INTRODUCTIONFraternities are founded on values and principles relating to community service, scholarship, and leadership.1 Fraternities are also beneficial for their members. For example, fraternity members often have higher grade point averages and higher graduation rates than unaffiliated students.2 Additionally, students in fraternities collectively raise millions of dollars for philanthropies and spend millions of hours serving the community annually.3 Further, fraternities help students establish valuable friendships4 and provide leadership opportunities and experience for their members.5 However, recent headlines reveal a dark side to fraternity life: 85 Yale FratMembers Included in Suit over Death, Injury at 2011 Harvard Game;6 5 from Baruch College Face Murder Charges in 2013 Fraternity Hazing;7 UAPD Investigates Sexual Assault Allegation Near Fraternity House;8 Fresno State Suspends Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity for Hazing Activity9 Not all fraternity members and chapters live up to the Animal House stereotype,10 but headlines do not lie: with increasing frequency, national organizations may face legal issues stemming from local chapters' actions.When an unfortunate fraternity incident occurs, who is responsible? The member(s), the local chapter, or the national organization?11 That question is an overarching concern in the days following an incident. As to individual chapter members, they can face liability for their actions.12 Typically, a local chapter is an unincorporated association13 and whether it faces liability depends on the laws under which it was formed.14 But what about the national organization? It can be difficult to hold the national organization liable15 despite tragic incidents, and Smith v. Delta Tau Delta, Inc.16 depicts this difficulty. In Smith, Johnny Smith, a college freshman, had to participate in a "'hell week' of hazing and sleep deprivation" to gain membership into the Beta Psi Chapter of Delta Tau Delta and died as a result.17 Smith was spray painted when he failed to participate in an event to the fraternity brothers' satisfaction and had to clean the house kitchen wearing only an apron.18 At a house party at the conclusion of "hell week," Smith, after he "was visibly intoxicated," participated in "pledge family drink night," an event the chapter required freshmen pledges to participate in from time to time as a condition of membership, which involved "drink[ing] alcohol with their fraternity families."19 That night, Smith consumed numerous beers and shots, fell down a stairwell sustaining several cuts, could not walk, and could barely talk.20 Smith, with a blood alcohol level near 0.40%, died in a pool of his own vomit and was not discovered until four to eight hours later.21 Despite the national organization's broad enforcement powers and provision of "informational resources, organizational guidance, common traditions, and its brand" to the local chapter, the Indiana Supreme Court did not hold the national organization liable.22In addition to the difficulty of holding national organizations liable, the public generally does not realize the extent to which national organizations go to prevent liability.23 National organizations have learned what subjects them to liability and have evolved in response.24 To prevent liability, national organizations have self-insured, developed procedures and policies to transfer liability to outside parties, found creative ways to protect their assets from juries, and found ways to indemnify the national and local organizations for undergraduate members' conduct.25 Moreover, a national organization's imposed protocol following a fraternity incident can be self-serving:Those questionnaires and honest accounts-submitted gratefully to the grown-ups who have arrived, the brothers believe, to help them- may return to haunt many of the brothers, providing possible cause for separating them from the fraternity, dropping them from the fraternity's insurance, laying the blame on them as individuals and not on the fraternity as the sponsoring organization. …


Integrated circuits based on low supply voltage and subthreshold operations of NMOS devices are very attractive for low power applications. An effective way to reduce supply voltage and resulting in power consumption without losing the circuit performance of NMOS is to increase the drive current of NMOS. This paper reports the scaling analysis of NMOS from deep-submicron to nanometer technologies, in which channel length has been scaled down from 600nm to 90nm. For simulation, ATLAS device simulator is used, by using the models LAMBARDI (CVT) mobility model and fixed Shockley-read-hall model recombination model. Simulation result depicts that threshold voltage is 0.26V at 600nm, 0.04V at 180nm and 0.01V at 90nm so nanometer range NMOS devices can be very attractive for low power and subthreshold operations.


The purpose of this project was to determine whether the production of a forwarder is more effective when the wood is cut into pieces with an average length of 4,8 meters compared to 4,5 meters. Before the test was carried out, a harvester felled and cut the wood in a total of eighteen sample surfaces. Each of the samples surfaces had a volume of 8 m3fub felled wood. All the sample surfaces had the same topography with Norway spruce. The result of the study revealed that the forwarder was more effective in loading and unloading when the average length of the wood pieces was 4,8 meters. The average time it took for the forwarder to both load and unload was 15,17 minutes compared to 17,45 minutes.


Local Governments are facing very demanding and dynamic situation in development agenda when dealing with sustainable development. When the development's activities do not start with the sustainability elements at Local Governments, the negative impacts are imminent and it will cause hazards to society, economy and environment. Hence, the knowledge of sustainability needs to be inculcated in Local Governments' practices. It needs to be shown in the stage of planning approval since this is where the development begins. In relation to that, the research objectives are to identify the constraints in knowledge transfer practices of sustainable development in the planning approval at Local Governments, to study the perceptions of stakeholders involved in the planning approval stage at Local Governments regarding knowledge transfer practices towards sustainable development, to study the knowledge transfer practices towards sustainable development at Local Governments and to develop the framework of knowledge transfer practices towards sustainable development into the planning approval stage at Local Governments. Therefore, respondents involved are 55 selected Malaysian Local Governments for questionnaire, 17 selected Malaysian Local Governments for interview and 9 selected stakeholders. The results of this study show that there is lacking in clear direction which bring to the unsupportive policy and management, the perceptions of stakeholders suggest that Local Governments need to show their capabilities in handling sustainable development at the planning approval stage and overall result demonstrates that staffs have low percentage of below 30% in acquiring and participating in activities related to sustainable development. In relation to that, it contributes to the lack of knowledge on sustainable development. Hence knowledge transfer practices towards sustainable development at the planning approval stage are needed as suggested in the analysis of interviews. Therefore, this research has developed a framework of the knowledge transfer practices towards sustainable development at planning approval stage in Malaysian Local Governments, which is to improve the process of the planning approval for sustainability delivery.


The invention relates to compounds having the formula (I): wherein X, Y, U, A, B, W, Z, R1 and R2 are as defined in the description. Method of preparation and application in therapeutics.


One of the largest IT challenges in the health and medical fields is the ability to trace large numbers of patients. As mobile phone availability has become wide-ranging around the world, the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) with mobile phones is streaming as a promising solution to this challenge. The drowning price and increasing availability of mobile phones and NFC allows us to apply these technologies to developing countries like India in order to overcome patient identification and disease surveillance limitations, and permit improvements in data quality, patient referral, and emergency response. We are developing a basic architecture for healthcare services using NFC to facilitate the healthcare to people anywhere, anytime using mobile devices. In this paper, we present a system using NFC-enabled mobile phones for facilitating the patients in a low-resource environment.


Objective To investigate the inhibitive effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the proliferation of periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs) in human.Methods PDLCs were cultured,and 4~8th passage cultured PDLCs were used. The medium was supplemented with SNP as a donor of NO in vitro. The release of NO from SNP was measured by nitric acid deoxidize enzyme in the medium. The quantity of PDLCs proliferation was measured by MTT assay. The ALP activity of PDLCs were measured by continuous observation.Results The release of NO increased along with the enhancement of the SNP concentratio-n. However,the ALP activity decreased with the enhancement of the SNP concentration. The amount of living cells in experimental groups decreased compared with the control groups as shown by MTT test (P0.05). The PDLCs still had the proliferation ability when SNP was removed,and the concentration of SNP had no effect (P0.05).Conclusion Nitric oxide inhibits the proliferation of human PDLCs in vitro.


Scientists who want to share their personal and professional concerns about planetary conditions at the Earth-systems or local ecological level are increasingly advised to engage publics narratively,1 but calls for scientists' narratives face various headwinds from directions and forces not squarely in scientists' control. Both the trend toward storytelling and its challenges raise questions of econarratological interest. Econarratology remains, as Timothy Clark remarks, a bit of a neologism (653), but it names an enlarging cluster of scholarship that crosses the bibliographies of ecocriticism and narrative theory. Econarratology is both prompting attention to works not conventionally recognized as environmental literature and raising new questions about canonical texts to the environmental humanities. Beyond its critical deployment to assess texts and narrative techniques, econarratology has, from its inception, also kept an eye on narrative's uses as a component of "environmental understanding" and medium of encounter, making it a useful orientation within narratologies of science, especially where environmental sciences appear in narratives distributed to broader publics (James and Morel 1). There are several headwinds facing narrative communication of environmental science. Enthusiasm for scientists' storytelling depends—as do calls for open science and initiatives to move scientific knowledge out of privatized paywalls—on the ethos benefits of transparency, trusting that


This paper describes a simple method for generating three SPWM (Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulated) signals, with ability of smooth frequency adjust and keeping the constant ratio between voltage and frequency of the resulting sine signal. A midrange 8-bit PIC microcontroller is used, running at 4MHz system clock frequency.


In late 2019, a new virally mediated disease termed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) appeared in China. By March 2020, a multitude of countries had reported cases of COVID19, and the disease was declared a pandemic. Many countries rapidly instituted wideranging measures to reduce the spread of the disease, such as lockdowns, curfews, and quarantines. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 2020 (with respect to the COVID19 pandemic), "governments should see higher education as integral to their economic and social recovery and higher education institutions should ensure continuity with equity." Many educational organizations thus traded facetoface teaching with remote online teaching in order to continue with the academic year (socalled emergency remote teaching).


Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) are known for their ability to optimize several objective functions simultaneously to provide a representative set of the Pareto front, which is a set of problem solutions representing a trade-off between the best values of each one of the objectives. This characteristic is specially interesting for the optimization of many real world problems, such as the allocation of land resources to maximize profit while reducing the economical risks associated to different distributions of crops in southern Spain, which has one of the largest concentrations of greenhouses in the world.


