Introduction To support general practitioners (GPs) in providing early palliative care to patients with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or heart failure, the RADboud university medical centre indicators for PAlliative Care needs tool (RADPAC) and a training programme were developed to identify such patients and to facilitate anticipatory palliative care planning. We studied whether GPs, after 1 year of training, identified more palliative patients, and provided multidimensional and multidisciplinary care more often than untrained GPs. Methods We performed a survey 1 year after GPs in the intervention group of an RCT were trained. With the help of a questionnaire, all 134 GPs were asked how many palliative patients they had identified, and whether anticipatory care was provided. We studied number of identified palliative patients, expected lifetime, contact frequency, whether multidimensional care was provided and which other disciplines were involved. Results Trained GPs identified more palliative patients than did untrained GPs (median 3 vs 2; p 0.046) and more often provided multidimensional palliative care (p 0.024). In both groups, most identified patients had cancer. Conclusions RADPAC sensitises GPs in the identification of palliative patients. Trained GPs more often provided multidimensional palliative care. Further adaptation and evaluation of the tools and training are necessary to improve early palliative care for patients with organ failure. Trial registration number NTR2815; post results.


Neoichnology of a microbial mat in a temperate, siliciclastic environment: Spiaggia al Bosco (Grado, Northern Adriatic, Italy) Grado-Marano lagoon is one of the most important transitional systems of the Northern Adriatic Sea, characterized by infrequently ample tides for the Mediterranean Sea. The mentioned tidal features together with the peculiar climatic and morphological properties result in a composite wetland setting which are dominated by the lagoon-river delta systems. The studied site, Spiaggia al Bosco, is located on the external margin of Grado lagoon and consists of a complex mosaic of peritidal environments. GPS and GIS techniques have been used for mapping the ichnologic features occurring within the sedimentary facies of Spiaggia al Bosco. The most recurrent traces have been described, with particular attention to the structures related to microbial mat settings: in fact one of the most peculiar features of Spiaggia al Bosco is a well-developed microbial mat colonizing vast sections of the tidal flat. Insects have demonstrated to be major tracemakers within this context, and their burrows verified a number of strategies intimately centered to the microbial mat. Undermat mining behaviour, larval protection and feeding behaviours have been clearly revealed by diverse biogenic structures produced by heterocerid coleopterans and Diptera. Aside from microbial mat settings, the studied site has revealed a diverse and abundant ichnofauna well-related to the complex transitional ecosystem of Spiaggia al Bosco. Consequently, Spiaggia al Bosco constitutes an ideal site to understand the ichnology of temperate, peritidal environments.


IntroductionMarchiafava-Bignami disease (MBD) is defined pathologically as callosal degeneration associated with chronic alcoholism. We report a patient with MBD with acute lesions confined in the precentral cortex and splenium. Various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) modalities were performed sequentially to elucidate the pathophysiology. Case ReportA 52-year-old man with chronic alcoholism developed acute confusion and dysarthria. He improved incompletely with nutritional supplementation. Diffusion-weighted imaging MRI disclosed the presence of reversible lesions with low apparent diffusion coefficient values in the precentral cortex and splenium. Perfusion-weighted imaging revealed that the cerebral blood volume and flow decreased and subsequently increased, and the mean transit time and time to peak were persistently prolonged. On magnetic resonance spectroscopy, choline was initially normal and became elevated during the recovery period, whereas N-acetylaspartate was low initially and after the resolution of the lesion on conventional MRI. ConclusionsThe precentral cortex and splenium are the most vulnerable areas in acute MBD. The lesions have reversible restricted diffusivity and hypoperfusion. The magnetic resonance spectroscopy findings correlate well with the clinical status.


In most cases, the traditional Web-based learning management systems (e.g.
 Moodle, Blackboard) have been designed without any built-in support for a
 preferred pedagogical model or approach. The proponents of such systems have
 claimed that this kind of inherent "pedagogical neutrality" is a desirable
 characteristic for a LMS, as it allows teachers to implement various
 pedagogical approaches. This study is based on an opposite approach, arguing
 for designing next-generation online learning platforms - so called digital
 learning ecosystems - with built-in affordances, which promote and enforce
 desirable pedagogical beliefs, strategies and learning activity patterns
 while suppressing others. We propose a conceptual and process model for
 pedagogy-driven design of online learning environments and illustrate it with
 a case study on development and implementation process of a digital learning
 ecosystem based on Dippler platform. We also describe the pedagogical
 foundation of Dippler that was guided by a combination of four contemporary
 pedagogical approaches: self-directed learning, competence-based learning,
 collaborative knowledge building and task-centered instructional design.


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Monkeypox is a virus that has been endemic in Central and West Africa since the 1970s, yet has remained rare in nonendemic countries (Bunge et al., 2022). However, in the past few months, more than 78,000 cases have been reported in 109 WHO-member countries and cases continue to rise (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022). On July 23, 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreaks of 2022 a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern," the highest threat classification WHO has for global disease outbreaks (WHO, 2022a). Monkeypox, related to the eradicated smallpox virus, often presents with fever, skin lesions, myalgia, and rash (WHO, 2022). The virus' fatality currently ranges between 3 and 6%, based on age (younger children are susceptible), vaccination status, and access to healthcare resources (WHO, 2022). While not officially a sexually transmitted infection, as the virus also may spread through non-sexual close contact via fomites and respiratory droplets (McCollum and Damon, 2014), gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have proven to be at high risk during this outbreak; members of this population make up 98% of cases (Thornhill et al., 2022). Looking at previous diseases that spread rapidly to become pandemics, this article will demonstrate the danger that monkeypox poses to occupational performance across the globe, and the role that occupational therapists (OTs) have to play in mitigating this threat. Monkeypox, if left unchecked, may strain the need for rehabilitation resources. While often self-limiting, monkeypox has no cure and can result in long-term disabilities due to complications including encephalitis, secondary infections, skin sloughing off, and corneal infections (WHO, 2022). While the incidence of severe cases is relatively low, as the number of cases increases throughout the globe, the number of cases resulting in disability will likely increase proportionally. Individuals with monkeypox may struggle with certain activities due to their symptoms, and thus may benefit from rehabilitation to help them maintain functional independence during illness. The COVID-19 pandemic has already increased rehabilitation demand and overextended clinicians. The addition of a third pandemic (monkeypox, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19) would overwhelm the rehabilitation workforce further. As experts in activities of daily living (ADLs) and occupational performance, OTs should do what they can to mitigate the threats monkeypox poses on functional independence in patients. Historically, the healthcare community has been slow to respond to diseases primarily affecting MSM, in part due to stigma. The most well-known example of this is HIV/AIDS, which emerged primarily among MSM during the 1980s. While the first case was recorded in 1981, the first article on occupational therapy's role in HIV/AIDS care was not published until 1987 (Molineux, 1997), by which point HIV/ AIDS was already prevalent in every region in the world (CDC, 1986). The profession did not consider HIV/AIDS care as a part of their care continuum for years; it was still considered a "new service continuum" in 1997 despite the need for services prior (Molineux, 1997). Inaccessible rehabilitation services likely led to lower quality of life and disability for many HIV-positive individuals than they would have had with these services (Chan et al, 1996). We must acknowledge OTs' role in monkeypox prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation now, at the beginning of this outbreak.


We present a method to simulate scattering of microwaves in realistic soil representations. Our results will be used by the designers of a new microwave antenna for humanitarian mine clearance being developed within the European Project PICE. We aim to identify scenarios giving false alarm signals and search for means to avoid these conditions. We use the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA), a method originally developed to study the scattering of light by particles in interstellar dust. The DDA simulates the scattering objects by a lattice of electric dipoles and calculates the total scattering as the contribution of all the dipoles in the lattice to the total field. It is a very suitable method to study electromagnetic scattering by objects of irregular shape and by clusters of them. We have successfully applied DDA to the analysis of light scattering by clusters of many thousands of particles, simulating pigments in paper coatings.


The aim of this study was to analyze leaf anatomy of selected taxa of the Briza Complex and also of a related genus, Erianthecium Parodi, to provide data for the taxonomy of the Complex, whose circumscription is being discussed. Middle portions of the second leaf below the inflorescence of 21 taxa of the Briza Complex and of Erianthecium bulbosum were collected, fixed and processed according to conventional methodology for light microscopy. All species present anatomical patterns typical of festucoid and C3 grasses. The results suggest that the characters of the abaxial surface of the epidermis such as presence/absence of cork cells and shape of silica bodies are useful for understanding the taxonomic relationships within the Briza Complex, distinguishing Eurasiatic species from American species. The same applies to several characters of the leaf blade in cross-section, e.g. blade shape, amount of sclerenchyma and structure of the mesophyll. On the other hand, in the American species of the "Briza Complex", the three groups obtained here do not agree with any previous proposal of generic or infrageneric taxonomic categories.


The tail flip of the decapod shrimp is a main feature in escaping behavior from the mesh of the codend in the trawl. The characteristics of tail flip in target prawn was observed and analyzed in a water tunnel in respect of flow condition and mesh penetration by a high speed video camera (500 fps). The tail bending angle or bending time in static water was significantly different than in flow water (0.7 m/s) and resultantly the angular velocity in static water was significantly higher than in flow water when carapace was fixed condition. When escaping through vertical traverse net panel in water flow the relative moving angle and relative passing angle to flow direction during tail flip, it significantly decreases the number of shrimps escaping than the case of blocking shrimp. The bending angles of tail flip between net blocking and passing through mesh were not significantly different while the bending time of shrimp passing through mesh was significantly longer than when shrimp blocking on the net. Accordingly the angular velocity of passing through mesh was significantly slower than blocking on the net although the angular velocity of the tail flip was not significantly related with carapace length. The main feature of tail flip for mesh penetration was considered as smaller diagonal direction as moving and passing angle in relation to net panel as right angle to flow direction rather than the angular velocity of tail flip.


