This report presents the results of research resulting from a thorough examination of the archaeological data held by the Suffolk County Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), cartographic materials and secondary historical records such as Suffolk County Council's Parish Histories and the Victoria County Histories (held by Ipswich Record Office) and the aerial photographs (held by the National Monuments Record and Suffolk County Council). These examinations were supplemented by a field visit undertaken by the author in the company of Rog Palmer of Air Photo Services.
Results of the study indicate the continued survival of a World War II pill-box or battle headquarters within the site and the remains of the mill adjacent to Mill Farmhouse. The latter has been partially excavated by the Suffolk Mills Study Group.
Although the SMR indicates that archaeological finds have been recovered from within and around the subject site in the past, there is as yet no conclusive evidence for the presence and survival of prehistoric, Roman and Saxon remains. Recent archaeological work has called into question earlier interpretations. Nonetheless cartographic evidence for barrows on the edge of the site and SMR records for tesserae being found within it, suggest that additional remains from these periods should be expected. The absence of recent confirmation of Roman remains at locations close to the site may result from inadequate methodology, particularly with regards to projects occurring pre-PPG16 (DOE 1990), or from the small scale and restricted spatial spread of the Roman activities, or the mis-reporting of locational information.
The record of tesserae implies the presence of a major Roman building in the vicinity. The possibility that a prehistoric or Early Saxon burial ground extends into the site, however putative, is highly significant as it implies the possibility of important remains including burials.
As a result of the current research a scheme of fieldwork involving geophysical survey, fieldwalking and evaluation trenching is recommended. Given the current unknown location, condition and potential significance of any surviving archaeological features and deposits, which may include human remains, the Local Planning Authority is likely to expect this work to be undertaken pre-determination.


Adolescence represents one of the most crucial periods of human brain development. This unique neurodevelopmental window involves a complex interplay of synaptic re-modelling, the establishing of cortical and sub-cortical emotional processing and cognitive neural circuits along with a greater propensity for engaging in risky behaviours and experimentation with illicit drugs. A growing body of both clinical and pre-clinical evidence has demonstrated that exposure to cannabis, and more specifically, Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, can strongly increase the likelihood of developing serious neuropsychiatric disorders in later life. Adolescent THC exposure is linked to long-term cognitive impairments, emotional dysregulation, mood disorders and increased vulnerability to schizophrenia. The interplay between adolescent THC exposure and mental health risks have been linked to a wide array of underlying neurobiological pathologies, including structural and morphological alterations in brain circuits linked to cognitive function and emotional regulation. Despite this growing body of data, there remains considerable confusion and misinformation regarding how and why adolescent cannabis use can ultimately increase these psychopathological risk factors. Nevertheless, the confluence of clinical and pre-clinical neuroscience research related to these questions is finally providing much needed insight into the relative risks and identifying useful biomarkers that may ultimately allow us to establish more reliable criteria and guidelines for safer cannabis access and help mitigate these risks to mental health.


In this study the determination of micro mineral elements (selenium, iron and zinc) in meat, spleen and liver of beef were carried out. Brahman cross steers reared under intensive production system in feedlot for 87 days. Samples of meat, spleen and liver were collected from 16 steers aged 24-36 months with four types of feeding treatment, feeding without Se (group I) and feeding with additional supplementary of 0.3 ppm selenium for 25, 50 and 75 days (group II, III and IV, respectively). Samples characterization were carried out by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) using irradiation facility in G.A Siwabessy Serpong reactor. Analysis results showed that there is an increasing of selenium content in meat and liver after 75 days feeding. The mean of selenium in liver for group I, II, III and IV were 0.13, 0.17, 0.20 and 0.31 mg/kg wet weight, respectively, while for liver were 0.43, 0.53, 0.60 and 0.70 mg/kg wet weight, respectively. The mean concentrations for iron in meat, spleen and liver were 11.85, 139, and 38.94 mg/kg, respectively, for zinc were 27.90, 21.70 and 25.27 mg/kg, respectively. In this study, the meat and liver contribute more than 100% of recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Se for children and adults. Spleen have contribution of RDA of Fe 53 to 154%, while the RDA of Zn is contributed mostly from meat by 21 to 56%.


PAC-Bayesian error bounds provide a theoretical guarantee on the generalization abilities of meta-learning from training tasks to unseen tasks. How-ever, it is still unclear how tight PAC-Bayesian bounds we can achieve for meta-learning. In this work, we propose a general PAC-Bayesian framework to cope with single-task learning and meta-learning uniformly. With this framework, we generalize the two tightest PAC-Bayesian bounds (i.e., kl-bound and Catoni-bound) from single-task learning to standard meta-learning, result-ing in fast convergence rates for PAC-Bayesian meta-learners. By minimizing the derived two bounds, we develop two meta-learning algorithms for classification problems with deep neural networks. For regression problems, by setting Gibbs optimal posterior for each training task, we obtain the closed-form formula of the minimizer of our Catoni-bound, leading to an efficient Gibbs meta-learning algorithm. Although minimizing our kl-bound can not yield a closed-form solution, we show that it can be extended for analyzing the more challenging meta-learning setting where samples from different training tasks exhibit inter-dependencies. Experiments empirically show that our proposed meta-learning algorithms achieve competitive results with respect to latest works.


: The purpose of the work is to study efficiency of a new medical technology in rehabilitation of children with respiratory organs pathology. 177 children at the age from 2 to 7 years were randomized into two groups: 90 children of the main group performed the complexes of physical and respiratory exercises according to developed medical technology, 87 children of the control group performed standard physical exercises on physical training classes. The results of the study revealed decrease in frequency of acute respiratory disease in 1.83 times, exacerbation of bronchial asthma in 1.86 times in children of the main group. Improvement in development of physical qualities and spirography indices against the background of physical and respiratory exercises according to developed medical technology was detected. Significant cytoprotective action to nasal mucous tunic in preschool age children with respiratory organs pathology was registered.


We present an approach to the problem of verification of epistemic properties of multi-agent systems by means of symbolic model checking. In particular, it is shown how to extend the technique of unbounded model checking from a purely temporal setting to a temporal-epistemic one. In order to achieve this, we base our discussion on interpreted systems semantics, a popular semantics used in multi-agent systems literature.We give details of the technique and show how it can be applied to the well-known train, gate and controller problem.


We have analyzed coronary arteriographies of 170 patients, 120 with isolated aortic stenosis and 50 with isolated aortic failure. Patients with stenosis showed higher frequency of angina (73% versus 54%, p = 0.0223). No significant differences were observed with respect to the incidence of the coronary artery disease (26.7% versus 31.8%, p = 0.18). The presence of angina was significantly more specific in aortic failure (specificity 52.4% versus 31.8% in aortic stenosis, p = 0.039). Among the patients with less than 56 years of age, the probability of developing coronary artery disease in absence of angina was 6.3% (1 out of 16), the confidence interval ranging from 1.5% to 30.2%. Our results do not support any modification of the conventional criteria for conducting coronary arteriographies in patients with aortic valvulopathy.


We describe a synthesis methodology called Trimmed VLIW, which we argue lies between application specific processors and high level synthesis. Much like application specific processors, our methodology starts from a known instruction set architecture and customizes it to create the final implementation. However, our approach goes further as we not only add custom functional units and define the parameters of the register file, but we also remove unneeded interconnect, which results in a data path that looks more similar to that created by high level synthesis tools. We show that there are substantial opportunities for eliminating unused resources, which results in an architecture that has significantly smaller area. We compare area, delay and performance results of a base architecture with trimmed one. Preliminary results show by only trimming wires we have an average of 25% area reduction while improving the performance around 5%. Furthermore, we evaluated our results with high-level synthesize tools C2V and AutoESL.


The rapid spread of laparoscopic cholecystectomy as standard operative treatment of cholelithiasis raises the question whether this new technique can be learned as prescribed for the traditional training of surgeons. To answer this question traditional methods of instruction were used for the first consecutive 100 laparoscopic cholecystectomies after the instructors had seen the method elsewhere and learned by operations on animals. 15 surgeons operated on these 100 patients (23 men and 77 women; mean age 50 [20-79] years). In accordance with the concept of early integration of laparoscopic cholecystectomy into surgical training, two trainee surgeons who had not yet performed a conventional cholecystectomy also took part in laparoscopic cholecystectomies. There were one serious (damage to the hepatocholedochal duct) and two mild (postoperative colics) complications. The median duration of operation was 95 (30-240) min. In eight patients the intervention was continued as a conventional cholecystectomy. This experience demonstrates that training in laparoscopic surgery can follow the same path as that for conventional surgery. A prerequisite is responsible assistance by an experienced operator, after the method has been introduced into the hospital.


Abstract Conventional methods for hollow cylinder apparatus (HCA) specimen preparation are not applicable for TJ-1 lunar soil simulant due to its wide particle size distribution. A novel method to prepare uniform TJ-1 specimen for HCA tests is put forward. The method is a combination of the multi-layering dry-rodding method and a new under-compaction criterion in the multi-layer with under-compaction method (UCM). In the novel method, the specimen is prepared with 5 layers by dry-rodding and the UCM is used to determine the height after each layer is compacted. The density uniformity of specimen is evaluated by the freezing method to find out the best under-compaction criterion. Two HCA specimens with the same target density are prepared by the novel method and examined in the tests of pure rotation of the principal stresses. Their conformable mechanical behaviors ascertain the effectiveness of the method to produce uniform and reproducible HCA specimens. Four groups of HCA tests are carried out to investigate the anisotropic and non-coaxial behaviors of TJ-1 lunar soil simulant. The results indicate that the principal stress direction, the deviator stress ratio, the stress level and the coefficient of the intermediate principal stress significantly influence the strength and deformation properties of TJ-1 lunar soil simulant.


