Plants possess a unique metabolic diversity commonly designated as secondary metabolism, of which the anticancer alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus are among the most studied. Recently, in a classical function-to-protein-to-gene approach, we have characterized the main class III peroxidase (Prx) expressed in C. roseus leaves, CrPrx1, implicated in a key biosynthetic step of the anticancer alkaloids. We have shown the vacuolar sorting determination of CrPrx1 using GFP fusions and we have obtained further evidence supporting the role of this enzyme in alkaloid biosynthesis, indicating the potential of CrPrx1 as a molecular tool for the manipulation of alkaloid metabolism. Here, we discuss how plant cells may regulate Prx reactions. In fact, Prxs form a large multigenic family whose members accept a broad range of substrates and, in their two subcellular localizations, the cell wall and the vacuole, Prxs co-locate with a large variety of secondary metabolites which can be accepted as substrates. How then, are Prx reactions regulated? Localization data obtained in our lab suggest that arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) and Prxs may be associated in membrane microdomains, evocative of lipid rafts. Whether plasma membrane and/or tonoplast microcompartmentation involve AGPs and Prxs and whether this enables metabolic channeling determining Prx substrate selection are challenging questions ahead.


This paper examines the forces behind political integration through the lens of school district consolidations, which reduced the number of school districts in the United States from around 130,000 in 1930 to under 15,000 at present. Despite this large observed decline, many districts resisted consolidation before ultimately merging and others never merged, choosing to remain at enrollment levels that nearly any education cost function would deem inefficiently small. Why do some districts voluntarily integrate while others remain small, and how do those districts that do merge choose with which of their neighbors to do so? In addressing these questions, we empirically examine the role of potential economies and diseconomies of scale, heterogeneity between merger partners, and the role of state governments. We first develop a simulation-based estimator that is rooted in the economics of matching and thus accounts for three important features of typical merger protocol: two-sided decision making, multiple potential partners, and spatial interdependence. We then apply this methodology to a wave of school district mergers in the state of Iowa during the 1990s. Our results highlight the importance of economies of scale, diseconomies of scale, state financial incentives for consolidation, and a variety of heterogeneity measures.


The need to improve and simplify interactive computing svstems has led to the study of the human factors of these systems. Out of these studies and a general interest in ease of use has come a variety of guidelines and techniques for improving human-machine interfaces. Some of the most important. techniques allow a user to obtain assistance automatically while using a computer svstem. An introduction to the problems, methods, and results in human factors and user assistance for interactive computer systems are provided in this paper and this issue.


Oxygen isotopes are sensitive tracers of climate change in tropical regions. Abrupt shifts of up to 18 per mil in the oxygen isotope ratio of diatom silica have been found in a 14,000-year record from two alpine lakes on Mt. Kenya. Interpretation of tropical-montane isotope records is controversial, especially concerning the relative roles of precipitation and temperature. Here, we argue that Holocene variations in δ18O are better explained by lake moisture balance than by temperature-induced fractionation. Episodes of heavy convective precipitation dated ∼11,100 to 8600, 6700 to 5600, 2900 to 1900, and <1300 years before the present were linked to enhanced soil erosion, neoglacial ice advances, and forest expansion on Mt. Kenya.


One of the most notable developments in post-compulsory educationand training in recent years has been the establishment of GNVQ (General National Vocational Qualification) policy in England and Wales. Although the new qualifications have attracted a considerable amount of popularity in the few years since their launch, they have nonetheless been the subject of much critical comment. Drawing principally on in-depth interviews with key informants in the policy process, an account of how GNVQ policy originated is provided in this paper. It is argued that the presence of four interrelated 'policy tensions' during the development phase- the tendency for 'academic' education to be privileged over 'vocational' education and training, the potential for conflict in government between longterm strategic imperatives and short-term political objectives, the differing aims of the education and employment departments and the contours of the relationship which a quango like the NCVQ has with its sponsoring department(s)- shaped the way in which GNVQs progressed and thus contributed to their subsequent weaknesses on implementation.


Equiatomic and near-equiatomic nickel-titanium alloys exhibit a shape-memory effect and superelasticity. However, the properties of such alloys are extremely sensitive to the precise nickel-titanium ratio and the addition of alloying elements. High corrosion resistance is necessary for biomedical applications, especially orthodontic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of silver addition to nickel-titanium alloys for dental and medical application. Arc melting, homogenization, hot rolling, and solution heat treatment were performed to prepare the nickel-titanium-silver (NiTi-Ag) specimens. The properties of the ternary NiTi-Ag alloys such as phase-transformation temperature, microstructure, microhardness, corrosion resistance, and cytotoxicity were investigated. The NiTi-Ag alloys showed low silver recovery rate for the cast alloy, due to silver's low evaporation temperature, and low silver solubility in nickel-titanium. Silver addition to nickel-titanium increased the transition temperature range to 100 degrees C and stabilized the martensitic phase (monoclinic structure) at room temperature, because the martensitic transformation starting temperature (Ms) was above room temperature. Martensitic and austenitic phases existed in X-ray diffraction patterns of solution-annealed NiTi-Ag alloys. The silver addition was considered to improve the corrosion resistance and form a stable passive film. Significantly, the mechanical properties of the silver-added alloys were dependent upon the amount of alloying addition. There was no toxicity in the NiTi-Ag alloys, as the response index showed none or mild levels.


This study entitled " Perceptions of Political Parties and Financial Accountability Campaign Funds by Public Accountant " with the aim of the research to find out if there were no differences in the perception of public accounting and financial accountability of political party campaign funds. Data collection methods used in this study is to use surveys in which sample collection through questionnaires. Researchers took the object of research in public accounting firm located in the city of Malang, a sample number of 33 respondents. The analysis used in this research is descriptive analysis with the help of the computer program SPSS (Statistical Package For Social Science) version 11. Sampling techniques are used to using the method judgemen / purposive sampling, the researcher uses a specific consideration of the elements are selected as the sample population. Tests are conducted to answer the researchers' hypothesis using one sample t test trials. The first hypothesis testing results show that the sig. (2-tailed) <0.05 then H1 is received and Ho is rejected, this shows that the hypothesis is accepted which means the researchers found no differences in the perception of public accountants of the financial accountability of political parties, while the second hypothesis test results showed the sig. (2-tailed) <0.05 then the H1 accepted and rejected Ho ang means there is no difference in the perception of public accountants to the accountability of campaign funds.The conclusion from this study that there is no difference in perception of the public accountant and financial accountability of political party campaign funds. Suggestions are given for further research investigator of the study population are expected not only to the public accounting firm in the city of Malang, but is extended to the public accounting firm on the outskirts of Malang and increase the number of variables with the variable political party financial reports and financial statements of a political party after the audit so that the bias comparison between the results of audit visits to the perception of public accountants.


This research was carried out in nine primary school in Larut Matang District, Perak. Questionnaires regarding the research were distributed to two hundred and thirty five teachers and fifty administrators. The aims of this research are to see the relationship between demography factors and its objectives following in-service training
needs and the most effective training methods. This research was also to see the relationship between the training objectives and the training field and between the
training objectives and the training techniques.
Analysis using the mean, standard deviation and varians were carried out to find out the following :
(a) Agreement between teachers and administrators on the objectives of teachers undergoing the courses and the teachers sent for the courses.
(b) What field of courses are most needed by the teachers from the teachers and administrators point of view.
(c) What are the most effective methods of carrying out in-service training from the teachers and administrators point of view.
Results from the research show that demographic factor does not have any significant relationship with the objectives field and techniques. The relationship between training objectives and training field, and training objectives and training techniques do not have any significant relationship. Only the relationship between training techniques and training field seems to be significant. The results also show that respondents agreed that their objectives of undergoing the in-service training in order to get relevant skills to qualify themselves for better promotions.


Forensic restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses typically provide two band size results at each genetic locus for each sample. In collaboration with the member laboratories of the Technical Working Group for DNA Analysis Methods, we have developed graphical techniques that compactly summarize even large numbers of such paired measurements. This paper provides a detailed description of the basic tool, a modified bivariate control chart for data from multiple samples and/or multiple loci. We demonstrate how various modifications and combinations of these "laboratory performance charts" can be used for quality control, quality assurance, and quality demonstration.


Public evaluation campaigns and datasets promote active development in target research areas, allowing direct comparison of algorithms. The second edition of the challenge on detection and classification of acoustic scenes and events (DCASE 2016) has offered such an opportunity for development of the state-of-the-art methods, and succeeded in drawing together a large number of participants from academic and industrial backgrounds. In this paper, we report on the tasks and outcomes of the DCASE 2016 challenge. The challenge comprised four tasks: acoustic scene classification, sound event detection in synthetic audio, sound event detection in real-life audio, and domestic audio tagging. We present each task in detail and analyze the submitted systems in terms of design and performance. We observe the emergence of deep learning as the most popular classification method, replacing the traditional approaches based on Gaussian mixture models and support vector machines. By contrast, feature representations have not changed substantially throughout the years, as mel frequency-based representations predominate in all tasks. The datasets created for and used in DCASE 2016 are publicly available and are a valuable resource for further research.


Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the most important oil producing crops in the world and the genetic identification of several genotypes by using molecular markers is the first step in its breeding programs. A set of 1,801 well-informative EST-SSR primers targeting specific Olive genes included in different biological processes and pathways were generated using 11,215 Olive EST sequences acquired from the NCBI database. Our bioinformatics analytical procedure showed that 8295 SSR motifs were detected which belonged to different motif types with occurrences of 77.6%, 11.84%, 8.62%, 0.84%, 0.77% and 0.29% for Mononucleotide, trinucleotide, dinucleotide, hexanucleotide, pentanucleotide and tetranucleotide respectively. The appearance of the AAG/CTT repeat was highly represented in trinucleotide and the representation of AG/CT was high in dinucleotide repeats. Results obtained from functional annotation of olives EST sequences targeted with our primers set indicated that 78.5% of these sequences having homology with known proteins, while 4.2% was homologous to hypothetical, predicted, unnamed or uncharacterized proteins and the 17.3% sequences did not possess homology with any known proteins. Our EST-SSR primer set cover a total of 92 biological pathways such as carbohydrate metabolism pathway, energy metabolism& carbon fixation in photosynthetic organism pathway including 11 pathways associated with lipid metabolism. A twenty five randomly selected primers were applied to 9 Egyptian cultivated olive accessions to test its amplification and polymorphism detection efficacy. All tested primers were successfully amplified and only 10 exhibited detectable polymorphism.


Present study was conducted to identify predictors of abnormal neurodevelopment at 6 months in term babies with early neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Neonatal intensive care unit with follow up clinic in a tertiary care teaching hospital. All the term neonates having peak serum bilirubin (PSB) values of above 15mg/dl within first week of life were enrolled in the study. A detailed history, investigations and treatment given were recorded. These babies were followed and development quotient was calculated at 6 months using Baroda devel-opment screening test (BDST). Peak serum bilirubin > 25 mg/dl, need for exchange transfu-sion, Rh incompatibility and onset of jaundice within 2 days of birth were found to predict abnormal neurodevelopment at 6 months. Such significant difference were not noted with other factors like sex, head circumference and birth weight. The presence of these risk fac-tors should alert the clinician regarding the potential risk of abnormal development.


Both partners from gay and lesbian cohabiting couples without children were compared longitudinally with both partners from heterosexual married couples with children (N at first assessment = 80, 53, and 80 couples, respectively) on variables from 5 domains indicative of relationship health. For 50% of the comparisons, gay and lesbian partners did not differ from heterosexual partners. Seventy-eight percent of the comparisons on which differences were found indicated that gay or lesbian partners functioned better than heterosexual partners did. Because the variables that predicted concurrent relationship quality and relationship stability for heterosexual parents also did so for gay and lesbian partners, I conclude that the processes that regulate relationship functioning generalize across gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples.


Background and Aims
Success in delivering value-based healthcare involves measuring outcomes that matter most to patients. Our aim was to develop a minimum Standard Set of patient-centred outcome measures for inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], for use in different healthcare settings.

Methods
An international working group [n = 25] representing patients, patient associations, gastroenterologists, surgeons, specialist nurses, IBD registries and patient-reported outcome measure [PROM] methodologists participated in a series of teleconferences incorporating a modified Delphi process. Systematic review of existing literature, registry data, patient focus groups and open review periods were used to reach consensus on a minimum set of standard outcome measures and risk adjustment variables. Similar methodology has been used in 21 other disease areas [www.ichom.org].

Results
A minimum Standard Set of outcomes was developed for patients [aged ≥16] with IBD. Outcome domains included survival and disease control [survival, disease activity/remission, colorectal cancer, anaemia], disutility of care [treatment-related complications], healthcare utilization [IBD-related admissions, emergency room visits] and patient-reported outcomes [including quality of life, nutritional status and impact of fistulae] measured at baseline and at 6 or 12 month intervals. A single PROM [IBD-Control questionnaire] was recommended in the Standard Set and minimum risk adjustment data collected at baseline and annually were included: demographics, basic clinical information and treatment factors.

Conclusions
A Standard Set of outcome measures for IBD has been developed based on evidence, patient input and specialist consensus. It provides an international template for meaningful, comparable and easy-to-interpret measures as a step towards achieving value-based healthcare in IBD.


This paper describes FieldTrip, an open source software package that we developed for the analysis of MEG, EEG, and other electrophysiological data. The software is implemented as a MATLAB toolbox and includes a complete set of consistent and user-friendly high-level functions that allow experimental neuroscientists to analyze experimental data. It includes algorithms for simple and advanced analysis, such as time-frequency analysis using multitapers, source reconstruction using dipoles, distributed sources and beamformers, connectivity analysis, and nonparametric statistical permutation tests at the channel and source level. The implementation as toolbox allows the user to perform elaborate and structured analyses of large data sets using the MATLAB command line and batch scripting. Furthermore, users and developers can easily extend the functionality and implement new algorithms. The modular design facilitates the reuse in other software packages.


Abstract
 The red alga Schmitzia hiscockiana Maggs & Guiry is reported for Brittany for the first time. Our finding point to the southernmost limit of geographic distribution of this species. Molecular sequences (COI-5P, psbA, rbcL and LSU) are provided for the species and molecular phylogeny resolved Schmitzia hiscockiana along with two unidentified australian species of Schmitzia as sister to the lineage encompassing the Acrosymphytales and the Ceramiales.


Machine Translation (MT), the process by which a computer engine such as Google Translate or Bing automatically
 translates a text from one language into another without any human involvement, is increasingly used in professional,
 institutional and everyday contexts for a wide range of purposes. While a growing number of studies has looked at professional
 translators and translation students, there is currently a lack of research on non-translator users and uses in multilingual
 contexts.
 This paper presents a survey examining how, when and why students at Leiden University's Faculty of Humanities use
 MT. A questionnaire was used to determine which MT engines students use and for what purposes, and gauge their awareness of issues
 concerning privacy, academic integrity and plagiarism. The findings reveal a widespread adoption of Google Translate and indicate
 that students use MT predominantly to look up single words, as an alternative to a dictionary. Many seemed sceptical about the
 value of MT for educational purposes, and many assumed that the use of MT is not permitted by lecturers for graded assignments,
 especially in courses focusing on language skills.
 The results demonstrate a clear need for more MT literacy. Students may not need practical training in
 how to use MT, but there is much room for improvement in terms of when and
 why they use it.


The training of emotional intelligence in organizations continues to be the subject of much academic discussion. Since the emotional intelligence construct first began to gain attention in the early 1990's academics and practitioners alike have debated whether the skills and abilities associated with emotional intelligence can be learned. As the debate continues, organizations maintain their investment in emotional intelligence training programs that propose to increase the emotional intelligence of individuals, and also increase their overall workplace performance. In this paper we identify specific emotional intelligence skills and abilities that can be trained, and compare these skills to current emotional intelligence training interventions that are available to organizations. We then empirically compare the effect of two differing training programs on the emotional intelligence of participants. These data are then compared to a control group. The first training program comprises interpersonal skills, whereas the second includes interventions focused on specific behavioral, relational emotional skills and abilities. The results indicate that interpersonal skills training did not improve the overall emotional intelligence of participants, whereas interventions that specifically focus on behavioral, relational and emotional skills and abilities did increase the emotional intelligence of participants. The implications for the construction and development of emotional intelligence training interventions within organizations are also discussed.


Generating stable, high‐producing mammalian cell lines is a major bottleneck in the manufacture of recombinant therapeutic proteins. Conventional gene transfer methods for cell line generation rely on random plasmid integration, resulting in unpredictable and highly variable levels of transgene expression. As a consequence, a large number of stably transfected cells must be analyzed to recover a few high‐producing clones. Here we present an alternative gene transfer method for cell line generation based on transgene integration mediated by the piggyBac (PB) transposon. Recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines expressing a tumor necrosis factor receptor:Fc fusion protein were generated either by PB transposition or by conventional transfection. Polyclonal populations and isolated clonal cell lines were characterized for the level and stability of transgene expression for up to 3 months in serum‐free suspension culture. Pools of transposed cells produced up to fourfold more recombinant protein than did the pools generated by standard transfection. For clonal cell lines, the frequency of high‐producers was greater following transposition as compared to standard transfection, and these clones had a higher volumetric productivity and a greater number of integrated transgenes than did those generated by standard transfection. In general, the volumetric productivity of the cell pools and individual cell lines generated by transposition was stable for up to 3 months in the absence of selection. Our results indicate that the PB transposon supports the generation of cell lines with high and stable transgene expression at an elevated frequency relative to conventional transfection. Thus, PB‐mediated gene delivery is expected to reduce the extent of recombinant cell line screening. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108:2141–2150. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Objectives. This study tested the relationship between grandparent–grandchild family capital and self-rated health of older rural Chinese adults and the mediating role of the grandparent–parent relationship in terms of grandparent–grandchild family capital and self-rated health. Methods. Data were derived from a random sample of 1,027 adults aged 60 and older who were interviewed in the rural Chaohu region in 2009. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct effect of grandparent–grand- child family capital in terms of relations with the first child's family on self-rated health among respondents, as well as the mediating effect of the grandparent–parent relationship. Results. The results showed the direct effect of grandparent–grandchild family capital on self-rated health of older rural Chinese adults. The grandparent–parent relationship had a partial mediation effect on the relationship between grandparent–grandchild family capital and self-rated health of respondents. Discussion. Grandparent–grandchild family capital had a unique direct effect on the self-rated health of older rural Chinese adults, enriching our theoretical understanding of sources of family capital and their impacts in a collectivist cultural context that emphasizes intergenerational interaction and exchange. The findings also highlighted the mediation effects of grandparent–parent relationships on the relationship between grandparent–grandchild family capital and self-rated health of older rural Chinese adults, supporting the "grandchild-as-linkage" hypothesis in understanding the social determination of self-rated health in China.


