Poor cost performance in the construction industry has been widely reported in numerous studies. Cost overrun and inaccurate estimate are the pitfalls that affect the project performance. It has been noted that quantity surveyors (QSs) play a major role in providing and managing project cost in the construction industry. Several authors have addressed that the traditional manual methods adopted by QSs are inefficient and the accuracy of the project cost is affected. Recent evidences suggest that implementation of building information modeling (BIM) is a potential solution that can rectify the inefficiencies and improve cost accuracy. However, the adoption of BIM among QSs is slow due to lack of awareness and limited study on the BIM capabilities in quantity surveying practice. There have been little discussions pertaining to the relationship between BIM capabilities in quantity surveying practice during pre-construction stage and project performance. Hence, this research developed a framework on the relationships between BIM capabilities in quantity surveying practice during pre-construction stage and project performance for time, cost, and quality aspects. Through the study of this relationship, the effects of the BIM capabilities in quantity surveying upon the project performance had been further investigated. In this research, a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative was adopted. A sequential four-phased research approach was designed for data collection and interpretation. This research began with a detailed literature review and 11 BIM capabilities were discovered in quantity surveying practice. Next, preliminary interviews were conducted with 8 QSs to confirm the identified capabilities. Following this, questionnaires were distributed to 131 quantity surveying organizations after sampling determination. Several analyses were performed to examine the relationship between BIM capabilities and project performance. BIM capabilities were ranked using relative importance index. Correlation analysis was performed to explore the related BIM capabilities to the project performance. Then, logistic regression was conducted to further examine the relationship between BIM capabilities and project performance. At the last phase of the research, qualitative semi-structured interviews were executed to validate the questionnaires survey results. 15 QSs were interviewed to obtain further details on the identified relationship by ascertaining their experiences and views. The findings revealed that BIM capabilities in quantity surveying practice during pre-construction stage were significantly correlated and regressed to the project performance. For time aspect, capabilities of cost checking and visualization affected the performance. For cost aspect, capabilities of generate cost estimate for various design alternatives and automatically quantification for bill of quantities preparation affected the performance. For quality aspect, capabilities of clash detection and visualization affected the performance. These relationships were developed in a framework to depict how BIM capabilities were related to the project performance to facilitate understanding and awareness among QSs. The research findings provided an insight to QSs on how to achieve better project performance by adopting BIM in their practice at an early stage. Thus, QSs should consider the identified BIM capabilities and refer to the relationships portrayed in the framework in their practice at the early stage for better project outcomes.


Both the length of the growing season and the intensity of herbivory often vary along climatic gradients, which may result in divergent selection on plant phenology, and on resistance and tolerance to herbivory. In Sweden, the length of the growing season and the number of insect herbivore species feeding on the perennial herb Lythrum salicaria decrease from south to north. Previous common‐garden experiments have shown that northern L. salicaria populations develop aboveground shoots earlier in the summer and finish growth before southern populations do. We tested the hypotheses that resistance and tolerance to damage vary with latitude in L. salicaria and are positively related to the intensity of herbivory in natural populations. We quantified resistance and tolerance of populations sampled along a latitudinal gradient by scoring damage from natural herbivores and fitness in a common‐garden experiment in the field and by documenting oviposition and feeding preference by specialist leaf beetles in a glasshouse experiment. Plant resistance decreased with latitude of origin, whereas plant tolerance increased. Oviposition and feeding preference in the glasshouse and leaf damage in the common‐garden experiment were negatively related to damage in the source populations. The latitudinal variation in resistance was thus consistent with reduced selection from herbivores towards the northern range margin of L. salicaria. Variation in tolerance may be related to differences in the timing of damage in relation to the seasonal pattern of plant growth, as northern genotypes have developed further than southern have when herbivores emerge in early summer.


Why sex has evolved and is maintained is an open question in evolutionary biology. The Red Queen hypothesis predicts that host lineages subjected to more intense parasite pressure should invest more in sexual reproduction to continuously create novel defences against their rapidly evolving natural enemies. In this comparative study across the angiosperms, we show that hermaphrodite plant species associated with higher species richness of insect herbivores evolved flowers with higher biomass allocation towards the male sex, an indication of their greater outcrossing effort. This pattern remained robust after controlling for key vegetative, reproductive and biogeographical traits, suggesting that long-term herbivory pressure is a key factor driving the selfing-outcrossing gradient of higher plants. Although flower evolution is frequently associated with mutualistic pollinators, our findings support the Red Queen hypothesis and suggest that insect herbivores drive the sexual strategies of flowering plants and their genetic diversity.


INVESTIGATION OF ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS ON VAPOR INTRUSION PROCESSES USING MODELLING APPROACHES Most people in the United States (US) spend considerable amount of time indoors—about 90% of their time as compared to outdoors, which makes the US population vulnerable to adverse health effects of indoor air contaminants. Volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations are well-known to be higher in indoor air than outdoor air. One source of VOC concentrations in indoor air that has gained considerable attention in public health and environmental regulatory communities is vapor intrusion. Vapor intrusion is the process by which subsurface vapors enter indoor spaces from contaminated soil and groundwater. It has been documented to cause indoor air contamination within hundreds of thousands of communities across the US. Vapor intrusion is well-known to be difficult to characterize because indoor air concentrations exhibit considerable temporal and spatial variability in homes throughout impacted communities. Unexplained variations in field data have not been systematically investigated using theoretical fate and transport processes. This study incorporates the use of numerical models to better understand processes that influence spatial and temporal variability in field data. The overall research hypothesis is that variability in indoor air VOC concentrations can be (partially) explained by variations in building air exchange rate (AER) and pressure differentials between indoor spaces and outdoor spaces. Neither AER nor pressure differentials are currently calculated by existing vapor intrusion numerical models. To date, most vapor intrusion models have focused on subsurface fate and transport processes; however, there is a need to understand the role of aboveground processes in the context of vapor intrusion exposure risks, which are commonly measured as indoor air VOC concentrations. Recent field studies identify these parameters as potentially important and their important role within the broader field of indoor air quality sciences has been well-documented, but more research is needed to investigate these parameters within the specific context of vapor intrusion. To test the overall hypothesis, the dissertation research developed a new vapor intrusion modeling technique that combines subsurface fate and transport modeling with building science approaches for modeling driving forces, such as wind and stack effects. The modeling results are compared with field data measurements from actual vapor intrusion sites and confirms that the research is relevant to not only academic researchers, but also policy decision makers.


A study of the gas dynamics of the vapor plume generated during laser ablation was conducted including a counterpropagating internal shock wave. The density, pressure, and temperature distributions between the external shock wave front and the sample surface were determined by solving the integrated conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy. The positions of the shock waves and the contact surface (boundary that separates the compressed ambient gas and the vapor plume) were obtained when the incident laser energy that is transferred to the vapor plume and to the background gas, E, and the vaporized sample mass, M, are specified. The values for E and M were obtained from a comparison of the calculated trajectories of the external shock wave and the contact surface with experimental results for a copper sample under different laser fluences. Thus E and M, which are the two dominant parameters for laser ablation and which cannot be measured directly, can be determined. In addition, the internal sh...


Vibration and noise problems of the gear system have been widely concerned in recent years. A study of transmission error is conducted to verify the sources of the vibration and noise. The tooth meshing process is analyzed with consideration of the shaft, bearing, box, tooth deformation, and tooth micro-modification in this paper. The transmission error of a two-stage gearbox is discussed based on a theoretical calculation model of gear transmission error. Then the transmission error is measured in different conditions on a test system of two-stage gearbox. By comparing to the test data, the theoretical model of the two-stage transmission error has been refined and a more reasonable model is presented. The study plays an important role in reducing vibration and noise of the gear system.


