Hirtella (Chrysobalanaceae) comprises about 107 species and less than 10% of its diversity has been sampled in palynological studies, which have only used light microscopy. To better understand the pollen morphology of the genus, pollen grains of fourteen species were examined: H. angustifolia Schott ex Spreng., H. bahienis Prance, H. bicornis Mart. & Zucc., H. ciliata Mart. & Zucc., H. corymbosa Cham. & Schltdl., H. glandulosa Spreng., H. gracilipes (Hook.f.) Prance, H. insignis Briq. ex Prance, H. martiana Hook.f., H. prancei Asprino & Amorim, H. racemosa Lam., H. santosii Prance, H. sprucei Benth. ex Hook.f., and H. triandra Sw. All of the species occur in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and belong to Hirtella sect. Hirtella. The pollen of Hirtella duckei Huber, an Amazonian species that belongs to Hirtella sect. Myrmecophila, was also analyzed for comparison. The pollen grains were acetolyzed, measured, described, and photomicrographed using light microscopy, and subsamples of acetolyzed material were also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. The pollen of the studied species presented features similar to those previously reported for Hirtella, such as size, shape, number of apertures, and general features of the exine. Based on the SEM analysis, three ornamentation patterns of the exine (microreticulate-rugulate, rugulate-perforate, and psilate-perforate) are reported for the first time for the genus. Little could be inferred about the taxonomy of Hirtella based on the pollen morphology, and there were no pollen characters for H. duckei that corroborate or refute its separation in a different section from the other species studied. Nevertheless, the present study provides new data about Hirtella that contribute to what is known about the pollen morphology of the genus.


To improve the efficiency of fitting toric soft contact lenses Cooper Vision designed Tori Track, software that calculates the final prescription using any trial lens of known power and SCOR without the estimation of rotation. The clinical success of traditional empirical fitting versus using a randomly selected diagnostic lens with Tori Track was compared using 28 eyes with at least 1.50D of cylinder. The initial visit included empirically fitting the subjects with Frequency 55 toric lenses by vertex correcting their manifest refraction. Following equilibration and an acceptable fit, acuities were taken using Snellen and high and low contrast Bailey Lovie charts. On a second visit, a -3.00-1.25 x040 lens was fit on all the patients and a SCOR was performed. ToriTrack was then used to predict the final lens parametres. The results of the initial visit were compared to the second visit. We found that on average ToriTrack predicted the final lens to undercorrect by 0.33D (spherical equivalent) more than the initial visit. Cylinder power was consistant between both parts, but the axis showed a shift of 15 degrees in 14 out of the 28 eyes. Even with the large axis shift, acuities were not significantly affected. Using ToriTrack and a diagnostic lens did not appear to be significantly more efficient than emprically fitting the lens. However, ToriTrack was useful for the built in vertex calculator, comprehensive catalogue of CooperVision lenses and maintaining patient records.


In this study, monitoring and thermodynamic approaches were combined in order to identify the dominant features, which control the speciation of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in solutions from unpolluted planosolic soil (North Massif Central, France). Three sites were selected according to topography and monitored from January to May 2006 using piezometers. The sandy-loam to clay-loam organic-rich horizon (horizon A) and the gravely and concretion-rich horizon (horizon E) were chosen to assess the potential impact of type of horizon on the chemical speciation of metals in the soil solutions. Binding of metals to organic ligands was studied by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) in order to acquire experimental data which could be used for the validation of speciation models. These data, together with data from the literature on properties of natural particulate matter, were used to determine the speciation of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn with a thermodynamic code (PHREEQC). The observed and predicted speciation were compared to estimate the contributions of natural dissolved organic matter and of particles to the binding of metal ions. There was a good match between observed and predicted results, validating the approach used. Results show that particles (mixed iron and aluminium oxides ± clays ± organic matter) play the main role in the speciation of the trace metals in soil waters rather than complexation with dissolved organic matter. Moreover, particles govern speciation to a greater extent in horizon E than in horizon A, which can be linked to hydrodynamics (reaction time between water and soil due to porosity) and chemical reactivity of the solution circulating.


Heat shock protein (HSP) 104 is a highly conserved molecular chaperone that catalyzes protein unfolding, disaggregation and degradation under stress conditions. We characterized HSP104 gene structure and expression in Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan parasite that causes Chagas' disease. The T. cruzi HSP104 is an 869 amino-acid protein encoded by a single-copy gene that has the highest sequence similarity (76%) with that of T. brucei and the lowest (23%) with that of the human protein. HSP104 transcripts were detected at room temperature, and levels increased after incubation at 37° or 40°C. The HSP104 protein was found at low levels in non-heat-shocked cells, and accumulated continuously up to 24 h at elevated temperatures. We developed a predicted structural model of hexameric T. cruzi HSP104, which showed some conserved features.


Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) peel is one of the solid wastes produced as a consequence of cassava processing. It is low in protein but contains a large amount of carbohydrate, causing an environmental problem with disposal. In order to add-value to this major cassava processing waste and also reduce its resultant environmental pollution, this study investigated the effect of submerged fermentation using Trichoderma viride ATCC 36316 on the protein content and amino acid profile of enzyme and non-enzyme pre-treated cassava peel. Compositional analysis of the product obtained with T. viride in the fermentor revealed that dry biomass increased in crude protein, true protein, crude fat, crude fibre, ash and total dietary fibre. The crude protein increased from 4.21 to 37.63 and 36.52% for enzyme and non-enzyme pre-treated fermented samples respectively with 31.6% as true protein for the former and 29.03% as true protein for the latter while the starch contents reduced considerably in both samples. Starch reduction was from 51.93 to 24.34 and 26.07% for enzyme and non-enzyme pre-treated fermented samples, respectively. The fermented products contained all the essential amino acids; however the chemical score of essential amino acids indicated methionine as the limiting amino acid.


We describe in detail two numerical simulations which illustrate a promising mechanism for binary star formation. This mechanism relies on the likelihood that protostellar discs are fed by accretion flows in which the specific angular momentum increases with time. Consequently, protostellar discs may be spun up until they become rotationally unstable and fragment. This mechanism has two variants, accretion-induced bar-mode rotational fragmentation (ABRF) and accretion-induced spiral-mode rotational fragmentation (ASRF). ABRF. If the specific angular momentum of a protostellar disc increases rapidly, the disc becomes unstable to a bar mode and cleaves directly into two components of comparable size, which may then grow and move apart by `mopping up' the remaining accretion flow. The components move apart because they repeatedly intercept the accretion flow and thereby convert some of the -by now - large angular momentum of the material in the accretion flow into orbital motion rather than spin. ASRF. If the specific angular momentum of the primary protostellar disc increases more slowly, the disc repeatedly forms spiral arms. Spiral arms formed in this manner can, if sufficiently massive, detach and condense to form initially small secondaries. Such secondaries are sometimes re-assimilated by the primary, but often they merge with one another and move away from the primary, again by `mopping up' the remaining accretion flow. If the accretion flow persists for long enough, they may grow to be comparable in mass to the primary. In the simulations presented here, the initial conditions are dynamic, and the initial protostellar discs condense out of a shocked layer formed by a clump/clump collision. However, it seems likely that the basic ingredient of the mechanism, i.e. an accretion flow with increasing specific angular momentum, can arise also in more quasi-static star formation regions like Taurus.


Geometric data from more than 1,100 localities and 13 radiometric ages have been compiled and measured for post-metamorphic dikes in eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, western Maine, and southern Quebec. Alkalic lamprophyres (monchiquite and camptonite) in Vermont and Quebec form three westward-trending lobate swarms. The northernmost lobe envelops the Monteregian Hills of Quebec, the central lobe crosses the central Lake Champlain Valley into the eastern Adirondacks, and the southernmost lobe crosses the northern Taconic Mountains into New York. These lobes extend from central New England, where numerous alkalic lamprophyre, spessartite, and diabase dikes were intruded in several episodes and orientations during Mesozoic time. Most of the monchiquite dikes are found in the Monteregian and Champlain areas, and with associated camptonite dikes intruded west-northwest– to east-trending regional fractures during Early Cretaceous time. Alkalic lamprophyres of this episode can also be found in New Hampshire and Maine. Most diabase dikes are found east of central Vermont, where they intruded northeast-trending fractures during Late Triassic to Early Jurassic time. Many camptonite and some spessartite dikes in eastern New England and the Taconics lobe have northeast trends and may also be of Early Jurassic age. Extensional stress directions in the New England crust shifted from northwest to north or north-northeast between Early Jurassic and Early Cretaceous time, as inferred from dike trends. The dikes may delineate extensional fracture zones that also controlled the emplacement of Mesozoic plutons in Quebec and New England.


