In this paper, we present a speech/music discrimination (SMD) using hybrid manner of feature extraction to discriminate the noisy audio signal into speech and music. The hybrid-based SMD performs the combination of 1D signal processing and 2D image processing to extract multiple features. In general, the noisy audio segment can be regarded as music, speech or noise (silence). The proposed hybrid-based SMD approach has been successfully applied into audio data indexing to classify the noisy audio signal into speech, music and noise. The approach includes three main stages: pre-processing/voice activity detection (VAD), speech/music discrimination (SMD) and rule-based post-processing. Both of pre-processing and VAD are regarded as the first stage for discriminating audio recording stream into noise-only segments and noisy audio segments. Next, the hybrid-based SMD is regarded as the second stage to classify noisy audio segments into speech segments and music segments. In third stage, a rule-based post-filtering method will be applied in order to improve the discrimination accuracy and to reflect the continuity of audio data in time. Experimental results will show that the proposed hybrid-based SMD approach can successfully apply into the audio data indexing. The overall system accuracy will be evaluated on radio recordings from various sources. Performance results can provide significant classification for the envisaged tasks compared to existing methods is given.


ABSTRACT:This piece aims to serve both as a commentary on papers in this special collection as well as a more general observation of recent developments within the emerging interdisciplinary field of critical heritage studies. It explores a series of key theoretical influences which come together, with various emphases, across the collection. This exemplifies a developing strand of research which focuses on material and ontological approaches to heritage. In doing so, this piece aims to consider the implications of these approaches for critical heritage studies more generally.


Background/Aim. It is known that some members of the genus Convolvulus (C) L. are commonly used in Turkish folk medicine. These species are powerful in curing toothache and joint pains. Due to the limited information on the biological activities of C. aucheri, a species almost exclusively occurring in Turkey, we aimed to investigate the antioxidant and cytotoxic effects of three extracts obtained from the plant, as well as to characterize their phenolic profile. Methods. The anti-oxidant activity of the extracts was determined by using ABTS, NO, FRAP, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelating assays. In addition, the bioactive compounds found in the extracts, such as total phenolics, flavonoids, and saponins, were determined. Cytotoxicity was assessed by using the CellTiter-Glo assay on HeLa and H1299 cancer cells. Results. The methanol extract of C. aucheri demonstrated the highest antioxidant activity as well as the highest phenolic, flavonoid, and saponin content. The high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that the major phenolic compounds in the extract were chlorogenic acid, (+)-catechin, rosmarinic acid, and rutin. The methanolic extract obtained from the aerial parts of C. aucheri was found to interfere with the viability of HeLa cells, with an IC50 value of 14.22 ?g/mL being recorded. Conclusion. Our results showed that C. aucheri could be a good candidate as a novel and alternative natural antioxidant and antitumor source.


At present, the worldwide prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is very high, and shows an upward trend along with aging.In recent years, more and more evidence supported that cardiac rehabilitation could improve the subjective symptoms related to cardiovascular disease, including chest pain, dyspnea, fatigue and so on, and may reduce the long-term rehospitalization rate and mortality.Along with aging of the population and with the developing of medical technology in the cardiovascular field, the proportion of cardiovascular diseases in elderly population is rising.This article reviews the benefits of heart rehabilitation in the elderly, the current situation and the trend of heart rehabilitation in China.

Key words:
Cardiovascular disease; Rehabilitation; Secondary prevention


For a variety of telephone applications it is sufficient to realize a speech recognition system (SRS) with a system vocabulary consisting of a few command words, digits, and connected digits. However, in the development of a SRS for application in telephone environment it has to be considered that the speech is bandpass limited and a high recognition performance has to be guaranteed under speaker independent and even adverse conditions. Furthermore, it is important that the SRS is efficiently implementable. Fully recurrent neural networks (FRNN) provide a new approach for realizing a robust SRS with a single network. FRNN are able to perform the process of feature scoring discriminatively and independently of the length of the feature sequence. In SRS based on Hidden Markov Models (HMM), different methods have to be applied for scoring the feature vectors and for compensating the variations in phone durations. Here we report about investigations to realize a monolithic SRS based on FRNN for telephone speech. Besides isolated word recognition, the capability of FRNN-SRS to deal with connected digit recognition is presented. Furthermore, it is shown how FRNN could be immunized against several types of additive noise.


We have shown previously (1) that a new copolycondensate based on petroleum residues -- fuaranformolite -- is a valuable carbon-containing raw material by the use of which carbonaceous adsorbents have been obtained. The latter can be used as catalysts and catalyst supports and also for the fine purification and separation of gases. The present paper is devoted to the study of the porous structure and sorption characteristics of the adsorbents obtained. High-strength carbonaceous adsorbents obtained from new copolymers of asphaltite -- fuaranformolites may, depending on the degree of burn-off, be used for the adsorption of poorly sorbed gases, of vapors of organic solvents, and of substances from solution. By varying the composition of the copolymer it is possible to direct the formation of the porous structure of the adsorbents in a desired manner.


It is shown that for a non-decreasing self-similar stochastic process T with independent increments, the range of T forms a Poisson point process with σ -finite intensity if and only if the one-dimensional distribution of T (1) is of the gamma type. This follows from a general hold-jump description of such processes T , and implies the known result that the spacings between consecutive points of a scale invariant Poisson point process, with intensity θx − 1 dx , are the points of another scale invariant Poisson point process with the same intensity.


A method for displaying content stored in a block of multiplexed content, the multiplexed content including a plurality of instances of content where each instance of content includes an associated content identifier, the method including receiving, at a content receiver, content identifying information for the content and instructions for displaying the content, determining a selected content identifier based on the content identifying information, selecting the block from one or more blocks based on the selected content identifier, scanning the block for a content identifier and encountering the content identifier, comparing the encountered content identifier to the selected content identifier, and processing an instance of content associated with the encountered content identifier where the encountered content identifier corresponds to the selected content identifier. A system for displaying and a system for storing multiplexed content are also described.


AbstractGroups of specimens with nominally 4% and 12% porosity have been prepared from fine (−240 + 300), medium (−200 + 240), and coarse (−150 − 200) mesh sieve fractions of Sherritt-Gordon nickel powder by die compaction, preliminary sintering, re-pressing, and finally sintering at 1573K (1300°C). Irrespective of porosity content and the powder fraction from which they were prepared, all specimens exhibited a mixture of rounded and film-like porosity. The film-like porosity was more extensive in the more porous specimens, but in all specimens markedly influenced the fatigue behaviour. The development of persistent film-like porosity is attributed to the botryoidal form of the powder particles. The endurance limits of the less-porous specimens were almost identical, irrespective of the powder fractions from which they were prepared. However, the endurance limits of the more-porous specimens made from the coarse powder fraction were significantly lower than those made from the fine and medium powder fract...


Today, there is a thread with regard to the global environment. To reduce the environmental impact due to spending supplies to meet the basic needs of the global population. Can be considered as the power of these needs and in this context, the environmental impact occurs by the use of fossil fuels and loss of land for use of water resources. To minimize these impacts, governments are establishing appropriate laws towards the use of renewable energy. However it appears that there is still a great distance between the established law and implementation in practice. In this context nuclear energy is an attractive option, both economic and environmental. The facilities that are somehow associated with nuclear power plants are classified as radioactive or nuclear. These facilities are subject to two licensing procedures: Environmental (by IBAMA) and Nuclear (by CNEN). Nuclear installations such as nuclear power plants Angra 1 and 2, deposits and tailings facilities of the nuclear fuel cycle in Rezende that are more the attention of the population. As part of these processes are reports of analysis of safety and environmental impacts and socio-economic (EIA / RIMA RFAS), which are available to the public and then discussed at public hearings, where there is the opportunity for questions on these reports. These questions are mainly related with the social-environmental and economic due to construction and operation of these facilities. This work is a research, discussing the law, identifying the difficulties in the licensing process and presents a discussion on the importance of environmental education at all school levels, for adult audiences and is a connection between the environmental education and process of environmental licensing and nuclear, showing how the popular consciousness more informed can better discuss issues associated with these licenses, understand the advantages and disadvantages and obtain benefits.


Flooding risk is a threat to sea-level residential areas in southern Sweden. An Internet of things (IoT) project has been deployed to monitor weather and water pipe conditions in Kristianstad, Sweden. The IoT data however only monitors the current condition and does not tell the future threat. Machine learning models using deep learning neural networks have been developed to predict future threats based on IoT data and weather forecast. This paper presents multiple model architectures and their performances. All the models are explainable. Finally, a conclusion is made by selecting the best-functioning model in the context of flooding risk prediction in Kristianstad.


Within $R^2$ gravity, we study the linear stability of strongly gravitating spherically symmetric configurations supported by a polytropic fluid. All calculations are carried out in the Jordan frame. It is demonstrated that, as in general relativity, the transition from stable to unstable systems occurs at the maximum of the curve mass-central density of the fluid.


Minimally invasive pancreatic surgery (MIPS) is becoming more popular in the recent years. Robotic pancreatic surgery represents an important step, mostly for Whipple procedures, in order to reproduce the same surgical steps performed in open surgery and to facilitate the access to MIPS even by surgeons without a large experience in laparoscopic surgery. The short-term results of pancreatic robotic surgery are comparable with the one obtained by the traditional open surgery, even if the peri-operative costs, still represent a problem. Very few data are currently available regarding the long-term oncologic outcome of robotic pancreatectomy for pancreatic cancer. For this reason, more and larger studies, with a long follow-up are necessary to define the oncologic role and safety of robotic pancreatectomies.


