A consistent microscopic theory of pseudogap phenomena and novel Bose-liquid superconductivity (superfluidity) is presented, based on the fact that in high-$T_c$ cuprates and related systems the energy $\varepsilon_A$ of the effective attraction between fermions is comparable with their Fermi energy $\varepsilon_F$ and the bosonic Cooper pairs are formed above $T_c$ and then a part of such Cooper pairs condense into a Bose superfluid at $T_c$. High-$T_c$ cuprates and other systems with low Fermi energies ($\varepsilon_F\sim\varepsilon_A$) are bosonic superconductors/superfluids and exhibit pseudogap phases above $T_c$, $\lambda$-like superconducting transition at $T_c$ and Bose-liquid superconductivity below $T_c$. The relevant charge carriers in high-$T_c$ cuprates are polarons which are bound into bosonic Cooper pairs above $T_c$. Polaronic and pseudogap effects weaken with increasing the doping and disappear at a quantum critical point. The modified BCS-like theory describes another pseudogap regime but the superfluid transition in high-$T_c$ cuprates and other systems is neither BCS-like transition nor usual Bose-Einstein condensation. The criteria for bosonization of Cooper pairs are formulated. The mean-field theory of the coherent single particle and pair condensates of bosonic Cooper pairs describes fairly well the novel superconducting states and properties of high-$T_c$ cuprates in full agreement with the experimental findings. The unusual superconducting/superfluid states and properties of other exotic systems (e.g., heavy-fermion and organic compounds, $\rm{Sr_2RuO_4}$, $^3$He, $^4$He and atomic Fermi gases) are explained more clearly by the theory of Bose superfluids. Finally, the new criteria and principles of unconventional superconductivity and superfluidity are formulated.


[1] A statistical survey of plasma densities and electron distributions (0.5–100 keV) is performed using data obtained from the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions During Substorms spacecraft in near‐equatorial orbits from 1 July 2007 to 1 May 2009 in order to investigate optimum conditions for whistler mode chorus excitation. The plasma density calculated from the spacecraft potential, together with in situ magnetic field, is used to construct global maps of cyclotron and Landau resonant energies under quiet, moderate, and active geomagnetic conditions. Statistical results show that chorus intensity increases at higher AE index, with the strongest waves confined to regions where the ratio between the plasma frequency and gyrofrequency, fpe/fce, is less than 5. On the nightside, large electron anisotropies and intense chorus emissions indicate remarkable consistency with the confinement to 8 RE. Furthermore, as injected plasma sheet electrons drift from midnight through dawn toward the noon sector, their anisotropy increases and peaks on the dayside at 7 6) on the dayside. In addition, very isotropic distributions at a few keV, which may be produced by Landau resonance and contribute to the formation of the typical gap in the chorus spectrum near 0.5 fce, are commonly observed on the dayside. Citation: Li, W., et al. (2010), THEMIS analysis of observed equatorial electron distributions responsible for the chorus excitation, J. Geophys. Res., 115, A00F11, doi:10.1029/2009JA014845.


Brands presents a nuanced and even-handed portrayal of the Reagan administration's grand strategy. Reagan triumphalists are wrong to argue that the US president singlehandedly ended the Cold War. The peaceful outcome of the decades-long conflict owed more to Gorbachev than to any other single actor. Reagan's critics, on the other hand, are wrong to strip him of credit. Even considering that the administration's foreign policy was only one of several factors that contributed to the peaceful denouement of the Cold War, Reagan's was an "impressive performance" (p. 138). There was a dark side to Reagan's grand strategy though, as it resulted in partnerships with morally repugnant Third World actors, budget deficits brought on by the sharp escalation of defence spending, and blowback in the form of Islamist terrorism. Moving on to the George W. Bush administration, Brands argues that the problem with Bush's grand strategy is that it was "simply too grand" (p. 145). Bush and his advisers overestimated the ease with which US military might could achieve a lasting transformation of the Middle East, and underestimated the costs and risks involved in such an ambitious undertaking. The implementation of Bush's policies, moreover, was riddled with errors and premised on faulty assumptions. Not only did administration officials fail to adjust their tactics, but the strategic concepts they operated from were flawed from the outset, particularly the idea that the democratization of Iraq could be achieved with the application of minimal resources. Thus, concludes Brands, "the crucial tension at the heart of the Bush grand strategy" was that "the type of victory that the administration sought to achieve in Iraq was incompatible with the type of war it wanted to wage" (p. 178). It is difficult to fault Brands for his selection of case studies, as the ones under investigation here present a variety of approaches and lessons, while keeping the book's length to a manageable 200 pages. Yet from a comparative standpoint, it would have been interesting to include a case study of an administration – like Clinton's – that did not have a grand strategy and operated its foreign policy on a largely ad hoc basis. Only through such a comparison could readers evaluate whether the lack of a grand strategy led to a better or worse outcome than the employment of a "too grand" strategy like that of George W. Bush.


A taxonomic account of Paspalum in Egypt is provided. Paspalum vaginatum is newly recorded for the Flora of Egypt in addition to the three previously known species: P. dilatatum , P. distichum and P. racemosum . Paspalum vaginatum can be distinguished from other Paspalum species by the absence of lower glumes, smooth upper glumes and lack of ciliate fringes on its spikelets. The taxonomic synopsis includes information on nomenclature, distribution, a key to the species of Paspalum in Egypt and a list of selected specimens examined. In addition, a line drawing and photographs of the newly recorded species are presented.


An antimicrobial is an agent that kills microorganisms or inhibits their growth. The search for new molecules with broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties is challenging task to researchers. In view of continuous enhancement of microbial infection in society, the triazole ring system possess appreciable biocompatibility and can play a pivotal role in designing new potent antimicrobials. Triazole moieties are found to show antimalarial [1,2], antioxidant [3], antitrypanosomal [4], antiinflammatory [5,6], antibacterial [7-9], antifungal [10-12], antiproliferative [13], antiprotozoal [14], antituberculosis [15,16] and anticancer [17,18]. Further, 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3triazoles serve as effective bioactive molecule being stable to reaction conditions i.e., oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis and participate in hydrogen bonding with biological system. The dipolar [3+2] cycloaddition of organic azides and terminal alkynes is the usual method for the synthesis of 1,2,3triazoles. This reaction was comprehensively studied by Huisgen and Padwa [19] yielding 1,4 and 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles variant of substituted 1,2,3-triazole. Later, Sharpless et al. [20] and Meldal [21] developed Cu(I) catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) through "Click Chemistry" concept results into formation of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles.The "Click Chemistry" projected cycloaddition reactions are prime important due to its several advantages in form of regioselectivity, wide substrate scope, mild reaction conditions and excellent yields. Synthesis and Microbicidal Activity of Substituted 1,2,3-Triazoles having Amide and Hydroxy Functionality


The article analyzes multiple research papers of various authors involved with the problem of fuel and energy complex development in the region. The problems of the energy sector of Krasnoyarsk region are analyzed with the help of obtained statistical data. It was revealed that among principle problems negatively affecting the process of fuel and energy complex development in Krasnoyarsk region are the following: the critical level of losses in electrical supply networks; significant depreciation of the capital stock; negative dynamics of innovative activities in crude oil production, natural gas, fuel and power resources' extraction; lack of innovative activity in energy production. A necessity to classify problems characteristic of sustainable development of the fuel and energy complex was substantiated. The principles and criteria of the problems' classification were elaborated. The author's classification of the problems negatively affecting the fuel and energy complex development was offered. The author's classification was based on the administrative aspect.


