Since the early 1990s, many Muslim feminist works have been translated into Indonesian. These are, for example, the works of Fatima Mernissi, Riffat Hassan, Amina Wadud, Asghar Ali Engineer, Nawal Saadawi, Asma Barlas and Ziba Mir-Hossaini. These works have been influential in raising the awareness of Indonesian Muslims concerning Islam as a religion which supports equality and justice, but whose message has been blurred by patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an which mostly put men in the superior position over women. Influenced by Muslim feminists from other countries, there has been an increasing number of Indonesian Muslim scholars, both male and female, who have challenged the existing male biased Qur'anic interpretations on gender relations. These scholars, for instance, are Lily Zakiyah Munir, Nasaruddin Umar, Zaitunah Subhan, Musdah Mulia and Nurjannah Ismail. This paper aims to shed some light on the influence of non-Indonesian Muslim feminist works on Indonesian Muslim feminist discourse. It will also discuss some of the reactions of Indonesian Muslims to the works of Muslim feminists. While some argue for the reinterpretation of the Qur'anic verses from the perspective of gender equality, others feel irritation and anger with the contemporary Muslim feminist critique of the classical Muslim interpretations of the Qur'an, mistakenly assuming that Muslim feminists have criticized or changed the Qur'an. This feeling of anger, according to Asma Barlas, may be caused by the unconscious elevation in the minds of many Muslims of the classical fiqh and tafsir into the position of replacing the Qur'an or even putting these human works above the Qur'an. This, according to her, has unconsciously left the Qur'an "untouchable" (too sacred to be reinterpreted) for most contemporary Muslims.


: Individual-tree measurements have been collected periodically on sites established in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to investigate the effects of thinning on the growth and yield of valuable hardwood species. These plots were installed between 1959 and 1985. The long-term characteristics of this data set of 47,853 trees allowed us to investigate potential climatic effects on the mortality of individual trees. Stand and tree measures of competition, monthly and annual temperatures, and precipitation were statistically assessed against mortality through proportional hazards survival analysis for 21 species groups. Competitive factors entered the models more consistently than climatic factors. However, some of the climate factors were of higher importance than some of the competitive factors. The models produced were then run using future climate predictions from conservative and extreme general circulation model scenarios to estimate possible future hazard rates of mortality. These rates varied greatly based on species group and future climate scenario because of the highly variable climate. The high variability of future climate projections make it difficult to estimate changes in future risks of tree mortality because of climate change. However, the study reiterates that managing for more resilient forests by reducing competitive stress will help mitigate the effects of climatic stress as well as many other stresses such as those caused by insects and pathogens. F OR . S CI . 59(4):416–430.


ABSTRACT Antibiotics in childhood have been linked with diseases including asthma, juvenile arthritis, type 1 diabetes, Crohn's disease and mental illness. The underlying mechanisms are thought related to dysbiosis of the gut microbiome. We conducted a systematic review of the association between antibiotics and disruption of the pediatric gut microbiome. Searches used MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science. Eligible studies: association between antibiotics and gut microbiome dysbiosis; children 0–18 years; molecular techniques of assessment; outcomes of microbiome richness, diversity or composition. Quality assessed by Newcastle–Ottawa Scale or Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Meta-analysis where possible. A total of 4,668 publications identified: 12 in final analysis (5 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 5 cohort studies, 2 cross-sectional studies). Microbiome richness was measured in 3 studies, species diversity in 6, and species composition in 10. Quality of evidence was good or fair. 5 studies found a significant reduction in diversity and 3 a significant reduction in richness. Macrolide exposure was associated with reduced richness for twice as long as penicillin. Significant reductions were seen in Bifidobacteria (5 studies) and Lactobacillus (2 studies), and significant increases in Proteobacteria such as E. coli (4 studies). A meta-analysis of RCTs of the effect of macrolide (azithromycin) exposure on the gut microbiome found a significant reduction in alpha-diversity (Shannon index: mean difference −0.86 (95% CI −1.59, −0.13). Antibiotic exposure was associated with reduced microbiome diversity and richness, and with changes in bacterial abundance. The potential for dysbiosis in the microbiome should be taken into account when prescribing antibiotics for children. Systematic review registration number: CRD42018094188


Thirty-one cellulolytic bacterial isolates from soils that were phenotypically very similar and phylogenetically highly related to Cellvibrio strains were further characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. By using repetitive extragenic palindromic DNA-PCR fingerprinting, six different fingerprints could be recognized among the isolates. Representative strains and four reference strains of the genus Cellvibrio were used for DNA-DNA hybridization, which yielded eight DNA hybridization groups at a cut-off level of 70% DNA binding. One group was formed by three isolates and Cellvibrio vulgaris LMG 2848T and a second group consisted of Cellvibrio mixtus strains ACM 2601T and ACM 2603. Two isolates and Cellvibrio fulvus LMG 2847T constituted single-member groups. For the remaining groups, three novel species are proposed: Cellvibrio fibrivorans sp. nov. (six strains, type strain LMG 18561T =ACM 5172T), Cellvibrio ostraviensis sp. nov. (eight strains, type strain LMG 19434T =ACM 5173T) and Cellvibrio gandavensis sp. nov. (12 strains, type strain LMG 18551T =ACM 5174T). The novel Cellvibrio species could be differentiated from each other and from C. mixtus, C. vulgaris and C. fulvus on the basis of phenotypic features, their fatty acid compositions and the G + C content of their DNA.


Since 1989 Porto Alegre has become an international reference for planning (UN Habitat, 1996) and regeneration practices associated also with the Participatory Budget process (Pacheco, 2001; Fedozzi, 1998), aiming at poverty reduction and social inclusiveness (Getulio Vargas Foundation, 2004; UNDP, 2003; UN/UMP, 2003). Within the new city masterplan approved in 1999 the City Entrance Integrated Programme (henceforth PIEC) has been delivered since 2002 (Vargas, 2003; PMPA, 2014). The paper critically analyses the outcomes of the 4 th District's regeneration process and relate them to recent trends in terms of informal rapid urbanisation, social and ecological indicators. The findings highlight how, even though enjoying economic development and positive macro-economic trends, Porto Alegre is facing new or increasing challenges in terms of housing needs, informal urbanisation, social and environmental resilience. Unexpected internal people displacement, together with real estate speculation and the rise of new informal urbanization, provide a worrying picture of increasing inequalities across the city. The paper provides a reflection on the shortcomings and the fragility of the planning process, especially in terms of social and environmental impact, to draw some provisional conclusions and directions for further research activities.


Structural health monitoring (SHM) technology is a popular method for determining the integrity of structures. A case study of using SHM technology to monitor the structural integrity of high-speed EMU train bolsters is performed. SMART Layers™, which are a kind of PZT (lead zirconate titanate) sensor networks, are employed to collect sensor data based on the propagation of guided waves. The sensor network works with hardware, cables, and diagnostic computer with software installed can become a complete SHM system. In this paper, the work of wave propagation test has been conducted to confirm many fundamental parameters, such as wave propagation distance, driving frequency and critical damage size. The customized SMART Layers™ were manufactured and installed on a bolster structure to evaluate the functions of SHM technology. The bench test on a full-scale bolster component has been conducted in the laboratory of CRRC. Experimental results show that the system integrated with SMART Layers™, hardware and software can accurately detect, locate and evaluate the size of cracks. However, there are some deficiency results from the bench tests requiring improvement in the near future, such as to improve the density of SMART Layers™ to defect a smaller crack, to upgrade the software and to satisfy the baseline data number in order to improve the performance of the system.


The enzyme-catalysed degradation of starch is central to many industrial processes, including sugar manufacture and first-generation biofuels. Classical biotechnological platforms involve steam explosion of starch followed by the action of endo-acting glycoside hydrolases termed α-amylases and then exo-acting α-glucosidases (glucoamylases) to yield glucose, which is subsequently processed. A key enzymatic player in this pipeline is the `Termamyl' class of bacterial α-amylases and designed/evolved variants thereof. Here, the three-dimensional structure of one such Termamyl α-amylase variant based upon the parent Geobacillus stearothermophilus α-amylase is presented. The structure has been solved at 1.9 Å resolution, revealing the classical three-domain fold stabilized by Ca2+ and a Ca2+-Na+-Ca2+ triad. As expected, the structure is similar to the G. stearothermophilus α-amylase but with main-chain deviations of up to 3 Å in some regions, reflecting both the mutations and differing crystal-packing environments.


Nursing Ethics has published several pleas for care ethics and/or relationality as the most promising ethical foundation for midwifery philosophy and practice. In this article, we stand by these calls, contributing to them with the identification of the structural form of violence that a care ethical relational approach to reproductive care is up against: that of "maternal separation". Confronted with reproductive and obstetric violence globally, we show that a hegemonic racialized, instrumentalized, and individualized conception of pregnancy is responsible for a severance of relationalities that are essential to safe reproductive care: (1) the relation between the person and their child or reproductive capabilities; and (2) the relation between the pregnant person and their community of care. We pinpoint a separation of the maternal relation in at least two discursive domains, namely, the juridical-political and the ethical-existential. Consequently, we plea for a radical re-imagination of maternal relationality, envisioning what care ethical midwifery, including abortion care, could be.