Neurophysiological studies have generally failed to find evidence of a specific ascending pathway for visceral nociception. However, pain that arises from deep or visceral tissues typically differs from cutaneous pain, particularly in its diffuse, poorly localized quality. In this study, the c-fos mapping technique was used in order to investigate possible differences in the distribution of central neurons activated by afferent pathways from cutaneous and deep tissues that may be related to the differing quality of the sensations they evoke. The distribution of neurons in the upper cervical and medullary dorsal horn that displayed fos-like immunoreactivity (fos-LI) was examined following mechanical stimulation of dural blood vessels (transverse and superior sagittal sinuses), and was compared to that found following mechanical, thermal, and chemical stimulation of facial sites. Dural stimulation was carried out Brevital anesthesia in rats that had received a chronic surgical exposure of the transverse and superior sagittal sinuses 2 d earlier. Localized mechanical stimulation of the dural surface of the transverse sinus produced a predominantly ipsilateral increase in the number of fos-LI neurons in the medullary and upper cervical dorsal horn (primarily laminae I and V), and in the transition region between the trigeminal nucleus caudalis and interpolaris. Stimulation of the superior sagittal sinus produced increases in fos-LI labeling that were generally smaller than those produced by transverse sinus stimulation. The distribution of fos-LI labeling in the dorsal horn induced by dural stimulation differed from that induced by facial stimulation in two ways. (1) Dural stimulation produced a more diffuse distribution of fos-LI than facial stimulation in the dorsal horn. Whereas facial stimulation produced a dense, localized zone of fos-LI labeling in the dorsal horn, dural stimulation produced fos-LI labeling that extended from the midlevel of caudalis to C2/C3, and also extended across a large portion of the ventrolateral-to- dorsomedial axis of the dorsal horn. This distribution roughly corresponds to the representation of most of the dorsal half of the head and face. (2) Dural stimulation produced a more restricted laminar distribution of fos-LI labeling than facial stimulation, in that the dural-induced labeling in the superficial dorsal horn was primarily restricted to lamina I, whereas facial stimulation typically induced substantial labeling in both lamina I and the outer part of lamina II. These differences in the central organization of the afferent pathways from dural and facial sites may contribute to the differences in the quality of sensations evoked by these pathways.


We have obtained a deep U-band image of the central ~100 kpc of the Abell 1795 cluster central galaxy. This image shows several faint (μU ~ 23-24 mag arcsec-2), thin structures, of unknown origin, that extend between 20 and 70 kpc into the galaxy's halo. Some are located along filaments of nebular line emission. Two structures, detected in the ground-based U-band image and in V and R images obtained with the WFPC2 on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), extend toward faint, disturbed galaxies. The structures may be stripped stellar and gaseous debris from several sub-L* galaxies that are interacting with the central dominant galaxy. The lobes of blue optical continuum found earlier along the galaxy's radio lobes are resolved into bright knots on the HST images. The knots are probably composed of young stars. A dust lane lies along the edges of the radio jets and along the edge of the northern radio lobe. The dust and associated cold, dense gas may have deflected the radio jets and may have become entrained along the radio jets and lobes. The images strengthen recent arguments for radio-triggered star formation in A1795, and they raise the possibility that some of the accreted gas may have been stripped from neighboring galaxies.


All-pass filters (APFs) are devices that allow phase correction or equalization without introducing any amplitude distortion. An optical implementation of such devices is very attractive since they can be used for dispersion compensation. In contrast to other dispersion control devices, optical APFs can correct any order of dispersion. This can be achieved by careful design of multistage APFs to approximate a target phase profile. However, large dispersion is usually narrow band or requires many filter stages. These performance tradeoffs and the general phase properties of optical APFs are reviewed and clarified in the first part of this paper. In the second part, a general design methodology of optical APFs is introduced. We show that any all-pass structure may be constructed from simple N-port devices (such as directional couplers or Mach-Zehnder interferometers) with N-1 outputs fed back to any of the N-1 inputs. The feedback paths may contain delays or further APFs (recursive design). This set of design rules allows for constructing complex all-pass filters of any number of stages starting with very simple elements. We use this technique to demonstrate a number of optical all-pass structures that may be implemented in planar waveguide or using thin-film filter technology.


Since the discovery of the traffic fractal properties ("scaling") in packet switched networks, there have been numerous studies and has been found this property in various data networks. This research evaluates experimentally a model based on self-similar processes in 802.11 networks, to characterize the Layer 2 traffic. Model validation is performed in two stages. In the first stage, we obtain the statistical characteristics of the actual traffic coursing on the network. In the second stage, we define a performance measure which applies to the actual data and the model tested to verify the performance of the model fit to the actual network performance through simulation and calculation of the correlation between actual performance and performance estimated by the model; generating a significant contribution to the design, planning and dimensioning of the capacity of this kind of networks, for which usually the design, planning and dimensioning takes place based only in coverage and not necessarily in the required capacity given the operation constraints.


This thesis is a paper-based thesis. Using a large-scale matched employee-employer dataset, three empirical studies were undertaken to empirically examine: 1) the relationship between employee attitudes, human resource management practices and firm performance in SMEs; 2) the effect of the firm size on firms' and employees' experience during the recent financial crisis, particularly firm's employment related responses to the economic hardship; and 3) the impact of firm size on employee's experience of work stress during economic recession. The findings of the first study suggest a direct relationship between HRM practices and SME firm performance, but this relationship is moderated by high employee job satisfaction. The results suggest that HR policies and practices may improve small firm performance, especially within firms with low levels of commitment and satisfaction. The estimation results presented in the second study show that SMEs are more vulnerable during times of economic hardship than larger firms, but those with HR practices have shown more resilience to the downturn. There is a significant firm-size effect on the choice of specific HRM measures in response to the recession, and having HR practices increases the likelihood of the firm to adopt organizational measures. Also, the results indicate that the differences in workers' job experience are moderated by high management formality. For the final empirical research, employees in SMEs experience lower level of overall job stress than those in large enterprise, although the effect disappears once the employee-level and firm-level characteristics are taken into consideration. Finally, the findings suggest that the association and magnitude of estimated effects of the work stressor presented in the Cooper and Marshall's work stress model differ significantly by firm size. Overall, the thesis has made significant contribution to the employee relations in SMEs literature and provide interesting academic and policy oriented findings.


INTRODUCTION
Local health departments (LHDs) are increasingly using national standards to meet the challenges presented by the complex environments in which these agencies operate. Local boards of health (LBoHs) might play an instrumental role in improving LHDs' engagement in activities to meet these standards.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the impact of LBoH performance of governance functions on LHDs having a current (completed within 5 years) community health assessment (CHA), community health improvement plan (CHIP), strategic plan, and level of engagement in the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) accreditation program.

METHODS
Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to analyze linked data from 329 LHDs participating in both the 2015 Local Board of Health Survey and the 2016 National Profile of LHDs Survey.

RESULTS
Higher performance of LBoH governance functions, measured by an overall scale of LBoH taxonomy consisting of 60 items, had a significant positive effect on LHDs having completed CHA (P < .001), CHIP (P = .01), and strategic plan (P < .001). LHDs operating in communities with a higher score on the overall scale of LBoH taxonomy had significantly higher odds (P = .03) of having higher level of participation in the PHAB national voluntary accreditation program-that is, being accredited, having submitted application for accreditation, or being in the e-PHAB system (eg, by submitting a letter of intent).

CONCLUSIONS
LBoHs serve as governance bodies for roughly 71% of LHDs and can play a significant role in encouraging LHDs' participation in these practices. That positive influence of LBoHs can be seen more clearly if the complexity and richness of LBoH governance functions and other characteristics are measured appropriately. The study findings suggest that LBoHs are a significant component of the public health system in the United States, having positive influence on LHDs having a CHA, CHIP, strategic plan, and participation in accreditation.


Polymeric micelles (PMs) are promising platforms for enhanced tissue targeting of entrapped therapeutic agents. Strategies to circumvent premature release of entrapped drugs include cross-linking of the micellar core as well as covalent attachment of the drug cargo. The chemistry employed to obtain cross-linked micelles needs to be mild to also allow entrapment of fragile molecules, such as certain peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, and fluorescent dyes. Native chemical ligation (NCL) is a mild bio-orthogonal reaction between a N-terminal cysteine residue and a thioester that proceeds under physiological conditions. Here, we designed a trifunctional cross-linker containing two cysteine residues for the micelle core-cross-linking reaction and an azide residue for ring-strained alkyne conjugation of fluorescent dyes. We applied this approach to thermosensitive methoxypolyethylene glycol-b-N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide-lactate (mPEG-b-HPMAmLacn) based block copolymers of a core-cross-linked polymeric micelle (CCPM) system by attaching thioester residues (using ethyl thioglycolate-succinic anhydride, ETSA) for NCL cross-linking with the trifunctional cross-linker under physiological conditions. By use of mild copper-free click chemistry, we coupled fluorescent dyes, Sulfo.Cy5 and BODIPY, to the core via the azide residue present on the cross-linker by triazole ring formation. In addition, we employed a recently developed cycloheptyne strain promoted click reagent (TMTHSI, CliCr) in comparison to the frequently employed cyclooctyne derivative (DBCO), both achieving successful dye entrapment. The size of the resulting CCPMs could be tuned between 50 and 100 nm by varying the molecular weight of the thermosensitive block and ETSA content. In vitro cell experiments showed successful internalization of the dye entrapped CCPMs, which did not affect cell viability up to a polymer concentration of 2 mg/mL in PC3 cells. These fluorescent dye entrapped CCPMs can be applied in diagnostic imaging and the chemistry developed in this study serves as a steppingstone toward covalently entrapped fragile drug compounds with tunable release in CCPMs.