In order to value the process of variables influence in sheet metal hydroforming, a special hydroforming cell has been developed. Generally, sheet hydroforming is obtained using appropriate press tooling. This option requires large investments completely dedicated to this technology of production. As an alternative, conventional hydraulic presses can be used for sheet hydroforming in combination with special hydraulic tooling named "hydroforming cells". A special "hydroforming cell" concept has been developed to perform experimental analysis for different shapes using the same tooling set up. CAE tools had a strategic role just to develop the best layout and to find the optimum solutions for the process variables. FEA has been used to define the distribution of the blank holder variable forces: a solution which implies the use of twelve independent actuators have been implemented. The position and the load path of each one of them has been chosen for each formed shape, in accordance with the FEA results. Customized actuators have been used to solve interferences between mechanical parts of the hydroforming cell. For this specific aspects the virtual 3D design was necessary for the appropriate decisions. The developed process system is very effective so that is possible to set up experimental campaigns for sheet hydroformed components.


Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is a multivariate statistical technique for finding the linear relationship between two sets of variables. The kernel generalization of CCA named kernel CCA has been proposed to find nonlinear relations between datasets. Despite their wide usage, they have one common limitation that is the lack of sparsity in their solution. In this paper, we consider sparse kernel CCA and propose a novel sparse kernel CCA algorithm (SKCCA). Our algorithm is based on a relationship between kernel CCA and least squares. Sparsity of the dual transformations is introduced by penalizing the $\ell_{1}$-norm of dual vectors. Experiments demonstrate that our algorithm not only performs well in computing sparse dual transformations but also can alleviate the over-fitting problem of kernel CCA.


Surface electromyography (sEMG) signals have been extensively studied in the area of intention detection, force estimation and control of rehabilitation devices. Studies regarding sEMG based jaw muscle force estimation are necessary towards building intuitive neural-controlled soft oral rehabilitation robot (SORR). This paper presents a force estimation algorithm based on masseter muscle sEMG signals to be used in the control of a developed SORR. Experiments were conducted to collect masseter muscle sEMG signals and biting force from 10 healthy subjects. By using two different time-frequency analysis, signal features were extracted and then input to an empirically established second-order polynomial force estimator to get the estimated force. Comparison has been made regarding to the performance of the proposed feature extraction algorithms. The results obtained from both the algorithms represent a decent accuracy in force estimation, indicating high implementation feasibility in the application of the neural-controlled SORR.


The present study has investigated the possibility of using pharmacological methods to enhance the psychomotor performance of young, healthy human subjects beyond normal levels. Previously reported studies have concentrated on replacing cognitive performance in clinical cognitive deficit conditions. However, overall evidence of drug effects, on various aspects of cognition, suggested that some drugs may be able to enhance the psychomotor component of cognitive performance in normal subjects. Four substances which had shown some evidence being putative psychomotor enhancers were identified, caffeine, nicotine. Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) and citalopram hydrobromide (CH). Each had a specifically different pharmacology, caffeine and nicotine being stimulants but with different sites of activity, GBE a vasodilator and increaser of cerebral blood flow, and CH a re-uptake inhibitor of serotonin. Experiments were conducted to assess if their relative pharmacologies were suitable for achieving absolute psychomotor enhancement and to assess if currently available substances would be genuinely usable as psychomotor enhancers. A test battery of relevant and valid tests was constructed to cover the performance, physiological and psychological aspects of performance which were likely to be affected. The results showed some evidence for absolute psychomotor performance enhancement, with stimulant effects on the EEG and some improvement in reaction times and mood with caffeine and nicotine. GBE and CH did not show any effects on the tests used. This did not unequivocally demonstrate the existence of psychomotor enhancers but did suggest that active stimulation of the Central Nervous System is a more appropriate approach to increasing psychomotor performance above normal levels, than increasing the amount of resource for brain function.


Problem statement: More and more severe hepatitis cases reported
in China are infected with HBV and the immune response of HBV will be reduced
if mutations occur in the TCR, therefore it is very important to investigate the
relation of T-cellular function and clinical effect by studying the function of
T-cell receptor. Approach: Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) was
applied to analyze basic data (the three structural of HBsAg, the ligand of HBsAg
and the clinical immunological characterizations, the laboratory data, the genetypes
of cationic trypsinogen gene (PRSS1) derived from 78 patients with pancreatitis
and 60 normal controls were also collected. What is more, we used T-cell culture
with HBV and flow cytometry to check the result of ANN predict. To examine the
characteristics of T-cells capable of coexisting with the secreted HBsAg, T-cell
receptor from A121T, C139S, silent mutation and normal PRSS1 gene in the patients
with pancreatitis were put into research. To ensure that PRSS1 gene would affect
HBsAg-specific T-cells receptor, we compared the rate of multiplication and CD4/CD8
of T-cell after culture with HBV at 0H, 12H, 24H, 36H, 48H and 72H time point.
Results: The protein's structural predicted by the ANN could specifically explain the phenomenon that the turbulence and different of anti-HBs lever of the patients with pancreatitis. The three-dimensional of the protein that consist
with PRSS1 gene would accord with HBsAg. It may be one of the HBsAg-specific T-cell
receptor. Result of T-cell culture also showed that different genetypes of PRSS1
had different results. In the T-cell proliferation, the groups of PRSS1 mutation
(A121T and C139S) were significant lower than the group of silent mutation and
normal controls and it was the same to the result of CD4/CD8. Conclusion:
The ANN had been integrated into a previously published comprehensive
web server to support immunology analysis and the PRSS1 gene may be the unit for
HBsAg immune response.


We show that Rv3881c, a secreted protein of M. tuberculosis (MTB), elicits T cell responses from healthy PPD-positive individuals and TB patients. Synthetic peptides spanning the complete length of Rv3881c induced secretion of significantly greater levels of TNF-α and IL-10 from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of TB patients compared to latently infect healthy volunteers. Polychromatic flow cytometry detected poly-functional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells secreting different combinations of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2 and MIP-1β in response to Rv3881c. Levels of CD4+ T cells secreting either IFN-γ or TNF-α were significantly higher in TB patients while levels of CD8+ T cells secreting both IFN-γ and IL-2 were significantly greater in healthy PPD-positive volunteers.


The coherent population trapping (CPT) under resonance interaction of elliptically polarized light, with atoms having degenerated energy levels, is analytically treated in an invariant way, without using a specific coordinate frame. Tensors describing dark states are found in an explicit and invariant form for all atomic transitions, where CPT takes place. The correspondence between elliptical polarization vectors and pairs of unit spinors is established. It is shown that all dark states in the problem under consideration, can be constructed from these spinors, by taking multiple tensor products. In the case of an integer angular momentum, this general construction is reduced to a multiple tensor product of vectors. A general significance and some applications of these results are indicted.


Abstract A much-debated issue in English is the use of "epicene pronouns", i.e. third-person singular pronouns of indeterminate gender. Previous studies have shown that singular they is the most common epicene in L1 English, but this pronoun has not received much attention in studies of L2 use. The present study extends previous research by examining variation between L2 groups in the distribution of epicene pronouns, focussing particularly on the use of singular they and how it is affected by three features of the antecedent: definiteness, notional number, and gender expectancy. The data originate in an elicitation experiment, which was completed by 338 university students of English from eight L1 backgrounds. The results show that singular they was most frequently used with notionally plural antecedents, whereas it was least common with gender-stereotyped antecedents. The study also disclosed variation between learners: In some L1 groups, they was used frequently with all types of antecedents, suggesting that these learners perceive singular they as a singular pronoun in its own right. In other groups, singular they appeared to function mostly as a modification of the plural they, as the pronoun was only frequent with notionally plural antecedents. The findings have important implications for language teaching.


This study deals with constructing and implementing new algorithm based on hiding a large amount of data (image, audio, text) file into color BMP image. We have been used adaptive image filtering and adaptive image segmentation with bits replacement on the appropriate pixels. These pixels are selected randomly rather than sequentially by using new concept defined by main cases with their sub cases for each byte in one pixel. This concept based on both visual and statistical. According to the steps of design, we have been concluded 16 main cases with their sub cases that cover all aspects of the input data into color bitmap image. High security layers have been proposed through three layers to make it difficult to break through the encryption of the input data and confuse steganalysis too. Our results against statistical and visual attacks are discussed and make comparison with the previous Steganography algorithms like S-Tools. We show that our algorithm can embed efficiently a large amount of data that has been reached to 75% of the image size with high quality of the output.