Six Sigma is an approach that improves quality by analyzing data with statistics. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the use and development of the Six Sigma methodology in manufacturing industry and others. The Six Sigma approach has been increasingly adopted worldwide in the manufacturing sector in order to enhance productivity and quality performance and to make the process robust to quality variations. Understanding Methodology, key features, obstacles of the six sigma method allows organizations to better support their strategic directions, and increasing needs for coaching, mentoring, and training. It also provides opportunities to better implement six sigma projects. This paper reviews Methodology, obstacles and Benefits of six sigma practices and identifies the key factors influencing successful six sigma project implementations. Effective six sigma principles and practices will succeed by refining the organizational culture continuously. Cultural changes require time and commitment before they are strongly implanted into the organization.


This article describes some of the factors relevant to the establishment of a universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) program. First, the difficulty in providing precise estimates of test sensitivity and specificity are reviewed. This section is followed by hypothetical estimates of overall programmatic costs, first for a fixed number of babies to be screened and then as a function of the number of babies to be screened in a year. Included in these estimates are the costs for equipment, disposables, personnel, and follow-up testing. These estimates are provided for three different screening protocols: auditory brainstem response (ABR) alone, otoacoustic emission (OAE) alone, and OAE followed by ABR only for those babies who failed the OAE screening. If follow-up costs are not included, it is less expensive to screen newborns with OAEs compared with the other two protocols. However, once follow-up testing is included as part of the program costs and there are at least 400 births per year, procedures in which OAEs are performed first, followed by an ABR on those infants who do not pass the OAE test, result in the lowest costs. Hospitals with as few as 400 births per year should expect per-baby costs not exceeding $30, regardless of which protocol is used. For all three protocols, the unit costs decrease as the number of babies screened increases. The final section describes data from a local UNHS program in which all infants are screened first with an OAE test, followed by an ABR test on infants not passing the OAE screening. Idiosyncratic features to this program are described, including the fact that all screening tests are performed by audiologists, who are paid on a part-time basis, adding cost to the program. Even under these circumstances, the unit cost is under $30. These data lead us to conclude that all infants can be screened in a cost-effective manner.


Chronic fibrosing conditions of the abdomen are relatively poorly understood and involve varied and often multiple organ systems. At histopathologic analysis, they share the unifying features of proliferative fibrosis and chronic inflammation. Different conditions in this group are often found in association with each other and with other fibrosing conditions outside the abdomen. Some of the confusion about these conditions stems from their complex nomenclature, which includes a gamut of alternate terms and eponyms. Many of them can be categorized within two large subgroups: the fibromatoses and immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disorders. While many of these entities are of uncertain etiology, some, especially the IgG4-associated conditions, appear to have an immune-mediated pathogenesis. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, sclerosing peritonitis, and retroperitoneal fibrosis have iatrogenic associations, while some of the fibromatoses are genetically inherited. Imaging differentiation of these conditions is difficult due to considerable overlap in their radiologic findings. However, certain conditions such as penile fibromatosis and sclerosing peritonitis may have unique imaging features that can help the radiologist make the diagnosis. Others such as deep fibromatoses and inflammatory pseudotumor demonstrate fibroproliferative mass formation and cannot be differentiated from neoplastic conditions at imaging. Thus, histopathologic correlation is often required to confirm their diagnosis.


: The authors have observed one case of injury to the axillary artery complicating anterior dislocation of the shoulder. It produced a marked haematoma of the axilla and ischaemia of the upper limb. At operation, avulsion of a posterior branch was associated with thrombosis of the trunk of the axillary artery. The result was good after saphenous vein grafting. This complication is very rare. Similar complications could arise from an excessively forceful reduction.


Blockade of H-cholinoreceptors, alpha- and beta-adrenoreceptors did not lead to disappearance of the colon and ileocecal sphincter contractile responses to i.a. administration of met-enkephalin (0.05-8.0 micrograms). The responses of the colon, as well as ileum and jejunum were augmented under blockade of alpha-adrenoreceptors whereas the responses of ileocecal sphincter decreased. The latters were augmented under blockade of beta-adrenoreceptors. Met-enkephalin infused into the vascular bed of an isolated portion of the intestine (0.01-5.0 micrograms/ml/min), potentiated the colon and ileocecal sphincter responses to acetylcholine (1.0-20.0 micrograms), the colon responses to stimulation of the n. vagus efferent fibers, and the ileocecal sphincter responses to serotonin (20-100 micrograms).


The emergence of the Massively Open Online Course, or MOOC, has been a topic of considerable analysis and discussion in academic circles in recent years, and is not infrequently mentioned as a disruptive technology in higher education. As Stanford University has been prominent in the development of MOOC platforms, both the university as a whole and the Stanford University Libraries have a particular interest in understanding the potential for and impacts of this platform. This paper briefly outlines the emergence of MOOCs within the context of online learning tools and distance learning, looks at how Stanford University as a whole, and the Stanford Libraries in particular, are integrating these technologies in their pedagogy.


: The complexity of the embriologic development of the neck and the possible abnomarlies in this process, with the consequent posterior manifestations make necessary the knowledge of the embriologic anatomy of the neck. In the possible manifestations that can be of the anomalies of the development of the branchial archs are the abnomarlies of the first branchial archs. They are, in the anomalies of the development of the branchial archs infrequent and are intimately related with the facial nerve. We present a clinic case of a seven years old boy affected by this pathology and revise its more important aspects.


Ferret hepatitis E virus (HEV), a novel hepatitis E-like virus, has been identified in ferrets in The Netherlands. Due to the lack of a cell-culture system for ferret HEV, the antigenicity, pathogenicity and epidemiology of this virus have remained unclear. In the present study, we used a recombinant baculovirus expression system to express the 112-N-terminus and 47-C-terminus-amino-acid-truncated ferret HEV ORF2 protein in insect Tn5 cells, and found that a large amount of a 53 kDa protein (F-p53) was expressed and efficiently released into the supernatant. Electron microscopic analysis revealed that F-p53 was self-assembled into virus-like particles (ferret HEV-LPs). These ferret HEV-LPs were estimated to be 24 nm in diameter, which is similar to the size of G1, G3, G4 and rat HEV-LPs derived from both the N-terminus- and C-terminus-truncated constructs. Antigenic analysis demonstrated that ferret HEV-LPs were cross-reactive with G1, G3, G4 and rat HEVs, and rat HEV and ferret HEV showed a stronger cross-reactivity to each other than either did to human HEV genotypes. However, the antibody against ferret HEV-LPs does not neutralize G3 HEV, suggesting that the serotypes of these two HEVs are different. An ELISA for detection of anti-ferret HEV IgG and IgM antibodies was established using ferret HEV-LPs as antigen, and this assay system will be useful for monitoring ferret HEV infection in ferrets as well as other animals. In addition, analysis of ferret HEV RNA detected in ferret sera collected from a breeding colony in the USA revealed the genetic diversity of ferret HEV.


During Leg 101, the inaugural leg of the Ocean Drilling Program, the JOIDES Resolution drilled 19 holes at 11 sites in the Bahamas. Grids of high-resolution seismic profiles provided information crucial for both site selection and re gional stratigraphic interpretations. The first major scientific objective was to understand the long-term evolution of the bank-and-basin pattern that currently characterizes the Bahamas archipelago. Drilling and seismic surveys have indi cated considerable platform expansion and retreat rather than stationary upward growth. Upbuilding in the Late Juras sic-Early Cretaceous was followed by drowning and retreat in the mid-Cretaceous and by renewed expansion in the Ce nozoic. At Site 627 on the southern Blake Plateau, the stratigraphic succession consists of shallow-water platform car bonates/evaporites (late Albian), marly limestones of a mixed terrigenous/carbonate shelf (latest Albian-middle Cenomanian), carbonate ooze of an oceanic plateau (Campanian-Miocene), and finally the turbidite apron of an ad vancing platform (Neogene). The top of the upper Albian shallow-water platform is characterized seismically by an acoustic unconformity, an amplitude contrast, and a velocity transition (from 2.8 to 4.2 km/s). Jump correlation of a similar acoustic horizon underlying the Straits of Florida (Site 626) with the Great Isaac 1 well on Great Bahama Bank approximately 60 km away suggests that deep-water carbonates in the Straits are also underlain by a mid-Cretaceous shallow-water platform. Delineating the evolution of platform flanks was the second major scientific objective of Leg 101. Modern facies belts were traced back through the Neogene record in two slope transects. A gentle (2°-3°) slope (north of Little Ba hama Bank) is characterized by fine-grained sediments and erosional gullies. Coarse material bypasses the slope in tur bidity currents and is deposited on debris aprons. With an increase of slope angle to 10°-12° (southeastern Exuma Sound), the zone of maximum accumulation shifts from the slope to the debris apron, probably because of increased turbidity-current activity. Slumps, debris flows, and turbidites are unusually abundant in the lower and middle Miocene sections and are probably caused by tectonic activity (the "Abaco event") superimposed on long-term slope evolution. Detailed stratigraphy of the two slope transects supports "highstand shedding," the concept that maximum input of platform sediment to the deep sea occurs during highstands rather than lowstands of sea level. Pleistocene glacial peri ods as well as postulated eustatic lowstands in the Messinian and Pliocene correspond to hiatuses or intervals of slow sedimentation on platform flanks, and perhaps to karst horizons on the platform tops. Diagenesis of periplatform ooze is rapid. Both high-magnesium calcite and aragonite decrease with depth, and dolo mite precipitates. However, lithification is discontinuous and incomplete to burial depths in excess of 200 mbsf and ages of 10-15 Ma.


