Background: Over the last number of decades, there has been growing interest of an aseptic surgical practices with various infrastructure evolving together with principles and protocols to maintain surgical sterility. Several researchers and safety management agencies have focused on many factors impacting on the outcome of operations, one of which is the operation room (OR) traffic. Operation room traffic, which is ultimately linked to door openings, has the potential for air contamination in the OR by its interference with the laminar flow of air, altering the pressure gradient thus changing the environmental milli leading to containment failure. These increases the bacterial colony and particulate count in the air which has the potential to increase the risk of post-operative surgical skin infection (SSI). It also has the potential to distract the team, leading to increase stress from noise during movements that may lead minor or even potentially serious clinical care errors, with its attendants' consequences Methods: A pilot study was undertaken in a University Hospital, using a human observer assisted by finger held digital tally counter to monitor the opening of door(s) during all operation over a period of 2 months. the participants were blinded to the observation in order to counteract the possible Hawthorne effects on the data generated. Results: A total of 1,002 minutes of surgery was monitored recording 350 episodes of door opening given an average of 15 episode per case or 2.86 times of door opening per minute. Conclusions: Operation room traffic in our operation room is highly prevalent and superceeds most of the reported episodes in the literature and exceeds the recommended safe limits of door opening per case as advised.


Urbanization is expected to continue, with more than two-thirds of the world's population likely to live in urban areas by 2050, leading to a net urban influx of approximately 2.5 billion people. Existing infrastructure must be equipped to address this dramatic urban growth while also adapting to potential adverse impacts of climate change and other natural hazards. To be sustainable, cities must themselves, become efficient users of materials and energy as well as respond to future climatic conditions. Two main urban engineering strategies are to map how current stocks may respond to climate change and to identify resources that could be used to improve local productive capacity and reduce dependencies on distant resources. The dissertation herein addresses these two overarching strategies through a series of specific case studies for the Boston area using GIS based urban stock assessment as a framework. GIS is used extensively in urban system modeling and resource assessment. The geospatial modeling presented in this dissertation involves the combination of spatial and remote sensing techniques in a way that multi-dimensional, location-based data can be analyzed and visualized to assess urban resources at building and sub-parcel-level resolution. Corrosion models are coupled to climate change projections to estimate the durability of all concrete buildings throughout the city subject to enhanced carbonation and chlorination processes. Climate change will decrease the time to corrosion initiation in new concrete buildings by 10-26 years. Scalable spatial frameworks and models for assessing urban biomass potential are presented and applied to across urban land-use and building types, to


History has seen the evolution of tunnelling starting with cave formation, for water management, underground transportation, and mineral extraction and for warfare purposes. Tunneling technology has advanced since the 1950 from the conventional drill and blast techniques to the most advanced and sophisticated mechanized tunneling with tunnel boring machines. The range of scenarios in which tunnel boring machines are deployed is continuously expanding, from clays to granular soils to highly fractured or monolithic rock masses, from partially to fully saturated ground, and from mountain ranges with high overburden pressures to sensitive urban areas with low overburden. Today, the application range of tunnel boring machines is being extended to an ever increasing variety of geotechnical conditions. This review paper gives an overall perspective of tunneling with tunnel boring machines and suitability of tunnel boring machines for soft ground conditions


Abstract Phylogenetic methods were used to analyze cytochrome-b sequences (n = 257; 560 base pairs) from Peromyscus keeni (Keen's mouse) collected from 23 islands of the Alexander Archipelago and 6 mainland locations in southeast Alaska and western Canada. Although P. keeni is ubiquitous across this region, island populations are genetically distinctive. Genetic structure of extant populations of P. keeni appears to have been more heavily influenced by vicariance than post-glacial colonization. Populations of P. keeni might have survived in coastal refugia during the last glacial maximum (15 × 103 years ago). Island area was significantly correlated with 2 of 3 genetic diversity measures whereas island isolation was not. Areas with divergent populations were discovered, but were largely inconsistent with 3 of 5 currently recognized subspecies. Cryptic variation was detected in 8 areas not previously identified by morphologic analyses.


This dissertation presents the results of investigations into the accuracy of exponential time-stepping approximation versus central differences algorithm in Finite. Difference Time Domain (FDTD) technique, which is implemented on a whistler wave in a switched time varying magnetoplasma medium in a cavity. A magnetoplasma bounded in a one dimensional cavity which consists of two perfect electric conductor plates with some distance. In a magnetoplasma filled cavity, a source wave propagating in the whistler mode. In this mode the source frequency of wave is less than plasma frequency. The effect of switching a magnetoplasma medium on a whistler wave in a cavity considered. The transformed solution is obtained using FDTD exponential time stepping algorithm. In the case of highly lossy magnetoplasma medium and higher gyro frequencies, exponential time stepping algorithm is more accurate than the central differences approximation. FDTD technique is applied to investigate the effect of plasma decay profile, rate of collapse and rise, collision frequency and switching angle.
It is shown that the source wave, whistler wave, is transformed when the magnetoplasma medium collapsed. The switching-off the magnetoplasma medium generates frequency upshifthing with electric-field intensification. A magnetoplasma medium in a cavity has an external magnetic field along the direction of the source wave. When the external magnetic field is collapsed, the original whistler wave is converted to zero frequency wiggler magnetic field. In the case of switching-on magnetoplasma medium in a cavity for extraordinary waves (X waves) also investigated using FDTD exponential time-stepping algorithm. In this case, external magnetic field perpendicular to the electric field component of the source wave. During the switching-on magnetoplasma medium, the effect of rise time also investigated using FDTD.


In Universal Transformation Methods, there are two main divisions called Semi-Adaptive Substitution Coder and Improved Word Replacement Transformation for lossless text compression. Semi-Adaptive Substitution Coder has used almost all the most popular well recognized existing transformation techniques like Capital Conversion, EOL coding, N-gram replacement, prefix and word replacement transformation techniques. Improved Word Replacement Transformation also uses multiple dictionaries for the use of the programming language commands, Mathematics based word, historical names and references and some often-used words. The advantage of this transformation is that codewords are shorter than words. Thus, the below said transformation techniques give better prediction to the existing backend compression so that IWRT contributes better compression performance through its technique.


Introduction: Patients with arteriovenous fistulas are advised to avoid carrying heavy objects draped over the fistula arm. Awareness gradually leads to overprotection and a reduction in the use of the fistula arm. However, restricting motion in the fistula arm leads to decreased quality of life and diminished muscle strength. The current safety recommendations regarding lifting heavy items with the fistula arm are primarily based on experience. Few studies have provided evidence clarifying the scope of safe activity and the influence of load bearing on the continued patency of arteriovenous fistulas. Methods: This prospective observation was based on a long-term follow-up study in which 86 hemodialysis recipients with arteriovenous fistulas were randomized into either a dumbbell group or a handgrip group. The dumbbell group exercised with 6-lb dumbbells, while the handgrip group squeezed rubber balls. Postintervention primary patency and adverse events at the 6-month follow-up were analyzed. Results: No significant difference in postintervention primary patency was observed between the dumbbell group and the handgrip group at 6 months (97.4% vs 95.0%). There were two participants with high-flow fistulas in the dumbbell group and three in the handgrip group, with no significant difference between the two groups (5.3% vs 7.5%). In both groups, there were no other adverse events reported regarding cardiac failure, aneurysm, puncture site hematoma, or hemorrhage. Conclusion: Hemodialysis patients can safely use their fistula arm to lift objects weighing less than 6 lb, which encourages increased motion and helps preserve the functionality of the fistula arm.


A new Ni(II), Cu(II) and Sn(II) Schiff base complexes were synthesized in this work. The characterization of the new complexes is carried out by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV–Visible, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectroscopy, conductance analysis, magnetic measurements and thermal gravimetric analysis. It was found that the ligand behaves as a dibasic bidentate which coordinated to the metal center through two deprotonated hydroxyl groups to form tetrahedral complex with Ni(II) and octahedral complex with Cu(II). The ligand acts as neutral bidentate through azomethine nitrogen and thiazol sulfur to form octahedral complex with Sn(II). The synthesized complexes are evaluated as catalysts for oxidative degradation of indigo carmine dye using H2O2 as oxidant and the efficiency of the catalysts is determined. The copper complex shows the best catalytic action with efficiency 92.17% after 25 min.


The aim of this paper is to investigate a linear precoding scheme design for a multiple-input multiple-output two-way relay system with imperfect channel state information. The scheme design is simplified as an optimal problem with precoding matrix variables, which is deduced with the maximum power constraint at the relay station based on the minimum mean square error criterion. With channel feedback delay at both ends of the channel and the channel estimation errors being taken into account, we propose a matrix decomposition scheme and a joint iterative scheme to minimize the average sum mean square error. The matrix decomposition method is used to derive the closed form of the relay matrix, and the joint iterative algorithm is used to optimize the precoding matrix and the processing matrix. According to numerical simulation results, the matrix decomposition scheme reduces the system bit error rate (BER) effectively and the joint iterative scheme achieves the best performance of BER against existing methods.


Abstract Two different approaches are available to perform carotid endarterectomy: the traditional antejugular or the retrojugular route. With retrojugular route, direct access to the carotid arteries necessitates median retraction and often collapse of the internal jugular vein (IJV). Therefore, we have prospectively evaluated the potential incidence of IJV thrombosis.


