Lucy Lane Clifford's cautionary tale "The New Mother" has terrified readers since its publication in her 1882 collection of children's stories, Anyhow Stories Moral and Otherwise. Speaking for countless other readers, the children's literature critic Harvey Darton reveals that "Getting on for fifty years after I met her first, I still cannot rid my mind of that fearful creation." "The New Mother" narrates two young girls' rebellious behavior, their subsequent abandonment by their mother, and the final arrival of a monstrous new mother—Clifford's "fearful creation"—with a wooden tail and glass eyes. The few critics who have discussed the story usually interpret it as expressing primal, archetypal fears about the mother and the development of the self: Alison Lurie, for instance, calls "The New Mother" "a classic tale of separation anxiety" related to "the carved wooden images and superstitions of the voodoo cult," while Stephen Prickett writes that the story "clearly draws on something much more archetypal than normal Evangelical zeal." I will argue, however, that Clifford's story goes beyond universal emotions and terrors by being deliberately set within a small village during the closing days of a fair. Clifford employs the fair as a symbol of corruption and disorder that destroys the home through the course of the story. Like John Bunyan's Vanity Fair, carnival, according to Clifford, represents the worldly, the antidomestic, and the material. Most importantly, carnival unleashes powerful forces of subversion, symbolized in the story by a strange, seductive young girl and the terrifying new mother, which are containable only by the story's didactic narrative frame. "The New Mother" demonstrates that the carnivalesque, which Bakhtinians


The Northern facade of the Baths of Cluny was excavated in 1947–1948 by P.-M. Duval and has ever since, in many publications, been identified as the monumental entrance to the baths. This does not explain the recognizable ruins. A review of the documentation and new analysis of the remains suggest that there was a monumental fountain at the center of the "facade" fed by the waters of the baths. This is one of the most imposing of such structures in Gallo-Roman architecture. The new interpretation requires that the understanding of the circulation of visitors and of the monument's place in the civic plan of Lutetia be revised.


Nurse practitioners (NPs) account for one-third of all hospital palliative care (PC) consults, and are prone to burnout and depersonalization (DP). DP threatens personalized communication fundamental to PC. This literature review examines instruments validated to measure burnout and DP. An electronic literature review of instruments previously used to measure burnout and DP was conducted in six databases. Three instruments were included in the review; the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)-Human Service Survey (HSS), the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). All three instruments measure DP or similar constructs and are validated in English, but only the OLBI and the BAT measure burnout with a sum score of the constructs. The OLBI has been validated on a single U.S. population study and as a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) in Europe. The BAT is the newest instrument and has not been validated on any U.S. population.


The leafhopper genus Alebra Fieber, 1872 comprises a complex of morphologically similar species. The chromosome complements (karyotypes) of five Alebra species, i.e. A. albostriella, A. coryli, A. viridis, A. wahlbergi and a new, yet undescribed species, provisionally named Taxon 1, were here investigated, three of these species (A. coryli , A. viridis, and Taxon 1) for the first time. The techniques applied included standard chromosome staining, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for mapping of 18S rdNa and telomeric repeats (in every species), C-banding, agNor-banding and CMa 3 /DAPI- staining (in A. viridis). The species have a holokinetic type of chromosomes, as in other hemipterans. Karyotypes of all species are remarkably conserved with 2n = 22 + X(0)/XX (male/female), one large and 10 medium pairs of autosomes and the X chromosome similar in size to larger chromosomes within this group. In every species, FISH identified the "classical" insect telomere repeat of TT agg and rrNa gene clusters located on the homologues of a medium-sized pair of autosomes, presumably number 5. Thus, speciation in Alebra has apparently not involved significant karyotypic changes. In A. viridis, rdNa sites were both ag- and CMa 3 -positive and were located at an interstitial position. C-banding revealed heterochromatic bands in the X chromosome and also in all but four pairs of autosomes, the bands were located at one telomere of a chromosome. C-bands were positive for CMa 3 and negative for daPI, suggesting that C-heterochromatin is mainly enriched in gC-pairs.


Governmental agencies are important sources of information on the health and well-being of citizens. Recently, improvement in the data collection and reporting of race, ethnicity, social class, and primary language has received considerable attention by national and state governmental bodies in the US as we try to accommodate the social and health needs of an increasingly diverse population. This article draws on the author's work as a sociologist in a state governmental public health agency to improve the collection and reporting of social data for the purpose of describing health disparities across subpopulation groups and informing equitable health policies. It illustrates how sociologists in governmental agencies can be agents of social change in broad-based collaborative efforts to improve population health and social policy. It describes the context in which a governmental agency is uniquely positioned to be a site of social change.


Background  Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease. Although neither life threatening nor physically debilitating, acne can severely affect social and psychologic functioning.


Previously, we demonstrated a negative correlation between histamine release to histamine‐releasing factor/translationally controlled tumor protein (HRF/TCTP) and protein levels of SHIP‐1 in human basophils. The present study was conducted to investigate whether suppressing SHIP‐1 using small interfering (si)RNA technology would alter the releasability of culture‐derived mast cells and basophils, as determined by HRF/TCTP histamine release. Frozen CD34+ cells were obtained from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Seattle, WA, USA). Cells were grown in StemPro‐34 medium containing cytokines: mast cells with IL‐6 and stem cell factor (100 ng/ml each) for 6–8 weeks and basophils with IL‐3 (6.7 ng/ml) for 2–3 weeks. siRNA transfections were performed during Week 6 for mast cells and Week 2 for basophils with siRNA for SHIP‐1 or a negative control siRNA. Changes in SHIP‐1 expression were determined by Western blot. The functional knockdown was measured by HRF/TCTP‐induced histamine release. siRNA knockdown of SHIP‐1 in mast cells ranged from 31% to 82%, mean 65 ± 12%, compared with control (n=4). Histamine release to HRF/TCTP was increased only slightly in two experiments. SHIP‐1 knockdown in basophils ranged from 34% to 69%, mean 51.8 ± 7% (n=4). Histamine release to HRF/TCTP in these basophils was dependent on the amount of SHIP knockdown. Mast cells and basophils derived from CD34+ precursor cells represent suitable models for transfection studies. Reducing SHIP‐1 protein in cultured mast cells and in cultured basophils increases releasability of the cells.


At 204 centimetres tall, Ryan Runnalls is one of the tallest 14-year-olds you will ever meet in far north Queensland. His height combined with his athletic ability has seen him score a spot on the Australian under-17 basketball squad - and he couldn't be happier.


Presentation of Case A 70-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of dyspnea and multiple cutaneous ulcers. The patient had a history of long-standing type 2 diabetes mellitus as well as an old myocardial infarct and a remote history of triple coronary-artery bypass surgery; she also had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, and end-stage renal disease, which was being treated by peritoneal dialysis. Anticoagulation with warfarin was started six months before admission; the dosage of the drug had not changed recently. Twenty days before admission, the patient was admitted to another hospital because of areas . . .


Abstract Many algae species exhibit phenotypes that are of great interest for industrial applications. Systems biology approaches including large-scale metabolic reconstructions can guide and enhance production of biobased commodities such as fuel and human therapeutic proteins. Here we review the existing computational models of metabolism in algal species, as well as the databases and tools that are available to improve the sustainability of algae-to-energy production at industrial scales. As this field has progressed with genome sequencing, computational techniques, novel annotation tools and databases, systems biology will continue to evolve to advance the appeal of algae to a wide array of industries.


A predecessor of Illinois Power Company (IP) operated a manufactured gas plant (MGP) at Hillsboro, Illinois. The MPG is now used by IP as a natural gas distribution center. The MGP lies on Town Branch, a per-glacial stream valley incised into Glasford Formation (Illinoisan age) lodgement till. Average valley width is about 320 ft., and average height of the valley walls is 50 ft. In August 1992, expansion of the city WTP encountered coal-tar impact. Phase 1 RECON[reg sign], seismic refraction, follow-up RECON survey to complete plume definition, and drilling related to remediation design. Town Branch paleo-valley has been partially refilled with a lower glacio-fluvial sand gravel and an upper (surficial) silty clay unit. The sand underlies about 90% of the valley, averages about five ft. thick, and forms a semiconfined aquifer system. The surficial clay unit averages about eight ft. thick. Impacted groundwater plume has migrated ca. 600 ft. through the lower sand overlying till, along a controlled migration pathway of 4 ft. maximum depth, and 40 to 100 ft. in width. Actual plume width ranges from 50 to 200 ft., under about 6 acres.


Objective To investigate changes of postsynaptic density protein 95(PSD-95) after brain contusion.Methods An animal model of brain contusion was established in rats.Rats were killed under anesthesia with diethyl ether at 3,6,12h,1,3,5,7 and 10d after contusion(5 rats in each group).Five rats without impact were used as control.PSD-95 was detected by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting.The ratios of the number of PSD-95-positive cells to total number of the cells in the wounded zone were evaluated.Results A few of PSD-95-positive cells were observed in the control group.The number of PSD-95-positive cells began to increase at 3h,peaked at 12h,and then decreased after contusion.The positive cell number maximized again at 5d post-contusion,and then decreased.By statistical analysis,there were significant differences in positive cell ratios between neighboring groups.Weak PSD-95 was detected in control group by Western blot analysis.For the contusion groups,PSD-95 showed the samilar tendency of time-dependent changes as detected by Western blotting.Conclusions PSD-95 reveals a time-dependent changes after brain contusion in rats,suggesting that it may be used as a marker for wound age estimation.


The aim of the study is to draw up a planned empirical research which will be conducted at University of Pecs Faculty of Business and Economics among approx. 800 Bologna BA (BSc) students on the basis of the model Probst and Raub developed in 1998 summarizing the components of knowledge management. In the study we try to apply the definition of knowledge-based services to higher education institutions, so that clusters of students into the phases of the knowledge model will be identified as the results of the research. In the study we examine and intend to reveal the reasons for bias, the asymmetrical nature of the process and the prospects how to moderate it - with providing recommendations to the strenghtening of each knowledge management phase. Other purpose of the study is the generalization of results in order to determine conclusions by literature which are valid to the whole higher education system.


