We prove the security of Gaussian continuous-variable quantum key distribution with coherent states against arbitrary attacks in the finite-size regime. In contrast to previously known proofs of principle (based on the de Finetti theorem), our result is applicable in the practically relevant finite-size regime. This is achieved using a novel proof approach, which exploits phase-space symmetries of the protocols as well as the postselection technique introduced by Christandl, Koenig, and Renner [Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 020504 (2009)].


Ferroptosis is a type of regulated cell death (RCD), and it plays an important role in the occurrence of diseases, especially the development of tumors. Ferroptosis of tumor cells affects the antitumor immunity and the immune response to treatment to varying degrees. Ferroptosis also plays a key role in immune cells. This review outlines the mechanism of the immune‐related effects of ferroptosis pathways in tumor progression and treatment, and it discusses potential methods for improving antitumor immunity and enhancing the efficacy of current cancer treatments by targeting ferroptosis.


Starting with monochiral 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3,6-dimethyl quinoline 14a,b, (Schemes 1 and 2), we have synthsized the new chiral, symmetrical and unsymmetrical, tri- and pentamethinium streptocyanine dyes 2a, (Scheme 8), 4a, (Scheme 5), and 5a,b, (Scheme 4), resp. 9a, (Scheme 6), 10a,b, (Scheme 4), and 11a, (Scheme 7) with one or two stereogenic centers in the two heterocyclic end groups. The absolute configuration of 14a,b, and thus the absolute configuration of all monochiral polymethinium dyes derived from 14a,b, has been determined by a single-crystal X-ray analysis of its 4-bromobenzenesulfonyl derivative 17a, (Scheme 1 and Fig. 1). The UV/Vis spectroscopic and chiroptical properties of the new polymethinium dyes have been studied for the first time and compared with that of similar streptocyanine dyes synthesized earlier (Tables 1 and 2) in order to find possible correlations between chiroptical properties and molecular structure.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to compare the effect of low-load resistance exercise (LLRE) with continuous and intermittent blood flow restriction (BFR) on the creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), protein carbonyl (PC), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) and uric acid (UA) levels in military men. The study included 10 recreationally trained men aged 19 ± 0.82 years who underwent the following experimental protocols in random order on separate days (72–96 h): 4 LLRE sessions at a 20% 1RM (one-repetition maximum [1RM]) with continuous BFR (LLRE + CBFR); 4 LLRE sessions at 20% 1RM with intermittent BFR (LLRE + IBFR) and 4 high-intensity resistance exercise (HIRE) sessions at 80% 1RM. The CK and LDH (markers of muscle damage) levels were measured before exercise (BE), 24 h post-exercise and 48 h post-exercise, and the PC, TBARS and UA (markers of oxidative stress) levels were measured BE and immediately after each exercise session. There was a significant increase in CK in the HIRE 24 post-exercise samples compared with the LLRE + CBFR and LLRE + IBFR (P = 0.035, P = 0.036, respectively), as well as between HIRE 48 post-exercise and LLRE + CBFR (P = 0.049). Additionally, there was a significant increase in CK in the LLRE + CBFR samples BE and immediately after each exercise (Δ = 21.9%) and in the HIRE samples BE and immediately after each exercise, BE and 24 post-exercise, and BE and 48 post-exercise (Δ values of 35%, 177.6%, and 177.6%, respectively). However, there were no significant changes in LDH, PC, TBARS, and UA between the protocols (P > 0.05). Therefore, a physical exercise session with continuous or intermittent BFR did not promote muscle damage; moreover, neither protocol seemed to affect the oxidative stress markers.


Objectives: The present study aims to identify nursing students' attitudes toward older people. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 166 nursing department students enrolled in a four-year undergraduate programme in a university located in Eastern Turkey. The participants were chosen using convenience sampling method, and data were collected through the Descriptive Characteristics Form and Turkish version of Kogan's Attitudes toward Older People Scale (KAOPS). Results: It was found that the students participating in the study had positive attitudes toward older people, and the mean scores of those who wanted to work with older people after graduation were significantly high (p < 0.05). Scale mean scores according to receiving gerontology nursing course showed that there were no significant differences between the groups who received gerontology nursing course and who did not. Conclusions: This study found that nursing students' attitudes toward older people were positive. Cultural features of the region where the study was conducted are considered to have effects on this result. Impact statement: As nursing students will provide care to older people in the future, it is important to know and assess their attitudes towards the older.


Areas of high biodiversity often coincide with communities living in extreme poverty. As a livelihood support, these communities often harvest wild products from the environment. But harvest activities can have negative impacts on fragile and globally important ecosystems. This paper examines trade-offs in ecological protection and community welfare from the harvest of wild products. With a novel model and empirical evidence, I show that management of harvest activity does not always resolve these trade-offs. In a model of continuous harvests in a two-dimensional landscape, managed harvest activity improves welfare, but is uniformly bad for other ecosystem services that are sensitive to the presence (as opposed to the intensity) of human activity. Empirical results from a unique dataset of mushroom harvesters in Yunnan, China suggest more experienced, poorer, and more vulnerable individuals tend to rely on more distant harvests. Thus, policies that limit the extent of forest travel, such as protected areas, may protect fragile ecosystems but can have a disproportionately negative effect on those most vulnerable.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions


Radio frequency identification has attracted considerable press attention in recent years, and for good reasons: RFID not only replaces traditional barcode technology, it also provides additional features and removes boundaries that limited the use of previous alternatives. Printed bar codes are typically read by a laser-based optical scanner that requires a direct line-of-sight to detect and extract information. With RFID, however, a scanner can read the encoded information even when the tag is concealed for either aesthetic or security reasons. In the future, RFID tags will likely be used as environmental sensors on an unprecedented scale.


Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are aiming to provide innovative services related to different modes of transport and traffic management, and enable various users to be better informed and make ...


This paper describes a total image processing to reconstruct a shape from endoscope images. We have already developed a shape reconstruction procedure from an endoscope image sequence, and produced a global 3D sketch of object shape from an image sequence taken by a moving endoscope. Here, we propose a method to obtain fine 3D structure from its shading based on the global sketch. We consider the shape from the shading problem in the case where a point light source is at the projection center. This condition well approximates the imaging system of an endoscope. In this case, the image gray level depends on not only the gradient of the object surface but also the distance from the light source to each point on the surface. To deal with this difficulty, we introduce the evolution equation for equal-distance contours on the surface. Propagating this contour by solving the equation, we can reconstruct a shape. Experimental results for real medical endoscope images of a human stomach inner wall show feasibility of this method, and present a promising technique for morphological analysis of tumors on human inner organs.


Newton described gravity as an attractive force between two masses but Einstein's General Theory of Relativity provides a very different explanation. Implicit in Einstein's theory is the idea that gravitational effects are the result of a distortion in the shape of space-time. Despite its elegance, Einstein's concept of gravity is rarely encountered outside of an advanced physics course as it is often considered to be too complex and too mathematical. This paper describes a new conceptual and quantitative model of gravity based on General Relativity at a level most science students should be able to understand. The model illustrates geodesics using analogies with paths of navigation on the surface of the Earth. This is extended to space and time maps incorporating the time warping effects of General Relativity. Using basic geometry, the geodesic path of a falling object near the surface of the Earth is found. From this the acceleration of an object in free fall is calculated. The model presented in this paper can answer the question, 'Why do things fall?' without resorting to Newton's gravitational force.


Purpose
There is a growing interest in employee involvement as a means to enhance commitment and wellbeing. Typically, there is a degree of power sharing in decisions at all levels. In large organizations, the strategy has been shown to deliver benefits. The authors wanted to study the themes in a small NFP.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors chose an extreme case of a small NFP organized on democratic lines but with only informal HRM policies. They felt an extreme case would be instructive. The organization, which they gave the pseudonym OA, is a small non-profit agency that offers education around sexual violence and advice and support to survivors. As a collective, it involves everyone in decision-making. The lead author carried out the detailed study over six months based in the office. It involved formal interviews with six existing employees and six ex-employees, or volunteers, as well as a clinical supervisor.

Findings
The study showed that without systematic and strategic HRM policies, strong forms of employee participation won't deliver higher levels of equity. Although the NFP in the study operated as a collective, it lacked even basic HR policies. The consequences included poor management, high turnover, burnout and inadequate training.

Originality/value
The authors said the results showed that small size and organizational commitment did not always support effective employee participation. Weak HR policies made the problems of poor communication and decision-making worse and caused a lot of stress. As a result, the high turnover impacted performance. The findings add a note of caution to existing findings about employee participation. In fact, perversely, it can even lead to worse outcomes. Arguably, they say, HRM is even more essential in a small NFP environment because of the structural constraints and lack of funding.


An increase In traffic has a large Influence on the performance of a total network. Therefore, traffic management has become an important issue of network management. In this paper, we propose a new routing algorithm that attempts to analyze network conditions using time series prediction models and to propose predictive optimal routing decisions. Traffic congestion is assumed when the predicting result is bigger than the permitted bandwidth. By collecting traffic in real network, the predictable model is obtained when it minimizes statistical errors. In order to predict network traffic based on time series models, we assume that models satisfy a stationary assumption. The stationary assumption can be evaluated by using ACF(Auto Correlation Function) and PACF(Partial Auto Correlation Function). We can obtain the result of these two functions when it satisfies the stationary assumption. We modify routing oaths by predicting traffic in order to avoid traffic congestion through experiments. As a result, Predicting traffic and balancing load by modifying paths allows us to avoid path congestion and increase network performance.