Introduction and objective : Reducing the neonatal mortality rate in half is an objective proposed by WHO for the year 2025 through coverage strategies from the prenatal stage, delivery, birth, and hospitalization, one of these low-cost strategies is exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) in preterm infants, that contributes to the prevention of neonatal mortality, a population that contributes in the first place to neonatal mortality. The objective of this study was to identify the frequency and survival of exclusive breastfeeding and related factors in premature infants of two referral hospitals, one of them certified as Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). Methods : Follow-up study of 111 premature infants after hospital discharge with equivalent corrected age among hospitals: BFHI 36.1 ± 1.6; non-BFHI (nBFHI) 36.4 ± 1.8 weeks ( p ≥ .05). Data collection carried out from February 2016 to March 2017, through records in clinical files and surveys of mothers upon hospital discharge and by telephone during follow-up after 15 days post-discharge, 3, and 6 months of extrauterine life. Kaplan-Meier analysis to determine breastfeeding survival over time, and with Pearson's r with significance p ≤ .05, the relation was established between EBF with sociodemographic, perinatal, and clinical status factors of the child. Results : Urban maternal origin (68.1%), maternal age (25.7 ± 7.9 years), schooling < 12 years (56.6%). EBF upon discharge on 45/111 dyads (40.5%), 15 days post-discharge 35/73 (47.9%), third month 23/61 (37.7%) and sixth month 7/44 (15.9%). EBF survival was 15 days post-discharge, at this cut-off point, among the correlated factors are: "having received guidance to use Exclusive Breastfeeding until the sixth month of extrauterine life of the premature child" positively correlated with EBF ( r = 0.294, p ≤ .05), "the maternal perception that her milk dried" correlated negatively with EBF ( r = -0.313, p ≤ .01), if "breastfeeding caused anxiety to the mother" it positively correlated with artificial feeding (AF) ( r = 0.237, p ≤ .05). Conclusions : Exclusive breastfeeding in premature infants is below WHO standard, it is favorably related to maternal orientation, and barriers are maternal perceptions of non-milk supply and anxiety. It could be encouraged through actions carried out in hospitals certified with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and follow up with post-discharge breastfeeding at least to the sixth month of life of premature infants. Similar studies should establish better monitoring mechanisms to avoid losses during the follow-up.


Introduction: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is formed by non-enzymatic binding of glucose to the free amino group of the N-terminal end of the s-chain of hemoglobin A. HbA1c is representative of the mean blood glucose level over three months. The aim of the study was to evaluate the Hemoglobin A1c immunoturbidimetric assay performance on two different commercial systems.Methods: We evaluated the precision and trueness for determination of HbA1c in whole blood. Concentrations of total hemoglobin and HbA1c were evaluated on Dimension Xpand (Siemens) and Cobas 501 (Roche) analyzers. HbA1c was measured in a latex agglutination inhibition test. Commercial controls Liquichek Diabetes Control Level 1 and Liquichek Diabetes Control Level 2 (Bio Rad) at two levels were used for quality control. Analytical validation of HbA1c included: within-run imprecision, between-day imprecision, inaccuracy and comparison determination on the human samples on 2 systems: Dimension Xpand and Cobas 501 analyzers. Results: Within-run imprecision on the commercially controls for Level 1 is 4.5% and Level 2 is 3.2% between-day imprecision on commercially controls is 6.1% Level 1 and 5.1% Level 2 for respectively inac- curacy on commercially controls for Level 1 is 1.8% and Level 2 is 4.8%. Method comparison on human samples shows the correlation coefficient of 0.99.Conclusion: The presented results of the analytical evaluation methods for the determination of HbA1c showed an acceptable accuracy and precision.


Every year over a thousand young people appear before the Criminal Division of the Victorian Children's
Court. These young people typically have experienced significant social and personal challenges in their life,
and tend to have a history of poor school experiences and be partially or entirely disengaged from education. Improving the educational attainment and inclusion of young people who offend has been identified as one of
the most effective means of reducing the risk factors associated with criminal behaviour. The Education
Justice Initiative (EJI) was established in this context, commencing in September 2014. The Education Justice Initiative (EJI) is funded by the Department of Education and Training (DET) to
address educational disadvantage among young people involved in the youth justice system in Victoria. The
initiative is managed by Parkville College, the school operating in all the Department of Health & Human
Services (DHHS) secure services. The DET funding for the EJI included an allocation to support an
independent evaluation. This has been conducted by researchers from the Victoria Institute for Education,
Diversity and Lifelong Learning at Victoria University (VU). The VU researchers worked collaboratively with
EJI staff in order to answer the following research questions: Who are the young people who are supported through the EJI, in terms of background demographics and previous schooling experiences? How does the EJI operate in order to re-connect young people appearing before the Children's Court with education? What is the value of the EJI: what outcomes and benefits does the EJI achieve for young people and for other stakeholders?


In this paper an inequality of Popoviciu, which was improved by Vasic and Stankovic [13], is generalized by using Green function. An extension of Popoviciu type inequality is introduced. The mean value theorems, nexponential convexity and exponential convexity are presented for the differences of these inequalities and related Cauchy means are also generated.


The goal of this memory is the numerical solution of nonlinear equations by iterative processes. We study the analysis of parametric families of Newton-type iterative processes in Banach spaces, so that we can take them on a wide range of problems, as integral equations, partial differential equations or boundary value problems. We obtain in Banach spaces a family of iterative processes with order of convergence at least three that includes the most known iterative processes with at least cubic convergence: Chebyshev's method, the Super-Halley method, the Halley method or the Euler method, as well as other families of iterations. We gradually relax the hypotheses of semilocal convergence that are usually used and obtain the domains where solutions are located and unique, together with some a priori and a posteriori error estimates. To realize the study of the semilocal convergence of the family, we use two different techniques: the majorant principle and one based in the construction of a system of recurrence relations. In the particular case of quadratic equations in Banach spaces, we establish a family of iterative processes with prefixed order of convergence. It is interesting to notice that in this case the parameters that appear in the family are defined from Catalan's numbers. In the real case, the iterative methods of the family are globally convergent if the order of convergence is even, and generally convergent if the order of convergence is odd. In the complex plane, we present a study of the convergence from a numerical and dynamical point of view. With the objective of generalizing the study done for quadratic equations, we analyze the convergence of the family when it is applied in the solution of a wider group of equations. We obtain in this way a new family of iterative processes with also prefixed order of convergence and establish results of semilocal and global convergence for these iterations.


In this study, a porous media model is developed which can be applied to thin film lubrication problems. The microstructure of bearing surfaces is modeled as porous layers attached to the impermeable substrate. The Brinkman-extended Darcy equations and Stokes' equations are utilized to model the flow in the porous region and fluid film region, respectively. The stress jump boundary condition at the porous media/fluid film interface and effects of viscous shear are included in deriving the modified Reynolds equation. The present model can correct and modify a previous study based on the Darcy model with slip-flow effects or another based on the Brinkman-extended Darcy model with stress continuity at the porous media/fluid film interface. In the results, the effects of material properties: viscosity ratio (α i 2 ), thickness of porous layer (Δ i ), permeability (K,), stress jump parameter (β i ), on the velocity distributions, and performance of one-dimensional converging wedge problems are discussed.


For the dual-galvanometric laser scanning manufacturing, the traditional geometry algorithm-fθ only considered the distance between the two swaying mirrors, the distance between the swaying mirror and the convex lens, the mirror swaying angle, and the lens focal length. And it could not correctly express the manufacturing track which was made geometry distorted. Based on analysis, a creative geometry control algorithm - optical entire factors (OEF) was brought forward. From the creative algorithm it can be known that OEF geometry control algorithm was concerned with not only the distance of the two swaying mirrors, distance between the swaying mirror and the convex lens, mirror swaying angle, and lens focal length, but also the lens central height, lens convex radius, and medium refractive index. The manufacturing system can manufacture satisfied geometry with the creative double ends approach (DEA) control model based on OEF in the experiments.


Abstract. Product development based on highly integrated semiconductor circuits faces various challenges. To ensure the function of circuits the electrical parameters of every device must be in a specific window. This window is restricted by competing mechanisms like process variations and device degradation (Fig. 1). Degradation mechanisms like Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) or Hot Carrier Injection (HCI) lead to parameter drifts during operation adding on top of the process variations. The safety margin between real lifetime of MOSFETs and product lifetime requirements decreases at advanced technologies. The assignment of tasks to ensure the product lifetime has to be changed for the future. Up to now technology development has the main responsibility to adjust the technology processes to achieve the required lifetime. In future, reliability can no longer be the task of technology development only. Device degradation becomes a collective challenge for semiconductor technologist, reliability experts and circuit designers. Reliability issues have to be considered in design as well to achieve reliable and competitive products. For this work, designers require support by smart software tools with built-in reliability know how. Design for reliability will be one of the key requirements for modern product designs. An overview will be given of the physical device damage mechanisms, the operation conditions within circuits leading to stress and the impact of the corresponding device parameter degradation on the function of the circuit. Based on this understanding various approaches for Design for Reliability (DfR) will be described. The function of aging simulators will be explained and the flow of circuit-simulation will be described. Furthermore, the difference between full custom and semi custom design and therefore, the different required approaches will be discussed.


Traditional high-intensity resistance training performed 2-3 times per week induces muscle hypertrophy, at least, in 5 weeks (i.e. 10-15 training sessions). To examine the effect of a higher training frequency (12 sessions in 6 days), healthy young men performed low-intensity resistance training with (n=8, LIT-BFR) and without (n=8, LIT-CON) leg blood flow restriction with cuff inflation (BFR) twice per day for 6 days. Training involved 4 sets of knee extension exercise (75 total contractions) at 20% 1-RM. Significant muscle hypertrophy was observed only in the LIT-BFR group as estimated muscle-bone cross-sectional area (CSA) (2.4%), MRI-measured mid-thigh quadriceps muscle CSA (3.5%) and quadriceps muscle volume (3.0%) increased. The resulting hypertrophic potential (% change in muscle size divided by number of training sessions; ∼0.3% per session) is similar to previously reported traditional high-intensity training (0.1 to 0.5% per session). Improved 1-RM knee extension strength (6.7%) following LIT-BFR training was accounted for by increased muscle mass as relative strength (1-RM/CSA) did not change. There was no apparent muscle damage associated with the exercise training as blood levels of creatine kinase, myoglobin, and interleukin-6 remained unchanged throughout the training period in both training groups. A single bout of training exercise with and without BFR produced no signs of blood clotting as plasma thrombin-antithrombin complex, prothrombin fragment 1,2 and D-dimer were unchanged. In conclusion, changes in muscle mass and strength following 6-day (12 sessions) of low-intensity resistance training requires BFR to produce responses comparable to the effect of several weeks of high-intensity resistance training.