This report from the Federal Inter-Agency Forum on Aging Related Stats provides the latest data on the 37 key indicators selected by the Forum to portray aspects of the lives of older Americans and their families. It is divided into five subject areas: population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, and health care. Access the report here


Time dependence of the velocity of inhalation and exhalation in breathing was measured in the presence and absence of a magnetic field. When a U-shaped permanent magnet of central magnetic strength 0.7 T was set around the location of air intake, the average velocity of inhaled and exhaled flows increased by about 23%. When a permanent magnet was brought in contact with the nose and a magnetic field was applied inside a nostril, the average velocity increased by about 18%. Magnetic acceleration was efficient when air flowed into a narrower space in the direction of increasing magnetic field strength. The present study suggests a novel method which assists breathing.


Regional economic system (RES) is a kind of high level,nonlinear and complicated system which has dynamic state behaviour.Its border is vague,and has multi-duplicate feedback ring,among each subsystem of the system and various element of every subsystem,there are unthinkable interdependent relations.So it is very difficult to analyse the development of RES only according to audio-visual knowledge,experimental judge and brain derivation,sometimes it is even impossible.In order to analyse its structure deeply and master its moving characteREStics to some extent,in this paper,the authors introduce system dynamics(SD)method to inquire into the structure,and operating mechanisms of RES,and establishing RES state space mathematic model.


While the average remaining time to collision of about 20 s is quite promising, there are also a couple of scenarios where it drops below 10 s. The main issue there is generally the low contrast between the terrain as background and the approaching traffic aircraft-a result of the exceptional dynamic range if the sun is close to the camera FOV and shady terrain is visible at the same time. These situations could certainly be improved by using a higher bit depth instead of the 8-bit used for the scenarios presented here.


Taha Husayn's Education: From the Azhar to the Sorbonne by Abdelrashid Mahmoudi (Richmond: Curzon Press, 1998). Pp. 241, bibliography and index. £35.00. ISBN 0–7007–1027–2. Middle Eastern Lectures, Number 3, 1999 edited by Martin Kramer. Tel Aviv: Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (distributed by Syracuse University Press, New York). Pp. 129. $14.95. The Kin Who Count: Family and Society in Ottoman Aleppo 1170–1840 by Margaret L. Meriwether. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999. Pp. ix + 278, charts, tables, index. $45.00 (cloth); $22.00 (paper). ISBN 0–292–75223–7; 0–292–75224–5. Deltio Kentrou Mikrasiatikon Spoudon, Vol.12 1997–1998. Athens: Kentro Mikrasiatikon Spoudon (Centre for Asia Minor Studies). 5,000 dr. per year (subscription). The Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait: Religion, Identity and Otherness in the Analysis of War and Conflict by Hamdi A. Hassan. London: Pluto, 1999. Pp. viii + 278, bibliography, index. £17.99/$22.50 (paper). ISBN 0–7453–1411–2. Romantic Communist: The Life and Work of Nazim Hikmet by Saime Goksu and Edward Timms, preface by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. London: Hurst & Company, 1997. Pp. 367, 32 photographs. £25.00. ISBN 1–85065–371–2. Iraqi Assyrian Christians in London by Madawi Al‐Rasheed. Lampeter: Mellen Press, Mellen Studies in Sociology, Volume 21, 1998. Pp. 272. $89.95/£49.95. ISBN 0–7734–8251–2. Khomeini: The Life of the Ayatollah by Baqer Moin. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 1999. Pp. 368. £24.95. ISBN 1–85043–128–0. Ibn Al‐Jazzar on Sexual Diseases and their Treatment, translated and edited by Gerrit Bos. London and New York: Kegan Paul International, 1997. Pp.417, bibliography, index. £65.00. ISBN 0–7103–0569–9.


The opening scene depicts a teenage boy, who will spend most of the series trying to kill gang leader, Nidge, showing his friends his gun. He points the gun at another boy and orders his friend to film it on his phone. Instead of shooting the boy, he guns down a passing cat. The scene then cuts to Nidge, who we have watched throughout the arc of the previous three series develop from a sycophantic, ambitious underling to a cold-hearted amoral gang leader, now watching porn in the dark, in which a woman is submissive and her mouth is gagged. Clearly, the tone of the show is darker than ever. The most likable and moral character in the show, Darren, has been killed as revenge for a killing he carried out to save Nidge. In the first episode of this series, Nidge drives to a graveyard and stands over Darren's grave. His emotions are opaque: although it is not clear if he feels remorse or sadness, he is clearly haunted by Darren's death. The only remaining character with any moral standing (although clearly this is a relative concept in this world) is Tommy but he has been beaten so brutally by Nidge in the last series that he suffered brain damage. Told by Nidge that a group of Nigerian immigrants are responsible for the attack, the confused and damaged Tommy continues to work for Nidge. But Tommy has also been left distant and passive and when we first see him, his wife is watching over him as he sleeps and she wipes some blood from his ear. Tommy's wife Siobhan seems to have intuited what really happened to Tommy. She is repeatedly shown deep in thought suggesting that she is contemplating how to protect Tommy or perhaps even avenge Nidge's attack on him. The boy who we see in the first scene, already a coldhearted killer, has joined forces with Lizzie, the dissident Republican gunwoman who killed Darren, and their sole mission is now to kill Nidge. Despite these threats Nidge emerges unscathed at the end of the last episode. Just at the point when the police are about to catch the whole gang bringing in illegal material, having surveilled them over the course of the series, Tommy passes out, with blood quickly dripping from his ears and mouth. The head of the investigation faces a choice: wait just a few more minutes until the incriminating shipping container comes in and run the risk of Tommy dying, or ruin years of investigative work by calling an ambulance and thus alerting the whole gang to their presence. He chooses the latter, having built up sympathy for Tommy and his wife. This tough moral decision leads to Nidge and his entire gang getting off after arrest without charges. At the end of a series in which it seemed every force in the show was conspiring against Nidge, he emerges triumphant and suffers no punishment for his many crimes. Walking away together, free men despite all the murders and extreme forms of violence they have committed, Nidge says to Fran 'If I hadn't used Tommy I'd be inside now'. Nodding back ironically to the theme suggested by 'Turn, Turn, Turn' at the beginning of the series, Fran says "The universe, Nidgey, the universe." Over the course of the fourth series, distance emerges between Nidge and Trish, his wife. She spends her days blowing his ill-gotten gains on clothes and pampering and she indulges him despite his bad behaviour. This forgiving and submissive approach only seems to make him more distant. At the same time he is getting closer to Janet, the brothel keeper he works with. Nidge's amorality is exposed to Janet when two of the women working in the brothel die from a heroin overdose: he insists they leave the bodies to rot in an apartment rather than alert anyone and risk police attention. After Nidge reveals his moral character, Janet's warmth towards him disappears. In a final moment of intimacy Janet reveals that her sister died when they were teenagers. The deaths of the girls has brought back these painful memoriesfor her but has disturbingly not effected Nidge at all. …


A combined preparation contains a compound with a phosphodiesterase inhibiting effect and a compound that reduces the biologically effective intracellular Ca content. This preparation is suitable for treating immune diseases. Such a preparation can, for example, contain the following combinations: pentoxifylline and nifedipine, pentoxifylline and diltiazem, pentoxifylline and verapamil, pentoxifylline and cyclosporine A, as well as vincopectine and diltiazem.


Data Mining is defined as extracting information from massive sets of data. We can say that data mining is the procedure of mining knowledge from data. Classification is a data mining function that assigns items in a collection to target categories or classes, coming to prediction attempts to form patterns that permit it to predict the next event's given the available input data. Now-a-day's Educational data mining is an emerging discipline. Educational Data Mining field concentrates on Prediction more often as compared to generate exact results for future purpose. Observing the changes occurring in the schedule of day-to-day inquiry. Though it is the biggest educational challenge to improve the condition of student's performance. This title mainly focuses on identifying the student's outcome by using decision tree based classification algorithms. The data set of student academic records is tested and applied various decision tree based classification algorithms such as C4.5. The outcome of statistics is generated based on decision tree based classification algorithms, and comparison of two classifiers is also done to predict the accuracy. This project promotes the importance of prediction and decision tree classification based data mining algorithms in the field of education and also presents some promising future lines.


This paper deals with a novel approach to inhibiting the harmful impact of moisture sorption in old art works and historical exhibits preserved in remote historic buildings that are in use as depositories or exhibition rooms for cultural heritage collections. It is a sequel to the previous work presented in [2], where the principle of moisture sorption stabilization was explained. Sorption isotherm investigations and EMC control implementation in historical buildings not provided with heating are the main concern in this paper. The proposed microclimate adjustment consists in leaving the interior temperature to run almost its spontaneous yearly cycle, while the air humidity is maintained in a specific relationship to the current interior temperature. The interior air humidity is modestly adjusted to protect historical exhibits and art works from harmful variations in the content of absorbed moisture, which would otherwise arise owing to the interior temperature drifts. Since direct measurements of moisture content are not feasible, the air humidity is controlled via a model-based principle. Two long-term implementations of the proposed microclimate control have already proved that it can permanently maintain a constant moisture content in the preserved exhibits.