A method is proposed for launching and extracting the timing wave in a PAM digital transmission system, which combines the simplicity of linear self-timing, the economy in bandwidth of nonlinear self-timing, and the high performance of the added timing wave approach. The method requires that the digital signal is cyclostationary with a period which is an even multiple of the symbol period T ; the simplest solution for deriving such a signal from a stationary message is to apply it to a periodically time-varying system, as a memoryless block coder. With reference to such a scheme we derive the spectrum of the timing jitter. Very simple conditions are found on block encoding in order that the encoded message exhibits the desired characteristics. Finally, ternary codes are discussed and the performance of a specific code is evaluated and compared to that of conventional extraction schemes.


Exclusive breastfeeding is the only breast feeding her baby at birth until the age of 6 months without food and other beverages. Factors affecting the increase in maternal weight mothers not breastfeed their babies exclusively to the mother to be fat.This type of observational study is analytic. The study design was cross sectional. Population of mothers breastfeeding over 6 months in May 2015 with a total of 38 nursing mothers. Sampling technique used in this study is probability sampling with simple random sampling method obtained 35 respondents. Data collection using a closed questionnaire. The research was conducted on May 27 until May 28, 2015. Data analyzed by chisquare test.Results showed respondents a number of 35 respondents, most respondents are exclusively breastfed are 23 respondents (67.5%), most respondents have a BMI in the normalcharacteristics (>18.5 to 25.0) as many(60%).Analysis of data obtained using the chisquare test calculations with significant value = 0.000, while α = 0.05. Therefore significantly smaller value of α = 0.05 then H0 rejected H1 is accepted meaning there is a relationship.Concluded that many respondents who give exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months of normal weight.Health professionals should retain and motivate breastfeeding mothers by providing counseling and distributing leaflets to the respondent to prepare exclusive breastfeeding to the maximum.Key words: Exclusive Breastfeeding, Weight Gain, Mother, Breastfeeding


This paper is aimed to investigate the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market orientation (MO) business performance (BP) and to explore the role of innovation (IN) to enhance the business performance of the micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka. The sample size of 441 owners/mangers of MSMEs. Survey methodology was implemented for this study. Hypotheses are tested using SmartPLS. Findings suggests that significant positive relationship exist between the relationship of EO and BP, MO and BP, EOINBP, MO-IN-BP. Findings also reveal that innovation is complementary mediator on the relationship of EO and BP, and of MO and BP. This study focus on EO and MO. There are other variables under the strategic orientation and that need to be incorporated for further studies. EO and MO are important factors to determine the business performance of micro small and medium enterprises. When innovation is added between the relationship of EO and BP, and of MO and BP, innovation is mediating the relationships. Hence, MSMEs can focus on more the innovation and it will help them to enjoy the competitive advantage. The study of this nature has not been done in the Sri Lankan context with MSMEs in Sri Lanka. This study provides unique contribution to the existing literature.


This article introduces Token Dependency Semantics (TDS), a surface‐oriented and token‐based framework for compositional truth‐conditional semantics. It is motivated by Davidson's 'paratactic' analysis of semantic intensionality ('On Saying That', 1968, Synthese 19: 130–146), which has been much discussed in philosophy. This is the first fully‐fledged formal implementation of Davidson's proposal. Operator‐argument structure and scope are captured by means of relations among tokens. Intensional constituent tokens represent 'propositional' contents directly. They serve as arguments to the words introducing intensional contexts, rather than being 'ordinary' constituents. The treatment of de re readings involves the use of functions ('anchors') assigning entities to argument positions of lexical tokens. Quantifiers are thereby allowed to bind argument places on content tokens. This gives us a simple underspecification‐based account of scope ambiguity. The TDS framework is applied to indirect speech reports, mental attitude sentences, control verbs, and modal and agent‐relative sentence adverbs in English. This semantics is compatible with a traditional view of syntax. Here, it is integrated into a Head‐driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). The result is a straightforward and ontologically parsimonious analysis of truth‐conditional meaning and semantic intensionality.


Sensor fusion maybe used to improve detection performance in applications. The idea is to make decisions locally, and then transmit them to a global fusion centre where the global decision is made. For global decision making, Bayes or Neyman–Pearson reasoning determines the optimal use of the local decision variables. However, the determination of the local decision variables that minimise global error probability is intractable. In this study, the authors design local decisions that maximise the mutual information between a binary decision variable and the underlying binary state. This serves as a benchmark against which globally optimum solutions maybe compared. Then, they use the theory of large deviations (LDs) to determine a local decision rule that minimises asymptotic global error probability. The use of LD produces a one-dimensional search on a receiver operating characteristic curve to equalise the error exponents for local false alarm and miss probabilities. Many interesting properties of the LD solution are proved. Numerical results illustrate the performance of the asymptotically optimum decision rule for finite collections of sensors.


The property of hydroalcoholic extract of aerial part of Teucrium lucidum L. and some constituents were evaluated as antioxidant and as inhibitors of enzymes involved in inflammation using in vitro bioassays. Bioguided fractionation led to the characterization of 8 compounds, including 5 unknown ones in the Teucrium genus, and to their structural elucidation (NMR and HRMS experiments). Among them, 5,3',5'-trihydroxyflavone-7-O-β-xylosyl-(1'''→6'')-β-glucopyranoside is reported here for the first time. With the help of GC-MS analysis, 23 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in the T. lucidum extract, and a total of 38 compounds were finally identified through this study.


This article represents the proceedings of a workshop at the 2000 ISBRA Meeting in Yokohama, Japan. The chair was Albert Y. Sun. The presentations were (1) Ethanol-inducible cytochrome P-4502E1 in alcoholic liver disease, by Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg and Etienne Neve; (2) Regulation of NF-kappaB by ethanol, by H. Matsumoto, Y. Nishitani, Y. Minowa, and Y. Fukui; (3) Chronic ethanol consumption increases concentration of oxidized proteins in rat liver, by Shannon M. Bailey, Vinood B. Patel, and Carol C. Cunningham; (4) Antiphospholipids antibodies and oxidized modified low-density lipoprotein in chronic alcoholic patients, by Tomas Zima, Lenka Fialova, Ludmila Mikulikova, Ptr Popov, Ivan Malbohan, Marta Janebova, and Karel Nespor; and (5) Amelioration of ethanol-induced damage by polyphenols, by Albert Y. Sun and Grace Y. Sun.


The work is carried out with an objective of first, evaluating: the thermal characteristics of opaque and transparent parts of the building envelope in hot dry climate of case study "new mosque" building in Baghdad, the impact of sol-air temperatures, heat gain factors and the u-value of envelope section components. Second, it aims to assess the architectural criteria for appropriate passive design of new mosques in hot dry climates. Architectural design and construction of the new mosque (musalla) envelope in Baghdad are thermally inefficient in protecting the indoor space from climatic fluctuations. Therefore, the existing new mosques are not within thermal comfort level. To achieve and maintain that, applying architectural and construction alternatives on the mosque envelope contributes to controlling heat exchange through it as well as enhancing its thermal behaviors that contribute to getting internal thermal balance. The research covers survey of design, construction features, comfort levels in new mosques, and definition of the "model mosque", as well as identification and thermal assessment of the typical "model mosque". Computer simulations for building thermal behavior and design modification of building construction components also covered by the research. The findings and conclusion of the impact of simulation changes stated as well as recommendations for possible future mosque and design strategy. The findings show that HVAC systems entail capital, functional and maintenance costs whereas the passive mosque (musallas) building consumes less energy as well as being more likely to be in sympathy with the environment.


ABSTRACT The utilisation of solar resources has become of utmost importance for the transition of the global, carbon intensive economy. In New Zealand the uptake of solar energy has increased substantially, but the relative contribution to the overall energy mix is still small. Previous research efforts on the solar resource across the country are revisited with improved satellite-modelled data from Solargis to derive a solar atlas for the country. A comparison is made with NIWA data, which shows that the modelled data are at an adequate level of accuracy and improves our understanding of the solar resource at an appropriate spatial and temporal resolution. The solar atlas makes available a commercial satellite data source and informs further investigations into how solar can, and will, play a more meaningful role in our transition to a low carbon future.


Every innovation is targeted towards adoption a process which involves several levels of risks. Biofortified vitamin A cassava variety is an innovation targeted not only to solve the yield of farmers but to increase the nutritional intake of Nigerian household. The research specifically seeks to investigate the risks involved in the adoption of vitamin A cassava variety, the risk attitude of cassava farmers, and the factors that affect farmers' risk attitude to the production of vitamin A cassava. A three-stage random sampling procedure was used to select 240 farmers used for the study. Descriptive statistics, Likert scale, safety first utility approach and ordinary least square regression model were used for the analyses. The study revealed that the risks that are involved in the adoption of the cassava variety include animal invasion, price fluctuation, and poor storage facilities. The majority of the farmers were risk-neutral while only 16% were risk-takers. The study further revealed that the significant determinants of risk attitude among farmers were age, income from other activities and estimated annual income. It is therefore recommended that efforts should be geared toward making adequate vitamin A bio-fortified cassava varieties available to young farmers, grazing reserved should be provided to reduce the risks and efforts should be intensified to reduce price volatility for improved Vitamin A cassava.


Since the September 11th attacks by al-Qaeda on the US Islam and Muslims are increasingly associated with violence and terrorism. This trend is also evident in the Netherlands: the coverage of Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands has grown exponentially. This observation as resulted in the following central question:

Has the news coverage of Islam in NRC Handelsblad changed between 1995 and 2009?