ABSTRACT
The Myc family of transcription factors regulates major biological processes such as proliferation, stem/progenitor cell pluripotency, metabolism, apoptosis, cell growth and differentiation. The most-studied member c-Myc is essential in embryonic development and cellular homeostasis. Dysregulation of c-Myc protein function is not only associated with malignant transformation and human tumors but is also implicated in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a human genetic disorder, considered a neoplasia in disguise. Studies from human ADPKD kidneys, caused by mutation in the PKD1 or PKD2 genes, revealed high expression of c-Myc with strong signal detected over cystic tubular epithelium. Consistent with human ADPKD pathogenesis, mouse models produced by dysregulation of Pkd1 and Pkd2 gene dosage show stimulation of renal c-Myc expression. Induced renal c-Myc expression is also observed in several non-orthologous animal models of PKD. Significantly, c-Myc overexpression specifically targeted to renal epithelial cells in transgenic mice closely reproduces human ADPKD. The specific causal effect of c-Myc in PKD was demonstrated by targeting different oncogenes which could not mimic the PKD phenotype. In fact, c-Myc was shown to be a major mediator of renal cystogenesis through various mechanisms and signalling pathways. Most importantly, inhibition of c-Myc in vivo, directly by repressing translation or indirectly with a small-molecule inhibitor, significantly delayed cystogenesis in the mouse. In summary, c-Myc is a central node in the pathogenesis of Pkd1/Pkd2 mouse models and of human ADPKD development and progression.


Abstract : This report describes a theoretical approach to the analysis of the force distribution in fully inflated parachute canopies based upon the inflated gore mainseam shape. Normal and tangential forces for any arbitrary point along the gore mainseam can be determined and the magnitude and location of the maximum normal force and cloth stress evaluated. Methods, criteria, and rationale for calculating the force distributions are presented. Originator-supplied keywords include: Canopy shape, and Pressure distribution.


The main organ of government of the «Comunero» rebels, the «Santa Junta», came to life as an extraordinary assembly of the towns that had the right to send deputies to the Cortes (Parliament), that was summoned by someof these towns, without the consent of the king. This institution has been described as revolutionary. But in this paper the author tries to prove that in many respects it followed the model of the Castilian Cortes of the fifteenth century and of the first decades of the sixteenth century. He pays attention to the study of the social prolife of the deputies sent by the towns to the «Santa Junta», and he proves that most of them belonged to the same sociopolitical group that the deputies to the Cortes. At the same time he shows that an important number of towns that sent deputies to this assembly didn't advocate constitutional changes of any kind, and since the beginning they made efforts to prevent actions that implied disobedience to the king, and finally ended up by ordering their deputies to leave the assembly.


From 1996 to 2007, the poverty rate among the two million Canadians living in lone-parent families fell by more than half – from nearly 50 percent to just over 20 percent – as measured by the low-income cutoff (LICO) rate. The proximate cause is a dramatic increase in employment and hence average market income among these families. There are several underlying factors at work. While lone-parent poverty has fallen dramatically, Canada's overall poverty reduction since mid-1990s has been similar to other OECD countries. And, as measured by the low-income measure (LIM – the percentage living below half of the median income), Canada's poverty rate in mid-2000s was above that of the typical OECD country. The study includes a methodological appendix on defining poverty thresholds. In addition to the LICO, the Canadian government maintains two other measures: the LIM and the market basket measure (MBM). The study recommends replacing the LICO by the LIM as the standard poverty measure.


A special type of social networks is the so-called affiliation network, consisting of two modes of vertices: actors and events. Up to now, in the undirected case, the closeness of actors in such networks has been measured by their jointly-attended events. Indirect contacts and attenuated and directed links are of minor interest in affiliation networks. These flaws make a veritable estimation of, e.g., possible message transfers amongst actors questionable. In this contribution, first, we discuss these matters from a graph-theoretical point of view. Second, so as to avoid the identified weaknesses, we propose an up-and-coming entropy-based approach for modeling such networks in their generic structure, replacing directed (attenuated) links by conditionals: if-then. In this framework, the contribution of actors and events to a reliable message transfer from one actor to another—even via intermediaries—is then calculated applying the principle of maximum entropy. The usefulness of this new approach is demonstrated by the analysis of an affiliation network called "corporate directors".


Nowadays take place active development and approbation of new methodologies and algorithms for solving the problem of complex development of the protected telecommunication systems, security assessment and information security management. A lot of works describe mathematical and theoretic security models. There is no universal security model of telecommunication system that allows to effectively combine the requirements of normatively-methodical documents, threats' model and attackers' profile on the stage of planning, allows to generate the list of protective measures and allows to find the optimal set of information security tools. Normatively-methodical documents analysis shows that there is no universal approach for development of the protected telecommunication systems, threats' model and attackers' profile creation. Described in the article threats' model creation methodology allows to effectively solve problem of particular threats' model creation. The attackers' profile creation algorithm allows to uniquely classify attacker's and to create actual threats' list according to attacker's level's of impact to telecommunication system. Both models are the basis of telecommunication systems' security model. This article describes algorithm of telecommunication systems' security model creation, basic requirements for protected telecommunication systems and main stages of development of the protected telecommunication systems.


All health plan products offered through state health insurance exchanges will be required to provide an essential health benefits package


Burgos, D., Tattersall, C., & Koper, R. (2006). Can IMS Learning Design be used to model computer-based educational games? BINARIA Magazine. Issue 5. 2006. Madrid: European University of Madrid.


The present invention discloses a light source module, the light source module comprises a light emitting diode and a light emitting diode connectors, the side surface of the light emitting diode is provided with a positioning member, which is provided with a light emitting diode connector receiving portion, the receiving portion is provided with a side surface card setting configuration, the card counter and the positioning member cooperating structure so that the light emitting diode positioned within the light-emitting diode accommodating portion of the connector. The present invention also discloses a light emitting diode connector, a method of assembling a backlight device and a light source module. The present invention discloses a light emitting diode light source module and connectors optimized assembly process of the light emitting diode.


Treating body in for comminuting a feed material comprising a metal casting body (1) a casting support matrix (4) and embedded at least one in the cast support matrix (4), the wear resistance of a function or wear surface (2) of the machining body-increasing insert body (7), characterized that the insert body (7) is a pressed or sintered body of a mixture of metallic powder and hard material or a diecast body, which comprises a hard material in a die casting matrix (12) made of die-cast metal, or comprises such a body in a composite.


The two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C15H16N2O3S, are each linked by an N—H⋯Osulfonyl hydrogen bond into a linear chain that runs along the shortest axis of the triclinic unit cell. The hydroxy groups are engaged in intramolecular hydrogen bonding and the amino N atom shows pyramidal coordination.


The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. ☯ These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract Objective Angiogenic factors are strongly associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes among women with preterm preeclampsia (PE) in developed countries. We evaluated the role of angiogenic factors and their relationship to adverse outcomes among Haitian women with PE. We measured plasma antiangiogenic soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt1) and proan-giogenic placental growth factor (PlGF) levels in women with PE (n=35) compared to controls with no hypertensive disorders (NHD) (n=43) among subjects with singleton pregnancies that delivered at Hospital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in Haiti. We divided the pre-eclamptic women into two groups, early onset (34 weeks) and late onset (>34 weeks) and examined relationships between sFlt1/PlGF ratios on admission and adverse outcomes (abruption, respiratory complications, stroke, renal insufficiency, eclampsia, maternal death, birth weight <2500 grams, or fetal/neonatal death) in women with PE subgroups as compared to NHD groups separated by week of admission. Data are presented as median (25th-75th centile), n (%), and proportions. Copyright: © 2015 March et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: The authors have no support or funding to report. Competing Interests: S.A.K. is a co-inventor on patents related to preeclampsia biomarkers and is a consultant to Siemens and has financial interest in Aggamin Therapeutics. R.T. has patents in preeclampsia prediction markers, is a consultant to Roche and has a financial interest in Aggamin Therapeutics. All other authors report no conflicts. S. Results Among patients with PE, most (24/35) were admitted at term. Adverse outcome rates in PE were much higher among the early onset group compared to the late onset group (100.0% vs. 54.2%, P=0.007). Plasma angiogenic factors were dramatically altered in both subtypes of PE. Angiogenic factors also correlated with adverse outcomes in both subtypes of PE. The median sFlt1/PlGF ratios for subjects with early onset PE with any adverse outcome vs. NHD <=34 weeks with no adverse outcome were 703. Conclusion PE-related adverse outcomes are common in women in Haiti and are associated with profound angiogenic imbalance regardless of gestational age at presentation.


Majorana properties of neutrinos have long been a focus in the pursuit of possible new physics beyond the standard model, which has motivated lots of dedicated theoretical and experimental studies. A future same-sign muon collider is an ideal platform to search for Majorana neutrinos through the Lepton Number Violation process. Specifically, this t-channel kind of process is less kinematically suppressed and has a good advantage in probing Majorana neutrinos at high mass regions up to 10 TeV. In this paper, we perform a detailed fast Monte Carlo simulation study through examining three different final states: 1) pure-leptonic state with electrons or muons, 2) semi-leptonic state, and 3) pure-hadronic state in the resolved or merged categories. Furthermore, we perform a full simulation study on the pure-leptonic final state to validate our fast simulation results.