(57) From Abstract Data population, and generates a subgroup of at least one data (200) to identify a subgroup of data with a header (202), the header comprises executable code, data feed subgroups available processor (204), in order to obtain the result data using the instructions included in the executable code in the subgroup and header data, performing the task by available processor (206 ), comprising the steps, a method for performing a task on a network.


The privacy leakage resulting from location-based service (LBS) has become a critical issue. To preserve user privacy, many previous studies have investigated to prevent LBS servers from user privacy theft. However, they only consider whether the peers are innocent or malicious but ignore the relationship between the peers, whereas such a relationship between each pairwise of users affects the privacy leakage tremendously. For instance, a user has less concern of privacy leakage from a social friend than a stranger. In this paper, we study cyber-physical-social (CPS) aware method to address the privacy preserving in the case that not only LBS servers but also every other participant in the network has the probability to be malicious. Furthermore, by exploring the physical coupling and social ties among users, we construct CPS-aware privacy utility maximization (CPUM) game. We then study the potential Nash equilibrium of the game and show the existence of Nash equilibrium of CPUM game. Finally, we design a CPS-aware algorithm to find the Nash equilibrium for the maximization of privacy utility. Extensive evaluation results show that the proposed approach reduces privacy leakage by 50% in the case that malicious servers and users exist in the network.


An expected utility model is proposed to measure the utility toward fuzzy wealth. Some properties and concepts, such as certainty equivalence are analyzed. Based on maximizing the expected utility, some models are given to consider how to form an optimal portfolio: the first problem on investing in a crisp asset and an uncertainty asset with fuzzy value, the second problem on investing in a set of fuzzy assets. A condition for the existence of optimal portfolio is given.


In many literatures, planning and scheduling problems have been considered separately. Furthermore, resource constraints for scheduling are not only relevant for equipment, but are also strongly affected by second resources and set up conversions. This paper derives how constraint programming enables problem-dependent specialization and increases planning and scheduling efficiency. Constraint programing based scheduling involves multi-resources capacity limit, demand fulfill, precedence, initialization, down activities and sequence-dependent set up. Then, we improve this model to address on more complex problems by introducing a two-stage optimization method to decrease the computational burden. Finally, computational results are demonstrated to show the efficiency of the proposed method for a real time large scale planning and scheduling problem.


A web application for a simple climate model - SEEPLUS (a Simple climate model to Examine Emission Pathways Leading to Updated Scenarios) - has been developed. SEEPLUS consists of carbon-cycle and climate-change modules, through which it provides the information infrastructure required to perform climate-change experiments, even on a millennial-timescale. The main objective of this application is to share the latest scientific knowledge acquired from climate modeling studies among the different stakeholders involved in climate-change issues. Both the carbon-cycle and climate-change modules employ impulse response functions (IRFs) for their key processes, thereby enabling the model to integrate the outcome from an ensemble of complex climate models. The current IRF parameters and forcing manipulation are basically consistent with, or within an uncertainty range of, the understanding of certain key aspects such as the equilibrium climate sensitivity and ocean CO2 uptake data documented in representative literature. The carbon-cycle module enables inverse calculation to determine the emission pathway required in order to attain a given concentration pathway, thereby providing a flexible way to compare the module with more advanced modeling studies. The module also enables analytical evaluation of its equilibrium states, thereby facilitating the long-term planning of global warming mitigation.


This invention relates to polyamide compositions flame-retarded by a flame retardant system based on red phosphorus. It relates more particularly to polyamide compositions flame-retarded by a flame retardant system consisting of a combination of red phosphorus and at least one boron compound selected from the group consisting of boric oxide, boron phosphate or mixtures thereof.


An ecological survey was conducted to assess the species composition and abundance of rodents in Kafta-Sheraro National Park, Ethiopia from June 2017 to April 2018 covering wet and dry seasons.  Rodents were trapped using Sherman live traps from five selected habitat types—natural forest, bushland, grassland, farmland, and human settlement.  A total of 209 individuals of rodents belonging to seven species were captured over 2940 trap nights, and three species of rodents were only observed.  The trapped rodent species include Mastomys natalensis, Stenocephalemys albipes, Rattus rattus, Mastomys awashensis, Acomys cahirinus, Arvicanthis niloticus dembeensis, and Mastomys erythroleucus.  Lemniscomys striatus, Hystrix cristata, and Xerus rutilus were only sighted during the study.  Mastomys natalensis was the most abundant species (41.1%), followed by Stenocephalemys albipes (26.3%) and Rattus rattus (18.2%), whereas Mastomys erythroleucus (1.4%) was the least abundant species.  The abundance of female (59.8%) was higher than male (40.2%).  Of the total trapped rodents, 52.2% were adults, 32% sub-adult and 15.8% young.  The abundance of rodents was varied among habitat types and between seasons.  The results of the study revealed that the park has diverse species of fauna including rodents.


With indefatigable ingenuity, Albright has cleared up some of the obscurities at the beginning of I* AB i. He is particularly to be congratulated on exorcising the teraphim and the priest's ephod. In my opinion, however, he has been less happy in seizing the broad outlines of the drama; which I still regard in the same light as Cassuto 2 and I had previously come to regard it. Albright thinks the whole column is one single speech by Gpn w'Ugr to Anath, and consequently has to interpret ytb in 1. 9 as a feminine participle and to emend lytn in 1. 10 to Ittn. To my gratification, Cassuto agrees with me that the whole column represents Mut's reply, through Gpn w'Ugr, to a message conveyed to him by Gpn w'Ugr from Baal. More specifically, we distinguish: (1) the end of Mut's own words, 11. 1-8; (2) Gpn w'Ugr's return to Baal, 11. 9-11; (3) Gpn w'Ugr's report to Baal on Mut's reply, 11. 12 ff. I trust that the following detailed proof will win more general approbation for this view. Ugaritic epic poets love repetition as much as Greek and Babylonian ones. An opportunity they never miss is that which offers itself when they tell of messages exchanged. These are reported according to the following scheme. A instructs his messenger (or messengers) to deliver to B a message M, which the poet reproduces in direct discourse. The messenger betakes him to B, to whom he repeats M word for word or with insignificant variations. B then instructs the bringer of M to carry back to A a reply R, which the poet likewise reproduces in direct discourse. At this point the poet tells us that the messenger departed (some


purpose: Posttraumatic growth is defined as subjective positive psychological changes following the struggle with highly challenging life events. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) is one of the most credible tools for measuring these changes. The aim of current study was translating the PTGI into Persian and validating it using Iranian patients with cancer. Methods: This research validated the Persian version of the PTGI using 402 patients with cancer who referred to the oncology wards of two main hospitals in Tehran, Iran. The PTGI was translated into Persian and back-translated into English and the comments of its developers were applied. The scale's content and face validity, construct validity, and internal consistency and test-retest reliability were then assessed. SPSS 15 and LISREL 8.8 for Windows were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean PTGI score of the participants was 68.68 ± 14.68. In confirmatory factor analysis, all fitness indexes, except goodness of fit index (0.88), confirmed the five-factor structure of the PTGI. Cronbach's alpha for the total 21 items of the PTGI and its five subscales was calculated as 0.87 and 0.57-0.77, respectively. Test-retest correlations (r = 0.75) suggested the acceptable repeatability of the Persian version of the PTGI. Conclusion: The findings of the current study support the applicability of the Persian version of the PTGI for measuring perceived growth following cancer diagnosis. Introduction Frankl (1961) was the first to announce the possible positive effects of some major life crises (Frankl, 1961). However, systematic attempts to understand and investigate positive psychological changes after stressful events have been postponed until recent years (O'Leary & Ickovics, 1995; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995, 1996; Tedeschi et al., 1998). Some stressful life events may in fact facilitate positive psychological changes (Schroevers et al., 2010). Tedeschi and Calhoun were among the premier researchers who defined posttraumatic growth as a set of subjective positive psychological changes experienced following the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). Diagnosis and treatment of cancer are traumatic experiences. Patients with cancer are faced with various complications like anxiety and depression as a result of undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy. These circumstances decrease the quality of life of the affected patients (So et al., 2010). On the other hand, individuals treated with a combination of radioor chemotherapy and surgery suffer from higher levels of psychological distress than those receiving a single treatment (Pereira et al., 2012). However, the traumatic conditions evoked by the diagnosis and treatment of cancer can lay the g round for posttraumatic growth (Love & Sabiston, 2010). Many studies have shown diagnosis and treatment of cancer to be associated with some positive psychological outcomes (Taylor, 1983; Thornton & Perez, 2006; Sears et al., 2003; Widows et al., 2005; Morris et al., 2012). Empirical evidence suggests perceived growth after diagnosis and treatment of cancer as a common phenomenon experienced by 60-95% of patients with cancer (Stanton et al., 2006). Many instruments have been designed to evaluate posttraumatic growth. One of the most applicable and credible available tools is the 21-item Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) which was designed by Tedeschi and Calhoun in 1996 (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). The PTGI assesses new possibilities, relating to others, appreciation of life, personal strength, and spiritual change as five categories of psychological growth after struggling with stressful events. All items are scored based on a six-point Likert scale from 0 (not at all) to 5 (a very great degree). While the total scores of the PTGI can vary between 0 and 105, higher scores reflect greater growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). The PTGI has good internal consistency for the total 21 items (α = 0.90) and the five subscales (α = 0.67-0.85). Moreover, the test-retest reliability of the whole scale and its five subscales is 0.71 and 0.37-0.74, respectively (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). The validity and reliability of the PTGI have been confirmed by various studies in numerous countries and among populations with the experience of different stressful events (Linley et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2010). Nevertheless, in spite of the high overall validity of the PTGI, not all previous research has approved its five-dimensional structure (Maer-


A reproducing apparatus includes a playback data acquisition unit for acquiring playback data containing encoded stream data, a decoding unit for decoding the stream data, a mixing unit for mixing data to be mixed, different from the stream data, with the stream data decoded by the decoding unit, and a selecting unit for selecting between supplying the stream data to the decoding unit and outputting the stream data, and a control unit for controlling the selecting unit. The control unit acquires, from the playback data acquired by the playback data acquisition unit, determination information indicating whether the playback data contains the data to be mixed with the stream data, and controls the selecting unit to output the stream data if the determination information determines that the playback data contains no data to be mixed and if data processed by the playback data processing unit is output as encoded data.