The local delivery of drugs to the cochlea is a promising alternative to systemic treatment of inner ear disorders. Whilst new drugs are being developed for this purpose, it is important to determine the time course and total dose required for the various target regions within the inner ear. Due to the small fluid spaces of the inner ear and the resulting experimental and analytical difficulties, many animal studies have only obtained one sample per animal. This results in limited information about drug time courses at specific locations in the inner ear. We show here how computer models considering general pharmacokinetic principles and inner ear geometry are used for application of the 3R-principle in animal research while avoiding experimental sampling artefacts. This can be achieved by: (1) careful planning and interpretation of experiments to study pharmacokinetics in the inner ear, (2) optimising volume sampling techniques, (3) facilitating the use of advantageous, continuous sampling methods like microdialysis and (4) developing a 3D-model that will permit consideration of the complex geometry of the inner ear when transferring results from one species to another.


more and more business systems designed using object oriented approach, written using object oriented languages like Java and interfaces created through various tools, there is need for such systems to show the quintessence of object orientation, which is "behavioural completeness". This paper discusses Naked Objects Framework (NOF), which is an open source prototyping tool based on Java that auto generates an entire system that is behaviourally complete by plainly defining behaviourally rich objects that can be easily accessed by the user. The resulting object oriented interface is very user friendly and allows both the developer and the client to equally contribute in the requirements specification phase.


We often want to select tunes based on our purposes or situations. For example, we may want background music for particular spaces. We think interactive evolutionary computing is a good solution to adequately recommend tunes based on users' preferences. This paper presents MusiCube, a visual interface for music selection. It applies interactive genetic algorithm in a multidimensional musical feature space. MusiCube displays a set of tunes as colored icons in a 2D cubic space, and provides a user interface to intuitively select suggested tunes. This paper presents a user experience that MusiCube adequately represented clouds of icons corresponding to sets of users' preferable tunes in the 2D cubic space.


This paper is about detecting incorrect arcs in a dependency parse for sentences that contain grammar mistakes. Pruning these arcs results in well-formed parse fragments that can still be useful for downstream applications. We propose two automatic methods that jointly parse the ungrammatical sentence and prune the incorrect arcs: a parser retrained on a parallel corpus of ungrammatical sentences with their corrections, and a sequence-to-sequence method. Experimental results show that the proposed strategies are promising for detecting incorrect syntactic dependencies as well as incorrect semantic dependencies.


This article provides an overview of Volunteer Voices, Tennessee's statewide digitization program. The authors focus on the three-year Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grant that provided the foundation for future growth of the digitization program. In addition to an overview of the content selection, metadata issues, software selection, digital preservation, and K-12 education emphasis of the grant project, the article includes a detailed description of the work of the digitization and content specialists who selected and scanned items across the state. The article concludes with a look at post-grant efforts to promote the sustainability of Volunteer Voices.


Power load forecasting is very important for power dispatching. Accurate load forecasting is of great significance for saving energy, reducing generating cost and improving social and economic benefits. In order to accurately predict the power load, based on BP neural network theory, combined with the advantages of Clementine in dealing with big data and preventing overfitting, a neural network prediction model for large data is constructed.


A toxoid for the active immunization of human beings against tetanus infection has been developed within the past few years and its efficiency as a producer of tetanus antitoxin has been well established. It has followed directly in the wake of the development of diphtheria toxoid, and today a refined alum precipitated formaldehyde detoxified tetanus toxoid standardized under rules of the National Institute of Health is commercially available. It is not within the scope of this paper to discuss the aspects of its development or its antitoxin producing capacity, all of which may be found in such recent papers, with references, as those of Bergey and Etris,1Jones and Moss,2Hall,3Gold4and Cowles.5 The advantages inherent in the active immunization with tetanus toxoid are that the serum antitoxin titer may be raised to a level higher than that afforded by the usual prophylactic dose


The therapeutic potential of antitumor drugs is seriously limited by the manifestation of cellular drug resistance. We used the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system to identify novel mechanisms of resistance to one of the most active anticancer agents, cisplatin. We pinpointed NPR2 (nitrogen permease regulator 2) as a gene whose disruption conferred resistance to cisplatin. In addition, we observed a 4-fold cross-resistance of yeast npr2Delta cells (i.e., cells from which the NPR2 gene had been disrupted) to the anticancer drug doxorubicin, in combination with hypersensitivity to cadmium chloride. Furthermore, npr2Delta cells displayed unaltered cellular cisplatin and doxorubicin accumulation and showed an enhanced rate of spontaneous mutation compared with the isogenic parent. These data indicate that the npr2Delta phenotype overlaps that of the sky1Delta cells that we characterized previously (Mol Pharmacol 61:659-666, 2002). Therefore, we generated yeast npr2Delta sky1Delta double-knockout cells and performed clonogenic survival assays for cisplatin and doxorubicin, which revealed that NPR2 and SKY1 (SR-protein-specific kinase from budding yeast) are epistatic. The double-knockout strain was just as resistant to cisplatin and doxorubicin as the single-knockout strain that was most resistant to either drug. In conclusion, we identified NPR2 as a novel component involved in cell kill provoked by cisplatin and doxorubicin, and our data support the hypothesis that NPR2 and SKY1 may use mutual regulatory routes to mediate the cytotoxicity of these anticancer drugs.


When new wireless technologies are deployed and subjected to real usage patterns, unforeseen performance problems inevitably seem to arise, to be fixed only in later generations. Why do these performance issues fail to appear in experimental settings before the technology is deployed? We believe that one of the major reasons behind the discrepancies found between experimental performance evaluations and real-world experience lies in the unrealistic workload patterns typically used in experiments. One of the significant contributions of this work is to rigorously demonstrate that common synthetic traffic models for wireless local-area networks induce drastically distorted performance metrics at every layer of the protocol stack. In order to show this, we present a testable definition of "sufficient realism" for traffic models, and develop the theoretical methodology necessary to interpret experimental results using this definition. Finally, we show by example that this distortion can completely invert the relative performance of protocols. The greater overall contribution of this paper, however, is the complete collection of ideas, techniques and analytical tools that will allow the development of more realistic synthetic traffic models in the future.


An asynchronous team (A-Team) is a strongly cyclic network of autonomous agents (workers) and memories (workplaces). Results (trial solutions to computational problems) circulate continually through this network. Agents work in parallel and cooperate by modifying one another's results. We have accumulated a good deal of experience in making the circulating results converge to better solutions of optimization and constraint satisfaction problems than the agents can find when working independently. This paper does three things. First, it distills our experiences with A-Teams into a protocol for designing them. Second, it points out that a sufficient condition for the circulating results to converge is that the skills of the agents that construct new results be complementary to the skills of the agents that destroy old results. Third, it argues that this complemantarity is relatively easy to achieve. The practical implications are: a) the quality of solutions obtained by any problem-solving-algorithm, even the best one available, can invariably be improved by combining it with other available algorithms into an A-Team, b) the quality of solutions obtained by any A-Team can invariably be improved by expanding its size, and c) expansions are relatively easy to make.


Dry, pinegrass-dominated sites in the Interior Douglas-fir (IDF) zone of southern interior British Columbia are challenging to regenerate, despite ongoing improvements in nursery and silviculture practices. Using results from three separate studies (Fehr Mountain, Murray Creek, and Opax Mountain), we discuss conifer seedling survival and growth responses to silvicultural system and site preparation treatments that were applied to relieve harsh site conditions. At the flat, frost-prone site at Fehr Mountain, Douglas-fir survival was low, even where site preparation treatments resulted in exposed mineral soil. Lodgepole pine had much higher survival on the same site, and is therefore recommended for planting where there is a high risk of growingseason frost. On the steep slopes at Murray Creek, frost was of minor importance to survival and growth of lodgepole pine. Stem diameter of lodgepole pine increased as a result of chemical and mechanical site preparation treatments at both Fehr Mountain and Murray Creek, although differences at Fehr Mountain were no longer statistically significant after 11 years. Douglasfir growth also improved as a result of site preparation at Fehr Mountain, but the species could not be assessed past year 3 because of high mortality following frost damage. At Opax Mountain, Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine survived well across a range of light regimes and canopy opening sizes, as long as site preparation and planting took place promptly following harvest. To help interpret conifer seedling survival and growth responses, the effects of silvicultural system and site preparation treatments on seedling microenvironment are also discussed. For example, chemical and mechanical treatments increased soil water availability equally well by reducing the presence of pinegrass, and nighttime air temperature at seedling height also increased as a result of both types of treatment. Removal of forest floor materials in mechanical treatments resulted in short-term reductions in soil and foliar nutrient concentrations at both Fehr Mountain and Murray Creek, but there was no evidence of long-term deficiencies. At Murray Creek, however, ectomycorrhizal diversity was significantly lower in the mechanical treatment than the untreated control 28 months after planting.


Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is one of the leading technologies for next generation magnetic recording. Laser heating is utilized in HAMR to achieve magnetic writing of the very high coercivity media. However, the high temperature environment creates several reliability challenges for the head disk interface (HDI). Material transfer within the HDI under HAMR conditions or emulated HAMR conditions has been studied by experiments and simulations. It is found that the material transfer is mainly driven by thermal gradient and mechanical interaction such as head disk contact. In this paper, we designed an experiment to investigate the material transfer from HAMR media to a flying magnetic head. It shows that thermal gradient, more specifically a hotter media and cooler head, is the driving force for the material accumulation on the head. Furthermore, we calibrated the media temperature by a phase change material to identify the critical temperature that triggers the material transfer process. This study is important to understand the smear formation mechanism in HAMR drives.


