Key rank estimation provides a measure of the effort that the attacker has to spend bruteforcing the key of a cryptographic algorithm, after having gained some information from a side channel attack. We present MCRank, a novel method for key rank estimation based on Monte Carlo sampling. MCRank provides an unbiased estimate of the rank and a confidence interval. Its bounds rapidly become tight for increasing sample size, with a corresponding linear increase of the execution time. When applied to evaluate an AES-128 implementation, MCRank can be orders of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art histogram-based enumeration method for comparable bound tightness. It also scales better than previous work for large keys, up to 2048 bytes. Besides its conceptual simplicity and efficiency, MCRank can assess for the first time the security of large keys even if the probability distributions given the side channel leakage are not independent between subkeys, which occurs, for example, when evaluating the leakage security of an AES-256 implementation.


We aimed to quantify the number, type and arrangement of skin follicles in Huacaya and Suri alpaca skin and correlate their follicle characteristics with fibre traits of harvested fibre and compared these relationships with those of Merino sheep. Fibre and skin samples were collected from the mid-side of 12 Huacaya alpacas, 24 Suri alpacas and 10 Merino sheep. The mean fibre diameter (MFD ± s.e.) of the Huacaya and Suri were: 35.5 ± 0.9 and 28.3 ± 1.0 μm, respectively. The follicle groups found for alpacas were very different from the normal trio of primary follicles found in sheep and goats. The follicle group of the alpacas consisted of a single primary follicle surrounded by a variable number of secondary follicles. The mean ± s.e. primary follicle density was 3.1 ± 0.3 and 2.7 ± 0.1 follicles/mm2 for Huacaya and Suri, respectively. The mean ± s.e. secondary follicle density (SFD) was 13.7 ± 1.2 and 17.5 ± 0.6 follicles/mm2 for Huacaya and Suri, respectively. The mean ± s.e. ratio of secondary to primary follicles (S/P ratio) was 5.1 ± 0.5 for the Huacaya and 7.3 ± 0.2 for the Suri alpacas. The sheep had higher S/P ratios and SFD, lower MFD and produced significantly heavier fleeces. The key correlations found between traits in alpacas include a negative correlation between SFD and MFD (r = –0.71, P = 0.001) and a negative correlation between S/P ratio and MFD (r = –0.44, P = 0.003) and a positive correlation between S/P ratio and total follicle density (r = 0.38, P = 0.010). The study revealed that important relationships exist between alpaca skin follicle characteristics and fibre characteristics. It was the number of secondary follicles in a group that imparts density and a corresponding reduced MFD.


Seed storage protein markers being less sensitive to environmental fluctuation than phenological traits,
has been successfully employed in assessing divergence in many crop plants. The present study was
aimed to find out correlation of seed storage protein markers in twenty eight Indian sesame cultivars
with their agro-ecological zone of adoption and their seed coat colour. Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate
Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed altogether twenty two protein bands of
which thirteen were polymorphic with varied molecular weights. Specific bands, relating to specific
agro-ecologies were found. Moreover, bands of 93.40 KDa and 68.05 KDa were found associated with
production of darker shades of seed coat colour. Clustering pattern based on protein similarity value
offered no definite grouping, either to specific agro-ecological zones of adoption or to specific seed coat
colour. It is concluded that individual protein banding pattern can be linked to agro-ecological adoption
zone and seed coat colour which is helpful in divergence and phylogenetic study in sesame.


Background Despite its hallmark cutaneous presentation, most Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) in Africa is diagnosed too late for effective treatment. Early diagnosis will only be achievable if patients with KS present earlier for care. We hypothesized that public awareness about KS can be enhanced through exposure to common media. Methods We developed educational messages regarding early detection of KS for the general African public portraying a three-part theme: "Look" (regularly examine one's skin/mouth), "Show" (bring to the attention of a healthcare provider any skin/mouth changes), and "Test" (ask for a biopsy for definitive diagnosis). We packaged the messages in three common media forms (comic strips, radio, and video) and tested their effect on increasing KS awareness among adults attending markets in Uganda. Participants were randomized to a single exposure to one of the media and evaluated for change in KS-related knowledge and attitudes. Results Among 420 participants, media exposure resulted in increased ability to identify KS (from 0.95% pretest to 46% posttest); awareness that anyone is at risk for KS (29% to 50%); belief that they may be at risk (63% to 76%); and knowledge that definitive diagnosis requires biopsy (23% to 51%) (all p < 0.001). Most participants (96%) found the media culturally appropriate. Conclusion Exposure to media featuring a theme of "Look," "Show," and "Test" resulted in changes in knowledge and attitudes concerning KS among the general public in Uganda. High incidence and poor survival of KS in Africa are an impetus to further evaluate these media, which are freely available online.


Introduction Studies at tertiary referral centres have shown the antenatal detection of major cardiac anomalies (those defined as requiring surgery or intervention in the first year of life) is as high as 70–80%. However, recent data produced from the Central Cardiac Audit Centre statistics puts the detection rate at only 22–50% with the overall average being 30% across strategic health authorities in the UK. With such a wide variety of detection rates across different centres, it is unclear what the benchmark for secondary care detection actually is. The authors therefore examined the antenatal detection rate of major cardiac anomalies in our secondary care unit. Women are offered first trimester Down's syndrome screening with Nuchal translucency. An Anomaly scan at 19–20 weeks is performed by sonographers who have had training in four chamber and outflow tract views. Method A retrospective 7-year review of patients whose babies were diagnosed with a major cardiac abnormality and whether they were detected ante or postnatally. Results 17 726 patients were scanned ante-natally in our unit from 2002 to 2008. There were a total of 74 cases of major cardiac abnormalities of which 43 were detected at or prior to their 20-week anomaly scan (detection rate 58%). Conclusion This review establishes that the detection rate of major cardiac anomalies in a secondary referral unit is 58%.


Many interesting extensions to the Standard Model predict
nonstandard decays of the 125 GeV Higgs boson. The ATLAS and CMS
experiments at the LHC have searched for processes including
decays of the Higgs boson to long-lived, weakly interacting
particles, decays of the Higgs boson to dark photons, decays of
the Higgs boson to pairs of new (pseudo)scalars, and
lepton-flavor violating decays of the Higgs boson. This note
will summarize the state of these analyses using data taken
through the end of 2016.


Background High-flow fistulas related to plexiform nidi are found in 40% of large brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Endovascular occlusion of intranidal fistulas before plexiform components is empirically considered safe, but potential ensuing dangerous re-routing of flow through plexiform vessels may in theory raise their rupture risk. It remains unclear whether it is safer to embolize plexiform or fistulous vessels initially. We used a novel biomathematical AVM model to compare theoretical hemodynamic changes and rupture risks on sequential embolizations of both types of nidus vessels. Methods We computationally modeled a theoretical AVM as an electrical circuit containing a nidus consisting of a massive stochastic network ensemble comprising 1000 vessels. We sampled and individually simulated 10 000 different nidus morphologies with a fistula angioarchitecturally isolated from its adjacent plexiform nidus. We used network analysis to calculate mean intravascular pressure (Pmean) and flow rate within each nidus vessel; and Monte Carlo analysis to assess overall risks of nidus rupture when simulating sequential occlusions of vessel types in all 10 000 nidi. Results We consistently observed lower nidus rupture risks with initial fistula occlusion in different network morphologies. Intranidal fistula occlusion simultaneously reduced Pmean and flow rate within draining veins. Conclusions Initial occlusion of AVM fistulas theoretically reduces downstream draining vessel hypertension and lowers the risk of rupture of an adjoining plexiform nidus component. This mitigates the theoretical concern that fistula occlusion may cause dangerous redistribution of hemodynamic forces into plexiform nidus vessels, and supports a clinical strategy favoring AVM fistula occlusion before plexiform nidus embolization.


Metabolic acidosis could occur due to either endogenous acids accumulation or bicarbonate loss from the gastrointestinal tract or commonly from the kidney. This study aimed to investigate the possible underlying mechanism(s) of chronic acidosis-induced cardiac contractile and electrical changes in rats. Twenty four adult Wistar rats, of both sexes, were randomly divided into control group and chronic metabolic acidosis group, which received orally 0.28 M NH(4)Cl in the drinking water for 2 weeks. At the end of experimental period, systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were measured. On the day of sacrifice, rats were anesthetized by i.p. pentobarbitone (40 mg/kg b.w.), transthoracic echocardiography and ECG were performed. Blood samples were obtained from abdominal aorta for complete blood count and determination of pH, bicarbonate, chloride, sodium, potassium, troponin I, CK-MB, IL-6, renin and aldosterone levels. Hearts from both groups were studied for cardiac tissue IL-6 and aldosterone in addition to histopathological examination. Compared to control group, chronic metabolic acidosis group showed anemia, significant systolic and diastolic hypotension accompanied by significant reduction of ejection fraction and fraction of shortening, significant bradycardia, prolonged QTc interval and higher widened T wave as well as significantly elevated plasma levels of renin, aldosterone, troponin I, CK-MB and IL-6, and cardiac tissue aldosterone and IL-6. The left ventricular wall of the acidosis group showed degenerated myocytes with fibrosis and apoptosis. Thus, chronic metabolic acidosis induced negative inotropic and chronotropic effects and cardiomyopathy, possibly by elevated aldosterone and IL-6 levels released from the cardiac tissue.