The advent of functional neuroimaging techniques has significantly widened the methodological repertoire of neurochemistry. Using positron emission tomography PET, the human and non-human primate brain's neurotransmitter and neuroreceptor systems can be studied in vivo. With the help of PET the distribution of the various neurotransmitter and neuroreceptor systems can be localized in precise anatomical context and several parameters of these systems can be measured in a quantitative manner. The basics of the technique, development of radiolabelled ligands, modeling and measuring radioligand effects in the brain are, among others, those key issues that are discussed concisely in the present chapter. List of Abbreviations: CT, Computed tomography; FDG, fluoro-deoxy-glucose; HPLC, high performance liquid chromatography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NMSP, N‐methylspiperone; PBBS, peripheral benzodiazepine‐binding site; PET, positron emission tomography; SA, specific activity; SPECT, single‐ photon‐emission computed tomography; SR, specific radioactivity


By revisiting the existing scholarship deeding with Santamaria's career and legacy, as well as his own writings, this article explores the apparent tension between the standard historical view that Santamaria attempted to impose an essentially 'alien philosophy' on the Labor Party, and the proposition articulated upon his death that he moved in a similar ideological orbit to the traditions of the Australian labour movement. It concludes that, while there were occasional points of ideological intersection between Santamaria and Australian laborism, his inability to transcend the particular religious imperatives which underpinned his thought and action rendered'him incompatible with that movement. It is equally misleading to locate him in the Catholic tradition. Instead, the key to unlocking his motives and behaviour was that he was a Catholic anti-Modernist opposed not only to materialist atheism but also to religious and political liberalism. It is in this sense that he was 'alien'both to labor ism, the majorityofthe Australian Catholic laity and much of the clergy.


Non-point source pollution is becoming an important factor affecting water environment in China. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, the most powerful tool in measuring NPS, has played a significant role in NPS research across China. The suitability and calibration of the SWAT model is of primary importance. This study evaluated the effectiveness and applicability of SWAT model in runoff and nutrient load in Miyun Reservoir watershed. The SWAT model was also calibrated and validated using parameter sensitivity analysis, which showed that ALPHA_BF, SOL_AWC, CN2, NPERCO, PHOSKD and PPERCO were the most sensitive parameters, resulting in large variations in hydrological and nutrient loads. SWAT calibration and verification suggested it is a reliable method of measuring the NPS pollution in Miyun Reservoir watershed. This study estimated and analyzed spatial and temporal variations in NPS pollution loads in Miyun Reservoir watershed from 2005 and 2010. Significant variations in NPS pollution loads were found in different simulation periods. There were noticeable differences and an uneven distribution between high- and low-flow years. Nutrient loss occurred most frequently during high-flow years and wet seasons, the crucial period for pollution prevention. The results show that the total nitrogen loads is much higher than the total phosphorus loads. The pollution loads resulting from various land use types showed significant spatial differences: agricultural land had the most TN and TP load per unit area, followed by grassland. Forest land had the least pollution load per unit area. NPS load has a remarkable association with the spatial distribution of precipitation across the entire watershed.


The silicone-epoxy resins which combine the advantages of silicone resins and epoxy resins, are very promising in LED(light-emitting-diodes) package. In this article, the synthesis, curing,performance and development trend of the silicone-epoxy resins for LED package were reviewed.


PURPOSE: A method for constructing a partition wall using a seismic load absorbing apparatus with a corrugated web is provided to reveal an accordion effect by a plastic deformation with a corrugated web, thereby efficiently improving the resistance of a construction against the seismic load. CONSTITUTION: A method for constructing a partition wall using a seismic load absorbing apparatus with a corrugated web includes: a step of fixing upper plates(11) on the lower surface of a beam(30) and the upper surface of a slab(40) at a position for constructing the partition wall; a step of coupling a corrugated web to the whole length of the upper plate; a step of coupling the center portion of the inner surface of a lower plate(13) to the corrugated web in parallel with the upper plate; a step of installing floor posts between the lower plates; a step of filling a space surrounded by the upper plate and the lower plate with a filler(15); a step of removing the floor posts after the filler is hardened, and respectively installing buffer plates(70) on the surfaces of both columns opposite to each other throughout the whole heights between the slabs and the beams; and a step of arranging reinforcing steel bars in a lattice pattern inside the space surrounded by the upper plate and the lower plate, and placing wall concrete after formwork.


This paper attempts to emphasize the usage of the Bloom's Taxonomy as an educator's tool. The concept was used for designing and delivering courses on written business communication. The paper examines the conceptual framework of Bloom's taxonomy and its objective in today's education, especially in the areas of curriculum designing and practical aspects of delivering the course. The paper is based on the author's experiential learning.IntroductionBloom's cognitive taxonomy (1956) is a multilayered model of classifying thinking. According to Bloom, there are six cognitive levels of learning: Evaluation, Synthesis, Analysis, Application, Comprehension, and Knowledge. It is also referred to as a stairway to learning. The concept is aligned with the process of ingraining the thinking patterns of a learner. In other words, the objective of Bloom was to classify the thinking behaviors that were believed to be important in the process of learning.It was initially segregated into three domains:* The Cognitive - knowledge-based domain;* The Affective - attitudinal-based domain; and* The Psychomotor - skill-based domain which is also known as KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitude) or ASK (Attitude, Skills and Knowledge).Bloom's taxonomy refers to a process. There is logicbehind each sequence of learning curve. The initial phase refers to remembering a conceptby understanding it thoroughly. The next stage is about application of the concept after understanding it. The third stage is the analysis of the concept after applying it. The fourth stage is the evaluation, and lastly, the creation of a body of knowledge happens only when we remember, understand, apply, analyze and evaluate.BackgroundCognitive domain refers to the knowledge and development of intellectual skills. This block refers to the development of domain knowledge expertise. It acts as a repository of data linking the procedures, diagrammatic representation of facts and figures, and certain logic that helps in improving the intellectual inertia.The affective domain refers to growth in the feeling and emotional area. The categories in sync with affective are: valuing, internalizing, responding and receiving phenomena. The psychomotor domain refers to the manual or physical skills, the categories oriented to psychomotor skills are: adaptation, origin, perception, etc.Bloom's Taxonomy as a Learning ProcessThe six cognitive levels are in order. Each level requires mastery before moving to the next level in the trajectory of the learning curve. Thus, there is a need to master each level before reaching out to the next level.The taxonomy is widely accepted by educationists across the academic circle. Most of the management concepts fall into the category of Bloom's taxonomy. However, there is also a set of audience who do not give importance to the continuum of lower orderskills to higher order skills of the Bloom's taxonomy (Figure 1).The new version of the taxonomy refers to thefollowing:* Remembering relates to identifying, describing naming, locating or finding.* Understanding refers to comprehending, interpreting, classifying and explaining.* Applying refers to executing, carrying out or implementing.* Analyzing refers to comparing, organizing, outlining or finding.* Evaluating refers to hypothesizing, experimenting, testing or checking.* Creating is designing, constructing, planning or producing.Usage of Bloom's Taxonomy for Written Business CommunicationThis paper attempts to analyze the model in perspective of an educator. It revolves around using the three domains that is the cognitive, affective and psychomotor concept of learning to our current education. The educators can inculcate the above said concept of learning by synchronizing the three domains of learning.Cognitive-Based Domain: It refers to the basic or fundamental concepts of any subject. …


This study investigate the relationships between geomorphometric properties and the minimum low flow discharge of undisturbeddrainage basins in the Taman Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia.The drainage basins selected were third-orderbasins so as to facilitate a common base for sampling and performing an unbiased statistical analyses.Three levels of relationships were observedin the study.Significant relationships existed between the geomorphometric properties as shown by the correlation network analysis; secondly,individual geomorphometric properties were observed to influence minimum flow discharge; and finally, the multiple regression model set upshowed that minimum flow discharge( Q min) was dependent of basin area(AU), stream length( LS ), maximum relief( Hmax), average relief(HAV) and stream frequency (SF).These findings further enforced other studies of this nature that drainage basins were dynamic andfunctional entities whose operations were governed by complex interrelationships occurring within the basins.Changes to any of thegeomorphometric properties would influence their role as basin regulators thus influencing a change in basin response.In the case of the basin's minimum low flow, a change in any of the properties considered in the regression model influenced the "time to peak" of flow.A shorter timeperiod would mean higher discharge, which is generally considered the prerequisite to flooding.This research also conclude that the role ofgeomorphometric properties to control the water supply within the stream through out the year even though during the drought and lessprecipitations months.Drainage basins are sensitive entities and any deteriorations involve will generate reciprocals and response to the watersupply as well as the habitat within the areas.


