Academically-Redshirted Males' Behavior and Academic Performance at the Middle School Level by Cassandra Ricciardi Capadona MA, Walden University, 2010 BS, Regis University, 2003 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University December 2018 Abstract Male students appear not ready for middle school by exhibiting lower grades, learner disengagement, and/or behavior problems. The age in which male students initially enter school has not been fully investigated as a possible systemic issue of a lack of male student longitudinal success and learner engagement. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the differences between how academically redshirted male students performed academically and behaviorally compared to their non-academically redshirted grade mates at Grades 6-8. This study drew from the theories of early childhood constructivists: Piaget, Vygotsky, and Montessori. The research questions addressed the academic and behavioral differences between redshirted and non-academically redshirted students throughout Grades 6-8. Academic data, through numerical average and GPA, and behavioral data, through the total number of behavioral violations, from 1 archived school year were gathered for all male students in grades 6-8 (N=109). Students were grouped academically redshirted or non-academically redshirted based on age of school entry. A series of independent t tests were performed on all academic and behavioral data for each of the respective grades and sets of student data. Findings revealed differences in how redshirted versus non-academically redshirted students performed; however, these findings revealed no statistically significant difference. The results of this study provided evidence to support a correlation between when male students formally enter school and male academic and behavioral success. These findings lead to positive social change for school communities, specifically parents/guardians and school officials, by providing necessary data to drive decisions regarding school entry age and its longitudinal effects at the middle school level.Male students appear not ready for middle school by exhibiting lower grades, learner disengagement, and/or behavior problems. The age in which male students initially enter school has not been fully investigated as a possible systemic issue of a lack of male student longitudinal success and learner engagement. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the differences between how academically redshirted male students performed academically and behaviorally compared to their non-academically redshirted grade mates at Grades 6-8. This study drew from the theories of early childhood constructivists: Piaget, Vygotsky, and Montessori. The research questions addressed the academic and behavioral differences between redshirted and non-academically redshirted students throughout Grades 6-8. Academic data, through numerical average and GPA, and behavioral data, through the total number of behavioral violations, from 1 archived school year were gathered for all male students in grades 6-8 (N=109). Students were grouped academically redshirted or non-academically redshirted based on age of school entry. A series of independent t tests were performed on all academic and behavioral data for each of the respective grades and sets of student data. Findings revealed differences in how redshirted versus non-academically redshirted students performed; however, these findings revealed no statistically significant difference. The results of this study provided evidence to support a correlation between when male students formally enter school and male academic and behavioral success. These findings lead to positive social change for school communities, specifically parents/guardians and school officials, by providing necessary data to drive decisions regarding school entry age and its longitudinal effects at the middle school level. Academically-Redshirted Males' Behavior and Academic Performance at the Middle School Level by Cassandra Ricciardi Capadona MA, Walden University, 2010 BS, Regis University, 2003 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University December 2018 Dedication This dissertation study is dedicated to my family. My mother had a simple motto: finish what you start. I knew when I declared to my husband (upon the immediate return from my honeymoon) that I wanted to pursue a doctorate that I might be tackling a bit too much; however, I also knew that this was something that was important to me and that I needed to simply start the process. Well start the process I did and soon came to the sticking part-the proposal and the actual project study. Within that same time frame I found out that we were expecting our first bundle of joy and thought this is okaythis will be done, and I can do it all. That was not as easy as I thought, and the process took a halting pace. Family struggles and life got in the way of my dream of finishing and I was not sure if I ever would get back on track. I thought perhaps this was not meant to be, but there was one person who always believed it would get done and one person who kept that tiny voice alive within me, my mom, and that message of finishing what we set out to do kept resounding until I knew there was only one way to go-I had to finish this and see it through. Mom, may you know that the hard work ethic that you have instilled in each of us has and will always win out. Dad, may you know that your steadfast belief in me to be and do anything has and will always motivate me. To my sister, Kate, you inspire me each day. Lou, my husband and partner, you pushed me and helped me find the inner strength to persevere when I did not think it was possible. Most of all, my children, may you both believe in the promise of tomorrow and follow your own dreams wherever they may lead you and may you always know the importance of finishing what you start. Acknowledgments With a grateful heart, I would like to thank my professor and chair, Dr. Babb. From the very first conversation I had with Dr. Babb I knew two things: 1.) I was going to work harder than I had possibly ever had to work academically in my life and 2.) This was going to get done because she was going to be there right alongside me. If it was not for Dr. Babb's constant support, guidance, and mentoring this dissertation study would not have been possible. I have worked with many chairs, professors, and people in the academic world and the respect and dedication that Dr. Babb has and shows is remarkable. Next, I would like to acknowledge and thank both Dr. Dass and Dr. Keeley. Without their help and support this dissertation process would have been impossible. Additionally, I have had the benefit of many staff members at the research site and beyond who have dedicated themselves to helping ensure the success of this project study. Thank you to the assistant superintendent of schools at the research site for ensuring that this study pass the local board by helping to give it the personal and professional approval needed to move forward. Thank you for believing in the process and taking the time to listen along the way. Thank you to Matt Ishibashi, Ken Stokum, Roz Goldsmith, Kathy Seetoo, Karryne MacLean, and Megan Davis. Lastly, I wish to ultimately thank the person that was my eyes when I could not see my own grammatical errors and the person that I trusted with this project from the very beginning, Gina Mancini. She is unstoppable and pushed me day in and day out to produce better work and get it done. Thank you, Gina, may you always know that you are an angel to everyone you meet you have given me wings and for that I am and will be forever indebted to you. i Table of


This article reports some preliminary data from a study of the legal consequences of the first 204 homicides reported to the Philadelphia police in 1970. At first glance the data may seem of marginal relevance to capital punishment as a constitutional issue-only three of the 171 adults convicted of homicide charges were sentenced to death and none will be executed. In our view, however, a study of how the legal system determines punishment in a representative sample of killings provides a valuable perspective on many of the legal and policy issues involved in the post-Furman death penalty


Burn can cause severe physical and psychological injury, especially in person with deep Ⅱ degree or more and joints involved, and the incidence of organ dysfunction in late stages is higher. This summary introduces the difficulty, importance, content, joint efforts and so on of rehabilitation therapy, in order to illustrate the importance of rehabilitation therapy for burns. At present, the level of burn treatment in China has been in the top worldwide, but the level of rehabilitation treatment after burns is still in its infancy and approaches in clinical settings are still lack of unified standards.

Key words:
Burns; Rehabilitation; Importance


The ability of ectopically placed fundic mucosa and retained antral mucosa to concentrate technetium has previously been demonstrated. The ability of ectopically placed antral mucosa to concentrate technetium was investigated. The denervated antrum implanted into the colon concentrated technetium in 5 dogs. However, this response was significantly less than that of parietal cell-containing mucosa (P less than 0.005) of the stomach. Technetium scanning may be useful in detecting ectopic and retained antral mucosa.


In this paper, a broadband power amplifier (PA) is designed using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The Chebyshev low-pass topology is employed to establish initial matching network of the PA. The matching impedance of the network is optimized by the PSO algorithm. The simulation results show that, with the proposed optimization method, excellent impedance matching network can be obtained. The power added efficiency (PAE) can be improved more than 10% averagely, which greater than 70%, and output power improved 1 dBm averagely, which arrived bigger than 41 dBm in the frequency band between 2GHz to 3GHz, which validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed design method.


The distribution of two phosphoinositide‐linked metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1α and mGluR5) was studied immunohistochemically in area 17 before, during and after the peak of use‐dependent modification of eye‐specific connections. In the adult, mGluR1α immunoreactivity is high in all layers except layer IV, where mGluR5 immunoreactivity is concentrated. This difference in distribution indicates different functions for these two receptor subtypes. The laminar pattern of mGluR1α immunoreactivity is similar in all three ages, but the overall labeling intensity decreases after the peak (6 weeks of age) of the critical period. The laminar pattern of mGluR5 immunoreactivity changes with age, It is expressed in most layers at 2 days of age and is found mainly in layer IV in the adult. This laminar distribution and developmental pattern match the distribution and the development of the geniculocortical terminals. The change in mGluR1α labeling intensity and mGluR5 laminar distribution over time is consistent with both of these mGluRs being involved in sensory‐dependent plasticity for eye‐specific connections in the visual cortex.


Formative evaluation focuses on the process of college students' learning, aiming at letting college students tap their potential, diverge their thinking, cultivate their creativity and strengthen their learning motivation in the process of learning. Aiming at the present situation of formative assessment and college students' oral English teaching and evaluation. Introduce formative evaluation into college oral English teaching, construct a formative evaluation program with university characteristics, and conduct experimental research in college students' oral English teaching. The research shows that the formative evaluation method in oral teaching stimulates the enthusiasm and enthusiasm of college students' oral learning. It not only provides teachers with timely information feedback guarantee, but also the quality of oral teaching effectively improves the overall oral expression ability of college students.