The effect of iron and selenium colloidal solutions on seeds was studied. The obtained results showed a different reaction of plants to treatment with solutions of nanosized iron and selenium. Onion seeds in both cases showed low germination – 15%. Colloidal iron treatment showed 100% germination of zucchini and radish seeds as in control, but an iron concentration of 10 mg/l inhibits plants. The greatest root length for beets, cucumbers and carrots was noted at a dose of nanosized iron of 1 mg/l. The root length in the experimental and control samples of zucchini and radish do not differ within the error limits. An increase in seed germination during treatment with nanosized selenium compared with the control samples was observed in onions, carrots, cucumbers, turnips, pumpkins and clarkia. Seed germination of aster was 15%, while in the control sample germination was absent. Nanopowders stimulate the processes of adaptation and self-organization of biological systems and reduce the negative impact of adverse environmental factors.


The course of urbanization of a country or area,reflects the comprehensive level of industrialization and economic development of this country or area.Combined with the specific realities of Anhui province,this paper puts forward concrete train of thought and direction on how to advance the course of urbanization of Anhui province.


The title of this chapter may sound like a deliberate paradox. None the less, it expresses the conclusion to which all the preceding logically leads, if our study, as we hope, faithfully corresponds to the reality in all its aspects. It will be useful at this point to go back, step by step without deviation, over the way we have gradually cleared through the entanglement of controversies, of systems, of numerous schools of thought and spirituality. We began by affirming that the essence of Protestantism lies, not in any negation, but in certain great positive assertions of Christianity. That is the standpoint from which the great principles of the Reformation must be interpreted, those we see present in Protestantism as lived, those we find immediately we seek, in the abundant production of the Reformers, what they considered essential. Next, we established that, from this point of view, the principles of Protestantism are not only authentically and essentially Christian, as is shown by revealed data, but also that they are corroborated by Catholic tradition, not only prior to but subsequent to the Reformation. The question then naturally arose: how could a reform which set out from such principles end in schism, even in heresy? We answered that, in the actual development by the Reformers of these principles, there were inserted at the outset negative elements having no intrinsic connection with them, in fact, in formal contradiction with the Scriptural teaching the Reformation claimed for itself. These negative elements, [232] we established, were the presuppositions of the nominalist thought of the fifteenth century, that is, of what was the worst of all the too real corruptions of medieval Catholicism. Brought up on these lines of thought, identified with them so closely that they could not see beyond them, the Reformers could only systematise their very valuable insights in a vitiated framework. Actually, not one of the errors the Church was led to condemn in their teaching was of their own creation; extrinsic justification, faith shut up in subjectivism, purely negative transcendentalism (God beyond reason and morality, or rather beyond the true and the good), the flat opposition of the authority of Scripture to that of the Church —there were so many theses of nominalist theology which had up to then escaped condemnation, simply because they did not leave the sterile playground of the dialectic of the schools. The Reformation, however, to its misfortune as much as the Church's, brought them out into the pulpit and the public square. This connection of the principles of Protestantism with the worm-eaten framework of a decadent medievalism, far from serving them, simply suffocated them, as we saw from the history of Protestantism from its second generation onwards. In orthodox Protestantism, which only systematised the unfortunate statements uttered by the Reformers under the stress of a too hasty polemic, what, with Luther and Calvin, had been the source of a real spiritual renewal, became a yoke effectively stifling all spiritual life. The misfortune is that, when the inevitable reaction occurs, as long as one maintains the alternatives created fallaciously and develops the principles on nominalist lines, it is impossible to oppose the fatal negations of orthodox Protestantism without denying or misunderstanding what was wholly positive in it. This alone accounts for the strange paradox that the Reformation, begun to extol the work of grace, arrived at a Pelagianism never


a simple objective of any school's reading program is to develop each student's ability to read silently without interruption for a relatively long period of time. Dr. Lyman C. Hunt, Jr. of the University of Vermont designated such a goal as early as 1960 and soon thereafter introduced Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading with the acronym USSR. The acronym was to command attention; we found it commanded too much attention so we dropped the U and SSR evolved. Initially, the sustaining power was thought to be a goal reached through months or years of practice. We discovered that the goal can be reached almost instantly if SSR is viewed as a complement of a teaching program. Since SSR takes school time, it supplants some part of each student's existing school program. It may supplant part of a student's reading program, but it is more effective when it becomes a part of each teacher's program. SSR is the drill of silent reading; it is the drill or practice necessary in learning to read, not a total reading program. SSR requires no special machines or materials other than a timer; it requires no special teacher training or expertise.


To gain an understanding of the inter-professional
learning experiences of undergraduate nursing, social work and occupational therapy students in a simulated
collaborative team meeting.


Theassurance thatpatients fully understand theinformation given tothembefore theysign theconsent formforoperation has never beenvalidated inthis country. Onehundred patients were interviewed byanindependent medical observer inonesurgical unit inateaching hospital between twoandfive daysafter their operation. Although all thepatients interviewed werefully aware that theyhadhadanoperation, 27didnotknowwhichorgan was operated onand44wereunawareoftheexactnature ofthe surgical procedure. Asignificantly higher agegroup wasobserved inthegroupofpatients whowereunaware ofthebasic facts relating totheir operation, andtheproblem wasencountered mostcommonly inpatients overtheageof60.Because ofthe


The ubiquitous reliance on technological innovations by enterprise organizations for electronic file-sharing networks across all business transactions has further exposed organization system enterprises to security threats and risks. Globally, a positive relationship exists between employees' adherence to security policy enforcement, enterprise definitions, and effective management of organization security systems. Security measures required to handle threats to the organizations' data: confidentiality, integrity, and availability are becoming complex, dynamic, psychological, but largely undeveloped, outdated, and non-sustainable in Africa despite the huge cyber-security innovations. This study highlights the gaps created by poor employees' adherence to security policies and enforcement in managing organization information security systems, conflicts, and integrity, and strategies to close them. The authors explored a narrative review of prior research that revealed significant information on strategies for managing organization information security systems. Peer-reviewed articles within the last five years were extracted from electronic databases, using relevant search keywords Results show that organizational security issues can be prevented or mitigated through effective adherence to security policies, control over policy enforcement, and enterprise definitions. Findings from this study may extend proper security management practices and prevention strategies for Africa's transformation.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the interactional dynamics that occur when health-care professionals collaborate on a medical case. Social exchange theory and the literature on collaboration and teamwork provided the theoretical basis from which interaction was investigated. The participants in the study were 13 health-care professionals and one patient. They participated in two workshops during which they collaborated on an interprofessional care plan. Their interactions were audio-and video-taped. The recordings were transcribed and analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), a widely used method developed for analyzing the dynamics of physician-patient interactions. The data were analyzed using chi-square standardized residuals. The study concluded that while the RIAS format was useful, the original RIAS categories needed to be extensively supplemented with items that specifically addressed the interprofessional interaction. An examination of the categories with variability indicated that the majority of the interactions were task-related and that the response patterns varied depending on whether the categories were grouped according to participant, workshop group, or profession. This study demonstrated that it is possible to assess the degree of interprofessionalism in interactions using a scenario that is more ecologically valid than that offered by attitude questionnaires completed individually. The study offers a methodology by which it might be possible to chart the growth of interprofessionalism in communication among medical and other professionals in the course their work.%%%%Le but de la presente these est d'investiguer la dynamique interactive se produisant lorsque des professionnels de la sante collaborent dans un dossier medical. La theorie de l'echange social et la litterature sur la collaboration et le travail en equipe a servi de base theorique a partir de laquelle l'interaction a ete investiguee. Treize professionnels de la sante ainsi qu'un patient ont participe a cette etude. Ces participants ont collabore a etablir un programme de soins interprofessionnels durant deux seances de travail. Leur interaction a ete filmee et enregistree. Les enregistrements videos et audio ont ete retranscrits et analyses a l'aide du systeme d'analyse des interactions de Roter (RIAS), une methode tres usitee afin de developper une methode pour analyser la dynamique des relations entre patient et docteur. Les donnees ont ete analysees grâce a la methode standardisee khi carre. La recherche a montre que, meme si le RIAS demeure utile, les categories initiales du RIAS exigeaient de vastes supplements avec des items repondant specifiquement a l'interaction interprofessionnelle. Un examen des categories comportant des variables indique que la majorite des interactions etait liee aux tâches et que les schemas des reponses variaient selon que les categories etaient groupees en fonction du participant, des ateliers de groupes, ou de la profession. Cette etude a demontre qu'il est possible de…


Background: The external otitis is an infl ammatory process that gets at the pinna and the external acoustic meatus of many animals; it can be a pathological...


Xeroderma pigmentosum is epithelial in origin; is an inherited condition characterised by an extreme sensitivity to UV rays. Orbitalrhabdomyosarcoma which is mesodermal in origin has never been reported in same case one after the other


Data mining approaches performed recently use data coming from a single table and are not adapted to multiple tables. Moreover, computer network expansion and data sources diversity require new data mining systems handling databases heterogeneity in multi-database systems. In this paper, we propose SCATTER: a fully automated classification system from multiple heterogeneous databases. SCATTER is composed of three components. The first component uses schema matching techniques to find foreign-key links across the multi-database system. The second component tries to find the most useful links that are critical for producing accurate classes across multiple databases. The last component is a decision tree classification algorithm which exploits the useful links discovered automatically across the databases. Experiments performed on real databases were very satisfactory with an average accuracy of 86.5% and showed that SCATTER system succeeded in achieving a fully automated classification from multiple heterogeneous databases.


