Attitude markers refer to certain expressions that are used in a text that reflect writers' position toward both the content in the text and the reader. This study aims to investigate the use of attitude markers in the writings of EFL learners. For this purpose, third stage of the department of English, university of Basra was chosen. The study analyzed 177 written texts of students in both a pretest and a posttest. The pretest is designed to find out whether the students use attitude markers or not while the posttest is intended to know if the students are able to develop their performance in the use of attitude markers in their writings. The study reveals that attitude markers are used in the pretest and the posttest respectively, but there were significant differences between the two tests. The result suggests that the students can develop their performance in the use of attitude markers in their writings. The study stresses the need for teaching attitude markers in the writing courses in the academic study.


Life care and other large retirement centers transfer failing residents to assisted living units or nursing beds at various points. North Hill, a life care center, keeps many of its residents in their apartments years longer, with every department contributing to a creative, cost-effective Assistance-in-Living home care program. This program could inspire home care agencies to contract their services to other such communities.


In this paper, we develop a multitiered dynamic global supply chain network equilibrium model in which decision-makers determine their optimal strategies for seeking to maximize their profits over the multiperiod time planning horizon. Specifically, the model consists of three tiers of decision-makers: manufacturers, retailers and consumers at different demand markets, who compete within a tier but may cooperate between tiers. In a dynamic setting, we investigate the interplay of the various decision-makers, derive their optimality conditions, establish the equilibrium conditions, and provide the finite-dimensional variational inequality formulation which is then utilized to obtain qualitative property regarding to the existence of the equilibrium model under reasonable assumptions. Finally, a numerical example is considered and discussed for illustration purpose.


Pre-ingestive selection has been identified as a feeding mechanism of oysters that may influence their uptake of particles and microalgal cells. Oysters can feed specifically on the pennate diatom Haslea ostrearia, which produces the blue pigment marennine that is responsible for the greening of oysters. Because the size of particles or cells plays a significant role in the selection process, and given that diatoms experience a decrease in size as a consequence of vegetative reproduction, H. ostrearia consumption and marennine uptake might be influenced by pre-ingestive selection. We examined the role of H. ostrearia cell size in the selective feeding of Crassostrea gigas. Individual flow-through chambers were used to deliver mixtures of H. ostrearia of varying cell length to oysters. Inflow, outflow and pseudofaecal samples were collected from chambers during oyster feeding. Video-endoscopy was used to sample material in the dorsal and ventral particle tracts. Diatom cells counts showed that pseudofaeces contained on average larger cells than the ambient medium. However, proportions of the different populations of H. ostrearia in pseudofaeces were identical to those in the ventral tracts, indicating that no selection was performed by the labial palps. Video-endoscopy, plus imaging by scanning electron microscopy, of gills and labial palps revealed that only those larger H. ostrearia that were orientated dorsoventrally could enter the principal filaments (pfs) and then access the dorsal acceptance tract. These results show that for particles like Haslea cells with only one axis exceeding the width of the pfs, the selection on the oyster gills is passive and based on cell size.


Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have been successfully biosynthesized by Chenopodium murale ( C. murale ) leaf extract. Au NPs were incorporated within polyethylene oxide (PEO)/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymer blend by casting method. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and DC electrical resistivity were used to investigate the morphological, thermal, and electrical properties of blend/Au nanocomposite before and after gamma-irradiation at different doses (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 MR).SEM micrographs confirmed the dispersion of Au NPs within the polymeric matrix due to effect of irradiation process. DSC analysis showed that the thermal stability for irradiated samples was improved as compared with pure blend and its nanocomposite. DC measurements revealed nonlinear behavior for electrical resistivity versus temperature. The electrical resistivity values for blend/Au nanocopmosite and its high irradiated samples were less compared to pure blend.


Organic phase change materials (PCMs) are promising to utilize thermal energy from solar radiation for photothermal energy conversion. However, the issues of poor photo absorption and liquid leakage greatly restrict their practical application. Herein, a sustainable porous scaffold comprising periodate oxidized wood (POW) as the supporting material and in situ retains lignin as the light-absorber dopant are demonstrated. The π-π stacking ability of lignin molecules endows the retained lignin with efficient photonic energy harvesting characteristics for fast thermal conductivity to reach a higher maximal energy storage volume. The inherently porous structure of the POW scaffold enables excellent shape-stability, which bypasses the liquid leakage problem. The resulting POW/PCM composites exhibit superior comprehensive performance, including enhanced light absorption capacity, high photothermal conversion efficiency (≈86.7%), and high latent heat of 151 J g-1 . Furthermore, the POW/PCM composites also possess the ability to maintain a relatively constant indoor temperature when fixed atop the model house roof, showing great potential for their practical applications in the thermal regulation of intelligent buildings. This work not only paves a new way to obtain sustainable and effective porous scaffolds for sufficient photothermal energy conversion but also provides more possibilities for their practical application in the future.


In this paper, we present a strategy for focusing ultrahigh-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data for mobile radar mapping. We illustrate the related theoretical background and required extensions on the imaging method based on backprojection techniques. The influence of potential errors in estimating a correct geometry with respect to the imaging quality is investigated in detail by point target simulations. As backprojection techniques require precise knowledge of the topography in close range, the new strategy instantly uses the GPS/INS data of the trajectory to define a suitable digital elevation model of the illuminated scene. We have tested the strategy by driving on conventional roads with an active frequency-modulated continuous wave radar system operating at 300 GHz. Different reference targets were placed in the scene, and the accuracy of the method was evaluated. The results experimentally reveal that the lower terahertz band is capable of subcentimeter SAR imaging in mobile mapping scenarios at very high quality. We have shown that narrow cracks in the asphalt of roads can be detected and fine-scale objects on millimeter size can be displayed. Geometric distortions in the SAR images are significantly reduced allowing the measurements of infrastructure. The output data can at last be transferred to the conventional 3-D Point Cloud Software for further processing.


The sperm storage tubules of the box turtle (Terrapene carolina) were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Tubules containing spermatozoa were surrounded by 6-8 secretory cells, each of which contains numerous membrane-bound vesicles presumably containing precursors to egg white proteins. The apical membranes of these cells contain microvilli, and the apical lateral membranes possess prominent junctional complexes. Cells comprising the spermatozoa-containing tubules cannot be differentiated from those devoid of spermatozoa. Various quantities of spermatozoa reside free in the lumina of the secretory tubules, and are not in contact with host cells. Only the presence of ducts communicating with the oviduct lumen serve to differentiate the spermatozoa-containing tubules.


One of the most important tasks of image processing is the image segmentation where it should be extracted the significant features for the following classification or detection stages. Numerous methods have been developed in the segmentation, but by now, this problem demands finding efficient and fast algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel framework that is based on cluster segmentation in the wavelet transform space, where wavelet decomposition procedure permits to analyze texture features in high frequency bands. Different simulation results, which have been revised in objective and subjective matter, confirm the efficiency of the novel segmentation framework for images of different nature, in particular dermoscopic images.


Several fairness concepts have been proposed recently in attempts to approximate envy-freeness in settings with indivisible goods. Among them, the concept of envy-freeness up to any item (EFX) is arguably the closest to envy-freeness. Unfortunately, EFX allocations are not known to exist except in a few special cases. We make significant progress in this direction. We show that for every instance with additive valuations, there is an EFX allocation of a subset of items with a Nash welfare that is at least half of the maximum possible Nash welfare for the original set of items. That is, after donating some items to a charity, one can distribute the remaining items in a fair way with high efficiency. This bound is proved to be best possible. Our proof is constructive and highlights the importance of maximum Nash welfare allocation. Starting with such an allocation, our algorithm decides which items to donate and redistributes the initial bundles to the agents, eventually obtaining an allocation with the claimed efficiency guarantee. The application of our algorithm to large markets, where the valuations of an agent for every item is relatively small, yields EFX with almost optimal Nash welfare. We also show that our algorithm can be modified to compute, in polynomial-time, EFX allocations that approximate optimal Nash welfare within a factor of at most 2ρ, using a ρ-approximate allocation on input instead of the maximum Nash welfare one.


Effect of radiofrequency (RF)-assisted thermal processing on quality and functional properties of high-foaming standard egg white powder (std. EWP, pH approximately 7.0) was investigated and compared with traditional processing (heat treatment in a hot room at 58 °C for at least 14 d). The RF-assisted thermal treatments were selected to meet the pasteurization requirements and to improve the functional properties of the std. EWP. The treatment conditions were: RF heating to 60, 70, 80, and 90 °C followed by holding in a hot air oven at those temperatures for different periods ranging from 4 h at 90 °C to 72 h at 60 °C. The quality (color and solubility) and functional properties (foaming properties: foaming capacity and foam stability; and gelling properties: water holding capacity and gel-firmness) of the std. EWP were investigated. RF-assisted thermal processing did not affect the color and solubility of std. EWP at any of the treatment conditions. In general, the foaming and gelling properties of RF-assisted thermally processed std. EWP increased with an increase in temperature and treatment duration. The optimal RF-assisted treatment conditions to produce std. EWP with similar functional properties as the traditionally processed (hot room processed) std. EWP were 90 °C for ≥8 h. These optimal conditions were similar to those for high gel egg white powder (HG-EWP, pH approximately 9.5). The RF-assisted thermal pasteurization improved the gelling properties of std. EWP to the levels of HG-EWP, leading to newer applications of this functionally improved safe product. The RF-assisted thermal processing allows the processor to produce a HG-EWP from std. EWP subsequent to processing while simultaneously pasteurizing the product, thus assuring the product safety.