Endocrine-active chemicals can potentially have adverse effects on both humans and wildlife. They can interfere with the body's endocrine system through direct or indirect interactions with many protein targets. Estrogen receptors (ERs) are one of the major targets, and many endocrine disruptors are estrogenic and affect the normal estrogen signaling pathways. However, ERs can also serve as therapeutic targets for various medical conditions, such as menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, and ER-positive breast cancer. Because of the decades-long interest in the safety and therapeutic utility of estrogenic chemicals, a large number of chemicals have been assayed for estrogenic activity, but these data exist in various sources and different formats that restrict the ability of regulatory and industry scientists to utilize them fully for assessing risk-benefit. To address this issue, we have developed an Estrogenic Activity Database (EADB; http://www.fda.gov/ScienceResearch/BioinformaticsTools/EstrogenicActivityDatabaseEADB/default.htm) and made it freely available to the public. EADB contains 18,114 estrogenic activity data points collected for 8212 chemicals tested in 1284 binding, reporter gene, cell proliferation, and in vivo assays in 11 different species. The chemicals cover a broad chemical structure space and the data span a wide range of activities. A set of tools allow users to access EADB and evaluate potential endocrine activity of chemicals. As a case study, a classification model was developed using EADB for predicting ER binding of chemicals.


Dysregulation of epigenetic mechanisms is known to play an important role in the development and progression of cancer. One such mechanism is manifested as altered levels of histone modifications involved in regulating gene transcription. N-terminal histone tails can have a variety of modifications, such as phosphorylation, methylation and acetylation at specific amino acid residues which are conserved throughout eukaryotes and function by altering chromatin structure and creating binding sites for chromatin readers, writers or erasers. Numerous studies have reported aberrant global levels of several histone H3 and H4 post-translational modifications (PTMs) in a wide range of solid tumor types. These changes have been shown to be predictive of clinical outcome, raising the possibility that histone modifications have potential as epigenetic biomarkers. Clinical samples have immense potential for biomarker identification since they are often accompanied with valuable information pertaining to patient history, treatment courses and disease outcome. The preferred method for clinical sample preservation is formalin-fixation followed by paraffin embedding (FFPE). While extraction and downstream analysis of DNA and RNA from FFPE samples is now routine, proteomic studies of FFPE samples is hampered by extensive protein cross-linking generated by formalin fixation. Analysis of histone PTMs in patient archival samples is limited to low-throughput immunohistochemical staining, and is not an ideal approach for mining large sample cohorts for biomarker identification. Western blot or ELISA methods, which have large sample requirements, are simply not an option for FFPE samples. We have developed a multiplex bead-based ELISA assay which enables simultaneous interrogation of thirteen histone H3 PTMs. The assay is performed in 96-well plates and is ideally suited for profiling histone modification levels in limiting or small samples. We will present the application of this technology in a variety of sample types including frozen tissue, formaldehyde-cross linked cells and tissues, and in small molecule inhibitor screens with as few as 2,000 cells per well. The ability to simultaneous detect up to thirteen histone H3 PTMs provides a unique feature that enables determination of for on-target and off-target effects within the same sample. Citation Format: Mary Anne Jelinek, Melissa Ritland, AJ Westergren. A multiplex histone H3 PTM assay for epigenetic biomarker discovery in tissue biopsy and archived clinical samples [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2392. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2392


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the contribution of three data sources in the description of traffic accidents in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

METHODS
Exploratory study of databases: BHTRANS (metropolitan traffic and transportation authority), Hospital Admissions and Mortality Information Systems, with estimation of proportions, coefficients and odds ratios.

RESULTS
Incomplete data was observed in the three sources, especially regarding alcohol consumption by drivers and use of safety equipment. The victim profile among the sources was consistent: young adults, males, motorcycle riders and pedestrians. In addition to the high mortality rate (19.4 per 100.000 inhabitants), an increase in the number of non-fatal accidents was observed. An increase of 34% in hospital admissions and of 53% in hospital costs was evidenced. The motorcycle accident rate is higher than expected given the fleet composition. Male drivers have the highest risk of injury or death; relative to drivers, passengers or pedestrians have a 1,8 times higher risk of death. There was a 12% increase in the number of deaths at the site of the accident, 55% of which showed positive evidence of alcohol use and 50% higher risk of fatal accidents on weekends.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite some incomplete record keeping and non-specific death registry codes, it was possible to characterize the main factors associated with accidents: elderly pedestrians, motorcycle riders, alcohol consumption and speeding. The study demonstrated the complementarity of the three data sources, with their different goals, and revealed important features of the traffic accident event-chain and victim profile, providing key data for the development of mitigation strategies.


Three self-contained mini-labs were integrated into a core undergraduate fluid mechanics course, with the goal of delivering hands-on content in a manner scalable to large class sizes. These mini-labs supported learning objectives involving friction loss in pipes, flow measurement, and centrifugal pump analysis. The hands-on experiments were designed to be completed in 50-minute time blocks, and companion assignments involving data analysis were structured with a workload comparable to regular homework problems. Students booked time on the experiment apparatus using an online signup tool. In addition to improved performance in the course, a post-assessment yielded positive feedback indicating that students gained confidence in solving engineering problems and identifying connections between theory and practice. The mini-lab model also eliminates the time delay between fundamental instruction in theory courses and subsequent application in dedicated unit operations laboratory classes.


The KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS) is an ongoing wide-field objective-prism survey for extragalactic emission-line objects. Over 2200 emission-line galaxy (ELG) candidates have been cataloged to date. To study the characteristics of the survey objects, spectroscopic follow-up observations are being carried out at several telescopes. Here we present the results of the spectroscopic observations for 258 KISS ELG candidates that have been obtained using the Marcario Low Resolution Spectrograph on the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET). We present the following data derived from the HET spectra: redshifts, reddening estimates, line equivalent widths, emission-line ratios, and galaxy activity types (e.g., AGN or star-forming). The long-slit redshifts are compared to those determined from the KISS objective-prism spectra and show good agreement. Earlier spectroscopic follow-up observations have typically verified the presence of emission lines for over 90% of the KISS ELG candidates. However, in the sample observed with the HET, only 78% of candidates are confirmed to be extragalactic emission-line sources. This is because the HET sample contains a large fraction of the faintest KISS objects, which typically have low spectral quality. A small number of objects at higher redshift (z ∼ 0.3), detected by KISS from their [O III] emission rather than from Hα emission, are identified based on their spectra.


The Indian economy is growing at a healthy pace after adopting the new economic policy. However, there is widening the gap between the rich and poor. The challenge before the country is to make the growth inclusive. Financial inclusion is now on top of the development agenda of both the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India. According to the Rangarajan committee report, "NSSO data reveal that 48% of the households do not have access to banking services, majority being rural population. 26% of the population lives below poverty line and just 21% of the rural household have access to bank credit. The banking sector is able to meet only 20% of the credit needs of the rural poor. A robust and comprehensive measure of financial inclusion is important in order to know the current state of affairs with respect to financial inclusion in an economy and to monitor the progress of the policy initiatives undertaken to promote financial inclusion. In this paper, an attempt has made to examine the extent of Financial Inclusion at Micro level from several dimensions. The study reveals that the rural customers are not satisfied with general banking services and the extent of use of innovative services is dismal at grass root level.


Time complexity and memory complexity are significant for all algorithms, especially sorting algorithms. Using the right sorting algorithm for our data can possibly decrease time and memory usage. The sorting problem has attracted a great deal of attention because efficient sorting is essential to optimize other algorithms as well. Most of the time, a sorting algorithm consists of two nested loops, which can determine the complexity of the algorithm; however, other factors such as the number of data and data types play an important role as well. Thus, by using the right sorting algorithm, we can make more efficient use of time and memory. In this paper, we use different sorting algorithms for different data types in order to determine the optimum use of time and memory for these algorithms. It means that if we know what kind of dataset we have, it can help us to use a more efficient algorithm even close to linear time. One of the interesting results is shell sort. So, by checking each type of data, like primes, Fibonacci, odd, and even datasets, we can know more information about each sorting algorithm. Also, we can determine which algorithm needs additional memory for sorting and which does not. To reduce the time and memory allocation, we use various data, such as numbers in random order or reverse order, as well as a large number of data and a small number of data. By comparing the results, the optimal algorithm in various scenarios may be recognized.


"Black Citymakers: How 'The Philadelphia Negro' Changed Urban America." Marcus Anthony Hunter. Oxford University Press. April 2013. --- W.E.B. DuBois immortalized Philadelphia's Black Seventh Ward neighbourhood, one of America's oldest urban black communities, in his 1899 sociological study The Philadelphia Negro. In the century after DuBois's study, however, the district has been transformed into a largely white upper middle class neighbourhood. Black Citymakers revisits the Black Seventh Ward, documenting a century of tenement collapses, housing activism, black-led anti-urban renewal mobilization, and post-Civil Rights political change from the perspective of the Black Seventh Warders. Reviewed by Nathan Bullock.


The ECOFIN Council decision of November 2003 that noted the existence of 'excessive deficits' in France and Germany but did not impose sanctions on these two governments was widely interpreted as sounding the death-knell for the Stability and Growth Pact. A ruling by the European Court of Justice on 13 July 2004 annulled this decision, paving the way for reform of fiscal policy coordination in the Euro Area. This article examines what caused the difficulties that have arisen, reviews and appraises a range of proposals for reform of EMU's fiscal policy rules and suggests a way forward.


