This paper surveys developments in analytical models and empirical findings concerning the strategic use of manufacturers' coupons for U.S. grocery products. Traditional theories examine the horizontal effects of coupons as a strategy to charge various classes of consumers different prices. Recent developments focus on the use of coupons in manufacturer-retailer vertical competition. The paper provides data on trends in couponing: numbers, face values, redemption rates, total promotional costs, and international usage. The paper further analyses the effective price discounts provided by coupons across brands and segments of ready-to-eat cereals during 1992-1995.


The syntheses of octasubstituted and unsusbstitituted Gallium(III) chloride and indium(III) chloride phthalocyanines (GaPc and InPc), their photophysical, photochemical and nonlinear optical parameters are hereby presented. The photocatalytic oxidation of 1-hexene using the synthesized GaPc and InPc complexes as well as electrochemical characterization is also presented in this thesis. Fluorescence quantum yields do not vary much among the four Ga complexes, except for complex 21c; therefore it was concluded that the effect of substituents is not significant among them.

Solvents however, had an effect on the results. Lower Φ[subscript F] values were obtained in low viscosity solvents like toluene, relative to highly viscous solvents, such as DMSO. The triplet quantum yields were found to be lower in DMSO than in DMF and toluene. The rate constants for fluorescence, intersystem crossing and internal conversion as well as fluorescence and triplet lifetimes are reported. Photodegradation and singlet oxygen quantum yields have also been reported. There was no clear correlation between the latter parameters. It was however established that the four gallium MPcs were stable, within the allowed stability range for phthalocyanines.

High quantum yields of triplet state (Φ[subscript T] ranging from 0.70 to 0.91 in dimethysulfoxide, DMSO) and singlet oxygen generation (Φ[subscript greek capital letter delta], ranging from 0.61 to 0.79 in DMSO) were obtained. Short triplet lifetimes 50 to 60 μs were obtained in DMSO).

Calculated non-linear parameters of these complexes are compared with those of the corresponding GaPc derivatives and tetrasubstituted GaPc and InPc complexes. The optical limiting threshold intensity (I[subscript lim]) values for the InPc and GaPc derivatives were calculated and compared with those of corresponding tetrasubstituted InPc and GaPc complexes. The octasubstituted were found to be better optical limiters.

Photocatalytic oxidation of 1-hexene by GaPc (21a-c) and InPc (22a-c) derivatives is also presented. The photocatalytic oxidation products for 1-hexene were 1,2- epoxyhexane and 1-hexen-3-ol. The % conversion values of 1-hexene and % selectivity of 1,2-epoxyhexane were generally higher for InPc derivatives. Even though InPc derivatives showed better photocatalytic results than GaPc derivatives, the former were less stable relative to the latter. Both type I and type II mechanism were implicated in the photocatalysis mechanism.


This empirical study examines the significant role of strategic planning as an important dimension in successfully implementing total quality management (TQM) and confirming that strategic planning is likewise extremely important. This article presents the results of a questionnaire that was used to gather data on strategic planning from members on different management levels of eight South African Air Force bases that apply TQM. Strategic planning's essential role in implementing TQM and improving services and products is analyzed, where TQM and strategic planning are fully integrated into organizational operations. From 14 TQM dimensions identified to represent the TQM framework, empirical results indicate that strategic planning is an influential dimension to implement TQM successfully. Findings were shown to be reliable and valid to further research on the impact of strategic planning when implementing TQM within the business environment. The findings offer useful indicators for decision makers on how to use strategic planning to improve and ensure successful TQM implementation.


Background: Central periodic breathing (CPB) is common following acute stroke, but its prognostic significance is uncertain. We determined the frequency of CPB on admission with stroke and assessed whether it was related to outcome. Methods: We measured arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), chest wall movements and nasal airflow continually with portable monitoring equipment in a large cohort of acute stroke patients, from arrival at hospital through acute assessment to reaching the ward. Baseline neurological examination and 3-month outcome (modified Rankin scale, MRS) were assessed blind to recordings. CPB was defined as cyclical rises and falls in ventilation, with intermittent reduced respiratory airflow or total apnoea. Results: CPB was common in acute stroke (33/138, 24%), but was poorly recognised by clinical staff. Patients with CPB were more likely to have a total anterior circulation syndrome and higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores than those without (both p < 0.01). Patients with CPB had significantly higher median SaO2 than those without (p < 0.01), unrelated to whether they received oxygen or not. At 3-month follow-up: 91% of patients with CPB were dead or dependent (MRS ≧3) compared with 53% of those without (OR 8.8; 95% CI 2.5–30.5); the association remained statistically significant after adjusting for covariates (OR 5.9; 95% CI 1.4–25.4). Conclusion: CPB is independently associated with poor outcome after stroke, but is not by association with hypoxia. Further work is required to identify causes, effects and interventions that might improve effects of CPB.


Dislocation emission from a crack tip is a necessary mechanism for crack tip blunting and toughening. A material is intrinsically ductile under Mode I loading when the critical stress intensity KIe for dislocation emission is lower than the critical stress intensity KIc for cleavage. In intrinsically ductile fcc metals, a first partial dislocation is emitted, followed either by a trailing partial dislocation ("ductile" behavior) or a twinning partial dislocation ("quasi-brittle"). K Ie for the first partial dislocation emission is usually evaluated using the approximate Rice theory, which predicts a dependence on the elastic constants and the unstable stacking fault energy γusf . Here, atomistic simulations across a wide range of fcc metals show that K Ie is systematically larger (10–30%) than predicted. However, the critical crack-tip shear displacement is up to 40% smaller than predicted. The discrepancy arises because Mode I emission is accompanied by the formation of a surface step that is not considered in the Rice theory. A new theory for Mode I emission is presented based on the ideas that (i) the stress resisting step formation at the crack tip creates "lattice trapping" against dislocation emission such that (ii) emission is due to a mechanical instability at the crack tip. The new theory naturally includes the energy to form the step, and reduces to the Rice theory (no trapping) when the step energy is small. The new theory predicts a higher K Ie at a smaller critical shear displacement, rationalizing deviations of simulations from the Rice theory. The twinning tendency is estimated using the Tadmor and Hai extension of the Rice theory. Atomistic simulations reveal that the predictions of the critical stress intensity factor K Ie for crack tip twinning are also systematically lower (20–35%) than observed. Energy change during nucleation reveal that twining partial emission is not accompanied by creation of a surface step while emission of the trailing partial creates a step. The absence of the step during twinning motivates a model for twinning nucleation that accounts for the fact that nucleation does not occur directly at the crack tip. New predictions are in excellent agreement with all simulations that show twinning. A second mode of twinning is found wherein the crack first advances by cleavage and then emits the twinning partial at the new crack tip. The stacking fault stress dependence is analyzed through (i) the generalized stacking fault potential energy (GSFE) and (ii) the generalized stacking fault enthalpy (GSFH). At an imposed shear displacement, there is also an associated inelastic normal displacement ∆n around the fault. Atomistic simulations with interatomic potentials and/or first principle calculations reveal that


Adult gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are difficult to physically restrain, particularly for examination of the upper respiratory tract and oral cavity—areas important for biological sample collection during disease surveillance studies. Collection of nasal lavage is required for determining the status of Mycoplasma infection in tortoises. Anesthesia is often necessary to provide full relaxation in order to gain access to the head and mouth for nasal lavage. Therefore, deep sedation or general anesthesia are required both for the welfare of the tortoise and to maximize the usefulness of biological samples collected. The objective of this study was to assess the utility and safety of a novel field-anesthetic combination of dexmedetomidine–ketamine–morphine (75 mc/kg; 8 mg/kg; 1 mg/kg, respectively), followed by reversal with atipamezole (0.02 mg/kg). Between May and October 2009 at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center in Baker County, Georgia, USA, 128 tortoises were captured and anesthetized with this protocol. Average time to first effects was 9.7 minutes, to induction was 21.6 minutes, to total recovery after administration of reversal was 92.7 minutes, and the mean time from administration of anesthesia through complete recovery for adult tortoises was 129 minutes but ranged from 40 minutes to 300 minutes. Clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease significantly reduced the induction time such that tortoises with clinical signs lost consciousness faster than healthy tortoises. Study month significantly influenced the time to induction and time to recovery, such that as the study progressed, both parameters decreased. This anesthetic protocol proved to be an effective, reliable, repeatable, and safe method to collect quality biological samples from gopher tortoises. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.


This paper addresses issues concerning industrial growth and industrial pollution abatement in a developing region during the course of modernization. It follows the methodology of ecosystems to preserve the clean fresh water and the environments around the Po Yang Lake area in Jiangxi province where a state program has been recently approved for ecological experimentation. Thus, economic development as a whole is featured in pollution limits and environmental remediation in order to achieve dynamic ecological equilibrium and foster sustainable development. In conclusion, industrial ecology is presented along ecological economics through the mechanism of life-cycle management, firm retiring and energy saving by means of eco-design and advancement of environmental technologies.


Despite continuous efforts in improving process reliability in printed‐circuit board assembly (PCBA), a zero‐defect situation is difficult to achieve because of the complexity of the process and the multitude of components involved. PCBA rework is necessary in many companies due to economic as well as commercial reasons. Presents the intermediate results of a research programme aimed to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of extending the use of a robotic assembly cell to perform single‐board rework. Outlines various manual rework practices and the equipment available. Examines the role of industrial robots and machine vision in PCBA and defines the objectives and overall boundary of the research programme in automatic rework. Describes individual equipment selected to assist the robot, the layout and the manner in which it is used in the cell. Concludes with the development of the cell controller and the methods of equipment integration.