Financial analysis is important in effective and efficient financial planning,especially to know the business development in the company. Business development
can be influenced among others by several factors such as liquidity, leverage and profitability. Liquidity can measure the security of short-term creditors, as well as
measure whether the company's operations will not be interrupted if short-term liabilities are promptly billed. Leverage as a hint as to how much the company's
funding needs are payable with debt, investors can use this ratio to find out how much debt the company owns compared to its assets. Profitability is very important
for all users of the annual report, especially investors and creditors.
This study aims to examine the influence of financial ratio analysis on business development in the company. The sample of research is 24 financial data, which obtained from data every year, starting in 2011 until the year 2016 PT. HM Sampoerna, Tbk listed on BEI. The analysis used is multiple regression analysis, with dependent variable of sales growth, and variable free of liquidity, leverage and profitability. To test the effect simultaneously used F test, whereas partial test is
done by t test. As for to see the dominant effect by looking at the highest standardized beta value.
The results showed that the variables liquidity, leverage and profitability have a significant positive effect on business development at PT. HM Sampoerna, Tbk, and
liquidity proven dominant influence on business development at PT. HM Sampoerna, Tbk. PT. HM Sampoerna, can conduct regular evaluation to know the fluctuation of financial changes at the company. Profitability should be further enhanced by increasing the number of sales to the company.


This work outlines an experimental and theoretical investigation of the effect of molybdenum (Mo) doping on the oxygen vacancy formation and photocatalytic activity of TiO2. Analytical techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence (PL) were used to probe the anatase to rutile transition (ART), surface features and optical characteristics of Mo doped TiO2 (Mo–TiO2). XRD results showed that the ART was effectively impeded by 2 mol% Mo doping up to 750 °C, producing 67% anatase and 33% rutile. Moreover, the crystal growth of TiO2 was affected by Mo doping via its interaction with oxygen vacancies and the Ti–O bond. The formation of Ti–O–Mo and Mo–Ti–O bonds were confirmed by XPS results. Phonon confinement, lattice strain and non-stoichiometric defects were validated through the Raman analysis. DFT results showed that, after substitutional doping of Mo at a Ti site in anatase, the Mo oxidation state is Mo6+ and empty Mo-s states emerge at the titania conduction band minimum. The empty Mo-d states overlap the anatase conduction band in the DOS plot. A large energy cost, comparable to that computed for pristine anatase, is required to reduce Mo–TiO2 through oxygen vacancy formation. Mo5+ and Ti3+ are present after the oxygen vacancy formation and occupied states due to these reduced cations emerge in the energy gap of the titania host. PL studies revealed that the electron–hole recombination process in Mo–TiO2 was exceptionally lower than that of TiO2 anatase and rutile. This was ascribed to introduction of 5s gap states below the CB of TiO2 by the Mo dopant. Moreover, the photo-generated charge carriers could easily be trapped and localised on the TiO2 surface by Mo6+ and Mo5+ ions to improve the photocatalytic activity.


This work is based upon an ethnographic enquiry in Turin, North-West of Italy, to interrogate homelessness as a subjective condition that emerges from the entanglements of the individual and the city. Arguing that canonical framing of homelessness do not take into full consideration the relationalities and nuances that intervene between homeless people and the mechanosphere of the city, this work develops a detailed theoretical and empirical investigation of the more- than-human entanglements through which homeless subjects emerge in the opening and closures of urban spaces. Three research questions are pursued: the first two investigating how subjects are constituted in the process of being and becoming a homeless individual, and the third questioning how the public and private institutions that provide service to homeless people actually open or close opportunities to them. The concept of chance of space has been developed to sustain the hypothesis that city's space offers infinite potentialities to homeless subjects, which however are constantly codified and normalized by the discursive and relational powers consciously and unconsciously at work in the urban fabric. The research questions have been tackled through an in-deep ethnographic investigation developed in three long chapters, which lead to theoretical and political outcomes. This work shows that interrogating homelessness in a more-than-human fashion a world of multiples subjects emerges, with various attitudes, capabilities, relational and affective characterizations. It opens the door to the recognition of spatial chances that might lead, if recognized and enacted, to enrich homeless subjects' perspectives. According, a critique of the mainstream normative approach on homelessness is developed, arguing in favour of new ethical stances that extend the validity of this enquiry beyond Turin's case. This ethics claims the necessity to take seriously the entanglements between space, time and the homeless subject; advocates a right to difference and consequently to differentiated interventions; and argues for the necessity to challenge the rigidity of certain urban contexts in order to enact homeless people own capabilities.


Objective: Assessment of fetal head station is of importance before instrumental vaginal delivery. We have established a simple method of performing intrapartum infrapubic ultrasound (iiUS). Relating the fetal skull to the symphysis in laboring women during pushing and prior to vacuum extraction, we defined sonographic criteria for successful instrumental vaginal delivery. Methods: Sonographic assessment of the female pelvis in term pregnancies was performed in women with singleton pregnancies in the second stage of labor and after rupture of membranes. Anatomic landmarks were determined sonographically from sagittal infrapubic insonation with a curved array transducer. A 3D CT volume was used to correlate the normal anatomy of the female pelvis with these iiUS-derived landmarks. 20 women with singleton fetuses were studied immediately before vacuum extraction. Results: With a transducer placed infrapubically in a median sagittal orientation ('infrapubic plane'), landmarks are: (1) the infrapubic line, placed perpendicular to the long axis of the pubic symphysis; (2) the widest fetal head diameter and its movement with regard to the infrapubic line during pushing; and (3) the 'head direction' as the angle between the long axis of the symphysis and a line perpendicular to the widest head diameter. CT reconstruction demonstrated the infrapubic line to be 3 cm cranial to the parallel interspinous plane. In 20 vacuum deliveries, the 'head up' sign (head pointing ventrally) and objective descent of the fetal head below the infrapubic line, both noted at the height of pushing, were associated with successful delivery. Lack of decent/lack of passage below the infrapubic line and horizontal or even downward head direction were poor prognostic signs. Conclusions: Intrapartum infrapubic ultrasound (iiUS) can provide information about the dynamics of the second stage of labor, head station and head direction. It may be used to assess prognosis for instrumental vaginal delivery.


Assume a database storing N objects with d numerical attributes or feature values. All objects in the database can be assigned an overall score that is derived from their single feature values (and the feature values of a user-defined query). The problem considered here is then to efficiently retrieve the k objects with minimum (or maximum) overall score. The well-known threshold algorithm (TA) was proposed as a solution to this problem. TA views the database as a set of d sorted lists storing the feature values. Even though TA is optimal with regard to the number of accesses, its overall access cost can be high since, in practice, some list accesses may be more expensive than others. We therefore propose to make TA access cost aware by choosing the next list to access such that the overall cost is minimized. Our experimental results show that this overall cost is close to the optimal cost and significantly lower than the cost of prior approaches.


Air conditioning systems are responsible for increasing men's worke efficiency as well for his comfort, mainly in the warm periods of the year. Currently, the most used system is the mechanical vapor compression system. Furthermore, the higher electricity demand for cooling causes summer peaks, which may lead to high electricity prices and grid connected problems as black-outs. However, in many cases, evaporative cooling system can be an alternative to replace the conventional system, under several conditions, or as a pre-cooler in the conventional systems. Also the remaining cooling demand must be covered with alternative, environmentally friendly cooling technologies.
Evaporative cooling operates using induced processes of heat and mass transfer, where water and air are the working fluids. It consists in water evaporation, induced by the passage of an air flow, thus decreasing the air temperature. This paper presents the basic principles of the evaporative cooling process for human thermal comfort, the principles of operation for the direct evaporative cooling system and the mathematical development of the equations of thermal exchanges, allowing the determination of the effectiveness of saturation to determine the convective heat transfer coefficient and to compare with the mathematical model.


Within the field of new antiarrhythmic compounds, the interesting idea of activating human ether-a-go-go-related gene (HERG1) potassium channels has recently been introduced. Potentially, drugs that increase HERG1 channel activity will augment the repolarizing current of the cardiac myocytes and stabilize the diastolic interval. This may make the myocardium more resistant to events that cause arrhythmias. We here present the compound N-(4-bromo-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-phenyl)-N′-(3′-trifluoromethylphenyl)urea (NS3623), which has the ability to activate HERG1 channels expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes with an EC50 value of 79.4 μM. Exposure of HERG1 channels to NS3623 affects the voltage-dependent release from inactivation, resulting in a half-inactivation voltage that is rightward-shifted by 17.7 mV. Moreover, the compound affects the time constant of inactivation, leading to a slower onset of inactivation of the macroscopic HERG1 currents. We also characterized the ability of NS3623 to increase the activity of different mutated HERG1 channels. The mutants S620T and S631A are severely compromised in their ability to inactivate. Application of NS3623 to any of these two mutants did not result in increased HERG1 current. In contrast, application of NS3623 to the mutant F656M increased HERG1 current to a larger extent than what was observed with wild-type HERG1 channels. Because the amino acid F656 is essential for high-affinity inhibition of HERG1 channels, it is concluded that NS3623 has a dual mode of action, being both an activator and an inhibitor of HERG1 channels. Finally, we show that NS3623 has the ability to shorten action potential durations in guinea pig papillary muscle.