This question have been researched by using quantitative content analysis. For the analysis I have chosen articles published in 1995, 2002 and 2009 in the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. The choice for these years is based on the assumption that there might be differences in news coverage of Islam, given the harsh criticism of Islam and Muslims by Dutch politicians and the public.
The analysis of the news coverage shows a clear development of newsworthiness, media hype and framing of issues related to Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands. Islam is a subject that is connected with a large number of themes. The analysis of the term Islamization shows that in 1995 this term was associated with Islam abroad only.
The analysis in 2002 and 2009 shows that this term has become commonplace in political debates in NRC Handelsblad. A constant element in the three years was the rather negative tone in the coverage of political and public debates they were presented as a threat to core values of Dutch society.
The analysis showed that several frames are used to describe Muslims and the Islam, but that the conflict frame is most dominant. The increase in negative coverage of Islam and Muslims by the NRC Handelsblad probably is an indication of a trend which might applicable to the other Dutch newspapers. A comparison of the coverage of Islam and Muslims in the Netherlands by the major Dutch newspapers may show if the results of this research are also valid for these newspapers.


State-of-the-art rest-frame UV and FIR photometric and spectroscopic observations are now pushing the redshift frontiers of galaxy formation studies up to z ∼ 9− 11 and beyond. Recent HST observations unveiled the presence of a star-forming galaxy exhibiting the Lyman break at λobs = 1.47± 0.01 μm, i.e., a z = 11.09 −0.12 galaxy with a stellar mass of ∼ 10M , demonstrating that galaxy build-up was well underway early in the epoch of reionization (EoR) at z > 10. Targeted spectroscopy of a lensed Lyman break galaxy uncovers the earliest metals known to date up to z = 9.1096± 0.0006 by detecting the bright [OIII] 88 μm nebular line, indicating the onset of star formation 250 million years after the Big Bang, i.e., corresponding to a redshift of z ∼ 15. These latest findings lead us to a number of key questions: How and when metal enrichment happened in the EoR? What was the nature of the earliest-epoch star-forming galaxies at z = 10− 15? What was the spatial distribution of such galaxies, and what was the relation to the putative large-scale ionization bubbles during the EoR? What were the dark-halo masses of such earliest-epoch star-forming galaxies? To address all these questions, we need to uncover a statistically large number of z = 10− 15 galaxies in the pre-reionization era. Here we argue two possible pathways: (1) a wide-area, sensitive blind spectroscopic survey of [OIII] 88 μm line-emitting galaxies at submillimeter wavelengths, and (2) an ultra-wide-area, high-cadence photometric survey of transient sources at radio-to-(sub)millimeter wavelengths, together with the immediate follow-up spectroscopy with an ultra-wide-band spectrograph, to catch the pop-III γ-ray bursts.


The ancient Ephesian thinker Heraclitus, in his aphoristic writings, described the dynamic coming-to-be of things according to a number of obscure metaphors. In this essay, Hyland ponders whether there is a paradigmatic experience according to which a number of these metaphors can best be understood. Gathering together and thoughtfully retranslating a number of Greek terms including polemos (often translated as "war"), eris ("strife"), agon ("contest"), and paidia ("play"), Hyland argues that Heraclitus's metaphors can be understood as referring to an experience of athletic play. Hyland explores the significance of athletic play, with its stance of responsive openness, as a paradigm for thinking and living.


The aim of this paper is to investigate the properties of octonion Fourier transform (OFT) of octonion-valued functions of three variables and its potential applications in signal processing. This work has been inspired by the original papers by Hahn and Snopek concerning octonion Fourier transform definition and its applications in the analysis of the hypercomplex analytic signals. First, the generalization of the OFT definition to the octonion-valued functions is provided, and then the octonion analogues of classical Fourier transform properties are derived, e.g. argument scaling, modulation and shift theorem. Finally, the results are illustrated with some examples that indicate possible applications.


The aim of this study is to understand aging phenomena by monitoring physical parameters after real and simulated aging experiments. This study focuses on aluminum-epoxy assemblies, which are commonly used on spacecraft structures. Different samples are submitted to simulated aging tests. Influence of temperature and moisture is analyzed. Evolution with aging is characterized at two different scales. The macroscopic behavior of the assemblies
is studied by single lap shear test. A decrease in the
shear rupture stress is observed with increasing temperature
and relative humidity. It is demonstrated that temperature
has more important influence. The molecular behavior in
the adhesive joint is studied by dynamic dielectric spectroscopy measurements. This experiment gives access to molecular mobility in the adhesive. Dipolar entities are identified as evolving with aging conditions. The temperature is more effective than moisture at this scale. An interpretation of the molecular mobility before and after aging shows that water is an important parameter of this study. A link between mechanical and molecular behavior with hydrothermal aging is found. The decrease of mechanical properties occurs while failures become interfacial. In the same time, the interactions between hydroxyether and water increase. The evolution of the macroscopic behavior of the bonded assemblies is due to this combination observed at different scales.


A study of the cytotaxonomy of the larvae of blackfly was undertaken at three sites, Imeri A, Imeri B, and Ose-oba, along River Ose in Ondo State, Nigeria. Based on the morphology of the larvae and the resultant pupae, three species of blackflies were identified. These included Simulium damnosum complex, Simulium alcocki, and one yet to be identified (YI). Investigations on the polytene chromosomes from the salivary glands of each of these species revealed that the S. damnosum complex comprises of three cytospecies identified as Simulium squamosum, Simulium damnosum s.s, and Simulium sirbanum. The Simulium alcocki was also found to be a complex of sibling species but the YI remained as a single species. There was no significant difference between the distribution of S. damnosum complex and S. alcocki. However, these two species were different from the YI in occurrence. Results of the present study which is in conformity with earlier reports suggest that the study area (River-Ose) has been and is still a good breeding site for S. damnosum and S. alcocki species of black flies.


CASE REPORT A 13-year-old adolescent boy was admitted to our clinic with the complaints of difficulty sustaining focus and lack of persistence. Routine blood tests were all in normal ranges. On the basis of clinical evaluations, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and initiated on 10 mg/d of immediate release MPH treatment. At the first month of follow-up visit, compliance with treatment was good; MPH had been used daily for 1-month and control of symptoms was achieved. Four weeks after he had started drug treatment, the platelet count was decreased from 152 10/mm to 131 10/mm. The medication was discontinued the following day. Four weeks later, the platelet count was increased in a normal differential count (150 10/mm), and 20 days after the discontinuation of the drug, MPH was initiated again. A follow-up platelet count 3 weeks later had dropped to 135 10/mm. After the evaluations, MPHwas ceased again. During the follow-ups, the platelet count was observed to be increased to 151 10/mm.


Seasonal numerical abundance and determination of size distribution of C. nigrodigitatus from Lake Akata in Benue state of Nigeria was conducted from May 2008 - April 2009. The result revealed that C. nigrodigitatus were caught throughout the year but were more abundant from May, June, July, August, and in March. These periods accounted for 28.9, 37.8, 36.9, 28.6 and 28.0% respectively. The highest monthly mean size shows that C. nigrodigitatus had a mean standard length and weight of 26.56±1.46cm and 298.6±41.0 g. These values were obtained in the month of April. In recent times, fish populations and species sizes have dwindled and this situation is traceable to non rational and unsustainable exploitation of the resource. Such downward trend in annual catch can be eradicated or reduced through planning and management of the lake policy decisions. It is important in the exploitation and management of the fish species in Lake Akata.


Rationale: Impingement of toxic mineral particles in the lung can cause sustained inflammation and silicosis. In this study we intended to demonstrate crystalline silica-induced inflammasome activation and the effect on fibroblast proliferation in vitro and in rat lung tissue in vivo with dependency to particle surface reactivity.

Methods: siRNA mediated knock down in BEAS-2B and THP-1 cells was performed followed by 24h exposure to silica with or without surface modifications. We screened for IL-1β, bFGF and HMGB1 with ELISA. Conditioned media was added to fibroblasts. Wistar rats were instilled with PBS, 2mg Dorentruper quartz (DQ12) or 2mg polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide (PVNO) coated quartz. At days 3, 7, 28, 90, 180 and 360 after instillation, inflammasome activation was measured using immunohistochemistry.

Results: We detected inflammasome dependent release of IL-1β, bFGF and HMGB1 following cristobalite and quartz treatment in vitro . Conditioned medium from BEAS-2B cells had significant impact on fibroblast proliferation. In quartz treated rats, acute inflammation was observed at 3 and 7 days. Semi-quantitative analysis revealed increased matrix deposition and fibrosis at 90, 180 and 360 days. Silicotic nodules were localized in silica exposed groups at 180 and 360 days. Levels of caspase-1 activation and IL-1β were increased in quartz versus vehicle exposed rats. PVNO-coated quartz reduced the grade of leukocyte influx and the level of NLRP3 activation.

Conclusion: Our novel data indicate NLRP3 inflammasome activation by crystalline silica polymorphs in cell culture systems and in the lungs of quartz exposed rats in association with the crystalline surface reactivity.


