Body Area Networks (BAN) are wireless networks designed for deployment on or within the human body. These networks are primarily intended for application within themedical domain due to their capabilities for enablingwireless monitoring of physiological signals, and remote administration of medical devices. Due to their intended use case, securing these devices is paramount. In recent years, several key generationand agreement schemes that rely upon physiological signals of the wearer are developed. However, we have found that the application of Electrocardiogram(ECG) signals in this context may not be appropriate due to a potential vulnerability, wherein previously recorded ECG signals could be used against current and future key agreement attempts to compromise their security. This is a violation of temporal variance which is one of a few properties that make ECG signals suitable for use in key agreement schemes. By extracting the QRS complex from prior recordings and distributing them apart from one another we can construct synthetic signals that have a high level of coherence, and thus allow for the key to be intercepted. Based on the conducted experiments we have found that the proposed attack method yields a 0.7 coherence level regardless of how far away the adversary is from the target. Thismakes the success of such an attack extremely likely and is therefore a real threat to the security of these schemes.


JIPITEC 10 (2019) 1 - This article reviews the application of several IP rights (copyright, patent, sui generis database right, data exclusivity and trade secret) to Big Data. Beyond the protection of software used to collect and process Big Data corpora, copyright's traditional role is challenged by the relatively unstructured nature of the non-relational (noSQL) databases typical of Big Data corpora. This also impacts the application of the EU sui generis right in databases. Misappropriation (tort-based) or anti-parasitic behaviour protection might apply, where available, to data generated by AI systems that has high but short-lived value. Copyright in material contained in Big Data corpora must also be considered. Exceptions for Text and Data Mining (TDM) are already in place in a number of legal systems and likely to emerge to allow the creation and use of corpora of literary and artistic works, such as texts and images. In the patent field, AI systems using Big Data corpora of patents and scientific literature can be used to expand patent applications. They can also be used to "guess" and disclose future incremental innovation. These developments pose serious doctrinal and normative challenges to the patent system and the incentives it creates in a number of areas, though data exclusivity regimes can fill certain gaps in patent protection for pharmaceutical and chemical products. Finally, trade secret law, in combination with contracts and technological protection measures, can protect data corpora and sets of correlations and insights generated by AI systems.


The Unified Modeling Language has been used largely in the software community to draw pictures for designing and documenting software written in other languages. The real executable semantics of a program are determined by the programming language, while the UML models themselves do not have a precise enough meaning to fully specify the executable functionality of the system being developed. Recently, however, there has been a great deal of work toward the standardization of precise, executable semantics for UML models – the "meaning" behind the pictures: Foundational UML (fUML) adopted by the Object Management Group in 2008, the Action Language for fUML (Alf) adopted in 2010, the recently completed Precise Semantics for UML Composite Structures (PSCS) and the Precise Semantics for UML State Machines (PSSM), now in progress. Together, these standards effectively provide a new combined graphical and textual language for precise, executable modeling. In particular, the Alf language goes beyond simply providing a textual "action language" for detailed behavioral code within graphical models, by including textual notation for fUML structural object-oriented modeling constructs (e.g., packages, classes, associations, etc.). This opens up the possibility of tooling allowing various parts of a UML model to be represented both graphically and textually (while preserving the same semantic level), with bidirectional synchronization between the two representations. This paper presents the achievement of an initial integration of UML and Alf in the context of the Papyrus tool for the specification of executable models.


A 3D granular model which simulates fluid flow within solidifying alloys with globular microstructure such as found in grain-refined Al alloys is presented. The model geometry within a Representative Volume Element (RVE) consists of a set of prismatic triangular elements representing the intergranular liquid channels. The pressure field within the liquid channels is calculated using a Finite Elements (FE) method assuming a Poiseuille flow within each channel and flow conservation at triple lines. The fluid flow is induced by the solidification shrinkage and openings at grain boundaries due to the deformation of the coherent solid.. The granular model predictions are validated against bulk data calculated with averaging techniques. The results show that a fluid flow simulation of globular semi-solid material is able to reproduce both a map of the 3D intergranular pressure, and the localization of feeding within the mushy zone. A new Hot Cracking Sensitivity Coefficient (HCSC) is then proposed. Based on a mass balance performed over a solidifying isothermal volume element, this coefficient accounts for tensile deformation of the semi-solid domain and for the induced intergranular liquid feeding. The fluid flow model is then used to calculate the pressure drop in the mushy zone during the Direct Chill (DC) casting of aluminum alloy billets. The predicted pressure demonstrates that, deep in the mushy zone where the permeability is low, the local pressure can be significantly lower than the pressure predicted by averaging techniques.


From the first free elections in post-Soviet Russia in 1989 to the end of the Yeltsin period in 1999, Russia's parliament was the site of great political upheavals. Conflicts between communists and reformers generated constant turmoil, and twice parliamentary institutions broke down in violence. This book offers the first full account of the inaugural decade of Russia's parliament. Thomas F. Remington, a leading scholar of Russian politics, describes in unique detail the Gorbachev-era parliament of 1989-91, the interim parliament of 1990-93, and the current Federal Assembly. Focusing particularly on the emergence of parliamentary parties and bicameralism, Remington explores how the organization of the Russian parliament changed, why some changes failed while others were accepted, and why the current parliament is more effective and viable than its predecessors. He links the story of parliamentary evolution in Russia to contemporary theories of institutional development and concludes that, notwithstanding the turbulence of Russia's first postcommunist decade, parliament has served as a stabilizing influence in Russian political life.


Sweatshops are re-emerging across the globe. In the current neoliberal environment—which has unions, government protec tion of worker rights, and fair trade policies on the defensive—we propose a market-based strategy that relies on "conscientious con sumers" to slow the global race to the bottom. To assess whether the consumer market in the United States could provide the added revenues needed to lift workers in the southern hemisphere up and out of poverty, we conducted an experiment in a department store in a working-class community in southeast Michigan to determine whether consumers would pay more for products certified as not made in sweatshops. Consumers were presented with two separate displays of ordinary athletic socks that were identical except for a label indicating that the socks in one display were produced under "good working conditions." After incrementing the price of the labeled socks over the course of several months, we found that most consumers preferred to pay less for the unlabeled socks, but nearly one in four was willing to pay up to 40 percent more for the labeled socks. Having documented the contours of this niche market for conscience consumption, we conclude by discussing the promises and challenges that face such a market-based strategy.


A molecular dynamics study has been performed on a liquid film sheared between moving solid walls. Thermal phenomena that occur in the Couette-like flow were examined, including energy conversion from macroscopic flow energy to thermal energy, i.e., viscous heating in the macroscopic sense, and heat conduction from the liquid film to the solid wall via liquid-solid interfaces. Four types of crystal planes of fcc lattice were assumed for the surface of the solid wall. The jumps in velocity and temperature at the interface resulting from deteriorated transfer characteristics of thermal energy and momentum at the interface were observed. It was found that the transfer characteristics of thermal energy and momentum at the interfaces are greatly influenced by the types of crystal plane of the solid wall surface which contacts the liquid film. The mechanism by which such a molecular scale structure influences the energy transfer at the interface was examined by analyzing the molecular motion and its contribution to energy transfer at the solid-liquid interface.


Becoming proficient in a sport requires significant investment in training. Traditional training approaches such as training with a partner or an expert, and training with the help of videotaping can significantly increase progress. These techniques, however, do not provide fine grain detail about movements of the player, are time consuming, or are limited to specific locations. In contrast, wearable sensor devices can improve training due to the high level of mobility, ubiquity and intelligent feedback offered. In this paper, we present a wearable platform that provides baseball players with corrective feedback based on multidimensional physiological data collected from a body sensor network. We employ a swing model that specifies actions that must be performed properly, in the correct order, and with precise timing between limbs. The system evaluates a baseball swing using motion transcripts. Transcripts simplify interpretation of complex movements and can be used to reduce the size of data that need to be transmitted across the network. Using transcripts, we measure coordination among limb segments and joints of the body. The starting times of key events are found in the transcripts, and the coordination between these times is analyzed. The swing quality is then assessed by comparing the intersegment coordination of a test swing to that of a template swing.


Aesthetic landscape features may be measured by monetary units
in market goods boosting economic activity, in particular in coastal
tourism. Apart from the estimation of environmental and cultural
non-market values, this empirical study demonstrates how scenic
views affect the demand for coastal tourism in Italy. By using
the hedonic pricing method, this paper investigates the extent
to which relevant criteria involving agritourism, natural parks,
vicinity to the beach as well as entertainments and transportation
infrastructure impact demand for coastal tourism in a positive or
negative direction considering regional diversity of Italian coastal
areas by market segmentation.