With the increasing availability of large amount of data in a wide range of applications, no matter for industry or academia, it becomes crucial to understand the nature of complex raw data, in order to gain more values from data engineering. Although many problems have been successfully solved by some mature machine learning techniques, the problem of learning from imbalanced data continues to be one of the challenges in the field of data engineering and machine learning, which attracted growing attention in recent years due to its complexity. In this thesis, we focus on four aspects of imbalanced data learning and propose solutions to the key problems. The first aspect is about ensemble methods for imbalanced data classification. Ensemble methods, e.g. bagging and boosting, have the advantages to cure imbalanced data by integrated with sampling methods. However, there are still problems in the integration. One problem is that undersampling and oversampling are complementary each other and the sampling ratio is crucial to the classification performance. This thesis introduces a new method HSBagging which is based on bagging with hybrid sampling. Experiments show that HSBagging outperforms other stateof-the-art bagging method on imbalanced data. Another problem is about the integration of boosting and sampling for imbalanced data classification. The classifier weights of existing AdaBoost-based methods are inconsistent with the objective of class imbalance classification. In this thesis, we propose a novel boosting optimization framework GOBoost. This framework can be applied to any boosting-based method for class imbalance classification by simply replacing the calculation of clasii sifier weights. Experiments show that the GOBoost-based methods significantly outperform the corresponding boosting-based methods. The second aspect is about online learning for imbalanced data stream with concept drift. In the online learning scenario, if the data stream is imbalanced, it will be di cult to detect concept drifts and adapt the online learner to them. The ensemble classifier weights are hard to adjust to achieve the balance between the stability and adaptability. Besides, the classier built on samples in size-fixed chunk, which may be highly imbalanced, is unstable in the ensemble. In this thesis, we propose Adaptive Chunk-based Dynamic Weighted Majority (ACDWM) to dynamically weigh the individual classifiers according to their performance on the current data chunk. Meanwhile, the chunk size is adaptively selected by statistical hypothesis tests. Experiments on both synthetic and real datasets with concept drift show that ACDWM outperforms both of the state-of-the-art chunk-based and online methods. In addition to imbalanced data classification, the third aspect is about clustering on imbalanced data. This thesis studies the key problem of imbalanced data clustering called uniform e↵ect within the k-means-type framework, where the clustering results tend to be balanced. Thus, this thesis introduces a new method called Self-adaptive Multi-prototype-based Competitive Learning (SMCL) for imbalanced clusters. It uses multiple subclusters to represent each cluster with an automatic adjustment of the number of subclusters. Then, the subclusters are merged into the final clusters based on a novel separation measure. Experimental results show the e cacy of SMCL for imbalanced clusters and the superiorities against its competitors. Rather than a specific algorithm for imbalanced data learning, the final aspect is about a measure of class imbalanced dataset for classification. Recent studies have shown that imbalance ratio is not the only cause of the performance loss of a classifier in imbalanced data classification. To the best of our knowledge, there is no any measurement about the extent of influence of class imbalance on the iii classification performance of imbalanced data. Accordingly, this thesis proposes a data measure called Bayes Imbalance Impact Index (BI) to reflect the extent of influence purely by the factor of imbalance for the whole dataset. As a result, we can therefore use BI to judge whether it is worth using imbalance recovery methods like sampling or cost-sensitive methods to recover the performance loss of a classifier. The experiments show that BI is highly consistent with the improvement of F1 score made by the imbalance recovery methods on both synthetic and real benchmark datasets. In summary, the major contributions of this thesis is listed as follows. • Two ensemble frameworks for imbalanced data classification are proposed for sampling rate selection and boosting weight optimization, respectively. • A chunk-based online learning algorithm is proposed to dynamically adjust the ensemble classifiers and select the chunk size for imbalanced data stream with concept drift. • A multi-prototype competitive learning algorithm is proposed for clustering on imbalanced data. • A measure of imbalanced data is proposed to evaluate how the classification performance of a dataset is influenced by the factor of imbalance.


The International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) each year recognizes the achievements of an early to mid-career scientist with the Overton Prize. This prize honors the untimely death of Dr. G. Christian Overton, an admired computational biologist and founding ISCB Board member. Winners of the Overton Prize are independent investigators who are in the early to middle phases of their careers and are selected because of their significant contributions to computational biology through research, teaching and service. ISCB is pleased to recognize Dr. Christoph Bock, Principal Investigator at the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Austria, as the 2017 winner of the Overton Prize. Bock will be presenting a keynote presentation at the 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology/European Conference on Computational Biology (ISMB/ECCB) in Prague, Czech Republic, being held during July 21–25, 2017.


Purpose
Labour came to power in 1997 and immediately transferred many features of its party political news management style into government, overseeing the departure of most of the civil service communications leadership within two years, and developing the media management role of politically appointed special advisers. The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the changes in custom and practice that operated behind the scenes in government communications between 1997 and 2015, asking to what extent such changes challenge public trust in government in a liberal democracy.

Design/methodology/approach
This study takes a longitudinal, qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with former civil servants, journalists and special advisers, together with documentary and archival evidence. The data were analysed thematically through the text-processing software, NVivo.

Findings
The paper finds that although the controversy over the 2002 dossier on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction was an extraordinary episode, the creative approach to news management that characterised this case still operates within UK Government communications: the bypassing of civil servants, a partial approach to the facts, selective briefing of favoured journalists, a lack of due process in the management of information and a disregard for the letter and spirit of propriety codes. This has implications for public trust and confidence in the workings of liberal democracy.

Originality/value
The study adopts a mediatisation approach to the study of public relations, using the concept of the "cross field" to demonstrate how PR professionals share media management responsibilities with a number of different promotional actors. PR professionals in government must therefore navigate between the hidden, competitive and demanding worlds of politics, the media and bureaucracy, working with journalists, politicians and political operatives to craft the narratives that seek to drive public opinion.


Matching the agronomic limits of manure spread lands from housed animal units is an international concern where receiving lands can become over supplied and lead to water quality problems where eutrophication is a risk. Across the EU, this means establishing policy to export manures to off-farm spread lands under tight regulation. Transitional arrangements across, for example, the Republic of Ireland between 2006-2010 allowed pig and poultry manures to be spread subject only to the nitrogen amendment limits of the EU Nitrates Directive and not the phosphorus limits. From 2013 this arrangement is to be phased out, and pig and poultry producers have consequently expressed concerns about the availability of recipient spread lands for these manures. Using a national farm survey and a multinomial model this paper investigates the willingness of the farming population to import these manures. Results indicate that between 9 and 15 per cent of farmers nationally would be willing to pay to import these manures; a further 17-28 per cent would import if offered on a free of charge basis. Demand is strongest among arable farmers, younger farmer cohorts and those of larger farm size with greater expenditure on chemical fertilisers per hectare and who are not restricted by a Nitrates Directive derogation. The nature of this demand could assist in achieving environmental goals under the EU Nitrates and Water Framework Directives


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reaction of female workers to the earthquake event that shocked the city of L'Aquila in April 2009, with a specific focus on work as a recovery factor.

Design/methodology/approach
The selected sample consists of current or former resident women in the affected province of L'Aquila, who participated in a series of focus group discussions on the ability to reconstruct their own professional identity after the earthquake. The focus group seemed to be the perfect instrument for this research, because of its ability to generate a true discussion among a group of people on the research topic of this study. The collected data were analyzed both in terms of metaphors, as well as linguistic agentivity and by automatic content analysis.

Findings
From the analysis of the data, emerges the value that adds to the sense of identity continuity for the women in the sample, together with interesting differences between employed and self-employed workers that are characterized by distinct challenges and assurances. In regards to the effects of gender in response to disaster events, the results make a peculiar echo to the studies on public-private space dichotomy developed by Fordham, according to which, during a disaster, women are not allowed to develop work-related desires. For the group of women that the authors interviewed, the challenge to have family focused or work focused desires was clearly evident; they seem predetermined to the above-mentioned dichotomy, valid in both directions: the women who invested in work and have become entrepreneurs seem to have no chance of a private life and, on the contrary, the women who were focused on more traditional family roles seem to have no chance in terms of job opportunities.

Originality/value
Based on the authors' knowledge this is the first time that focus groups are used to assess the value that work had in supporting individual recovery for women in the aftermath of the L'Aquila earthquake.


Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations experience a tension between societal perceptions about maximising mission expenditure on one hand, and their need to accumulate reserves to ensure longer term financial sustainability on the other. While studies have examined the level of reserves in UK and US contexts, there is little Australian research or guidance about what constitutes an appropriate level of NFP reserves. This paper examines the levels and implications of the reserves of 52 Australian NFP non-governmental organisations (NGOs) over eight years, identifying two groups. Spenders, with less than three months of expenditure in reserve, were more financially vulnerable, had higher levels of debt, yet spent a relatively greater proportion of their revenue on mission-related activities than savers. Savers, with more than three months' reserves, demonstrated a greater proportion of revenue from fundraising, proportionately greater equity levels, and higher returns on assets. Providing unique insights into the financial reserves of Australian NGOs, this empirical study contributes to existing NFP literature on reserves, which to date has focused primarily on US and UK contexts. Further, we propose that by developing, monitoring and communicating their reserves' strategies, NFP boards and managers will be able to improve their organisations' financial sustainability and manage societal perceptions about reserves.


The oversight of clinical research in the UK is currently in a state of flux. Discusses the quality assurance problems that have arisen in the management of research and the protection of the rights of human participants. Contrasts clinical governance and regulatory approaches to research quality assurance and performs a critical analysis of the Department of Health (England) Research Governance Framework (RGF) to see where it falls within the continuum. Highlights the implications for UK hospitals engaged in clinical research through the presentation of a case study in implementing the RGF. Concludes by suggesting the priority areas that need to be addressed and invites further debate regarding the merits of a clinical governance or regulatory approach to research quality assurance.


Author(s): Barenblatt, GI; Chorin, AJ; Prostokishin, VM | Abstract: A correlation is obtained for the drag coefficient $c '_f$ of the turbulent boundary layer as a function of the effective boundary layer Reynolds number $Re$ that we previously introduced. A comparison is performed also with another correlation for the drag coefficient as a function of the traditional Reynolds number $Re_{\th}$, based on the momentum thickness of the boundary layer proposed recently by R.D.Watson, R.M.Hall and J.B.Anders (NASA Langley Research Center) on the basis of different set of experimental data. We show that the correlation obtained by us agrees with experimental data from the Illinois Institute of Technology, but is incompatible with the data obtained in the Royal Institute of Technology at Stockholm. On the other hand, both sets of data are in disagreement with the Langley correlation.


On an average 34.476 t of sear fish were landed in India during 1982-1985. Scomberomorus
guttatus constituted 50% of the total catch, S. commerson 49.1%, S. lineolatus 0.6% and
Acanthocybium solandri 0.3%. In Gulf of Mannar, sear fish are exploited by drift gill nets of
different mesh sizes, hooks and lines, trawl nets and to a limited extent by shore-seines. On an
average 4.21.4 t of sear fish are being landed annually by all these gears along Tuticorin coast. The
drift gill net, paruvalai landed on an average 156.7 t at the catch rate of 46.5 kg per unit Hooks and
lines landed annually 141,2 tat the catch rate of 146 kg per unit and trawl nets 113.4 t at the catch
rate of 3.04 kg per unit. The smaller mesh sized drift gill net, podivalai landed on an average 10 t
annually at the catch rate of 8.65 kg per unit.