A field experiment was conducted at Udaipur during Kharif season of 2016 to study the effect of varying plant population and nutrient management on the nutrient uptake and quality of QPM hybrids. Results revealed that highest nitrogen and phosphorus content and grain and Stover their uptake was found with the application of STCR which was followed by SSNM and RDF. N and P uptake in grain and total uptake of N and P was found significantly higher in HQPM-5 over PQMH-1. Hybrid HQPM-5, 1, 00, 000 plants ha-1 and application of STCR was found better in terms of chlorophyll content. Protein content was found highest with application of STCR over SSNM and RDF.


The isolation of nontuberculous mycobacteria was considered for many years as a result of contamination or transient colonization. The role of these bacteria in human disease was recognized only after 1950. They were present almost exclusively in patients with underlying pulmonary pathology and were rare. The prevalence of disease caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria was dramatically increased with the AIDS epidemic. Disseminated infection with MAC and other atypical mycobacteria is nowadays a frequent complication of AIDS. The authors describe some epidemiological and clinical features of these nontuberculous mycobacteria emphasizing the role of MAC and make some considerations about the diagnosis, prophylaxis and treatment of these diseases. The authors end by presenting their own clinical experience.


AIMS
It is unknown whether cardiac syncope, and possibly also other syncope aetiologies exhibit circadian, weekly, seasonal, and temperature-dependent patterns.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We prospectively recorded the exact time, date, and outside temperature of syncope of patients >40 years old presenting with syncope to the emergency department in a diagnostic multicentre study. Two independent cardiologists/emergency physicians adjudicated the final diagnosis based on all information becoming available during clinical work-up including 1-year follow-up. Among 1230 patients, the adjudicated aetiology was cardiac in 14.6%, reflex in 39.2%, orthostatic in 25.7%, other non-cardiac in 9.7%, and unknown in 10.8% of patients. All syncope aetiologies occurred much more frequently during the day when compared with the night (P < 0.01). While reflex and orthostatic syncope showed a broad peak of prevalence with 80.9% of these events occurring between 4 am and 4 pm, cardiac syncope showed a narrow peak of prevalence with 70.1% of all events occurring between 8 am and 2 pm. A weekly pattern was present for most syncope aetiologies, with events occurring mainly from Monday to Friday (P < 0.01). Reflex syncope displayed a seasonal rhythm and was more common in winter (P < 0.01), while cardiac syncope stayed constant over the year. Syncope occurred most often when the outside temperature was coldest. Overall the patterns observed for cardiac syncope were similar to the patterns observed for its differential diagnosis.

CONCLUSION
Syncope aetiologies in patients >40 years old display circadian, weekly, seasonal, and temperature-dependent patterns. Unfortunately, these patterns do not allow to reliably differentiate cardiac syncope from other aetiologies.


Purpose
Nowadays, in mobile communication, smartphone is one of the modern progress and emergent phenomena for business as well as social networking. The purpose of this paper is to investigate an intention to adopt smartphone apps among the entrepreneurs of a developing country.

Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative methods based on cross-section data are employed for examining an intention towards adopting smartphone apps. The data are collected through a survey questionnaire. In the initial stage, 500 questionnaires were randomly distributed among the businessmen of a developing context. The value of the return samples is 280. The response rate has remained at 56 per cent.

Findings
By applying the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, Pearson's correlation and multiple regression show a positive and significant relationship of perceived usefulness, ease of use, perceived enjoyment and satisfaction with an intention to adopt smartphone apps. On the other hand, a positive and non-significant relationship between social needs and the intention to adopt smartphone apps is investigated.

Practical implications
The present study may provide valuable insights into the use pattern of smartphones among entrepreneurs and contribute for nurturing an intention to adopt smartphone apps in the developing context. Moreover, such a study may contribute to the literature of the developing country context, especially in the perspective of developing an intention and attitude towards smartphone apps.

Originality/value
This paper offers the factors which may be supportive of the actual usage of smartphone applications. The study is original containing data from a developing country.


Stable, potent, highly specific, time-dependent monocyclic beta-lactam inhibitors of human leucocyte elastase (HLE) are described. The heavily substituted beta-lactams are stable under physiological conditions including in the presence of enzymes of the digestive tract. The beta-lactams were unstable in base. At pH 11.3 and 37 degrees C they were hydrolyzed with half-lives of 1.5-2 h. Hydrolysis produced characteristic products including the substituent originally at C-4 of the lactam ring, a substituted urea, and products resulting from decarboxylation of the acid after ring opening. The most potent beta-lactam displayed only 2-fold less activity versus HLE than alpha 1PI, the natural proteinaceous inhibitor. The compounds were more potent against the human and primate PMN elastases than versus either the dog or rat enzymes. Differences in the structure-activity relationships of the human versus the rat enzymes suggest significant differences between these two functionally similar enzymes. The specificity of these compounds toward HLE versus porcine pancreatic elastase (PPE) is consistent with the differences in substrate specificity reported for these enzymes [Zimmerman & Ashe (1977) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 480, 241-245]. These differences suggest that the alkyl substitutions at C-3 of the lactam ring bind in the S1 specificity pocket of these enzymes. The dependence of the stereochemistry at C-4 suggests additional differences between HLE and PPE. Most of the compounds do not inhibit other esterases or human proteases. Weak, time-dependent inhibition of human cathepsin G and alpha-chymotrypsin by one compound suggested a binding mode to these enzymes that places the N-1 substitution in the S1 pocket.


Currently, over 70% of the non-hazardous solid waste generated in Ontario is disposed of in landfills. Approximately 45% of Ontario's waste is disposed of in landfills located in Michigan. Disposal of residual waste in Ontario is undergoing a major shift. Pursuant to agreements made in 2006 between Ontario municipalities and federal and state representatives of Michigan, waste from Ontario municipalities will no longer be disposed in Michigan landfills post 2010. That has put enormous pressure on Ontario municipalities to seek alternative disposal solutions for the waste remaining after they reduce, reuse and recycle.Copyright © 2009 by ASME


In May 2001 130 stakeholders from around the world gathered in IstanbulTurkey to discuss challenges related to shortages of reproductive health supplies at the global and national levels. The group outlined actions for a response and committed to moving momentum forward through coordinated initiatives and leadership. The Istanbul meeting and the resulting declaration have become recognized as the catalyst of the global reproductive health supplies movement and resulted in numerous successes. Still as the tenth anniversary of the Istanbul meeting approaches challenges remain and a new agenda for action must be established for the coming years. This report is intended to follow the model of the Istanbul meeting by ensuring that country voices and experiences play an even stronger role in the design and implementation of the next stage of the reproductive health supplies effort.The report's objective is to inform stakeholders at all levels of representative successes challenges and opportunities for reproductive health supplies across a diverse subset of national experiences. The country-led contributions informed in part by this research will be a valuable foundation for activities that move the reproductive health supplies agenda forward. The findings and recommendations presented in this report are drawn directly from surveys and interviews conducted in early 2011 with 53 stakeholders in six focus countries: Bangladesh Ethiopia Ghana Mexico Nigeria and Tanzania. (Excerpts)


The scope for application of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as grow lights has enhanced significantly in the recent past. The place of LEDs as the most commonly used lighting fixtures in the horticulture industry looks imminent in the near future. LEDs have the capability to be provided desired light quantity and quality which aids the plant growth. Plants mainly absorb the red and blue spectrum for their growth and development. In this paper various Spectral Power Density (SPD) models were simulated and compared with practical SPDs. On comparison of different SPD model functions, the Asymmetric Gaussian function provided very good overlap. Database of several LEDs were created and LEDs were modelled. Linear Programming (LP) code was developed for spectrum matching and optimizing the number of LEDs. Also the Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) and Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) of the simulated spectrum were compared with the reference spectrum. The SPD models and LP were simulated using MATLAB software


Obesity causes chronic low-grade inflammation that contributes to systemic metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity-linked disorders that fall under the definition of metabolic syndrome. Adipose tissue is a key endocrine organ as it releases multiple bioactive substances, known as adipose-derived secreted factors or adipokines, that have proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory activities. Dysregulated production or secretion of these adipokines owing to adipose tissue dysfunction can contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity-linked complications. In this emerging context, the gut microbiota-metabolism interactions play an increasingly important role in the understanding and hopefully future treatment of complex metabolic unbalances responsible for insulin resistance and cardiovascular high-risk diseases.


System dynamic is an effort to understand complexity of social and eco-systems of forest. Through this system, a conscious learning on interaction between people and forest will take place in order to manage forest in more sustainable and equitable manners. A system dynamic modeling was carried out in area surrounding Lumut Mountain Forest, District of Pasir, and East Kalimantan. In the area, where legally was allocated to a logging company, live local people who depend on forest and rattan. The policy makers are trying to improve the well-being of local people without sacrifying the logging company. Aim of the study was to give policy options to policy makers and likely impacts of those options. The built model comprises biophysical, social, policy and impact main components. The model shows the change of impact indicators, which are standing stock, community income, and concession revenue and government income, given any selected policy option.