We illustrate the morphologic features of a 70-year-old white male with basal laminar drusen in both eyes and vitelliform detachment in the left eye (OS), visual acuity of 20/40 OS (Figure 1). The patient was imaged using a research-grade high-resolution Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography system developed at the University of California, Davis, with an axial resolution of 4.5 μm and a broadband light of 852 nm central wavelength and 78-nm bandwidth1 and a commercial Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography system (Cirrus; Zeiss Meditec, Inc, Dublin, CA).

Fig. 1

Fundus photographs and FA images of the left eye of the patient with vitelliform detachment associated with BLD. A. Color fundus photograph showing BLD seen as yellow subretinal lesions scattered over the macula and a foveal detachment. B. Red-free fundus ...

Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography B-scans showed multiple, small, nodular to sawtooth elevations of the retinal pigment epithelial/Bruch membrane (BM) layer (Figures 2 and and3),3), corresponding to the basal laminar drusen seen on fluorescein angiography (Figure 1, C and D).2,3 The left central macula showed a dome-shaped elevation with an intact photoreceptor inner segment–outer segment junction and thickened photoreceptor outer segment layer in the area of the detachment (Figures 2 and and3).3). A B-scan through the upper part of the detachment showed homogeneous hyporeflective material suggestive of subretinal fluid and the retinal pigment epithelial layer appeared irregular and elevated, suggestive of basal laminar drusen within the vitelliform detachment (Figure 3). A B-scan through the fovea showed a heterogeneous moderate-to-highly reflective subretinal material contiguous with the retinal pigment epithelial/BM layer but with a discernible separation from the overlying photoreceptor outer segment layer (Figures 2 and and3B).3B). The Bruch membrane appeared intact throughout the macula, although some variations in reflectivity were noted (Figures 2 and and3).3). A vertical B-scan through the lesion clearly demonstrates the presence of 2 distinct types of subretinal material with a sharp demarcation, the hyporeflective material filling the upper portion of vitelliform detachment and the hyperreflective material fluid filling the lower portion (Figure 3B).

Fig. 2

Averaged research-grade high-resolution FD-OCT B-scan of the fovea OS. An averaged B-scan was obtained by taking multiple B-scans (40 B-scans) over the same retinal location and coregistering and averaging the images to remove speckle noise and improve ...

Fig. 3

Research-grade high-resolution and Cirrus FD-OCT B-scan images of vitelliform detachment associated with BLD. A. B-scan image obtained using research-grade FD-OCT system.1 The location of the B-scan is indicated by the white line passing through a superior ...

On Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography, the hyperreflective subretinal material appears contiguous with retinal pigment epithelium/BM, and the BM layer appeared intact within the vitelliform detachment (Figures 2 and and3).3). This intact BM may explain why these lesions are rarely associated with choroidal neovascularization or severe vision loss. The late hyperfluorescence seen on fluorescein angiography likely represents slow late staining of the subretinal material rather than the window defect from underlying choroidal circulation as previously speculated (Figure 1D).4 In conclusion, these high-resolution Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography images provide new morphologic insights into the pathogenesis of this rather uncommon condition.


In substation design the design scheme of the foundation of 110KV outdoor COMPASS composite electrical equipment is analyzed. Meanwhile, the matters deserved attentions in foundation design are introduced. Further discussion is also made for the equipments with various foundation types.


Effects of cinnamic acid on cucumber rhizosphere soil bacteria under salt stress were analyzed by PCR-DGGE.Cucumber and cinnamic acid were used as experimental material and autotoxin respectively,and NaCl was used to provide salt stress.Results showed that both salt concentrations significantly inhibited the diversity index and evenness index of cucumber rhizophere soil bacteria.Applica- tion of high concentration of cinnamic acid aggravated salt stress,but low concentration of that could relieve salt stress.Besides,clone and sequencing results showed that the different DGGE bands of all treatments had high homology with uncultured bacterial species,most of which were Proteobacteria and a few of which were Firmicutes.


The purpose of this study is to present a surgical treatment option following iatrogenic shortened first ray pathology and report the postoperative outcomes. Retrospective analysis of two surgeon's patients (N=5) who underwent gradual distraction osteogenesis following previously failed first ray surgery was conducted.  Surgical outcomes were measured including time in the external fixator and amount of distraction achieved. Complications measured included neurovascular complications, non-union, mal-union, infections, mal-alignment, pain, wound dehiscence, stiffness and transfer metatarsalgia. The average time spent in an external fixator was 78.8 (34-108) days. Average distraction achieved was 12.2 (2-22) mm. Four of the 5 patients experienced at least one of the following postoperative complications: pin site infections, wound dehiscence, non-union and postoperative pain. This study suggests that distraction osteogenesis may be a feasible surgical treatment option for iatrogenic shortened first ray with the right patient selection, but needs further evaluation.


Growth hormone deficiency has been reported in 10-20% of Russell-Silver dwarfs. Two siblings with all the classical features of Russell-Silver Syndrome were low in growth hormone (insulinarginine stimulation test), and blood and hair zinc (Zn). They received 50 mg elemental Zn orally each day for 2 months and 50 mg weekly for 4 more months. Growth hormone and Zn determinations were repeated at 6 months:It appears there is a direct relationship between the growth hormone response and Zn nutritional status. We have data indicating that growth hormone therapy increases hair Zn and decreases urinary Zn in children with growth hormone deficiency. These two children provide new data indicating that there are patients whose growth hormone production is affected by their Zn nutritional status.


This article aims to raise awareness among practicing tea- chers and prospective teachers face the fact as a starting point to


The main aim of this paper is an analysis of integration among main financial markets which represent financial and economic processes occurring in the contemporary world. This research focuses on issue of extreme risk spillover effect on financial markets. Proper understanding of risk transfer mechanism has paramount importance for effective risk management, financial institutions and market supervision institutions. In particular, extreme risk is the most important due the fact that the extreme prices movements are the main cause of threats and opportunities for market participants. This paper is the extension of previous researches on that issue. This extension takes into account the newest methodology framework which is Granger-causality test presented in work of Candelon et al. (2013). Innovation in this approach boils down to allowing for multiple different risk levels across distribution tails which takes into consideration different dynamics of risk transfer mechanism across markets. In order to estimate Value-at-Risk a Peaks over Threshold approach is applied with volatility models (McNeil, Frey, 2000).


Checkpoint inhibitor therapy of cancer has led to markedly improved survival of a subset of patients in multiple solid malignant tumor types, yet the factors driving these clinical responses or lack thereof are not known. Here we present a translational mathematical model dependent on three key parameters for describing efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in human cancer: tumor growth rate (), tumor immune infiltration ({Lambda}), and immunotherapy-mediated amplification of anti-tumor response (). The model was validated by fitting it to a compiled clinical tumor response dataset (n = 189 patients) obtained from published anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 clinical trials, and then validated on an additional validation cohort (n = 64 patients) obtained from our in-house clinical trials. The derived parameters {Lambda} and were both significantly different between responding versus non-responding patients. Of note, our model appropriately classified response in 81.4% of patients by using only tumor volume measurements and within two months of treatment initiation in a retrospective analysis. The model reliably predicted clinical response to the PD-1/PD-L1 class of checkpoint inhibitors across multiple solid malignant tumor types. Comparison of model parameters to immunohistochemical measurement of PD-L1 and CD8+ T cells confirmed robust relationships between model parameters and their underlying biology, demonstrating reliable methods to inform model parameters directly from biopsy samples, which are conveniently obtainable as early as the start of treatment. Together, these results suggest that the model parameters may serve as early and robust biomarkers of the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitor therapy on an individualized per-patient basis.


This paper describes the efforts in modeling and simulating electromagnetic transmission and reception as in a wireless sensor network through a realistic wing model for the Integrated Vehicle Health Management project at the Glenn Research Center. A computer model in a standard format for an S-3 Viking aircraft was obtained, converted to a Microwave Studio software format, and scaled to proper dimensions in Microwave Studio. The left wing portion of the model was used with two antenna models, one transmitting and one receiving, to simulate radio frequency transmission through the wing. Transmission and reception results were inconclusive.


ABSTRACT In this research, radial pressure-assisted hydrodynamic deep drawing of single- and bilayer cups is studied using finite-element and experimental methods. The reason for using laminated composites is to take the combinatorial benefits of single materials, such as higher strength-to-weight ratio, improved corrosion and abrasion resistance, more favorable thermal and electrical characteristics, and even lower commercial price. Safe forming area and probability of failure occurrence are predicted for both single- and bilayer sheets using 3D process window diagram (PWD) as a practical tool based on the effective geometrical parameters on the pressure-drawing ratio. The effects of layers arrangement on the forming behavior of laminated sheets were also analyzed in different pressure loading paths. The results show that the aluminum/steel composite has a wider forming pressure range, higher drawing ratio and lower geometrical limitations compared with the single-layer aluminum in identical conditions. It is found that a thin layer of steel as the outer layer improves the formability of aluminum.


This paper sets out to examine the concept of bank output and to evaluate the output performance of the Nigerian banking system. A long debated issue in banking is the identification and measurement of bank output. The intangible nature of the product of service industries like banking creates serious output problems and makes it difficult to evaluate the output performance of banks. A survey of the past measures of bank output and a search for measures to reflect the activities of commercial banks statistically have revealed that there exists no single measure of bank output. Instead there are a number of series each revealing a special facet of bank business. The characteristics of these various measures make their ag gregation impossible. In consequence, therefore, the measurement of the Nigerian bank ing system' output is approached through a series of surrogates showing the different characteristics of the Nigerian banking system's output. The growth pattern in these series during the period 1960-80 is analyzed. The long-run output performance of the Nigerian banks exhibited an upward trend in the period 1960-80. The output measures of the deposit series, earning assets (weighted and unweighted) series, indicated an average annual increase in output performance of the Nigerian banks in the range of 12.5 per cent to 25.6 per cent.