The tourism industry is considered a typical service industry, one in which the involvement of service components is relatively high. Serving and satisfying customers are fundamental goals of the tourism business, with service providers being part of the product itself. Given tour guides' roles as intermediaries between tourists and an unfamiliar environment, special attention should be paid to the service quality of tour guides, as it has the potential to increase tourist satisfaction and produce measurable benefits in profits and market share. The aim of the study is therefore to build the quality indicators of tour guide services. In terms of research methodologies, a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was conducted to reach the objectives. After both in-depth interviews and two rounds of focus group sessions, six dimensions (reliability, response, physical environment, guarantee, care and culture) and 30 indicators were obtained. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was applied to determine the weighting of various evaluation criteria on the indicators of Taiwanese tour guides' service quality. Among the criteria, "The tour guides have a precise service attitude and execution ability." was found to be the most important, while "During the trip, the tour guides dress properly." ranked as the least important.


Streptomycetes, typical soil dwellers, can be detected as common colonizers of human bodies, especially the skin, the respiratory tract, the guts and the genital tract using molecular techniques. However, their clinical manifestations and isolations are rare. Recently they were discussed as possible "coaches" of the human immune system in connection with certain immune disorders and cancer. This work aimed for the characterization and evaluation of genetic adaptations of a human-associated strain Streptomyces sp. TR1341. The strain was isolated from sputum of a senior male patient with a history of lung and kidney TB, recurrent respiratory infections and COPD. It manifested remarkably broad biological activities (antibacterial, antifungal, beta-hemolytic, etc.). We found that, by producing specific secondary metabolites, it is able to modulate host immune responses and the niche itself, which increase its chances for long-term survival in the human tissue. The work shows possible adaptations or predispositions of formerly soil microorganism to survive in human tissue successfully. The strain produces two structural groups of cytotoxic compounds: 28-carbon cytolytic polyenes of the filipin type and actinomycin X2. Additionally, we summarize and present data about streptomycete-related human infections known so far.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Background Infections are common in patients with liver cirrhosis and increase mortality. We explored the relationship between infection and liver dysfunction in their effects on mortality. Methods Single-center data on decompensated liver cirrhosis patients hospitalized between March 2014 and December 2017 (index period) were reviewed until death, liver transplantation or 31 December 2018. Infections were classified as community-acquired infection (CAi) or hospital/healthcare associated infection (HCAi). Child-Pugh, model for the end-stage liver disease (MELD) and chronic liver failure-organ failure (CLiF-OF) scores indicated liver (dys)function. Results We enrolled 155 patients (85% alcoholic liver disease), 65 without infection at first hospitalization, 48 with CAi and 42 with HCAi. Multidrug resistant agents were confirmed in 2/48 (4.2%) CAi and 10/42 (23.8%) HCAi patients. At first hospitalization, infection was independently associated with worse liver dysfunction and vice versa, and with higher 30-day mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 2.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07–6.94]. The association was reduced with adjustment for MELD/CLiF-OF scores, but mediation analysis detected an indirect (via liver dysfunction) association. Twenty-eight patients were repeatedly hospitalized, 11 with new HCAi. HCAi was independently associated with twice higher risk of medium-term mortality and added an additional risk to any level of liver dysfunction, considering all or patients who survived the first 30 days. In those repeatedly hospitalized, HCAi appeared independently associated with a higher probability of infection and higher MELD scores at subsequent hospitalizations. Conclusion Infection (particularly HCAi) adds mortality risk to any level of liver dysfunction in decompensated liver cirrhosis patients. Mechanisms of long(er)-term effects (in acute episode survivors) seemingly include enhanced deterioration of liver function.


A lactate clamp method has been developed to quantify the whole body lactate utilization in conscious, unstressed rats. Dichloroacetate (DCA), a known lactate utilization enhancer, was used to validate the method. Fasting blood lactate concentrations before the clamps were identical for DCA-treated (1 mmol/kg) and control groups (1.65 +/- 0.37 vs. 1.65 +/- 0.19 mM). The animals received a primed continuous lactate infusion for 90 min at variable rates to clamp the blood lactate concentration at 2 mM. The steady-state (60-90 min) lactate infusion rate, which represents the whole body lactate utilization in DCA-treated animals, was 144% higher than that in the control animals (13.2 +/- 1.0 vs. 5.4 +/- 1.1 mg . kg-1 . min-1; P < 0.001). The markedly increased lactate infusion rate indicates an enhanced lactate flux by DCA. To determine whether the increased lactate infusion by DCA reflected reduced endogenous lactate production, lactate production was measured. The results indicate that endogenous lactate production was not affected by DCA. In conclusion, the lactate clamp provides a sensitive and reliable method to assess lactate utilization in vivo, a dynamic measurement that may not be clearly demonstrated by blood lactate concentrations per se.


Patient generated monitor alarms have been a concern for health care providers for years. Initiatives to ensure that clinicians hear an alarm or a warning signal when a patient's condition is deteriorating include: louder tones at the patients' bedside with concomitant warning lights outside of the patient room; centralized monitoring of the patient's conditions at the nursing station to name a few. Another initiative includes patient alarms generated at the bedside sent to dedicated pagers. Nursing personnel assigned to care for a monitored patient carry the pager and receive the alarms when their patient's condition is deteriorating (complementary alarm notification). The Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation published a Prepublication Standards document establishing alarm management as a 2014 National Patient Safety Goal*. The Safety goal was to be introduced in two phases culminating in the implementation of clinical alarm management policies and procedures by 2016. Manufacturers have developed systems that replace the older pager technology with smart phone technology, leveraging existing hospital's infrastructure such as WIFI to transmit the alarm conditions. The presentation will describe the process that the Hospital followed in implementing an Alarm Management System, including our experience with the complexity of such systems that involve alarm management servers, smart phone technology, patient monitoring practices and ultimately using the WIFI infrastructure. It is our intention to provide some lessons learned so that other institutions can avoid some of the challenges associated with implementing such technologies. *Joint Commission Perspective, July 2013, Volume 33, Issue 7


Summary The details of 98 women sterilized over a three-year period are presented. They show that female sterilization is a safe procedure which has a satisfactory result in many cases and confers many secondary benefits. However, some regret is common and is associated with a high incidence of psychiatric and marital morbidity, and this is shown to be related to pre-operative factors. A method of pre-operative assessment is outlined which should minimize the risk of a poor outcome following female sterilization.


The current abundance of scholarship concerning the technological development of photography has coexisted with a proportionate absence of recent critical analysis of photographic images. Given photography's long-standing embrace of technological advances, even predating the portable camera or roll film, this article revisits some early uses of scientific photography in order to clarify the impact of digital technology on contempo-rary photographic practice. The author uses scientific photogra-phy and photographic archives as the groundwork for photo-graphic experiments into what might be called analytical photography. The essay con-cludes with a reconsideration of the photographic portrait.


The relationship between the inosine biosynthesis by the Bacillus subtilis mutants VNII-genetika-265 and VNII-genetika-21 and the concentrations of adenine, guanine, uracile and amino acids was investigated. Adenine and guanine in high concentrations inhibited the inosine biosynthesis in both mutants. The mutant Gene-21 showed an increased requirement for adenine as compared with the mutant Gene-265. In the presence of uracile the pattern of the relationship between the inosine growth and biosynthesis and adenine in the mutane Gene-265 was similar to that in the mutant Gene-21. Excessive concentrations of histidine and tyrosine inhibited the inosine biosynthesis.


Recently, unsupervised parsing of syntactic trees has gained considerable attention. A prototypical approach to such unsupervised parsing employs reinforcement learning and auto-encoders. However, no mechanism ensures that the learnt model leverages the well-understood language grammar. We propose an approach that utilizes very generic linguistic knowledge of the language present in the form of syntactic rules, thus inducing better syntactic structures. We introduce a novel formulation that takes advantage of the syntactic grammar rules and is independent of the base system. We achieve new state-of-the-art results on two benchmarks datasets, MNLI and WSJ. The source code of the paper is available at https://github.com/anshuln/Diora_with_rules.


Aim: The association between COVID-19 disease severity and certain
medicines for the treatment of chronic diseases is currently under
discussion. We herein evaluated if previous exposure to
antihypertensive, hypoglycaemic, and lipid-lowering drugs increases the
risk of poorer COVID-19 outcomes. Methods: We performed a retrospective
study on three cohorts of COVID-19 adult patients between March 2020 and
May 2020 at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital. Information relating
to the patient lifestyle, comorbidities, and chronic exposures was
retrieved from primary healthcare electronic records. Three cohorts were
examined, namely patients who had died or required intensive care
treatment (ICU/Death [ICU-D] Cohort), patients who required
hospitalisation (Hospitalisation [HOSP] Cohort), and patients who
only attended the emergency department (Emergencies [EM] Cohort).
Descriptive statistics and a multivariate logistic regression model were
used to investigate associations with drug exposure, where EM was
employed as the reference cohort. Results: We included 1,778 patients:
417 (23.5%) from the ICU-D Cohort, 1,052 (59.2%) from the HOSP Cohort,
and 309 (17.4%) from the EM Cohort. After multiple imputations and data
adjustment by potential confounders, no statistically significant
association was observed between the COVID-19 severity and the use of
antihypertensives, hypoglycaemic agents, or lipid-lowering agents, with
the exception of calcium channel blockers (CCB) (ICU-D Cohort: OR 2.23;
CI 95% [1.03–4.83]; P = 0.042). Conclusions: Most results on
lifestyle characteristics and comorbidities related to COVID-19 severity
were in agreement with current knowledge, although some associated
factors are nowadays a matter of controversy and further investigation
is required.


