of view, the degree thesis is an important part of teacher education and rather more than just a single course. The degree thesis should be an element that gives the students an opportunity to show that they have reached central goals in the teacher education program. It should also be an integral part in the development of critical and scholarly thinking, deepening pedagogical and didactic knowledge and giving the students an opportunity to apply research methods. We will here use two minor case studies: one that compares teacher education programs in five Swedish universities and one minor study at one of those universities, in order to elaborate on the questions: - What purpose has a degree thesis and what role does it play in teacher education? - What criteria are relevant to assessing a degree thesis and what qualities do the degree theses have? - Is it possible to assess a degree thesis fairly and what happens to students who do not pass? - How could the degree thesis be used to improve the contact between the teacher education program and its partner schools in order to contribute to the development of the individual school?


Discipleship as Adoption: A Model for Late Adolescent Faith Development at Trinity Baptist Church, Raleigh Andrew E. Jung Doctor of Ministry School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary 2014 The purpose of this doctoral project is to assist late adolescents of Trinity Baptist Church to progress into healthy adulthood while developing a mature faith by participating in the Adoption Discipleship Model. Statistics from many sources support the fact that late adolescents have left the Church, and many will not be returning. A better way of discipling late adolescents is needed to keep them engaged in their faith. The Adoption Discipleship Model (ADM), based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous' programmatic Twelve Steps, can be a more effective way to nurture the faith of late adolescents. This project is presented in three parts. Part One describes the development of the stage of late adolescence and examines the specific qualities of late adolescents in Raleigh, North Carolina. It surveys the findings of sociologists to establish a new stage of adolescence, supported by recent research on brain development and theories on the process of individuation. Part One concludes with an in-depth description of the culture specific to late adolescents in Raleigh and the unique pressures they face. Part Two develops the theological foundation for the Adoption model and Alcoholic Anonymous' 12-Step Program. It describes the different types of discipleship models used in the past and provides support for the model of adoption as the most effective. In addition, it gives the history and theological support of the 12-Step Program that will used to develop the Adoption Discipleship Model. Part Three combines the adoption style of discipleship and principles of the 12-Step Program to develop the Adoption Discipleship Model for late adolescents. It highlights the vital role of the mentoring community and gives a specific outline of how the Adoption Discipleship Model can be implemented at Trinity Baptist Church in Raleigh. Content Reader: Chap Clark, PhD Words: 288 To my wife, Amy, who always has made sacrifices for me to pursue my passion in ministry


Gram-reaction-positive, strictly aerobic, motile coccoid- to rod-shaped actinobacteria, designated strains YC2-20T and YC2-19 were isolated from pieces of stalactites collected at the Yongcheon Cave in Jeju, Republic of Korea. The cells of orange-coloured colonies grew at 20-37 °C, pH 6-10 and in the absence of NaCl. In the neighbour-joining tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, the novel isolates formed a distant sublineage at the base of the radiation of the genus Angustibacter. The novel isolates shared identical 16S rRNA gene sequences to each other and revealed a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 95.6 % to the closest relative, Angustibacter aerolatus and <95 % to other members of the family Kineosporiaceae. Albeit with a low similarity of 16S rRNA gene sequences and a distinct phylogenetic position, most of the chemotaxonomic characteristics were in agreement with those of the genus Angustibacter: meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid in the cell wall; MK-9(H4) as the major menaquinone; polar lipids including diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylinositol mannoside; and a DNA G+C content of 73.1 mol%. On the basis of the phenotypic and phylogenetic distinctiveness, the novel isolates are considered to represent members of a novel species of the genus Angustibacter, for which the name Angustibacter speluncae sp. nov. is proposed, with type strain YC2-20T (=KCTC 39842T=DSM 103769T).


Bigbasket was India's largest online grocery and food store established in 2011 by a group of entrepreneurs Hari Menon, Vipul Parekh, V S Ramesh, V S Sudhakar, and Abhinay Choudhari. In 2016, Bigbasket sold more than 18,000 products and 1,000 brands operating across 12 Indian cities. Online grocery market in India has been small, but a rapidly growing segment. According to "The Retailer" Ernst and Young's publication in consumer products and retail sector, during July-September 2015, India was among the top-10 food and grocery markets in the world, with an estimated size of INR 22.5 trillion (approximately USD 350 billion). The market has grown at 10-12% CAGR between 2010 and 2015, with food and grocery being the largest segment, accounting for close to 60% in 2015 alone. The protagonist of the case, Pramod Jajoo, Chief Technology Officer, at Bigbasket was trying to solve two problems frequently encountered by customers of online grocery stores. It was estimated that about 30% of Bigbasket customers place orders through smart phones. Unlike other e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Bigbasket customers place order for several products in a single order, sometimes as high as 80 in one order depending on their purchase frequency. When the basket size is high, using smart phones to place order is challenging. Also, it is a common phenomenon that customers forget to place order few grocery items which may result either in placing additional orders or customers purchasing those products from neighborhood stores resulting in a financial loss to online grocery stores. Jajoo and his team wanted to create a "Smart Basket" that would make placing orders easier for their customers and "Did you forget?" feature that would identify the items the customer may have forgotten to order.


