IP PATTERNS OF MOVEMENTS IN VSO TYPOLOGY: THE CASE OF ARABIC

The aim of this article is to explore a particular instantiation of the order in Arabic and to demonstrate that VSO and SVO are frequent alternatives for the language. The article will offer a range of views that have been expressed on the subject in order to give a comparative orientation to this study and will include and cover a range of empirical data in an attempt to discover and to understand the interaction of the IP (Inflectional Phrase) components of the languages underlying system. There will be two kinds of arguments advanced in support of the claim we make with regard to such movement: empirical arguments based on the data provided and theoretical or conceptual arguments based on the internal consistency of the system and the literature that deals with similar issues elsewhere

Immune System Based Control and Intelligent Agent Design for Power System Applications

The National Academy of Engineering has selected the US Electric Power Grid as the supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century. Yet, this same grid is struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for electricity, its quality and cost. A growing recognition of the need to modernize the grid to meet future challenges has found articulation in the vision of a Smart Grid in using new control strategies that are intelligent, distributed, and adaptive. The objective of this work is to develop smart control systems inspired from the biological Human Immune System to better manage the power grid at the both generation and distribution levels. The work is divided into three main sections. In the first section, we addressed the problem of Automatic Generation Control design. The Clonal Selection theory is successfully applied as an optimization technique to obtain decentralized control gains that minimize a performance index based on Area Control Errors. Then the Immune Network theory is used to design adaptive controllers in order to diminish the excess maneuvering of the units and help the control areas comply with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation\u27s standards set to insure good quality of service and equitable mutual assistance by the interconnected energy balancing areas. The second section of this work addresses the design and deployment of Multi Agent Systems on both terrestrial and shipboard power systems self-healing using a novel approach based on the Immune Multi-Agent System (IMAS). The Immune System is viewed as a highly organized and distributed Multi-Cell System that strives to heal the body by working together and communicating to get rid of the pathogens. In this work both simulation and hardware design and deployment of the MAS are addressed. The third section of this work consists in developing a small scale smart circuit by modifying and upgrading the existing Analog Power Simulator to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed technologies. We showed how to develop smart Agents hardware along with a wireless communication platform and the electronic switches. After putting together the different designed pieces, the resulting Multi Agent System is integrated into the Power Simulator Hardware. The multi Agent System developed is tested for fault isolation, reconfiguration, and restoration problems by simulating a permanent three phase fault on one of the feeder lines. The experimental results show that the Multi Agent System hardware developed performed effectively and in a timely manner which confirms that this technology is very promising and a very good candidate for Smart Grid control applications

A hand of the rudder of innovation : investigating the influence of board of directors and top management teams

This study provides one of the rare evidences based on a field study regarding the influence of corporate governance on innovation. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, it investigates how the internal governance chain (board of directors and top management teams) contribute to foster innovation in their organization. The interviewees’ statements highlight the considerable impact that directors and managers can have on innovation, and in that sense that they certainly have “a hand on the rudder of innovation”. However, the collected data also shows that other factors such as organizational characteristics (e.g. sector of the firm and partners) play a major role, thus revealing that many other aspects and stakeholders also have “a hand on the rudder of innovation”. The in-depth analysis contained in the present paper gave rise to a conceptual framework that includes 5 dimensions and 19 sub-dismensions. This framework promotes a more holistic approach when studying the link between the internal governance chain and innovation. It also emphasises the complexity of this relationship and thus helps to better tackle it

Numerical Simulation to Select Proper Strain Rates during CRS Consolidation Test

Constant rate of strain (CRS) and incremental loading (IL) consolidation tests are extensively used to measure consolidation properties of clayey soils. However, results of CRS test are usually strain rate dependent. In this study, a finite differences simulation of CRS test based on Terzaghi’s theory of consolidation is performed. The numerical simulation permits to evaluate a strain rates range satisfying a preset relative pressure criterion. Results of simulation show that the required relative pressure criterion can be verified, during the steady state stage of CRS test, only for particular types of soils and particular range of strain rates. Subsequently, a simple method is proposed to select, for a soil sample defined by its initial height, initial void ratio and liquid limit, an appropriate strain rates range satisfying the ASTM 4186-06 criterion. Comparison of previsions and experimental results reported in literature shows good agreement

The holographic induced gravity model with a Ricci dark energy: smoothing the little rip and big rip through Gauss-Bonnet effects?

We present an holographic brane-world model of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) scenario with and without a Gauss-Bonnet term (GB) in the bulk. We show that an holographic dark energy component with the Ricci scale as the infra-red cutoff can describe the late-time acceleration of the universe. In addition, we show that the dimensionless holographic parameter is very important in characterising the DGP branches, and in determining the behaviour of the Ricci dark energy as well as the asymptotic behaviour of the brane. On the one hand, in the DGP scenario the Ricci dark energy will exhibit a phantom-like behaviour with no big rip if the holographic parameter is strictly larger than 1/2. For smaller values, the brane hits a big rip or a little rip. On the other hand, we have shown that the introduction of the GB term avoids the big rip and little rip singularities on both branches but cannot avoid the appearance of a big freeze singularity for some values of the holographic parameter on the normal branch, however, these values are very unlikely because they lead to a very negative equation of state at the present and therefore we can speak in practice of singularity avoidance. At this regard, the equation of state parameter of the Ricci dark energy plays a crucial role, even more important than the GB parameter, in rejecting the parameter space where future singularities appear.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. RevTex4-1. Comments and references added. Version accepted in PR

Placental-mediated increased cytokine response to lipopolysaccharides: a potential mechanism for enhanced inflammation susceptibility of the preterm fetus.