Fibrinogen-like protein 1 (FGL1) is a novel hepatokine that forms part of the fibrinogen superfamily. It is predominantly expressed in the liver under normal physiological conditions. When the liver is injured by external factors, such as chemical drugs and radiation, FGL1 acts as a protective factor to promote the growth of regenerated cells. However, elevated hepatic FGL1 under high fat conditions can cause lipid accumulation and inflammation, which in turn trigger the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes, and obesity. FGL1 is also involved in the regulation of insulin resistance in adipose tissues and skeletal muscles as a means of communication between the liver and other tissues. In addition, the abnormally changed FGL1 levels in the plasma of cancer patients make it a potential predictor of cancer incidence in clinical practice. FGL1 was recently identified as a major functional ligand of the immune inhibitory receptor, lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG3), thus making it a promising target for cancer immunotherapy except for the classical programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) axis. Despite the potential of FGL1 as a new cancer biomarker and therapeutic target, there are few related studies and much of what has been reported are superficial and lack depth and particularity. Therefore, elucidating the role and underlying mechanisms of FGL1 could be crucial for the development of promising diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for related diseases. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the cellular mechanisms and clinical prospects of FGL1 in the prevention and treatment of liver diseases, metabolic disorders and cancer, and proffer suggestions for future studies.


INTRODUCTION
We report a redesigned magnetically anchored and guided systems (MAGS) camera with improved optics and a 30° downward viewing angle that facilitates solitary surgeon laparo-endoscopic single site (LESS) nephrectomy.

METHODS
The prototype consists of an external 2 by 6 cm cylinder containing magnets positioned such that the intra-abdominal camera is anchored on the peritoneal surface with a default 30° downward angle. It was inserted through a 3 cm LESS-port periumbilical incision in three pigs (mean 47 kg). The camera was coupled with the handheld magnetic device across the anterior abdominal wall and was steered into position to view the kidney. LESS nephrectomy was then performed.

RESULTS
Since a standard LESS laparoscope was not needed, only the two operative instruments were inserted through the single incision port, significantly decreasing instrument "clashing" compared with traditional LESS nephrectomy. Due to the favorable angle of view of the camera and its self-anchoring capability, no assistant was needed to drive the camera. Instead, the surgeon periodically made minor adjustments to optimize the view. The nephrectomy was completed without complication in an average of 35 minutes in these three nonsurvival animals.

CONCLUSION
The MAGS camera provides good optics and easy maneuverability during LESS porcine nephrectomy. As with other MAGS instruments, by replacing a traditional transabdominal laparoscope that occupies access port space, use of this insertable camera may diminish some of the "collision challenge" of LESS surgery. Also, by being self-anchoring, this prototype may minimize the need for an assistant surgeon.


The energy states of a well-isolated hysteretic Josephson junction in the "phase" regime can be used as a qubit. The state of the junction can be determined by measuring when the junction switches from the zero-voltage (qubit) state to the running voltage state, since different levels have different switching rates. The experimental challenge is to provide sufficient electrical isolation of the junction from wires that must be attached to provide bias current and to measure switching events. This isolation must be effective at frequencies around the energy level spacing, in our case from 3-8 GHz. We report on the design and measurement of isolated moderate-to-high-Q junctions using a resonant isolation scheme of a series inductance and capacitive shunt. Microwave activation measurements of the Al-AlO/sub x/-Al junctions at 70 mK were used to gauge the isolation effectiveness and to show the effect of current noise from the isolation resonance on the junction coherence.


The design of effective rule based systems is a main goal of development in fuzzy logic and systems. If this design is based on a sparse rule-base where many rules are missing or unknown, then an appropriate solution is to use fuzzy rule interpolation. Fuzzy interpolation is helpful when no rule observation matches the given observation. However, observation may sometimes match partially or even exactly with at least one of the rules in the rule-base. In these situations, it is natural to avoid the computational overheads of interpolation by firing the best matching rule directly. If no such matching is found then it should be ensured that correct rules are selected for interpolation. This paper proposes a simple approach which integrates fuzzy interpolation and inference. In particular, the work answers two research questions: (1) When an exact or partial matching exists in the rule-base with a given observation, how should reasoning be performed. (2) When no overlapping rule is found which matches the observation, how should the best rules for interpolation be selected. For efficiency, the first issue is addressed using the concept of α-cut overlapping between fuzzy sets that represent the observation and rule antecedents. The second is dealt with by exploiting the Hausdorff distance metric to identify the closest rules for interpolation or extrapolation. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the performance of these methods, including comparison between the use of the centre of gravity based distance metric whilst addressing the second issue. Future work is also described in an effort to illustrate that the proposed work may support the development of a generic dynamic fuzzy interpolation framework.


Often, multiple IMAP (RFC 3501) clients need to coordinate changes to
a common IMAP mailbox. Examples include different clients working on
behalf of the same user, and multiple users accessing shared
mailboxes. These clients need a mechanism to synchronize state changes
for messages within the mailbox. They must be able to guarantee that
only one client can change message state (e.g., message flags) at any
time. An example of such an application is use of an IMAP mailbox as a
message queue with multiple dequeueing clients. The Conditional Store
facility provides a protected update mechanism for message state
information that can detect and resolve conflicts between multiple
writing mail clients. The Conditional Store facility also allows a
client to quickly resynchronize mailbox flag changes. This document
defines an extension to IMAP (RFC 3501). [STANDARDS-TRACK]


A novel bidirectional dc–dc converter is presented in this paper. The circuit configuration of the proposed converter is very simple. The proposed converter employs a coupled inductor with same winding turns in the primary and secondary sides. In step-up mode, the primary and secondary windings of the coupled inductor are operated in parallel charge and series discharge to achieve high step-up voltage gain. In step-down mode, the primary and secondary windings of the coupled inductor are operated in series charge and parallel discharge to achieve high step-down voltage gain. Thus, the proposed converter has higher step-up and step-down voltage gains than the conventional bidirectional dc–dc boost/buck converter. Under same electric specifications for the proposed converter and the conventional bidirectional boost/buck converter, the average value of the switch current in the proposed converter is less than the conventional bidirectional boost/buck converter. The operating principle and steady-state analysis are discussed in detail. Finally, a 14/42-V prototype circuit is implemented to verify the performance for the automobile dual-battery system.


A logistics monitoring technology is proposed based on the analysis for the traditional logistics enterprises. By tracking the existing monitoring system and data transmission technology, a new technology WSN-based logistics vehicle monitoring system is adopted. The practical significance to monitoring and managing the logistics processes effectively is to diminish transportation costs, improve logistics efficiency and avoid needless economic loss. The results show that the WSN not only realizes the positioning of the vehicle, but also can effectively manage the goods, improve the efficiency in the transportation management of the goods. In addition, this experiment system also adds a temperature sensitive alarm circuit to improve the safety performance of the terminal. Based on the result, it is concluded that this technology can adjust the transmission power and reduce energy consumption to extend the network life cycle as long as possible.


1. Movements of the lower jaw and operculum have been recorded simultaneously with the associated pressure changes in the buccal and opercular cavities during breathing of the following species: Trachurus trachurus (L.), Clupea harengus L., Gadus merlangus L., Onos mustela (L.), Crenilabrus melops (L.), Cottus bubalis Euphrasen, Blennius ocellaris L., Trigla gurnardus L., Callionymus lyra L., Pleuronectes platessa L., Microstoinus kitt (Walbaum), Conger conger (L.), Syngnathus acus L. 2. In all species ventilation of the gills is achieved by the action of a buccal pressure pump and of opercular suction pumps. 3. The time course of the pressure changes indicates differences in the relative importance of the two pumps which are related to the habitat of the fish. The suction pump becomes of greatest importance in fishes which spend most of their lives on the sea bottom. 4. In several species the differential pressure curve does not include the brief period of reversal in pressure gradient found in most fishes so far investigated. Notable among these species are the two flatfishes investigated and in which there is some evidence for an active opercular valve. 5. In general, the results confirm the validity of Baglioni9s classification of the respiratory mechanisms of teleost fishes.


Th e paper aims to examine the relationship between social carrying capacity and tourism carrying capacity in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Nepal (along the popular Annapurna Base Camp Trail). Carrying Capacity is a key indicator in assessing the sustainable tourism development at a given place. Th e study used Survey Research Design to obtain information from tourist and local residents. From the research, it was evident that the visitors were highly satisfi ed with the tourism activities, along with conservation and development activities at ACA. Similarly, local residents were satisfi ed with the development of tourism in ACA, yet they perceived crowding, and congestion, cultural degradation as some impending challenges in the near future. Social Carrying Capacity in the ACA has not exceed its threshold, even though this popular trekking destination has been witnessing robust growth in the number of tourist in the region post armed-confl ict (1997-2007). Hypothesis test result indicate that the relationship between dependent variable [Tourism Carrying Capacity (TCC)] and independent variable [Social Carrying Capacity (SCC)] has a positive correlation. Adequate and appropriate management intervention Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Educa on 9 (2019) 9-29 Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Educa on 9 (2019) 9-29 10 by the Nepal Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC)/Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) there has been well-planned and sustained tourism growth in the region.