"In vivid portraits drawn from the top and bottom of the social-class ladder, Hansen shows the profound effect social class has on care. Well observed, beautifully written, this book is a must read." --Arlie Hochschild, author of The Commercialization of Intimate Lives: Notes from Home and Work "Not-So-Nuclear Families explains the often painful choices that parents have to make for their children's--and their own--well-being." --Barbara Schnieder, professor of sociology and human development, director of the Data Research and Development Center, and codirector of the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work at the University of Chicago In recent years, U.S. public policy has focused on strengthening the nuclear family as a primary strategy for improving the lives of America's youth. It is often assumed that this normative type of family is an independent, self-sufficient unit adequate for raising children. But half of all households in the United States with young children have two employed parents. How do working parents provide care and mobilize the help that they need? In Not-So-Nuclear Families, Karen V. Hansen investigates the lives of working parents and the informal networks they construct to help care for their children. She chronicles the conflicts, hardships, and triumphs of four families of various social classes. Each must navigate the ideology that mandates that parents, mothers in particular, rear their own children, in the face of an economic reality that requires that parents rely on the help of others. In vivid family stories, parents detail how they and their network of friends, paid caregivers, and extended kin collectively close the "care gap" for their school-aged children. Hansen not only debunks the myth that families in the United States are independent, isolated, and self-reliant units, she breaks new theoretical ground by asserting that informal networks of care can potentially provide unique and valuable bonds that nuclear families cannot. Karen V. Hansen is an associate professor of sociology and women's studies at Brandeis University and is the coeditor of Families in the U.S.: Kinship and Domestic Politics.


In a method for the removal of hard brittle material of a workpiece by means of pulsed laser radiation, an elliptical beam shape of the cross section of the laser radiation in a plane is set perpendicular to the radiation axis. The focus of the laser radiation the semi-major axis of the ellipse in the feed direction and the minor axis is oriented perpendicular to it. The beam radius in the direction of the minor axis is so adjusted at the inlet of Abtragsvertiefung that the flank angle W, the local angle between the surface normal achieved on the edge of the Abtragsvertiefung and the surface normal on the non-ablated surface of the material almost 90 degrees and the achievable removal depth is greater by at least a factor of 5 than a larger beam radius at which the flank angle is smaller than a material-specific limiting angle at which held no ablation. The beam radius of the semi-major axis is set so that the Rayleigh length is at least as large as half the excavation depth.


It is been said that India is an agricultural country. And an Indian banking industry plays a significant role in flourishing the Indian agricultural industry. The commendable contribution of the banking sector is one of the major reasons for the upliftment of agricultural industry as a whole. As per National Statistical Office, agricultural sector contributes 20.19% to the total economy of India. Reserve Bank of India has taken an initiative specifically to foster the growth of priority sector. Establishment of Regional Rural Banks is an outcome of those reforms taken place in the banking industry. Even the major players of the Public Sector Banks are indulged vigorously to support rural India. A researcher here has put in efforts to understand and analyze the contribution and role of Bank of India and Union Bank of India in this noble initiative of Government of India. Exponential Growth rate has been considered as a tool to check the intensity of financial contribution of both banks in the upliftment of rural India.


As Korean traditional music, gugak is a type of music unique to Korea, which is different from Western music. Nevertheless, most of the performance halls built exclusively for gugak in South Korea are based on the characteristics of Western music and the spatial elements and acoustic performance of exclusive halls for performing gugak have not been analyzed systematically. From this perspective, this study aimed to examine six Korean traditional music halls in South Korea and analyze their types, specifications, sightlines, viewing angles, and so on. The results showed that these halls were 26.7-65.8 m in length, 36-81.6 m in width, 437-1,855 m2 in the total floor area, and 5,489-30,800 m3 in capacity and could be classified into three types on the basis of the specifications and the stage-audience ratio. While the viewing angle of plane area in each hall was ≤120°, which was at a high level, it was necessary to limit the viewing distance within Area B in pursuit of satisfactory appreciation of gugak performance. The viewing angle of cross-section area was at a high level?less than 30°, the criterion for determination?for the front row but was higher than the determination criterion of 15° for the back row in Yeonacdang and Yeakdang. However, limiting the viewing distance within Area B can secure a good viewing angle, with ≤15° for the audience at the back row in each hall. These data are expected to be useful in designing and remodeling Korean traditional music halls.


The nature of Boethius's understanding of astronomy is indicated in his De institutione arithmetica , in which he defines the place of astronomy within the quadrivium , as specifically concerned with the knowledge of mobile magnitude. He places astronomy logically after arithmetic, music, and geometry, on which it depends for its principles. Some commentaries on Boethius hint at the commentator's familiarity with Boethius's supposed translation of Ptolemy. Boethius expressed his views on astronomy and the cosmos in many of his extant writings. It is quite clear that Boethius's works contributed greatly to the transmission of important cosmological principles to his successors and thereby laid the foundations for subsequent developments in astronomy and cosmology. The most important of these was the general principle that the universe was an ordered cosmos, subject to natural laws imposed by God at the time of creation. Keywords:astronomy; Boethius; cosmology; De institutione arithmetica ; Ptolemy


Recent shifts from acute to primary care have increased the popularity of urban GP units,1 where GPs have admitting rights and retain clinical responsibility for patients. Proponents argue that GP wards raise standards of general practice and promote liaison between acute and primary care; however, factors such as proximity,2 or single-handedness2,3 can act as barriers to GPs. We conducted a study to determine whether GP use of an inner London GP unit was affected by GPs' views or practice characteristics. Data on GPs' use of the unit were collected from the ward for the period February 1998 – March 1999. Eighteen GPs registered with the ward completed semi-structured interviews about the unit, from which a postal survey was developed and sent to the 74 registered GPs (response rate = 85%, of whom four GPs were excluded owing to insufficient data). During the study period, 41% made no admissions to the ward; conversely, 39% of admissions came from four GPs, although these practices were not based closest to the unit, nor did they have more elderly patients. Of those that replied to the survey (n = 59), GPs thought that staff attitudes were very positive (83%), standards of care were high, and GPs retained control (80%). A total of 80% felt that there was good continuity of care and patients would rather be admitted to the GP unit than to an acute ward (71%). However, 66% of GPs felt that it created extra work and 61% felt that travelling to the unit was time consuming and parking was problematic. GPs who had not used the ward in the previous year were as positive about the ward as those who had (Table 1). Ward use was positively associated with the view that patients preferred it to acute wards (P<0.01) but did not vary with other views or practice characteristics (number of partners, list size, or proportion of elderly patients). As registration with the unit remains an individual preference, motivation by registered GPs to use the service may be attributed to patient-related factors (e.g. patient preference) or reluctance to change current methods of practice. Although the ward maintained an 80% average occupancy rate over the year, one-third of admissions were made by four GPs and most hardly used the unit, raising questions about appropriate usage and accessibility of the ward. Given the current emphasis on intermediate care,4 development of GP units may increase; however, GPs' views require further consideration before similar services are commissioned elsewhere.


Earth observation
(EO) is the gathering of information about the physical, chemical, and
biological systems of the planet via remote-sensing technologies, supplemented
by Earth-surveying techniques, which encompasses the collection, analysis, and
presentation of data. Earth observation is used to monitor and assess the
status of and changes in natural and built environments.

 In the present book, twelve typical
literatures about earth observation published on international authoritative
journals were selected to introduce the worldwide newest progress, which
contains reviews or original researches on environmental protection, remote observation monitoring, thermonuclear reaction, earth observation satellite, space image and integration and earth-surveying techniques, etc. We hope this book can
demonstrate advances in earth observation as well
as give references to the researchers, students and other related people.


of the fi rst ("discrete" mode). The effi ciency and an acceptable tolerability has been shown during "discrete" 5-fold treatment course with intravenous cumulative doses of 450-550 U/kg. By treating L-lysine-alpha-oxidase in the "discrete" mode following tumor-bearing mice have been sensitive: breast adenocarcinoma Sa755, B16 melanoma, adenocarcinoma of the colon AKATOL, cervical cancer, cervical 5, epidermoid carcinoma and Lewis lung plasmacytoma CI-406 (TROmax = 57-92%).


Saskia Alich, Johannes Blome-Drees, Ursula Köstler, Ingrid Schmale and Frank Schulz-Nieswandt; Cooperatives of public interests – The example of health-related social self-help groups with special reference to the theoretical contribution of Werner Wilhelm Engelhardt Cooperatives health-related mutualities people;


Cisplatin has been a successful drug in oncology for decades. Its use is however limited by toxicity and development of resistance. Efforts for improvement by screening a large number of different platinum compounds have only yielded to new drugs to the clinic, oxaloplatin and carboplatin. An alternative approach is therefore to explore the potential of other metal-containing compounds. The toxic properties of organic tin compounds have been exploited in industry for a long time. More recently such compounds have been studied for potential therapeutic cytotoxic effects yielding promising results. Here we describe the first screening of two novel organotin compounds, based on the same basic structure, containing bromide (SNO7) or chloride (SNO8). The compounds are being screened against the following cancer cell lines: T47-D (breast), A549 (lung), OVCAR-3 (ovarian), Aspc-1 (pancreatic). IC50 was determined from survival analysis by Crystal violet, and induction of apoptosis by Annexin V staining, monitored by IncuCyte. Cisplatin was used as reference. IC50 values (µg/ml) for T47-D and Aspc-1 were, respectively: 44.5 and 13.8 (SNO7), 13.4 and 26.3 (SNO8) and 34.9 and 34.5 (Cisplatin). SNO7 induced apoptosis starting after 24 hours in OVCAR-3 and A549 at 10 µg/ml and also T47-D at 25 µg/ml; SNO8 in T47-D at 25 µg/ml (OVCAR-3 and A549 not tested) and Cisplatin in OVCAR-3 at 10 µg/ml (A549 not tested). These early results indicate differences in sensitivities between compounds and cell lines implying some specificity in mode of action and suggest that tin-containing compounds could be active against cancer cells that are resistant to cisplatin. Citation Format: Paulina Cherek, Michaela Balogova, Krishna Damodaran, Helga M. Ogmundsdottir. Cytotoxic activity of novel organotin compounds against different cancer cell lines [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2807.