Near-surface waters ranging from the Pacific subarctic (58°N) to the Southern Ocean (66°S) contain the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA), associated with the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia. Of the 35 stations sampled, including ones from historic iron fertilization experiments (SOFeX, IronEx II), we found Pseudo-nitzschia at 34 stations and DA measurable at 14 of the 26 stations analyzed for DA. Toxin ranged from 0.3 fg·cell−1 to 2 pg·cell−1, comparable with levels found in similar-sized cells from coastal waters. In the western subarctic, descent of intact Pseudo-nitzschia likely delivered significant amounts of toxin (up to 4 μg of DA·m−2·d−1) to underlying mesopelagic waters (150–500 m). By reexamining phytoplankton samples from SOFeX and IronEx II, we found substantial amounts of DA associated with Pseudo-nitzschia. Indeed, at SOFeX in the Antarctic Pacific, DA reached 220 ng·L−1, levels at which animal mortalities have occurred on continental shelves. Iron ocean fertilization also occurs naturally and may have promoted blooms of these ubiquitous algae over previous glacial cycles during deposition of iron-rich aerosols. Thus, the neurotoxin DA occurs both in coastal and oceanic waters, and its concentration, associated with changes in Pseudo-nitzschia abundance, likely varies naturally with climate cycles, as well as with artificial iron fertilization. Given that iron fertilization in iron-depleted regions of the sea has been proposed to enhance phytoplankton growth and, thereby, both reduce atmospheric CO2 and moderate ocean acidification in surface waters, consideration of the potentially serious ecosystem impacts associated with DA is prudent.


In apple growing areas, in the Netherlands, Panonychus ulmi Koch and Adoxophyes orana FvR. are the most important pests. Preliminary experiments had shown that P. ulmi could be controlled by predators, but these predators are killed by insecticide sprayings against other pests. As A. orana had already been cultured on an artificial medium, the application of the population sterilization technique was within the realms of possibility. However, the high population density of the species was a disadventage. But if this was counterbalanced by a poor capacity for dispersal, the application of this technique, on a small scale, would be possible. In a simulation model, it was demonstrated that only 100 immigrants per generation per ha, was already too high to make the technique feasible. Three modes of dispersal could be expected: flight, aerial transport of larvae with wind and transport of larvae together with plants and packaging materials. The last possibility was not investigated, it was assumed that it could be reduced to a great extent by appropriate measures. Dispersal by flight was studied in release-recapture experiments. The released moths were cultured on a meridic diet. For marking, either 32 P or the dye Calco oil red D was added to the medium. In order to recapture the moths, light traps and sex traps were used. The experiments were carried out in several places, an open field, orchards, and hedgerows. The results obtained indicated that the movement from the release points was small. The greatest distance at which a male was recaptured in these experiments was 250 m. Only in the experiment in which 75500 males were released homogeneously throughout an orchard of 1.5 ha, were the distances, at which males were still recovered, somewhat greater, but the maximum distance was 435 m. For this particular experiment it was calculated that about 1 to 2 percent of the males had left the orchard. It is assumed that, for this kind of biotope, this a representative percentage. In light traps, in general, the numbers of males captured were higher than the numbers of females captured. This could be the result of, either a lower flight activity of the females compared to the males, or an eventual difference in the diurnal flight period of males an females. In laboratory experiments, evidence was obtained for both possibilities. Concerning larval dispersal by means of wind, only qualitative data were obtained. It was demonstrated that it occurs frequently and that characteristic behaviour elements are involved. The larva spins a silken thread when it drops off from a leaf. This thread can be broken by the force of the wind, exerted on the thread. It subsequently breaks near the end at which it is attached to the leaf. The buoyancy of the larva in the air depends on the length of the thread. It was demonstrated that wind velocities of more than 3 m per sec have an immobilizing effect on the locomotion of the newly-hatched larvae. It is likely that this behaviour protects the larva against being blown away from the leaf, with a very short thread. Experiments on phototaxis and geotaxis yielded indications that the behaviour of young larvae makes them vulnerable to this mode of dispersal. The behaviour of older larvae was different in this respect. It is likely that, because of the greater weight, the chances for aerial transport of older larvae are reduced. In a qualitative way, aerial transport can be important. At 20 °C and 70 % R.H. the newly-hatched larva can survive 6 hours starvation. With an air speed of 2 m per sec, transport over more than 40 km is possible. The quantative aspects will be determined by the vegetation that surrounds the egg-mass. In an orchard, a large proportion of the larvae will be sieved out from the air, by the surrounding trees. A. orana has a wide hostplant range. In preliminary experiments the possibility of a variability of response towards different hostplants was investigated. No indications were found. When there is no variability in response towards apple, between A. orana in orchards and A. orana in other biotopes, it is important to know the population densities in these biotopes, especially in the fruit growing areas, where eventually the population sterilization technique is going to be applied. The population densities were estimated in 23 different places, hedgerows, lanes and woods, by releasing a known number of marked moths into the wild population. From the numbers recaptured by means of sex traps, the number of moths of the wild population was calculated, with the aid of the Lincoln-index. The density in woods was found to be lower than the average population density in orchards, but for some hedgerows higher densities were calculated. The calculated densities were highest when a great part of the hedgerows consisted of alder ( Alnus spp.) or hawthorn ( Crateagus sp.). The conclusion of these studies was, that with regard to the dispersal of the adults, there is a fair chance that the population sterilization technique can be applied on a small scale, when the area is surrounded by a zone of 500 m, free from other populations of A.orana. If this is not possible, sterilized adults also have to be released in these populations. In this conclusion, the dispersal of larvae by wind, is not taken into consideration. It is assumed that quantitatively, this mode of dispersal is of minor importance.


The authors consider the problem of vehicle-following including automatic steering and speed control of an autonomous vehicle following the motion of a lead vehicle. A visual control system for vehicle-following is presented. The system consists of the following modules: image processing, recursive filtering, and a driving command generator. First, the range and heading signal of the lead vehicle are obtained by visually identifying a unique tracking feature on the lead vehicle. Based upon this information, appropriate steering wheel and speed commands for driving are generated, which are then downloaded and executed on a microprocessor controller. The visual control system was tested on BART (Binocular Autonomous Research Team), a testbed vehicle developed at Texas A&M University for autonomous mobility. Successful full-scale test runs have been accomplished for speeds up to 20 mi/h. >


In this paper a case is presented which explores one way in which a practitioner (the author) worked with others in developing curriculum for a web-based learning environment. There was an attempt by all involved to take a scholarly approach to investigating the potential for improving teaching and learning and to go beyond the appropriation of technologies which offer little more than affordances for what already occurs within campus based programmes (Kirkup & Kirkwood, 2005). This is consistent with the institutional aim to provide new, exciting and pedagogically informed options for arts education online. A full explanation of the process through which one institution located in South East Asia proceeded in introducing and developing a programme for educators and other professionals working in the area of art education is presented. Description is provided of the aims of stakeholders to underpin curriculum making with constructivist principles while working with an algorithm for this purpose. This case may assist other practitioners who support staff with limited experience of web-based environments in enabling them to make informed decisions about how they go about teaching and learning online.


Modern applications include many sources of nondeterminism, e.g. due to concurrency, signals, and system calls that interact with the external environment. Finding and reproducing bugs in the presence of this nondeterminism has been the subject of much prior work in three main areas: (1) controlled concurrency-testing, where a custom scheduler replaces the OS scheduler to find subtle bugs; (2) record and replay, where sources of nondeterminism are captured and logged so that a failing execution can be replayed for debugging purposes; and (3) dynamic analysis for the detection of data races. We present a dynamic analysis tool for C++ applications, tsan11rec, which brings these strands of work together by integrating controlled concurrency testing and record and replay into the tsan11 framework for C++11 data race detection. Our novel twist on record and replay is a sparse approach, where the sources of nondeterminism to record can be configured per application. We show that our approach is effective at finding subtle concurrency bugs in small applications; is competitive in terms of performance with the state-of-the-art record and replay tool rr on larger applications; succeeds (due to our sparse approach) in replaying the I/O-intensive Zandronum and QuakeSpasm video games, which are out of scope for rr; but (due to limitations of our sparse approach) cannot faithfully replay applications where memory layout nondeterminism significantly affects application behaviour.


This paper evaluates the effects of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on land values. A theoretical model is presented to analyze the interaction between farmers' CRP participation decisions and land values. Empirical models are estimated to evaluate the effects of the CRP on land values. Results suggest that CRP participation had the largest effects in the Mountain, Southern Plains, and Northern Plains regions, where it increased average farmland values by 5% to 14%, 4% to 6%, and 2% to 5%, respectively. The CRP also had a statistically significant effect on developed land values, but the percentage increases were smaller. Implications of the results for the design of conservation programs are discussed. (JEL Q24, Q28)


Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is one of the most widely known questions in a class of combinatorial optimization problems. It is concerned with the optimal design of routes to be used by a fleet of vehicles to serve a set of customers. In this study we analyze Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) - a subcase of VRP, where the vehicles have a limited capacity. CVRP is mostly aimed at savings in the global transportation costs. The problem is NP-hard, therefore heuristic algorithms which provide near-optimal polynomial-time solutions will be considered instead of the exact ones. The aim of this article is to make a survey on mathematical formulations of CVRP and on methods for solving each type of this problem. The first part presents a general information about the problem and restrictions of this work. In the second part, the classical mathematical formulations of CVRP are described. In the third part, a classification of most popular subcases of CVRP is given, including description of additional constraints with their math formulations. This section also includes most perspective methods that can be applied for solving special types of CVRP. The forth part contains an important note about the most powerful algorithm LKH-3. Finally, the fourth part consists of table with solving techniques for each subproblem and of scheme with basic problems of the CVRP class and their interconnections.