Mass neonatal screening (NS) for cystic fibrosis (CF) has been performed in the Russian Federation since 2006–2007. It includes measurement of serum immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT) in the first week of life and repeated testing on day 21–28 in case of positive first test. The sweat test is used to confirm the diagnosis. Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis in the Russian Federation. Materials and methods. We collected information on key parameters of NS for cystic fibrosis for 2019 from regional specialists in medical genetics. Results. We collected information form 50 regions of the Russian Federation, where a total of 1,009,832 newborns had been examined. The number of newborns with elevated IRT was 9,138 (0.9%); 1388 (0.1%) newborns tested positive at reexamination. CF was diagnosed in 104 newborns. Two pathogenic variants in the CFTR gene were detected in 78 infants with CF (75%); one pathogenic variant, in 20 infants (19%); no pathogenic variants, in 3 infants (2.9%). The NS protocol was not completed in 395 patients (4.3%). False negative screening results were observed in 8 newborns (7.1%), including two with meconium ileus. The sensitivity of screening was approximately 93%. One hundred and four infants tested positive at reexamination had no final diagnosis. The mean age at examination by a CF specialist was 41 (±21) days. More than two-thirds of newborns (73%) were diagnosed in outpatient departments, while the remaining patients (27%) were diagnosed in hospitals. We obtained mean cut-off values for IRT. Conclusion. Dynamic analysis of NS performance is a promising approach for its optimization. Key words: cystic fibrosis, neonatal screening, immunoreactive trypsinogen, sweat test, false positive result


The need for high-quality time-scale modification of audio is increasing, as media streaming services are providing new related functionalities to their users. The main goal of a time-stretching method is to preserve the pitch and the subjective quality of the different components of the audio signal, namely transients, noise, and tonal components. Many solutions have been proposed throughout the years, with various results depending on the kind of processed audio input. This paper introduces an evaluation method for audio time-scaling algorithms based on a recent fuzzy time-frequency decomposition, which reveals the energy of the tonal, transient, and noise components in the original and stretched sounds. From the energy curves, typical impairments, such as transient smearing and the loss of tonality, can be observed. This analysis approach is compared with the subjective preferences of different techniques. This leads to suggestions for possible improvements of future algorithms. The ultimate goal is having an objective evaluation method which matches the subjective quality assessment.


In an article in 1887, Woodrow Wilson called for a discipline of public administration separate from political science. He argued that Americans should look to European governments for administrative structures. He spent much of the article justifying the concept that a democracy should seek advice on how to govern from authoritarian European regimes. It is possible that Wilson emphasized the separation between politics and administration to support his argument that Americans could borrow administrative techniques from countries whose politics they abhorred. Wilson wrote, "If I see a murderous fellow sharpening a knife cleverly, I can borrow his way of sharpening the knife without borrowing his probable intention to commit murder with it..." (Wilson, 1887; 24). In a metaphor more appropriate to this article, Wilson also wrote, "We borrowed rice, but we do not eat it with chopsticks" (p. 23). Today, Chinese Communists studying capitalist civil service systems have been making a similar point. Deng Xiaoping has said, in reference to economic reforms, "It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice." The current Chinese civil service reform (CSR) is an adjunct to the economic reforms begun in 1978. By 1988, the personnel function of the Ministry of Labor and Personnel was transferred into its own Ministry of Personnel. Regional and city governments, as well as a few national ministries, began experimenting with Western civil service techniques (particularly the use of examinations for selection). With United Nations' help (United Nations Development Program, 1987, 1989), the Chinese have been bringing foreign personnel experts to China and sending Chinese administrators abroad to study Western personnel technology. Although they are studying foreign systems, in the end, they insist that they will adopt a system with distinct "Chinese characteristics." What are Chinese characteristics? Just as a foreigner would have difficulty understanding the current American debate over health care without knowing American economic, social, and political traditions, foreigners unaware of Chinese traditions will miss much when approaching China's public administration and civil service. We will highlight characteristics that we found to be either particularly confusing in our initial interviews with Chinese officials or especially enlightening in our follow-up research. We believe that the factors we have chosen play important, often unspoken, roles affecting the design and implementation of civil service reform in China. Our goal is not to give a detailed description of Chinese civil service reform (CSR) (there already exist excellent sources for that),(2) but to identify and explain a few Chinese characteristics that are particularly important in understanding China's CSR. Even this is a formidable task in a short article. To live in China is to live in a different reality. The rules, rewards, and sanctions are different. "In Asia ... you either lose your inner moorings, start to sink, go some kind of crazy, and just let it happen, or you will leave sooner than you expected and not learn anything" (Holm, 1990; 20). This advice is contrary to our academic training. Yet to understand China, we must suspend our paradigmatic preconceptions. Deductively applying Western models to describe China's CSR is misleading. Foreign experts with little knowledge of China cannot even take their interpreter's words at face value.(3) These difficulties impose limitations on us as interpreters of Chinese CSR. They make descriptive study most realistic and useful. Even so, our words also should be taken tentatively. Three Basic Values in Tension Suzanne Ogden (1989) proposes that three basic competing values underlie all decisions of the Chinese government: traditional Chinese culture, socialism, and development.(4) As the political winds change, the priority of the values changes. Chinese CSR reflects the tensions among these values. …


Introduction: LIPUS can be used for fractures to promote bone healing. Established for non-union and delayed union fractures, it has the advantage of avoiding the risks associated with surgery and can speed up healing time.
LIPUS works by accelerating all the stages of bone healing. National institute of clinical excellence has evaluated LIPUS and recommended it for non-union, but rejected it for delayed union due to cost. Aim of this review is to look at the latest evidence regarding LIPUS.
Pubmed and Scopus were searched for relevant articles on LIPUS and bone healing since 2008. Four relevant articles were found which were reviewed and analysed.
Discussion: There is benefit in using LIPUS for non-unions and delayed unions and a potential benefit in sepsis. No benefit for LIPUS was found in fresh clavicle fractures or for surgically treated fractures of the lower extremity. There is a potential benefit for LIPUS in comminuted fractures.
Conclusion: LIPUS is useful in non-union and delayed union fractures. Effectiveness in fresh fractures possibly depends on fracture site but further research is needed. LIPUS may have a role in comminuted fractures but further robust research is needed in this subject.


A letter on Anglican-Methodist unity appeared in the religious press at the end of June 1968, and in The Times in July, over nine signatures which the discerning might identify with Cambridge. Its authors stated that although they still adhered to their view that an approach to unification along "South India" lines would be preferable, nevertheless the final Report of the Anglican-Methodist Unity Commission had gone far to satisfy their objections to the 1963 Report, and so they strongly urged its acceptance,"even though it doesnot represent the ideal method".


An orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAP2K; MAPKK; MEK), with potential antineoplastic activity. Upon oral administration, MEK inhibitor CS3006 specifically targets, binds to and inhibits the catalytic activity of MEK, thereby inhibiting the activation of MEK-dependent effector proteins including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells in which the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway is overactivated. T he threonine/tyrosine protein kinase MEK plays a key role in the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling pathway, which is frequently upregulated in a variety of tumor cell types. T he RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway regulates key cellular activities including cell growth, proliferation, survival, differentiation and apoptosis. Qeios · Definition, February 2, 2020


The present study was oriented towards the development of pulmonary vaccine for Hepatitis B using probiotic biomass as an adjuvant.