Australia, and the rest of the world, is experiencing one of the most significant social, economic and health crises in history with the coronavirus. And there are signs that racial and ethnic discrimination is on the rise. Given the current challenges that Australia and other countries will face in the aftermath of COVID-19, creating and sustaining a welcoming culture is ever more pressing.The Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre, in collaboration with the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Australian Catholic University, and Australia Multicultural Foundation, sought to better understand the contextual dynamics that shape inter-ethnic relationships across 140 neighbourhoods in Melbourne. The report Understanding the context of racial and cultural exclusivism: A study of Melbourne neighbourhoods led by Associate Professor Rebecca Wickes, provides a critical look into the processes that include or exclude migrants in Australia's most multicultural city.On 21 April 2020, the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre hosted a webinar where we discussed the main findings of this report within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our panelists considered the impact of this crisis for inclusion and discussed how we might mitigate the social distance that may occur as a result of the physical distancing underway in our workplaces and communities. Professor Sharon Pickering, Dean of Arts, Monash University hosted this online event. Dean Pickering was joined by our discussant, Professor Alex Piquero, and panelists Associate Professor Rebecca Wickes (Monash University), Professor Karen Farquharson (University of Melbourne) and Aleem Ali (Welcoming Australia). These slides are from the presentation by Associate Professor Rebecca Wickes (Monash University) during the webinar.


Despite the significant clinical benefits of computed tomography (CT) in providing diagnostic information for a broad range of diseases, concerns have been raised regarding the potential cancer risk induced by CT radiation exposure. In that regard, optimizing CT protocols and minimizing radiation dose have become the core problem for the CT community. To develop strategies to optimize radiation dose, it is crucial to effectively characterize CT image quality. Such image quality estimates need to be prospective to ensure that optimization can be performed before the scan is initiated. The purpose of this study was to establish a phantombased methodology to predict quantum noise in CT images as a first step in our image quality prediction. Quantum noise was measured using a variable-sized phantom under clinical protocols. The mathematical relationship between noise and water-equivalent-diameter (Dw) was further established. The prediction was achieved by ascribing a noise value to a patient according to the patient's water-equivalent-diameter. The prediction accuracy was evaluated in anthropomorphic phantoms across a broad range of sizes, anatomy, and reconstruction algorithms. The differences between the measured and predicted noise were within 10% for anthropomorphic phantoms across all sizes and anatomy. This study proposed a practically applicable technique to predict noise in CT images. With a prospective estimation of image quality level, the scanning parameters can then by adjusted to ensure optimized imaging performance.


This paper describes randomized field experiments in eighty-four urban public schools in two cities designed to understand the impact of aligned incentives on student achievement. In Washington DC, incentives were "horizontal" – provided to one agent (students) for various inputs in the education production function (i.e. attendance, behavior, interim assessments, homework, and uniforms). In Houston, TX, incentives were "vertical" – provided to multiple agents (parents, teachers, and students) for a single input (math objectives). On outcomes for which we provided direct incentives, there were large and statistically significant effects from both treatments. Horizontal incentives led to increases in math and reading test scores. Vertical incentives increased math achievement, but resulted in decreased reading, science, and social studies test scores. We argue that the data is consistent with agents perceiving academic achievement in various subjects as substitutes, not complements, in education production.


New blind adaptive channel equalization techniques based on a deterministic optimization criterion are presented. A family of nonlinear functions is proposed which constitutes a generic class of blind algorithms. They have been shown to have better performance than the conventional constant modulus algorithm (CMA)-like approaches. The advantages include the relaxed stability range on the step size and that an automatic gain control unit which estimates the gain of the channel, is no longer of crucial importance.


This paper re-thinks the current imperative to theorize the (white) nation-state as a 'multination,' one in which the grand narrative of a nation's founding communities (and the presumption of assimilation upon which the grand narrative was always based) gives way to a multiply centred narrative attuned to questions of unequal power relations, racism, exploitation and so on. Multiculturalism as a theory has arisen out of this shift and presents itself not as an explanatory model of a given situation but as a problematic in need of continuous theorization. The paper argues that multiculturalism remains a thing of the past, a way in which the project of the Enlightenment and matters of justice may be rethought (but not radically altered) so as to accommodate the 'alien' within. And it is for this reason – because of its pastness – that it requires constant critique and re-evaluation, the need to specify the real, material conditions of racism and their relation to capital at every point.


Abstract. In recent years, there has been a growing number of small hyperspectral sensors suitable for deployment on unmanned aerial systems (UAS. The introduction of the hyperspectral snapshot sensor provides interesting opportunities for acquisition of three-dimensional (3D) hyperspectral point clouds based on the structure-from-motion (SfM) workflow. In this study, we describe the integration of a 25-band hyperspectral snapshot sensor (PhotonFocus camera with IMEC 600 – 875 nm 5x5 mosaic chip) on a multi-rotor UAS. The sensor was integrated with a dual frequency GNSS receiver for accurate time synchronisation and geolocation. We describe the sensor calibration workflow, including dark current and flat field characterisation. An SfM workflow was implemented to derive hyperspectral 3D point clouds and orthomosaics from overlapping frames. On-board GNSS coordinates for each hyperspectral frame assisted in the SfM process and allowed for accurate direct georeferencing (< 10 cm absolute accuracy). We present the processing workflow to generate seamless hyperspectral orthomosaics from hundreds of raw images. Spectral reference panels and in-field spectral measurements were used to calibrate and validate the spectral signatures. This process provides a novel data type which contains both 3D, geometric structure and detailed spectral information in a single format. First, to determine the potential improvements that such a format could provide, the core aim of this study was to compare the use of 3D hyperspectral point clouds to conventional hyperspectral imagery in the classification of two Eucalyptus tree species found in Tasmania, Australia. The IMEC SM5x5 hyperspectral snapshot sensor was flown over a small native plantation plot, consisting of a mix of the Eucalyptus pauciflora and E. tenuiramis species. High overlap hyperspectral imagery was captured and then processed using SfM algorithms to generate both a hyperspectral orthomosaic and a dense hyperspectral point cloud. Additionally, to ensure the optimum spectral quality of the data, the characteristics of the hyperspectral snapshot imaging sensor were analysed utilising measurements captured in a laboratory environment. To coincide with the generated hyperspectral point cloud data, both a file format and additional processing and visualisation software were developed to provide the necessary tools for a complete classification workflow. Results based on the classification of the E. pauciflora and E. tenuiramis species revealed that the hyperspectral point cloud produced an increased classification accuracy over conventional hyperspectral imagery based on random forest classification. This was represented by an increase in classification accuracy from 67.2% to 73.8%. It was found that even when applied separately, the geometric and spectral feature sets from the point cloud both provided increased classification accuracy over the hyperspectral imagery.


The paper proposes a Software Architecture model for sugarcane life cycle management, thus automating agriculture operations such as tracking cane inventory, monitoring field activities, and tracking on field investments. The paper also has proposed various models such as land selection, cane seed distribution, supply management, pre- and post-harvest management, farmer payment management, contractor management, and general documentations. Aus. J. Bus. Sco S. & IT. Vol  5(1),  April 2019, P 17-26


This article proposes a speculative solution to a problem recently discovered in the Parthenon building-account inscriptions. As restored, the accounts (IG 13 449, lines 389–94) specify the purchase and sale of a large lot of ivory quite late in the building's construction. Where was this ivory used? Since the ivory cannot readily be connected to Pheidias' chryselephantine image of Athena, this material can be associated with the decoration of the Parthenon's enormous cedar doors. In addition to a range of epigraphical and structural evidence supporting this hypothesis, the literary and archaeological data suggest a long tradition of adorning doors with gold and ivory in Greek sacred architecture. The Parthenon was a fundamental part of this tradition. Indeed, by creating a gold and ivory frame to complement and emphasize Pheidias' gleaming statue, the Parthenon's designers played on ancient expectations regarding divine images and enhanced the epiphanic effect of Pheidias' masterpiece and the Parthenon as a whole.


Due to ICT integration in Higher Education, deep cognitive-procedural structures of teachers' thinking are being modified, as teachers are called to link their subject matter, methodology and technology knowledge to foster meaningful learning (Angeli, Valanides, 2005; 2009; 2013). Here are presented the results of Phase 1 (briefing for design) of a mix-method research on ICT-TPCK framework implementation in blended learning context (Higher Education). The research engaged 25 teachers of 3 macroareas and 1615 students. From the analysis of categorical data emerging from the use of document of design, diaries and focus groups are emerging evidence on the potential offered by integrating Instructional design in relation to methodological and technological innovation; student involvement; personalized learning (work life balance).


Culture of pearl oysters is rapidly increasing worldwide, including the western Indian Ocean. The oyster Pinctada margaritifera L., which produces the most highly valued black pearls, occurs in East Africa, a nd as been exploited there for the shell for many decades. The growth patterns of P. margaritifera from a natural population in the sheltered back-reef, and fro oysters translocated to a tidal current-swept site, both sites within Gazi Bay, Kenya, are described. The growth rate in the natural population ranged from 31.3mm year−1 (60–65mm size-class) to 7.6mm year−1 (105–110mm size-class). The von Bertalanffy growth coefficient (K), calculated with a fixed L∞ of 127.2mm, was 0.30 for the natural population and 0.38 for the translocated oysters. The mean growth rate during the north-east monsoon season was approximately double that for during the south-east monsoon season. The dailyrate of nacre deposition ranged from 1.3μm to 5.9μm (mean 3.45μm); it declined with the size of oysters and was marginally higher at the high-energy current site. At that rate, it would take approximately two years to produce a marketable cultured half pearl with a 2.5mm layer of nacre. The results of the study are relevant to the understanding of the influence of the environment on growth, and are applicable to the optimisation of growth rate of pearl oysters in the inshore region along the east coast of Africa.