Abstract We have performed fully resolved three-dimensional numerical simulations of a statically unstable monochromatic inertia–gravity wave using the Boussinesq equations on an $f$ -plane with constant stratification. The chosen parameters represent a gravity wave with almost vertical direction of propagation and a wavelength of 3 km breaking in the middle atmosphere. We initialized the simulation with a statically unstable gravity wave perturbed by its leading transverse normal mode and the leading instability modes of the time-dependent wave breaking in a two-dimensional space. The wave was simulated for approximately 16 h, which is twice the wave period. After the first breaking triggered by the imposed perturbation, two secondary breaking events are observed. Similarities and differences between the three-dimensional and previous two-dimensional solutions of the problem and effects of domain size and initial perturbations are discussed.


In vitro culture of Pittosporum pentandrum was done in glass containers with nutrient medium, under aseptic conditions. Several explants were tried. The most successful was the very young leaf blade with midrib, cut 6 x 5 millimeters, grown in an agar culture medium of 1 liter Revised Murashige and Skoog Medium supplemented with the cytokinin benzyl adenine (10 and 15 milligrams) and a combination of two auxins, namely, naphthalene acetic acid (0.25 milligram) and dichlorophenoxyl acetic acid (0.25 milligram), producing an initial stage of development (callus) up to organogenesis (plantlet formation).


for cure of hypertension, and a further 48% and 30°' respectively for improvement (for example, easier medical control of blood pressure). We have recently performed percutaneous dilatation in two patients with severe renal artery stenosis, one a 37-year-old female with a two-year history of poorly controlled hypertension, and the other a 50-year-old female with a similar five-year history. They have since been normotensive on no treatment after six and three months respectively, and there were no complications. Clearly, long-term follow-up is needed; but it does appear that in selected cases transluminal angioplasty is a very effective technique. Advantages include avoidance of general anaesthetic and a major surgical procedure, shortened hospital stay, and decreased cost. It can be repeated if necessary, and in the event of failure surgical treatment is not precluded. In the future, therefore, the method will probably receive more than a passing mention in articles on the treatment of arterial disease.


This paper explores the gaps in public information pertaining to onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox®/Botox® Cosmetic), a treatment option for patients whereby nurses may serve as assistants, direct care providers, patient educators, and researchers. Nurses play an important role in Botox®/Botox® Cosmetic administration and it remains imperative that they protect the public by clarifying information on Food and Drug Administration approved and unapproved uses. The debate is still pending on whether there are potential positive or negative long-term effects. The pathophysiology and international use of botulinum toxin are discussed, as are the reasons to seek treatment from medically qualified professionals.


Online hourly concentrations of nitrate (NO_3 ^-), sulphate (SO_4 ^(2-)) and ammonium (NH_4^+), and two hourly concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were compared with the daily concentrations determined offline from filter samples. The comparison was performed over two months (May and June 2010) at a coastal site characterized by low local pollution, located in the Southern Italy (Central Mediterranean basin). The online measurements of the above inorganic ions and carbonaceous components of the aerosols were carried out using an Ambient Ion Monitor-Ion Chromatograph (AIM IC URG 9000-D) and a Sunset Laboratory Model-4 Semi-Continuous OCEC Field Analyzer, respectively, while the offline analyses were performed with two ion chromatographs instruments (Dionex DX-120 and Dionex 500) and a Sunset Laboratory Dual-Optical Carbonaceous Analyzer (Sunset Laboratory). The collocation of instruments allowed to evaluate the differences between online and offline daily concentrations and to interpret the origin of positive and negative sampling artefacts. As an example, the offline OC concentrations are constantly higher than online concentrations and this is explained by positive artefacts of offline measurements. The analysis was performed separately for days with and without transport of Saharan dust and revealed significant enhancement of concentrations for both inorganic ions and carbonaceous aerosols in the presence of dust. The increase of EC concentrations during dust events may be explained by an increase of emissions transport from sea traffic to the site. Moreover, the results showed that the online instruments may be used at a low polluted site for the acquisition of high temporal resolution data.


Processing of concentrated semi-flexible LCP (liquid-crystalline polymer) solutions is very important from an industrial point of view. In particular, concentrated semiflexible LCP solutions are used in the production of fibers with outstanding mechanical properties. Understanding of the relation between the processing of LCP solutions and the ultimate properties of the fibers requires the development of constitutive models for LCP solutions. Despite the fact that processing of LCP solutions started more than 50 years ago and a lot of research was devoted to the constitutive modeling of these systems, there are still questions to be answered. Some aspects, such as the formation of hairpins and their connection with entanglements in concentrated semi-flexible LCP solutions are still of great interest. However, the introduction of these concepts increases the complexity of the constitutive model and increases the difficulty of studying the rheological properties of LCP solutions. The present thesis deals with the development of the constitutive model for concentrated semi-flexible LCP solutions containing hairpins. Themodel also accounts for the fact that the formation of the hairpins increases the number of entanglements between the chains. The present work combines both, numerical and analytical techniques. We start by formulating the coarse-grained mechanical model for semi-flexible polymer molecule. Then we employ the methods of phase-space kinetic theory for deriving the evolution equation (the Smoluchowski equation) for a single-chain distribution function representing a single polymer chain immersed into the LCP solution. We also involve the concept of the mean-field approximation for the nematic interaction (Maier-Saupe potential) to eliminate the two-chain distribution function. Though the methods of phase space theory are extensively studied, we describe this derivation in detail in order to show explicitly the assumptions involved in this derivation. Next, we reformulate the obtained Smoluchowski equation in terms of the corresponding system of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) in the Stratonovich interpretation. This system of SDEs is used for the analytical study of the unentangled highlyordered concentrated semi-flexible LCP solution containing hairpins in elongational flow. Our results for this limit indicate that for unentangled LCP solutions the presence of hairpins reduces the response functions. We have further developed a numerical code for solving the system of SDEs for the entangled concentrated semi-flexible LCP solutions containing hairpins. Firstly, this code is tested by reproducing the equilibrium properties of the LCP solutions. Secondly, the results of simulations for the elongation flow are compared with the theoretical prediction for unentangled LCP solution. It turns out that results of simulations for unentangled LCP solutions reproduce the theoretical predictions correctly. However, from the simulations for entangled LCPs it follows that the entanglements increase the response functions and become important when the average number of hairpins per chain becomes greater than 1. In addition, we perform simulations of the behavior of the LCP solution under shear. Our model is capable of reproducing the well known dynamical transition and a peculiar dynamics of the director: kayaking, wagging and flow-aligning. From these simulations we also obtain the steady-state shear viscosity, which demonstrates the plateau for intermediate shear rates and the shear-thinning behavior for high shear rates. This is qualitatively in agreement with Asada-Onogi plot for typical LCP solutions. Besides that, our results of simulations for high and medium shear-rates agree with the experimental data by order of magnitude.


The aim of the research is to examine the effect of appreciation and depreciation of the Chinese Yuan (RMB) against the US Dollar on the Chinese furniture exports market. Data was collected from 100 furniture exporters in Shanghai and Guangzhou. The results confirm the existing view that export companies are most susceptible to fluctuation in US dollar. The analysis shows that the furniture industry is equally affected by changes in currency market to the extent that it suffers from appreciation and depreciation in the value of the Yuan against the US dollar in the form of reduced prices and customers. They also benefit from increased sales resulting from the decline in value of the Yuan. The results also indicated that it is not all the time that this benefits is accrued but sometimes  a decline in the value of the RMB against the dollar does not necessarily lead to it an increased in sales as was experienced during the global economic crisis. In essence and in response  to the second research question to examine the nature of risk faced by furniture manufacturing companies, it is possible to argue that the major risk are loss of sales and customers  to other  competitors in other countries where the customers feel they can get cheaper sources of products. The research has also identified some management practices used by Chinese furniture companies to reduce the impact of these challenges on their operations


According to St. Augustine's (354-430) literal reading of the myth of Adam's "fall", sin is transmitted to all humanity and leaves an uncontrollable inclination to sin. Salvation from this "original sin" can be achieved only by the grace of God, but the grace of God was mediated exclusively by the orthodox Roman church through the administration of the sacraments. One of the so-called "heretics" who was prepared to speak out against this authoritarian form of church "orthodoxy" was the Celtic monk Pelagius (360-c.420). He denied that sin is transmitted at birth. He claimed that sin was the result of an act of the will, choosing evil over good – and that divine grace cannot perfect humankind's sanctity without the exercise of one's own free will. Even though science and biblical textual criticism have prompted a new search for coherence between modernity and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, some, or other form of the doctrine of original sin is still being propounded in most Christian denominations today. In view of the tragic baggage that Christianity must bear, the question is raised regarding whether Pelagius's insistence on the choice to exercise free will for good through a Christ-like life would not have led to a more psychologically healthy and effective Christianity? This article employs a History-of-Religion's methodology to probe the politico-cultural historical context during St. Augustine's lifetime to understand how it came about that the doctrine of original sin was established. This article hypothesises that the possibility (as claimed by Rowan Williams). of a "normative" Christianity containing "an interwoven plurality of perspectives on what was transacted in Jerusalem" is only achievable if the pre-Darwinian doctrine of inborn sin is relinquished in favour of Pelagius's insistence on accountability through an effort of will for good sustained by the grace of God.