For the calculation of the ultimate strain of compressed concrete elements, a procedure is proposed that is based on the limit stability condition of longitudinal reinforcing bars. The analysis model is the one proposed in Papia et al. (1988), which provides the critical load of the bar with reasonable accuracy. Analogous precision in the values of the critical strain of the longitudinal reinforcement, assumed to coincide with the ultimate strain of the concrete element, is obtained here by not assuming a constant elastic modulus in the strain hardening region of the steel, and by adopting for the latter the constitutive link given in Park and Paulay (1975). The problem is reduced to the solution of an equation in the unknown strain, which depends on the slenderness of the bar of length equal to the spacing of hoops, and on the hoop stiffness. The most widely used steels are then considered with the variations in the parameters indicated above. On the basis of the results obtained, an approximate analytical expression is given of the ultimate strain to be used in practical ductility calculations. A comparison to the experimental results obtained by other authors confirms the validity of the theoretical approach proposed.


The region of the Colombian Eastern Plains has been illustrated as a border territory, inhospitable, possessing immense riches, vast plains and many dangers. In addition, it has been loaded with three main historical stereotypes: herds, cows, horses and llaneros. However, although these stereotypes have provided a sense of unity to Colombia and its regions, they have also led to the concealment at historical, territorial, national and international levels of populations and events that fail to accommodate the pre-established regional mold.
In this sense, one of the cases that could be mentioned is that of the Afro-Colombian population in Arauca, which would be present long before the date in which they began to date their various migrations to this department between 1960 and 1970. it exposes it, the Plan of Afro-descendant Life, Department of Arauca, Parada (2007), The Departmental Development Plan 2012-2015, Gobernacion de Arauca (2012), and other writings, in which characters and events are provided that allow to enter to denature and discuss the history and culture that has been transmitted from the Araucanian plains.
The purpose of this paper is to reflect and question how the image of the Colombian llanero has been constructed and, more specifically, that of the Araucanian llanero, as products of the racial-cultural mixture of the white-mestizo, that is, of the European indigenous. It also seeks to expose how Afro communities in Arauca have dialogued and resisted regional and national stereotypes, building identities in their contexts that confront homogenous and hegemonic images about a specific place.


Abstract : The high costs and number of problems associated with field testing have prompted the use of simulators for performance testing. This report assesses the Simulation Networking (SIMNET) system as a cost-effective soldier evaluation device by comparing soldier performance on field and SIMNET tests using the multirait-multimethod matrix and analysis of variance technique. These tests were developed for use in the Soldier Performance Research Project (SPRP), which tested 120 tank crews on tactical skills. Soldiers also rated the similarity of performing the tasks on SIMNET and performing them on the MI tank. The command and control (CU) and communications performance dimensions exhibited acceptable levels of internal consistency and correlated significantly across the two methods. Low levels of reliability for the position location and combat driving dimensions appear to be due to the low number of items composing those dimensions. Soldiers rated the performance of tasks on SIMENT to be similar to the performance of tasks on the MI tank. Results are encouraging for the use of SIMNET as performance testing device for (C2) and communications skills. Keywords: Mental ability performance (Human).


Biomarker datasets often include entries 'below the level of quantitation' (LoQ) wherein the instrumentation is no longer able to provide values that meet required analytical quality standards, a phenomenon referred to as 'left-censored' data. Generally, some form of imputation for missing values is required to allow calculating distributions and summary statistics for comparing datasets to each other. This article discusses the available options for imputing (modeling) left-censored data, presents the methods for implementing different procedures, and provides examples and guidelines using realistic data to assess relative performance. Ultimately, multiple ordered value imputation is identified as the best method; therein, the overall distribution of actual measures is used in conjunction with an estimate of relative order of the missing values to provide the most likely estimates below the LoQ.


Anisotropic etching of silicon wafers in ethylenediamine-pyrocatechol-water (EPW) solutions was carried out to reveal the distribution of etch rates over the wafer. The etch depth, i.e., the etch rate on the wafers, was found to vary within a few percent about the average value, and the standard deviation depended on the etch conditions such as temperature and flow patterns in the solution. The distribution was shown as a map and statistically analyzed. The major factor affecting the distribution was found to be the mass transfer in the solution via flow patterns in the solution.


NASA's InSight landed in Elysium Planitia (~4.5°N,136°E) at Ls ~ 296° (November 2018), right after the decay of the 2018 Global Dust Storm (GDS) and before the onset of the 2019 Large Dust Storm (LDS) at Ls ~ 320° (January 2019). InSight's cameras observed a rise in the atmospheric opacities during the storm from ~0.7 to ~1.9, similarly to contemporaneous measurements by Curiosity in Gale crater. Pressure tides were strongly affected at the locations of InSight and Curiosity. In particular, the diurnal pressure mode experienced an abrupt increase during the onset of the LDS, similar to that measured by Curiosity, most likely due to longitudinally asymmetric dust loading. Later, the dust was redistributed around the planet and the semidiurnal mode evolved according to dust opacity in both missions. Before and after the onset of the storm, the observed wind patterns resulted from the interaction between regional and local slope flows induced by topography, which all produced a diurnal perturbation superimposed on a mean flow, dominated by the Hadley cell but with modifications due to channeling effects from the regional topography. However, the onset of the LDS modified this to a scenario consistent with enhanced tidal flows. The local air temperatures are strongly perturbed by the lander's thermal effects, and their retrieval significantly depends on wind patterns, which changed during the course of the dust storm. Observations suggest a decrease in convective vortices during the dust storm; however, vortex activity remained strong during the storm's onset due to the increase in wind speeds.


In the perspective of a rational policy cycle, termination is the logical end of unsuccessful policy choices. As the deliberate conclusion or cessation of specific government functions, programs, policies, or organizations the termination concept consists of the ending of public policies, as well as public institutions. Its potential as a tool of enlightenment as well as its pitfalls in a world dominated by politics are presented by analyzing five decades of scholarly efforts in the area of policy and organizational termination.


It is well known that for a graph $G=(V,E)$ of order $n$, its chromatic polynomial $P(G, x)$ can be expressed as $\sum\limits_{i=1}^n(-1)^{n-i}a_{i}x^i$, where $a_i$'s are non-negative integers. The number $\epsilon(G)=\sum\limits_{i=1}^n (n-i)a_i/\sum\limits_{i=1}^n a_i$ is the mean size of a broken-cycle-free spanning subgraph of $G$. Lundow and Markstr\"{o}m conjectured that $\epsilon(T_n) \epsilon(Q,x)$ holds for all real $x 0$ holds for all non-complete graphs $G$ of order $n$ and all real $x<0$. The last inequality is obtained by applying Whitney's broken-cycle theorem and Greene and Zaslavsky's interpretation on $a_1$ by special acyclic orientations.


In this paper, we introduce a new accelerated iteration for finding a fixed point of monotone generalizedα-nonexpansive mapping in an ordered Banach space. We establish some weak and strong convergence theorems of fixed point for monotone generalizedα-nonexpansive mapping in a uniformly convex Banach space with a partial order. Further, we provide a numerical example to illustrate the convergence behavior and effectiveness of the proposed iteration process.


The literature on change management and change leadership recognises the significance of change as a core aspect of business which is enduring rather than transient. Relatively little research has been conducted into the competencies required for effective change leadership, however, and even less about how these competencies might be developed. This paper examines the application of a process to develop change leadership within one organisation and the impact which this has had in business, organisational and individual competency terms. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research, the authors have demonstrated that a development intervention has had a notable impact on all three areas. The lessons from this case are discussed along with proposals for further areas of future research.


Context: Evaluating player experience (PX) in digital games is naturally a complex process, being even more challenging when considering the linguistic and cultural factors. Problem: The main instruments available in the literature for PX evaluation are written in English, making their adoption with Brazilian users subject to translations and the potential uncertainty of users' understanding. In addition, instruments usually contain a large number of statements, which can make them unfeasible to evaluate PX over time. Solution: This study presents the development and evaluation of an instrument in Brazilian Portuguese to assess the player's experience, containing three questions that summarize features related to immersion/presence, fun, and gameplay. IS Theory: Flow theory. Methods: With the collaboration of the Brazilian community of Games, Virtual Reality, and Human-Computer Interaction, three statements were defined to assess the components of immersion / presence, fun, and engagement, composing a summarized instrument. Then, an evaluation was performed with two games to analyze the correlation of the proposed instruments within the classic instruments from literature. Results: In addition to the construction of a new instrument, a validation process revealed that the statements of the new instrument present strong or moderate correlations with the information used as a reference. Contributions and Impact in the IS area: The research reported in this study contributes to the community by supporting the assessment of player experience in digital games, by proposing a new instrument focused on Brazilian users that can be used in studies that require repeated assessments through instruments.


This paper shows a New Keynesian model where wages are set at the value that matches household?s labor supply with firm?s labor demand. Subsequently, wage stickiness brings industry-level unemployment fluctuations. After aggregation, the rate of wage in?ation is negatively related to unemployment, as in the original Phillips (1958) curve, with an additional term that provides forward-looking dynamics. The supply-side of the model can be captured with dynamic expressions equivalent to those obtained in Erceg, Henderson, and Levin (2000), though with different slope coefficients. Impulse-response functions from a technology shock illustrate the inter-actions between sticky prices, sticky wages and unemployment.