Early recognition of high-risk malnourished patients is important for optimisation of nutritional status leading to better outcomes.  The accurate recording of malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) results is vital in this regard. This quality improvement project (QIP) aimed to review the quality of nutritional assessment of emergency laparotomy patients against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and outline area of improvement.

 The QIP was conducted at Royal Oldham Hospital in 2019-2020 over a seven-month period.  Fifty random patients were included in the first audit cycle over a 4-month period, followed by implementation of recommended changes and a re-audit of 30 patients over a 2-month period.  The initial MUST scores which were calculated and documented by nursing staff were identified as the nursing staff MUST score (NSMS). To assess the accuracy of NSMS, we developed a MUST rescoring method which was performed by a senior member of the medical team and was identified as the medical team MUST rescore (MTMR).

 The initial audit showed a significant difference between NSMS and MTMR scores. According to MTMR, 23 patients (46%) had an inaccurate MUST score assessment by the nursing staff.  A multidisciplinary approach using a standard online calculator were recommended.  The second phase of the QIP showed an obvious improvement in the accuracy of MUST assessment. Our interventions improved the accuracy rate of MUST scores significantly (27, 54% vs 29, 96.6%, P = 0.00005).

 A multidisciplinary team approach and online calculator are useful in improving the accuracy of MUST assessment in emergency laparotomy patients. This helped early involvement of the dietitian leading to improvement in morbidity and mortality.


The widespread adoption of alternative energy sources is increasingly important as we try to create a more sustainable future. The wearable electronics field is growing at a rapid rate. In addition to smart devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers, biosensors are becoming progressively more popular to track critical health data. Summer temperatures in Texas regularly rise over 100°F, often coinciding with summer activities and camps. Left unchecked, this can lead to serious consequences, including heatstroke. A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) embedded in one's shirt can be used to sustainably power a temperature sensor to prevent heat emergencies. We hypothesized that the triboelectricity generated from the friction between one's skin and a negatively charged material placed on the inside of a shirt would produce enough voltage to power these biosensors. We tested numerous negatively charged materials and conductors to determine the optimal design of the generator. Our results revealed that silicone was the superior negatively charged material, producing nearly twice as much voltage as Teflon and five times more than cellophane. We tested the conductors and found that copper produced over 50% more voltage than aluminum. The wearable triboelectric nanogenerator (W-TENG) utilized silicone and copper, the superior negatively charged material and conductor, respectively. The W-TENG produced an average of 3.6 volts while running, enough to power the temperature sensor. Our project is novel due to its usage of skin as the positively charged material in a hybrid contact-separation/sliding mode TENG. The W-TENG created and tested in this experiment shows promise for tracking body temperature and preventing impending heat emergencies.


Several correlations are available to determine the fracture pressure, a vital property of a well, which is essential in the design of the drilling operations and preventing problems. Some of these correlations are based on the rock and formation characteristics, and others are based on log data. In this study, five artificial intelligence (AI) techniques predicting fracture pressure were developed and compared with the existing empirical correlations to select the optimal model. Real-time data of surface drilling parameters from one well were obtained using real-time drilling sensors. The five employed methods of AI are functional networks (FN), artificial neural networks (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), radial basis function (RBF), and fuzzy logic (FL). More than 3990 datasets were used to build the five AI models by dividing the data into training and testing sets. A comparison between the results of the five AI techniques and the empirical fracture correlations, such as the Eaton model, Matthews and Kelly model, and Pennebaker model, was also performed. The results reveal that AI techniques outperform the three fracture pressure correlations based on their high accuracy, represented by the low average absolute percentage error (AAPE) and a high coefficient of determination (R2). Compared with empirical models, the AI techniques have the advantage of requiring less data, only surface drilling parameters, which can be conveniently obtained from any well. Additionally, a new fracture pressure correlation was developed based on ANN, which predicts the fracture pressure with high precision (R2 = 0.99 and AAPE = 0.094%).


Abstract Background: Psychosocial work characteristics are associated with all-cause long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Aims: This study investigated whether psychosocial work characteristics such as higher workload, faster pace of work, less variety in work, lack of performance feedback, and lack of supervisor support are prospectively associated with higher LTSA due to mental disorders. Methods: Cohort study including 4877 workers employed in the distribution and transport sector in The Netherlands. Psychosocial work characteristics were included in a logistic regression model estimating the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of mental LTSA during 2-year follow-up. The ability of the regression model to discriminate between workers with and without mental LTSA was investigated with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: Tow thousand seven hundred and eighty-two (57%) workers were included in the analysis; 73 (3%) had mental LTSA. Feedback about one's performance (OR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.70–0.96) was associated with mental LTSA. A prediction model including psychosocial work characteristics poorly discriminated (AUC = 0.65; 95% CI 0.56–0.74) between workers with and without mental LTSA. Conclusions: Feedback about one's performance is associated with lower rates of mental LTSA, but it is not useful to measure psychosocial work characteristics to identify workers at risk of mental LTSA.


The purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of undersampling and reconstruction algorithm on the total processing time and image quality of respiratory phase-resolved 4D MRI data. Specifically, the goal is to obtain quality 4D-MRI data with a combined acquisition and reconstruction time of five minutes or less, which we reasoned would be satisfactory for pre-treatment 4D-MRI in online MRI-gRT. A 3D stack-of-stars, self-navigated, 4D-MRI acquisition was used to scan three healthy volunteers at three image resolutions and two scan durations. The NUFFT, CG-SENSE, SPIRiT, and XD-GRASP reconstruction algorithms were used to reconstruct each dataset on a high performance reconstruction computer. The overall image quality, reconstruction time, artifact prevalence, and motion estimates were compared. The CG-SENSE and XD-GRASP reconstructions provided superior image quality over the other algorithms. The combination of a 3D SoS sequence and parallelized reconstruction algorithms using computing hardware more advanced than those typically seen on product MRI scanners, can result in acquisition and reconstruction of high quality respiratory correlated 4D-MRI images in less than five minutes.


For more than 60 years geologists have sought evidence of solar-climatic cyclicity in rhythmically laminated sedimentary rocks, but claims in general have not been persuasive. Three Precambrian rhythmite sequences in Australia that comprise varve-like laminae recently have received attention, however, as their conspicuous cycles of ca. 10-14 and/or 20-25 laminae have been ascribed a sunspot-cycle origin. They are the 2500 Ma old Weeli Wolli Formation, the 1750 Ma old Wollogorang Formation, and the 650 Ma old Elatina Formation. New observations for the Weeli Wolli Formation, a siliceous banded iron-formation, suggest a cycle period exceeding the 23 microband couplets proposed by Trendall, casting doubt on the solar interpretation. The Weeli Wolli cyclicity may record Earth-tidal rhythms that modulated the discharge and composition of silica- and iron-bearing fumarolic waters. The structure of the cycles of silty dolomite and mudstone in the Wollogorang Formation does not support a sunspot-cycle origin, and a tidal control on sedimentation should be considered. The Elatina sequence of cyclic sandstone and silts tone laminae displays several empirical similarities to the sunspot series. The discovery of thicker, more complex lamina-cycles in the correlative Reynella Siltstone has, however, caused reappraisal of the solar interpretation of the Elatina rhythmites. The Reynella cycles consistently contain 14 or 15 laminae, with many laminae comprising pairs of'semi-laminae'; the overall structure of the cycles is similar to the mixed (semidiurnal and diurnal) fortnightly tidal growth patterns of modern bivalves. Also, recent observations that fine material can be transported in suspension to deeper waters offshore by ebb-tidal currents provides a tidal mechanism that can explain the deposition of thin, laterally extensive, graded laminae whose thickness would be a measure of tidal range and current speed. By this tidal model, the Elatina laminae are regarded as diurnal increments, and the lamina-cycles as commonly abbreviated fortnightly groupings. The Elatina series so interpreted may encode unique information on lunar orbital periods and the Earth's palaeorotation: the data indicate ca. 30.5 days per lunar month, 13.1 lunar months and ca. 400 days per year, and lunar apsides and lunar nodal cycles of 9.7 and ca. 19.5 years respectively some 650 Ma ago. Evidence for significant modulation of terrestrial climate by the solar activity cycle in the geological past may prove as elusive as have convincing indications of solar signals in modern patterns of weather and climate.


phi X174 RFI DNA treated with bleomycin (BLM) under conditions permitting nicking does not serve as a template-primer for Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I. Purified exonuclease III from E. coli and extracts from wild-type E. coli strains are able to convert the BLM-treated DNA to suitable template-primer, but extracts from exonuclease III deficient strains are not. Brief digestion by exonuclease III is enough to create the template-primer, suggesting that the exonuclease III is converting the BLM-treated DNA by a modification of 3' termini. The exonucleolytic rather than the phosphatase activity of exonuclease III appears to be involved in the conversion. Comparative studies with micrococcal nuclease indicate that BLM-created nicks do not have a simple 3'-P structure. Bacterial alkaline phosphatase does not convert BLM-treated DNA to template-primer. The endonuclease VI activity associated with exonuclease III does not incise DNA treated with BLM under conditions not allowing nicking, in contrast to DNA with apurinic sites made by acid treatment, arguing that conversion does not require the endonuclease VI action on uncleaved sites.


American mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum L.) is a rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial found in wooded areas of eastern North America and is a source of the phar- maceutical compound podophyllotoxin. This research was conducted to determine the optimum duration of low temperature exposure in overcoming dormancy of fall-harvested rhizome segments for subsequent use as propagules in greenhouse plantings. Two types of rhizome segments were harvested from the wild and used in this study: two-node rhizome segments consisting of a terminal node and its adjacent one-year-old node and one-node rhizome segments consisting of a single node, other than a terminal node, of unknown age or rhizome position. For growth cycle I, rhizome segments were exposed to low tempera- ture (≈4 °C) for 30, 45, 60, 75, or 90 days, planted in pots, and grown in a greenhouse set at 21 °C. Shoot emergence, shoots per pot, and plant height were recorded. Leaves were removed from plants when senescence first became evident, and leaf area was recorded. For growth cycle II, rhizome segments remained undisturbed in the original pots and were exposed to low temperatures (≈4 °C) for 90 days. Pots were again placed in the greenhouse and shoot emergence, shoots per pot, plant height, and leaf area were recorded. Increas- ing duration of low temperature exposure of rhizome segments up to 75 days appeared to increase percent emergence and plant height and decrease days to emergence, though changes in greenhouse conditions over the study period may have also influenced shoot emergence and plant growth. Two-node rhizome segments exhibited higher percent shoot emergence, shoot longevity, leaf area, and plant height than single-node segments during each growth cycle. Two-node rhizome segments also exhibited fewer days to emergence during growth cycle I. Rhizome segments produced no more than a single shoot in growth cycle I, whereas more than one shoot was produced in growth cycle II. Most of the effects of low temperature exposure during growth cycle I persisted throughout growth cycle II. These results indicate that dormancy of mayapple rhizomes can be overcome with low temperature exposure and shoots can be induced to grow at any time of year.


Multi-sample anti-aliasing is a popular technique for reducing geometric aliasing (jagged edges) and is supported in all modern graphics processors. With multi-sampling anti-aliasing, visibility and depth are sampled more than once per pixel, while shading is done only once per pixel per primitive. Although this significantly reduces the appearance of jagged edges around object boundaries, the image quality improvement in non-silhouette regions is hardly noticeable. We propose a hardware unit, called the pixel merge unit, which is located just after the early depth test unit but before the pixel shader. Our unit attempts to reduce the shading rate to once per pixel per group of connected primitives covering a pixel using a novel merging strategy. We demonstrate up to 15% reduction in pixel shader executions. Given the simple implementation that we propose, this is a substantial reduction. (Less)


Dispersers – individuals that leave their natal territory in order to find their own breeding territory – are often not a random subset of a population. Instead, the propensity to disperse correlates with individual traits such as aggressiveness, boldness, exploratory behaviour etc. These dispersal syndromes, in turn, are of variable kind in natural populations. There is a given conflict between different traits that are necessary during different phases of the colonisation of new habitat, and the mechanisms that underlie colonisation processes are not well understood. This is of relevance not only for within-population colonisation of empty patches, but also for populations that are engaged in range expansion. We investigate how differences in dispersal behaviour evolve and are maintained in populations in different ecological scenarios, while populations that exhibit non-equilibrium dynamics are in our special interest.


An ACC driving simulator is a virtual reality device which designed to test or evaluate vehicle control algorithm. It is designed and built based on the rapid control prototyping(RCP) concept. Therefore this simulator adopt RCP tools to solve the equation of a vehicle dynamics model and control algorithm in real time, rendering engine to provide real-time visual representation of vehicle behavior and CAN communication to reduce networking load. It can provide also many different driving test environment and driving scenarios.


The snow leopard, Panthera uncia, is an elusive high-altitude specialist that inhabits vast, inaccessible habitat across Asia. We conducted the first range-wide genetic assessment of snow leopards based on noninvasive scat surveys. Thirty-three microsatellites were genotyped and a total of 683 bp of mitochondrial DNA sequenced in 70 individuals. Snow leopards exhibited low genetic diversity at microsatellites (AN = 5.8, HO = 0.433, HE = 0.568), virtually no mtDNA variation, and underwent a bottleneck in the Holocene (∼8000 years ago) coinciding with increased temperatures, precipitation, and upward treeline shift in the Tibetan Plateau. Multiple analyses supported 3 primary genetic clusters: (1) Northern (the Altai region), (2) Central (core Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau), and (3) Western (Tian Shan, Pamir, trans-Himalaya regions). Accordingly, we recognize 3 subspecies, Panthera uncia irbis (Northern group), Panthera uncia uncia (Western group), and Panthera uncia uncioides (Central group) based upon genetic distinctness, low levels of admixture, unambiguous population assignment, and geographic separation. The patterns of variation were consistent with desert-basin "barrier effects" of the Gobi isolating the northern subspecies (Mongolia), and the trans-Himalaya dividing the central (Qinghai, Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal) and western subspecies (India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan). Hierarchical Bayesian clustering analysis revealed additional subdivision into a minimum of 6 proposed management units: western Mongolia, southern Mongolia, Tian Shan, Pamir-Himalaya, Tibet-Himalaya, and Qinghai, with spatial autocorrelation suggesting potential connectivity by dispersing individuals up to ∼400 km. We provide a foundation for global conservation of snow leopard subspecies, and set the stage for in-depth landscape genetics and genomic studies.


The present work is based on a numerical simulation of natural convection in a stationary two-dimensional cavity filled with incompressible air. This convection is subjected to a horizontal temperature gradient and the flow is modeled by differential equations of conservation. Numerical calculations were performed on a mesh using the procedure of finite volume and Simplec algorithm was used to solve the pressure-velocity coupling in the equations governing the flow. The thermal and dynamic fields of the flow in a square cavity were obtained and compared with the experimental results and they are in good concordance. The obtained results also show the intensity of the flow induced by the buoyancy force and allowed to see the influence of Rayleigh number due either to the change in size or to the difference temperature on the thermal and dynamic behavior. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.23.4.14482


Olive leaves are rich with polyphenolic compounds which exhibit many activities like antimicrobial, antioxidant activities. Natural compounds from olive leaves are safe antioxidants, antibacterials, and preservatives compared to synthetic ones. In this work, olive leaf samples were collected from different geographical regions of Palestine at different maturation stages. The olive leaves samples were dried, grinded, and extracted with water at room temperature for two hours. The crude extracts were then analyzed for their total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity. Results revealed that olive leaves are rich with antioxidants (polyphenolic and flavonoid compounds), and the extracts showed antibacterial activities against two gram positive bacteria (staphylococcus aureus, and staphylococcus epiderrmidis) with activity of about 80-90% compared to well known antibiotic (Neomycin). Based on these results, the olive leaf extracts were used in cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and food applications as natural antioxidant and antibacterial agent. In cosmetics, olive leaves extracts were used in moisturizing day cream, anti- aging cream, and shampoo formulations at three concentrations (0.1%, 0.4% and 1.0%, w/w). Results showed that all physical and rheological properties of the formulations with olive leaves extract were the same as commercial product. Furthermore, stability studies showed stable homogenous appearance and effective during one year storage period at room temperature. A questionnaire analysis on 100 volunteers who used these creams and shampoos showed that they are satisfied with these preparations. In pharmaceutical industry, the olive leaf extracts were used as natural antibacterial, and antioxidant in non-sterile pharmaceutical dosage forms instead of conventional chemical preservatives which have toxicity to human beings even at low concentrations especially when used in pediatric/children preparations. Results showed that the extracts work as natural antibacterials and antioxidants for the prepared pediatric syrup and potentially can substitute the chemical preservatives. Regarding food applications of the extracts, they were added into meat fillets as antioxidants and compared to chemical preservatives that are used usually in meats (BHT), and results indicated significant decrease in the amount of secondary oxidation products (represented as malonodialdehyde) of the tested meat samples treated with different concentrations of olive leaves extracts, indicating that this extract can be used as natural antioxidants in meat substituting synthetic ones. Additionally the extracts were tested for the stabilization of edible oils as substituents to synthetic additives (BHT and BHA), and results showed that incorporation of olive leaves extracts in the unsaturated edible oils resulted in significant decrease in primary and secondary oxidation products of the oil, and therefore this extract has protecting effect against induced lipid peroxidation of edible oils.


Digital watermarking is considered to be a main technology for the copyright protection of multimedia digital content distributed on the Internet. However, watermarking procedures can effectively support copyright protection processes only if they are applied by employing specific watermarking protocols, which define the scheme of the interactions that have to take place among the entities involved in the content protection and web-based distribution. To this end, a number of current watermarking protocols can attain important achievements, such as the correct authentication of buyers without exposing their identities during web transactions and the capability of resorting to trusted watermark certification authorities to ensure a copyright protection process that is able to correctly take into account the rights of both buyers and sellers. However, these protocols are often not suitable for web context, where buyers are usually neither provided with digital certificates issued by trusted certification authorities nor able to autonomously perform complex security actions to purchase digital content distributed by web-based content providers. This paper presents an improved version of a web-oriented and interactive anonymous buyer-seller watermarking protocol previously presented by the author. The protocol overcomes the drawbacks affecting relevant protocols existing in literature, and is based on a design approach that makes it suitable for web contexts.


This text shows the conditions of our present epoch, which is understood as successive and technological time. Instead of being rooted in the thinking of origin ( Anfang ), we find ourselves in the epoch of "enframing" ( Gestell ), in a situation where man is no longer even a being but merely a human resource. Instead of thinking, we have digitalization; instead of education, organized ignorance. Using Heidegger's motifs, we contemplate the key connections of our present and uncover an ontological dimension that is more original than Cartesian subjectivity. By descending to a more original ontological dimension, man is shown not as an objectifying (managing, digitizing, etc.) subject, but as a being of Being, thus of origin, to which belongs the paradox that it always happens for the first time and for the last time. And it is precisely from this paradox that the poetic nature of human dwelling becomes clear.