This physical properties, proximate composition and functional properties of Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) obtained from Enugu State were studied. The result obtained for dehulled and undehulled lima bean with respect to proximate composition gave the following value for dehulled lima bean: moisture 7.18%, crude fat 4.67%, protein 14.24%, crude fiber 17.89%, ash 0.66% and carbohydrate 55.36% while undehulled lima bean contents were moisture 4.30%, crude fat 2.62%, protein 16.31%, crude fiber 18.00%, ash content 2.13%, carbohydrate 56.14%. Moisture, crude fat, protein and ash contents were significantly different than crude fiber and carbohydrate. The functional properties showed higher values for dehulled than undehulled okpokoro flour. The emulsion capacity 4.35 (ml/g) for dehulled and 3.03 (ml/g) for undehulled; foam capacity 31.67% for dehulled and 25.33% for undehulled; bulk density 0.82 (ml/g) and 0.88(ml/g) water absorption capacity 2.238 (ml/g) for dehulled and 1.98(ml/g) for undehulled etc., showing that the dehulled okpokoro flour had better functional potentials than the undehulled flour.


The invention discloses a laser surface micro-processing device and a method thereof. The laser surface micro-processing device consists of a laser, an external light path part, a rotating and moving workpiece as well as a control part controlling the laser and the rotating and moving of the workpiece. After the processed workpiece moves in a rotating way with a main shaft, a pulse signal which shows the rotating position of the workpiece is output by an incremental encoder, thus leading the pulse emitting time of the laser to be coupled with the rotating time of the workpiece and just walking through the rotating distance between two processing points on the workpiece in the clearance time of two or a plurality of pulses; the control signal of an acoustooptic Q switch output by an industrial personal computer after frequency demultiplication controls the laser to output a single-pulse laser beam; a four-shaft moving control card controls the moving of a two-dimensional lead rail and a lead rail to lead the laser beam and the surface of the workpiece to generate feed movement for processing a micro concave cavity and a micro groove. The invention can lead the adverse thermal effect brought by the laser during processing to be reduced to be lowest and can ensure the surface processing quality of a feature to the largest extent simultaneously when considering the processing efficiency and processing cost.


We integrate insights from organization design, economic game theory, and social psychology to examine the role of prior resource allocation and communication in alleviating behavioral uncertainty arising in interunit coordination settings. We use the context of post‐acquisition coordination, focusing on the extent to which routines created under one organizational architecture (i.e., interorganizational alliances) may transfer to another organizational architecture (i.e., internal divisional structures via acquisition of alliance partners). Using a randomized experimental design, we find that prior resource allocation decisions in the absence of prior communication lowers post‐acquisition performance due to the development and transference of pre‐acquisition stage routines that may be inappropriate post‐acquisition. Post‐acquisition performance is aided, however, by the formation of noncompetitive routines in the pre‐acquisition stage in the presence of communication. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The effects of Reynolds number, Mach number, and turbulence on the calibrations of commonly used types of five-hole probe are discussed. The majority of the probes were calibrated at the exit from a transonic nozzle over a range of Reynolds numbers (7 × 10 3 < RE < 80 × 10 3 based on probe tip diameter) at subsonic and transonic Mach numbers. Additional information relating to the flow structure were obtained from a large-scale, low-speed wind tunnel. The results confirmed the existence of two distinct Reynolds number effects. Flow separation around the probe head affects the calibrations at relatively low Reynolds numbers while changes in the detailed structure of the flow around the sensing holes affects the calibrations even when the probe is nulled


The invention provides a method for treating a powder-based additive made ready molding, which is made of a first plastic or a composite material. The method comprises the steps of (a) contacting the molded article with a substance mixture for impregnating and / or coating of the molded part; wherein the material mixture contains at least one second plastic material and at least one fluid; and (b) contacting the after step (a) treated with a molding aid; wherein the tool is adapted to receive the mixture of materials or components thereof.


Background: Catheter associated urinary tract infection is considered as the commonest complication of indwelling catheter. Chronic indwelling catheters are an important reservoir of different multiresistant gram-negative organisms as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methodology: Our study was carried out on patient with CAUTI who were admitted to Urology Department at Tanta University Hospital. Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates that were resistant to meropenem were subjected to phenotypic detection of efflux pump mechanism by CCCP test and genotypic detection of efflux pump gene by PCR. Results: P- aeruginosa was isolated from 14.6% of CAUTI. Meropenem resistance was found in 19.6% of isolates. We found 100% correlation between phenotypic and genotypic detection method as regard mex A gene.


X-ray synchrotron radiation was used to study the nanostructure of cellulose in Norway spruce stem wood and powders of cobalt nanoparticles in cellulose support. Furthermore, the growth of metallic clusters was modelled and simulated in the mesoscopic size scale. Norway spruce was characterized with x-ray microanalysis at beamline ID18F of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble. The average dimensions and the orientation of cellulose crystallites was determined using x-ray microdiffraction. In addition, the nutrient element content was determined using x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Diffraction patterns and fluorescence spectra were simultaneously acquired. Cobalt nanoparticles in cellulose support were characterized with x-ray absorption spectroscopy at beamline X1 of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg, complemented by home lab experiments including x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and measurement of magnetic properties with a vibrating sample magnetometer. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and x-ray diffraction were used to solve the atomic arrangement of the cobalt nanoparticles. Scanningand transmission electron microscopy were used to image the surfaces of the cellulose fibrils, where the growth of nanoparticles takes place. The EXAFS experiment was complemented by computational coordination number calculations on ideal spherical nanocrystals. The growth process of metallic nanoclusters on cellulose matrix is assumed to be rather complicated, affected not only by the properties of the clusters themselves, but essentially depending on the cluster-fiber interfaces as well as the morphology of the fiber surfaces. The final favored average size for nanoclusters, if such exists, is most probably a consequence of these two competing tendencies towards size selection, one governed by pore sizes, the other by the cluster properties. In this thesis, a mesoscopic model for the growth of metallic nanoclusters on porous cellulose fiber (or inorganic) surfaces is developed. The first step in modelling was to evaluate the special case of how the growth proceeds on flat or wedged surfaces.


Seamless tube of a multilayer film, heat-shrinkable layers, comprising at least a first outer layer of heat-sealing (a) comprising one or more polyolefins; a second layer (b) against external actions comprising a polyamide with a melting point> - 175C; and an intermediate barrier layer to gases (c) comprising PVDC, so that the outer heat-sealing layer (a) is the innermost layer of the tube.


Video analysis is the time consuming process, the paper study on find Bit rate, FPS (Frame per Second), color value and size of the video. It also explained Digital 3DVideo analysis, real-time measurement methods, general functionalities of the videos and its algorithms and available video analyzer tools. The novel method focused on the video analyzer development logics and its related program and real-time analytics of any video.


We show that the conservation of energy–momentum tensor of a gravitational model with Einstein–Hilbert like action on a nearly Kahler manifold with the scalar curvature of a curvature-like tensor, is consistent with the nearly Kahler properties. In this way, the nearly Kahler structure is automatically manifested in the action as a induced matter field. As an example of nearly Kahler manifold, we consider the group manifold of R×II ×S3×S3 on which we identify a nearly Kahler structure and solve the Einstein equations to interpret the model. It is shown that the nearly Kahler structure in this example is capable of alleviating the well known fine tuning problem of the cosmological constant. Moreover, this structure may be considered as a potential candidate for dark energy.


Agriculture is a critical sector of the Indian & Rajasthan economy. Agriculture is providing growth a source of livelihood and foods security to a vast section of the society. Agriculture plays an important role in food security and generates marketable surplus. Rajasthan being a predominantly agrarian state, 77 percent of the population is living in rural areas and about 77 percent depends on agriculture as a source of livelihood.


Nuclear receptors (NR), such as the vitamin D receptor (VDR) play a crucial role in modulating cell proliferation and differentiation. We hypothesized that ablation of the VDR may increase risks of azoxymethane (AOM)‐induced colon carcinogenesis. We injected wild type (WT) or VDR knock out (VDRKO) 1 year old female mice with AOM or saline once a week for 4 weeks and quantitated number and size of colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) 6 weeks later. Using a multiple comparison test, we found that AOM treatment significantly increased the number of ACF per animal compared to control in both genotypes. In addition, VDRKO AOM treated animals had significantly more ACF (3.5) compared to their WT counterparts (2.2; p<0.05) while no difference were observed between untreated groups (p>0.05). Using real time PCR, we analyzed baseline gene transcription in the colon and liver of WT and VDRKO untreated animals. VDRKO mice had significantly greater p21 expression while CYP3A11 levels were significantly reduced in both organs compared to WT animals. PXR, a NR which induces CYP3A11, was significantly reduced in liver, while PPARγ was significantly elevated in colon of VDRKO animals. These significant changes at baseline suggest alterations in drug metabolism and/or cell cycle that may increase risk for colon carcinogenesis in the absence of VDR.


The purpose of this study is to investigate both the physical mechanism of mass transfer across the zero-shear gas-liquid interface and the main contribution of size eddy to mass transfer. To discuss the effects of both generation mechanism of surface-renewal eddies and turbulent Reynolds number on the mass transfer, two open-channel flows with and without grid-generated turbulence were considered.


