The "best" use of natural resources -- using them where they are needed the most and can provide the greatest return to society with respect to economic, political, and environmental standards -- is a basic question facing our society. It is a question that has received more and more attention in recent years, as an acute awareness of ecological problems has developed in the industrialized portion of the world. The problem has also become more complex as more and more natural resources are subjected to more intensive multiple uses. Conflicts arise between the users of such resources when the actions of one user encroach upon the use of the resource by another. Usually such conflicts can only be resolved by limiting one or more uses. In the case of renewable natural resources, such as fisheries, forests, or populations of other wild animals, assuming there is more than one user, the primary problems are, first, what is the optimum annual yield and how do we harvest only that amount, and second, how to divide the annual yield or harvest of the resource among the alternative users. In the Great Lakes, there is a general recognition by fisheries managers that there is some optimum combination of commercial and sport fishing that would best utilize the productive capacity of the resource. However, at present no one can precisely document the social values, the ecological constraints and the management technology needed to precisely determine optimal management of Great Lakes fisheries.


Since beginning primary angioplasty in the early eighties we have used angioplasty in or related to acute myocardial infarction in over 2,300 patients. We will review here the use of direct, immediate, rescue and deferred or elective angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction. Organization of the cardiac catheterization laboratory staff, transport programs, and planning for surgical stand-by have all contributed to patient benefit in our program and will be outlined. Our acute MI approach both for angioplasty and for follow-up surgery will be reviewed.


We investigate the power-efficient broadcast routing problem using directional antennas. Our main interest is in the case when antenna beamwidth becomes very small. We consider asymptotic convergence properties of previously known broadcast routing algorithms and compare them with asymptotically optimal structures. Algorithms and techniques to reduce total transmit power using directional antennas—new and old—are introduced and summarized. We also present a dynamic programming solution to optimal beam assignment problem in multi-beam adaptive antennas. Extensive perfomance comparison results are also provided.


The tensor product B-spline is applied in global solution of approximated mixed integer nonlinear programs, exploiting the special structure of the B-spline to create convex relaxations in a Branch-and-Bound framework. The main application considered is the short-term oil production optimization problem, were one of the fundamental challenges is to replace the nonlinear simulator models with more conveniently manipulated approximations. Representing the network structure analytically allows for a decoupling of large simulator models into smaller, manageable components that can be replaced individually. The suggested method is applied to a real production case and a classic academic problem. The results presented are of both theoretical and practical interest and indicate that the method has potential and is worthy of further investigation.


The tropical frog, Physalaemus pustulosus, which is widespread throughout South and Central America, protects its offspring during development by encapsulating them in a foam nest. The nest material protects the tadpoles from environmental and predatory dangers for several days. Previous work within the Cooper group has identified the constituents of the nest to be based almost entirely on proteins and carbohydrates, and have sequenced six proteins termed Ranaspumins. Of these six proteins, RSN-2 (Ranaspumin 2) is of particular interest due to its lack of similarity to any other proteins published in the protein data bank. Proceeding on the hypothesis that RSN-2 has an important role in the foam structure, the recombinant protein has been cloned and expressed in bacteria and subsequently the solution structure has been derived experimentally by NMR. Using surface techniques including Langmuir-Blodgett depositions, surface pressure analysis and atomic force microscopy, the surface structure has been studied. A proteomic and chromatographic separation and identification strategy was used to identify a large number of peptide and polypeptide fragments present in various abundances. This dramatically adds to the six proteins already discovered and the initial carbohydrate analysis performed by collaborators. The large number of peptides is typical of amphibian secretions and they are almost certainly functional to some degree. The solution structure of RSN-2 was calculated as a five-tum helix, running perpendicular over a five-strand sheet. The elongated amino-terminus was very flexible and relatively unstructured in solution whereas the carboxy-terminus was anchored to the sheet. Analysis of nitrogen relaxation and chemical shifts suggested that there are turn regions in rapid motion; one region with slow dynamics (possibly cis-trans proline isomerisation) and a cleft undergoing slow conformational exchange. The region between the helix and first strand is flexible and is postulated as a hinge for surface unfolding. Recombinant RSN-2 was established to be a powerful surfactant and provides surface pressures of 20-30 mNm-1 at approximately monolayer coverage. Hydrophobic patches were observed to partition at the air interface, and it is proposed that this is a result of reversible denaturing at the surface. RSN-1 and other proteins were examined briefly and are good candidates for further investigation due to their interesting postulated functions.


The development of the North American Midcontinent rift can be understood in the context of a tectonic and magmatic event in which the far-field effects of continental drift influenced magmatism produced by a mantle plume. We report and interpret new data for samples collected from stratigraphically controlled sequences of basaltic rocks in the Osler Volcanic Group and the Mamainse Point Volcanic Group in Ontario, Canada. We confirm that the earliest phase of rift development involved primitive melts that produced basalts in the Lower Formation of the Osler Volcanic Group with Fo74–80 olivine (1,490–2,280 ppm Ni). The earliest basalts are primitive in both the Mamainse Point Volcanic Group and Osler Volcanic Group sections, with elevated MgO, Cr, and Ni; these rocks also have high TiO2 and high Gd/Yb, which are features that indicate low degrees of melting of a garnet-bearing lherzolite mantle. The Central Formation A and B basalts of the Osler Volcanic Group that overlie the Lower Formation lavas record an upward increase and then decrease in the degree of contamination of basaltic rocks with normal Ni and platinum group element (PGE) abundance levels that require no sulfide saturation event to accompany contamination. The Upper Formation of the Osler Volcanic Group is characterized by a limited number of PGE-depleted flows; although these basalts are highly fractionated and typically develop textures with stellate to laminated plagioclase feldspar, they are usually not significantly contaminated. The Lower and Upper formations of the Mamainse Point Volcanic Group show a diversity in geochemistry consistent with contributions from different mantle sources, but contamination is restricted to a small number of flows with normal Ni and PGE abundance levels. There is no indication of a regional metal depletion signature on the scale of the Nadezhdinsky Formation at Noril'sk, but there is evidence that local S saturation events were triggered in the unexposed conduits feeding some of the upper sequence flows in response to fractionation of the magma.

Massive to heavy disseminated Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide mineralization in the Midcontinent rift is hosted by small primitive intrusions that were formed early in the evolution of the rift and are typically associated with transtensional structures in the cratonic blocks adjacent to the main rift. Examples include the Eagle deposit in Michigan, the Tamarack mineralization in Minnesota, and the Current Lake Complex in Ontario. The American examples are associated with splays of the Great Lakes tectonic zone and the Canadian example is associated with the Quetico fault zone. The intrusions share the geochemical fingerprints of the more primitive lowermost volcanic rocks of the Midcontinent rift and they are broadly contemporaneous with the development of the lower stratigraphy of the Osler Volcanic Group and Mamainse Point Volcanic Group. Although the low-grade but large-tonnage Cu-Ni-PGE deposits of the Duluth were formed significantly later than the small primitive intrusions, their host rocks share the same lithophile trace element signature as these early intrusions. The parental magmas that produced all of these intrusions were derived from deeper mantle depths, where garnet was a stable phase, than the magmas that produced the Central Formation basalts and some of the Upper Formation basalts investigated in this study.


Juvenile incarceration in the United States is declining; however, the rate of female youth incarceration is on the rise. Incarcerated female youth are more likely to have educational disabilities compared with female youth in public schools, as well as higher rates of mental health disorders and less consistent relationships with caregivers compared with incarcerated male youth. This article compares the characteristics of incarcerated female youth and the services available for incarcerated youth in the United States, Norway, and Mexico. Like the United States, Mexico is known for high rates of incarceration, whereas Norway is known for low rates of incarceration. All three countries have laws protecting the right of incarcerated youth to access education and mandating that juvenile facilities provide educational services. While this type of program is important, female offenders report that programs focused on close personal relationships were integral. Norway alone puts an emphasis on building positive relationships with facility staff and on involving community members in the programs for incarcerated youth. This may be a factor in Norway's low incarceration rates and may how to help address the needs of incarcerated female youth in the United States and Mexico.


A dynamic model has been developed to predict the efficiency of a micro-transformer, operating at 5 MHz. The model includes a core hysteresis model, core eddy current model and winding copper loss model. Measurements and finite element analysis were carried out in order to validate the model.


We calculate the eccentricity excitation of asteroids produced by the sweeping ν6 secular resonance during the epoch of planetesimal-driven giant planet migration in the early history of the solar system. We derive analytical expressions for the magnitude of the eccentricity change and its dependence on the sweep rate and on planetary parameters; the ν6 sweeping leads to either an increase or a decrease of eccentricity depending on an asteroid's initial orbit. Based on the slowest rate of ν6 sweeping that allows a remnant asteroid belt to survive, we derive a lower limit on Saturn's migration speed of ∼0.15 AU Myr−1 during the era that the ν6 resonance swept through the inner asteroid belt (semimajor axis range 2.1–2.8 AU). This rate limit is for Saturn's current eccentricity and scales with the square of its eccentricity; the limit on Saturn's migration rate could be lower if its eccentricity were lower during its migration. Applied to an ensemble of fictitious asteroids, our calculations show that a prior single-peaked distribution of asteroid eccentricities would be transformed into a double-peaked distribution due to the sweeping of the ν6 resonance. Examination of the orbital data of main belt asteroids reveals that the proper eccentricities of the known bright (H ⩽ 10.8) asteroids may be consistent with a double-peaked distribution. If so, our theoretical analysis then yields two possible solutions for the migration rate of Saturn and for the dynamical states of the pre-migration asteroid belt: a dynamically cold state (single-peaked eccentricity distribution with mean of ∼0.05) linked with Saturn's migration speed ∼4 AU Myr−1 or a dynamically hot state (single-peaked eccentricity distribution with mean of ∼0.3) linked with Saturn's migration speed ∼0.8 AU Myr−1.