The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) — an array of many tens of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes deployed on an unprecedented scale — is the next generation instrument in the field of very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. CTA will operate as an open observatory providing data products to the scientific community. An average data stream of about 10 GB/s for about 1000 hours of observation per year, thus producing several PB/year, is expected. Large CPU time is required for data-processing as well for massive Monte Carlo simulations needed for detector calibration purposes. The current CTA computing model is based on a distributed infrastructure for the archive and the data off-line processing. In order to manage the off-line data-processing in a distributed environment, CTA has evaluated the DIRAC (Distributed Infrastructure with Remote Agent Control) system, which is a general framework for the management of tasks over distributed heterogeneous computing environments. In particular, a production system prototype has been developed, based on the two main DIRAC components, i.e. the Workload Management and Data Management Systems. After three years of successful exploitation of this prototype, for simulations and analysis, we proved that DIRAC provides suitable functionalities needed for the CTA data processing. Based on these results, the CTA development plan aims to achieve an operational production system, based on the DIRAC Workload Management System, to be ready for the start of CTA operation phase in 2017-2018. One more important challenge consists of the development of a fully automatized execution of the CTA workflows. For this purpose, we have identified a third DIRAC component, the so-called Transformation System, which offers very interesting functionalities to achieve this automatisation. The Transformation System is a 'data-driven' system, allowing to automatically trigger data-processing and data management operations according to pre-defined scenarios. In this paper, we present a brief summary of the DIRAC evaluation done so far, as well as the future developments planned for the CTA production system. In particular, we will focus on the developments of CTA automatic workflows, based on the Transformation System. As a result, we also propose some design optimizations of the Transformation System, in order to fully support the most complex workflows, envisaged in the CTA processing.


The Yakhot-Orszag renormalization group is used to analyze the pressure gradientvelocity correlation and return to isotropy terms in the Reynolds stress transport equations. The perturbation series for the relevant correlations, evaluated to lowest order in the e-expansion of the Yakhot-Orszag theory, are infinite series in tensor product powers of the mean velocity gradient and its transpose. Formal lowest order Padd approximations to the sums of these series produce a rapid pressure strain model of the form proposed by Launder, Reece, and Rodi, and a return to isotropy model of the form proposed by Rotta. "In both cases, the model constants are computed theoretically. The predicted Reynolds stress ratios in simple shear flows are evaluated and compared with experimental data. The possibility is discussed of deriving higher order nonlinear models by approximating the sums more accurately. The Yakhot-Orszag renormalization group provides a systematic procedure for deriving turbulence models. Typical applications have included theoretical derivation of the universal constants of isotropic turbulence theory, such as the Kolmogorov constant, and derivation of two equation models, again with theoretically computed constants and low Reynolds number forms of the equations. Recent work has applied this formalism to Reynolds stress modeling, previously in the form of a nonlinear eddy viscosity representation of the Reynolds stresses, which can be used to model the simplest normal stress effects. The present work attempts to apply the Yakhot-Orszag formalism to Reynolds stress transport modeling.


There is a basic tension between eyewitness narratives and archival records (which have attracted the attention for many artists and intellectuals in the last decade or two). Archival material bears the imprint of the bureaucratic, of that which has been institutionally preserved. It gives us traces of the dead, evidence of the past that has been recorded but not (yet) processed; it exists as a mnemonic device, as that which awaits the coming of the researcher to be brought back to life. The eyewitness narrative, on the other hand, is intensely personal, even if also collective. The opposition between these two modes of representation and of memory itself has a long history. In "Plato's Pharmacy" Jacques Derrida stages and deconstructs the opposition between memory and re- and com-memoration, between the living truth and the archive. More recently, Giorgio Agamben, writing about the new Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, analyzes the differences between the "unforgettable" and that which can be recalled to memory and archived.  This paper examines the ways in which the dynamic relations between the living and the dead, the private and the public, the fragment and the whole, the personal and the institutional, and the autobiographical and the historical, inform and complicate -- in different ways -- both the eyewitness narrative and the archive. The discussion will focus on the Memorial at Hohenschönhausen to the East German victims of the Stasi (at the site of the former interrogation center and prison, where the tours are all conducted by former inmates), and the Stasi Museum at the site of the former Stasi headquarters, with its miles of archival files.


We report a molecular dynamics study of the heterogeneous crystallization of high-pressure glassy water using (plastic) ice VII as a substrate. We focus on the thermodynamic conditions P ∈ [6-8] GPa and T ∈ [100-500] K, at which (plastic) ice VII and glassy water are supposed to coexist in several (exo)planets and icy moons. We find that (plastic) ice VII undergoes a martensitic phase transition to a (plastic) fcc crystal. Depending on the molecular rotational lifetime τ, we identify three rotational regimes: for τ > 20 ps, crystallization does not occur; for τ ∼ 15 ps, we observe a very sluggish crystallization and the formation of a considerable amount of icosahedral environments trapped in a highly defective crystal or in the residual glassy matrix; and for τ < 10 ps, crystallization takes place smoothly, resulting in an almost defect-free plastic fcc solid. The presence of icosahedral environments at intermediate τ is of particular interest as it shows that such a geometry, otherwise ephemeral at lower pressures, is, indeed, present in water. We justify the presence of icosahedral structures based on geometrical arguments. Our results represent the first study of heterogeneous crystallization occurring at thermodynamic conditions of relevance for planetary science and unveil the role of molecular rotations in achieving it. Our findings (i) show that the stability of plastic ice VII, widely reported in the literature, should be reconsidered in favor of plastic fcc, (ii) provide a rationale for the role of molecular rotations in achieving heterogeneous crystallization, and (iii) represent the first evidence of long-living icosahedral structures in water. Therefore, our work pushes forward our understanding of the properties of water.


The ethical dimensions of quotation in an architectural act emerged as a standard judgment in the differentiation between architectural products, the importance of quotation emerges as a basic act in creating the architecture entity, which represents a field that has common boundaries with the edges of other sciences, Architects depend on quoting from various cognitive fields to enrich their work (such as the field of language, various applied and humanity sciences), So achieving this act must be subjected to the ethical dimensions that govern its creating process to fulfill ethical function in architecture. The research problem emerged as " ambiguity of knowledge about the ethical dimensions of the quotation in the architectural act ", The aim of the research to set a general framework for the ethical dimensions of the quotation and activate them by the designer in the architectural act. The research adopted a descriptive approach based on the analysis of previous studies related to the act of ethical quotation and extracted three basic levels represented by the vocabulary of quotation: the types of quoted elements, the mechanisms of quotation and the moral dimensions of quotation as an ethical act. These indicators were applied to selected samples represented by (global and local) projects, discussing the results down to the final conclusions and recommendations to the ethical quotation act that enrich the design process from ideas to final results.


Efficient multicore programming demands fundamental data structures that support a high degree of concurrency. Existing research on non-blocking data structures promises to satisfy such demands by providing progress guarantees that allow a significant increase in parallelism while avoiding the safety hazards of lock-based synchronizations. It is well-acknowledged that the use of non-blocking containers can bring significant performance benefits to applications where the shared data experience heavy contention. However, the practical implications of integrating these data structures in real-world applications are not well-understood. In this paper, we study the effective use of non-blocking data structures in a data deduplication application which performs a large number of concurrent compression operations on a data stream using the pipeline parallel processing model. We present our experience of manually refactoring the application from using conventional lock-based synchronization mechanisms to using a wait-free hash map and a set of lock-free queues to boost the degree of concurrency of the application. Our experimental study explores the performance trade-offs of parallelization mechanisms that rely on a) traditional blocking techniques, b) fine-grained mutual exclusion, and c) lock-free and wait-free synchronization.


In the recent years, people begin to concern more about the development of new energy source, because of the global economic development and more stringent environmental requirements. The wind power is rapidly developed for its low price and it's friendly to environment and the wind energy and building integration also becomes a very important mode to develop new energy sources. The wind driven generator and high-rise building structure were integrated, and ANSYS was used to complete the static analysis of the equivalent dead load action of high-rise building with wind driven generator under six different wind pressure. By comparing the results of the calculations, the feasibility of the wind energy and building integration was initially verified.


BACKGROUND
The use of autologous fat for augmentation has become common practice among plastic surgeons for both cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. Previously reported data suggest that the method of fat extraction can have profound effects on adipocyte viability and subsequent fat graft survival.

OBJECTIVE
The authors describe a pilot study comparing a new tissue liquefaction liposuction device (TLL; HydraSolve Lipoplasty System; Andrew Technologies, Irvine, California) with a standard syringe aspiration method with respect to adipocyte viability, fat graft survivability, and fat graft quality.

METHODS
Lipoaspirate from 5 patients was harvested using either TLL or the standard method. Samples were centrifuged and assayed for cell viability. All lipoaspirate samples were grafted into nude rats and harvested 42 and 84 days later. Graft survival and quality were assessed.

RESULTS
There was no difference in adipocyte viability between the lipoaspirate conditions. At 42 days, there was no significant difference in fat graft weight and the TLL grafts were more fibrotic than the standard control grafts, but this was improved with the increased centrifuge rate. At 84 days, fat grafts were equivalent with respect to graft weight and histology.