The Clinical Practice Research Datalink is a nation-wide database of primary healthcare data records in England (UK) linked to several health services. A visit to a health practitioner can result in the digital storing of diagnostic and prescription therapeutic information. Access to patient primary care and linked service data depends on the research in mind; however, typically several flat files that describe patient interactions with a health practitioner are delivered. Some of these files will describe additional data such as the result of medical tests and patient lifestyles, denoted collectively into entity values. This data is used to supplement the medical notes recorded by a general practitioner. We have made available a set of R scripts that reads the clinical flat files, additional clinical flat files and entity values, and returns patient clinical data linked with the requested additional data. We have also included medcode descriptions associated with several entities along with instruction of how to extend the code for additional entities. The code is free to download under the MIT license: https://github.com/acnash/CPRD_Additional_Clinical


INTRODUCTION: The rising of new technologies meant  to improve education could be considered a high advance to pedagogic methodologies. Software is defined as computer programs and may be considered educative when they present a methodology which assists and contextualizes the teaching-learning process. Specifically regarding Biochemistry, a knowledge area which explains physiological and pathological phenomena that occur in human beings, applying the use of software would turn out an easy way to observe suchphenomena. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In order to carry out this work, two free software designed to be used in Biochemistry area and developed at Universidade Estadual de Campinas ("Sintese Proteica" (Protein Synthesis)and "A cinetica da reacao enzimatica" (Kinetics of enzymatic reaction)), were compared. Interface, how to work contents, advantages and disadvantages in the use of such kind of technology inside classroom were some of the evaluated parameters. DISCUSSION AND RESULTS: Both programs present a fine graphic design, allowing easy command comprehension. At the beginning the objectives of the programs and the contents they hold are presented, showing also a brief introduction to the topic. The programs also  present instruction manuals that explain how the experiments work. They are small basic and simple programs that run easily where they are placed, not needing internet access after their download. "Kinetics of enzymatic reaction" presented more interactive options than the other, and its operation could be considered more intuitive. CONCLUSION: We considered "Kinetics of enzymatic reaction" a better software,cause it allows the student to observe the experiment and perform the calculationsproposed, improving the learning process in a significantly way. The use ofnew technologies inside classrooms should be encouraged as a way to attractthe attention and interest of students, since they are used to interact with computer and internet in their day-to-day activities. There are several kinds of softwarewhich could assist teachers and students in the teaching-learning process; however  it is very important to evaluate the capacities of such software before using it, making sure to choose the right one.


High-level cognitive abilities such as memory, navigation, and decision making rely on the communication between the hippocampal formation and the neocortex. At the interface between these two brain regions is the entorhinal cortex, a multimodal association area where neurons with remarkable representations of self-location have been discovered: the grid cells. Grid cells are neurons that fire according to the position of an animal in its environment. A single grid cell activates at multiple spatial locations with firing fields that are arranged in a strikingly-regular triangular pattern. Grid cells are thought to support animal's navigation and spatial memory, but the cellular mechanisms that generate their patterns are still unknown. In this thesis, I study computational models of neural circuits to explain the emergence, inheritance, and amplification of grid-cell patterns. In the first part of the thesis, I focus on the initial formation of grid firing fields. I embrace the idea that periodic representations of space could emerge via a competition between persistently-active spatial inputs and the reluctance of a neuron to fire for long stretches of time. Building upon previous theoretical work, I propose a single-cell model that generates grid-like activity solely form spatially-irregular inputs, spike-rate adaptation, and Hebbian synaptic plasticity. Compared to previous proposals, my model achieves a higher level of biological realism, gives unprecedented analytical insights, and generates novel experimental predictions. In the second part of the thesis, I focus on the inheritance and amplification of grid-cell patterns. Motivated by the architecture of entorhinal microcircuits, I investigate how feed-forward and recurrent connections affect grid-cell tuning. I show that grids can be inherited across neuronal populations, and that both feed-forward and recurrent connections can improve the regularity of spatial firing. Finally, I show that a connectivity supporting these functions could self-organize in an unsupervised manner. Altogether, this thesis contributes to a better understanding of the principles governing the neuronal representation of space in the medial entorhinal cortex.


Impinging jets are widely used in local enhancement of heat removed from internal passages of gas turbine blades. Arrays of stationary jets are usually impinged on inner surfaces of gas turbine blades exposed to severe thermal/hydrodynamic environment of hot mainstream gases. The current practice is to benefit from the high heat transfer coefficients existing in the immediate vicinity of the jet impingement region on a target wall. The present study shows that a self-oscillating impinging-jet configuration can be extremely beneficial in enhancing the heat removal performance of a conventional stationary impinging jet. In addition to a highly elevated stagnation line Nusselt number, the area coverage of the impingement zone is significantly enlarged because of the sweeping motion of the oscillating coolant jet. When an oscillating jet (Re = 14,000) is impinged on a plate normal to the jet axis (x/d = 24 hole to plate distance), a typical enhancement of Nu number on the stagnation line is shown to be 70 %. The present paper explains detailed fluid dynamics structure of the oscillating jet by using a triple decomposition technique on a crossed hot wire signal. High resolution heat transfer measurements are also presented in a Re number range between 7,500 and 14,000 (24<x/d<60). The current heat transfer enhancement levels achieved suggest that it is possible to implement the present self-oscillating-impinging-jet concept in future gas turbine cooling systems, on rotating disks, in electronic equipment cooling, aircraft de-icing systems and heat exchanger systems.© 1997 ASME


Robustness of stability of linear time-invariant systems using the relationship between the structured complex stability radius and a parametrized algebraic Riccati equation is analysed. Our approach is based on the observation that the algebraic Riccati equation can be viewed as a bifurcation problem. It is proved that the stability radius is, under certain assumptions, associated with a turning point of the bifurcation problem given by the parametrized algebraic Riccati equation. As a byproduct, the stability radius can be computed via path following. Some numerical examples are presented.


Ultrasonic image is one of the imaging techniques that widely used and safe for medical diagnostic, due to its noninvasive, low cost and real time forming. However, the qualities of ultrasonic images are typically degraded mainly due to the presence of signal independent known as speckle noise. In this paper, speckle noise suppression in wavelet domain and feature extraction technique is studied. In particular, speckle noise reduction is a preprocessing step before applying a feature extraction process. In speckle noise suppression process, the logarithmic transform is firstly applied to the original image in order to convert multiplicative noise to additive one. 2D Stationary Wavelet Transform (SWT) is used to decompose the logarithmic image into four subbands. Next, 2D adaptive Wiener Filter is applied all over areas only in detail subbands. Finally, the 2D Inverse SWT is computed and it is followed by the exponential transform to get the reconstructed image. To evaluate the studied method for speckle noise reduction, some classical well-know methods, such as Median filter, Wiener filter, Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) based on Soft thresholding and DWT along with Wiener filter are compared. For feature extraction process, Haar wavelet filter is used to extract the ultrasonic features compared with Sobel and Canny operator. Moreover, the nonmaxima suppression technique is adopted to get the edge localization. Finally, the hysteresis thresholding is applied to get the final result in binary format. The results have clearly demonstrated that the studied method outperforms several existing methods for speckle noise reduction in terms of signal to mse ratio (S/mse) and edge preservation (β). Moreover, the studied method can detect well-localized and thin edges.


The title compound is synthesized by direct fusion of the elements at 400 degrees C followed by annealing at 330 degrees C, quenching to room temperature, and subsequent annealing at 120 and 100 degrees C for days to weeks. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c (No. 14), with Z = 4, a = 10.132(1) A, b = 22.323(2) A, c = 13.376(1) A, and beta = 93.14(1)degrees, and consists of Tl7(7-) clusters embedded in a matrix of potassium ions. The cluster is an axially compressed pentagonal bipyramid close to D5h symmetry. The apex-apex bond distance (3.462(1) A) is little longer than the bonds in the pentagonal waist (3.183(1)-3.247(1) A). Structurally the compound is not electron-precise: K10Tl7 has three extra electrons per Tl7 cluster and is Pauli paramagnetic (chi300 = 2.25 x 10(-4) emu/mol).


In this study, the Y358 phase, the newest high-temperature superconductor member of the yttrium barium copper oxide family, was produced using the solid-state reaction technique. The Y358 superconductor exhibited the Meissner effect at low temperature (77 K). The X-ray diffraction spectra indicated that the crystal structure was almost identical to that of Y123, but with some impurity peaks. An X-ray peak broadening analysis was applied to determine the lattice strain, and the medial crystallite size was calculated perpendicular to the surface of the superconductor specimens. As a result of the analyses, it was determined that the crystallite size of the Y358 superconductor was about 1.125 times larger than that of the Y123 superconductor.


Recently, two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal nitrides have triggered an enormous interest for their tunable mechanical, optoelectronic, and magnetic properties, significantly enriching the family of 2D materials. Here, by using a broad range of first-principles calculations, we report a systematic study of 2D rectangular materials of titanium mononitride (TiN), exhibiting high energetic and thermal stability due to in-plane d-p orbital hybridization and synergetic out-of-plane electronic delocalization. The rectangular TiN monolayer also possesses enhanced auxeticity and ferroelasticity with an alternating order of Possion's Ratios, stemming from the competitive interactions of intra- and inter- Ti-N chains. Such TiN nanosystem is a n-type metallic conductor with specific tunable pseudogaps. Halogenation of TiN monolayer downshifts the Fermi level, achieving the optical energy gap up to 1.85 eV for TiNCl(Br) sheet. Overall, observed electronic features suggest that the two materials are potential photocatalysts for water splitting application. These results extend emerging phenomena in a rich family 2D transition-metal-based materials and hint for a new platform for the next-generation functional nanomaterials.


Polymeric micelles, nanosized assemblies of amphiphilic polymers with a core–shell architecture, have been used as carriers for various therapeutic compounds. They have gained attention due to specific properties such as their capacity to solubilize poorly water-soluble drugs, biocompatibility, and the ability to accumulate in tumor via enhanced permeability and retention (EPR). Moreover, additional functionality can be provided to the micelles by a further modification. For example, micelle surface modification with targeting ligands allows a specific targeting and enhanced tumor accumulation. The introduction of stimuli-sensitive groups leads to the drug's release in response to environment change. This review highlights the progress in the development of multifunctional polymeric micelles in the field of cancer therapy. This review will also cover some examples of multifunctional polymeric micelles that are applied for tumor imaging and theragnosis.