In vitro embryo production in pigs remains a challenging obstacle, given the high rate of polyspermy following in vitro fertilization. Improving the efficiency of successful in vitro maturation, which leads to sequential in vitro fertilization and culture, augments the need for modern biotechnologies in pig farming systems, and subsequently conserves germplasm, that is, embryos to be used in future breeding programs. Thus, in this study the effects were compared of North Carolina State University-23 (NCSU-23), North Carolina State University-37 (NCSU-37), and epidermal growth factor (EGF/TCM-199) media on pig oocyte maturation rate and subsequent polar body formations in vitro . Ovaries were collected from a local abattoir in a controlled temperature of 39 °C. The oocytes were aspirated with an 18-gauge needle. Oocytes surrounded by a uniform complex-cumulus mass were selected. A total of 284 oocytes were allocated to the study, and were incubated with 5% CO 2 at 39 °C for 48 hours. In vitro maturation rate was observed by checking the presence of expanded cumulus-oocyte complex (COC) and polar body formations under a light microscope. The maturation rate and polar body formations were significantly higher in NCSU-37 with 85.9% and 81.9%, respectively. However, there were no significant differences in EGF and NCSU-23 media as 77.1%; 72.5% and 77.1%; 72.7% were obtained for maturation rate and polar body formations, respectively. In conclusion, EGF and NCSU-23 had lower rates of maturation and meiotic development owing to their dissimilarities in composition. However, NSCU-37 rendered the highest results because the composition of the media contained beneficial constituents, that is, gonadotropins. New assisted reproductive programs may be important for commercial pig farming systems, as this may facilitate innovative ways of production. Keywords : Embryo production, genetic resources, pig production, reproductive biotechnology


Engineered mutants of human complement component C3 were used to test the idea that sites of length polymorphisms in protein families (indels) can guide a search for protein:protein interaction sites. Sequence changes were introduced at each of the 27 indels in the C3/4/5 protein family, and mutants at 26 indels were expressed by transiently transfected COS cells. Expressed proteins were assayed 1) for concentration, by ELISA and by autoradiography of radiolabeled protein; 2) for classical pathway hemolytic activity; 3) for susceptibility to proteolytic activation by the alternative pathway and cobra venom factor C3 convertases; and 4) for susceptibility to complement factor I in the presence of factor H. Most of the mutations did not appreciably alter expression or activity relative to wild-type C3, consistent with the idea that most indels occur at the protein surface. Mutations at four indels severely damaged C3 functional activity, but did not affect the stability or structure of the protein, as assessed by their effects on expression by COS cells and on susceptibility to cleavage by C3 convertases and factor I. These indels are therefore near functionally important amino acid residues; they represent good candidates for sites of protein:protein interactions. Mutation of the sequence at a fifth indel altered the equilibrium between the latent and reacted C3 conformations, and mutations at 4 other indels substantially decreased both protein activity and expression. The mutants provided an overview of the structural and functional roles played by different parts of C3.


In this work, given a linear multivariable system, the problem of static state feedback realization of dynamic compensators is considered. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a static state feedback that realizes the dynamic compensator (square or full column rank compensator) are stated in structural terms, i. e., in terms of the zero-pole structure of the compensator, and the eigenvalues and the row image of the controllability matrix of the compensated system. Based on these conditions a formula is presented to find the state feedback matrices realizing a given compensator. It is also shown that the static state feedback realizing the compensator is unique if and only if the closed-loop system is controllable.


Ceteris paribus, a 10 per cent increase in on-farm income share increases food consumption per capita by 2.9 per cent, calorie intake per capita per day by 1.7 per cent, and leads to small improvements in dietary diversity. There are significant differences in the relationship between on-farm income shares and caloric shares: a positive and significant relationship with the shares from energy-dense and low-protein cereals and grains, but not significant with shares from nuts/pulses and sugars. Negative relationships are found with shares from roots/tubers, vegetables/fruits, oils/fats and meat/fish/milk. While food consumption and dietary diversity increase with agricultural involvement, the quality of diets is an issue. As purchased calories are associated with richer/high-quality diets, particularly rich in protein, households with lower dependency on agriculture access those diets more easily. This highlights the importance of income diversification to dietary diversity. It also calls for the development and support of nutrition-sensitive agricultural value chains, nutrition education and crop diversification programmes to improve household food and nutrition security.