Research conducted by the University of Nairobi and the Family Health International in Kenya shows that a simple checklist can be an effective tool in ruling out pregnancy thereby increasing womens access to contraceptives and reducing the likelihood of unplanned pregnancy. The study surveyed 1852 nonmenstruating women at seven family planning clinics located throughout the country. Health workers used a checklist containing a series of questions about pregnancy and contraceptive use when counseling clients. Also all participants were given a pregnancy test to determine whether pregnancy had actually occurred. Among the 223 who could be pregnant according to the checklist 14 were actually pregnant. Overall the checklist was found to be user-friendly effective economical and acceptable to providers thus reducing serious barriers to family planning access. However some providers still expressed concerns over the correctness of information given by some women.


Fungal infections are one of the most common dermatological conditions worldwide. The goal of this study was to create and test a liposomal version of the antifungal medication Bifonazole. The thin film approach was used to make nine batches of Bifonazole liposomal gel, each with a different ratio of cholesterol, soya lecithin, and stearyl amine. It was investigated how formulation variables affected entrapment efficiency, particle size, surface charge, and drug release behaviour. The addition of a positively charged surfactant like stearyl amine improves the entrapment effectiveness of Bifonazole into liposomes considerably. When compared to the other formulations, the LFG8 formulation had the highest drug-loading capacity (83.210.69%). After 24 hours, the total amount of medication released from the Bifonazole liposomal gel ranged from 51.520.67% to 83.210.69%. The molar ratio of soya lecithin in the formulation rose, delaying drug release. This may be due to Bifonazole's interaction with the vast surface area of the liposome's lipid bilayer membrane and the thickness and fluidity of the soya lecithin layer. In an ex-vivo skin permeation investigation, it was discovered that iontophoretic administration had superior penetration than passive diffusion. Iontophoresis dramatically enhances the amount of medication that is absorbed through the skin.


The results of mathematical modelling of the flows of powder in nozzles for coaxial laser cladding are presented. The modelling results are used to determine the optimum geometrical parameters of the nozzle used for the construction of appropriate technological equipment. Calculations are carried out to determine the optimum values of the flow rate of powder, the size of powder particles, the geometry of the powder flow and the distance from the outlet of the nozzle to the surface of the components. The resultant values were used in the development of technological processes of cladding with powders of different composition.


This paper develops a quality-signaling game-theoretical model to examine whether an informed reviewer truthfully conveys the quality level (high or low) of an experience good to another uninformed consumer via reviews and whether the firm has motivations to reveal the quality information by price. With the perfect Bayesian equilibria, we obtain mainly the following results. First, the informed reviewer always leaves an honest review because it may bear a moral cost for writing a fake review. Second, when the marginal cost of the low-quality product is higher enough, the firm pools the price of its product at the consumer's expected value, and the uninformed consumer obtains the true quality level only from the review. Third, in the case of the lower marginal cost of the low-quality product, the true quality level is revealed to the uninformed consumer by the firm's separating pricing strategy associated with the reviewer's honest review. Fourth, the uninformed consumer can always get true quality information through either firm's separating pricing strategy or the reviewer's honest review.


A 44 year old female, previously on propranolol, phenytoin and phenobarbital, developed hepatotoxicity while on sulindac and acetaminophen containing analgesic. A limited review of hepatotoxicity and drug interactions of sulindac is presented. The possible mechanism of hepatotoxicity and its treatment is suggested.


About 20  of hafnium were deposited on silicon substrates using the electron beam evaporation technique. Two types of samples were investigated. In one type, the substrate was kept at the ambient temperature. After the deposition, the substrate temperature was increased to 100, 200, and . In the other type, the substrate temperature was held fixed at some value during the deposition. For this type, the substrate temperatures used were 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 550, and . The samples were characterized in situ by the technique of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. No trace of elemental hafnium is observed in the deposited overlayer. Also, there is no evidence of any chemical reactivity between the overlayer and the silicon substrate over the temperature range used. The hafnium overlayer shows a mixture of the dioxide and the suboxide. The ratio of the suboxide to dioxide is observed to be more in the first type of samples. The spectral data indicate that hafnium has a strong affinity for oxygen. The overlayer gets completely oxidized to form at substrate temperature around for the first type of samples and at substrate temperature greater than for the second type.


Objective: To establish the fingerprint profile of two Illicium species namely Illicium verum Hook.f. and Illicium griffithii Hook.f. & Thoms using high performace thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) technique. Methods: CAMAG HPTLC system equipped with TLC autosampler 4 applicator, TLC scanner 3 and win CATS 1.4.4. software was used. n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts of the fruits were developed in suitable mobile phase using standard procedures and scanned under UV at 254 nm, 366 nm and under visible light. Results: The HPTLC fingerprinting of the n-hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts showed several peaks with different Rf values. Conclusion: HPTLC fingerprint profile of two Illicium species may be useful in differentiating the species and also helpful in the identification and authentication of these species. Keyword: Ilicium verum, Illicium griffithii, HPTLC fingerprinting, Absorption spectra.


Providing an organic EL device using the hole injection layer excellent hole conduction efficiency can be obtained. It includes an anode disposed between (2) and the cathode (8) and the functional layer (6) comprises a light-emitting layer (6B) formed of an organic material used in a layer or multiple layers, arranged in the anode (2) and the functional layer hole injection layer (4) and the predetermined light-emitting layer (6B) between (6) the bank (5); a hole injection layer (4) comprising tungsten oxide; tungsten to tungsten oxide elements constituting the divalent state and 6 than the lowest valence state 6 comprises a hole injection layer (4) on; and the hole injection layer (4) comprising a crystal particle diameter of the order of magnitude of tungsten oxide nanoparticles; by the bank (5) for the region, the functional layer (6) of the side surface portion is formed to be positioned against a portion other than the concave configuration of the anode (2) side; and (6) in contact with the inner surface of the functional layer portion of the concave configuration of the recess.


Abstract Ramba Field, located in the Corridor Block of southern Sumatra, produces oil from coral-rich packstones and wackestones in the Lower Miocene Baturaja Formation at a depth of about 800 meters. The field consists of the "A" and "B" oil pools which are separated by a prominent intrabank paleochannel. These pools cover an area of approximately 24 km2. The oil column in the "A" pool is about 45 meters thick and lies beneath a gas cap up to 25 meters thick. The "B" pool has an oil column about 35 meters thick beneath a very thin (< 5 M) gas cap. The best reservoir rocks contain common fragments of branching corals with associated molluscs, and benthonic foraminifera in a micrite matrix. A similar fauna occurs in the more shaly and tighter offreef limestones deposited in slightly deeper water flanking the reservoir rocks. Still deeper offreef facies in the channel downdip from the reservoir lack corals but contain common planktonic foraminifera, intraclasts, and glauconite. They provide poor reservoir potential even where they occur within the oil column. Cores from one of the best wells in the field (Ramba-4), a flank well (Ramba-12), and two "channel" wells (Ramba-5 located south of the "A" pool and Ramba-13 located in the intrabank channel) provide a detailed look at the variety of lithofacies in and around the Ramba Field reservoir. These cores indicate that the best reservoir rocks were deposited toward the end of the Early Miocene transgression in shallow, sheltered conditions as mudbanks over basement peleohighs. Little of the coral is in growth position indicating extensive reworking of the bottom sediments by storms and currents. Porosity is best developed in both clean (non-shaly) coral-rich limestones and some foraminiferal limestones. It averages 16% and 18% in the "A" and "B" pool reservoir rocks, respectively. Calculated reservoir permeabilities in the two pools are 3600 and 500 md. Initial reservoir pressure in the "A" pool, was 1260 psi with 37.6° API gravity oil. In the "B" pool these values were 1200 psi and 37° gravity oil. Reservoir drive mechanism in the "A" pool is gas cap expansion, solution gas, and gravity segregation; in the "B" pool it is solution gas with a poor partial water drive. Since its discovery in 1982 through June, 1992, Ramba Field has produced nearly 60 MMBO.


The problem of relationship between coping and other regulatory mechanisms is one of the important issues of modern psychology. In the paper we present the study results of coping styles formed in adolescence. We consider coping behaviour as one of the mechanisms of regulation of behaviour along with control of behaviour and defence mechanisms. We propose a hypothesis about close relationship of coping behaviour and psychological defences with control behaviour, which is their individual resource. The purpose of the paper is to study the relationship of coping behaviour, control behaviour, and defence mechanisms in adolescence by longitude. The object of the research is the mechanisms of regulation of individual behaviour, the dynamics of regulation of behaviour in adolescence. The priority task was to see the dynamics of coping behaviour, gender differences, to study the dynamics of relationship of coping behaviour with control of behaviour and defence mechanisms. 43 adolescents (24 boys and 19 girls) participated in the longitude study. The data were collected from 5 study points with the distance of 1 year. The average age of participants at the time of the first survey was 14.3 years; at the last one it was 18.5 years. We used the following methods: Adolescence Coping Scale by E. Fraydenberg and R. Lewis as adapted by T.L. Kryukova, Style of self-control behaviour by V.I. Morosanova, Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test by N. Schutte and his colleagues, НАКЕМР-90 by J. Kuhl as adapted by S.A. Shapkin, "Life Style Index" by Kellerman Plutchik as adapted by L.I. Wasserman. We showed that the style of coping behaviour remains stable in adolescence. Productive and social coping strategies predominate in the coping style. The greatest number of changes is between the age of 17 and 18 at the time of entering higher schools. The frequency of unproductive strategies decreases and the repertoire of productive and social coping strategies expand at this age. We revealed sex differences: girls have a wider repertoire of coping strategies in the choice of ways to overcome difficult life situations as compared with boys. The dynamics of behaviour control and defence mechanisms is less evident. But we showed that coping behaviour, control behaviour and defence mechanisms are closely related constructs in a single mechanism of self-regulation. Development of coping is the result of changing the quantity and quality of relations between coping strategies and scales of control of behaviour. The number of links between coping and control of behaviour increased at the age of 14-18 among boys and decreased among girls