Humic substances in the soil and underground water are important media for the environmental fate and transport of oil pollutants, but direct experimental evidence is lack on the effects of humic acids on the interfacial activity and adsorption property of oil asphaltenes in the soil. In this study, the oil-water interfacial tension (IFT) was measured by optical contact angle instrument, while the isothermal adsorption of asphaltenes on two montmorillonites and one kaolinite was fitted using four classical models. Results demonstrated that the oil-water IFT decreased by 36.7% when the asphaltenes were present in the oil, which further decreased by up to 23% when the humic acids were added in the water. The best-fitted form of isotherm equation (Langmuir model) and the adsorption capacity were not changed by coating humic acids on the clay surface prior to asphaltene adsorption, but the presence of humic acids on clay surface was able to double the adsorption rate. Results also revealed that the asphaltenes could co-aggregate with the humic acids at the oil-water interface or in the bulk water, but they were unlikely to co-aggregate with the humic acids binding on the clay surface.


Abstract : It is shown that ovality of radial thrust bearing balls generate vibrations in an engine with a rapidly rotating turbine, and that the vibration spectrum contains harmonic components which are multiples of the double frequency of revolution of the balls. Formulas for calculating the amplitudes of these components are proposed. (Author)


BAT triggered on GRB 080605 at 23:43:57 UT (Trigger 313299) (Sbarufatti, et al., GCN Circ. 7828). This was a 1.024 sec rate-trigger on a long burst with T90 = 20 ± 1 sec. Swift slewed to this burst immediately and XRT began follow-up observations at T +90 sec, and UVOT at T +82 sec. Our best position is the refined UVOT location RA(J2000) = 262.12522deg (17h28m30.05s), Dec(J2000) = +4.01555deg (+04d00′55.97′′) with an error of 0.5 arcsec (90% confidence).


Introduction Cyclic vomiting syndrome is a functional disorder characterised by repeated episodes of nausea and vomiting with symptom-free intervals between the attacks. Cyclic vomiting syndrome is a migraine equivalent; therefore, anti-migraine medications are effective for cyclic vomiting syndrome prophylaxis, but duration of treatment is not clear. Aim To determine the efficacy and duration of drug therapy in cyclic vomiting syndrome. Material and methods This study was conducted on 206 cases of cyclic vomiting syndrome, who were treated with propranolol as prophylaxis. After they were symptom-free for at least 9 months, propranolol was tapered and discontinued and then they were followed for at least 6 months after drug withdrawal for evaluation of recurrence. Results The study subjects included 127 boys and 79 girls. The mean age of symptom onset was 3.4 years (range: 3 months to 14.5 years) and the mean age at the time of diagnosis was 5.7 years (range: 8.4 months to 18 years). Among the 206 patients in whom propranolol was discontinued, only 16 (7.8%) subjects developed recurrence of symptoms in the 6-month follow-up period. Conclusions There is no need to continue prophylaxis of cyclic vomiting syndrome for a long time. It is also possible to make the duration of drug therapy shorter, which is useful for the convenience of the patients and prevention of drug side effects.


Hospitals need to analyze all patient care delivery methods, and especially those designated for vulnerable populations. The Deaf community is a particularly unique and often overlooked vulnerable population because of the additional communication barriers that they possess. The goal for this research is to look at the current best practices for communication and treatment in hospitals from the perspective of the Deaf community. This research also looks at how or if these practices are being carried out in community hospitals. In order to obtain this information, interview questions were developed with the help of an ASL interpreter and two interviews were conducted at area hospitals with communication specialists. After the information was analyzed, it was compared to the national standard from the perspective of Deaf organizations. HEALTHCARE RESOURCES FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY 3 Healthcare Resources for the Deaf Community: A Study of Kalamazoo Area Hospitals There are over four million Americans between the ages of 18-64 that have a measureable level of hearing loss, or about 2.1% of the population (Harrington, 2014). This ranges from someone who is completely deaf to someone who has trouble hearing on the telephone or mild hearing loss. The data being used excludes people who are aged 65 and over because many of these people have age-related hearing problems, and this tends to skew the conversation when talking about deaf accessibility. Of these individuals, most estimates say that around 500,000 people use ASL as their primary form of communication (Harrington, 2014). This means that roughly 1/8th of all Americans with hearing loss use ASL as their primary means of communication. Using ASL as your primary form of communication and being integrated into Deaf culture denotes that person as Deaf, having hearing loss but not using ASL or identifying with Deaf culture denotes someone as being a person who is deaf. HEALTHCARE RESOURCES FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY 4 Bronson Healthcare System Policy Background Bronson Healthcare Group sees approximately two million patients annually across all of their hospitals and clinics and has about 800 licensed beds in their system. According to Beth Washington, the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Bronson Healthcare System, diversity is a part of society that allows people to be unique in the way they think, their perspectives, the way they do things, or just the way they are (B. Washington, personal communication, January 18, 2017). She stresses that we are all diverse in our own way, which is a valued part of what makes Bronson Hospital an institution for all people. Bronson has a budget of $500,000 annually for their language services, which encompasses the Deaf population, and is expecting an increase in that number in the near future. Annually, Bronson serves about 150-200 Deaf individuals across all of their locations. They have a language and communications policy as well as a disability policy which guides their care and treatment of individuals who don't use English as a primary language, which includes the Deaf population. These policies are determined by many factors, including input from the Civil Rights Act, Joint Commission, the Americans with Disabilities Act, precedents that have been set, knowledge from other hospitals, and rigorous internal legal and quality review. According to Washington; Bronson considers a successful interaction with a Deaf individual to mean that the individual has received exceptional care according to their own standards, that quality care was provided in a compassionate, timely manner, and that the care was at no extra cost to the individual based on their need for communication services (B. Washington, personal communication, January 18, 2017).


ABSTRACT This paper identifies the categories of accommodation establishments' names in Bulgaria and determines the role of a property's characteristics (category, location, type, and size/capacity) on the chosen name using a quantitative approach. The findings indicate that male, female, and family names, and names indicating geographic toponyms, represent nearly half of all names. Plants, emotions, and quality-related words are also widely used. Furthermore, results reveal that category, location, size, and type of establishment influence the naming of establishments. In addition, the findings illustrate that Bulgarian names prevail in the naming of establishments. Binary logistic regression reveals that urban, higher category, and larger properties are more likely to have foreign names. The theoretical and destination marketing implications are discussed as well.


Changing teacher's educational concept is a key premise for carrying out the new curriculum reform successfully.The new curriculum requires teachers to introspect and understand the curriculum,teaching and students again,and establish the concepts of curriculum teaching and students to adapt the new curriculum reform.


This paper deals with a novel hybrid transformer configuration able to face power quality issues occurring on modern distribution grids integrating distributed generation from renewable energy sources and non-linear power electronic loads. The proposed system encompasses a three-phase distribution transformer with secondary windings arranged according to an open-end configuration and a three-phase inverter with floating DC bus. Unlike previous hybrid transformers the proposed one does not require a bidirectional converter to manage bidirectional power flows, neither a tertiary winding to supply the inverter, thus allowing the use of standard MV-LV distribution transformers with simple modifications. The obtained power conversion system can be exploited to perform a voltage control at the distribution grid edge, a reactive power management and harmonic pollution mitigation. Simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed solution, ensuring high power quality voltage control under unbalanced grid and load conditions.


Use of ground-based observatories for astronomy has been greatly improved through the use of active correction systems based on subaperture wavefront sensing techniques such as Hartmann and curvature sensing. While the resulting performance significantly exceeds the performance of the unaided observatory, the use of a large number of independent subapertures to determine the necessary local corrections results in a requirement for relatively bright guidestars. This, in turn, limits the available area of the sky that supports high quality imagery of target using natural guidestar operation. The use of artificial guidestars increases the available region of the sky for viewing, but the resulting imagery is not as good as is achievable in the vicinity of a natural guidestar. The use of image-based sensing such as focus diverse phase retrieval produces higher quality wavefront sensing, but, if used as the sole WFS machine, generally requires longer processing times than can used for real-time correction. In this paper, we discuss the potential of using secondary wavefront sensing and correction systems within individual instruments to supplement the observatory active system. In particular, we present simulation results demonstrating the performance of a potential real-time focus diverse phase retrieval based WFS&C subsystem. We discuss the required observatory active correction performance, the secondary guidestar characteristics, and the processing speed requirements.


(57) Abstract: The novel gel composition comprising a carbonaceous component that binds to the gel component. Preferably, the carbonaceous component is carbon black, is selected from the group consisting of carbon fiber, activated carbon and graphite carbon, the gel component is selected from the group consisting of a metal oxide gel and a polymer gel. Organic group, a) at least one C Gel component, and a carbon black product having attached at least one organic group, the organic group is a) at least one C The gel composition applications are also disclosed.


In this paper, we propose a new message authentication code which can preserve privacy of data. The proposed mechanism supports to verify data integrity from only partly information of the original data. In addition, it is proved to be chosen-message-attack secure and privacy-preserving. We also conduct an experiment to compare its computation cost with a hash message authentication code.