Exporters have large domestic supply networks. We examine the impact of import reliance within their domestic supply networks on exchange rate pass-through to export prices and volume. For identification, we use administrative firm-to-firm sales and firm-product-destination level customs databases from a large emerging market, Turkey. We find that (i) while exporters' degree of reliance on imported goods is 24\%, this number reaches nearly 45\% once their suppliers are taken into account; (ii) following a domestic currency depreciation, exporters that use imported inputs more or those working with import-intensive suppliers raise their producer-currency export prices significantly more and increase their export volumes significantly less; (iii) exporters with higher reliance on a single supplier have higher exchange rate pass-through to export prices; and (iv) exporters with higher overall import intensity experience greater disruption in their supply networks, e.g., they establish fewer new supplier linkages and terminate more of their existing linkages, following a domestic currency depreciation.


A visual inspection system and method for real-time inspection to the state of the contact network for electrified railway is disclosed. Said system is composed of camera and two industrial control PCs respectively for real-time inspection and data processing. Said method includes taking the images of posts, pantograph and power lines, transmitting them to PCs, A/D conversion, processing the images by fuzzy processing technique and parallel processing technique to obtain the actual positions of posts, pantograph and power lines, comparing them with the standard data stored in database, and judging the result.


Objective To explore the occurrence of macrosomia in women with gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM) and the maternofetal outcomes.Methods Clinical data of 1166 pregnant women with singleton and their newborns were enrolled in the study.106 macrosomias and their mothers were selected as study group and 1060 newborns with normal birth weight and their mothers as control group.The pregnant women age,height,weight gain during pregnancy,body mass index(BMI) gain during pregnancy,antenatal BMI,gestational age,the number of pregnancy and accouchement and maternofetal outcomes were observed.Results The maternal height,weight gain,BMI gain,antenatal BMI,gestational age and the number of accouchement in study group were significantly higher than that in control group(P0.01).The incidence of soft birth canal injury was higher than that in control group(P0.05).The incidence of hydramnios was significantly higher than that in control group(P0.01).The incidence of stillbirth、birth injury and neonatal pneumonia were higher than that in control group(P0.05),especially in neonatal pneumonia(P0.01).To compare the two groups which appeared at least one maternofetal complication,it is macrosomia in women with GDM that mainly affects fetal outcomes(P0.01),however,there is no statistical significance in pregnancy complications(P0.05).Conclusion The women with GDM should control weight gain during pregnancy properly and prevent the occurrence of macrosomia actively in order to decrease maternofetal complications.


The results of studying the diffusion of alloying elements of stainless steel 50Cr15Мo2V of a two-layer composite material at the interface with carbon steel 20 after explosion welding and subsequent heat treatment are presented. The absence of significant diffusion of chromium from alloyed to low-carbon steel has been established.


The effect of low dose neutron irradiation on the microstructure and on the martensitic transformation temperature in β-Cu-Zn-Al alloys was studied. Small dislocation loops with Burgers vector, arising from the collapse of individual cascades were observed. The transformation temperature was unaffected by the irradiation. The results are compared with previous neutron irradiation results in the 18R phase, and the implications regarding applications of Cu-Zn-Al shape memory alloys in irradiation environments are briefly discussed


reactivity. As anti-mitochondria1 antibodies can bind complement we used a complement-fixation test. Results from preliminary tests were difficult to interpret. The Paracoccus membranes had strong anti-complementary activity, which had to be diluted out. Also the sera available from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis were themselves anti-complementary up to quite high dilutions. Nevertheless, the sera tested did appear to demonstrate complement-fixing reactivity against both mitochondria1 membranes and Paracoccus membranes when compared with the corresponding normal serum controls. Further tests will be necessary to confirm the specificity of the reaction between Puracoccus denitrificans and sera from subjects with primary biliary cirrhosis. Corresponding tests are also clearly desirable with membranes from other aerobes and from anaerobes such as Streptococcus faecalis. These studies should also be extended to sera of mice immunized with syngeneic mitochondria (Davey et al., 1975) and to mice immunized with bacterial membrane preparations. Confirmation of a cross-reaction between anti-mitochondria1 antibody and bacterial membranes could throw new light on the nature of the mitochondrial antigen, and might also have implications as to alternative origins of anti-mitochondria1 activity in sera in human subjects.


A DC-DC converter including an output stage, a feedback loop, a pulse-width modulation (PWM) generating circuit, and a driving circuit is disclosed. The output stage is coupled to an input voltage and an output inductor to provide an output voltage. The feedback loop is coupled to the output inductor and receives the output voltage to generate a control signal. The PWM generating circuit is coupled to the feedback loop and receives the control signal. The PWM generating circuit also includes a timing signal generating unit which makes the PWM generating circuit to generate a PWM signal according to a correction voltage. The correction voltage is reacted in the output voltage and a first current source related to the input voltage. The driving circuit is coupled to the output stage and the PWM generating circuit and receives the PWM signal to control the operation of the output stage.


ABSTRACT Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Clostridium cylindrosporum HC-1, a purine- and glycine-fermenting anaerobe, which uses selenoprotein glycine reductase for substrate degradation. The genome consists of a single chromosome (2.72 Mb) and a circular plasmid (14.4 kb).


Combinatorial identity is very important in combinatorial mathematics,while many methods can be used to prove.In stead of usual approach,this paper uses two new methods of derivation calulas and probability method,and gives a direct and simple solution to several important combinatorial identities.


To the Editor. —During the past two years we have performed cryosurgery on more than 250 eyelids for aberrant lashes. Many of these eyelids have required ablation of all lashes. Most of these cases result from the trichiasis or acquired distichiasis that can occur in cases of ocular pemphigoid, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, chronic miotic therapy, or chemical or physical injuries to the eyelids. In some cases no cause was found. We use a freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle that obtains −20 °C to −25 °C at the base of the lash follicles twice. The tissues are allowed to return to room temperature between freezes. A thermocouple placed at the base of the lash follicles is used to carefully monitor temperatures. In cases where total eyelid ablation is performed, a considerable time period may be required to obtain the necessary temperature in all locations along the eyelid to kill the lash follicles. This time can


Certification requirements and static design loads of Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) mounting system in commercial aircrafts are introduced.An APU mounting system is taken as an example to explain static strength analysis and certification tests methods.Comparison of test stress values of mounting rods with theoretical computation values shows that the theoretical analysis method of APU mounting system is conservative and the design meets the certification and static strength requirements.


(57) Abstract: using standard medical X-ray fluoroscopy techniques, the chamber in question, the pipe, an apparatus for obtaining an image of the space, the apparatus comprising a plurality of X-ray opaque marker on the inner wall of the chamber inserted, it is mechanically adapted to the inner wall of the chamber by some method. By acquiring two or more fluoroscopic images of space from the different angles, the exact position of the marker is determined and then processes it is possible to obtain a three-dimensional position of each marker. The marker, since close to the wall surrounding the space (intimate), three-dimensional shape of the space is also measured. Then, it is possible to use a standard graphics techniques, to display the virtual model of the space. Get more images from different fluoroscopy angles, by using more X-ray opaque markers, the accuracy of the resulting model is improved.


The annihilation of dark matter particles is expected to yield a broad radiation spectrum via the production of Standard Model particles in astrophysical environments. In particular, electrons and positrons from dark matter annihilation produce synchrotron radiation in the presence of magnetic fields. Galaxy clusters are the most massive collapsed structures in the universe, and are known to host ∼μG-scale magnetic fields. They are therefore ideal targets to search for, or to constrain the synchrotron signal from dark matter annihilation. In this work, we use the expected sensitivities of several planned surveys from the next generation of radio telescopes to predict the constraints on dark matter annihilation models which will be achieved in the case of non-detections of diffuse radio emission from galaxy clusters. Specifically, we consider the Tier 1 survey planned for the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) at 120 MHz, the Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey planned for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at 1.4 GHz, and planned surveys for Aperture Tile in Focus (APERTIF) at 1.4 GHz. We find that, for massive clusters and dark matter masses , the predicted limits on the annihilation cross section would rule out vanilla thermal relic models for even the shallow LOFAR Tier 1, ASKAP, and APERTIF surveys.


Objective To study the factor that influence the stability of the product in the process of amnufacture.Methods Using the cross experiment make the corrrsponding samples,and testing the change of its content and pH by accelerating test.Results Some minimal heavy metal that separated from the mixing liquid tank and container can decrease the content of Procaterol Hydrochloride when the pharmacetic liquid in the mixing liquid tank and container.Conclusion Using different mixing liquid tank and container can decrease the content of Procaterol Hydrochloride Oral Solution.


Typosquatting is a form of internet cybersquatting generated from the mistakes (typos) made by internet users while typing a website address. It often leads the user to another unintended website. Sometimes it is exploited by cybersquatters to attract website traffic by redirecting common typos of popular websites to some other sites with malicious contents. A possible solution is defensive registration of similar domains and redirecting requests to the original site. This would be affordable for the owner of the original domain if a short list of such probable typo domain names can be predicted. Existing works on typosquatting mostly try to detect typo sites by analyzing logs. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of them can predict probable typo variations of a given URL at pre-registration phase. In this paper, we present TypoWriter, an RNN based error prediction tool to fill this gap. TypoWriter achieves a good performance in terms of successful predictions that match with the ground-truth. It is compared with five widely used typo generation tools and substantial improvement is observed.


