This study describes a technique for using e-mail and the World Wide Web to teach an introductory media writing course online. It also surveys students' attitudes toward the technique and evaluates the technique's effectiveness in helping students learn. Journalism educators have found at least two main uses for the Internet. Many have recognized the Internet's utility as a vast library with speedy retrieval and no closing hours. Typical of their efforts, Gunaratne and Lee (1996), created a Web page for use in reporting, copy editing, and international communication courses. Students in the courses learned to use e-mail, search the World Wide Web, subscribe to Usenet groups and listservs and access online newspapers. Related work (Ketterer, 1998; Smethers, 1998) has stressed teaching journalism students to evaluate online sources as skeptically as they would conventional sources. Finally, the growing computer-assisted reporting movement emphasizes, among other things, skill in searching the Internet (Houston, 1998). Meanwhile, other journalism educators have noted the Internet's utility as a "virtual classroom" (Hiltz, 1986) capable of supplementing or replacing the physical classroom as an instruc- tional medium. Smith, Kim, and Bernstein (1993) called for the development of instructional applications for e-mail and computer bulletin boards in journalism courses. Carter and Elasmar (1996) suggested that such applications could include using e-mail to field students' questions, distribute and receive assignments, and forward student-written news stories to editors. But what happens when journalism educators heed this advice? Investigations of that question have focused on two variables: how much journalism students like computer-mediated instruction and how much journalism students learn from computer-mediated instruction. The results remain inconclusive, partly for methodological reasons and partly because the few studies published lack comparability with one another. Lieb (1990) required students in a writing course to exchange critiques of one another's work via a text-based computer conferencing system. At the end of the course, 15 of the course's 19 students said they would rather take a writing course that used computer conferencing than take a writing course that did not. However, Smith (1994) obtained seemingly contradictory results when he required students in a media law course to take quizzes using a similar text-based computer conferencing system. Students gave him lower evaluation scores than had students in two conventional media law courses he had taught. Additionally, final exam scores in the class showed no significant improvement in learning compared to the final exam scores of students in the conventional courses. Some important differences between the two studies may help explain the varied outcomes. Computer-mediated instruction played a more central role in Lieb's course design than in Smith's. Furthermore, although both Lieb and Smith reported chronic problems with the computer conferencing systems they used, Smith ended up allowing students to submit their quizzes on paper if they could prove they had tried to use the computer conferencing system. Both factors may have made computer-mediated instruction seem like more of an unnecessary bother to Smith's students than to Lieb's. More recently, Hester (1999) reported that students in a large lecture class who volunteered to take an online practice quiz for extra credit generally liked it. They also posted higher exam scores than students who had chosen not to take the quiz. Again, factors unique to Hester's study may have made the difference. Hester's students accessed their quizzes via the World Wide Web, with its relatively user-friendly graphic interface, instead of the more complicated text-based system used by students in the two earlier studies. Furthermore, Hester's quizzes were voluntary instead of compulsory as in Smith's study. …


Abstract Background Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) contributes significantly to infant mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa and has consequences on survivors, such as preterm birth and low birth weight. However, its impact on long-term neurocognitive development in children remains unknown. Methods Our prospective cohort included pregnant women and their live-born singletons from the Malaria in Pregnancy Preventive Alternative Drugs clinical trial. MiP was assessed using microscopy and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Neurocognitive development in children was assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (KABC-II), at 1 and 6 years of age, respectively. Results Of 493 pregnant women, 196 (40%) were infected with malaria at least once: 121 (31%) with placental malaria diagnosed by qPCR. Multiple linear regression B-coefficients showed that impaired gross motor scores were associated with MiP at least once (−2.55; confidence interval [95% CI]: −5.15, 0.05), placental malaria by qPCR (−4.95; 95% CI: −7.65, −2.24), and high parasite density at delivery (−1.92; 95% CI: −3.86, 0.02) after adjustment. Malaria and high parasite density at the second antenatal care visit were associated with lower KABC-II Non-Verbal Index scores at 6 years (−2.57 [95% CI: −4.86, −0.28] and −1.91 [−3.51, −0.32]), respectively. Conclusions This prospective cohort study provides evidence that MiP, particularly late term, could have important negative consequences on child development at 1 and 6 years of age. Mechanisms behind this association must be further investigated and diagnostic methods in low-income countries should be strengthened to provide adequate treatment. Clinical Trials Registration NCT00811421.


Bridge structural health monitoring is a multi-parameter monitoring for guaranteeing safe construction and service of bridges. Focused on the features of the collected data by various front end sensors, that are reflecting bridge structural health state such as strain, vibration, distortion, cable tension etc., a bridge structural health data analysis model is established in this paper, based on semi-supervised learning which classifies diversified parameter data, and using classifier under various learning patterns, to conduct classification of two types of sample set respectively, on which analysis is done so as to diagnose the bridge structural damage degree and provide evidence and guidance to bridge maintenance and management decision taking.


During risk-off episodes, the yen is a safe haven currency and on average appreciates against the U.S. dollar. We investigate the proximate causes of yen risk-off appreciations. We find that neither capital inflows nor expectations of the future monetary policy stancecan explain the yen's safe haven behavior. In contrast, we find evidence that changes in market participants' risk perceptions trigger derivatives trading, which in turn lead to changes in the spot exchange rate without capital flows. Specifically, we find that risk-offepisodes coincide with forward hedging and reduced net short positions or a buildup of net long positions in yen. These empirical findings suggest that offshore and complex financial transactions should be part of spillover analyses and that the effectiveness of capital flow management measures or monetary policy coordination to address excessive exchange rate volatility might be limited in certain cases.


Mycobacterium tuberculosis can involve any organ of the body, including the arteries. Usually the mycobacteria infects the arterial wall spreading from a contiguous foci. We report a case of tuberculous pseudoaneurysm involving the iliac artery clinically manifested as fever of unknown origin. The diagnosis relied on abdominal CT-scanning. Tuberculous etiology was confirmed postoperatively by microbiologic and microscopic study. The antituberculous therapy was early started, but the patient died three months later as a consequence of a non-infectious abdominal aortic rupture. Clinicians should consider tuberculous etiology when the diagnosis of mycotic pseudoaneurysm is being entertained.


In [J. Graph Theory 13  (1989) 749—762], McCuaig and Shepherd gave an upper bound of the domination number for connected graphs with minimum degree at least two. In this paper, we propose a simple strategy which, together with the McCuaig-Shepherd theorem, gives a sharp upper bound of the domination number via the number of leaves. We also apply the same strategy to other domination-like invariants, and find a relationship between such invariants and the number of leaves.


PY-1 is one of the few fields in India producing hydrocarbons from Fractured Basement Reservoir. The field was developed with nine slot unmanned platform with gas exported through a 56 km 4" multiphase pipeline to landfall point at Pillaperumalnallur. Field was put on production in November 2009 with three extended reach wells.
 The production performance of the field had some surprise and declined earlier than expected. As a result, based on the conclusions drawn from an integrated subsurface study, a two wells re-entry campaign to side track wells Mercury and Earth was planned to be executed in Q1 2018.
 The objectives of this paper are twofold:Review the production performance of a granitic basement gas field and share learnings which may be useful for similar fields being developed elsewhere.Share the fit-for-purpose modelling workflow adopted to identify the opportunities and estimate reserves

 The workflow consisted of following:Key uncertainties impacting GIIP and recovery were ascertained through subsurface and production data analysisAnalytical reservoir engineering tools such as material balance was used to estimate GIIP from production and pressure analysis. Importance of having PDG installed in offshore wells with unmanned platforms are highlighted.The uncertain petrophysical parameters such as porosity and was constrained based on GIIP estimates from material balanceProsper models were used to understand and predict the well performance and optimal tubing size to avoid liquid loadingFit-for-purpose simulation models were constructed to quantify impact of key uncertainties on production forecast and recovery
 In order to mitigate the operational risks, drilling services were outsourced as a turnkey project to an industry leading service provider.


In Belarus, the historical geography is a relatively new and slowly developing discipline. It is widely acknowledged that its founder was Mikhail Spirydonau as he was the author of the first, published in 1993, detailed map of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania after signing the Union of Lublin, as well as the maps of particular districts. It was he who laid the foundations of the discipline and his maps are at the core of entire body of the geohistorical knowledge on The Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the following years, the researchers Viachaslau Nasievich, Viktar Ciemushau, Andrei Miacielski and others had introduced into the scientific literature a great amount of data on the history of borders and population of the GDL, though the article only lists those works which contain maps or other cartographic editions. A number of historical atlases were also published, the most important of which is the 'Great Historical Atlas of Belarus' edited by V. Nasievich. The eastern border of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14 th until the first half of the 16 th c. was the subject of studies by V. Ciemushau. Currently, despite a great number of elaborated and published maps and atlases, the publications still lack works on historical geography, which would tackle and justify the administrative borders of the GDL and which would depict its settlement network. Such works present a great challenge, as this most important period covers over half of the millennium of Belarusian history. AA typical disquisition on the history of a particular administrative unit, which is a district, since it origins until its end in the 18 th c. is seen as the most desirable scientific approach to the topic. It can be achieved by studying the population and the borders of particular estates (the ones at the borders of the neighbouring districts in particular). The work which is the closest to this model is the monograph by A. Miacielski on the Principality and Voivodship of Mstsislaw.