In this thesis, I investigate spatial aspects of education and family economics. In the first chapter, I explore the effect of voucher school competition on pupil achievement in Chile. Specifically, I create spatial indices to measure spatially determined competition: a choice index which counts the number of schools that are accessible from a given municipality; and a competition index which summarizes the choice index for a given community of students. The chapter tests the hypothesis that schools which spatially compete more are also more efficient. The results show no effect of spatially determined competition on value added. I discuss how the absence or slow response of parents to "poorly performing" schools and a "too low" voucher can be proposed as two of the causes of the poor functioning of the voucher system. In the second chapter, I exploit a police report on occupied schools in the socalled Chilean Winter—a huge social outburst of pupil protests, walk-outs, riots and school occupations, which started in early June of 2011—and test the hypothesis that a decrease in attendance has a causal effect on reducing students' performance in standardized tests. My evidence indicates that the performance of pupils affected by missed days from school dropped to nearly 0.18σ, which is sizeable in terms of human capital accumulation. In the last chapter, I produce the first quantitative evaluation of maternal surrogacy. I exploit variation in surrogacy legislation in every US state over time and study surrogacy's causal effect on vital statistics such as marriage, divorce, births and out-of-wedlock births. Using arguably exogenous changes in legislation to identify the causal impact of surrogacy, I show that one additional standard deviation in the surrogacy rate causes an increase of 0.05σ in the number of marriages and of 0.04σ in the number of divorces. It also causes a decrease of -0.02σ in births and of -0.03σ in out-of-wedlock births. The three chapters introduce novel results that advance current knowledge and should be carefully considered by policy makers in these areas. JEL Codes: H70;I20;J12;J13;J16;J52;K12;K36;K42.


Background  The aim of this study was determine the effect of kangaroo mother care (KMC) immediately after delivery on mother-infant attachment 3-month after delivery. Materials and Methods: In this RCT study, 72 mother-infant pairs were randomly divided in to kangaroo mother care and routine care groups.The intervention group received kangaroo mother care (KMC) in the first two hours post birth. The control group just received routine hospital care. Mothers in the intervention group were encouraged to keep the baby in KMC as much as possible during the day and night throughout the neonatal period. Participants were followed up for three months after birth. The Main outcome measure was mother-infant attachment at 3 months postpartum and maternal anxiety about the baby at the same time. The data was collected by questionnaire (demographic information of parents and neonates) and maternal attachment scale. Analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 14). Results: There was no significant difference between two groups regarding their baseline data. Mean maternal attachment score in the KMC group and in the routine care group at three months after delivery was 52.40±3.30 and 49.86±4.18 respectively, which was significantly higher in the KMC group (P<0.05). Mean anxiety about the baby score at three months after delivery in the KMC and routine care group were 26.34±3.86 and 28.80±3.18, respectively, which was significantly lower in the KMC group (P<0.05). Conclusion Kangaroo mother care improves mother-infant attachment and reduces the mother anxiety about the baby; it is simple, acceptable to mothers and can be continued at home.


The expression of the ibpAibpB heat-shock operon of Escherichia coli was found previously not to conform to the known pattern of expression of the sigma(32)-regulated operons because the rpoH gene mutation inactivating the sigma(32) protein did not abolish the ibp induction. We show here that this effect can depend partly on the sigma(54)-promoter that is inducible by heat shock, located upstream of the ibpB, the distal gene of the operon. It may also depend on a metabolic signal, postulated by others, and possibly required for the expression of the ibpAB genes. Thus, the ibpB gene can be translated from the transcript covering the whole operon starting from the sigma(32)-promoter and from the ibpB gene transcript starting from the sigma(54)-promoter. These results indicate that the ibpB gene is a second member of the sigma(54)-heat-shock regulon in E. coli besides pspA-E operon. Thus, heat-shock response involves three regulons controlled by sigma(32), sigma(24), and sigma(54) RNA polymerase subunits.


This paper uses rich, empirical data to explore repatriation from refugee perspectives, which are widely overlooked within host state framings of this topic. Participants from two countries are compared within how they approached the prospect of repatriating differently or alike, whilst different background contexts to these cases affected the ways in which participants framed discussions. Both the Somalis and Afghans were concerned with issues of safety and reintegration prospects upon return, and revealed that these were key parts of what they had also sought while living in exile. In addition, hope for change – or its absence – affected whether they anticipated returning or staying away permanently, with proof more than promise of change sought, so suggesting a difference with the early expectations more preferred by host states. Policy and political discussions of repatriation tend to make claims about refugees without asking about their own priorities. This gap in perspectives is a source of tension and distrust, and emphasis can be misplaced to try to promote return without reference to such empirical understandings as this paper explores. This paper concludes by asking whether unless we can understand return on such refugee terms, then what is its actual meaning and whose perspective does it serve? Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper updates and extends a previous critical evaluation of the kinetics and photochemistry of gas phase chemical reactions of neutral species involved in middle atmosphere chemistry (10–55 km altitude) [J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 9, 295 (1980)]. The work has been carried out by the authors under the auspices of the CODATA Task Group on Chemical Kinetics. Data sheets have been prepared for 228 thermal and photochemical reactions, containing summaries of the available experimental data with notes giving details of the experimental procedures. For each reaction a preferred value of the rate coefficient at 298 K is given together with a temperature dependence where possible. The selection of the preferred value is discussed, and estimates of the accuracies of the rate coefficients and temperature coefficients have been made for each reaction. The data sheets are intended to provide the basic physical chemical data needed as input for calculations which model atmospheric chemistry. A table summarizing the preferred rate data is provided, together with an appendix listing the available data on enthalpies of formation of the reactant and product species.


The high-pressure (HP) turbine and compressor blades are subjected to severe aero-thermal loads either caused by high inlet temperature resulting from the combustion chamber or by the shock wave at the blade surface. In this paper, a partitioned conjugate heat transfer (CHT) approach is used to assess 3D cases with high temperature gradient. On one hand, the high temperature resulting from the combustion chamber generates high azimuthal and radial non uniformities on the nozzle guide vane (NGV), known as hot streak. Since the engine efficiency is directly related to the turbine inlet temperature, manufacturers are seeking to improve thermal barrier coatings (TBC) to allow higher temperature. On the other hand, compressor rotor blades are also subjected to high thermal loads caused by the shock waves. Since the shock wave substantially contributes to the heat transfer, an accurate prediction of the wall temperature is thus required in order to properly estimate the rotor efficiency. However, the thermal load gradient caused by the hot streak, the use of thermal barrier coating or the shock wave have an impact on the overall computation stability. This paper assess the stability for a Dirichlet-Robin interface condition. Indeed an optimal relaxation parameter value is given for the Robin condition to provide a stable CHT computation. The impact on stability of the transient coupling time-step, the coupling frequency and the thermal conductivity is also assessed and the new transient coupling time-step defined allows to correctly stabilize the coupled simulation.


Sugarcane var. P.R. 980 performed very well when grown on a partially reclaimed saline sodic soil of the lajas Valley, Puerto Rico. Varying levels of rum distillery slops and one of black strap molasses had been applied to Fe clay, a Vertisol, on the premise that these two materials stabilize soil aggre gates and improve the movement of water for reclamation. After 6.1 m/ha of water had been applied to the plots, and the conductivity of the soil saturation extract was about 4 on the top 30 em, sugarcane var. P.R. 980 was planted. The yield data for 6 crops, including two plant canes and their corresponding two ratoons, were collected and analyzed. In the combined first 3 crops, the 31 em slops treatment was significantly better sugar yieldwise than the 6.2 em treatment. When cane tonnage"and sugar of the second plant cane and its two ratoons were combined, the 18.6 and 31 em of slops were far superior to the check, 6.2 em slops treatment and the molasses treatment. Salinity was reduced markedly in the top 60 em of soil. Cane and sugar yield differences between high slops treatments and check widened with time.


We outline a concept of localized seismic tomography constrained by well information and apply it to building vertically transversely isotropic (VTI) velocity models in depth. We localize tomography to a limited volume around the well and eliminate non-uniqueness by supplementing surface seismic data with the well information. Finally, we regularize tomography with constraints of spatial smoothness in all three directions or any reasonable geological a priori information. As a result we recover the anisotropic velocity field around the well. We present a synthetic data example of anisotropic tomography applied to a 1D VTI model. We demonstrate two different cases of introducing additional information. In the first case tomography simultaneously inverts for all three VTI parameters including vertical velocity using a joint dataset that consists of surface seismic data and vertical checkshot traveltimes. In the second case seismic data and depth markers are used to invert for all three Thomsen parameters. Localized tomography confidently recovers correct global vertical profiles of anisotropic velocity field along the entire well length of 11 km. Anisotropic tomography with well constraints has multiple advantages over manual approaches and deserves a place in the portfolio of model-building tools.


Infective endocarditis may have different clinical manifestations that result from involvement of different organ systems. These include heart murmur, valvular bacterial vegetation, arterial emboli induced hematuria, conjunctival petechiae, subcutaneous Janeway's spots and Osler's nodes. Musculoskeletal manifestation yields arthralgia, arthritis, low back pain and myalgia, etc. Early recognition of these manifestations can lead to earlier treatment and recovery without delay. We report three cases of infective endocarditis who first presented low back pain. Their clinical features resolved with treatment. The pathogenesis of low back pain in infective endocarditis is not well-known. However, vertebral arterial embolization, vertebral septic necrosis or immune complex deposition is elucidated.