Nowadays, the effluent from domestic wastewater is highly untreated. So when the effluents flow to the river it will cause water pollution and will affect water quality of the river. If the water polluted, the aquatic life and environment surrounding will be in deep trouble. A device known as biofilter can help this problem solve. To make this biofilter effective, it will depend on the design. The optimum design criteria will make this biofilter become more effective although in the market nowadays have many biofilter but the available biofilter now is doesn't have proper design criteria. This study aims to determine the design criteria of biofilter as treatment for domestic wastewater and to evaluate the effectiveness of biofilter as treatment for domestic wastewater. This study involves two main methods which are field measurement and laboratory experiments. Field measurement includes test for Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), pH, temperature, salinity, turbidity and electric conductivity while laboratory experiments involve test for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Ammonia Nitrogen (AN), Total Coliform, E-Coli and Oil and Grease. All the results were compare with Standard A and Standard B, Environment Quality Act, 1974 and analyzed in terms of percentages of removal. The study indicates that the design criteria adopted not shows an excellent performance where most of the water quality parameters not complying Standard A and Standard B, Environment Quality Act, 1974, however it do shows improvement in terms of percentage of removal for parameters turbidity, total suspended solid and ammonia nitrogen The percentage removal of turbidity as high as 98.99%, while TSS and AN range from 31.25% to
58.55%.


reply: In our recent paper (2) we reported on the effects of fatty acids on trophoblast cellular signaling and amino acid transport activity in vitro. As with any other cell culture experiments, we are aware that this is an artificial environment on multiple levels. No matter how well designed the experiment, cell cultures in and of themselves cannot completely reproduce in vivo physiological conditions. However, despite their inherent limitations, cell culture experiments do provide an important tool for studying cell physiology.

In vivo, cells are exposed to a multitude of effectors at variable concentrations and we concur with Dr. Keelan (1) that it is important to study effectors in combination. However, a problem arises with respect to which effectors should be included. For example, when studying effects of fatty acids on trophoblast cell function, should all effectors known to affect mTOR signaling and amino acid transport be included in the cell culture media for the experiment to be considered valid? By analogy, in studies of insulin effects on cell function, do all known effectors impinging on the insulin signaling pathway (adiponectin, leptin, and cytokines, just to mention a few) have to be included for the experiment to be physiologically relevant? If so, Dr. Keelan's argument invalidates most of the published studies in cell physiology. We believe that a reductionist approach in which single effector molecules are studied remains valid and we disagree with the argument that fatty acids should only be studied in combination.

We reported that, in the presence of oleic acid, the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) alone were no longer predominant. Dr. Keelan suggests that this finding should be interpreted that DHA responses were an in vitro artifact. However, such an interpretation fails to appreciate that DHA counteracted the observed effects of oleic acid alone. Clearly, both DHA and oleic acid have the capacity to influence trophoblast signaling and function, both in isolation and when combined.

In our paper we demonstrate that DHA reduces the activity of the amino transporters System A and System L in cultured primary human trophoblast cells. In a separate study following pregnant women supplemented with DHA, we found that placental DHA levels measured at term inversely correlated with System A and System L amino acid transport capacity (3). Such data from clinical samples strongly support the assertion that the reported in vitro effects are physiologically relevant and not an experimental artifact. As already discussed in our paper, we believe that these results merit further exploration of the effects of fatty acids on trophoblast function, both singularly and in combination.


In the present work we studied the expression of membrane-bound Ig (MBIg) as well as receptors for IgG Fc and complement on nine human lymphoblastoid cell lines. When MBIg and receptors for IgG Fc were compared, four categories of cell lines could be distinguished: (a) cell lines having both MBIg and receptors for IgG Fc, (b) cell lines having MBIg but lacking receptors for IgG Fc, (c) cell lines lacking MBIg but having receptors for IgG Fc, and (d) cell lines lacking both MBIg and receptors for IgG Fc. Two types of receptors for complement could be detected on the cell lines studied, one for C3-C3b and one for C3d. When sensitized red cells carrying C3b or C3d were used for rosette tests, three categories of cell lines could be distinguished: (a) cell lines having receptors for C3b and C3d, (b) cell lines having receptors only for C3d and (c) cell lines lacking both receptors. However, when a more sensitive immunofluorescent method was used instead of the rosette technique, it was found that cell lines unable to form rosettes with EAC1423bhu were able to bind soluble C3 or C3b which indicated the presence of these receptors on the cell surface. Inhibition experiments showed that receptors for C3-C3b and receptors for C3d are distinct and that receptors for C3-C3b and C3d are different from receptors for IgG Fc. A cell line (Raji) without MBIg but with receptors for IgG Fc, C3-C3b, and C3d was selected for use in studying the binding mechanism of soluble immune complexes to cell surface membrane. Aggregated human gamma globulin was used in place of immune complexes. Immune complexes containing complement bind to Raji cells only via receptors for complement, namely receptors for C3-C3b and C3d. Binding of immune complexes containing complement to cells is much greater than that of complexes without complement. Immune complexes bound to cells via receptors for complement can be partially released from the cell surface by addition of normal human serum as well as isolated human C3 or C3b. We postulate that such release is due to competition of immune complex bound C3b and free C3 or C3b for the receptors on Raji cells.


This paper proposes an improved offset selection method for discontinuous pulse-width modulation (DPWM)- based back-to-back converters to reduce DC-Link current ripple. DPWM is introduced to power converters to diminish the stress on power transistors and prolong their lifespan. However, when using the DPWM method, the DC-Link current ripple is increased in non-switching regions of the power transistors. Moreover, in DPWM-based back-to-back converters, the DC-Link current ripple reaches its maximum when the two transistors of both inverters are clamped in opposite directions. Therefore, the DC-Link capacitors endure more stress, resulting in decreased life-duration. To overcome this issue, the switching method should consider the clamping periods, when the current ripple increases. This can be achieved by modifying the DPWM offset, so that the clamping states of both converters are matched. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by both simulation and experimental results.


Internet lacks of strong security mechanisms, opening the way to a plethora of different manners in which integrity and availability can be compromised by malicious activities. Furthermore, the trend shows an increase of security threats, at least in the foreseeable future. Despite such situation, new proposals for Future Internet architectures mostly aiming at solving scalability issues do rather neglect security aspects. Among candidate Future Internet architectures, the ones based on the Locator/Identifier separation paradigm has been largely explored, but security had no major role in these research activities. We present a security threats analysis of such approach using the Locator/Identifier Separation Protocol (LISP) as a running example. The chapter does not overview the merits of the Locator/Identifier separation paradigm. Rather, the aim is to provide a thorough analysis of the security aspects, assessing the security level of the architecture and providing recommendations on possible practices to improve it.


This article explores music video as a catalyst of public discourse in the digital age through an analysis of heated online controversies fueled by Wa'd 'Arqoub (WA), a video featuring a romantic relationship against the backdrop of the plight of Iraq under U.S. occupation. It puts forth the argument that music videos stimulate public discourse because of their capacity to (1) promote ideas and make them visible, (2) conjure up several meanings and interpretations, and (3) circulate through "hypermedia space," a communicative space created by networked broadcast, mobile, and online platforms. The analysis of the circulation of contentious public discourse around WA leads to the conclusion that music videos are best understood as instruments of visibility in a symbolic economy that suffers from attention scarcity.


Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become commonplace entities in all aspects of life. Across the past twenty years the use of ICT has fundamentally changed the practices and procedures of nearly all forms of endeavour within business and governance. Within education,education is a very socially oriented activity and quality education has traditionally been associated with strong teachers having high degrees of personal contact with learners. The use of ICT in education lends itself to more student-centered learning settings. But with the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of ICT in education is becoming more and more important and this importance will continue to grow and develop in the 21st century. In this paper, a literature review regarding the use of ICTs in education was provided. Effective use of ICT for Education, along with ICT use in teaching learning process; quality and accessibility of education; learning motivation. Learning environment. Besides, an overview of the ICT and scholastic performance.


The project, financed by the Directorate General XIV of the EC, has undertaken a comparative study on the biology and fisheries techniques of the Norway lobster in Mediterranean member states and adjoining Atlantic areas. The ultimate goal of the project has been to assess the conditions for a global regulation in the area and determine possible differences among exploited stocks. The areas selected are characterised by their importance in Norway lobster catch. The overall duration of the project has been three years. Sampling was concentrated in the first two years. Data analysis was conducted during the second and third years (1993-1995). The countries (areas) involved in the study, together with their target areas, were: Portugal (south coast of Algarve), Spain (Alboran and Catalan Seas), Italy (Ligurian, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas) and Greece (Gulf of Euboikos). In order to make results perfectly comparable, each scientific subject has been developed by a specialised team using a unified and standardised methodology. From the biological standpoint, Norway lobster growth, reproduction, moult and feeding have been compared. Special studies on distribution and genetics have been also conducted. In the fisheries context, a comparison of fishing techniques has been undertaken. The fisheries studies have been complemented with reconstruction of virgin populations, comparison of yield per recruit, sensitivity analysis and transition analysis. Selectivity issues have been object of specific analyses. As a result of these studies, it is evident that Norway lobster populations in the Mediterranean follow a common life-cycle model. The differences among areas reported in this project respond to environmental variation and differential fishing pressure in each area. All populations are exploited near its carrying limit, although overexploitation is unlikely at this stage. However we identified varying levels of exploitation according to study areas: The Catalan, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas populations are exploited at a high level; the Ligurian Sea and Euboikos Gulf populations at an intermediate level; and the Alboran Sea and Algarve populations are at a low level of exploitation. The regulation concepts could be applied globally to the Mediterranean, allowing for the differences observed. It is highly recommended that effort is not increased. It should rather be decreased as new technologies being implemented continuously are by themselves an effort increase. A effort reduction of 20% is desirable to ensure that stocks are maintained at their current levels. This measure should be foremost applied to those areas being subjected to the highest exploitation levels.