Imaging of the angioarchitecture of normal and abnormal choriocapillaris such as choroidal neovascularization has been a difficult task. Fluorescein angiography cannot delineate the choroidal circulation behind the relatively opaque retinal pigment epithelium. In recent years, imaging of the choroidal circulation immediately following intravenous injection of indocyanine green (ICG) has been an innovative method to explore the choroidal circulation.1,2However, weak fluorescence of ICG and poor understanding of the binding property of the dye with human serum proteins have resulted in poor imaging of the choriocapillaris. We recently observed that the binding of ICG with human serum albumin (HSA) took 600 seconds to reach equilibrium and that the ICG-HSA complex was highly fluorescent at near-infrared wavelength. Based on this observation, we performed angiography with the dye dissolved in autologous serum prior to intravenous injection to take advantage of the highly fluorescent property of the ICG-HSA complex. This method provided us


THE EFFECT OF INCREASING LEVELS OF EXERTION ON KNEE JOINT PROPRIOCEPTIONWilliam S. Gear, PhDUNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, 2004The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of incremental levels of isokinetic concentric muscle exertion on passive reproduction of passive positioning (PRPP) and active reproduction of passive positioning (ARPP) at the knee joint in male and female collegiate soccer and basketball players.Subjects for this study included 20 (10 males and 10 females) volunteers. Subjects performed knee extension and flexion concentric isokinetic exercise until torque output fell below the 10%, 30%, or 50% of maximum hamstring torque for three consecutive repetitions. Subjects were then tested on either PRPP or ARPP following the isokinetic exercise session. Following testing of the first independent measure, subjects were given a 20 minute rest period. Following the rest period, the procedure was repeated for two more exercise sessions. Testing of PRPP and ARRP was counterbalanced between trials and sessions in order to decrease the chance of a learning effect on the results of each testing session.The major findings of this study indicate that increasing levels of exertion do not have a significant effect on either active reproduction ability [ARPP-45 degrees (F2,38 = 0.88, p = 0.42), ARPP-30 degrees (F2,38 = 0.69, p = .51), and ARPP-15 (F2,38 = .23, p = 0.80) or passive reproduction ability [PRPP-60 degrees*s-1 (F2,38 = 0.25, p = .78) , PRPP-90 degrees*s-1 (F2,38 = 0.31, p = 0.73), and PRPP120 degress*s-1 (F2,38 = 1.58, p = 0.22)]. However, the reliability of all PRPP and ARPP measures at 15 degrees demonstrated poor reliability.Fatigue has long been theorized to be a contributing factor in decreased proprioceptive acuity, and therefore a contributing factor to joint injury. The lack of significant findings may be explained by the idea that as the level of muscle fatigue increases muscle spindle discharge increases. Poor reliability for all PRPP and ARPP at 15 degrees draws into question the meaningfulness of the results for these measures.


ABSTRACT Why do individuals exhibit similar reactions to manifestly different food scares? This article examines the hypothesis of analogical reasoning, a cognitive shortcut whereby individuals anchor their risk judgements in other similar previous risky events present in their memories explains together with known determinants of risks perceptions such as risk attitudes and ambiguity aversion. Considering the distribution of risk perceptions related to three food scares that people in Europe remember, namely dioxins, genetically modified food (GMF), and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Furthermore, the article explores whether intrinsic individual attitudes toward risk (risk aversion) or a common human reaction to lack of information, namely ambiguity aversion, are associated with perceptions of risk. The findings suggest that perceptions of the three food scares appear to be statically distributed in almost the same way, consistently with the presence of analogical reasoning. Results show that although risk perceptions were affected by a degree of ambiguity aversion, the intensity of risk perceptions is mainly explained by individual-specific risk attitudes.


This report draws upon the latest research to examine giving trends by affluent individuals in Australia and how these compare with overseas counterparts. It is driven by several factors. Giving by individuals matters enormously to the nonprofit sector, far exceeding business donations. Whether the richest of the population gives commensurate with their wealth is a question worth asking. The assets held by the wealthier end of Australia's population have burgeoned in recent decades as have the number considered affluent. In 2006, Merrill Lynch/Capgemini drew attention to Australia's trend to affluence, describing its high net worth segment as one of the fastest growing in the world and dismissing suggestions that average wealth held by affluent individuals was well below overseas counterparts.


On 2 May 2019, the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court in Nigeria delivered its judgment in Suit No. FHC/L/ CS/740/2017 Raconteur Productions Limited v. Dioni Visions Entertainment Limited and Others ('Raconteur'). This was a claim for copyright infringement of a screenplay, and concerned what constituted sufficient proof of an alleged infringer's access to such screenplay and evidence of substantial similarities under Nigeria's Copyright Act.
The plaintiff did not produce physical or documentary evidence of its screenplay alleged to have been infringed. For this reason, the Court dismissed the plaintiff's claims and held that there was no basis to consider the questions of whether the plaintiff had copyright in any screenplay; whether the defendant had access to the plaintiff's screenplay; and whether there were substantial similarities between the plaintiff's work and that of the defendant.
This article explores the practical implications and lessons from this case for copyright law and practice, both for legal practitioners and the film industry, especially in the digital era. It finds that the decision in Raconteur and the circumstances of the case provide pointers for screenwriters seeking to procure remuneration and copyright protection; receive credit or attribution as well as funding for the co-production of cinematograph films, embodying their screenplays as distinct, protected works. It argues for a nuanced adoption of applicable lessons from various jurisdictions such as South Africa, the UK and the US.
copyright infringement, screenplay, Nigeria, substantial similarities, film industry, protected works


In this exposition, we consider group theoretic arguments in order to obtain discrete structures on certain smooth manifolds. This review work essentially looks at group actions on homogeneous spaces which ultimately lead to tessellations on smooth manifolds. Apart from applications of such discretization's, we also mention the pedagogical advantages while explaining Non-Euclidean geometry.


Quantum Amplitude Estimation (QAE) can achieve a quadratic speed-up for applications classically solved by Monte Carlo simulation. A key requirement to realize this advantage is efficient state preparation. If state preparation is too expensive, it can diminish the quantum advantage. Preparing arbitrary quantum states has exponential complexity with respect to the number of qubits, thus, is not applicable. Currently known efficient techniques require problems based on log-concave probability distributions, involve learning an unknown distribution from empirical data, or fully rely on quantum arithmetic. In this paper, we introduce an approach to simplify state preparation, together with a circuit optimization technique, both of which can help reduce the circuit complexity for QAE state preparation significantly. We demonstrate the introduced techniques for a numerical integration example on real quantum hardware, as well as for option pricing under the Heston model, i.e., based on a stochastic volatility process, using simulation.


Background New criteria for the neurophysiological diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease (ALS/MND) were recently proposed at an international symposium in Awaji-shima, Japan. They differ from the accepted revised El-Escorial criteria by considering fasciculation potentials to be evidence of acute denervation. In addition, when assessing diagnostic certainty, the Awaji-shima criteria equate electrodiagnostic evidence of lower motor neuron dysfunction with clinical examination findings. Methods A retrospective review of 205 consecutive sets of notes was performed, from patients who underwent neurophysiological assessment for suspected MND. The clinical signs and neurophysiological findings were combined according to the two sets of criteria (revised El-Escorial and Awaji-shima), and the diagnoses reached were compared with the interval diagnosis, to establish the sensitivities and specificities of each protocol. Results An interval diagnosis of MND was recorded in 107 patients. The sensitivity of the Awaji-shima criteria in reaching a diagnosis of MND was 60.7% and the revised El-Escorial 28%, with a specificity of 95.9% for both criteria. The Awaji-shima criteria increased the sensitivity of diagnosis without affecting the specificity. Conclusion Accepting EMG evidence of fasciculations as evidence of acute denervation increases the diagnostic certainty of MND, and the new criteria allow earlier diagnosis of MND without increasing the false-positive rate.


In the Miocene, the European Eastern Alps extruded laterally along orogen-scale strike-slip faults due to both extensional gravitational collapse and compressional tectonic forcing. Horizontal extension is most prominently evidenced by detachments east and west of the Tauern Window; it is commonly explained by a retreating slab beneath the Carpathian arc hundreds of kilometers east of the orogen. Horizontal compression is shown by north-south shortening in the Tauern Window and the entire Eastern Alps in response to the convergence of the Adriatic plate with Europe. It is interesting that analogue and numerical models for the Eastern Alps designed to describe the east-directed lateral extrusion have failed to explain the extensional regime in the region of the Tauern Window. Using a numerical model for plan-view deformation that considers internal faults, we show here that orogen-scale strike-slip faults are mechanically required to cause extension during plate convergence in the Miocene Eastern Alps. We test the idea by coupling this model with a landscape evolution model and by comparing modeled and observed drainage system geometries.


Carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) stable isotope ratios were longitudinally measured in human hair that reflected the period from pre-conception to delivery in 10 pregnant women. There was no significant change in the delta13C results, but all subjects showed a decrease in delta15N values (-0.3 to -1.1 per thousand) during gestation. The mechanisms causing this decrease in hair delta15N have not been fully elucidated. However, since the delta15N values of dietary nitrogen and urea nitrogen are significantly lower compared to maternal tissues, it is hypothesized that the increased utilization of dietary and urea nitrogen for tissue synthesis during pregnancy resulted in a reduction of the steady state diet to a body trophic level effect by approximately 0.5-1 per thousand. An inverse correlation (R2 = 0.67) between hair delta15N and weight gain was also found, suggesting that positive nitrogen balance results in a reduction of delta15N values independent of diet. These results indicate that delta15N measurements have the ability to monitor not only dietary inputs, but also the nitrogen balance of an organism. A potential application of this technique is the detection of fertility patterns in modern and ancient species that have tissues that linearly record stable isotope ratios through time.