A challenge in implementation of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools is the selection of the right vendor and the solution. Implementing PLM entails huge financial investment on the part of the user and hence precise knowledge as to where each tool can be applied is a must. In this paper, seven PLM tool vendors are compared on their definitions of PLM and also their product offerings in different Product Life Cycle (PLC) phases, including the extreme ends of PLC viz. R&D and end-of-life phase, which are usually ignored. An integrated PLC model is developed and the tools are then mapped onto different phases of PLC. Vendors are compared based on number of tools offered in different PLC phases. The results reveal an uneven distribution in the applicability of various tools, with majority of them focusing on the product development phase and an astonishingly low number on the R&D and end-of-life phases.


Following a policy rule mechanically when operating monetary policy is neither realistic nor practical. Nevertheless, monetary policy rules have received a great deal of attention in recent macroeconomic research. The paper focuses on a famous interest rate rule, namely the Taylor Rule, to show that the rule parameters are robust to most of the output gap measures and the specifications considered, i.e. the inflation coefficient is above unity and the output gap coefficient is positive. The estimated rule is shown to track the actual policy performance during the EMU period remarkably well. In addition, the estimated rule is used as an indicator of macroeconomic convergence in the union and it is demonstrated that the optimal EMU rate has not been in accordance with domestic conditions in certain countries.


This paper presents a modulation and controller design method for paralleled Z-source inverter systems applicable for alternative energy sources like solar cells, fuel cells, or variable-speed wind turbines with front-end diode rectifiers. A modulation scheme is designed based on simple shoot-through principle with interleaved carriers to give enhanced ripple reduction in the system. Subsequently, a control method is proposed to equalize the amount of power injected by the inverters in the grid-connected mode and also to provide reliable supply to sensitive loads on-site in the islanding mode. The modulation and controlling methods are proposed to have modular independence so that redundancy, maintainability, and improved reliability of supply can be achieved. The performance of the proposed paralleled Z-source inverter configuration is validated with simulations carried out using Matlab/Simulink/Powersim. Moreover, a prototype is built in the laboratory to obtain the experimental verifications.


Having one biomaterial for a wide range of clinical applications may mean that the physico-chemical properties of the material surface needs to be tailored to fulfill the allrequirements of the actual application. One example of tailoring surface properties of one and the same base material may include the definition of areas where cells attach to and deposit extracellular matrix. As for ophthalmological applications, this notion can be traced to de Quensgy's review, published in 1789. There, the author outlined basic features of the keratoprosthesis: a central optical cylinder and a haptic for firm positioning in the surrounding tissue. Incomplete biocompatibility of materials used, aside from issues of ethics and patient's acceptance, render problems. Using chemical, physical and nanotechnological methods, features of the material can be dramatically increased. There are different strategies to induce biomimetic cell-tissue-material interaction by modifying the surface on one base material – as well as the use of metallic biomaterials and drug-containing particles. These findings aid the development of next-generation biomaterials where surface-effects are utilized in different therapeutic clinical applications.


~' The authors present a brief review of the problem of diabetes insipidus in neurosurgical patients, with particular emphasis on the differential diagnosis of postoperative and posttraumatic polyuria and the management of diabetes insipidus in these periods. A listing of drugs currently used in its treatment is given.


Metabolism of aldosterone during the latent period prior to the action of the hormone may be of physiological importance. In the rat, liver metabolizes aldosterone in a sex-dependent manner; larger quantities of neutral polar and reduced aldosterone derivatives are found in male rat kidney; correlating with the larger physiological responses of male rats to aldosterone. The target tissues, mammalian kidney and toad urinary bladder, are also capable of metabolizing aldosterone in situ to neutral polar, 5 alpha- and 5 beta-reduced, and monosulfate derivatives. The 5 alpha-reduced metabolites possess significant antinatriuretic activity and are preferentially synthesized by rat kidney nuclei. The metabolic pathways leading to the synthesis of 5 alpha-reduced metabolites and their subsequent neutral polar derivatives appear to be regulated by dietary sodium and can be inhibited by antimineralocorticoids. At concentrations somewhat higher than aldosterone, these 5 alpha-reduced metabolites also can recreate the development of hypertension and suppress plasma renin activity in young adrenalectomized spontaneously hypertensive rats. Thus, several of the metabolically transformed aldosterone derivatives can be correlated with physiological regulation and/or expression of the actions of the hormone.


Emerging mobile applications involve continuous sensing and complex computations on sensed data streams. Examples include cognitive apps (e.g., speech recognition, natural language translation, as well as face, object, or gesture detection and recognition) and anticipatory apps that proactively track and provide services when needed. Unfortunately, today's mobile devices cannot keep pace with such apps, despite advances in hardware capability. Traditional approaches address this problem by computation offloading. One approach offloads by sending sensed streams to remote cloud servers via cellular networks or to cloudlets via Wi-Fi, where a clone of the app runs [2, 3, 4]. However, cloudlets may not be widely deployed and access to cloud infrastructure may yield high network delays and can be intermittent due to mobility. Morever, users might hesitate to upload private sensing data to the cloud or cloudlet. A second approach offloads to accelerators by rewriting code to use DSP or GPU within mobile devices. However, using accelerators requires substantial programming effort and produces varied benefits for diverse codes on heterogeneous devices.


In resin-metal composite structures, such as electronic products with an epoxy resin molding insulator, the thermal fatigue of the epoxy resin during thermal cycling is a critical issue. Because the thermal stress in the epoxy resin and its strength simultaneously change during the thermal cycling, an estimation method for the thermal fatigue reliability in consideration of the temperature dependence of the fatigue strength is required. In this study, the technique of predicting the thermal fatigue crack growth rate in epoxy resin is studied and we proposed an estimation method using the strain intensity factor range Δ K / E as an evaluation parameter. In order to evaluate the proposed method, both the crack growth test by thermal cycling and the thermal stress evaluation by the visco-elastic FEM analysis were carried out. As a result, it was found that the proposed method estimated the crack growth rate under thermal fatigue test less than that of the iso-thermal fatigue test.


Recently, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as the most promising photovoltaic devices owing to their rapidly increased power conversion efficiency (PCE). Small molecule metallophthalocyanine compounds, as thermally and chemically stable materials with high hole mobilities, are considered to be potential candidates for stable hole-selective layers (HSLs) in PSCs. In this study, a novel metallophthalocyanine derivative with a heavy palladium (Pd) atom and octamethyl substituents (PdMe2Pc) was designed and synthesized. The introduction of the heavy Pd atom endows the material with a long carrier lifetime, and without dramatically reducing its mobility. As a result, PdMe2Pc exhibits a long diffusion length (26.00 nm), which is beneficial for restraining charge recombination. Planar PSCs that employed PdMe2Pc as a HSL displayed a high PCE of 16.28% and good long-term stability. This result indicates that PdMe2Pc could be a promising HSL for PSCs with high efficiencies and high stabilities.


This paper describes a case study in which evaluation techniques have been developed and applied to a novel commercially developed tool for supporting efficiency and effectiveness of a digital film production processes. The tool is based upon a familiar concept in digital publishing that of separating style from content, and as such, it represents a challenge for intended end users since it moves them away from traditional working practices and towards programming-like-activity. Two alternative user interfaces have been developed following a commercial development route. Approaches to analyzing the effectiveness of the tool and its interfaces prior to its widespread adoption are described and the conclusions from this analysis are illustrated and discussed.


ORCA (Oscillations Research with Cosmics in the Abyss) is the low-energy detector of KM3NeT, the next generation underwater Cherenkov neutrino detector in the Mediterranean Sea. Although its primary goal is to determine the Neutrino Mass Ordering (NMO) with atmospheric neutrinos, its access to a wide range of energies and baselines makes it optimal to discover exotic physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) such as Non-Standard Interactions (NSI).

Non-Standard Interactions with neutrinos will introduce modifications in the SM potential, which will alter the event spectra at the ORCA detector. Using these NSI induced distortions in
the flavour content over three flavour standard oscillations, it is possible to constrain NSI model
parameters. This report outlines the sensitivity that ORCA can achieve in putting
upper bounds on some of these non-standard neutrino interaction parameters.


The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) aims to improve Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials. Since 2006, ADNI has shared clinical, neuroimaging, and cognitive data, and biofluid samples. We used conventional search methods to identify 1459 publications from 2021 to 2022 using ADNI data/samples and reviewed 291 impactful studies. This review details how ADNI studies improved disease progression understanding and clinical trial efficiency. Advances in subject selection, detection of treatment effects, harmonization, and modeling improved clinical trials and plasma biomarkers like phosphorylated tau showed promise for clinical use. Biomarkers of amyloid beta, tau, neurodegeneration, inflammation, and others were prognostic with individualized prediction algorithms available online. Studies supported the amyloid cascade, emphasized the importance of neuroinflammation, and detailed widespread heterogeneity in disease, linked to genetic and vascular risk, co-pathologies, sex, and resilience. Biological subtypes were consistently observed. Generalizability of ADNI results is limited by lack of cohort diversity, an issue ADNI-4 aims to address by enrolling a diverse cohort.