Web crawler is an essential component of search engines, data mining and other Internet applications. Scheduling Web pages to be downloaded is an important aspect of crawling. Previous research on Web crawl focused on optimizing either crawl speed or quality of the Web pages downloaded. While both metrics are important, scheduling using one of them alone is insufficient and can bias or hurt overall crawl process. This paper explores the design space of crawl scheduling to balance performance and quality factors and optimize the global crawl efficiency. We design a network-efficient scheduling framework and use it to evaluate various scheduling strategies. We also define a new scheduling algorithm that factor both network performance and Web page quality into scheduling decision-making. Real world experiments clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the two-level scheduling scheme and the new algorithm in improving overall crawl efficiency. Experiments also show that crawlscheduling design can always be optimized based on full understanding of application properties.


Mouse genetics has revolutionized the way biomedical research is conducted today. Forward and reverse genetics in the mouse have enabled us to link genes with function by analyzing spontaneously occurring mouse mutants and through manipulation of the mouse genome. In the central nervous system (CNS) the investigation of genes and their roles have proven particularly difficult due to the many vital functions controlled by the CNS. Frequently, gene over‐expression or deletions result in lethal genotypes or compensatory gene expression patterns, hampering phenotyping. To overcome these limitations, more sophisticated manipulations of the mouse genome have been developed which aim at gene alterations with high spatial and/or temporal precision. In this thesis, two projects aim at introducing such subtle manipulations into the mouse genome, which should allow addressing gene function with minimal confounding factors. The first project took advantage of RNA interference (RNAi) to knock down serine racemase. Serine racemase is an enzyme that generates D‐serine, an atypical neurotransmitter involved in modulating the gating properties of the NMDA receptor. Robust silencing of serine racemase was obtained by introducing a transgene featuring RNAi capability through lentiviral gene transfer. Furthermore, this gene silencing was made temporarily inducible and cell specific by taking advantage of the Cre‐loxP system, which allowed specific down‐regulation of serine racemase in astrocytes or forebrain neurons. The second project aims at addressing the role of spinal NMDA receptor‐dependent long‐term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory glutamatergic synapses as a possible synaptic mechanism leading to chronic pain. The goal of this project was to generate a mouse that cannot express LTP at spinal excitatory synapses and to investigate the consequences of lost spinal LTP for chronic inflammatory or neuropathic pain states. At many CNS synapses expression of LTP requires phosphorylation of GluRA which is contained in most glutamat receptors. Mutation of these phosphorylation sites abolishes LTP but does not interfere with baseline synaptic transmission. An inducible phospho‐mutated GluRA knockin construct was therefore generated and introduced into mouse ES cells. Clones that had undergone the desired homologous recombination were used to generate transgenic mice. In the last project the contribution of the prostaglandin E receptor subtype 1 (EP1) to inflammatory pain was investigated. The EP1 receptor is one of four receptors of the pro‐inflammatory prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which is a major contributor to pain sensitization during inflammation. By binding the EP1 receptor PGE2 promotes peripheral heat sensitization. EP1 has also been suggested to play a role in mechanical pain through central mechanisms. These studies have all relied on a pharmacologic antagonist of the EP1 receptor, however, the specificity of this antagonist might not have been sufficient to exclude effects on other receptors of the EP family. In this project it was possible to show that the EP1 receptor is not involved in the previously suggested CNS‐dependent mechanical sensitization to PGE2. Rather, this project points to an involvement of EP1 only in heat sensitization during inflammation.


Physicians seeing sexually abused children in their practices often fail to recognize the abuse. Recognizing the frequency of child sexual abuse and variety of presentations will alert physicians to seek explanation. Physicians should know the common behavior of perpetrators and how to encourage children to reveal and describe the abuse. Information gained through effective interviewing can be used to pian appropriate medical investigations, to form the basis of a protective service report, and as a sound introduction to counseling for sexual assault. Improved medical support to protective service agencies will improve their capacity to protect victims of sexual abuse, and competent educational support by physicians will improve their immediate and long-term emotional adjustment.


This paper describes a Teleradiology experiment which is being held in Portugal involving Hospitals in the northern region of the country. These healthcare units are connected by means of ISDN basic accesses (2B+D) and use the INTERACT system. The system is based on Personal Computers running Windows, and creates an integrated environment for cooperative work in Medical Imaging. A DICOM interface module is also provided as well as basic tools (telepointer, magnifying glass, contrast manipulation). The system has been running in two hospitals of Porto area with good user acceptance. Organizational changes must be implemented in the involved units for a perfect integration of these new telematic tools.


Abstract During recent years, Swedish media have paid attention to young people's presentations of self in Internet communities, claiming that these presentations are often sexually provocative. The present study aims at investigating young men's and women's presentations of self in Sweden's largest Internet community, focusing specifically on how bodies are displayed. This is done through quantitative and qualitative content analyses of the photos of 88 users. Results show differences in what parts of their bodies the young men and women show: women tend to focus on faces, while men focus on torsos. Results also contradict the image depicted by the media, as very few photos in the sample can be described as provocative. One explanation offered here concerns the specific Internet community's lack of anonymity, meaning that the interaction is steered by the same mechanisms and social pressures at work in offline environments.


Deep levels in as-grown p-type 4H-SiC epilayers have been investigated by DLTS. Three deep hole traps (HK2, HK3 and HK4) can be detected by DLTS in the temperature range from 350K to 700K. They are energetically located at 0.84 eV (HK2), 1.27 eV (HK3) and 1.44 eV (HK4) above the valence band edge. The activation energy of the traps does not show any meaningful change regardless of applied electric field, indicating that the charge state of the deep hole traps may be neutral after hole emission (donor-like). By the low-energy electron irradiation, the HK3 and HK4 concentrations are significantly increased, suggesting that the origins of the HK3 and HK4 may be related to carbon displacement. Study on the thermal stability of these hole traps has revealed that the trap concentrations of HK3 and HK4 are reduced to below the detection limit (1-2 × 1011 cm-3) by annealing at 1350°C. The HK2 is thermally more stable than HK3 and HK4, and becomes lower than the detection limit by annealing at 1550°C.


We demonstrate the feasibility and flexibility of artificial shape engineering of epitaxial semiconductor nanostructures. Novel nanostructures including InGaAs quantum rods (QRs), nanocandles, and quantum dots (QDs)-in-rods were realized on a GaAs substrate. They were formed by depositing a short-period GaAs/InAs superlattice (SL) on a seed QD layer by molecular beam epitaxy growth. The InAs layer thickness in the SL plays an important role in obtaining the QRs. The growth of the QRs is very sensitive to growth interruption and growth temperature. By properly choosing both growth parameters, QRs with length of 41 nm corresponding to an extremely large aspect ratio of 4.1 were obtained. The evolution from a 0-D to 1-D confinement type is evidenced in the optical properties. The origin of the optical transitions from the QRs was understood by calculations of the electronic states within a fully 3-D approach in the eight-band k$\cdot$ p approximation. The QRs are embedded in a GaAs matrix and are therefore free from surface traps. This feature enables high material quality and consequently their application in real devices. At room temperature, laser diodes based on QR active regions lasing around 1120 (or 1130) nm are demonstrated.


Arrested succession is conspicuous in the abandoned pastures of the Andean piedmont that have encroached upon the tropical montane forests toward higher limits and steeper slopes. Habitat 'shredding' is analysed to depict the current spatial configuration of tropical Andean landscapes, based on fragmentation patterns prompted by seed dispersal ecology and pasture encroachment. Seed dispersal was studied to address the hypo-thesis that seed input constrains the recruitment of montane forest seedlings, thus impeding pasture conversion to forest. It turns out that a better competitor, the tussock grass Setaria sphacelata, is limiting dispersal success due to its bioarchitecture and planting patterns. Because of the variegation of fragments, the area is in danger of landscape homogeneity within a matrix of degraded pasture. Currently, protection of fragmented remnants and restoration of original landscape structure and function are urgent needs for land-use planning toward sustainable development in the region. Restoration ecology is plausible as a means of conservation for degraded Tropandean forests, since human impacts have shredded landscapes entirely. Dispersal ecology may be used to facilitate pasture conversion to forest in equatorial landscapes, but the proactive approach of pasture removal or planting strategy should differ from that for lowland Amazonia, where abandoned pastures are different from those of montane environs. However, the region may be proactively managed only if political decisions include conservation as a goal of development.


Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of qnr, intI, and intII genes in extended spectrum betalactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli isolated from clinical samples in Kerman, Iran. Methods: A total of 127 E. coli were collected from clinical samples in Kerman hospitals. The antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using disc diffusion method, while the presence of ESBL-producing E. coli was determined by phenotypic confirmatory test. Furthermore, the presence of qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, intI, intII, and β-lactamase-encoding genes was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, the data were analyzed and associations between different genes and antibiotic resistance were evaluated. Results: The highest and lowest rates of resistance were observed against ampicillin (72.4 %) and imipenem (2.3 %), respectively. Also, 41.7 % of the isolates produced ESBL-enzymes. The qnrS and genes were detected in 6.3 and 0.78 %, respectively, of the isolates, while qnrA gene was not detected in the current study. The results revealed that 64.5 and 10.2 % of isolates carried intI and intII genes, respectively. Data analysis showed a significant association between ESBL production and class I integrin gene in E. coli isolates. Conclusions: Due to the variation in the resistance patterns of E. coli against antibiotics in different geographical regions, antimicrobial treatments should be based on local experience. Also, the coexistence of ESBL and intI gene in the majority of E. coli isolates suggests that care should be taken in choosing antibiotic therapy. Keywords: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase, E. coli , Integrin, Imipenem, Bacterial genes, Antibiotic resistance


The accountant-client privilege is being recognized by statute in an increasing number of states. This privilege was not recognized under the common law and noticeable differences have arisen among those states that do grant the privilege. The author argues all of these statutes have serious and disturbing shortcomings. This article will address those shortcomings and recommend several necessary amendments. In the course of that discussion comments and comparisons are made between the various state statutes, examining their similarities and assessing their differences. Finally, this article will focus upon the desirability of recognizing any privilege of this nature and suggest that the privilege should ultimately be abandoned. It is the author's intention that this discussion prompt legislators to review their existing statutes in order to determine whether either revision or repeal of the accountant-client privilege is necessary.


The purpose of this study is to examine the reported level of self-disclosure in online communication and understand the relationship between perceived interpersonal competence and self-disclosure in an online context, taking into account the moderating role of shyness. The study sample consists of university students (N = 585). Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses revealed that, controlling for participants' online media use, shyness moderated the relationship between online self-disclosure and perceived interpersonal competence. Moderation results showed that the relationship between online self-disclosure and perceived interpersonal competence was weaker for individuals with higher levels of shyness, and stronger for those with moderate or low scores on the shyness measure. The study's implications and contributions to the existing literature are discussed.


Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs, EC 1.2.1) oxidize aldehydes into carboxylic acids, and thus are important in regulating the level of toxic aldehydes. ALDHs from eukaryotes were classified into more than 20 families. In mammals Family 2 ALDHs detoxify acetaldehyde and a similar function has been suggested in plants. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that plant Family 2 ALDHs oxidize acetaldehyde generated via ethanolic fermentation and produce acetate for acetyl-CoA biosynthesis through acetylCoA synthetase (ACS) in plastids, similar to the yeast pathway termed the "pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) bypass". Arabidopsis. thaliana contains three Family 2 ALDHs, two of which are mitochondrial and the other cytosolic. To test for the presence of the PDH bypass in plants, plants homozygous for T-DNA insertion alleles of the three encoding genes were fed with 14C-ethanol along with wild type controls. The comparisons between the mutant and wild type in their incorporation rates of 14C-ethanol into fatty acids provided direct evidence for the presence of PDH bypass in plants, which may only involve one of the mitochondrial Family 2 ALDHs rather than the other two. Although none of the single, double or triple mutants exhibited novel phenotypes when grown on soil, seedlings of the double mitochondrial aldh mutants grew shorter roots than wild type on MS media, suggesting a role for mitochondrial Family 2 ALDHs during root elongation.


Summary In this paper, the ensemble of support vector machines is applied to text-independent speaker recognition, and the bagging-like model and boosting-like model are proposed by adopted the ensemble idea. The purposes of adopting this idea are to deal with the large scale speech data and improve the performance of speaker recognition. The distance-based and probability-based scoring methods are used to score the new utterance. Compared with the conventional vector-based speaker models (Vector Quantization and Gaussian Mixture Model), our method is hyperplan-based. The experiments have been run on the YOHO database, and the results show that our models can get attractive performances.


This paper investigates the long run relationship between entry and exit using aggregate annual data from the Turkish manufacturing industry for the period 1968-2001. The time series properties of the data imply that simple OLS regressions may yield spurious results. We employ both bivariate and multivariate models to test for Granger causality. Utilizing relatively new time series techniques, we find that exit Granger causes entry in the long run, but not vice versa. However, unlike many empirical findings in the literature, past exit has a negative effect on entry. Entrants seem to be put off by past exit in the long run. Hence, our results do not seem to support the replacement effect in the Turkish manufacturing industry in general. None of the other variables included in the multivariate analysis has significant effects on entry or exit. The generalized impulse responses between entry and exit confirm Granger causality results.


Bright submillimetre-selected galaxies have been found to be a rich source of strong gravitational lenses. However, strong gravitational lensing of extended sources leads inevitably to differential magnification. In this paper I quantify the effect of differential magnification on simulated far-infrared and submillimetre surveys of strong gravitational lenses, using a foreground population of Navarro–Frenk–White plus de Vaucouleurs' density profiles, with a model source resembling the Cosmic Eyelash and quasi-stellar object J1148+5251. Some emission-line diagnostics are surprisingly unaffected by differential magnification effects: for example, the bolometric fractions of [Cii] 158 μm and CO(J = 1 − 0), often used to infer densities and ionization parameters, have typical differential magnification effects that are smaller than the measurement errors. However, the CO ladder itself is significantly affected. Far-infrared lensed galaxy surveys (e.g. at 60 μm) strongly select for high-redshift galaxies with caustics close to active galactic nuclei (AGNs), boosting the apparent bolometric contribution of AGN. The lens configuration of IRAS F10214+4724 is naturally explained in this context. Conversely, submillimetre/millimetre-wave surveys (e.g. 500–1400 μm) strongly select for caustics close to knots of star formation boosting the latter's bolometric fraction. In general, estimates of bolometric fractions from spectral energy distributions of strongly lensed infrared galaxies are so unreliable as to be useless, unless a lens mass model is available to correct for differential magnification.


Palaeoanthropologists have proposed that Neanderthals, the Middle Palaeolithic hominin occupant of Eurasia, differed from modern human relatives by having specialised diets focused on big game. A narrow dietary niche at the top of the terrestrial food chain is inherently prone to instability, potentially contributing to extinction of the Neanderthals. However, limitations in detecting plant consumption imply that scientists are unaware of much of Neanderthal diet. My dissertation revises the role of plants in Neanderthal subsistence using dental calculus, a material that is recognised to contain food traces, as a source of dietary data.
To do this I assessed how accurately calculus records diet, by testing it with a variety of techniques on a population of chimpanzees with decades of documented dietary history. Then, my dissertation examined if it is possible to explore the resilience of the Neanderthal dietary niche by assessing for changes in plant use over time. Comparing diets from different habitats, data suggests a broad range of diets on the Mediterranean rim and in the cooler areas of the Neanderthal range. Surprisingly, the study found no evidence of changes in plant dietary breadth despite variation in environments. This stability implies a deeply resilient ecological niche across their range.


Silurian organic-rich (hot) shales were the source of large amounts of hydrocarbons in northern Gondwana, with supergiant and giant fields in the Middle East and North Africa. A study of these black shales has been conducted in Jordan, where they represent the source for the Risha gas field. Two organically enriched horizons occur in the Silurian in Jordan, termed the lower hot shale and the upper hot shale. Deposition of the transgressive lower hot shale occurred during the early Llandoverian and was restricted to the earliest Silurian paleodepressions. Three lower hot shale depocenters have been identified in Jordan; they are located in the western Risha, eastern Wadi Sirhan, and Jafr areas. The eastern Risha area was part of a larger scale paleohigh covering northeast Jordan, most of Syria and Iraq, and north-central Saudi Arabia (Qusaiba area). At least in Jordan, the high coincides with the depocenter of the latest Ordovician glaciation. Sedimentation of the upper hot shale occurred around peak sea level during the late Llandoverian and/or early Wenlockian and was limited to the distal parts of the shelf (Risha area), in front of the prograding silty-sandy deltaic front.Thermal maturity increases from immature in the Southern Desert outcrops to late or postmature in northern Jordan. Organic richness and pyrolysis data deteriorate significantly with increasing thermal maturity because of hydrocarbon generation. Prior to maturation, maximum organic richness is interpreted to have considerably exceeded 10% with good S2 (remaining generative potential) yields, as reflected in the values of the immature lower hot shale in the shallow borehole BG-14 in the Southern Desert outcrop area and exploration well Hunt JF-1 in the Jafr area.Identification and isopach mapping of the lower hot shale is based on its characteristic uranium enrichment. The gamma-ray/total organic carbon correlation coefficient increases with increasing maturity, suggesting that uranium is less vulnerable to maturity effects than the organic matter itself. The gamma-ray log, therefore, can be used as a proxy for the prematuration organic richness, representing a suitable basis for cross-basin comparisons of original organic richness trends.A two-phase generation of hydrocarbons is interpreted for both the Risha and Wadi Sirhan areas, with the first as a pre-Hercynian phase in the Carboniferous and the second as a less intense generation phase during the Mesozoic to early Tertiary. In contrast, gas generation of the Silurian-sourced giant fields in the central part of the Arabian Peninsula and Iran was restricted to the post-Hercynian. In Jordan, both structural and stratigraphic play concepts are envisaged, including fault, paleohigh, and channel plays. Key elements that need attention in future exploration of the Silurian plays in Jordan are Ordovician reservoir quality and timing of maturation. Poor permeabilities have been reported from wells in both the Risha and Wadi Sirhan areas.