An accurate technique to perform NURBS surface fitting via genetic algorithms is presented. In this technique, the initial NURBS surface is generated by using object points as control points. Then, the genetic algorithm computes the weights and control points to obtain the NURBS surface fitting. The genetic algorithm is implemented through an objective function, which is deduced from NURBS surface and object points. The objective function is minimised by means of simulated binary crossover. This procedure is carried out based on the initial NURBS surface and NURBS surface constructed by employing the object height average as control point. Thus, the genetic algorithm provides the weights and control points of the NURBS surface that represent the object shape. The proposed algorithm improves the accuracy and speed of the NURBS fitting, which is created via genetic algorithms and gradient methods. It is because the proposed algorithm calculates the weights and control points from a known search space, which is produced by NURBS surfaces. Thus, the genetic algorithm minimises the objective function in fast form with high accuracy. The contribution of the proposed method is corroborated by an evaluation based on accuracy and speed of the traditional genetic algorithms and gradient methods.


Continuous advances in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the increased complexity of their applications raise the demand for improved data acquisition systems (DAQ). These improvements may comprise low power consumption, low volume and weight, robustness, modularity and capability to interface with various sensors and peripherals while maintaining the high sampling rates and processing speeds. Such a system has been designed and developed and is currently integrated on the Autonomous Flying Platforms for Atmospheric and Earth Surface Observations (APAESO/NEA-YΠOΔOMH/NEKΠ/0308/09); however, it can be easily adapted to any UAV or any other mobile vehicle. The system consists of a single-board computer with a dual-core processor, rugged surface-mount memory and storage device, analog and digital input-output ports and many other peripherals that enhance its connectivity with various sensors, imagers and on-board devices. The system is powered by a high efficiency power supply board. Additional boards such as frame-grabbers, differential global positioning system (DGPS) satellite receivers, general packet radio service (3G-4G-GPRS) modems for communication redundancy have been interfaced to the core system and are used whenever there is a mission need. The onboard DAQ system can be preprogrammed for automatic data acquisition or it can be remotely operated during the flight from the ground control station (GCS) using a graphical user interface (GUI) which has been developed and will also be presented in this paper. The unique design of the GUI and the DAQ system enables the synchronized acquisition of a variety of scientific and UAV flight data in a single core location. The new DAQ system and the GUI have been successfully utilized in several scientific UAV missions. In conclusion, the novel DAQ system provides the UAV and the remote-sensing community with a new tool capable of reliably acquiring, processing, storing and transmitting data from any sensor integrated on an UAV.


Background Participation in ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation remains low, especially among older adults. Although mobile health cardiac rehabilitation (mHealth-CR) provides a novel opportunity to deliver care, age-specific impairments may limit older adults' uptake, and efficacy data are currently lacking. Objective This study aims to describe the design of the rehabilitation using mobile health for older adults with ischemic heart disease in the home setting (RESILIENT) trial. Methods RESILIENT is a multicenter randomized clinical trial that is enrolling patients aged ≥65 years with ischemic heart disease in a 3:1 ratio to either an intervention (mHealth-CR) or control (usual care) arm, with a target sample size of 400 participants. mHealth-CR consists of a commercially available mobile health software platform coupled with weekly exercise therapist sessions to review progress and set new activity goals. The primary outcome is a change in functional mobility (6-minute walk distance), which is measured at baseline and 3 months. Secondary outcomes are health status, goal attainment, hospital readmission, and mortality. Among intervention participants, engagement with the mHealth-CR platform will be analyzed to understand the characteristics that determine different patterns of use (eg, persistent high engagement and declining engagement). Results As of December 2021, the RESILIENT trial had enrolled 116 participants. Enrollment is projected to continue until October 2023. The trial results are expected to be reported in 2024. Conclusions The RESILIENT trial will generate important evidence about the efficacy of mHealth-CR among older adults in multiple domains and characteristics that determine the sustained use of mHealth-CR. These findings will help design future precision medicine approaches to mobile health implementation in older adults. This knowledge is especially important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that has shifted much of health care to a remote, internet-based setting. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03978130; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03978130 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/32163


In this repeated-measures pre/postintervention study, we evaluated the effect of high-fidelity patient simulation-based learning (HPSL) on dietetics students' self-efficacy in applying the nutrition care process. Furthermore, we assessed their perceptions, attitudes, satisfaction, and self-confidence toward HPSL. Forty-one Saudi dietetics undergraduates participated in an HPSL exercise involving a newly diagnosed diabetic ketoacidosis case. We found that the students' self-efficacy score in applying the nutrition care process significantly increased (P = .01) following the intervention, from 3.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 2.4-3.2) to 3.2 (IQR = 2.8-3.5), and participants reported overall positive attitudes toward HPSL, including enhanced perceived benefits to communication skills.


PURPOSE: To make the medical treatment of pathological portion in eccentric state and the removal of obturators easier by providing perforation means to a peripheral end of a flexible rotary catheter for removing obturators by perforating obturators thus forming a smooth lumen. CONSTITUTION: Flexible rotary catheter 15 has a perforation means at its peripheral end formed in the form of tubular blade 22 for perforate obturators that can be inserted into blood vessel along flexible guide wire 17' and attracting the same. Further, sleeve 27 arranged inside for making catheter rotatable and slidable has an open base end slidable on flexible rotary catheter 15, an open peripheral end 35, and a window portion positioned near the peripheral end. The window portion is positioned in arterial lumen, and obturator comes into the arterial lumen through this window portion. Next, by making flexible rotary catheter proceed along a virtual line shown in the figure, oburator 13 is perforated and drawn out. Thus, the oburator in eccentric state can be removed and re-perforated. COPYRIGHT: (C)1994,JPO


Long-period gratings (LPG) are inscribed in endlessly single mode (ESM) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and conventional single mode fiber (SMF) with symmetric and asymmetric CO2 laser irradiation. Transmission measurements and near field imaging indicate that symmetric index perturbation induced by laser irradiation with the aid of a 120° gold-coated reflecting mirror results in LP0n symmetric mode coupling, while asymmetric irradiation without using the mirror leads to LP1n asymmetric mode coupling for both fiber types. Symmetric irradiation yields far more reproducible LPG in PCF than asymmetric irradiation. On the other hand, the irradiation symmetry has little effect on the reproducibility of LPG inscribed in SMF due to the isotropy of its all-solid cladding structure. The removal of the outer solid cladding of PCFLPG results in a significant change in its transmission characteristics, which provides rich information on the refractive index perturbation and mode field distribution in the outer solid cladding of PCF-LPG.


Conventional approaches for inference about efficiency in parametric stochastic frontier (PSF) models are based on percentiles of the estimated distribution of the one-sided error term, conditional on the composite error, rather than on the sampling distribution of the inefficiency estimator. When used as confidence intervals, these have extraordinarily poor coverage properties that do not improve with increasing sample size. We present a bootstrap method that gives confidence interval estimates based on sampling distributions, and which have good coverage properties that improve with sample size. In addition, researchers who estimate PSF models typically reject models, samples, or both when residuals have skewness in the "wrong" direction, i.e., in a direction that would seem to indicate absence of inefficiency. We show that correctly specified models can generate samples with "wrongly" skewed residuals, even when the variance of the inefficiency process is nonzero. Our bootstrap method provides useful information about inefficiency and model parameters irrespective of whether residuals have the skewness in the desired direction. We also find that a commonly-used Wald test used to test the existence of inefficiency has catastrophic size properties; likelihood-ratio and bootstrap tests are shown in Monte Carlo experiments to perform well both in terms of size and power.


Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) contain biologically active proteins, lipoolysaccharide (LPS), periplasmic and membrane-bound proteins and are known to perform diverse biological functions. OMVs from Brucella abortus S19 were isolated and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), SDS-PAGE and immunoreactivity was investigated by western blotting. On TEM, bilayered spherical structures of 50-200 nm were observed. SDS-PAGE of OMVs revealed approximate bands size of 82 kDa, 68 kDa, 38 kDa, 32 kDa, 29 kDa and 18 kDa. Western blot analysis of OMVs revealed a dominant immunoreactive band of 38 kDa that correspond to some major outer membrane proteins. Humoral immune response was measured by indirect ELISA which showed that OMV specific antibodies were detected from 7th day post immunization (DPI) onwards and showed a rising trend up to 35th DPI. Cell mediated immune (CMI) response against OMVs as evidenced by the proliferation of splenocytes have also been observed. Thus OMVs were found to possess immunogenic proteins which had potential to induce both humoral as well as cell mediated immunity. After correlating this immune response with protection it has been concluded that OMV can be used as one of the vaccine candidate against brucellosis.