Grayling is content to be background to her effusive mother, the local wise woman and healer, until her mother is literally rooted to the ground by some evil force that is slowly turning her into a tree. Off Grayling goes, with great reluctance and armed with only a small store of potions that are quickly eaten by a mouse, into the wider world to find magical folk who can fix her mother. At least the now-magical mouse tags along as company, and Grayling's gathering song works to gain her a few more allies. The group works well as a whole, but Cushman also effectively makes them stand out as individuals, and readers will likely care deeply about all of them by the end. The language gives the book the atmospheric flavor of historical fiction, and the land itself is wild and mysterious, exactly the type of place where magic could happen, children could wander around trying to fix the world, and tiny mice could shapeshift into mighty protectors if fed the right potion. Cushman offers a complete story with clear resolutions, a memorably complex villain, and a sweet protagonist who becomes far more than background by the end; fantasy buffs and Cushman fans alike will be well pleased. AS


Free jets have been studied in detail over much of the last century, but the theory for offset and attached jets remains incomplete. Attached jets differ from free jets in that they lose momentum to nearby surfaces, attenuating their velocities. The velocity profiles of free circular jets are nearly Gaussian, with quantitative mathematical descriptions derived from first principles by Goertler and Tollmien (Rajaratnam, 1976). In contrast, mathematical descriptions of three-dimensional attached jets from circular nozzles remain much less mature. Agelin-Chaab and Tachie (2011) used particle imaging velocimetry of a three-dimensional attached jet to show that the scaled velocity decays with scaled distance from the nozzle with a power law exponent between −1.15 and −1.20, which is larger in magnitude than that of a free jet. However, quantitative analytical expressions for the velocity profiles of attached jets similar to those of free jets remain elusive. This paper addresses this critical gap.
 Here we evaluate the velocity profiles of three-dimensional offset jets emerging from circular nozzles that become attached jets. These jets lose momentum due to interactions with nearby surfaces and are important to evaluating flows in mixing vessels and to suspending solids and trapped gases in radioactive waste tanks. Despite the importance of attached jets, prior insight has been purely experimental, limited to overly simplistic analytical models, or restricted to computationally expensive computational fluid dynamics case studies. We compare the expression of Verhoff (1963) to experimental results to find reasonable quantitative agreement.
 As stated by Agelin-Chaab and Tachie (2011), "detailed velocity measurements of 3D offset jets are rare." Such remains the case. This study adds to the literature by providing information at two additional Reynolds numbers (1.43 · 106 and 1.87 · 106) and evaluating simple but accurate expressions for velocity profiles. These Reynolds numbers and corresponding velocities are higher, typically orders of magnitude higher, than other reports. The semi-empirical stream wise velocity profile perpendicular to the surface proposed by Verhoff (1963) is in approximate agreement with these velocity profiles, which is surprising because these attached jets are three-dimensional instead of two-dimensional as evaluated by Verhoff. However, additional work is necessary to fully describe these profiles quantitatively.


INTRODUCTION: In addition to their nutritional value, processed soy bean extracts contain several activities with potential therapeutic benefits. These include anti-oxidants, and tyrosine kinase and protease inhibitory activity. There are also anecdotal reports of health benefits of soy products in alleviating DMD symptoms. METHODS: Mdx mice were fed a control soy-free diet or the same diet containing either a proprietary soy preparation (Haelan 951), purified soy isoflavones, purified Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor or a combination of isoflavones and Bowman-Birk inhibitor. Mice were tested for their wire hanging ability at the start of the diet regimen and every 4 weeks until week 12 of treatment. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:  The diet containing Bowman-Birk inhibitor was the only one to show a significant and sustained improvement over the 12 weeks of the study. All other dietary additions; Haelan 951, isoflavones and isoflavones with Bowman-Birk inhibitor, were not significantly different from each other or from control. The effectiveness of Bowman-Birk inhibitor in mdx mice clearly warrants further study.


The strong temperature dependence, over certain temperature ranges, of the radiation cooling rate of low-Z impurities, of the atomic physics cooling and particle source rates associated with recycling and fueling neutrals, of the ion-electron recombination particle loss rate, of the turbulent transport loss rate, and of the fusion alpha-particle heating rate have all been identified as "drivers" of thermal instabilities in the coupled plasma particle, momentum, and energy balances. This paper surveys the experimental observations of a number of abrupt transition phenomena in plasma operating conditions - i.e., density-limit disruptions, multifaceted asymmetric radiations from the edge (MARFEs), divertor MARFEs, detachment, in-out divertor heat flux asymmetries, H-L and L-H transitions, confinement, and pedestal deterioration - or anticipated in future reactors - i.e., power excursions - their theoretical interpretations in terms of thermal instabilities driven by the temperature dependence of various radiative and atomic physics cooling mechanisms, and a comparison of theoretical prediction with experimental observations. Also surveyed are theoretical predictions of thermal instabilities in the power balance driven by the strong positive temperature dependence of the fusion heating rate.


In this data pervasive world, the efficient and accurate modelling of data is crucial to support reliable analyses and to improve the solution to related problems. In order to describe the given data, the problem of selecting a suitable model has to be carefully addressed. Traditional approaches to the problem of optimal model selection have relied predominantly on the number of model parameters rather than the actual parameters themselves. This limits the ability of traditional methods to correctly distinguish among models that, while being of different type, have the same number of model parameters. In order to address the problem of model selection satisfactorily, this thesis explores the Bayesian information-theoretic principle of minimum message length (MML). The inference framework based on the MML principle enables the optimal selection of models by using the constituent parameters to better balance the trade-off between the model's complexity and its goodness-of-fit to the data. The core of this thesis explores the MML-based inference of some of the commonly used probability distributions whose parameters have not yet been characterized and of mixtures of these probability distributions. The models of these probability distributions allow for accurate modelling of data in the Euclidean space and data that is directional in nature. These probabilistic models and their mixtures have widespread uses in statistical machine learning tasks. In this context, we have developed a general purpose search method to determine the optimal number of mixture components and their parameters that describe the given data in a completely unsupervised setting. The use of the MML modelling paradigm and our proposed search method is explored in detail on a variety of real-world data, specifically on directional text data and on the spatial orientation data of protein three-dimensional structures. Further, mixtures of directional probability distributions have facilitated the design of reliable computational models for protein structural data. Furthermore, the inference framework has been used for concise representations of protein folding patterns using a combination of non-linear parametric curves. The results of this work have a wide-variety of important uses including direct applications in protein structural biology.


Decision-making is a complex task and requires adaptive mechanisms that facilitate efficient behaviour. Here, we consider a neural circuit that guides the behaviour of an animal in ongoing binary choice tasks. We adopt an inhibition motif from neural network theory and propose a dynamical system characterized by nonlinear feedback, which links mechanism (the implementation of the neural circuit) and function (increasing reproductive value). A central inhibitory unit influences evidence-integrating excitatory units, which in our terms correspond to motivations competing for selection. We determine the parameter regime where the animal exhibits improved decision-making behaviour, and explain different behavioural outcomes by making the link between bifurcation analysis of the nonlinear neural circuit model and decision-making performance. We find that the animal performs best if it tunes internal parameters of the neural circuit in accordance with the underlying bifurcation structure. In particular, variation of inhibition strength and excitation-over-inhibition ratio have a crucial effect on the decision outcome, by allowing the animal to break decision deadlock and to enter an oscillatory phase that describes its internal motivational state. Our findings indicate that this oscillatory phase may improve the overall performance of the animal in an ongoing foraging task. Our results underpin the importance of an integrated functional and mechanistic study of animal activity selection. Author summary Organisms frequently select activities, which relate to economic, social and perceptual decision-making problems. The choices made may have substantial impact on their lives. In foraging decisions, for example, animals aim at reaching a target intake of nutrients; it is generally believed that a balanced diet improves reproductive success, yet little is known about the underlying mechanisms that integrate nutritional needs within the brain. In our study, we address this coupling between physiological states and a decision-making circuit in the context of foraging decisions. We consider a model animal that has the drive to eat or drink. The motivation to select and perform one of these activities (i.e. eating or drinking), is processed in artificial neuronal units that have access to information on how hungry and thirsty the animal is at the point it makes the decision. We show that inhibitory and excitatory mechanisms in the neural circuit shape ongoing binary decisions, and we reveal under which conditions oscillating motivations may improve the overall performance of the animal. Our results indicate that inefficient or pathological decision-making may originate from suboptimal modulation of excitation and inhibition in the neurobiological network.


Common arguments for including applications papers in the Machine Learning literature are often based on the papers' value for advertising success stories and for morale boosting. For example, high-proole applications can help to secure funding for future research and can help to attract high caliber students. However, there is another reason why such papers are of value to the eld, which is, arguably, even more vital. Application papers are essential in order for Machine Learning to remain a viable science. They focus research on important unsolved problems that currently restrict the practical applicability of machine learning methods. Much of the \science" of Machine Learning is a science of engineering. 1 By this we mean that it is dedicated to creating and compiling veriiable knowledge related to the design and construction of artifacts. The scientiic knowledge comprises theoretical arguments, observational categorizations, empirical studies, and practical demonstrations. The artifacts are computer programs that use data to build models that are practically or theoretically useful. Because the objects of study are intended to have practical utility, it is essential for research activities to be focused (in part) on the elimination of obstacles that impede their practical application. Most often these obstacles take the form of restrictive simplifying assumptions commonly made in research. Consider as an example the assumption, common in classiier learning research, that misclassiication errors have equal costs. The vast majority of classiier learning research in Machine Learning has been conducted under this assumption, through the use of classiication accuracy as the primary (or sole) evaluation metric. Is this a reasonable assumption under which we should be operating? The answer is unclear. It is diicult to imagine a real-world classii-cation problem where error costs are equal, and researchers come in from the eld time after time citing problems dealing with unequal misclassiication costs. Nevertheless , we continue to press on with research on increasing classiication accuracy. In the Machine Learning literature isolated studies suggest that it is possible to weaken this assumption and still learn eeectively (Turney 1997), but there have been no comprehensive studies. This is but one small example of a common simplifying assumption that may be too strong. Of course it is not clear that even a very solid applications paper pointing out the inapplicability of this assumption would be suucient to convince the eld to shift its scientiic paradigm (Kuhn 1970). In fact, with respect to this particular …