Abstract Optimized electrospinning conditions were applied to produce single and multilayered (ML) scaffolds composed of polycaprolactone, collagen and elastin. The ML scaffold was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to increase the stability. Morphological and structural characteristics of the scaffolds were measured by SEM and FTIR analyses. Results revealed that polymers combined to each other well and uniform fibers were obtained with the diameters ranging from 156 ± 53 to 1536 ± 293 nm. Contact angle measurements were performed to investigate the hydrophilic character of each structure. It was observed that incorporation of the natural polymers into the blends increased the hydrophilicity. Mechanical tests proved that collagen contributed to fabricate stiffer structures while elastin provided more elasticity. Biocompatibility of the scaffolds was examined by SEM analysis and WST-1 test with mouse fibroblast cells (L929) in vitro. Results exhibited that the addition of natural polymers increased the cell growth, and none of the single and ML scaffolds presented cytotoxic effect.


Stsatrisk is a wrapper for sts graph that adds a table to a survival plot with at-risk information, making it easy to create graphs that follow the list of recommendations given by Pocock et al. (2002) for Kaplan–Meier plots. We use stsatrisk to create plots in the desired format with the desired information.


Multimedia-based ontology construction and reasoning have recently been recognized as two important issues in video search, particularly for bridging semantic gap. The lack of coincidence between low-level features and user expectation makes conceptbased ontology reasoning an attractive mid-level framework for interpreting highlevel semantics. In this report, we propose a novel model, namely ontology-enriched semantic space (OSS), to provide a computable platform for modeling and reasoning concepts in a linear space. OSS enlightens the possibility of answering conceptual questions such as a high coverage of semantic space with minimal set of concepts, and the set of concepts to be developed for video search. More importantly, the queryto-concept mapping can be more reasonably conducted by guaranteeing the uniform and consistent comparison of concept scores for video search. We explore OSS for several tasks including concept-based video search, word sense disambiguation and detecor fusion. Our empirical findings show that OSS is a feasible solution to timely issues such as the measurement of concept combination and query-concept dependent fusion.


Blends of white maize, ginger powder (white and yellow) and soy flour were prepared at the following ratio of white maize 97%: yellow ginger 3% (WM /YG); white maize 97%: white ginger 3% (WM/WG); white maize 87%: soy bean 10%: yellow ginger 3% (WM/S/YG); white maize 87%: soy bean 10%: white ginger 3% (WM/S/WG), white maize 90%: soybean 10% (WM/S), white maize 100% (WM) control. As result revealed protein content, energy value, ash contents of ginger spiced 'kokoro' improved significantly with the addition of ginger spice and or soy flour compared with the control. The mineral composition of ginger spiced 'kokoro', increased significantly at p < 0.05 especially with WM/S. Addition of ginger and or soy improves the vitamin A and C content of ginger spiced 'kokoro', WM/S/YG had the highest vitamin A. while WM/S/WG had the highest Vitamin C content as compared with the control (WM). Result revealed that WM/S/YG displayed the highest DPPH radical scavenging actives. Significant (p < 0.05) improvement was observed in the amino acid content of the ginger spiced 'kokoro'. The addition of ginger powder and or soy flour decreases the load at break (N), compressed Extension at Break (mm), and the energy at break (J) of the ginger spiced 'kokoro'.


The effect of adherend notching on the joint strength/failure and joint deformation behavior of single lap joints was investigated. First, a parametric study was conducted using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The results of the parametric study were used to select the most promising lap geometries for further study. Next, more detailed FEA were conducted on the selected lap geometries. This data was compared with the experimental tensile test results to assess the applicability of different failure criteria.


Chemiluminescence (CL) emission from leukocytes was studied in 20 uremic patients after ingestion of opsonized zymosan. CL production was impaired when compared with control groups. Six months after a low-protein, low-phosphorus diet supplemented with essential amino acids and ketoanalogues (SD) was started, a significant improvement in CL production was observed. SD may be expected to decrease the susceptibility of uremic patients to bacterial infections.


Osteosarcoma can rarely occur as a subsequent malignant neoplasm after cancer therapy. Children who underwent treatment for cancer and received an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant are at a higher risk to develop secondary malignancies. Radiation is also a known risk factor, but estimating the quantitative risk is difficult due to the rarity of the condition and long latency period between primary and secondary cancer. In this report, we present 3 patients diagnosed with leukemia as young children who received hematopoietic cell transplants with total body irradiation as part of the conditioning regimen, and later went on to develop secondary osteosarcoma.


Electrostatic interactions play a significant role in regulating biological systems and have received increasing attention due to their usefulness in designing advanced stimulus-responsive materials. Polypeptoids are highly tunable N-substituted peptidomimetic polymers that lack backbone hydrogen bonding and chirality. Therefore, polypeptoids are suitable systems to study the effect of noncovalent interactions of substituents without complications of backbone intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. In this study, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed on micelles formed by a series of sequence-defined ionic polypeptoid block copolymers consisting of a hydrophobic segment and a hydrophilic segment in an aqueous solution. By combining the results from MD simulations and experimental small-angle neutron scattering data, further insights were gained into the internal structure of the formed polypeptoid micelles, which is not always directly accessible from experiments. In addition, information was gained into the physics of the noncovalent interactions responsible for the self-assembly of weakly charged polypeptoids in an aqueous solution. While the aggregation number is governed by electrostatic repulsion of the negatively charged carboxylate (COO–) substituents on the polypeptoid chain within the micelle, MD simulations indicate that the position of the charge on singly charged chains mediates the shape of the micelle through the charge–dipole interactions between the COO– substituent and the surrounding water. Therefore, the polypeptoid micelles formed from the single-charged series offer the possibility for tailorable micelle shapes. In contrast, the polypeptoid micelles formed from the triple-charged series are characterized by more pronounced electrostatic repulsion that competes with more significant charge–sodium interactions, making it difficult to predict the shape of the micelles. This work has helped further develop design principles for the shape and structure of self-assembled micelles by controlling the position of charged moieties on the backbone of polypeptoid block copolymers.


Total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the standard surgical treatment for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term functional outcomes and quality of life (QOL) associated with hand-sewn and stapled IPAA. Ninety-one patients with UC had undergone IPAA using hand-sewn anastomosis with mucosectomy (32 patients) or stapled anastomosis (59 patients) from January 1988 to May 2010. Patients were evaluated according to patient characteristics, postoperative complications, functional outcomes and QOL. The QOL of patients were evaluated using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ). Numbers of patients with colorectal cancer or dysplasia were significantly greater in the hand-sewn IPAA group (P < 0.01). These patients had longer disease durations and were older (both P < 0.01). There was no difference in the incidence of complications between the groups, except for a greater incidence of postoperative anal fistula in the stapled group (P = 0.03). In the early postsurgery period, both the frequency of bowel movements and the rate of soiling were significantly higher in the hand-sewn group, but in a later period, there was no difference in these events >3 years after surgery. The SF-36 and IBDQ results were similar in the two groups, indicating that hand-sewn and stapled IPAA result in similar QOL in the late postoperative period. Postoperative complications, functional outcomes, and long-term QOL were similar in patients who had received hand-sewn or stapled IPAA.


Fluoride, next to industrial use of the biological importance of a element. Therefore the levels of floride in the drinking water are important because of public health. In this study, a total 10 samples are taken from 9 different points, which contain drinking water in Sakarya, center and regions of the city (Kampus, Serdivan, Ozanlar, Camili, Karaman, Erenler1, Erenler2, Cark Caddesi, Hizirtepe and Dortyol). In these samples, determination of flouride was made with ion selective electrode and ion chromatography methods. World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests flouride amount in drinking water less than 1,5 mg/L. In drinking water samples which are taken from Sakarya, center and regions of the city avarage flouride values were determined in accordance with standards less than 1,5 mg/L.


Developing automotive functions involves complex software to a growing extent while still following a consecutive waterfall-like development process: Integrating and testing software with other software and with hardware components is conducted towards the final phases during the development. For example, ambiguous requirements or unclear semantics in system interfaces show up very late and mostly not before integration testing. In this article, we are reporting about results from conducting interviews with integration and test engineers at a large automotive OEM about today's most resource-intense challenges when dealing with software integration testing tasks at interconnected hardware-in-the-loop test rig environments. Challenges in processes, communication, and implementation were mentioned most often as emerging topics to be tackled over and over again during this phase in a vehicle series development project.