Objectives: Sjögren 's syndrome (SS) is the most common autoimmune, multisystemic rheumatic disease. The wide spectrum of the signs and symptoms of SS often causes difficulties in diagnosis. Patients can apply with different complaints to general practitioners and many different specialists, apart from internists and ophthalmologists, who frequently encounter the disease. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the initial complaints of the patients who have been diagnosed with SS. Materials and Methods: Sixty-six patients who were diagnosed with primary SS according to 2012 or 2016 classification criteria were included in the study. The clinical and laboratory features were retrospectively evaluated. Results: The female/male ratio was 60/6. The initial complaint of most patients (n:34) was arthralgia or arthritis (51.51%). ANA was positive in 56 patients (84.84%), RF in 19 (28.78%), but not evaluated in 7 (10.6%), anti-SS-A in 29 (43.93%), and anti-SS-B in 16 (24.24%). Sixty-three patients had a positive Schirmer test. Minor salivary gland biopsy was obtained in 42 patients, and 28 had biopsy findings consistent with SS. Conclusion: SS is a common disease with a wide variety of clinical presentations. A detailed evaluation of patients is necessary to provide an accurate diagnosis and proper care.


Active and passive seismology require high-resolution, low-level signal acquisition. In both methods, the equipment most widely used to acquire seismic data in the marine environment is an ocean bottom seismometer (OBS). We designed and built a high-resolution acquisition system prototype for an OBS that is mainly used in active seismic experiments in which maps are generated of the width and material of ocean bottom sublayers. Other OBS system applications, in which the objective is to estimate the location and magnitude of an earthquake require higher autonomy. When an OBS is used in a permanent seafl oor observatory with no power supply limitation, it can generate tsunami alert signals to shore.


Instances of left atrial (LA) thrombus and spontaneous echo contrast were evaluated by both transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and subsequent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in 50 patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis (Group I) and 52 patients with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation (Group II). Among these 102 patients, TEE detected LA thrombi in 16 patients (15.7%) and spontaneous echo contrast in 35 (34.3%). In contrast, TTE revealed LA thrombi in only 8 patients (7.8%) and spontaneous echo contrast in only 2 patients (2.0%). All of the LA thrombi and spontaneous echoes detected by TTE were also found by TEE. When TEE was applied, patients with spontaneous echo contrast had a significantly higher incidence of LA thrombus than did those without this echo (42.8% vs 1.5%, p less than 0.01). Spontaneous echo contrast was coexistent in all but one of the patients with LA thrombi (15 of 16, 93.7%). In Group I, the incidence of spontaneous echo contrast for patients with isolated or predominant mitral stenosis was high (68.3%) when TEE was applied, but this echo was not observed in any patient who had more than a moderate degree of mitral regurgitation. In Group II, 7 patients (13.5%) were also found to have spontaneous echo contrast, which could only be detected by TEE. Of these 7 patients, LA thrombus was noted in 4 by TEE, but only in 1 by TTE. Thus, it can be concluded that: (1) TEE is superior to TTE for detecting LA thrombus and spontaneous echo contrast; (2) spontaneous echo contrast in LA is not only frequently encountered in mitral stenosis without significant mitral regurgitation, but is also found in some patients with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation; and (3) the presence of spontaneous echo contrast is associated with a higher incidence of LA thrombus and may be considered as a warning sign for further formation of LA thrombus.


Objective: Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) develops due to increased expression of systemic pro-inflammatory cytokines in patients with the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Immune modulators have been used in anti-cytokine therapy, with the hypothesis that they can ensure cytokine inhibition and treat cytokine storm. The present study aimed to evaluate inflammatory and prognostic biomarkers in severe COVID-19 cases treated with tocilizumab (TCZ) alone or with the combination of tocilizumab and convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT).
Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, data archives of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) and who were treated with TCZ alone or the combination of CPT and TCZ were evaluated in line with the literature. The obtained data were statistically evaluated and the alpha significance value was taken as <0.05.
Results: Post-treatment C-reactive protein (CRP) (76.19% in TCZ-administered group; 89.32% in TCZ+CPT-administered group) (P<0.05), troponin I (TNI) (25.64% in TCZ-administered group; 90.39% in TCZ+CPT-administered group) (P<0.05), and ferritin (FER) (63.63% in the TCZ-administered group; 9.09% in the TCZ+CPT-administered) (P<0.05) levels were decreased compared to pre-treatment stage. The mean length of hospital stay was longer in the patients treated with TCZ alone (21.55±8.89 days) than in the patients treated with the combination of TCZ and CPT (27.09±13.66 days) (P<0.05).

Conclusion: There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of demographic characteristics. The combination of TCZ and CPT treatment did not decrease the mortality. A significant decrease in CRP and TNI levels was observed in the patients treated with TCZ alone and with the combination of TCZ and CPT. A decrease in FER levels showed the effectiveness of the treatments.


The emphasis of modern chemistry is to satisfy the needs of consumers by using methods that are sustainable and economical. Using a 1% AuPd/Mg(OH)2 catalyst in the presence of NaOH and under specific reaction conditions furfural; a platform chemical formed from lignocellulosic biomass, can be selectively oxidised to furoic acid, and the catalyst displays promising reusability for this reaction. The mechanism of this conversion is complex with multiple competing pathways possible. The experimental conditions and AuPd metal ratio can be fine-tuned to provide enhanced control of the reaction selectivity. Activation energies were derived for the homogeneous Cannizzaro pathway and the catalytic oxidation of furfural using the initial rates methodology. This work highlights the potential of using a heterogeneous catalyst for the oxidation of furfural to furoic acid that has potential for commercial application.


Robert G. Tabor (Taborsky), 89, died on Jan. 21 in Austin, Texas. "I honestly can say my father was the most decent man I ever met, and he did not have a condemning or paternalistic bone in his body. He was an egalitarian. My father taught me to be fascinated by nature and experimentation and to wonder. He wanted me to be a scientist but was never pushy about it and accepted my artistic bent 100%. I was not ready to see him go; I was thinking he would live to be 100 years old."—Laura Tabor-Huerta, daughter Most recent title: consultant and expert witness Education: B.S. chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, 1952; M.S., chemistry, Adelbert College, 1954; Ph.D., organic chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, 1957 Survivors: daughter, Laura Tabor-Huerta; one grandson To recognize your late loved one or colleague, submit obituary information at cenm.ag/obits.


As global climates change, the incidence and severity of diseases in natural ecosystems also appears to be increasing. This has been linked to increasingly stressful conditions, which can lead to more susceptible hosts and environmental effects on pathogen abundance and virulence. Recently, environmentally-mediated diseases have affected a diverse range of both terrestrial and marine organisms. The ecological impacts of diseases are likely to be more severe when they affect habitat-forming organisms like trees, corals and seaweeds, as any impacts could cascade throughout entire communities. In marine environments, organisms are exposed to persistently high densities of potentially pathogenic microorganisms, which can affect habitat-formers like corals and seagrasses. On temperate rocky reefs, the dominant habitat-formers are seaweeds. Here we review recent work on a chemically defended seaweed, and a bleaching phenomenon common in natural populations near Sydney, Australia. The prevalence of bleaching is positively correlated with water temperature and negatively correlated with concentrations of secondary metabolites in the alga, which are known to inhibit bacteria. Bleaching is associated with a shift in the composition of microbial communities on algal surfaces and can be induced via exposure to ambient seawater microbes and cultures of putative pathogens. Direct consequences of bleaching include reductions in algal growth and fecundity. Bleaching also has indirect ecological effects on the alga, with bleached individuals attracting higher densities of herbivores and preferential consumption of bleached tissues. This environmentally-mediated bleaching phenomenon appears to be the result of complex interactions between increasing ocean temperatures, host defences and pathogen virulence and has significant implications for this habitat-forming organism and the community it supports.


A signal-piloted linear phase filtering tactic for removing baseline wander and power-line interference from the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is suggested. The system is capable of adjusting its parameters by following the incoming signal variations. It renders the processing of lesser samples by inferior order filters. The applicability is demonstrated by using the MIT-BIH ECG database. The precision of the approach is also studied regarding the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Results showed that the proposed method achieves a 2.18-fold compression gain and notable computational efficiency over conventional counterpart while securing an analogous output SNR. A comparison of the designed solution is made with the contemporary empirical mode decomposition with Kalman filtering and eigenvalue decomposition based tactics. Results show that the suggested method performs better in terms of output SNR for the studied cases.


This article revisits a controversy that initially unfolded three decades ago. The immediate impetus for revisiting the controversy is the thirtieth anniversary of the 1989 protests that ended in a massacre in Tiananmen Square. An intermediate reason is to reflect on how the methodological questions at the heart of that controversy are still very much alive as the protean field of Chinese studies continues reinventing itself in relation to theory. A still deeper reason is to rethink, via Bruno Latour, the status of fiction in the age of posttruth and fake news—a task incumbent upon all of us who call ourselves literary scholars.


This paper applies the insights of the carbon leakage literature to study the emissions consequences of biofuel policies. We develop a simple analytic framework to decompose the intended emissions impacts of biofuel policy from four sources of carbon leakage: domestic fuel markets, domestic land markets, world land markets and world crude oil markets. A numerical simulation model illustrates the magnitude of each source of leakage for combinations of two current US biofuel policies: the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In the presence of both land and fuel market leakage, current US biofuel policies are unlikely to reduce greenhouse gases. Four of the five policy scenarios we consider lead to increases in greenhouse gas emissions. That is, total leakage was greater than 100%. The single scenario that generates emissions savings, the removal of the VEETC in conjunction with a binding RFS, only does so because negative leakage in the domestic fuel market offset the remaining positive sources of leakage.