Purpose
This study aims to propose a model to elevate the financial empowerment of Muslim women by rejuvenating the practice of Mahr in society and facilitating the affordability of men to pay that Mahr amount.

Design/methodology/approach
The approach of this study is to offer a model through the interest-free savings-based finance concept. The model comprises four stages; each stage of the model is mathematically formulated and graphically explained to ensure clarity and coherence. To further investigate the issue, the authors use a convenient sampling method to ask a small sample size of respondents (women) from different countries about their financial contribution and empowerment in the family.

Findings
This model enables women to turn their exclusive financial right into a source of earning without borrowing from any source or paying interest on the principal amount. Besides, it encourages accelerating men's obligation to pay the Mahr to the women immediately during the marriage ceremony by facilitating men's affordability. Almost 45% of respondents state that a woman's financial contribution exalts her decision-making power and strengthens her financial position in the family.

Social implications
The authors attempt to revitalize Mahr practice in Muslim society to accelerate the process of receiving a woman's exclusive financial right and empower a family as a whole through the Mahr model.

Originality/value
Considering the model's uniqueness, the developed and proposed Mahr model in this research is novel; to the best of the authors' knowledge, no other study has been conducted and developed such a model using the Mahr concept.


One of the key tasks of the Soviet school is to improve poly-technical education and labor indoctrination. Today, on the eve of the transition to universal secondary education, this problem acquires particular importance. An urgent requirement of our time is to maintain a constant influx of broadly educated young specialists into agricultural production. Accordingly, the course on the fundamentals of agriculture in the upper grades of rural secondary schools becomes more important.


A checklist of the marine nemerteans (Nemertini) of the Iberian coasts and adjacent seas is presented, including full references and distribution maps for all species recorded from this region.


This study was elaborated based on the work experience in a Mental Health Integral Attention Center from the public health service. It analyses the technical peculiarities from the clinical work in this out-patient clinic. The article questions about the possibility of psychoanalysis insertion in the public health, a milieu very different from its traditional acting place. The study concludes that the psychoanalytical insertion in this milieu seems to be possible and even necessary, but needs interest both from the public health politics and from the psychoanalysts, that have to overcome their own resistances.


The utility model provides a water-proof curtain, which comprises sleeve pouring piles arranged along a foundation pit wall at intervals and rotating spray piles which are arranged between two adjacent sleeve pouring piles and meshed with the sleeve pouring piles, the water-proof curtain is formed by meshing the sleeve pouring piles with the rotating spray piles on the outer side of the foundation pit wall, and the water-proof performance of the rotating spray piles and the bending resistance of the sleeve pouring piles are fully utilized. The water-proof curtain can perform wall body full length seamless construction, effectively solve the problems of water seepage, water leakage, sand flow and the like of a foundation pit, and effectively overcome the common quality shortcomings of slumping holes, necking and the like of other type punching pouring piles. The water-proof curtain adopts a full sleeve driller to drill holes to form the piles, peripheral soil body structures can not be damaged during earthwork evacuating process, operation is safe, the construction process has no slurry pollution, and reinforced concrete piles formed by pouring are regular and uniform. Compared with traditional drilling hole piles, piles in row or a underground successive wall technology, the water-proof curtain is smaller in earthwork evacuation quantity and small in influence on and constructional pollution to the peripheral environment.


Mathematic models and a test system of pump controlled motor speed servos (PCMSS) with /without a position loop are established and their dynamic performances are studied by simulation and experiments. Results indicate that PCMSS with a position loop can achieve high stability and speed precision relying on the position closed loop in the pump and the motor speed closed loop, whereas PCMSS without a position loop is unstable only depending on the speed closed loop. Therefore, to achieve nice performances for PCMSS, the displacement of a variable delivery pump should be independently adjusted while motor's rotary speed is fed back and controlled in closed loop.


New arithmetic two-dimensional generators of pseudo-random test vectors are presented. As an integral part of a recently proposed arithmetic built-in self test (ABIST) environment, all generation functions are executed by basic building blocks performing regular functions of data path architectures, yet the scheme is compatible with scan, parallel scan, partial scan and boundary scan designs. The need for extra hardware is either entirely eliminated or drastically reduced, test vectors can be easily distributed to different modules of the system, and there is virtually no performance degradation.


In medical terminology the term "transition" denotes the purposeful and planned movement of adolescents with chronical diseases from a child-centred to an adult-centred health-care-system. Many clinical models have been developed yet to improve the medical care in different pediatric subdisciplines during transition.
At present children and youths with chronical neurological diseases or motoric and mental disabilities are treated at SPZs (Sozialpadiatrische Zentren) by the age of 18. The treatment would only be continued on exceptional occasions.
This study explores the link between the complexity and severity of the chronical neurological disease of patients from the SPZ Gottingen and the success of the transition. Therefor the patients' satisfaction with the current adult-centred medical health care was measured.
Social and medical data and the satisfaction of the patients were recorded by questionnaires and medical records of the SPZ. The study included 50 patients.
The participants were classified into two groups. The first group included patients with complex neurological diseases or disabilities, the second group included patients with less pronounced impairments.
The results show that patients from group 1 are significantly less satisfied with the treatment in the adult-centred health care system than patients with less pronounced impairments.
With respect to the approval of MZEBs (Medizinische Zentren fur Erwachsene mit Behinderungen) in July 2015, in which adults with complex and severe diseases or disabilities can be treated among others, the results of this study emphasise the need of these institutions.


This study aimed to analyze the phytochemical profile and antibacterial activity of crude ethanol extracts (CEE) from the bark and leaves of Caesalpinia pyramidalis Tul. andSapium glandulosum (L.) Morong. The phytochemical composition was analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) using eluent and specific revealing. Antibacterial activity was evaluated using the agar diffusion method (well technique) and determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The extracts showed anthocyanins, sterols, flavonoids, coumarins, lignans and terpenoids. The results showed that the CEE from the barks of C. pyramidalis showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcuscoagulase-negative and Enterococcus faecalis, while the CEE from the barks and leaves ofS. glandulosum was active against S. aureus and S. coagulase negative. The CEE from the bark C. pyramidalis had MICs of 125 to 500 µg/ml. The antimicrobial activity of the extract of bark of C. pyramidalis indicate that the mechanism of multidrug resistance ofStaphylococcus to current antibiotics does not confer resistance to the compounds present in samples, which provides motivation for the isolation of chemicals responsible for such activities.

 Key words: Antibacterial, burra-leiteria, catingueira, multidrug resistance, Staphylococcus.


This study represents an interdisciplinary investigation of music cognition from both theoretical
and empirical perspectives drawing principally from research in neuropsychology, and
philosophy. The main aim of the thesis is to produce a coherent model of music cognition,
reconciling empirical findings, current accounts of musical expression, and broader cognitive
models. With this aim the investigation divides into two parts: first, examining musical
expression of emotion, and second, exploring music cognition as a whole and its place within
global models of cognition. A particular focus is the subdivision and independence of music
subsystems, notably the separation of music and language and to what extent these are
functionally, and neuro-anatomically separate cognitive systems.


Introduction: Functional haemodynamic monitoring using dynamic parameter such as Stroke Volume Variation (SVV), based on pulse contour analysis, helps in predicting fluid responsiveness in off pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) surgery. This allows adequate volume replacement to achieve optimal cardiac performance. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of SVV in predicting volume responsiveness and effect on haemodynamic variable in patients undergoing off pump CABG in both closed and open chest. Materials and Methods: This single-centre, non randomised observational study was conducted at a tertiary medical college and hospital (LokmanyaTilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, from December 2016 to December 2018. A total of 34 patients undergoing elective off pump CABG were included. Haemodynamic measurements Stroke Volume (SV), Cardiac Output (CO), Cardiac Index (CI), and SVV, were recorded with the transducer positioned at the level of midaxillary line. If the SVV was equal to or higher than 12, 100 mL fluid aliquot was given to patients. Endpoints for fluid aliquots was increase in CO by 15%, decrease in SVV of less than 12 or an increase Central Venous Pressure (CVP) upto 15 millimeter of mercury (mmHg). Number of times SVV above 12 during the procedure was recorded. SVV was considered as fluid responsive "if there was an increase in SV by 5%". Statistical analysis was done using Student's t-test (two tailed, dependent) on continuous parameters. The p-value <0.05, was considered significant. Results: Out of 103 events of rise in SVV, 65 (63.1%) occurred when chest was open and 38 (36.9%) while chest was closed. The SVV-guided fluid response was 76.3% in closed chest and 75.4% in open chest and there was no significant difference. (p-value=0.91). There was a significant increase in SV (p-value<0.01), CO (p-value=0.04), and significant decrease in SVV (p-value<0.01) and heart rate (p-value<0.01) after fluid loading in the responsive group when compared with non responsive group. There was no statistically significant difference between percentage change in SV, CO, CI, SBP, DBP, MAP and CVP between closed and open chest conditions after fluid replacement. Conclusion: SVV is not affected by open or closed chest conditions in mechanically ventilated patients undergoing CABG and can be used as a guide for fluid replacement. Weather open or closed chest conditions, few patients do not respond to fluid replacement when SVV are more than 12 by an increase in SV, cardiac output or CI, the cause of which remains to be determined.


In this experimental study, measurements were made on the characteristics of evaporating steady-state fuel spray injected into a high pressure and temperature cylindrical vessel by means of an electronically controlled common rail injection system. A fuel consisting of two components, n-octane and n-hexane, having different boiling points was used to investigate the characteristics of evaporation and mixing with the surrounding gas. Fluorescence characteristics of dopants excited by the YAG laser were calibrated by means of a spectroscope having an optical fiber. From the measurement of fluorescence wavelength, we decided that fluorobenzene and diethy-methyl-amine (DEMA) in a solution of fuel. Then, two-dimensional images were analyzed for each fuel component at liquid and gas phases, simultaneously. The results show that the density and temperature of the surrounding gas are two dominant factors influencing the penetration and evaporation of the spray.