Albicidin is produced by the sugarcane pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas albilineans and is a potent antibiotic specifically targeting the bacterial DNA gyrase with an IC50 value in the nanomolar range. The structure of albicidin, which has remained unsolved for more than three decades since its first description, has been solved by a combination of extensive NMR and HR-MS/MS experiments. An inherent problem for the structure elucidation was the low amount of the albicidin production in cell culture. The low production forced us to cultivate several hundred liters in order to purify a few milligrams required for NMR experiments. In comparison, LC-HR-MS/MS has the great advantage of several orders of magnitude and high sensitivity. Thus, this approach requires much less material. But more importantly, purification of compounds is not necessary for structural analysis. Due to the application of targeted LC-MS/MS experiments, we were able to propose the structure of N-terminal carba- S158 moylated and b-methoxylated albicidin derivatives. Both of them are currently chemically synthesized and studied in a medicinal chemistry campaign. In order to search for more pharmaceutically relevant albicidin derivatives, we applied non-targeted LC-HR-MS/MS approaches combined with mass spectral networking, a recently introduced approach for non-targeted MS/MS data-analysis. However, as for the structural elucidation of albicidin, the even lower concentrated derivatives resulted in difficulties to obtain useful MS/ MS spectra. Since we typically operate the mass spectrometer in data-dependent acquisition mode (DDA), it inherently selects high abundant compounds of cell extracts for MS/ MS scans and possibly ignore low abundant compounds. The same goes for the network analysis which is based on similarity of MS/MS spectra and may not take potential ion species into account. To overcome this problem, we implemented a bioactivity-guided fractionation by solid phase extraction and semi-preparative HPLC. Fractions with antibacterial activity were subsequently submitted to several LC-MS/MS runs in DDA mode with shifted survey scan windows (stitched DDA). Besides the increased amount of MS/MS events per mass range, narrowing down the m/z range of the survey scan also increased the dynamic range of the orbitrap analyzer, which enabled us to significantly increase the method's sensitivity. Finally, we were able to detect a whole series of new albicidin derivatives and to propose their structures based on exact mass determination and MS/MS fragmentation patterns. These new compounds provide great opportunities in lead optimization of albicidin as a new anti-infective drug. Apart from the pharmaceutical relevance, some of the identified by-products give us important insights into the formation of albicidin and its intriguing biosynthetic machinery. (Resume d'auteur)


Anyone who has experienced turbulence in flight knows that it is usually not pleasant, and may wonder why this is so difficult to avoid. The book includes papers by various aviation turbulence researchers and provides background into the nature and causes of atmospheric turbulence that affect aircraft motion, and contains surveys of the latest techniques for remote and in situ sensing and forecasting of the turbulence phenomenon. It provides updates on the state-of-the-art research since earlier studies in the 1960s on clear-air turbulence, explains recent new understanding into turbulence generation by thunderstorms, and summarizes future challenges in turbulence prediction and avoidance


The objective of this research was to develop the transformation procedure of rice stubble in the dry season of Thailand. This would be significantly used for the creative building processes of furniture products for earning increased economic value for the people and the communities. Fiber was applied in the transformation procedure for the rice stubble, including the cementing of the formation procedure in the boiling and soaking methods. From the results from using both procedures in this research, it was found that knock-down furniture sheets had the ability to be formed as standard furniture products with JIS A 5908–1994 for the customer groups who had the most level of satisfaction to rice stubble furniture. Therefore, this resulted in a positive result affecting the reduction of the ratio of burning of rice stubble in terms of preparing the area for planting in the next season on a large scale, including decreasing the occurrence of the PM. 2.5 problem in Thailand in every winter season. As a result, this research could be considered as another choice as a proposal to present the solution guidelines for solving the PM. 2.5 problem sustainably.


This study investigated the water quality of effluents from the wastewater treatment plants, located at the Gumi Complex 4, Gumi, and Wonpyong, in Gumi. DOC accounted for higher than 70% of TOC, and oxidation efficiencies, calculated from carbon, were 13~43% for BOD and 37~73% for CODMn, respectively. Based on the biological decomposition experiments, R-DOC account for higher than 70% of DOC, mostly being occupied by refractory organic matters. This indicated that the biodegradable organics occupied more proportions of organic loadings than the refractory organics. The effect of the organics from a discharge of a sewage treatment plant on rivers, Gumi industrial Complex 4, Gumi, and Wonpyong on lower streams of the Nakdong River were found to be 15%, 6% and 16% respectively. The ratio of 15% suggests that comparatively, no large portions of TOC loadings are occupied, but the problem is that the biodegradable organic matters occupy a lot more proportions than that of the refractory organic matters. Thus, it is highly estimated that the refractory organics can gradually increase the pollution level of organics and precursors of disinfection by-products to the down-stream water treatment plants.


The extent to which metabolism plays a role in tumorigenesis cannot be overstated and drugs that selectively target these processes are likely to at least delay, if not halt tumour progression. Our work utilizes analytical chemistry and system biology approaches to study metabolic transformation. We investigated cells deficient in the mitochondrial tumour suppressor fumarate hydratase (FH) and using extensive metabolomics data we applied a computer model, generated to study their unique metabolome. We identified several important metabolic pathways which are specific and crucial for the survival of cancer cells deficient in FH. These include the heme biosynthesis and degradation pathway as well as mechanisms of alleviating the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle carbon stress. These technologies are not only important for understanding the basic biochemistry of cancer cells but they can inform us on future clinical management of cancer and may lead to new therapeutic approaches to target cancer-specific metabolic pathways. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SY03-01. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-SY03-01


The entrance pupil and first Purkinje reflection ("glint") in an image of the human eye serve as important features in 3D, model-based eye tracking applications. Here I present a physically and biologically accurate, ray-traced model that supplies the appearance of the pupil and glint of a moving eye. Once biometrically calibrated for a subject under study, simultaneous fitting of the pupil and glint features by the model supplies eye rotation, radius of the aperture stop, and the translation of the eye relative to the initial camera position. The biometric parameters of the model, including corneal curvature and the depth of the centers of rotation, are obtained by model-based fitting of images of the eye posed at known gaze angles. This approach was applied to eye recordings from 30 people obtained during gaze calibration, and while head position was recorded simultaneously using echoplanar magnetic resonance imaging. The refractive and reflective effects of spectacle and contact lenses worn by some subjects were incorporated into the model. The fitted parameters reveal that the center of rotation for horizontal eye movements is deeper (13.8 mm) than that for vertical eye movements (12.1) mm, consistent with prior studies. Individual differences in the depth of the rotation centers, and in corneal curvature, were well related to biometric measures obtained from these subjects using clinical ophthalmologic instruments. Once biometrically calibrated for each subject, gaze position was modeled with a cross-validated, median (across subject) absolute error of 0.58°, and image-plane translation of the head was estimated with sub-millimeter accuracy. The open-source model described here produces biologically accurate simulations of the appearance of the eye in motion, and may be used in model-based search to derive eye pose and biometric properties from empirical data.


Conventional actin has been implicated in various nuclear processes including chromatin remodeling, transcription, nuclear transport, and overall nuclear structure. Moreover, actin has been identified as a component of several chromatin remodeling complexes present in the nucleus. In animal cells, nuclear actin exists as a dynamic equilibrium of monomers and polymers. Actin‐binding proteins (ABPs) such as ADF/cofilin and profilin play a role in actin import and export, respectively. However, very little is known about the localization and roles of nuclear actin in plants. In multicellular plants and animals, actin is comprised of an ancient and divergent family of protein variants. Here, we have investigated the presence and differential localization of two ancient subclasses of actin in isolated Arabidopsis nuclei. Although the subclass 1 variants ACT2 and ACT8 and subclass 2 variant ACT7 were found distributed throughout the nucleoplasm, ACT7 was often found more concentrated in nuclear speckles than subclass 1 variants. The nuclei from the act2‐1/act8‐2 double null mutant and the act7‐5 null mutant lacked their corresponding actin variants. In addition, serial sectioning of several independent nuclei revealed that ACT7 was notably more abundant in the nucleolus than the subclass 1 actins. Profilin and ADF proteins were also found in significant levels in plant nuclei. The possible functions of differentially localized nuclear actin variants are discussed. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Proton irradiations on superconducting bulk mate- rials and thin films have enabled to enhance the critical current density and the upper critical field in the mixed state due to in- creased vortex pinning. We investigated the microwave surface re- sistance of proton-irradiated (YBCO) films grown on (LAO) substrates. The intrinsic was mea- sured at 8.5 GHz at temperatures of 7-90 K with the effects of the finite film thickness taken into account. Significant reduction in the of YBCO films were observed at temperatures of 40 K to 70 K when the films were irradiated with 20 MeV proton for 10 minutes to the fluence of with the value of 100 of the proton-irradiated one at 60 K appearing significantly lower than the corresponding one of 140 before irradiation. However, at temperatures below 20 K, the of the irradiated YBCO films was higher than that of the YBCO film before irradiation with the residual of the former appearing higher than that of the latter. No significant changes in the of YBCO films were observed when the films were irradiated with 20 MeV proton for 30-120 min- utes to the fluences of to . The re- duction in the of proton-irradiated YBCO films at 40-70 K was attributed to enhanced impurity scattering rate of compared to a value of for unirradiated YBCO. Index Terms—Proton irradiation, scattering rate, surface resis- tance, film.