This paper presents a modified signal processing technique of differentiating buried targets using impulse ground-penetrating radar. The technique is applicable to radargram; however, signal processing is carried out for each trace of the radargram separately. Every significant peak of each trace is compared with the peak of some calibration signal, for example, a signal that is reflected from the far interface of a thick rock slab. However, the calibration does not require the reference material be embedded in the medium, it can be in the air. The difference of phases between the object signal and the calibration signal is a function slowly varying with time that can be used for characterization of the buried object. The performance of the method is demonstrated in several examples using signals collected with the commercial impulse radar.


New Materials for Batteries and Fuel Cells, Vol. 575 D.H. Doughty, L.F. Nazar, M. Arakawa, H. Brack, and K. Naoi, editors Materials Research Society 506 Keystone Drive Warrendale, PA 15086 ISBN# 1-55899-482-3 Phone: +1 724 779 3003 Fax: +1 724 779 8313 http://www.mrs.org 439 pp. $62.00 members, $73.00 non-members (Hardback), 1999 With the recent deregulation of the electric companies, there is a great interest in alternative energy sources. Despite recent advances in technology, there is no apparent competitive substitute for the present forms of energy generation for electricity, transportation, and heating. In order for these new forms of energy generators/energy storage devices to become a viable, cost efficient solution for the future, new materials need to be developed. This and pervious symposiums held by MRS are dedicated to advancing the future of these materials. This volume contains papers presented at the 1999 MRS Spring meeting held in San Francisco, California, and reflects on the materials, systems, and issues of electrochemical materials research in capacitors, fuel cells, and batteries. About half the papers are devoted to batteries—mainly lithium ion re chargeable materials. There is a section on cathode and anode materials, focusing on carbon and metal oxides. Also, electrolytes and cell stability are discussed. There is a section on nickel/metal hydride battery materials. There are two sections on fuel cell materials, one relating to proton-exchange membrane (PEM) cell technology and the other solid oxide cell materials. Perhaps the more interesting section for insulation readers may be on the topics of supercapacitors or electric double-layer capacitors. The renewed interest in these types of energy storage stems from the proposed use in electric vehicles for peak energy demand during acceleration. Papers topics cover hybrid capacitor/batteries, glassy carbon electrodes, recent DOE test results. There are two papers on using conducting polymers in place of carbon and one on a conducting polymer gel. Also included is a paper on novel electrode materials using manganese dioxide thin films. In addition, there is one paper on the dielectric properties of palladium cubic yttria stabilized zirconia used for high capacity ceramic type capacitors.


Sexual desire and sexual activity long have played central roles in family law, rationalizing its rules, informing its policies, and animating any number of calls for reform. Since the 1970s, gender equality has also become a salient value in family law - purporting to correct legally imposed double standards of the past. Yet, despite the conceptual centrality of sexual desire and sexual activity, family law says nothing explicit about sexual pleasure. And despite the salience of gender equality in contemporary family law, the field remains preoccupied with performances that produce heterosexual men's orgasms while ignoring or rejecting women's interest in orgasmic pleasure. As a result, family law today is marked by fundamental omissions and inconsistencies.This paper attempts to begin to fill the gap and to explore the incongruities. It builds on Susan E. Stiritz's Cultural Cliteracy: Exposing the Contexts of Women's Not Coming (published as a companion piece) and examines the relevance of Stiritz's analysis for family law. According to Stiritz, "'[c]ultural cliteracy' denotes what an adequately educated person should know about the clitoris, which is that it is a culturally despised body part because it is an obdurate reminder of women's independence and power and supports women's liberation." Stiritz tracks the role of the clitoris and women's sexual pleasure through history, compares past and contemporary anatomical understandings of the clitoris, and then demonstrates through empirical studies, based on courses she has taught, how cultural cliteracy can empower women and bring new insights to the reading of women's texts. She calls for the integration of "adequate understandings of the clitoris" into a variety of different discourses, including law.In response, this paper focuses on family law as a promising site for integrating cultural cliteracy into legal discourse. Part I introduces the project and its challenges. Part II explores the central role of sex in family law, with emphasis on how family law seeks to channel sexual desire into monogamous marriage and how this effort to manage sexual activity plays out, given the pervasive silence about women's sexual pleasure. This analysis, in turn, exposes significant inconsistencies, challenging the coherence of family law's own stated policies, including its simultaneous preference for monogamous marriage, acceptance of no-fault divorce, and commitment to gender equality. Part III turns to contrasting ways to make family law more culturally cliterate, specifically, allowing individuals to learn what they can from popular culture versus undertaking affirmative government efforts to promote such knowledge, through educational programs. Part III next looks beyond educational programs to suggest how respect for women's sexual pleasure might prompt rethinking several specific aspects of family law, including divorce grounds; civil actions for sexual harm; and the legal treatment of various supports, interventions, and protections that facilitate sexual pleasure, from sex toys to reproductive autonomy. Part IV concludes with a deeper look at the prospect of a culturally cliterate family law, including the fundamental paradoxes that it might pose.


This article is focused on evaluating the rheological properties of tomato ketchup. The purpose of the paper was to show the importance of knowledge about the rheological properties of ketchup and to find new more adequate equations of the temperature-viscosity dependence. All measurements were performed under the same temperature conditions at approximately 25 °C and shear velocities between 5.46 and 700.41 s. Ketchup is a non-Newtonian material, so the apparent viscosity was measured. We found out that the apparent viscosity decreased exponentially with increasing temperature, so the Arrhenius equation is valid. Ketchup fluidity increases exponentially with temperature, which leads us to propose an original logarithmic expression correlating the shear stress and the square root of shear rate with only two adjustable parameters with some physical significance. The model is compared with some previous ones showing that the calculated rheological characteristics can be used to design the technological equipment or containers for the distribution of the product to the end-users. A comparison between parameter values of different fluids can contribute to the knowledge of the flow behavior is also important for the development of new recipes and the direct qualitative evaluation of the products.


OBJECTIVE
Although the Cox-maze operation is the standard surgical procedure for permanent atrial fibrillation(AF), conversion to sinus rhythm is limited by patient characteristics, including the duration of AF, atrial size, and voltage of fibrillation waves. A surgical strategy based on structural alteration of the electrical substrates of AF is required to achieve better outcomes of AF surgery. Complex fractionated atrial electrogram (CFAE) plays an important role in the electrical substrate of AF. We performed AF surgery guided by preoperative CFAE mapping using a 3-dimensional (3D) mapping system. This study evaluated the early results of our procedure.

METHODS
From January 2015 to August 2016, 8 patients (mean age:66.5±6.4 years) underwent CFAE mapping-guided AF surgery. In the preoperative electrophysiological study using 3D mapping, CFAE was defined by a low voltage electrogram (0.05~0.25 mV) with a highly fractionated potential (short cycle length <120 msec). First, right atrial CFAE sites were ablated by using a catheter ablation system. Several days after right-sided CFAE ablation, a modified Cox-maze operation was performed with additional cryoablation of CFAE sites.

RESULTS
There were 1~3 (mean:2.5 ±0.8) CFAE sites in the right atrium and 2~4 (mean:2.4±0.7) sites in the left atrium. Mean CFAE mapping time was 87.6±24.6 minutes, fluoroscopy time was 53.1±22.2 minutes, and volume of contrast agent was 44±3 ml. Concomitant cardiac surgery included mitral valve plasty in 6 patients, and aortic valve replacement and mitral valve replacement in 1 patient each. The mean time for CFAE mapping-guided AF surgery was 25.7±5.6 minutes. At discharge, 7 patients were in sinus rhythm and 1 patient still had AF, but sinus rhythm recovered at 3 months postoperatively without anti-arrhythmic medication. After a mean follow-up of 11.7±8.5 months, all patients remained in sinus rhythm.

CONCLUSIONS
Early results suggest that CFAE mapping-guided atrial fibrillation surgery is feasible and effective. Although the long-term effect of CFAE ablation on maintenance of sinus rhythm and atrial function should be evaluated, this novel method could provide an alternative strategy for the surgical treatment of AF.


The integration of European electricity markets, through the market coupling process, can create significant efficiency gains in terms of social welfare to European consumers and industries. The market coupling process is anticipated to more efficiently utilize the generation and transmission activities, reducing the requirements of large idle generation capacity. This paper uses an optimization-based methodological framework to address the problem of the optimal planning of a power system at an annual level in competitive and volatile power markets, under dynamic formulation of the strategy employed by all market participants. The model is used for the scenario-based transmission expansion of the Greek power system with neighboring power systems in Southeast Europe, identifying its impact on a series of operational and economic aspects. The model determines the optimal power generation mix in each scenario, the electricity trade with the neighboring countries, the evolution of the system marginal price and the resulting environmental impact. This enables the identification of the remuneration of all types of producers from the wholesale market through a detailed calculation of all the relevant cost components. The proposed approach can provide useful insights on the optimal portfolio determination by potential investors at a national and/or regional level, highlighting potential risks and appropriate price signals on critical infrastructure projects under real electricity market operating conditions.