CONCLUSIONS
Lipoaspirate harvested with the TLL device and centrifuged at 3000 rpm resulted in fat grafts that were equivalent in weight and histology to those from lipoaspirate harvested with the standard syringe aspiration technique.


: The seasonal prevalence of ixodid ticks was determined over a 2-year period by the weekly removal from at least 5 cattle of all adult ticks and the immature stages of Rhipicephalus evertsi mimeticus in the ears. The highest mean weekly burden was 286,6 adult ticks/cow/week in March 1979, and the lowest 6,9 adult ticks/cow/week in July 1979. Virtually no tick control is practised in this area. Rhipicephalus capensis group adults peaked in the summer from October to March/April. Rhipicephalus evertsi mimeticus adults were present throughout the year, though in slightly greater numbers from November to May. Immature stages of this species in the ears showed a peak in February/March in addition to variably-timed high peaks in the first 2 winters. Hyalomma marginatum rufipes and Hyalomma truncatum peaked from December to March. Very small numbers of Boophilus decoloratus and Rhipicephalus oculatus were recovered. Tick burdens of all major species differed significantly in the 2 study years.


Consider a system in which the signal is transmitted from the source to the destination via a relay. The source-relay link and the relay-destination link are assumed to have Rician fading. For such a system, in this paper, we propose a novel non-coherent receiver that detects the signal without knowledge of channel state information CSI. In addition, we also propose novel receivers for the situation when only partial CSI is available at the destination; that is, channel knowledge of either the source-relay link or the relay-destination link, but not both, is available. These receivers are termed as "half-coherent receivers" because they have the CSI of only one of the two links in the system. These half-coherent receivers can be used in applications in which only the relay can afford additional complexity e.g., the relay may be a base station and includes a channel estimation module to acquire channel knowledge of the source-relay link or only the destination includes the channel estimation module to acquire channel knowledge of the relay-destination link. The symbol error rate performances of the proposed receivers for M-ary frequency-shift keying are derived for Rician fading. Numerical results show that considerable performance gains can be achieved by using these new receivers, especially at a low signal-to-noise ratio where the gain is needed most. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper deals with the study of plastic heterogeneity. It aims to study the role of both grain size and orientation distributions in the development of such heterogeneity. The considered material is an IF steel. EBSD maps have been made on the same areas before and after several degrees of extension. Parameters such as GOS (Grain Orientation Spread) or GOS/D (D the diameter of the grain) or GND (Geometrically Necessary Dislocation) densities have been determined for the whole set of grains as well as for subpopulations (smallest grains, largest grains for example). It appears that the character of neighboring grains plays a more important role than any of these parameters alone.


Aims and Objective: We searched for the clinically relevant suggestions, recommendations and findings amongst the papers on Psycho-oncology. The term clinically relevant for us meant 'practical and implemental modes of intervention that contribute but would not affect or interfere with the normal functioning of the present system and treatment modality of the patients.' Our intention was to use the available information for the benefit of our patients. We also searched for the data that would prove the significance of these methods. In most parts of the world it is not possible to involve a psychologist at every level of cancer care. Based on the findings, we intend to carry out our own project for the psychosocial intervention in cancer patients and make suggestions that could be adopted even by those who have little or no experience in psychology. Conclusion: The field of psycho oncology is a relatively new and evolving subspecialty of oncology and psychology at the same time. Current data and papers, which would make simple and implemental modes of intervention at psychosocial level, are limited. There is a dire necessity of solid data and list of suggestions to the specialists, non-specialists and to those who take care of the cancer patients, to enhance the care they provide to the cancer patients.


Growth hormone secretagogues (GHS) administered systemically selectively induce growth hormone (GH) release from the pituitary and the expression of Fos protein in arcuate nucleus neurons. Both the control of GH release and the expression of the GHS receptor in the arcuate nucleus are thought to be regulated, at least in part, by the negative feedback actions of GH. In this study, we utilized the immunocytochemical detection of Fos protein to examine the effects of morphine- and GH-releasing hormone (GHRH)-induced GH release on the activation of arcuate nucleus neurons following GHS administration. Given alone, two structurally different GHS induced significant amounts of Fos-LI in the arcuate nucleus of male rats, suggesting activation of cells in this region. Prior administration of morphine or GHRH significantly reduced the number of Fos-positive cells in the arcuate nucleus of rats injected with either GHS, although when given together, morphine and GHRH did not produce a greater reduction in Fos expression than when given alone. In no case was there a complete reduction in Fos expression, indicating that some arcuate nucleus neurons are not subject to the feedback effects of endogenous GH. These results provide evidence that, in the male rat, GH can feedback to the hypothalamus, altering the responsiveness of neurons involved in the central response to GHS.


Objective:To investigate whether perioperative intravenous glutamine supplementation may affect surgical morbidity. Summary Background Data:Small-sized randomized trials showed a trend toward a reduction of postoperative infections in surgical patients receiving glutamine. Methods:A randomized, multicentre trial was carried out in 428 subjects who were candidates for elective major gastrointestinal surgery. Inclusion criteria were: documented gastrointestinal cancer, weight loss <10% in previous 6 months, and age >18 years. Patients received either intravenous infusion of L-alanine-L-glutamine dipeptide (0.40 g/kg/d; equal to 0.25 g of free glutamine) (Ala-Glu group, n = 212), or no supplementation (control group, n = 216). Glutamine infusion began the day before operation and continued postoperatively for at least 5 days. No postoperative artificial nutrition was allowed unless patients could not adequately eat by day 7. Postoperative morbidity was assessed by independent observers according to a priori definition. Results:Patients were homogenous for baseline and surgical characteristics. Mean percent of weight loss was 1.4 (2.7) in controls and 1.4 (2.4) in Ala-Glu group. Overall postoperative complication rate was 34.9% (74/212) in Ala-Glu and 32.9% (71/216) in control group (P = 0.65). Infectious morbidity was 19.3% (41/212) in Ala-Glu group and 17.1% (37/216) in controls (P = 0.55). The rate of major complications was 7.5% (16/212) in Ala-Glu group and 7.9% (17/216) in controls (P = 0.90). Mean length of hospitalization was 10.2 days (4.8) in Ala-Glu group versus 9.9 days (3.9) in controls (P = 0.90). The rate of patients requiring postoperative artificial nutrition was 13.2% (28/212) in Ala-Glu group and 12.0% (26/216) in controls (P = 0.71). Conclusions:Perioperative glutamine does not affect outcome in well-nourished GI cancer patients.


The lateralization of cognitive abilities is influenced by a number of factors, including handedness, sex, and developmental maturation. To date, a small number of studies have examined sex differences in the lateralization of cognitive and affective functions, and in only few of these have the developmental trajectories of these lateralized differences been mapped from childhood through early adulthood. In the present study, a cross-sectional design was used with healthy children (n = 7), adolescents (n = 12), and adults (n = 10) who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a task that required perceiving fearful faces. Males and females differed in the asymmetry of activation of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex across the three age groups. For males, activation within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was bilateral in children, right lateralized in adolescents, and bilateral in adults, whereas females showed a monotonic relationship with age, with older females showing more bilateral activation than younger ones. In contrast, amygdala activation was similar for both sexes, with bilateral activation in children, right-lateralized activation in adolescents, and bilateral activation in adults. These results suggest that males and females show different patterns of lateralized cortical and subcortical brain activation across the period of development from childhood through early adulthood.


Abstract Patients who have been diagnosed with an Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (ASAH) frequently require surgical intervention to prevent further complications. Due to the complex nature of ASAH it is imperative to be meticulous in monitoring the patient's neurological condition. This is even more relevant post operatively as complications such as cerebral vasospasm peak incidence is between days four to fourteen and as well as complications of surgical and medical intervention may become evident.


Because of the sic material's superior optical characteristic, machine characteristic and hot characteristic, it becomes currently the space big aperture reflector choose firstly1. For larger aperture sic mirror, it is not economical and safe to make the monolithic body directly2,3. The SiC mirror brazed assembly with several segments can solve these problems. In this paper, one Φ600 mm sic plane mirror as demonstration welded with 3 radial segments is roughly grinded to the required figure at first, then the mirror is finely grinded and polished by the technology of CCOS, the mirror figure error is less than 1/20λ (λ = 632.8nm) in RMS finally. The problems of the preferential removal near braze joint are solved. The methods of reducing the residual stress of mirror are discussed. At last, some measurements and experiments are carried on, and the results conclude that the brazed SiC mirror can meet the requirement of large aperture optical systems


As part of a study to investigate the microbial diversity in the intestine of Apis mellifera, we isolated strain MRM1T from the midgut. MRM1T was a Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile, non-spore forming and rod-shaped bacteria. Creamy beige-coloured colonies were circular with entire margins in Lactobacilli MRS agar. The strain grew at 25-37 °C (optimum, 30-37 °C) and at a pH range of 4.0 to 9.0 (optimum pH, 7.0-8.5). The strain tolerated 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimal growth occurred in the absence of NaCl). On the basis of the results of a phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences, we determined that MRM1T represents a member of the genus Bombella with the highest sequence similarity to Bombella intestini LMG 28161T (98.8 %). The major quinone was Q10, and dominant fatty acids (>10 %) were C19 : 0cyclo ω8c (33.6 %), C16 : 0 (22.2 %), C18 : 1ω7c (15.9 %) and C14 : 0 (12.5 %). The polar lipid profile of MRM1T included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, one unidentified phospholipid and four unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of MRM1T was 59.5 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, MRM1T represents a novel species of the genus Bombella, for which the name Bombella apis sp. nov. is proposed with the type strain MRM1T (=KCTC 52452T=JCM 31623T).