The Central Range fault zone is a continental transform that accommodates most of the present-day slip between the Caribbean and South American plates in Trinidad. Global positioning system data and paleoseismic work suggest that this zone is active today and has been active for at least the past several thousand years. The modern fault zone overprints a middle Miocene fold-and-thrust belt; therefore, the strain recorded in the Central Range fault zone is the sum of both middle Miocene and more recent events. Thermochronology data from Eocene and Oligocene sandstones in the Central Range were collected to evaluate the timing of exhumation driven by crustal shortening and thickening. (U-Th)/He zircon analysis of subhedral zircons collected from eight samples indicated that the burial temperatures of these sedimentary rocks did not exceed ∼180 °C, suggesting that these grains record detrital (U-Th)/He dates. Apatite fission-track (AFT) analysis of 10 samples yielded mixed results, with cooling ages ranging from 30 to 15 Ma; however, most sites failed the χ2 test, suggesting that multiple age cohorts are present. Pooled AFT ages suggest that rocks presently at the surface were exhumed through their AFT closure temperature ca. 11−18 Ma. Cooling and exhumation thus most likely resulted from middle Miocene shortening across the fold-and-thrust belt in response to early oblique convergence between the Caribbean and South America plates. Post-Miocene deformation associated with more recent transform tectonics has therefore resulted in more limited (<∼4 km), if any, exhumation.


USING HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS IN PREACHING ABOUT THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD AT PIONEER BAPTIST CHURCH, HARRODSBURG, KENTUCKY Andrew Michael Dyer, D.Min. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011 Project Supervisor: Dr. Chad O. Brand This project teaches the providence of God through the use of historical illustrations in expository sermons. Chapter 1 addresses the context of ministry at Pioneer Baptist Church, Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Also an introduction to the significance and scope of this project presented. In chapter 2, a defense of providence and historical illustration is given from Scripture. An exegesis of Matthew 16:18 forms the basis for the sermon series and project. Chapter 3 examines the biblical doctrine of providence as well as comparing and contrasting five common views. Chapter 4 details the process of the project step by step and gives the sermon texts, titles and historical illustrations. Chapter 5 serves as an analysis of the effectiveness of the project to meet the goals, reflecting on strengths and weaknesses of the project as it occurred as well as offering changes that should take place if a similar project were undertaken again.


The study addresses important issues relating to computational aspects of coalition formation. Almost as well known, to find payoffs (imputations) belonging to the core is, even for modern supercomputers, an overly complex, NP-hard problem. In addition to the difficulty, the task becomes uncertain as it is unknown whether the core is non-empty. In the proposed cooperative game under the name of Singles the presence of non-empty collections of outcomes (payoffs) similar to the core (say quasi-core) is fully guaranteed. Quasi-core is defined as a collection of non-dominant outcomes induced by coalitions minimal by inclusion among special coalitions, which constitute a join semi-lattice of sets (kernels), Mullat [1971-1995], Kempner et al. [2008], Kuznetsov et al. [1982]. We claim that monotone property of outcomes equivalent to convexity of characteristic function, Shapley [1971], leads to effective heuristic for finding the quasi-core by polynomial algorithm – a version of P-NP problem. Results are illustrated by Excel spreadsheet.


Science is to be commended for dedicating a portion of its 23 June issue to the topic "Conduct in Science" and for including in it Gary Taubes's descriptions of novel approaches to formal teaching about research conduct. I wish to make two comments, one general, the other partly self-serving (not untypical for a scientist). The special section emphasizes the biomedical sciences, where NIH training grants predominate, with their concomitant requirement for some formal lecture-teaching exposure to ethical issues. There is, however, no coverage of the physical sciences, where training grants are rare. As the only chemist member of the original Institute of Medicine-National Academy of Sciences committee on the ethical conduct of research, I called attention to this operational difference in research support, which led me to suggest that recipients of research grants should also be obligatorily exposed to such instruction. This has not yet happened, which makes the question of pedagogic experimentation even more relevant. Taubes's description of pedagogic experiments omits one that I believe merits some emphasis, as it also serves to enlighten the general lay public about conduct in scientific research. The general public knows little enough of what we do, but it knows even less how we do it. I am currently working on a tetralogy of novels in the infrequently used literary genre of "science-in-fiction" (not science fiction) to illustrate in an accurate way in the guise of fiction the behavior of contemporary research scientists. The reception of the first novel, Cantor's Dilemma (Penguin, New York, 1991) has convinced me that "science-in-fiction" is a pedagogic tool well worth implementing, as it can cover the gamut from the general public to graduate students and postdocs. In the afterword of Cantor's Dilemma, I said, "Publications, priorities, the order of the authors, the choice of the journal, the collegiality and the brutal competition, academic tenure, grantsmanship, the Nobel Prize, Schadenfreude-these are the soul and baggage of contemporary science. To illustrate them ... I write about behavior and attitudes surely more common than we like to admit." This novel has been translated into six languages, and was serialized daily in Germany's largest newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. More relevant to the coverage of teaching such issues, it has become a text or recommended reading in many American colleges and universities. Finally, nowhere in the otherwise extremely well-done coverage of scientific conduct do I find comment on the gender aspects of our science research culture, other than tangentially through description of the legal travails surrounding Sarvamangala Devi. There is more to it than just featuring women as whistleblowers or plaintiffs. How to compete on the tenure-track treadmill while pregnant and how the rest of the scientific establishment responds are issues well worth exploring as part of a broad overview of conduct in science, rather than in a group of articles about the special problems facing women in a tough laboratory science. I have made this a key element in my science-in-fiction series and have found from my lectures and even book reviews that it raises more questions and comments than any other. Cart Djerassi Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5080, USA


We investigate the impact of merger on innovation and efficiency using a micro dataset of Japanese manufacturing firms including unlisted firms during the period of 1995-1999. We find that the acquirer's total factor productivity (TFP) decreases immediately after mergers and does not significantly recover to the pre-merger level within three years after mergers. We also find that the R&D intensity does not significantly change after mergers in spite of a significant increase in the debt-to-asset ratio. Our results suggest that the costs of business integration are large and persistent. To take into considering large integration costs, we also analyze the post-merger performance from one year after mergers, finding no significant increase in TFP or R&D intensity up to three years after mergers. Given the heterogeneity of mergers, we analyze the post-merger performance by classifying merger types. We find that the recovery of TFP after mergers is significant for mergers across industries or within the same business group, suggesting that a synergy effect works well and integration costs are small for those types of mergers.


The authors want to present five cases (from May 1999 to May 2009) of acute abdomen from perforation of the foreign body introduced with food. They highlight how the accidental ingestion is very common but the perforation is rare. The preoperative diagnosis, in these cases, is always very difficult and the radiological examinations are not always able to resolve the diagnostic doubt with other acute intestinal diseases that are responsible of perforation. Then, the surgery procedure is, necessarily, the only possible diagnostic and therapeutic means. The mortality and the morbidity remain still high first of all for the delay in the diagnosis and the advanced age of patients.


Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the principal extraintestinal syndrome caused by Escherichia coli. Although most common among women, it is also significant problem among men, who can experience cystitis, pyelonephritis and prostatitis. Better enderstanding of the pathogenesis of UTI and prostatitis in men is necessary to guide the development of effective preventive measures. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of various virulence factors among E. coli strains causing chronic prostatitis (CPR, n = 25) and compare them with the strains isolated in acute (AP, n = 23) and chronic pyelonephritis (CP, n = 22), acute cystitis (AC, n = 22), and asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU, n = 18). Total of 110 E. coli strains were isolated from 110 patients who presented with one of five clinical syndromes. Bacterial susceptibility to serum killing was measured by assessing bacterial regrowth after incubation in normal human serum.The expression of adhesins was defined by hemagglutination and inhibition of hemagglutination in microtiter plates. Serotyping was performed on glass slides and the production of hemolysin was tested on human blood agar plates. The most virulent strains were isolated from patients with AP, followed by strains isolated from patients with CPR. Strains isolated from patients with CPR were significantly more often resistant to the bactericidal activity of serum (BAS), significantly more often produced hemolysin and significantly more often expressed adhesins (p<0, 01) than did ABU and CP strains. P-fimbriated strains were most commonly detected in the AP and CPR groups, although AP strains expressed P-fimbriae significantly more often than did CPR strains (p<0, 05). CPR and AP groups of strains were significantly more often resistant to BAS than strains isolated in other diagnostic groups (p<0.01). There were significant correlations between resistance of E.coli strains to BAS and expression of mannose-resistant adhesins (C= 0, 365). The difference in antigenic structure did not influence on serum sensitivity of the strains. Conclusion: E. coli virulence factors such as adhesins, hemolysin and serum resistance may have important roles in the pathogenesis of chronic prostatitis.


Abstract This study of ethnic identity and ethnic relations in the Caucasus and Central Asia uses a 1985 sample of Soviet Jews who immigrated to Israel. Georgian, 'Bukharan' (Central Asian) and Mountain Jews are more attached to religion and tradition than their Ashkenazi brethren. They do not use religion as a surrogate for ethnicity, and they have a strong sense of ethnic identification, including a highly specific self‐identity as Georgian, Bukharan or Mountain Jews, different from other Jews. Georgian Jews report less frequent encounters with anti‐Semitism than any other Jewish group, but all groups believe that ethnicity plays a major role in daily life, in encounters with officials, and in social relations. Ethnic stereotypes and ethnic distances are clearly revealed in tests among the respondents. Ethnicity emerges as an important factor in daily life and ethnic gaps appear quite wide. These conclusions are supported by recent events in the USSR.