Cellular differentiation is a tightly regulated process under the control of intricate signaling and transcription factors interaction network working in coordination. These interactions make the systems dynamic, robust and stable but also difficult to dissect. In the spinal cord, recent work has shown that a network of FGF, WNT and Retinoic Acid (RA) signaling factors regulate neural maturation by directing the activity of a transcription factor network that contains CDX at its core. Here we have used partial and ordinary (Hill) differential equation based models to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics of the FGF/WNT/RA and the CDX/transcription factor networks, alone and in combination. We show that in both networks, the strength of interaction among network partners impacts the dynamics, behavior and output of the system. In the signaling network, interaction strength determine the position and size of discrete regions of cell differentiation and small changes in the strength of the interactions among networking partners can result in a signal overriding, balancing or oscillating with another signal. We also show that the spatiotemporal information generated by the signaling network can be conveyed to the CDX/transcription network to produces a transition zone that separates regions of high cell potency from regions of cell differentiation, in agreement with most in vivo observations. Importantly, one emerging property of the networks is their robustness to extrinsic disturbances, which allows the system to retain or canalize NP cells in developmental trajectories. This analysis provides a model for the interaction conditions underlying spinal cord cell maturation during embryonic axial elongation.


This case report describes the effects of long-term treatment with the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) gefitinib ('Iressa', ZD1839) on a patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Gefitinib is an orally active agent that blocks signal transduction pathways implicated in the proliferation and survival of cancer cells and host-dependent processes that promote tumor growth. A 62-year-old Japanese man with a history of heavy smoking was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, clinical stage IIIB (T4N3M0), in August 2000. He received two cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy and subsequently underwent left upper lobectomy followed by thoracic radiotherapy. After these treatments, he underwent partial lobectomy and pneumonectomy because of disease recurrence. In June 2002, he started treatment with gefitinib 250 mg/day orally because of mediastinal lymph node recurrence and an elevated serum cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA) level. As a result, the mediastinal lymph node markedly regressed and the serum CYFRA level became normalized. Although he experienced recurrence three times during the 18 months prior to treatment with gefitinib, recurrence has not been experienced in the 13 months since the start of gefitinib treatment, while tolerability has been acceptable.


This is the first paper to look at the entire population of those found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCR) in Alberta, Canada. The Alberta NCR Project examined longitudinal data from the NCR population to describe sociodemographic, mental health, and criminological profiles. Data were collected for the period of 1941 (i.e., the first known case in Alberta) to October 15, 2015, using archived patient chart information. The majority of Alberta NCRs have not completed high school, are diagnosed with some form of psychosis, and were found by the court to be NCR due to a violent crime. The Alberta NCR population has grown by an average of seven NCR accused per year and, of those who have reached absolute discharge, each person spent an average of 5.7 years under the Alberta Review Board (the provincial body that oversees those found NCR). Those who committed a homicide had significantly longer hospitalizations than those under every other crime category, except attempted homicide.


ABSTRACT This article assesses how trilogues affect the possibilities to hold the European Parliament to account from the perspectives of democracy as political equality and democracy as epistemic quality. Trilogues, informal and secluded meetings between a limited number of participants, have become standard operating procedure for reaching legislative decisions in the EU. Trilogues are defended because they provide efficient settings where decision-makers can discuss more freely but are also criticised for hindering open and inclusive decision-making processes. Despite recent rule reforms, we argue that the democratic problem with trilogues is not their informal or secluded character per se, but that the compromises reached in these settings are not sufficiently linked to or discussed among the collective of MEPs in arenas where external actors have access to legislators' arguments and debates. When internal and external accountability is not linked, legislative proposals are deprived of sufficient democratic authorisation.


Robotic building construction has had significant advances in the recent decades, but also has various limitations. In particular, construction typically requires a robot to operate within a large space for long hours and be able to transport between sites. Cable-driven parallel robots (CDPRs) show strong potentials within the automation of construction due to its desirable characteristics, such as high payload-to-weight ratio, transportability, scalability and reconfigurability. This paper proposes a simulation-based analysis, design and pre-execution verification for a cable-driven brick structure building system (CU-Brick), among which a way to determine the buildable workspace where the construction could be constructed is proposed. Simulations are used to do the workspace analysis, design of the brick structure within the workspace and also verification that the motions can be executed. Using this simulation approach, real demonstrations have been performed to show that indeed the system is able to construct the brick structures safely and consistently.


Atomically dispersed iron–nitrogen (FeN4) catalysts have emerged as the most promising alternative to costly Pt-based counterparts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), but often they suffer from high overpotential and poor stability due to the diverse iron–nitrogen coordination structure. Herein, we demonstrate high-purity pyrrole-type FeN4 sites for the first time, as a superior ORR electrocatalyst for PEMFCs. The high-purity pyrrole-type FeN4 catalyst exhibited extremely outstanding ORR activity with an ultra-high active area current density of 6.89 mA m−2 in acid medium, which exceeds that of most reported metal–nitrogen coordination catalysts. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that high-purity pyrrole-type coordination significantly modifies the atomic and electronic structures of FeN4 sites, bringing with it high intrinsic catalytic activity, preferable O2 adsorption energy and full four-electron reaction selectivity for ORR catalysis. Therefore, PEMFCs built with this high-purity FeN4 catalyst achieve a high open-circuit voltage (1.01 V) and a large peak power density (over 700 mW cm−2). High-purity iron–nitrogen coordination would give new insights into highly efficient electrocatalysts for PEMFCs.


Abstract Soybean is often damaged by hypoxia caused by waterlogging at the seedling stage. Hypoxia severely inhibits root development and retards plant growth. We aimed to clarify phenotypic variation in root development under hypoxia condition at the seedling stage using diverse soybean accessions. Root development in 162 accessions was evaluated in hydroponic culture. Substantial changes under hypoxia were investigated by means of WinRHIZO analysis before and after the treatment. We found significant phenotypic variation in hypoxia tolerance in root among the 162 accessions. A principal components analysis indicated an association between hypoxia tolerance and the country of origin. We found three new accessions which have a high ability to develop roots under hypoxia (Kokubu 7, Maetsue zairai 90B, and Yahagi). Root development in selected accessions was also evaluated in soil culture. Root development levels in hydroponic and soil culture were significantly correlated. These results will provide important information on waterlogging damage in regions where waterlogging occurs. The three accessions with hypoxia-tolerant roots might be useful for genetic improvement of waterlogging tolerance of modern soybean varieties.


Asterix laser at PALS Laboratory of Prague, operating at 1315 nm fundamental wavelength, 300 ps pulse duration, 1016 W/cm2 intensity and single pulse mode, was employed to irradiate thin hydrogenated targets placed in high vacuum. Non-equilibrium plasmas were obtained in forward direction, i.e. along the normal to the target surface on the rear of the irradiated thin films. Plasmas were monitored with different ion detectors, placed around the direction normal to the target. The main detector was a Thomson parabola spectrometer aligned along the normal in forward direction. This spectrometer permits to provide many plasma parameters concerning the involved ions (energy, charge state, mass,...) obtained in a single laser shot. The spectrometer images, obtained by using a MCP coupled to a fast CCD camera, can be processed by a comparison with the simulation data obtained by a proper software. High ion energies and charge states have been obtained as a function of the laser parameters, target thickness and composition and irradiation conditions.


Green bonds play a pivotal role in the financing of sustainable infrastructure systems. Likewise, CO2 emissions and oil prices can cause an impact on the green bonds market. In order to better understand this issue, this study analyzes the relationship among green bonds, CO2 futures' prices, and oil prices using a daily data set that includes 2,206 observations corresponding to daily information from 1 January 2014 to 15 June 2022. The Granger Causality Test and the Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC-Garch) Model were employed to conduct this analysis. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to identify crisis periods concerning the sample period and provide an analysis of DCC-Garch results during extreme market conditions like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Granger Causality Test results present a unidirectional causality running from the Green Bond Index to the oil price returns. Also, there is a unidirectional causality running from the Green Bond Index to the CO2 futures' returns. Additionally, a unidirectional causality runs from the oil price returns to the CO2 futures' returns. The results for the DCC-Garch indicate a positive dynamic correlation between the Brent oil price return and the CO2 futures' returns. Finally, the Green Bond Index shows a negative dynamic correlation to the oil return and the CO2 futures' returns presenting a strong correlation in uncertainty periods.


The current trend for domain-specific architectures has led to renewed interest in research test chips to demonstrate new specialized hardware. Tapeouts also offer huge pedagogical value garnered from real hands-on exposure to the whole system stack. However, success with tapeouts requires hard-earned experience, and the design process is time consuming and fraught with challenges. Therefore, custom chips have remained the preserve of a small number of research groups, typically focused on circuit design research. This article describes the CHIPKIT framework: a reusable SoC subsystem which provides basic IO, an on-chip programmable host, off-chip hosting, memory, and peripherals. This subsystem can be readily extended with new IP blocks to generate custom test chips. Central to CHIPKIT is an agile RTL development flow, including a code generation tool called VGEN. Finally, we discuss best practices for full-chip validation across the entire design cycle.