Prediction on electrical consumption of clients and their selection for appropriate demand response programs (DRPs), are a major challenge for the stability of the distribution network. Prediction accuracy of patterns and their matching with reality plays an important role in DRPs modeling for better consumers' participation. Existing Approaches studied several aspects of prediction and baselines in DRPs environment. The originality of this work consists in demonstrating a prediction based approach, studying its accuracy and continuously adding new patterns to the training set. The variation versus planning phase is kept minimal and adapted to customers' variations. It is achieved at the individual and aggregated profiles, thus customers' classification and engagement are ensured. The approach is validated through a simulation on Matlab. Objectives include the customer prequalification and the effects of prediction accuracy on the balance generation/demand.


Cell-DEVS is an extension of the DEVS formalism which combines DEVS with Cellular Automata. It is particularly useful for defining spaces by decomposing them into individual cells. The CD++ Toolkit enables one to model and simulate a real or artificial system using either DEVS or Cell-DEVS. Although it is provided with a Modeler tool, this permits only 2D visualization of the simulation. This paper focuses upon two efforts to produce integrate DEVS simulations developed with the CD++ tool with 3D visualizations using Blender, an open-source 3D visualization software.


2006) and other orthopaedic procedures (Moholkar et al. 2000). Self-inflicted abdominal stab wounds are commonly associated with a suicidal attempt (Abdullah et al. 2003; Cittadini et al. 2006) and can be a manifestation of psychosis, in particular within the context of self-mutilation. In such cases, patients may appear indifferent to physical pain, this being the result of severe psychotic illness (Large et al. 2009). It has also been reported that patients who do experience pain may associate it with some sense of relief of internal tension (Torem 1995). However, the publication and study of such cases is particularly difficult, as case histories are inevitably subject to publication bias (Large et al. 2009). Commonly used objects (Balsarkar et al. 2004; Krolikowski and Paulino 1995; Price 1982; Moholkar et al. 2000) in cases of selfinflicted injury without conscious suicidal intent or in cases of selfsurgery, can be various metallic bodies, surgical instruments, and household items, such as knives, scissors, saws, ice-picks, razors, sewing needles, Allen keys, glass fragments, spoons, paperclips and toothbrushes. In our case, this practice was motivated by the patient's desire to treat herself, as she was unable to accept that her main disease was the recurrence of the malignancy, with the ascites being only one of the related signs. We feel that her motivation had never been an attempt to terminate her own life. Of importance may be her previous history of psychotic illness. We note that she requested and received palliative care. We speculate that the presence of the intra-abdominal neoplasm had effectively divided the abdominal cavity into a main posterior and a minor anterior compartment, thus protecting the intraabdominal organs from injury. To our knowledge, this is the first ever reported case of intentional self-drainage of ascites.


A systematic analysis using the cloudy crystal ball model of Feshbach,. P<?rter and Weisskopf is carried out for the total cross sections and the non-elastic cross sections of neutron scattering by nuclei. The energy range considered extends from 3.5 to 14.0 Mev. Almost all the regions of mass number of the target nuclei are covered except for very light ones. The optical potentials assumed are of square well shape. The energy dependence of the potential strength, V + i W, and the mass number dependence of the range of potential, R, are carefully studied. It is found that the mass number dependence of the total cross sections at each of the fixed energies is well reproduced by the calcula tion with the suitable choice of the potential parameters. On the other hand, the calculation fails to give the correct magnitude of the non-elastic cross sections. The calculated values are considerably smaller than the experimental ones especial! y for lower incident energies. The parameters which have been found to give the best fit to the experimental data are as follows: R=(0.5+1.35 Al/3)XI0-13cm, V=40Mev for all the neutron energies studied and W varies from 2 to 7 Mev as the incident energy increases from 3.5 to 14.0 Mev.


The purpose of this study was to contrast the effects of static and pulsatile pressure on carotid baroreceptor activity over a wide range of mean arterial pressure. Static and pulsatile pressure were applied to the isolated carotid sinus of dogs anesthetized with chloralose. Recordings were obtained from single baroreceptor units as well as from the whole sinus nerve or a large strand of the nerve. Three observations are reported. First, in single units the pulsatile pressure threshold, which averaged 48 ± 8 (SEM) mm Hg, was far below the static pressure threshold, which averaged 79 ± 8 mm Hg (p<0.05, n=15). Thus, pulsatility decreased the threshold by an average of 31 mm Hg in contrast to the minimal or lack of decrease in threshold reported by others in aortic baroreceptors. Second, at moderate arterial pressures a shift from static to pulsatile pressure caused a decrease in single and multiple unit activities. In single units, the decrease approximated 15% (from 42.0 ± 2.1 to 35.5 ± 1.9 spikes/sec, p<0.05, n = 25). In all units, there was no diastolic nerve activity ("silence") when diastolic pressure was 1 to 10 mm Hg above static pressure threshold; 80% of the units exhibited "diastolic silence" when diastolic pressure was 20-30 mm Hg above threshold and 40% of the units showed silence at-diastolic pressures 40-50 mm Hg above threshold. In whole nerve recordings, pulsatility increased activity from 57 ± 15 to 142 ± 29 spikes/sec (p<0.05) at low mean arterial pressures (50 and 75 mm Hg), as expected from the reduction in pressure threshold noted in single units, and decreased activity approximately 15% (from 373 ± 69 to 320 ± 55 spikes/sec, p<0.05, n = 9) at mean arterial pressures of 125 and 150 mm Hg. This decrease in activity with a shift from static to pulsatile pressure at moderate arterial pressures has not been reported previously. Third, the static pressure-activity curve was sigmoid, and its gain peaked sharply at 75-100 mm Hg; in contrast, the pulsatile pressure-activity curve was linear between 25 and 150 mm Hg, and its maximum gain was half the maximum gain during static pressure. These differences between the static pressure-activity curve and the pulsatile pressure-activity curve were noted during both increases and decreases in carotid sinus pressure; both curves exhibited some hysteresis during the decreases in pressure. (Circulation Research 1987:61:648-658)


Adult male and female, nauplius 1 and 2, and preadult 1 and 2 stages of Paralebion elongatus Wilson, 1911 (Copepoda: Euryphoridae) are redescribed and described, respectively, from specimens collected from aquarium-held reef whitetip sharks (Triaenodon obesus) captured in Hawaiian waters. A circular area of villiform papillae between the frontal plates in the adult stage supports evidence that this region does not have a chemosensory function. Time-of-capture data suggest that P. elongatus can complete its life cycle in a captive environment


First published in the UsA by the American Library Association, Preserving our Heritage: Perspectives from Antiquity to the Digital Age is a publication with a difference within the world of preservation. it is a compilation of writings on topics concerning the preservation of mainly archive and library material selected and, edited with a commentary by Michele valerie cloonan (dean emerita and Professor of the Graduate school of Library & information science at simmons college, UsA). Many of the papers are thought-provoking and provide a basis for lively discussions on heritage preservation. The publication is a substantial 693 pages long. The format is the American equivalent of A4 and the text is in double columns. it is mainly text with a few black and white images. it is not a handbook, but brings together key texts that readers can dip in and out of. it is an introduction to extensive writings intending to appeal to all studying or researching preservation of paper material. There is a strong emphasis on archive and library preservation from the very outset. chapter 1 provides a fascinating insight into the early motivations for preserving our heritage. it lists early references to recording and saving documents going back 3000 years with one of the earliest evidence of a legal document (clay tablet). The reasons for preserving heritage include religious, political, cultural, educational, historic, philosophical, scholarly, aesthetic, fiscal and personal motivations. The papers are grouped under 11 headings, each with an introduction by cloonan that places the selected texts in context. The headings are:


Performing detection and real-time monitoring of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a significant healthcare task. An easy, cheap, and mobile approach to monitor patients with OSA is proposed here. It gathers data from a patient by a single-channel ECG, and offline automatically extracts knowledge about that patient as a set of IF...THEN rules containing Heart Rate Variability (HRV) parameters. These rules are then used in the real-time mobile monitoring system: ECG data is collected by a wearable sensor, sent to a mobile device, and processed online to compute HRV-related parameter values. If a rule is activated by those values, the system produces an alarm. A literature database of OSA patients has been used to test the approach.


El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a climate variability phenomenon characterized by anomaly of changes in sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Positive anomaly of sea surface temperature (El Niño) can cause extreme dryness, while negative anomaly of sea surface temperature (La Nia) can cause a prolonged rainy season in most parts of Indonesia. In this case, Sulawesi is included in the area affected by the ENSO phenomenon. This study aims to examine the effect of the ENSO phenomenon on weather parameters (rainfall, relative humidity, and sea surface temperature (SST)) in the Sulawesi Island region. ENSO is identified based on the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The main data used in this study came from observations from the Meteorology, Climatology and


To the Editor:

The recent report of ferrotoxicity as a marker of increased risk of mortality by Ellervik et al. (1) needs to be viewed against the background of the study design, its weaknesses and strengths. Likewise, the metaanalysis in that study, which the authors found supportive of their own findings, needs to be judged against the fact that, of 72 relevant studies identified by the search strings they used, they threw out 70; thus, only 2 other studies besides their own entered into the metaanalysis. Their main finding, that high serum ferritin is associated with increased mortality in this cohort, may simply be because ferritin is an acute-phase reactant, and individuals affected by various chronic …


The great variety and complexity of the tasks involved in creating optimal conditions for the optimal development of the human personality make the problems of teachers' pedagogical mastery [masterstvo] and pedagogical activities especially urgent ones for today's theory and practice of upbringing. The psychological-pedagogical sciences must, in consideration of the historic conditions of perfection of socialism at the present stage and proceeding from the directives of the Twenty-seventh Congress and the decisions of the April 1985 and January, June, and October 1987 CPSU Central Committee plenums, draw up a strategic program for the transformation and restructuring of the school system's upbringing work, designed to enhance the quality of the process of upbringing of the rising generations in every way, and radically improve the instruction and training of young people for independent life and labor. The restructuring of the whole life of the country, which is proceeding under the banner of accelerating...