Fully Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), or self-driving vehicles, are expected to enter the automobile market in the coming years. This technology is expected to provide society with a range of benefits, from increased mobility for the elderly and adolescents, to decreasing carbon emissions and improving traffic flow. These benefits, however, will not be achieved unless consumers are willing to accept the technology into their lives and daily routine. In acknowledging this potential barrier to AV proliferation, this study developed a modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model with constructs Trust in Safety and Hedonic Motivation added. Data was collected by an online questionnaire. Effort expectancy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence were found to have a statistically significant positive influence on behavioural intention, with performance expectancy having the greatest impact. Trust in safety was found to consist of two separate dimensions: fears versus assurances and trust. The findings of this study can be used by government and private sectors to better understand consumers' current perception of the technology and to introduce supporting legislation accordingly.


This plant species originates from South-East Asia, the Philippines and Australia. Phalaenopsis is available all year round from florists and garden centres.


Protein kinases are important drug targets due to their involvement in several pathological conditions. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to develop small molecule inhibitors by using peptidomimetic compounds as a target for serine/threonine kinases. In this regard, we employ a unique approach to modify peptides by using a copper catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between various azides and peptides containing an alkyne moiety to create a triazole based peptidomimetic library. Interestingly, these compounds have yielded competent kinase inhibitors, exhibiting an IC50 value of 1.2 μM for the pro-apoptotic mammalian sterile 20 1 (MST1) kinase, which is an important drug target in cardiomyopathy. Further, kinase profiling studies were performed with a panel of kinases both within the sterile 20 kinase family and also with PI-3K. Results revealed that compound 7 is a competent MST1 kinase inhibitor, which exhibits a high degree of selectivity and specificity for MST1 and does not inhibit the other tested kinases. In addition, docking studies shed light on the binding mode of these compounds. Hence, this knowledge can serve as a starting point for further development of triazole based peptidomimetics for designing selective serine/threonine kinase inhibitors.


The development of nanoscale coatings with well-controlled properties is critical to the future of nanotechnology for energy applications. As an extension of atomic layer deposition (ALD), molecular layer deposition (MLD), has recently emerged as a thin-film coating technique that can enable the development of high-performance materials in energy-related applications. MLD fabrication can be classified into two categories: polymer-based organics and inorganic–organic hybrid materials. The unique properties of low growth temperature, precise control of film thickness, uniformity, flexibility, and low density make MLD films very promising for energy-related applications. In this Review, we focus on the recent developments and understanding of MLD in the application of batteries, supercapacitors, water splitting, photodegradation, solar cells, and membranes. The different types of MLD films and nanomaterials derived from MLD are discussed based on the specific application and properties. Finally, the future d...


The effects of electrode isolation on dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based cell separation devices are discussed. In this study, the conventional dielectrophoresis forces using interdigitated electrode arrays are numerically investigated in the presence of a dielectric layer between electrodes and electrolytes and compared with the direct contact model. It is observed that insertion of a dielectric as an isolation layer affects the spectral response of the DEP forces, as a result of the frequency dependence of the fields. The cells under study are live and dead yeast cells and an isolation layer is developed using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer.


Purpose

The paper examines relationships in the workplace. It considers issues such as employee engagement, decisions to be in a relationship with a co-worker and its effects on commitment certainty in a sample of adults. They all said they were currently working with their romantic partner.

Design/methodology/approach

Bearing in mind that workplace romance can be a taboo topic, the researchers recruited participants anonymously from online social media websites.

Findings

Some participants said that they were motivated to be in a romantic relationship with a co-worker to increase status. They tended to report lower levels of engagement. However, when relationships hit a tricky patch and/or they felt uncertainty about the relationship, these participants tended to commit themselves more, rather than less to their work.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the influence of workplace romantic relationships in the context of employee engagement. It also documents links between workplace relationships and performance variables.


We discuss the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a stratified dielectric. The ability of such a device to support guided waves depends upon the way in which the refractive index varies across the layers. In the present discussion, we show how nonlinear effects and appropriate stratification can be used to obtain any one of the following behaviours: (i) guidance occurs only at low power, (ii) guidance occurs only at high power, (iii) guidance occurs at all powers, (iv) there is no guidance. The situation (i) is obtained by using materials with a defocusing dielectric response, whereas the situation (ii) is obtained for suitable configurations of self-focusing materials. The situations (iii) and (iv) can be obtained by using either defocusing or self-focusing materials. By seeking solutions of a particular form, we reduce the problem to the study of solutions in the Sobolev space HI(~) of a second-order differential equation. The discussion of defocusing nonlinearities is based in the study of the global behaviour of the branch of solutions bifurcating from a simple eigenvalue. For self-focusing nonlinearities we use a variational approach.


International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes arbitral decision on
jurisdiction over claims that Uruguayan public health measures violated bilateral
investment treaty


The utility model discloses a welding machine with a charging function, mainly comprising a power supply switch, a winding switching switch, a welding transformer, a blower and a overheat protector; a secondary winding of the welding transformer is divided into a plurality of groups of output, wherein one group of the output provides power supply for welding, and the other groups of the output realize direct output with different voltage by a commutation diode and is connected with anode and cathode wiring columns. The welding machine overcomes the disadvantages that the existing welding machine has simple function, and the welding and charging are integrated into one body, therefore, the welding machine has the characteristics of simple structure, practical and convenient performances and economic cost.


Introduction: Bevacizumab has been shown to improve progression-free survival in women with ovarian cancer in multiple clinical trials. Cardiovascular toxicity is reported in the case of a long term survivor of recurrent ovarian cancer. Case Report: A 47-year-old woman was diagnosed as stage IIIC, Grade 3 endomitriod adenocarcinoma of the ovary. She had been treated with 4 debulking surgeries and 6 different chemotherapy regimens for 9 years. However, remission diminished over this time period to only one month. Bevacizumab was administrated with additional chemotherapies, and prolonged survival was demonstrated over the next 5 years, including ongoing remission of 18 months to date. New onset hypertension was developed at the 10 th month of bevacizumab treatment, and proteinuria was found at the 12 th month. Patient presented symptoms of coronary artery disease during the 31 th month of bevacizumab treatment, and was soon treated with 4 stents, whereby symptoms resolved. After the 36 th month of bevacizumab, the patient had non ST elevated myocardial infarction and peripheral vascular disease. Bevacizumab was terminated thereafter. In the following 18 months, the patient was treated with angioplasty 2 times for coronary artery occlusion, and with an additional stent. This was followed with coronary artery bypass graft. She also had an angioplasty for right femoral artery stenosis. Throughout most of the 14 year disease course, the patient maintained a good quality of life. As patients achieve long term survival from bevacizumab treatment, cardiovascular complications should be recognized and treated aggressively to minimize the adverse effects of cancer therapy.


This contribution presents how a value-sensitive participatory design approach was used with the aim to design meaningful applications for inhabitants in a city. In two bachelor courses, design students were challenged to account for a diversity of human values in urban interaction design by following a participatory approach to engage inhabitants in specific urban areas. These two case studies are described and their results are discussed to improve the approach of value-sensitive participatory design in urban interaction design.


For thousands of years, ancient Egyptians carefully mummified the bodies of their dead in readiness for the afterlife. But the origins of the ritual are still shrouded in mystery. A team of chemists and Egyptologists has now carried out the first chemical analysis of embalming compounds from an intact prehistoric mummy, kept at the Egyptian Museum in Turin. The researchers dated it to 3700–3500 B.C., making it the oldest-known embalmed body. The results show that people prepared the Turin mummy centuries before the pharaohs unified the region in about 3100 B.C. to form ancient Egypt. The team's analysis suggests that long before the founding of what was arguably the world's first nation-state, the people who lived there shared common cultural practices and imported embalming ingredients from distant lands (J. Archaeol. Sci. 2018, DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2018.07.011). Mummification in ancient Egypt involved removing the corpse's internal organs, desiccating the body with a mixture


This paper analyses the changing environment of LIS education from a Spanish perspective and summarises some challenges that LIS educators and educational programme developers responsible for the information professional of the 21st century have to address in the near future. First, the state of the Spanish educational arena and the main trends in the LIS field are examined. Thereafter, some foci that must be urgently addressed in the educational programmes are isolated: Only by addressing changes in our curricula, by organising our disciplines in a strong theoretical corpus without sacrificing the achievements of the past and by putting the students at the centre of the educational process, will we be able to survive as educational and scientific agents in the new social information environment. These new foci are not seen as substituting previous educational emphasis in technical processes and technology, but as complementing them.


Provided are a user equipment tracking method and system, an access device and an access controller. The method includes: an access device sending a query request message to an access controller, the query request message comprising the user equipment identifier, so that the access controller queries a tracking task list according to the user equipment identifier, determining that the tracking task list comprises the user equipment identifier, and sending a query response message to the access device, the query response message containing a tracking identifier and/or the user equipment identifier; and the access device receiving the query response message sent by the access controller, and if it is determined that the query response message contains the tracking identifier, performing a signalling tracking operation on the user equipment. The problem that the existing user equipment tracking method has low efficiency for tracking a user signalling terminated at an AP can be solved.