Many learning disabled students have comprehension difficulties because they do not know how to read textbook materials for which they are responsible. One approach to remedy this situation is for teachers to develop study guides. A rationale and procedures for developing and using study guides with textbook materials is provided.


The electrical characteristics were analyzed using three experimental methods with a commercial 20-Ah polymer lithium-ion battery. The first method is a conventional test, in which the voltages are measured as the steady open-circuit voltages after 12-h rest at different state of charge. The second is the rapid test for measurement of open circuit voltages during the charge and discharge pulse with 1-min rest, with the third being the constant-current pulse test with 30-min rest for parameter identification based on the equivalent circuit model. The measurement results show that the constant-current pulse method with 30-minutes relaxation is effective to derive both the open-circuit voltage (OCV) curve and the electrical parameters.


Business demand-oriented skilling refers to the process of developing the skills of employees in a manner that aligns with the specific needs and requirements of the business. This approach to training and development is focused on enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of the workforce, by providing them with the knowledge and skills that are most relevant to the company's objectives. The primary goal of business demand-oriented skilling is to ensure that employees are equipped with the right set of skills that are in high demand within the company. This can involve identifying specific areas of expertise that are required for key business functions, and designing training programs that are tailored to meet those needs. One of the key benefits of business demand-oriented skilling is that it can help companies to stay competitive in a rapidly changing business landscape. By investing in the development of their employees' skills, companies can ensure that they are better equipped to adapt to new technologies, market trends, and other emerging challenges. Overall, business demand-oriented skilling is an effective way for companies to invest in their workforce, and to ensure that they have the right talent to drive success in the future.


In this work, an attempt was made to use the WOFOST (WOrld FOod Studies) model to simulate the potential and water-limited yield of early potato cultivars Lord and Denar. Data from cultivar experiments carried out at the Polish Research Centre for Cultivar Testing in 2004–2013 were used in the study. The Lord cultivar yielded 22.4–67.8 t fresh tuber weight per ha and 3.8–11.5 t ha−1 dry tuber weight during the study period. The highest tuber yields (over 10 t ha−1 dry weight) were obtained in 2009, 2011 and 2012, and the lowest in 2005 (3.8 t ha−1) and 2006 (2.65 t ha−1). The water-limited tuber yield simulated by WOFOST ranged from 3.6 to 10.9 t ha−1 dry weight and was about 0.45 t ha−1 higher on average than the actual yield. The planting period each year was between days 104 and 120 of the year, and harvesting took place between days 216 and 232. Water availability was a factor limiting the yield. The yield limited by water deficiency was 38.7% lower (irrespective of the cultivar) than the potential yield. The WOFOST model was sensitive to water deficiency, and the simulated (water-limited) yields were close to the actual yield or showed a clear downward trend indicating evident rainfall shortages in 2005 and 2006.


In recent years intercultural cooperation has been increasing due to the international integration and globalization. Students play an active role in this process as they have different practices abroad. Today in Ukraine one of the significant tasks is to create the theoretical and practical basis for teaching students to communicate and cooperate on the intercultural level. The knowledge of foreign languages helps the students of different specialties to promote their mobility and international competences. Learning a foreign language in higher education establishments has a cultural sense, because a future specialist who knows a foreign language has to perform professional activities on the international level, adapt to the new means of communication, learn another culture, comprehend own ethno-cultural source, adapt in multicultural space and show tolerance to foreign language and culture.


The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (del22q11 syndrome) (OMIM #188400/ #192430), also known as Velocardiofacial syndrome and DiGeorge syndrome, is considered a very common genetic disease. With an estimated prevalence of 1:2,000-6,000 live births, this syndrome currently represents one of the main known causes of congenital cardiopathy


Few services are available for persons who are struggling with the issues inherent in stepfamily situations. This article describes a family life education approach for stepparents and describes the specific issues involved, outlines the goals for this kind of group, and provides a guide for group format.


[131880-16-5] C13H8BF7S (MW 340.07)

InChI = 1S/C13H8F3S.BF4/c14-13(15,16)17-11-7-3-1-5-9(11)10-6-2-4-8-12(10)17;2-1(3,4)5/h1-8H;/q+1;-1

InChIKey = VTVISWLINKWMQZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N

(transfers the trifluoromethyl group to various nucleophiles)

Physical Data: mp 171–172 °C.

Solubility: sol DMSO, DMF, MeCN, CH2Cl2, CHCl3; partly sol THF; insol PhMe, Et2O; decomposes in MeOH.

Form Supplied in: white crystalline solid; commercially available.

Analysis of Reagent Purity:  and NMR, IR.

Purification: recrystallization from MeCN/Et2O at rt.

Handling, Storage, and Precautions: toxicological properties have not been thoroughly investigated. May be harmful by inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption. Incompatible with strong oxidizing agents, alkali metals, and amines. Keep container tightly closed in a cool, dry place. Use in a fume hood.


Sonic-log measurements provide detailed 1-D information on the distribution of elastic properties within the upper crystalline crust at scales from about one metre to several kilometres. 10 P-wave sonic logs from six upper-crustal drill sites in Europe and North America have been analysed for their second-order statistics. The penetrated lithological sequences comprise Archean volcanic sequences, Proterozoic mafic layered intrusions, and Precambrian to Phanerozoic gneisses and granites. Despite this variability in geological setting, tectonic history, and petrological composition, there are notable similarities between the various data sets: after removing a large-scale, deterministic component from the observed velocity-depth function, the residual velocity fluctuations of all data sets can be described by autocovariance functions corresponding to band-limited self-affine stochastic processes with quasi-Gaussian probability density functions. Depending on the maximum spatial wavelength present in the stochastic part of the data, the deterministic trend can be approximated either by a low-order polynomial best fit or by a moving-average of the original sonic-log data. The choice of the trend has a significant impact on the correlation length and on the standard deviation of the residual stochastic component, but does not affect the Hurst number. For trends defined by low-order polynomial best fits, correlation lengths were found to range from 60 to 160 m, whereas for trends defined by a moving average the correlation lengths are dominated by the upper cut-off wavenumber of the corresponding filter. Regardless of the trend removed, the autocovariance functions of all data sets are characterised by low Hurst numbers of around 0.1–0.2, or equivalently by power spectra decaying as ∼ 1/k. A possible explanation of this statistical uniformity is that sonic-log fluctuations are more sensitive to the physical state, in particular to the distribution of cracks, than to the petrological composition of the probed rocks.


Using the Modern‐Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 reanalysis and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder geopotential height and temperature observations, two unusual planetary waves (PWs) with westward zonal wavenumber 1 (W1) and periods of ∼6.0 and ∼9.6 days are identified during a rare Antarctic sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event in September 2019, which follow a strong W1 PW with period of ∼7.4 days. It is found that the W1 ∼7.4‐day wave is actually the representation of the climatological W1 quasi‐6‐day wave before the September equinox, which peaks on September 10, 2019. Meanwhile, a strong zonally symmetric wave with period of ∼32.2 days occurs in the Southern Hemisphere with a maximum zonal wind amplitude of ∼27 m/s at 65°S and 48 km. Interestingly, the frequencies and zonal wavenumbers of the W1 ∼7.4‐day, ∼6.0‐day, ∼9.6‐day and zonally symmetric ∼32.2‐day waves exactly satisfy the nonlinear interaction theory between PWs. We thus proposed for the first time the occurrence of nonlinear interaction between a W1 ∼7.4‐day wave and a zonally symmetric ∼32.2‐day wave, which generates two W1 PWs with periods of ∼6.0 and ∼9.6 days. The Eliassen‐Palm flux diagnostics suggest that the zonally symmetric ∼32.2‐day wave also contributes to the wind deceleration during this SSW. Moreover, the baroclinic/barotropic instabilities related to the vertical shear in the zonal wind during the SSW considerably enhance the PW activities in the Antarctic stratosphere. The climatological variations of the instabilities and critical layers in the mesosphere can also influence the propagation of these three W1 PWs.