Objective:To characterize the gender dimorphism after injury with specific reference to the reproductive age of the women (young, <48 yrs of age, vs. old, >52 yrs of age) in a cohort of severely injured trauma patients for which significant variation in postinjury care is minimized. Design:Secondary data analysis of an ongoing prospective multicenter cohort study. Setting:Academic, level I trauma and intensive care unit centers. Patients:Blunt-injured adults with hemorrhagic shock. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Separate Cox proportional hazard regression models were formulated based on all patients to evaluate the effects of gender on mortality, multiple organ failure, and nosocomial infection, after controlling for all important confounders. These models were then used to characterize the effect of gender in young and old age groups. Overall mortality, multiple organ failure, and nosocomial infection rates for the entire cohort (n = 1,036) were 20%, 40%, and 45%, respectively. Mean Injury Severity Score was 32 ± 14 (mean ± sd). Men (n = 680) and women (n = 356) were clinically similar except that men required higher crystalloid volumes, more often had a history of alcoholism and liver disease, and had greater ventilatory and intensive care unit requirements. Female gender was independently associated with a 43% and 23% lower risk of multiple organ failure and nosocomial infection, respectively. Gender remained an independent risk factor in young and old subgroup analysis, with the protection afforded by female gender remaining unchanged. Conclusions:The independent protective effect of female gender on multiple organ failure and nosocomial infection rates remains significant in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women when compared with similarly aged men. This is contrary to previous experimental studies and the known physiologic sex hormone changes that occur after menopause in women. These results suggest that factors other than sex hormones may be responsible for gender-based differences after injury.


Abstract The basal Cambrian marks the beginning of an important chapter in the history of life. However, most paleontological work on the basal Cambrian has been focused on skeletal animal fossils, and our knowledge about the primary producers—cyanobacteria and eukaryotic phytoplankton (e.g., acritarchs)—is limited. In this research, we have investigated basal Cambrian acritarchs, coccoidal microfossils, and cyanobacteria preserved in phosphorites and cherts of the Yanjiahe Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area (South China) and the Yurtus Formation in the Aksu area (Tarim Block, northwestern China). Our study confirms the occurrence in these two formations of small acanthomorphic acritarchs characteristic of the basal Cambrian Asteridium–Comasphaeridium–Heliosphaeridium (ACH) assemblage. These acritarchs include abundant Heliosphaeridium ampliatum (Wang, 1985) Yao et al., 2005, common Yurtusia uniformis n. gen. and n. sp., and rare Comasphaeridium annulare (Wang, 1985) Yao et al., 2005. In addition, these basal Cambrian successions also contain the clustered coccoidal microfossil Archaeophycus yunnanensis (Song in Luo et al., 1982) n. comb., several filamentous cyanobacteria [Cyanonema majus n. sp., Oscillatoriopsis longa Timofeev and Hermann, 1979, and Siphonophycus robustum (Schopf, 1968) Knoll et al., 1991], and the tabulate tubular microfossil Megathrix longus L. Yin, 1987a, n. emend. Some of these taxa (e.g., H. ampliatum, C. annulare, and M. longus) have a wide geographic distribution but occur exclusively in basal Cambrian successions, supporting their biostratigraphic importance. Comparison between the stratigraphic occurrences of microfossils reported here and skeletal animal fossils published by others suggests that animals and phytoplankton radiated in tandem during the Cambrian explosion.


Resource sharing and implementation of software stack for emerging multicore processors introduce performance and scaling challenges for large-scale scientific applications, particularly on systems with thousands of processing elements. Traditional performance optimization, tuning and modeling techniques that rely on uniform representation of computation and communication requirements are only partially useful due to the complexity of applications and underlying systems and software architecture. In this paper, we propose a workload modeling methodology that allows application developers to capture and represent hierarchical decomposition and distribution of their applications thereby allowing them to explore and identify optimal mapping of a workload on a target system. We demonstrate the proposed methodology on a Teraflops-scale fusion application that is developed using message-passing (MPI) programming paradigm. Using our analysis and projection results, we obtain insight into the performance characteristics of the application on a quad-core system and also identify optimal mapping on a Teraflops-scale platform.


The microstructure evolution of an as-cast commercial Al-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy during Equal- Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) at 325°C was investigated. In the early stages of deformation strain induced boundaries were created within the initial coarse grains and constitute the deformation bands. Repeated ECAP led to an increase of the number and misorientation of deformation bands. Further straining up to e~8 resulted in the formation of a new fine-grained structure with an average crystallite size of 1.2 /m. It is concluded that the progressive increase of the misorientation of deformation induced boundaries is the main mechanism of structure formation under high temperature ECAP.


This study provides the application of damage model to complex cracked pipes which can be found especially in weld overlay region. From the perspective of structural integrity, enough basic and large-scale tests are required to accurately evaluate the components containing a crack-like defect. In this case, damage model using finite element (FE) method can be effectively used for the assessment of full-scale cracked pipes with minimum basic experiments data. The proposed method in this research is based on the stress-modified fracture strain damage model with stress reduction technique.In this paper, Battelle full-scale complex cracked pipe tests are simulated by the proposed damage model with reasonable procedure. FE simulation is conducted for basic experiments to determine failure criteria with calibrations. Then, crack initiation and maximum loads are predicted to characterize the fracture behavior of full-scale complex cracked pipes. Damage model is applied to both of carbon and stainless steel materials and verification with comparing to test data is conducted.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


The turbulence developing inside Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices has been studied using a two-fluid numerical simulation. From an initial large-scale velocity shear, the nonlinear evolution of the instability leads to the formation of a region inside the initial vortex characterized by small-scale fluctuations and structures. The magnetic energy spectrum is compatible with a Kolmogorov-like power-law decay, followed by a steeper power-law below proton scales, in agreement with other studies. The magnetic field increments show non-Gaussian distributions with increasing tails going towards smaller scales, consistent with presence of intermittency. The strong magnetic fieldfluctuations populating the tails of the distributions have been identified as current sheets by using the Partial Variance of the Increments (PVI) method. The strongest current sheets (largest PVI) appear around proton scales and below. By selecting several of such current sheets, it has been found that most of them are consistent with ongoing magnetic reconnection. The detailed study of one reconnecting current sheet as crossed by a virtual spacecraft is also presented. Inflow and outflow regions have been identified and the reconnection rate has been estimated. The observation of reconnection rates higher than typical fast rate suggests that reconnection in turbulentplasma can be faster than laminar reconnection. This study indicates that intermittency and reconnecting current sheets are important ingredients of turbulence within Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices and that reconnection can play an important role for energy dissipation therein.
∼0.1


As the limits of transistor technology are approached, feature size in integrated circuit transistors has been reduced very near to the minimum physically-realizable channel length, and it has become increasingly difficult to meet expectations outlined by Moore's law. As one of the most promising devices to replace transistors, memristors have many excellent properties that can be leveraged to develop new types of neural and non-von Neumann computing systems, which are expected to revolutionize information-processing technology. This survey provides a comparative overview of research progress on memristors. Different memristor synaptic devices are classified according to stimulation patterns and the working mechanisms of these various synaptic devices are analyzed in detail. Crossbar-based memristors have demonstrated advantages in physically executing vector-matrix multiplication and enabling highly power-efficient and area-efficient neuromorphic system designs. The extensive uses of crossbar-based memristors cover in-memory logic, vector-matrix multiplication, and many other fundamental computing operations. Furthermore, memristor-based architectures for efficient neural network training and inference have been studied. However, memristors have non-ideal properties due to programming inaccuracies and device imperfections from fabrication, which lead to error or mismatch in computed results. To build reliable memristor-based designs, circuit-level, algorithm-level, and system-level solutions to memristor reliability issues are being studied. To this end, state-of-the-art realizations of memristor crossbars, crossbar-based designs, and peripheral circuitry are presented, which show both promising full-system inference accuracy and excellent power efficiency in multiple tasks. Memristor in-situ learning benefits from high energy efficiency and biologically-imitative characteristics, which are conducive to further realizing hardware acceleration of cognitive learning. At present, the learning and training processes of brain-like networks are complex, presenting great challenges for network design and implementation.