We present a tomographic Sn velocity model of the uppermost mantle beneath the Himalayan collision zone and surrounding regions. A total of 43,905 Sn phases are used in the investigation. The average Sn velocity in the study area is approximately 4.6 km/s, and the velocity perturbations reach 0.2 km/s. The Sn velocity distribution is consistent with Pn tomography results obtained previously. High velocities are found under the Indian plate, the Tarim Basin, and the Sichuan Basin, whereas low Sn velocities are found beneath the Myanmar region, the Hindu-Kush region, and the Lhasa block and western Qiangtang block. These results support the idea that the lithosphere of the Indian plate is subducted into the mantle and causes the upwelling of hot material. The east-west variability of the Sn velocity beneath the Indian plate and southern Tibet indicates that the underthrusting of the Indian continental lithosphere may be in a piecewise manner. The differences between the thermal structure of the crust and upper mantle in southern Tibet suggest that this region may be represented by a tectonic model of hot crust and cold mantle, supporting the idea that crustal material flow may occur in this region.


TiO 2 -mediated photooxidation of 1,2-ethanediol in the presence of oxygen by light of λ ex > 300 nm results in its C-C bond cleavage to yield HCHO. The kinetics of reaction, monitored by following the product, obeys Langmuir-Hinshelwood's equation. The reaction rate constant and the adsorption equilibrium constant for this process are evaluated to be 1.9 x 10 -6 mol dm -3 s -1 and 16 dm 3 mol -1 , respectively. The presence of O 2 and Ag + enhance the reaction rate and the yield of HCHO by trapping the conduction band electron. The oxidation is suggested to take place by direct hole as well as by trapped hole transfer. At pH 12 the reaction efficiency has been observed to be about 14 times higher to that of at pH 2.5. About 3.4 wt% Ag + exhibits the maximum cocatalytic effect. The participation of Ag 2+ in the catalytic action is ruled out. A scheme of photocatalytic oxidation is discussed.


We have previously demonstrated the loss of oral tolerance (OT) in lymphotoxinα − / − (LTα − / −) and TNFα / lymphotoxinα deficient (TNFα / LTα − / −) mice which have defective Peyer's patches (PP) and lymph node (LN) development. We have now studied OT in BALB / c mice with differential defects of the gut‐associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) caused by inhibition of LTβR signaling during fetal development. Treatment of pregnant mice with LTβR‐IgG (LTβRIgG) and TNFR I(55)‐IgG (TNFR55IgG) abrogates the formation of PP (LTβRIgG) or of PP and mesenteric LN (MLN) (LTβRIgG / TNFRIgG) without genetically deleting the respective cytokine pathways. OT was readily induced in mice without PP but retaining MLN (PP null / LN +). In contrast, OTcould not be induced in mice lacking both MLN and PP (PP null / MLN null) as shown by the inability of these mice to suppress IFN‐γ secretion or DTH reactions. We next assessed OT in 129 × B6 LTα − / − mice with and without MLN. Timed treatment of pregnant LTα − / − mice with an agonist anti‐LTβR mAb induces formation of MLN but not of PP in LTα − / − mice. LN + LTα −/ − mice developed OT while LN LTα − / − mice were resistant to OT induction. Taken collectively, the data show that in the presence of MLN PP are not required for OT induction and that the presence of MLN is sufficient for OT induction in the LTα − / − model.


A metamaterial-loaded substrate integrated wave-guide (SIW) horn antenna and its array application are researched in this communication. The mushroom-type metamaterial is placed in front of SIW horn aperture, and much improvement in impedance matching is achieved on a 1/ $20~\lambda _{0}$ -thickness substrate. Due to the backward wave generated by the metamaterial, backward endfire radiation pattern is observed for the proposed antenna. Experimental results indicate that a fractional impedance bandwidth of 10.6% is obtained for a fabricated prototype. Furthermore, a shunt four-element array and a monopulse four-element array are designed based on the novel SIW horn element to further enhance the radiation performance. Results show that performances of wide operating bandwidth, low profile, and backward endfire radiation pattern are maintained for the designed two arrays.


Half‐ring geometry single quantum well GaAlAs lasers have been fabricated. These lasers rely on a single cleave to obtain both resonator end reflectors. Using a buried‐heterostructure waveguide for lateral confinement and a high reflectivity facet coating, threshold currents as low as 14.5 mA and a frequency response extending to 6.5 GHz have been achieved.


ABSTRACT While researchers have long appreciated that mammal introductions were an important aspect of Amerindian-environment interaction in the prehistoric Caribbean, persistent questions about dispersal routes, animal management practices, possible domestication, and ritual use remain unresolved. In this three-article series, offered as a model approach for prehistoric translocation studies, I review the present state of knowledge on pre-Columbian Caribbean mammal translocations, focusing on three fundamental areas: (1) ethnozoogeographic distributions; (2) the sociocultural significance of translocated fauna; and (3) the ecological impact of introduced species. Here, in Part I, I consider species introduction patterns in relation to dispersal modes, the need to distinguish live introductions from the import of animal products, and the importance of direct-dating specimens to establish translocation chronology. In subsequent papers I explore topics II and III, advocating for a holistic approach to translocation research that integrates all three investigative areas to address larger questions about the role of introduced mammals in island society and ecology and their impact on human adaptation to the landscape. This first paper provides foundations for an ensuing final discussion in which I argue that intentional faunal translocation is sufficiently robust as a behavioural phenomenon across time and space to warrant theoretical treatment from an evolutionary perspective.


It is shown in this article how the zeroes of the plane‐wave reflection coefficient for a fluid‐coupled elastic layer are modified under fluid loading, throughout the entire range of fluid density. Transformation and exchange behavior of branches of the reflection coefficient zero spectrum with increasing fluid density has been found and discussed. This study extends an earlier investigation of the complex mode spectrum (reflection coefficient poles). The behavior of the zeroes of the reflection coefficient is compared with that of the poles as a function of the fluid density. In addition, we derive an analytical expression for the intersection of the fluid‐modified fundamental zero branches and the Rayleigh wave speed. This number can be useful as a measure of the sensitivity of a solid material to fluid loading. More significantly, the results of the current study have immediate relevance for an important class of advanced materials: polymer‐matrix composites. It is demonstrated that the spectral modifi...


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive set of grocery store attributes that can be standardized and used in empirical research aiming at increasing retailers´ understandin ...


Abstract Background and Aims Ulcerative colitis [UC] impacts patients' health-related quality of life [HRQoL]. We assessed HRQoL and an exploratory patient-level composite endpoint ('Comprehensive Disease Control' [CDC]) in individuals receiving filgotinib [an oral JAK1 preferential inhibitor] in the SELECTION trial. Methods In SELECTION [NCT02914522], a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2b/3 trial, adults with moderately to severely active UC received once-daily filgotinib 200 mg, filgotinib 100 mg or placebo for 11 weeks in Induction Study A [biologic-naïve] or B [biologic-experienced]. Filgotinib responders [week 10 clinical remission/response] were re-randomized to their filgotinib regimen or placebo for the 48-week Maintenance Study. We assessed week 10 and week 58 SF-36, EQ-5D, WPAI and IBDQ scores. Achievement of CDC (patient-level partial Mayo Clinic Score [pMCS] remission [pMCS ≤2, no individual rectal bleeding, stool frequency or physician's global assessment subscore >1], endoscopic improvement [endoscopic subscore ≤1], faecal calprotectin <150 µg/g and IBDQ score ≥170) and its association with HRQoL and histological outcomes were also explored. Results Analyses included 382 biologic-naïve and 404 biologic-experienced patients. Filgotinib 200 mg induced and maintained improvements vs placebo in SF-36, EQ-5D, WPAI and IBDQ scores, and restored HRQoL by week 10. Proportionally more filgotinib 200 mg- than placebo-treated patients achieved CDC at weeks 10 and 58 [p < 0.01]. CDC was associated with clinically important improvements in HRQoL and histological remission over both periods. Conclusions Filgotinib 200 mg results in short- and long-term improvements in HRQoL. High-level improvement of HRQoL relates to a stringent composite endpoint suggesting meaningful disease control in a subset of filgotinib-treated individuals. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02914522


Children's education has always been the center of attention by their parents. For their education parents are generous in sending their children to all kinds of make-up classes, specialty classes so that children are exhausted. Over study cause children to be tired of it. Son children do have improved in their study but they reveal son kind of psychological problems, such as depression, nervousness, worry and so on. So it can be concluded that pupils' psychological health has been harmed. A healthy personality is more important than the achievement in study.


The hand gesture is one of the nonverbal communication strategies used in sign language. Deaf individuals & dumb and have hearing or speech use it most frequently. Communication issues with either one another or with regular individuals. Many sign language systems have been created by different makers, but they're not very useful or affordable for deaf or hard of hearing persons. So, the software has a prototype that can automatically detect signs to assist deaf and dumb persons in communicating with each other and with other people more easily. The majority of individuals find it challenging to comprehend and communicate with others who are deaf or mute, so they're usually denied regular social interaction. These individuals are dependent on an using an interpreter or a visual medium of communication.[1] An There won't always be an interpreter present, and visual communication is mainly challenging to comprehend The main language is sign language a method of communication for the population of the deaf and dumb. As a the grammar and meaning of numerous words are unknown to the average person. the hand gestures that make up a sign language, which are mostly their relatives and/or the community of the deaf and dumb.[2]


A vision-based tracker for AR system is discussed. To restore the location and orientation of the object, image processing algorithms and stereovision theory are involved to process images captured by two cameras. For the purposes of real-time and low cost, a Kalman filter is used to predict the center of the tracking window, and parallel computation is implemented to execute tracking algorithm.