Objective Strong bodily responses have repeatedly been shown in participants fearful of spiders and snakes when they see pictures of the feared animal. In this study, we investigate if these fear responses affect voice intensity, require awareness of the pictorial stimuli, and whether the responses run their course once initiated. Method Animal fearful participants responded to arrowhead‐shaped probes superimposed on animal pictures (snake, spider, or rabbit), presented either backwardly masked or with no masking. Their task was to say 'up' or 'down' as quickly as possible depending on the orientation of the arrowhead. Arrowhead probes were presented at two different stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA), 261 or 561-ms after picture onset. In addition to vocal responses, electrocardiogram, and skin conductance (SC) were recorded. Results No fear‐specific effects emerged to masked stimuli, thereby providing no support for the notion that fear responses can be triggered by stimuli presented outside awareness. For the unmasked pictures, voice intensity was stronger and SC response amplitude was larger to probes superimposed on the feared animal than other animals, at both SOAs. Heart rate changes were greater during exposure to feared animals when probed at 561-ms, but not at 261-ms, which indicates that a fear response can change its course after initiation. Conclusion Exposure to pictures of the feared animal increased voice intensity. No support was found for responses without awareness. Observed effects on heart rate may be due to change in parasympathetic activation during fear response.


Our aim was to enhance visual quality and quantitative accuracy of dynamic positron emission tomography (PET)uptake images by improved image reconstruction, using sophisticated sparse penalty models that incorporate both 2D spatial+1D temporal (3DT) information. We developed two new 3DT PET reconstruction algorithms, incorporating different temporal and spatial penalties based on discrete cosine transform (DCT)w/ patches, and tensor nuclear norm (TNN) w/ patches, and compared to frame-by-frame methods; conventional 2D ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) w/ post-filtering and 2D-DCT and 2D-TNN. A 3DT brain phantom with kinetic uptake (2-tissue model), and a moving 3DT cardiac/lung phantom was simulated and reconstructed. For the cardiac/lung phantom, an additional cardiac gated 2D-OSEM set was reconstructed. The structural similarity index (SSIM) and relative root mean squared error (rRMSE) relative ground truth was investigated. The image derived left ventricular (LV) volume for the cardiac/lung images was found by region growing and parametric images of the brain phantom were calculated. For the cardiac/lung phantom, 3DT-TNN yielded optimal images, and 3DT-DCT was best for the brain phantom. The optimal LV volume from the 3DT-TNN images was on average 11 and 55 percentage points closer to the true value compared to cardiac gated 2D-OSEM and 2D-OSEM respectively. Compared to 2D-OSEM, parametric images based on 3DT-DCT images generally had smaller bias and higher SSIM. Our novel methods that incorporate both 2D spatial and 1D temporal penalties produced dynamic PET images of higher quality than conventional 2D methods, w/o need for post-filtering. Breathing and cardiac motion were simultaneously captured w/o need for respiratory or cardiac gating. LV volumes were better recovered, and subsequently fitted parametric images were generally less biased and of higher quality.


We present results from solute transport experiments in an evaporating composite porous medium consisting of a cylindrical inner core with coarse sand that was surrounded by a mantle with fine sand. Small volumes of dye and salt tracer were applied at the surface of the fine material of the evaporating column. The pressure head at the bottom boundary was kept constant using a hanging water table ensuring liquid phase continuity to top surface in both fine and coarse material, whereby the latter was hydraulically less conductive at these pressure conditions. Contrary to the expectation that solute accumulation at an evaporating surface is proportional to local cumulative evaporation, high concentration spots developed at the surface of the coarse material, for which IR surface temperature measurements did not indicate higher evaporation fluxes. 3D unsaturated flow and transport simulations and a second tracer experiment monitored with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated that preferential upward water flux in the fine sand deeper in the column and near‐surface lateral water flow from the fine into the coarse sand in combination with a downward diffusive flux are responsible for the local solute accumulation. We propose that at the wet regions of a soil surface, solute accumulation is largely decoupled from local evaporation fluxes and strongly governed by relative differences of the hydraulic conductivities. The possible formation of high solute concentration spots at the surface of coarser regions usually representing preferential flow pathways during strong precipitation may have an accelerating effect on the leaching of solutes.


The constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) is a framework for modelling search problems. An instance of the CSP consists of a set of variables and a set of constraints on the variables; the question is to decide whether or not there is an assignment to the variables satisfying all of the constraints. The quantified constraint satisfaction problem (QCSP) is a generalization of the CSP in which variables may be both universally and existentially quantified. The general intractability of the CSP and QCSP motivates the search for restricted cases of these problems that are polynomial-time tractable.
In this dissertation, we investigate the computational complexity of cases of the QCSP where the types of constraints that may appear are restricted. One of our primary tools is the algebraic approach to studying CSP complexity, which can also be used to study QCSP complexity. We first present a pair of new QCSP tractability results; one of these tractability results is arrived at by developing a sound and complete proof system for QCSPs having a certain form. We then introduce a new concept for proving QCSP tractability results called collapsibility. The key idea behind collapsibility is that for certain cases of the QCSP, deciding an instance can be reduced to deciding an ensemble of instances, all of which have a bounded number of universally quantified variables and are derived from the original instance by "collapsing" together universally quantified variables. Collapsibility provides a uniform proof technique for deriving QCSP tractability results which we use both to give alternative proofs of the initial pair of tractability results, as well as to give further tractability results.


Centuries of research into the question of creativity in the fields of philosophy, psychology and sociology have led to multiple theories and definitions of the concept of creativity. Similarly, the more recent study of design creativity has seen a variation of definitions emerge. Nonetheless, confusion remains as to exactly what 'design creativity' means, and ambiguity and vagueness exist both in the context of the overall design discipline and in the field of design research. This ambiguity has serious implications for design education and training, leading to the question: how do we teach creativity if we do not have a clear understanding of what creativity is? Both staff and students express frustration and stress in relation to the creative component of their work (Bachman & Bachman 2006; Ostwald and Williams 2008), and there is an apparent need to arrive at some disciplinary agreement as to what creativity is in relation to design and to develop a pedagogical framework for teaching and assessing creativity.

At a recent meeting with leading researchers in the field of design creativity, it was asked whether or not it is at all possible to arrive at a disciplinary agreement on the question of creativity. It was suggested that much of the divergence that exist is the result of different disciplinary requirement, and that the continuous relevance of these requirements inhibits any efforts of arriving at a disciplinary definition of the concept. This paper challenges this assumption and aims at illustrating how a sense of consensus exists behind the veil of linguistic complexity. It aims at illustrating how, in their differences, contemporary perceptions of creativity provide an overarching definition of design creativity within which disciplinary variation may exist. The paper is based on an extensive literature review, as well as interviews with over 40 senior design academics. It forms part of the ongoing Australian Teaching and Learning (ALTC) funded project Assessing Creativity: Strategies and Tools to Support Teaching and Learning in Architecture and Design.


This study was designed to investigate differences in wine sensory and chemical composition arising from altering inoculation times for malolactic fermentation (MLF) in red wine. Wine was made using a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvédre grapes inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae EC1118. Oenococcus oeni (VinifloraTM Oenos) starter culture was inoculated either concurrently, at 3.2 Baumé, or when alcoholic fermentation had been completed. There was no change in the rate of alcoholic fermentation across treatments, however, malic acid degradation was moderately slower when inoculation occurred at 3.2Bé. Acetic acid levels in stabilised wine varied between 0.29 grams per litre (dry inoculation) and 0.41g/L (3.2Bé inoculations) but remained below acceptable sensory thresholds. Total anthocyanins and related wine colour measures were improved in wines in which co-inoculated yeast and MLF starter cultures were used, indicating a greater ageing potential for these wines. Sensorial analysis with a trained panel could not distinguish differences between treatments. This research illustrates the potential to vary timing of MLF inoculation for red wine without detrimental effects to finished wine quality.


This study determined the level of awareness and adherence of students of Trinity University of Asia to the University's core values namely: integrity, excellence, innovation, teamwork and social responsibility. The results of the survey among 522 third year and fourth year students of all the colleges showed that the students are aware of the five core values. They also indicated that they practice these core values in their day to day activities. The study also showed that the students highly acknowledged the vital role of teachers in inculcating the core values to them.


In this paper we consider measurements that were made using tidal gauges in order to construct tide tables. However, during the collection process, the measurements were corrupted due to the influence of the external air temperature. This led to the reported values being incorrect. It is shown how additional experimental data can be used to obtain estimates of the true values. Confidence intervals for these unknown true values are constructed using the bootstrap.


This study aimed to assess the antineurodegenerative and antioxidant activity of Helichrysum plicatum flower extract, as well as to identify extract ingredients with acceptable pharmacokinetic parameters such as gastrointestinal absorption, blood-brain barrier permeation, and P-glycoproteinmediated effusion for optimal therapeutic brain exposure. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by ABTS, FRAP, and β-carotene bleaching assays, while antineurodegenerative activity was tested using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and tyrosinase (TYR) inhibitory activity assays. In the ABTS test, the dry extract at the highest applied concentration (500 μg/mL) showed better or similar antioxidant activity compared to the standards. In the β-carotene assay, all applied concentrations of the extract showed significantly higher activity than vitamin C. No concentration-dependent activity was observed in the AChE assay, while in the TYR assay the lowest extract concentration (100 μg/mL) showed the highest percentage of inhibition (27.92 %). Pharmacokinetic parameters of compounds were predicted by in silico SwissADME online tool in accordance by the rules of drug-likeness. According to the pharmacokinetic properties, we concluded that pentoxymethoxylated flavones may represent CNS drug candidates for further studies.