Proteins destined for secretion are translocated across or inserted into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane whereupon they fold and assemble to their native state before their subsequent transport to the Golgi apparatus. Proteins that fail to fold correctly are translocated back across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane to the cytosol where they become substrates for the cytosolic degradative machinery. Central to translocation is a protein pore in the membrane called the translocon that allows passage of proteins in and out of the endoplasmic reticulum. It is clear that the conformation of the polypeptide chain influences the translocation process and that there is a temporal relationship between modification of the chain, translocation and folding. This review will consider when and how the polypeptide chain folds, and how this might influence translocation into and out of the ER; and discuss how protein folding might affect post-translational modification of the polypeptide chain following translocation into the ER lumen.


We determined the abomasal emptying rates of Holstein-Friesian cows at different stages of lactation, with left displaced abomasum (LDA), or immediately after surgical correction of LDA or abomasal volvulus (AV). D-xylose (0.5 g/kg body weight [BW], 50% solution) was injected into the abomasum in healthy cows (group 1, 4-7 days in milk [DIM], n = 7; group 2, 90-120 DIM, n = 7; group 3, > 300 DIM, n = 7) and in cows with LDA (n = 10; group 4). D-xylose was injected into the abomasum during right flank laparotomy in cows with LDA (n = 22; group 5) and cows with AV (n = 15; group 6). The time to maximal serum D-xylose concentration was used as an index of emptying rate. The abomasal emptying rates for cows in groups 1, 2, and 3 were similar, whereas emptying was slower in cows with LDA and in cows after surgical correction of LDA or AV. The abomasal emptying rate of cows with LDA was slowed to a greater extent immediately after surgery, when compared to the rate obtained before surgery. There was no difference in abomasal emptying rate immediately after surgical correction between cows with LDA or AV. The results indicate that the increased incidence of LDA in the first month of lactation is not associated with an intrinsic decrease in abomasal emptying rate in healthy cows. Our findings also demonstrate that surgical correction further slows the emptying rate in cows with LDA.


Kenya is a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa, facing a triple disease burden, with an increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs); uncontained infectious diseases; coupled with significant morbidity and mortality from environmental causes such as droughts and flooding. The limelight has been on infectious diseases, leaving few resources for NCDs. As NCDs start to gain attention, it is becoming apparent that essential information on their epidemiology and risk factor trends—key in evidence-based decision-making—is lacking. As a consequence, policies have long relied on information derived from unreliable data sources such as vital registries and facility-level data, and unrepresentative data from small-scale clinical and academic research. This study analyzed the health policy aspects of NCD risk factor surveillance in Kenya, describing barriers to the successful design and implementation of an NCD risk factor surveillance system, and suggests a strategy best suited for the Kenyan situation. A review of policy documents and publications was augmented by a field-study consisting of interviews of key informants identified as stakeholders. Findings were analyzed using the Walt and Gilson policy analysis triangle. Findings attest that no population baseline NCD burden or risk factor data was available, with a failed WHO STEPs survey in 2005, to be undertaken in 2013. Despite the continued mention of NCD surveillance and the highlighting of its importance in various policy documents, a related strategy is yet to be established. Hurdles ranged from a lack of political attention for NCDs and competing public interests, to the lack of an evidence-based decision making culture and the impact of aid dependency of health programs. Progress in recognition of NCDs was noted and the international community and civil society's contribution to these achievements documented. While a positive outlook on the future of NCD surveillance were encountered, it is noteworthy that overcoming policy and structural hurdles for continued success is imperative.


BACKGROUND
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) was tried in treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) using different routes, doses and treatment durations. The aim of this work is to assess the efficacy of oral 600mg ALA twice daily over 6 months in treatment of patients with DPN.

METHODS
This is a prospective, single-center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study conducted at the outpatient clinics of Mansoura Specialized Hospital, Mansoura University. A total of 200 patients with DPN were randomly assigned to add on treatment with either oral 600mg twice daily ALA (n=100) or placebo (n=100) for 6 months. Treatment outcome was assessed using vibration perception threshold (VPT), neurological symptom score (NSS), neurological disability score (NDS), and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain at baseline and at each visit (1, 3 and 6 months) after the start of treatment.

RESULTS
Comparison between the study groups regarding the baseline data revealed no statistically significant differences. In respect to the outcome parameters, no significant differences were found between the studied groups at baseline. However, in subsequent visits, ALA treated patients had significantly better resultsregarding almost all the outcome parameters (NSS, NDS, VAS, VPT). Mild nausea was reported in 6 patients. None of the studied patients discontinued treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
Oral 600mg ALA twice daily treatment for DPN over 6 months is effective, safe and tolerable.


For representing terrain heights INSPIRE, which is aimed at creating an EU spatial data infrastructure, has developed specifications for digital terrain models (DTMs). DTMs are preferred as the main source for computing risks of flooding and other analytical tasks while their quality should be specified in terms of accuracy and resolution, i.e. grid size. Here, the author applies five interpolation methods to two airborne Lidar datasets both located in northwest Italy – one capturing a mountainous area and the other a flat urban area – and investigates the resulting accuracy for diverse grid sizes.


A peptide corresponding to amino acids 392-404 of the amino acid sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A (the last 13 amino acids of domain Ib) was synthesized and coupled to thyroglobulin. The conjugate induced an antiserum in rabbits with high antibody titer against native toxin as measured by ELISA, and this antiserum was highly efficient in inhibiting the ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of exotoxin A. These data corroborate the potential importance of amino acids 400-404 in the enzymatic mechanism of exotoxin A.


Although they are an important part of an aquatic ecosystem, dicotyledonous macrophytes are not yet part of the risk assessment of sediments or dredged material. A sediment contact test system with the dicotyledonous watermilfoil Myriophyllum aquaticum was established by the ecotoxicological laboratory of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology. This test procedure is now in the standardisation process within ISO. In the sediment contact test, Myriophyllum aquaticum whorls are exposed to environmental samples for ten days. The growth of Myriophyllum aquaticum in a test sample is compared with its growth in the control sample. Phytotoxic effects can be quantified as growth inhibition (%) relative to the control growth. Several laboratories from academia, industries and government participated in an interlaboratory ring test organized by the German Federal Institute of Hydrology. The ring test aimed at i) investigating the practicability and reproducibility of the sediment contact test, ii) validating the chosen endpoint, and iii) determining the response range of the reference substance functioning as positive control.


BACKGROUND
Recent studies in rural Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, have shown an increased number of non-acid gastro-oesophageal reflux events, an increase in baseline gastric pH compared with other published series, and evidence suggestive of duodenogastric reflux. There are no published data on oesophageal pH in this community or in Africa.

OBJECTIVES
To ascertain whether oesophageal pH in this rural community is within normal limits.

METHODS
We carried out 24-hour oesophageal pH/impedance studies on 91 participants. Analysis was carried out using computer software to determine 24-hour percentage times of oesophageal pH above 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Oesophageal pH during each episode of non-acid reflux was also recorded.

RESULTS
Participants were from Canzibe in rural Eastern Cape. Of the studies, 72 were satisfactory and showed 24-hour percentage times with an oesophageal pH >6 of 69.3/35.12/51.16 (upright/supine/total); percentage times with a pH >7 were 12.66/3.44/8.86 and those with a pH >8 were 0.48/0.21/0.37. These results are within the range of other published series. Of episodes of non-acid reflux, 90.2% were associated with an oesophageal pH of 4 - 7.

CONCLUSIONS
Baseline oesophageal pH is not significantly affected by the increased numbers of non-acid gastro-oesophageal reflux events reported in this community. If there is a pathogenic effect of non-acid reflux in the Eastern Cape, it does not appear to be mediated through raised oesophageal pH.


Abstract Categorization of land and the recognition of land surface processes of significance to development proposals are a fundamental necessity of effective land use planning and route selection. It is desirable that investigations of ground conditions should be initiated at an early stage of planning so that their impact may form the basis of the process. Since, generally, in these investigations an assessment of a large development area or route corridor must be made, low cost and rapid methods must be utilized. A number of sources of suitable geological and engineering geological data are available, although not necessarily in an appropriate form. Much could be gained by undertaking interpretation of these data, although the value of doing so could be reduced or even negated if the user fails to appreciate any shortcomings of the data. Familiarization with the techniques of data collection would provide users with some knowledge of deficiencies and also equip them to commission data acquisition and specify styles of presentation most suited to their requirements. Geomorphological mapping is a relatively cheap and rapid method of acquiring data about the ground conditions. In the paper a number of examples are considered and, in addition, geomorphological mapping of landslides in north-east Derbyshire, is demonstrated. One particular landslide has been subjected to detailed investigations in that accurate long term measurements of movement have been made. These reveal the rate and style of movement of different parts of the landslip which when considered together with the geomorphological map could form the basis of investigations for remedial measures. The geomorphological mapping provides data not only confirming or otherwise the stability condition of the landslides, but also gives indications of the style of instability. The studies are advocated as useful sources of information for planning surveys. This particular work demonstrates the use of a rapid and inexpensive method of obtaining information about land instability.