In the application of travel-demand models for forecasting, it is assumed that the model form and coefficients are stable in time. This study analyzes the time stability of a three-mode disaggregate modal-split model for trips to work over two points in time. Data were used from the 1972 Travel Habits Survey and from the 1976 Survey of Patterns of Travel to Work. All the trips used were made within the Tel-Aviv metropolitan area. The main method used in judging the transferability of the model was to apply the 1972 model to the 1976 trips thus giving for each trip the predicted probability of choosing the modes. The trips were split up into classes by various criteria, and for each criterion the probabilities of choosing a mode were summed over all trips in each class. This sum is the predicted number of trips in the class that uses the mode, and this was compared with the number actually observed. Another method for examining transferability is to recalibrate the model on the 1976 data, and to compare the coefficients obtained with the 1972 coefficients. It appears that the model calibrated on the 1972 data predicts the 1976 modal split satisfactorily in spite of the major structural changes which took place between 1972 and 1976 which resulted in a considerable change in the modal split itself. There is a problem with the prediction of use of the car-passenger mode, but this arises because of differences in survey techniques that were used for collecting the 1972 and the 1976 data. The model coefficients are stable in time except the coefficient for the number of vehicles. These results add confidence to the use of these models for forecasting.


Zimbabwe gained independence on 18 April 1980. The Rhodesian government used interventionist policies that included inwards looking and import substitution strategy meant to encourage local manufacturing in both early and late 1970s (UNDP, 2008). The Zimbabwe government inherited various controls used by the Rhodesian government including import substitution strategy in the context of command economy (UNDP, 2008). However, diminishing demand of Zimbabwean exports began to be experienced, there was also a decline in investment and capital formation and a severe shortage of foreign currency. The combination of all the factors mentioned above led to a recession and government accepted International Monetary Fund (IMF) Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) implemented in 1990-1996 (UNDP, 2008). One of the major components of ESAP was trade liberalisation. Its objectives were to remove exports incentives, abolition of imports licensing, removal of foreign currency controls, reduction of tariffs, and removal of surtax and achievement of 9% annual export growth rate (Tekere, 2001). UNDP (2008) further add an important objective of trade liberalisation was to move away from import substitution strategy to an open market driven economy.


Regarding software quality, "Over the last 50 years there has been very little improvement," (said Watts S. Humphrey)[Fry07], "Major software projects have been troubling business activities for more than 50 years. Of any known business activity, software projects have the highest probability of being canceled or delayed. Once delivered, these projects display excessive error quantities and low levels of reliability." (said Capers Jones) [Jon06]. Why? In fact the quality of a software product can not be efficiently ensured by quality management and quality assurance visibility only, can not even be efficiently ensured by general quality assurance methodology and technology and the tools only, because the issue of software quality is strongly related to almost the entire software engineering paradigm, including the foundation of the software engineering, the process model, the software development methodology, the software testing paradigm, the software visualization paradigm, the software documentation paradigm, the software maintenance paradigm, the software project management paradigm, the software support techniques and tools, and the software quality assurance paradigm. This paper introduces NSE software quality assurance paradigm supported by the entire NSE software engineering paradigm with its all components.


Hierarchical organization in maps is an important element of cartographic design. In addition to traditional methods, introduction of stereoscopic parallax to point, line, and area/volume symbolization can be employed to represent hierarchical order. The technique can be used on displays representing one variable or on those representing multiple variables associated in a three-dimensional environment.


Powtoon application is utilized for creating educational animated videos. These animated videos are incorporated into the Light Vehicle Electrical Maintenance subject. The impact of these videos on the students' grades is assessed. Light Vehicle Electrical Maintenance is a vocational subject that plays plays a vital role in advancing vocational high school students. The research methodology employed is quantitative research using an experimental approach. The research design utilized is a posttest-only control design. Based on the outcomes of the experimental research conducted, it can be concluded that there are notable disparities in the learning outcomes of eleventh-grade Automotive Engineering students at SMKN 1 SUMBAR due to the implementation of Powtoon.


Coca Cola released an emotional ad titled 'I Stand Against Name Calling' with the purpose of raising public awareness of the anti-bullying movement. This study aims to determine the ability of the emotional approach of advertising in the Coca Cola campaign section in influencing purchase intention on these products. The independent variable studied was Perceived Value, while the dependent variable in this study was Attitude Towards Ad and Purchase Intention. The research design used was a descriptive conclusive research design, and the data collection medium used was a survey/questionnaire. The finding of this study revealed that Perceived Value influences both Attitude Towards Ad and Purchase Intention, same goes with Attitude Towards Ad that has been proved to influences Purchase Intention. This study has an implication for marketer in general and Coca Cola in particular to create another emotional ad for their product line.


The evidence for electroweak radiative corrections not contained in [alpha]([ital m][sub [ital Z]]) is examined. At low energies there is very strong evidence in the analysis of the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix. At [ital e][sup +][ital e][sup [minus]] and [ital p[bar p]] collider experiments the current direct signals are not strong, but there is substantial indirect evidence, which will likely become sharper when [ital m][sub [ital t]] is determined. The advantage of using ([Delta][ital r])[sub res] as a measure of these effects is emphasized. In order to improve the direct evidence, more accurate measurements of [ital m][sub [ital W]] and the on-resonance asymmetries are indicated.


Monomeric thiolate complexes of formula [M{(PPh2CH2)3CMe}(o-S2C6H4)][PF6]n(M = FeII, FeIII, CoII, CoIII, RhII or RhIII; n= 0 or 1) have been synthesized. The molecular structure of all these compounds has been established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. All the complexes display a square-pyramidal geometry with differing degrees of distortion depending on the oxidation state and electronic configuration of the metal. Electrochemistry served to localize the formal electrode potentials of the different MII–MIII couples. In dichloromethane solution, the iron(III) complex (E°=+0.04 V vs. saturated calomel electrode) is easier to reduce than the cobalt(III) complex (E°=–0.39 V), which in turn is easier to reduce than the rhodium(III) complex (E°=–0.69 V). In the case of the iron species, the possibility of obtaining the somewhat stable FeI congener has been realized. The paramagnetic FeI and FeIII, CoII and RhII derivatives have been studied by EPR spectroscopy under different experimental conditions, confirming that the unpaired electron is mainly localized on the metal centre. For cobalt and rhodium derivatives EPR results indicate the presence in solution of a chemical equilibrium between two different isomers.


Methods Acupuncturists were trained to interact in one of two communication styles: high expectations (such as 'I think this will work for you') or neutral expectations (such as 'it may or may not work for you'). A brochure was given to each patient, written with expectations appropriate to their group. Patients were randomised to one of three communication style groups—waiting list, high or neutral— and nested within style, traditional Chinese acupuncture (TCA) or sham acupuncture twice a week over 6 weeks. TCA consisted of points Xi Yan (the two 'eyes' of the knee), He Ding (centre of superior border of patella), GB34, SP6, ear point 'knee' and one or two tender Ah shi points proximal to the knee. Electroacupuncture using a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine (alternating 15/50 Hz to maximum tolerance) was applied across two pairs of points: the eyes of the knee, and SP6 and SP9. Sham acupuncture was performed in predefi ned, non-meridian points: four on the lateral side of the leg—two above and two below the knee—and two in the back of the wrist. Shallow needles and minimal stimulation were used. The TENS machine was started up at the wrist points and the two points below the knee but turned off as soon as the stimulus was felt. Primary outcome measures were Joint-Specifi c Multidimensional Assessment of Pain (J-MAP), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain scale, and satisfaction with knee procedure scores at baseline, 4 and 6 weeks and 3 months.