This paper describes a computationally efficient diakoptic algorithm for the solution of closed-mesh electrical network equations. The algorithm is designed for use with time-varying and/or discontinuous equations describing limited size power supply systems, allowing them to be torn into smaller subdivisions in a manner that is independent of their structure. The efficiency of the algorithm is demonstrated by comparing its performance with that obtained when using a more conventional sparse matrix technique, on the basis of the number of floating point operations required for the solution of a range of typical network problems. Mention is made of the parallel processes inherent in the resultant equation structure. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Pre-trained large language models based on Transformers have demonstrated amazing in-context learning (ICL) abilities. Given several demonstration examples, the models can implement new tasks without any parameter updates. However, it is still an open question to understand the mechanism of ICL. In this paper, we interpret the inference process of ICL as a gradient descent process in a contrastive learning pattern. Firstly, leveraging kernel methods, we establish the relationship between gradient descent and self-attention mechanism under generally used softmax attention setting instead of linear attention setting. Then, we analyze the corresponding gradient descent process of ICL from the perspective of contrastive learning without negative samples and discuss possible improvements of this contrastive learning pattern, based on which the self-attention layer can be further modified. Finally, we design experiments to support our opinions. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first to provide the understanding of ICL from the perspective of contrastive learning and has the potential to facilitate future model design by referring to related works on contrastive learning.


This article describes our recent works on the living coordination polymerization of allene derivatives by allylnickel catalysts. The polymerization of alkoxyallenes by allylnickel catalysts proceeds via a living process to give polymers with predictable molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions in excellent yields. The polymerization was carried out with allylnickel complexes bearing various ligands to figure out the clear effect on the polymer structures and the polymerization behavior. Similarly, allene derivatives bearing various substituents such as phenylallene, alkylallenes, allenylsulfide, allenylpyrrolidone, allenyloxazolidone, esters of allenic acid, and macromonomers bearing allenyloxy end groups undertake the living polymerization. Macromolecular designs based on the living polymerization of allene derivatives (e.g., block copolymerizations) are also described.


A new, practical implementation of double-group symmetry to relativistic Gaussian spinors is presented for four-component relativistic molecular calculations. We show that the systematic adaptability to irreducible representations under arbitrary point-group symmetry, as well as Kramers (time-reversal) symmetry, is inherent in the present basis spinors, which possess the analytic structure of Dirac atomic spinors. The implementation of double-group symmetry entails significant computational efficiencies in the relativistic second-order Moller–Plesset perturbation calculation on Au2 and the density functional theory (DFT) calculation with the B3LYP functional on octahedral UF6, in which the highest symmetries used are, respectively, C and D. The four-component B3LYP equilibrium geometry of UF6 is reported. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007


This paper outlines the requirements for behavior visualization in parallel tools. It describes the difficulties involved in devising graphical techniques which reduce the complexity of parallel behavior to manageable proportions and cites examples of recent developments in the area. The relationship of representational techniques to other challenges faced by parallel tool developers is also outlined.


Two experimental models that exhibit a high dependency on cholesterol absorption were investigated. These were diabetic and thyroidectomized rats fed 1% cholesterol. Feeding the 1% cholesterol diet to the thyroidectomized rats increased their serum cholesterol levels from 116 to 135 mg/dl while decreasing their low levels of hepatic HMG‐CoA reductase protein to barely detectable levels. Adding 10 mg/kg/day of the cholesterol absorption inhibitor, ezetimibe, to the diet lowered serum cholesterol levels to 85 mg/dl and fully restored hepatic HMG‐CoA reductase protein to normal levels. Hepatic LDL receptor protein was unaffected. Feeding cholesterol to diabetic rats increased serum cholesterol levels to over 500 mg/dl and nearly eliminated hepatic HMG‐CoA reductase protein and mRNA. Administration of ezetimibe lowered serum cholesterol levels to actually less than normal and fully restored hepatic HMG‐CoA reductase protein levels with little effect on hepatic reductase mRNA, indicating a posttranscription site of action. Again hepatic LDL receptor protein levels were unaffected. Changes in hepatic HMG‐CoA reductase expression at a posttranscriptional site appear to be the major compensatory response to inhibition of cholesterol absorption.


Anal fistula is a common problem1, although there is wide variation in estimates of incidence in the general population. This ranged from 1·04 to 2·32 new patients per 100 000 inhabitants in four European countries2. In the UK in 2005, over 6000 surgical procedures were performed for anal fistula3. It is now 50 years since the seminal publication of the paper that has probably had the most influence on surgical practice for anal fistula4. 'Pathogenesis and treatment of fistula-inano', by Professor Sir Alan Parks, established the pathological basis of this condition, introducing the concept that the origin of anal fistula was in the anal glands of the intersphincteric space. Based initially on cadaveric findings, with confirmatory histopathology, he provided a detailed description of a surgical approach that followed his theory of fistula development. Parks held that the crux of the operation was removal of the infected anal gland and its surrounding abscess deep to the internal sphincter. For most patients it was believed that this could be achieved via the lumen of the anal canal with excision of as much of the subsidiary track to the exterior as possible4. The description of the anal glands was not in itself new as they had been recognized since the 19th century5. It was Parks, however, who proposed that chronic infection of these glands, duct blockage and the subsequent formation of granulation tissue led to the development of a subsequent fistulous track. The specific anatomy and function of these glands and their relationship to disease is poorly understood. They predominate in the posterior half of the anal canal and this is used to explain the greater frequency of posterior tracks, but it is not known why the glands are distributed in this way6. Similarly, although it is recognized that the anal glands secrete mucin and are different from glands sited on the rectal mucosa, their specific function is still debated7. Sepsis being unable to drain into the anal canal owing to obstruction of the ducts was also used to account for the occasional extension of sepsis beyond the intersphincteric space8,9. Most studies seem to confirm this theory10, but as long ago as 1967 Goligher and colleagues11 disputed its validity, taking into account the lack of clinical evidence of intersphincteric abscess in the majority of patients. Recently, studies focusing on the microbiology of infected anal glands have added further doubt to Parks' hypothesis and suggested the importance of track epithelialization as the main component in persistence of the fistula, as in other sites12. There have been more than 5000 publications on anal fistula in the past 50 years, but only a few involve new approaches to management based on a sound understanding of the pathophysiology13,14. Conversely, a huge number of papers have described new techniques in recent years including advancement flaps, special glues, different designs of plugs, ligation of the intersphinteric tract, several types of seton, topical treatments as well as new methods of treating the fistulous track1. If cicatrization constituted the only endpoint in anal fistula surgery, fistulotomy would probably be the standard treatment, but at the expense of impaired continence when the track includes a significant external sphincter component as well as the internal sphincter. This is the main reason for the introduction of sphincter-preserving techniques. Although these procedures reduce the risk of incontinence, in the longer term they tend to be associated with high recurrence rates14. The use of glues or plugs is based on the hypothesis that they act as a scaffold or matrix to allow infiltration of the patient's connective tissue15. Continence disturbance with these procedures is conceptually difficult to imagine and has not been reported so far. Most of these treatments have not been developed from any type of experimental basis that has shed new light on the pathophysiology of this condition, and enthusiasm for their adoption seems 'industry driven'. The result is that anal fistula remains a clinical problem with no established standards for management. Published outcomes still fall below those that a professional association might consider desirable in a modern era. There remains a dearth of research in proctology. It has been suggested that, although colorectal surgeons may operate daily on the anus, they prefer to read and write about colorectal procedures rather than proctology. This may well account for the poor quality of papers in this area and the lack of scientific evidence to deal with a common problem like anal fistula. Only by investing effort


Contemporary debates on health care have given relatively little attention to the effects of recent changes on health care workers. When such questions are raised, debates have centered on the effect of corporatization and state intervention on the medical profession rather than on the much larger work force of less esteemed, gender-segregated occupations that constitute the majority of health care workers."Intensifying Care" contributes to overcoming this disparity by focusing on nurses and the reorganization of the nursing labor process during the cost containment era. In the expansionary decades of the 1950s and 1960s, nursing labor in hospitals was organized around a stratified work force performing differentiated tasks. Beginning in the 1970s, this system of labor was transformed by a trend toward RN-predominant staffing, the displacement of less-credentialed workers, and the reunification of nursing tasks. Nursing leaders promoted task reunification as a form of professional practice reminiscent of nursing before the widespread employment of a stratified work force in postwar hospitals.To understand the reorganization of nursing labor as well as its significance, the author begins by discussing changes in the political economy of health care, the corporatization of hospitals, and the effects on health care workers. Major chapters then examine the changing forms of nursing labor, uniquely combining the use of prior studies of nursing and the author's participant observations at a metropolitan hospital undergoing both corporatization and the reorganization of work.In focusing on the labor process in one of the largest service industries in the United States, the study contributes to theoretical debates regarding workers' stratification and empowerment, the role of managerial and occupational interests in organizing work, and the professionalization and/or proletarianization of services labor.