This article aims to analyze the relevance of the University od Strasbourg for the creation of the magazine Annales d`Histoire Economique et Sociale by the duo Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre. Starting from the recent debates about Regional History, we seek to establish the relationship between the political effort to affirm Alsace as a French region from 1919 (after almost four decades under German rule) with the possibilities and limits lived by the two historians to idealize and lead their famous historiographic enterprise. We also present from the historical magazines – specifically the Revue Historique and the Revue de Synthese – and its editors connections with Bloch and Febvre, and with the Alsacian institution, the political and intellectuals plots that guided the decision. It seems clear to us that occupying chairs at this university was crucial – in addition to the meeting between the two – for the success of the enterprise.


Background : Attacks of Urinary tract infections (UTIs) reached about 150 million patients every year worldwide. They are considered a major reason for morbidity in females in all age groups, older men and young boys. Objectives: To investigate the effect of Ciprofloxacin treatment during urinary tract infection (UTI) infection on the proinflammatory cytokines secretion including IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and TNF in the adult patients. Methodology : This prospective, observational cohort study involved 50 patients diagnosed with UTI over a period of 3 months from January to March 2019. On the day of admission (before starting ciprofloxacin treatment), all the UTI patients were submitted to an estimation of urine levels of proinflammatory cytokines including IL-1, IL-6, IL-12, IL-10, and TNF during the first 48 hours after hospital admission. Cytokine levels were estimated by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) kits (R&D Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA). The patients were treated with ciprofloxacin 500mg for 3 days. After 5 days of ciprofloxacin treatment course, the patient underwent remeasurement of urine level of cytokines. Results : After the fifth day of ciprofloxacin treatment course, it has been observed that there were significant decreases regarding proinflammatory cytokine TNF, IL1, and IL6. On the other hand, there was a significant increase in IL10 levels in the study cohort. Besides, there was no significant difference between before and after ciprofloxacin treatment regarding IL12 levels (P-value = 0.06). Conclusion : Ciprofloxacin treatment significantly reduces the levels of the proinflammatory cytokine in patients with UTIs.


Abstract : In this thesis a cost benefit and capability analysis is conducted on a number of Sea-Base connectors. In conducting this analysis the average yearly Operating and Sustainment (O&S) cost of the connectors studied is used along with specific performance data such as maximum payload (in tons), maximum speed (in knots) when loaded to maximum payload, and maximum range (in nautical miles) when operated at maximum payload and maximum speed to obtain a number of comparative metrics. These metrics include, but are not limited to tons per hour (tph), cost per ton ($/ton) and cost per ton per nautical mile ($/ton-NM). A number of air and surface connectors were considered consisting of both legacy platforms in use today as well a number of future concept platforms currently being developed. The surface connectors considered are the Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC), Joint High-Speed Vessel (JHSV), Landing Craft Utility Replacement (LCU(R)) and the Ultra Heavy-Lift Amphibious Connector (UHAC). The air connectors considered are the MV-22 Osprey, the CH-53E Sea Stallion, the Hybrid Ultra-Large Aircraft (HULA) and the Hybrid Very-Large Aircraft (HVLA).


The purposes of this research are to define the meaning of luxury sport shoes and to construct concept of women purchase intention towards luxury sport shoes. The background of this research is based on the phenomena found in the field of fitness lifestyle, where women show unique buying behavior of sport shoes, in which mostly preferably by men. This research done using phenomenological method through five steps of analysis: epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, textural and structural description, and synthesis of meaning. Further, finding of the research also tied up with theories. Data collection method was done through in-depth interview and observation. The result revealed the meaning of luxury in sport shoes, which is because of its expensiveness that constructed by the price, exclusivity, brand, and appearance. It also found that women purchase intention towards luxury sport shoes are defined in three steps. First is the utilitarian intention with the most participants, second is the hedonic intention, and the third with the lowest number of participants is the conspicuous intention. In which drawn in triangle shape. Further findings also revealed that reference group has major influence to women purchase intention toward luxury sport shoes. Key  Words: Phenomenology,  purchase  intention,  women,  luxury,  reference group


Tzur Levin and Ilya Levin Tel Aviv University, Schools of Education Ramat Aviv, Israel Tel: (972)-3-6407109, Fax: (972)-3-6407752 Email: email@example.com Abstract This paper explores how hybrid modeling may be combined with the system dynamics methodology in order to serve didactical and communicative goals. It describes the architecture of hybrid models and argues for its compatibility with the system dynamics outlook. The paper specifies cases suitable for hybrid modeling and presents examples to demonstrate its pedagogical value.


Researched and commented on the novella of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in relation to the institution of representation.


Abstract : Ferromagnetic properties and nanocrystallization process of soft ferromagnetic (Fe(0.99)Mo(0.01))78Si9B13 ribbons are studied by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mossbauer spectroscopy (MS), differential scanning calorimeters (DSC) and magnetization measurements. The Curie and crystallization temperature are determined to be T(sub c) = 665 K and T(sub x) = 750 K, respectively. The T(sub x) value is in well agreement with DSC measurement results. X-ray diffraction patterns had shown a good reconfirm of two metastable phases (Fe23B6, Fe3B) were formed under in-Situ nanocrystallization process. Of which these metastable phases embedded in the amorphous matrix have a significant effect on magnetic ordering. The ultimate nanocrystalline phases of alpha-Fe (Mo, Si) and Fe2B at optimum annealing temperature bad been observed respectively. It is notable that the magnetization of the amorphous phase decreases more rapidly with increasing temperature than those of nanocrystalline ferromagnetism, suggesting the presence of the distribution of exchange interaction in the amorphous phase or high metalloid contents.


In the context of politics, the term valence refers to bonds between candidates and some desirable qualities in the public's mind. This chapter provides a review of formal models of spatial political competition when candidates differ in their exogenous valence. Employing simple numerical examples, this chapter discusses the role of several assumptions (on voter preferences, candidate objectives, the timing of the game, etc.) employed in these models in restoring the existence of a divergent pure strategy Nash equilibrium and in determining the equilibrium policies and vote shares. The chapter mostly focuses on models of two-candidate competition, multicandidate competition is discussed only briefly.


BACKGROUND AND AIM
Acute endocarditis (AE) is still rare disease in the paediatric population; nevertheless, the children suffering from AE usually need heart valve repair or replacement in emergency settings.

METHODS
We present a case of emergency mitral valve replacement with the use of Melody balloon expandable stented bioprosthesis in a two-year-old patient with AE and subsequent mitral (bicuspid) valve incompetence after aggressive infective destruction with the symptoms of critical multi-organ failure.

RESULTS
The patient, with a history of rapid deterioration after two-week-long septicaemia in the course of AE, was operated urgently after initial antibiotic treatment because of huge vegetations into the mitral valve orifice. A Melody TVP 22 valve was expanded over a 16-mm TyShak balloon and implanted into a mitral position (Melody-MVR) with good result.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on current knowledge concerning heart valve reconstructions and institutional experience, we conclude that infected mitral valve in children should be primarily repaired; nevertheless, the Melody valve could be reasonably con-sidered as a mitral prosthesis in such conditions.


Plasma polymer films of tetravinylsilane were deposited on silicon wafers using an RF glow discharge operated at pulsed regime, where the effective power was ranging from 0.1 to 150 W. Spectroscopic and microscopic techniques revealed that physicochemical properties of plasma polymer are controlled by the effective power if the flow rate of monomer was constant. An organic/inorganic character (C/Si ratio), hydrogen concentration, and a content of vinyl groups in plasma polymer are governed by deposition conditions. We demonstrate changes of chemical and physical properties as a result of increased cross-linking of plasma polymer at higher powers; the Young's modulus increased from 13 to 122 GPa, hardness 1.9-15 GPa, refractive index (633 nm) 1.7-2.2, but the energy gap decreased from 2.5 to 1.0 eV with enhanced power.


Real-world optimization applications in complex systems always contain multiple factors to be optimized, which can be formulated as multi-objective optimization problems. These problems have been solved by many evolutionary algorithms like MOEA/D, NSGA-III, and KnEA. However, when the numbers of decision variables and objectives increase, the computation costs of those mentioned algorithms will be unaffordable. To reduce such high computation cost on large-scale many-objective optimization problems, we proposed a two-stage framework. The first stage of the proposed algorithm combines with a multi-tasking optimization strategy and a bi-directional search strategy, where the original problem is reformulated as a multi-tasking optimization problem in the decision space to enhance the convergence. To improve the diversity, in the second stage, the proposed algorithm applies multi-tasking optimization to a number of sub-problems based on reference points in the objective space. In this paper, to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we test the algorithm on the DTLZ and LSMOP problems and compare it with existing algorithms, and it outperforms other compared algorithms in most cases and shows disadvantage on both convergence and diversity.


This paper analyzes distributed state estimation methods for condition monitoring of electric power transmission and distribution systems. When a fault occurs in such large‐scale systems, it is usually difficult to detect it and to determine its exact position. Moreover, due to the cost of installation and maintenance of measurement devices and due to the excessive size of the electric power grid, the complete monitoring of the associated infrastructure is impractical. Therefore, to monitor the condition of the power grid, some form of estimation is required. As suitable approaches for distributed state estimation this paper proposes the extended information filter (EIF) and the unscented information filter (UIF). The Extended Information Filter is actually an implementation of distributed extended Kalman filtering while the unscented information filter is an implementation of distributed unscented Kalman filtering. With the use of the aforementioned filtering algorithms on processing units located at different parts of the power grid, one can produce local estimates of the system's state vector which in turn can be fused into an aggregate state estimation. The produced global state estimate enables continuous monitoring of the condition of the electric power system and early fault diagnosis if used by a suitable fault detection and isolation algorithm.