The simultaneous increase in population and the number of vehicles led the road authorities to get more focus on the road safety improvements. According to the recent road accident data, the highly populated Maharashtra state has reported the highest accident rate which calls for the need of safety improvements. For this purpose, Identification of accident prone location is considered as the first step in road safety improvements. This paper mainly aims to identify the accident prone locations along AmravatiNagpur road stretch from Asian highway 46. The top accident prone spots were selected as black spots based on Weighted Severity Index Method and some suggestions are made to improve the transportation system.


Task allocation is a key problem for agent to reach cooperation in multi-agent systems. Lately task flows are replacing traditional static tasks, thus real-time dynamic task allocation mechanisms draw more attention. Though scheduling single task flow is well investigated, little work on allocation of multiple task flows has been done. In this paper a distributed and self-adaptable scheduling algorithm based on Q-learning for multiple task flows is proposed. This algorithm can not only adapt to task arrival process on itself, but also fully consider the influence from task flows on other agents. Besides, its distributed property guaranteed that it can be applied to open multi-agent systems with local view. Reinforcement learning makes allocation adapt to task load and node distribution. It is verified that this algorithm improves task throughput, and decreases average execution time per task.


Our purpose in this paper is to propose the concept of "artificial Kansei/sensibility". In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been the focus of many people, but here we propose the basic concept of "artificial Kansei/sensibility" as a superordinate concept of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is good at deductive and inductive reasoning. Deep learning and machine learning are often performed based on deductive or inductive reasoning. Furthermore, AI cannot deal with abduction. The concept of artificial Kansei/sensibility proposed in this paper provides a methodology that can handle abduction and transilient inference, so that our new concept will extend current AI technology to treat GAN(Generative Adversarial Networks) .


Initial and replication experiments were studied with littermate, S1, male rats 25–55 days of age placed in enriched (EC), standard colony (SC), and impoverished (IC) environments. Measurements of the length of postsynaptic thickenings were taken from asymmeterical axodendritic synapses in layer IV of the dorsal medial occipital cortex. This experiment differed from others of this nature, for animals from both experimental conditions were compared with the standard colony animals. The 8% (p < 0.01) difference in postsynaptic thickening length between 675 synapses from EC and 680 synapses from IC was primarily due to the IC, as can be seen by comparing both with the SC.


1 José Guilherme Santos da Silva, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Rio de Janeiro, FEN/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, email@example.com 2 Nival Nunes de Almeida, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Rio de Janeiro, FEN/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, email@example.com 3 Ricardo Alves Santiago, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Rio de Janeiro, FEN/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, firstname.lastname@example.com 4 Heloisa Valle da Silva Santos, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Rio de Janeiro, FEN/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, email@example.com 5 Alexander Ribeiro Duarte, Faculty of Engineering, State University of Rio de Janeiro, FEN/UERJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract  Based on the significant development of the new technologies associated with engineering (computing, constructive, managerial, etc), the engineers need to adapt to these technologies by reformulating concepts and attitudes. The Universities, as Educational/Research Institutions, have a fundamental role in this process. The present study is included in this context as a contribution to the reformulation and updating of engineering education in the Faculty of Engineering of the State University of Rio de Janeiro, FEN/UERJ, beginning with the development and introduction of electronic workbooks, using the Internet. The primary purpose of the electronic workbooks is the generation of a motivating educational environment directed to Internet, in such a way as to make the education process more dynamic and interactive. In addition, it is the intention of this project to update and favour the distance learning, as well as introduce some flexibility into the class hours of the undergraduate students.


This study aims to analyze students' concepts understanding in solving scientific literacy on the topic of momentum and impulses. The subjects in this study were 124 students from 4 senior high schools in Sragen. The instrument used in this study was 10 questions in the form of an essay test. The results of the analysis show that 70 (56.45%) of students have conceptual understanding in solving scientific literacy competencies as interpreting scientific data on the subtopic of conservation of momentum and collisions, 30 (24.19%) of students have conceptual understanding in solving scientific literacy competencies as scientific design on the subtopic of impulses, and 24 (19.35%) of students have a conceptual understanding in solving scientific literacy competencies as explaining scientific phenomena on the subtopic of momentum. This shows that some students still do not have a conceptual understanding in solving scientific literacy problems on the topic of momentum and impulses


With the continuous improvement of China's economy, power enterprises are becoming more and more important in the process of economic construction. Safe production of power enterprises is the key to improving the level of power supply. Safety management is an important task in the development of power enterprises. It is also an effective way to improve the development level of power enterprises and improve the quality of power enterprises. During the production and operation process, power enterprises must actively strengthen the emphasis on safety production, solve problems existing in the traditional safety management process, and improve power supply stability. At the same time, in the power enterprise safety management process, a sound emergency management system should be established. When a power safety accident occurs, the fault problem can be solved in time according to the emergency plan to ensure the safety of power transmission. This paper analyzes and discusses the problems and countermeasures in the management of power enterprises, aiming to continuously innovate the concept of safe production of power enterprises.


Abstract Freshly deposited surface sediments from the Alexandria coastal zone were collected and analysed in 1995 for their trace metal concentrations. Metal concentrations in the sediments vary between sites within a wide range for copper, zinc, iron, lead, chromium and cadmium. the statistical analysis between the metal concentrations and the different constituents (organic carbon, total nitrogen, silt, clay and total iron) showed significant correlations. the enrichment factors for the sediments ranged between 3 and 4-fold for copper, chromium and zinc and reached up to 9-fold for lead and 113-fold for cadmium. the highest index for cadmium and lead may be attributed to the anthropogenic inputs from the surrounding area, where they are highest in lower discharge areas.


Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naudin) were evaluated during development and then freshcut cubes were stored after preparation from various maturities to track quality changes during storage. Flowers were anthesis tagged one morning in two seasons (years) and developing fruit were harvested weekly at 13, 20, 27 to 28, and 34 to 35 days after anthesis (DAA). Mature fruit were harvested at 37 to 38 DAA with five distinct maturities: 1/4-, 1/2-, 3/4-slip, full-slip (FS), and overripe (OR). Hunter L* and a* color values indicated a change from pale green to light orange that occurred 28 DAA. There were significant decreases in L*, a*, and b* by day 9 in storage (4 8C) as fresh-cut cubes. After 28 DAA, sucrose dramatically increased, and this was positively correlated with increases in both total sugars (r = 0.882, P = 0.084) and percent soluble solids concentration (r = 0.939, P = 0.041). Gradual deterioration occurred during storage, as determined by a uniform subjective quality criterion, which was independent of maturity. There was a negative linear trend in hand-held and instrumental firmness over the length of storage for each maturity level, and the slopes decreased significantly with increasing maturity, indicating the effect of storage duration decreased as harvest maturity increased. There was a significant increasing trend in vitamin C (P = 0.042) during development from 12 through 35 DAA, then losses were greater in fresh-cut cubes prepared from full-slip fruit (65%) than less-mature fruit: 3/4-slip, 50%; 1/2-slip, 48%; 1/4-slip, 40%. The pH of mesocarp tissue dropped to the lowest value (5.25) just before physiological maturity at 27 to 28 DAA, then peaked after harvest (6.51–6.79), and declined somewhat by the end of storage as fresh-cut cubes. In sum, muskmelon fruit used to produce fresh-cut cubes should be harvested $1/2-slip to attain optimum physiological quality and consumer acceptability. In muskmelon, development of an abscission layer between the vine and fruit at the peduncle is a good indicator of full ripeness and harvest time. Fruit harvested before development of the abscission zone will not develop quality, volatile, and flavor attributes similar to fruit that remained on the vine until fully ripe (Beaulieu, 2006; Beaulieu and Grimm, 2001; Beaulieu et al., 2004; Pratt, 1971; Wyllie et al., 1996). However, fruit harvested at or after development of the abscission have a shorter storage life, and flavor or textural loss may occur before completion of the marketing process (Evensen, 1983; Hoover, 1955; Ogle and Christopher, 1957). Muskmelons are highly regarded for their unique flavor, and high sugar levels [soluble solids concentration (SSC)] are generally the determinant of quality (Bianco and Pratt, 1977; Yamaguchi et al., 1977). However, SSC in five muskmelon cultivars were only partially correlated with sweetness (Mutton et al., 1981; Yamaguchi et al., 1977) and high SSC alone did not appear to define good melon quality adequately (Aulenbach and Worthington, 1974; Currence and Larson, 1941; Mutton et al., 1981). Within a muskmelon fruit, markedly different sugar levels have been reported at different locations from stem to calyx across various tissue types (Mizuno et al., 1971). Accordingly, it is a challenge to present consistently the consumer with an optimum melon or fresh-cut muskmelon product with both postharvest keeping quality and optimized flavor. Nevertheless, melons and fresh-cut melons are rapidly gaining popularity and a large share of the produce market across the United States (Bareuther, 2000). Total sales in the fresh-cut category (food service plus retail) was expected to be $14 billion in 2005, and fresh-cut fruit sales are expected to top $1 billion per year by 2008 (Produce Marketing Association, 2005). Retail scan data from Aug. 2002 to Aug. 2003 (performed by Information Resources, Chicago) indicated that fresh-cut fruit sales hit $243 million, an impressive 15% increase in 1 year (Western Farm Express, 2003). Sales trends for fresh-cut salads indicate clearly that consumers will pay for the convenience, if quality is perceived to be better than or equal to uncut product. However, fresh-cut fruit sales have lagged behind their counterpart, vegetables, because of numerous physiological and biochemical phenomena. Consumers often buy the first time based on appearance, but repeat purchases are driven by expected quality factors such as flavor and texture (Beaulieu, 2006; Waldron et al., 2003). Cutting plant tissue increases respiration rates and woundinduced ethylene production, and causes major tissue disruption Received for publication 4 Oct. 2006. Accepted for publication 14 June 2007. The mention of firm names or trade products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over other firms or similar products not mentioned. We express sincere thanks to Dean Liere and Alex May, Syngenta Seeds, Inc., ROGERS Brand Vegetable Seeds, for managing, tagging, and supplying anthesis-tagged cantaloupe fruit. We also thank Gillian Eggelston for sugar analysis, and Amber D. Harts and James A. Miller for laboratory assistance. Statistical advice and support were obtained from Vicki Lancaster, Neptune and Company, Inc. Corresponding author. E-mail: email@example.com. 720 J. AMER. SOC. HORT. SCI. 132(5):720–728. 2007. as sequestered enzymes and substrates become mixed (Toivonen and DeEll, 2002; Watada and Qi, 1999; Wiley, 1994). Minimal processing also increases the surface area per unit volume, which accelerates water loss. Altered water activity and mixing of intracellular and intercellular enzymes with substrates contributes to physiological, textural, and flavor changes/losses during or after cutting, which shortens storage life. These physiological changes may be accompanied by flavor loss, browning, decay, increased rate of vitamin loss, rapid softening, color loss, and a shorter storage life. Maintaining flavor, aroma, postharvest, and microbial quality after processing and throughout the distribution chain is a major challenge facing the industry delivering fresh-cut fruit products. Processors believe that many fresh-cut fruit have about a 7to 9-d postcutting life. Yet, to move from regional retail-based operations to centralized national manufacturing, a minimum shelf life of 7 to 14 d would be required. This has been achieved with many fresh-cut vegetables and salads, but not for most fresh-cut fruit because of numerous physiological reasons (Beaulieu and Gorny, 2004; Toivonen and DeEll, 2002; Watada and Qi, 1999; Watada et al., 1990; Wiley, 1994). We have demonstrated previously that muskmelon fruit harvested at different maturity deliver stored cubes differing significantly in flavor and textural attributes (Beaulieu et al., 2004). Subsequently, muskmelon fruit were evaluated during development and as fresh-cut cubes stored after preparation from various harvested maturities to assess physiological and quality changes during storage. The ultimate goal was to identify the best harvest maturity required to deliver fresh-cut muskmelon, with optimized physiological qualities, through storage. Materials and Methods PLANT MATERIAL. Orange-flesh muskmelons ('Sol Real') were grown in Kettleman City, CA (year 1), and Five Points, CA (year 2), as previously described (Beaulieu, 2006). Briefly, 4000 to 6000 flowers were tagged during anthesis in one morning during peak flowering, and developing fruit proximal to tagged flowers were removed. Developing fruit were harvested weekly for 4 weeks at 13, 20, 28, and 35 d after anthesis (DAA) in June/July (year 1) and 13, 20, 27, and 34 DAA in July in year 2. Fruit were field hydrocooled in an ice slurry, chilled ( 5 C) until packed with Styrofoam beads, and shipped overnight to the Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans (SRRC). For each sampling day, five immature developing fruit were used for analysis in year 1 whereas, six fruit were used in year 2. Data illustrating attributes in immature fruit were combined and graphed as 13, 20, 28, 35, and 38 DAA (corresponding with 3/4-slip at ''typical commercial harvest''). Mature fruit were harvested in year 1 at 38 DAA with five distinct maturities: 1/4-, 1/2-, 3/4-slip, full-slip (FS), and overripe (OR); and in year 2 at 37 DAA, omitting OR. Onequarter slip fruit had a clearly green, well-attached peduncle, whereas 1/2-slip fruit had a distinct abscission layer detectable at the peduncle, roughly halfway in the stem. Three-quarter slip fruit (typical commercial harvest) were almost abscised at the peduncle, and FS fruit had just separated naturally, or was cleanly separated from the vine with light pressure. Numerous tagged fruit were flagged at FS, and OR was precisely categorized as 2 d past FS. Fruit were field hydrocooled, stored 2 d at 5 C, packaged as noted, and freighted to the SRRC for analysis. In year 1, 5 d elapsed between harvesting and fresh cutting, and 4 d elapsed before cutting in year 2. FRESH-CUT CUBE PREPARATION. Fruit in optimum condition were washed in cold running tap water, sanitized in 100 mL L NaClO (pH, 6.7), rinsed in deionized water, and uniformly peeled using a CP-44 Melon Peeler (Muro Co., Tokyo), except 13-DAA fruit, which were hand peeled with a carrot peeler. About 2 to 3 · 2.5-cm cubes were prepared in pielike wedges cut from the 2.5-cm-wide slices (Beaulieu and Lea, 2003). Equatorial tissue was preferred and were used over blossom and stemend cubes because curvature at the end of fruit lends to odd and misshapen cubes; however, stem and blossom end tissue were not precluded when cube size was sufficient. Processing was done under strict sanitary conditions, using good manufacturing practices in a food preparation kitchen. Cubes from numerous fruit (10 per maturity), were randomized, and roughly 300 g were randomly placed into 710-mL low-profile Juice Catcher containers (SRW-24


In this paper we propose a set of different configurations of failure recovery schemes, developed for network-on-chip (NoC) based systems. These configurations exploit the fact that communication in NoCs tends to be partitioned and eventually localized. The failure recovery approach is based on checkpoint and rollback and is aimed towards fast recovery from system or application level failures. The proposed recovery configurations and partitions of the NoC enhance the performance/overhead of the recovery mechanism. We analyze the effectiveness of these solutions, depending on the traffic characteristics and the expected failure rate.


This work concerns with the following Choquard equation \begin{document}$ \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} -\Delta u+ u = (\int_{\Omega}\frac{u^2(y)}{|x-y|^{N-2}}dy)u &{\rm{in }}\; \Omega ,\\ u\in H_0^1(\Omega), \end{cases} \end{equation*} $\end{document} where \begin{document}$ \Omega\subseteq \mathbb{R}^{N} $\end{document} is an exterior domain with smooth boundary. We prove that the equation has at least one positive solution by variational and toplogical methods. Moreover, we establish a nonlocal version of global compactness result in unbounded domain.


Chronic drug use has been associated with dopaminergic abnormalities, detectable in humans with positron emission tomography (PET). Among these, a hallmark feature is low D2 dopamine receptor availability, which has been linked to clinical outcomes, but has not yet translated into a therapeutic strategy. The D3 dopamine receptor on the other hand has gained increasing attention, as, in contrast to D2, chronic exposure to drugs has been shown to up-regulate this receptor subtype in preclinical models of addiction—a phenomenon linked to dopamine system sensitization and drug-seeking. The present article summarizes the literature to date in humans, suggesting that the D3 receptor may indeed contribute to core features of addiction such as impulsiveness and cognitive impairment. A particularly useful tool in investigating this


Henry Kissinger once said that "As a professor, I tended to think of history as run by impersonal forces. But when you see it in practice, you see the difference personalities make."1 Kissinger's argument is well reflected in the scholarly study of foreign policy; in this line of research, the individual constitutes the heart of international politics.2 For those who follow in the tradition of Snyder, Bruck, and Sapin, political leaders' individual features influence state behaviour.3 As such, personality characteristics (such as beliefs, motives, decision-making style, and interpersonal style) affect personal orientation to behaviour, which in turn shapes one's general orientation to foreign affairs.4 In other words then, individualsor groups of individualsare the sources of all state actions.5 Abstract


The cytokine thrombopoietin (Tpo) plays a critical role in hematopoiesis by binding to the extracellular domain and inducing homodimerization of the intracellular signaling domain of its receptor, c‐Mpl. Mpl homodimerization can also be accomplished by binding of a synthetic ligand to a constitutively expressed fusion protein F36VMpl consisting of a ligand binding domain (F36V) and the intracellular signaling domain of Mpl. Unexpectedly, in contrast to Tpo stimulation, robust erythropoiesis is induced after dimerization of F36VMpl in human CD34+ progenitor cells. The goal of this study was to define the hematopoietic progenitor stages at which dimerization of intracellular Mpl induces erythropoiesis and the downstream molecular events that mediate this unanticipated effect. Dimerization (in the absence of erythropoietin and other cytokines) in human common myeloid progenitors and megakaryocytic erythroid progenitors caused a significant increase in CD34+ cells (p < .01) and induced all stages of erythropoiesis including production of enucleated red blood cells. In contrast, erythropoiesis was not seen with Tpo stimulation. CD34+ cell expansion was the result of increased cell cycling and survival (p < .05). Microarray profiling of CD34+ cells demonstrated that a unique transcriptional pattern is activated in progenitors by F36VMpl dimerization. Ligand‐inducible dimerization of intracellular Mpl in human myeloerythroid progenitors induces progenitor expansion and erythropoiesis through molecular mechanisms that are not shared by Tpo stimulation of endogenous Mpl. STEM CELLS 2012; 30:697–708


The main activity of energy service companies is possible with a flexible risk management system, which should be based on the implementation of certain principles. In this article, the authors propose their own set of principles, among which insurance occupies an important place. By property insuring, in case of its complete destruction, compensation can be obtained that allows to fully recover the costs incurred when purchasing energy-saving equipment. So, in the article, a business case is given for equipment insurance for a transport company based on scenario modeling.


The gyrotron-backward wave oscillator (Gyro-BWO) is an efficient source of coherent, high-power microwaves over the centimeter to millimeter wavelength range. At the University of Strathclyde a project has been undertaken to create a Gyro-BWO in the W-band frequency band (75 -110GHz) outputting in continuous wave (CW) operation. The dispersion for the waveguide was found numerically, analytically and experimentally. Dispersion results from the constructed waveguide agreed with theory to a high degree. A novel Cusp electron beam source has been designed to drive the beam wave interaction. Simulations have been carried out using the 3D particle in cell code MAGIC and a 2A, 40kV electron beam has been created.