Gallstone ileus is very rare complication of cholelithiasis. As it is usually a disease of the elderly, the morbidity and mortality associated with it is high due to the presence of co-morbidities. This is additionally made worse by the delay encountered before reaching diagnosis which often demands a high index of suspicion. In Ethiopia, a country where intestinal obstruction is seen to be one of the common presentations in the emergency surgical department, gall stone has never been seen to be reported as a cause. Thus we present this rare case and discuss the mode of presentation, diagnostic difficulties and differing treatment options. We report the case of an 80-year old lady who presented with signs and symptoms of small intestinal obstruction. Upon exploration we were astonished to find the cause of the obstruction to be a gallstone which was removed by simple ileostomy. Postoperative course was uneventful. Keywords: gallstone ileus, intestinal obstruction, gallstone


Background The putative promoter of the holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS) gene on chromosome 21 is hypermethylated in placental tissues and could be detected as a fetal-specific DNA marker in maternal plasma. Detection of fetal trisomy 21 (T21) has been demonstrated by an epigenetic-genetic chromosome dosage approach where the amount of hypermethylated HLCS in maternal plasma is normalized using a fetal genetic marker on the Y chromosome as a chromosome dosage reference marker. We explore if this method can be applied on both male and female fetuses with the use of a paternally-inherited fetal single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allele on a reference chromosome for chromosome dosage normalization. Methodology We quantified hypermethylated HLCS molecules using methylation-sensitive restriction endonuclease digestion followed by real-time or digital PCR analyses. For chromosome dosage analysis, we compared the amount of digestion-resistant HLCS to that of a SNP allele (rs6636, a C/G SNP) that the fetus has inherited from the father but absent in the pregnant mother. Principal Findings Using a fetal-specific SNP allele on a reference chromosome, we analyzed 20 euploid and nine T21 placental tissue samples. All samples with the fetal-specific C allele were correctly classified. One sample from each of the euploid and T21 groups were misclassified when the fetal-specific G allele was used as the reference marker. We then analyzed 33 euploid and 14 T21 maternal plasma samples. All but one sample from each of the euploid and T21 groups were correctly classified using the fetal-specific C allele, while correct classification was achieved for all samples using the fetal-specific G allele as the reference marker. Conclusions As a proof-of-concept study, we have demonstrated that the epigenetic-genetic chromosome dosage approach can be applied to the prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21 for both male and female fetuses.


Author(s): Perry, Jessica A. | Advisor(s): Tinker, M Tim; Raimondi, Pete | Abstract: Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are well known and conspicuous tool users, but little is known about what drives the maintenance of this behavior in populations or individuals. I investigated how variation in the frequency of tool use across and within sea otter populations may be influenced by ecological factors such as age class, sex and reproductive status, geographic location, feeding habitat, and prey type. Additionally, I explored whether consistent inter-individual differences in tool use occurred and if the frequency of tool use occurrence was related to learned diet specializations. I used observed foraging and tool use data collected from nine sites across two subspecies of sea otters. Over 500 individuals were observed feeding and over 100,000 feeding dives were recorded between 1985 and 2011. Using binary generalized linear mixed effects models, I found the type of prey consumed the strongest predictor of the frequency of tool use across populations, although all factors contributed to the best fit model. In Monterey, California, I collected longitudinal data on sixty- three individuals for a minimum of one year. I found that individuals specializing in prey that required tools were more likely to carry-over this behavior to other prey consumed. My results suggest that the frequency of tool use in sea otter populations and individuals is influenced by ecological factors such as the consumption of prey that is difficult to access, and the "behavioral inertia" of individuals learning to use tools for particular prey items.


Growth of the Earth from smaller planetisimals resulted in substantial partitioning of the iron-loving (siderophile) into the metallic core. However, some of the most highly siderophile elements in Earth's silicate mantle are present in much greater concentrations than expected, even for high-pressure equilibration in a deep 'magma ocean' [1], and in broadly chondritic proportions. Consequently, it is often assumed that the highly siderophile elements require the late addition of extraterrestrial material (the so called 'late veneer') to the mantle after core formation was complete. Core formation on smaller asteroidal bodies cannot have been affected by high-pressure equilibration, and Hf-W chronology suggests that core formation was rapid [2] and, during global scale melting, was likely highly efficient [3]. This study presents new HSE abundance and 187Os/188Os isotope data for basaltic meteorites, the HEDs (Howardites, Eucrites and Diogenites thought to sample the asteroid 4 Vesta), anomalous Eucrites and Angrites (considered to be from distinct parent bodies) and SNCs (thought to be from Mars). The results show that these igneous meteorites all formed from mantle sources that possessed broadly chondritic (i.e. primitive solar system) inter-element ratios and Os isotope compositions, inconsistent with equilibrium partitioning of the PGE. Furthermore, there is a simple relationship where predicted mantle HSE concentrations are linked to the size of the parent body, and so Vesta (like the Moon [4]) has much lower HSE concentrations than Earth or Mars. These data can be most readily explained by the late addition of a chondritic meteorite flux to the silicate mantles of all these bodies, after core formation was complete, and suggests that the addition of a late veneer is a general feature of planetary accretion in the inner solar system, rather than being a unique temporal event that only affected the Earth.


This paper presents a LNG Liquefaction cycle configuration using two stages of methane expansion and a single stage of nitrogen expansion (Dual Refrigerant) to improve the efficiency of the conventional methane and nitrogen refrigerant expansion cycle (Niche Cycle). The chosen configuration further optimizes the composite cooling and heating curve of the liquefaction cycle, resulting in a higher thermodynamic efficiency. The production efficiency of the liquefaction cycle can be improved by reducing the interval between the cooling curve of the natural gas and the warming curve of the refrigerant: the closer both curves are, the better the efficiency of the cycle. This optimization is achieved by adjusting the refrigerant operating temperatures and pressures. The advanced dual refrigerant expansion cycle includes three levels of expansion, each having different temperature and pressure levels. In the methane expansion loop there are two stages, which are classified warm and cold. The warm loop is applied in the pre-cooling zone and the cold loop is responsible for the main liquefaction. The nitrogen loop is a single stage and is used for sub-cooling. This configuration allows the methane and nitrogen warming curve to closely match the cooling curve of the natural gas cooling curve by changing the methane and nitrogen warming curve from two straight lines into multiple intersecting straight lines of different gradient. That is to say, the additional new methane expander generates an added inflection point within the cold composite curve. As a result, thermodynamic inefficiencies are minimized and the power requirements are reduced when compared to Niche Cycle. In comparison with other previous expansion cycles, the cycle efficiency has increased approximately from 13.13 to 12.08 kW/ton/day (8% efficiency increase) assuming similar feed gas (methane: 80%, MW: 21.38). The composition of this feed gas is representative for associated gas or pipe line gas which is preliminary treated to remove bulk water and hydrocarbon condensate. A case study is presented for an open sea associated gas FLNG concept, comparing three kinds of liquefaction processes (Double Nitrogen Expansion Cycle, Methane & Nitrogen Expansion Cycle and Developed Dual Refrigerant Expansion Cycle). A Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis based on Net Positive Value (NPV) also shows an improvement in terms of project NPV, against a minor increment of the CAPEX of these cycles.


This study evaluated a cessation of smoking program for older (≥ 65 years) smokers. We recruited 215 community-dwelling smokers who selected either an intervention ( n = 165) (brief intervention, telephone support, access to nicotine replacement therapy [NRT]) or ongoing smoking (continuing smokers) ( n= 50). Primary outcomes at 12 and 24 months were (a) total abstinence and (b) cessation for the previous 30+ days, all validated via expired carbon monoxide (ECO). We interviewed 183 (85%) participants at 12 months and 165 (77%) at 24 months. Total abstinence was reported by 29 (18%) and 21 (13%) of the intervention group and none of the continuing smokers at 12 and 24 months. At 12 months, a greater prevalence of 30+ day cessation was observed for the intervention (24.2%) than the continuing smokers (4.0%): by 24 months this difference was 23.6% versus 12.0%. Those totally abstinent for 24 months predominantly used NRT (81%). Of the 30+ day quitters at 24 months, 74% of the intervention group used NRT and 100% of the continuing smokers used 'cold turkey'. Cessation programs can be successfully delivered to older smokers, with outcomes comparable to the general population. NRT is commonly used by successful quitters, but 'cold turkey' can also be successful.


Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a mesenchymal tumor originating from the smooth muscle cells. LMS of the great vessels accounts for 60% of cases, with inferior vena cava being the most common site. Pulmonary vein LMS is an extremely rare subset that was first reported in 1939. LMS is an aggressive tumor, making surgical resection the treatment of choice. Herein, we present a rare case of pulmonary vein LMS extending into the left atrium, which was resected.


Described is a sequential hypothesis testing algorithm capable of discriminating supraventricular arrhythmias from ventricular arrhythmias. The algorithm uses simultaneous recordings of pure atrial and pure ventricular electrograms obtained using dual chamber endocardial electrodes on a single catheter. Adaptive impulse filtering is used to subtract the ventricular component from the atrial lead signal to get a pure atrial electrogram. Probability distributions of the atrial and ventricular inter-beat interval for various arrhythmias are calculated. A sequential hypothesis testing (SHT) algorithm is used to determine which distribution the rhythm belongs to. The advantage of this method is that it allows preselection of the false positive and false negative error probabilities. The tradeoff for selecting lower error rates is a longer time required to reach a decision. The SHT algorithm is used to discriminate between normal and SVT rhythms in 20 data segments. The 9 normal rhythms and 10 SVT rhythms were classified correctly within 3 seconds.<<ETX>>


. This paper concerns a numerical stabilization method for free-surface ice flow called the free-surface stabilization algorithm (FSSA). In the current study, the FSSA is implemented into the numerical ice-flow software Elmer/Ice and tested on synthetic two-dimensional (2D) glaciers, as well as on the real-world glacier of Midtre Lovénbreen, Svalbard. For the synthetic 2D cases it is found that the FSSA method increases the largest stable time-step size at least by a factor of ten for the case of a gently sloping ice surface ( 3 ◦ ), and by at least a factor of five for cases of moderately to steeply inclined surfaces ( 6 ◦ to 12 ◦ ) . 5 Furthermore, the FSSA method increases the overall accuracy for all surface slopes. The largest stable time-step size is found to be smallest for the case of a low sloping surface, despite having overall smaller velocities. For Midtre Lovénbreen the FSSA method doubles the largest stable time-step size, however, the accuracy is in this case slightly lowered in the deeper parts of the glacier, while it increases near edges. The implication is that the non-FSSA method might be more accurate at predicting glacier thinning, while the FSSA method is more suitable for predicting future glacier extent. A possible application of the 10 larger time-step sizes allowed for by the FSSA is for spin-up simulations, where relatively fast changing climate data can be incorporated on short time scales, while the slowly changing velocity field is updated over larger time scales.