With the popularity of fantasy literature in recent years, more and more writers of adolescent books shifted their attention to depicting the macabre and the bizarre. While authors of fantasy literature endeavor to show that something that is unreal, strange, whimsical, or magical nevertheless has an internal logic and consistency, at the same time, certain stereotypes typical of the realistic world are destabilized. In the imaginary world in which the events, settings, or characters are outside the realm of possibility, many ideas like love, truth, reality, and identity are constantly destabilized and contested. For example, in Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (2008), which garners him the Carnegie Medal and the Newbery Medal, the problem of personal identity is apparent in Nobody Owens, an orphan whose parents are killed by a man called "Jack" and whose survival depends on the mercy of the ghosts living in the graveyard that Nobody runs to and hides in to escape Jack. This paper aims to discuss how the protagonist of The Graveyard Book grapples with his bewilderment when confronted with the myth of his identity and how the elements of fantasy are incorporated to help untangle this coming-of-age mythology.


In this paper, we introduce an algorithm for morphological rule induction using meta-rules for Arabic morphology based on inductive logic programming. The processing resources are a set of example pairs (stem and inflected form) with their feature vectors, either positive or negative, and the linguistic background knowledge from the Arabic morphological analysis domain. Each example pair has two words to be analyzed vocally into consonants and vowels. The algorithm applies two levels of mapping: between the vocal representation of the two words (stem, morphed) and between their feature vector. It differentiates between both mappings in order to accurately deduce which changes in the word structure led to which changes in its features. The paper also addresses the irregularity, productivity and model consistency issues. We have developed an Arabic morphological rule induction system (AMRIS). Successful evaluation has been performed and showed that the system performance results achieved were satisfactory.


Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure the status of automation, training of staff and level of implementation towards library management systems in public and private university libraries in Lahore, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a quantitative research approach. A Survey was carried out to collect data from the respondents. A structured research instrument was formulated after a review of the literature to collect data from the university libraries of Lahore city. Results: The data analysis of this study revealed that the majority of the libraries are fully automated and only a few libraries are partially automated. Most of the libraries are satisfied with LIMS free based software and KOHA open source software, due to the availability of essential library software modules and facility of customization. The majority of the libraries' staff got training to use the library management system. A large number of libraries software has Cataloguing, Circulation, Membership, Reports, OPAC, Serials and Acquisition modules and only one library has a Mobile app. Originality/value: The findings of this research might be helpful for libraries in the selection of standard library management systems for their housekeeping functions, evaluation and selection criteria of library software for Pakistani libraries and especially for the libraries of Lahore.


The article is concerned with the interaction between M. Aldanov and M. Gorky in Petrograd in the years 1914 to 1918, hitherto unexplored by literary historians. The author focuses on the ideological positions and philosophies of the two writers and intellectuals, both of them prominent advocates of the pro-Western movement of the Russian Silver Age thought. On quite friendly terms before the 1917 October revolution, they used to share similar views of the literary process. But on exiting from the revolutionary crucible, the two became implacable opponents in ideological as well as literary matters. Among other things, Gorky spoke derogatively of Aldanov's historical novels. The article focuses on Gorky's and Aldanov's respective critical receptions of the literary legacy of the 19th-c. Russian writers. Aldanov's veneration of Tolstoy provoked Gorky's skeptical response. At the same time, both expressed profound dissatisfaction with F. Dostoevsky's work, pointing out his 'pochvennichestvo' sympathies and the tendency to portray Russians as mentally ill.


Purpose

– Curve fitting from unordered noisy point samples is needed for surface reconstruction in many applications. In the literature, several approaches have been proposed to solve this problem. However, previous works lack formal characterization of the curve fitting problem and assessment on the effect of several parameters (i.e. scalars that remain constant in the optimization problem), such as control points number (m), curve degree (b), knot vector composition (U), norm degree (k), and point sample size (r) on the optimized curve reconstruction measured by a penalty function (f). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– A numerical sensitivity analysis of the effect of m, b, k and r on f and a characterization of the fitting procedure from the mathematical viewpoint are performed. Also, the spectral (frequency) analysis of the derivative of the angle of the fitted curve with respect to u as a means to detect spurious curls and peaks is explored.

Findings

– It is more effective to find optimum values for m than k or b in order to obtain good results because the topological faithfulness of the resulting curve strongly depends on m. Furthermore, when an exaggerate number of control points is used the resulting curve presents spurious curls and peaks. The authors were able to detect the presence of such spurious features with spectral analysis. Also, the authors found that the method for curve fitting is robust to significant decimation of the point sample.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors have addressed important voids of previous works in this field. The authors determined, among the curve fitting parameters m, b and k, which of them influenced the most the results and how. Also, the authors performed a characterization of the curve fitting problem from the optimization perspective. And finally, the authors devised a method to detect spurious features in the fitting curve.

Practical implications

– This paper provides a methodology to select the important tuning parameters in a formal manner.

Originality/value

– Up to the best of the knowledge, no previous work has been conducted in the formal mathematical evaluation of the sensitivity of the goodness of the curve fit with respect to different possible tuning parameters (curve degree, number of control points, norm degree, etc.).


This work mainly focuses on the synthesis of pyrrolo[2,3 b]pyridones as part of a larger modular system of heterocyclic ligands that are designed to bind DNA in a sequence-selective manner in the major groove. It is the first reported synthesis of such a scaffold. This biarylic system has been designed to form a triplex with a GC base pair forming three simultaneous hydrogen bonds. Extensive molecular modeling was done leading to an optimized design of a modular system with perfect complementarity to the Hoogsteen site inside DNA's major groove. Flexible synthetic access to this binding motif consisting of a pyridone connected to a fused pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridone, is presented. A wide range of functional elements have been introduced by minor modifications of the synthetic strategy. These functionalizations are necessary for two important purposes. For DNA recognition, the base pair binder was modified (Type I) in such a way that it can be attached to a DNA-compatible backbone with self-repeating units. In this regard, a short C2 spacer was introduced at the 5- position of the pyrrolopyridone nucleus. For the correct hydrogen bonding capability to be established, the base triplet formation with an isolated GC base pair must be proven. In the absence of the powerful π-stacking contributions, this must be done in highly nonpolar solvents because polar solvents (even DMSO) will strongly interfere with the three new weak hydrogen bonds. This is a major drawback in the design of all artificial base pair binders; even pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridone scaffold is not soluble enough in CDCl3 due to the presence of both pyridone amides. Without disturbing the hydrogen bonding recognition site of the binder, a modification (Type II) was envisaged on the back of the pyrrole ring. Solubilizing nonpolar substituents were installed on 3- position of the nucleus. These derivatives were conveniently prepared by introducing minor changes in the established synthetic route.


Two benzoylpyridine-carbazole based fluorescence materials DCBPy and DTCBPy, bearing two carbazolyl and 4-(t-butyl)carbazolyl groups, respectively, at the meta and ortho carbons of the benzoyl ring, were synthesized. These molecules show very small ΔEST of 0.03 and 0.04 eV and transient PL characteristics indicating that they are thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials. In addition, they show extremely different photoluminescent quantum yields in solution and in the solid state: in cyclohexane the value are 14 and 36%, but in the thin films, the value increase to 88.0 and 91.4%, respectively. The OLEDs using DCBPy and DTCBPy as dopants emit blue and green light with EQEs of 24.0 and 27.2%, respectively, and with low efficiency roll-off at practical brightness level. The crystal structure of DTCBPy reveals a substantial interaction between the ortho donor (carbazolyl) and acceptor (4-pyridylcarbonyl) unit. This interaction between donor and acceptor substituents likely play a key role to achieve very small ΔEST with high photoluminescence quantum yield.


An investigation was made in the N.A.C.A. 7 by 10 foot wind tunnel of the distribution of air pressure over one chord section of a Clark Y-H airfoil with a split flap. The results obtained are given in the form of diagrams showing the chordwise distribution of pressure on both airfoil and flap as plots of calculated aerodynamic coefficients for both airfoil and flap.


We consider deterministic mixed-line flow shop systems that are composed of controllable and uncontrollable machines. Arrival times and completion deadlines of jobs are assumed to be known, and they are processed in the order they arrive at the machines. We model these flow shops as serial networks of queues operating under a non-preemptive first-come-first-served policy, and employ max-plus algebra to characterize the system dynamics. Defining completion-time costs for jobs and service costs at controllable machines, a non-convex optimization problem is formulated where the control variables are the constrained service times at the controllable machines. In order to simplify this optimization problem, under some cost assumptions, we show that no waiting is observed on the optimal sample path at the downstream of the first controllable machine. We also present a method to decompose the optimization problem into convex subproblems. A solution algorithm utilizing these findings is proposed, and a numerical study is presented to evaluate the performance improvement due to this algorithm.