IR spectroelectrochemistry of Fe4{Me(CH2S)3}2(CO)8 (4Fe6S) in the ν(CO) region shows that the neutral and anion forms have all their CO groups terminally bound to the Fe atoms; however, for the dianion there is a switch of the coordination mode of at least one of the CO groups. The available structural and ν(CO) spectra are closely reproduced by density-functional theory calculations. The calculated structure of 4Fe6S closely mirrors that of the diiron subsite of the [Fe-Fe] hydrogenase H cluster with a bridging CO group and an open coordination site on the outer Fe atom of pairs of dithiolate-bridged FeFe subunits connected by two bridging thiolates. Geometry optimization based on the all-terminal CO isomer of 4Fe6S does not give a stable structure but reveals a second-order saddle point ca. 11.53 kcal mol higher in energy than the CO-bridged form. Spectroelectrochemical studies of electrocatalytic proton reduction by 4Fe6S show that slow turnover from the primary reduction process (E1/2′ ) -0.71 V vs Ag/AgCl) involves rate-limiting protonation of 4Fe6S followed by reduction to H:4Fe6S. Rapid electrocatalytic proton reduction is obtained at potentials sufficient to access 4Fe6S, where the rate of dihydrogen elimination from the FeFe core of 4Fe6S is ca. 500 times faster than that from the FeFe core of Fe2(μ-S(CH2)3S)(CO)6. The dramatically increased rate of electrocatalysis obtained from 4Fe6S over all previously identified model compounds appears to be related to the features uniquely common between it and the H-cluster, namely, that turnover involves the same formal redox states of the diiron unit (FeFe and FeFe), the presence of an open site on the outer Fe atom of the FeFe unit, and the thiolate-bridge to a second one-electron


To obtain classification systems with both good generalization performance and efficiency in space and time, we propose a learning method based on combinations of weak classifiers, where weak classifiers are linear classifiers (perceptrons) which can do a little better than making random guesses. A randomized algorithm is proposed to find the weak classifiers. They are then combined through a majority vote. As demonstrated through systematic experiments, the method developed is able to obtain combinations of weak classifiers with good generalization performance and a fast training time on a variety of test problems and real applications.


Abstract. Chronic flooding, occurring at high tides under calm weather conditions, is occasionally taking place today in the low-lying areas of the Petit-Cul-de-sac marin (Guadeloupe, West Indies, French Antilles). This area includes critical industrial, harbor and major economic infrastructures for the island. As sea level rises, concerns are growing regarding the possibility for repeated chronic flooding events, which would alter the operations at these critical coastal infrastructures without appropriate adaptation. Here, we use information on past and future sea levels, vertical ground motion and tides to assess times of emergence of chronic flooding in the Petit-Cul-de-sac marin. For RCP8.5 (i.e., continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions), the number of flood days is projected to increase rapidly after the emergence of the process, so that coastal sites will be flooded every two days within 2 decades after the onset of chronic flooding. For coastal locations with the smallest altitude, we show that the reconstructed number of floods are consistent with observations known from a previous survey. One key uncertainty of our result is the actual rate of subsidence of the island. However, our satellite interferometric synthetic-aperture radar results show that the local variability of this subsidence is smaller than the uncertainties of the technique, which we estimate between 1 (standard deviation of measurements) and 5 mm/yr (upper theoretical bound). Our results imply that adaptation pathways considering a rapid increase of recurrent chronic flooding are required in the critical port, industrial and commercial center of Guadeloupe, as well as presumably in many low-elevation coastal zones of other tropical islands.


The ABC technique for estimating properties of organic compounds from their molecular structures is presented, based on the contributions of Atoms and Bonds to the properties of Conjugates. Conjugates are alternative formal arrangements of valence electrons: a real chemical compound is a hybrid of conjugates. In ABC, all conjugates of a molecule are generated, and thermodynamic and quantum-mechanical properties are assigned to each conjugate, by summing contributions from atoms and bonds of the conjugate ; the properties of the compound are then obtained as combinations of the properties of all the conjugates. In a simple application, ABC estimates the heat of formation of alkanes within 2.8 kJ/mol, compared to 4.7 kJ/mol for group contributions. The ultimate goal is the estimation of fractional charges on individual atoms of a compound and electron densities of bonds, because there are related to intermolecular interactions and chemical properties


Background: Inguinal lymph nodes dissection has been the mainstay treatment for penile squamous cell carcinoma with resectable inguinal lymph nodes metastasis. Traditionally, inguinal lymph node dissections were performed with a classical open approach with high complications and morbidity rate. We are reporting our first experience with videoendoscopic inguinal lymph nodes dissection as an alternative to the classic open approach in our center.Case Presentation: This article reports a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. A case report of post partial penectomy with pT3N2M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the penis and palpable bilateral inguinal lymph nodes in a 52-year-old male. In this patient, we perform our first experience with videoendoscopic inguinal lymph nodes dissection as an alternative to the traditional classic open approach inguinal lymph node dissections.Conclusions: Videoendoscopic approach for inguinal lymph nodes dissection in penile cancer is feasible and has been demonstrated to have a better outcome on complications & morbidity compared to the traditional open approach. In the end, we propose that the videoendoscopic approach, if available, could be the main choice for inguinal lymph nodes dissections for the future.


Two-dimensional waved carbon fiber preforms were chemical vapor infiltrated under forced flow, thermal gradient mode for preparation of 2D C/SiC composites. In order to improve the oxidation resistance of the C/SiC composites, B4C powders were added into the preforms and aqueous silica sol-B4C compound coating was claded on the surfaces of composites. It was found that the oxidation resistance of 2D C/SiC composites at temperatures lower than 1273K was improved because of the formation of B2O3 and borosilicate glass by preventing the diffusion of oxygen.


This guide is designed to assist students in the Protection, Security & Investigation (PSIP) program - with an interest in the criminal justice system, policing, private security, & the Canadian Forces - to find resources available to them in the library Your Research Questions Answered Here!


Here we describe the step-by-step protocol of Droplet Assisted RNA Targeting by single cell sequencing \(DART-seq). DART-seq allows simultaneous multiplexed amplicon sequencing and transcriptome analysis in single cells. Using a simple and quick modification of commercially available barcoded beads we have expanded the application of droplet microfluidics based high throughput single cell RNA sequencing technology to include non-polyadenylated RNA transcripts. Specific probes targeting RNA of interest were attached to the beads using a T4 DNA Ligase based enzymatic reaction.The modified DART-seq beads were then used in standard Drop-seq platform to generate single cell libraries for sequencing. We have applied DART-seq to analyze reovirus RNA sequences in infected murine L cells. As a second application we used DART-seq to investigate the B cell repertoire in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell \(PBMC) samples.


Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) refers to the use of techniques to deliver artificial respiration to the lungs without the need for endotracheal intubation. As NIV has proven beneficial in comparison to invasive mechanical ventilation, it has become the optimal modality for initial respiratory support among children in respiratory distress. High-flow nasal cannulae (HFNC) therapy is a relatively new NIV modality and is used for similar indications. This review discusses the usefulness and applications of conventional NIV in comparison to HFNC.


Previous studies of Christian runic inscriptions have tended to deal with particular types of inscription from defined periods of time. This article analyses all the relevant Scandinavian runic material from the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, focusing on textual features and material contexts of inscriptions that use prayers and invocations. Its main aim is to explore the dynamics of what may be termed "the runic prayer tradition" with a view to identifying potentially stable elements of this tradition as well as those that alter over time. Two main categories of prayer and invocation explored are formulations in the vernacular and in Church Latin. The results of the study reveal various possibilities of variation in the runic prayer tradition, but also suggest links and overlaps between the earlier and later vernacular prayers. The evidence further suggests some sort of a division between a monumental (or public) form of discourse in connection with rune-stones, grave monuments and church buildings — which are dominated by vernacular prayers — and that of various loose objects, where Latin prayer formulas seem to be favoured.


Objective:The aim was to evaluate job satisfaction and their sociodemographic characteristics effects on the quality of life (QOL) of the garbage workers (GW).
Methods:185 GW (94.4% of total) were evaluated. They were given sociodemographic survey, scaler of job satisfaction (Job Descriptive Index (JDI)) and QOL Scale "WHOQOL-BREF-Turkish". Questions of JDI were compiled by researhers. Reliability and convenience of JDI were analysed. Correlation, student-T test and logistic regression were used.
Findings:68.4% of job satisfaction had five contributing factors which are respectively management and overall job satisfaction, coworkers, pay, promotion and work itself. We found positive correlations (p<0.05) between scorings of WHOQOL-BREF-Tr domains and JDI's components, except promotion. We also saw positive relations between WHOQOL-BREF-Tr scorings and some of workers' behaviors and habits ranging having particular hobbies, going to movies, visiting friends/family, and not having chronic disease (p<0.01). Lack of satisfaction in each of 5 factors - dissatisfaction to management in all domains, dissatisfaction to work itself in social domain, dissatisfaction to coworkers in physical domain, dissatisfaction to pay in social and environmental domains caused a risk for poor QOL (p<0.01). Not having a hobby also created a risk for QOL in social and environmental domains (p<0.01).
Conclusion:The findings show that the QOL of the GW can be improved by improving the management, payment, and by encouraging and supporting them to have hobbies.


As consumer demand for mobile broadband data soars, data traffic is increasing exponentially. However actual data revenue is growing at a much slower pace. Furthermore, data profitability is significantly lower than voice or messaging. Hence, investors and financial analysts are currently marking down the future valuation of mobile operators' businesses. To counter this trend, operators need new ways of monetizing mobile broadband data while increasing profits. This can be achieved by transforming existing data businesses from unlimited or volume-based models to value-added data offerings. Examples are: demographically segmented and personalized data packages; data bundled-with-Internet-applications; sender-pays content models; and service-based charging. These "value added mobile broadband services" are becoming a new area for service innovation. This paper analyses current market trends and explains how the aggregation of traffic management, data charging, deep packet inspection and content optimization technologies enables this new "smart pipe" innovation. Existing market solutions and examples of already deployed value added data services are provided.