In a recent decision of the Tribunal of Milan three Google executives were convicted for violating data protection, in connection with the on-line posting of a video showing a disabled person being bullied and insulted. This paper, after illustrating the facts of the case and the reasoning of the judge, discusses the main issue at stake, namely, the role and responsibilities of providers of platforms for user-created contents with regard to violations of data privacy.


This article considers the problem of solving linear algebraic equations of the form <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Ax=b$</tex-math></inline-formula> among multiagents, which seek a solution by using local information in presence of random communication topologies. The equation is solved by <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$m$</tex-math></inline-formula> agents where each agent only knows a subset of rows of the partitioned matrix <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$[A,b]$</tex-math></inline-formula>. The problem is formulated such that this formulation does not need the distribution of random interconnection graphs. Therefore, this framework includes asynchronous updates and/or unreliable communication protocols. The random Krasnoselskii–Mann iterative algorithm is applied that converges almost surely and in mean square to a solution of the problem for <italic>any</italic> matrices <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$A$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$b$</tex-math></inline-formula> and <italic>any</italic> initial conditions of agents' states. The algorithm is a totally asynchronous algorithm without requiring <italic>a priori</italic> B-connectivity and distribution dependency assumptions. The algorithm is able to solve the problem even if the weighted matrix of the graph is periodic and irreducible for synchronous protocol. It is demonstrated that the limit point to which the agents' states converge is determined by the unique solution of a convex optimization problem regardless of the distribution of random communication graphs. Finally, some numerical examples are given to show the results.


This study examined whether a sequence of graduate field experiences integrated throughout a teacher training program would result in differentiated responses of competence and self-confidence. Participants were graduate students in a traditional preservice program (group 1) and those in a more accelerated program combining fieldwork with evening courses (group 2). Performance assessments and self-assessments occurred at the beginning and end of participants' student teaching semester and after two years in their first teaching position. Results indicated significantly higher ratings by the supervisors of Group 2 students during student teaching and on the job. The greatest differences related to classroom management, assessment strategies, and adaptability in accommodating individual needs. Self-assessments for the two groups followed the same pattern. Group 2 students indicated more selfassurance and confidence at both levels within the time frame noted. Results supported the thesis that immersion in a sequence of field experiences throughout teacher training leads to more confidence on the part of student teachers and more competence in handling their classrooms. Results also provided support for teacher training programs that are ecologically designed, rather than the traditional preparation sequence of graduate study, limited field experiences, and student teaching. (Contains 14 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.


A new plan of on line and real time forecasting control and compensating for guideway grinding machine precision was proposed. A novel adaptive model, three step coupled algorithm with model error compensation and forecasting control strategy has been given. The actual test, measurement and computer control simulation show that the plan is possessed of the quick algorithm convergence, adaptability and good practicality.


The voice of leaders, http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/ ehjvideo.html Asked if it is still wise, as of 2015, for young Fellows to concentrate solely on one imaging technique even though there is a trend towards multimodality imaging, Jeroen Bax answer is unwavering: he endorses the shift towards multimodality imaging and states that one must be able to work with more than one imaging techniques, especially so, to leverage the use of multiple modalities. Having said that he admits that with the growing development of each modality (echocardiography, CT, nuclear imaging, and MRI) it is virtually impossible to train and acquire extensive knowledge in all of them. He recommends Fellows working in clinical cardiology to practice echocardiography first and additionally to specialize in another field. Jeroen Bax is no supporter of the trend of specializing only in imaging related to a specific field such as heart valve diseases or ischaemia; he rather encourages Fellows to understand a specific imaging technique in detail and to understand all the potential clinical applications of this technique. Another question addresses the topic of funding for specialized training and what consequences follow the trend of clinics and labs all over the world to hire Fellows from abroad, who pay their own way instead of educating their own Fellows. Jeroen Bax is concerned with the development of Fellows moving from one place to another: he thinks that it is the role of the department to offer training positions to their own Fellows. Still, he realizes that not every department can provide training in all imaging techniques to a very high level of expertise, but basic clinical training should be possible in larger centres. Apart from that, he expects it to be more and more difficult to acquire funding for stays abroad—even though societies such as the ESC offer grants for specialized clinical training. To the question of whether well-founded research is compatible with extensive clinical activity—as is expected nowadays at academic centres—Jeroen Bax brings forward striking arguments why a combination of research and clinical work is still possible and why it should also be performed as such. He is a strong advocate of doing research in the very field one has specialized in, as experience in clinical activity helps direct the former. Ideally institutions should promote a scheme of 2 days of research with 3 days of clinic per week. However, to the contrary, he also admits that basic research performed in labs is not compatible with extensive clinical activity because of how serious a time commitment it entails. Regarding when to start with research as an academic trainee in cardiology, Jeroen Bax points out two strategies: one possibility is to start with research directly after medical school, normally in a PhD program that spans 3–4 years, as is performed at his home institute in Leiden. The other option is to specialize first in cardiology and to choose a field of interest in which research will be performed thereafter. Fellows choosing the former path have the advantage of being able to commit one hundred per cent of their time to research with the drawback of not having acquired clinical knowledge yet. In the second scenario Fellows have the advantage of putting their research in a clinical context, but—as a disadvantage—will have to continue with clinical work at the expense of research time. Jeroen Bax emphasizes that, in either case, a longer period of time with extensive exposure to research is necessary to acquire a solid foundation. In the future for cardiac imaging, Jeroen Bax sees the combination of not only different imaging modalities, but also of anatomical and functional imaging as the number one target. Next year, Jeroen Bax will preside over the ESC—a challenging task, he states. During his presidency he will concentrate on the 'four pillars of the society', namely education, congress, guidelines, and the journal, all of which are in his opinion, running very well. His focus will be primarily on perpetuating their success. In addition to these 'four pillars' he will also dedicate himself to the speciality subgroups (associations) in order to strike the right balance to keep them involved in the ESC, but at the same time provide them with enough freedom to nurture their distinctive features. Furthermore, he wants to pay attention to ensure good


Wheat germ is recognized as the treasure house and essence of nutrition, accounting for only 1.4%–3.9% of the dry weight of the grain. It is extremely rich in quality protein, fat and a variety of vitamins and minerals. In this study, CMC,citric acid, sugar and whole milk powder were used for formulating a wheat germ-based dairy beverage. By using one-factorat-a-time and orthogonal array design, the optimal formulation of the nutritional beverage was determined to consist of 0.08% CMC, 0.05% citric acid, 4% sugar and 4% whole milk powder.


To develop a robotic system for a complex task is a time-consuming process. Merging methods available today, a new approach for a faster realization of a multi-finger soft robotic hand is presented here. This paper introduces a robotic hand with four fingers and 12 Degrees of Freedom (DoFs) using bellow actuators. The hand is generated via Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), an Additive Manufacturing method. The complex task execution of a specific action, i.e. the lifting, rotating and precise positioning of a handling-object with this robotic hand, is used to structure the whole development process. To validate reliable functionality of the hand from the beginning, each development stage is SLS-generated and the targeted task execution is trained via Reinforcement Learning, a machine learning approach. Optimization points are subsequently derived and fed back into the hardware development. With this Concurrent Engineering strategy a fast development of this robotic hand is possible. The paper outlines the relevant key strategies and gives insight into the design process. At the end, the final hand with its capabilities is presented and discussed.


The size and complexity of software systems presents many challenges to developers. Software visualisation techniques can help make more manageable tasks across the development cycle. In this paper we focus on the dynamic visualisation of software state---an important element in supporting activities such as debugging. We propose Pseudo-Breakpoints as a means of collecting data and making it available to specialised visualisation components. We describe the implementation of this concept in Eclipse and present some example visualisations.


Primary vaginal carcinoma is a rare entity in gynaecological oncology. Genital prolapse associated with primary carcinoma of vagina is even more rare. We here report two cases of early stage of vaginal carcinoma associated with utero-vaginal prolapse treated by surgery & radiotherapy and the review of literature of same entity. A 65 yrs old post menopausal lady presented with irreducible utero-vaginal prolapse & foul smelling per vaginal discharge. A fungating growth was present on the middle part of rt. antero-lateral wall of vagina. Biopsy was taken from the growth & histopathology showed squamous cell Ca. A 75 yrs old multiparous lady presented with long standing ulcer in association with second degree uterovaginal prolapse. Biopsy of the ulcer revealed squamous cell Ca of vagina. As one of the most complicated therapeutic problems in gynaecological oncology, this disease had been deemed to be untreatable until the end of 1930s. Presently as a result of technological improvements in radiotherapy & radical surgery, more favourable prognosis are to be achieved. A patient with a long history of uterine prolapse must be treated with care due to the risk potential for malignant change. Any lesion associated with utero-vaginal prolapse need careful evaluation & should be subjected to biopsy to rule out the underlying carcinoma.
JCMCTA 2014 ; 25 (2) : 61-64


Any loss or abnormality in the structure or function of the visual analyser represents a visual impairment. The World Health Organization considers that the term "visual impairment" refers, on the one hand, to a decrease in visual acuity, and on the other hand, to the loss of visual acuity. The research purpose consists in checking the influence of means specific to rhythmic gymnastics on some components of coordination ability (kinaesthetic differentiation, balance and intersegmental coordination) in children with amblyopia. The research methods used in conducting the investigation are the following: bibliographic study method, observation method, experimental method, graphical method and the method of processing, analysis and interpretation of the collected data. The assessment will be performed through tests or trials in order to establish the children's reactivity, their progress/regression/stagnation as a consequence of applying some means specific to rhythmic gymnastics. The study results highlight the progress recorded by the 12 subjects with amblyopia, as an echo to the applied therapy. Conclusions confirm that the means of rhythmic gymnastics influence some components of coordination ability (kinaesthetic differentiation, balance and intersegmental coordination) in children with amblyopia and that this sports discipline finds a well-deserved place in the thematic syllabus of Physical Education as a subject taught in special schools, in lower secondary education. © 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.UK


This paper reveals the vast potentials in Graphic design as a viable panacea to create job for youths and open alternative source of income for the unemployed. Graphic design has contributed to the growth and development of small and medium scale industries with the advent of modern high-speed printing machines, designing and printing for commercial purpose is in high demand. However, aesthetics and functional satisfaction from graphic art production largely depends upon the approach adopted by its execution. The commercial concept of graphic designs encompasses a wide range of activities such as branding, package design, trade label, book cover, CD jacket, poster design, invitation cards, souvenirs etc.