In this paper international instruments relating the women's rights and their domestic enforceability will be covered. We will discuss the domestic enforceability of international women's rights in Turkey. The paper will cover general discussion on the differences of signing and ratifying international agreements and their binding effect. Turkey's European Union obligations on women's rights will have special emphasis in the paper, the key principles of the European Community law such as supranational and direct effects will be discussed in order to understand the enforceability and binding effects of international women's' rights.


The article systemizes the tendencies and methods of improving the quality of products of aircraft industry enterprises; and estimates the results of their distribution. The author comes up with the methods of development and implementation of the programs of upgrading the aviation equipment.


In this study, on the convenience samples of 408 respondents from Serbia, 201 from Montenegro, 221 from North Macedonia, and 201 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the authors described psychosocial adjustment to work at/from home in the four Western Balkan countries, similarities and differences among the countries and, using qualitative analysis, they presented the profiles of psychosocial adjustment for each country. For this research, a special questionnaire was constructed with answers on a five-point Likert scale. In the analysis and processing of empirical data, ANOVA was used. The results of the research confirmed the findings of other researchers that the attitudes of the respondents towards various psychosocial aspects of working from home are mostly positive, although there are significant differences among the countries; the biggest differences are between respondents from Montenegro and everyone else. Respondents from Montenegro estimate work at/from homeless favorably than all others; they have less time for activities and hobbies, pay less attention to family and partners, find it harder to separate work from private life, show more tension and anxiety while working, their relatives and friends support them less than other respondents. Jobs that are well below their professional education demotivate them. Respondents from North Macedonia are relatively similar to them, while respondents from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina show a much more optimistic image, which is why they are similar. The lack of social care from the state towards the respondents who work at/from home and remotely is common to all respondents, but it is most pronounced in Serbia.


Two potential sites of H 2 formation have been discovered in diffuse gas at high Galactic latitude through examining the far-infrared (FIR) H I ratio and looking for an excess over that expected from an atomic medium. We call these the Spider and Ursa Major fields. New 12 CO and 13 CO Five College Radio Astronomical Observatory observations are presented for both regions (53 936 spectra in the Spider and 23 517 spectra in Ursa Major). Although there is a correlation between FIR excess and CO emission, we find that the FIR excess peaks do not coincide with the 12 CO emission peaks, indicating that CO might be a poor tracer of H 2 in diffuse regions. This implies (i) that the density is too small to allow CO excitation, (ii) that the CO self-shielding is insufficient or (iii) local variations of the dust properties. The 12 CO observations are compared with H I observation from the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory. We decompose the 10 000 H I profiles of the Spider and the 20 302 H I profiles of Ursa Major into Gaussian components. We always find at most two narrow components and one broad component. CO always seems to appear where two H I velocity components merge or where there is a H I velocity-shear.


AIM:To investigate the effect and mechanism of emodin on acute intrahepatic choles-tasis in rats.METHODS:Acutecholestatic model in rats was induced by alpha-naphthylisothiocya-nate(ANIT).Normal control group,emodin group without ANIT treatment,model group and emodin group with ANIT treatment were set up.Liver function and pathological changes of hepatictissue were examined.Real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of the hepatic transporter bile salt export pump(BSEP),multidrug resistance-associated protein 2(MRP2),Na+/taurocholate cotransporting peptide(NTCP),multidrug resistance protein 2(MDR2),multidrug resistance-associated protein 3(MRP3)and the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor(FXR).RESULTS:In the model group compared with the normal control group,the concentrations of serum total bilirubin(TB),direct bilirubin(DB),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),alkaline phosphatase(ALP)and total bile acid(TBA)were increased(P0.01);inflammatory cell infiltration,hepatic cellular change and necrosis could be observed by light microscop;the genes expression of NTCP and FXR were down-regulated(P0.01),the MDR2 and MRP3 were up-regulated(P0.01 or P0.05).But the expression of BSEP and MRP2 could not be affected.However,by emodin treatment,the concentrations of TB,DB,ALT,AST,ALP and TBA were decreased(P0.01 or P0.05);Only mild histopathological change in liver could be seen;the genes expression of NTCP,MDR2 and MRP3 were higher than those of the model group(P0.05),but the expression of BSEP,FXR and MRP2 could not be affected.In emodin group without ANIT treatment compared with the normal control group,the changes of Liver function,histopathology and transporter genes were not significantly different.CONCLUSION:Emodin has a protective effect on hepatocytes and a restoring activity on cholestatic hepatitis.Mechanism of its action may be related to induce expression of the bile-metabolism-related transporter NTCP,MDR2 and MRP3 in the liver to prevent bile acids overaccumulation in hepatocytes and hepatic toxicity.


It is a great pleasure to write a paper about architecture and mathematics on the occasion of the conference, Bridges: Mathematical Connections in Art, Music and Science. It is architecture's intimate relationship to mathematics that underscores its ties to art, music and science. The subject is too vast to lie within the range of a single discussion; this paper will look at some facets of these various relationships with the aim of introducing the reader to ideas meriting further study.


It's never too late to learn a new language! Whether for interest or for travel, we can help you find the books, recordings and apps that you need to master your goal. There are a number of apps and websites that you can use to learn a language - often for free!


Abstract A depth-dependent model for the topographic rectification of tidal currents in a homogeneous rotating fluid is used to examine the dependence of the rectified mean flow on various tidal, topographic and frictional parameters. Friction is parameterized through a vertically-uniform, time-independent vertical eddy viscosity and a bottom stress law applied near the top of the constant stress layer. The model neglects the interaction of mean and tidal currents, assumes uniformity along isobaths, and is closed with the assumption of zero depth-averaged mean flow across isobaths. In the limit of depth-independence, the model reduces to that considered by Huthnance (1973) and Loder (1980) which, for weak friction, favours anticyclonic mean circulation around shallow regions and Lagrangian flow which is significantly reduced from the Eulerian. With the inclusion of vertical structure, the magnitude of the anticyclonic flow is amplified suggesting that depth-independent models may underestimate the along-i...


Secessionism from the beginning of the XX century offered a new option for the creation and interpretation of art through a unique individual expression of the artist that was the result of the coming changes in society. Gustav Klimt, one of the most striking representatives of Viennese secessionism, with his lifestyle and style of creation through combining techniques, has made changes in art, not always accepted in every segment, but with long-term consequences for the development of art and fashion. In a fashion sense, Klimt presented not only a new artistic expression but also paved the way of a modern contemporary woman. He was breaking social frames and norms, which was a link to the emerging fashion of the new age inevitably. The work was created with the idea of a brief overview and analysis of Gustav Klimt's creative work with elements of influence on the development of novelties in the design of clothing from the beginning, but also in the last decades during the XX century, from clothing, textile design to fashion accessories. Essential elements such as decorative ornaments and their combination through a combination of cold and warm colors enriched with gold tones have become authentic motifs imbued with the warmth of floral form and the mystique of geometrization.


Estimation of parameters of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) plays an important role for motor controller tuning in Electric Vehicle (EV) application. Under running condition motor parameters vary due to different effects such as temperature, saturation and Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) non-linearities. Identification of parameters in running condition increases the control performance of system. This paper uses Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), which allows estimation of d-q axis inductances of PMSM. The control algorithm considered here is Field Oriented Control (FOC) for EV system having position sensor. The simulation is performed using MATLAB- Simulink software. The simulation results show that EKF identifies the d- and q- axis inductances Ld, Lq considering measurement and process noise using a state space model of motor equations for implementation.


The family of programs in the UNIX system's document-preparation suite has grown over the years to encompass facilities for typesetting mathematics, tables, diagrams, and graphs on a variety of output devices. These programs — the troff formatter, the eqn language for mathematics, tbl for tables, pic and ideal for diagrams, grap for graphs — have been widely used, and some features have been emulated in other systems. In this paper, we will examine these programs, focusing on their most characteristic aspects, and on the lessons we have learned about both document preparation and software development. Although "retrospective" implies only a backward look, there will also be some description of work in progress.


The aim of the present study is to evaluate feasibility of treated domestic wastewater (TDWW) as mixing water in cement mortar. The experimental studies demonstrated that treated domestic wastewater may be used as mixing water, even though, organic solids are more than the permissible limits as laid down in IS code 456-2000.


The paper introduces the primary use of devitrified glass in floor and wall of the office building project of Ningxia Hui autonomous region government; the highly demanding construction technique of it; different construction method on different floors considering stress factors and the influence of environment.


Low-cost multi-parameter sensing and measurement devices enable cost-effective monitoringof the functional, operational reliability, efficiency, and resiliency of the electrical grid.The National Renewable Research Laboratory (NREL) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL), in collaboration with Arable Labs Inc., deployed Arable Lab's Mark multi-parameter sensor system. The unique suite of system sensors measures the downwelling and upwelling shortwave solar resource and longwave radiation, humidity, air temperature, and ground temperature. This studydescribes the shortwave calibration, characterization, and validation of measurement accuracy of this instrument by comparison with existing instruments that are part of NREL-SRRL's Baseline Measurement System.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the experiences of dot-com pioneers in developing countries to complement the experience of their counterparts from the developed world as documented in the dot-com boom and bust literature. Beginning from this literature, dot-com phenomenon in the developed world has attracted much research. However, despite some entrepreneurial attempts to promote the innovation in the developing world, less is known about dot-coms there. Design/methodology/approach – The study follows interpretive case study methodology and actor-network theory to understand the formation, initial success and final failure of a dot-com pioneer in the developing country of Ghana. Findings – The developing country dot-com pioneer transferred e-tail technology from the developed world. The under-developed infrastructure in the developing world forced the technology to be adapted to local context. The firm managed to succeed temporarily by engaging with actors from both the developed an...