Involvement of posterior spine constitutes to 1–6% of the cases of spinal tuberculosis (TB). To the best of our knowledge, TB of costotransverse joints has only been reported once in the literature. The purpose of this study is to describe a case of TB arthritis of costotransverse joints. A 22-year-old immunocompetent patient presented with a 3-month history of pain in the neck and upper back along with a swelling on the left side of the base of the neck. On performing an MRI of the cervicodorsal spine, there was evidence of destructive collections at the bilateral first and right-sided second costotransverse joints. The patient was diagnosed as a case of tubercular pathology and was managed successfully with antitubercular chemotherapy.


Article History Received 10 December 2019 Accepted 27 December 2019 Abstract The electoral accountability is considered a mechanism through which voters hold the government responsible for their performance. The main assumption in this article is that the more performance of local representatives as per their promise before elections under prevailing laws likely leads to more electoral accountability. To test this hypothesis, 455 questionnaires were collected from ordinary citizens and 28 interviews were taken with respective Rural Municipalities and Municipality's chief, deputy chief, and an executive from Sindhuli and Surkhet district of Nepal. The result showed that the performance of Surkhet districts' local governments have a better significant relationship with the electoral accountability index rather Sindhuli district. Despite this relationship, people were neither satisfied, nor unsatisfied with the performance of the local representatives. There are a lot of hindering factors associated with the performance of local representatives which include lack of financial resources, lack of knowledge on how to handle local government, lack of employees, lack of infrastructure, etc. Therefore, the study concludes that electoral accountability in Nepal is in the transitional stage. Keywords


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multisystem autoimmune disease with a peak age of presentation between the 15 and 40 years with a wide variety of disease manifestations. Although there is no formal definition, late onset SLE is generally defined in the literature as onset after the age of 50. It is estimated that 2% to 20% of patients with SLE overall fall into this category. It is important for the clinician to recognize this less-common entity because arthralgia, myalgia, fatigue, and sicca symptoms in the elderly can so easily be attributed as symptoms of normal aging or other common degenerative processes rather than a systemic disease similar to SLE or Sjogren's syndrome. The following report outlines a case of late onset SLE which initially was suspected to be polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR).


We report on dynamical interference between short-lived Rabi oscillations and long-lived coherent phonons in CuCl semiconductor microcavities resulting from the coupling between the two oscillations. The Fourier-transformed spectra of the time-domain signals obtained from semiconductor microcavities by using a pump-probe technique show that the intensity of the coherent longitudinal optical phonon of CuCl is enhanced by increasing that of the Rabi oscillation, which indicates that the coherent phonon is driven by the Rabi oscillation through the Fröhlich interaction. Moreover, as the Rabi oscillation frequency decreases upon crossing the phonon frequency, the spectral profile of the coherent phonon changes from a peak to a dip with an asymmetric structure. The continuous wavelet transformation reveals that these peak and dip structures originate from constructive and destructive interference between Rabi oscillations and coherent phonons, respectively. We demonstrate that the asymmetric spectral structures in relation to the frequency detuning are well reproduced by using a classical coupled oscillator model on the basis of dynamical Fano-like interference.


This paper presents critical autoethnography as an innovative approach to conducting research in marginalized, vulnerable communities. Combining autoethnography, ethnography, and critical pedagogy, the researcher becomes a participant in the study, turning inward to examine the Self and the complexities of cultural perspectives through the lens of critical pedagogy. Intense reflexivity and introspection undergird this study of Self as participant, going beyond recounting facts as objectively as possible, as occurs with autobiography, to acknowledging that the researcher is interpreting the facts through cultural perspectives formed through years of sociocultural, socio-historical, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic events and circumstances. Subsequently, the researcher, more than likely a member of the dominant culture in some categories is able to understand herself as an oppressor.


A tracheo-esophageal fistula occurred spontaneously in a 50-year-old man. At endoscopy it was found to be due to a perforated ulcer localized in heterotopic gastric mucosa in the cervical esophagus. Histological examination revealed ulcer necrosis and granulation tissue, as well as glands of the stomach type with chief and other cells. Malignant or specific genesis was excluded. Based on the histological finding, the attempt was successfully made of closing the fistula with fibrin glue in two sittings. All symptoms ceased immediately after the second sitting. Later radiological and endoscopic examinations no longer demonstrated either the fistula opening nor a fistulous tract.


Drawing on the existent literature in the field and on in-depth interviews, we aim to examine here the practice and the meaning of wearing hijab by Romanian-born Muslim women. In our attempt to show the particularities of veiling among young Romanian-born Muslim women, we take into account the social and cultural context, the meanings and the values that these women convey to wearing the hijab and the consequences that such a practice has for their lives in the community and in the Romanian society at large. We hope that the findings presented and discussed in this paper will enrich the research on this topic and will add a new perspective on the status of Muslim women in Eastern Europe.


Corynebacterium jeikeium is a rare but increasingly important cause of septicemia in neutropenic patients that can present with characteristic cutaneous findings. A 61‐year‐old man with myelodysplastic syndrome developed C. jeikeium sepsis and an erythematous papular eruption while neutropenic from induction chemotherapy. A review of the English language literature shows only six reported cases of hemorrhagic or erythematous papular eruption in C. jeikeium sepsis. The case is presented with an updated literature review of the history, risk factors, and treatment.


In the mobile IPv6 based integration of wireless communication and computer network technology, there is a problem of Ping-pong effect, namely Mobile Nodes(MN) hands over frequently between two access routers, causing location update and registration update to be continually carried out and resulting in communication being constantly interrupted as well as seriously affecting users' Quality of Service (QoS). A novel scheme based on Ping-pong effect for predictive fast handovers for mobile IPv6 is proposed to solve the problems of long latency, high packet loss rate and excessive signaling redundancy in exiting schemes. And in our scheme a new Hop-by-Hop option header named TM (Tunnel Message) header, PCoA Table and Tunnel Table are defined. TM is encapsulated in the acknowledgement of the last packet sent by NAR to PAR, telling PAR that MN would move back to PAR in the near future, and hoping that the previous bidirectional tunnel between PAR and NAR will be available then, so that MN could implement fast and smooth handovers. Analysis shows that this scheme would be viewed as an effective method to solve the above problems and can improve the QoS for mobile users.


Despite the upsurge in research on privatization in recent years, the empirical knowledge of the privatization programme in African is limited. Aside from theoretical predictions, not much is known about the process and outcome of privatization exercises in Africa. This study evaluates technical efficiency in four privatized enterprises in Nigeria. The methodology adopted is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The technical efficiency scores are presented both for the Constant Returns to Scale (CRS) and Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) DEA. Relative efficiency was found to be considerably higher in the past privatization period in both the CRS and VRS specifications. These results indicate a substantial improvement in technical efficiency as a result of privatization. African Journal of Economic Policy Vol. 11(1) 2004: 17-34


George Wells Beadle was born to Hattie Albro and Chauncey Elmer Beadle in Wahoo, Nebraska, on 22 October 1903. He died in Pomona, California, on 9 June 1989. Beadle was one of the giant figures of genetics in our time. He initiated the series of great discoveries made between 1941 and 1953 that brought to a close the era of classical genetics and launched the molecular age. For this achievement, he received many honours, including the Nobel Prize. Beadle also had a distinguished career as an academic administrator. When he retired in 1968, he was President of the University of Chicago. He never lost his love of experimental genetics, however, and after his retirement he resumed experimental work on a favourite subject: the origin of maize. In 1981, he gave up research because of increasing disability from the Alzheimer's disease that eventually ended his life.


Aims/Hypothesis: This study aimed to investigate the impact of weight changes on the clinical outcomes of diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy among patients with newly diagnosed diabetes. Methods: Using nationally representative data from the Korean National Health Insurance System, 181,872 patients newly diagnosed with diabetes who were free of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) during 2007-2012 were followed to the end of 2016. Weight change was defined as the difference in body weight from the time of diabetes diagnosis to 2 years later. Results: There were 180 cases of ESRD (0.10%) and 780 cases of PDR (0.43%) followed-up for a median of 5.5 years from the index year at 2 years after diagnosis. Those with moderate weight gain (+5% to +10%) showed a significantly higher hazard ratio (HR) for ESRD, compared with those with modest weight changes (−5% to +5%) after adjusting for several confounding factors, including the baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (HR, 1.732; 95% CI 1.125-2.667). Those with severe weight loss (−5% to −10%) showed the lowest HR for PDR (HR, 0.591; 95% CI 0.372-0.938), whereas those with severe weight gain (> +10%) showed the highest HR for PDR (HR, 1.732; 95% CI 1.125-2.667). Conclusion: This study provides direct evidence that a change in body weight affects the risk of diabetic microvascular complications. Strategies to control body weight may reduce the risk of ESRD and PDR in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes. Disclosure H. Kwon: None. K. Song: None.


This paper studies the name lookup issue with longest prefix matching, which is widely used in URL filtering, content routing/switching, etc. Recently Content-Centric Networking (CCN) has been proposed as a clean slate future Internet architecture to naturally fit the content-centric property of today's Internet usage: instead of addressing end hosts, the Internet should operate based on the identity/name of contents. A core challenge and enabling technique in implementing CCN is exactly to perform name lookup for packet forwarding at wire speed. In CCN, routing tables can be orders of magnitude larger than current IP routing tables, and content names are much longer and more complex than IP addresses. In pursuit of conquering this challenge, we conduct an implementation-based case study on wire speed name lookup, exploiting GPU's massive parallel processing power. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our GPU-based name lookup engine can achieve 63.52M searches per second lookup throughput on large-scale name tables containing millions of name entries with a strict constraint of no more than the telecommunication level 100µs per-packet lookup latency. Our solution can be applied to contexts beyond CCN, such as search engines, content filtering, and intrusion prevention/ detection.