Groupware communicates by sending messages across the network, and groupware programmers use a variety of formats for these messages, such as XML, plain text, or serialized objects. Although these formats have many advantages, they are often so verbose that they overload the system's network resources. Groupware programmers could improve efficiency by using more compact formats, but this efficiency comes at the cost of increased complexity, reduced convenience, and reduced readability. In this paper we propose an alternate approach for improving efficiency -- an automatic compression system that transparently minimizes verbose formats. Our general message compressor -- GMC -- automatically finds and removes redundancy in message streams, without any knowledge of the contents or structure of the message, and without any need for the programmer to change the way they work. In tests with realistic message traces, GMC reduced text messages to 20% of their original size, XML messages to 8% of the original, and serialized objects to 9%. Although not as compact as a hand-coded representation, GMC provides most of the compression benefits with almost none of the work -- it allows groupware programmers to use convenient message formats without compromising transport efficiency.


The growing need for wearable devices, fitness accessories, and biomedical equipment has led to the upsurge in research and development of thin, flexible battery research and development. Studying degradation of such power sources used in consumer electronics devices is essential from multiple perspectives, as it allows the manufacturer to determine device warranty, affects the user purchasing decision, and can also be used to inform the user of their device's battery health and remaining useful life in real-time. In order to achieve these goals via empirical methods, batteries are generally subjected to accelerated life cycling tests with various operating conditions, and their degradation data gathered is then used to model their SOH degradation. However, in the real world, the charge-discharge depth and charge-discharge rates for every cycle are hardly constant and vary greatly for the same user over time and for different users who use their devices differently. The real task for such developed battery models is to estimate the SOH of batteries being used in real-world scenarios with such random variations of charge-discharge depth and C-rates. To this end, the current work conducts accelerated life cycling tests of batteries with random variation in these two parameters, individually and simultaneously. Finally, multiple iterations of the SOH estimation models have been presented with different predictor variables to minimize the model validation error.


Abstract. On 15–16 December 1999, heavy rainfall severely stroke Campania region (southern Italy), triggering numerous debris flows on the slopes of the San Martino Valle Caudina-Cervinara area. Soil slips originated within the weathered volcaniclastic mantle of soil cover overlying the carbonate skeleton of the massif. Debris slides turned into fast flowing mixtures of matrix and large blocks, downslope eroding the soil cover and increasing their original volume. At the base of the slopes, debris flows impacted on the urban areas, causing victims and severe destruction (Vittori et al., 2000). Starting from a recent study on landslide risk conditions in Campania, carried out by the Regional Authority (PAI –Hydrogeological setting plan, in press), an evaluation of the debris-flow susceptibility has been performed for selected areas of the above mentioned villages. According to that study, such zones would be in fact characterised by the highest risk levels within the administrative boundaries of the same villages ("HR-zones"). Our susceptibility analysis has been performed by applying SCIDDICA S3–hex – a hexagonal Cellular Automata model (von Neumann, 1966), specifically developed for simulating the spatial evolution of debris flows (Iovine et al., 2002). In order to apply the model to a given study area, detailed topographic data and a map of the erodable soil cover overlying the bedrock of the massif must be provided (as input matrices); moreover, extent and location of landslide source must also be given. Real landslides, selected among those triggered on winter 1999, have first been utilised for calibrating SCIDDICA S3–hex and for defining "optimal" values for parameters. Calibration has been carried out with a GIS tool, by quantitatively comparing simulations with actual cases: optimal values correspond to best simulations. Through geological evaluations, source locations of new phenomena have then been hypothesised within the HR-zones. Initial volume for these new cases has been estimated by considering the actual statistics of the 1999 landslides. Finally, by merging the results of simulations, a deterministic susceptibility zonation of the considered area has been obtained. In this paper, aiming at illustrating the potential for debris-flow hazard analyses of the model SCIDDICA S3–hex, a methodological example of susceptibility zonation of the Vallicelle HR-zone is presented.


Effort to use new energy source was an important part in energy diversification caused by the reduction of energy stock and increasing of fuel needs. The utilization of physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) oil as bio-diesel fuel is an alternative to anticipate the increasing fuel needs. Major variety could be found by plant utilization, like mutation and transgenic. One of Mutation technique used in plant chemical mutation using colchicine compound.
The research aimed to discuss the difference of vegetative and molecular character from two accession of physic nut (Jatropha curcas. L) plant caused by several colchicine mutagen concentrate treatment.
The research was done in Forestry Experiment Lab, Agronomy Lab Faculty of Farming and Molecular Lab, Center of Biotechnology Development University of Muhammadiyah Malang. The research was done from March 2008 to February 2009.
Tools used were: seedbox, polybag, sieve, durran bottle, drop pipette, analytic weighing, microscope, plastic gloves, aluminium foil, camera, gloves, scissors, micropipette (1-10 µL;10-100 µL;100-1000 µl), tube 1,5 ml, tip (1-10 µl,10-100 µl,100-1000 µl), mortar and hammer, spatulae, tissue, beaker glass, measurement glass, analytic weighing, sentrifuse, vortex, magnetik stirrer, pH meter, microwave, centrifuge, vacum frezer, autoclave, electroforesis tool, UV-transiluminator, Thermocycler (Biometra), timer, PCR and writing tool.
Material used were: physic nut seed plant Asembagus-Situbondo local and Mukhtiarjo-Kediri local, atonic, alcohol 96%, aquadest, colchicine powder/crystal, sand, fertilizer, and compost, physic nut local Asembagus-Situbondo and local Mukhtiarjo-Kediri leaves which treated with colchicine, extract buffer (EDTA (Etylene Diamine Tetra Acetat) pH 8), Tris HCL pH 8, NaCL,SDS), CI 24:1 (chloroform: isoamyl alkohol), ethanol absolute, ethanol 70%, buffer TE, TBE 1x, gel agarose, Loading dye 6x, EtBr (Ethidium Bromida),dH2O, lambda DNA 100 bp, nuclease free water, PCR mix, primer 10 basa, those were OPA 15 and OPA 20.
The research was done by factorial random group consisted of 8 combination of treatment and repeated 4 times consisted of two factors. Factor 1 physic nut plant accession A1 = accession IP-1A, A2 = accession IP-1M. Factor 2: concentration colchicine, that was K0 = without colchicine drop, K1 = dripping colchicine 0,05% concentration; K2 = dripping colchicine 0,10% concentration; K3 = dripping colchicine 0,15% concentration. Next phase was molecular analysis consisted of : (1) DNA isolation, (2) electroforesis / running DNA, (3) PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) process consisted of several phases, they were: pre-denaturation in temperature 94oC in 5 minutes, denaturation in temperature 94oC for 1 minute, sticking in temperature 36oC for 1 minute, and elongation in temperature 72oC for 2 minute, (4) electroforesis/running process of PCR result.
From the research, there could be concluded:
1. interaction betwee jarak pagar plant accession IP-1A and IP-1M with colchicine concentration 0,05%; 0,10%, and 0,15% treatment had real influence to the amount of 28 HSP age leaves, leaf width per plant (cm²), and leaf stomata width (µm), but had no real influence to plant height parameter (cm), trunk diameter (cm), leaf stomata length (µm), and leaf clorophil (µg/cm²). in general, accession IP-1M with colchicine 0,15% concentration had higher leaf width per plant (cm²), and leaf stomata widht (µm) than the other treatment combination.
2. in separate treatment, IP-1M had real influence to plant height (cm), but the influence was not real in trunk diameter (cm), leaf amount, leaf width per plant (cm²), leaf stomata length (µm), and leaf chlorophyl contain (µg/cm²). Accession IP-1M had higher plant measurement than accession IP-1A.
3. colchicine concentration had real influence to leaf per plant width (cm²) and leaf somata length (µm), but no real influence to plant height parameter (cm), trunk diameter (cm), leaves amount, and leaf chlorophyl contain (µg/cm²). colchicine concentration 0,15% had leaf width per plant (cm²) and stomata length (µm) larger than colchicine 0,05% and 0,10% concentration.
4. there were difference in DNA ribbon resulted, they were: (a) DNA ribbons with dimension 200 bp, 300 bp, 400 bp, dan and bp at accession IP-1A with colchicine concentration 0,05%; 0,10%; and 0,15% and IP-1A without treatment (control), also accession IP-1M with concentration 0,05% and 0,10%; (b) 5 ribbons with dimension 200 bp, 300 bp, 400 bp, 600 bp, and 700 bp in accession IP-1M with colchicine concentration 0,15%; (c) 7 DNA ribbons with dimension 200 bp, 300 bp, 400 bp, 600 bp, 700 bp, 900 bp, and 1000 bp in accession IP-1M without treatment (control); (d) while DNA ribbon with measurement 200bp and 300bp were thicker in treatment with concentration 0,05%; 0,10%; and 0,15% compared with control.
There needed further research to discuss concentration and exact colchicine treatment to get ploidi plant. Colchicine used should be added its concentration, and sprinkling method exchanged by sinking or both combination, sprinkling and sinking.


Diatomaceous ooze sampled from near the Mariana Trench sediment surface by gravity corer (Core JL7KGC05) revealed a high sedimentary abundance of Ethmodiscus rex (Rattray, 1890) Wiseman and Hendey, 1953 fragments and tropical open ocean planktonic diatom taxa including Azpeitia nodulifera (Schmidt, 1878) Fryxell and Watkins in Fryxell, Sims and Watkins, 1986 and Alveus marinus (Grunow, 1880) Kaczmarska and Fryxell, 1996. Subsurficial sediments from the ooze are assigned a Marine Isotope Stage 2 age, approximately at the Last Glacial Maximum. The occurrence of Ethmodiscus ooze suggests massive late Pleistocene blooms in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and provides a plausible link to paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes related to Antarctic Intermediate Water mass, which carried a high dissolved silica content as silicon leakage that reduced dissolution rate of diatom frustules. Northward flow of Antarctic Intermediate Water was probably related to surface current migration and southward shift of the Northwest Pacific Gyre to form oligotrophic conditions that triggered Ethmodiscus rex blooms under unusual nutrient recycling conditions within the ocean system. This bloom hypothesis may help explain differential silica dissolution during the last glacial stage.


The diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum is a common inhabitant of inshore waters and can exist in different morphotypes that are thought to be adapted for survival in different habitats. Despite this diatom being widely used for physiological and genetic studies of microalgae, little is known about biochemical or physiological differences between the cell morphotypes. The present study was aimed at comparing differences in the antibacterial properties of the fusiform and oval morphotypes, the dominant cell types found in laboratory cultures of most strains of P. tricornutum. In cultures differing in proportions of fusiform and oval cells, there is a significant and positive correlation between the proportion of cells in the fusiform morphotype and the antibacterial activity of cell extracts. Extracts prepared from cultures enriched for fusiform cells (~76%) show greater antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, than those prepared from pure (100%) oval cultures. Thus fusiform cells contain greater antibacterial activity per cell compared to the ovals. Gas–liquid chromatographic analyses of the extracts reveal that those from enriched fusiform populations contain significantly greater levels of the free fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), hexadecatrienoic acid (HTA) and palmitoleic acid (PA) than the pure oval cell cultures. These free fatty acids from P. tricornutum have been previously shown by us to have potent antibacterial activity against S. aureus. Free fatty acids, released from damaged microalgal cells, defend the microalgal population against grazing predators but, here, we suggest that these free fatty acids could also act against pathogenic bacteria in the vicinity of the algae. As cell extracts from the fusiform cells contain greater quantities of these fatty acids, fusiform cells may have greater potential than the ovals for this type of protection.


During the development of the nervous system the regulation of cell cycle, differentiation, and survival is tightly interlinked. Newly generated neurons must keep cell cycle components under strict control, as cell cycle re-entry leads to neuronal degeneration and death. However, despite their relevance, the mechanisms controlling this process remain largely unexplored. Here we show that Scratch2 is involved in the control of the cell cycle in neurons in the developing spinal cord of the zebrafish embryo. scratch2 knockdown induces postmitotic neurons to re-enter mitosis. Scratch2 prevents cell cycle re-entry by maintaining high levels of the cycle inhibitor p57 through the downregulation of miR-25. Thus, Scratch2 appears to safeguard the homeostasis of postmitotic primary neurons by preventing cell cycle re-entry.


Using data generated from participant observation and semistructured interviews, I consider the ways in which nightlife, or what might be imagined as the nightly round—a process encompassing the social interactions, behaviors, and actions involved in going to, being in, and leaving the club—is used to mitigate the effects of social and spatial isolation, complementing the accomplishment of the daily round. Through an analysis of the social world of the Spot, I argue that understanding the ways in which urban blacks use space in the nightclub to mediate racial segregation, sexual segregation, and limited social capital expands our current understanding of the spatial mobility of urban blacks as well as the important role of extra–neighborhood spaces in such processes. Further, I highlight the ways that urban blacks use space in the nightclub to leverage socioeconomic opportunities and enhance social networks. While I found that black heterosexual and lesbian and gay patrons used space in similar ways at the Spot, black lesbians and gays were more likely to use the club as a space to develop ties of social support.


The globalization of the marketplace and how this process is shaping the cultural characteristics of people around the world is arguably the most critical issue facing international marketing managers today. Powerful forces such as capitalism, global communications, marketing, and transnational cosmopolitanism are interacting to dissolve the boundaries across national cultures and economies, and in the eyes of many, accelerating the emergence of a homogeneous 'global consumer culture'. Others have countered that globalization serves to reactivate and strengthen national and ethnic identities; in other words, rather than suppressing cultural differences, globalization may actually promote them. Still others have argued that globalization is reducing the homogeneity of consumer behaviors within countries, while increasing communalities across countries. Despite the widespread discourse on this topic, there is a scarcity of studies that have simultaneously considered both global and local cultural influences on consumer behavior, and a complete lacking of a way for measuring how individuals acquire and become a part of this emerging global consumer culture. This absence is all the more glaring, given that culture exerts the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behavior. The extant acculturation studies have generally focused on culture change occurring within the narrow context of minority-culture ethnic groups (usually immigrants) adapting to the alternative host cultures, and not from the broader perspective of how a deterritorialized, global culture shapes local cultures, consumers, and their behaviors, around the world. The first major contribution of this dissertation concerns the development and validation of a multidimensional scale for the measurement of acculturation to global consumer culture, via a series of qualitative and quantitative studies. The second major contribution is the articulation of theoretical framework for assessing the selective, contextual nature of both global and local cultural influences on an array of consumer values and behaviors. Survey data was gathered from respondents in eight countries to test the proposed model and associated hypotheses. The findings demonstrate that both ethnic identification and global-culture acculturation are multidimensional, selective, and contextual processes, in that the acquisition of new cultural characteristics and the maintenance or loss of traditional ones varies from trait to trait and from situation to situation


Although material scientists constantly discover superconducting compounds with higher critical temperatures (Tc's), manufacturing of the high‐temperature superconductors (HTS) remains a problem and long lengths (>1 mile) have yet to be produced. In an effort to produce long length superconductors, manufacturing steps for HTS tape production have been critically looked at to find their effects in producing tape with the desired characteristics. In support of determining superconducting tape characteristics, acoustic microscopy offers the potential for internal microstructural material characterization. This research will ultimately support in‐process monitoring of HTS manufacturing as part of an advanced sensing system to determine the presence of defects and/or the effects of process variables on the HTS tape. This presentation will overview scanning acoustic microscopy and present images of HTS tape at several frequencies ranging from 50 to 500 MHz. The results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of det...


This paper presents VelocityOLAP (VOLAP), a distributed real-time OLAP system for high velocity data. VOLAP makes use of dimension hierarchies, is highly scalable, and exploits both multi-core and multi-processor parallelism. In contrast to other high performance OLAP systems such as SAP HANA or IBM Netezza that rely on vertical scaling or special purpose hardware, VOLAP supports cost-efficient horizontal scaling on commodity hardware or modest cloud instances. Experiments on 20 Amazon EC2 nodes with TPC-DS data show that VOLAP is capable of bulk ingesting data at over 400 thousand items per second, and processing streams of interspersed insertions and aggregate queries at a rate of approximately 50 thousand insertions and 20 thousand aggregate queries per second with a database of 1 billion items. VOLAP is designed to support applications that perform large aggregate queries, and provides similar high performance for aggregations ranging from a few items to nearly the entire database.


Room temperature formability of twin-roll cast Mg alloys has been investigated and correlated with their work hardening behavior. Tensile properties of these alloys were measured and their work hardening behaviour was analysed by using constitutive equations. Room temperature formability of the alloys was evaluated by the limiting dome height (LDH) value, obtained by the Erichsen cupping test. It shows that there is a linear relationship between LDH value and the inverse of yield ratio, which is a function of work hardening exponents. An increase in grain size increases work hardening exponent and concurrently increases LDH.


Background: Antibiotic in environment can be accumulated in soil and sediment and then adversely affect the ecosystem function as well as decrease the natural degradation rate of pollutants by producing a antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. The antibiotic-resistant genes can also transfer to drinking water resources and then, leading untreatable human disease. Methods: Natural LECA was supported from rural resources and washed with deionized water for several time and then used as natural adsorbent. The adsorbents were characterized with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and X ray diffract meter (XRD). All experiments were conducted in a batch reactor. Various parameters such as initial adsorbent mass (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 g/L), initial antibiotic concentration (50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L), initial solution pH (3, 5, 7, 9, and 11) and contact time (1-210 min) were investigated. Results: The Results of present work showed the high removal efficiency of the adsorbent for adsorption of Tetracycline from aqueous solution. Higher removal efficiency was observed for Tetracycline at pH 3, 180 min contact time, 10 g/L of adsorbent dose and 200 mg/L of initial antibiotic concentration. In optimum condition, up to 49 of tetracycline was removed. Conclusion: Overall, the results of the present work well demonstrated that natural LECA as an inexpensive adsorbent could remove effectively the antibiotics namely Tetracycline from aqueous solution.


This study was carried out to determine effects of different durations (20, 40, 60 days and control) of cold stratification treatments on seed germination and to overcome dormancy in seeds of twelve different drought tolerant plants. The species used in this study were Arbutus andrachne L., Cistus creticus L., Colutea armena Bois. Huet., Cotinus coggygria Scop., Cotoneaster numullaria Fisch. and Mey, Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Jasminum fruticans L., Paliurus spina-christii Mill., Punica granatum L., Pyracantha coccinea Roem., Rhus coriaria L., and Ziziphus jujuba Mill. The seeds were sown in polyethylene pots under greenhouse and on seedbeds under open field conditions. Statistical design was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Germinated seeds were counted and observed periodically for 90 days after sowing to determine germination percentages (GP) and germination rates (GR). While the highest GP were determined according to duration of cold stratification under greenhouse conditions for each species were 44.2% for 60 days, 2.5% for 20 days, 85.6% for 60 days, 13.5% for 20 and 60 days, 64.3% for 20 days, 11.2% for 60 days, 8.2% for 20 days and 14.1% for 20 days for Cotinus coggygria, Cotoneaster numullaria, Jasminum fruticans, Paliurus spina-christii, Pyracantha coccinea, Punica granatum, Rhus coriaria and Ziziphus jujuba respectively The highest GP were 16.5% forArbutus andrachne and 91.3% for Colutea armena for 20 days cold stratified seeds and sown under open field conditions. Furthermore, the highest GP were obtained from seeds of Cistus creticus (27.5%) and Elaeagnus angustifolia (56.2%) in control sowing.