This article focuses on the different manner in which antidiscrimination regimes treat groups that have been discriminated-against de jure and de facto. This Article approaches the prerequisite of antidiscrimination laws that there be some past or on-going discrimination in a manner that diverges from the dominant view that discrimination is a purely destructive force. The central argument is that the way in which de jure, overt and blatant discrimination necessarily must create a coherent group identity recognized by law allows groups that are discriminated against in this manner to obtain remedial relief, whereas the law fails to recognize a coherent group identity for de facto discriminated-against groups and thus these groups have to overcome a structural challenge to obtain remedial relief to counter the discrimination. Thus, strangely, groups that are discriminated against de jure might be better off than groups that are discriminated against only de facto once one considers both the discriminatory and the remedial phases. After establishing the de jure/de facto distinction, the article explores the effects of this distinction on the equal protection claims of discriminated-against groups by contrasting the experiences of African-Americans and Mexican-Americans.


This paper studies the problem of noncoherent detection of Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK). Particular attention is focussed on the popular case of BT=0.25, but the concepts presented apply to other cases as well in addition to the general case of continuous phase frequency shift keying (CPFSK). The optimum noncoherent detector is shown to consist of a bank of matched filters followed by a sequence estimator. The metric which must be optimized by the sequence estimator is explicitly given. A simple approximation is introduced which allows the number of matched filters to be reduced from 16 to 3 for GMSK (BT=0.25). A suboptimal metric is introduced which is interpreted as an N-symbol differential detection metric. Based on this metric, a receiver structure is then presented which uses the Viterbi algorithm with a 2/sup N/ state trellis to perform the sequence estimation. Simulation results indicate that it is possible to obtain performance within 1 dB of optimum coherent detection on either a Gaussian noise or a slowly Rayleigh fading channel with the N=4 symbol differential detector.


Recent advances in large ring laser gyroscopes (RLG) technologies opened the possibility to observe rotations of the ground with sensitivities up to 10−11 rad/sec over the frequency band of seismological interest (0.01-1Hz), thus opening the way to a new geophysical discipline, i.e. rotational seismology. A measure of rotations in seismology is of fundamental interest for (a) the determination of all the six degrees of freedom that characterize a rigid body's motion, and (b) the quantitative estimate of the rotational motions contaminating ground translation measurements obtained from standard seismometers. Within this framework, this paper presents and describes GINGERino, a new large observatory-class RLG located in Gran Sasso underground laboratory (LNGS), one national laboratories of the INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare). We also report unprecedented observations and analyses of the roto-translational signals from a tele-seismic event observed in such a deep underground environment.


The creative and cultural sectors in the United Kingdom largely exclude the working classes. Even the small number of working-class people who do 'make it' into these sectors often find themselves and their work badly treated by those who hold the real power. This article
 explores some of the experiences of working-class artists navigating the cultural sector and how exclusion, prejudice and precarity impacted and continue to impact them. It takes as its focus the filmmaker Alan Clarke and the playwright Andrea Dunbar, who were at the height of their success
 in the 1980s. It also considers the writers Darren McGarvey and Nathalie Olah, whose work has achieved prominence in recent years. It is through this focus I hope to demonstrate the long continuum of challenges for working-class creatives. This article also considers how, on the occasions
 when they are allowed the space they deserve, working-class artists have created powerful shifts in cultural production. Finally, it details some of the changes needed for working-class people to be able to take their rightful place in contributing to cultural life and the societal risks involved
 if they are denied that place.


Our patient also complained of a fine tremor involving particularly the upper limbs. It occurred within 30 min of a dose of nifedipine and lasted up to two hours. It developed after he had been on nifedipine 30 mg daily for a month, was unchanged on 60 mg daily, and resolved immediately the drug was stopped. This possible side effect of nifedipine has not apparently been reported previously. CHRISTINE RODGER A STEWART


The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented economic, health and social impacts as it has swept the globe. Intercountry adoption and international surrogacy are practices immediately affected, furthering vulnerabilities of children and vulnerable adults. This short report calls attention to heightened risks, raises awareness for practitioners in these fields and asserts the need for caution.


This study proposes a novel approach to evaluating and controlling the traction force of a wheel directly driven by an electric motor on different road surfaces. Instead of slip ratio measurements, the database of the motor called the current‐RPM‐torque database can evaluate the traction force of the wheel. The feedback of the measured current and the rotational speed can assist the autonomous traction controller synthesized from this database by the neural network approach when one traction wheel of the vehicle is traveling on different kinds of road surfaces. The adequate gains which are the training data for the neural network control synthesis have to satisfy the assigned specifications in time domain for different slip ratios. This paper also finds that the adequate gains mainly depend on slip ratio slope rather than slip ratio. Based on a scenario similar to real situations, the simulated results in this study show that it is feasible to evaluate and control the traction force through the motor database by the feedback of the current and the RPM.


Procedural content generation via machine learning (PCGML) has been demonstrating its usefulness as a content and game creation approach, and has been shown to be able to support human creativity. In this paper we present an example-driven adaptation of a classic PCG approach, binary space partition (BSP), that takes a structural template or sketch of a level and fills in the details from examples. We show that this example-driven adaptation can generate a diverse set of levels from a single structural template. We evaluate the levels generated in terms of difference between paths through the levels, amount of the level copied from the examples, and other common PCG level evaluation metrics. Furthermore, we compare this method to a Markov chain approach and show that our BSP approach matches the training level distribution better while generating a greater range of interesting features.


Insects have tiny brains but complicated visual systems for motion perception. A handful of insect visual neurons have been computationally modeled and successfully applied for robotics. How different neurons collaborate on motion perception, is an open question to date. In this paper, we propose a novel embedded vision system in autonomous micro-robots, to recognize motion patterns in dynamic robot scenes. Here, the basic motion patterns are categorized into movements of looming (proximity), recession, translation, and other irrelevant ones. The presented system is a synthetic neural network, which comprises two complementary sub-systems with four spiking neurons -- the lobula giant movement detectors (LGMD1 and LGMD2) in locusts for sensing looming and recession, and the direction selective neurons (DSN-R and DSN-L) in flies for translational motion extraction. Images are transformed to spikes via spatiotemporal computations towards a switch function and decision making mechanisms, in order to invoke proper robot behaviors amongst collision avoidance, tracking and wandering, in dynamic robot scenes. Our robot experiments demonstrated two main contributions: (1) This neural vision system is effective to recognize the basic motion patterns corresponding to timely and proper robot behaviors in dynamic scenes. (2) The arena tests with multi-robots demonstrated the effectiveness in recognizing more abundant motion features for collision detection, which is a great improvement compared with former studies.


In British Overseas Bank Nominees Limited v Stewart Milne Group Limited [2019] CSIH 47 the Scottish Inner House overturned the Outer House's original ruling and held that the limitation period under an underlying contract also applied to a collateral warranty. This brings the Scottish approach in line with that adopted by the English courts in the earlier case of Swansea Stadium Management Company Ltd v City & County of Swansea and another [2018] EWHC 2192 (TCC) which held that the limitation period ran from the date of the original building contract, thus giving clarity and certainty as to the scope of the contractor's liability. Click here to read our previous article. This case will allay any concerns that may have arisen following the first instance decision for those providing collateral warranties.


A recessed implanted-gate short-channel 1290-V normally-OFF 4H-SiC vertical-channel JFET (VJFET), fabricated in seven photolithographic-levels, with a single masked ion-implantation and no epitaxial regrowth, is evaluated for efficient power conditioning. Under unipolar high-current-gain operation, which is required for efficient power switching, the 1200-V N-OFF (enhancement mode) VJFET exhibits prohibitively high on-state resistance. Comparison with 1200-V normally-ON VJFETs, fabricated on the same wafer, confirms experimentally that the strong gate-depletion-region overlap required for 1200-V normally-OFF blocking is the principal contributor to the prohibitively high specific on-state resistance observed under high current-gain VJFET operation. Recessed-implanted-gate VJFET channel-region optimization simulations (assuming a single commercial implantation and no epitaxial-regrowth) revealed that although aggressively increasing channel doping lowers resistance, the corresponding reduction in source mesa-width can prohibitively limit manufacturability.


The advent of smartphones and the flexibility to have multiple applications serving the user's needs, has started a convergence of different services into a single device. Traditional services provided by mobile phones like voice and text communication became secondary to other domains like Online Social Network (OSN) and entertainment applications on smartphones. A similar trend is also happening for smart card services, in which traditional smart card services like banking, transport-ticketing and access control, are moving to smartphones. This transition from smart cards to smartphone is to a large extent, facilitated by Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which enables a smartphone to emulate a smart card. As the smart card services require a comparatively higher level of security than other applications on the smartphone. Initial proposals for this convergences were focused on secure elements. However, the ownership issues reminiscent of traditional smart card domain became the Achilles' heel. A potential way forward has been proposed by the Google Andriod in the shape of Host Card Emulation (HCE) to allow mobile phone applications to communicate via NFC. However to provide higher-level of security as required by smart card applications, a number of proposals have been put forward including the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). In this paper, we will look into how the TEE fits into the overall picture of smart card services on a smartphone - provisioned via the HCE. We also analyse the current state of the art of TEE proposal and what potential ecosystem hurdles it might face due to the nature of current trends. Finally, we provide a potential pathway to overcome the ecosystem issues to achieve wide scale deployment, enabling secure services to individual users.