AbstractMining frequent itemsets over transaction data streams is critical for many applications, such as wireless sensor networks, analysis of retail market data, and stock market predication. The sliding window method is an important way of mining frequent itemsets over data streams. The speed of the sliding window is affected not only by the efficiency of the mining algorithm, but also by the efficiency of updating data. In this paper, we propose a new data structure with a Tail Pointer Table and a corresponding mining algorithm; we also propose a algorithm COFI2, a revised version of the frequent itemsets mining algorithm COFI (Co-Occurrence Frequent-Item), to reduce the temporal and memory requirements. Further, theoretical analysis and experiments are carried out to prove their effectiveness.


AfterThe Astronomy Part of the Records of Jin Dynastywas published,few scholars had made effort to collate it.Although the revised edition of it had been published by Zhonghua Book Bureau in 1974,the astronomy part of this edition still dissatisfied the researchers.These will bring much inconvenience and misunderstanding to other ancient books researchers.So,this paper provides a new corrigenda for discussion.


An article shows the results of zooplankton research in nursery ponds during vegetative period in 2011 of fish-breeding farms "Khodoriv", "Rudnyky", "Stryy" «Lviv oblrybokombinat» and "Velykyy Lyubin" (Lviv research station of the Institute of Fisheries NAANU). It is defined that researched ponds have 76 taxonomic units of zooplankton, represented by rotifers (Rotatoria) and crustaceans (Cladocera and Copepoda). Among revealed hydrobionts 36 species belong to Class Rotatoria (47,37 % from species general number). Among crustacean it were registered 24 species of Suborder Cladocera (31,58 %) and 16 species of Order Copepoda (21,05 %). Estimated species mainly are considered to be ponds forms but also they can occur in the rivers and lakes. The most represented genera are Asplanchna, Brachionus (rotifers); Ceriodaphnia, Daphnia (cladocerans), Acanthocyclops, Eudiaptomus (copepods). Zooplankton quantity and biomass fluctuations are caused by seasonal changes in its dynamics, fish press and hydrochemical regime in the ponds. The best indices of zooplankton development registered in nursery ponds of "Lviv research station of the Institute of Fisheries NAANU" and "Rudnyky".


Electronegative low density lipoprotein (LDL−) formation that structurally resembles LDL− isolated from plasma was evaluated after LDL treatment with snake venom phospholipase A2 (PLA2). PLA2 treatment of LDL increased its electrophoretic mobility in proportion to the amount of LDL− formed without evidence of lipid peroxidation. These changes dose-dependently correlated with the degree of phospholipid hydrolysis. Strong immunoreactivity of LDL− subfraction from plasma and PLA2-treated LDL (PLA2-LDL) to amyloid oligomer-specific antibody was observed. Higher β-strand structural content and unfolding proportionate to the loss of α-helical structure of apolipoprotein B-100 (apoB-100) of LDL− isolated from both native and PLA2-LDLs was demonstrated by circular dichroism (CD) spectropolarimetry. These structural changes resembled the characteristics of some oxidatively modified LDLs and soluble oligomeric aggregates of amyloidogenic proteins. PLA2-LDL was also more susceptible to nitration by peroxynitrite, likely because of exposure of otherwise inaccessible hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains arising from apoB-100 unfolding. This was also demonstrated for plasma LDL−. In contrast, PLA2-LDL was more resistant to copper-mediated oxidation that was reversed upon the addition of small amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. The observed similarities between PLA2-LDL−-derived LDL− and plasma LDL− implicate a role for secretory PLA2 in producing modified LDL− that is facilitated by unfolding of apoB-100.


Background Recall of adverse life events under brain imaging conditions has been shown to coincide with activation of limbic and prefrontal brain areas in borderline personality disorder (BPD). We investigate changes of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation patterns during the recall of unresolved adverse life events (ULE) over 1 year. Method Thirteen female BPD patients participated in the study. During fMRI measurement subjects recalled ULE and negative but resolved life events (RLE) after individual cue words to stimulate autobiographical memory retrieval. Subjective intensity of emotional and sensoric experiences during recall was assessed as well as standardized measures of psychopathology. Results A 2×2 factorial analysis of fMRI data (Δt1/t2×ΔULE/RLE) revealed major right more than left differences of activation (i.e. t1>t2) of the posterior more than anterior cingulate, superior temporal lobes, insula, and right middle and superior frontal lobes (second-level analysis, t=3.0, puncorrected=0.003). The opposite contrast (Δt2/t1×ΔULE/RLE) did not reveal any differences. We did not find changes of emotional or sensoric qualities during recall (ULE versus RLE) or of psychopathology measures over the 1-year period. Conclusions Although subjective and clinical data did not change within 1 year, we observed a substantial decrease of temporo-frontal activation during the recall of ULE from t1 to t2. If future research confirms these findings, the question arises whether the decrease of neural activation precedes clinical improvement in BPD.


The article deals with the problem of the 'animal-man' in prose by V. Shalamov. Life in a prison camp obliterates the boundary between intelligent human nature and the animalistic one. A man becomes a slave to his own body, his mind only preoccupied with physiological needs: food, sex, urination, and defecation. Shalamov views such a situation as tragic, yet leaves it up to the character to overcome the forced primacy of corporality. The article also compares Shalamov's approach to the problem with that of A. Platonov. Both writers portrayed oppression of thought in a totalitarian state. The beastlike quality of their characters is another common feature in Platonov's and Shalamov's work. Yet Platonov's use of anthropozoologism has various connotations, whereas in Shalamov's view, animality in a human being is always a tragedy. Platonov proclaims independence of mind from the body and the immortal nature of consciousness. Shalamov's philosophy is far more materialistic. However, both writers fought for the 'rule of reason' and revealed their struggles in their books.


The essays in this volume approach the Ramayana from different perspectives, textual criticism, art and architecture and film, to understand its idealogical and aesthetic meanings.


- Dump truck is one of the vehicles that is often used to transport materials in an infrastructure. Failures often occur in dump truck components, one of which is the pinion gear component. Pinion gear is one of the components that functions to continue the engine rotation to the wheel shaft. In this study, an analysis of the causes of pinion gear failure was carried out on a dump truck with an engine capacity of 3,908 cc. The analysis is carried out to determine the causal factors in the failure. To find the cause of failure, the method uses several tests including, chemical composition testing, macroscopic and microscopic metallographic testing, vikers hardness testing, and fragtographic testing with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Testing of chemical composition obtained non-standard results, where Ni and Mo elements have lower levels, while Cr elements are higher which can lead to increased hardenability. Martensitic phase is visible on the surface and center regions of failed components. The hardness of the material on the surface is higher than in this part which indicates that the material has received case hardening treatment. After analysis in the test, factors that cause failure in the pinion gear are found, including non-standard material composition and improper case hardening treatment. The failure mechanism begins with the occurrence of an initial crack in the pinion gear gear which gets a repeating load and then compresses to the core causing final failure in the opposite part to form fatigue failure.


In analytical study of Karl Marx's Concept of political philosophy the researcher set up the two purposes : 1) To study Karl Marx's concept of the political philosophy. 2) To analytically study Karl Marx's concept of the political philosophy to the contemporary. From the researcher found that Marx proposed a solution to the conflict and inequality by allowing the laborers who have the consciousness to overthrow and revolt the state of capitalism and set the state of socialism is ruled by the proletariat, take the whole property, cancel the system of government, make the production for the common goodness, not to hope for profit. There are not the excess products or shortage market. Everyone will become fortable, equal and well-being. When everything is ready, the state of socialism will disintegrate to be the communist system without the administrator, but there is only the management. Marx's concepts are of influences to politics, because the use of revolutionary state power created the socialist system, the economic system and the manufacturing system which respect the rights of the workers. On social aspect they have caused the class system to collapse. Everyone has a basic life of equal living, eating and having access to welfare such as medical care etc.. For educational concepts possessed by Marx there was the creation of the ability and intelligence to the employees to fight the world of innovation and production. For religions which are attacked that they are of bad influences they have adapted the teaching methods and images, to be consistent with sciences which are of more causes and results.