Background: Small-scale studies correlated the presence of thyroid autoimmunity with both improved or worsened breast cancer outcome. Objectives: We aimed to clarify this association in a large cohort using the phase III, randomized, controlled Taxotere as Adjuvant Chemotherapy Trial (TACT, CRUK01/001). Methods: TACT women >18 years old with node-positive or high-risk node-negative early breast cancer (pT1–3a, pN0–1, M0), with stored plasma (n = 1,974), taken 15.5 (median; IQR 7.0–24.0) months after breast surgery were studied. Patients had also received chemotherapy (100%), radiotherapy (1,745/1,974; 88.4%), hormonal therapy (1,378/ 1,974; 69.8%), or trastuzumab (48/1,974; 2.4%). History of thyroid diseases and/or related treatments was not available. The prognostic significance of autoantibodies to thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb; positive ≥6 kIU/L), free-thyroxine and thyrotropin (combined: euthyroid, hypothyroid, hyperthyroid) was evaluated for disease-free survival (DFS), overall-survival (OS), and time-to-recurrence (TTR), with Cox regression models in univariate and multivariable analyses. The extended median follow-up was 97.5 months. Results: No difference in DFS was found by TPOAb status (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 0.97, 95%CI: 0.78–1.19; p = 0.75) and/or thyroid function (unadjusted HR [hypothyroid vs. euthyroid]: 1.15, 95% CI: 0.79–1.68; p = 0.46; unadjusted HR [hyperthyroid vs. euthyroid]: 1.14, 95% CI: 0.82–1.61; p = 0.44). Similar results were obtained for OS, TTR, multivariable analyses, when TPOAb titre by tertiles was considered, and in a subgroup of 123 patients with plasma collected before adjuvant treatments. Conclusions: No evidence for a prognostic role of TPOAb and/or thyroid function in moderate-to-high-risk early breast cancer was found in the largest and longest observational study to date.


The product of cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450) ω-hydroxylation of arachidonic acid (AA), 20- hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE), is a potent vasoconstrictor. Utilizing microsomes as well as individual CYP4 isoforms we demonstrate here that flavonoids can block 20-HETE formation. Apigenin inhibits CYP4F2 with an IC50 value of 4.6 μM and 20-HETE formation in human liver and kidney microsomes at 2.4-9.8 μM. Interestingly, the structurally similar naringenin shows no relevant effect on the formation of 20-HETE. Based on these in vitro data, it is impossible to evaluate if a relevant blockade of 20-HETE formation can result in humans from intake of polyphenols with the diet. However, the potency of apigenin is comparable to those of P450 inhibitors such as ketoconazole. Moreover, an IC50 value in the micromolar range is also described for the inhibition of CYP-mediated drug metabolism leading to food-drug interactions. The modulation of the arachidonic acid cascade by food polyphenols therefore warrants further investigation.


Nurses working in union and community health clinics have pioneered the development of the independent nurse practitioner role. One of those pioneers offers her views on future directions for practice nurses.


Abstract The motion picture is conceived of as a modern‐day avenue for providing humans with mythological, metaphorical and symbolic imagery. Human subjects were interviewed to determine how film imagery was processed on a cognitive basis. Subjects were also interviewed about their dream imagery to elicit any matching or resonating with the imagery from their felt film experience and dream experience. Utilizing a mythic method, the researcher examined the narratives to discover emergent patterns and configurations of symbolic imagery, metaphorical and mythological content as related to personal mythologies.


Abstract Objective: Singapore, an urbanised, developed nation, with a high reliance on food importation and a high prevalence of eating out is facing rising rates of obesity and diabetes. The objective of the current study was to characterise and evaluate the Singapore government's policies to improve the food environment and to identify and prioritise concrete actions. Design: The Healthy Food Environment Policy Index tool and process were used. An expert panel rated the Singapore government's implementation of forty-seven indicators compared with international best practice in 2018. Indicators were prioritised, and specific recommendations were proposed by panel. Setting: Singapore. Participants: Twenty experts primarily from academia. Results: As compared with international benchmarks, the level of implementation of most indicators (thirty-three indicators, 70 %) by the Singapore government was evaluated as being at least moderate. Highly rated indicators included those related to provision of healthier meals at school, supporting the use of healthier ingredients by food vendors and governmental leadership. More policy indicators (6, 26 %) as compared with infrastructure support indicators (2, 8 %) received a 'very little or no implementation' rating. After rating, the experts prioritised eleven indicators and proposed thirty-one actions informed by several considerations including those of effectiveness, political acceptability, feasibility and unique characteristics of food retail in Singapore. Conclusions: Supported by documented evidence, an independent expert panel identified areas of strengths and provided specific recommendations to meaningfully improve the Singapore food environment to facilitate healthier eating. Fundamental recommendations including improving nutrition profiling and strengthening monitoring systems have the potential to positively influence environments across policy domains.


The aim of this study was to analyze the attainments of map literacy skills in the 2018 Social Studies course curriculum according to the learning areas and examine the applicability of the program. The research sought answers to the following questions: 1. How is the distribution of attainments related to map literacy skills in the 2018 Social Studies course curriculum by class levels and learning areas? 2. What is the level attainments associated with map literacy in the 2018 Social Studies course curriculum related to the lower dimensions of map skills in the high school geography curriculum? 3. What is the applicability level of map literacy skills in the 2018 Social Studies course curriculum for student-centered learning activities? Looking at the results of the study, it was found that at fourth-grade level, there was an improvement in the global connections learning area, where four skills were included with map writing in People and Places and Environments. At fifth-grade level, it was found there were two attainments linked to map literacy in People Places and Environments, while there was one attainment in Global Connections. According to the results of the research, it was found that at sixth-grade level, there were four achievements in People, Places and Environments, one achievement in Production, Distribution and Consumption, and three achievements related to map literacy skills in Global Connections. Finally, at the seventh-grade level, it was found there were two achievements related to map literacy skills in the field of learning People Places and Environments. When Social Studies textbooks were examined, it was observed that map literacy skills and application activities were at a limited level. In Social Studies course learning areas, the level of applicability in terms of map literacy skills is quite high. The recommendations to be developed on this issue are to teach both teachers and students about Geographic Information Systems, where students can find application areas, support map literacy skills.


Introduction: Risk factors are the most ruinous and mischievous ingredient to develop coronary heart diseases (CHD). Factors contributing to develop CHD and their associates are, therefore, of prime importance. It needs endless splurge to address the issue.
Objectives: To identify the attributing risk factors and socio-demographic characteristics of coronary heart disease among civilian employees of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Dhaka.
Materials and Methods:  This observational study was conducted on 287 civil employees of CMH, Dhaka from September to December 2011. Data were collected by interview using questionnaire and check list which includes blood pressure measurement, anthropometric measurement and biochemical examinations.
Results: Respondent's age range was 23 to 59 years, educational level up to class VIII were 56.4 % and more than that were 36.6%, illiterate were 7%. Regarding income low, medium and high income group were 40.4%, 56.8% and 2.8% respectively. It was found that 68.6% had normal BP, 61.3% practices moderate exercise. Among the respondents 72.2% has got 1-5 risk factors of CHD. Risk factors (p <0.001) were significantly associated with age.
Conclusion: This study finding is suggestive of association between risk factors of CHD and socio-demographic characteristics among the study population.  Care through motivation, avoidance of risk behaviour, addressing clinical conditions can resist risk factors of CHD thus coronary heart disease can be prevented.
JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 15, No 2 (December) 2019: 175-177


The present work evaluated the performance of two computer programs: Drugcalc, which utilizes the bayesian (method 1) approach and PKS, which can utilize both the non-bayesian (method 2) and bayesian (method 3) approaches. Both programs permit the introduction of serum level data obtained in both situations: steady-state and nonsteady-state. The prediction of phenytoin concentrations (n = 771) were made from steady-state (n = 378) and nonsteady-state (n = 175), and combined steady-state and nonsteady-state (n = 218) concentrations. The observed serum concentrations (at least two nonsteady-state and two steady-state per patient) were collected under routine clinical conditions in 15 patients receiving this drug. The main contribution to prediction errors is attributed to the difference between doses corresponding to the predicted and feedback serum concentrations, dD, in such a way that when the errors obtained for dD ≥ 100 mg/day are excluded, the predictive performance increases significantly for all methods. In this sense, increases in precision were 87, 64, and 66% for methods 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Moreover, when dD <100 mg/day, nonsteady-state feedback concentrations (≤3) only afforded clinically acceptable predictions (ME ± SD <3 mg/L) when they were combined with at least one steady-state datum value, and the bayesian approach was used. Despite this, for all the methods analyzed, nonsteady-state data are seen to be useful for detecting situations of potential toxicity in a significant proportion of cases (71.4–84.6%) and, when method 3 is used, may offer useful information for the adjustment of dosage schedules.