In recent years economics agents and systems have became more and more interacting and juxtaposed, therefore the social sciences need to rely on the studies of physical sciences to analyze this complexity in the relationships. According to this point of view we rely on the geometrical model of the M\"obius strip used in the electromagnetism which analyzes the moves of the electrons that produce energy. We use a similar model in a Corporate Social Responsibility context to devise a new cost function in order to take into account of three positive crossed effects on the efficiency: i)cooperation among stakeholders in the same sector, ii)cooperation among similar stakeholders in different sectors and iii)the stakeholders' loyalty towards the company. By applying this new cost function to a firm's decisional problem we find that investing in Corporate Social Responsibility activities is ever convenient depending on the number of sectors, the stakeholders' sensitivity to these investments and the decay rate to alienation. Our work suggests a new method of analysis which should be developed not only at a theoretical but also at an empirical level.


In re-engineering object-oriented legacy code, it is frequently useful to introduce a design pattern in order to improve specific nonfunctional requirements (e.g., maintainability enhancement). This paper presents a methodology for the development of a quality-driven re-engineering framework for object-oriented systems. First, a catalogue of design motifs (primitive design pattern transformations) is presented Then, the transformations for the design patterns in the GoF book are defined as a composition of these primitive transformations. Nonfunctional requirements for the migrant system can be encoded using soft-goal interdependency graphs and can be associated with design pattern transformations that are applied for the migration of an object-oriented legacy system.


In this paper, the application of a piezoelectric stack actuator for vibration control in a large-scale robotic manipulator, called a macromanipulator, is studied. In this regard, mechanical design and mathematical modeling of the actuator are discussed. The structural flexibility of the macromanipulator includes deflection and torsional vibration modes. The vibration modes are detected using appropriate sensor attachments. Furthermore, a nominal transfer function matrix between the input signals to the actuators and the output voltages of the sensors is obtained. A closed-loop controller based on the obtained model is designed. Because of the presence of deflection and torsional vibration modes and model uncertainties resulting from manipulator motion, an robust controller is utilized. Experimental results are presented to validate the robustness and performance of the designed controller.


A wild radish population (R) has been recently confirmed to be cross-resistant to 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibiting herbicides without previous exposure to these herbicides. This cross-resistance is endowed by enhanced metabolism. Our study identified one 2-oxoglutarate/Fe(II)-dependent dioxygenase gene (Rr2ODD1) and two P450 genes (RrCYP704C1 and RrCYP709B1), which were significantly more highly expressed in R versus susceptible (S) plants. Gene functional characterization using Arabidopsis transformation showed that overexpression of RrCYP709B1 conferred a modest level of resistance to mesotrione. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis showed that tissue mesotrione levels in RrCYP709B1 transgenic Arabidopsis plants were significantly lower than that in the wild type. In addition, overexpression of Rr2ODD1 or RrCYP704C1 in Arabidopsis endowed resistance to tembotrione and isoxaflutole. Structural modeling indicated that mesotrione can bind to CYP709B1 and be easily hydroxylated to form 4-OH-mesotrione. Although each gene confers a modest level of resistance, overexpression of the multiple herbicide-metabolizing genes could contribute to HPPD-inhibiting herbicide resistance in this wild radish population.


We examined a large number of primary high‐grade neuroendocrine tumors of the lung (10 small cell lung carcinomas and 31 large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas) by using array‐based comparative genomic hybridization using microarrays spotted with 800 bacterial artificial chromosome clones containing tumor‐related genes from throughout the human genome. We identified the genome‐wide copy number alteration profiles of these tumors, including recurrent amplifications located at 2q21.2, 3q21–27, 3q26, 3q27–29, 5p14.2, 5p13, 7q21.1, 8q21, and 8q24 and homozygous deletions at 1p36, 4p16, 4p16.3, 9p21.3, 9p21, 19p13.3, and 20q13. Our results revealed that small cell lung carcinomas and large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas have multiple characteristic chromosomal alterations in common, but that distinctive alterations also exist between the two subtypes. Moreover, we found that the two subtypes undergo different processes of accumulating these genetic alterations during tumor development. By comparing the genetic profiles with the clinicopathological features, we discovered many chromosomal loci whose alterations were significantly associated with clinical stage and patient prognosis. These results will be valuable for evaluating clinical status, including patient prognosis, and for identifying novel molecular targets for effective therapies. (Cancer Sci 2005; 96: 661 – 667)


Nonlinear mean-field models of the solar dynamo show long-term variability, which may be relevant to different states of activity inferred from long-term radiocarbon data. This paper is aimed at probing the dynamo hysteresis predicted by the recent mean-field models of Kitchatinov & Olemskoy with direct numerical simulations. We perform three-dimensional (3D) simulations of large-scale dynamos in a shearing box with helically forced turbulence. As an initial condition, we either take a weak random magnetic field or we start from a snapshot of an earlier simulation. Two quasi-stable states are found to coexist in a certain range of parameters close to the onset of the large-scale dynamo. The simulations converge to one of these states depending on the initial conditions. When either the fractional helicity or the magnetic Prandtl number is increased between successive runs above the critical value for onset of the dynamo, the field strength jumps to a finite value. However, when the fractional helicity or the magnetic Prandtl number is then decreased again, the field strength stays at a similar value (strong field branch) even below the original onset. We also observe intermittent decaying phases away from the strong field branch close to the point where large-scale dynamo action is just possible. The dynamo hysteresis seen previously in mean-field models is thus reproduced by 3D simulations. Its possible relation to distinct modes of solar activity such as grand minima is discussed.


Using monoclonal antibody MAbA9-C6, which defines an epitope of retinal S antigen retained in fixed-tissue sections, we investigated S-antigen immunoreactivity in human fetal eyes from different gestational periods and 19 cases of retinoblastoma. S-antigen immunoreactivity was first observed in the outermost portion of the neuroblastic cell layer in the retina of a human fetus at 18 weeks' gestation, a stage preceding photoreceptor differentiation, and at all later stages examined thereafter. All adult eyes containing normal photoreceptors bound MAbA9-C6. In retinoblastomas, several different patterns of S-antigen immunoreactivity were recognized. In seven cases, S-antigen immunoreactivity appeared to be associated with normal photoreceptor elements incorporated into the growing tumor. S-antigen immunoreactivity was associated with fleurettes within the retinoblastoma in three cases and Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes in seven cases. In 11 cases, S-antigen immunoreactivity was associated with isolated tumor cells. Our results show that S antigen may be a useful marker in the study of the embryologic development of the human retina and antigenic expression and modulation in retinoblastomas.


Background The demand for scientific biodiversity data is increasing, but taxonomic expertise is often limited or not available. DNA sequencing is a potential remedy to overcome this taxonomic impediment. Mitochondrial DNA is most commonly used, e.g., for species identification ("DNA barcoding"). Here, we present the first study in arthropods based on a near-complete species sampling of a family-level taxon from the entire Australian region. We aimed to assess how reliably mtDNA data can capture species diversity when many sister species pairs are included. Then, we contrasted phylogenetic subsampling with the hitherto more commonly applied geographical subsampling, where sister species are not necessarily captured. Methodology/Principal Findings We sequenced 800 bp cox1 for 1,439 individuals including 260 Australian species (78% species coverage). We used clustering with thresholds of 1 to 10% and general mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) analysis for the estimation of species richness. The performance metrics used were taxonomic accuracy and agreement between the morphological and molecular species richness estimation. Clustering (at the 3% level) and GMYC reliably estimated species diversity for single or multiple geographic regions, with an error for larger clades of lower than 10%, thus outperforming parataxonomy. However, the rates of error were higher for some individual genera, with values of up to 45% when very recent species formed nonmonophyletic clusters. Taxonomic accuracy was always lower, with error rates above 20% and a larger variation at the genus level (0 to 70%). Sørensen similarity indices calculated for morphospecies, 3% clusters and GMYC entities for different pairs of localities was consistent among methods and showed expected decrease over distance. Conclusion/Significance Cox1 sequence data are a powerful tool for large-scale species richness estimation, with a great potential for use in ecology and β-diversity studies and for setting conservation priorities. However, error rates can be high in individual lineages.


The requirements for scaffolds for bone tissue engineering include appropriate chemistry, morphology and structure to promote cell adhesion and synthesis of new bone matrix. Silk fibroin (SF) represents an important biomaterial for biomedical application, due to its suitable mechanical properties, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and versatility in processing. Our group has developed a new method to obtain a porous SF membrane, and the study of its potential for use as a scaffold for bone regeneration was the aim of this study. Porous membranes were obtained from SF solution, through the compression of a material generated by phase separation. For in vitro calcification experiments, porous SF membrane samples were immersed in SBF at pH 7.4 placed in polyethylene flasks. The experiments were carried out for seven days, at 36.5±0.5 °C. After 48 and 96h, the solutions were changed for fresh SBF with the ion concentration 1.5-fold higher than that of the standard one, to accelerate the calcification process. The characterization of morphology and composition of samples was performed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The SEM micrographs indicated that the porous SF membranes presented calcium phosphate deposits after undergoing in vitro calcification. These results were confirmed by EDS spectra, which showed a stoichiometric molar Ca/P ratio ranging from 1.27 to 1.52. This fact may suggest that calcification deposits consisted of mixtures of HAP (Ca/P ratio = 1.67) and transient HAP precursor phases, such as octacalcium phosphate (Ca/P = 1.33) and dicalcium phosphate dehydrate (Ca/P = 1), indicating early stage mineralization. The porous silk fibroin membrane analysed in the current study is a promising material to be used as scaffolds for bone regeneration.