Objective:To evaluate the effects of recombinant human IGF-1 and/or somatostatin-14 on the proliferation of cultured orbital fibroblasts of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy(TAO) patients.Methods:Cultured orbital fibroblasts from 4 severe TAO patients were exposed to IGF-1 and/or SST-14 at various concentrations for 1,2,and 3d respectively.The proliferation of the cells was studied with MTT assay.Results:Compared with that of the control group,the proliferation of cultured orbital fibroblast was enhanced by IGF-1 at 50μg/L or higher concentrations,while it was inhibited by SST-14 at 5nmol/L or higher concentrations.These effects were in both dose-and time-dependant way.The promotive effect of IGF-1 at 100μg/L on cultured fibroblasts could be blocked by SST-14 at 50nmol/L or higher concentrations.Conclusion:IGF-1 can promote the proliferation of the cultured orbital fibroblast.SST-14 can inhibit the proliferation of the cells,and block the promotive effect of IGF-1.These findings suggest that SST-14 may decrease the proliferative effect of IGF-1 through postreceptor inhibition mechanism.


In Spare Parts, Joshua Davis contextualizes issues surrounding immigration in the United States by introducing us to a high school robotics team that triumphs in the face of adversity. This nonfiction account includes the stories of the teachers, students, families, and community members involved in an extraordinary David versus Goliath account. The book opens with the robotics team standing before a panel of judges from top governmental and industrial engineering agencies. The reader briefly witnesses the extraordinary competence of the high school team as they explain the science behind their robot. As Davis describes their appearance and the reaction of the judges, one thing becomes obvious: this group of Mexican, undocumented high school students are not your run-of-the-mill robotics team. The book is divided into three parts. During the first third of the book, the story focuses on the lives of four students, two teachers, and one national underwater robotics competition. The four students were all born in Mexico and were brought into the United States without documentation by their parents. It should be noted that Davis uses the term " illegally " at times, which may make some readers uncomfortable. However, one can assume that he did so with the permission of the families involved, as he mentions that he consulted with them extensively while writing an article for Wired and subsequently this book. Throughout the


This paper introduces FE0L (forbidding context-free L systems) and FET0L (FE0L systems with tables) systems with permitting conditions and the algorithm for reducing the number of the nonterminal symbols in FE0L (FET0L) systems. The productions of FE0L (FET0L) systems (grammars) do not have only the forbidding conditions but also other attached strings, called permitting conditions. The derivation step can proceed in these systems, when the sentential form contains all substrings from the multiset of permitting conditions. This multiset is created in each derivation step according to the productions which are used for this derivation. The algorithm produces a new FE0L (FET0L) grammar with permitting conditions, which generates the same language as the original system.


Policies on management of conservation areas have been implemented
since Dutch colonial era and are lately becoming more important parallel with the
occurrences of environmental degradations. Unfortunately the policies more than
often bring about conflicts between local society and government (administration)
the party responsible for the management of the area, for the policies are not
participative and often violate the interest and rights of the local people.
The change of the government system taking place in the reformation era
related to the implementation of the concept of good governance with its
participative principles has not shown any improvements (changes) in the
management of conservation areas as indicated by the high numbers of conflicts
shown by results of studies and Strategic Plan of Ministry of Forestry 2010 � 2014
(Renstra Kementerian Kehutanan 2010 -2014).
Employing the method of qualitative content analysis, a study is made on
a number of regulations on forestry issued in the post reformation era which are
considered relevant to the policies on the management of conservation area


The article is devoted to pathophysiological analysis of the identified effects of the local anti-inflammatory therapy and gliclazid in modulating effects on the main pathogenetic links of periodontal disease and diabetes, which leads to a reduction of inflammatory reactions through the ability to regulate carbohydrate metabolism and all subsequent violated homeostatic parameters in the body. It is shown that this type of therapy helps to maintain a high level of anti-inflammatory cytokines and curb the synthesis of proinflammatory in the treatment of periodontal pathology, complications of diabetic disorders.


BACKGROUND: 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, also known as "ecstasy") has been shown to exhibit neurotoxic effects on the hippocampus. However, exposure to sub-lethal insults of MDMA has been reported to result in neuroprotection. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of MDMA on hippocampal neuronal viability, caspase-3 activity, and mRNA expression of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor 2B (NR2B) subunit. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A cytological, in vitro experiment was performed at the Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, and Department of Toxicology-Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2008. MATERIALS: MDMA was extracted from ecstasy tablets, which were kindly supplied by the Pharmacology-Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. METHODS: Hippocampal neurons were isolated from Wistar rats at gestational day 18. Following primary culture, hippocampal neuronal viability was detected by MTT assay. Varying concentrations of MDMA (100-5 000 μmol/L) were used to determine lethal concentration 50 (LC50), which was around 1 500 μmol/L. Five concentrations of MDMA below 1 500 μmol/L (100, 200, 400, 800, and 1 050 μmol/L) were used for the remaining experiments. After 24 hours of MDMA treatment, NR2B mRNA expression was detected by RT-PCR, and caspase-3 relative activity was determined by colorimetric assay. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hippocampal neuronal viability, caspase-3 activity, and NR2B mRNA expression. RESULTS: MDMA-induced neurotoxicity in hippocampal neuronal cultures was dose-dependent. In high concentrations (1 000–5 000 μmol/L) of MDMA, neuronal viability was decreased. However, with a 500 μmol/L dose of MDMA, neuronal viability was significantly increased (P < 0.01). Low concentrations of MDMA (200 and 400 μmol/L) significantly decreased caspase-3 activity (P < 0.01), whereas high concentrations of MDMA significantly increased caspase-3 activity (P < 0.01). NR2B subunit mRNA expression was not significantly altered after 100-1 050 μmol/L MDMA exposure. CONCLUSION: MDMA exhibits dual effects on hippocampal neuronal viability and caspase-3 activity. These effects are independent from NR2B subunit expression levels.


Research laboratories and the industry rely on yeast viability and concentration measurements to adjust fermentation parameters such as pH, temperature, and pressure. Beer-brewing processes as well as biofuel production can especially utilize a cost-effective and portable way of obtaining data on cell viability and concentration. However, current methods of analysis are relatively costly and tedious. Here, we demonstrate a rapid, portable, and cost-effective platform for imaging and measuring viability and concentration of yeast cells. Our platform features a lens-free microscope that weighs 70 g and has dimensions of 12 × 4 × 4 cm. A partially-coherent illumination source (a light-emitting-diode), a band-pass optical filter, and a multimode optical fiber are used to illuminate the sample. The yeast sample is directly placed on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor chip, which captures an in-line hologram of the sample over a large field-of-view of >20 mm2. The hologram is transferred to a touch-screen interface, where a trained Support Vector Machine model classifies yeast cells stained with methylene blue as live or dead and measures cell viability as well as concentration. We tested the accuracy of our platform against manual counting of live and dead cells using fluorescent exclusion staining and a bench-top fluorescence microscope. Our regression analysis showed no significant difference between the two methods within a concentration range of 1.4 × 105 to 1.4 × 106 cells/mL. This compact and cost-effective yeast analysis platform will enable automatic quantification of yeast viability and concentration in field settings and resource-limited environments.


In this reply to the paper by Shu, Liu and Lu (see ibid., p.1502-3, 2008), a novel method with low-complexity, but showing neither estimation failure nor the pair-matching problems, is described for the two-dimensional DOA estimation. The authors in the previous papers (Kikuchi et al., 2006; Gu et al, 2008)also proposed two methods different from that in (Van der Veen et a., 1992) to achieve the automatic pair matching by employing the L-shaped array configuration. The method in this reply is also different from the ones in (Kikuchi et al., 2006; Gu et al, 2008). In this reply, an independently developed algorithm is presented by using the unitary root MUSIC and unitary MUSIC and changing the L-shape to a cross-shaped array configuration.


Juvenile blue tilapia Oreochrornis aureus (mean weight 0.5 ± 0.05 g) were stocked into 38 liter glass aquaria receiving Row-through well water containing 0.1 mg magnesium/L and fed semipurified, casein-based diets containing graded levels of magnesium (0.003, 0.008, 0.023, 0.037, 0.050 and 0.065% magnesium, dry weight). Magnesium supplements were provided as anhydrous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4). No treatment-related mortalities occurred and no visible magnesium deficiency symptoms were observed in any treatment group during the 18 week experimental period. Magnesium concentrations in scale and bone of tilapia fed diets containing 0.023 to 0.065% magnesium were greater (P 0.05) among fish that received dietary magnesium levels of 0.023% or greater. The magnesium content of muscle was higher (P 0.05) among fish that received 0.037% or more dietary magnesium. Adequate weight gain and superior feed efficiency occurred in fish fed 0.05 to 0.065% magnesium. Results indicated that diets for O. aureus should contain at least 0.05% magnesium (500 mg Mg/kg dry diet) for optimum growth and normal tissue mineralization.


The Bologna Process initiated by the European Commission in 1998 has stimulated change through the implementation of several education reforms. These reforms placed into action a series of curricular improvements geared towards the European Higher Education Convergence. More specifically, the introduction of the European Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (ECTS) aims to support more student-centred, more flexible, and more individually tailored education tracks. However, the studentcentred policy, as a fundamental pillar towards the improvement of teaching, has been applied in a very simple and unclear fashion (Reichert & Tauch, 2003) without being properly understood by the academics themselves. This chapter reports on the importance of the conceptual change approach in the professional development of academics by arguing that the design of an effective student-centred learning environment may not be effectively achieved in practice in the absence of the academics' own conceptions of how they conceive, experience, and understand teaching. The possible mismatch between conceptions of teaching and actual teaching practices may prove to be an obstacle for the effective implementation of the student-centred reforms. Thus, the main purpose of this chapter is to explore the likelihood of how conceptions of teaching could encourage an environment that supports student learning and contribute to the effectiveness of convergence of the European Higher Education. Despina Varnava Marouchou European University Cyprus, Cyprus


The mathematical model of target LOS of anti-tank missile, the mathematical model of IR field of view conic plane and the mathematical model of IR field of view coincident length are established to realize mathematical analysis calculation of LOS elevation angle, including angle of direction, length of LOS vertical line and coincident length of field of view under the condition of cross fire, so as to determine the relationship of related special position of field of view. It provides scientific theoretical foundation for the reasonable deployment of launch position. The simulating validation has been taken at the end.