We focus on the problem of developing energy efficient controllers for quadrupedal robots. Animals can actively switch gaits at different speeds to lower their energy consumption. In this paper, we devise a hierarchical learning framework, in which distinctive locomotion gaits and natural gait transitions emerge automatically with a simple reward of energy minimization. We use evolutionary strategies (ES) to train a high-level gait policy that specifies gait patterns of each foot, while the low-level convex MPC controller optimizes the motor commands so that the robot can walk at a desired velocity using that gait pattern. We test our learning framework on a quadruped robot and demonstrate automatic gait transitions, from walking to trotting and to fly-trotting, as the robot increases its speed. We show that the learned hierarchical controller consumes much less energy across a wide range of locomotion speed than baseline controllers.


The efficacy of boards of directors as a critical governance institution has attracted increasing scrutiny in the wake of the recent financial meltdown. CEO compensation which consequentially determines overall management compensation in a firm, is a key governance decision entrusted with the board. A relevant, though unexplored question would be whether shareholders are better served by making the compensation decision themselves. In this paper, in a game theoretic set up, we analyze shareholder payoffs under the traditional delegated- governance structure wherein shareholders set the compensation of the board, but delegate the management compensation decision to the board, and contrast such delegated- governance with an alternate owner-governance structure wherein shareholders determine the compensation contracts for both the board and management. Under unobservable effort, we consider both deterministic and stochastic firm performance, jointly determined by the effort of the board and management. We find that shareholders are never worse off under owner-governance, though management wages as well as effort are higher under certain conditions. Within a deterministic setting, board wages as well as effort are equal or higher with centralized governance. Under extreme stochastic effects, which might describe boom or bust environments, it does not pay to incentivize the board or management to expend effort. In a stochastic environment where output is determined primarily by board effort, it does not pay to incentivize management for effort. Our analysis suggests a possible explanation for the puzzling observation of rising managerial compensation, often not in congruence with firm performance, as the board faces no penalty for misaligned managerial wages under delegated-governance. We show that owner-governance generally eliminates non-aligned incentive structures.


This paper describes a new iterative method to locate a fault on a single multiterminal transmission line. The method uses synchronized voltage and current measurements from all terminals. Using positive-sequence components of the prefault and postfault waveforms, positive-sequence source impedances are estimated. Using these source impedances and the line data, the positive-sequence bus impedance matrix (Z/sub bus/) is formed. Using the properties of Z/sub bus/, an iterative algorithm is proposed. The algorithm first identifies the faulted section and then locates the fault on this section. This algorithm is applied to the data obtained from the Electromagnetic Transients Program simulation of a multiterminal transmission line. The simulation results show that the distinctive features of this method are that it performs with very high accuracy for all types of faults at different fault locations and is practically immune to fault resistance.


Sang Pemburu in Lativi represents mystical program that hunting, revealing and neutralizing a place from invisible things. By presenting an ustadz as a team, the established process and water pitcher utilization as a typical characteristic has shown that it is very different from other mystical programs in other television station. Initially, there are many perception rises in the collegian class as a part of society to this program. Some of them are accepting this program, some rejecting and their remains are hesitating, so that the purpose of this research is to know the perception of collegian of communication major generation 2002 to the program material of Sang Pemburu in Lativi.
Perception is a meaning gift to the stimuli both in the form of events, object, and the relation obtained by drawing a conclusion of information and by interpreting a message. The factors that have a role and influence the establishment process of perception are somebody's stimulus state, social situation or condition that rise the stimulus, and the individual perception regard to both of
the physical aspect and spiritual aspect. The underlying theory to know the collegian perception to program material of Sang Pemburu in Lativi is Individual Differences Theory. It note that everybody will respon the massmedia contents based on their belief and their social values, because each individu has different attention, interest, belief and also has different value.
Besides, it is added by the mind limit theory where human solve their life problems using their mind and knowledge system, but both of them are limited. Human' mind limit are very narrow, especially in understanding any mystical things. The different thinking of each person is the
other evidence of mind limitation.
In this research, the researcher uses qualitative method to collect factual information in describing the existing symptoms. Type of this research is qualitative descriptive by using emic approach. The information source in this research is collegian of Communication Major of UMM
generation 2002 of 12 collegians, using purposive sampling to sample intake. Data collecting technique is interview and focus group discussion (FGD). The obtained data are analyzed by qualitative descriptive analysis and by validity technique of situation triangulation data.
From data analysis, it is known that indirectly materi in Sang Pemburu Program is same with other mystical program in other television station. The difference is its content, where there aresome thing looks different that is the ritual of opening, hunting, mediumisation and staking
invisible fence up, and also waterpitcher utilization. There are some informants that are very disagree with what the team Sang Pemburu doing because it considers had disturb the natural balance, that is between the real world and unreal world. Yet, there also who reveal that what
ever done in the program is very reasonable, because their purpose is to help others from any invisible disturbances. The difference risen from those informant explains that they response all the displayed things through mass media especially television based on their knowledge and
experiences. Moreover, it has connected to invisible matter where the human mind is very limited to understand it.
It can be concluded that the conviction of the invisible existence has became an absolute matter to be had before we try to understand the mystical programs on televisi such as Sang Pemburu.
The existence of invisible world and its creatures is very hard to be proven logically. Moreover, indirectly, through this program it can not proof the validity of them, because the technology (camera) cannot capture nor display them really. Watch or not, it depends on the audience as the
consumer of television program.


Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) is part of Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) handling all issues of non-intentional interference between transmitters and receivers. In this document, various models and methods are described in order to carry out EMI simulations and evaluate the performance degradation of cosite equipments of a system. A next step will consist in validating the developed EMI simulation tool. The chosen study case is the 2.4 GHz ISM band Bluetooth/WiFi interaction. We have carried out BER measurements which results, summarized at the end of the paper, will be used for the planned validation work.


Heat and moisture production rates (HP, MP) of modern pullets and laying hens were measured using largescale indirect calorimeters that mimic commercial production settings. The experimental birds were Hy-Line W-36 strain at 1-5, 10, 21, 37, and 64 weeks of age and Hy-Line W-98 strain at 1-5 weeks of age. Total HP (THP) was partitioned into latent and sensible HP (LHP, SHP) at bird level (excluding moisture evaporation from feces) or room level (including fecal moisture evaporation from feces). The W-98 and W-36 pullets reached their metabolic peak at about 10 and 14 days of age, respectively. The W-98 pullet showed higher THP than the W36 counterpart. Modern pullets have significantly higher THP (12% to 37%; P < 0.05) than pullets of 20 to 50 years ago. At the initial stage of egg production, the W-36 layers showed 12% higher THP than that predicted by the CIGR (1999) model, and the difference diminished with time. Evaporation of fecal moisture elevated room LHP by 8% to 38% (average 14%) during light period and by 21% to 79% (average 43%) during dark period but reduced room SHP by 4% to 17% (average 11%) during light period and by 14% to 33% (average 22%) during dark period with reference to bird LHP or SHP. All HP responses in the dark were significantly (P<0.05) reduced to various degrees (e.g., 23% to 34% for THP) as compared with those during light period. Diurnal bird and room LHP amounted to, respectively, 17% to 87% (average 47%) and 33% to 99% (average 62%) of THP for pullets and, respectively, 29% to 50% (average 39%) and 29% to 55% (average 45%) of THP for laying hens. Respiratory quotient (RQ) ranged from 0.77 to 1.18 (average 0.94) for pullets and from 0.68 to 1.02 (average 0.91) for laying hens. Regression functions that relate daily mean THP, LHP, and SHP of the bird or room to bird body mass were established. Results of this study provide an updated thermal load database for design and operation of poultry housing ventilation systems, as well as the latest bioenergetics of modern pullets and hens.


Kenya remains susceptible to climate change due to the dependence on rain-fed agriculture with limited climate change adaptation capacity. This study sought to establish the influence of gender roles on climate change adaptation in two different ago-climatic zones namely, Kajiado East and Central within Kajiado County in the arid part of Kenya and Kabete and Kikuyu within Kiambu County in the highlands region. A survey was conducted on 312 households, six gendered focus group discussions, and fourteen key informant interviews. Frequency analysis was used for descriptive statistics. Chi-square was used to test for statistical associations between variables (p?0.05). The findings showed that Kajiado County has experienced more climate change-related household food insecurity in comparison to Kiambu County. Only 12% of the respondents in Kiambu County indicated having experienced extreme household food insecurity related to climate change. The findings showed 66% of the respondents in Kajiado County considered herd mobility as the most important climate change adaptation strategy while in Kiambu 56% of the respondents considered changing of planting dates as the most important climate change adaptation strategy. Frequency analysis results indicated that there is more gender disparity in Kajiado than Kiambu County as shown by women having the least access and control over household land in both the rainy and extended drought periods. The gender disparity was confirmed by the chi-square test. Chi-square test results for full control of household land during the extended drought season in Kajiado county was (c2= 102.3, df = p? 0.1). It was concluded that the autonomous nature of the adaptation strategies coupled with the influence of gender roles impedes achieving effective climate change adaptation strategies at the household level. There is a need for planned gender-sensitive adaptation actions to cushion local communities against climate change and enhance household food security.