Six clonal lines of intermediate wheatgrass, Agropyron intermedium (Host.) Beauv., which differed markedly in gross morphological characteristics were cut at the half-bloom stage and separated into leaf and stem. Lignin analyses were made on both leaf and stem in 1951 and again in 1952.Analysis of variance established significant differences (P = 0.05) in per cent lignin content between clonal lines. Highly significant differences (P = 0.01) were found in per cent leaf between lines and in per cent lignin between years. The plants contained the most lignin in the driest year.The clonal line with the finest stems had the lowest lignin content; however, the percentage leaf had a greater effect on lignin content than any other factor studied.


This article engages with the challenges of representing traumatic historical events in a post-traumatic situation when the process of narration involves negotiating the gap between the past and the present, between the narrator and the other's suffering. Particularly, the article focuses on Latvian writer Inga Gaile's novel The Beautiful Ones (Skaistās, 2019), which deals with the aforementioned structural and ethical complexities already in its beginning, subjecting it to a series of narrative erasures and thus signaling the difficulty of embarking on a story that would do justice to the impact of trauma. The beginning of Gaile's novel deserves a close reading of its own since it provokes, in a concentrated form, broader questions about the nature of secondary witnessing, which grows out of researching history, and its potential reflection in narrative form. The article also discusses how a broken beginning might point to authorial values and frame the remaining novel as a sincere and deeply human approach to past tragedies.


The method described here is derived from that of Engelke et al. (1), and uses the same cloned form of Thermus aquaticus {Taq) DNA polymerase to produce this enzyme in E.coli. The modified purification method described here is quite simple, however it is important to note that factors such as the bacterial strain used, induction time and protein concentration during isolation have been optimized. Deviation from the established parameters can have large effects on enzyme yield and activity. E.coli strain INVlalphaF' (Invitrogen Corp., San Diego, California) was transformed with the pTaq plasmid, which contains the Taq gene expressed under control of the tac promoter (1). Large-scale cultures of E.coli containing the pTaq plasmid were initiated by adding 500 n\ of an overnight culture to one litre of LB broth with ampicillin (80 mg/1). These cultures were grown at 37°C for 11 hours to an ODeoo of approx. 0.8, and then IPTG was added to a concentration of 125 mg/1. After 12 hours of induction the cells were harvested by centrifugation and washed in 100 ml per litre of original culture volume of buffer A (50 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.9, 50 mM dextrose, 1 mM EDTA; all reagents used in the purification were molecular biology grade, and care was taken to avoid contamination with biological material or metal ions). Cells were recovered by centrifugation and resuspended in 50 ml per litre of original culture volume of pre-lysis buffer (buffer A plus 4 mg/ml lysozyme). After 15 minutes at room temperature an equal volume of lysis buffer was added (10 mM Tris-HCl pH 7.9, 50 mM KC1, 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM PMSF, 0.5 % Tween 20, 0.5 % Nonidet P40) and the lysis mixture was incubated in 200 ml aliquots in pyrex flasks at 75 °C for 1 hour. The lysis mixture was then transferred to plastic bottles for centrifugation at 15,000 rpm for 10 minutes at 4°C, and the clarified lysate was transferred to a clean pyrex flask.


Objective To investigate the expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 in lung carcinoma and the correlation with lymph node metastasis,TNM stages,size of tumor and pathologic types.Methods The expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in 138 cases of lung carcinoma were detected with SP immunohistochemical staining method.Results The expression of MMP-2 was not correlated with pathologic classification and size of tumor,but which was closely correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM stages in lung carcinoma.The expression of TIMP-1 was correlated with size of tumor,TNM classification and lymph node metastasis,but which was not correlated with pathologic classification in lung carcinoma.Conclusion The expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 were closely correlated with lymph node metastasis and TNM classification carcinoma,which mould serve as a parameter for determing tumor metastasis and prognosis in lung carcinoma.


Reliability data, obtained from reliability tests, or collected over time from beneficiaries, workshop, are processed based on statistical models that result in estimated values of reliability indices for products considered. You can get numerical values or functions for which further processed allow a full analysis of reliability. The platform developed by the authors addresses the two main methods for assessment of reliability indices: nonparametric and parametric methods. The platform which was developed in MATLAB, it is part of a larger e-learning platform. It is used for training in engineering quality and reliability, particularly in electronics, but can be used by extension in any real reliability laboratory from other areas: mechanical, construction, etc.


The infrared thermography investigations of healthy and mastitic udder of high-cows were carried out. It was determined that this method is effective in early detection of mastitis and for the evaluation of influence of the various types of milking machines on mammary glands health.


A method for embodying a walkie-talkie using a mobile terminal is provided to enable all the other sub terminals within a network to receive and listen to a voice message transmitted to an ACL(Asynchronous ConnectionLess) link from a sub terminal by allowing the sub terminal to transmit the voice message to the ACL link and a gateway to receive/broadcast it through an ASB(Active Slave Broadcast) method. If a user of the first sub terminal, forming a network with a plurality of other sub terminals through a gateway, pushes a voice message key(S200,S202), the first sub terminal creates a token request signal and sends it to the gateway(S204). The gateway judges whether token acceptance to the token request signal is possible(S206). In case token acceptance is possible, the gateway creates a token acceptance signal and transmits it to the first sub terminal(S206). The first sub terminal receives the token acceptance signal and informs the user of it(S208). As the user inputs a voice message, the first sub terminal transmits the inputted voice message to the gateway through an ACL link(S210,S212). The gateway, receiving the voice message transferred through the ACL link, broadcasts it to the other sub terminals through an ASB method(S214).


Imitation in an Age of Information Abundance. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010. 280 pp. $27.50 / £18.00, paper. Boudreau, J. W. Retooling HR: Using Proven Business Tools to Drolet, A., N. Schwarz, and C. Yoon, eds. The Aging Consumer: Perspectives from Psychology and Economics. New York: Routledge, 2010. 301 pp. No price given, paper. Ellen, I. G., and B. O'Flaherty, eds. Publications Received


Abstract A longstanding divide between research and policy presents continuing problems for efforts to advance science and to improve public safety. The situation leads to poorly designed and implemented policies, little accountability, and limited effectiveness and cost-efficiency. Ripple effects of the divide include policies that proceed from ideology and guesswork, inadequate infrastructure for creating relevant and accessible data, and research that fails to systematically illuminate criminal justice operations or expand the boundaries of science. The solution? Put research at center stage in criminal justice policy. To do so will require overcoming a lack of awareness among policymakers and administrators about what research is, what it can be, and what is required to generate credible research-based evidence. It also will require integrating researchers into policy development, implementation, and evaluation. Bridging this divide will be essential for scientific progress and advancing policy.


Sign Language recognition is very important for communication purposes between Hearing Impaired (HI) people and hearing ones. Arabic Sign Language Recognition field became widespread because of its difficult nature and numerous details. Most researchers employed different input sensors, features extractors, and classifiers on static and dynamic data. These different ways were customized and employed in our previous work in the Arabic Sign Language Recognition field. In this paper, features extractor with deep behavior was used to deal with the minor details of Arabic Sign Language. 3D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) was used to recognize 25 gestures from Arabic sign language dictionary. The recognition system was fed with data from depth maps. The system achieved 98% accuracy for observed data and 85% average accuracy for new data. The results could be improved as more data from more different signers are included.


The sensory effects of cosmetic products on human skin are greatly divided into three; visual effects, tactile effects and olfactory effects. In order to measure visual effects on human skin, we developed a new skin color measuring apparatus applying a photo electric colorimeter.Firstly we checked the validity of this apparatus as a colorimeter and we evaluated that Luther condition was good and the data were accurate. Secondly we measured the colors by using foreheads and cheeks of about two hundred females aged from twenties to sixties in order to check the availability of the apparatus for skin meauring, and we could get the data that were agreed with the literatures.This apparatus can be available as a skin color measuring, though it has still some points for improvemet.


Finding ourselves at the threshold of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), our design of University Master's programs should follow criteria coherent with the present-day philosophy of Research & Development & innovation. Presented here are criteria and parameters for decision making, based on a proposed Master's Degree program at the University of Almeria.


Problems associated with interelement crack nucleation and propagation were analyzed. An interactive computer code was used to examine the stress singularity at the tip of the crack and to study fracture mechanics criteria for the stability and the length of the crack extension. A computer program was developed which is capable of automatically simulating discrete crack nucleation and extension through a finite element mesh as governed by an appropriate analysis. A parametric study of a reinforced concrete beam was performed and the effects of fracture toughness, aggregate interlock, and concrete non-linearity were assessed. The simple linear model gave a satisfactory correlation with experimental results for up to half the failure load. An improvement in the correlation, up to the failure, was achieved by modeling the concrete as a non-linear material. It was also found that while a large variation in the concrete fracture toughness resulted in a slightly stiffer response, the aggregate interlock played a crucial role. A tunnel opening in rock was analyzed and results were found to be in good agreement with the available experimental evidence.


: When implementing regular enough functions (e.g., elementary or special functions) on a computing system, we frequently use polynomial approximations. In most cases, the polynomial that best approximates (for a given distance and in a given interval) a function has coef(cid:2)cients that are not exactly representable with a (cid:2)nite number of bits. And yet, the polynomial approximations that are actually implemented do have coef-(cid:2)cients that are represented with a (cid:2)nite - and sometimes small - number of bits: this is due to the (cid:2)niteness of the (cid:3)oating-point representations (for software implementations), and to the need to have small, hence fast and/or inexpensive, multipliers (for hardware imple-mentations). We then have to consider polynomial approximations for which the degree i coef(cid:2)cient has at most m i fractional bits (in other words, it is a rational number with deno-minator 2 m i ).We provide a method for (cid:2)nding the best polynomial approximation under this constraint.