This paper proposes a new multi-channel testing architecture for high-speed eye-diagram. The proposed architecture reconstructs the eye-diagram of a multi-Gbps bit pattern with the combination of pin electronics and reconstruction algorithms. A scalability of the test system significantly increases in behalf of a monobit receiver and its designated reconstruction algorithm. A novel reconstruction algorithm using monobit receiver and subsampling clock enables the test system to monitor the signal quality in low-cost. The proposed architecture is implemented and demonstrated in a hardware prototype. Experiment with the hardware prototype shows that an eye-diagram of 3.2Gbps bit pattern can be reconstructed within sub-picosecond resolution by the proposed method with subsampling clock (below 100MHz).


Salvia palaestina (Lamiaceae) is listed as native plant in Flora Palaestina. In the Palestinian kitchen, its leaves is virtually used in daily basis with the breakfast tea to add its distinct pleasant flavor and aromatic aroma. In order to investigate the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of cultivated S. palaestina, the leaves of the herb were collected, air-dried, steam distilled and the culminated essential oils were subjected to GC-MS analysis. About two dozens of volatile and semivolatile phytochemicals were separated and identified. The principal components were eucalyptol (47.09%) and camphor (8.73%). The antioxidant activity of the oil was estimated by 2, 2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The IC50 was 2.333 mg/ml after 30 min, while after 90 min it was 1.585 mg/ml, meaning that the antioxidant activity of the oil increased with time. Linear relation between concentration and activity was observed. The antimicrobial activity was examined by the disc diffusion method. The antimicrobial activity of 5 µl of the essential oil was found to be greater than the activity of gentamicin in the case of Staphylococcus aureus while it was nearly the same as gentamicin against E.coli. Furthermore, this concentration was two times more active than nystatin against Candida albicans.


The contributed chapters to this volume provide a broad coverage of the areas of research in current parallel computing: architectures, languages and tools, graphics and fault tolerance. Additionally, the Inmos approach to building an asynchronous transfer mode system and the University of Twente method for designing system-level embedded controllers are featured in this work.


Marine heterotrophic bacteria play a crucial role in the cycling of energy and nutrients in the ocean. Copper (Cu) belongs to the repertoire of essential trace nutrients for bacterial growth, yet physiological responses of marine heterotrophic bacteria to Cu deficiency remain unexplored. Here, we examined these responses in oceanic and coastal isolates of heterotrophic bacteria from ecologically significant microbial clades (Flavobacteriia [Bacteroidetes], Roseobacter clade [Alphaproteobacteria] and Alteromonadales [Gammaproteobacteria]). Bacterial growth, Cu quotas (Cu:P), macronutrient content and stoichiometry (cellular C, N, P, S and C:N, S:P), as well as carbon metabolism (respiration, productivity, carbon demand, growth efficiency) were monitored across a gradient of Cu conditions, characteristic of coastal and open-ocean surface waters. Cu deficiency had most severe effects on a Flavobacteriia member Dokdonia sp. strain Dokd-P16 for which we observed significant reductions in growth, C metabolism and Cu quotas. Other strains did not significantly reduce their growth rate, but adjusted their Cu content and some C metabolic rates (Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3, Roseobacter clade) or were unaffected (Pseudoalteromonas sp. strains PAlt-P26 and PAlt-P2, Alteromonadales clade). These diverse bacterial responses were accompanied by constant cellular composition of major elements and stoichiometric ratios. Changes in bacterial Cu quotas occurred within a modest range (~5-fold range) relative to the 50-fold variation in total Cu in the media. We hypothesize that this may reflect a well-controlled Cu homeostasis in marine heterotrophic bacteria. In a preliminary assessment, we found that Cu quotas of our bacteria and those of eukaryotic phytoplankton are not statistically different. However, compared to eukaryotic phytoplankton, the variability of Cu quotas in marine heterotrophic bacteria is smaller, which could reflect differences in their Cu homeostasis. Using Cu quotas obtained in our study, we assessed the contribution of bacterial Cu to the biogenic Cu pool in an oceanic euphotic zone in the NE Pacific. These preliminary estimates suggest that up to 50 % of the biogenic Cu could be contained in the heterotrophic bacteria biomass. Our study sheds light on the interactions between Cu and marine heterotrophic bacteria, and expands the understanding of factors influencing microbial ecology and bacterial role in Cu cycle.


Principles for designing efficiently-encodable (EE) iteratively-decodable block codes are investigated. We assumed encoding is performed by an erasure-filling decoder and are interested in minimizing encoding time, subject to maintaining good error performance in decoding. We focus on a design parameter, called the recovery vector n, which controls the encoding speed of EE codes. When designing powerful block codes, this vector affords great flexibility in setting the encoding speed. Both analytic and simulation results indicate that faster encoding speed eventually implies a degraded error floor performance, and in practice the tradeoff between encoding speed and error floor performance should be evaluated to meet the actual application. In addition, an extra design rule is proposed for EE low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, and we show that the popular irregular repeat accumulate (IRA) codes and efficiently-encodable rate-compatible (EERC) codes can be obtained by using such rule.


We report ferroelectricity in antiferromagnetic HoCrO3 with a reasonably large value of spontaneous electric polarization (∼0.32 μC cm−2 at 10 K) from the measurement of pyroelectric current. The appearance of ferroelectricity is further confirmed in the film geometry. Intriguingly, the onset of polar order is observed at a significantly higher temperature (∼240 K) than the Neel temperature (TN = 142 K). The survival of remanent polarization is confirmed from the electric polarization hysteresis loops above and below TN for polycrystalline and film specimens. Structural analysis suggests that polar oxygen octahedral rotations and Ho displacements in the non-centrosymmetric Pna21 space group engineer ferroelectricity. The results indicate that occurrence of polar order in HoCrO3 resembles neither the typical case of proper ferroelectrics nor the improper ferroelectrics.


Au-Ag Serial Minerals include native gold,electrum,and native silver occurring in serpentite and quartz vein in the Jinchang gold deposit of Mojiang county,Yunnan.On the basis of the electron microprobe analysis and microscopy research we set up a series of typomorphism of morphology,occurrence,paragenesis or association,and chemical composition with respect to Au-Ag Serial Minerals.From early to late the crystallization order of the Au-Ag Serial Minerals is native gold→ electrum→ native silver with gold tenor decreased and silver and total trace elements obviously increased.The total amount of the Cu,Cr,Ni and Co in the electrum can reach 0.81%.Native gold is higher in Pt,Os and Ir which are less in electrum.For the PGE Ir group is richer than Pt group.It dose not only reveal that the deposit is genetically related to Au-Ni-PGE-concentrated ultrabasic rock body but also to serpentinization under high temperature in surroundings of the ultrabasic rock body.The native silver is firstly discovered,and Cu,Pb,Zn,As,Sb and Bi are in high content,the indicative of strong and extensive mineralization.


Brian Conrad kindly pointed out to us that the proof of Proposition 9.8 in the article in question is incomplete. We provide here the missing arguments together with a few other corrections and use the opportunity to indicate some new consequences of our results, and also mention some applications of the results in [S1]. In what follows, the supplementary references, including the original paper itself, are numbered as [S1], [S2], etc., while citations such as [1] refer to those in [S1]. Lemmas, propositions, etc., numbered such as 2.1, 8.4, &c., correspond to those in [S1]. A revised version of [S1] incorporating the corrections in this note is available as arXiv:0808.2169 [math.AG].


In this paper, we describe a prototype of a space filling display, Cloud Display. These days we have seen many different kinds of 3D displays. However, most of them are based on a conventional flat display with parallax imaging techniques, which means we still have such a constraint as to see images only nearby a display. In our laboratory, we have proposed to make a space itself become display by filling the space with controllable passive or active light scattering particles such as water drops, LED, and leaves. In this paper, we propose a space filling display based on smoke rings and show some results from our 4×4 arrayed smoke ring generator prototype system.


With the rapid development of remote sensing technology, huge quantities of high resolution remote sensing images are available now. Understanding these images in semantic level is of great significance. Hence, a deep multimodal neural network model for semantic understanding of the high resolution remote sensing images is proposed in this paper, which uses both visual and textual information of the high resolution remote sensing images to generate natural sentences describing the given images. In the proposed model, the convolution neural network is utilized to extract the image feature, which is then combined with the text descriptions of the images by RNN or LSTMs. And in the experiments, two new remote sensing image-captions datasets are built at first. Then different kinds of CNNs with RNN or LSTMs are combined to find which is the best combination for caption generation. The experiments results prove that the proposed method achieves good performances in semantic understanding of high resolution remote sensing images.


The purpose of this study was to compare two pre- vention programs, one based on cognitive dissonance theory (CDT) and the other psychoeducational, for reducing risk fac- tors associated with eating disorders. The sample included 20 girls in junior high school, which were at risk of developing an eating disorder. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention program based on the CDT (n = 9) or a psychoeducational intervention program (n = 11). Participants answered a questionnaire that assessed adherence to a restric- tive diet and satisfaction with their figure. The questionnaire was administered before, immediately after, and one month after the interventions. Each intervention program included three sessions. The results showed that girls who received the CDT program were more likely to relax their adherence to a restrictive diet and less likely to consider an ideal figure that is


A significant complication of land-economic relations in agricultural sector of the Russian economy caused by the necessity of intensive agricultural development under the conditions of limited financial resources and technical facilities demands special investigation of the features of these relations. The Russian Federation Ministry of Agriculture has drafted amendments to the Land Code of the Russian Federation that provide for five to three year reduction in the period of unused agricultural land withdrawal. How timely and scientifically justified is this bill? It is obvious that the issue of land affects the economic interests of many businesses. Therefore the validity of certain decisions must be based on a political economy analysis. From the standpoint of economic science the concepts of land and agrarian relations are not identical. The article provides new arguments (in addition to the existing ones) for differentiating these concepts in spite of their interconnectedness to improve the study of opportunities ensuring economic security of reproduction processes in agriculture.