The discussion about the ethics of xenotransplantation seems to focus upon the benefits for individual patients and the potential risks for human society, in general, to contract a newly emerging retrovirus. In these risk-benefit considerations, the moral concern for the research animals involved appears to be absent. This is remarkable, because the presumed successful xenograft is not expected very soon. A lot of basic problems in pig and primate xenotransplantations still need solving. These new experiments in our own biomedical laboratories raise questions regarding animal welfare and ethical justification in the light of possible alternative strategies. In this article, I discuss some of the moral issues related to preclinical, fundamental xenotransplantation research.


We propose efficient nonparametric statistics to compare medical imaging modalities in multi‐reader multi‐test data and to compare markers in longitudinal ROC data. The proposed methods are based on the weighted area under the ROC curve, which includes the area under the curve and the partial area under the curve as special cases. The methods maximize the local power for detecting the difference between imaging modalities. We develop the asymptotic results of the proposed methods under a complex correlation structure. Our simulation studies show that the proposed statistics result in much better powers than existing statistics. We apply the proposed statistics to an endometriosis diagnosis study. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We study almost Kaehler manifolds whose curvature tensor satisfies the third curvature condition of Gray. We show that the study of manifolds within this class reduces to the study of a subclass having the property that the torsion of the first canonical Hermitian connection has the simplest possible algebraic form. This allows to understand the structure of the Kaehler nullity of an almost Kaehler manifold with parallel torsion.


In this study, a method is proposed to determine the fundamental period of layered soil profiles. A model considering the layered soil as shear type structure is used. At first, the soil profile is divided into substructures. Then, the stiffness matrices of the substructures considered as the equivalent shear structures are assembled according to the Finite Element Method. Thereinafter, the stiffness matrices of the substructures are transformed into the Modified Finite Element Transfer Matrices, which take part in the literature. Finally, the system matrix is assembled using matrices of the substructures. The proposed method provides reduction in the size of the matrix. Therefore, analysis time is remarkably reduced. At the end of the study, the accuracy of the method is presented by the examples. Consequently, the proposed method offers a practical method for determination of the fundamental period of the soil.


Some skeletal stuctures like vertebrae, palatine, cleithrum and operculum
appear to be useful in the determination of age of P. hasta. These parts have
been found useful in determining age of fish by Hart (1950) Menon (1950)
Pantulu (1961) and others. Le cren (1947) and Gosline (1960) studied the
growth rings on bones for determining the age and growth rate of percoid fishes.


Folates, essential nutrients for man, are especially important during gestation. Serum and red blood cell folate levels were measured in 51 parturients and in their respective placentas and concepts, with the objective to further elucidate the mechanisms of folate transfer from mother to fetus. The interrelationships between the three compartments with respect to folate levels were also studied (Tab. I). Serum and red blood cell folates were measured by radioimmunoassay in samples of venous blood from the mother, from the intervillous space of the placenta, and from the umbilical cord. Higher folate levels were detected in newborns than in their mothers both in serum (3.9 times) and red blood cells (2.3 times). Serum folate levels were higher in the intervillous space of the placenta than in newborns (1.3 times) or mothers (4.5 times) Fig. 1, 2). These data suggest that the placenta concentrates folates, thus offering high concentrations of this vitamin to the fetus. It is possible that folate-binding proteins existing in the placenta participate in the mechanism of folate concentration in this organ. However, despite the existence of a transfer mechanism that benefits the fetus, a significant positive correlation was observed between serum folate levels of mothers, newborns and placentas.


The paper presents a detailed review of the state-of-theart ground improvement technique namely sand compaction piles. The technique being originated in Japan has flourished around the globe for its efficient characteristics to act as a reinforcing member when it is installed in clays and is recognized as one of the best methods to prevent liquefaction. Known for its larger bandwidth of advantages, articles summarising the literature contribution on the technique are found to be very limited. Therefore, an attempt has been made to review the noteworthy literature that provides valuable information on the subject. An overview of the literature present on sand compaction piles installed in cohesive soils targeted to meet various demands like increasing bearing capacity, settlement, etc., and the technique's efficiency in mitigating liquefaction associated problems are discussed.


One approach to predicting the toxicology of novel compounds is to apply expert knowledge. The field of artificial intelligence has identified a number of ways of doing this, and some of these approaches are briefly described in this chapter. We also examine two expert systems—derek, which predicts a variety of types of toxicology, and star, which predicts carcinogenicity—in some detail. star reasons about carcinogenicity using a system of argumentation. We believe that argumentation systems have great potential in this area, and so discuss them at length.


The key enabling functionality of a cognitive radio is to ensure that it would not interfere with primary users, by reliably detecting primary user signals. Due to the low computational complexity, Energy detector is a widely used spectrum sensing method. The performance of energy detector in fading channels has been previously analyzed in some papers. However, these analyses are based on the exact model which makes the results computationally complex. In this paper, we propose some simple and reliable closed forms solutions for probability of detection in Nakagami fading channels. Furthermore, since cognitive users should be able to adjust the spectrum sensing time according to the desired probability of detection and tolerable probability of false alarm, a direct relationship between sensing time and SNR in terms of the aforementioned probabilities is needed. In this article, the N-SNR relationship is also calculated for Nakagami fading channels under some tolerable simplifications.


Retroviruses must integrate their cDNA into the host genome to generate proviruses. Viral DNA-protein complexes interact with cellular proteins and produce pre-integration complexes, which carry the viral genome and cross the nuclear pore channel to enter the nucleus and integrate viral DNA into host chromosomal DNA. If the reverse transcripts fail to integrate, linear or circular DNA species such as 1- and 2-long terminal repeats are generated. Such complexes encounter numerous cellular proteins in the cytoplasm, which restrict viral infection and protect the nucleus. To overcome host cell defenses, the pathogens have evolved several evasion strategies. Viral proteins often contain nuclear localization signals, allowing entry into the nucleus. Among more than 1000 proteins identified as required for HIV infection by RNA interference screening, karyopherins, cleavage and polyadenylation specific factor 6, and nucleoporins have been predominantly studied. This review discusses current opinions about the synergistic relationship between the viral and cellular factors involved in nuclear import, with focus on the unveiled mysteries of the host-pathogen interaction, and highlights novel approaches to pinpoint therapeutic targets.


Optical spin-Hall effect (OSHE) is a spin-dependent transport phenomenon of light. Although being discovered decades ago, OSHEs are usually extremely weak and in uncontrollable manner owning to the inability to fully control the spin-orbit coupling [1]. Recently, the development of metasurfaces open a new way for control the spin-dependent splitting of light beam by using a single sheet metamaterials [2-3]. However, these previous works on OSHE only demonstrated simple and symmetric splitting of the two spins [1-3], far from the capability to generate independent OSHEs, which can then work coherently together for more flexible and tunable functionalities. Here, we present a plasmonic metasurface consisting of an array of nano-slots with tailor-made orientation profiles to generate independent surface plasmon polariton (SPP) patterns on the metasurface with the two incident spins [4]. For example a "cross" pattern for one spin and a "triangle" pattern for another as incidence. With such flexible control of OSHEs, we also demonstrate that it is possible to make the two spins work coherently together by controlling the relative phase between the two polarizations, which allows us to play motion pictures, for example, to write a letter "b" with a series of picture frames. Our work may stimulate more applications in near-field optics, such as optical integrated circuits, tip-free near-field scanning optical microscopy, and plasmonic tweezers to trap and move micron size particles.


Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a murine model of neuroinflammatory demyelination that is frequently used as a model for multiple sclerosis (MS). EAE is induced mice by immunization with a myelin epitope and adjuvants. We have previously shown that granulocytes are critical for blood-brain-barrier (BBB) breakdown and clinical disease in EAE. In the current study we investigated the pathways by which granulocytes are regulated during EAE. We found that granulocytes expand in the bone marrow and the bloodstream by day 3 p.i., which was preceded by a spike in systemic levels of G-CSF, a granulocyte growth and mobilization factor. Administration of Bordetella pertussis toxin (BPT) is required for the clinical manifestation of disease in our model. Interestingly, sustained expression of G-CSF and accumulation of circulating granulocytes only occurred in mice given BPT. Treatment of immunized mice with an antagonistic G-CSF receptor-Fc fusion protein prevented clinical EAE. We postulate that induction of G-CSF drives the expansion and mobilization of bone marrow-derived granulocytes that ultimately mediate BBB breakdown and subsequent CNS infiltration by leukocytes. Consistent with our findings, individuals with MS experienced severe exacerbations upon the administration of recombinant G-CSF following bone marrow transplantation. Furthermore, we suggest granulocyte growth and mobilization factors as novel therapeutic targets in autoimmune demyelinating disease.


Bamboo is a genetic resource with evident potential for use from construction until the recovery of degraded areas. Although, characterization and evaluation studies involving bamboo species are scarce and it is difficult to define a list of specific descriptors to better meet the different genres and or bamboo species. Thus, the objective of this work were propose and test the effectiveness of qualitative and quantitative descriptors for phenotypic characterization and the study of genetic diversity among six species of bamboo introduced in Brazil. Fifteen qualitative and nine quantitative descriptors were proposed and tested in clones with one year of planting. Individuals belonging to six species of bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa vulgaris var. vittata, Drepanostachyum falcatum, Dendrocalamus latiforus, Phyllostachys aurea var. albovariegada and Phyllostachys edulis) were characterized on the basis of vegetative descriptors, pseudopetiole, sheath, ligule, gems and culm. The genetic divergence between the clones was estimated by the methods of grouping of Tocher and UPGMA with use of average Euclidean distance and the principal component in two-dimensional plane. Qualitative and quantitative descriptors proposed were efficient to differentiate the six species studied and quantify genetic diversity. The quantitative descriptor of sheath length was the largest contributor to differentiate the species studied.