A method for estimating an underwater acoustic sound Veloc ity in a network of acoustic nodes arranged along towed acoustic linear antennas and in which a plurality of acoustic signals are transmitted between the nodes. The method includes: obtaining two predetermined distances each sepa rating a couple of nodes placed along a same first acoustic linear antenna (31); for each couple of first and second nodes, obtaining a first propagation duration of an acoustic signal transmitted between said first node and a third node placed along a second acoustic linear antenna and a second propa gation duration of an acoustic signal transmitted between said


The invention provides an aluminum-lithium-samarium alloy and a fused salt electrolysis preparation method thereof. The aluminum-lithium-samarium alloy is prepared by the following steps of: heating LiCl and KCl serving as an electrolyte system to 630 DEG C for fusion in an electrolytic furnace; uniformly mixing Sm2O3 powder and AlCl3 and tabletting the mixture, adding the mixture into fused salt in the form of grains to ensure that the mass ratio of the AlCl3, LiCl to KCl is 6.2-11.0 percent to 44.5-46.9 percent to 44.5-46.9 percent, wherein the amount of the added Sm2O3 is 1 percent of the weight of the electrolytic fused salt; and taking metal molybdenum as a cathode and graphite as an anode and performing electrolysis for 2 to 6 hours to deposit the Al-Li-Sm alloy close to the cathode of the fused salt electrolysis cell, wherein the electrolysis temperature is between 630 and 720 DEG C, the cathode current density is 6.4A/cm and the anode current density is 0.5A/cm . By completely using metal compounds as raw materials and adding aluminum chloride, the chlorination of samarium oxide is realized and the aluminum-lithium-samarium alloys of different components are obtained by controlling the conditions such as the proportion of the electrolytes, the electrolysis time, the temperature, the current density and the like. The alloy and the method have the advantages of simple whole process, low requirements on equipment, low energy consumption and low pollution.


Dilute nitrides based on GaAs constitute a family of compounds whose main characteristic is the band-gap tunability, depending on the nitrogen content. In this work we have focussed our attention on the indium free dilute nitrides, i.e. GaNAsSb with a bandgap of around 1.1 eV, to study the effects that doping has on the crystalline structure, electrical and optical properties of the material. For such purpose, p-doped and n-doped GaNAsSb layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy and characterized using x-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoreflectance among other techniques. The GaNAsSb optical properties match the double band-anticrossing model which is the proposed one to explain the dilute nitride band structure. However, the determined optical bandgap value does not follow any trend with doping, neither with concentration nor type. This is related with doping effects on the crystalline quality and layer composition, thus inducing a Sb gradient along layer thickness together with variations in N and Sb concentrations for different doping levels. Besides these structural variations, the complex refraction index, Hall mobility and carrier concentration as a function of temperature have been determined for these GaNAsSb layers.


"Skanes val". The scanian regionalists meet the Swedish nationalists. During the past two decades right-wing populist parties have made substantial electoral gains in many West European countries. In Sweden the success of such parties has been limited compared to e.g. Denmark and Norway. In 1998 an electoral coalition of local populist parties, ";Skanes Val";, in southern Sweden gained 4.1% of the votes in the regional elections and six mandates in the regional assembly. However, the coalition was split already a year before the subsequent election in 2002. One of the fractions started technical cooperation with the ring-wing extremist party ";Sverigedemokraterna"; during the period leading up to the 2002 election. The reasons for the split of the coaltion and the reasons why one of the fractions chose to cooperate with ";Sverigedemokraterna"; are analysed using the two dimensions right-wing populism versus right-wing extremism and nationalism versus regionalism. While both fractions were clearly populist, they strongly differ in nationalism/regionalism. This is one plausible reason why the more Swedish nationalist fraction chose to cooperate with the nationalist party ";Sverigedemokraterna";.


Background Stromal cell-derived factor-1(SDF-1) is a chemotactic and angiogenic factor that mediates the repair of various tissues. As macrophages are important contributors to ischemic kidney injury, we examine the role of SDF-1 in a rodent model of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Methods Male wild-type (WT) (C57BL/6) mice were subjected to bilateral I/R injury or sham operation in the presence or absence of macrophage depletion (liposomal clodronate [0.2 ml/20–25 g body weight i.p.]). Macrophage accumulation was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Tissue levels of SDF-1 (ELISA) and SDF-1 mRNA expression (real-time PCR) were measured. The cellular location of SDF-1 was assessed using immunohistochemical staining. Results Immunofluorescence staining of renal tissue sections confirmed macrophage depletion by liposomal clodronate. SDF-1 production was elevated in response to I/R injury and was significantly increased upon macrophage depletion. SDF-1 positive cells initially appeared initially in the cortex, and subsequently diffused to the outer medulla after I/R injury. Conclusions Our study demonstrates that SDF-1 is significantly upregulated during renal I/R. We hypothesize that SDF-1 upregulation may be an important macrophage effector mechanism during I/R injury.


ABSTRACT. Most published radioimmunoassay methods to determine triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations in serum depend on addition prior to the assay of chemical compounds designed to release T3 bound to thyroid hormone binding proteins (TBP). Instead, the present method has employed denaturation of TBP by simple extraction with 95% ethanol for this purpose, followed by radioimmunoassay. Serums from 127 seemingly healthy subjects aged 5 to 93 showed a statistically significant, progressive decrease for both sexes in T3 concentration with advancing age, amounting to 5.1 ng/dl per decade. Mean T3 concentrations followed the regression line reasonably closely. However, the mean, 108.6 ng/dl, in the 15 to 19 year group, was probably skewed significantly. Mean concentrations reached a high, 140.8 ng/dl in the 5 to 9 yr group, low, 92.2 ng/dl in the 80 to 93 yr group, with the overall mean 119 ± 6.3 (SE) ng/dl. The normal mean and the means for hypothyroid, 46 ng/dl (range < 20–92), and hyperthyroid 353 ng/dl (ran...


(John E. Chance & Associates, Inc.) In his recent paper, Blanchard gave a good asses ment of commercial satellite positioning systems. I would, however, like to update a number of points made in his paper concerning STARFIX and its operations. The area of coverage shown in the diagram accompanying the article is the three satellite footprint. A fourth satellite (GTE Spacenet i) was incorporated into the system in August 1988. The combined footprint now provides positioning coverage over almost the entire North American continent (Fig. 1). Although most STARFIX operations occur in the Gulf of Mexico, the system continues to be used throughout the coverage area. The addition of the fourth satellite provides an important level of redundancy to the system, enabling the user to continue positioning from any three of the four satellite constellations during periods of single satellite outages. In addition, STARFIX is now able to track orbit manoeuvres with minimal system error. This is due to changes in the


We report a new quantum key distribution scheme based on phase coding in frequency domain including active compensation dispersion and polarisation insensitive receiver. An experimental system demonstrated stable quantum bit error up to 15 hours.


At least 107 nursing posts will go and hundreds more posts are at risk as the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust in north London seeks to save £40 million this year.


Electronic medical record system is a major part of HIS.It's important for medical record information's achieving,storage,transmission,processing and utilization.Because of the complexity and diversity,data of electronic medical record is hard to use the traditional database to store and query.In this paper,we use the international standards of HL7 CDA to describe the medical records information with XML data format.Using the tool of Microsoft Office InfoPath tool,we ultimately implement a flexible secure electronic medical records system.


Although photometry, the measurement of the intensity and distribution of visible light, is important in many areas, most undergraduate physics courses do not include this topic. We present a simple introduction to key concepts in photometry, and as a fun example, we investigate the optics of a Jack O'Lantern.


Document forgery is one of the most common crime types. One of the methods for detection of this type of crime is the determination of the age of the ink. The time difference between the suspected articles on the document can be easily detected by the determination of ink age. In our study case the family complained in a court of law with claiming that born of their down syndrome child was a negligence of the doctor. Court demanded us to determine that if notes written by the doctor in "2005" or after the family complained. Ink samples taken from two patient book of records were analysed and ink structures were determined with using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and ages were determined with using dye ratio technique.