Previous studies have shown the Fennoscandian region to be a high-risk area for multiple sclerosis (MS). In order to investigate the distribution of MS in Sweden, mortality (1952–1992) and disability pensioning statistics (1971–1994) were studied. A total of 11,414 cases with a disability pension and 5,421 cases with MS on their death certificate were analysed according to county and time period and the results were compared with the mortality figures for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and disability pensioning statistics for Parkinson's disease. We found increasing rates of both MS mortality and disability pensioning. Disability pensioning correlated well with mortality 10 years later (r = 0.42, p = 0.04). We also found a marked geographical variation. Värmland county had the highest mortality, with 14 out of its 16 municipalities having higher rates than the national mean. Unexpectedly, we found a high correlation between mortality due to MS and ALS (r = 0.60, p = 0.002).


1. The interaction of the haem-binding region of apomyoglobin with different ligands was examined by ultrafiltration, equilibrium dialysis and spectrophotometry, to study unspecific features of protein-ligand interactions such as they occur in, for example, serum albumin binding. 2. Apomyoglobin, in contrast with metmyoglobin, binds at pH 7, with a high affinity, one molecule of Bromophenol Blue, bilirubin and protoporphyrin IX, two molecules of n-dodecanoate and n-decyl sulphate and four molecules of n-dodecyl sulphate and n-tetradecyl sulphate. 3. The number of high-affinity sites and/or association constants for the alkyl sulphates are enhanced by an increase of hydrocarbon length, indicating hydrophobic interactions with the protein. 4. Measurements of the temperature-dependence of the association constants of the high-affinity sites imply that the binding processes are largely entropy-driven. 5. Binding studies in the presence of two ligands show that bilirubin plus Bromophenol Blue and dodecanoate plus Bromophenol Blue can be simultaneously bound by apomyoglobin, but with decreased affinities. By contrast, the apomyoglobin-protoporphyrin IX complex does not react with Bromophenol Blue. 6. Optical-rotatory-dispersion measurements show that the laevorotation of apomyoglobin is increased towards that of metmyglobin in the presence of haemin and protoporphyrin IX. Small changes in the optical-rotatory-dispersion spectrum of apomyoglobin are observed in the presence of the other ligands. 7. It is concluded that the binding sites on apomyoglobin probably do not pre-exist but appear to be moulded from predominantly non-polar amino acid residues by reaction with hydrophobic ligands. 8. Comparison with data in the literature indicates that apomyoglobin on a weight basis has a larger hydrophobic area avaialble for binding of ligands than has human serum albumin. On the other hand, the association constants of serum for the ligands used in this study are generally somewhat larger than those of apomyoglobin.


Lymphatics of larynx and tongue were studied in 44 prepared specimens obtained from cadavers of people of both sexes (aged from 17 to 91) using interstitial injections of Herot masses into mucosa and preparation. Lymphatics of vestibule of the larynx appear to emerge along with superior laryngeal artery in 66%, in 29% along with lingual artery and along with pharyngeal branches of thyrocervical axis in 4.5%; lymphatics of infraglotic cavity in 2.3% emerge through thyrohyoid membrane. Lymphatics of larynx and tongue supply superior internal jugular node located superior to the site of confluence of facial vein and internal jugular vein; prelaryngeal node located on the plate of thyroid cartilage superior to the superior thyroid artery; the node of medium group of the internal jugular chain in the site of confluence of medium thyroid vein and internal jugular vein.


Suggests that there is justification for the use of a new methodology for process diagnosis which is simple to understand and realistic to implement. The control of quality of a process typically requires that multiple process variables be monitored simultaneously. Due to the multi‐dimensionality of the data collected, process diagnosis is complex and the data often are not efficiently integrated to capitalize on the wealth of available information. A two‐phased diagnostic approach for process diagnosis and identification of suspect causes for this multi‐dimensional problem is introduced in Krishnamurthi et al. (1993). Provides an in‐depth analysis of phase two of the statistical process control (SPC) diagnostic approach. Specifically, simulation is used to generate different cause and effect scenarios to determine the effectiveness of the SPC approach in correctly diagnosing a process disorder. The analysis utilizes analysis of variance to estimate the effect of various process variables, process steps, and associated out‐of‐control conditions on the performance of the SPC approach and its ability to diagnose correctly an out‐of‐control condition. As a result of these findings, the critical means are plotted and the findings are presented. Additionally, a comparison between the SPC approach and parsimonious covering theory (PCT) is made. Concludes that for the process scenarios considered, which are of practical size, the more simple approach of the SPC diagnostic approach is recommended.


Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories mostly concerned with the diasporic postcolonial situation of the lives of Indians and Indian-Americans whose hyphenated Indian identity has led them to be caught between the Indian traditions that they have left behind and a totally different western world that they have to face culminating in an ongoing struggle to adjust between the two worlds of the two cultures. It is this in-between situation of such characters of diasporic identity that makes the collection receptive to postcolonial studies. In its discussion of four of the stories of the collection in which women have a more central role, namely "Mrs. Sen", "This Blessed House", "The Treatment of Bibi Heldar" and "Sexy", the following essay draws on ideas, theories and key words of two major postcolonial theorists, Homi K. Bhabha and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak whose concerns with postcolonial cultural-identity crisis and cultural hybridity on the one hand and the predicament of female subaltern on the other hand, make them most relevant and beneficial to the concerns of the present study. Through an exclusive attention to female characters, this essay then explores the process of transition and formation of new cultural identities, blatantly engages itself with notions of "hybridity" and "liminality" and examines the way, if any, through which Lahiri gives voice to the subaltern experience. The essay's findings revolve around the fact that by allowing the female subaltern to be voiced, Lahiri's stories prepare a space through which the subaltern can speak. Dealing with the trauma and the possible success, failure or resistance of female subjects who in their confrontations with the culture of the Other negotiate their new identities, this essay presents the problems involved in negotiating such new identities through an exploration of the inevitable Self/Other confrontation which takes place in the process of identity-formation.


Abstract Nurses with reduced work ability are highly susceptible to the deleterious effects of their working environments, and their rates of sick leave, disability, and early retirement are higher than average. The aim of this study was to evaluate work ability in 433 Slovenian hospital nurses aged over fifty years providing secondary care in thirteen hospitals across Slovenia. To do that we used a standardised instrument known as work ability index (WAI). Mean WAI was 36.98±6.46 and median 38. WAI was not associated with age (Spearman's ρ=-0.034, p=0.475). Total WAI score strongly correlated with the 1st item of the WAI questionnaire "current work ability" (ρ=0.726, p<0.001). Higher WAI scores were also associated with academic education, full-time employment, and working in a single (morning) or three shifts. Our WAI findings in nurses over fifty call for systemic changes in the nursing environment to maintain good work ability among nurses until the retirement age and beyond.


The p-regularized subproblem (p-RS) is the key content of a regularization technique in computing a Newton-like step for unconstrained optimization. The idea is to incorporate a local quadratic approximation of the objective function with a weighted regularization term and then globally minimize it at each iteration. In this paper, we establish a complete theory of the p-RSs for general p>2 that covers previous known results on p=3 or p=4. The theory features necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the global and also for the local non-global minimizers of (p-RS). It gives a closed-form expression for the global minimum set of (p-RS) and shows that (p-RS), p>2 can have at most one local non-global minimizer. Our theory indicates that (p-RS) have all properties that the trust region subproblems do. In application, (p-RS) can appear in natural formulation for optimization problems. We found two examples. One is to utilize the Tikhonov regularization to stabilize the least square solution for an over-determined linear system; and the other comes from numerical approximations to the generalized Ginzburg–Landau functionals. Moreover, when (p-RS) is appended with m additional linear inequality constraints, denoted by (p-), the problem becomes NP-hard. We show that the partition problem, the k-dispersion-sum problem and the quadratic assignment problem in combinatorial optimization can be equivalently formulated as special types of (p-RS) with p=4. In the end, we develop an algorithm for solving (p-RS).


Antiserum inactivation experiments were carried out on electrophoretically purified diploid virions from a cross between two complementing amber mutants of phage M13. The total (homozygous plus heterozygous) diploid population, assayed on a permissive host where only one genome is needed for plaque formation, was inactivated at the same rate as haploids. Heterozygous diploids, assayed on a nonpermissive host, where both genomes are needed for plaque formation, were twice as sensitive as haploids and the total diploid population. These results have led us to propose a model for serum inactivation of the F-specific filamentous phages. According to this model, phage-neutralizing antibodies attach anywhere along the length of the phage and allow the phage to penetrate only up to the first bound antibody molecule.


Contact tracing has grown in popularity as a promising solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefits of automated contact tracing are two-fold. Contact tracing promises to reduce the number of infections by being able to: 1) systematically identify all of those that have been in contact with someone who has had COVID; and, 2) ensure those that have been exposed to the virus do not unknowingly infect others. "COVI" is the name of a recent contact tracing app developed by Mila and was proposed to help combat COVID-19 in Canada. The app was designed to inform each individual of their relative risk of being infected with the virus, which Mila claimed would empower citizens to make informed decisions about their movement and allow for a data-driven approach to public health policy; all the while ensuring data is safeguarded from governments, companies, and individuals. This article will provide a critical response to Mila's COVI White Paper. Specifically, this article will discuss: the extent to which diversity has been considered in the design of the app, assumptions surrounding users' interaction with the app and the app's utility, as well as unanswered questions surrounding transparency, accountability, and security. We see this as an opportunity to supplement the excellent risk analysis done by the COVI team to surface insights that can be applied to other contact- and proximity-tracing apps that are being developed and deployed across the world. Our hope is that, through a meaningful dialogue, we can ultimately help organizations develop better solutions that respect the fundamental rights and values of the communities these solutions are meant to serve.