Building Performance Simulation (used to assess and validate claims about energy requirement of buildings), is often carried out during later design stages, when it is practically difficult to incorporate design changes. In reality, many design decisions affecting Energy requirement of buildings are taken at an early stage, when adequate information to support such decisions is not available or viable due to lack of tools. This paper presents the suitability of data driven techniques, particularly Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning, for early-design-decision support tools through a systematic review of literature. It highlights their potential due to robust prediction capabilities and forms groundwork for further research to develop an earlydesign-decision support tool.


This paper is a report of the development of a systematic process for locating instructional design alumni and recruiting them to provide feedback from their workplaces. The purpose of initiating this process is related to program improvement through alumni participation. The process for tracking, contacting, and gathering data from alumni is described. Our initial findings show that while the alumni of both the Masters and Ph.D. instructional design program work in a variety of disciplines, almost all of their job descriptions include activities related to instructional design practice. In addition, the respondents indicated that overall they feel successful. These findings, while context specific, may provide a model for other programs faced with information management issues related to program improvement and accreditation. Introduction When a graduate program reaches a certain level of maturity, the need to systematically re-examine, re-evaluate, and reflect on the program's success in preparing our alumni becomes very important. In addition, a significant group of alumni become potential advisors for continuous program improvement. The reasons for maintaining contact with alumni include networking for current students to obtain internships and professional positions, meeting requirements for accrediting agencies, and determining how well the program prepared the graduates for their professional careers. In order to strengthen graduates' ability to move theory into practice, graduate programs need to stay current on professional practices. To determine what current practices are and to aid in evaluation and planning, documented information should be obtained from both alumni and professional organizations. The problem is how to maintain continuous contact with alumni and seek their advice regarding the program. Maintaining a sense of community among alumni of a graduate program is difficult. It is even more difficult if the program itself is made up of adult students who mostly work fulltime, have family and other responsibilities, and perhaps do not have the time to invest in developing professional relationships while they are in the program. At least two important issues must be addressed in contacting alumni. The first is the need to develop instruments that will facilitate large response rates (Delaney, 1994; Underwood, Nault, & Ferguson, 1994). The second is locating current contact information for alumni when a complete database has not been developed. In fact, models for developing an alumni community are needed to assist with the process of contacting alumni and gaining important feedback to be used in current programs (Davidson-Shivers, Inpornjivit, & Sellers, 2003; Delaney, 1995). Based on the literature, our current level of data, and the needs of the program, we determined five broad questions that we needed to answer to understand the needs of our students and thereby improve our program. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. What are the career paths of Master's and Ph.D. alumni? 2. How well did the program prepare alumni for their career paths? 3. At what level would the alumni like to be involved in the program? 4. What can be done to make alumni participation/involvement easier? 5. How can we keep a current database of our alumni? Methods In an effort to capitalize on previous efforts, our first step was to identify extant data sources within our organization. One important data source was a 26-item Alumni survey administered in 2001 (Davidson-Shivers, et. al., 2003). The 2003 study served as a foundation for developing the instruments for the current study. Other extant data, although collected for somewhat different purposes, were also identified. The data included the following: (1) online survey of current Instructional Design and Development (IDD) students (http://www. …


Karst caves,holes and cracks are important oil conductivity to Ordovician fractured reservoir and control the distribution of oil and gas in Tahe oilfield.Karst system of Ordovician reservoir in Tahe oilfield developed from Caledonian to Early Hercynian.Based on the karst origin,evolution and growth mechanism of Tahe oilfield,it is considered that the north area of pinch O3s is the result of karst in Caledonian and Early Hercynian,and the south area of pinch O3s is the result of karst in Caledonian.Utilization of core,drilling,logging and seismic data,the carbonated caved-fracture reservoir caves are divided into 4 types: Excavation or dissolution by aggressive fluids;Deposition of allochthonous(externally derived) sediments;Deposition of autochthonous(internal derivation and precipitation) sediments;Collapse at near-surface and in subsurface.Finally,the article establishes the distribution pattern of carbonated caved-fracture reservoir.


The invention relates to a fiber bragg grating tension sensor which is characterized in that the fiber bragg grating tension sensor includes an elastic base body and a strain fiber bragg grating. The strain fiber bragg grating is arranged on the elastic base body along a force bearing direction of the elastic base body. The whole of a gate carving area of the strain fiber bragg grating is fixed on the elastic base body. The invention also relates to a flexible passive protection net. The fiber bragg grating tension sensor is installed on a support rope on the flexible passive protection net.


We developed and characterized 10 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci from an SSRenriched genomic DNA library of the common earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris L). Characterization of these loci using 32 individuals revealed high levels of genetic diversity, five to 18 alleles per locus and a high observed and expected heterozygosity. These loci will be used for paternity analysis and population genetic studies of the co-evolution between L. terrestris
and its parasites.


Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to study the internal structure of poly(lactic acid)−poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA(d)−PEG) block copolymer assemblies, which are being investigated as particulate drug carriers. Three PLA(d)−PEG copolymers with a fixed PEG of 5 kDa and a fully deuterated PLA(d) block of either 3, 15, or 45 kDa were synthesized by the ring opening polymerization of d8-d,l-lactide, using stannous octoate as a catalyst. These copolymers assembled to form nanoparticles in aqueous media, following precipitation from a water miscible organic solvent. The hydrodynamic radius of the PLA(d)−PEG nanoparticles increased with the molecular weight of the PLA(d) block. SANS data obtained at three different solvent contrasts were analyzed simultaneously using core−shell models, which assumed a homogeneous core of uniform scattering length density and a simple functional form for the scattering length density profile of the shell. The thickness and structure of the stabilizing PEG layer we...


This paper provides a summary of several needs for improved measurements in the nuclear industry and identification of where better instrumentation might benefit this industry. Several advanced prototype fiber optic sensors are described which are suited for future applications in nuclear reactor containment and nuclear waste management. The performance characteristics of the prototypes in non-nuclear applications are summarized.


Abstract The wise use of wetlands is expected to contribute to ecological integrity, as well as to secure livelihoods, especially of communities dependent on their ecosystem services for sustenance. This paper provides a conceptual framework capable of examining the goals of wetland management, poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods. The framework highlights ecological character as a social construct and, with the notion of wetlands as settings for human well-being, builds a concept for assessing the inter-linkages between ecosystem services and livelihoods. The value and broader applicability of our framework is then tested by applying it to a case study from India (Lake Chilika) to evaluate the degree to which the mutual goals of improving both human well-being and the ecological character of wetlands have been achieved. The case study maps changes in human well-being induced in the basin communities due to external vulnerability contexts, institutions and freedoms. It further assesses the response strategies in terms of their impacts on ecological character and poverty status. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor M.C. Acreman Citation Kumar, R., Horwitz, P., Milton, R.G., Sellamuttu, S.S., Buckton, S.T., Davidson, N.C., Pattnaik, A.K., Zavagli, M. and Baker, C., 2011. Assessing wetland ecosystem services and poverty interlinkages: a general framework and case study. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 56 (8), 1602–1621.


The purpose of the current study is to elicit the opinions constructed by 7 th grade secondary school students about three components of the concept of sustainable development; environment, society and economy. Study group of the implementation consists of 20 students attending a public secondary school in 2014-2015 academic year. The study employed the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. Drawing method was used to collect the data of the study. Drawings representing the relationship between humans, nature and economy were prepared in line with the drawing method. Participants were asked to express thoughts evoked by these concepts through drawings and then to write under their drawings what they had wanted to express through their drawings. Then, small group works were conducted for students to illustrate the relationship between these concepts so that the relationship between these concepts could be elicited. In light of the findings of this analysis, it is seen that the cognitive connections established by the students on the components of the sustainable development concept are compatible with this concept. Article visualizations:


Coherent time-domain spectroscopy is used to determine the conductivity of Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 in the millimeter- ana submillimeter-wave regimes. Both the real and imaginary parts - which exhibit BCS-like behavior, including a conductivity peak below Tc - are directly found without employing Kramers-Kronig analysis.