This study evaluated whether autoinducer-2 (AI-2) activity would be associated with biofilm formation by Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains on food contact surfaces. In study I, a Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 strain and an E. coli O157:H7 strain, both AI-2 positive, were individually inoculated into 50 mL of Luria-Bertani (LB) or LB + 0.5% glucose (LBG) broth, without or with stainless steel or polypropylene (Salmonella) coupons. At 0, 14 (Salmonella), 24, 48, and 72 h of storage (25 degrees C), cells in suspension and detached cells from the coupons, obtained by vortexing, were enumerated on tryptic soy agar. In study II, a Salmonella Thompson AI-2-positive strain and an AI-2-negative strain, and an E. coli O157:H7 AI-2-positive strain and an AI-2-negative strain were inoculated into LB broth with stainless steel coupons. Cells were enumerated as in study I. In both studies, AI-2 activity was determined in cell-free supernatants. Cell numbers of S. Typhimurium DT104 on biofilms were higher (P < 0.05) in LB than those in LBG, while the E. coli O157:H7 strain showed no difference (P>or= 0.05) in biofilm cell counts between LB and LBG after storage for 72 h. Both S. Typhimurium DT104 and E. coli O157:H7 strains produced higher (P < 0.05) AI-2 activity in LBG than LB cell suspensions. Cell counts of AI-2-positive and-negative S. Thompson and E. coli O157:H7 strains were not different (P>or= 0.05) within suspensions or coupons (study II). The results indicated that, under the conditions of this study, AI-2 activity of the pathogen strains tested may not have a major influence on biofilm formation on food contact surfaces, which was similar between AI-2-positive and -negative strains.


. Digital heritage is a sustainable medium that allows people to understand the historical shape and context of cities and architecture, leading to visions for the future. Opportunities for the public to experience life-size representations of digital heritage in three-dimensional augmented reality (3D-AR) at outdoor sites are still limited, especially at night. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a web-based 3D-AR method to digitally reconstruct a heritage site. A prototype system was developed using the five-storey pagoda of Tango Kokubunji Temple, which was built around 1330 AD and later destroyed, as a digital heritage reconstruction. An interactive initial positioning method was developed to display the five-storey pagoda on real historical foundation stones by tapping a crosshair button, under the condition that the artificial lighting is insufficient at night and the distance between the viewpoint and the 3D model of the pagoda is large. Combining the lighting effects of the real and virtual worlds at night was also demonstrated. We held an event where the general public could experience 3D-AR on their own mobile devices, and conducted a usability evaluation to verify the system.


Gaining a quantitative understanding of metabolic behaviour has long been a major scientific goal. Beginning with crude mass balance experiments and progressing through enzyme kinetics, single-pathway models and collaborative efforts such as a community- based yeast reconstruction and onwards to the digital human. The primary goal of this research was to generate a large-scale kinetic metabolic model of yeast metabolism. As a community our ability to produce large-scale dynamic metabolic models has typically been limited by the time and cost involved in obtaining exact measurements of all relevant kinetic parameters. Attempts have been made to bring about a greater understanding by using computational approaches such as flux balance analysis, and also laboratory approaches such as metabolic profiling. Unfortunately these approaches alone do not go far enough to allow for a rich understanding of the metabolic behaviour.Methods were developed that allowed known data such as fluxes, equilibrium constants and metabolite concentrations to be used in first-approximation strategies. These made possible the construction of a thermodynamically consistent model that was reflective of the organism and growth conditions under which the known data were measured. Efforts were made to improve the strategy by developing already known dynamic flux measurement techniques so they were more reflective of the type of data required for constructing the metabolic model.The model constructed, using data from a specific yeast strain in a continuous culture environment, and included 284 reactions. The model showed a reasonable reproduction of system behaviour after perturbations of extracellular glucose above and below the operating conditions, after identification and substitution of just two exact rate laws of reactions that showed high control over the system.The methods developed require little knowledge beyond the stoichiometric matrix in the first instance, and as such, are applicable to any organism that has a reasonably comprehensive network reconstruction available.


This study critically examines the concept of organizational innovation in the existing literature and to identify different strategies and approaches to the ways a manager can lead and manage innovation. Some studies emphasized on structural forms, adaptability and capability of the organizations as the foundation of the management of innovation, other models considered organizational atmosphere, participative management and incentives for innovation as the core requirement for managers to be able to organize and lead organizational innovation. Besides, the role of endogenous organizational forces including technological change, interests and power in shaping organizational transformation, societal values and capacity for learning were also considered as important variables in the management of organizational innovation.


SUMMARY The activity of atovaquone against Plasmodium berghei ANKA during sporogonic development has been examined. Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes were fed on gametocyte infected mice which had been treated 8 h previously with atovaquone or diluent alone. Mosquito midguts were examined for oocysts, and salivary gland infections were estimated using an ELISA for the circumsporozoite protein (CSP). The number of oocysts per midgut fell by at least 97% when mosquitoes were fed on mice dosed with 0·1–10 mg atovaquone/kg body weight. This was paralleled by a decrease in the prevalence of oocyst-infected mosquitoes from 70–90% in controls to 40% or 10% respectively. No oocysts were observed at a dose of 100 mg/kg. CSP ELISA results indicated that mosquitoes fed on atovaquone failed to produce sporozoites. Mosquitoes which fed on gametocytaemic, atovaquone-treated mice (0·1–100 mg/kg) did not transmit malaria to naive mice. These results demonstrate that atovaquone has a highly potent inhibitory activity against the mosquito stages of P. berghei.


Stress distribution at the contact edge is known to have a dominant influence on fretting fatigue strength. Stresses acting on the contact surface are tangential stress and compressive stress. In the present study, fretting fatigue strengths of 12 Cr steel specimen under two different mean stresses have been predicted based on the generalized tangential stress range - compressive stress range diagram. The generalized tangential stress range - compressive stress range diagram was obtained by carrying out fretting fatigue tests and finite element analysis using various steel specimens with various geometries of contact pad from the previous studies. The predicted fretting fatigue strengths were in good agreement with the experimental results.


The most common occupational noise limits are 85 dBA Leq and 140 dBZpeak for 100 impulses. Simple arithmetic shows that 100 high frequency pulses at 140 dBZ for 0.9 msec each will give 85 dBA (assuming the A-weighting has little effect due to the frequencies involved), i.e. in practical terms the Leq limit will usually be exceeded before the impulse limit. To check this in practice over 400 measurements were reviewed from a smelting and casting facility and from an ore milling operation. These measurements included impulse noise from jack hammers, pneumatic motors and exhausts, heavy scrap dropping into bins, etc. In no case was 140 dB exceeded, although 85 dBA was exceeded in many cases. More important, in every case the 85 dBA Leq limit would be exceeded well before the 140 dBZpeak limit. It is well known that noise dosimeters are unreliable in measuring impulse noise due to false impulses caused by rubbing the microphone and cable. As a result, routine assessment of impulse noise is much more difficult (expensive) than assessments using just Leq. It is concluded that in practice there is little advantage, and some decided disadvantages, to doing routine assessment (or regulation) of impulse noise exposure in industry.


Were Greenland's glaciers to melt, sea level could rise six meters and inundate some of the most populous cities on Earth. Recent data suggests that Greenland is losing ice at a rapid rate. But why? Is it natural variability or global warming? Join us for a night with glaciologist and polar adventurer Dr. Ginny Catania as she addresses what we know about the Greenland ice sheet, what we have left to find out, and what it's like to conduct science in one of the most extreme environments on the planet.


In this paper, we propose an unsupervised feature learning method called deep binary descriptor with multi-quantization (DBD-MQ) for visual matching. Existing learning-based binary descriptors such as compact binary face descriptor (CBFD) and DeepBit utilize the rigid sign function for binarization despite of data distributions, thereby suffering from severe quantization loss. In order to address the limitation, our DBD-MQ considers the binarization as a multi-quantization task. Specifically, we apply a K-AutoEncoders (KAEs) network to jointly learn the parameters and the binarization functions under a deep learning framework, so that discriminative binary descriptors can be obtained with a fine-grained multi-quantization. Extensive experimental results on different visual analysis including patch retrieval, image matching and image retrieval show that our DBD-MQ outperforms most existing binary feature descriptors.


Building transforms space into place; establishing place, it articulates an ethos. Building thus has an ethical function. Today this function is threatened by the commitment to objectivity that has shaped modernity. If that commitment has brought a new freedom, it has also brought a loss of place. Such displacement breeds dreams of a more genuine dwelling. But, while we must recognize the legitimacy of such dreams, we should not sacrifice freedom to them. Man belongs to the earth and to the light. This twofold belonging is never without tension. Building can regain its ethical function only when it learns to preserve and articulate that tension. But to do so, it must first open itself to the ambiguous language of space and place.


The sera of 849 Tanzanian pregnant women were tested at delivery for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies with the Sabin-Feldman dye test (DT) and an immunosorbent agglutination assay. A total of 296 (35%) of these women had DT titers greater than 1:4. The percentage of women with dye test titers greater than 1:4 was 34-37% regardless of the individual ages. The rate of positivity for human immunodeficiency virus 1/2 (HIV-1/2) using Western blotting was 11.5%. There was no relationship between prevalence of a positive DT result and HIV infection nor between the intensity of the DT result and HIV infection. Sixty-four parturients had a DT titer of 1:1,000 or more. From 57 newborns of these mothers, cord sera were available and were screened by the DT and the immunosorbent agglutination assay. Seven of these were found to be positive for IgM and/or IgA antibodies. It was concluded that the rate of serologic evidence for prenatal Toxoplasma infection in cord blood samples in the present study of Tanzanian pregnant women was approximately 0.8%.