With the development of the Internet of Things, as the typical application of the Internet of Things, smart home becomes one of the industries which are most favored by the market in the current Internet of Things industry. Home security system is of research significance as the key part in construction of home. The traditional home security system is characterized with poor flexibility, short distance of transmission and high cost. The mobile phone home security system suggested in the Thesis is featured by such advantages as convenience and low cost. Firstly, the importance of home security system and the development situations in the recent years are presented. Then, the system functions are described and the overall design is made, while the detailed design of the system is made from such four aspects as the front-end node software, gateway software, protocol message formation and client application software design of Android mobile phones. Finally, Android client application software is verified simply, and the result proves that the system operates smoothly and stably with wide application value.


Most flying-wing aircrafts are static and dynamic unstable due to the lack of conventional stabilizers to control the plane in the longitudinal and the lateral directions, and the lateral-directional motion of the static instability flying-wing will cause the coupled longitudinal motion, so the control system is more complicated to design. With this motivation, the longitudinal and lateral-directional coupled motion of a longitudinal static instability flying-wing is modeled and analyzed. To guarantee a safe, airworthy flying-wing aircraft and decrease the design workload, the intelligent optimal seeking method based on the distributed genetic algorithm (DGA) was used to design the control system automatically and efficiently. The simulation results show the validation and efficiency of the DGA in the longitudinal and lateral-directional coupled control system design of the longitudinal static instability flying-wing aircraft. The analysis and optimal algorithm used in this paper will produce a direct benefit in relation to the flying-wing aircraft coupling characteristics analysis, the intelligent optimal method and the flying-wing aircraft flight control system design.


In this paper we present an authoring tool and an accompanying workflow to create interactive scenarios in a distributed 3D environment by multiple users. With Pitsupai we designed an environment that allows to create collaboratively simple games or game prototypes with a minimal effort, without the need to be a professional game developer. To facilitate collaborative work, our authoring tool uses a scripting language for easy programming and animation in the virtual world and provides awareness aspects - information regarding the whereabouts and current activities of the other participants. Scripts can be edited from within the running virtual world without the need for stopping or restarting it.


Many Latin American countries and cities have substantially lengthened the school day over the past generation. Chile, for example, increased the school day by 30 percent between 1997 and 2010. While evidence on lengthening these additional instructional resources points to positive effects in the short term, we know little about whether these reforms affect students long-term economic outcomes once they enter the labor market. This project finds longer elementary and secondary school days substantially improve economic well-being by increasing educational attainment, delaying childbearing, and increasing earnings in young adulthood.


The global economic system has undergone fundamental changes in the last two decades due to the proliferation of free trade agreements, the deepening of the European Union (EU) integration process and increased foreign direct investments (FDI) altering the economic landscape across and within countries. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of the effects of trade and outward FDI across three dimensions. By examining the effects on the domestic industry, and by detecting the regional footprint in terms of growth and the skill composition of labour markets, the empirical findings offer a multi-faceted and multi-level analysis with evidence from South America and the EU. This thesis is structured into an introductory chapter and three analytical papers. The first paper explores the effects of import competition on the manufacturing sector in Chile following the implementation of the country's two most important Free Trade Agreements with the USA and China. The findings reveal that increased import penetration from China and USA has highly heterogeneous effects with Chinese trade creating more pronounced substitution effects for the domestic industry than trade with USA. The analysis sheds new light on the importance of foreign investment and export intensity – in reversing the negative import substitution effect - due to the opportunities offered from the participation in Global Value Chains. The second paper examines the link between trade and economic growth across the regional income distribution in Greece, during the period after the country joined the European Monetary Union (EMU) incorporating the global economic crisis period. The aim of the analysis is to identify heterogeneous trade effects across the regional income hierarchy. Among the original contributions of this study is that contrary to the prevailing view, EU trade appears negative for the more economically advanced regions and has insignificant effects on lower income regions; while global trade and EU trade differ significantly in their respective growth returns across the income distribution. Finally, the third paper empirically investigates the association between increased outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and the evolution of the occupational composition at the regional level for Greece, a small peripheral EU economy. The emergence of Greece as an international investor in the Balkan region constitutes an interesting setting of a peripheral EU country investing in peripheral new EU member states and reveals the strong spatial footprint on the occupational structure of home regions, offering valuable policy implications for countries in pre-EU accession phases.


Hard interests, soft illusions: Southeast Asia and American power By NATASHA HAMILTON-HART Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012. Pp. 243. Appendix, Bibliography, Index. doi: 10.1017/S0022463413000386 Natasha Hamilton-Hart explores the relationship between 'interests' and 'illusions' in shaping the foreign policies (towards the United States) of the governments of Southeast Asia. In a book that is both concise and thorough, she focuses on the period from the Cold War to the present and includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam in her analysis. She emphasises that in all of these cases 'beliefs about American power' flow from specific 'illusions' and 'interests' that are not necessarily explained by what she describes as 'common understandings of the sources of foreign policy'. In the case of 'interests' that shape different approaches to the United States on the part of politically divergent governments in the region, she emphasises the interests of particular regimes, an established ruling elite or the governing political party of the nation-states concerned. More specifically, she draws attention to the 'interests' of political leaders 'in securing power' and 'rewarding supporters'. She also draws attention to the 'career interests' of those who are involved in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy towards the United States and the fact that professional or personal considerations may become tied up in various ways with the conduct of diplomacy. Hamilton Hart emphasises that, despite their differences, the region's 'non-communist political elites' have by and large regarded America 'as a benign power over the last sixty years' (pp. 9-10). However, if there is a continued relative decline in the 'economic capacity' of the United States (a trend that has been at the centre of the Great Recession that began in December 2007 and may or may not have ended, depending on your point of view) its image as a 'benign hegemon' could 'fade' (p. 191). But, for the moment, despite its changing role since the end of the Cold War until the bombings of September 11 and since, Hamilton-Hart emphasises that there remains a strongly grounded and generally positive view of American power that informs the thinking and actions of the foreign policy elites in Southeast Asia. Following a short Introduction, which maps out her overall approach, the second chapter focuses on how the various 'beliefs' of the political actors and diplomats concerned have interacted with the 'hard interests' and 'soft illusions' to which she refers in the book's title. Chapter 3 examines in more detail the political economy of 'interests', while chapter 4 examines the question of beliefs (assumptions) that feed into the 'soft illusions' via an examination of the writing and rewriting of the various national histories in Southeast Asia and of the history of the United States in the region. She makes clear that in all cases there is a mainstream and widely accepted version of history, which has been debated to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the nation-state concerned. At the same, these 'mainstream national histories' remain selective and uncritical: they all involve a 'sanitisation of history' producing 'one-sided and confident narratives' that celebrate the overall historical trajectory of particular polities in Southeast Asia in a fashion that is to a lesser or greater degree inclusive depending on the contemporary character of the regime concerned. In this regard, as with 'interests', the foreign policy elites in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia articulate a less overtly contested version of their histories, while Thailand and the Philippines have been characterised by greater debate since the end of the Cold War (if not well before). Not surprisingly, the foreign-policymakers and the political elite in Vietnam hold to a celebratory account of the country's long struggle from nationalist-communist insurgency to national unification and Communist Party rule. …


The present paper reports a study composed of three research activities exploring the economics of ergonomics in a shipping context. First, a literature study aimed to review previous studies on the economics of ergonomics in general and within the maritime domain in particular; and moreover, to ascertain the key ergonomic factors addressed in contemporary maritime ergonomic research. Second, the concept of ergonomics was probed from a stakeholder perspective through nine semi-structured qualitative interviews. Third, structured interviews were held with representatives of ten Swedish shipping companies to investigate if the shipowners are aware of and calculate the economic effects of ergonomics. The results show that several models and methods have been developed to estimate costs and benefits of ergonomics in other industries, but no studies were found from the shipping industry. Whether these methods can be readily adapted to the shipping industry has to be investigated further. While contemporary maritime ergonomic literature showed a focus on physical ergonomic and health and safety issues, the results of the stakeholder interviews indicated a focus on organizational ergonomics. The Swedish shipowners calculate the costs of sick-leave, but do not estimate the economic effects of ergonomics on a regular basis.


Two-dimensional (2D) organic magnetic materials have great value for research and applications in spintronics. However, unlike the diverse inorganic materials, finding 2D organic magnetic materials is still a major challenge. In this work, freestanding 2D organic magnetic polyradical (OMP) nanosheets were successfully synthesized using the polymerization of tris(2,3,5,6-tetrachloro-4-ethynylphenyl)methyl radicals at a liquid/liquid interface. The OMP obtained has a 2D sheet-like morphology and possesses triarylmethyl radicals after polymerization, which can act as spin centers. With the magnetic exchange coupling between radicals, the OMP shows an antiferromagnetic behavior with a Neel temperature of 42.5 K. Besides the OMP, this discovery also provides a route for synthesis of other potential antiferromagnetic 2D organic materials, which can act as essential building blocks in 2D organic spintronic devices.


Summary

1
With biological invasions causing widespread problems in ecosystems, methods to curb the colonization success of invasive species are needed. The effective management of invasive species will require an integrated approach that restores community structure and ecosystem processes while controlling propagule pressure of non-native species.