The present invention demonstrates the short-circuit device with electrical protection components. A short circuit device with electrical protection component is provided with a gas-filled surge arrester device (1) comprising at least two electrodes (2). Preferably, in each case, one electrode (2) is disposed at the end of the surge prevention device (1). Electrical protective part has a thermal short circuit device, the thermal short circuit device comprises a clip (3) having at least two sections (4, 5). At least a first section of the clip (3) (4) is attached to the surge prevention device (1) by snap action. Clips (3) at least a second section (5) is spaced apart from the first section through at least partially surrounds and fusible element first section (4) (7) (4). Second section (5) has a short circuit link (6) at its end. Short circuit link (6) when the fusible element (7) is melted to connect the surge prevention device electrodes (2) of (1) electrically to each other. .FIELD 1a


[1] The radio plasma imager (RPI) on board the IMAGE satellite measured a set of field-aligned electron density profiles at polar latitudes during a weak magnetic storm on 4 March 2003. Several of those density profiles as well as a density profile measured under moderately quiet conditions are compared with those simulated by a dynamic fluid semikinetic (DyFK) model. In this DyFK model, the collision-dominated portion of the flux tube is treated with a moment-based fluid model for altitudes from 120 to 1100 km, while the generalized semikinetic model is used for the 800 km to 3 RE region. The effects of auroral soft electron precipitation, convection-driven frictional ion heating, centrifugal acceleration, and wave-driven transverse ion heating are incorporated into simulations of ion field-aligned flows within flux tubes drifting along empirical model specified convection trajectories across the polar ionosphere. It is found that using reasonable parameters for the indicated energization processes allows agreement between the modeled field-aligned electron density profiles and those measured by IMAGE/RPI. The simulation results suggest that for the cases considered, the IMAGE/RPI measured electron density profiles may consist primarily of contributions from O+ ions. The O+ dominance in the simulated polar cap density profiles resulted from cleft ion fountain effects. The simulated enhancement of the O+ density accounts for the electron density enhancement in the polar cap during the magnetic storm.


This study aims to describe the perception and practice of Pastoral Theology during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the research location is in the GMIST Senggigilang Bahoi congregation. The research method used in this study is qualitative with an ethnographic approach in which to describe and interpret the same pattern of values, behavior, beliefs and language of a cultural group. In addition, research also emphasizes the value-laden nature of research and seeks answers to questions that emphasize how social experiences are created and given meaning. The results of this study will be a contribution of thought in the development of pastoral services including the basic understanding of Pastoral Theology, namely the Command of the Lord Jesus and Willing to serve with Love. Effective Pastoral Services, and Implementation of cultural-based pastoral practices.


Six cadmium(II) coordination compounds with 2-propyl-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylate (H3PIDC), including two mononuclear complexes, [Cd(H2PIDC)2(H2O)2]·4H2O (1) and [Cd2(H2PIDC)4(H2O)4]·7H2O (2), two square tetranuclear complexes, [Cd4(HPIDC)4(H2O)8]·2H2O (3) and [Cd4(HPIDC)4(py)8]·10H2O (py = pyridine, 4), one one-dimensional chain polymer, [Cd2(H2PIDC)4(H2O)2]n·2nH2O (5), as well as one two-dimensional layer polymer, [Cd(H2PIDC)2]n (6), have been prepared using solvent evaporation method and hydrothermal method. The results of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that, besides the common supramolecular interactions such as hydrogen bond and π···π stacking, the hydrophobic interaction among the propyl groups in the H3PIDC ligands also contributes to the stabilities of 1–6. The study of substance transformation for 3 reveals that the coordinated H2O molecules in 3 can be well replaced by pyridine molecules, indirectly leading to the formation of 4. The results of photoluminescent measurements il...


Abstract : An X-ray diffraction system (Rigaku Strainflex) for measuring residual stresses in both the laboratory and in the field, utilizing the same X- ray head, has been evaluated for Army applications. Procedures have been developed with assorted Army materiel for determining the residual stress levels in steel, aluminum, and uranium alloys. Standard calibration samples of steel and aluminum have been fabricated and tested for ensuring the accuracy of measurement on systems in the future. Recommendations have been made for improved X-ray devices to meet Army needs. This work was performed on a project under the same title, as part of the U.S. Army Materials Testing Technology Program at the Army Materials and Mechanics Research Center.


Papers from two independent groups suggest that a form of CRISPR gene editing, called base editing, causes a high number of unpredictable mutations in mouse embryos and rice. It's not the first red flag for CRISPR. Other groups have raised concerns about off-target mutations caused when the traditional CRISPR-Cas9 form of gene editing cuts DNA at a location that it wasn't supposed to. The results of the new studies are surprising, however, because scientists have lauded base editors as one of the most precise forms of gene editing yet. Base editors change one nucleotide, or letter, of DNA into another without cutting the DNA. They come in two flavors: cytidine base editors, which convert a cytosine (C) nucleotide to a thymine (T), and adenine base editors, which convert an adenosine (A) to a guanosine (G). Both variants were created in David Liu's lab at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.


ABSTRACT This study observed the dynamics of the local communities' spatial patterns and socio-economic conditions in the Pringapus enclave industrial area, a rural-urban fringe of the Semarang Metropolitan Region (SMR). It applied a quantitative approach through descriptive statistical analyses of a questionnaire for 120 respondents and satellite image analyses using the Geographic Information System (GIS). The results showed that the urbanization was in situ, causing spatial and socio-economic impacts. Despite the worrying indications of declining environmental quality that can threaten sustainable development, the local people benefitted from the urbanization process. Excellent interaction between the local community and migrants was unique to the study area's enclave location, allowing skills to be transferred, which made the locals more resilient to urbanization. In this regard, this study recommends the local government strengthen new community organizations' role to optimize the mutually beneficial relationship between locals and migrants. HIGHLIGHTS In situ urbanization in enclaved areas causes changes in land use, economic, and social and environmental conditions. In situ urbanization in the case study has caused unusual yet positive interactions between the migrants and the locals. The transfer of knowledge in this enclave area made the locals more resilient to urbanization. The beneficial relationships between the locals and the migrants should be optimized by strengthening the role of community organizations.


The literature on climate change education recommends social, accessible action-oriented learning that is specifically designed to resonate with a target audience's values and worldview. This artic...


Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is an increasing concern in residential construction, particularly homes that are consciously designed for high efficiency. The IAQ problem occurs because efficient homes tend to be air tight, but without adequate exchange of outside air pollutants such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) can achieve concentrations that are higher than desired. Biowalls' are an innovative technology for addressing IAQ concerns by using the natural ability of plants to remove airborne contaminants. This paper summarizes Biowall research that was conducted in a research home located in the Midwest with a particular emphasis on aesthetic considerations. It is difficult to find plants that thrive in a Biowall environment. A study identifying varying species of plants which will survive in this environment enhances the Biowall designer's ability to add a variety of colors, textures, and sizes to plant trays and achieve a presentation that is appealing for a Biowall owner.


To study the modulation classification problem for M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation(QAM) signals traveled over slowly Rayleigh and Rician fading channels,a new algorithm based on fourth-order cumulants is proposed.This normalized fourth-order cumulants are estimated from baseband sequences of the received QAM signals.The decision rules for classification are developed based on the theoretical values of the normalized fourth-order cumulants for various constellations.Computational complexity of the developed algorithm is order N,where N is the number of the complex baseband data samples.Theoretical arguments are verified via extensive simulations and comparisons with existing approaches.


Sir, We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the commentary on our article titled ''Associations between voluntary and involuntary forms of perinatal loss and child maltreatment among low-income mothers'' provided by Dr. Jones of the Guttmacher Institute (GI). Because the Guttmacher Institute [1] is a ''special affiliate'' of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), sharing both funding and board membership, it is important for the reader to be aware of Dr. Jones' obvious conflict of interest since PPFA is the largest abortion provider in the U.S. [2]. Furthermore, it is GI's mission to protect and expand abortion rights as clearly stated in their mission and strategic planning. The first issue Dr. Jones raised pertains to the fact that we did not describe the implications of abortion concealment rates on our results. Underreporting of abortion experience does tend to be high on social science surveys; however, this is just one of the many problems plaguing abortion research and it is one that we have frequently noted in other published papers [3 /6]. The fact that this shortcoming is well known to abortion scholars and space limitations of the current article motivated our decision to focus our discussion on what we believed to be more pressing methodological issues: the causal question and the selection of the abuse and neglect cases. As we have pointed out many times in past publications [3 /6], there is evidence indicating that women who are unwilling to disclose an abortion are more likely to experience abortionrelated psychological distress [7]. Stress is a wellestablished correlate of child maltreatment [8]; therefore, it is likely that the unavoidable misplacement of abortion concealers in the no-abortion group obscured as opposed to accentuated the group differences observed. The second major issue raised by Dr. Jones is the possibility of a spurious association between abortion and child abuse due to the presence of uncontrolled third variables. As noted at the end of the methodology section, our choice of covariates to include from the data set was based on statistical criteria. Variables identified as significant correlates of physical abuse and incorporated as covariates in the primary analyses included number of children, number of residential moves, level of education, history of depression, ethnicity, interviewer-estimated intelligence, difficulty understanding interview questions, and a sad/dejected posture. Dr. Jones asserted that these are ''unnecessary characteristics'' to examine; however, because these variables are correlated with physical abuse, it is only appropriate to examine them. Finally, Dr. Jones' conclusion that ''The sample is not representative of any known population, and the authors' attempts to identify policy implications based on this small group of women are problematic'' is not founded. A more careful read by Dr. Jones of our conclusion section should prompt acknowledgement of our effort to clearly specify the limitations of our study, including restriction to one geographic locale, which renders generalizations at this stage inappropriate. Instead of baseless criticism that is more advocacy than research based, perhaps Dr. Jones would agree with us that the need for a prospective, nationally representative investigation is warranted, and, if confirmatory results are found, recommend using the results to inform improved intervention efforts.