This paper presents a low hardware overhead test pattern generator (TPG) for scan-based built-in self-test (BIST) that can reduce switching activity in circuits under test (CUTs) during BIST and also achieve very high fault coverage with reasonable lengths of test sequences. The proposed BIST TPG decreases transitions that occur at scan inputs during scan shift operations and hence reduces switching activity in the CUT. The proposed BIST is comprised of two TPGs: LT-RTPG and 3weight WRBIST. Test patterns generated by the LT-RTPG detect easy-to-detect faults and test patterns generated by the 3-weight WRBIST detect faults that remain undetected after LT-RTPG patterns are applied. The proposed BIST TPG does not require modification of mission logics, which can lead to performance degradation. Experimental results for ISCAS'89 benchmark circuits demonstrate that the proposed BIST can significantly reduce switching activity during BIST while achieving 100% fault coverage for all ISCAS'89 benchmark circuits. Larger reduction in switching activity is achieved in large circuits. Experimental results also show that the proposed BIST can be implemented with low area overhead.


Photogrammetry is a classical remote sensing technique dating back to the 19th century that allows geologists to make three-dimensional observations in two-dimensional images using human stereopsis. Pioneering work in the 1980s and 1990s (Dueholm 1992) combined the use of vertical (nadirlooking) aerial photographs with oblique stereo images from handheld small-frame cameras into so-called multi-model photogrammetry. This was a huge technological step forward that made it possible to map, in three dimensions, steep terrain that would otherwise be inaccessible or poorly resolved in conventional nadir-looking imagery. The development was fundamental to the mapping and investigation of e.g. the Nuussuaq basin (Pedersen et al. 2006). Digital photogrammetry, the all-digital version of multi-model photogrammetry, is nowadays an efficient and powerful geological tool that is used by the Photogeological Laboratory at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) to address geological problems in a range of projects from 3D mapping to image-based surface reconstruction and orthophoto production. Here we present an updated description (complementary to Dueholm 1992) of the analytical procedures in the typical digital workflow used in current 3Dmapping projects at GEUS.


Objective To investigate whether an early rehabilitation intervention initiated during acute admission for exacerbations of chronic respiratory disease reduces the risk of readmission over 12 months and ameliorates the negative effects of the episode on physical performance and health status. Design Prospective, randomised controlled trial. Setting An acute cardiorespiratory unit in a teaching hospital and an acute medical unit in an affiliated teaching district general hospital, United Kingdom. Participants 389 patients aged between 45 and 93 who within 48 hours of admission to hospital with an exacerbation of chronic respiratory disease were randomised to an early rehabilitation intervention (n=196) or to usual care (n=193). Main outcome measures The primary outcome was readmission rate at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included number of hospital days, mortality, physical performance, and health status. The primary analysis was by intention to treat, with prespecified per protocol analysis as a secondary outcome. Interventions Participants in the early rehabilitation group received a six week intervention, started within 48 hours of admission. The intervention comprised prescribed, progressive aerobic, resistance, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation training. Patients also received a self management and education package. Results Of the 389 participants, 320 (82%) had a primary diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 233 (60%) were readmitted at least once in the following year (62% in the intervention group and 58% in the control group). No significant difference between groups was found (hazard ratio 1.1, 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 1.43, P=0.4). An increase in mortality was seen in the intervention group at one year (odds ratio 1.74, 95% confidence interval 1.05 to 2.88, P=0.03). Significant recovery in physical performance and health status was seen after discharge in both groups, with no significant difference between groups at one year. Conclusion Early rehabilitation during hospital admission for chronic respiratory disease did not reduce the risk of subsequent readmission or enhance recovery of physical function following the event over 12 months. Mortality at 12 months was higher in the intervention group. The results suggest that beyond current standard physiotherapy practice, progressive exercise rehabilitation should not be started during the early stages of the acute illness. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN05557928.


Empirical studies conducted by both Australian and American researchers have established law school's causative role in increasing law student psychological distress. The purpose of this article is to highlight the role that law school curriculum might play in addressing this problem. By utilising lessons from the field of positive psychology (and in particular hope theory) a first-year law subject at the Queensland University of Technology has been specifically designed to promote law student well-being. Traditional legal education and pedagogy do not hold the answers for addressing this social phenomenon. A first-year curriculum that introduces students to alternative dispute resolution, non-adversarial justice, resilience and the positive role of lawyers in society may go some way to addressing the law student well-being challenge.


In the recent years, there is an increasing number of the diabetes incidence worldwide. Self-care is believed as one of key in chronic disease management. In order to increase the capability to self-care, diabetics patients need to be empowered with the knowledge and skills through an educational program. There were some existed diabetes educational programs, however for developing country such as Indonesia, there was a need to develop a culturally relevant diabetes education program. This study was aimed to identify feasibility and the effect of the Indonesian Group-based Diabetes Education Program (InGDEP) on knowledge and self-care behaviors among type 2 diabetic patients. This quasi experimental with one group pre-and post-test only design involved 62 diabetic patients and 16 health professionals who actively delivered the program in four community health centers (Puskesmas). Data were collected using Diabetes Knowledge Questionnaire (DKQ) and Summary of Self Care Activities (SDSCA). Paired t-test used to analyze the effect of the InGDEP on the knowledge, self-care, and biometric measurement (HbA1c). The knowledge score for pre-test was 13.2+3.9 and post-test was 16.1±3.5, self-care activities score for pre-test was 3.31±1.10 and post-test was 3.99±1.27 and the HbA1C level was 10.56±2.32 The results showed there was the significant effect of InGDEP on diabetes patients' knowledge, some changes in self-care and biometric measurements even though it was not significant. The program also can be accepted by the health professionals where there was a good team work in delivering the educational program. It can be recommended that the InGDEP has an effect in improving knowledge and self-care among diabetics' patients, however since the effect on self-care and biometric changes was not significant, further research related to the factors that influence the self-care and biometric changes is needed.


This research aimed to compare the short and long-term effects of technology-supported and inquiry-based teaching prepared within the scope of energy transformation on students' academic achievement. It was designed as an exploratory action research case study. The research group consisted of forty-three students studying at the seventh grade (between thirteen-fourteen ages) of a public middle school in Turkey during the fall semester of the 2017 year. One of the classes with a similar academic background in the school where the researcher also worked as a science teacher was assigned as the experimental group and the other as the control group. The activities in the experimental group were carried out in a technology-supported manner using PhET simulations supported by also worksheets, while the control group was taught based on inquiry-based hands-on laboratory activities by worksheets. The data were collected through an achievement test consisting of open-ended questions and scoring with a rubric. The test was implemented twice, after the interventions, and in the following sixth month for both groups. Normally distributed data were compared with interdependent and paired-samples t-tests. The results showed that although the achievement scores for the technology-supported teaching group were significantly higher in the post test, no difference between the scores at the end of the sixth months, and significant information losses were experienced in both groups, with the most technology-supported science teaching.


To investigate the respective roles of Th1 and Th2 cells in the pathogenesis of lupus-like autoimmune disease, we have analyzed the spontaneous and antigen-induced productions of IgG1 vs IgG2a and IgG3 subclasses in relation to the mRNA expression of INF-gamma (Th1 cytokine promoting IgG2a and IgG3 production), IL-4 (Th2 cytokine promoting IgG1 production), and IL-10 (Th2 cytokine) in CD4+ T cells from lupus-prone MRL mice. For this purpose, two paired sets of MRL mice were chosen for the comparison of these parameters: (a) MRL-lpr/lpr (lpr for lymphoproliferation) and its recently described substrain with a prolonged survival, termed MRL-lpr/lpr.ll (ll for long lived) and (b) MRL male mice bearing the Yaa (Y-linked autoimmune acceleration) gene (MRL.Yaa) with an accelerated disease and their male counterparts lacking the Yaa gene. We demonstrate herein that the accelerated development of lupus-like autoimmune disease in MRL-lpr/lpr and MRL.Yaa mice, as compared with MRL-lpr/lpr.ll and MRL-+/+ mice, respectively, was correlated with an enhanced expression of IFN-gamma vs IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA in CD4+ T cells, which paralleled with an increase of spontaneous and foreign T cell-dependent antigen-induced productions of IgG2a and IgG3 vs IgG1 antibodies. These data suggest that an imbalance towards Th1 predominance may play a significant role in the acceleration of lupus-like autoimmune disease in MRL mice.


There are several alternatives to passive strategies in the early stages of the design process including orientation, window to wall ratio, shading device, material and colour that affect occupants' visual comfort. However, applying simple traditional principles such as using colorful glasses for windows are effective in the optimizing of visual comfort at interior space. The main aim of the current research is investigating the appropriate colors to control direct sunlight for meeting visual comfort criteria based on climatic-luminance metrics. Which combination of them would be more effective for optimizing visual comfort in terms of daylight glare probability? In particular, how can combination of lattice frame and Iranian-Islamic pattern improve visual comfort based on aforementioned metrics? Quantitative approach for evaluating colorful glass daylight performance is relatively rare. Moreover, these studies applied laboratory measurements and numerical calculation for exploring colorful glass performance. However, parametric simulation provides an opportunity for investigating daylight performance of colored glass based on new perspectives. This research reintroduces the main application of colorful glass as a light controller in the window that considerably affects climatic-luminance based metrics containing daylight autonomy (DA), useful daylight illuminance (UDI), exceeded UDI and daylight glare probability (DGP). A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods have been applied in order to generate hypotheses and then analyze them. Parametric simulation analysis proves that colored glass has the capability to improve occupant's visual comfort during office time. Moreover, an appropriate combination of lattice frame and Iranian-Islamic patterns with colored glass in the Orosi window considerably depends on function, climate and occupant behaviour.