On the 18th January 2012, Oxford Archaeology conducted a watching brief during the construction of a new swimming pool at Manor House, Church Lane, Barford St. John, Oxfordshire (NGR: SP 4383 3319). No archaeological features were observed
during the work


The effect of dissipation on the fluctuations of the natural frequency spectra of complex systems is studied. Specifically the correlations observed in numerically calculated, damped, natural frequency spectra are compared with the correlation predictions of the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE) of random matrix theory. It is found that damped natural frequency spectra posses intermodal correlations in accordance with the predictions of the GOE provided damping is moderate. As dissipation levels rise, as measured by the system's reverberance, it is indicated that the correspondence between the predictions of the GOE and observed fluctuations weakens. The results of a theoretical perturbation analysis are presented which support the observed trends.


Provided in the present invention are a type of anti-human PD-L1 specific nanobodies and VHH chains thereof, coding sequences of the foregoing nanobodies or VHH chains thereof, corresponding expression vectors and host cells, and a method for producing antibodies.


Through language, teachers transfer knowledge, ideas and feelings to students. Teaching language used in classroom has an important significance for the teaching result. In this paper, based on the general problems existed in the expression of novice teachers of Information Technology in teaching process, it mainly states the teaching language skills used by novice teachers of Information Technology, in the aspects of the quality, quantity, intention, art and life of the interpretation.


This article applied an imaging device for UTC\|Scanning to the experiment of ultrasonic testing. Images of the defect are gained, which can impress students with the defect and accumulate their experiences about determining the essence of defect.


Twenty lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) genotypes were raised in field under normal (irrigated) and drought stress (non-irrigated condition) during rabi seasons of 2008–09 and 2009–10. The observations on phenological days, dry matter distribution in plant parts at different phenological stages, mean environmental temperature and total degree days were recorded. Seed yield were higher under normal as compared to drought condition. Multiple regressions between seed yield and different traits exhibited that all of them did not have significant contribution. Seed yield and seed yield determining factors were found to be different under normal and drought stress conditions. Under non-irrigated condition, lentil seed yield was determined by total dry matter production and its partitioning/day, mean temperature and total degree-days during podding to maturity. Under irrigated condition, lentil seed yield was determined by root dry matter at vegetative stage, total dry matter yield, per day dry matter production and its partitioning during seed filling period and total degree-days during flowering to podding. Multiple correlation (R) of traits were 0.9996 and 0.9984 and coefficient of determination (R2) were 0.9992 and 0.9964 under non-irrigated and irrigated conditions, respectively. Optimum values of the traits for seed yield maximization also varied amongst irrigated and non-irrigated conditions.


This paper reviews investigations of the authors in the field of frequency-domain chipless RFID transponders. The main issue is to reduce the mutual coupling between adjacent resonant elements in the scatterer array to ensure the robust RCS response for reliable reading of coded information. A major improvement in RCS response of transponders is proposed, using slot-in-plate type transponders. Advantages and drawbacks of the proposed solutions are discussed and several open challenges in the field are emphasized.


Part I distinguishes epistemic and choice democracy, attributing the first to the Rawls of A Theory of Justice but arguing that the second is more justifiable. Part II argues that in comparison with the difference principle, three principles — equal participation in choice democracy, no subordinating purpose, and a just wants guarantee — constitute a more rational choice in the original position; and that they better provide all the benefits claimed for the difference principle in its comparison with either average utilitarianism or restricted average utilitarianism (the mixed conception). Part III, despite noting that my conclusions in Part II can all be reached within the Rawlsian framework, suggests that finding the basis of equality in the presuppositions of communicative action rather than in the existence of the two basic moral powers is more conducive to the affirmative conclusions of Parts I and II. It argues that Rawls' conclusions represented in part his not fully carrying out the break with Kant that he identified himself as making.


The nature and the reactivity of an intermediate hydrocarbon species, CHx, ads, have been determined for the CO2-reforming of CH4 over supported Ni catalysts by using pulse surface reaction rate analysis (PSRA). When a small amount of CH4 pulse was injected into flowing gas mixture of CO2 and He, it was immediately adsorbed on the catalyst and then gradually reacted with CO2 to CO and H2. Analysis of the dynamic behaviour of the produced CO enabled us to determine the first-order rate constant for the reaction between adsorbed CH4 and CO2. It was found from the dynamics of the H2 produced that two steps were responsible for H2 production: the dissociative adsorption of CH4 to produce (4 –x)/2 H2 and CHx, ads and the simultaneous production of x/2 H2 together with CO from the CHx, ads species. Separation of the amount of H2 between these two steps led us to determine the average number of hydrogen atoms involved in the hydrogen-deficient adsorbed hydrocarbon species, i.e. 2.7 for Ni/MgO, 2.4 for Ni/Al2O3, 1.9 for Ni/TiO2 and 1.0 for Ni/SiO2. The reactivity of the intermediate species was not correlated with the number of hydrogen atoms involved. The highest activity on Ni/TiO2 and almost the same activity on Ni/MgO, Ni/Al2O3 and Ni/SiO2 were observed both for the pulse reaction and for the steady-state reaction, suggesting that the reaction of CHx, ads with CO2(or Oads) is the rate-determining step in CO2-reforming.


A summary is given of molecular constants for NH3 and ND3, as derived from high-resolution infrared spectra of a number of fundamental, overtone, and combination bands. Preliminary estimates are given for the equilibrium moments of inertia, the molecular dimensions, and the force constants of the harmonic potential function. The average molecular dimensions in the equilibrium configuration are re = 1.0116 × 10−8 cm., he = 0.381 × 10−8 cm.


According to the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Informatics data, at least 30 million children and adolescents in Indonesia are internet users, and digital media is currently the main choice of communication channels they use. One of the content that is the choice of users, especially children, is an interactive game. There is a strong assumption that interactive games can inhibit children's education, which makes children lazy to learn. The other side of character education is a target of the Indonesian government. Education about caring and perseverance is an important topic for children's character education. This article will discuss thematic learning media for raising children's awareness and perseverance which combines "game" and "learning" which are packaged with asynchronous models. Asynchronous was chosen because this character education still requires students to meet and discuss with teachers to find out the results of this education. This research is through a descriptive procedural research model, which outlines the steps that must be followed to produce a product. The data obtained in this design was taken by data observation, interview and documentation methods. Data observation method consists of visual data, library data and survey target audience. With the improvement of educational game design to increase children's care and perseverance, there will be an introduction, pattern and knowledge that can improve the character of children in life. This research can also be a guide for character education or one of the learning materials.


Exact small sample population moments of the standard serial covariance and variance estimators are derived under the assumptions of the Roll bid/ask spread models. Noise explains why serial covariance estimates are often positive in annual samples of daily and weekly returns. Small sample estimator bias partially explains why weekly estimates are more negative than daily estimates. Noise causes the Roll spread estimator to be severely biased by Jensen's inequality. The French-Roll adjusted variance estimator is unbiased but noisy. Empirical tests confirm the major implications. Copyright 1990 by American Finance Association.


Extracted from text ... AIDS in the twenty-first century. Disease and
globalization, by Tony Barnett and Alan Whiteside, New
York: Palgrave Macmillan 2002. 416 pp.
This book forms part of the multitude of publications on the topic of AIDS.
Undoubtedly, it is an example of one of the better ones for a number of reasons.
The authors are two popular and respected scholars in the field of AIDS re-
search because of their research and publications record. The book can be
used by academics, policy makers, researchers, students and, in fact, anyone
interested in the field of AIDS because of its coverage and application. ..


The liquid ink writing article is composed of a) a body (2) whose rear part (7) constitutes the reservoir (8) for the ink (9), b) a transfer tip (12) whose rear end (12a) opens into the reservoir (8) and whose front end (12b) forming a writing tip, opens out of said body (2 ), and c) a buffer tank (13) in contact with the transfer tip (12). The ink (9) has a surface tension of between 21 and 25mN / m, being intended to be used on non-absorbent, metal or plastic supports. The constituent material of the buffer tank (13) has a surface tension which is lower than that of the ink (9) with a determined difference, preferably equal to or less than 4 mN / m, so that it can absorb and restore excess ink from the transfer tip (12), by capillarity, in case of variation of the pressure in the reservoir (8). The buffer tank (13) may be made of a material whose surface tension has been lowered by deposition of an agent having a surface tension lower than that of the ink and included in the determined difference, for example fluorine, polysiloxane, fluorinated resin.


There are several organoclays which have been used in polyethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA) nanocomposite synthesis, most commonly montmorillonite and fluorinated synthetic mica. One type of clay, magadiite, and the effectsof its cations on nanocomposite flammability has not been thoroughly studied in EVA. In our study we investigated the effects of an organically treated magadiite and four inorganic magadiites on EVA flammability. Thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses found that the organically treated magadiite led to nanocomposite formation whereas the inorganic magadiites gave microcomposite structures. Flammability performance by cone calorimeter testing showed that the organically treated magadiite nanocomposite gave the best flammability performance.


Relevance feedback is an eective approach to bridge the gap between low-level featureextraction and high-level semantic concept in content-based image retrieval (CBIR). In this paper,we further improve the use of users feedback with multi-feature query and the Choquet integral.Taking into account the interaction among feature sets, feedback information are used to adjust thefeature's relevance weights that are considered as the fuzzy density values in the Choquet integralto dene the overall similarity measure between two images. The feature weight adjustment andintegration aims at minimizing the dierence between users desire and outcome of the retrieval system.Experimental results on several benchmark datasets have shown the eectiveness of the proposedmethod in improving the quality of CBIR systems.