Magnetic and mechanical properties have been investigated in Fe-4 to 7.8 wt% Si rapidly quenched and annealed ribbons. The roles played by composition and microstructure on the magnetic energy losses and the tensile stress-strain behavior have been put in evidence, by carrying out the related experiments as a function of grain size. The energy losses attain a minimum value at the 6.7% Si composition at all frequencies in the investigated range d.c.-10 kHz. The vanishing of a demonstrably important magnetostriction-related coercivity contribution, which can be singled out in these stress-free samples, is recognized as the leading cause of loss minimization. The composition and grain size dependent stress-strain curves are found to obey a Hall-Petch law for the yield stress. While the elastic limit increases with the Si content, a decrease of the strain at fracture is correspondingly observed.


Civil war is the most radical form of political conflict. This volume analyses the impact of civil war on society and culture in Greco-Roman antiquity. The collected papers examine phenomena such as tyrannicide, staseis and usurpations from the classical age to late antiquity. The focus lies on the lasting impact violence and disorder had on political discourse and memory culture. In particular, the contributions explore how internal conflicts were staged and performed. Beyond spectacular triumphal celebrations there existed a broad range of symbolic forms of communication pertaining to civil war: rituals of reconciliation, reintegration and restoration as well as acts of commemoration and condemnation. The multidisciplinary volume aims at contributing to a better understanding of the performative and communicative logic of civil conflict within the ancient societies of Greece and Rome.


Genital disturbances are frequent in chronic renal failure with amenorrhea anovulatory cycles, elsewhere a good hemodialysis improve these disturbances pathogenesis of there; derived from central gonado stimuline dysfunction. We stated 13 pregnancies in our hemodialysed population. Only one successful delivery of a (baby alive and in due time) is registered. Residual diuresis and blood pressure are the most important predictor pregnancy factors in spite of a good dialysance the fetal prognosis in still unclear. Complications were observed in the mother as well as new babies.


Reform in teacher education has been a pervasive subject of intensive debate and activity among educators and others, particularly in the years since the report A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), and, more recently, What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future (Darling-Hammond, 1996) were published. The material reviewed here offers recent insights into a few issues: the role of administrators in reform; the current focus on standards for educational improvement; and the need to evaluate the effect of collaborative efforts between schools, colleges, or departments of education and public schools or school districts, known as Professional Development Schools (PDSs). The following selected annotated journal articles and documents in the ERIC database provide perspectives in these three areas. The education journals (EJ) cited in the bibliography are available at most research libraries. Education documents (ED) can be read at more than 900 microfiche collections in libraries, educational organizations, and school districts, or ordered online at the Internet web site of the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS) at http://edrs.com. Paper or microfiche copies of documents can be ordered from EDRS at 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite. 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852; (800) 443-3742 or (703) 440-1440; FAX (703) 440-1408; E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com. Journals without an EJ designation are in the process of being included in the ERIC database at the time of this writing. Leadership in Education Reform Dilworth, M. E. (Ed.). (1998). Of course it matters. Putting the National Commission Report into action. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearing-house on Teaching and Teacher Education. ED 417156 In this response to What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future (Darling-Hammond, 1996), leaders in four different levels of education reflect on reform efforts that address concerns about standards, teacher preparation, and ongoing professional teacher development. A school district superintendent presents organizational innovations in a large urban school system; the dean of a school of education examines the impact of the report recommendation on schools, colleges, and departments of education; the executive director of a state standards board discusses adapting new licensing standards to fit local needs; and the executive director of a professional development association describes the organization's efforts to create benchmarks for improvement. In the final section, the original report's author discusses responses of these and other leaders to the National Commission recommendations. Hinton, J. G. (1997, January). Administrative impediments to reform and curricular change in science and mathematics for preservice teachers. Paper presented at the Southwest Educational Research Association, Austin, TX. ED 362464 The author presents a case study of the reform of a preservice program for teachers of math and science. Critical to reform was the participation of two departments in revising their curricula according to the National Science Foundation and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics standards. The study focused on the process of change as it evolved in the two departments. Of interest here are the differences observed between the two departments in the scope and duration of the reforms, which the study attributes to the role of the department chair in promoting the reform. Although the faculties of both departments were actively engaged, and their mutual dean was supportive, successful reform was traced to the proactive role of the department chair. Standards in Education Reform Blackwell, S. (1997, March). The dilemma of standards-driven reform. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, Phoenix, AZ. ED 410565 Blackwell examines the expectations for reform laid on teacher education by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. …


The quantitative correlation of the catalytic activity with the microscopic structure of heterogeneous catalysts is a major challenge for the field of catalysis science. It requests synergistic capabilities to tailor the structure with atomic scale precision and to control the catalytic reaction to proceed through well-defined pathways. Here we leverage on the controlled growth of MoS2 atomically thin films to demonstrate that the catalytic activity of MoS2 for the hydrogen evolution reaction decreases by a factor of ∼ 4.47 for the addition of every one more layer. Similar layer dependence is also found in edge-riched MoS2 pyramid platelets. This layer-dependent electrocatalysis can be correlated to the hopping of electrons in the vertical direction of MoS2 layers over an interlayer potential barrier. Our experimental results suggest the potential barrier to be 0.119 V, consistent with theoretical calculations. Different from the conventional wisdom, which states that the number of edge sites is important, our results suggest that increasing the hopping efficiency of electrons in the vertical direction is a key for the development of high-efficiency two-dimensional material catalysts.


Gene therapy as a modern therapeutic approach has not yet advanced to a globally-approved therapeutic approach. Lack of adequate reliable gene delivery system seems to be one of the major reasons from the pharmaceutical biotechnology point of view. Main obstacles delaying successful application of human gene therapy are presented in this review. The unique advantages of non-biological gene carriers as compared to their biological counterparts make them ideal alternatives for overcoming extra- and intracellular barriers in a more safely manner. We, therefore, highlight the significant contributions in non-biological gene delivery and favorable characteristics of different design attitudes with focus on in vivo approaches. Bypassing the rapid extracellular enzymatic degradation of genetic materials is covered in extracellular segment of this review with emphasis on PEGylated and targeted formulations. The successful approaches to pave the rest of the way from cellular uptake to intracellular transfer and gene expression of unpacked DNA are also discussed. From these approaches, we emphasize more on optimization of cationic-based polymers and dendrimers, developing newly designed membrane-effective components, and adjusting the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of the synthesized vectors.


The determinants of crime have been an area of numerous studies over time. In spite of this volume of work, interest in the causes of crime continues to persist. This paper investigates the determinants of variations in crime rates in the United States using cross-sectional state-level data. It explores the role of government spending and socio-economic variables and compares these determinants for the three years 1990, 2000, and 2010 to determine whether there have been changes in the impact of these variables in these years. State level data is used for the statistical analysis. The result shows that the determinants of crime varied by both the category of crime and the period of study. In addition, government spending on welfare and education were not significant in 1990, but become more significant for the 2000 and 2010 samples.

 Key words: crime rate, determinants of crime, government spending.


A patient is reported in whom adhesive obstruction of the small bowel was due to generalised peritonitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis. It is concluded that any sexually active female with unexplained peritonitis or adhesive obstruction of the small bowel should be screened for chlamydial infection.


The headspace profiles of eleven methamphetamine (MA) samples have been analyzed using solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-MS). Nine of the eleven are illicit MA seizures from the Southwest U.S. border. One sample is methamphetamine base synthesized in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Southwest Laboratory, and the remaining sample is pharmaceutical-grade methamphetamine hydrochloride that is used to make training aids for drug detecting canines. In addition. volatiles associated with 1-phenyl-2-propanone (P2P), a methamphetamine precursor, have been identified for comparison with those found in methamphetamine seizure and the two reference samples. Eighty-seven different compounds were identified from all the samples, not including simple hydrocarbons and aldehydes. Only seven occur consistently in all seizure samples, and these are: acetic acid, benzaldehyde, acetophenone, P2P, 1-phenyl-1,2-propanedione (P12P), 3-phenyl-3-buten-2-one, 1-chloro-1-phenyl-2-propanone. Dimethyl sulfone, a common cutting agent in methamphetamine. was found in six of the nine seizure materials. When the reference methamphetamine and P2P samples are included, only two compounds are common to all twelve samples, and these are benzaldehyde and P2P. As such, these two compounds are likely candidates for use in a pseudomethamphetamine (PM) formulation, and their effectiveness in eliciting a canine response is being evaluated before actual deployment.


Hyperandrogenemia and insulin resistance are heritable traits in sisters of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Hyperandrogenemia also appears to be the male reproductive phenotype; however, it is less clear whether male relatives are at risk for the metabolic disorders associated with PCOS. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that brothers of women with PCOS have defects in insulin action and/or secretion. Twenty-three non-Hispanic white brothers of women with PCOS and 23 non-Hispanic white control men of comparable age matched for body mass index underwent a modified frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test. Parameters of insulin sensitivity and secretion were determined using minimal-model Bergman protocol. Disposition index was significantly decreased (2540 [1080, 3172] vs 2901 [2096, 4487], P = .009) independent of a family history of diabetes mellitus, and glucose effectiveness was significantly increased (2.4 [1.9, 2.7] vs 2.0 [1.8, 2.2], P = .02) in brothers compared with control men. We conclude that brothers of women with PCOS have evidence for pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction and may be at increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus.