A patient with Dubin-Johnson syndrome was found to have abdominal pain, fever, leukocytosis, and hyperbilirubinemia. Abdominal ultrasound was normal, but computed tomography revealed evidence of acute appendicitis. Acute jaundice developed after an appendectomy, prompting a hepatobiliary scan. Dubin-Johnson syndrome is an inherited disease of hepatic excretory function associated with chronic or intermittent hyperbilirubinemia and deposition of a black pigment in hepatocytes. Most patients are asymptomatic, but abdominal pain and hepatomegaly can occur. Conditions causing the syndrome to be unmasked or exacerbation of hyperbilirubinemia include sepsis, exercise, alcohol, drugs, and pregnancy. In our patient, exacerbation was secondary to sepsis. Jaundice resolved by the eighth postoperative day.


In addition to length and weight, maximum head circumference is a standard measurement obtained when evaluating pediatric patients, especially in the first two years of life. This study describes the technique to accurately and anatomically determine the head circumference from MRI studies within the picture archiving and communications system and adds the numerical value to the final radiology report as a standard application. Correlation between the automatic and manual measurements was within 2% of error. An accurate automatic determination of head's circumference from MRI images is of definite clinical usefulness.


The structure of tetragermanium strontium nonaoxide, SrGe 4 O 9 , comprises two different types of sheet structure stacked alternately along the c axis. One sheet comprises GeO 6 octahedra and SrO 8 polyhedra while the other sheet contains three-membered rings of GeO 4 tetrahedra. In addition, this crystal structure shows a basic unit of the superstructures which are found for PbGe 4 O 9 .


use evened out the demand curve and permitted production efficiencies. Platt's third and shortest section examines the energy crisis induced by World War I and the emergence of an energy-intensive society in the 1920s. The Commonwealth Edison Company papers provide the bedrock of sources, including 48 of 5 3 photographs. Yet the research also ranges widely over local newspapers, the proceedings of the Chicago City Council, and the Samuel Insull Papers deposited at Loyola of Chicago where Platt teaches. He draws on a wide range of secondary literature in urban, social, and economic history to construct a readable book on the rise of the networked city. The secondary focus is electrification's uses at world's fairs, department stores, and in other urban institutions. He generally does not seek to trace connections to art or literature. A partial reliance on Marshall McLuhan in theorizing the consumption of electrification contradicts the anti-determinism that elsewhere predominates. Yet Platt masterfully explains the complex linkages between politics, technology, and business. While there are few references to other cities to establish the extent to which it was unique or representative, he sets an admirable standard for studies of energy and urbanization.


Bound collection of photocopied letters written by Captain Edward P. Jaeger (Ed) to his wife, Elizabeth Jaeger (Libby) while stationed in South Vietnam as part of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He discusses life in Vietnam as well as topics that his family has written to him about.


Epitaxial growth limits and the preferred orientations of Co-Cr filmssputter-deposited at a high Ar pressure of 70 Pa were investigated. It wasfound that, although the intrinsic growth of the film has a preferred orientationof (11·0) parallel to the film plane for the present deposition condition, the initial growing layer could have a strong preferred orientation of (00·1) plane due to the hetero-epitaxial growth on the Ti underlayer. The effect ofthe epitaxial growth holds to the thickness of only about 200nm, then replacedby the (11·0) orientation via an intermediate layer with co-growing of both (10·0) and (11·0) planes. The thickness of the initial growing layer with (00·1) orientation is sufficient for the application of the Co-Cr film to a perpendicularrecording medium.


Objective:To investigate the influence of low-power laser irradiation on implant-osseointegration.Methods:6 Beagle dogs were selected according to international standards.In accordance with the surgical implanting method of BLB implant system,surgeries were operated on each dog from both sides of the tibia preparation.Three implant sockets were implanted with BLB( 3.3 × 8mm) implantS.A total of 36 implants with interval 2cm were randomly divided into A,B,C group.A group was not irradiated.B,C groups were the experimental groups.Immediately after the use of He-Ne laser(wavelength:632.8nm,power:35mW,frequency:50Hz ± 1Hz,spot diameter of 1.2cm) irradiation,B group was continuously exposured for 1 week.C group was two weeks exposured.After 4,8,12 weeks,two each were killed.The grinding slices were prepaved.Results:At each detection of phase,the rates of implant osseointegration of A,B,C group were significantly different(P0.01),which expressed as:group Cgroup Bgroup A.Conclusion:The low-power He:Ne laser irradiation can significantly increase the rate of implant osseointegration.And two weeks continuous exposure was better than 1 week.


This paper suggests a novel image compression scheme, using the discrete wavelet transformation (DWT) and the k-means clustering technique, suitable for medical images. Moreover it suggests a novel reconstruction scheme based on Bayesian formalism. The goal is to achieve higher compression rates by applying different compression thresholds for the wavelet coefficients of each Detail DWT hand, in terms of how they are clustered according to their absolute values. This methodology is compared to another one based on preserving texturally important image characteristics, by dividing images into regions of textural significance, employing textural descriptors as criteria and clustering methodologies. These descriptors include cooccurrence matrices based measures. While rival image compression methodologies utilizing the DWT apply it to the whole original image, the herein presented novel approaches involve a more sophisticated scheme. That is, different compression ratios are applied to the wavelet coefficients belonging in the different regions of interest, in which either each wavelet domain band of the transformed image or the image itself is clustered, respectively. Regarding the first method, its reconstruction process involves using the inverse DWT on the remaining wavelet coefficients. Concerning the second method, its reconstruction process involves linear combination of the reconstructed regions of interest. Moreover, another more efficient variant of this second approach is proposed, which reduces blocking effects and is based on Bayesian formalism. An experimental study is conducted to qualitatively assessing all approaches in comparison with the original DWT compression technique, when applied to a set of medical images acquired from endoscopic video sequences.


Introduction: Respiratory tract infections
belong to the most common illnesses in general practice. The goal
of this survey was to collect data regarding the diagnosis and
treatment of respiratory tract infections at the family doctor's
office. Methods: During 30 one-day visitations with general
practitioners, the physican's methods were documented with
reference to all patients with an acute respiratory tract infection
who consulted the doctor during the length of the visitation. First
and repeat contacts have been catagorized separately. Results: The
most common diagnostic measures were the auscultation of the lung
and the inspection of the nasopharynx. 98.4% of all first contacts
and 62.5% of all repeat contacts received prescription medication.
On average, first contacts received 2.1 (+-1.0) prescriptions,
repeat contacts 1.3 (+-1.1). The most commonly prescribed medicines
were symptomatic cough and cold preparations (87.1% for first
contacts and 52.9% for repeat contacts). 43.5% of all first
contacts and 29.9% of all repeat contacts received an antibiotic
(37.5% macrolide, 21,5% penicilline, 20,8% doxycycline as a
monosubstance or in combination with expectorants). Conclusion:
Nearly all patients received a prescription for at least one
medicine. The data collected leads to the assumption that if the
so-called "home remedies" would be weighted more heavily, this would
be a likely source for savings. With respect to the high number of
prescriptions for antibiotics, the corresponding indications should
be critically examined.


The study was designed to investigate a number of compounds with respect to their characteristies of potentiation of norepinephrine. Included were some central stimulants, desipramine-like antidepressants and tranquilizers. The experiments were carried out on the isolated vas deferens of the rat which was found to be the most suitable of various isolated preparations for the study of norepinephrine potentiation in vitro . The characteristics measured were the concentrations required for 1 ) threshold potentiation, 2) maximal potentiation, 3) reversal of potentiation and the degree of maximal potentiation. Marked quantitative differences but no qualitative differences were found between time central stimulants (cocaine, methylphenidatc, pipradrol, phenmetrazine) and the antidepressants. The batter produced maximal potentiation in concentrations at which the former had minimal or no effect. Among the desipramine-like chemical structures the N-monomethyl was more potent than the corresponding N-dimethyl. It is pointed out that the hypothesis which attempts to relate antidepressa. sant activity and potentiation of norepinephrine at present fails to account for the differences in the central effects of antidepressants and psychostimulants.


Reviewing is a key activity that can find defects at an early stage of system and software development. Since it is often cheaper to fix defects at an early stage, reviewing is a good technique for improving both product quality and project cost effectiveness. Currently, there are many review techniques proposed and many experiments have been performed to compare the review techniques. However, to data there have been no review techniques or experiments that have focused explicitly on the relative business value or mission value of the artifacts being reviewed.
In this dissertation, I provide Value-based review techniques adding cost effectiveness and value of each issue into review processes, and report on an experiment on Value-based review. I developed a set of VBR checklists with issues ranked by success-criticality, and a set of VBR processes prioritized by issue criticality and stakeholder-negotiated product capability priorities. The experiment involved 28 independent verification and validation (IV&V) subjects (full-time working professionals taking a distance learning course) reviewing specifications produced by 18 real-client, full-time student e-services projects. The IV&V subjects were randomly assigned to use either the VBR approach or the previous value-neutral checklist-based reading (CBR) approach that had been used in the course. The difference between groups was not statistically significant for number of issues reported, but was statistically significant for number of issues per review hour, total issue impact in terms of criticality and priority, and cost effectiveness in terms of total issue impact per review hour. For the latter, the VBRs were roughly twice as cost-effective as the CBRs.
The dissertation also covers threats to validity and limitations of the experiment. Threats to validity were present but appear to have been adequately addresses. The main limitation of the experiment was its coverage of reviews by individuals as compared to groups. For reviewers by groups, it is likely that combinations of VBR and risk-driven forms of perspective-based review (PBR) approaches would be most cost-effective. This and other topics are attractive candidates for further research.