Due to the need for multilingual e-mail address, EAI Working Group of the IETF has created a wide range of standards associated with e-mail address internationalization(EAI) since 2006. One of the authors and colleagues designed and implemented the mail server, SMTPUTF8, that supports EAI RFC protocols. SMTPUTF8 mail server is composed of new SMTP and POP3 servers supporting EAI RFC protocols. However, SMTPUTF8 did not include a new IMAP server supporting EAI RFC protocol. Recently many people are using smart phones to read and send e-mail messages in a mobile environment. IMAP server is more useful than POP3 server in a mobile environment. Therefore, in this paper, the authors have designed and implemented IMAP server and client app that complies with the IMAP standard (RFC) published by EAI WG of IETF to support multilingual e-mail address. This IMAP server is added to the SMTPUTF8 mail server so that users can access e-mail messages via IMAP client app in a mobile environment.


After national and international consultation, the Department of Health relaunched its pandemic plan in late 2005. It provided additional information, particularly on the expected burdens on the NHS, and outlined the actions the government and authorities are taking to ensure that the United Kingdom is as prepared as possible.1 Its key objectives are to maintain a strong surveillance and alert system, reduce illness and deaths, develop preparedness in the NHS, ensure the continuation of essential services, and ensure the availability of comprehensive information.

Managing the impact of an influenza pandemic will require a coordinated response across government. The Department of Health is …


Photosensitive polyimidothioethers were prepared by the base-catalyzed condensation of bisthiols with 4,4′-(N-maleimido)diphenyliodonium chloride. Copolymers with other bismaleimide monomers were also prepared. The ultraviolet-induced degradation of two of the copolymers was studied and the effects of light intensity on the rate of photolysis determined. It was also demonstrated that the range of spectral sensitivity of these polymers can be extended into the visible region through the use of dye sensitizers.


Spines spinach (Amaranthus spinosus L.) is a medicinal plant traditionally used for a variety of purposes including as an antipyretic, diuretic, antiinflammatory, antibacterial and antimalarial. Spinach spines contain alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and saponins. This study aims to know the activity of nhexane fraction of ethanol extracts of spinach leaves and thorns against Plasmodium falcifarum determine the concentration of n-hexane fraction of ethanol extract of spinach leaves thorns effective against Plasmodium falcifarum. Solvent extraction method using 70% ethanol and the method of fractionation of n-hexane is obtained by extracting the powdered leaves of spinach with thorns using n-hexane 75 ml three times using a funnel to form a sari nhexane and sari n-hexane is then referred to the fraction n-hexane. Fraction identified and tested its chemical content antiplasmodium activity in vitro on Plasmodium falcifarum. IC50 values are calculated using linear regression analysis. The results showed n-hexane fraction of thorns spinach leaf extract showed no growth inhibitory activity against Plasmodium falcifarum. n-hexane fraction of thorns spinach leaf extract obtained results IC50 383,8 µg/ml it showed n-hexane fraction spinach leaves thorn no constraining growth activity against Plasmodium falcifarum.
Keywords: leaf spines spinach, Plasmodium falcifarum, antiplasmodium, IC50


Abstract In vivo modelling of the pathogenesis of HIV-1 in plasma captures the interplay of the virus and CD4 cells in the cell-free viral spread process. Modelling is also done for both in vitro cell-to-cell and cell-to-free viral spread of HIV-1 and its kinetics in tissue cultures. Upon infection with HIV-1, there is a short intracellular "eclipse phase" or "latency", during which the cell is infected but has not yet begun producing virus. One approach to account for the "eclipse phase" or "latency" is to introduce an intracellular delay in the models. This paper focuses on the identifiability of the parameters in the most popular HIV models with time delay, in vivo and in vitro. The identifiability of such parameters as the time-delay parameter; the effective reproductive rate of healthy cells; death rate of infected cells; average life time of productively infected cells; viral burst size; etc, is studied by the linear algebraic method based on differential 1-form. Medical interpretation for the identifiability results is given, and it provides guidelines in data collection for the identification of these parameters.


The present invention provides a target tracking method and a target tracking device on the basis of joint calibration. The method comprises the following steps of: enabling each coordinate point on a shooting view field of a first camera to correspond to each shooting control parameter of a second camera so as to generate a joint calibration table; detecting moving targets according to images obtained by the first camera, and searching the corresponding shooting control parameters from the joint calibration table according to coordinate positions of the moving targets; and controlling the movement of the second camera according to the shooting control parameters so as to generate images tracking the moving targets. According to the target tracking method disclosed by the present invention, the corresponding one-to-one relationship is formed between each coordinate point on the shooting view field of the panoramic camera and each shooting control parameter of the close-up camera; when the moving target of the panoramic camera is found by detection, the shooting control parameters corresponding to the moving target can be provided, so that the close-up camera can quickly position the moving target, can track and amplify the moving target and implements an effect of switching special effects.


Abstract Religious liberty is generally thought to apply to rights of conscience. However, acting upon one's beliefs also involves numerous other civil liberties including the right to assemble, as well as the right to own and use real estate. I assert that the successful operation and growth of religious movements requires well-specified and protected private property rights. However, in recent decades, one of the major threats to religious freedom has been an attack on the property rights of religious denominations, particularly smaller and less organized ones. In addition to common Not in my backyard complaints, I assert two additional reasons for this phenomenon: (1) the tax-exempt status of religious groups dis-incentivizes politicians from giving out building permits to congregations; and (2) the growth of private and homeschooling incentivizes politicians concerned with protecting public school funding from granting land use permits that could facilitate alternative educational facilities.


The use of practical oscillators, with its inherent drift due to temperature and other environmental changes, in receivers will result in clock jitter which destroys the orthogonality between subcarriers and introduces Inter Carrier Interference (ICI). The problem will become more severe in high speed applications as Doppler induced Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO) also contributes more ICI. To alleviate the problem we develop a colored clock jitter based on practical oscillators as used in receivers. Then a joint tracking based estimation and mitigation algorithm is proposed to compensate effect of clock jitter. Specifically, using the first order variation of the phase jitter over multiple OFDMA symbols, we formulate a new objective function and an iterative jitter tracking scheme is developed for more accurate synchronization.


The response of wages to the sharp contraction in economic activity during the recent crisis has been very subdued in the euro area. The research summarised in this article uncovers some features of wage setting in Europe that contribute to the aggregate degree of wage rigidity. JEL Classification: E2


The kinetics of photodegradation of moxifloxacin (MF) in aqueous solution (pH 2.0–12.0), and organic solvents has been studied. MF photodegradation is a specific acid-base catalyzed reaction and follows first-order kinetics. The apparent first-order rate constants (kobs) for the photodegradation of MF range from 0.69 × 10−4 (pH 7.5) to 19.50 × 10−4 min−1 (pH 12.0), and in organic solvents from 1.24 × 10−4 (1-butanol) to 2.04 × 10−4 min−1 (acetonitrile). The second-order rate constant (k2) for the [H+]-catalyzed and [OH−]-catalyzed reactions are 6.61 × 10−2 and 19.20 × 10−2 M−1 min−1, respectively. This indicates that the specific base-catalyzed reaction is about three-fold faster than that of the specific acid-catalyzed reaction probably as a result of the rapid cleavage of diazabicyclononane side chain in the molecule. The kobs-pH profile for the degradation reactions is a V-shaped curve indicating specific acid-base catalysis. The minimum rate of photodegradation at pH 7–8 is due to the presence of zwitterionic species. There is a linear relation between kobs and the dielectric constant and an inverse relation between kobs and the viscosity of the solvent. Some photodegraded products of MF have been identified and pathways proposed for their formation in acid and alkaline solutions.


Frequency offset estimation is one of the crucial stages for frequency synchronization in OFDM based systems such as MB-OFDM UWB systems. A frequency offset estimation scheme is proposed for coarse frequency offset estimate. Variance of the proposed frequency offset estimated scheme is compared with the Cramer Rao lower bound (CRLB). BER performance of the proposed scheme is also reported


This article is devoted to the projective equivalence of quadrics in Klingenberg projective spaces over a special type of local ring. Signature of quadrics is introduced by a suitable way (as a generalization of this one for quadrics in projective spaces over flelds) and projective equivalence criterion is found.


For the Romans, it was all but necessary to know the physical space and the territory they occupied or which they hoped to dominate, in order to overcome the obstacles posed by distance from the center of power to the periphery. Having detailed knowledge of the territory and the people would be a perquisite for establishing an efficient Roman administration.1 The use of pre-existing routes and the opening of new roads at first allowed the movement of soldiers and consequently the conquest and organisation of a territory that, over the centuries, came to reach an area of 6 million km2 and was connected through a road network which expanded to 120,000 km.2 The munitio of roads by the pavement of some of their segments and the erection of inscribed milestones, a Roman peculiarity in the Ancient World, enabled communication within the confines of the empire and equipped the Iberian landscape with the 'Roman characteristics'. The concept of landscape is a fluid one. Especially research of the last century was polarised between mainly humanistic approaches, linked to historicalcultural, aesthetic and perceptual aspects on the one side, and scientific ones, grounded in geography and ecology, on the other. More recently, studies started to integrate the multiple existing approaches.3 This is evident in the


Colonization of Campylobacter concisus in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Plasmid-encoded C. concisus-secreted protein 1 (Csep1p) was recently identified as a putative pathogenicity marker associated with active Crohn's disease, a clinical form of IBD. Csep1p shows no significant full-length sequence similarity to proteins of known structure, and its role in pathogenesis is not yet known. This study reports a method for extraction of recombinantly expressed Csep1p from Escherichia coli inclusion bodies, refolding, and purification to produce crystallizable protein. Purified recombinant Csep1p behaved as a monomer in solution. Crystals of Csep1p were grown by the hanging drop vapour diffusion method, using polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 as the precipitating agent. A complete data set has been collected to 1.4 Å resolution, using cryocooling conditions and synchrotron radiation. The crystals belong to space group P62 or P64, with unit cell parameters a = b = 85.8, c = 55.2 Å, α = β = 90, and γ = 120°. The asymmetric unit appears to contain one subunit, corresponding to a packing density of 2.47 Å3 Da−1.