Researchers in scientific specialties and invisible colleges tend to cite each other in their written communications and especially in the Journals devoted to those specialities Such citations form a network through which there are many influence paths The main paths through such citation networks contain the key intellectual developments in these scientific fields If a specialty hangs together as a coherent field of research, one would expect that the citations within the field's journal should reflect the history ofthatfield and exhibit the degree of interconnectedness among the different researchers and their special subgroups Further, to the extent that a field is self-contained (i e , not borrowing on other fields for its key intellectual developments), the citation network within the journal should contain one or more main paths on which are located many of the key intellectual developments of the field These ideas are tested using citations in fifteen volumes of the Journal of Conflict Resolution published from 1957 to 1971


This chapter contains sections titled: The Quality of Employment in Services, The Politics of Technical Change, Using the New Technology, Guide to Further Reading


This study aimed to examine the impact of the Israeli blockade on Palestinian education and to identify the humanitarian recovery needs necessary for the quality and continuity of education. The study used the descriptive analytical method which involved examining at the phenomenon under investigation. To answer the questions of the study, the Comprehensive Literature Review Meta-Framework of the Seven-step Model was employed to guide the methodology of this research to introduce profound inferences about the impacts of the Israeli blockade on education in the Gaza Strip as well as about the recovery needs necessary to ensure the quality and continuity of Palestinian education. The findings revealed that the Israeli blockade severely impacted Palestinian education in the Gaza Strip and hindered student access to quality and inclusive education in various ways. Students were the most affected by the 12-year blockade. They were repeatedly exposed to a huge loss of lives, severe psychological traumas, and worsening economic conditions. As well, teachers were not immune from the grave consequences of the blockade in terms of murder, denial of mobility and exchange, deprivation of professional development, psychological traumas, and chronic power-cut-offs. Also, the entire Palestinian educational system was impaired by the Israeli blockade in terms of direct school destruction, stuck school reconstruction, chronic power supply deficit, unprotected learning environment, and controlled educational curriculum. Targeting and controlling students, teachers, educational infrastructure, and curricula caused long-lasting impairment to the whole Palestinian educational system. The Israeli blockade was detrimental to the students' right to quality education that would advance their competencies and responds to the compelling current and future development needs in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, the study identified some foremost humanitarian recovery needs to be addressed by Palestinian policy makers to redress the forbidding impacts of the Israeli blockade on Palestinian education.

Keywords: Palestinian education, Israeli blockade.


Remdesivir is one of the effective anti-viral drugs used as a Covid-19 therapy at moderate, severe and critical degrees. Side effects that need to be considered in the use of remdesivir is hepatotoxicity. The active metabolite of remdesivir (GS-44152) is thought to play a role in mitochondrial damage in liver cells, inhibiting bile acid transport, and inducing oxidative stress. This study was conducted to evaluate the use of remdesivir associated with changes in liver function SGOT and SGPT. This study was retrospective observation of moderate, severe and critical COVID-19 patients receiving remdesivir with inclusion criteria of all inpatient medical records at Bhayangkara Hospital Surabaya for the period of August 2020-July 2021. The results showed that significant increase of liver enzymes occurred in SGPT (Pre 29 .50; Post 33.50) while in SGOT (Pre 33.00; Post 26.00), enzymes were significantly decreased. The decrease was greater in the SGPT (Pre 69.00; Post 47.00) and SGOT (Pre 56.00; Post 32.00) hepatoprotector groups. The use of remdesivir had no effect on liver function as indicated by an increase in SGPT value and a decrease in SGOT value, both of which were still in the normal range.


Response rates can be calculated by various means, allowing the researchers the usage of different disposition codes, which in turn can result in vastly different response rates for the same survey. One of the most comprehensive reporting conventions is the 'Standard Definitions' by the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), which describes specific definitions of disposition codes and various outcome rates in great detail, allowing for only a marginal variance of results. In this inquiry, we aim to document the reporting of response rates and other survey characteristics in recent publications of scientific journals. Our analyses are based on two sample of articles, which allow a comparison with earlier reviews as well as between different scientific disciplines. Our findings show, that while there is an overall increase in the reporting of response rates and other defining survey characteristics, these improvements are from universal. While the AAPOR standard might be considered an established convention within the survey research community, other disciplines of the social sciences can be considered far more heterogeneous in their reporting styles. A comparison between social sciences and public health journals reveals further a mostly similar reporting pattern, with only specific details underreported in the latter.


It is commonly believed that attractive people are more successful, but the empirical support for this belief is mixed. A number of role-playing, laboratory studies have demonstrated that more attractive men are more often hired, but the laboratory data for women are less consistent. Few studies have explored the effects of attractiveness on actual hiring and starting salaries for men or women. Even less work has been done on the impact of attractiveness once on the job. It was predicted that there would be positive effects for attractiveness and that the effects would be stronger as people worked longer on their jobs. To test this prediction, a sample of 737 male and female MBA graduates from the years between 1973 and 1982 was used to explore how facial attractiveness relates to starting and later salaries. Results indicated that more attractive men had higher starting salaries and they continued to earn more over time. For women, there was no effect of attractiveness for starting salaries, but more attractive women earned more later on in their jobs. By 1983, men were found to earn $2600 more on the average for each unit of attractiveness (on a 5-point scale) and women earned $2150 more. Implications for research in this area are discussed.


Women Trafficking issue enhances significantly as the outcome of the existing system of economic globalization in the International Relation realm. Indonesia is dragging the community into those system regardless the capability of them. As the result the vulnerable group as women and girls become exploited both economically and sexually as the Trafficking objects. In terms of dealing this issue, the Government could not do much because of lack of capacity both to assist the survivors and combat Trafficking directly. In an effort to fill the vacuum state role in addressing the Women Trafficking issue, NGOs present to provide assistance and services directly to victims. NGOs conduct research and establish programs to be implemented as measures applied in the process of combating Women Trafficking. Those programs could be run based on cooperation of each part of community who form civil society movement and with the facility of NGOs as the empowerment and intermediary institutions of society. The NGOs who are mentioned in this research is ICMC and Hotline Surabaya. As the main actor of International Relations, state has a role to facilitate any efforts in addressing Women Trafficking in Indonesia consistently. In this case is Indonesian Government. As the Women Trafficking issue increase significantly, NGOs and government relation is needed and urgent as an attempt to achieve common welfare. The theories used in this research are Globalization, Complex Interdependence, NGO, Collective Action, Women Trafficking, Women Rights, Poverty, and Civil Society Theory. The result from a series of researching process indicates that role of NGOs is an essential matter in addressing Women Trafficking issue in Indonesia.


This paper explores image self-similarity as a means to impede forensic camera identification based on sensor noise. We follow the tradition of patch replacement attacks against robust digital watermarks, putting particular emphasis on the use of PatchMatch, an efficient algorithm for finding approximate nearest neighbor patches. Experimental results suggest that sensor noise fingerprints can be desynchronized reasonably well without the need of geometric image transformations and without explicit knowledge of the fingerprint, while maintaining a tolerable visual quality. Introduction Scalable tests for digital camera identification based on highly robust sensor noise fingerprints link digital images to their source device with remarkable reliability [1, 2]. This quality is commonly attributed to photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU), a cameraspecific multiplicative noise pattern caused by inevitable material imperfections and variations in the manufacturing process of sensor elements. PRNU occurs very similarly for images captured with the same camera, but differs substantially between images from different cameras. With access to enough images taken by a certain digital camera, it is possible to estimate the noise pattern resulting from these imperfections and to establish a fingerprint unique to the device. The ability to identify the source camera from an image and to link seemingly unrelated images from the same camera holds great potential for forensic applications. Yet it also brings to the surface many concerns for the anonymity of photographers, who may become identifiable through the analysis and combination of information derived from one or multiple images. This is not always desired [3]. Counter-forensic techniques [4] to suppress traces of origin in digital images thus become a relevant building block for ensuring unlinkability [5] for anonymous image communication, e. g., in the case of journalism, activism, or legitimate whistle-blowing. Since the camera sensor fingerprint is a spatially varying noise pattern, irreversible desynchronization is one approach to impede camera identification—a strategy with traditions in digital watermarking and image forensics [6, 7]. Recent works based on seam-carving follow this line of thought [8, 9], yet require a substantial reduction of image resolution to be successful. This paper explores the potential of patch-replacement attacks [10, 11] as a tool to desynchronize sensor noise fingerprints instead. Also this approach has its origin in attacks against watermarking systems, where it achieved watermark removal with considerably less image degradation than simple image processing primitives that have been discussed in the context of sensor fingerprint robustness as well (strong JPEG compression or denoising, for instance). We combine the idea of distortion-constrained patch-replacement with PatchMatch [12], a modern approximate nearest neighbor search scheme. The result is a heuristic, yet effective algorithm to suppress sensor noise fingerprints while maintaining a surprisingly high visual quality, specifically so in textured image regions. Before we present our approach in more detail in the remainder of this text, the following section reviews the basics of sensor noise forensics and corresponding countermeasures. We continue with a discussion of potential patch-replacement strategies and experimental results, before we conclude the paper. Notation Without loss of generality, we consider grayscale images of size U ×V , which we express as vectors x of 8-bit intensity values, x = (xi), 0 ≤ i < UV , xi ∈ [0,255]. Indices i are organized in column-major order. At times it will be more convenient to refer to spatial indices (u,v) explicitly, with row index u = u(i) = i−Ubi/Uc and column index v = v(i) = bi/Uc. We will frequently consider patches x(m), defined as small contiguous P×P image regions, x(m) = ( x p ) , 0≤ p<P2, where patch index m denotes the m-th patch in the image x. Patches may overlap by 0≤ O < P pixels in horizontal and vertical direction, such that the upper-left corner of the m-th patch corresponds to pixel i = i(m),


-The study area comprises three communities of Ala, Daura in Borno State and Kyalari in Yobe State, North-eastern Nigeria which forms part of the Chad Basin. Twenty five (25) water samples were collected from major sources which comprises of nine (9) hand dug wells, ten (10) surface water and six (6) boreholes. The physical parameters analyzed revealed pH values ranging from 6.5 - 8.1 and electrical conductivity varies between 67 – 1050mµ/cm. The results of the chemical parameters shows that Ca2+ ranges between 3.5 to 66.5mg/l, while Mg2+ varies from 4.8 to 28.2mg/l, Na+ and K+ varies between 0.7 to 1241.0mg/l and2.0 to 112.0mg/l respectively. HCO3-ranges from 77.5mg/l to 337.0mg/l while Cl-varies from 4.0 to 160.0mg/l. The concentration of SO4-varies between 0.7mg/l to 283.0mg/l. This study confirms that they are normal for domestic, agricultural and small scale irrigation purposes. The study shows that some cation and anion are within WHO limits of 2020 permissible limit of drinking water standard except for WARODI wells which show abnormally higher values above the WHO standard.