In this note, we address the following question: Why certain nonassociative algebra structures emerge in the regularity theory of elliptic type PDEs and also in constructing nonclassical and singular solutions? The aim of the paper is twofold. Firstly, to give a survey of diverse examples on nonregular solutions to elliptic PDEs with emphasis on recent results on nonclassical solutions to fully nonlinear equations. Secondly, to define an appropriate algebraic formalism which makes the analytic part of the construction of nonclassical solutions more transparent.


Pediculus humanus capitis is a major obligate and district ecto-parasite of human which is distributed in different parts of the world and is under several research projects for population management and molecular analysis. In this study, one hundred and seventy head lice were collected from school girls at different high schools in five cities in south east of Tehran Province (Iran). They were analyzed using molecular methods for genotyping lice, Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI), for the first time in Iran. The phylogenetic analysis of the concentrated sequences of the head lice populations showed high divergence among the population collected from different cities. However, samples belonged to each city showed high homology with some of the GenBank sequences.


A finite element procedure to predict residual stresses on the multi-pass arc welding considering the multi-layered beads and solid–liquid phase transformation in the melted bead is implemented and experimentally validated. The nonlinearities of material properties are considered in the thermo-elasto-plastic distortion analysis. Element birth and death technique is used to simulate the weld metal added to base metal in both heat transfer and thermo-elasto-plastic analysis. Residual stresses and strains are computed for butt welding and T-joints fillet welding. The stress distributions calculated by proposed finite element analysis procedure are compared with the measured values of experiments and data available in the other studies. The efficiency of the proposed finite element analysis and experimental procedure is discussed and demonstrated.


Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF) is an Inter-Governmental Transfer System which provides resources to Local Authorities (Councils) to supplement the financing of services and facilities required by the citizens. The Government of Kenya established LATF in 1999 with the objective of improving service delivery, improving financial management, and reducing the outstanding debt of local authorities (LAs).The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of LATF on effective service delivery in local authorities in Kenya with specific reference to County Council 'of Nyeri. Using a descriptive study design, the study targeted all the councilors elected and nominated to the Nyeri county council. Employing a census approach, the researcher sampled 51 councilors with 40 being elected and 11 appointed to the council. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using Microsoft excel and SPSS version 20 for windows. The effect of allocations and disbursement of LATF funds on service delivery was found to be high (mean 1.50, SD = 0.580). The study found that that LATF funds have led to greater public participation by community involvement (62.5%) when the study participants were requested to name ways in which (in their opinion) the LATF programme had influenced service delivery or lack thereof. The influence of government policies and regulations on service delivery was also found to be moderate (Mean =2.5, SD =0.875).The majority (60%) feltthat Nyeri county council's compliance with the LATF act and regulations was very high. That the government policy formulation was wanting was the most popular response with 68.3% giving it as one of the ways when the respondents through an open ended question were asked to name ways in which government policies and regulations affected service delivery. The financial planning process (LASDAP) was found to have a high influence (Mean = 1.46, SD = 0.743) on service delivery. A share of79% of the respondents agreed that the LATF amount requested was based on the county council's budgeted activities. The majority (68%) rated the effectiveness of the council's budget in enhancing service delivery as very high however 22.9% of the study participants rated the same as moderate. 49% of the study participants felt that the LATF amount was adequate in meeting the budget targets while 39% felt the amount was inadequate. Finally, monitoring and evaluation of the use of LATF was found to have a moderate (Mean = 2.04, SD =0.713) influence on service delivery. The participants unanimously agreed that monitoring and evaluation ensured accountability and transparency thereby reducing or eliminating embezzlement or misappropriation of funds. This (according to the respondents) was good for service delivery. All in all Allocation and disbursement of LATF (37.5%) (Mean = 1.50, SD = 0.580) emerged as the most popular factor that influenced service delivery. The researcher concluded that that the allocation criteria of LATF amounts was not satisfactory and that the allocation amounts were not enough to ensure effective service delivery. Among others, the researcher concluded that the government should look to increase the allocations amounts as they have been found to be insufficient in many cases.


Interaction of Campylobacter jejuni with host cells involves a variety of bacterial cell-surface structures. Whilst bacterial adhesins are required for specific binding to host cell receptors, such interaction may be impeded by production of a polysaccharide capsule.
In order to elucidate a role of capsule in bacterial interaction with host cells we developed an assay based on bacterial binding to immobilised analogue of a host cell receptor, SBA lectin. The latter specifically interacts with GaNAc residues decorating N-linked glycoproteins located on the cell surface. One example of such glycoproteins, PEB3, was the main focus of this study.
This model of attachment was verified in a series of experiments confirming specificity of interaction. Bacterial binding was found to be dose-dependent and affected by the presence of soluble fractions of lectin and GalNAc. Moreover, significant reduction of attachment was observed in several independent peb3 mutants. In contrast, attachment of non-capsulated kpsM was significantly increased.
Expression of capsule at certain stages of infection may prevent bacterial recognition by innate host immune system, e.g. by macrophages carrying GalNAc-specific MGL receptors. On the other hand, de-protection of adhesins in non-capsulated cells may be beneficial for bacterial interaction with host tissues at the site of colonisation and attachment.
A hypothesis of differential expression of adhesins and capsule was confirmed by qPCR. There was an increase of peb3 and decrease of kpsM gene expression over time. These findings suggest a role of capsule in fine tuning of C. jejuni interaction with host cells.


Since 1957, oyster popuulations of the Middle Atlantic coast have been ravaged by a new sporozoan parasite that has been called "MSX." This parasite is identified as a new species of Minchinia that invades oysters through epithelial tissues of gill, palp, water tubes, and, occasionally, of the digestive tract. Multinucleate plasmodia are recognized in fresh and fixed preparations.


Wounded victor on film. Churchill stories in the 2000s. This paper deals with two American-British co-productions, so called biopic films, on the life of Winston Churchill. One of them, The Gathering Storm (2002), deals with Churchill's life in the 1930s, the so called Wilderness Years, when Churchill was out of the government, but started to raise warnings against Nazi Germany in Parliament. The other, Into the Storm (2009) deals with the war years, 1940–45, when Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Both of the films star histrionic British and Irish actors, respectively Albert Finney and Brendan Gleeson, in the role of the decisively larger than life British leader. Even if both films generally boost Churchill's "great man" qualities, they also stress other aspects. In the first film, the appeasing British government, Churchill's opponents, primarily prime minister Stanley Baldwin, is depicted as a sympathetic man, characterized by his deeply felt humanist principles and strong insistence on peace, as opposed to earlier negative depictions in popular culture, where he is often a weak-minded victim of Hitler's power schemes. In the second film, successful British ventures during the war, like the Battle of El-Alamein and the struggle for the Atlantic, are consciously down played in order to show that Britain's role in the war was subordinated to the ones played by the superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union. Drawing on modern research on Churchill as well as on his own war memoir, the films are shown to establish a modern understanding of Churchill well founded in the annals of current historiography.


Wind energy offers significant potential for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Most applications have been developed onshore but the planning and siting conflicts with other land uses have created considerable interest and motivated research to offshore wind energy establishments. In this paper, a systematic methodology in order to investigate the most efficient areas of offshore wind farms' siting in Greece is performed, integrating multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools. In the first level of analysis, all coastal areas that don't fulfill a certain set of criteria (wind velocity, protected areas, water depth) are identified with the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and excluded from further analysis. The Analytical Hierarchy Process is performed in the evaluation phase and pairwise comparisons provide the most appropriate sites to locate offshore wind farms. Information concerning evaluation criteria (average wind velocity, distance to protected areas, distance to ship routes, distance to the shore and distance of possible connection to the existing electricity network) is retrieved through GIS, eliminating the subjectivity in judgments. The whole methodology contributes to the portrait of the geographic analysis and stands as the last image of the space characteristics suitable for offshore wind farms.


(51) Int. Cl. GOIF L/66 (2006.01) GOIF 1.5/4 (2006.01) An ultrasound flow meter unit, e.g., a unit forming part of a flow meter for ultrasonic measurement of a fluid flow. The unit comprises two ultrasound transducers 206, a circuit board 202 with an electronic circuit 204 arranged for operat ing the ultrasound transducers 206, and a common protection membrane 132. Such as a sheet of metal, for protecting the transducers 206. The common protection membrane 132 forms part of a water-tight casing, such as an IP68 class casing. The two ultrasound transducers 206 and the circuit board 202 with the electronic circuit 204 are positioned within the water-tight casing and thus protected against dam aging humidity. A glass sealed feed-through 128 can be used to provide external electrical contact to the electronic circuit 204, i.e. for outputting an electric flow rate signal. Such flow meter unit is highly versatile within many applications since it provides a compact and robust unit. The unit can be used with or integrated in many types of devices, e.g. flow meters, Such as used in consumption meters for charging purposes or in many other industrial or home applications


Nanotechnology is based on the fact that the properties of materials become a verity of size approaches that of a few hundred or tens of atoms. This technology is reached a point at which the boundaries separating discrete disciplines become blurred, and it is for precisely this reason that nanotechnology is also referred to as a convergent technology. The key application of nanotechnology is the development of processes that control placement of individual atoms to form products of great complexity at extremely small scale. Nanotechnology includes many techniques used to create structures at a size scale below 100 nm. Nanoparticles have proved useful in catalysis. One fundamental characteristic of nanotechnology is that nanodevices self-assemble. Nanotechnology proposes the construction of novel molecular devices possessing extraordinary properties. One of the primary implementation of this technology is the fabrication of low dimensional semiconductor systems. The novel electronic and optical properties of these low dimensional devices are the boon for a variety of future applications. The Metal-Insulator transition is the main criteria for the existence of low dimensional semiconductor systems in the recent observations. Specially designed nanodevices, in the size of bacteria, might be programmed to destroy arterial plaque, or cancer cells, or to repair cellular damage caused by aging, and then be injected into the body.