Rhizome rot caused by Pythium aphanidermatum, is one of the major constraints in the production of ginger. Management of plant diseases by chemical fungicides has lead to the development of fungicide resistant strains of plant pathogens. Hence, biological control of disease using bio control organisms is the distinct possibility and can be exploited within the framework of integrated disease management system. The pooled data of trials conducted at two different locations in Gudalur region indicated that, treatment of rhizomes with P. fluorescens @ 10g kg of rhizomes at the time of planting along with soil application on 3, 5 and 7 months after planting reduced the incidence of rhizome rot (11.37 %) in ginger with an average rhizome yield of 37.04 t ha, while in control the incidence was 22.47 % with an average rhizome yield of 19.87 t ha.


Background: The principal function of cranial nerve 7 (CN VII), the facial nerve, is to provide motor innervation to the muscles of facial expression. The temporal branch of the facial nerve primarily innervates the frontalis muscle, which raises the eyebrow. Objective: To present a case that illustrates the importance of facial nerve anatomy to skin surgery practice. Conclusion: The relevant surgical anatomy of the temporal branch is reviewed, as well as clinical practice points around nerve damage in skin surgery.


Virtually 100% flowering of the pineapple, Ananus comosus (L.) Merr., cv. Smooth Cayenne, was induced by night application of a small piece of dry calcium carbide into an adequate amount of water in the center of the plant. During daylight neither dry carbide nor acetylene solution resulted in high floral induction, except for applications just before or just after sunrise. A repeat application of dry carbide or acetylene solution 3–5 days following the first, increased the amount of flowering. Low floral induction with day applications was probably due to; a) larger amounts of acetylene required for floral induction during the day than at night; b) greatly reduced penetration of acetylene into the plant tissues; or c) combination of the 2 conditions. Although a second application might have provided only a limited additional amount of acetylene, this could have been sufficient to raise the level to that which would stimulate the biochemical processes of floral induction.


In his book 'The Normative Web' Terence Cuneo provides a core argument for a paradigmatic instance of moral realism. At the heart of this instance lies the ontological thesis that there are irreducible moral facts. The parity premise is the first and main premise of Cuneo's core argument. It claims that 'if moral facts do not exist, then epistemic facts do not exist'. In this paper I first introduce and explain Cuneo's core argument. Subsequently I present and interpret his defence of the parity premise. It will be shown that Cuneo's defence, although intriguing, is not adequate and should therefore be refuted.


Abstract The objective of this paper is to analyse and compare in detail the social structure of the two most acclaimed European sustainable neighbourhoods, which have had a completely different implementation approach: bottom-up urban development in Vauban (Freiburg) and top-down urban development in Western Harbour (Malmö). The goal is to uncover the unrevealed urban elements that determine social sustainability. The paper uses an innovative methodological framework - the Fainstein's 'Just City' concept, which encompass several social determinants within three main pillars/principles: democracy, equity and diversity. The 'Just City' principles and its determinants add a new perspective to social urban manifestation encompassing 'social justice' and 'local governance' dimensions. These dimensions represent innovative research approaches in exploring urban social sustainability. Through the Just City framework, the social structure of the two representative case studies is dissected to establish the level of urban social sustainability in each urban area. The aim of the paper is to answer to the question: "Do the most acclaimed leading sustainable neighbourhoods embody democratic values, assure equality and respect (allow) diversity?"


One of the most used underground mining methods is open stope mining which involves extracting a large body of ore through drilling and blasting. The method offers plenty of advantages but it has some very important drawbacks, such as overbreak, wall instability and unplanned ore dilution. The research looks to test the efficiency of using machine learning algorithms to estimate the dilution in open stopes, some of the expected benefits are reduced time cost (compared to numerical analysis) and more accurate results (compared to empirical methods). The algorithms utilized are: random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbors (KNN). The algorithms were trained and tested with 752 cases from several mines across the world. Three algorithms accomplished AUC scores over 0.850, which can be considered excellent results, but random forest achieved the most impressive results (precision score = 0.835, accuracy score = 0.804 AUC score = 0.942). From the obtained results it is possible to conclude that the machine learning algorithms can be used as trustworthy tools for the estimation of dilution, but some adjustments may be needed to increase the accuracy to specific mine sites.


ABSTRACT This article explores the archivists' and librarians' definition of a collection, and how they respectively arrange their collections in the context of collection development and collection management issues in a digital library. It centers on possible cooperative solutions and highlights, as a case study, the efforts of the Auburn University Digital Projects Committee to meet these challenging collection issues.


WTO entry has great effect on agriculture development in Chongqing because agriculture development lags behind. The agriculture can develop greatly in Chongqing by sticking to the modes such as family plus cooperation plus brand plus foreign trade, by using the brands of green food at tourism spots, by cooperating with higher learning to exploit multiple agriculture products, by exploiting processing industry of agriculture products and developing township-enterprises and by consolidating macro-allocation of agriculture products.


A calculation is presented of the effect of a compressive uniaxial stress on the saturation of the intervalence-band absorption in p-type Ge for light having a wavelength of 10.6 ..mu..m. The intensity dependence of the absorption coefficient can be approximated by the expression for an inhomogeneously broadened two-level model where the value for the saturation intensity depends on the direction of applied stress, magnitude of the stress, and polarization of the light. Values of the saturation intensity are reported for compressive stress along the (001) direction and light polarized along the (001) and (100) directions, and for compressive stress along the (111) direction and light polarized along the (111) and (011) directions. For the directions of stress and light polarization investigated, we found that the saturation intensity is significantly smaller when the direction of polarization of the light is parallel to the stress direction. For light polarization perpendicular to the direction of applied stress, there is no significant change in the saturation intensity for compressive uniaxial stresses below about 7 x 10/sup 9/ dyn cm/sup -2/.


A stationary high-level Gaussian noise is generated by smoothing an optimum m-sequence which is selected by the cathode-ray tube method.


Abstract Background Since vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A number of studies show that VNS was effective to reduce seizure frequency. However, there was still some patients treated with VNS having poor or even no clinical effect. Objectives The purpose of the present review was to identify factors predicting the effect of VNS therapy and to select patients suitable for VNS treatment. Method PubMed and Medline was searched with this terms "epilepsy," "vagus nerve stimulation," "vagal nerve stimulation," "VNS," "intractable," and "refractory".We selected studies by predefining inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results the effectiveness of VNA was confirmed by a number of studies. We find many studies exploring the predictive factors to VNS. However there was no any study finding factors correlating clearly with the outcome of VNS. Although, we find these factors, such as post-traumatic epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy and focal interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), were favorable for the treatment of VNS, while comprehensive IEDs and neuronal migration disorders were indicative of the poor effect. Also, temporal lobe epilepsy was generally effectively controlled by this therapy and yougers seemed to get more benefit from VNS. Additionally, other indexes, such as cytokine profile, slow cortical potential (SCP) shift, preoperative heart rate variability (HRV), EEG reactivity and connectomic profiling, maybe predict the results of VNS. Conclusion In summary, these conventional and other new factors should be analyzed further by more science and rigorous experimental design to identify the clear correlation with the outcome of VNS therapy.


We describe a collaborative virtual environment system for visualization of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scans. The system represents the 3D (three-dimensional) data by arrays of polyhedra, colored by the degree of anisotropy and directed by the principal component of the diffusion tensor. Users can then collaboratively explore the data and interactively spawn tractography processes that compute tracks that depict white matter fiber pathways through the brain. These tracks are computed on a Grid service currently supporting 72 nodes on a Beowulf cluster.


Growth of two Sphagnum species, S. magellanicum Brid. and S. papillosum Lindb., was studied in the laboratory, field, and greenhouse in relation to photoperiod. Short days (less than 10 h light) induce both species into dormancy. Both species exhibit a high correlation of growth in length and biomass with photoperiod, having maximum length and biomass increase under continuous illumination. Likewise, the ability to lower pH increases with photoperiod. The greater increase in biomass of S. papillosum under 18-h photoperiods could provide short-term niche partitioning. Key words: Sphagnum, photoperiod, growth, pH-lowering ability.


Complaints of educational harm usually involve educators' failure to diagnose the learning needs of students or failure to provide an appropriate education. Currently, redress is mainly through legal claims brought in contract or statutes such as Trade Practices Act and anti-discrimination legislation. Many of the anti-discrimination cases have been dismissed due to technical difficulties in proving discrimination or the defendant's argument of unjustifiable hardship.

To date in Australia, there has been no decided case of educational harm brought in the tort of negligence, ie, educational negligence. This paper postulates that if a test case of educational negligence reaches the court, it is possible that the court may endorse a duty of care on the defendant educator to provide non-negligent education, especially if the plaintiff is a vulnerable student who is either gifted or has an impairment.


related areas-a virtual machine or network of virtual machines can be specially configured, allowing an ordinary user supervisor rights, and it can be tested to destruction without any adverse effect on the underlying host system. This paper hopes to also illustrate how VM configurations can greatly reduce our dependency on special purpose, complex, and expensive laboratory setups. It also suggests the important additional role that VM and VNL is likely to play in offering hands-on practical experience to students in a distance e-learning environment.