The criticality of academic computing in engineering education has become increasingly evident. The Harvey Mudd College engineering program, which emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving, wherein the various engineering areas, such as chemical, computer, electrical, mechanical, and structural, use the computer as a common educational tool, is described. The client/server computing model mirrors the Harvey Mudd College interdisciplinary education environment. Specific actions taken in two areas, network development and distributed computing, required for an academic computing environment based on the client/server model are discussed. >


The transformation of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data into apparent resisitivity and depth is traditionally made separately for each measurement point and does not take into account the neighbouring data or model values or multiple frequencies. Laterally constrained inversion, where the model roughness is minimized together with the data error using a 1-D layered earth model, provides an easy and fast method to transform multi-frequency AEM data into a physically more meaningful form. The method is based on linearised inversion, singular value decomposition and adaptive damping together with Occam type constraining for model roughness. The new inversion method is implemented in the AEMINV program program, the graphical user interface of which is based on the DISLIN graphics library. Thus, it can be compiled and run on a variety of computer platforms without major modifications. The inversion method was found stable and computationally efficient. Because the model is one-dimensional, the results show apparent resistivity and depth although the inversion yields 2-D resistivity pseudo-sections. The AEM inversion using a two-layer model, however, gives a possibility to map separately the overburden conductance and basement resisitivity.


Count data models are based on definite counts of events as dependent variables. But there are practical situations in which these counts may fail to be specific and are seen as imprecise. In this paper, an assumption that heaped data points are fuzzy is used as a way of identifying counts that are not definite since heaping can result from imprecisely reported counts. Because it is practically unlikely to report all counts in an entire dataset as imprecise, this paper proposes a likelihood function that not only considers both precise and imprecisely reported counts but also incorporates α - cuts of fuzzy numbers with the aim of varying impreciseness of fuzzy reported counts. The proposed model is then illustrated through a smoking cessation study data that attempts to identify factors associated with the number of cigarettes smoked in a month. Through the real data illustration and a simulation study, it is shown that the proposed model performs better in predicting the outcome counts especially when the imprecision of the fuzzy points in a dataset are increased. The results also show that inclusion of α - cuts makes it possible to identify better models, a feature that was not previously possible.


The paper presents an evaluation of four clustering algorithms: k-means, average linkage, complete linkage, and Ward's method, with the latter three being different hierarchical methods. The quality of the clusters created by the algorithms was measured in terms of cluster cohesiveness and semantic cohesiveness, and both quantitative and predicate-based similarity criteria were considered.Two similarity matrices were calculated as weighted sums of a set of selected MPEG-7 color feature descriptors (representing color, texture and shape), to measure the effectiveness of clustering subsets of COREL color photo images. The best quality clusters were formed by the average-linkage hierarchical method. Even though weighted texture and shape similarity measures were used in addition to total color, average-linkage outperformed k-means in the formation of both semantic and cohesive clusters. Notably, though, the addition of texture and shape features degraded cluster quality for all three hierarchical methods.


We present a deep-learning model for inferring missing molecules in reaction equations. Such an algorithm features multiple interesting behaviors. First, it can infer the necessary reagents and solvents in chemical transformations specified only in terms of main compounds, as often resulting from retrosynthetic analyses. The completion with necessary reagents ensures that reaction equations are compatible with deep-learning models relying on a complete reaction specification. Second, it can cure existing datasets by detecting missing compounds, such as reagents that are essential for given classes of reactions. Finally, this model is a generalization of models for forward reaction prediction and retrosynthetic analysis, as both can be formulated in terms of incomplete reaction equations. We illustrate that a single trained model, based on the transformer architecture and acting on reaction SMILES strings, can address all three points.Workshop paper at the Machine Learning for Molecules Workshop at NeurIPS 2020.


Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) is a special type of artificial neural network (ANN), that differs from the widely used approaches. It is suited to efficiently model sequential data (including time series). The network implements a variable order sequence memory, it is trained by Hebbian learning and all of the network's activations are binary and sparse. The network consists of four separable units. First, the encoder layer translates the numerical input into sparse binary vectors. The Spatial Pooler performs normalization and models the spatial features of the encoded input. The Temporal Memory is responsible for learning the Spatial Pooler's normalized output sequence. Finally, the decoder takes the Temporal Memory's outputs and translates it to the target. The connections in the network are also sparse, which requires prudent design and implementation. In this paper a sparse matrix implementation is elaborated, it is compared to the dense implementation. Furthermore, the HTM's performance is evaluated in terms of accuracy, speed and memory complexity and compared to the deep neural network-based LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory).


A new model for simulating rail roughness growth on tangent track is presented in this paper. The model consists of three relatively independent components: (1) a time-domain vehicle/track interaction model; (2) a 2D non-Hertzian and non-steady wheel/rail contact model; and (3) a wear model. Wheel/rail contact forces for a given initial roughness obtained from the vehicle/track interaction model are used by the contact model to calculate the contact patch size, normal pressure and tangential stresses with material removal assumed to be linearly proportional to the friction work in the contact patch. The roughness profile is updated and fed back into vehicle/track interaction model. The 2D contact model is initially compared with a 3D model for various wavelength of initial sinusoidal roughness. Long term roughness growth is then simulated with the 2D contact model. Simulation shows that all initial sinusoidal roughness of wavelengths between 20–100 mm are levelled out. The wavelength-fixing mechanism, that has previously been used to explain the cause of corrugation, is not found in the present investigations.


This paper focuses on the structure of the phytoplankton and macrobenthic invertebrates communities in a productive solar saltworks, as well as the major abiotic determinants of the observed biotic patterns. The observed patterns in the structure of the biotic communities attest that the ecosystem of the low salinity ponds of Kalloni Saltworks is similar to a productive coastal lagoon. Major abiotic determinants include the salinity and confinement gradients, as well as inorganic nutrients loads. The episodic enrichment of the water column in the ponds with either new nutrients from the incoming seawater, or regenerated nutrients released from the sediment, was shown to stimulate the growth to bloom levels of phytoplankton species indicative of organic enrichment and coastal eutrophication. Algal biomass and the accumulated detritus and organic matter on and within the sediment are exploited by opportunistic herbivores and deposit feeders tolerant to organic enrichment. Management measures are needed for the mitigation of the productiveness of the low salinity ponds, e.g. lower water residence times, a shallower water column, facilitation of the oxygenation of the sediment, sediment removal in winter and culture and harvesting of the naturally occuring, edible Cerastoderma glaucum bivalves.


The main objective of this article is the implementation of knowledge in organizations, taking place in the context of development projects. Some of the issues discussed are: What kind of learning conditions do the development projects have to offer? What are the causes and consequences of different levels of engagement from the staff in the projects? Why is often so difficult to transfer what is learned or implemented by the organization during the projects to the everyday activities of the organization after the finishing of projects? In the article a typology of development projects is presented and discussed as different ways of framing the organizational learning processes. The article is based on an empirical study of four organizational development projects (covering the organizations as a whole) run by four Danish upper secondary schools("gymnasium"). The study included questionnaires as well as interviews with the management and staff, plus a survey of selected written materials and documents 1 . In the various ways in which different groupings among the staff and the management are relating to the project are described. A special focus is set on the different perspectives on the projects established by the staff and the management and how the perspectives have consequences on the actual learning outcomes of the different groups in the organization. Another issue is the weak links between what is experienced by the staff as "ordinary problems" his objectives and goals of the development projects. The theoretical frame of analysis has references to the "outside-in" perspective on organizational learning, presented by the neo-institutional theory (Scott 1995 DiMaggion& Powell 1983, Czarniawska & Sevon 2005, Rovik 2007) Nanoka and Takeuchis model of knowledge transformations in organizations (Nonaka & Takeuchi 1995) and of the forms of the knowledge), Argyris and Ellstrom"s distinction between the learning modes of correction and development (Ellstrom 2001, Argyris 1992).


Fourteen young Chinese marmots (Marmota bobak sibirica Radde) were randomly allocated to two groups of seven each. They were injected intrahepatically with a standard woodchuck hepatitis virus challenge pool or a negative pool, prepared from sera of woodchucks with and without woodchuck hepatitis virus infection, respectively. Marmot No. 2 in the experimental group experienced an episode of seroconversion from woodchuck hepatitis surface antigen to anti-woodchuck hepatitis antibody. Woodchuck hepatitis virus DNA was detected, and woodchuck hepatitis surface antigen particles of both spherical and filamentous forms and intact woodchuck hepatitis virus virions were found in its serum. By contrast, none of the control group animals (receiving the negative pool) produced any marker of woodchuck hepatitis virus. This suggests that young Chinese marmots can get woodchuck hepatitis virus infection.


Members of genus Skermanella were described as Gram-negative, motile, aerobic, rod-shaped, obligate-heterotrophic bacteria and unable to fix nitrogen. In this study, the genome sequence of Skermanella stibiiresistens SB22T is reported. Phylogenetic analysis using core proteins confirmed the phylogenetic assignment based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Strain SB22T has all the proteins for complete glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle and pentose phosphate pathway. The RuBisCO encoding genes cbbL1S1 and nitrogenase delta subunit gene anfG are absent, consistent with its inability to fix carbon and nitrogen, respectively. In addition, the genome possesses a series of flagellar assembly and chemotaxis genes to ensure its motility.