This paper presents a multiagent system to manage and monitor the surveillance routes of the security personnel in the construction sector. Several concepts, derived from the Artificial Intelligence, have been taken into account for the system design, obtaining context information in order to automatically monitor the surveillance routes in execution time. The system is composed of intelligent agents with reasoning and planning capabilities, as well as of a set of technologies allowing users to interact with the system and the environment in a natural, unobstructive and easy way.


We present a numerical model for the transient response of a longitudinally pumped miniature solid-state laser. The model is suitable for both regenerative amplifiers and oscillators, provided the latter run in a single mode. The results of our calculations compare well with measurements of the peak output powers and pulse widths for a Nd:YAG rod pumped by a ten-stripe diode laser array. Our model predicts saturation at peak powers of approximately twice the 850 mW reported here due to filling of the lower laser level. To overcome this power limitation due to saturation, we also explore the use of miniature Nd:glass laser amplifiers to boost the single-frequency Nd:YAG pulses to powers exceeding 200 W.


AT-Rich Interaction Domain-containing protein 5a (ARID5A; also known as Modulator Recognition Factor 1(MRF1) ) was first cloned in our laboratory by screening a cDNA library of Tera-2 mRNA with an oligonucleotide probe from the major immediate early gene of human cytomegalo virus. It has been reported that ARID5A forms a complex with androgen receptor (AR) in yeast two hybrid assays and is a cosuppressor of AR in transient transfection assays. In this study, we report that the knockdown of ARID5a expression inhibits proliferation of LNCaP cells on the contrary to the expectation from the transient transfection assay. We found that proliferation of cells stimulated by the treatment with dihydro-testosterone (DHT) was suppressed when ARID5a expression was down-regulated by siRNA technology. Androgen stimulates cell proliferation through activation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). However, the suppression of ARID5a does not affect androgen-activated mTOR activity. Furthermore, the expression of androgen-inducible and androgen-suppressive genes were not affected by suppression of ARID5a. We concluded that ARID5a is not a cosuppressor of AR. Meanwhile, flow cytometer analysis showed that DHT-stimulated cell cycle was arrested at G1 phase after the knockdown of ARID5a expression. Oil Red O staining assays showed that the inhibition of ARID5a expression led to decreased DHT-induced lipid accumulation. Our data further proved that the knockdown of ARID5a expression inhibited the protein expression of DHT-induced sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBP-1). In addition, Western blot analysis revealed that the down-regulation of ARID5a decreased the expression of cell survival / proliferation and cell cycle regulation proteins, such as hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1a), cyclin D1 and cyclin D3. Real time PCR data revealed that the knockdown of ARID5a expression did not affect the steady level of HIF1a, cyclin D1 and cyclin D3 mRNA. These suggested that knockdown of ARID5a expression affected protein expression at translational and/or post-translational level. Our data suggested that knockdown of ARID5a expression increased the phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2a (eIF2a) which inhibited translation initiation. S35 labeling assay confirmed that the knockdown of ARID5a expression suppressed the global protein synthesis. We showed that one of the four eIF2a kinases, general control non-derepressible 2 (GCN2) was activated by the suppression of ARID5a expression. We are currently studying on the mechanisms by which ARID5A regulates GCN2 kinase. Citation Format: Chao Sun, Viktor Chesnokov, Keiichi Itakura. Knockdown ARID5A suppresses proliferation of LNCaP prostate cancer cell through the inhibition of global protein synthesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4489. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4489


We study the effect of Nielsen moves and their geometric counterparts, handle slides, on good boundary links. A collection of links, universal for 4-dimensional surgery, is shown to admit Seifert surfaces with trivial Lagrangian. They are good boundary links, with Seifert matrices of a more general form than in known constructions of slice links. We show that a certain more restrictive condition on Seifert matrices is sufficient for proving the links are slice. We also give a correction of a Kirby calculus identity in \cite{FK2}, useful for constructing surgery kernels associated to link-slice problems.


In the study of reading, there is a debate about whether letters or graphemes are the primary units of perception. A promising data basis for empirically contributing to this debate can be gained from measuring the perception of single vowel letters compared to vowel digraphs. We used letter detection with masked pseudoword primes on pseudoword targets among skilled native readers in order to test for the existence and time course of vowel digraph effects during reading in deep (English) and shallow (Dutch) orthographies. Selecting these two languages, which are similar in terms of syllabic structure, allowed us to use exactly the same pseudoword stimuli. Results indicate that whereas the Dutch readers show letter effects at short prime durations and digraph effects at longer prime durations, the English readers show only letter effects. These findings are inconsistent with a strong version of the claim that graphemes are perceptual in nature, but consistent with models of reading acquisition and skilled reading that predict that, although letter effects always precede grapheme effects, grapheme activation proceeds faster in relatively shallow orthographies than in relatively deep ones.


An interpretation is offered for the observation that the log hydraulic conductivity of geologic media often appears to be statistically homogeneous but with variance and integral scale which grow with domain size. We first demonstrate that the power (semi)variogram and associated spectra of random fields, having homogeneous isotropic increments, can be constructed as weighted integrals from zero to infinity (an infinite hierarchy) of exponential or Gaussian variograms and spectra of mutually uncorrelated homogeneous isotropic fields (modes). We then analyze the effect of filtering out (truncating) high‐ and low‐frequency modes from this infinite hierarchy in the real and spectral domains. A low‐frequency cutoff renders the truncated hierarchy homogeneous with an autocovariance function that varies monotonically with separation distance in a manner not too dissimilar than that of its constituent modes. The integral scales of the lowest‐ and highest‐frequency modes (cutoffs) are related, respectively, to the length scales of the sampling window (domain) and data support (sample volume). Taking each relationship to be one of proportionality renders our expressions for the integral scale and variance of a truncated field dependent on window and support scales in a manner consistent with observations. The traditional approach of truncating power spectral densities yields autocovariance functions that oscillate about zero with finite (in one and two dimensions) or vanishing (in one dimension) integral scales. Our hierarchical theory allows bridging across scales at a specific locale, by calibrating a truncated variogram model to data observed on a given support in one domain and predicting the autocovariance structure of the corresponding multiscale field in domains that are either smaller or larger. One may also venture (we suspect with less predictive power) to bridge across both domain scales and locales by adopting generalized variogram parameters derived on the basis of juxtaposed hydraulic and tracer data from many sites.


In recent, there are tremendous efforts to apply co-generation concept in automobile to improve its thermal efficiency. The co-generation is basically a simple Rankine Cycle that uses the waste heat from the engine exhaust and coolant for heat source. In spite of developed nano technology and advance material science, the bulky co-generation system is still a big concern in automotive application. Therefore, the system should be effectively designed not to add much weight on the vehicle, but the capacity of the waste heat recovery should be still large. With such a goal in mind, the system thermal efficiency was investigated in terms of the system operation condition and working fluid. This paper provides a direction for the optimal design of the automotive co-generation system.


This study aims to investigate the effect of teachers' morale in improving academic performance of secondary schools. This end was fulfilled by three objectives namely:to explore the existing status of teachers morale in secondary schools, to assess the motives of the existing status of teachers morale in secondary schools, and to examine the relationship between teachers' morale and schools academic performance. This study was guided by motivation and leadership theories. The study applied quantitative and qualitative research approaches and cross sectional research design.The data were collected through questionnaires and interview from 77 respondents. The findings revealed that the existing status of teachers' morale in secondary schools was below the expected standard. Majority of teachers had bad feelings about their work. The motives behind the learned status of the teachers' morale were related to salary, leadership, conducive environment for teaching and learning including enough teaching and learning materials. Generally, the findings revealed strong positive relationship between teachers' morale and schools' academic performance. However,further studies on the same topic are crucial due to the ever changing global environment, policies and drastic changes in managing secondary education in Tanzania. Major improvements are also expected basing on the current national leader's slogan of "HAPA KAZI TU'' and the free education policy.


This paper studies the possibility of distinguishing between benign and malignant masses by exploiting the morphology-dependent temporal and spectral characteristics of their microwave backscatter response in ultra-wideband breast cancer detection. The spiculated border profiles of 2-D breast masses are generated by modifying the baseline elliptical rings based upon the irregularity of their peripheries. Furthermore, the single- and multilayer lesion models are used to characterize a distinct mass region followed by a sharp transition to background, and a blurred mass border exhibiting a gradual transition to background, respectively. Subsequently, the complex natural resonances (CNRs) of the backscatter microwave signature can be derived from the late-time target response and reveal diagnostically useful information. The fractional sequence CLEAN algorithm is proposed to estimate the lesions' delay intervals and identify the late-time responses. Finally, it is shown through numerical examples that the locations of dominant CNRs are dependent on the lesion morphologies, where 2-D computational breast phantoms with single and multiple lesions are investigated. The analysis is of potential use for discrimination between benign and malignant lesions, where the former usually possesses a better-defined, more compact shape as opposed to the latter.