The paper assesses the interplay between 'fundamental procedural guarantees' and the need to ensure 'effective cartel enforcement' as reflected on the rules concerning the legal proof of cartel infringements. More specifically, in view of the new provisions of the Lisbon Treaty that accords 'Treaty value' to the Charter and paves the Union's accession to the ECHR, the paper first analyses the legal framework where fundamental rights operate in Europe. After identifying the rights that are pertinent in cartel proceedings, the paper attempts a novel reading of the characterisation of the legal nature of competition proceedings. Against this general background, the article embarks upon a detailed examination of the rules dealing with the legal characterisation, attribution of liability and sanctioning of cartels. It is submitted that the extensive use of presumptions is justified in view of the 'information asymmetry' characterising cartel infringement and no longer constitutes a risk of abuse in view of the increased probative value of evidence obtained through Leniency. Nevertheless, possible inconsistencies with regard to the ECHR standards could arise in the future with regard to the unpredictability of the sanctioning rules and the automatic way parental liability is established. Concluding, it is submitted that the current level of protection does accommodate the issues at stake as to workably reconcile effectiveness and a reasonable protection of defence rights, as well as, the risk of opportunistic use of procedural guarantees. Moreover, speculating on the future interplay between the Luxemburg and Strasburg courts, it is proposed that the Community enforcement system, benefiting from the Bosphorus presumption of legality and the 'manifest deficiency' rebuttability standard, will remain unaffected.


Abstract : The one dimensional initial value problem of a monatomic single component gas is considered. Using the linearized Boltzmann equation the dispersion relation is studied. In addition to the usual gas dynamic sound waves one finds an infinity of decaying propagating waves. The phenomenon naturally exhibits itself as a sequence of epochs, the last stage of which is hydrodynamic. With reference to the same problem macroscopic equations such as Euler, NavierStokes, Burnett, Grad's moments equations, etc., are considered. In addition the recently considered kinetic models of Gross (Phys. Fluids 2:432, (1959)) are applied to the problem. These various formulations are critically analyzed and compared with each other and with the Boltzmann analysis. Lastly, several alternate molecular and macroscopic equations are offered whic remedy some of the shortcomings which appear in the above mentioned approximate theories. (Author)


Chapter 6 reviews the history of collective bargaining in the South African clothing manufacturing industry. We show that its profoundly dualist character (high- and low-productivity firms co-existing) has historical and market-related roots and highlight the role of wage policy during and after apartheid in shaping the regional location of firms. The rise of China as a global producer of clothing had a profound impact on the South African industry—but it was the simultaneous introduction of national collective bargaining and the enforcement of minimum wages on relatively low-wage labour-intensive firms that drove the job losses. We describe the 2010/11 'compliance drive' that resulted in legal action against the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry by low-wage employers, including the Chinese firms (that is, owned by people who originated from Taiwan, Hong Kong, or China) in Newcastle seeking to obtain relief from the imposition of sector-wide minimum wages on their labour-intensive firms. Whilst trade union strategy as well as government policy adapted to some extent and many employers transformed their enterprises into workers' co-operatives, that is to circumvent wage regulation, the outcome was nonetheless the preclusion of employment growth in this crucial sector.


As the Clinton health plan is given its final touches, researchers from Harvard have found that hospitals in the US are spending nearly a quarter of their money on administrative costs. "In many hospitals, as the number of patients declined, the number of bureaucrats increased to battle with competing hospitals over market share and with insurers over payment" says their study, published in last week's New England Joumnal ofMedicine. In 1960 there was one administrator for every 3*17 patients. Thirty years later the figure was one patient for every 1-43 administrators. Pure administration, comprising general and nursing administration, central services, medical records, medical libraries, skilled nursing facilities, utilisation review, and some administrative salaries, make up almost a fifth of all American hospitals' costs, and the figure rises to nearly a quarter when mixed costs are added. Dr Steffie Woolhandler, Dr David Himmelstein, and James Lewontin reviewed data provided to the government from 1600 hospitals in the US in 1990. They found that administration costs were no lower in states that had moved ahead with various reforms, including schemes that set prices for treatments. Hospitals are the biggest spenders of health care money in the US, spending about $1000 per American in 1990. Doctors' services accounted for about $500 a person, and drugs cost just over $200. If the nonclinical spending could be trimmed to match Canada's spending theUS could save $50bn a year, say the authors ofthe study. But several experts have challenged their logic, even while accepting their study's figures. Bill Erwin, a spokesman for the American Hospital Association (AHA), said: "Administration is not just paperwork. Medical records and libraries are critical to patient care, and money spent on collecting outcomes, data can be saved through developing more efficient clinical practices that result from the data." The AHA has estimated that the Clinton health reforms would trim at least $5bn in administrative costs through the pooling of many non-clinical activities. "Fewer salaries would be paid if they came through a network, rather than through each hospital, as it is now," Bill Erwin said. In an editorial in the same edition of the New England Joumal of Medicine, David Blumenthal, from Massachusetts General Hospital, said, "Blaming the problems of American health care on its administration is as useful as attributing a patient's septic shock to his or her fever. " Many administrative costs, he said, are the result and not the cause of the US's health care crisis. For example, in the current system hospitals must pay administrators. Providing universal access to health insurance would eliminate the complications of billing and collecting from uninsured patients. President Clinton has intimated that he plans to cut administrative costs by introducing universal health cards that carry patients' medical data and by increasingly computerising medical records. Clinton's budget was passed last week, and his spokesperson announced within 24 hours that the health care package would be sent to Congress by the end ofSeptember. When it arrives, it will join many other plans now circulating on Capitol Hill, including the plan based on Canada's system that is supported by many liberal Democrats. -JOHN ROBERTS, physician and journalist, Baltimore Three fifths rise in long wait patients,


In this paper we present a homography algorithm to produce image mosaics using parallelism to solve a multiple Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) system. We analyse four state of art SVD methods and choose the one which better suites the expected size of the matrices derived from the datasets of interest. Then we use cuda to accelerate the solution of the transformation homogeneous matrices.


Adjuvant chemotherapy with platinum‐based regimens for completely resected early‐stage non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) provides overall survival benefit in several clinical trials.


ABSTRACT β-Arrestin-1 is an adaptor protein that mediates agonist-dependent internalization and desensitization of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and also participates in the process of heterologous desensitization between receptor tyrosine kinases and GPCR signaling. In the present study, we determined whether β-arrestin-1 is involved in insulin-induced insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1) degradation. Overexpression of wild-type (WT) β-arrestin-1 attenuated insulin-induced degradation of IRS-1, leading to increased insulin signaling downstream of IRS-1. When endogenous β-arrestin-1 was knocked down by transfection of β-arrestin-1 small interfering RNA, insulin-induced IRS-1 degradation was enhanced. Insulin stimulated the association of IRS-1 and Mdm2, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, and this association was inhibited to overexpression of WT β-arrestin-1, which led by decreased ubiquitin content of IRS-1, suggesting that both β-arrestin-1 and IRS-1 competitively bind to Mdm2. In summary, we have found the following: (i) β-arrestin-1 can alter insulin signaling by inhibiting insulin-induced proteasomal degradation of IRS-1; (ii) β-arrestin-1 decreases the rate of ubiquitination of IRS-1 by competitively binding to endogenous Mdm2, an E3 ligase that can ubiquitinate IRS-1; (iii) dephosphorylation of S412 on β-arrestin and the amino terminus of β-arrestin-1 are required for this effect of β-arrestin on IRS-1 degradation; and (iv) inhibition of β-arrestin-1 leads to enhanced IRS-1 degradation and accentuated cellular insulin resistance.


This thesis describes the issue measuring the quality of material PET (polyethylene tereph-talate) by using two most widely used methods. These methods mean intrinsic viscosity measurement in liquid and measurements by using the melt flow index in Melt Flow In-dexer. The main reason is find the differences in the material properties which is processed several times.


device for the production of coffee. The present invention refers to a device comprising an infusion chamber defined by at least two parts (1,3) which move relative to each other to close and open the infusion chamber; a duct (7) for supplying pressurized hot water to the brewing chamber; at least one pump (13) to supply pressurized hot water to the brewing chamber; a drive to dump (16) for pouring coffee from the brewing chamber. to dump the unit has at least a first configuration and a second configuration, according to the type of coffee to be discharged; the two parts (1,3) defining the infusion chamber have at least a first alternate position to define a larger infusion volume and a second alternate position to define a smaller infusion volume and are operatively connected to such a unit for pouring, so as to dump unit is exchanged with another one of such at least two configurations according to the alternate position taken by said parts defining the infusion chamber.


0. Introduction Applicative constructions indicate that a semantically peripheral object has a more central morphosyntactic (and sometimes discourse) status than would otherwise be expected for it; i.e., they involve treating an oblique more like a direct object. The object associated with an applicative construction's morphology is referred to as the applicative object; an object associated with the non-derived verb (a patient/theme) is referred to as the base object. More conservative approaches to defining applicative constructions require that there be an overt marker of the construction occurring in the construction's verb; less conservative approaches are willing to countenance abstract, silent applicative elements. For further details, see Peterson, forthcoming. Depictive secondary predicates, or simply depictives, are syntactically dependent predicates occurring in conjunction with a main predicate which predicate something of one of the participants involved in the main predicate, the controller. They are non-finite adjuncts and do not function as a modifier to their controller; e.g. Bobi left the party drunki, in which drunk is the depictive secondary predicate and Bob is its controller, as indicated by the subscript indexing (based on Schultze-Berndt and Himmelmann 2004). In this paper, I will first discuss applicative constructions in Lai (TibetoBurman, Western Burma) and establish their essentially asymmetrical character (in the sense of Bresnan and Moshi 1990). 1 Next, I will outline Pylkkanen's recent high/low applicative typology (2001, 2002) and extensions of it proposed by McGinnis (2001a and b); this typology is motivated in part by possible interpretations for depictive secondary predicates in conjunction with applicative constructions. I will then consider evidence, focusing on the interpretation of depictive secondary predicates in Lai applicative constructions, which bears on the issue of the high/low applicative typology. From this evidence, I will urge