Due to its wide direct band gap and large exciton binding energy allowing for efficient excitonic emission at room temperature, ZnO has attracted attention as a luminescent material in various applications such as UV-light emitting diodes, chemical sensors and solar cells. While low-cost growth techniques, such as chemical bath deposition (CBD), of ZnO thin films and nanostructures have been already reported; nevertheless, ZnO thin films and nanostructures grown by costly techniques, such as metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, still present the most interesting properties in terms of crystallinity and internal quantum efficiency. In this work, we report on highly efficient and highly crystalline ZnO micropods grown by CBD at a low temperature (< 90°C). XRD and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) investigations on as-grown ZnO micropods revealed a highly crystalline ZnO structure and a strong UV excitonic emission with internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of 10% at room temperature. Thermal annealing at 900°C of the as-grown ZnO micropods leads to further enhancement in their structural and optical properties. Low-temperature PL measurements on annealed ZnO micropods showed the presence of phonon replicas, which was not the case for as-grown samples. The appearance of phonon replicas provides a strong proof of the improved crystal quality of annealed ZnO micropods. Most importantly, low-temperature PL reveals an improved IQE of 15% in the excitonic emission of ZnO micropods. The ZnO micropods IQE reported here are comparable to IQEs reported on ZnO structures obtained by costly and more complex growth techniques. These results are of great interest demonstrating that high quality ZnO microstructures can be obtained at low temperatures using a low-cost CBD growth technique.


Your CECH Library guide to resources in support of the study of literacy and teaching English as a second or foreign language.


Background. The impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) replication is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess factors associated with cervicovaginal HSV-2 DNA shedding and genital ulcer disease (GUD) in a cohort of women living with human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) in Burkina Faso. Methods. Participants were screened for cervicovaginal HSV-2 DNA, GUD, cervicovaginal and systemic HIV-1 RNA, and reproductive tract infections every 3–6 months over 8 years. Associations with HSV-2 shedding and quantity were examined using random-effects logistic and linear regression, respectively. Results. Of the 236 women with data on HSV-2 shedding, 151 took ART during the study period. Cervicovaginal HSV-2 DNA was detected in 42% of women (99 of 236) in 8.2% of visits (151 of 1848). ART was associated with a reduction in the odds of HSV-2 shedding, which declined for each year of ART use (odds ratio [OR], 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], .59–.92). In the multivariable model, the impact of ART was primarily associated with suppression of systemic HIV-1 RNA (adjusted OR, 0.32; 95% CI, .15–.67). A reduction in the odds of GUD was also observed during ART, mainly in those with HIV-1 suppression (adjusted OR, 0.53; 95% CI, .25–1.11). Conclusions. ART is strongly associated with a decrease in cervicovaginal HSV-2 shedding, and the impact was sustained over several years.


BLAST, short for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, is a fundamental algorithm in the life sciences that compares biological sequences. However, with the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and increase in sequence read-lengths, whether at the outset or downstream from NGS, the exponential growth of sequence databases is arguably outstripping our ability to analyze the data. Though several recent studies have utilized the graphics processing unit (GPU) to speedup the BLAST algorithm for searching protein sequences (i.e., BLASTP), these studies used coarse-grained parallel approaches, where one sequence alignment is mapped to only one thread. Moreover, due to the irregular memory access patterns in BLASTP, there remain significant challenges to map the most time-consuming phases (i.e., hit detection and ungapped extension) to the GPU using a fine-grained multithreaded approach. To address the above issues, we propose cuBLASTP, an efficient fine-grained BLASTP implementation for the GPU using CUDA. Our cuBLASTP realization encompasses many research contributions, including (1) memory-access reordering to reorder hits from column-major order to diagonal-major order, (2) position-based indexing to map a hit with a packed data structure to a bin, (3) aggressive hit filtering to eliminate hits beyond the threshold distance along the diagonal, (4) diagonal-based parallelism and hit-based parallelism for ungapped extension to extend sequences with different lengths in databases, and (5) hierarchical buffering to reduce memory-access overhead for the core data structures. The experimental results show that on a NVIDIA Kepler GPU, cuBLASTP delivers up to a 5.0-fold speedup over sequential FSA-BLAST and a 3.7-fold speedup over multithreaded NCBI-BLAST for the overall program execution. In addition, compared with GPU-BLASTP (the fastest GPU implementation of BLASTP to date), cuBLASTP achieves up to a 2.8-fold speedup for the kernel execution on the GPU and a 1.8-fold speedup for the overall program execution.


This doctoral thesis aims to use general assertions of moral uncertainty as a perspective by which to explore and illuminate contemporary strands of liberal theory. It examines the work of the earlier theorists, including John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Ronald Dworkin and Bruce Ackerman, as well as more recent accounts of liberalism that express ideas of pluralism (Michael Walzer, Joseph Raz, John Gray, William Galston, George Crowder), political liberalism (John Rawls, Charles Larmore), public reason (Amy Gutmann & Dennis Thompson, Gerald Gaus), multiculturalism (Charles Taylor, Will Kymlicka, Brian Barry, James Tully, and Bikhu Parekh), and postmodernism (Richard Rorty). The development from the earlier to more recent liberal theories represents a fundamental shift in justificatory strategy: where earlier liberal conceptions aim at universality, and at overcoming or transcending uncertainty, later approaches make this uncertainty, usually in the form of pluralism or difference, central to the liberal project. In order to achieve this, these latter theories tended to presuppose the circumstances of western society, or western democratic values. Generally speaking, these approaches fail to respond adequately to moral uncertainty, and to meet their own justificatory aims. This manifests, in the earlier theories, as plausible but contestable central conceptions, and, in the more recent theories, as the inability to justify particular liberal conceptions in the face of persistence difference. This is an important result, and suggests the need for further developments in liberal justificatory strategies. I suggest that one viable approach would be for liberal theory to accept moral uncertainty, and work from a model of society and self towards a more successful liberal conception.


Background: Serious burn prompts to a condition of hyper catabolism, bringing about fast muscle damage and long term disability. As life expectancy from severe burn are enhancing, early restoration is vital to boost functional recovery. The prevalence of burn in 2004 was 11 million worldwide. Objective of Study: To assess the effects of active range of motion exercises in combination with stretching exercises on burn patients. Methodology: It was aquasi-experimental study. The study was conducted in Burn and Plastic Surgery Department, Mayo Hospital, Lahore. The study was completed in ve months from September 2015 to February 2016 after the approval of synopsis.There was two groups and each group was allocated with 20 patients. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used. Group 1 received active range of motion and stretching exercises while group 2 received active range of motion exercises alone for three sessions a week for 4 weeks. Demographics data, pain intensity on visual analogue scale (VAS), functional status of affected region on burn functional assessment scale (BFAS) and range of motion through Goniometer were recorded before and after the treatment. Data were entered and analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. Results: Baseline measurements for pain intensity on VAS for group 1 was 7.04+1.46 that changed to 1.71+0.56 and for group 2 it was changed from 6.684+1.25 to 2.63+0.76. Burn Functional Assessment Score for group 1 and 2 were 29.23+5.03 and 29.94+4.65 and that were changed to 8.86+2.69 and 12.42+2.06 respectively. Conclusion: Active range of motion along with stretching exercises was more effective than the active range of motion alone in reducing pain intensity, functional activities and range of motion of involved limb for treatment of burn patients.


The phenomenon of child headed households (CHH) is a ubiquitous pathological challenge in South Africa that requires strengthened responses. The study was grounded in the qualitative approach and a case study was employed as the research design. The target population for this study were children in child headed households identified in Zola 1, 2, 3 and Zola North, Soweto. The study also included social service professionals and other community structures that were supporting child headed households in the Zola area. In addition, the study included as its population, non-formal support structures involved with OVCY, like social auxiliary workers (8), project managers (2), social workers (10), volunteers/community caregivers (10), community leaders (2), educators (3), the clergy (2), neighbours (3). The child headed households were selected through purposive sampling for all the areas they access services from social workers. The findings revealed that community-based organisations play an eminent role of safeguarding children in child headed households. However, there is a disconnect between policy and practice that often leads to poor responses in effective child protection work around child headed households. The study findings reveal that there are internal and external policy weaknesses that impeded the quality of child protection responses. Internal issues were related to lack of proper guidelines and policies that underpinned what constituted a CHH and the appropriate services External policy challenges were related to poor coordination between agencies and the apparent lack of advocacy on the "duty to care" for professionals working with CHH. On the basis of the findings, it is recommended that the South African government should, among other things, provide a properly resourced, co-ordinated and well managed child protection system to facilitate constituency work that responds to the real needs of child headed households and SMART planning by social workers, with systemic teaming around CHH with the Department of Social Development as lead agency.
Key Terms: Department of Social Development (DSD), community structures, community-based organisations (CBO's), child-headed households (CHH), psycho-social support


BACKGROUND: Racial disparity exists in colorectal cancer outcomes. The reasons for this are multifactorial. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of equal treatment of blacks and whites in the elimination of racial disparity in colorectal cancer outcomes. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study of 878 patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed between 1998 and 2008 was done at a University tertiary referral center. Demographic variables including age, sex, and race were abstracted. Tumor-specific variables including American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, anatomic tumor location, vital status, and survival were obtained. Treatment-specific variables including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and follow-up were also obtained. Racial differences in these variables were studied and their effect on overall survival was determined by using univariate and multivariate analyses. The findings were then compared with previous data from our institution. SETTING: University tertiary referral center. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were overall survival and cancer-specific mortality. RESULTS: A total of 878 patients met the inclusion criteria, 186 (21.2%) of whom were black. Blacks were significantly younger at diagnosis in comparison with whites, with a median (quartiles) age of 55 years (28–87) compared with 59 years (23–94) (p = 0.0012). Equal proportions of blacks (78.5%) and whites (79.2%) underwent surgery (p = 0.84), similar proportions of blacks (55.4%) and whites (60.8%) received chemotherapy (p = 0.18), and similar proportions of blacks (17.2%) and whites (20.5%) received radiation therapy (p = 0.31). There was no difference in overall survival or cancer-specific mortality between the 2 racial groups. Univariate analysis showed American Joint Committee on Cancer stage and surgery as the only statistically significant factors for overall survival. On multivariate analysis, stage, surgery, and chemotherapy were the only statistically significant factors. Race was not an independent determinant of survival. CONCLUSIONS: There were no differences in overall survival and cancer-related mortality between blacks and whites, and this may have resulted from identical treatment. The previously noted disparities in treatment and overall survival at our institution have disappeared.