A group of rats were mnintnined on a Ca/sup 45/ diet for 21 days, then sacrificed at varying time intervals after substituting a nonradioactive diet. The total calcium and calcium specific activity of several bones, blood, and urine were determined. After correcting for the dilution of radioactivity due to an increase in total bone calcium, it was found that there was little, if any, loss of Ca/sup 45/ from rapidly growing bones. When the growth of the bone decreased, a small measurable loss was detected. It was assumed this slow loss of Ca/sup 45/ represented bone resorption. Values for the rate of bone resorption are presented and their significance in the growth of the bone discussed. (auth)


ABSTRACT Supersaturated conditions in oceanic and other sedimentary environments, and the crystal morphologies of sedimentary minerals support the occurrence in nature of widespread and powerful crystallization inhibition by extremely small, substoichiometric concentrations (< 1 mg/l) of soluble organic substances. The most powerful inhibitor molecules appear to be polycarboxylic acids, polyphenols, polyphosphates, organic phosphate esters, and hydrolyzed proteins. Organic crystallization inhibition, also referred to as organic adsorption poisoning and threshold inhibition, occurs by a process that is fundamentally different from that of stoichiometric organic complexation. During chemical sedimentation in evaporite and other sedimentary environments, organic inhibition can affect crystallization processes in several distinct but related modes. Highly supersaturated solutions can be stabilized over long intervals, so that eventual destabilization may result in mineral precipitation at unexpected locations. If inhibition is overpowered by excess supersaturation or by partial destruction of inhibitor molecules, the precipitating phase also may be affected. Mineral phase kinetics can be altered so that unexpected mineral species precipitate, and habit modifications, twinning, and intergrowth of precipitates may be induced.


There is an increasing trend by publishers to provide supplementary learning materials with text books in order to improve the learning experience and thus ultimately improve text book sales. This study will aim to establish the use of these materials and their relevance to students in terms of supporting student learning. The materials include multiple choice test banks, animated demonstrations, simulations, quizzes and electronic versions of the text. The study will focus on the extensive library of web-based learning materials available on the 'WileyPlus' web platform which accompanies the textbook 'Operations Management', 2nd edition authored by A. Greasley and published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.


The designer sometimes wants to insert register(s) in specific location(s) of a design in order to break critical paths. To do so, the designer has to manually insert registers in all parallel paths as well to balance registers in all paths to keep the functionality of the design intact. This task is known as `register balancing' in the design community. The design size, complexity and hierarchy make manual register balancing in parallel paths task complex and error prone. The method presented here automatically inserts register(s) in the user specified location(s) and also automatically balances registers in all parallel paths. The register balancing problem has been suitably mapped to global retiming problem and solved using standard global retiming algorithm. The proposed method has been implemented in a model based high-level synthesis tool and tested on several Simulink designs.


In this study we present an integer programming model for determining an optimal inbound consolidation strategy for a purchasing manager who receives items from several suppliers. The model considers multiple suppliers with limited capacity, transportation economies, and quantity discounts. We propose an integrated branch and bound procedure for solving the model. This procedure, applied to a Lagrangean dual at every node of the search tree, combines the subgradient method with a primal heuristic that interact to change the Lagrangean multipliers and tighten the upper and lower bounds. An enhancement to the branch and bound procedure is developed using surrogate constraints, which is found to be beneficial for solving large problems. We report computational results for a variety of problems, with as many as 70,200 variables and 3665 constraints. Computational testing indicates that our procedure is significantly faster than the general purpose integer programming code OSL. A regression analysis is performed to determine the most significant parameters of our model. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 45: 579–598, 1998


Introduction: Monitoring allows students the basic cycle of higher-level courses, principally, a deeper understanding of all content been living in class, in this case, the Human Anatomy classes. Through it the student develops various daily activities at the Human Anatomy Laboratory to that add up to the didactic and pedagogical activities required in this process, like the cadaveric dissection. Dissect derives from the Latin meaning to separate, cut, etymologically being equivalent to anatomy. The present study aimed to report the student-monitor experience the discipline of Human Anatomy in cadaveric dissection. Methods: The study is an experience report of a qualitative approach, with an exploratory descriptive analysis, whose objective was to describe, in the words of Physiotherapy course monitors, the importance in the dissection technique. For this, has been made the reading for each reporting for the identification of the central issues described by each monitor. Results: The reports were obtained in February 2014 soon after the end of the I Course of cadaveric dissection of Upper and Lower Limbs, sponsored by the Human Anatomy Laboratory of the University of Pernambuco, Petrolina, as a process of training to those student-monitors who had been selected for the period between 2014.1 and 2014.2 monitoring. Conclusion: It could be perceived that the cadaveric dissection was seen as a way to strengthen the humanization of future health professionals, which resulted in its ethical and social practice, and it has allowed an improvement in teacher-monitor-student relationship.


This study evaluated the effects of dietary guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) supplementation on growth performance, plasma variables, muscle energy status, glycolytic potential, and meat quality of broilers experiencing transport stress during the summer. A total of 320 28-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were randomly allotted to 3 dietary treatments, including a GAA-free basal control diet (160 birds) and basal diet supplementation with 600 (80 birds) or 1,200 mg/kg (80 birds) GAA for 14 D. On the morning of day 42, after an 8-h fast, the birds fed basal diets were divided into 2 equal groups, and all birds in the 4 groups of 80 birds were transported according to the following protocols: 1) a 0.5-h transport of birds on basal diets (as a lower-stress control group), 2) a 3-h transport of birds on basal diets, and a 3-h transport of birds on basal diets supplemented with either 3) 600 or 4) 1,200 mg/kg GAA. The results revealed that dietary supplementation with GAA at 600 and 1,200 mg/kg for 14 D prior to slaughter did not affect growth performance, carcass traits, and most textural characteristics and chemical composition of the pectoralis major (PM) muscle (P > 0.05). In the GAA-free group, a 3-h transport increased the broiler live weight loss, elevated the plasma corticosterone concentration, decreased the plasma glucose concentration, muscle concentrations of ATP, creatine and energy charge value, increased the muscle AMP concentration and AMP/ATP ratio, and accelerated glycolysis metabolism, which resulted in inferior meat quality (lower pH and higher drip loss, P < 0.05). However, dietary addition of GAA at 1,200 mg/kg increased the mRNA expression of S-adenosyl-l-methionine: N-guanidino-acetate methyltransferase in the liver and creatine transporter in both the liver and PM muscle. It also elevated muscle concentrations of creatine and phosphocreatine (P < 0.05), which helps improve meat quality by ameliorating the 3-h transport-induced muscle energy expenditure and delaying anaerobic glycolysis of broilers.


SUMMARY: A survey has been made of the immunological relationships between glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and the related proteins of the amination deficient (am) mutants of Neurospora crassa. Serum against GDH was prepared in rabbits which had been injected with crude extracts of wild type N. crassa. The effect of this serum on the activity of normal GDH and the activity of activated mutant proteins was studied. The techniques of double diffusion in agar gel and of immunoelectrophoresis were used to study the relationships between the wild-type GDH and mutant forms of the protein. The identification of the relevant precipitation line on these gel plates was confirmed by the use of a specific stain for the enzyme antibody complex. The relationship between the antigenic and enzymic sites in the wild-type protein is discussed.


PurposeLight-Gauge Steel Frame (LSF) structures are popular in building construction due to their lightweight, easy erecting and constructability characteristics. However, due to steel lipped channel sections negative fire performance, cavity insulation materials are utilized in the LSF configuration to enhance its fire performance. The applicability of lightweight concrete filling as cavity insulation in LSF and its effect on the fire performance of LSF are investigated under realistic design fire exposure, and results are compared with standard fire exposure.Design/methodology/approachA Finite Element model (FEM) was developed to simulate the fire performance of Light Gauge Steel Frame (LSF) walls exposed to realistic design fires. The model was developed utilising Abaqus subroutine to incorporate temperature-dependent properties of the material based on the heating and cooling phases of the realistic design fire temperature. The developed model was validated with the available experimental results and incorporated into a parametric study to evaluate the fire performance of conventional LSF walls compared to LSF walls with lightweight concrete filling under standard and realistic fire exposures.FindingsNovel FEM was developed incorporating temperature and phase (heating and cooling) dependent material properties in simulating the fire performance of structures exposed to realistic design fires. The validated FEM was utilised in the parametric study, and results exhibited that the LSF walls with lightweight concrete have shown better fire performance under insulation and load-bearing criteria in Eurocode parametric fire exposure. Foamed Concrete (FC) of 1,000 kg/m3 density showed best fire performance among lightweight concrete filling, followed by FC of 650 kg/m3 and Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) 600 kg/m3.Research limitations/implicationsThe developed FEM is capable of investigating the insulation and load-bearing fire ratings of LSF walls. However, with the availability of the elevated temperature mechanical properties of the LSF wall, materials developed model could be further extended to simulate the complete fire behaviour.Practical implicationsLSF structures are popular in building construction due to their lightweight, easy erecting and constructability characteristics. However, due to steel-lipped channel sections negative fire performance, cavity insulation materials are utilised in the LSF configuration to enhance its fire performance. The lightweight concrete filling in LSF is a novel idea that could be practically implemented in the construction, which would enhance both fire performance and the mechanical performance of LSF walls.Originality/valueLimited studies have investigated the fire performance of structural elements exposed to realistic design fires. Numerical models developed in those studies have considered a similar approach as models developed to simulate standard fire exposure. However, due to the heating phase and the cooling phase of the realistic design fires, the numerical model should incorporate both temperature and phase (heating and cooling phase) dependent properties, which was incorporated in this study and validated with the experimental results. Further lightweight concrete filling in LSF is a novel technique in which fire performance was investigated in this study.