Abstract YouTube is a popular social marketing platform. Marketers or advertisers can collaborate with a YouTube influencer to present marketing messages. However, negative user-generated comments may affect the effectiveness of message delivery. Thus, one pretest and two main studies were conducted to investigate the influence of negative comments on consumers and the strategy to combat the negativity. The first study examined the influence of comment valence on product attitude and perceived trustworthiness of influencer. The second study examined how the increased frequency of influencer–viewer interaction mitigated the damage inflicted by negative comments. The findings of the studies reveal that negative comments have a strong influence on consumers. However, if an influencer is actively replying to negative comments, the negative influence is likely to be mitigated. Theoretical and practical contributions of the studies were discussed.


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Background:  The eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) with standard treatments are decreasing worldwide as in Greece. Studies with new antibiotic combinations are needed to find better methods of eradication. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and tolerability of a 10‐day, four‐drug, three‐antibiotic, nonbismuth–containing concomitant regimen.


Age-related tissue alterations have been associated with a decline in stem cell number and function1. Although increased cell-to-cell variability in transcription or epigenetic marks has been proposed to be a major hallmark of ageing2–5, little is known about the molecular diversity of stem cells during ageing. Here, by combined single-cell transcriptome and DNA methylome profiling in mouse muscle stem cells, we show a striking global increase of uncoordinated transcriptional heterogeneity together with context-dependent alterations of DNA methylation with age. Importantly, promoters with increased methylation heterogeneity are associated with increased transcriptional heterogeneity of the genes they drive. Notably, old cells that change the most with age reveal alterations in the transcription of genes regulating cell-niche interactions. These results indicate that epigenetic drift, by accumulation of stochastic DNA methylation changes in promoters, is a substantial driver of the degradation of coherent transcriptional networks with consequent stem cell functional decline during ageing.


ABSTRACT This article discusses the construction of K-vampires in popular Korean television dramas, focusing on three series that feature central vampire characters: Vampire Prosecutor, a crime procedural running for two seasons in 2011 and 2012, its spin-off, Vampire Detective and a medical drama Blood. The main protagonists in these series are all simultaneously vampires and members of professions designed to help humans: a lawyer, a detective and a surgeon. Constructed as parallel to humans, the vampires are portrayed as free-willed individuals striving to overcome their condition. The article argues that the humanization of K-vampires can be seen as a hybridization strategy blending the characterization of the 'reluctant' vampires known from Western post-millennial fiction with some features of the Korean kumiho, a supernatural shape-shifting fox creature that desires to become human. The article also proposes to read the series in the Neo-Confucian context, particularly in relation to its social and gender norms. It argues that while the male vampires in the series function chiefly to deliver critique of Korean neoliberal society, with the heroes modelled on the virtuous seonbi scholars and the villains described as sociopathic capitalists, the female vampires are mostly portrayed as tragic heroines, vilified for their moral transgressions and redeemed through selfless sacrifice.


Given the rapid development of technology and therefore of society in recent years, the need for education systems worldwide to modernize the methods and means used is a matter of necessity. In the present study, this modernization translates into the application of STEM education and deepens into the research of preschool teachers' perspectives on the importance of STEM in Greek preschool education. Investigating teachers' perceptions is a complex process, through which we are examining the pedagogical methods they use in their classrooms, their knowledge of STEM approaches and the understanding of the usefulness of STEM education. It is well known that teachers' perceptions can influence instructional choices. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate their perceptions of STEM education, in order to take action timely and explore the prospects for the school of future. In this dissertation, we are thoroughly investigating preschool teachers' perspectives on their role in the classroom, but also on the importance of integrating the instruction of STEM disciplines in early years. The research findings show high percentage agreement in relation to the perspectives on the usefulness of STEM, but when it comes to analyzing responses regarding the implementations of STEM, teachers are hesitating to respond with absolute certainty. The presentation of an ideal situation however, is far from reality, as STEM education also requires a proper preparation and training for the kindergarten teachers. However, their positive perspectives on STEM can be the first step in integrating the element of innovation into pre-school education. Keywords : STEM, innovation, teaching methods, education curricula, teachers, perspectives. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-14-01 Publication date: May 31 st 2020


In this paper, we propose a system, that automatically transfers human body motion captured from an ordinary video camera to an unknown 3D character mesh. In our system, no manual intervention is required for specifying the internal skeletal structure or defining how the mesh surfaces deform. A sparse graph is generated from the input polygons based on their connectivity and geometric distributions. To estimate articulated body parts in the video, a progressive particle filter is used for identifying correspondences. We anticipate our proposed system can bring animation to a new audience with a more intuitive user interface.


Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Climate Symposium 2019 What: More than 130 participants from national hydrological and meteorological services, government officials, private sectors, nongovernmental organizations, and academia from 17 countries gathered to discuss how to better connect provider and user groups of climate information and enhance the usability and applicability of climate information and services. When: 20–22 August 2019 Where: Punta Arenas, Chile


Objective: To assess, in vitro, the accuracy of MiniApex® for electronic working length (EWL) determination during three stages of root canal treatment/retreatment: EWL-1 (during treatment), EWL-2 (after filling removal), and EWL-3 (after reinstrumentation). Methods: EWL was determined when the MiniApex® display showed the green light at the '0.5' mark and compared with radiographic findings. Results were classified as accurate when the file tip was located in a range of (1) 0.5 to 1.0 mm and (2) 0.5 to 2.0 mm from the radiographic apex, and as inaccurate when the file tip was outside that range of values. Means were compared between groups considering all values and only accurate measurements, for both tolerance limits. Results: MiniApex® was highly accurate at the larger tolerance range (0.5 2.0mm): 82.3% (EWL-1), 88.2% (EWL-2), and 91.1% (EWL-3). During root canal retreatment, EWL-3 provided more accurate measurements than EWL-2, but without statistical difference (p>0.05). There was no statistical difference (p>0.05) when only accurate measurements were evaluated. Conclusion: MiniApex® was highly accurate to determine the location of the instrument tip at 0.5 to 2.0mm from the radiographic apex during treatment and retreatment (EWL-2 and EWL-3).


This research integrates the dynamic line rating system into an optimal power flow problem. The application is to calculate the line rating using the heat balance equation based on its temperature rating. As a result, line rating that is usually static can be dynamic that makes the value higher so the system would be better. But because of this, the problem of optimal power flow becomes more difficult because of the addition of temperature variable control and heat balance equation constraint that are quite complex. The modelling also requires considering transmission losses into the Direct Current Optimal Power Flow (DCOPF) problem. This study uses a quadratically constrained quadratic program method in a direct current optimal power flow problem considering transmission losses with the integration of dynamic line rating based on the heat balance equation. Testing method are performed on IEEE 9 bus and 30 bus system. The results show that the method used can accommodate the heat balance equation and show that the integration of dynamic line rating makes the system more economical.


The Community Grant (G-KOM) initiative was started in 2013 and continued in 2014 until 2019. As the agency that regulates the registration of organizations in Malaysia, JPPM takes a serious responsibility to ensure security and peace in the country and the well-being of the people is preserved. Is the program effectively perceived by the community? Is there a relationship between neighbourhood/community activity fund management and hygiene and maintenance programs? Among the objectives of the study are, 1) to identify the level of effectiveness for neighbourhood/community activities, and 2) to identify the effectiveness level for hygiene and maintenance programs.  This study uses a quantitative approach using a questionnaire form that has been constructed using the google form link. The selection of online data collection techniques was made after considering the Conditional Movement Control Order following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Malaysia. The study receives feedback from 1188 respondents among associations registered under JPPM. The findings reveal significant remarks on both variables which are positive by the majority.  The mean score for items makes it clear the relevancies for the program. This study suggests a deeper analysis of multiple regression to identify the items that have more wights in measuring both variables.


In this study, the performance improvement of epoxy resin system had been tried by the improvement of particle size distribution and globularization of filler using polymerization method. From the results of particle size distribution measurement, the polydispersity value of reformed filler was 1.04 and that of silica flour before reformation was 2.6, it could be confirmed that the particle size uniformity of reformed filler had been improved greatly and the shape of particle was globular. Compatibility between monomer and silica was improved remarkably with the silanization pretreatment of silica flour. From the results of degree of crosslinking test, it could be confirmed that the binding structure of reformed filler was 3-dimensional net structure. And it could be also confirmed that the fluidness was improved at the casting of epoxy resin with reformed filler. From the above results, it could be concluded that the reformation of filler with the improvement of particle size distribution and globularization was very successful method to improve the performance of cast epoxy resin system.


We present cut-elimination as a method of proof mining, in the sense that hidden mathematical information can be extracted by eliminating lemmas from proofs. We present reductive methods for cutelimination and the method ceres (cut-elimination by resolution). A comparison of ceres with reductive methods is given and it is shown that the asymptotic behavior of ceres is superior to that of reductive methods (nonelementary speed-up). It is illustrated, how ceres can be extended and applied in practice for analyzing mathematical proofs. Finally we we give an application of ceres to a well-known proof of the infinitude of primes by Fürstenberg; this proof uses topological lemmas based on arithmetic progressions. These topological lemmas of the proof are eliminated by ceres and Euclid's construction of primes is extracted. We also touch the problem of cut-elimination by resolution on induction proofs and discuss the limits of the method.