Current methods to analyze the Internet's router-level topology with paths collected using traceroute assume that the source address for each router in the path is either an inbound or off-path address on each router. In this work, we show that outbound addresses are common in our Internet-wide traceroute dataset collected by CAIDA's Ark vantage points in January 2020, accounting for 1.7% - 5.8% of the addresses seen at some point before the end of a traceroute. This phenomenon can lead to mistakes in Internet topology analysis, such as inferring router ownership and identifying interdomain links. We hypothesize that the primary contributor to outbound addresses is Layer 3 Virtual Private Networks (L3VPNs), and propose vrfinder, a technique for identifying L3VPN outbound addresses in traceroute collections. We validate vrfinder against ground truth from two large research and education networks, demonstrating high precision (100.0%) and recall (82.1% - 95.3%). We also show the benefit of accounting for L3VPNs in traceroute analysis through extensions to bdrmapIT, increasing the accuracy of its router ownership inferences for L3VPN outbound addresses from 61.5% - 79.4% to 88.9% - 95.5%.


— This paper presents a practical recognition method based on deep learning techniques, for fungal species, through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. A small number of images was acquired. To circumvent the issue of not having many samples, a method of generating the training set is proposed to increase target signatures and optimize the baseline quality of inputs for object recognition. To tackle the challenge of detecting varied scale targets, a sophisticated and powerful Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based on faster region R-CNN, with the prepared training dataset, was trained. In this study, the datasets for five different species of Aspergillus were previously collected via SEM. The proposed method is applied to identify the spore structures – conidia – in the images so as to recognize the species respectively. The initial experimental results show that the developed method can qualitatively and quantitatively identify the relevant species effectively, being of major importance for the development of easier diagnostic and identification tools in mycology.


Many of our most important crop species are polyploid – an unusual phenomenon whereby each chromosome is present in multiple copies (more than the usual two copies). The most common such arrangement is tetraploidy, where each chromosome is present four times. Plant species can tolerate this condition quite well (the same cannot be said of animals or humans). In fact, polyploidy can confer certain advantages such as larger fruits and flowers, seedless fruits (useful for fruit growers) or improved tolerance to environmental stresses. However, carrying multiple copies of each chromosome complicates things, particularly when crop breeders would like to use DNA information to help inform selection decisions. This PhD project looked at how DNA information of polyploids should be best analysed, developing methods and new software tools to achieve this. We analysed DNA information from polyploid crops such as potato, rose and chrysanthemum, yielding many novel insights and important results.


Wireless sensor networks (WSN) is an emerging technology, finds variety of applications in military, movement tracking, industries and medical fields. WSN are self configurable, self healing networks. In mobile sensor network, (MSN) nodes are free to move with wireless links without infrastructure. In this paper, we have studied the impact of various mobility models with AODV and DSDV routing protocols and have compared the throughput of the models. Parameters such as loss ratio, hop counts, velocity of the nodes are analyzed by varying the node density using various mobility models and routing protocols.


: Methyldopa (400 micrograms/ml) abolished neurally evoked contractions of the guinea-pig vas deferens after 1.5 hr incubation. The tissue became supersensitive to noradrenaline and acetylcholine but was now insensitive to potassium chloride. On the other hand, tissues treated with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) were supersensitive to noradrenaline but not to acetylcholine. The results suggest that cholinergic mechanisms may also be affected by methyldopa.


Thailand, electricity production form biogas has been interested for replacement nuclear and fossil power plants. Current status of electricity production from biogas is 155 MWe, and more potential of current capacity is 380 MWe. Additional, energy crops have a potential for another source of biogas. For this study, electricity production to 1000 MW was determined. Napier grass was considered, high growth rate and high production yield. Napier grass 190,000 acre can produce 1000 MW electricity. And economic analysis of electricity production 1 MW was studied, these results show that biogas for electricity 1MW power plant project is not economic under current condition in Thailand.


Great progress has been made in recent years towards understanding the properties of disordered electronic systems. In part, this is made possible by recent advances in quantum effective medium methods which enable the study of disorder and electron-electronic interactions on equal footing. They include dynamical mean-field theory and the Coherent Potential Approximation, and their cluster extension, the dynamical cluster approximation. Despite their successes, these methods do not enable the first-principles study of the strongly disordered regime, including the effects of electronic localization. The main focus of this review is the recently developed typical medium dynamical cluster approximation for disordered electronic systems. This method has been constructed to capture disorder-induced localization and is based on a mapping of a lattice onto a quantum cluster embedded in an effective typical medium, which is determined self-consistently. Unlike the average effective medium-based methods mentioned above, typical medium-based methods properly capture the states localized by disorder. The typical medium dynamical cluster approximation not only provides the proper order parameter for Anderson localized states, but it can also incorporate the full complexity of Density-Functional Theory (DFT)-derived potentials into the analysis, including the effect of multiple bands, non-local disorder, and electron-electron interactions. After a brief historical review of other numerical methods for disordered systems, we discuss coarse-graining as a unifying principle for the development of translationally invariant quantum cluster methods. Together, the Coherent Potential Approximation, the Dynamical Mean-Field Theory and the Dynamical Cluster Approximation may be viewed as a single class of approximations with a much-needed small parameter of the inverse cluster size which may be used to control the approximation. We then present an overview of various recent applications of the typical medium dynamical cluster approximation to a variety of models and systems, including single and multiband Anderson model, and models with local and off-diagonal disorder. We then present the application of the method to realistic systems in the framework of the DFT and demonstrate that the resulting method can provide a systematic first-principles method validated by experiment and capable of making experimentally relevant predictions. We also discuss the application of the typical medium dynamical cluster approximation to systems with disorder and electron-electron interactions. Most significantly, we show that in the limits of strong disorder and weak interactions treated perturbatively, that the phenomena of 3D localization, including a mobility edge, remains intact. However, the metal-insulator transition is pushed to larger disorder values by the local interactions. We also study the limits of strong disorder and strong interactions capable of producing moment formation and screening, with a non-perturbative local approximation. Here, we find that the Anderson localization quantum phase transition is accompanied by a quantum-critical fan in the energy-disorder phase diagram.


We do not understand how neural nodes operate and coordinate within the recurrent action-perception loops that characterize naturalistic self-environment interactions. Here, we record single-unit spiking activity and local field potentials (LFPs) simultaneously from the dorsomedial superior temporal area (MSTd), parietal area 7a, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as monkeys navigate in virtual reality to "catch fireflies." This task requires animals to actively sample from a closed-loop virtual environment while concurrently computing continuous latent variables: (i) the distance and angle travelled (i.e., path integration) and (ii) the distance and angle to a memorized firefly location (i.e., a hidden spatial goal). We observed a patterned mixed selectivity, with the prefrontal cortex most prominently coding for latent variables, parietal cortex coding for sensorimotor variables, and MSTd most often coding for eye-movements. However, even the traditionally considered sensory area (i.e., MSTd) tracked latent variables, demonstrating path integration and vector-coding of hidden spatial goals. Further, global encoding profiles and unit-to-unit coupling (i.e., noise correlations) suggested a functional subnetwork composed by MSTd and dlPFC, and not between these and 7a, as anatomy would suggest. We show that the greater the unit-to-unit coupling between MSTd and dlPFC, the more the animals' gaze position was indicative of the ongoing location of the hidden spatial goal. We suggest this MSTd-dlPFC subnetwork reflects the monkeys' natural and adaptive task strategy wherein they continuously gaze toward the location of the (invisible) target. Together, these results highlight the distributed nature of neural coding during closed action-perception loops and suggest that fine-grain functional subnetworks may be dynamically established to subserve (embodied) task strategies.


The effects of acetylcholine (ACh) and K+ on tension and membrane potential were studied in order to determine the role of electromechanical and pharmacomechanical coupling in ACh-induced contractions of dog trachealis muscle. Potassium causes sustained contractions of the muscle via membrane depolarization, which appears to be related in a linear manner to the log of the external K+ concentration. From the K+ experiments a curve relating membrane potential and tension was obtained. The resting membrane potential of the trachealis is -30 +/- 1 mV. At a dose of 10(-7) M ACh the membrane is depolarized to about -55 mV and then at 10(-6) M ACh there is more depolarization to about -40 mV. At higher doses of drug there is no further change in membrane potential. The relationship between the dose of ACh and tension is much different. Contraction begins at 10(-7) M ACh but does not saturate until a dose of 10(-3) M is reached. The data were interpreted by using the relationship between EM and tension from the K+ experiments and the ACh dose-response curves as follows. At 10(-7) M ACh only pharmacomechanical coupling is involved in the contraction. At higher drug doses both pharmaco- and electromechanical coupling are involved, but pharmacomechanical coupling appears to play a much greater role. The maximal contribution of electromechanical coupling is approximately 30% of the contraction and this occurs at 10(-6) M ACh.