Background Mutations in MEFV gene encoding pyrin [1] account for Familial Mediterranean fever FMF, a recessively inherited disease but the high number of heterozygote patients is puzzling and requires additional investigation [2,3]. Objectives Elucidation of the pathophysiology of the disease, through the identification of novel genes and miRNAs that interact with or regulate the MEFV gene. Methods Silencing of MEFV gene by AccellsiRNAs was performed in THP-1 cell line that expresses endogenous pyrin. Global changes in mRNA and microRNA expression were assessed by GeneChip HuGene-1.0-ST-v1 and GeneChipmiRNA 3.0 Array, respectively. Putative target genes of the differentially regulated miRNAs were identified by using appropriate algorithms (TargetScan, PicTar). Functional classifications and biological processes of differentially expressed mRNAs and miRNA target genes were assigned according to Gene Ontology (GO) and the updated Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. mRNA and miRNA target genetic or protein interactions were constructed using Cytoscape 3.0.2 (Plugins GeneMania and BioGrid). Results We achieved 62% knockdown of the MEFV mRNA as measured by Taqman PCR, following siRNA-mediated knockdown of the respective gene.Global transcriptome analysis revealed 89 differentially expressed genes and 25 deregulated miRNAs involved in inflammatory-mediated responses, cell cycle, cytoskeleton/microtubule dynamics, intracellular trafficking and survival. Specifically, miR-4520a and miR-19b demonstrate altered expression levels during TLR-mediated signaling, which corroborate the role of pyrin in the regulation of inflammatory responses. Interestingly, the aforementioned deregulated miRNAs are also shown to play a significant role in intracellular membrane trafficking and subsequently autophagy through regulation of small RabGTPases. Bioinformatic analyses predicted high cooperativity within the significantly deregulated miRNAs, with the clustering of 8 (out of 11) members of the miR-378/422a superfamily being the most pertinent example. Conclusions These findings reiterate the involvement of pyrin in innate immune responses and suggest a potential role of this protein in autophagy, probably through regulation of membrane trafficking RabGTPases. Validation of this data in monocytes from FMF patients is in progress. References The International FMF Consortium (1997). Cell 90:797–807. Booty M.G., Chae J.J., et al (2009). Ann. Rheum. Dis. 60:1851-1861. Touitou I, Picot MC, Domingo C, et al. (2001). Arthritis Rheum. 44:163–169. Acknowledgements Mir-Farzin Mashreghi, Helen Latsoudis and Joachim Gruen contributed equally. Disclosure of Interest : None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.2470


The effect of material parameters characterizing viscoplastic flow on the indentation response of polymers is investigated using three-dimensional finite element analyses and a one-dimensional expanding spherical cavity model. The polymer is characterized by a finite strain elastic–viscoplastic constitutive relation and two indenter shapes are considered; a conical indenter and a pyramidal indenter. The ability of the simpler expanding spherical cavity model to reproduce the trends obtained from the finite element solutions is assessed for both indenter shapes. Within the range of parameter variations considered, it is found that two material stress parameters characterizing the plastic flow resistance have the largest effect on the value of the indentation hardness although variations in other material parameters can lead to significant variations.


Aim: The emergence of nosocomial infections, which are mainly transmitted by contaminated instruments, there is an urgent need of a novel disinfecting agent, which can able to act by the novel method with less residual concentration. Evaluation of antibacterial activity of thymol-eugenol mixture for potential application as disinfectant agent.
Methods: The reference strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used for the determination of bactericidal activity for possible disinfectant activity. Docking study with enoyl ACP reductase (FabI) of E. coli was also performed to elucidate the possible mechanism of bactericidal action.
Results: Thymol-eugenol mixture inhibited the growth of the bacterial organism on increasing the concentration and the activity becomes more enhanced on by further increasing the residence time. Furthermore, both thymol and eugenol were found as efficient ligand engaging the active site of enoyl ACP reductase (FabI) of E. coli with estimated free energy of binding of -5.19 kcal/mol and -4.73 kcal/ mol. The estimated inhibition constant of thymol and eugenol was also found in agreement with the excellent bioactivity, 156.07 uM and 343.24 uM, respectively.
Conclusions: The present study corroborated that, thymol-eugenol mixture efficiently inhibits the growth of bacterial organism which easily survive on the medical instruments and can act as potential disinfecting agent.


Digital models have many benefits for construction; for example, clash detection prior to approval, ability to confirm assembly sequencing, verification of as-built dimensions, and more. Customizing and preparing such models for project delivery takes a large amount of time and, unfortunately, cannot guarantee that the physical building or part can be built as modeled; a disconnect between design intent and constructability can often occur. One reason for this is that design team is unaware of certain details that are involved in fabricating and assembling building components; an understanding that craftsmen take for granted. This paper presents the process of incorporating Autodesk Revit into the workflow of an architectural precast concrete manufacturer, tracking a real-world project from design intent model through the incorporation of industry-specific fabrication details. Methods used to generate a novel digital model, as well as to produce shop drawings and shop tickets from that model are documented. Three approaches to creating custom Revit models are described: using parametric Revit families; through Dynamo scripting; and via Excel spreadsheet input. Future potential workflows which could extend the findings even further are discussed, setting the groundwork for "Design-Assist", an emerging project delivery approach wherein subcontractors are engaged early in project development to provide advice to the design team, allowing for more informed decisions, conversations, and digital models for construction.


A preliminary study of the behavior of ultrasonic guided wave mode in a pipe using a comb transducer for maintenance inspection of power plant facilities has been verified experimentally. Guided wave mode identification is carried out in a pipe using time-frequency analysis methods such as wavelet transform (WT) and short time Fourier transform (STFT), compared with theoretically calculated group velocity dispersion curves for longitudinal and flexural mode. The results are in good agreement with analytical predictions and show the effectiveness of using the time-frequency analysis method to identify the individual guided wave modes. And, It was found out that longitudinal mode (0, 1) is affected by mode conversion less than the other modes. Therefore, L (0, 1) is selected as a optimal mode for evaluating location of the surface defect in a pipe.


This paper explores the effects of random blade mistuning on the dynamics of an advanced industrial compressor rotor, using a component-mode-based reduced-order model formulation for tuned and mistuned bladed disks. The technique uses modal data obtained from finite element models to create computationally inexpensive models of mistuned bladed disks in a systematic manner. Both free and forced responses of the rotor are considered, and the obtained results are compared with benchmark finite element solutions. A brief statistical study is presented, in which Weibull distributions are shown to yield reliable estimates of forced response statistics. Moreover, a simple method is presented for computing natural frequencies of noninteger harmonics, using conventional cyclic symmetry finite element analysis. This procedure enables quantification of frequency veering data relevant to the assessment of mistuning sensitivity (e.g., veering curvatures), and it may provide a tool for quantifying structural interblade coupling in finite element rotor models of arbitrary complexity and size. The mistuned forced response amplitudes and stresses are found to vary considerably with mistuning strength and the degree of structural coupling between the blades. In general, this work demonstrates how reduced order modeling and Weibull estimates of the forced response statistics combine to facilitate thorough investigations of the mistuning sensitivity of industrial turbomachinery rotors.


The ready availability of satellite and other images of the Earth together with increasing societal interest in coastal processes and morphology make it desirable to have a consistent way of defining and mapping shorelines from images. The obvious choice, the land‐water interface, is inadequate because it includes the back sides of islands and the edges of river and tidal channels that are not directly exposed to open water. On complex coasts, inclusion of these portions of the land‐water interface would significantly affect quantitative measures of shoreline geometry. Here we propose a method to map shorelines consistently while accounting for ambiguity. The Opening AngleMethod (OAM) uses a visibility criterion to define the shoreline. First a region of unambiguous open water is defined. Next, the shoreline is defined as the locus of points for which the sum of viewing angles extending to open water, unobstructed by land, exceeds a specified critical value. Shorelines defined by the OAM follow the land‐water interface where the shoreline is unambiguous, and in more complex cases OAM shorelines are consistent with the idea that the shoreline is that part of the land‐water interface that is directly exposed to open water.


To the Editor: Sexual and obstetric function after a pelvis fracture has been a long-standing interest of mine. I have pursued research in this area during the past 9 years, and my colleagues and I have been fortunate to present our work at the annual meetings of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association in 2006 and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in 2007. We currently are attempting to publish our work on dyspareunia and functional outcomes after pelvic ring injury. I was surprised to learn of the publication of an article by Cannada and Barr entitled, ''Pelvic fractures in women of childbearing age'' [1], as my colleagues and I had been collaborating with Dr. Cannada during the past 3 years on a multicenter project regarding childbirth after pelvic fracture, which was funded by the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society in 2007. That collaborative work was presented at the annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association in 2009, and included more than 30 women with pregnancies subsequent to pelvic fracture treated at the MetroHealth Medical Center, none of which were part of the article by Cannada and Barr. It is exciting to see research on this pertinent subject published, but it is disappointing that my colleagues and I waited to publish our data on women with pregnancy after pelvic fracture with the multicenter group, including Dr. Cannada. Our intent was to contribute to a larger (multicenter) data set and stronger findings. We were not informed that Drs. Cannada and Barr already had submitted material for publication while continuing to receive data from my colleagues and me as recently as March 2010. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Standards of Professionalism with respect to Research and Academic Responsibilities defines a code which includes honesty with colleagues, and states, ''An orthopaedic surgeon shall not present ideas, language, data, graphics or scientific protocols created by another person without giving appropriate credit.....The senior author of a scientific report is responsible for ensuring that appropriate credit is given for contribution to the research described.'' Although I do not contend that Drs. Cannada and Barr included our data in their manuscript, their methodology incorporated questions to patients which I developed in 2002, and Dr. Cannada raised concern about authorship of these questions, as they are part of another article my colleagues and I have submitted for consideration to another journal (Vallier HA, Cureton BA, Schubeck D. Pelvic ring injury is associated with sexual dysfunction in women. J Orthop Trauma. Submitted for publication, 2010). In an era of increased public scrutiny and skepticism of our work, we must maintain the highest standard of integrity and professionalism in our academic practices. Thus, I am drawing attention to the appropriate origin and authorship of the questionnaire material.