Introduction. Primary bladder pain syndrome (PBPS) also known as interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome is a disease with a significant deterioration in quality of life. The reason of that is not only the presence of constant pain in the bladder and urinary disorders, but also due to psychoemotional disorders and sexual dysfunctions. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence, nature and severity of sexual dysfunctions in women with PBPS. Materials and methods. The study involved 75 women (mean age 42.4±3.1 years) with a confirmed diagnosis of PBPS, the control group consisted of 75 women (mean age 41.8 ± 2.9 years) without dysuria and pelvic pain. The severity of clinical manifestations of PBPS was assessed on the basis of a 10-point visual analogue scale of pain in the bladder (VAS-10), questionnaires «Pelvic Pain and Urgency/Frequency Patient Symptom Scale, PUF Scale» and O'Leary-Sant Interstitial Cystitis Symptoms Index (ICSI). Sexual function was assessed using a specialized questionnaire «Female Sexual Function Index» (FSFI). Results. The overall assessment of sexual function according to the FSFI questionnaire in patients with PBPS was significantly lower than in the control group. In the patients of the main group the mean score according to the FSFI questionnaire was 16.5 ± 4.4, while in the control group it was 30.5 ± 4.2 points (p <0.01). Sexual dysfunctions were detected in 69 (92%) of 75 patients with PBPS and in 24 (32%) women in the control group. The most common type of dysfunction was dyspareunia, which was reported by 72% of women with PBPS. For all components of the sexual function of women with PBPS, its deterioration was noted in older age groups. The degree of sexual dysfunction significantly correlated with the intensity of PBPS symptoms. Discussion. Our results confirm a significant deterioration in sexual function in women with PBPS, which coincides with the data of other authors. The most common disorder is pain during intercourse. The symptoms of PBPS leads to the development of various sexual dysfunctions. It is advisable at the diagnostic stage for all women with chronic pelvic pain to assess their sexual function to understand the presence and severity of sexual dysfunctions. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate a high prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with PBPS. The presence of pain during intercourse is the most frequent clinical manifestation and causes the development of other sexual disorders: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm and satisfaction. The high frequency of sexual dysfunctions and a significant impact on the quality of life of women with PBPS indicates the need for additional therapeutic measures to restore sexual function.


The voltage-lift technique is an effective method that could be applied in electronic circuit design. A set of positive output DC-DC converters applying series SEPIC implementing voltage-lift techniques is introduced. Compared with the prototype of the SEPIC converter, these converters can perform positive to positive DC-DC voltage increasing conversion with higher voltage transfer gains. They are different from other existing DC-DC step-up converters and possess obvious advantages, mainly including fewer switches, clear conversion processes and a high output voltage with small ripples. Since the proposed converters avoid using transformers and cascade connection, relative simple structures are beneficial to potential practical applications in future. A detailed theoretical analysis for continuous and discontinuous conduction modes is given. Both simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the main characteristics.


This study used electron microscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy interfaced with cytochemistry to study neuromuscular interrelationships in the ovijector of Ascaris suum. An extensive nerve plexus with both FaRPergic and non‐FaRPergic components extends over the outer surface of the ovijector. The non‐FaRPergic component is derived from nerve branches of the ventral nerve cord, whereas the FaRPergic component emanates from two large FMRFamide‐immunoreactive neurons. In the vagina vera, most myofibrils are circular in orientation and a number of them divide and run for short distances in longitudinal and diagonal directions, their myofilaments are also orientated in a variety of directions. Parallel nerve fibres run in tracts along the length of the vagina vera with branches that penetrate the muscle layers. The vagina uteri possesses a thicker hypodermis than that of the vagina vera. It appears rich in secretory and phagocytic vesicles and the luminal side is invested with an electron‐dense substance. The musculature of the vagina uteri is less well developed than that of the vagina vera, being restricted to circular myofibrils, with an apparent diagonal arrangement of myofilaments. Also, the innervation is less extensive in the vagina uteri with many fibres returning to the vagina vera to rejoin the nerve net and others continuing into the uteri. J. Comp. Neurol. 415:518–528, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


While digitalization has opened up new opportunities for disseminating creative contents, issues related to the management of metadata (data to identify works and authors) impact the capacity of creators to obtain fair copyright-based remuneration. The reasons for incomplete or incorrect metadata are the lack of properly assigned metadata, of interoperability, and of  authoritative sources. This creates difficulties in the distribution of revenue to creators, editors and other rightholders, missed licensing opportunities and recognition for authors, as well as increased risks of unauthorized use. As problems of metadata directly impact digital creation, digital distribution and access to creative works, cultural policy has a role to play in their resolution. Any long-term and efficient solution will require the support of the artistic community. For these reasons, the issuesrelated to metadata and the data infrastructure around creative works should also be discussed in the context of cultural policy.
Keywords: metadata, copyright, digitalization, remuneration, artistic work


Background: Various complex chemical constituent presence in pl a t which are found in secondary metabolite as alkaloids glycosides carticosteroids, essential oil etc. the use of active chemical constituent is obvious since their compounds are ha ving a fixed definite pharmacological effect. The activity of plant against both gram positive and gr am negative bacteria may be indicative of the presence of broad spectrum antibiotic compound in t he plant. Many herbal plant contain antioxidant compounds protect cells against the damaging effect s of reactive oxygen species. Objectives: In the present study an attempt was made to carryout the a nti-microbial activity of leaves Moringa Oleifera against organisms like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and antioxidant activity. Methodology: The activity of all five extracts and Pet. ether precipitate were evaluated by disc diffusion method . This method is based on diffusion of antibacterial component from filter paper disc to t he surrounding inoculated nutrient agar medium, so that the growth of microorganisms is inhibited a s circular zone around the disc. Two gram positive and two gram negative organisms were selec ted viz. Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis for the present study. The antioxidant activity of Plant extract was determined by different in-vitro method such as, the DPPH free radical scavenging assay method. The extract was dissolved in DMSO at the concentration of 2mg/ml. all the assays were carried out in triplicate and average value wa s considered. Result: Highest zones of inhibition were found in methanolic extract of powdered leaves against all the bacteria tested. The methanol extract possess significant antioxidant activity co mpared to standard ascorbic acid. Conclusion: The consequence of this investigation suggest that the extract can be used to discover antibacterial agent for developing new pharmaceuticals to control studi ed human pathogenic bacteria responsible for


: Mitral prolapse is a common valvular anomaly. Mechanisms of prolapse formation are studied with the use of modern investigation methods. Primary prolapse results from congenital structural defects of intracardiac formations (papillary muscles, trabecules, chordae) of the left ventricle, as well as associated microcirculatory disorders. Genetically caused rearrangement of fibrillar structures of the extracellular matrix of connective tissue (myxomatous degeneration) is observed in half of the patients with primary mitral prolapse. Concerning secondary prolapse of the leaflets, some mechanisms are singled out and a large group of diseases is described.


Many RGB-D sensors, e.g. the Microsoft Kinect, use rolling shutter cameras. Such cameras produce geometrically distorted images when the sensor is moving. To mitigate these rolling shutter distortions we propose a method that uses an attached gyroscope to rectify the depth scans. We also present a simple scheme to calibrate the relative pose and time synchronization between the gyro and a rolling shutter RGB-D sensor. We examine the effectiveness of our rectification scheme by coupling it with the the Kinect Fusion algorithm. By comparing Kinect Fusion models obtained from raw sensor scans and from rectified scans, we demonstrate improvement for three classes of sensor motion: panning motions causes slant distortions, and tilt motions cause vertically elongated or compressed objects. For wobble we also observe a loss of detail, compared to the reconstruction using rectified depth scans. As our method relies on gyroscope readings, the amount of computations required is negligible compared to the cost of running Kinect Fusion.


This article is the first of a two-part series intended as an introduction to component-based software engineering (CBSE) in robotics. In this tutorial, we regard a component as a piece of software that implements robotic functionality (e.g., path planning). The focus of this article is on design principles and implementation guidelines that enable the development of reusable and maintainable software-building blocks, which can be assembled to build robotic applications.


Edipo all'alba is the first "Greek" tragedy by Pasolini: it was composed during the third year of his university education, but never made public until its posthumous collection in his complete works (most likely owing to the homoerotic content). Recent editions have proved to be damaging to the original because of several mistakes in copying and, as a result, to the precise comprehension of this composite play. On the basis of the last textual edition, just realised for the birth centenary, this paper tries to update the literature on Edipo all'alba shedding new light primarily on its ancient sources (Sophocles, Statius), which has been the least studied subject of the play.


This article discusses lessons learned about disaster preparedness when the authors' institution, the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, was buffeted by Hurricane Hugo. Language: en


Sediment and runoff production from three erosion control treatments were investigated on a newly constructed road during a two-year study period. The treatments included a wood excelsior erosion mat, native grass species, and exotic grass species. Srxdiment and runoff production were significantly reduced on both the cutslope and fillslope by the treatments. Grass treatments showed more than a 90 percent reduction in sediment production between the two study years. The erosion mat treatment showed relatively insignificant sediment production for both years during the study.


We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the spin-1/2 compound CuP2O6 that features a network of two-dimensional (2D) antiferromagnetic (AFM) square planes, interconnected via one-dimensional (1D) AFM spin chains. Magnetic susceptibility, high-field magnetization, and electron spin resonance (ESR) data, as well as microscopic density-functional band-structure calculations and subsequent quantum Monte-Carlo simulations, show that the coupling J(2D) ~ 40 K in the layers is an order of magnitude larger than J(1D) ~ 4 K in the chains. Below TN ~ 8 K, CuP2O6 develops long-range order (LRO), as evidenced by a weak net moment on the 2D planes induced by anisotropic magnetic interactions of Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya type. A striking feature of this 3D ordering transition is that the 1D moments grow significantly slower than the ones on the 2D layers, which is evidenced by the persistent paramagnetic ESR signal below TN. Compared to typical quasi-2D magnets, the ordering temperature of CuP2O6 TN/J(2D) ~ 0.2 is unusually low, showing that weakly coupled spins sandwiched between 2D magnetic units effectively decouple these units and impede the long-range ordering.