Phytosanitary function of crop rotation is a known fact, so one of the basic motives for this work was to investigate its influence on the population densities of plant-parasitic nematodes. Long-term experiments, which are still in progress, were set up on luvic semigley on multi-layered Pleistocene sands on the experimental field of the Tobacco Institute Zagreb at Pitomaca. Along with tobacco monoculture, investigations also included seven different types of crop rotations. As key crop, tobacco is included in all crop rotations. Results obtained indicate that presence of the population of endoparasitic nematodes, genus Pratylenchus, was to some degree crop dependent. Tobacco does not seem to stimulate intensive occurrence of this nematode population. However, as soon as it is included into crop rotation, the number of nematodes increases particularly in crop rotations involving a larger number of rotation fields. Soybean and oil-seed rape favour the spread of Pratylenchus species. Still, no alarming incidence of nematodes belonging to this genus was recorded. Ectoparasitic nematodes involve genera Tylenchus, Tylenchorhynchus and, to some extent, Paratylenchus, while incidence of genera Helicotylenchus and Rotylenchus is negligible. Members of these genera are no dangerous pests for the crops studied, even more so as they mainly appeared in populations that are not noxious. The established opinion about the population of saprophagous nematodes being more dependent on the amount of soil organic matter than on the crop type was not convincingly confirmed in this research.


BACKGROUND
In recent years, government initiatives have proposed that patient self-care should serve as a key resource in response to the anticipated increase in global demand for health care. However, if patients are to be empowered as self-carers, barriers to engagement must be identified and overcome. Anaphylaxis is an increasingly common life-threatening allergic reaction. Patients at risk of anaphylaxis are prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors and play a crucial role in delivering their own care and management of this condition. One key recommendation is that patients routinely carry an epinephrine auto-injector with them and deploy the device when needed. However, only a small proportion of patients that require epinephrine actually receive it.

OBJECTIVE
To explore the reasons why patients who have been prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors fail to adhere to self-care and management recommendations.

METHODS
In-depth interviews with 15 adults who have been prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors were carried out to explore the barriers that exist in the provision of effective self-care and management of anaphylaxis.

RESULTS
Inconsistent health professional advice, perceived stigma of carrying a 'weapon-like' device, poor device design and limited patient training were identified as barriers to carriage or use. Patients were reluctant to carry devices in public because of perceived and observed stigma and suspicion. They were happy to ignore expiry dates, and some participants were confident that the emergency services would provide them with the appropriate care they needed, and therefore, did not carry the device in urban areas.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Improved training of patients, the public and health professionals around both the carriage and use of auto-injectors are areas for urgent attention if improved levels of self-care are to be attained. The design of epinephrine auto-injectors should also receive attention as patients often fail to carry them owing to size and aesthetics.


Cutaneous disease in lupus is clinically heterogeneous, and it is likely that mechanisms of disease are also heterogeneous. Nevertheless, in many cutaneous forms of lupus and in the systemic disease itself, there is compelling evidence that autoantibodies are involved. It is our belief that autoantibodies are of primary importance in the etiology of the cutaneous lupus lesions discussed in this chapter and that antibody specificities are critical in most cases in determining the clinical expression of disease. As discussed earlier, antibodies can effect tissue injury by several mechanisms. There is evidence that ADCC may be an important mechanism of keratinocyte cytotoxicity in cutaneous lesions characterized by antibody deposition and a mononuclear cell infiltrate. Vasculitic lesions that have an infiltrate of polymorphonuclear cells may be related to antibody- and complement-dependent neutrophil-mediated endothelial cytotoxicity. Ultraviolet light, sex steroids, and certain genes such as those of the major histocompatibility complex appear to be important modulating factors in lupus.


The Ordovician Gordon Limestone in Tasmania is a low-paleolatitude (10°N) peritidal carbonate with a tropical chlorozoan assemblage (calcareous green algae and corals), diverse nonskeletal grains, extensive early diagenetic dolomites, and some evaporites. It is characterized by small Mn, moderate Na, and large Sr concentrations as in Holocene tropical aragonitic carbonates. The range of Sr/Na (2.6 to 4.6) in the Gordon Limestone is related to aragonitic original mineralogy, dolomitization, and evaporite formation and to channel, prograding tidal flat, and stratigraphic reef environments. The Upper Permian Berriedale Limestone is a sequence of inter-bedded limestones and calcareous shales deposited at a paleolatitude near 80° S during the Gondwanan ice age. The shallow-marine limestone beds formed during the lowering of sea level in colder periods. As sea level rose in warmer periods, a shower of dropstones preceded shale deposition. The Berriedale Limestone contains a cold-water foramol fauna (bryozoans, brachiopods, and pelecypods), intraclasts, and abundant orthochems. Low Mg, equal amounts of Sr and Na (Sr/Na = 1.0), and large Mn concentrations in this limestone indicate original low-Mg calcite precipitation from sea water at a temperature


Abstract In order to make photovoltaics an economically viable energy solution, next-generation solar cells with higher energy conversion efficiencies and lower costs are urgently desired. Among many possible solutions, three-dimensional (3D) silicon nanostructures with excellent light-trapping properties are one of the promising candidates and have recently attracted considerable attention for cost-effective photovoltaic applications. This is because their enhanced light-trapping characteristics and high carrier collection efficiencies can enable the use of cheaper and thinner silicon materials. In this review, recent developments in the controllable fabrication of 3D silicon nanostructures are summarized, followed by the investigation of optical properties on a number of different nanostructures, including nanowires, nanopillars, nanocones, nanopencils, and nanopyramids, etc. Even though nanostructures with radial p-n junction demonstrate excellent photon management properties and enhanced photo-carrier collection efficiencies, the photovoltaic performance of nanostructure-based solar cells is still significantly limited due to the high surface recombination effect, which is induced by high-density surface defects as well as the large surface area in high-aspect-ratio nanostructures. In this regard, various approaches in reducing the surface recombination are discussed and an overall geometrical consideration of both light-trapping and recombination effects to yield the best photovoltaic properties are emphasized.


A stochastic damage constitutive model is proposed based on Kelvin spring-damper model and Li Jie spring stochastic damage model. The model is made up by microscopic spring-slipper element. The slipper, parallel connected with spring, is introduced to consider the plasticity effect of concrete. Damage failure process of concrete subjected uniaxial tension is divided into spring broken state and slipper broken state to describe the elastic stage and plastic stage of damage respectively. In the light of energy conservation during the process of damage failure, stochastic damage constitutive equation of concrete material subjected to uniaxial tension stress is derived. Comparisons between test results and theoretical calculation results verify that the established constitutive damage equations are accord with the experimental situation, and the experimental data are observed undulated with theoretical curve in the range of variance. The research results can apply in the actual engineering.


Objective: To determine the indication of routine transrectal ultrasound-guided needle biopsy (TRUSBx) of the prostate gland following incidental cancer diagnosis after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Materials and Methods: A multi-institutional search identified 63 patients with incidental TURP-diagnosed prostate cancer from 2001 to 2010, who underwent subsequent TRUSBx or radical prostatectomy (RP). The Gleason scores from TURP were compared to those from TRUSBx or RP. Whole mount maps from RP were analysed to provide an anatomical basis for the correlation observed. To determine the clinical impact of this problem, the incidence of TURP-diagnosed prostate cancer in the population was also determined. Results: Of 22 patients who underwent TRUSBx, the rates of Gleason score concordance, upgrading and downgrading were 32, 14 and 54% respectively (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.20). Most cases of pathological downgrading consisted of benign cores at biopsy. Therefore, TRUSBx did not give additional Gleason score (GS) information in 86% of patients. Of 41 RP patients, the respective rates were 61, 22 and 17% (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.15). The majority of them retained a similar or lower GS between TURP and RP. Of 13 whole mount maps analysed, 6 (46%) were found with anterior/transitional zone (AZ/TZ) tumours, 6 (46%) with multifocal tumours and 1 (8%) with a large peripheral zone (PZ) tumour extending into the TZ. Regional population data show that despite a gradual reduction in the proportion of TURP-diagnosed cases over the past decade, they still account for 8.5-13% of all new cases. Conclusion: TURP-diagnosed prostate cancers represent predominantly AZ tumours. A TRUSBx does not give additional GS information in a majority of cases, and therefore is not routinely indicated. It may be selectively useful prior to active surveillance, but not in all pursuing radical treatment. These findings may help reduce unnecessary TRUSBx in the population.


In this Seminar, we highlight the main developments in the field of Alzheimer's disease. The most recent data indicate that, by 2050, the prevalence of dementia will double in Europe and triple worldwide, and that estimate is 3 times higher when based on a biological (rather than clinical) definition of Alzheimer's disease. The earliest phase of Alzheimer's disease (cellular phase) happens in parallel with accumulating amyloid β, inducing the spread of tau pathology. The risk of Alzheimer's disease is 60–80% dependent on heritable factors, with more than 40 Alzheimer's disease-associated genetic risk loci already identified, of which the APOE alleles have the strongest association with the disease. Novel biomarkers include PET scans and plasma assays for amyloid β and phosphorylated tau, which show great promise for clinical and research use. Multidomain lifestyle-based prevention trials suggest cognitive benefits in participants with increased risk of dementia. Lifestyle factors do not directly affect Alzheimer's disease pathology, but can still contribute to a positive outcome in individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Promising pharmacological treatments are poised at advanced stages of clinical trials and include anti amyloid β, anti-tau, and anti-inflammatory strategies.