A P catalyst for stereogenic P(III) Phosphodiesters, the key linkage in DNA, RNA, and bioactive oligonucleotide and cyclic nucleotides, are typically synthesized from phosphoramidite precursors. Phosphorothioate linkages, which are more stable, can also be produced this way but have the complication of chirality at the P center, which is synthetically problematic, especially for multiple linkages. Featherston et al. found that two different chiral phosphoric acid catalysts provide stereodivergent synthesis of a stereogenic phosphite intermediate that can be oxidatively modified to the desired stereopure nucleotide derivative. They used this approach in the synthesis of a phosphorothioate derivative of the cyclic dinucleotide 2′,3′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate adenosine monophosphate, which is an important human immune signaling molecule. Science, this issue p. 702 Chiral Brønsted acid catalysts allow efficient access to oligonucleotide targets through P(III) stereogenic intermediates. We report the catalytic stereocontrolled synthesis of dinucleotides. We have demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, that chiral phosphoric acid (CPA) catalysts control the formation of stereogenic phosphorous centers during phosphoramidite transfer. Unprecedented levels of diastereodivergence have also been demonstrated, enabling access to either phosphite diastereomer. Two different CPA scaffolds have proven to be essential for achieving stereodivergence: peptide-embedded phosphothreonine-derived CPAs, which reinforce and amplify the inherent substrate preference, and C2-symmetric BINOL-derived CPAs, which completely overturn this stereochemical preference. The presently reported catalytic method does not require stoichiometric activators or chiral auxiliaries and enables asymmetric catalysis with readily available phosphoramidites. The method was applied to the stereocontrolled synthesis of diastereomeric dinucleotides as well as cyclic dinucleotides, which are of broad interest in immuno-oncology as agonists of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway.


As the harmonics produced by converter used in air compressor cause many problems in Ji'nan Cigarette Factory,parallel active power filter was used to eliminate,control system and main circuit of parallel active power filter were introduced.Harmonic elimination results were given.The results show that the parallel active power filter can not only eliminate the harmonic produced by converter used in air compressor,but also reduce the waste of energy.


282 century building form loses its vigor over the course of her exploration of this elite community. Yet her case study is valuable for its description of the range of bungalow forms intended for different social-class markets. Her examples of "ordinary" families and homes are closely bound with Arts and Crafts ideology too, and a disconnect between documenting "ordinary homes" with extraordinary examples pervades the text. Despite that tension, The Seattle Bungalow makes an important contribution to the study of bungalows and early-twentieth-century architecture. The definition of the bungalow type is problematic, and Ore adds to the debate by finding bungalow commonalities through looking at construction methods and household technologies as much as formal characteristics. Her study of the mapping of public and private spaces, and male and female spaces, onto the open bungalow plan is also noteworthy. Ore's case studies of the ways in which specific families defined spaces as private in the open house plan are fascinating, and her suggestion that the open floor plan revealed family tensions that could earlier be secreted away in smaller, divided Victorian spaces is a promising topic for further research.


There is extensive literature showing that psychosocial factors, income, being black, being single, and having children are the strongest predictors of household food insecurity. We examined these factors in a vulnerable sample of 201 first‐time African‐American mothers with 3 month old infants and mostly single (88%). Fifty‐four percent of the women were food secure, 33% were marginally food secure, and 12% were food insecure. Using these categories as outcomes, we ran a multinomial logistic regression model to assess how maternal age, education, work status, living with child's grandmother, father, or other household members, and maternal depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) influence household food security status. Compared to food secure households, living with the child's grandmother decreased the risk of food insecurity (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR): 0.12 [95% CI: .02, .72]) but living with the father (RRR: 3.73 [95% CI: 1.27, 10.96]) and having depressive symptoms (RRR: 4.98 [95% CI: 1.69, 14.75]) increased the risk of food insecurity. Compared to food secure households, living with an extended family (RRR: 0.73 [95% CI: .56, .96]) appeared to be protective against marginal food security. These findings suggest that living with the child's grandmother may be how a first‐time mother copes with the difficulties of being single and having a young infant. These results also stress the importance of financial and emotional support for these mothers especially in the postpartum period.


Phytoplankton standing stocks had been researched in Saemangeum water region from 2001 to 2010 belong to the construction period of Saemangeum dike. The big change of phytoplankton standing stocks was shown, reaching 57 - 85,219 cells/ml according to the sampling seasons and stations. Inside of Saemangeum lake, a flux of fresh water and sea water made the phytoplankton standing stocks changed spatiotemporally. Meanwhile, the water bloom was frequent with continuously high standing stocks of fresh water stations and the standing stocks outside of the dike have been normal. In the long-term point of view, the standing stock did not show a big change comparing to the before and after of closing the dike(April, 2006).


Most astronomers now accept that stars more massive than about 9 M⊙ explode as supernovae and leave stellar remnants, either neutron stars or black holes, with neutron stars being more prevalent. Recent modeling of the explosions suggests a significant diversity in the key natal properties — rotation rate, velocity, and magnetic field strength — of the resulting neutron stars that account for the association of active radio pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, and magnetars with supernova remnants (SNRs). The discovery of a central X-ray source in Cas A, the youngest known Galactic SNR, dramatized the expected diversity. However, less than half of the SNRs within 5 kpc have identified central sources, and only three are identified as the remnants of Type Ia SNe. Here, we report a systematic effort to search for compact central sources in the remaining 23 SNRs of this distance limited sample. Our search was inspired, on empirical considerations, by the enigmatic faint X-ray source in Cas A; motivated, on theoretical grounds, by the expectation that young neutron stars emit cooling X-ray emission; and made possible by the superb angular resolution offered by the Chandra X-ray mission and the sensitivity of the XMM-Newton mission. In this first paper we report Chandra observations of four SNRs (G093.3+6.9, G315.4−2.3, G084.2+0.8, and G127.1+0.5). We have undertaken a systematic optical/IR identification program of the X-ray sources detected in the field of each SNR. Foreground (flare stars, active stars) and background (active galactic nuclei) sources have identifiable IR/optical counterparts. In contrast, the counterparts of neutron stars (or black holes) are expected to be very faint. We are able to account for all the well-detected X-ray sources and thus able to state with some confidence that there are no associated central sources down to a level of one tenth of that of the Cas A central source, LX . 10 31 ergs s. We compare our limits with cooling curves for neutron stars and find that any putative neutron stars in these SNRs must be cooling faster than expected for traditional 1.35 M⊙ neutron stars and that any putative pulsar must have low spin-down luminosities Ė . 10 ergs s. However, our limits are unable to constrain the presence or absence of more unusual options, such as relatively more massive neutron stars with M & 1.45 M⊙, neutron stars with exotic interiors, or quiescent black holes. In subsequent papers, we will report on the X-ray and optical/IR observations of the remaining members of the 5-kpc sample. Subject headings: pulsars: general — stars: neutron — supernova remnants — X-rays: stars


Mill-Line Ultrasonic Testing (UT) has typically been limited to wall thicknesses above 0.080", with diameters greater than 1.5". The results of a recent development program are presented which will discuss new equipment that will allow tubes, with wall thicknesses of 0.028" and diameters of 0.750", to be tested immediately after welding or during finishing. The traditional testing method for these small tubes, used in hydroforming, has been with Eddy Current inspection techniques, however it's ability to detect short, small weld interface defects that do not break the OD surface is limited. This new development represents a significant advancement in the ability of manufacturers to produce a more reliable weld, to withstand the rigours of hydroforming or other mechanical working. In order to achieve this level of testing, one has to overcome "Traditional" thinking and redefine the UT system in terms of what is most suitable to the Tube Mill. Advancements were required in the area of: mechanical probe suspensions, calibration standards, transducer design, and instrumentation to name a few. These modifications will be discussed below.


MARCH 2002 37 With the increased concern about the sustainability of urban areas, managers of urban environments are placing new emphasis on urban ecology and management of forests and other natural areas. Citing aesthetic, ecological, and energyrelated benefits, some cities and organizations have established ambitious goals for restoration of tree cover. When programs to achieve tree-cover goals are cast in terms of restoration, an implicit assumption is that managers know the types of ecosystems that should be recreated. In reality, our understanding of historical ecological structure and function is still evolving. In this paper we report on the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to integrate historic maps of vegetation (ca. 1820) and soils (1911) with more recent (1997) digital soils and wetland maps and multi-spectral satellite imagery to estimate changes in the area and distribution of natural areas in IndianapolisMarion County over time. The work was initiated by land managers and restoration specialists at the Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation who are responsible for development and management of a system of natural areas in the city, and frequently are asked to supply areas for mitigation projects. If these projects can be sited on areas that originally were occupied by the desired plant community, the projects may have a better chance of success (Mitsch and Gosselink 2000). Unfortunately, in Marion County, and many other urban areas, little is known about the original distribution of natural areas, and what is known generally has been difficult for land managers to access. The approach presented here provides a first approximation of the distribution of areas of medium/dense tree cover and change through time, which we believe is of general value to urban land managers.


second organ may be impaired. It is the problem of acceptance of painful reality which is considered as the same as accepting the separateness of objects, that is that they can be lost. †̃¿ The ego structure whose development permits the acceptance of painful reality is identical to that psychic structure whose development enables one to love maturely.' Then in this chapter and the following ones the structuration of reality, the role of objects, external and internal,