BackgroundCerebral palsy is a nonprogressive motor impairment syndrome that has no effective cure. The etiology of most cases of cerebral palsy remains unknown; however, recent epidemiologic data have demonstrated an association between fetal neurologic injury and infection/inflammation. Maternal infection/inflammation may be associated with the induction of placental cytokines that could result in increased fetal proinflammatory cytokine exposure, and development of neonatal neurologic injury. Therefore, we sought to explore the mechanism by which maternal infection may produce a placental inflammatory response. We specifically examined rat placental cytokine production and activation of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) pathway in response to lipopolysaccharide exposure at preterm and near-term gestational ages.MethodsPreterm (e16) or near-term (e20) placental explants from pregnant rats were treated with 0, 1, or 10 μg/mL lipopolysaccharide. Explant integrity was assessed by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis alpha levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. TLR4 and phosphorylated nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) protein expression levels were determined by Western blot analysis.ResultsAt both e16 and e20, lactate dehydrogenase levels were unchanged by treatment with lipopolysaccharide. After exposure to lipopolysaccharide, the release of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis alpha from e16 placental explants increased by 4-fold and 8-9-fold, respectively (P < 0.05 versus vehicle). Conversely, interleukin-6 release from e20 explants was not significantly different compared with vehicle, and tumor necrosis alpha release was only 2-fold higher (P < 0.05 versus vehicle) following exposure to lipopolysaccharide. Phosphorylated NFκB protein expression was significantly increased in the nuclear fraction from placental explants exposed to lipopolysaccharide at both e16 and e20, although TLR4 protein expression was unaffected.ConclusionLipopolysaccharide induces higher interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis alpha expression at e16 versus e20, suggesting that preterm placentas may have a greater placental cytokine response to lipopolysaccharide infection. Furthermore, increased phosphorylated NFκB indicates that placental cytokine induction may occur by activation of the TLR4 pathway

Antidiabetic effect of oral supplementation with Caulerpa racemosa powder

Algae are known for their high nutritional value and the presence of bioactive compounds with anti-diabetic activity. In this study, the effects of oral supplementation with the whole powdered green alga Caulerpa racemosa was assessed on biochemical and organic parameters in rat model of type 2 diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes model (DM) was induced by high fat diet (HFD) (5.75 kcal/g) combined to streptozotocin injection (35 mg/kg). The DM-C500 and DM-C1000 groups were maintained on HFD and supplemented orally during four weeks with powdered C. racemosa at 500 and 1000 mg/kg of body weight, respectively. The DM-C0 group was fed with HFD without C. racemosa supplementation. All the experimental rats were maintained on HFD during the 30 days of experiment. C. racemosa at 500 mg/kg improved fasting glycaemia and glucose tolerance. The IPGTT test revealed a decrease (p<0.05) in the fasting glycaemia recorded at the 120th min from day 0 (534 ± 38.88 mg/dL) to day 30 (326 ± 63.05 mg/dL). C. racemosa supplementation prevented liver lipid peroxidation in DM-C500 and DM-C1000 group (12.94 ± 2.20 and 10.48 ± 1.15 nmol MDA/g, respectively) compared to DM-C0 group (35.49 ± 2.30 nmol MDA/g). Caulerpa racemosa at 500 mg/kg, and relatively at 1000 mg/kg, alleviated pancreatic, liver and renal tissue damages compared to DM-C0 groups which displayed injuries in their histological sections. Caulerpa racemosa oral supplementation could represent a possible natural approach to prevent organic and metabolic disorders related to type 2 diabetes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.656052

Does board diversity matter for innovation performance? : evidence from the world’s most innovative firms

In this paper, we study the impact of board diversity, considering both surface-level (gender and ethnic) and deep- level (educational and functional) diversity, on innovation performance. To empirically assess this impact, we collect data on the world's 100 most innovative companies according to Forbes 2018’ ranking. The results suggest that gender diversity and ethnic diversity do not influence innovation performance. We also find that moderating gender and ethnic diversities by knowledge (educational and functional diversity) do not impact innovation performance. However, the results show that board size, as well as firms’ sector and region, have a significant influence on innovation performance

Frequency of bleeding complications in Algerian patients treated with the vitamin K antagonist acenocoumarol and associated factors

Background: The major complication of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy is bleeding. This study aimed to estimate the rate of hemorrhagic accidents and identify the hemorrhagic factors in Algerian patients treated by the VKA, acenocoumarol.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in patients undergoing VKA therapy, followed in the cardiology department of the University Hospital of Sidi Bel Abbes.Results: One hundred patients were included. We recorded 22 cases of bleeding. Overdose and concomitant use of drugs that interfere with the acenocoumarol effect are significant risk factors of bleeding.Conclusions: Knowledge of predictive factors for VKA-related excessive anticoagulation seems to be of the utmost importance for improving patient management. There is a need for a national registry to assess the efficacy and safety of drug use in the short and long term. This pilot study is a cornerstone in the development of oral anticoagulation therapy monitoring in our region