Interview realisee par Eleanor Fox, Professeur, NYU Law, New York. Professor Stiglitz, you have given a great deal of thought to competition policies in developing countries and you have been very…


Through design and simulation of casting process for V8 engine cylinder body,the reasonable structure,pouring temperature and riser selection were analyzed to ensure the quality of castings.The using of simulation software before actual molding can avoide the possible hidden defects,so the product development cycle is shortened,the money is saved,the product quality is improved.


The BABAR detector, which operates at the SLAC PEP-II asymmetric e{sup +}e{sup -} collider at energies near the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance, started operation on the 26th of May 1999. They present the first study of sin2{beta}, with samples of B{sup 0} {yields} J/{psi} K{sub s}{sup 0} and B{sup 0} {yields} {psi}(2S) K{sub 2}{sup 0} decays, using 9.0 fb{sup -1} of data recorded between January and July 2000 at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance and 0.8 fb{sup -1} recorded 40 MeV below the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. A preliminary result of sin2{beta} = 0.12 {+-} 0.37(stat) {+-} 0.09(syst) was obtained. Details of the analysis are given. Moreover, they present measurements of charged and neutral B meson lifetimes and B{sup 0}{bar B}{sup 0} oscillation frequency.


ABS TRACT Objective: Investigating the effect of orlistat plus low calorie diet on echocardiographic, physical and biochemical parameters in obese female patients. Material and Methods: A total of 54 women (with a mean age of 42 ± 9 years) with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2 and without history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and any cardiac disease comprised the sample of the study. All participants used orlistat and low caloric diet combination and were followed-up for one-year. Physical, biochemical and echocardiographic variables were measured at baseline and at the end of month one, month six and year one. Results: Five patients were dropped out and the remaining 49 were analyzed. BMI of the study population was significantly reduced at the end of one year (33.2 ± 3.4 vs 30.7 ± 3). All investigated physical and biochemical parameters except waist hip ratio, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate improved significantly at the end of the study. Although, there were no significant improvements in left ventricular geometrical and mitral inflow parameters, the tissue Doppler parameters significantly improved at the end of the study. Conclusion: This study showed that orlistat in combination with low caloric diet improved physical, biochemical and left ventricular tissue Doppler echocardiographic parameters in obese women. We conclude that management of obesity by using orlistat and low caloric diet reduces cardiovascular risk factors and improves cardiac functions.


The development of Henan rural fair presented a challenge to the Bao Jia system that was based on the traditional system of social order in early Qing Dynasty.All materials give people the impression that robbery in Henan was very serious.To strengthen the management to the county fair,the pawnshop,the play field and so on,Tian Wenjing who was then appointed Henan governor thought that many robberies were caused by the accumulation population that led to the social disorder.Therefore,he issued a series of government's orders in order to control the rural fair and to intervene trade activity.But these orders had not been well implemented,therefore had little effect.


PURPOSE: To provide a combined valve module control panel which is expansible and contractible according to the number of valve modules and tough with high durability and reliability, has a simplified design, and allows the relatively economic manufacture and assembling. CONSTITUTION: This valve module control panel 10 has a gas supply module 14 at one end of a row of valve modules and a bleed module at the other end. Each valve module is individually controlled by its own valve mechanism, and pressurized gas is supplied to all of the valve modules from the supply module 14. All the valve modules are bled through the exhaust module. The valve module control panel 10 can be expanded and contracted according to the number of valve modules 12 releasably secured together by a series of nuts and tie rods. A protective shield for the valve module control panel can be adjusted in size according to the number of valve modules. COPYRIGHT: (C)1994,JPO


Fiberglass reinforced composites are extensively used in various structural components. In order to insure their structural integrity, their monotonic and fatigue properties under multiaxial stress fields must be understood. Combined in-phase tension/torsion loading is applied to [±45°]4 E-glass/epoxy composite tubes under monotonic and fatigue conditions to determine the effects of multiaxial loading on its failure. Various monotonic and fatigue damage criteria are proposed. These models considered failure mode (failure plane), the energy method and the effective stress-strain method. It is observed for the majority of experiments, the failure initiated at the outer lamina layer at 45° to the tube axis. A damage criterion for multiaxial monotonic loading is proposed considering both normal and shear stress contributions on the plane of failure. The experimental data show an excellent agreement with this proposed model for various loading conditions. Other failure models are currently under investigation utilizing the stresses and strains at the composite laminate as well as stress and strain at the outer lamina layer. Multiaxial fatigue failure models are proposed considering again the plane of failure. Since the plane of the failure is subjected to mean and cyclic stresses (shear and normal) and mean and cyclic strains (shear and normal), the fatigue damage models consider the contributions of these stresses and strains to the fatigue life of the composite tube. In addition to the fatigue damage model based on the plane of failure, a multi-axial fatigue failure model is proposed considering the mean and cyclic energy during fatigue experiments. The experimental data show a good correlation between the proposed damage parameters and fatigue life of specimens with some scatter of the data. Other fatigue failure models are currently under investigation considering the loading frequency and visco-elastic properties of the composite.Copyright © 2004 by ASME


Like many organizations, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) implemented e-sourcing tools only to find that the realized savings fell below predicted levels due to an abundance of noncompliant purchases (purchases made outside contractual arrangements). GSK estimates that it loses between $80 and $120 million dollars of procurement savings because of noncompliance. GSK changed its information and compliance systems and obtained various benefits. Its implementation of compliance techniques improved purchase compliance by 50 percent in some areas of GSK. Companies can use a three-phase process for solving problems of noncompliance: (1) gathering data, (2) identifying causes of noncompliance, and (3) designing conformance mechanisms. Organizational control mechanisms misaligned with supply chain strategy caused friction.


The article is devoted to the study of the process of formation of the institution of notaries in Kostroma land. The work identifi es the main stages of the development of the institution of notaries in the development of the state and the sources of legal regulation of this area of law enforcement. In the process of the historical and legal analysis, the peculiarities of the practical activity of notaries, refl ected in the documents which are stored in the holdings of the State Archives of Kostroma Region, are revealed. Particular attention is paid to the implementation of the judicial reform of 1864 and its role in the formation of the Russian notariat. The main purpose of the work was to assess the infl uence of historical experience on the current state of the institution of notaries, as well as to identify lost traditions in this area of jurisprudence. The results of this study may be of interest to specialists in the fi eld of history of law and local history.


The following text unde1takes a creative investigation of signing, mapping and negotiating urban design and human habitation. Today, discourses of innovation and the entrepreneurial subject embed the concept of creativity as creative knowledge and design take center stage in popular and political discourses of the twenty-first-century city. This chapter places the subject of design within tropes of creativity, knowledge, and subjectivity with particular attention to ways these discourses frame and form our understandings of the city-the city as it was, is and may be, and selves within it. Negotiations of space, place and time call for attention. Knowledge production and its transfer has become a hallmark and impetus of urban growth, and the equation of "innovation" with "creativity" is a driving condition for the ends of globalized economic progress. This utilitarian view is open for interrogation. The aim is to open modes of signing and place-making to critical enquiry. This chapter works with methodologies from Jacques Derrida, namely deconstruction, as a way of de-centering dominant practices of thinking, writing, and designing. It thereby unpacks the notion of signing with paiticular attention to the devices of mt, design, and creativity w.ithin urban contexts to sign the city otherwise.


Paralleling the sophisticated control of Si and GaAs growth from fluid media, we demonstrate control of Si growth using a solid growth medium. Faceted dissolution pits were first produced in a Si substrate using standard photolithographic techniques and Al metallization. Si was then evaporated onto the cold structure, depositing as amorphous material. Upon heating, the amorphous Si migrated through the solid Al and grew rapidly in the faceted pits, typically refilling them flush with the surrounding substrate. Evidence that the rapid growth occurs only while the amorphous Si is dissolving into the Al is presented.


Eggs and larvae of Plodia interpunctella (Hubner), adult Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), and immature Sitophilus oryzae (L.) were used to evaluate phosphine as a fumigant for control of insects in stored soybeans. The insects were used to determine toxicity and penetration and were not necessarily relevant to soybean storage. Fumigation with phosphine (90 tablets/1000 bu placed in various patterns) failed to produce 100% mortality of the test insects at all locations in the treated bins.