We propose a novel low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoder design methodology by introducing a special code named diagonal-LDPC (DLDPC) code. An LPDC code, defined by a parity check matrix H, can be represented by a bipartite graph. To address the complex routing problem in the LDPC decoder implementation, a partitioned bipartite-graph code is proposed and generalized to a DLDPC code having constraint of positioning 1's near the diagonal area. This structured code simplifies the routing problem [Y. Kou et al, 2001] [R.M. Tanner et al, 2001] [H. Zhang et al, 2003] and enables cell-based highly regular fully-parallel decoder design without compromising the code performance.


Abstract The natural geological and geochemical environment, in addition to providing beneficial mineral content and bioessential elements to groundwaters, may also give rise to undesirable or toxic properties through a deficiency or an excess of various elements. In this paper the controls on the release of toxic elements are considered together with the geochemical conditions that give rise to excess and deficiency. Many studies have pointed towards an inverse correlation between water hardness and cardiovascular disease and the associated mobility of metals in soft waters may also be a contributory factor. Under acidic conditions Al and Be as well as other metals may be released, whilst changes in redox conditions as well as pH will affect the mobility of Fe, Mn and As in particular. Some potentially toxic elements such as Ba and F are usually held at acceptable concentrations in groundwaters by the respective solubility controls of barite and fluorite; quality problems arise from these elements when groundwaters contain respectively low sulphate or low calcium concentrations. Deficiencies of Se and I (as well as F) in groundwater are related to the low geochemical abundance of these elements in certain environments. In the context of groundwater pollution it is important first to define the natural baseline concentrations of key elements of health importance.


This paper presents design and analysis of ultrasonic vibrator featuring the piezoelectric actuator. After describing a geometric configuration of the proposed vibrator, an analytical model of the ultrasonic vibrator is formulated by adopting liquid film pattern theory and wave theory. The dynamic analysis and geometric optimization are then undertaken using a software ANSYS. The optimization is performed by taking the amplitude of the tip displacement as an objective function. The fluid flow characteristics of the proposed vibrator are analyzed by taking three different fluids: water, silicon oil and ethylene-glycol. This is achieved using a software FLUENT.


This dataset corresponds to the output files that were produced for the study reported in:

Knights, Deon, Kevin C. Parks, Audrey H. Sawyer, Cedric H. David, Trevor N. Browning, Kelsey M. Danner, and Corey D. Wallace, (2017), Direct groundwater discharge and vulnerability to hidden nutrient loads along the Great Lakes coast of the United States,  Journal of Hydrology,  554, 331-341

 Data sources

The following sources were used to produce files in this dataset:

 The National Hydrography Dataset Plus (NHDPlus) Version 2, obtained from http://www.horizon-systems.com/nhdplus/NHDplusV2_data.php.  Region used is: Great Lakes (04)
 The second phase of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS2), obtained from ftp://hydro1.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/s4pa/NLDAS.  Model outputs used are: NLDAS_MOS0125_MC.002, NLDAS_NOAH0125_MC.002, and NLDAS_VIC0125_MC.002.
 The United States 2011 National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2011), obtained from: http://www.mrlc.gov/nlcd2011.php.

 Description of files

The files in this dataset contain are described below:

 Flowlines : This folder contains a shapefile ( GL_coastcatchment_NHDflowline ) with the coastline of the Contiguous United States as described by NHDPlus V2, and was merged from a subsample of all river reaches available in the region used.
 Catchment : This folder contains a shapefile (GL_coastcatchment_polygon) with the contributing catchments of NHDPlus V2 corresponding to the above coastline, and was merged from a subsample of all catchments available in the region used.
 Centroid : This folder contains a shapefile (GL_coastcatchment_centroid) with the centroids of the above catchments.
 DischargeVulnerabilities.csv .  This .csv file contains the following data (units are in parentheses):

 COMID: Unique feature identifier in NHDPlusV2 ().
 Length_km: Length of coastline feature (km).
 Area_sqkm: Area of coastal catchment feature (km 2 ).
 Infiltration_kgsqm: Average annual infiltrating runoff for REACHCODE (kg/m 2 )
 REACHCODE: Reach identifier in NHDPlusV2; reaches can include multiple features; Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) is computed by reach, not feature ().
 RLength_km: Total length of coastline accumulated by REACHCODE (km).
 RArea_sqkm: Total area of coastal catchment accumulated by REACHCODE (km 2 ).
 RInfiltration_kgsqm: Average annual infiltrating runoff for REACHCODE (kg/m 2 )
 DGWD: Average annual direct groundwater discharge for REACHCODE (m 2 /y).
 Vulnerable_percent: Percentage of reach area with developed or agricultural land use in 2011 (%).
 Vulnerable: Vulnerability to coastal contamination (0- not vulnerable; 1-vulnerable)


Antioxidant activity of Australian tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oil (TTO) was determined using two different assays. In the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay, 10 microL/mL crude TTO in methanol had approximately 80% free radical scavenging activity, and in the hexanal/hexanoic acid assay, 200 microL/mL crude TTO exhibited 60% inhibitory activity against the oxidation of hexanal to hexanoic acid over 30 days. These results were equivalent to the antioxidant activities of 30 mM butylated hydroxytoluene in both tests at the same experimental conditions. This indicated that the TTO could be a good alternative antioxidant. Inherent antioxidants, i.e., alpha-terpinene, alpha-terpinolene, and gamma-terpinene, in the crude TTO were separated and identified chromatographically using silica gel open chromatography, C(18)-high-pressure liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Their antioxidant activities decreased in the following order in both assays: alpha-terpinene > alpha-terpinolene > gamma-terpinene.


Arapaima gigas is a giant bony tongue air-breathing fish, and a promising species for aquaculture due to its particular features. However, there is still a lack of information on its biology and few transcriptome studies are available. Our aim was to characterize the transcriptome of arapaima in order to shed light on molecular networks contributing to its unique traits. Through RNA-sequencing, we generated a transcriptome from eight tissues (brain, pituitary, heart, muscle, kidney, lung, ovary, and testis) collected from arapaima adults specimens. Using a genome-guided strategy associated with homologous protein evidence, 57,706 transcripts were assembled, which aligned to 23,353 high confidence protein-coding genes. The analysis revealed a global view of expression patterns, as well as it allowed us to identify tissue-specific gene clusters, transcription factors within the clusters, and to compare expression patterns between male and female. These analyses has generated tissue-specific and sex-biased transcriptome profiles, which will be helpful to understand its molecular biology, evolution, and also guide future functional studies of the arapaima.


An overview is given of the Japanese National Railways (JNR) Maglev system, which uses superconducting magnet levitation and linear synchronous motor (LSM) propulsion. The progress made has included a speed of 517 km/h reached by experimental vehicle ML500, a three-car test run by the MLU001 vehicle, manned test runs, and test runs with aberrations purposely introduced into the guideway. A maximum speed of 352 km/h was achieved for the three-car train. After noting guideway and power supply facility components, the MLU001 and MLU002, the discussion centers on the vehicle body, carriages, superconducting magnets, and helium liquifier and refrigerator units. >


The current study investigated the development of children's performance on tasks that have been suggested to underlie early mathematics skills, including measures of cardinality, ordinality and intelligence. Eighty-seven children were tested in their first (T1) and second (T2) school year (at age 5 and 6). Children's performance on all tasks demonstrated good reliability and significantly improved with age. Correlational analyses revealed that performance on some mathematics-related tasks were non-significantly correlated between T1 and T2 (Number line and Number comparison), showing that these skills are relatively unstable. Detailed analyses also indicated that the way children solve these tasks show qualitative changes over time. By contrast, children's performance on measures of intelligence and non-numerical ordering abilities were strongly correlated between T1 and T2. Additionally, ordering skills also showed moderate to strong correlations with counting procedures both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. These results suggest that, initially, mathematics skills strongly rely on non-mathematical abilities.


We propose a method for automatically optimizing the layout placement of user interfaces in commercial applications. The proposed method suggests an optimal user interface component placement layout for an application by considering behavior cost, repeated user interface sequences, and preferred placement area. We used the Apriori algorithm and a genetic algorithm efficiently to optimize user interface component placement based on the evaluation of a keystroke-level model. We verified the effectiveness of the proposed method using a customizable user interface for three applications, namely, Adobe Photoshop, 3DS MAX, and the massively multiplayer online role-playing game "World of Warcraft." Our experimental results show that the proposed system can both reduce the behavioral cost of an application at the user level and enable efficient user interface usage by considering interrelationship patterns among user interface components.


In my talk the influence of the intermediate-coupling scheme of Hg on various electron scattering observables such as spin exchange cross sections, spin up-down asymmetries or spin-resolved circular polarization is discussed with special emphasis to recent experimental results from our group and recent theoretical data.