2
We tested the hypotheses that restoring native vegetation and minimizing propagule pressure of invasive species slows the establishment of an invader. In field and greenhouse experiments, we evaluated (i) the effects of a native submersed aquatic plant species, Vallisneria americana, on the colonization success of a non-native species, Hydrilla verticillata; and (ii) the effects of H. verticillata propagule density on its colonization success.

3
Results from the greenhouse experiment showed that V. americana decreased H. verticillata colonization through nutrient draw-down in the water column of closed mesocosms, although data from the field experiment, located in a tidal freshwater region of Chesapeake Bay that is open to nutrient fluxes, suggested that V. americana did not negatively impact H. verticillata colonization. However, H. verticillata colonization was greater in a treatment of plastic V. americana look-alikes, suggesting that the canopy of V. americana can physically capture H. verticillata fragments. Thus pre-emption effects may be less clear in the field experiment because of complex interactions between competitive and facilitative effects in combination with continuous nutrient inputs from tides and rivers that do not allow nutrient draw-down to levels experienced in the greenhouse.

4
Greenhouse and field tests differed in the timing, duration and density of propagule inputs. However, irrespective of these differences, propagule pressure of the invader affected colonization success except in situations when the native species could draw-down nutrients in closed greenhouse mesocosms. In that case, no propagules were able to colonize.

5
Synthesis and applications. We have shown that reducing propagule pressure through targeted management should be considered to slow the spread of invasive species. This, in combination with restoration of native species, may be the best defence against non-native species invasion. Thus a combined strategy of targeted control and promotion of native plant growth is likely to be the most sustainable and cost-effective form of invasive species management.


Abstract:The Anglo-American air attack on the city of Dresden, in February 1945, has become one of the most famous events of the Second World War. The word "Dresden" is typically one of the first uttered whenever the topic of strategic bombing is raised. And yet, like many other high-profile historical events, the Dresden raid is encrusted with myth and misunderstanding. This essay is an effort to make sense of a complicated and much misunderstood episode in the history of modern warfare—and to make sense of it in the context in which it occurred. The essay draws upon the rich recent literature on Dresden, earlier histories, and a wide array of primary sources in an effort to provide – for teachers, scholars, and general readers – a comprehensive but still concise overview of the air raid that has won such a central place in the history of the Second World War.


Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused overwhelming challenges in healthcare worldwide. During such an outbreak, some needs of high-risk groups who require regular follow-ups and long-term management are not met. The vulnerable populations include patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Duchenne muscular dystrophy is characterized by respiratory complications caused by muscle weakness. Hence, patients with this condition are at high risk of severe diseases including COVID-19. Methods: To standardize care and provide optimal treatment to DMD patients in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic, a panel of experts including neurologists and pediatricians consolidated recommendations for healthcare professionals and caregivers. Results: During this pandemic, substituting unnecessary clinic visits with virtual clinic services was highly recommended, if possible, without compromising clinical outcomes. Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients with respiratory complications should be closely monitored, and those with cardiovascular complications must continue taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. Moreover, individualized home-based rehabilitation management was preferred. Glucocorticoid and new gene correction therapies should be continued. However, new gene correction therapy must be post-poned in newly diagnosed patients. A multidisciplinary decision was required before the initiation of hydroxychloroquine based on the COVID-19 treatment protocol. Conclusion: COVID-19 has caused challenges and transformed access to health care. However, these limitations have provided opportunities for the health care system to adapt. Further, telemedicine has become a reliable platform for follow-up appointments that should be conducted by a multidisciplinary team including physicians, dieticians, and physical therapists.


Consensus is growing that the flexibility gained with the introduction of programmable, electronic cockpit displays in the 1980s must be exploited to the full extent. An important candidate to become the primary flight display of future flight decks is the tunnel-in-the-sky display, a perspective flight-path display that shows the reference trajectory to be flown in a synthetic three-dimensional world. The usefulness of the tunnel display in the pilot manual aircraft control task is the subject of this thesis. The mainstream of tunnel display research is confined to empirical comparisons of the tunnel display with conventional displays. The approach taken in the present theoretical and experimental study is original and new as it is conducted from the perspective of cybernetics. A four-stage methodology is developed to study the fundamental characteristics of pilot/display interaction, based on a theoretical analysis of information, in particular the information used for control. The information analysis is conducted within the context of Gibson's ecological approach to visual perception. The information analysis provides novel insights into how the tunnel display geometric design variables can affect pilot behavior. To examine the validity of the theoretical hypotheses, six experiments have been conducted. Three experiments examined the effects of manipulating some of the main display design variables, such as the tunnel size, the viewing volume and the presence of guidance symbology. Another three experiments investigated the fundamental characteristics of the tunnel geometrical design in the tasks of following a trajectory that is either straight or circular, and in the task of conducting a curve-interception maneuver. The experiments show that the cybernetic, information-centered approach is indeed very successful in pin-pointing the important characteristics of pilot/display interaction. The experimental methodology employed in this thesis aimed at integrating the model-based approach with the common approach of collecting mainly performance-related data. It is described in detail how experiments can be designed with the objective of conducting a control-theoretic analysis. The limitations of some non-parametric identification methods in multi-axis, multiple loop tracking tasks are described. The use of criterion functions, in both the frequency and the time domain, in the parametric identification methods is also exemplified.


Efforts to improve rail level crossing (RLX) safety are hampered in part by the sheer number of RLXs; approximately 10,500 in Australia, with diverse characteristics. The plethora of RLX environments means a single standard RLX design may not be appropriate, since the same infrastructure could generate distinct interactions depending on its surrounding context. Using instrumented vehicles, we compared drivers' perceptions and interactions with boom-controlled active RLXs in two vastly different on-road environments: urban and rural. Results suggest that although urban RLX environments are more complex and demanding, drivers in rural areas are more likely to perceive RLXs as hazardous.


In fire, elevated temperatures undermine the resistance of structural materials, which leads to steel-framed buildings being subject to very large deformations. Elevated temperatures also cause the affected members to expand, and subsequent cooling induces contraction and recovery of strength. Because of the irreversible nature of plastic straining this causes extremely complex force combinations in connections. Connections which are traditionally idealized as "pinned" or "rigid" in design actually display considerable semi-rigid behaviour, which may contribute to the structure's survival during and after an internal fire.
It will be necessary in future for structural engineers to understand how joints perform in fire, which has been emphasized by a series of case studies, including the official forensic reports on buildings of the New York World Trade complex which collapsed during the "9/11" events in 2001. Eventually, advances in analysis, testing and design codes must allow engineers to design structures which will survive fires without experiencing disproportionate collapse.
This PhD study describes the development of a general component-based connection element, which has been implemented in the Vulcan software in order to enable modelling of the robustness and ductility of the connections in fire scenarios. The component-based method which has been adopted is generally accepted as an efficient intermediate way of treating the behaviour of connections in small-deflection ambient-temperature design of semi-rigid frameworks, which is included in Eurocode 3 Part 1.8. This has been developed in the course of several projects at the University of Sheffield towards high-temperature large-deflection representation of connections in a series of stages, including the characterization of individual components, joint testing and component assembly for some conventional connection types. The RFCS-funded project COMPFIRE, of which this work forms a part, extended the data-set to an innovative connection type, the reverse channel, which offers the prospect of greatly enhanced ductility as a way of improving structural robustness in fire. The new data derives from both structural furnace testing and detailed Finite Element analyses. Used in combination with the "static/dynamic" solver in Vulcan, the use of the general-purpose component-based connection element has been demonstrated in studies of the performance, including progressive collapse, of planar steel frames in fire scenarios.
The development should allow engineers to identify local failure of joints, and to predict the subsequent failure of the remaining structure, in analytical design. This will enable vulnerable areas to be identified in the structure and their design details to be amended in order to produce a building which is more robust in fire.


OBJECTIVE
Some decades ago, several studies were published describing vitamins degradation in parenteral nutrition (PN) and their catalysis by oligoelements such as copper. Thus, the practice of administering oligoelements and vitamins every other day and adding them the same day of PN was implemented. Today, in many Spanish hospitals these recommendations are still being followed although currently different products, type of containers, and ways of administration are used. The purpose of this review is to determine whether combined administration of vitamins and oligoelements with PN is recommended and how many days they remain stable while refrigerated under the current conditions of preparation and administration of PN.

SETTING
We have reviewed the articles on vitamins stability in PN published after 1990.

RESULTS
The results are controversial with vitamin A, although "all-in-one" administration and photo-protection remarkably decrease its degradation and there seems to be no difference between adding the vitamin before its administration and doing so previously. Vitamin E is stable with photo-protection for 3-7 days under refrigeration plus one additional day at room temperature if multilayered bags are used. Thiamine is stable if bisulfites-free amino acids solutions are used.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that vitamins and oligoelements may be administered together and PN be prepared before use if "all-in-one" photo-protected multilayered bags and bisulfite-free amino acids solutions are used.