Pathological myopia, also called as high myopia, can cause severe visual function loss when accompanied with complications such as chorioretinal atrophy and choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The size of the CNV also seriously affects the visual prognosis because it determines the size of the scotoma. However, the mechanisms underlying CNV occurrence and growth in myopic eyes have not been fully elucidated. We evaluated associations between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene polymorphisms and the occurrence and/or the size of CNV in highly myopic eyes. Our case-control study included 184 highly myopic patients with macular CNV in at least 1 eye and 143 patients without macular CNV in either eye. Although we genotyped 4 tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs699946, rs699947, rs3025033, and 3025035) and 4 functional SNPs (rs1570360, rs2010963, rs833061, and rs3025039), there was no associations between these SNPs and the occurrence of CNV (P > 0.10). Of the 184 patients with myopic CNV, CNV size could be measured in 83 patients. The genotype distribution of rs2010963 was significantly correlated with CNV area (P = 0.0047). The size of CNV was largest in patients with a CC genotype of rs2010963, intermediate with a CG genotype, and smallest with a GG genotype. This association was successfully replicated in the additional 76 eyes with myopic CNV, and pooled analysis revealed significant association of rs2010963 with CNV size (P = 0.00078), suggesting roles of VEGF in the growth rather than the emergence of CNV. Biography Kenji Yamashiro received an M.D. from Kyoto University Medical School in 1995 and a Ph.D. from Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in 2002 after joining Angiogenesis lab in Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Yamashiro is an author on over 90 scientific publications (impact factor: over 350) and currently Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan. His recent interest is in molecular and genetic background of age-related macular degeneration, phathologic myopia, and choroidal neovasculatrization.


Even in regions with mature hydropower development, requirements for stable renewable power sources suggest revision of plans of exploitation of water resources, while taking care of the environmental regulations. Mean Annual Flow (MAF) is a key parameter when trying to represent water availability for hydropower purposes. MAF is usually determined in ungauged basins by means of regional statistical analysis. For this study a regional estimation method consistent along-the-river network has been developed for MAF estimation; the method uses a multi-regressive approach based on geomorphoclimatic descriptors, and it is applied on 100 gauged basins located in NW Italy. The method has been designed to keep the estimates of mean annual flow congruent at the confluences, by considering only raster-summable explanatory variables. Also, the influence of human alterations in the regional analysis of MAF has been studied: impact due to the presence of existing hydropower plants has been taken into account, restoring the "natural" value of runoff through analytical corrections. To exemplify the representation of the assessment of residual hydropower potential, the model has been applied extensively to two specific mountain watersheds by mapping the estimated mean flow for the basins draining into each pixel of a the DEM-derived river network. Spatial algorithms were developed using the OpenSource Software GRASS GIS and PostgreSQL/PostGIS. Spatial representation of the hydropower potential was obtained using different mean flow vs hydraulic-head relations for each pixel. Final potential indices have been represented and mapped through the Google Earth platform, providing a complete and interactive picture of the available potential, useful for planning and regulation purposes.


Context. The circumstellar environments of Herbig Be stars in the far-infrared are poorly characterised, mainly because they are often embedded and rather distant. The analysis of far-infrared spectroscopy allows us to make a major step forward by covering multiple rotational lines of molecules, e.g. CO, that are useful probes of the physical conditions of the gas. Aims. We characterise the gas and dust in the discs and environments of Herbig Be stars, and we compare the results with those of their lower-mass counterparts, the Herbig Ae stars. Methods. We report and analyse far-infrared observations of two Herbig Be stars, R Mon and PDS 27, obtained with the Herschel instruments PACS and SPIRE. We construct spectral energy distributions and derive the infrared excess. We extract line fluxes from the PACS and SPIRE spectra and construct rotational diagrams in order to estimate the excitation temperature of the gas. We derive CO, [O I] and [C I] luminosities to determine the physical conditions of the gas, and the dominant cooling mechanism. Results. We confirm that the Herbig Be stars are surrounded by remnants from their parental clouds, with an IR excess that mainly originates in a disc. In R Mon we detect [O I], [C I], [C II], CO (26 transitions), water and OH, while in PDS 27 we only detect [C I] and CO (8 transitions). We attribute the absence of OH and water in PDS 27 to UV photo-dissociation and photo-evaporation. From the rotational diagrams, we find several components for CO; we derive T rot 949 ± 90 K, 358 ± 20 K and 77 ± 12 K for R Mon; 96 ± 12 K and 31 ± 4 K for PDS 27; and 25 ± 8 K and 27 ± 6 K for their respective compact neighbours. The forsterite feature at 69 μ m was not detected in either of the sources, probably due to the lack of (warm) crystalline dust in a flat disc. We find that cooling by molecules is dominant in the Herbig Be stars, while this is not the case in Herbig Ae stars where cooling by [O I] dominates. Moreover, we show that in the Herbig Be star R Mon, outflow shocks are the dominant gas heating mechanism, while in Herbig Ae stars it is stellar. Conclusions. The outflow of R Mon contributes to the observed line emission by heating the gas in the central spaxel/beam covering the disc and in the immediate surroundings, as well as in those spaxels/beams covering the parabolic shell around it. PDS 27, a B2 star, has dispersed a large part of its gas content and/or destroyed molecules; this is likely given its intense UV field.


ABSTRACT The post-earnings announcement drift anomaly has been widely researched and confirmed for several markets around the world. This paper investigates the relationship between the earnings surprise as reflected by the price change immediately after the earnings announcement and the subsequent price drift over the next 120 days, called the PEAD effect. Evidence obtained for JSE listed shares over the period from 1991 to 2010 indicates that the PEAD effect is present, that its magnitude is statistically significant and that it exists independently of the size, value and momentum effects. The results indicate that after the initial reaction to the announcement, it is not until about the 20th to 40th trading day after the announcement that the share price starts drifting in the same direction as the initial reaction. Contrary to previous research that confirmed the overreaction phenomenon on the JSE for the period 1975–1989 (Bhana, 1995), the market therefore seems not to over-or under-react to the earnings information, but to receive confirmation in the two months following the announcement that is in line with the announcement -in the case of a positive surprise this confirmation may be indicative of better future prospects and that the higher than expected earnings might persist.


The paper deals with the analysis of ex-Yugoslav countries' export performance (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia) over the period 2006-2013. The paper is aimed at assessing these countries' export competitiveness and determining
its dynamics in trade with the world. The analysis included the research into and comparison of export
characteristics – the volume and dynamics of export flows, geographic and product export structure and concentration, technological export sophistication, export specialization expressed through revealed comparative advantage, intensity and direction of change in export structure. In order to gain a comprehensive insight into export competitiveness, a few indicators were used: Balassa RCA index, Michaely index, Herfindahl-Hirschman concentration indices, etc. The indices were calculated based on the information from relevant databases of the World Bank and International Trade Centre, aggregated at the second and sixth HS2002 level, for the eight-year period and/or for the first and the
last year.
The research revealed that ex-YU countries' export performance is generally unsatisfactory, despite the progress that individual countries registered in the observed period. Most countries have comparative advantage in the products of traditional, declining industries, a high share of semiproducts and primary products, and a negligible share of high-technology products in their export portfolio, a stagnating export structure, and a low degree of geographic and product export diversification. Mutual comparisons showed that the group is not homogenous and that, besides the
described common characteristics, there are significant differences within the group in certain aspects of export competitiveness. The EU member–states, Croatia and particularly Slovenia, have a series of advantages compared to countries that are candidates and potential candidate. The greatest progress toward the improved export competitiveness was achieved by Serbia, while Montenegro got the poorest rating for export competitiveness.


We present a robust method to retrieve neuronal fibers in human brain white matter from High-Angular Resolution MRI (HARDI datasets). Contrary to classical fiber-tracking techniques done on the traditional 2nd-order tensor model (DTI) which may lead to truncated or biased estimated diffusion directions in case of fiber crossing configurations, we propose here a more complex approach based on a variational estimation of Orientation Diffusion Functions (ODF) modeled with spherical harmonics. This kind of model can correctly retrieve multiple fiber directions corresponding to underlying intravoxel fibers populations. Our technique is able to consider the Rician noise model of the MRI acquisition in order to better estimate the white matter fiber tracks. Results on both synthetic and real human brain white matter HARDI datasets illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


Analgesia or hyperalgesia has been reported to occur in animals under different stress conditions. This study examined the effect of acute restraint stress on nociception in rats. Acute restraint stress produced a time-dependant decrease in pain threshold; this hyperalgesia was not affected by prior administration of adrenergic blockers suggesting the non-involvement of adrenergic mechanisms. The hyperalgesia may however result from a change in the affective state of the animal and not from a change in sensory processing of noxious stimulus. Keywords : stress, hyperalgesia, tail-flick test, sympathetic nervous system African Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 8(2) 2005: 123-125


The paper presents the study of multi-PTO interaction in single-air chamber oscillating-water-column (OWC) wave energy converters (WECs). This strategy seeks: i) tunning system's performance to sea states, ii) increasing reliability through modular designs that are easier to install and replace, and iii) increasing conversion efficiency through better matching between available power and electric conversion equipment. The strategy was assessed through a novel non-linear time-domain model for OWC WECs implemented in the multi-physics object-oriented language Modelica. The model considers multiple degrees of freedom associated with the various PTOs. Different case studies are presented to show the proposed approach's versatility, some of the constraints expected in real implementations, and potential pathways to overcome them. The wave-to-wire model considers air compressibility and non-linear power take-off systems, which is fundamental to assessing the damping level variation required for each sea state considered. The cases presented are for a fixed-structure coaxial-duct OWC WEC, but the results are generalisable for floating structures. Results show a significant increase in mean annual power, and control strategies are proposed for power maximisation. Furthermore, some critical points are shown in the operational conditions' envelop for the system under a selected Portuguese wave climate. The identification of these critical values is important for the control of the OWC WECs. This study represents an advance in the control strategies considering multiple PTOs for a single OWC air chamber to foster innovation actions.