Bitter leaves (Vernonia amygdalina) have many beneficial effects in human health
including treating diseases such as diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2). Green tea is
known to have rich polyphenolic compounds that are antioxidants. Besides that,
stevia is a sweetener that contributes to no calorie. The aim of this study is to
utilize bitter leaf extract, green tea and stevia in the production of functional
beverage that is preferable and expected to help manage DMT2. The bitter leaf
extract was combined with green tea with ratios of 1:7, 1:10 and 1:13 and
different concentration of stevia included 200, 400 and 600 ppm. The beverages
were analysed for its physicochemical characteristics (pH, color, titratable
acidity and total soluble solids) and sensory analysis (color, aroma, taste,
aftertaste, overall). The most preferred formula is beverage with ratio bitter leaf
extract-green tea of 1:10 and concentration of stevia of 600 ppm. It has IC50 of
DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) radical scavenging and -glucosidase
inhibition activity of 16767.55 ppm and 0.8393 mg AE/mL beverage, respectively.
The total phenolic content of the beverage is 1.7477 mg GAE/mL beverage. The
nutritional compositions of the functional beverage are 0.04% protein, 0.02 % fat,
0.02% ash, 0.15% carbohydrate and 99.77% water


Abstract In 1972, the Whitney Museum of American Art commissioned new musical settings of poems by Frank O'Hara for a concert honoring the late poet. Among pieces by Virgil Thomson and Ned Rorem, the program featured a new work by Charles Mingus: his String Quartet No. 1. Mingus's piece was performed only once, at that concert, and was never recorded. It survives only in manuscript form. String Quartet No. 1 thwarts nearly all expectations of a piece by Mingus. Scored for strings and voice, the work's modernist approach to rhythm and pitch is unprecedented for the composer. Mingus chafed at being categorized as a "jazz" composer, and String Quartet No. 1's style is both a bid for and an undermining of the prestige of the high art world. Faced with primitivist discourses that characterized jazz musicians as unschooled and nonverbal, Mingus deployed poetry as a mode of resistance. He worked with poetic texts throughout his life, often writing the poetry himself. Mingus's sensitive setting of O'Hara's text in String Quartet No. 1 points to the centrality of poetry to Mingus's artistic and political project, and suggests that the piece's anomalous style can be partially understood as his response to O'Hara's text.


ABSTRACT The 100th anniversary of the Finnish Civil War has made questions about the construction of its heritage and cultural memory topical. Taking the concept of dissonant heritage as a starting point, the paper looks at two monuments in the City of Tampere and their reception and landscape, focusing on recent decades. War monuments are always understood within the framework of current politics, but they are also in continuous dialogue with their physical surroundings and, thus, shape and are shaped by their landscape. In this paper, we look at the statues as arenas for politics of history and cultural memory, and the changes and continuums they carry with them. Monuments are at the core of urban public space and the processes of placemaking. Even when they are distanced from the historical events, they represent and remind us of the historical and political nature of public space.


Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not hypnotherapy is an effective treatment in smoking cessation in comparison to alternative methods? Study Design: Systematic review of 3 English language primary studies, published between 2013-2014. Data Sources: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published on/after 2013 comparing the use of hypnotherapy to alternative methods in the treatment of smoking cessation. The other methods include nicotine replacement therapy, relaxation therapy and single versus group hypnotherapy and were obtained using the Cochrane Library and PubMed. Outcomes Measured: The outcome of each study measured the effects of hypnotherapy by selfreported smoking abstinence and counting the number of cigarettes smoked per day at various follow up intervals. Results: Dickson-Spillman and co-authors showed there was no significant difference in reported abstinence rates at the 2-week follow up (p=0.13) and the 6-month follow up (p= 0.73). In addition to the 2 week follow up, there was no significant difference between the mean number of cigarettes smoked in the past 7 days when comparing hypnotherapy to relaxation therapy (p = 0.69). Hasan and co-authors demonstrated patients receiving hypnotherapy versus nicotine replacement therapy were more likely to remain abstinent at 12 and 26 weeks post hospitalization, although there was no significant difference (p= 0.14 and 0.06, respectively). Riegel found at the end of treatment, group therapy reported a 48.2% quit rate whereas individual therapy reported a 37.9% quit rate with a 95% CI [0.61,3.80]. At the 3 month follow up, GT reported a 19.6% quit rate whereas IT reported a 13.8% quit rate with a 95% CI [0.44,5.30]. There were minimal to no adverse side effects reported in all three studies. Conclusion: Hypnotherapy does appear to aid in smoking cessation; however, based on the findings in the three studies addressed in this review, there is not a statistically significant difference when using hypnotherapy to treat smoking cessation compared with alternative methods. The use of hypnosis to treat smoking cessation along with its treatment for other psychotherapies and addictions will likely be further explored in the future. Key words: hypnotherapy, smoking cessation Luciano Hypnotherapy
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  Cessation 1 INTRODUCTION Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, attributing to 1 in 5 deaths annually. It is estimated that 17.8% of U.S. adults aged 18 years or older currently smoke cigarettes. 2 Regardless of why people begin smoking tobacco, it is found that smokers have a greater risk of developing lung cancer, stroke and heart disease when compared to non-smokers. Other illnesses that have direct associations with smoking tobacco include but are not limited to: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cancers of the larynx and mouth, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, colon cancer, asthma attacks and Crohn's disease. Those that partake are more at risk for cataracts, type 2 diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis. Interestingly enough, it can even have an effect on fertility and increase the risk for birth defects, miscarriages and stillbirths. 2 Not only are the ill effects of smoking an expense to the individual monetarily and health wise, smoking is also a huge cost in medicine. In the U.S. the total economic cost of smoking is more than $300 billion annually, which includes $170 billion in direct medical care and $156 billion in lost productivity due to its adverse effects. 1, 3 There is not an exact estimate of the number of health care visits each year currently available; however, "smoking contributes $67 billion in expenditures for hospitals, $21 billion in ambulatory care, $10.6 billion in nursing home care, $25.5 billion in prescription drugs, and $8.2 billion in other services". 1 The proven risks associated with smoking tobacco clearly outweigh the benefits, which is why teaching non-smokers about abstinence and current smoking about cessation is of the utmost importance. Smoking cessation is the process of discontinuing tobacco use. After cessation has begun, some risks associated can be reduced shortly after. For example, 1 year after Luciano Hypnotherapy
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  Cessation 2 cessation the risk of a myocardial infarction drops significantly and after 10 years, the risk for lung cancer drops by half. 2 The process of smoking cessation can prove a challenge for patients and become frustrating after multiple attempts without success. The reason that is so incredibly difficult for some to refrain from smoking cigarettes after use is in part due to the chemicals contained in a cigarette. Tobacco contains a mixture of chemicals and additives including nicotine, an addictive chemical that aids in the process of dependence, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine was found to be the most addictive drug in the United States. 4 Nicotine prevents the reuptake of acetylcholine ultimately increasing the amount in the central nervous system and skeletal muscle junctions. This in turn triggers a chemical reaction, which increases heart rate, alertness and reaction time. When inhaled and absorbed through the alveoli in the lungs, nicotine is directly associated with cardiovascular disease and causes a multitude of other disease processes. Simultaneously as this is occurring, dopamine and endorphins are released which are neurotransmitters that play a critical role in reward-motivated behavior and ultimately add to the pleasure associated with smoking. 2 There are numerous treatment options that play a critical role in smoking cessation. Currently used methods for treatment are but not limited to quitting abruptly without assistance which is also known as "cold turkey", nicotine replacement therapies (patch, gum, lozenge, inhaler, nasal spray), prescription dosed nicotine replacement therapy, anti-depressant medications (Varenicline tartrate, Bupropion SR), laser therapy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, counseling and support groups. 2 A combination of these modalities may be used such as therapy with medication or two or more therapies together. However, as with all types of therapies and medications, each method will work differently depending upon the individual patient. Luciano Hypnotherapy
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  Cessation 3 OBJECTIVE The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not "Is hypnotherapy an effective treatment in smoking cessation in comparison to alternative methods?" METHODS The criteria used for the selection of the 3 studies included both men and women over the age of 18 currently using inhaled tobacco. The intervention being reviewed in this study included hypnotherapy sessions. In one study, hypnotherapy was compared to nicotine replacement therapy. In another RCT, hypnotherapy was compared to group relaxation therapy. Lastly, hypnotherapy was compared between group and single sessions. The outcomes measured in the 3 studies included the incidence of self-reported smoking cessation and counting the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The types of studies included are 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs); one is a free choice study and another a cluster randomized, parallel-group, controlled trial. Key words used to search the articles included "hypnotherapy" and "smoking cessation". All articles were originally published in peer-reviewed journals in the English language. Data was searched and collected by the author using articles in PubMed and the Cochrane library from 2013-2014. Articles were selected based on relevance to the clinical question and if they included patient oriented evidence that matters (POEMS). Inclusion criteria consisted of studies that were RCTs or clinical trials published after 2012, additional criteria in Table 1. Exclusion criteria included patients under 18 years old. The statistics of this study used to evaluate patient outcomes included p values, RBI, NBI, CI, and NNT. The demographics and characteristics of the included studies are displayed in table 1. Luciano Hypnotherapy
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  Cessation 4 Table 1 Demographics & Characteristics of included studies (Table 1) Study Type #Pts Age (yrs) Inclusion Criteria Exclusion Criteria W/D Interventions DicksonSpillmann (2013) Cluster -RCT 223 18 years and older -Consuming greater than or equal to 5 cigarettes/day -Willing to quit -Not using cessation aids at the time -Acute alcohol or substance abuse -Signs of psychotic symptoms noticed by therapist at start of session 37 Hypnotherapy vs. Relaxation therapy Hasan (2014) RCT 122 1875 years old -Current smokers admitted with a cardiac or pulmonary illness -Patients admitted with a terminal illness -Pregnant -History of substance abuse or a major psychiatric d/o -If they could not be followed after discharge due to cognitive or language barriers -Those that have received hypnotherapy or NRT in the past 6 months 42 Hypnotherapy vs. Nicotine Replacement Therapy Riegel (2013) RCT; free choice study 85 23 – 68 years old -Smoking history of at least 2 years Daily consumption of at least 10 cigarettes/day -Under 23 years old 8 Group vs. Individual hypnotherapy Luciano Hypnotherapy
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  Cessation 5 OUTCOMES MEASURED All of the outcomes measured were POEMS related to the treatment of smoking cessation. In the study by DicksonSpillmann and co-authors, the outcomes measured were by counting the number of cigarettes. This was accomplished by counting the number of cigarettes smoked per day at a 2-week follow up and at a 6-month follow up. 5 In the study by Hansan, Zagarins and co-authors the outcomes were measured by self reported smoking abstinence. This was recorded at a 12 week and 26 week posthospitalizations follow up. 6 In the study by Riegel the outcomes were measured using a sympto


My only general critique is that I'd like to see a more detailed discussion of the uncertainties associated with using this technique, and the impacts on the final 36Cl/10Be ratio. Should "external" errors be used (i.e., those including uncertainties in the productions rates in addition to measurement uncertainties) because you're comparing two different isotopes in two different minerals with varying production pathways? While I'm not an expert on 36Cl cosmogenic dating, I would expect that the multiple production paths for 36Cl and the 36Cl production rate dependence on the chemical makeup of the K-feldspars and bulk rock (plus the uncertainty in water content, etc.) could make the error on the 36Cl concentration (and hence the final ratio) quite large depending on what uncertainties are propagated through the calculations. It's possible that this information could be gleaned from the MATLAB scripts, but it would be nice to see a few sentences of discussion in the manuscript about this.