In order to study the nutritional pattern in obese subjects living in an area with a Mediterranean diet, as well as the modifications in nutritional behaviour, cardiovascular risk factors and insulin sensitivity induced by changes in nutritional pattern, 54 obese patients completed a 20-week behaviour programme. They prospectively fulfilled a food records diary in order to ascertain their nutritional pattern. Weight, body mass index (BMI). waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), blood pressure (BP), cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, triglycerides, fasting and 2 h-post glucose load plasma glucose were determined at the onset and at the end of the study. Insulin sensitivity index (SI), and glucose effectiveness (Sg) were assessed by using the modified FSIVGTT. The usual diet in obese patients living in a Mediterranean country is low in carbohydrates (35%) and high in fats (43%), 55% of the latter being monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), especially olive oil. After the educational programme they decreased the caloric intake to slightly over 700 Kcal/day, with a reduction of 36% in carbohydrates consumption, 18% in proteins and 43% in fats (46% in MUFAs). These modifications resulted in a decrease in weight, BMI, WHR, BP, and fasting and 2 h-post glucose load plasma glucose (all p < 0.05), whereas the lipoprotein profile did not change. In a similar way SI and Kg (glucose disappearance rate) increased, while fasting plasma insulin (FPI) decreased (p < 0.05) and Sg and I1+3 remained unaffected. Our results indicate that weight loss induced by caloric restriction improves insulin sensitivity rather insulin secretory capacity or glucose effectiveness, and all the cardiovascular risk factors but lipoproteic profile, that remains unchanged, probably because of the lower MUFAs consumption. These facts should be taken into account when recommending changes in the diet of obese patients with a Mediterranean-style diet.


Free radical scavenging potency of physiologically active equol molecule, derived by gut microbiota from soy isoflavone daidzein, was investigated by using M06-2X/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, accompanied with the TST and Eckart tunneling corrections for the estimation of rate constants. Phenolic hydrogens of equol are recognized as much more abstractable than C-ring hydrogens. This finding is opposite to the one very recently suggested, but in accordance with well-known facts related to the flavonoid chemistry and phenolic O−H vs C−H reactivity.


Twenty-two (12 males, 10 females) specimens of Nannospalax nehringi, collected from Northeast Anatolia (Turkey), were used for morphological and karyological studies. The specimens from the Kars population have foramina on the premaxillonasal suture. These foramina are absent in the Erzurum, Agri and Van populations. The diploid number of chromosomes in the Erzurum and Kars population is 2n = 50. The number of chromosomal arms (NF) is 70 and the number of autosomal arms (NFa) is 66. Their karyotypes consist of nine pairs of metacentric and submetacentric autosomes and 15 pairs of acrocentric autosomes. The Agri and Van populations have 2n = 48 chromosomes. The number of chromosomal arms (NF) is 68 and the number of autosomal arms (NFa) is 64. The autosomal set has nine pairs of biarmed, and 14 pairs of acrocentric chromosomes. The X chromosomes are large submetacentric and the Y chromosomes are small acrocentric in all populations. When these results are compared with previous studies, Nannospalax nehringi specimens from Northeast Anatolia have some differences in their skull and chromosome morphology.


. We consider cosmological solution for Einstein gravity with massive fermions with a four-fermion coupling, which emerges from the Holst action and is related to the Barbero-Immirzi (BI) parameter. This gravitational action is an important object of investigation in a non-perturbative formalism of quantum gravity. We study the equation of motion for the Dirac field within the standard Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) metric. Finally, we show the theory with BI parameter and minimally coupling Dirac field, in the zero mass limit, is equivalent to an additional term which looks like a perfect fluid with the equation of state p = wρ , with w = 1 which is independent of the BI parameter. The existence of mass imposes a variable w , which creates either an inflationary phase with w = − 1, or assumes an ultra hard equation of states w = 1 for very early universe. Both phases relax to a pressure less fluid w = 0 for late universe (corresponding to the limit m → ∞ ).


This paper analyses in a simple global games framework welfare effects stemming from different communication strategies of public agencies if strategies of agents are complementary to each other: communication can either be fully transparent, or the agency opaquely publishes only its overall assessment of the economy, or it keeps information completely secret. It is shown that private agents put more weight on their private information in the transparent case than in the case of opacity. Thus, in many cases, the appropriate measure against overreliance on public information is giving more details to the public instead of denying access to public information.


SIR: Dr Bernard Dunn's fascinating article on the anaesthetic problems encountered in a remote area of Indonesia, highlights the problems when restrictions on equipment, supplies and personnel necessitate a reevaluation of the anaesthetic techniques available. As Dr Dunn has commented, this type of project is of value in assessing the anaesthetic requirements for major disasters occurring in developed countries. In 1973 I published a paper! on a "New Anaesthetic Machine and Technic with Particular Application to Developing Areas". The approach to the problem was quite different to that taken by Mr Dunn and it may be of interest to your readers, as I believe it has many advantages over the commonly accepted techniques for these remote areas.


In this work, African maize cobs (AMC) were used as a rich biomass precursor to synthesize carbon material through a chemical activation process for application in electrochemical energy storage devices. The carbonization and activation were carried out with concentrated Sulphuric acid at three different temperatures of 600, 700 and 800 °C, respectively. The activated carbon exhibited excellent microporous and mesoporous structure with a specific surface area that ranges between 30 and 254 m2·g−1 as measured by BET analysis. The morphology and structure of the produced materials are analyzed through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Boehm titration, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman Spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that a considerable amount of oxygen is present in the materials. The functional groups in the activated carbon enhanced the electrochemical performance and improved the material's double-layer capacitance. The carbonized composite activated at 700 °C exhibited excellent capacitance of 456 F g−1 at a specific current of 0.25 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte and showed excellent stability after 10,000 cycles. Besides being a low cost, the produced materials offer good stability and electrochemical properties, making them suitable for supercapacitor applications.


Summary form only given. The U.S. Navy is investigating cymbal-based projector panels for consideration of use on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Depending upon their configuration, they can be formed into thin panels that can cover low frequencies or extended frequency bands. A recent study compared different piezoceramic based cymbals placed into an oil-filled matrix. This study examined the acoustic performance of 0.5" diameter disks of PZT-4, PZT-5H and PZT-5A cymbals as well as 0.75" PZT-5H disks. The cymbals are class V flextensional designs with titanium caps. This presentation reviews the designs, configurations, in-air and in-water acoustic performance.


This model simulates some of the dynamics of household level swidden agriculture (also called shifting cultivation or slash-and-burn agriculture). The model can run in controlled or adaptive mode. In controlled mode, the user sets values related to farming decisions. In adaptive mode, these values are set by the agents.
The model is designed to explore some of the factors affecting swidden (sometimes called slash-and-burn) agriculture. Agricultural households take control of the land around them and rotate agricultural fields within this area. Field fertility decreases if a patch is used, and the patch or patches with the highest potential net return is chosen to farm during each time step. The model explores the importance of soil fertility upon swidden strategies as well as issues of land ownership. In addition, the model also explores the effects of swidden agriculture on vegetation communities.
n controlled mode, the researcher sets all parameter values. In adaptive mode, the model explores the success (or failure) of strategies created randomly at the model's initialization, and during agent reproduction. The agricultural strategy of the agents results from the combination of six key values (move-dist, move-threshold, fission-rate farm-dist, & min-fertility). These values are all initialized with random values from within specified ranges. If an agent reproduces, a copy of the agent is created; however, any of the six key values may randomly change. The resulting selection will produce a set of agents with decision rule values that out compete all other agents.


In this model for the evolution of large crustal faults, water that originally came from the country rock saturates the initially highly porous and permeable fault zone. During shearing, the fault zone compacts and water flows back into the country rock, but the flow is arrested by silicate deposition that forms very low permeability seals between the fault zone and the country rock. Because of variations in temperature and mineralogical composition and the complex structure of the fault zone, a three-dimensional network of seals is formed in the fault zone itself; thus, the high-pressure fluid is not evenly distributed. As in deep oil reservoirs, the fluid will be confined to seal-bounded fluid compartments of various sizes and porosity that are not hydraulically connected with each other or with the hydrostatic regime in the country rock. When the seal between two of these compartments is ruptured, an electrical streaming potential will be generated by the sudden movement of fluid from the high-pressure compartment to the low-pressure compartment. When the pore pressure in the two compartments reaches its final equilibrium state, the average effective normal stress across them may be lower than it was initially, and, if the two compartments are large enough, this condition may trigger an earthquake. During an earthquake, many of the remaining seals will be ruptured, and the width of the fault zone will increase by failure of the geometric irregularities on the fault. This newly created, highly porous and permeable, but now wider fault zone will fill with water, and the process described above will be repeated. Thus, the process is an episodic one, with the water moving in and out of the fault zone, and each large earthquake should be preceded by an electrical and/or magnetic signal.


Friction material in the future will be towards the low-noise, low wear debris, no poisoning and environment-friendly trends and direction. This paper describes the friction material formulation filtering and evaluation, and proposes design of the basic idea of friction material formulations. Then the article optimizes design of friction material formulations by means of golden section method and the gray correlation coefficients means. Experimental results show that the method gave by this paper is an effective way to study friction material formulation.