The climate in the Quaternary is characterized by ice age cycles with periods in the range of tens of thousands to a hundred thousand years, triggered by long-term insolation variations due to the Earth's orbital and precessional motions. Although we can accurately calculate long-term insolation variations at the top of the Earth's atmosphere, we need to know the physical and dynamical processes occurring in the complicated climate system of the Earth in order to understand the true nature and origin of the ice age cycles. In this manuscript, first we briefly review how the gravitational interaction between planets causes insolation variations. Then, we summarize the recent status of large-scale numerical experiments as to how the ice age cycles take place in the climate system of the Earth, with a particular focus on dynamical modeling of ice sheets.


A vowel synthesis algorithm was developed resembling parallel formant synthesizers. However, the formants are computed as amplitude-and phase-modulated sinusoids instead of being represented by recursive filters or resonators. The fundamental frequency is imposed on the signal in the following way: Each pitch period exhibits an initial rise of a duration of π/2 of the first formant frequency; at the end of this ramp period all formants start as sinusoids at predefined phase angles and amplitudes, and successively undergo linear attenuation toward zero amplitude at the end of each pitch period. Adjacent pitch periods, thus, do not influence each other. In principle, the signals produced by this algorithm are similar to the output of parallel formant synthesizers [e.g., D. H. Klatt, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 971–995 (1980)]. However, by incremental sample-by-sample computation of the formants' phase angles, formant frequencies are allowed to continuously change within single pitch periods. This new algorithm ...


The human capital becomes a significant achievement of every organization in the context of the transformation of the fundamental principles in doing business. Every business structure creates and maintains a unique organizational culture that determines the degree of comfortable conditions for employees in their workplace, the level of their interest in the successful operation of the company, and the desire to gain leadership in the market. The human resources and the degree of workers' satisfaction with jobs directly affect the performance of the company. At the same time, the organizational culture of the company depends on the general policy of the company in which the maximization of profit, not the employee's satisfaction with working conditions, is the primary purpose of its activity. The systematization of existing scientific capacity in the field of human resources management has shown the relationship between the level of dissatisfaction of employees with working conditions and the degree of their readiness to find a new place where they can work in more comfortable conditions. The study is based on the use of analytical and comparative methods. The object of the research includes organizations in Muzaffargarh, Layyah, and Dera Ghazi Khan Punjab (Pakistan). The study is based on a method of data collection, which contains the analysis of the results of 320 successfully returned (out of 350 distributed) questionnaires. A 5-digit Likert scale analyzed the results. The purpose of the research is to analyze the relationship between job satisfaction, organizational culture, and staff turnover in Pakistan. According to the results of the study, the authors conclude that organizational culture directly influences employee satisfaction, which in turn has a negative impact on employee turnover. The results of the conducted research can be useful for managers and business owners in terms of understanding the possibilities of improving the employees' productivity from the perspective of increasing their satisfaction with working conditions.

Keywords: Human Resource Management, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Culture, Turnover.


The current high production of plastics has prompted the exploration of alternative pathways to facilitate recycling, aiming for a progressively sustainable society. This paper presents an alternative and affordable technology for treating waste expanded polystyrene (EPS) mixed with acetone in a 100:1 volume ratio to be used as 3D printing ink for Direct Ink Write technology. In order to optimize the printing parameters, a comprehensive study was conducted, evaluating different needle diameters, printing speeds, and bed temperature values to achieve homogenous pieces and a highly repeatable 3D printing process. Results showed that the main optimum printing parameters were using needles with diameters of 14 to 16 G and printing speeds ranging from 2 to 12 mm/s, which were found to yield the most uniform ribbons. Increasing the bed temperature, despite favoring acetone evaporation, led to the generation of more heterogeneous structures due to void growth inside the printed ribbons. Thus, employing room temperature for the bed proved to be the optimal value. Lastly, a comparative study between the starting material and the EPS after the printing process was conducted using FTIR-ATR and GPC analyses, ensuring the preservation of the original polymer's integrity during physical recycling.


Increasingly refugees live in urban areas—usually in slums impacted by unemployment, poverty, overcrowding and inadequate infrastructure. Host governments often restrict refugees' access to the labor market, access that can be further impeded by language barriers, arbitrary fees, and discrimination. UNHCR and its partners are seldom equipped to understand and navigate the complex urban economic environment in order to create opportunities for refugees in these settings. Based on assessments undertaken in 2010 and 2011 in Kampala, New Delhi and Johannesburg, research findings indicate that refugees in urban areas adopt a variety of economic coping strategies, many of which place them at risk, and that new approaches and different partnerships are needed for the design and implementationof economic programs. This paper presents findings from the assessments and lays out strategies to address the challenges confronting urban refugees' ability to enter and compete in the labor market.


AIM
The present study aims to assess the perception of nurses, patients and their relatives regarding the nature of workplace violence against nurses.

BACKGROUND
Workplace violence adversely affects the health, well-being and safety of nurses and the quality of nursing care.

METHODS
In the present descriptive comparative study, the nature of violence was assessed using a modified and validated International Labor Office, the International Council of Nurses, World Health Organization, and Public Services International Questionnaire.

RESULTS
Nurses, patients and relatives reported verbal abuse as the most common and sexual violence as the least common type of violence against nurses. Nurses mostly blamed factors associated with patients and their relatives as the cause of violence, whereas patients and their relatives blamed social factors.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that violence is significantly prevalent in clinical settings, but its nature is differently perceived by nurses, patients and their relatives. This phenomenon requires further studies because knowledge of the causes of this difference could help to reduce and control violence.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
It is necessary that nursing managers inform nurses about protocols for reporting all such cases in order to collect information, and based on a clear procedure, actively pursue reported cases and take the necessary measures to prevent violence against nurses.


Recent advances in embedded antenna and sensor technologies for 5G communications have galvanized a response toward the investigation of their electromagnetic performance for urban contexts and civil engineering applications. This article quantitatively investigates the effects of material loading on an evolved antecedent hexagonal complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR)-loaded antenna design through simulation and experimentation. Optimization of the narrowband antenna system was first performed in a simulation environment to achieve resonance at 3.50 GHz, featuring an impedance bandwidth of 1.57% with maximum return loss and theoretical gain values of 20.0 dB and 1.80 dBi, respectively. As a proof-of-concept, a physical prototype is fabricated on a printed circuit board followed by a simulation-based parametric study involving antenna prototypes embedded into Ordinary Portland Cement pastes with varying weight percentages of iron(III) oxide inclusions. Simulation-derived and experimental results are mutually verified, achieving a systemic downward shift in resonant frequency and corresponding variations in impedance matching induced by changes in loading reactance. Finally, an inversion modeling procedure is employed using perturbation theory to extrapolate the relative permittivity of the dielectric loaded materials. Our proposed analysis contributes to optimizing concrete-embedded 5G antenna sensor designs and establishes a foundational framework for estimating unknown dielectric parameters of cementitious composites.


Described herein is a novel expression system for producing multiple gene products of interest from a single polycistronic construct. In particular, the expression system contains a polycistronic vector capable of expressing functional antibodies in eukaryotic host cells, which vector contains at least the following elements operably linked in the 5' to 3' orientation: a promoter operable in a eukaryotic cell; a DNA sequence encoding at least the variable region of an antibody light chain; an internal ribosome entry site (IRES); and at least one DNA sequence encoding an antibody heavy chain. Also disclosed are mammalian cells containing the polycistronic expression vector, and a method of producing functional antibodies in mammalian cells transfected with the polycistronic expression vector.


The basis of all work on tuberculosis is the knowledge of tuberculous infection, and when the question of combating the disease by means of prophylactic vaccination arises the conditions influencing the infection become of vital importance. An account of tuberculous infection will therefore be given, with the observations on which vaccination is based, followed by a description of subcutaneous vaccination with B C G and its results. The common conception of tuberculous infection is that it generally occurs during the early years of childhood. The many difficulties that continually arise, however, when an attempt is made to bring actual facts concerning tuberculosis into line with this theory, for instance, the morbidity at the ages between 20 and 30 years, make one doubt the truth of the theory. And the facts on which the theory is based do not seem convincing; they are too few and too specialized to justify such


A detail sedimentological analysis of the Sarki Formation (Early Jurassic) in Warte and Zarwan sections in the Imbricated Zone, northern Iraq has been conducted for the first time. The Sarki Formation in both studied sections are consisting of dolomite, dolomitic limestone and recrystallized breccia. The petrographic study of the 80 thin sections analyzed in both outcrops showed the skeletal and non-skeletal components. The skeletal components are including ostracods, bivalves and echinoderms. While the main non skeletal grains are peloids, ooids, extraclasts and intraclasts. The diagenetic processes which affected the carbonate rocks of the Sarki Formation was dolomitization, compaction, cementation, micritization, solution and slicification. The result of XRD and SEM of eight samples of dolomite and dolomitic limestone show that the main minerals are dolomite and calcite. In the carbonate rocks nine main microfacies have been identified, which are classified into three facies groupings that correspond to three depositional environments; peritidal, lagoon and high energy shoal within ramp settings.