The variety of causes of the articular syndrome (AS) and the similarity of its clinical manifestation in many diseases significantly complicate the differential diagnosis. Despite the prognosis of the juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) depends on the early diagnosis, there are still no highly specific laboratory tests. Objective: to assess the association of the polymorphic loci of the genes involved into the regulation and implementation of the immune system functions with predisposition to the JIA and other joint pathology in children in the Republic of Belarus. Three groups of children: 275 patients with JIA, 230 patients with joint pathology of various origins, with the exception of JIA and 291 children without autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases (control) were genotyped for 11 polymorphic loci of 8 genes: STAT4 (rs7574865), CTLA4 (rs231775), PTPN2 (rs2542151, rs7234029), IL-6 (rs1800795), IL-6R (rs2228145, rs4845618), RUNX1 (rs9979383)) TRAF1/C5 (rs3761847) using real-time PCR and PCR-RFLP. It was found that CC genotype at the rs1800795 locus of the IL-6 gene is associated with the JIA in the general (OR 1.75 [1.18 - 2.58], p = 0.0058), and GG genotype at the rs3761847 locus of the TRAF1/C5 gene - with the systemic JIA (OR 2.79 [1.29 - 6.06], p = 0.01). GG genotype at the rs3761847 locus of the TRAF1/C5 (р = 0.04; OR 1.66 [1.03 - 2.68]) gene and CC genotype (р = 0.0002; OR 2.26 [1.47 - 3.47]) as well as C allele (р = 0.006; OR 2,01 [1.14 - 3.52]) at the rs1800795 locus of the IL-6 gene are associated with early-onset JIA (≤ 5 years). The most common JIA subtypes (oligoarthritis, seronegative polyarthritis, systemic arthritis) differ in the prevalence of allelic variants at the rs3761847 loci of the TRAF1/C5 gene and rs7574865 of the STAT4 gene. JIA patients differ significantly from the AS patients at the following loci: IL-6R (rs2228145, rs4845618), FOXP3 (rs2232365), TRAF1/C5 (rs3761847), as well by the frequencies of 33 paired genotype combinations of the studied polymorphisms. Among JIA patients, sex-dependent features of the genotype distribution in polymorphic variants of the IL-6R (rs2228145, rs4845618) and RUNX1 (rs9979383) genes were revealed. Conclusion. The data obtained indicate genetically determined differences between JIA subtypes as between JIA and AS in case of other joint pathology. This can be used as a basis for the additional criteria development for the differential diagnosis of joint diseases in children.


There has been a significant increase in the incidence of mental disorders in young adults and often been neglected due to social stigma. However, due to the increased awareness, there has been increased demand for services and counseling centers which often have long waiting lists. Due to the limited resources available, the effectiveness of the therapy method to provide "best" available treatment is needed. In this literature review, the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on generalized anxiety disorder in college and graduate students, a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and two RCTs are included. The selected studies suggested significant improvement in general anxiety disorder in college or graduate students by providing CBT. The literature reviewed indicates improvement in generalized anxiety in graduate students' population by CBT, limited studies have been conducted specifically to this population, and since young adults constitute majority of the world population suggesting economic growth, there is a need for more research on the effectiveness of the therapy in this specific population per se.


As of today, diagnosis of ADHD is highly dependent on subjective observations, which has motivated researchers to investigate quantitative methods for the discrimination of ADHD and Non-ADHD subjects using EEG data. The goal of the effort reported here is to classify subjects with high accuracy, as well as to do so based on a select few channels. By making use of AR model features, several classifiers were found to achieve high performance; accuracy above 90% for a K Nearest Neighbor classifier and Area Under the Curve over 0.98 at Equal Error Rate below 0.05 for a Gaussian Mixture Model-Uniform Background Model classifier based on combinations of as few as 2 and 3 EEG channels.


Real-time 3D interaction with augmented reality environments is one of the main features of any AR system. However, selecting and manipulating distal 3D virtual objects in AR still suffer from lack of accuracy and precision. In this paper, we propose an alternate 3D interaction technique called "Zoom-in" for selection and manipulation distant objects in immersive video see-through augmented reality. Zoom-in interaction technique is based on the idea of zooming the captured images. This allows bringing closer both of real and virtual distant objects, while keeping the spatial registration between the virtual and the real scenes thanks to a robust real-time computer vision algorithm for pose estimation. An evaluation and comparison with other well-known technique are given at the end of this paper, in order to validate our proposed approach.


In the present research, an experimental investigation was conducted to assess the heat transfer coefficient of aqueous citric acid mixtures. The experimental facility provides conditions to assess the influence of various operating conditions such as the heat flux (0–190 kW/m), mass flux (353–1059 kg/ms) and the concentration of citric acid in water (10%– 50% by volume) with a view to measure the subcooled flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of the mixture. The results showed that two main heat transfer mechanisms can be identified including the forced convective and nucleate boiling heat transfer. The onset point of nucleate boiling was also identified, which separates the forced convective heat transfer domain from the nucleate boiling region. The heat transfer coefficient was found to be higher in the nucleate boiling regime due to the presence of bubbles and their interaction. Also, the influence of heat flux on the heat transfer coefficient was more pronounced in the nucleate boiling heat transfer domain, which was also attributed to the increase in bubble size and rate of bubble formation. The obtained results were also compared with those theoretically obtained using the Chen type model and with some experimental data reported in the literature. Results were within a fair agreement of 22% against the Chen model and within 15% against the experimental data.


From Jerome to Ildephonse, the purpose and intention of the biographies about illustrious men have changed according to the interests of the respective moments in which these biographies are written: in the fourth century, when the contrast between the Christian culture and the Pagan Culture is ardent, Jerome insists chiefly on writers; he lets the literary criterion prevail. In the fifth century, when monastic life flourishes and heresies centring the christologic problems arise, Gennadius insists particularly on monks who write monastic texts and authors of heresiological writings. In the beginning of the seventh century, when, on the one hand, the memory of Arianism is still vivid in Visigothic Hispania and, on the other hand, the consciousness of an Hispania important for the concordance of the Roman and Latin Western world already emerges, Isidore still insists on authors of heresiological writings. But he already adds the theme of the bishops and authors of Visigothic Spain. And in the middle of the seventh century, finally, when the power of the Visigothic Monarchy in Spain has been consolidated, with seat in Toledo, Ildephonse is only interested in the bishops with seat in Spain and especially in Toledo.


The present invention explains a method for vertically assembling a generator for a wind turbine, wherein the method comprises: a step of providing horizontal assembly supporting parts (10, 10') for the supporting components (2, 3, 4, 5) of the generator in order to allow the rotary axial line (R) of the components (2, 4, 5) to be fundamentally vertical in the process of assembling the generator; a step of arranging a rotor part (2) on the horizontal assembly supporting parts (10, 10'); a step of arranging a stator part (3) inside the rotor part (2); and a step of bonding the stator part (3) to the rotor part (2). The assembly supporting parts (10, 10') allow an operator to access the inside of the components (2, 3) in the process of assembling the generator. The present invention also explains arranged assemblies (1, 1') for vertically assembling the generator, wherein the assemblies (1, 1') include a horizontal assembly supporting part (10) for the components (2, 3, 4, 5) of the generator in order to allow the rotary axial line (R) of the components (2, 4, 5) to be fundamentally vertical in the process of assembling the generator. The assembly supporting part (10) allows the operator to access the inside of the components (2, 3) in the process of assembling the generator. The present invention also provides a method for using the assemblies (1, 1') in the generator.


The late 1980s trend pushing Africa towards becoming an increasingly important drug hub continued in 1997-1998. Cannabis cultivation is spreading throughout all regions of sub-Saharan Africa in response to agricultural crisis. This report illustrates the general trend through numerous case studies: Senegal, Gambia, Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, ex-Zaire), Madagascar, and South Africa. Cannabis crops represent a triple threat. They menace the development of legal agricultural crops for which they tend to "substitute", thus jeopardizing, in the case of food crops, supplies to cities. Cannabis farming also threatens security in that profits from drugs contribute to financing armed conflicts (in Casamance-Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, DRC, and Congo), while eradication campaigns constitute a weapon for government authorities to wield against ethnic or political minorities (Senegal, Sudan, and Egypt). Finally, the threat of cannabis crops is felt in the health sector, as the availability of marijuana encourages excessive consumption especially among young people.


Objective:To observe the preventive effect of Jieze NO.2 jel and nonoxynol-9 on trichomonas vaginitis in rats.Methods:112 rats were divided into Jieze NO.2 group (high titer, median titer and lower titer), Jieze NO.1 group (high titer, median titer and lower titer), nonoxynol-9 group, Metronidazole group, jel control group and model group. 112 rats were inoculated by 20 μl jel of different drugs or saline before modeling composition, 2 minutes later, all rats were inoculated by 20 μl trophozoites.Vaginal douche fluids were collected to test under microscope and culture in the medium at 2,4,7,10,12,14 days after inoculation, infection rates were compared between each group.Results:There was significant difference in infection rate between Jieze NO.2 group (0), Jieze NO.1 group (0) and model group (P0.01); The infection rate of metronidazole group was 10.0% at 4 days, which was lower than that of control group at 10 days (P0.01); the infection rate of Jieze NO.1 2 g·ml-1 group was lower than that in control group at 2 days (P0.05); there was no significant difference in infection rate between metronidazole group and Jieze NO.2 group,N-9 group,2 g·ml-1 and 1 g·ml-1 of Jieze NO.1 group (P0.05); there was significant difference in infection rate of 0.5 g·ml-1 between Jieze NO.2 group and Jieze NO.1 group at 2 days (P0.05).Conclusion:The high titer group,the median titer group and the lower titer group of Jieze NO.2 all can prevent the occurrence of trichomonas vaginitis effectively.