Factor VIII consists of a heavy chain (A1A2B domains) and light chain (A3C1C2 domains), while the contiguous A1A2 domains are separate subunits in the cofactor, factor VIIIa. The intrinsic instability of the cofactor results from weak affinity interactions of the A2 subunit within factor VIIIa. Recently we reported that procofactor stability at elevated temperature and cofactor stability over an extended time course were increased following replacement of individual charged residues (Asp(D)519, Glu(E)665, or Glu(E)1984) with either Ala (A) or Val (V) (Wakabayashi et al., Blood, 2008, in press). These mutations did not appreciably affect factor VIII specific activity or thrombin generation parameters. Factor VIII structure studies suggest D519 is buried at the A1/A2 domain interface, while E665 and E1984 localize at the A2/A3 domain interface. In the current study we generated combination mutants at these three sites to examine any additive and/or synergistic effect of these mutations. Factor VIII variants generated included double mutants with a mutation at D519 and mutation at either E665 or E1984 (Group A), double mutants with a mutation at E665 and mutation at E1984 (Group B), and triple mutants with a mutation at D519 and mutations at both E665 and E1984 (Group C). Most of the mutants retained normal specific activity values compared to wild type (WT) with exceptions noted for E665A/E1984A, E665A/E1984V and D519V/E665V/E1984V which showed ~2-fold reductions in this parameter. Studies assessing factor VIII stability involved monitoring the rates of loss of factor VIII activity by factor Xa generation assay following incubation of factor VIII (4 nM) at 55oC. The rate of decay of factor VIIIa was monitored over time at 23oC using the factor Xa generation assay following activation of factor VIII (1.5 nM) with thrombin. Data were fitted to single exponential decay equations and rates of decay were compared. The Group A variants D519A/E665A, D519A/D665V, and D519V/E665V showed significant enhancement (up to ~1.3-fold for the D519A/D665V variant) in factor VIII thermal stability as compared with the best single mutation in that pairing, and representing actual decay rates that approached 45% the WT value. On the other hand, the relative factor VIII decay rates for three of the four of the Group B mutants were somewhat increased compared with the best single mutation in the pairing. No significant changes were observed for the Group C mutants. Evaluation of factor VIIIa stability revealed large enhancements of up to ~4-fold compared with the single mutants for all of the Group A variants. Group B variants yielded poorer results when compared with the better individual mutation in the pairing. The triple mutations (Group C) showed the largest factor VIIIa stability enhancements with maximal stability observed for D519V/E665V/E1984A, which showed a decay rate that was ~10% the WT value. A calibrated thrombin generation assay using a fluorogenic substrate was performed on selected mutants using a sub-physiologic factor VIII concentration (0.2 nM). Enhancements in selected parameter values were observed for the D519V/E665V variant (~2.3-fold increase in the peak height and ~1.5-fold increase in endogenous thrombin potential compared with WT), while the D519A/E665V, D519V/E1984A, and D519V/E665V/E1984A variants showed 1.2 to 1.7-fold increases in these parameter values. These observations may suggest a greater capacity for thrombin generation per unit concentration factor VIII for these variants. Overall, these results indicate that selected combinations of mutations to reduce charge and/or increase hydrophobicity at the A2/A1 and A2/A3 domain interfaces yield factor VIII reagents with improved stability parameters.


Drunkenness – a "Passion" in Roman Criminal Law? Summary Since ancient times jurists and lawyers have had to handle offences connected with alcohol abuse. There are only three texts on drunkenness in the Roman legal sources: two relate to offences committed by inebriate soldiers, and the third contains the basic division into intentional offences, accidental offences, and crimes of passion. In all three categories drunkenness was a mitigating factor, which may be surprising for modern lawyers. Other Roman sources present public opinion on drinking, which seems to have depended on the circumstances – heavy drinking and alcoholism were disapproved of. A precise analysis of the rhetorical writings shows elaborate distinctions between intentional and unintentional acts. Drunkenness was regarded as an emotional state which could influence the penalty, but the specific circumstances of the offence were crucial. The rhetorical works confirm the views presented in poetry and philosophy. Contrary to the legal sources, the facts seem to show that a judge could sentence an offender to a severe or mild punishment, or even acquit him if drunkenness had been a factor contributing to the offence. The rhetorical works may be considered to provide not only an important theoretical background to the legal sources, but also crucial supplementary information giving a better insight into Roman criminal law.


Student engagement in traditional learning environments is in decline resulting in decreased learning results and lack of engagement. Gamification is one option to trigger interest and enhance engagement in learning activities. Aim of this study was to investigate the potential of gamified course design in language learning from students' perspective. Particularly, we explored students' experiences of engagement, enjoyability and language learning. Theoretical framework consists of process of interest and engagement, and gamification in language learning. Language learning is understood through socio-cultural and ecological approaches.
The research was conducted and data were collected at a 3-credit field-specific English course. The participants (N = 23) were 1st-year healthcare students conducting their studies with a blended learning approach. The used applications were Seppo, Kahoot, Padlet and Quizlet. The data includes students' learning diaries and a post-course on-line questionnaire. The diaries and the open questions of the questionnaire were analysed according to content analysis method.
The results suggest that gamified course design and related applications can enhance student engagement, foster language learning, and offer positive learning experiences.  However, there are differences between gamified applications. Supporting collaboration and creating positive atmosphere are important in gamified learning process. Implications for teachers are discussed.


Data from 64 adolescent inpatients admitted for serious suicidal ideation, 50 adolescent inpatients admitted following a suicide attempt, and 56 randomly selected high school control participants were used to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ) and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale—2nd Edition (RADS-2). The purpose of the study was to provide information necessary for selecting assessment tools to use in large-scale screenings of high school students for suicide risk. The hypothesis that a combination of mean scores on the two measures and critical item scores would provide the best clinical utility was partially supported. The SIQ was found to be very useful in discriminating between the study groups, whereas the RADS-2 did not perform as expected. The fewest false negatives would result from relying on RADS-2 scale scores ≥63 and SIQ scale scores ≥14. However, the parsimonious and hence most cost-effective approach would be to rely on SIQ scale scores ≥14 in combination with SIQ critical Items 2, 3, and 4 for screening purposes.


Objectives To investigate sex education in Swedish schools regarding content, satisfaction, and suggested improvements, as described by teenagers and young adults. Methods Waiting-room survey conducted among 225 female patients (aged 13–25) at youth and student health clinics in one large-, and one medium-sized Swedish city. Results Most participants (97%, n = 218) had received sex education in school, of varying content and quality. Sixty percent thought basic body development was sufficiently covered. Insufficiently covered topics included sexual assault (96%), sexual harassment (94%), pornography (90%), abortion (81%), emergency contraception (80%), fertility (80%), and pregnancy (59%). Thirty percent received no information about chlamydia, and almost half reported that condyloma and human papillomavirus had not been addressed. The youngest respondents (13–19 years) were significantly more likely to have been told about emergency contraception, homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality. Nearly half (46%) considered 'acceptable' the knowledge gained from sex education provided at school whereas more than a third considered it 'poor' or 'very poor'. Suggested improvements included more information, more discussion, greater emphasis on sexual diversity, and more knowledgeable teachers. Conclusions Content and quality of sex education varied greatly. Most respondents thought many topics were insufficiently covered, sex education should be more extensive, and teachers better educated.


Grain legumes are the major food crops grown and consumed mostly by the poor farmers as an important source of protein in the drylands of the world. The ensuing climate change has posed serious potential threats to the cultivation of these crops that are important for the sustainable livelihoods of the poorest of the poor in these regions. There is evidence to suggest that the ecological dynamics and equilibriums are likely to be affected as a result of changing climate, either by making these crops susceptible to new diseases or by increasing the intensities of diseases, pests, and parasites. Despite many uncertainties, there is a growing consensus that these adversities could lead to an overall increase in the disease and pest pressure besides harsher abiotic stresses. Since most of the grain legumes have a narrow genetic base and levels of resistance to some biotic and abiotic constraints are low, making crop improvement an overarching research-for-development challenge for maximizing the benefits that grain legumes offer to smallholder farmers. Running against the headwinds, grain legume research has been immensely benefited by applications of modern biotechnological tools and approaches that have the potential to develop solutions for destructive diseases, besides making headway against the complex problems of drought. Similarly, identifying novel genes/traits and assessing their suitability as candidate genes for genetic engineering options will be important for future breeding programs in order to achieve remarkable impacts in these grain legume crops globally. This chapter mainly provides a comprehensive picture of the different biotechnological interventions adopted for addressing various constraints in gain legume productivity and improvement, highlighting the pitfalls and possible solutions that can be taken through an integrated approach to combat the altered environmental conditions.


Gait phase detection is an important procedure in the application of many lower limb auxiliary robots. The gait phase detection algorithms that utilize surface electromyography (sEMG) signals have been developed to overcome unnatural walking. However, traditional studies mostly consider precise gait walking events when the subject is focusing only on walking, and the accuracy of traditional algorithms is susceptible to more realistic gait scenarios, such as walking with cognitive tasks. In this paper, the gait phase detection is considered in more realistic and challenging scenarios, in which the subject is walking while performing cognitive tasks. A kernel linear discriminant analysis (LDA)-based nonlinear fusion model is proposed for gait recognition, which can effectively reduce the error caused by cognitive tasks, making it an ideal model for gait phase detection while cognitive tasks are performed in the process of walking. Furthermore, the Internet of Things (IoT) framework is incorporated to reduce the gait phase detection algorithm's process time by offloading the data from local sEMG sensors to the IoT server with powerful computation capability. The experiments have been conducted to validate our proposed algorithms, demonstrating that the boundaries between the stance period and swing period are more blurred when walking with cognitive tasks.


Race-based affirmative action policies are widespread in higher education. Despite the prevalence of these policies, there is limited evidence on whether they affect students before they reach college. We exploit the 2003 Supreme Court ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, which overturned affirmative action bans in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, but not in other states, to study the effect of affirmative action on high school students' outcomes. We analyze four data sets, including nationwide SAT data and administrative data for the state of Texas. The SAT data allow us to leverage state and time variation in difference-in-differences and synthetic control group analyses. Within Texas, variation in race, time, and ex ante ability further help us to isolate the effects of the policy change on secondary school grades, attendance, and college applications. Across data sets, outcomes, and identification strategies, the results all point toward gains for underrepresented minority students and reductions in the racial achievement gap. These gains were concentrated among students in the top of the ability distribution, who also experienced the largest increases in the returns to pre-college human capital in college admissions due to the policy change. This suggests that students increased their human capital investment in response to increases in the returns to effort.