This Health Policy Online brief looks at whether the enrollment of noncitizens in Medicaid has decreased since the enactment of welfare reform. The common expectation has been that noncitizen enrollment would decrease, given that welfare reform significantly restricted Medicaid eligibility of noncitizens, barring most of them from receiving Medicaid during the first five years of living in the country unless states chose to cover them through state programs. This analysis finds that Medicaid enrollment among noncitizens did decrease after welfare reform, as intended by law, and noncitizens are much less likely than native citizens to receive Medicaid.


Abstract : This thesis examines a federal policy which exempts military installations from property taxation and develops a procedure for determining the impact upon the current tax base of a local governmental jurisdiction. Since 1891 the Navy has played an integral part in the growth and development of Kitsap County, Washington. The exemption of Navy property from taxation has had varying degrees of effect upon the tax base and the financing of local government. Over the past several years, revenue resources for local governmental entities in the county have been decreasing while the cost of providing necessary public services has grown. Lacking sufficient revenue, the level and quality of public services have had to be reduced. To better understand the impact imposed by the exemption of Navy property, a hypothetical tax bill for the Navy in Kitsap County is determined as a measure of impact upon the tax base and financing of local government. A procedure for determining a measure of property tax attributable to Navy property which recognizes the many differences and similarities between the Navy and local public and private sector is developed. Based upon the assumptions and data applied to the procedure, the impact attributable to the exemption of Navy property was found to be less than ten percent of 1980 property tax revenues.


SIR,-I was rather disturbed to see, in your otherwise excellent leading article about febrile convulsions (10 June, p. 608), that the writer recommended hospital admission for all children having such a convulsion. Provided the criteria laid down in the article are met it seems to me that hospital admission is contraindicated, because for a child of this age to be admitted to hospital with probably painful investigations, including lumbar puncture, being undertaken, and in most cases not being able to have his mother with him in hospital, is an emotionally traumatic and damaging situation when there is no medical necessity for such a course of action. Of course, if there is any doubt about the diagnosis hospital admission is essential, but febrile convulsions are frequently seen in general practice and if carefully managed, with adequate explanation to the parents, and the prescription of prophylactic and anticonvulsants for future febnle episodes, far less damaging anxiety is generated and no emotional harm comes to the child.-I am, etc., D. R. FRAMPTON Brentwood, Essex


Background:In this article we review some experimental, modeling, and neuropsychological findings on normal and abnormal reading. We mainly focus on single word reading as a mature area in scientific studies of reading. Purpose:The aim of the current review study was to show the importance of theories and models that have taken into account the cognitive, specifically phonological, processes in reading. Looking at factors playing roles in reading can be helpful in tackling literacy problems. Method:Interdisciplinary studies on reading have focused on the role of phonology as revealed by psychological experiments, lesion studies, connectionist modeling. Some words can be recognized and produced easier than others, as shown by the differences between acquired and developmental dyslexia and between surface and deep (phonological) dyslexia. Findings: The dual-route model of reading assumes two routes for single word reading: a lexical route for reading exception words, such as have or pint in which no direct correspondences exist between print and sound, and a sub-lexical route for reading regular words such as save and mint and non-words such as nust. Consequently, impairment to each one of these routes leads to a specific kind of dyslexia, discussed latter. The connectionist model of word consists just one process but can successfully read regular and irregular words as well as non-words. Results: Phonological dyslexia is caused by an impairment, either acquired or developmental, leading to difficulties in reading non-words. Another form of dyslexia is known as surface dyslexia which is caused by impairment, again acquired or developmental, leading to difficulties in reading exception words. Implications: These studies even go beyond the phonological awareness. The effect of training has also been shown by connectionist modeling, where the effect of intervention in phonological representation declines sharply once training to read has begun. Originality/Value: Taken together, recent studies have shown the importance of phonology in reading, despite ongoing debates about the true nature of the phonological deficit in poor reading.


Abstract. Accurate information about organic/mineral soil occurrence is a prerequisite for many land resources management applications (including climate change mitigation). This paper aims at investigating the potential of using geomorphometrical analysis and decision tree modeling to predict the geographic distribution of hydromorphic organic landscapes in unsampled area in Denmark. Nine primary (elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, plan curvature, profile curvature, tangent curvature, flow direction, flow accumulation, and specific catchment area) and one secondary (steady-state topographic wetness index) topographic parameters were generated from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) acquired using airborne LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems. They were used along with existing digital data collected from other sources (soil type, geological substrate and landscape type) to explain organic/mineral field measurements in hydromorphic landscapes of the Danish area chosen. A large number of tree-based classification models (186) were developed using (1) all of the parameters, (2) the primary DEM-derived topographic (morphological/hydrological) parameters only, (3) selected pairs of parameters and (4) excluding each parameter one at a time from the potential pool of predictor parameters. The best classification tree model (with the lowest misclassification error and the smallest number of terminal nodes and predictor parameters) combined the steady-state topographic wetness index and soil type, and explained 68% of the variability in organic/mineral field measurements. The overall accuracy of the predictive organic/inorganic landscapes' map produced (at 1:50 000 cartographic scale) using the best tree was estimated to be ca. 75%. The proposed classification-tree model is relatively simple, quick, realistic and practical, and it can be applied to other areas, thereby providing a tool to facilitate the implementation of pedological/hydrological plans for conservation and sustainable management. It is particularly useful when information about soil properties from conventional field surveys is limited.


Despite the waning of popular enthusiasm for e-business following the bursting of the tech bubble, there is still considerable awareness amongst leading corporations of the strategic potential of the Internet and related technologies. What remains poorly understood is why certain firms are successful in capturing the potential of sophisticated information technologies - in particular e-business systems - while others remain hesitant or unable to change. Building on the major theoretical arguments in strategic management, this paper investigates the complex drivers of e-business performance. At the aggregate level, we report a mediation effect between the underlying drivers of e-business performance. More importantly, however, latent class modeling techniques enable us to show that these variables are heavily influenced by the unobservable heterogeneity across firms. Four distinct types of firms populate our data, and the relationship between performance and its underlying determinants varies greatly between them. The implication is that a single model cannot explain the relationship between environment, structure, feasibility, managerial beliefs and performance.


One hundred forty-four finishing pigs were used to determine the influence of added dietary niacin on their growth performance and meat quality. Gilts grew slower, ate less, and were more efficient than barrows for the entire growth performance period. Increasing dietary niacin levels to 25 g/ton increased ADG in gilts for the first 25 days, but decreased ADG for barrows. No other interactions occurred. From d 25 to 62, ADFI tended to increase for pigs fed up to 100 g/ton niacin, whereas pigs fed 500 g/ton niacin ate less. Dietary niacin level did not significantly affect carcass yield or quality characteristics.


Two neonates, with a palpable mass in the loin, turned out to have adrenal haemorrhage. One of them had also hypertension and a poorly functioning kidney on the same side. None of them needed surgery.


To understand how the composition of novel lubricant additives and their ash
 interact with gasoline particulate filters (GPFs), an accelerated aging protocol
 was conducted using three lubricant additive formulations and two GPF types. The
 additive packages (adpaks) consisted of Ca+Mg detergent in a 3:1 or 0:1 ratio
 and an anti-wear component—either zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) or a novel
 phosphonium-phosphinate ionic liquid (IL) substitute. The particulate sampling
 captured amount/compositions of particulate matter (PM) generated, total
 particulate number, and size distribution. Five ash loadings were completed. GPF
 position and adpak composition affected the backpressure, ash composition, ash
 morphology, and captured mass. The particulate sampling indicated that the ash
 component consisted primarily of particles less than 50 nm in size and that the
 Mg-only adpak resulted in more particulate of 50–400 nm in size. Postmortem
 materials characterization indicated GPFs in the underfloor position had deeper
 penetration of ash into the walls compared to the close-coupled position.
 Additionally, the Mg-only adpak had a higher filter collection efficiency
 (>90%) and the ash particles consisted of a higher concentration of dense ash
 material. In contrast, four of the 3:1 Ca:Mg lubricant adpaks resulted in a
 collection efficiency of only 40–50%. Although the collection efficiency was
 higher with the Mg-only adpak, the ash layer in the GPF was not thicker, nor was
 the penetration into the wall more significant, and surprisingly the full useful
 life (FUL) backpressure was lower than with Ca:Mg adpaks. The higher density of
 the Mg-derived ash was the only detectable difference. A possible explanation of
 this observation is that Mg ash has a lower melting point and is more
 susceptible to densification during combustion or GPF regeneration. The
 substitution of IL in place of the ZDDP did not lead to any notable changes in
 collection efficiency or location of the ash.


We consider bipartite systems as versatile probes for the estimation of transformations acting locally on one of the subsystems. We investigate what resources are required for the probes to offer a guaranteed level of metrological performance, when the latter is averaged over specific sets of local transformations. We quantify such a performance via the average skew information (AvSk), a convex quantity which we compute in closed form for bipartite states of arbitrary dimensions, and which is shown to be strongly dependent on the degree of local purity of the probes. Our analysis contrasts and complements the recent series of studies focused on the minimum, rather than the average, performance of bipartite probes in local estimation tasks, which was instead determined by quantum correlations other than entanglement. We provide explicit prescriptions to characterize the most reliable states maximizing the AvSk, and elucidate the role of state purity, separability and correlations in the classification of optimal probes. Our results can help in the identification of useful resources for sensing, estimation and discrimination applications when complete knowledge of the interaction mechanism realizing the local transformation is unavailable, and access to pure entangled probes is technologically limited.