Multiplication in finite fields (Galois fields) is a basic operation for cryptography applications. Recent proposals for elliptic code cryptography, require efficient computation of multiplication in finite fields of type GF(2/sup n/) for large values of n (150, 200 bits). Digit-serial multiplier VLSI architectures are an attractive solution, being a compromise between purely parallel and serial ones. A comparative study of digit-serial multiplier VLSI architectures, for fields of type GF(2/sup n/), is carried out. Such architectures are reviewed, some further optimisations are proposed, and are then implemented in VHDL (CMOS cell library, 0.35 /spl mu/m, by ST Microelectronics). Figures of merit like time latency, silicon area and power consumption are evaluated by simulation with Synopsis tools, varying parameters like the size n of the field elements and the size k of the blocks of bits being processed in parallel by the digit-serial architectures.


The effect of photoconductivity in GaAs single crystals was investigated by using both nanosecond and picosecond light pulses for excitation. Both steady state and transient responses of photoconductivity have been observed.


— Failure in mastery of motor skills proficiency during childhood has been seen as a detrimental factor for children to be physically active. Lack of motor skills proficiency tends to reduce children's competency and confidence level to participate in physical activity. As a consequence of less participation in physical activity, children will turn to be overweight and obese. It has been suggested that children who master motor skill proficiency will be more involved in physical activity thus preventing them from being overweight. Obesity has become a serious childhood health issues worldwide. Previous studies have found that children who were overweight and obese were generally less active however these studies focused on one gender. This study aims to compare motor skill proficiency of underweight, normal-weight, overweight and obese young boys as well as to determine the relationship between motor skills proficiency and body composition. 112 boys aged between 8 to 10 years old participated in this study. Participants were assigned to four groups; underweight, normal-weight, overweight and obese using BMI-age percentile chart for children. Bruininks-Oseretsky Test Second Edition-Short Form was administered to assess their motor skill proficiency. Meanwhile, body composition was determined by the skinfold thickness measurement. Result indicated that underweight and normal children were superior in motor skills proficiency compared to overweight and obese children ( p < 0.05). A significant strong inverse correlation between motor skills proficiency and body composition ( r = -0.849) is noted. The findings of this study could be explained by non-contributory mass that carried by overweight and obese children leads to biomechanical movement inefficiency which will become detrimental to motor skills proficiency. It can be concluded that motor skills proficiency is inversely correlated with body composition.


This thesis aims at understanding the role of social factors in regard of the constitution of the technologically mediated human being. Through investigating in the development and constitution of mediated posthumanism with a special focus on postphenomenology and technical mediation as well as the foucaultian subjectivation theory, I conclude that mediated posthumanism lacks the acknowledgement of the social embeddedness of human subjectivity. In order to investigate further in this manner, I make use of the psychological approach of resilience studies. This approach, although outside of the subject area of philosophy of technology, is able to offer many concepts and methods to investigate in the role of the embeddedness of human individuals.
In order to introduce the concept of a socially embedded and technologically mediated human subjectivity, the thesis opens with offering the reader an introduction to mediated posthumanism, postphenomenology and subjectivation theory. Subsequently resilience studies are introduced. Resilience studies are a branch in psychology and psychotherapy aiming at the understanding of the processes that enable human individuals to recover from or cope with adverse situations and traumatic experiences. In this approach, the human individual is outlined as subjected to various levels of influencing factors comprised in human adaptation systems. These human adaptation systems are pictured as supportive networks of promotive and protective factors which enable the individual to cope with adversity and are delineated as fundamentally important for human individuals to function normally. If these systems are malfunctioning or impaired through the overwhelming presence of risk factors, the individual is not able to develop normally or healthy.
It becomes clear that the approach of mediated posthumanism, which is based on the account of a foucaultian subjectivity in regard of technological influence, is dependent on the acknowledgement of the social embeddedness of the individual's subjectivity. In order to support this critique of posthumanism to understate constitutive aspects of human subjectivity, Lucie Dalibert's PhD thesis is presented. Dalibert outlines the importance of the human body in the conceptualization of mediated posthumanism. Her stance on somatechnologies, offers another pillar of investigation in the approach of mediated posthumanism which is focusing on new emerging biotechnologies and the constitution of human existence.
The thesis closes with a discussion on the importance of social embeddedness and the acknowledgment of the processes that constitute the individual's ability to adapt to challenges and threats. Technology, especially new emerging biotechnologies are discussed in their disruptive potential and the methods to adapt to these disruptive forces. Subjectivation, the approach pursued in mediated posthumanism, is outlined as dependent on the acknowledgment of a resilient, stabile human being. This resilience, or rather stability in regard of new emerging biotechnologies, can be achieved through subjectivation under the acknowledgment of the moderating and mediating role of human adaptation systems.


From both medical and lay sources requests have come to the American Medical Association to prepare a description of the objects to be attained, the methods to be employed and results which may be expected from inquiry into and observation of the tissues and physiologic functions of persons, young and old, who are not at the time aware of any disease or defect which is causing them to seek medical relief. By resolution of the House of Delegates in June, 1922, the Council on Health and Public Instruction was authorized to prepare forms suitable for use by practitioners of medicine in carrying out the purposes of the periodic health examination, and the statement here submitted is offered in fulfilment of this obligation. 1 The preparation of forms for record of the applicant's history and the medical examination, without explanatory text as to the intent and meaning of the questions and


The efficacy of Ocimum selloi essential oil was evaluated for controlling the growth of mycelia and spores germination Moniliophthora perniciosa. Six compounds (99.89%) of the total oil were identified by GC-MS, of which methyl chavicol, methyl eugenol, -caryophyllene, germacrene-D, bicyclogermacrene and spathulenol. Essential oil was tested for antifungal activity, which was determined by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination methods. Application of the oil reduced mycelial growth in a dose dependent manner, with maximum inhibition being observed at concentration of 1,000 ppm. Such antifungal activity could be attributed to methyl chavicol since the pure compound was shown to be similarly effective against Moniliophthora perniciosa at 1,000 ppm. The oil when applied at a concentration of 1,000 ppm, reduced the spore germination of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and M. perniciosa by 93 and 87%, respectively, but had no effect on the Alternaria alternata. It is concluded that the oil from O. selloi and its major constituent, methyl chavicol, are efficient in inhibiting M. perniciosa, but less effective against C. gloeosporioides and A. alternata. The results obtained from this work may contribute to the development of alternative anti-fungal agents to protect the cacao crop from fungal disease.


In developing 99mTc complexes as potential myocardial imaging agents, a new series of ligands based on a conformationally restricted N2S2 system were investigated. Using piperazine or homopiperazine as the starting material, two N2S2 ligands (4a and 4b) with additional conformation restriction between the two nitrogen donor atoms were synthesized. The 99mTc complexes were prepared by a direct labeling method with tin(II) tartrate as the reducing agent for [99mTc]pertechnetate. The resulting 99mTc complexes were purified through a sulfonpropyl Sephadex column and further purified by HPLC with a reverse-phase column eluting with a solvent system of acetonitrile/buffer. Biodistribution studies in rats showed initial uptake in the heart (0.21%, 0.42% dose/order for [99mTc]4a and 4b at 2 min postinjection). Carrier-added preparation of [99mTc]4b was successful. NMR, IR, UV, crystallographic, and elemental analysis of the [99Tc]4b complex suggest that it contains a TcVO3+ center core and is 1+ charged. The results suggest that this series of 1+ charged 99mTc complexes may have potential as myocardial imaging agents, and further study of the complexes is warranted.


Amplification of the single-interface and long-range surface plasmon-polariton modes is studied in planar metallic structures incorporating gain media formed by Rhodamine 6G dye molecules in solution. We employ a theoretical model that accounts for the nonuniformity of the gain medium close to the metal surface due to position-dependent dipole lifetime and pump irradiance. The results of this model are used as a baseline for a comparative study against two simplified models: one neglects the position-dependent dipole lifetime while the other assumes a uniform gain medium. The discrepancies between the models are explained in terms of the mode overlap with the gain distribution near the metal. For the cases under analysis, the simplified models estimate the required pump irradiance with deviation factors that vary from 1.45 at the lossless conditions to 8 for gains near saturation. The relevance of describing properly the amount o gain interacting with the SPP mode and the role played by the dipole quantum efficiency are discussed.


The log-normal distribution is one of the most common distributions used for modeling skewed and positive data. In recent years, various methods for comparing the means of two independent log-normal distributions have been developed. In this paper a higher-order likelihood based method is proposed. The method is applied to two real-life examples and simulation studies are used compare the accuracy of the proposed method to some existing methods.


Lipoprotein-X (LP-X), a lipoprotein isolated from human cholestatic plasma by ethanol--acetate precipitation and zonal ultracentrifugation, has been studied by 13C NMR at 67.9 MHz. Spectra of LP-X and its three subfractions are markedly different from those of normal human high-density lipoprotein3 (HDL3) or low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Spectra of LP-X are characterized by the presence of unusually broad resonance lines, especially those attributable to C6 of unesterified cholesterol (160--260 Hz) and to C beta of phospholipid glyceride (240--290 Hz). In contrast, the CH2O, CH2N, and N(CH3)3 choline resonances have line widths comparable to those of normal LDL and HDL3. For the subfraction LP-X1, spin--lattice relaxation times (T1) of the fatty acyl olefin resonances at 129.8 and 128.0 ppm and of the unesterified cholesterol C6 at 120.1 ppm were measured to be 675, 766, and 162 ms, respectively. These times are comparable to those measured for the corresponding resonances in single bilayer vesicles whose lipid composition approximates that of LP-X. The three LP-X subfractions isolated by zonal ultracentrifugation gave spectra which are identical, within experimental error, as judged qualitatively from their appearance and quantitatively from the line widths of selected resonances. In addition, 13C NMR spectra of sonicated total LP-X lipids are similar to spectra of the intact native lipoprotein. This study suggests (a) that motions of lipids in LP-X as probed by 13C NMR are similar to the motions of lipids found in model vesicular systems, (b) that the motions of the cholesterol rings and phospholipid fatty acyl chains are significantly more restricted in LP-X than in HDL3 and LDL, and (c) that the motions of the phosphoryl moieties in all three systems are similar.