Reverse micelles (RMs) made from water and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) are commonly studied experimentally as models of aqueous microenvironments. They are small enough for individual RMs to also be studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, which yields detailed insight into their structure and properties. Although RM size is determined by the water loading ratio (i.e., the molar ratio of water to AOT), experimental measurements of RM size are imprecise and inconsistent, which is problematic when seeking to understand the relationship between water loading ratio and RM size, and when designing models for study by MD simulation. Therefore, a systematic study of RM size was performed by MD simulation with the aims of determining the size of an RM for a given water loading ratio, and of reconciling the results with experimental measurements. Results for a water loading ratio of 7.5 indicate that the interaction energy between AOT anions and other system components is at a minimum when there are 62 AOT anions in each RM. The minimum is due to a combination of attractive and repulsive electrostatic interactions that vary with RM size and the dielectric effect of available water. Overall, the results agree with a detailed analysis of previously published experimental data over a wide range of water loading ratios, and help reconcile seemingly discrepant experimental results. In addition, water loss and gain from an RM is observed and the mechanism of water exchange is outlined. This kind of RM model, which faithfully reproduces experimental results, is essential for reliable insights into the properties of RM-encapsulated materials.


To ensure success of students enrolled in distance learning courses factors such as training for instructors, allocation of resources, administrative support, perceived relevance of content to the student's career or personal interests, degree of student support, amount and nature of feedback and amount of time/effort required as well as establishment of learning communities are critical. Unfortunately, these services are not always in place when colleges first begin to venture into distance education. In addition, faculty members are often reluctant to develop courses in the absence of sufficient support from administrators and technical staff, not only for themselves, but their students as well. This article will discuss these issues and why they are important for student success.


This study aims to determine the descriptive overview of the quality of education services consisting. The location of this research was at the Economics Faculty of Universitas Negeri Semarang, and the object of the study was student at semester VII of the Economics Faculty. The population of this study was 620 students in the academic year of 2014/2015. Proportional cluster ranom sampling technique was utilized to get 186 samples. The method of collecting data using questionnaires, whereas method of data analysis using non-parametric statistics (descriptive percentages).The result shows that the quality of education services, which can be seen from the dimensions of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, responsiveness, creativity, productivity, academic abilities, empathy, and appearance, are perceived well by students. However, this result has not optimal yet, especially on the dimensions of relevance, efficiency and effectiveness.


Alzheimer's disease (AD) has a high worldwide prevalence but little is known about its aetiology and risk factors. Recent research suggests environmental factors might increase AD risk. We aim to describe the association between AD mortality and the presence of highly polluting industry in small areas in Spain between 1999 and 2010. We calculated AD age-adjusted Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR), stratified by sex, grouped by industrial pollution density, compared for each small area of Spain. In the small areas with the highest mortality, the SMR among women was at least 25% greater than the national average (18% in men). The distribution of AD mortality was generally similar to that of high industrial pollution (higher mortality in the north, the Mediterranean coast and in some southern areas). The risk of AD mortality among women was 140% higher (123% among men) in areas with the highest industrial density in comparison to areas without polluting industries. This study has identified a geographical pattern of small areas with higher AD mortality risk and an ecological positive association with the density of highly polluting industry. Further research is needed on the potential impact of this type of industry pollution on AD aetiology and mortality.


There is a desperate need for novel and efficacious chemotherapeutic strategies for human brain cancers. There are abundant molecular alterations along the p53 and MDM2 pathways in human glioma, which play critical roles in drug resistance. The present study was designed to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of a novel brain-penetrating small molecule MDM2 degrader, termed SP-141. In a panel of nine human glioblastoma and medulloblastoma cell lines, SP-141, as a single agent, potently killed the brain tumor-derived cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 35.8 to 688.8 nM. Treatment with SP-141 resulted in diminished MDM2 and increased p53 and p21cip1 levels, G2/M cell cycle arrest, and marked apoptosis. In intracranial xenograft models of U87MG glioblastoma (wt p53) and DAOY medulloblastoma (mutant p53) expressing luciferase, treatment with SP-141 caused a significant 4- to 9-fold decrease in tumor growth in the absence of discernible toxicity. Further, combination treatment with a low dose of SP-141 (IC20) and temozolomide, a standard anti-glioma drug, led to synergistic cell killing (1.3- to 31-fold) in glioma cell lines, suggesting a novel means for overcoming temozolomide resistance. Considering that SP-141 can be taken up by the brain without the need for any special delivery, our results suggest that SP-141 should be further explored for the treatment of tumors of the central nervous system, regardless of the p53 status of the tumor.


Document clustering as an unsupervised approach extensively used to navigate, filter, summarize and manage large collection of document repositories like the World Wide Web (WWW). Recently, focuses in this domain shifted from traditional vector based document similarity for clustering to suffix tree based document similarity, as it offers more semantic representation of the text present in the document. In this paper, we compare and contrast two recently introduced approaches to document clustering based on suffix tree data model. The first is an Efficient Phrase based document clustering, which extracts phrases from documents to form compact document representation and uses a similarity measure based on common suffix tree to cluster the documents. The second approach is a frequent word/word meaning sequence based document clustering, it similarly extracts the common word sequence from the document and uses the common sequence/ common word meaning sequence to perform the compact representation, and finally, it uses document clustering approach to cluster the compact documents. These algorithms are using agglomerative hierarchical document clustering to perform the actual clustering step, the difference in these approaches are mainly based on extraction of phrases, model representation as a compact document, and the similarity measures used for clustering. This paper investigates the computational aspect of the two algorithms, and the quality of results they produced.


This paper discusses the influence of different sources of DC parametric mismatch in an LDMOS. By comparing measurements and statistical simulations the impact on mismatch of the most important fluctuation causes is qualitatively evaluated. We demonstrate that, whereas the shape of the doping profile in the channel has little effect, both interface states and series resistances play a major role in the mismatch. This work forms a crucial first step towards a better understanding of the random fluctuation mechanisms present in LDMOS devices used in MMICs.


In this article we investigate the regularizing properties of generalized continua of Cosserat micropolar type in the elasto-plastic case. We propose an extension of classical infinitesimal elasto-plasticity to include consistently non-dissipative micropolar effects. It is shown that the new model is thermodynamically admissible and allows for a unique, global-in-time solution of the corresponding rate-independent initial–boundary-value problem. The method of choice is the Yosida approximation and a passage to the limit.


Conclusion Preponderance of infection has occurred within hospital environment. Occupational Safety and Health Unit should set up a good engagement with healthcare staff and effective strategies to protect and support the health, safety and wellbeing of staff through deep-rooted assessment of standard practice procedure especially in nursing and care activities. Digital contact tracing could improve contact tracing within hospital setting.


The paper follows a previous work that made the synthesis of a neuro-fuzzy controller with double input and single output for positioning systems with DC motors. Now, the new system is put into operation using models and simulations for proving its qualities. Briefly, several test will certify that this single neuro-fuzzy controller (for both the position and the speed) is able to ensure good or very good performance in steady-state and dynamic regimes for a wide variety of conditions concerning: the motor parameters, the load characteristics (torque, disturbances, inertia), the reference cycle (structure, values, duration) and the sampling time. The global results for both the control structures (standard – that generated the training data and fuzzy) are compared. The next stage is to prepare the tools for an on-line implementation. Several formulas will be suggested for the real-time control using 2D and 3D look-up-tables by direct search and by interpolation. The author sustains an on-line timing based on imbricated hardware / software interrupts, that will be implemented using a low-cost microcontroller. The experimental platform is presented as well as some real-time results for the main variables of the system and by recording the online timing with a logic analyzer. Most of the ideas, formulas and implementation procedures presented here are useful for other systems and applications.


Flooding continues to be the most common and damaging of all natural disasters in the United States. In 2016, twelve individual weather and climate events caused more than $1billion in damages each. During 2016, the U.S. was hit by at least five once-in-1,000 years precipitation events, and severe floods resulted in more than $17 billion in damages. Currently, more than 5.5 million active policies under the National Flood Insurance Program, underwrite more than $1.6 trillion in assets. Since 1978, NFIP has paid out more than $38 billion in claims – nearly 30% was paid to the 1% of properties classified as "repetitive loss properties" (RLPs). Flood impacts are determined by a complex interaction between physical hazards, the vulnerability of a society or social-ecological system, and its exposure to such hazards. The extent and severity of impacts are amplified by challenging socioeconomic dynamics, including poorly planned urban development, lack of access to resources, social vulnerability, and poverty. Addressing this complex interaction between hazards, exposure and social vulnerability, this study identifies and prioritizes land in Florida, where multiple management benefits can be achieved: flood exposure reduction, habitats restoration, and social vulnerability remediation. In a targeted case-study, our model identified 144 RLPs in Miami-Dade County located in areas where high social vulnerability, high flood exposure, and natural habitats coexist. Collectively, these 144 RLPs filed at least 320 claims against NFIP between 1978 and 2011. The multiple benefits of the presented approach include: reduction of flood exposure; reduction of NFIP's financial impact; restoration of the floodplain to a more natural condition; and the identification of efficient application of federal funds. We argue that government funded buyouts, followed by structure demolition and/or relocation, and the restoration of floodplain habitats, can support social, environmental, and economic objectives, as long as such projects are executed in a thoughtful and fair manner. This research article is available in Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics: https://cbe.miis.edu/joce/vol4/iss1/4