Many tools for analyzing distributed systems propagate contexts along the execution paths of requests, tasks, and jobs, in order to correlate events across process, component and machine boundaries. _ere is awide range of existing and proposed uses for these tools, which we call cross-cutting tools, such as tracing, debugging, taint propagation, provenance, auditing, and resourcemanagement, but few of them get deployed pervasively in large systems.When they do, they are brittle, hard to evolve, and cannot coexist with each other. While they use very diòerent context metadata, the way they propagate the information alongside execution is the same. Nevertheless, in existing tools, these aspects are deeply intertwined, causing most of these problems. In this paper, we propose a layered architecture for crosscutting tools that separates concerns of system developers and tool developers, enabling independent instrumentation of systems, and the deployment and evolution ofmultiple such tools. At the heart of this layering is a general underlying format, baggage contexts, that enables the complete decoupling of system instrumentation for context propagation from tool logic. Baggage contexts make propagation opaque and general, while still maintaining correctness of themetadata under arbitrary concurrency and diòerent data types. We demonstrate the practicality of the architecture with implementations in Java and Go, porting of several existing cross-cutting tools, and instrumenting existing distributed systems with all of them.


In this paper, we report observations of a peculiar SN Ia iPTF13asv (a.k.a., SN2013cv) from the onset of the explosion to months after its peak. The early-phase spectra of iPTF13asv show an absence of iron absorption, indicating that synthesized iron elements are confined to low-velocity regions of the ejecta, which, in turn, implies a stratified ejecta structure along the line of sight. Our analysis of iPTF13asv's light curves and spectra shows that it is an intermediate case between normal and super-Chandrasekhar events. On the one hand, its light curve shape (B-band ) and overall spectral features resemble those of normal SNe Ia. On the other hand, its large peak optical and UV luminosity ( , ) and its low but almost constant Si ii velocities of about 10,000 km s−1 are similar to those in super-Chandrasekhar events, and its persistent carbon signatures in the spectra are weaker than those seen commonly in super-Chandrasekhar events. We estimate a 56Ni mass of and a total ejecta mass of . The large ejecta mass of iPTF13asv and its stratified ejecta structure together seemingly favor a double-degenerate origin.


With approximately 1.38 billion, Generation Y are currently in the job market or about to enter the job market, they are increasingly taking over the spending power of the previous generation, the Baby Boomers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact country-of-origin information on the perception of Generation Y towards international fashion brands. This study was conducted in the context of fashion products, one of the key interests of the Generation Y, and covered a sample population of twenty one countries. As Generation Y are internet savvy, this study was conducted by using semi-structured interviews in an online chat room and structured email interviews. 53 interviews were conducted with the participants from Generation Y cohort. This study highlighted that most Generation Y ignored country-of-origin information. This study explored the reasons why Generation Y ignored or paid attention to the country-of-origin information. It brings valuable insight to international fashion marketers about how country-of-origin information influences the Generation Y's perception towards international fashion brands. Qualitative studies which investigate the perception of Generation Y towards country-of-origin of international fashion brands are scarce. Thus, this study can contribute to the development of research into country-of-origin and Generation Y.


The three dimensional integration of electronic circuits (3D-ICs) is one of the most promising approaches to encounter eternally increasing demands of functionality, performance, and power consumption. However, there exist many challenges in the minimization of power dissipation, skew, latency, wirelength, and obstacle avoidance in 3D-ICs. To overcome the discussed problems, an efficient placement aware partitioning and synthesis by clock tree have been proposed in 3D-ICs. In the proposed framework, the first process begins with the partition of netlist into multiple layers using hybrid Chemical Reaction Optimization (CRO) and K-Medoid algorithm and the placement process has been executed using Grid Warping Technique (GWT). Then, the routing process has been performed using the Line Search (LS) algorithm. The clock tree synthesis process gets accomplished with a Density Sorting (DS) algorithm that considers multiple TSVs. Further, the Clock tree topology has been implemented using the algorithm of Merging with Defer and Embedding (DME) and the algorithm of Graph with Neighbor at the Nearest. Consequently, the buffering and the embedding processes have been carried out to measure the total power dissipation and timing parameters. The proposed work minimizes the skew value compared to the other existing methods like GAP, EP, and SEA and it also provides efficient clock tree synthesis with Defer Merging and Embedding (DME) and Nearest Neighbor Graph (NNG) algorithm based methods as well as it reduces the skew optimally. Finally, the performance of the proposed work has been evaluated and proved to be better by considering the following metrics such as wirelength, power, skew, latency, and area.


Wireless industrial sensor networks are necessary for industrial applications, so that wireless sensor nodes sense around themselves and detect anomaly events in the harsh industrial environments. Due to the harshness, anomaly events such as adversarial intrusions may result in harmful and disastrous situations for industrial applications but it is difficult to detect them over wireless medium. Intrusion detection is an essential requirement for security, but as far as we know, there have not been such studies for wireless industrial sensor networks in the literature. The previous intrusion detection methods proposed for wireless sensor networks consider networks rather in general senses and restrict capabilities to specific attacks only. In this paper, we first study intrusion detection for wireless industrial sensor networks, through various experiments and design of a hierarchical framework. We classify and select better methodologies against various intrusions. Subsequently, we find novel results on the previous methodologies. We also propose a new hierarchical framework for intrusion detection as well as data processing. Throughout the experiments on the proposed framework, we stress the significance of one-hop clustering, which was neglected in the previous studies. Finally, we construct required logical protocols in the hierarchical framework; hierarchical intrusion detection and prevention protocols.


All service encounters between frontline personnel and customers are not harmonious. Customers sometimes deliberately act in a thoughtless or abusive manner which causes problems for the firm, its employees, and other customers. Frontline personnel often become subject to acts of customer misbehavior and need to handle these situations. The purpose of this paper is to contribute with an enriched understanding of different acts of dysfunctional customer behavior in the retail sector, possible triggers of the misbehavior, and the tactics used by frontline personnel to handle these acts of misbehavior. The study is conducted in the retail store Gekas Ullared in Sweden and based on interviews with personnel that work at the check-out counter and at the return counter. The findings demonstrate a number of different types and possible triggers of misbehavior and that frontline personnel have developed several tactics in order to handle these incidents.


The present article deals with the energy classification and the environmental evaluation of the school buildings in Greece. The energy performance of the school buildings, in relation to the normalized annual consumption for heating regarding floor area and climatic conditions, was rated using clustering technique (K-means algorithm) and an energy classification tool developed. The audited school buildings were classified into five energy categories. To investigate the potential for energy savings a methodology for the definition of the characteristics of the typical building for each energy class of the school sector has been developed using multivariate statistical techniques. It is based on a selection of seven variables that influence the energy performance of the building and has been mainly carried out using principal components analysis techniques (PCA). For the evaluation of indoor temperatures, the heating loads and the potential for energy conservation interventions, the typical buildings in each class have been simulated for a typical meteorological year, using TRNSYS. The measurements of indoor air quality concerned in concentrations of monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as in the organic volatile compounds (TVOCs) in 83 classrooms. Thermal comfort conditions have been calculated using the indoor measurements of the meteorological parameters. The research has shown that school buildings suffer from important IAQ problems while their energy consumption and global environmental quality can be improved considerably. The conclusions obtained promote a general energy and environmental evaluation of the school buildings in Greece.


Beamforming is a necessary feature of high-capacity communication links operating at millimeter-wave (mm-wave) bands. Due to the advancement of CMOS-SiGe processes, mm- wave phased arrays can be manufactured at low cost with compact sizes. Transmit arrays are capable of improving the low-output power of silicon PAs through beam directivity. However, reaching (relatively) high efficiency while maintaining high-linearity for QAM waveforms poses a design trade-off. Receive systems suffer from low signal levels and potentially high-power jammers from neighboring links that are not spatially rejected. High linearity is essential for attaining the most efficient communication for both transmit and receive systems. High directivity of the system suggests the need for adaptive beam-scanning methods that do not require skilled labor to determine the location of the transmitter and receiver. The first portion of the dissertation discusses the performance of two phased-array architectures (LO and RF scanning) in presence of jammers. Analytical equations are derived which incorporate the antenna array geometry, array circuit architecture, and channel non-linearity. Secondly, a low-EVM (error-vector- magnitude) direct-conversion I/Q modulator is presented at Q-band in 120 nm SiGe process. The effect of various circuit errors on modulation quality is analyzed. In particular, a new analysis and closed-form equations are presented for the impact of I/Q path compression, power- amplifier AM-AM and AM-PM non-linearity on the system EVM. The second version of implemented Q-band I/Q upconverter incorporates two 12-bit DACs and active mixers and is demonstrated to pre-distort a 16-QAM through an off-chip power amplifier. Finally, a novel adaptive beam-steering I /Q receiver array is proposed and demonstrated in 45 nm CMOS SOI process. The proposed architecture allows auto- steering in the direction of the incident signal and supports modulated RF signal for high-data rate communication. The technique uses combined dynamics of coupled-oscillator arrays (COA) and coupled-phased locked loops (CPLL). This is the first demonstration of self- steering mechanism in a monolithic platform


Nowadays, everyone pay attention to globalization, which range from environment to economic and culture. It is a huge challenge to face an international market. The relationship in economic and culture between German and China has become more and more important. Unfortunately, the recognition of each other is relatively not enough, which prevent the cooperation in project or product development. The project aims at the research on functional innovational product design and development. The team combines students from German and China, which proposes for the design and manufacture of functional product. Along with the grasually improving living standard, more and more equipments for exercise can be seen in public place. on one hand, designers consider from the view of users, they hope to meet the fitness of people during the exercise through design; on the other hand, they use Chinese elements appropriately, so that design work could adapt to its geographical environment.