For more than thirty years neoliberalism has declared that market functioning trumps all other social, political and economic values. In this book, Nick Couldry passionately argues for voice, the effective opportunity for people to speak and be heard on what affects their lives, as the only value that can truly challenge neoliberal politics. But having voice is not enough: we need to know our voice matters. Insisting that the answer goes much deeper than simply calling for 'more voices', whether on the streets or in the media, Couldry presents a dazzling range of analysis from the real world of Blair and Obama to the social theory of Judith Butler and Amartya Sen.

Why Voice Matters breaks open the contradictions in neoliberal thought and shows how the mainstream media not only fails to provide the means for people to give an account of themselves, but also reinforces neoliberal values. Moving beyond the despair common to much of today's analysis, Couldry shows us a vision of a democracy based on social cooperation and offers the resources we need to build a new post-neoliberal politics.


Stockholder's painting-installations are designed in reaction to specific spaces and are, according to Holmes "governed by the process of exposing indigenous ghosts". A discussion of three pieces touches on various themes, such as the perception of boundaries, the viewer's multi-leveled experience of disjointed construction and the final return of these temporary pieces into the realm of imagination and memory. The artist comments on the personal concerns behind the piece of this exhibition. Biographical notes.


The most ecological way to clean soils from organic contaminants is biological remediation. In addition to chemical analyses, geophysical measurements are an useful instrument to monitor the remediation process. Geophysical measurements can provide information of three-dimensional distributions for several parameters, e.g. temperature and resistivity (related to salt and moisture content), which are interesting for the remediation process. In a project supported by the Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig - Halle the possibilities to detect low concentrations of hydrocarbons in soils with geophysical measurements are investigated. The laboratory study is focussed on the speetral induced polarization (SIP) method. Additionally, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements are carried out in order to understand petrophysical processes influencing electrical spectra.


It is well known that sodium intake is directly related to the development of high blood pressure. In 2 recent meta-analyses, higher sodium intake was also related to greater risk of incident stroke and cardiovascular disease (CVD)2; however, whether lower sodium intake reduces risk of CVD is not clear.3 One meta-analysis of 7 clinical trials originally designed to test the effectiveness of sodium reduction on blood pressure found nonsignificant associations of sodium reduction with lower CVD risk and total mortality over ≥6 months of follow-up.4 In observational studies of diverse populations, a J-shaped relation between sodium intake (or urinary sodium excretion) and risk of CVD has been reported.5,6 In contrast, study participants assigned to a sodium reduction intervention had a lower risk of CVD over several years of follow-up.6 In this issue of Circulation , Cook and colleagues7 reported a lower risk of CVD or CVD mortality among study participants with lower urinary sodium (<2300 mg/24 h) than among those with higher levels (3600 to <4800 mg/24 h). Although the current study was not originally designed to test the effectiveness of lower sodium intake on CVD risk, multiple 24-hour urine samples, the "gold standard" measure of sodium intake, were used to characterize usual sodium intake.8 In most observational studies, sodium intake has been represented by a "spot urine" or overnight urine collection, which is not an accurate estimate of …


We introduce a dynamic stabilization scheme universally applicable to unidirectional nonlinear coherent waves. By abruptly changing the waveguiding properties, the breathing of wave packets subject to modulation instability can be stabilized as a result of the abrupt expansion a homoclinic orbit and its fall into an elliptic fixed point (center). We apply this concept to the nonlinear Schr{o}dinger equation framework and show that an Akhmediev breather envelope, which is at the core of Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence and extreme wave events, can be \textit{frozen} into a steady periodic (dnoidal) wave by a suitable variation of a single external physical parameter. We experimentally demonstrate this general approach in the particular case of surface gravity water waves propagating in a wave flume with an abrupt bathymetry change. Our results highlight the influence of topography and waveguide properties on the lifetime of rogue waves and confirm the possibility to control extreme wave events.


(1) Background: Earwax might provide the long-term concentration of substances that are altered in chronic diseases. Standardised earwax extraction has to be exclusively performed by clinicians. We investigated the safety, reliability, and tolerance of a novel self-sampling earwax device in comparison with a clinical method; (2) Methods: We compared the reliability between both methods in a longitudinal study. We first cleaned both ears at baseline in 37 controls. Secondly, we obtained a sample a month after by extracting earwax from the right ear with a novel self-sampling device, and from the left ear by using the clinical method. Reliability of both methods was measured by coefficients of variation; (3) Results: The weight of the baseline samples was not significantly different between ear sides. The reliability of the two methods was not significantly different. The self-extraction method removed eight times more earwax than the clinical method. The new method proved to be well tolerated; (4) Conclusions: The novel device was as reliable as the clinical method in sampling earwax. In view of its practicality, safety, tolerability and efficiency, the new method may have clinical applications at a reduced cost.


ABSTRACT Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are known to have a relatively favourable side effect profile. In recent years, there has been an emphasis on the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients taking SSRI antidepressants. Although they may have some effects on coagulation profile, ecchymosis is a rare clinical manifestation of these effects. Here, we report a 25-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and manifested spontaneous ecchymoses on her legs rapidly following fluoxetine use. Her complete blood cell count, prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, bleeding time, and other hematological screening tests were within normal limits. After discontinuation of fluoxetine, her ecchymoses were resolved in two weeks. Ecchymosis did not recur after fluoxetine was discontinued, and the patient was switched to venlafaxine.


Purpose: This study was to determine the effect of teaching recycling on the students' perception of concept of recycling. Subjects and Methods: The method of this research was about conducting pretest and posttest for experimental and control groups. The sample consisted of 60 sixth-grade girls from district four of Isfahan from a population of 1000 who were systematically randomly selected and randomly placed in the experimental group and control group. The subjects of the experimental group received the necessary training during 8 one-hourly sessions through the educational book of principles and methods of recycling. A researcher-made questionnaire was used in this study. The reliability of the questionnaire was 1 and its validity was 0.809. The collected data were analyzed based on descriptive method (mean, standard deviation, percentage, etc.) and analytical method (analysis of covariance). Result: The findings of this study revealed that teaching recycling had an effect on the perception of the concept of recycling, paper recycling, glass recycling, metal recycling and also on identifying those who help people collect recyclable garbage (P < 0.001). But teaching recycling had no effects on the perception of the concept of garbage and the importance of recycling, plastic and the concept of garbage recycling (P < 0.001).


ABSTRACT Studies on forgiveness and its relationship to substance abuse have consistently found salutary associations between the two, yet empirical investigation of variables that may serve as mediating factors in this relationship is in need of more attention. With recent models positing psychological distress as a key component of the forgiveness-substance abuse association, constructs such as psychache, depression, and hopelessness may be likely candidates as mediators of this relationship. As such, cross-sectional, self-report data from 577 undergraduate students was used to perform multiple mediation analyses on the relationship of three dimensions of forgiveness (i.e., of self, of others, of uncontrollable situations) with two substance use outcomes (i.e., problematic alcohol use and problematic drug use), as mediated by psychache, depressive symptoms, and hopelessness. Results indicated that forgiveness of self and forgiveness of uncontrollable situations were associated with lower levels of psychological distress and fewer substance use problems, whereas forgiveness of others was associated with greater levels of psychological distress and more substance use problems. Psychache and depressive symptoms, but not hopelessness, played a role in the forgiveness–substance use problems association. Implications of these findings are discussed, particularly in the context of the self-medication hypothesis.


Intelligent connected vehicles (ICV) are recognized as a great opportunity with huge social benefits by the global auto industry. Governments of various countries attach great importance to them, and traditional Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and technology companies are also introducing them into consumers' lives by virtue of various business models, thereby generating practical value. The business model plays a decisive role in determining whether a company can share the ICV market cake and its future position in the industry. More importantly, it will also determine how fast the ICVs can become reality from imagination. In this paper, the ICV industry ecosystem was sorted out, the business models of ICVs adopted by mainstream OEMs were analyzed, and five typical business models were summarized, i.e. platform model, self-transformation model, traditional Tier1 dependence model, alliance model, and outsourcing model. On this basis, the SWOT analysis method was adopted to systematically analyze the internal and external advantages and disadvantages of the five business models, and forward insights on enterprises' developing and maintaining the competitive advantages in the ICV industry were proposed from five perspectives of technology, market timing, customer experience, brand, and data.


The transvenous automatic defibrillator is a device which automatically recognizes and treats ventricular fibrillation. The initial clinical prototype resembles an external pacemaker: the electronic components and power supply are external to the body, the sensing and defibrillating elements being contained in a transvenous catheter. The sensors monitor intracardiac R waves and cardiac contraction. Absence of both signals identifies the arrhythmia and triggers the defibrillatory shock, delivered through the right ventricular electrode and another more proximal on the catheter. If needed, the device recycles automatically. It is also adaptable for pacing and for elective intraatrial cardioversion. Results of animal experiments were successful, and tests are currently being done on patients requiring defl‐brillation during open heart surgery. The clinical indications for the device are numerous and it is hoped that this approach will decrease the present prohibitive mortality from coronary heart disease.