Hydraulic oil bulk modulus is acquiescently set as constants in practical engineering application, so that the theoretical predicted pressure from drop-hammer calibration device will be much different from the measured one. In this situation, bulk modulus measurement of hydraulic oil in the basis of the drop-hammer calibration device is proposed. The practical model for bulk modulus of hydraulic oil was established according to the analysis of the cause to the data errors. With the help from the existing drop-hammer calibration device, "pressure - piston displacement" data pairs were got to work out the model parameters further, and the bulk modulus change rule was obtained. The comparison experiment between the theoretical predicted pressure using the new model and the measured value shows that the bulk modulus model being built is simple and practical. It indicates that the prediction accuracy is less than 2.0% when the pressure is within hydraulic oil's compression prosperities (under 500MPa); the accuracy is less than 3.5% in the pressure extrapolation area (500MPa or more). It meets the requirements of engineering application.


In human somatotroph adenomas, growth hormone (GH) hypersecretion can be inhibited by somatostatin analogues such as octreotide. Unfortunately, serum GH levels reach normal values in only 60% of treated patients. The decreased sensitivity to octreotide is strongly related to a lower expression of somatostatin receptor sst2. In this present study, the sst2 gene was transferred by an adenoviral vector (Ad-sst2) in human somatotroph (n = 7) and lactotroph (n = 2) adenomas in vitro . Sst2 mRNA levels and sst2 immunostaining dramatically increased after infection. Ten days after infection at 20 multiplicity of infection (MOI), sst2 gene transfer decreased cell viability from 19% to 90% by caspase-dependent apoptosis. At low viral doses (5 MOI), Ad-sst2 decreased GH or prolactin (PRL) basal secretion and mRNA expression. Somatotroph tumors were classified in three groups according to their octreotide sensitivity. Four days after infection by 5 MOI Ad-sst2, the maximal GH suppression by octreotide increased from 31% to 57% in the octreotide partially resistant group and from 0% to 27% in the resistant ones. In the octreotide-sensitive group, EC50 values significantly decreased from 1.3 10 11 to 6.6 10 13 mol/L without improving maximal GH suppression. Finally, lactotroph tumors, nonresponding to octreotide in basal conditions, became octreotide sensitive with a maximal PRL suppression of 43% at 10 8 mol/L. Therefore, sst2 reexpression is able to improve octreotide sensitivity. Sst2 gene transfer may open new theapeutic strategies in treatment combined with somatostatin analogues. [Cancer Res 2008;68(24):10163–70]


The Badia region of Jordan is under a vicious cycle of poverty. One of the reasons behind this cycle is the Outflow of Bedouin communities' assets to urban centers. This out-flow of assets reduces the communities' savings, investment, productivity, output, and savings again respectively. Hence, the poverty cycle complete. This paper investigates the Bedouin consumers out-flow expenditure to urban centers. The consumers' attitudes and behavior are investigated in four Bedouin communities. The results reveal that there is a significant positive association between market's diversity and consumers' satisfaction with that market. Also consumers' spending ratio in the market is positively and significantly influenced by: his or her satisfaction, the awareness of the importance to spend locally for positive development outcomes, and by the belief in the importance of such spending behavior. This study reveals a significant positive association between the market's diversity and the consumers' spending ratio in that market.


Among numerous Luiseño Indians of San Diego County, California, cancer is considered to be any tumor or growth that is possibly life threatening. A medical anthropology research project reveals that current and former Luiseño cancer patients share illness causation theories distinct from those of their kin. The patients believe their bouts with cancer stem from genetic predilection and/or God's will. In contrast, other Luiseño band members who do not have cancer assert that almost all cancer is caused by either 1.) chemical pollutants in the air, water, and food; or 2.) prior biomedical treatments that have gone awry. Imbalances of both natural and bodily elements are generally traced to particular culprits. This paper will detail these variances of Luiseño cancer etiologies and their impact on prevention policies.


This is the 19th international conference in this series organised by the Centre for Sustainable Design, at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA). The conference is chaired and the conference proceedings are edited by Professor Martin Charter.


Three different molecules, each containing two azobenzene switching units, were synthesized, successfully deposited onto a Au(111) surface by sublimation and studied by scanning tunneling microscopy at low temperatures. To investigate the influence of electronic coupling between the switching units as well as to the surface, the two azo moieties were connected either via π-conjugated para-phenylene or decoupling meta-phenylene bridges, and the number of tert-butyl groups was varied in the meta-phenylene-linked derivatives. Single molecules were found to be intact after deposition as identified by their characteristic appearance in STM images. Due to their mobility on the Au(111) surface at room temperature, the molecules spontaneously formed self-organized molecular arrangements that reflected their chemical structure. While lateral displacement of the molecules was accomplished by manipulation, trans–cis isomerization processes, typical for azobenzene switches, could not be induced.


The aim of the study was to contribute to scarce literature data on the content of selected vitamins and iodine in mare's milk. The study focused on the content of selected lipophilic vitamins (A, E), hydrophilic vitamins B1, B2, B6) and iodine in milk samples obtained from 8 mares during 6 months of lactation. The content of micronutrients was evaluated according to the stage of lactation. Vitamins B2 and B6 were determined using ion-pair reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, vitamin B1 by fluorescence detection by reversed-phase liquid chromatography, vitamins A and E by the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography method with ultraviolet and fluorescence detection and iodine by the spectrophotometric method. Mean concentrations of vitamins A (0.06 ± 0.08 mg/l), E (0.083 ± 0.14 mg/l), B1 (256.24 ± 44.19 µg/l), B2 (111.40 ± 81.88 µg/l), B6 (0.30 ± 0.12 mg/l) reached lower values in mare's milk compared to cow's milk. The mean value of iodine in mare's milk reached 44.48 ± 54.45 µg/l. Lactation stage proved to be a significant factor for vitamin B6 and iodine.


AIM: Root turnover is an important process determining carbon and nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. It is an established fact that root turnover is jointly regulated by climatic, edaphic and biotic factors. However, the relative importance of these forces in determining the global patterns of root turnover time is far from clear. LOCATION: Global. TIME PERIOD: 1946–2017. MAJOR TAXA STUDIED: Grasslands. METHODS: We compiled a database of 141 sites with 433 observations on root turnover time and applied structural equation modelling (SEM) to investigate the relative contribution of climate, soil properties and vegetation type to the observed variations in root turnover time. RESULTS: Root turnover time was 3.1 years on average across the global grasslands and differed significantly among grassland types (tropical grassland and savanna, temperate grassland and meadow, alpine grassland and meadow, tundra and desert). It decreased with mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation and Palmer drought severity index but increased with soil organic carbon content, total nitrogen content and carbon : nitrogen ratio. Soil bulk density and soil texture also significantly affected root turnover time, with clay content negatively correlating to root turnover time and explaining more variations than bulk density and sand content. The SEM showed that climatic factors had dominant effects on root turnover time when vegetation type was not considered. Vegetation type became the primary driver when it was included in the SEM. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the influences of climatic and edaphic factors on root turnover time are predominantly manifested through vegetation type. The critical role of precipitation as revealed for the first time in this study challenges our current understanding of climate impacts on root turnover time. The findings necessitate accurate representation of vegetation type in Earth system models to predict root function dynamics under global change.


PURPOSE
To explore the association of genomic knowledge, self-epistemic authority (SEA; i.e., subjective perception of knowledge expertise), perceived importance of genomics in nursing, and the integration of genomic skills into nursing practice.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional study of nurses working in pediatric, obstetric, and internal wards of two medical centers in Israel between February and October 2018.

METHODS
Participants completed anonymous questionnaires about genomic knowledge, SEA, perceived importance of genomics, and the performance of genomic skills in nursing practice. Associations between variables were analyzed using Pearson correlations, and a hierarchical regression model was used to determine which variables explained the performance of genomic practices among participants.

FINDINGS
Altogether 423 nurses participated in the study. The mean genomic knowledge was low (55.05 ± 14.82%). Nurses reported a low integration of genomic skills in their practice (M = 1.90, SD = 0.71), although their overall perceived importance of genomics was positive (M = 2.88, SD = 0.68). Positive correlations were found between SEA and the integration of genomic skills in nursing practice. Obstetric nurses had more genomic knowledge, more positive perceptions about genomics, and performed more genomic skills in their nursing practice.

CONCLUSIONS
Although nurses realized the importance of genomics to their practice, and genomics is part of the Israeli nursing core curriculum, we found disappointingly low levels of knowledge and performance of genomic skills in nursing practice.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The results call for action to establish ongoing education programs in genomics for nurses, which would lead to the inclusion of genomic skills into routine nursing practice, and prepare nurses for providing personalized medicine.


We report a direct photoelectrochemical response from low cost carbon dots (CDs) prepared from chitosan via a solvothermal method. The carbon dots were covalently linked to an indium tin oxide (ITO) surface through a self-assembled silane monolayer. We attribute the photocurrent of the ITO–silane–CD surface to a photogenerated electron-transfer process by CDs under illumination with a wavelength of 420 nm to 450 nm. The self-assembled monolayer of CDs was used for ac-photocurrent imaging of the surface with micron scale lateral resolution. This discovery opens up new applications for CDs as biocompatible, light-addressable electrochemical sensors in bioanalytical and bioimaging applications.