Excerpt] Industrial relations systems involve a complex web of rules, with political, economic, labour and social inputs interacting with institutions and practices to generate outcomes. These outcomes can be wage-setting agreements, employment relationships, as well as other intangible assets, such as trust, mutual recognition, cooperation schemes, social and industrial peace. Embedded as they are in national – and, increasingly, transnational – political, economic and social environments, industrial relations systems have undergone important changes in the last decades of the past century. The aim of this research is to monitor and analyse to what extent these changes and developments have affected both the understanding and the dynamics of these systems. Based on contributions from Eurofound's network of European correspondents in all 28 EU Member States, the report identifies and discusses key dimensions – and underlying subdimensions – relevant to industrial relations systems in Europe in the 21st century. The report also assesses existing data sources and proposes indicators that can be used to measure these different dimensions.


Sensor networks usually generate continuous stream of data over time. Clustering sensor data as a core task of mining sensor data plays an essential role in analytical applications of sensor networks. Although several algorithms have been proposed to address the problem of distributed clustering, in the domain of sensor networks these algorithms face major new challenges such as limited communication bandwidth and constraints in power supply, and storage resources. Moreover, previous studies about clustering in sensor networks have mostly focused on clustering sensor nodes and designing better network topology for the purpose of energy conservation rather than clustering sensor data for future analytical purposes. In this paper a communication efficient distributed algorithm is proposed for clustering sensory data. This approach addresses the limited bandwidth issue through summarized transmissions. Furthermore communication efficiency of the algorithm contributes to reduced power consumption. Time efficiency of the algorithm is evaluated through simulation experiments and the results are presented.


Using temperature-dependent Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, we probe the molecular level, chain-structural dynamics associated with solid−solid transitions between 25 and 250 °C in a layered inorganic−organic silver dodecanethiolate, AgS(CH2)11CH3. Spectroscopic evidence presented here establishes two major transitions:  the transition occurring at ∼130 °C is characterized by an abrupt, but fully reversible, change in the chain conformational order from an initial all-trans state to the one characterized by mixed or partial chain disorder. The observation of this phase transition is consistent with the previous predictions of a rapid and drastic change in the structural motif from an initial bilayer to the final micellar state. The second transition at about 190 °C, which is consistent with the previous assignment of micellar amorphous transition, is furthermore irreversible and represents thermal degradation of the material. Implications of these results for the general family of chain mo...


We present a novel hierarchical model for human activity recognition. In contrast with approaches that successively recognize actions and activities, our approach jointly models actions and activities in a unified framework, and their labels are simultaneously predicted. The model is embedded with a latent layer that is able to capture a richer class of contextual information in both state-state and observation-state pairs. Although loops are present in the model, the model has an overall linear-chain structure, where the exact inference is tractable. Therefore, the model is very efficient in both inference and learning. The parameters of the graphical model are learned with a structured support vector machine. A data-driven approach is used to initialize the latent variables; therefore, no manual labeling for the latent states is required. The experimental results from using two benchmark datasets show that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art approach, and our model is computationally more efficient.


Workspace is an important function for human factors analysis and is widely applied in product design, manufacturing, and ergonomics evaluations. This paper presents the workspace analysis and visualization for Santos™ upper extremity, a new virtual human with over 100 DOFs that is highly realistic in terms of appearance, behavior, and movement. Jacobian Rank deficiency method is implemented to determine the singular surfaces. The joint limits are considered in this formulation; three types of singularities are analyzed. This closed-form formulation can be extended to numerous different scenarios such as different percentiles, age groups, or segments of body. A real-time scheme is used to build the workspace library for Santos™ that will study the boundary surfaces off-line and apply them to Santos™ in the virtual environment (Virtools®). To visualize the workspace, we develop a user interface to generate the cross section of the reach envelope with a plane. This is the first step in investigating the zone differentiation; the divided zones based on different human performance measures, and will be helpful in layout design and other human factors analysis.


SUMMARY Rats with electrolytic lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMX rats) and sham-operated controls (SHAM rats) were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) at a dose of 50 mg/kg 48 h after the lesions were made. VMX rats were significantly more sensitive to STZ in that over 70% died within 6 wk, whereas none of the SHAM rats died. When smaller doses of STZ were given to VMX rats (30–35 mg/kg), a large percentage still died, although the survivors appeared equally as diabetic (in terms of hyperglycemia and hypoinsulinemia) as SHAM rats given a larger dose of STZ. At 25 mg/kg, the surviving VMX rats were more hyperglycemic than matched controls. We suggest that the increased B-cell activity known to occur in VMX animals might be the important factor in the increased sensitivity to STZ observed. We speculate that similar variation in pancreatic B-cell response to an environmental injury may be an important determinant of diabetes susceptibility in man.


Herein, the investigation of the defects present on the surface of strained AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on Si(111), with and without an in situ deposited SixNx nanomask, was carried out. The SiN nanomask was used to enable the growth of dislocation and biaxial stress reduced AlGaN/GaN/Si(111) HEMT-type structures by the metal–organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) method. Specifically, the growth process model was proposed for the MOVPE deposition of a GaN layer on SiN/AlN/Si(111) templates, which includes the defects observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and microRaman methods were used to characterize and compare the structural and optical properties of the strained AlGaN/GaN HEMT-type structures grown with and without application of the in situ SixNx nanomask. It was observed that the SiN deposition on top of the HT-AlN, prior to the GaN growth, has substantial effects on the properties of the final AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, such as the biaxial state of stress, threading dislocation density and crystal quality. The influence of the observable defects is discussed, along with their predicted influences on the essential properties of the device structure.


SUMMARY: Plasma membrane of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum was purified by the application of the microsomal fraction to an aqueous two-polymer phase system containing 5.7% (w/w) each of polyethylene glycol (M
r 3340) and dextran T500, plus 50 mM-NaCl in a Tris/maleate buffer (pH 7.3) with 500 mM-sorbitol. 5'-Nucleotidase, used as a marker for the plasma membrane, partitioned differentially into the upper phase, and chlorophyll into the lower phase. In sectioned intact cells only the plasma membrane and tonoplast stained with periodic acid-chromic acid-phosphotungstic acid as viewed by electron microscopy. All of the membranous material which partitioned into the upper phase of the two phase system stained with this procedure, whilst much of the material in the lower phase did not. This result indicated the presence of plasma membrane and/or tonoplast only in the upper phase; the increased specific activity of 5'-nucleotidase indicated a 25-fold purification of plasma membrane in this fraction compared to broken cells.
In order to differentiate between plasma membrane and tonoplast, vanadate-sensitive, nitrate-insensitive, azide-insensitive, molybdate-insensitive K+, Mg2+-ATPase was used as an additional marker for plasma membrane, and acid phosphatase and nitrate-sensitive ATPase were used as markers for tonoplast. Use of these markers indicated the presence of some tonoplast membrane in the upper phase. It is concluded that the procedure used separates plasma membrane almost completely from organelle membranes and partially from tonoplast.


There are difficulties with implementing workload measurements instruments and patient classification systems in psychiatric settings. These instruments are designed at a ratio level of measurement. This would be valid only if nursing practice existed at a similar level. The nurse-client relationship is considered to be the essence of psychiatric nursing and this phenomena is described as ordinal level phenomena. In psychiatric nursing, it is essential to consider the nurse as well as the client, and to assess the current phase of the relationship. There is a need to balance the economic pressure for justification by numbers with the realization that many aspects of nursing practice are not measurable as reducible phenomena nor exist at a ratio level.


Automated unit testing tools, such as Randoop, have been developed to produce failing tests as means of finding faults. However, these tools often produce false alarms, so are not widely used in practice. The main reason for a false alarm is that the generated failing test violates an implicit precondition of the method under test, such as a field should not be null at the entry of the method. This condition is not explicitly programmed or documented but implicitly assumed by developers. To address this limitation, we propose a technique called PAF to cluster generated test failures due to the same cause and reorder them based on their likelihood of violating an implicit precondition of the method under test. From various test executions, PAF observes their dataflows to the variables whose values are used when the program fails. Based on the dataflow similarity and where these values are originated, PAF clusters failures and determines their likelihood of being fault revealing. We integrated PAF into Randoop. Our empirical results on open-source projects show that PAF effectively clusters fault revealing tests arising from the same fault and successfully prioritizes the fault-revealing ones.


This article aims to contribute knowledge on how access to hierarchical networks of communication is constructed through organizational contexts associated with the gendered nature of feminized, caring work and masculinized, technical work, respectively. The article is based on interviews with 43 middle managers. Both men and women in male-dominated technical occupations and female-dominated caring occupations were interviewed. Eight interviews with politicians and strategic managers were also carried out. The results show that middle managers' access to hierarchical networks differs between feminized and masculinized contexts; hierarchical networks between organizational levels are common in male-dominated technical jobs, while such networks are almost non-existent in female-dominated caring occupations. The results illustrate how organizational conditions follow the gender segregation in organizations and the labour market and, further, how these contexts shape men's and women's access to hierarchical networks. The results also illustrate how the patterns of networks create and reproduce inequalities in sex-segregated organizations.