Abstract The influence of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) cotton on population dynamics of cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, was investigated during 1999–2000 in northern China. The field experiments were conducted in plots of Bt cotton and conventional cotton that received no insecticide applications, and in plots of conventional cotton in which pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides were used regularly for control of Helicoverpa armigera. The results indicate that resistance of cotton aphids to majority of insecticides used for control of H. armigera, and lower densities of predators in late June and early July caused by insecticide use, causes population densities of cotton aphids to become significantly higher in plots of insecticide-treated conventional cotton than in Bt cotton plots. These results suggest that Bt cotton planting not only played an important role in the control of H. armigera, but also efficiently prevented cotton aphid resurgence in response to insecticide use.


In the pharmacotherapy of chronic alcoholism a significant place is given to nootropic drugs. Currently, neurodegenerative processes are associated with the activity of various neurotrophic factors of the brain and neuropeptides. An important advantage of the use of neuropeptide drugs (cerebrolysin, semax, cortexin) in the treatment of chronic alcoholism is that they have an organ-specific multimodal effect on the brain: provide metabolic regulation, neuroprotection, functional neuromodulation and neurotrophic activity. They are recommended for relief of acute withdrawal syndrome, as well as in the post-abstinent period in asthenic syndrome and restoration of mnestic functions.


With the advent of social networks, the users have obtained a golden opportunity to express their opinions using text and multimedia. However, some users abused these platforms by introducing acts such as Cyber-Bullying and Cyber-Harassment. Despite the various negative health and social effects, the works proposed toward the detection of these acts are still limited, especially in non-English languages. In Arabic, few works studied this phenomenon. These works had limited datasets. As the number of available training datasets are limited, it is still hard to train classifiers to detect these acts. Therefore, clustering has posed as an alternative solution to tackle this difficulty. In this work, we propose the use of clustering to detect Cyber-Bullying and Cyber-Harassment. We adopted various clustering algorithms including K-Means and Expectation Maximization (EM). Moreover, we used various natural language processing (NLP) tools for this objective. The results illustrate that the training time of K-Means is significantly smaller than that of EM in all the conducted experiments. As for the accuracy, the two clustering methods showed different performance based on the variance in the used NLP settings.


This research discussed about the influences of internal control, leadership style, and work motivation on employee performance. This research aims to analyze the influences of internal control, leadership style, and work motivation on employee performance at PT Kusumahadi Santosa, Karanganyar. The research population is employees at PT Kusumahadi Santosa, Karanganyar. The method used to determine the sample is using technical solvents with several fixed criteria with a total amount of 92 samples. This research uses Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 25. The analysis method used is multiple linear regression analysis t test, F test and R2 test. Based on the analysis of the results, it is found that internal control has a significant effect on employee performance because its value is smaller than α = 0.05 that is 0.001 0.05. While the leadership style has no significant effect to employee performance because the significant value is bigger than α = 0,05 that is 0,085> 0,05.

Keywords: Internal control, leadership style, work motivation and employee perfomance.


The first section of this report describes the Interactive Whiteboard and its process of integration in Portuguese schools. The potential of this educational instrument is discussed throughout our work, as well as its advantages, disadvantages and its impact in activities such as the training of teachers, as well as the students' learning process, and this will be done based on bibliography on the use of the Interactive Whiteboard. This report focuses on different uses of Interactive Whiteboard in Portuguese classes to promote the development of oral skills through didactic units conceived especially to promote the use of the IWB. In the second part of the report, the school where the Supervised Practice took place is introduced, Pedro d'Orey da Cunha, as well as its context and the characteristics of the classes. In the third and last section, the classroom activities are presented as well as how they were implemented throughout the practice using the Interactive Whiteboard.


A method for computing lines of curvature and umbilical points is proposed. These properties, derived for NURBS surfaces, are useful in shape modeling for both aesthetic and functional characteristics evaluation. Moreover, the application to the ship-hull design and to the progressive additional lens design, of umbilics and lines of curvature are investigated.


Cretaceous to Palaeogene miospores and dinoflagellates cysts have been recovered from the Keta-1 well, offshore southeastern Ghana. Based on marker palynomorphs (spores and pollen), four biozones (Biozones I, II, III, and IV) have been recognized corresponding with the Aptian, Turonian-Santonian, Campanian - Maastrichtian and Palaeocene - Eocene stages respectively. The palaeoenvironment is interpreted on the basis of the identified palynomorphs, in the light of their ecological preferences. It fluctuates from marginal, open marine (inner shelf) and swampy freshwater to slightly brackish water environment in a humid, arid/semiarid condition. The absence of the elaterospores is an obvious indication of the absence of Albian and Cenomanian sediments and thus the presence of an unconformity between biozone I and II.


This article analyzes three sources of accounting thought, from primitive documentary sources, which appeared during the fourth century before Christ: an ethical thought in Greece, which can be followed in works such as Economics by Xenophon (written between 394 and 371 BC), as well as Aristotle's Politics and Nicomachean Ethics (written during his travel period, ca. 347-330 BC), a technical and logistical thought in India, with Kautilya's Arthaśāstra (to 300 BC), and a legal thought particularly referred to the lex Paetelia Papiria (ca. 330 BC). The argument in this work relies primarily on Sen (1987) regarding political and ethical origins of economic thought, with support in the theoretical assumptions developed by Mattessich (2000), and my inquiry of the accounting legal thought origin, on the base of Roman law sources.


The inborne shape of sulfur in fuel coal is extremely complex, sulfur of different shape has different eduction behavior under high temperature, study on their behavior under high temperature being the basis for controlling effectively the emission technology of combustion. The eduction behavior and reaction property with limebase sulfurretaining agents, such as calcium oxide, lime stone, clay, and calcuim carbide residue, under different heating patterns of 1200℃ and 1250℃ have been studied by using a ZCS type intelligent sulfurdetermining instrument. FeS and thiophene are selected to represent inorganic and organic sulfur in coal respectively, and the eduction rules of main sulfur content, i.e. Sulfurbearing amino acid, in coal with total sulfur content less than 0.5% have also been studied.


This is a brief review covering the currently available literature on ocular manifestations of COVID-19, and prevention strategies for ophthalmologists. A literature search was carried out of Pubmed, Google Scholar and WHO database of publications on COVID.


A reconfigurable pod-mounted antenna frontend configuration for the PAMIR SAR/GMTI imaging radar, an experimental active phased array system with a very high instantaneous bandwidth of 1.82 GHz in X-band is described. The pod accommodates a linear time and phase steered array antenna with a length of 4.25 m. Broadband beamforming together with wide azimuth scan capabilities (=± firstname.lastname@example.com GHz bandwidth) requires a switchable true time delay network with time increments equivalent to a fraction of a wavelength. The subarray structure including the time delay components and the total array performance are described. PAMIR serves as an ideal airborne platform for future broadband SAR/GMTI research activities including interferometric image formation.


Real time traffic adopting UDP at the transport layer needs some quality of service. It is offered through an admission control scheme. This paper adopts one such scheme which is extended for elastic traffics adopting TCP at the transport layer. The proposed scheme operates on reserving network resources on a proactive manner. It is based on the principle of telephone networks Erlang-B model. The blocking probability measured is used as a flow admission decision parameter. The effectiveness of the proposed admission control algorithm is determined here through simulation. It offers a fair admission rate to both UDP and TCP traffic flows. It also results in a better bottleneck link utilization at a comparatively lower overhead traffic.


More than two hundred recoveries of giant petrels Macronectes halli and M. giganteus originally ringed at Bird Island, South Georgia, were analysed to determine the nature of any interspecific differences in the locality, timing and circumstances of recovery. Normally about 3% of the nestlings ringed were recovered within three years of fledging but the recovery rate was significantly lower in nestlings ringed in 1978–80. Eighty percent of the recoveries occurred within 12 months of ringing. Proportionately more M. halli are recovered in South America and the Pacific. The numbers recovered in southern Africa have declined whilst birds were recovered more frequently in New Zealand in 1978–80, compared to earlier years. Most recoveries were of birds found dead or injured on a beach; 9% were involved in fishing incidents and 10% killed by man, mainly in South America. Only one bird ringed as an adult has been recovered away from South Georgia. Details of foreign‐ringed birds and local movements are also incl...