Competition requires firms to continuously polish their processes, and one source where improvement has been explored is digitalization. As a single technology related to digitalization, this thesis studied Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Purpose of the study was to identify how the case study company overall had implemented RPA and additionally which processes could be suitable to implement RPA in a single department of case study organization. RPA is a software robot working manual and structured tasks implemented in the graphical user interface. The main benefits in this type of automation are the lower development cost, easier development and quicker implementation. Earlier research of the topic shows that processes with high volume or high value of transactions, are executed in stable environment, have low cognitive requirements, have possibility to break down into unambiguous rules and have limited need for exception handling are seen as promising characteristics considering implementation of RPA. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with total of 13 persons within the case study company and evaluation part of the test RPA was conducted through observation. Study found out that the case study company's implementation can be described with down-to-top approach where the business users were involved to development from beginning and the benefits of automation of processes was seen as more than only time-saving. Furthermore, it was noted that there are no restrictions of the area where technology could be implemented, but more of the process itself. In the case study department, overall 19 processes related to reporting, manual data transfer between systems and manual financial transactions in ERP were found out to be feasible for RPA, but only few of these could be justified worthwhile with automation. Main lesson learned from the creation of test RPAs was the same as in earlier research, that standardization and stabilizing the process before implementation is recommended beforehand.


A dynamic, model-based decision making framework is described to support design and manufacture of engineered products. While the framework is inspired by the multiple stages of Quality Function Deployment, the presented framework differs by through the use of quantitative models relating engineering decisions to performance measures. The number of variables, model behavior, and model fidelity are intended to evolve as the design progresses. The Extensive Simplex Method is utilized to identify the feasible space of dynamic model and reveal trade-offs between the decision variables. The methods are demonstrated by various applications of product design and manufacturing process, including the case study of a mechanical actuator design. While promising, further research work is required to extend the methods to non-linear and probabilistic models as well as user interface design.© 2003 ASME


A synthesis technique based on an anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) template was developed to synthesize carbon nanofibres via thermal decomposition of acetylene using nickel as a catalyst. The structure and morphology of the nanofibres were studied with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that most of the carbon nanofibres have a diameter of 150 nm, similar to that of the template nanopores. Also, they have novel shapes. Their electron field emission property was measured and a threshold field of 6.6 MV m−1 was observed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Summary Poul Erik Andersen: Endovascular interventional treatment of haemoptysis Ugeskr Laeger 2005;167:####-####Haemoptysis is a common symptom which can have several courses, of which bronchitis , bronchiectasis, broncogenic carcinoma and tuberculosis are the most common. Massive haemoptysis (>300 ml in 24 hours) occurs infrequently but has a high mortality rate. Bronchial artery embolisation, embolisation of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations and endoluminal aortic stent graft are interventional treatments which can be lifesaving and in some situations should be the first choice of treatment. Interventional treatments are effective, safe therapeutic procedures which reduce the need for high-risk acute thoracic surgery. Korrespondance: Poul Erik Andersen , Radiologisk afdeling, Odense Universitets-hospital, DK-5000 Odense C. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com: 9. december 2004Interessekonflikter: Ingen angivet Litteratur 1. Abal AT, Nair PC, Cherian J. Haemopt ysis aetiology evaluation and outcome – a prospective study in a third-world country. Respir Med 2001;95:548-52.2. Reisz G, Stevens D, Boutwell C et al. The causes of hemoptysis revisited: a review of the etiologies of hemoptysis between 1986 and 1995. Mo Med 1997;94:633-5.3. Yu-Tang Goh P, Lin M, Teo N et al. Embolization for hemoptysis. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol 2002;25:17-25.4. Marshall TJ, Flower CDR, Jackson JE. The role of radiology in the invest-igation and management of patients wi th haemoptysis. Clin Radiol 1996;51: 391-400.5. Marshall TJ, Jackson JE. Vascular intervention in the thorax: bronchial artery embolization for haemoptysis. Eur Radiol 1997;7:1221-7.6. Crocco JA, Rooney JJ, Frankushen DS et al. Massive haemoptysis. Archives Int Med 1968;121:495-8.7. Thompson AB, Teschler H, Rennard SI. Pathogenesis, evaluation, and ther-apy for massive hemoptysis. Clin Chest Med 1992;13:69-82.8. Johnson JL. Manifestations of hemoptysis. Postgrad Med 2002;112:101-9.9. Jean-Baptiste E. Clinical assessment and management of massive hemo-ptysis. Crit Care Med 2000;28:1642-7.10. Boyars MC. Current strategies for diagnosing and managing hemoptysis. J Crit Illnes 1999;14:148-56.11. Dansk Lunge Cancer Gruppe (DLCG) . Lungecancer. Undersogelse og behand-ling. Referenceprogram. Kobenhavn: Sundhedsstyrelsen, 1998.12. Yoon W, Kim JK, Kim YH et al. Bronchial and nonbronchial systemic artery embolization for lifethreatening hemoptysis. Radiographies 2002;22:1395-409.13. Hsiao EL, Kirsch CM, Kagawa FT et al. Utility of fiberoptic bronchoscopy be-fore bronchial artery embolization for massive hemoptysis. Am J Roentgenol 2001;177:861-7.14. Lee TW, Wan S, Choy DK et al. Managem ent of massive hemoptysis: a single institution experience. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;6:232-5.15. Klamut M, Szczerbo-Trojanowska M, Tillmann U. Catheter embolization of the thoracic arteries in the treatment of lung hemorrhage. Fortschr Geb Ront-genstr Nuklearmed 1985;143:645-50.16. Remy J, Voisin C, Dupuis C et al. Traitement des hemoptysies par emboliza-tion de la circulation systemique. Ann Radiol 1974;17:5-16.17. Robert AC. Bronchial artery embolizat ion therapy. J Thorac Imaging 1990;5: 60-72.18. Garcia-Medina J, Casal M, Fernandez-Villar A et al. Embolization of bronchial arteries in patients with hemoptysis: influence of underlying pathology on outcome. J Intervent Radiol 1999;14:171-80.


An object of the present invention is to provide a porous material (resin composition) having high heat insulation properties, mechanical properties, and electrical properties by controlling function of a porous film by setting a porosity size, distribution of the porosity size, and a porosity ratio of the porous film in predetermined ranges. The resin composition according to the present invention is comprised of an engineering plastic having porous structure in which not less than 80% of a total porosity is comprised of independent porosities, a mean porosity size is not less than 0.01 [mu]m and not more than 0.9 [mu]m, and not less than 80% of the total porosity has a porosity size within +-30% of the mean porosity size.


The main objective of this paper is to investigate and to establish what are the facts and implications about offshoring and outsourcing in the financial sector. Offshoring of services has received an enormous amount of attention in the political circles in recent times. Let alone its consequences, offshoring does not appear to be widely understood. Therefore, we thought it would be useful to examine this phenomenon to distinguish facts from exaggerated claims. Given the attractiveness of the phenomenon and the potential implications for competitiveness, there is a need for more analysis on the corporate strategies underlying this trend. In that way, our study will describe the offshoring phenomenon from the financial sector point of view. Why this sector? Although offshoring is a trend across all sectors, several consulting studies have shown that offshoring and outsourcing scenes are currently dominated by banks.


s from the 2009 AGTS meeting Collected abstracts from the 6th Annual Meeting of the Australasian Gene Therapy Society, held at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Kerry Packer Education Centre, Sydney, April 29th May 1st, 2009. Copyright  2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J Gene Med 2009; 11: 741–742.


Strain-induced tilts caused by variations in material properties can produce large perturbations in the tilt field near a material discontinuity. This is evidenced in data from a closely spaced array of borehole tiltmeters that has been operating at Piiion Flat Geophysical Observatory in southern California since 1987. The array is composed of three borehole tiltmeters located at depths of 24, 36, and 120 m. The tiltmeters have a sensitivity of a few nanoradians. Tidal measurements show differences between the boreholes of up to 50%. The largest percent difference occurs in the semidiurnal band where the tilt field measured in the 36-m borehole differs by -10 nrad at the M2 frequency. This difference has been modeled as a strain-induced tilt caused by the weathering layer.


In this paper, a fractal compression technique based on zero-mean block matching is utilized as unconventional affine mapping. In this method the mean of the range blocks is used instead of traditional offset parameter. This will reduce and simplify the computations of the affine parameter during the encoding process. This method is tested on 24 bits/pixel color image. The data of the color compression (R,G,B) are transformed to (Y,U,V) components, to take the advantage of the existing spectral correlation to gain more compression. Also the low spatial resolution of the human vision systems to the chromatic components (U,V) is utilized to increase the compression ratio without making significant subjective distortion. The test results led to encoding time (104.81) sec, compression ratio (10.97) and PSNR (32.47). These results show reduction in the encoding time about 18%, and increase in compression ratio around 13%. The image quality was nearly preserved in comparison with traditional method. Also the number of iteration required to construct the attractors is less than that required in the traditional method.