Much of the turmoil in the health care field is a direct result of pressures for reductions in health care costs. Many, particularly physicians, are concerned about the impact of cost-driven changes on the quality of care. The author of this article proposes five criteria that can serve as a structure on which to build a consensus for defining quality.


Research on virtual humans spans from body animation to speech generation. In many cases research systems are isolated software pieces and can only be used after a steep learning curve. A novel system is presented which integrates a large repertoire of virtual human research into one piece of user-friendly software, the virtual human director (VHD). This software achieves two important goals without any decrease in real-time performance or graphics quality. One goal is the integration of all the existing real-time virtual human technology from two research laboratories into open software architecture. The other one is to develop an intuitive user interface, which allows artists and directors to work with virtual humans


A computer virus is software intentionally written to copy itself without the computer owner's permission and then perform some other action on any system where it resides. Now a days, viruses are being written for almost every computing platform Antivirus protection is, or should be, an integral part of any Information Systems operation, be it personal or professional. There are number of computer virus are created and these computer virus are affected in day today life. The large number of Antivirus software available in the market and some are being launched, each one of them offers new features for detecting and eradicating viruses and malware. People frequently change their Antivirus software according to their liking and needs without evaluating the performance and capabilities of the various Antivirus software available. This research paper highlights the basic concepts of computer viruses and antivirus software. And also suggest the benchmarking model for ideal antivirus software for all types of user.


The asteroid 197 (Arete) approaches asteroid 4 (Vesta) within 0.04 astronomical unit once every 18 years. It may therefore be possible to determine the mass of Vesta from observations of Arete. From 72 observations a value of (1.20 � 0.08) x 10-10 solar mass was derived, the indicated uncertainty being a probable error.


CSR: An Integral Part of Our Being At Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), Corporate Social Responsibility is much more than a mere phrase--it's a way of life for more than 65,000 Mahindraites across the globe. As our Chairman, Mr. Keshub Mahindra firmly believes, "Corporate Social Responsibility has been basic to our philosophy at the Mahindra Group since our birth in 1945.... One cannot have a large section of a population denied even the basic amenities like water, housing, health care and education ... We are therefore convinced and believe that the weaker sections of our society need help and support." This is a sentiment echoed by our Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Anand Mahindra who says, "At Mahindras, CSR means not just the sharing of our wealth, but of our time and of ourselves." Corporate Social Responsibility has always been an integral part of the vision of the Mahindra Group and the cornerstone of our core value of Good Corporate Citizenship. We believe that CSR is an opportunity and a privilege for us and goes far beyond managing corporate image. CSR received a major boost in 2005 when M&M celebrated its 60th anniversary by pledging 1% of its annual Profit after Tax to social activities every year, as a way of thanking the nation and its stakeholders for 60 years of trust. Esops: The Mahindra Way "With the implementation of Esops, we are proud to announce that on any given day in the year somewhere in India you will find a Mahindra employee contributing to society." --Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Group On its 60th Founders' Day, M&M also announced its own unique Esops, or Employee Social Options programme with the goal of having a Mahindra employee contributing to society every day of the year, somewhere in the world. ESOPs provides each employee with an option to contribute to a socially relevant activity in a focused way. Employees can select from a wide range of activities including volunteering at schools, becoming guardians for Nanhi Kalis (further details below), functioning as visiting faculty at educational institutions, etc. The Naandi Foundation, a leading not-for-profit organisation, is our strategic corporate social responsibility implementation partner. The ESOPs programme has proved to be a big success with Mahindraites across the Group volunteering their personal time and energy for several worthy causes. From undertaking development work in villages to teaching underprivileged children and assisting in disaster relief operations, our employees are contributing in a significant way to help create a better world. In order to ensure maximum impact, our CSR initiatives focus mainly on education and health. The scope of our endeavours covers as many needy sections of society as possible, with a special emphasis on the girl child. Education "... For us at Mahindras education is a legacy and investing our corporate resources in education is at the core of our family values ... We believe that by investing in education, we will ensure a better quality of life not only for now but for generations to come." --Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Group The Mahindra Group has chosen education as the main tool to transform the lives of the people of India. The Group views education as both an investment and an enabler. The K.C. Mahindra Education Trust (KCMET) was formed in 1953 with the objective of promoting education and has since undertaken a number of initiatives, which make a difference in the lives of deserving students. KCMET has provided more than Rs. 25 crores in the form of grants, scholarships and loans. These funds are derived from an investment portfolio, the main donors of which are the Mahindra Group of companies. I Project Nanhi Kali Project Nanhi Kali is a national girl child sponsorship programme and a special project jointly managed by the K. …


We examine the effects of turbulent intermittency on the deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) in Type Ia supernovae. The Zel'dovich mechanism for DDT requires the formation of a nearly isothermal region of mixed ash and fuel that is larger than a critical size. We primarily consider the hypothesis by Khokhlov et al. and Niemeyer and Woosley that the nearly isothermal, mixed region is produced when the flame makes the transition to the distributed regime. We use two models for the distribution of the turbulent velocity fluctuations to estimate the probability as a function of the density in the exploding white dwarf that a given region of critical size is in the distributed regime due to strong local turbulent stretching of the flame structure. We also estimate lower limits on the number of such regions as a function of density. We find that the distributed regime, and hence perhaps DDT, occurs in a local region of critical size at a density at least a factor of 2-3 larger than predicted for mean conditions that neglect intermittency. This factor makes the transition density much larger than the empirical value from observations in most situations. We also consider the intermittency effect on the more stringent conditions for DDT by Lisewski et al. and Woosley. We find that a turbulent velocity of 108 cm s−1 in a region of size 106 cm, as required by Lisewski et al., is rare. We expect that intermittency has a weaker effect on the Woosley model with a stronger DDT criterion. The predicted transition density from this criterion remains below 107 g cm−3 after accounting for intermittency using our intermittency models.


People evolve from the nature; being in the nature is the best learning; and, a real classroom is the nature outside the window. The atmosphere of outdoor ecological education is therefore gradually formed. Outdoor ecological education has become an international trend in past years. Outdoor ecological education means the learning outside a classroom, expecting learners' learning, through exploration, observation, operation, interaction, reflection, and connection with five-sense experience, being closer to the life experience and to cultivate talents being able to adapt to future life. Applying non-equivalent experimental design to the experimental research, total 236 college students of universities in Taiwan, as the experiment objects, are preceded the 15-week (3 hours per week for total 45 hours) outdoor ecological education integrated project-based learning 2x2 experimental teaching. The research results summarize the significant effects of outdoor ecological education on problem-solving capability, project-based learning on problem-solving capability, and the practice of project-based learning to outdoor ecological education curriculum on the promotion of learning effect. According to the results to proposed suggestions, it is expected that college students would present deeper cognition and learning on outdoor ecological education to really achieve the application, exploration, and creation capabilities from outdoor ecological education curriculum.


Background: The gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as any degree of glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. Risk management of GDM should be done at first prenatal visit. As it is the most common metabolic complication of pregnancy, the present study was focused on finding out the risk factors of GDM in local population. Method: We evaluated the risk factors of GDM in 200 females who were randomly tested for GDM with 75 g Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24–28th weeks of pregnancy. A detailed questionnaire was administered in this cross sectional study. Results: The most commonly observed risk factor was family history DM,117 patients (p<0.001and odd ratio as 40.4 [17.4 to 93.6]), obesity,113 patients (P< 0.001, odd ratio as 4.5[2.2 to 9.2]), pregnancy related stress in109 (P< 0.001, odd ratio as 4.8[2.4 to 9.5]), anemia in 88 females (P=0.003, odd ratio as 3.5[1.5 to 8.0]), history of abortions,76 (P< 0.001), odd ratio as 2.9[1.59 to 5.34]). Furthermore, stress, hypertension, lack of exercise were significantly associated risk factors of GDM. Only 93 females who had fatigue during pregnancy (P=0.718 and odd ratio as 0.88[0.45 to 1.71]) had association with development of GDM that was statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The most commonly occurring risk factor of GDM in our population were obesity, family history of diabetes, stress, hypertension and lack of exercise. Unusual association was observed between iron deficiency anemia and GDM.


AABB Standards specify that ABO group‐specific whole blood is the only acceptable choice for whole blood transfusions. Although universal donor group O stored whole blood (SWB) was used extensively by the military during the wars of the mid‐twentieth century, its use has fallen out of favor and has never been used to great extent in the civilian trauma population. Interest in the use of whole blood has been renewed, particularly in light of its potential value in far‐forward military and other austere environments. Evidence of preserved platelet function in SWB has heightened enthusiasm for a "one stop shop" resuscitation product providing volume, oxygen carrying capacity, and hemostatic effects. Experience with universal donor group O SWB is required to ascertain whether its use will be an advance in trauma care. Described here is the process of establishing a universal donor group O SWB at a civilian trauma center in the United States.