General Motors Powertrain Group (GMPTG) has been the leader in implementing open, modular architecture controller (OMAC) technologies in its manufacturing applications since 1986. The interest in OMAC has been greatly expanded for the past two years because of the advancement of personal computer technologies and the publishing of the OMAC whitepaper by the US automotive companies stating the requirements of OMAC technologies in automotive applications. The purpose of this paper is to describe the current OMAC projects and the future direction of implementation at GMPTG. An overview of the OMAC project and the definition of the OMAC concept are described first. The rationale of pursuing open technologies is explained from the perspective of GMPTG in lieu of its agile manufacturing strategy. Examples of existing PC-based control applications are listed to demonstrate the extensive commitment to PC-based technologies that has already been put in place. A migration plan form PC-based to OMAC-based systems with the thorough approach of validation are presented next to convey the direction that GMPTG is taking in implementing OMAC technologies. Leveraged technology development projects are described to illustrate the philosophy and approaches toward the development of OMAC technologies at GMPTG. Finally, certain implementation issues are discussed to emphasize efforts that are still required to have successful implementations of OMAC systems.


The study of constraints affecting the development of fish culture in rural Cote d'Ivoire has shown that it is impossible to use farming methods that require expensive inputs such as supplementary feed. In contrast, farmers are willing to devote much of their time to fish culture if their work is adequately compensated. When available, most inputs really accessible to farmers have a poor nutritional and/or fertilizing value. The efficient use of the limited trophic resources can be done through: (1) the qualitative and/or quantitative improvement of the flow of substances in the different levels of the pond trophic web (direct feeding, autotrophic productivity and heterotrophic microbial productivity) and (2) improvement of the accessibility to trophic resources by the fish. The present study is based on on-farm and on-station experiments focusing on: (1) the improvement of culture environment (treatments based on use of rice bran to which green manure may or may not be added, and on combined fish and rabbit culture) and (2) the use of a substratum made of bamboo or branches (acadja) to improve fish accessibility to primary production (attempts to substitute commercial feed by acadja system in lagoon pens have already been giving promising results). The results from this study confirm the importance of adding substrate for primary producers, of combining fish and rabbit culture and of using green manure for the improvement of pond production. New approaches for research and R&D in low input fish culture are suggested. (Resume d'auteur)


The world's population is ageing. Engagement in physical activities that facilitate people to live longer in good health and enjoy a good quality of life is a critical consideration. Participation surveys have indicated that gardening is a popular leisure activity among older populations in most Western countries, yet despite this, little academic research has been conducted in this area. Therefore, this study aimed to explore and apply serious leisure theory to the context of leisure gardening by older adults. As part of this process, the motivations for, and satisfactions derived from gardening, as well as the meanings and values older adults attached to this leisure pursuit were explored. A mixed methods research approach was used in the research design. Quantitative data were collected and analysed in the first phase, followed by qualitative interviews that helped to elaborate the initial findings. As a result, self-administered questionnaire surveys comprising various scales with adequate reliability and validity were completed by 522 respondents who were aged 55 years and over. The respondents were recruited from the "Gardening Australia Expo-Brisbane 2009", with supplementary surveys at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt. Coot-tha, and "Brisbane Seniors' Week" 2009 events in Brisbane Queensland Australia. SPSS version 17.0 was employed to analyse the numeric data. Statistical analyses, which included descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, one way ANOVA, discriminant analysis and multiple regressions were used to test the relationships between the major variables related to leisure gardening by older adults. Findings from this study indicated that the levels of intrinsic motivation varied across the different levels of seriousness of leisure gardening by older adults. 'Serious gardeners' rated higher scores for intrinsic leisure motivation than 'hobby gardeners', while hobby gardeners had higher intrinsic leisure motives than 'casual gardeners'. Self-Determination was found to be the strongest intrinsic motive for all gardening groups. Specifically, this study attempted to examine the components of intrinsic leisure motivation that drove different levels of gardening engagement. The results showed that it was Commitment, followed by Competence that most discriminated between the gardening groups. This study also quantitatively demonstrated that the patterns of characteristics of serious leisure varied across casual, hobby and serious gardening groups. The more serious that older adults engaged in gardening, the more aligned they were with the characteristics of serious leisure. Study results indicated that Identity, Significant Effort and Unique Ethos were the most powerful discriminating characteristics between casual and hobby gardeners, while Identity and Unique Ethos best discriminated between hobby and serious gardeners. Among the six subscales, Identity was found to be particularly important for serious gardeners. Furthermore, this study found that those who engaged in gardening at the serious level received the greatest satisfaction. It was also noted that casual gardeners obtained a moderate level of satisfaction from gardening. Relaxation was the most satisfying benefit of gardening regardless of the gardening groups. Aesthetic Satisfaction was perceived to be more important for casual gardeners, while Psychological Satisfaction was more important for serious and hobby gardeners. In addition, Physiological Satisfaction was ranked as the third most important satisfaction subscale in this study, while Social Satisfaction was reported to be the lowest on the satisfaction subscale. Findings from this study demonstrated that intrinsic leisure motivation has positive impact on satisfactions derived from gardening. This study also found that the more serious gardeners perceived that gardening made a greater contribution to their overall life satisfaction. These findings were further explored in the second phase of qualitative study. Participants were purposefully selected from respondents in the first phase study who were willing to be contacted again. A total of 26 participants were interviewed either at the interviewees' homes or the local library near the participants' residence in November and December 2009. Building upon the findings from Phase 1, three main themes and thirteen sub-themes emerged from the qualitative data. For serious leisure gardeners, gardening was considered as 'a part of who they are', 'a central life interest', 'a lifelong learning pursuit' and 'an ongoing generational activity' that provided 'a feeling of being needed, responsibility and a sense of hope', as well as the facilitation of 'a sense of accomplishment and enhanced self-esteem'. The more committed they reported themselves to be, the more competent they considered themselves as gardeners, and the more likely to refer to themselves by the identity, "I am a keen gardener". This study demonstrated that gardening was generally pursued as form of serious leisure by older adults. For serious gardeners, their involvement facilitated the affirmation of self-identity and more importantly, assisted in the development of a positive and meaningful leisure identity. Therefore, gardening needs to be taken more seriously by policy makers and leisure practitioners as an ideal home-based outdoor physical leisure activity that is important for older adults to help them remain active and healthy, and to keep them 'thriving' throughout their lives.


The application scope of rockfill dumping has been confined to the thinner mud foundation,however,in many of the works in practice,rockfill dumping is also often used in thick mud foundation treatment.This paper,as an example of a dike project,discusses the rockfill dumping of reinforcement mechanism,design calculations,construction control,observation and detection,etc.,and the result may serve as reference for the design and construction of similar projects.


The aim of this study is to explore the association between the violations of psychological contract and organizational justice. A sample of provate bank employees (n=278) in Elazig is province is chosen. Afterthe analysis (exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, correlation and regression analiyses, t test, ANOVA) it is found that violations of psychological contract decreses organizational justice perception. Besides, it is found that violations of psychological contract decreses all sub dimensions organizational justice perception significantl. Lastly, the impacts of demographic variables on research variables are scrutinized and a significant negative association between age and organizational justige perception and a significant positive association between age and psychological contract violations are found. The results are discussed through comparing with the studies in the literature.


According to the characteristics of the outer covering parts,the CAE software DYNAFORM was used to simulate,and the key technology in the design scheme was developed. Based on this,through the comprehensive optimization of draw bead( draw bead radius and draw bead muscle higher),no cracking,less wrinkled,small rebound were achieved,to ensure the quality of stamping,playing a role of guidance for practical production. The use of the traditional trial and error design mold can reduce development costs,thereby increasing the enterprise competitiveness in the market.


Different as-cast microstructures of an AlSi7Mg alloy were produced by controlling the solidification conditions. The as-cast grain size ranged from 1.4 mm to 160 μm and the morphology varied from dendritic to rosette-like to globular. The as-cast materials were then partially remelted and isothermally held at 580°C for microstructure evolution. The final microstructure depended on the initial as-cast microstructure and the isothermal holding time. After partial remelting and isothermal holding, coarse-grained dendritic structures were not able to evolve to a globular structure, while structures with medium sized dendritic grains evolved to a globular structure with a relatively large particle size after a long isothermal holding time. Fine-grained structures evolved to well-rounded globular grains within times ranging from 10 minutes to 5 minutes as the dendritic nature of the starting structure diminished. An empirical equation has been established to describe the relationship between the evolved microstructure and the as-cast microstructure.


Abstract We evaluated associations between air pollution (nitrogen dioxide [NO2] and sulfur dioxide [SO2]) and health in children aged 0–3 years in Indonesia. We included 4931 Indonesian children born between 2009 and 2011. We assigned participants provincial-levels of NO2 and SO2 and examined associations with low birth weight, infant death, neonatal death, and acute respiratory infection (ARI). We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using a generalized estimating equations logistic regression model. NO2 exposure increased the risk for ARI. An interquartile range increase in mean NO2 exposure increased the risk for ARI by 18% (OR 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08–1.28), and was supported by quartile exposure category. SO2 was not associated with the examined child health outcomes. NO2 exposure increased the risk for respiratory infections in early childhood in Indonesia. AbbreviationsARI acute respiratory infectionCI confidence intervalGDRB Gross Domestic Regional BrutoGEE generalized estimating equationsIDHS Indonesian Demographic Health SurveyIQR interquartile rangeLBW low birth weightNO2 nitrogen dioxideOR odds ratioSO2 sulfur dioxide