An efficient, simple and relatively inexpensive method for the synthesis of coumarins in aqueous sodium bicarbonate at ambient temperature has been developed. It features an intramolecular Wittig reaction of substituted 2-formylphenyl 2-bromoacetate in saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate. Its advantages include benign reaction conditions, easy work-up and good overall yield with short reaction time. Various substituted coumarins have been synthesized by utilizing this methodology.


Certain sedimentary rocks cropping out in the Ouachita Mountains of southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas are unusual in that they contain large amounts of silica disseminated through a relatively thick series of beds which are laterally continuous over large areas. They range in age from Ordovician to Pennsylvanian and may be divided into (1) sedimentary rocks of the main anticlinorium of the Ouachita Mountains in southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Arkansas, and (2) sedimentary rocks exposed in the fault blocks lying between the central Ouachita Mountains and the Arbuckle Mountains and McAlester Basin. The former group consists largely of chert and siliceous shale of typical geosynclinal facies; the latter group consists largely of chert and siliceous limestone intermediate in lithology and fabric between rocks of geosynclinal facies and those of foreland facies exposed near by in the Arbuckle Mountains. The siliceous sedimentary rocks of typical geosynclinal facies comprise the Bigfork chert (Ordovician); the Arkansas novaculite (Devonian-Mississippian); the siliceous shales of the Stanley (Mississippian), Jackfork (Pennsylvanian), and Atoka (Pennsylvanian) formations; and the Hatton tuff lentil (Mississippian). Siliceous sedimentary rocks of atypical geosynclinal facies exposed in the fault blocks are the Pine-top chert (Devonian), the Woodford chert (Devonian ?), and the Chickachoc chert (Pennsylvanian). Although there are conspicuous lithologic differences between these siliceous sedimentary rocks of Ouachita facies, it is considered that most of the silica was supplied by extrusive vulcanism and submarine weathering of volcanic ash. Furthermore, all the siliceous sediments apparently were deposited when relatively little clastic material was being supplied to the "Ouachita geosyncline". Subsequent to their deposition, the siliceous sediments have been modified by epigenetic redistribution of part of their silica, resulting partly from metamorphism accompanying the Ouachita orogeny and partly from surface exposure.


During the closing months of World War I in late 1918 and the break-up of the historic multinational empires that for centuries had ruled most of East Central Europe, it became common practice for the varying ethnolinguistic or national groups to form councils whose goals were to determine their group's political future. These national councils, as they came to be known, seemed to appear everywhere, but perhaps most frequently in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was not only the "large" former minorities like the Czechs, Poles, Slovaks, Croats, Slovenes, Romanians, or Ukrainians who formed national councils, but many smaller groups acted in the same way. And, like the national councils of the larger groups who very soon created independent republics alone or in cooperation with their immediate neighbors, so, too, did some of these smaller groups proclaim their independence. Thus, in the newspapers of the time and scholarly monographs of today one can still find references to the Baranya, East Slovak, Hutsul, or Przemysl "republics" among others, which during the last few months of 1918 seemed to sprout up like mushrooms after a rainfall, but which for the most part ceased to exist when the borders of East Central Europe began to stabilize as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that opened its deliberations in early 1919.


Described in the article is a clinical case report concerning staged management of a patient presenting with a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. The first stage consisted in complete lower debranching with prosthetic repair of all visceral arteries and the right renal artery. The second stage was endovascular repair of the aortic aneurysm. The chosen approach made it possible to avoid clamping of the thoracic portion of the aorta, which favourably contributed to a decrease in the traumatic nature of the operative procedure, simultaneously preserving the radicality of treatment after the two-stage intervention.


This document describes a virtual machine mobility protocol commonly
used in data centers built with overlay-based network virtualization
approach. It is based on using a Network Virtualization Authority
(NVA)-Network Virtualization Edge (NVE) protocol to update Address
Resolution Protocol (ARP) table or neighbor cache entries at the NVA
and the source NVEs tunneling in-flight packets to the destination NVE
after the virtual machine moves from source NVE to the destination
NVE.


A mouse monoclonal antibody (BA-Br-3) raisëd against the breast carcinoma cell line CAMA-1 was previously shown to react with a ~> 300-kDa globule-like glycoprotein from human milk fat also expressed in the cytoplasm and on the surface of human carcinoma cells of different histological types. In this report the reactivity of this mAb with a large number of normal and malignant human tissues was analyzed using immunoperoxidase techniques. When tested on sections of both fresh-frozen tissues and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues, BA-Br-3 reacted with a formalin-resistant antigenic determinant expressed by normal and malignant epithelial cells. Preferential reactivity was observed at the apical portion of ductal epithelial cells in normal breast and in glandular epithelia distributed in several other organs. Reactivity with mucin-like secretions in the lumina of ducts was also found. BA-Br-3 reacted mostly in heterogenous staining pattems with 88% of 49 breast carcinoma specimens tested, regardless of their histological type or whether they were primary or secondary neoplasms. Testing of epithelial malignant tumors other than breast carcinomas with this antibody showed that 127 of 151 (84%) were also reactive. mAb BA-Br-3 and E29 (a commercially available anti(epithelial membrane antigen) shared very similar staining patterns and distributions of reactivity with breast and other epithelial tumors. However, BA-Br-3 showed a significantly higher percentage of reactivity with melanoma (33% versus 6%, P = 0.003) and a trend toward a higher percentage of reactivity with sarcoma (55% versus 27%, P >0.05). This antibody, therefore, defines a molecule that is a member of the mucin-like epithelial membrane antigen family. Further studies are warranted to determine its use-


In order to construct a model which can describe levels of skillfulness of drivers, a driver model of target speed tracking driving is proposed. The model is constructed under two requirements. One is that functions of recognition, decision and operation of a driver are able to interpreted. The other is that the model can express experience of environments. To satisfy the requirements, the proposed model consists of recognition, decision and operation modules and modules of knowledges of environment. Through some computational simulations using a typical mode of target speed tracking, the basic properties of the proposed model have been investigated, and parameters of an experienced driver and a beginner driver are estimated. Using the parameters, it has been shown that the proposed model can represent features of both a novice driver and an experienced skillful driver.


This paper studies robustness of multivariable systems with parametric uncertainties, and establishes a multivariable version of Edge Theorem. An illustrative example is presented.


The problem of strike identification in range image acquisition systems based on triangulation with periodically structured illumination is discussed. A coding scheme is presented based on a single fixed binary encoded illumination pattern, which contains all the information required to identify the individual strikes visible in the camera image. Every sample point indicated by the light pattern is made identifiable by means of a binary signature, which is locally shared among its closest neighbors. The applied code is derived from pseudonoise sequences, and it is optimized so that it can make the identification fault-tolerant to the largest extent. A prototype measurement system based on this coding principle is presented. Experimental results obtained with the measurement system are also presented. >


To be fully human in the Greco-Roman world was to be a member of a city. This is unsurprising as cities were the building blocks of Greek and Roman culture and society. The urban landscape of post-Roman Western Europe looked dramatically different, with smaller, less economically diverse cities which played a smaller role in administration. Despite this, Greco-Roman ideas of humans as city-beings remained influential. This article explores this by investigating early medieval descriptions of cynocephali, which sought to determine whether the dog-headed men were human or not. Accounts of the cynocephali that presented them as human showed them living in urban settlements, whereas in reports of non-human cynocephali there are no cities. In exploring interactions between cynocephali and urban settings through ethnographic portrayals and hagiography, this article traces the lingering importance of the city for concepts of humanity.


Geometric approaches have been well developed for both linear and nonlinear systems, which are useful in the analysis and design of control systems. However, geometric approaches have been less considered for discrete‐time bilinear systems. In this paper, controllability and near‐controllability of driftless discrete‐time bilinear systems are dealt with from a geometric point of view. More specifically, geometric characterizations are presented for controllability and near‐controllability as well as for controllable subspaces and nearly controllable subspaces of the systems. Differently from the classical geometric approach for linear systems, it is shown that, for the bilinear systems, a controllable subspace has to be determined by two linear subspaces, while a nearly controllable subspace is determined by one linear subspace. As a result, geometric criteria for controllability, near‐controllability, controllable subspaces, and nearly controllable subspaces of the systems are respectively derived, which are also applied to multi‐input discrete‐time bilinear systems and to linear time‐invariant systems with a multiplicative perturbation. Examples are given to illustrate the derived geometric criteria.


A 4-year-old castrated male Miniature Horse was evaluated because of severe right hind limb lameness of 5 days' duration. The diagnosis of craniodorsal luxation of the right coxofemoral joint was made by physical examination and radiographic imaging. Closed reduction was attempted but was unsuccessful. Surgical reduction was successfully performed, using toggle pin, synthetic capsular reconstruction, and trochanteric transposition techniques. No postoperative complications were observed. Follow-up 26 months after surgery revealed no recurrence of the luxation and no evidence of lameness. These surgical techniques are used successfully for repair of coxofemoral luxations in small animals. To our knowledge, there has been no report of these techniques attempted in horses. These surgical techniques may have merit for the treatment of coxofemoral luxations in small equine patients.


This paper reviews techniques and equipment for collecting precipitation samples from the atmosphere (fog and cloud water) and from atmospheric deposits (dew, hoarfrost, and rime) that are suitable for the evaluation of atmospheric pollution. It discusses the storage and preparation of samples for analysis and also presents bibliographic information on the concentration ranges of inorganic and organic compounds in the precipitation and atmospheric deposit samples.