In this paper, we describe our encounters in and passes through the figuration of the threshold as producing writing between-the-two: or, loss of the individual subject. We describe how in the threshold, we meet in that in-between space, a space of shared deterritorialization in which we constitute one another. Also, we describe writing between-the-two in the threshold as a site of embodiment, of affect. In thinking of how to articulate our way of thinking and writing together as between-the-two and as different than a collaborative project where two "I"s contribute pieces both with and independent of the other, we take our cue from Ken Gale and Jonathan Wyatt's (2009) Between the Two. In this book, they articulate a way of thinking and writing inspired by Deleuze and Guattari's collaborative work as that which is not a working together, but a working in the gap "between the two" (Deleuze & Parnet, 1987/2002, p. 13). This spark of creativity in the gap is both like and unlike what we will explain in this article. Like Gale and Wyatt, we lean on figurations and concepts in the writings of Deleuze and Guattari as a referent; however, our between-the-two is pursued more deliberately through a materialist knowing in being that produces our becoming with and in a digital threshold.


CONTEXT
The medical treatment of advanced testicular germ cell tumors has changed over the past 30 years, with long-term survival now achieved in the majority of patients. Clinicians need to be familiar with the available treatment regimens for testicular cancer and their associated toxic effects.

OBJECTIVE
To review the treatments used for advanced testicular germ cell tumors and their associated short-term and long-term complications.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION
A search was performed of all English-language literature (1966 to October 2007) within the MEDLINE database using the terms neoplasms, germ cell, or embryonal or testicular neoplasms restricted to humans, drug therapy, complications, and mortality. The Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials Databases (through October 2007) was also searched using the terms testicular cancer or germ cell tumors. Bibliographies were reviewed to extract other relevant articles. One hundred eighty-six articles were selected based on pertinence to advanced testicular cancer treatment, associated complications, and late relapses with an emphasis on randomized controlled trials.

DATA SYNTHESIS
The treatment of advanced testicular germ cell tumors with cisplatin combination chemotherapy is based on risk stratification (good, intermediate, or poor prognosis) according to pretreatment clinical features of prognostic value. Clinical trials have demonstrated that approximately 90% of patients classified as having a good prognosis achieve a durable complete remission to either 4 cycles of etoposide and cisplatin or 3 cycles of cisplatin, etoposide, and bleomycin. Complete responses are achieved less frequently for patients with intermediate- and poor-risk germ cell tumors, in whom 4 cycles of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin remains the standard of care. Second- and third-line programs, including high-dose chemotherapy, also have curative potential. Chronic toxicities associated with therapy include cardiovascular disease, infertility, and secondary malignancies. Late relapses may also occur.

CONCLUSIONS
Clinical trials have led to evidence-based treatment recommendations for advanced testicular cancer based on risk stratification. Clinicians should be familiar with the potential complications of these therapies.


Inspired by some recent molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experiments on suspended graphene nanoribbons, we study a simplified model where the atoms are disposed in a rectangular lattice coupled by nearest neighbor interactions which are quadratic in the interatomic distance. The system has a mechanical strain, and the border atoms are coupled to Langevin thermal baths. Atom masses vary linearly in the longitudinal direction, modeling an isotope or doping distribution. This asymmetry and tension modify thermal properties. Although the atomic interaction is quadratic, the potential is anharmonic in the coordinates. By direct MD simulations and solving Fokker-Planck equations at low temperatures, we can better understand the role of anharmonicities in thermal rectification. We observe an increasing thermal current with an increasing applied mechanical tension. The temperatures and thermal currents vary along the transverse direction. This effect can be useful to establish which parts of the system are more sensitive to thermal damage. We also study thermal rectification as a function of strain and system size. Received: 20 Novembre 2014,  Accepted: 17 April 2015;  Edited by: C. A. Condat, G. J. Sibona;  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4279/PIP.070008 Cite as: R Barreto, M F Carusela, A Mancardo Viotti, A G Monastra, Papers in Physics 7, 070008 (2015) This paper, by R Barreto, M F Carusela, A Mancardo Viotti, A G Monastra , is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 .


The renovation of electric power systems plays a major role on economic and reliable operation of power system. Generation companies and tail end customers are undergoing a major multiple task of designing of proper operating methodologies. Therefore an exhaustive formulation of optimal bidding strategy becomes a subject of mater of generation companies and end consumers. In this paper an innovative approach for defining optimal bidding strategy is presented as a stochastic optimization problem and solved by Firefly algorithm.(FA). The Firefly Algorithm is a Meta heuristic, nature inspired, optimization algorithm which is based on the social flashing behavior of fireflies and has been introduced for the bidding problem to obtain the global optimal solution. The proposed Firefly algorithm effectively maximizes the GENCOs profit and benefit of large consumers. The impact of risk on the GENCOs is analyzed by introducing the factor λ. The proposed Firefly algorithm effectively maximizes the GENCOs profit. A numerical example with six suppliers is considered to illustrate the essential features of the proposed method and test results are tabulated. The simulation result shows that these approaches effectively maximize the Profit of Power suppliers, converge much faster and more reliable when compared with existing methods..


Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) can be used to identify peptides present in a biological sample containing unknown proteins. De novo peptide sequencing aims to determine the amino acid sequence of a portion of a peptide directly from MS/MS spectral data. Unlike spectral cross-correlation methods of peptide sequencing, the de novo approach does not require a complete database of all possible proteins that may be present in the sample. In this work, a de novo peptide sequencing algorithm (denovoGPU) was implemented using general-purpose computing techniques on a graphics processing unit (GPGPU), in order to reduce the runtime of the algorithm sufficiently to complete in real-time during MS/MS data collection. This is a step towards enabling true information-driven MS/MS, where incremental data analysis is used to guide data collection. Given data from an MS/MS spectrum, the algorithm filters the data, generates and scores candidate "sequence tags" (or short amino acid sequences), and ultimately outputs a ranked list of sequence tags. The denovoGPU algorithm was tested on over 380 experimentally obtained MS/MS spectra, whose peptide sequences were validated using the Mascot search engine for mass spectrometry data. The performance of the algorithm was compared to an existing de novo peptide sequencing algorithm (PepNovo) in terms of runtime and sequence tag accuracy. Constraints of the denovoGPU algorithm due to limited GPU memory were identified. By adjusting various parameters of the denovoGPU algorithm, the runtime was reduced to below one second, which is an essential requirement for real-time information-driven MS/MS.


Double minutes (DM) have been associated with gene amplification in drug-resistant cells and tumor cells. However, the mechanisms by which DM are formed have not been elucidated. We present here a model to describe a possible mechanism of DM formation based on the observations made in two independent early drug-selected multidrug-resistant cell lines and from in vitro somatic cell fusion experiments between synchronized S- and M-phase cells. The multidrug-resistant cell lines contain both DM and amplified mdr (P-glycoprotein) gene. Cytogenetic analyses of cells at early stages of selection revealed the presence of a number of micronuclei in a subpopulation of these cells. These micronuclei were often asynchronous in their progression through the cell cycle. As a result, premature condensation of micronuclear chromatin was often observed in metaphase plates. The pulverized chromatin pattern seen in certain instances of S-phase prematurely condensed chromosomes displays a striking resemblance to DM structures. These DM-like structures are linked by replicating DNA as revealed by DNA labeling experiments. Somatic cell hybrids between S- and M-phase cells when grown in vitro demonstrated that S-phase prematurely condensed chromatin indeed gives rise to extra chromosomal structures in the successive cell generations. It is hypothesized that distinct DM-like structures may arise from the partially replicated and prematurely condensed S-phase chromosomes following their liberation as extra chromosomal entities after replication and/or recombination in the succeeding division cycle(s). The enrichment for DM containing specific genes in drug-resistant cells may result from the subsequent drug selections.


Unsintering macroporous calcium phosphate scaffolds with macropore sizes of 200∼400μm and hydroxyapatite nanofiber of in-situ growth were prepared by coating porous polyurethane templates with α-tricalcium phosphate bone cement (CPC) slurry, and their subsequent hydrolysis to calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (HAp) during the self-setting processes are presented. The effects of Sr2+ (SrNO3) on the nucleation, growth of the hydroxyapatite nanofiber and phase constitution were studied. The results show that the main component of the coating is HA after hydrolysis for 72h and the Sr2+ added could depress the growth of block or sheet HA crystal and promote the nanowhisker growth. This new processing technique can be used to improve the bioactivity of porous polymer template while maintaining its macroporous structure.


Purpose:
The Royal Opera House, located at the epicentre of Covent Garden, stands as the UK's leading provider of opera and ballet performances. Having been extensively redeveloped, its front facade is not visible from the area's central market place and the perceived exclusivity and elitism commonly associated with its art forms also impose a challenge. This study aims to analyse the influence that the Opera House exerts on the tourist's perception and experience of the world renowned London's 'Theatreland'.
Design/methodology/approach:
306 semi-structured interviews with domestic, international, first time and repeat tourists were conducted in six different locations throughout the area and inside the flagship building using a convenience sampling approach. These were then analysed with the assistance of qualitative data analysis software (QSR N*Vivo) in two stages leading to an initial set of categorical topics that derived in a number of findings related to the factors that influence the tourist's perception and experience of place.
Findings:
The Opera House's perceived urban concealment proved to have an impact on its influence on Covent Garden's sense of place. But its social inclusion and audience development initiatives that foster a new generation of opera and ballet theatre-goers emerged as important findings as the House's open door policy for daytime visitors along with live relays of current opera and ballet productions in other locations spark an interest in experiencing the building from the inside.
Research limitations/implications:
The paper focuses exclusively on findings related to audience development and social inclusion initiatives currently used at the Royal Opera House and their impact on the tourist's perception and experience of place. However, many other factors influence these processes and scope for further research is highlighted.
Practical implications:
The Royal Opera House's perceived urban concealment impose a challenge to the task of developing new audiences for its current and future productions. Its Learning and Participation Unit must endeavor to engage younger and international markets by focusing on the quality of the House's performances, its heritage and added facilities of the venue such as exhibitions and shop.
Originality/value:
This paper addresses the gap in knowledge related to the development of the niche Opera House tourist segment of the cultural tourism market.