In this paper I talk about the importance of increased college endowments. First I will introduce the limited financial situation of current Chinese colleges. Second, I will present an analysis on the financial reports of STU and Yale. Thirdly, I will describe the current Chinese College endowment situation. In conclusion I will present four suggestions for enhancing current Chinese college endowments.


The article presents the results of a sociological survey on migration problems in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The survey was conducted in several stages, where different age groups were interviewed, including schoolchildren and students. In addition to the above, the study involved managers, heads of national public organizations, research supervisors and teachers who, by their role, came into contact or worked directly with migrants and were included in the survey as experts. The study showed that the topic of migration is relevant and important for the residents of the Republic. Bashkortostan and its capital Ufa have significant integration potential, where the majority of citizens are positive about labor migrants and the weakness of migrant-phobic attitudes.


This paper comprehensively discusses the major causes of the energy losses,specifically analyzes the influence of the operation voltage of the transformer and line,3-phase load unbalance and harmonic etc on the energy losses of the distribution network.According to those factors in each sector to cause the energy losses,their features and interrelationship,we pertinently offers the corresponding solutions to reduce the energy losses of the network in technology.The actual case proves that these countermeasures can be applied in the actual distribution network.


Abstract DANSKY (1963) using a practical-type ration and Edwards and Marion (1963) using purified diets reported growth responses from young chickens when menhaden oil was incorporated into the rations. A problem of feeding fish oils to poultry is the imparting of off flavor to the meat. Carlson et al. (1957) reviewed this subject and reported additional studies on levels of menhaden oil that may be fed without imparting off-flavors, and on the effects of feeding an antioxidant DPPD and beef tallow along with menhaden oil on off-flavors. Studies reported in this communication were initiated to study the effect of feeding menhaden oil on growth rate and feed conversions and to make observations on the influence of feeding menhaden oil, alone and in combination with other fats, on flavor. EXPERIMENTAL The composition of the ration used in these studies is shown in Table 1. All substitutions were made by displacing an equal…


The study of diseases in man due to the lack of various essential dietary constituents is still far from complete. The results of feeding experiments with animals have helped to define the role of an ever increasing number of vitamins and have served to focus attention on the most conspicuous manifestations of individual deficiency diseases in man. But, as Keefer and Yang 1 have recently emphasized, the exact methods of the laboratory are not obtainable with observations on human disease. The diet of the experimental animal is chosen with meticulous care; that of the human being is dictated by geographic location, class or racial custom, individual appetite and the exigencies of economy. A diet so limited as to be deficient in one essential is liable to be defective in several. It is true that the resulting disease may be dominated by symptoms pointing to the absence of one definite constituent,


A complete, high-sensitivity survey of HI (Sinha 1978, in pre paration) has been examined for model-independent morphological properties of the distribution of HI in the central region of the Galaxy. The dominant symmetry of the kinematics of HI is evident in Figure 1, where equivelocity contours of the permitted velocity edge (corresponding to 1 K antenna temperature) have been plotted on the longitude-latitude plane. The axis of symmetry is coincident with the Kerr-Sinclair ridge of 20-cm continuum radiation from this region. The positions of the maxima of the absolute velocity in the first and the fourth quadrants are aligned along a line inclined to the line of sym metry indicated in Figure 1. The HI gas, therefore, must have noncircular motion, A similar but not identical symmetry is evident in the distribution of the forbidden velocity edge of the profiles. The absolute magnitude of the velocity peaks and the area under the pro files differ in the two quadrants. The nuclear disk appears to be symmetrical in an angle-velocity diagram in which the angle is measured along the line of symmetry in Figure 1.


The utility model relates to a female article, in particular to an automatic fragrance-emission bra which solves the problems of fast fragrance volatization speed and being hard to achieve an expected effect caused by the easily washing of the flavors existed in the existing bra with fragrance. The utility model includes two cups; the surrounding circles of the cups are sewed with annular hollow liquid storage tubes the insides of which are filled with perfumes; one ports of the liquid storage tubes are provided with mesh liquid injection plugs; the other ports of the liquid storage tubes are provided with mesh air change plugs; fastening hoops are respectively arranged between the liquid injection plugs and the liquid storage tubes as well as between the air change plugs and the liquid storage tubes; the drawing holes of the liquid storage tubes are arranged on the cups. The automatic fragrance-emission bra has the advantages that: I, essences can be slowly released out and the perfumes can be repeatedly injected, thus leading the bra to have the function of enduringly emitting the fragrance; II, the liquid storage tubes can play the role of the existing metal steel rings, thus ensuring the stable shapes of the cups and supporting a chest; III, the automatic fragrance-emission bra is not afraid of being worn by water, has a simple structure and a reasonable design, not only is comfortably worn, but also can emit fragrance at any time and any place, thus increasing the fascination of women, being well loved by broad women and having a very good market prospect.


To the Editor, We read with great interest the recent Cover Quizlet by Dalton and Pride, which highlighted the histopathology of terra firma-forme dermatosis.1 Because a diagnosis of terra firma-forme dermatosis is typically confirmed and easily treated with simple alcohol swabbing, cases have not often been biopsied. Indeed, in an institutional review of thirty-one cases of terra firma-forme dermatosis at our medical center, none were biopsied.2 Nonetheless, it is critical for both clinicians and dermatopathologists to be aware of this condition in order to avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary evaluation, such as blood testing to evaluate possible insulin resistance in patients with acanthosis nigricans. Interestingly, the two new cases of terra firma-forme dermatosis mentioned by Dalton and Pride showed variable papillomatosis, acanthosis and orthohyperkeratosis, but did not include keratin whorls, which have previously been described as a potentially specific feature of terra firma-forme dermatosis. This histopathological picture may be indistinguishable from other benign papillomatous conditions, such as confluent and reticulated papillomatosis, acanthosis nigricans (interestingly, also present in the case detailed by Dalton and Pride) and epidermal nevi. Distinguishing terra firma-forme dermatosis from confluent/reticulated papillomatosis may be particularly challenging, both clinically and microscopically. Classically, only terra firma-forme dermatosis has been said to clear with alcohol swabbing.3 However, as recently noted,some cases of confluent/reticulated papillomatosis also improve after alcohol swabbing. Indeed, it may be that any papillomatous condition can trap debris, dirt or sebum and be improved with alcohol wipes.4 For this reason, alcohol wipes are routinely used to try to lighten acanthosis nigricans at some institutions. While confluent/reticulated papillomatosis often responds to systemic treatments, to our knowledge there are no reports of improvement of terra firma-forme dermatosis with systemic therapy. This may simply be due to the fact that the condition is easily and completely treated with alcohol swabbing, making attempts at systemic treatment unnecessary. Both terra firma-forme dermatosis and confluent/reticulated papillomatosis have been described as having a pediatric predominance.2 While terra firma-forme dermatosis may characteristically occur on the neck, ankles or arms, confluent/reticulated papillomatosis can also occur in these locations. Conversely, terra firma-forme dermatosis may occur in a confluent/reticulated papillomatosis-like distribution on the trunk and may display central confluence and peripheral lightening.5 Finally, in our experience, both terra firma-forme dermatosis and confluent/reticulated papillomatosis show a predilection for darker skin types, heavier patients and concave skin areas. Indeed, some patients may have both terra firma-forme dermatosis and confluent/reticulated papillomatosis.2 In summary, the presentation of two cases by Dalton and Pride raises the question: what exactly, if anything, truly distinguishes terra firmaforme dermatosis and confluent/reticulated papillomatosis? We hypothesize that the two conditions exist along a spectrum and share overlapping risk factors, clinical features and histopathological findings. Sincerely,


This paper provides analysis of intra-industry trade determinants between Western Balkan countries and old European Union Member States. Overall intra-industry trade has been analysed, as well as its horizontal and vertical component, within bilateral trade framework. All components of intra-industry trade exhibit much lower degree than EU New Member States achieved during their accession period. Most of the intra-industry trade is related to vertical component, while horizontal component is negligible. Intra-industry trade determinants analysis has revealed that relative income level, distance, relative factor endowments and relative trading costs are significant factors for the analysed countries' trade relations. The determinants of vertical component are the same, although for some variables smaller significance levels were found. Horizontal component determinants in general have the same sign, although relative income levels, employment shares and export costs were not found significant.