Ferromagnetism persisting above 375 K and anisotropic ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra have been detected for the first time in Si co-implanted with Mn and As and annealed under appropriate conditions. For comparison, semi-insulating GaAs samples have been implanted with the same ions and subsequently annealed. They also exhibit ferromagnetism with a Curie temperature well in excess of 375 K. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed on the samples with the best magnetic characteristics has shown the presence of nanoclusters due to the segregation of the implanted species in both Si and GaAs. The angular dependence of the FMR spectra also reveals the existence of magnetic clusters with the hard magnetization axis aligned along the four equivalent <111> crystal axes. The spectra are very similar in Si and GaAs, indicating that the clusters in both materials probably consist of hexagonal MnAs.


The scalability bottleneck of data-intensive Web applications often turns out to be the database. This bottleneck can be alleviated by decreasing the load posed on the database or increasing the database throughput. Existing solutions are either based on query caching that intend to decrease the database load or database replication that intend to increase the throughput of the database. However, as we show in this thesis, none of these solutions provide sufficient scalability for demanding applications. This thesis combines three approaches in order to alleviate the database bottleneck. We first study the impact of distributed and hierarchical organizations for database query caches. Second, we propose a novel data replication technique which improves the throughput compared to a fully replicated database. Third, we introduce a cost-based query routing policy to improve the load balance of the database nodes at run time. All approaches exploit the fact that an application's query workload is based on a small set of read and write templates. Our evaluations show that a combination of distributed and hierarchical caching can result in hit ratios up to 60%. Furthermore, we show that both the novel replication technique as well as the cost-based routing can significantly increase the scalability. Finally, our evaluations show that for a fixed workload a combined approach using distributed and hierarchical caching as well as the novel data placement and cost-based routing can process 95% of all queries within 100ms compared to only 1% for a fully replicated database.


In Central and North America, Australia and New Zealand, potato (Solanum tuberosum) crops are attacked by Bactericera cockerelli, the tomato potato psyllid (TPP). 'Mesh crop covers' which are used in Europe and Israel to protect crops from insect pests, have been used experimentally in New Zealand for TPP control. While the covers have been effective for TPP management, the green peach aphid (GPA, Myzus persicae) has been found in large numbers under the mesh crop covers. This study investigated the ability of the GPA to penetrate different mesh hole sizes. Experiments using four sizes (0.15 × 0.15, 0.15 × 0.35, 0.3 × 0.3 and 0.6 × 0.6 mm) were carried out under laboratory conditions to investigate: (i) which mesh hole size provided the most effective barrier to GPA; (ii) which morph of adult aphids (apterous or alate) and/or their progeny could breach the mesh crop cover; (iii) would leaves touching the underside of the cover, as opposed to having a gap between leaf and the mesh, increase the number of aphids breaching the mesh; and (iv) could adults feed on leaves touching the cover by putting only their heads and/or stylets through it? No adult aphids, either alate or apterous, penetrated the mesh crop cover; only nymphs did this, the majority being the progeny of alate adults. Nymphs of the smaller alatae aphids penetrated the three coarsest mesh sizes; nymphs of the larger apterae penetrated the two coarsest sizes, but no nymphs penetrated the smallest mesh size. There was no statistical difference in the number of aphids breaching the mesh crop cover when the leaflets touched its underside compared to when there was a gap between leaf and mesh crop cover. Adults did not feed through the mesh crop cover, though they may have been able to sense the potato leaflet using visual and/or olfactory cues and produce nymphs as a result. As these covers are highly effective for managing TPP on field potatoes, modifications of this protocol are required to make it effective against aphids as well as TPP.


Abstract. To better quantify water and energy cycles, numerous efforts to partition evapotranspiration (ET) into evaporation (E) and transpiration (T) have been made over the recent half century. Various methods such as direct measurements, analytical models and satellite-based estimations have been used to separate ET across the field scale to the global scale. One of the analytical methods, isotopic approach, has been often applied in terrestrial ecosystem ET partitioning. The isotopic composition of ET (δET) is a crucial parameter in the traditional isotope-based ET partition model, which however has considerable uncertainty. Here we proposed a new method relying on Keeling plot slope (k), and relying on the direct measurements of atmospheric vapor concentration (Cv) and isotopic composition of atmospheric vapor (δv), to avoid the direct use of δET. Mathematical derivation of the new method was provided, and field observations were used to evaluate the new method. The T/ET results based on the new method agreed well with those using the traditional isotopic method. The new method eliminates the high sensitivity contribution parameter δET. In addition, the new method utilized directly measured values and regressive slope of Keeling plot instead of using the interpolated Keeling plot intercept. Our study shows an analytical framework to estimate T/ET based on the Keeling plot slope and direct-measured parameters. The new method potentially reduces the uncertainty of isotope-based ET partition approach.


In this research the application of artificial intelligence techniques for on-line process control and fault detection and diagnosis are investigated. The majority of the research is on using artificial intelligence techniques in on-line fault detection and diagnosis of industrial processes. Several on-line approaches, including a rule based controller and several fault detection and diagnosis systems, have been developed and implemented and are described throughout this thesis. The research results obtained demonstrate that rule based controllers can be an alternative in situations where conventional mathematical modelling fails to give a high level of automation. The research on on-line fault detection and diagnosis emphasises the use of deep knowledge based approaches. Therefore, two on-line fault detection and diagnosis systems based on qualitative modelling have been implemented. For the first one only single abrupt faults have been considered while the second one can cope with single and multiple simultaneous abrupt faults. In order to overcome the problems associated with the inherent ambiguity of qualitative reasoning, a fuzzy qualitative simulation algorithm, which allows a semiquantitative extension to qualitative simulation, has been investigated. The adoption of fuzzy sets allows a more detailed description of physical variables, through an arbitrary, but finite, discretisation of the quantity space, and also allows common-sense knowledge to be represented rough the use of graded membership.F urther research concerning self-reasoning has been one for qualitative model based diagnosis approaches. A self-learning system which can find any inappropriate settings of fault detection and diagnosis parameters and also learn fault symptoms from on-line sampled data, has been developed. Through machine learning techniques, the system can adjust fuzzy membership functions of the process variables automatically, as well as build the knowledge base on-line very efficiently. In order to cope with incipient faults and transient behaviour of the process under concern, a distributed online fault detection and diagnosis system, consisting of a knowledge based approach coupled with a fuzzy neural network, has been developed. The fault detection task is performed through the knowledge based approach. A systematic methodology for formulating fault detection heuristic rules from knowledge of system structure and component -functions has been investigated. Since structural decomposition corresponds to plant topology, such a method could be easier to implement. A fuzzy neural network approach has been used for fault diagnosis. This system combines the advantages of both fuzzy reasoning and neural networks. In order to speed up the fuzzy neural network training task, an extension of the classical backpropagation learning algorithm is also investigated. The research results achieved with this fault detection and diagnosis system reveal a very good performance and reliability provided that the training data is available.


DSAP is a skin condition manifested by multiple, dry, scaly rings, each measuring up to 1 cm (1/2 inch) across. They are found mainly on the forearms and legs. It is due to excessive sun exposure causing thickening of the skin. It is sometimes confused with actinic keratosis which is also caused by sun exposure (See Patient Information Leaflet on Actinic Keratoses); however, actinic keratosis is more likely to arise on the face and hands.


We present the Massive and Distant Clusters of WISE Survey (MaDCoWS), a search for galaxy clusters at 0.7 ≲ z ≲ 1.5 based upon data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. MaDCoWS is the first cluster survey capable of discovering massive clusters at these redshifts over the full extragalactic sky. The search is divided into two regions—the region of the extragalactic sky covered by Pan-STARRS (δ > −30°) and the remainder of the southern extragalactic sky at δ < −30° for which shallower optical data from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey is available. In this paper, we describe the search algorithm, characterize the sample, and present the first MaDCoWS data release—catalogs of the 2433 highest amplitude detections in the WISE–Pan-STARRS region and the 250 highest amplitude detections in the WISE–SuperCOSMOS region. A total of 1723 of the detections from the WISE–Pan-STARRS sample have also been observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope, providing photometric redshifts and richnesses, and an additional 64 detections within the WISE–SuperCOSMOS region also have photometric redshifts and richnesses. Spectroscopic redshifts for 38 MaDCoWS clusters with IRAC photometry demonstrate that the photometric redshifts have an uncertainty of σz/(1 + z) ≃ 0.036. Combining the richness measurements with Sunyaev–Zel'dovich observations of MaDCoWS clusters, we also present a preliminary mass–richness relation that can be used to infer the approximate mass distribution of the full sample. The estimated median mass for the WISE–Pan-STARRS catalog is , with the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich data confirming that we detect clusters with masses up to M500 ∼ 5 × 1014 M⊙ (M200 ∼ 1015 M⊙).