In this article we use four Canadian Supreme Court decisions that have substantively contributed to the constitutional recognition of aboriginal rights to assess the impact that changes in the security of commercial property rights have had on long‐run macroeconomic performance. We use a series of event studies to measure the extent to which each court decision had an effect on the common share prices of Canadian forestry firms. These share price effects reflect investors' perception of the decisions' impact on forestry firms' contemporaneous access to resource stocks and uncertainty surrounding the security of their access into the future. A simulation model based on a resource industry's dynamic optimization problem links the stock access and uncertainty effects implied by our event studies to the commercial producers' economic fundamentals. Changes in the resource industry's simulated profits can be used in a general equilibrium framework to estimate the effect that the Court's decisions had on Canadian real GDP per capita growth during the 1970–2005 period. Our methodological approach allows us to estimate the aggregate, long‐run macroeconomic effects that resulted from the Court's recognition of aboriginal rights, and also trace the channels through which these changes in the distribution of property rights influenced performance; we assess the relative importance of the current access and future uncertainty components of these changes.


Our current understanding of design and the history of design fails to encompass design activity in more than a modest percentage of the 200 or so countries in the world. It has been dominated by research into the design activities of those belonging to the first industrialised world and has largely fallen in line with the general preoccupation of design commentators and historians in its concentration on free-market, rather than socialist, economies. Analysis of mainstream histories of design has largely shown them to be restricted to narratives that embrace between 5 and 10% of the world's countries. Representatives of a number of European countries contributed to a round table discussion with a series of short papers (of which this was one) that considered a number of key questions about what has been termed the 'European Province' and its significance for design history . This paper also drew attention to the difficulties for research into the design ethos of a number of countries where access to primary source materials is considerably restricted by the small number of speakers of the language. This has often been exacerbated by a lack of official recognition of the potential importance of design history as offering unique cultural, social, economic, political and technological understandings of national identity and change and, as a consequence, restricted opportunities for employment in the higher education and museum sectors and for the preservation, organisation and development of archival sources.


This paper reviews recent research on the visibility of and driver reaction to various work zone traffic control devices. The greatest problem with advance signing is credibility, since the work zone situation will frequently change after the sign is erected. The recognition distance of arrow boards is between 725-1175 feet, depending on speed. They are most useful for lane closures by promoting earlier merging. Only in specific situations are they useful for lane diversion. A study of concrete barrier visibility focused heavily on the durability of six reflective products over two years. From a visibility perspective, reflectors were superior to reflectorized tape. A study of cones, tubes, barricades, panels, drains, and steady burn lights indicates relatively successful detection and path guidance performance by most devices. One of the major deterrents to effectiveness is not the device, but the position, dirty, or overturned devices destroy the visual line or path created by channelizing devices. Therefore, use of appropriate devices is important but diligent set-up and care of the work zone is equally important.


Background: Differentiating between first seizure, epilepsy and a non-epileptic event is a challenging clinical exercise for many physicians as it may lead to different therapeutic implications. This study aims to investigate the agreement between the initial diagnosis at the accident and emergency (A&E) department and the final diagnosis following inpatient neurological evaluation of seizure disorders. Method: A prospective observational study between April 2004 and June 2005 in a regional hospital in Hong Kong recruited 1701 patients from the A&E to neurology/medical wards with initial diagnoses/labels matching any one of 12 predefined keywords which were categorised as either "seizure specific" or "non-specific". Results: Among the 1170 patients with "non-specific" initial diagnoses/labels, 58 (5%) were finally diagnosed as having had a first seizure or epilepsy. Among 531 patients with "seizure specific" initial diagnoses/labels, 27 (5.1%) were subsequently diagnosed as having had non-epileptic events. The κ value for agreement between the initial and final diagnosis was 0.88. Of the 154 patients with a final diagnosis of first seizure, 34 (22%) had "non-specific" initial labels. Among these patients, components of the evaluation contributing to revision of diagnosis included retrieval of witness accounts (47%), epileptiform discharges on EEG (47%), short term monitoring in patients suspected of acute symptomatic seizures (28%) and panel discussion of cases (22%). Conclusion: There was generally a high degree of agreement between the initial and final diagnosis, but first seizures were often missed initially. Careful history taking, judicious use of EEG, selective short term monitoring and liaison with specialists are important in reaching an accurate diagnosis.


The ideal diagnostic test is sensitive, specific, simple to execute, and capable of providing rapid results at or near the point of care. The latter holds true particularly for the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Whether to stem a global pandemic or to treat an individual patient, the swift and accurate identification of the infectious agent is vital to taking appropriate action and achieving a positive outcome. The identity of an infectious agent is most accurately established by the observation of its genomic sequences in a patient's sample. Indeed, the past 2 decades have witnessed an increase in the development of diagnostic tests based on the amplification and detection of nucleic acids (1). Most nucleic acid amplification methods rely on PCR and can detect a pathogen of interest with high sensitivity and specificity; however, the need for a thermocycler, which requires electric power, prohibits the use of such diagnostic tests in regions that have limited resources, such as on the battlefield or in developing countries. Thus, improved technologies are needed to ensure effective patient management and disease surveillance in all healthcare settings. Against this backdrop, diagnostic techniques based on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)2-Cas systems have emerged as potentially more accessible and versatile alternatives to PCR-based methods.

CRISPR-Cas systems are a class of adaptive immune systems in bacteria and archaea that naturally protect against invasive genetic elements such as plasmids and viruses that infect these organisms (2). These systems capture small (35- to 45-nucleotide) segments of foreign DNA and insert them into the CRISPR locus to build a genetic memory of past invaders. These small snatches of DNA are transcribed, and the transcript is trimmed to generate small CRISPR RNA (crRNA) guides. crRNAs, in conjunction with one or more CRISPR-associated (Cas) nucleases, are capable of sensing and …


The role of scenic landscapes in restoring human mental fatigue has begun to receive attention from landscape researchers. However, little is known regarding the role of
urban preferred landscapes in increasing their restorative potential to reduce mental fatigue. This study aimed to understand the role of visual preferred landscape on
restorative environments. In this experimental study, 120 students from Universiti Putra Malaysia rated 12 color slides of Urban Built Landscape (UBL) and 12 color slides of Urban Natural Landscape (UNL) scenes for 4 restorative components (Being away,Fascination, Coherence, Compatibility), 4 predictors of preferences (Coherence,
Complexity, Legibility, Mystery) and 2 criterion variables (PRP and Preference). Results of this study indicated that only three predictors of Preference (Coherence, Complexity, and Mystery) positively explained Preference in UNL and UBL while
 Legibility did not predict Preference. Coherence was considered as predictor of preference whereas did not predict PRP. Furthermore, the result showed the role of
 urban natural landscape in increasing restorative potential and Preference of urban environments.
 Result also showed that only three predictors of preference (Coherence, Complexity,and Mystery) positively explained the restorative components (Being away, Fascination,
 Compatibility). Theses predictors also positively explained PRP without restorative components in UNL and UBL while "Legibility" negatively explained PRP in UBL;
 however effect of predictors of preference on PRP in the presence of restorative components reduced and these reductions were in line with mediation.
 The result of path analysis indicated that effect of "Coherence" and "Complexity" on PRP was fully mediated by the restorative components and Mystery was partially
 mediated in UNL. In UBL, "Coherence" was fully mediated while "Complexity" and "Mystery" was partially mediated in UBL by the restorative components.
 This study revealed the role of urban natural landscapes and visual preference for urban landscapes in increasing restorative potential of urban environments that led to reduce mental fatigue. The results of this study can aid city planners, landscape architects and developers with regards to the influence of landscape characteristics in increasing the restorative potential of urban environments. Furthermore, it can is considered for designing new landscapes or improving existing landscapes in cities where we live,work, learn, and go for healing or help.


Encrypted Internet traffic is becoming the norm, spearheaded by the use Transport Layer Socket (TLS) to secure TCP connections. This trend introduces a great challenge to data center servers, as the symmetric encryption and authentication of TLS records adds significant CPU overhead. New CPU capabilities, such as the x86 AES-NI instruction set, alleviate the problem, yet encryption overhead remains high. Alternatively, cryptographic accelerators require dedicated HW, consume significant memory bandwidth, and increase latency. We propose to offload TLS symmetric crypto processing to the network device. Our solution does not require a TCP Offload Engine (TOE). Rather, crypto processing is moved to a kernel TLS module (kTLS [5,6]), which may leverage inline TLS acceleration offered by network devices. Transmitted packets of offloaded TLS connections pass through the stack unencrypted, and are processed on the fly by the device. Similarly, received packets are decrypted by the device before being handed off to the stack. We will describe the roles and requirements of the kTLS module, specify the device offload APIs, and detail the TLS processing flows. Finally, we will demonstrate the potential performance benefits of network device TLS offloads.


In this study, Nb doped γ-TiAl is designed and examined their tensile properties at elevated temperatures. Small compositional changes cause drastic changes of the mechanical properties at 1273K. In order to clarify the deformation mechanism at elevated temperatures, dislocation structures have been observed using transmission electron microscope (TEM). All of the specimens observed by TEM show that at least two slip systems are operating in each grain. The specimen having relatively lower strength and higher tensile elongations shows more than four operating slip systems in the grains. The specimen having a medium strength shows many super-dislocations and their dissociations that block the other dislocation motions. The specimen having the highest strength shows many deformation twins. These observations suggest that deformation twins become the strong obstacles against moving dislocations at elevated temperatures. The relationships between observed dislocation structures and mechanical properties of γ-TiAl are discussed.