Abstract Following financialization, there has emerged an understanding of what it implies to be a shareholder based on the shareholder value perception. However, as this shareholder value perception spreads internationally, it clashes with traditional perceptions. In this paper, we apply the language developed by Bourdieu to a Swedish public debate on equal treatment of shareholders in connection with the reform of the Swedish market for corporate control. Using Bourdieu's conceptual framework, we describe how a global development interacts with the persistence of national practices. We conclude that in Sweden, local institutional investors have allied themselves with international institutional investors to enhance their positions in the restricted field of Swedish corporate control. Shareholder value is then used by these local actors as an argument to strengthen their position. At the same time, some of the controlling shareholders depart from their traditional position as industrial entrepreneurs and embrace a more financial approach to ownership, thereby altering both the power constellations and the capital, in Bourdieu's sense, of the field.


What are personality disorders? How should they be conceptualized, and how should they be assessed and diagnosed in clinical practice? For over a century these questions have been at the heart of psychological science. Yet even today, as the recent controversy over proposed changes to the classification of PDs in DSM-5 attests, there is hardly consensus on the answers. This ground breaking text offers a comprehensive and provocative tour of a field that is ripe for integration. Contributors who rank among the world s most prestigious clinical and personality psychologists guide readers through the state of our knowledge of personality disorders, from conceptual and theoretical concerns to the practical problems faced by assessing clinicians. They address the advantages and disadvantages of categorical and dimensional approaches to diagnosing personality pathology used in the standard diagnostic manuals, as well as the hybrid model described in Section III of DSM-5. Recent advances in statistical, methodological, and biogenetic research strategies are applied to the study of PDs, with a focus on clinical and empirical approaches to assessment and diagnosis. Theorists describe how psychodynamic, attachment, interpersonal, evolutionary, and cognitive processing approaches offer surprisingly similar models of conceptualizing and treating PDs.


The wide spread availability of real-time plant floor systems (PFS) information has made the modern automotive assembly line a data-rich environment. Information from these data sources offers an unprecedented opportunity to model and simulate the performance of an assembly line as a dynamic system, as opposed to a conventional static manner. The dynamic models in turn can enable fast and accurate prediction of aggregate performance in multistage assembly line operations. This paper presents a data-driven continuous fluid flow approach, founded on nonlinear system dynamics (SD) principles, to model assembly line dynamics. The movement of entities is treated as a fluid flow, buffer stocks are water tanks, the conveyor belt is water pipe and manufacturing stations are the valves which control the rates of flow. A set of ordinary differential equations (ODE) is derived to model the system of buffer stocks and production flows between the interacting machines. The proposed continuous flow models are implemented in Matlab's Simulink® environment with real-world data from a production line segment of 18 machines. The results show that the instantaneous (i.e. approximately 1 week of actual operation time) throughput rate values from the continuous flow model were within 5% of the historical data averages while the results from an equivalent discrete event simulation (DES) model were inferior. In addition, the steady-state results of a 20-h simulation run (i.e. approximately 1 year of actual operation time) match well between the DES Model and the continuous flow model. This investigation is strongly indicative of the potential use of continuous flow models to capture the aggregated assembly line dynamics and yield deeper insights into the interrelations between the different parts of a complex manufacturing system.


Introduction Kurunga is a dairy drink made of a mix of lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation, characterized by high biological value based on protein composition, amino acid spectrum, fatty acid composition of lipids, vitamin and mineral substances, and physiological activity of microbiota containing lactobacilli, lactococci, bifidobacteria, and yeast. Among the probiotic correctors of normal microbiota isolated from national products, lactobacilli was of particular interest, with regards to a therapeutic – preventive effect. The aim of the study was to examine the probiotic properties of lactobacilli from kurunga. Methods We isolated lactic acid bacteria strains from kurunga. The isolated cultures were identified using common microbiological methods and phylogenetic analysis. The antibiotic activities of these strains were determined by measuring the growth inhibition zone of test cultures. The probiotic properties were measured as levels of resistance to bile and hydrochloric acids, in addition to the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity using the xanthine oxidase-cytochrome method. Proteolitic activity was determined at the various levels of pH (3.0, 4.2, 5.3, and 7.0). Results According to the morphological, cultural, physiological, biochemical properties and the genotypic analysis of the oligonucleotides sequence of specific genes, the most effective strain was identified as Lactobacillus diolivorans KL-2 (GenBank database KC438372). The isolated strain suppressed the growth of Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Listeria sp., as well as Gram-negative bacteria, such as E.coli, Proteus, Salmonella sp. They also possessed fungicidal action (based on Penicillum, Aspergillus sp, and Candida sp.). The strain was resistant to the action of the bile acids at concentrations of 0.8% to 1.0% and hydrochloric acid. The strain KL-2 possessed a relatively high SOD activity (25.74 U/mg of protein), a low proteolytic activity at a pH 3.0 (4.74·10-3 PU/ml), and high proteolytic activity at pH 4.2 (294.74·10-3 PU/ml), pH 5.3 (330.52·10-3 PU/ml) and pH 7.0 (713.68·10-3 PU/ml). Conclusion The unique properties of this strain, such as stability in the gastrointestinal tract, the wide spectrum of bactericidal and fungicidal action to the pathogenic species, the relatively high superoxide dismutase and proteolytic activities, and the absence of toxicity, make it a prime candidate for probiotic culturing.


This article presents interim findings and reflections from a case study of multiply excluded homeless people in Stoke-on-Trent. The article focuses on the experiences reported by a group of twelve such people living in the YMCA hostel. From the interviews, a large number of thematic structures were identified, of which only a few are outlined here, due to restrictions on the article length. The article concludes that the YMCA has had an important impact on their lives, mostly for the better, but the nature of this impact is complex and far from being fully understood.


: It has been suggested that the Milky Way dark matter halo consists of Weakly Interactive Massive Particles (WIMPs) that scatter and accumulate in the center of gravitational wells like the Sun. In certain models this provides a source of high energy neutrinos originating in the centre of the Sun that may be detected by a neutrino detector on the Earth. We describe a search for Solar WIMP dark matter using AMANDA/IceCube data from 2008 with the 40-string IceCube detector configuration. We present combined limits using data acquired from 2001-2008 on the WIMP induced muon flux from the Sun for dark matter particle masses between 50 and 5000 GeV. We test WIMP model hypotheses of the lightest MSSM neutralino and the lightest Kaluza-Klein particle.


In this research work, a new bio-based polyurethane (PU) based on castor oil was
synthesized as host polymer in electrolytes for application in dye-sensitized solar cell
(DSSC). In the first stage of this work, castor oil based polyol was synthesized via
transesterification reaction under nitrogen gas atmosphere at room temperature. The
polyol possessed acid value of 3.0 mg KOH g−1, hydroxyl value of 190 mg KOH g−1 and
molecular weight of 2786 g mol−1, characteristics suitable for producing flexible PU. The
polyol was reacted with 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate at room temperature in
appropriate ratios to form flexible PU. The formation of urethane linkage was confirmed
using Fourier transform infrared analysis by the disappearance of NCO peak and
appearance of amine (secondary), carbonyl and ether group in PU chain. For the
preparation of PU polymer electrolytes, the PU was added with sodium iodide (NaI) and
lithium iodide (LiI) salts in different weight percentages to form PU-LiI and PU-NaI
systems respectively. 3-propyl-1-methylimidazolium iodide (PMII) ionic liquid was
added to the highest conducting sample of PU-NaI and PU-LiI systems to enhance the
conductivity as well as the efficiency of DSSC. The characteristics of polymer
electrolytes were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic
mechanical analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, transference number
measurement and linear sweep voltammetry. Glass transition temperature of –15.8 °C of
PU decreased upon addition of salts. The lowest glass transition temperature of PU-NaI
system was –26.2 °C and PU-LiI system was –27.3 °C. The highest conductivity achieved
for the systems were 4.28 × 10−7 S cm−1 and 1.41 × 10−6 S cm−1, respectively. The
inclusion of PMII ionic liquid to the PU-NaI and PU-LiI enhanced the ionic conductivity
of the polymer electrolytes by one order of magnitude and also lowered the Tg value to
~ –33.0 °C. Ionic liquid is believed to act as plasticizer to soften the polymer backbone
iv
therefore increase the polymer segmental motion to ease ions migration which in turn
increased the ionic conductivity. The conductivity for all PU electrolyte films increased
with increase of temperature and follow the Arrhenius behaviour for PU-NaI, PU-LiI and
PU-NaI-PMII systems, and Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher behaviour for PU-LiI-PMII. The
calculation of activation energy, Ea from the gradient of Arrhenius and Vogel-Tamman-
Fulcher plots showed that the trend of conductivity was consistent with the trend of Ea,
i.e: the higher conducting sample possessed lower activation energy. The addition of ionic
liquid to the PU-salt also enhanced electrochemical stability window of the polymer
electrolytes. The electrochemical stability windows were ~ 2.0 V. DSSCs were fabricated
employing PU based polymer electrolytes with configuration of FTO/TiO2-dye/PU
electrolytes-I2/Pt/FTO. Photovoltaic parameters such as current density, open circuit
voltage, fill factor and efficiency were calculated from photocurrent–voltage
measurement. The highest efficiency employing PU-NaI and PU-LiI systems were 0.80%
and 0.83%, respectively, whereas for PU-NaI-PMII was 1.06% and PU-LiI-PMII was
1.92%. These results revealed that the new bio polymer electrolytes have potential for
application in DSSC.