Two separate blast tests were conducted inside a conventional, unreinforced, brick building scheduled to be demolished. The small cylindrical explosive charges (less than 9 kg each), composed of dynamite sticks bundled together, were placed inside the building and detonated (in separate events) to study the blast resistance of the structure. The pressures generated by the blasts were recorded using a high speed data acquisition system. To better understand the complex pressure loading caused by the blasts for use in structural response modelling, the authors have undertaken a study to computationally model the explosive detonations. Advanced computational modelling is of interest because most tabular and other simplified blast load analysis techniques are inaccurate for the case of a close-in (but outside the detonation products) blast produced by a cylindrical charge. This paper presents the results of two dimensional airblast simulations performed using CTH, a shock physics code written by Sandia National Laboratories. The Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL) equation of state data for dynamite available in the literature are reviewed and the equation coefficients are adjusted to reflect the properties of the dynamite used in the tests. CTH simulations are compared to the measured blast pressures and impulses to assess the ability of the existing (adjusted) equation of state data to model currently available commercial dynamite.


Aim To evaluate the impact of discrepancy between prescribed and recommended fixed 200 mg dose (P-F discrepancy) on immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and treatment efficacy in patients with advanced melanoma and NSCLC. Methods This retrospective study included 177 patients with advanced melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received at least one cycle of single-agent pembrolizumab. We defined P-F discrepancy as the differences between prescribed pembrolizumab dose and 200 mg recommended dose, expressed in percentages. Our primary outcome was immune-related adverse events (irAEs), and our secondary outcomes included overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Results The median P-F discrepancy was –21.5%, with the 25th and 75th percentile at –32% and –5.0% respectively. ROC curve analyses did not show any optimal cutoffs to prognosticate irAEs (AUC = 0.558 for all patients) or cancer mortality (AUC = 0.583 for melanoma; AUC = 0.539 for NSCLC) in either cancer type. Separate multivariable Cox analyses suggested no statistically significant association between P-F discrepancy and overall survival in patients with melanoma (HR 1.012, 95%CI 0.987–1.038, P = 0.362) or NSCLC (HR 0.998, 95%CI 0.978–1.019, P = 0.876). Conclusion There was no optimal pembrolizumab cut-off point to predict irAEs or treatment efficacy. We supported the use of weight-based pembrolizumab dosing, given the potential cost-saving and no differences in terms of irAEs or treatment efficacy in patients with advanced melanoma or NSCLC. Future studies on province- or national-level would be important to validate our findings.


The experiment was conducted to study the effect of critical supplementation of wheat straw with cobalt on fibre utilization and nutrient utilization in growing cross-bred male calves. Twenty-one crossbred (HF X Local) male growing calves of 3-4 months age were fed with wheat straw based diet consisting without (Co0) and with 1 (Co1) and 6 (Co6) ppm cobalt as cobaltous chloride. There was no significant difference in intake of wheat straw, concentrate and DMI between the three groups and the ratio between concentrate and wheat straw was maintained at 40:60 irrespective of dietary level of cobalt. Similarly, average cumulative body weight, net gain in body weight or feed efficiency did not differ significantly between treatments. No significant effect was observed on the digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ether extract and fibre constituents like NDF, ADF, hemicellulose or cellulose by supplementation of 1 and 6 ppm Co to the diet of growing calves. Balance of nutrients such as Nitrogen, Calcium and Phosphorus was similar and positive in all the treatment groups. TDN and DCP values of the experimental diets


Today's information systems have become large and complex because they must interact with each other via networks. This makes testing and assuring the dependability of systems much more difficult than ever before. DS-Bench Toolset has been developed to address this issue, and it includes D-Case Editor, DS-Bench, and D-Cloud. D-Case Editor is an assurance case editor. It makes a tool chain with DS-Bench and D-Cloud, and exploits the test results as evidences of the dependability of the system. DS-Bench manages dependability benchmarking tools and anomaly loads according to benchmarking scenarios. D-Cloud is a test environment for performing rapid system tests controlled by DS-Bench. It combines both a cluster of real machines for performance-accurate benchmarks and a cloud computing environment as a group of virtual machines for exhaustive function testing with a fault-injection facility. DS-Bench Toolset enables us to test systems satisfactorily and to explain the dependability of the systems to the stakeholders.


Providing transplantation opportunities for patients with incompatible live donors through kidney paired donation (KPD) is seen as one of the important strategies for easing the crisis in organ availability. It has been estimated that an additional 1000—2000 transplants per year could be accomplished if a national KPD program were implemented in the United States. While most of these transplants could be arranged within the participants' local or regional area, patients with hard‐to‐match blood types or broad HLA sensitization would benefit from matching across larger geographic areas. In this case, either patients or organs would need to travel in order to obtain maximum benefit from a national program. In this study, we describe how a triple KPD enabled a highly sensitized patient (PRA 96%) to receive a well‐matched kidney from a live donor on the opposite coast. The kidney was removed in San Francisco and transported to Baltimore where it was reperfused 8 h later. The patient had prompt function and 1 year later has a serum creatinine of 1.1 mg/dl. This case provides a blueprint for solving some of the complexities that are inherent in the implementation of a national KPD program in a large country like the United States.


Shared on-demand mobility holds immense potential for urban transportation. However, finding ride matches in real-time at urban scale is a very difficult combinatorial optimization problem and mostly heuristic approaches are applied. In this work, we introduce a principled approach to this combinatorial problem. Our approach proceeds by constructing suitable representations for rides and driver routes capturing their essential spatio-temporal aspects in an appropriate vector space, and defining a similarity metric in this space that expresses matching utility. This then lets us mathematically model the problem of finding ride matches as that of Near Neighbor Search (NNS). Exploiting this modeling, we devise a novel spatio-temporal search algorithm for finding ride matches based on the theory of Locality Sensitive Hashing (LSH). Apart from being highly efficient, our algorithm enjoys several practically useful properties and extension possibilities. Experiments with large real-world datasets show that our algorithm consistently outperforms state-of-the-art heuristic methods thereby proving its practical applicability.


Stories are the recordings of history and serve as reminders of personal and cultural struggle. In The Medieval Icelandic Saga and Oral Tradition, Gisli Sigurdsson writes that before the development of written language, oral history "became a kind of knowledge bank" (57) in which stories of success, as well as those of tragedy, were retold to subsequent generations. A study conducted by Daniel Bertaux and Isabelle Bertaux-Wiame concludes that "earlier generations may very well determine the shape of the trajectories of future generations through what it passes on to them [. . .] for the purpose of generating foreseeable conduct" (87). While this study provides evidence that positive behaviours may be transmitted to descendents, it also implies that destructive acts may be channelled through history and generate foreseeable negative conduct. The pain of struggle, revenge, and retaliation arises from behaviours which may be perpetuated across many generations; often the original source of the feud is forgotten, yet a desire for vengeance persists.The originating concept for Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx's story "The Half-Skinned Steer" is, as the author notes, "based on an old Icelandic folktale, 'Porgeir's Bull'" (Proulx 10). Proulx's reconfiguration of the themes of revenge within this tale demonstrate how 'old' thinking can slow progress and resurrect long-forgotten grievances. In "The Half-Skinned Steer", the author relocates and remodulates the traditional folk tale to address particular issues and behaviours - work ethic, diet and vengeance - within the setting of the contemporary American West. This article will examine the ways in which Proulx reconfigures the Icelandic folktale "Porgeir's Bull" to explore intersecting themes of persistence, human arrogance, and nature's revenge on man.


An attitude control system consisting of motor-driven inertial wheels in conjunction with an over-riding mass ejection system is proposed for use in space vehicles. Control by mass ejection is usedto compensate for initial distrubances during separation from the booster, and for removal of unwanted momentum stored in the wheels. The use of reaction wheels permits fine, damped attitude control. A laboratory model of a single-axis control system was constructed for experimentation and evaluation. The choice of a suitable platform configuration, selection of a prime mover for the inertial wheel, and the philosophy in the design of the electronics and pneumatics are discussed. Emphasis was placed upon minimization of weight and power consumption. System evaluation includes a discussion of efficiencies, reliability, and torque-speed-power relationships. Sources of disturbances, methods of sensing, and general equations of motion are presented in the Appendix.


The failure of NK1 receptor antagonists to show analgesic activity in clinical trials in spite of abundant preclinical evidence for a role of this neuropeptide in nociception, makes it somewhat dangerous to speculate on the nociceptive role of other neuropeptides, especially with respect to therapeutic utility of receptor antagonists! However, CGRP is the primary afferent peptide with the strongest evidence of a role in pain perception. It is found in a greater proportion of sensory neurones than other peptides and is a constituent of A[delta ] as well as C-fibres. Inflammation of peripheral tissues upregulates production of CGRP in sensory ganglia, coincident with the development of hyperalgesia, and CGRP knockout mice have attenuated hyperalgesic responses. CGRP is released into the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (DHSC) by noxious peripheral stimuli and excites nociceptive DHSC neurones on local application. The peptide antagonist CGRP8-37 blocks the response to exogenous CGRP and can reduce the response of DHSC neurones to noxious peripheral stimuli. CGRP8-37 has also been shown to have behavioural antinociceptive properties when given intrathecally. Conversely, injection of CGRP itself to the PAG or n. accumbens has been reported to have antinociceptive effects that are reversed by CGRP8-37. With the advent of potent non-peptide antagonists such as BIBN4096BS we should soon be able to determine whether systemic blockade of all CGRP receptors produces antinociception without limiting side effects.