Based on national legislations, Swedish municipal authorities have the responsibility as well as the means to shape their own transport and energy systems and lead the transformation towards fossil fuel free cities. In this report we explore how sixteen Swedish municipalities work toward fossil fuel free visions and goals with a particular emphasis on the urban transport and energy systems. We derive our findings from a broad review of municipal policy, strategy and program documents as well as from structured interviews with civil servants working within theseissues. The report presents a summary of the visions and goals adopted by municipalities in Sweden as well as the translation of these visions and goals into key targets and strategies. It also provides a summary of general patterns derived from document analysis and interviews of how municipal authorities work with and use various governing modes to facilitate the transformation towards less dependence on fossil fuels, using transport and energy as a focus area. (Less)


Incoherent pion electroproduction on the deuteron is studied from threshold up to the second resonance region with special emphasis on the influence of the final-state interaction, in particular on polarization observables. The elementary {gamma}N{yields}{pi}N amplitude is taken from the MAID-2003 model. The final-state interaction is included by considering complete rescattering in the final NN and {pi}N subsystems. Investigated in detail is their influence on the structure functions governing the semi-exclusive differential cross section, where besides the scattered electron only the produced pion is detected. For charged pion-production the effect of NN rescattering is moderate whereas {pi}N rescattering is almost negligible, except very close to threshold. NN rescattering appears much stronger in neutral pion production for which the primary mechanism is the elimination of a significant spurious coherent contribution in the impulse approximation. Sizeable effects are also found in some of the polarization structure functions for beam and/or target polarizations.


The chronic effects of low doses of cadmium on the distribution of soluble and filament forms of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and their polypeptide fragments in different parts of the rat brain were investigated. Obtained results showed dose-dependent effect of cadmium on the soluble form of GFAP and more pronounced effect on the filament form and composition of the polypeptide fragments of the protein in the rat brain. Prolonged intoxication by cadmium ions in a dose of 1.0 μg/kg of body weight induced a significant decrease in soluble GFAP and an increase in the filament form in the rat brain, pointing to the development of reactive astrogliosis and the risk of neurodegeneration.


Compelling murine studies demonstrate that adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing mediated by adenosine deaminase associated with RNA1 (ADAR1) is vital for both fetal and adult hematopoiesis. While genetic ablation of ADAR1 leads to murine embryonic lethality due to severe defects in erythropoiesis, conditional deletion in the hematopoietic system impairs maintenance indicative of cell type and context specific roles for ADAR1 in cell fate specification and self-renewal. By regulating mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) stability, ADAR1 exhibit wide-ranging effects on embryonic development and stem cell regulation. We have previously shown that inflammation-responsive ADAR1 plays important roles in both stem cell differentiation and self-renewal in CML (chronic myeloid leukemia) disease progression. Here, we describe a novel function of ADAR1 in cell cycle regulation of normal hematopoietic stem cell and progenitors (HSPC) by regulation of miRNA biogenesis. Our results demonstrated that ADAR1 induces G0 to G1 phase transition in normal cord blood HSPCs, as demonstrated by elevated expression of Ki67, reduced DiR signal, and enhanced in vivo cord blood engraftment. Cell cycle qRT-qPCR microarray of 84 cell cycle transcripts and whole transcriptome RNA-sequencing analysis of KEGG cell cycle pathway indicate that several cell cycle genes are differentially expression upon overexpression of ADAR1 WT or an A-to-I editing deficient ADAR1 mutant (ADAR1E912A). We previously demonstrated that impaired biogenesis of let-7 miRNAs by ADAR1 WT induces enhanced self-renewal in cord blood CD34+ HSPCs. To determine the miRNA targets of ADAR1-mediated RNA editing, we performed miRNome miScript PCR array of 1008 miRNA candidates in cord blood CD34+ HSPCs overexpressing ADAR1 WT or ADAR1E912A. Total of 263 miRNAs were differentially expressed (142 upregulated and 121 downregulated) by comparing ADAR1 WT to the backbone control. Interestingly, ADAR1E912A mutant also exhibit A-to-I editing independent regulation of miRNAs (307 upregulated and 59 downregulated). We found that the expression of miR-26a-5p, a miRNA frequently downregulated in leukemia, is inhibited by ADAR1-mediated RNA editing. ADAR1 directly binds and edits the DROSHA cleavage site of primary miR-26a transcript, thereby prevent miR26a-5p maturation. Moreover, lentiviral expression of mature miR26-5p reverses the effect of ADAR1 WT, including enhanced CDKN1A expression, inhibition of cord blood proliferation in vivo, as well as reduced HSC self-renewal as measured by colony-formation assay. Our finding suggests carefully regulated A-to-I editing by ADAR1 is essential for the maintenance of proper cell proliferation in HSC. For future study, it will be interesting to investigate if the elevated expression of ADAR1 in CML BC LSC contributes to false regulation of cell cycle that leads to the expansion of malignant leukemia stem cells. Citation Format: Qingfei Jiang, Maria Anna Zipeto, Nathan Delos Santos, Sheldon Morris, Catriona Jamieson. RNA editing enzyme ADAR1 accelerates normal hematopoiesis cell cycle by regulation microRNA biogenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 299. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-299


Abstraction and refinement is a common approach used in games to improve the speed of pathfinding by planning in an abstract space and then refining abstract paths to traversable paths. While there are many variants of this approach that have been developed and studied, research on this problem has largely ignored the problem of pathfinding with terrain types, terrain costs, and dynamic terrain. This paper studies the problem of pathfinding in domains with terrain costs and proposes an abstraction approach that is built around handling terrain costs and dynamic terrain. The resulting approach is able to handle costs in a way that existing approaches do not, and provides a good balance between memory usage, path quality, and pathfinding speed.


Despite low weight and high strength and stiffness, Fibre Reinforced Polymers, FRP, are
seldom used in building construction. This could be due to complexity in dimensioning
and manufacturing, as well as lack of building design codes and standards for FRP. The
University of Stuttgart has developed an analysis and manufacturing method for FRP
in architectural contexts. This is the basis for a research project at Knippers Helbig
GmbH, where a new type of FRP module is developed for upcoming building projects.
The analysis method developed at The university of Stuttgart is however not applicable
for this FRP module, and demands are also stricter since the modules will be used in
building design.
In this master's thesis a new analysis method is developed. For analysis SOFiSTiK was
required, which imposed limitations, thus simplifications were necessary. The module
material is mainly uni-directional, with mechanically coupled node zones. Due to the
thickness of the module cross sections, it was assumed that coupling effects could be
neglected and that the material behaviour will be transversely isotropic. It was also
assumed that beam elements could be used in analysis due to mainly uni-axial load
transfer.
To verify the assumptions, case studies were carried out in MATLAB and SOFiSTiK with
Classical Lamination Theory as a basis. Two parametric FE models were created using
SOFiSTiK QUAD and beam elements. The results were compared using parametric tools
developed for this study. There was a correspondence between the results obtained in
the MATLAB and SOFiSTiK analyses, as well as between the QUAD and beam models,
except for in the case of torsion and shear where internal stresses were within a similar
range, but displacements were not. Here it was concluded that verification by mechanical
tests are required.
The models were applied to variations of a full scale module, with similar results. The
performance of the beam models were significantly better, and it was concluded that the
QUAD model could not be used in large scale models due to long computational times.
Due to similarities in internal stresses and forces the beam model should be safe-sided and
accurate enough for preliminary design, assuming that the models can be verified against
mechanical tests.


Macroautophagy or canonical autophagy, referred to as autophagy hereafter, delivers damaged proteins and organelles to lysosomes for degradation and plays important roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis by reducing tissue damage. During autophagy substrates are sequestered in doublemembraned autophagosomes within the cytoplasm which recruit LC3 to facilitate fusion with lysosomes.

A related pathway, called non-canonical autophagy, conjugates LC3 to single-membraned endosomes, phagosomes or lysosomes during the entry of extracellular material. Examples include engulfment of neighbouring cells by entosis, uptake of apoptotic cells, and micropinocytosis. In phagocytic cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, recruitment of LC3 to phagosomes occurs during pathogen uptake and is called LC3-associated phagocytosis (LAP).

The relative roles played by autophagy and non-canonical autophagy 'in vivo' are poorly understood. Studies on autophagy in mice have relied on inactivation of essential autophagy proteins, however these proteins are also required for non-canonical autophagy, and mouse models are defective in both pathways. The recruitment of LC3 to membranes during both, autophagy and non-canonical autophagy/ LAP, requires the E3 ligase-like activity of the ATG12–ATG5-ATG16L1 complex. The WD domain of ATG16L1 is required for non-canonical autophagy and LAP, but is not required for autophagy. This finding was employed to create mice defective in non-canonical autophagy and LAP by removing WD domain from the Atg16L1 gene. These mice (called E230) expressed the glutamate residues at 226 and 230 positions in the coiled-coil domain (CCD) of ATG16L1 protein required for binding with WIPI2, an interaction needed for autophagy. A second mouse model was generated that lacked the E230 residue required for autophagy and was called E226.

MEFs from E226 mice were defective in both autophagy and non-canonical autophagy. E226 mice showed growth defects and analysis of liver, kidney, muscle and brain showed accumulation of autophagy substrates p62and LC3. MEFs from the E230 mice were defective in non-canonical autophagy but could activate autophagy. The E230 mice survived postnatal starvation and grew normally. Liver, kidney, brain and muscle of E230 mice maintained levels of autophagy substrates p62 and LC3 that were the same as littermate controls. Tissue damage associated with loss of autophagy such as presence of p62 inclusions and inflammation were observed in tissue of E226 mice but were absent from E230 mice. This comparative study suggests that autophagy maintains tissue homeostasis in mice independently of the WD domain of ATG16L1required for non-canonical autophagy/LAP. A comparison of ATG5-ATG12-ATG16L1 complexes formed in liver and brain suggested that autophagy in the brain may be less dependent on strong interactions between WIPI2 and ATG16L1 than in liver. It is possible that E226 mice, which lack E230 required for strong WIPI2 binding, maintain autophagy in the brain to survive neonatal starvation.