This paper investigates two ironic motifs in Tess of the d"Urbervilles. One is from the myth of Orpheus. The other is from Milton"s Paradise Lost, which is itself based in Genesis 6.1-6.4. The aim of this paper is to show the existence of these two motifs which have not been discovered. The use of the Greek myth of Orpheus allows Hardy to lend emotional power to the novel and offer a structuring function. Angel as Orpheus is an ironic figure, initially rejecting his role of rescuing his wife. Tess as Eurydice often ironically overwhelms her Orpheus. The reworking of the sons of God episode from Paradise Lost in the novel is a way for Hardy to critique the values of Hebraic morality with its emphasis on sin and obedience. Hardy ironically stresses that the Cainite women, the daughters of men, should be chosen by the sons of God, the Sethites.


It seems indeed fanciful to suppose that the distracted Priam at this supremely tragic moment thinks that his mission will surely succeed if only he can shame Achilles before his victorious fellow-soldiers. No, the aged Trojan king plans in his appeal, which indeed later met with success, to emphasize his own extreme age and misery, the loss of his numerous sons, and particularly to invoke the image and questionable fortune of Achilles' own father. In further looking up the passage in the commentators I find that CapelleSeiler and Cunliffe correctly understand the passage and Derby nobly renders: "If haply he my years may reverence and have pity on my age."


The invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle with a remote control system and a flight control system and relates to the technical field of agricultural moth luring. The unmanned aerial vehicle comprises a vehicle shell, rotors, rotor supports, brushless motors, a lithium battery, a screw socket, a broad-spectrum moth luring lamp, a spiral supporting frame, an electric conductive mesh barrel, a circuit system and the flight control system. The lithium battery is installed at the middle position of the upper end face of the vehicle shell, and the rotor supports are evenly distributed at the four corners. The other end of each rotor support is connected with the corresponding brushless motor through the circuit system, wherein each brushless motor faces upwards and is perpendicular to the vehicle shell. The upper end of each brushless motor is provided with the corresponding rotor. The spiral supporting frame is installed at the middle position of the lower bottom face of the vehicle shell. The broad-spectrum moth luring lamp in threaded connection with the vehicle shell through the screw socket is arranged in the spiral supporting frame. The broad-spectrum moth luring lamp is covered with the electric conductive mesh barrel, and the screw socket is sleeved with the electric conductive mesh barrel. The circuit system is connected with the flight control system. The unmanned aerial vehicle has the beneficial effects that the broad-spectrum moth luring lamp and the electric conductive mesh barrel are installed at the bottom of the vehicle shell, pests of moths are killed in the flight process, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is scientific and reasonable in design, environment-friendly, efficient and easy to operate.


The invention provides an anode material for a nickel-base lithium ion battery and a preparation method of the anode material. The anode material comprises an inner core, a doping layer and a cladding layer, wherein the chemical formula of the inner core is LiaNixCoyMzO2; the doping layer is another inner core containing M'; at least M' and oxygen elements are contained in the cladding layer; the anode material is of a core-shell structure, and comprises the inner core, the doping layer and the cladding layer from inside to outside. The anode material for the nickel-base lithium ion battery provided by the invention is little in lithium-nickel mixing, and the cycling stability of the material is obviously improved.


In the continuum of intersecting housing crises, the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are still testing individual and collective capacities to survive displacement, surveillance, precarisation and policing. Issue 3.2 emerges in the context of normalised new and old crises; both from and within the fatigue and normalisation of current 'exceptional conditions' and their implications for housing activists and engaged academics, and from the search for places and languages of resistance as sites for transformation.


The Castilian crown owned the patronage rights over the Church in the conquered territories of the West Indies. Nevertheless, one can observe that, although the monarchy officially continued to sustain the patronage arrangement with the church, they disagreed upon the extent to which the conversion process was implemented. This article analyzes the apparently exceptional case of Potosi, and discusses briefly the relationship that existed between power and religion, which would delineate the tendencies of the process of the Christianization of the Americas.


In the research of dynamic load identification, the method of obtaining kernel function matrix is usually rather cumbersome. To solve this problem, an explicit dynamic load identification algorithm based on the Wilson-θ (DLIAEW) method is proposed to easily obtain the kernel function matrix as long as the parameters of the system are known. To aim at the ill-posed problem in the inverse problem, this paper improves the Tikhonov regularization, proposes an improved regularization algorithm (IRA), and introduces the U-curve method to determine the regularization parameters. In the numeric simulation investigation of a four dofs vibrating system, effects of the sampling frequency and the noise level on the regularization parameters and the identification errors of impact and harmonic loads for the IRA are discussed in comparison with the Tikhonov regularization. Finally, the experiments of a cantilever beam excited by impact and harmonic loads are carried out to verify the advantages of the IRA.


We report observations of single-molecule detection of thionine and its dynamic interactions on aggregated gold nanoparticle clusters using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Spectral intensities were found to be independent of the size of Au nanoparticles studied (from 17 to 80 nm) at thionine concentration below 10−12M or at single-molecule concentration levels. Raman line separations and, in particular, spectral fluctuations and blinking were also observed, suggesting temporal changes in single molecular motion and/or arrangements of thionine on Au nanoparticle surfaces. In contrast, by using dispersed Au nanoparticles, only ensemble SERS spectra could be observed at relatively high concentrations (> 10−8M thionine), and spectral intensities varied with the size of Au nanoparticles. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


onset of anginal attacks, and otierdisturbances in the night can be readily accounted for; also suddeni deatlh, probably due to ventricular fibrillation in most inistances. In the liglht of these observations it is easy to uniderstan1d 0ow in certain cir-cumnstanices deathi miiay comne like a tlhief in the night to a susceptible personi livinig witli circulator-v conditions that approach the danger line, thouglh these conclitions may, in favourable circumstances and barrinig freslh developments, be compatible witlh many years of moderately active life. LITERATURE. Brooks and Carroll: Arch. of1?t. Med., August 15th, 1912. C. Muller: Acta Medica Scandi7nairica, Stockholm, 1921, lv, 443. Blume: Ugeskrift for Laeger, Copenhagen, 1922, lxxxiv, 1126. Schneider: Virchow's Archiv, 1896, xvi, 95. Watson and Finlayson: Gasgoow Med. Journ., New Series, vi, 171. MacWilliam: BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, 1923, ii, 215. Cannon and de la Paz: Amver`.Jolrn. of Physiol., 1910, xxxii, 44. Stewart and Rogoff: Journ. of Exper. Oed.,. 1916, xxiv, 709.


The pattern size dependence of the resist sensitivity was measured in inorganic SeGe/Ag resist, which can be predicted by the existence of Ag surface diffusion. From this size depedence, it is concluded that SeGe/Ag resist has a high sensitivity in the finer patterns. The Ag condensation at the edge parts of patterns was also ascertained by a simple diffusion model.


Philip Reny's approach to games with discontinuous utility functions can work outside its original context. The existence of Nash equilibrium, as well as the possibility to approach an equilibrium with a finite individual improvement path, are established, under a condition slightly weaker than the better reply security, for three classes of strategic games: potential games, games with strategic complementarities, and aggregative games with appropriate monotonicity conditions. MSC2010 Classification: 91A10; JEL Classification: C 72.


In selecting and arranging artificial teeth, it is necessary to consider the relationship between the tooth and lips. The relation of high and low lip line to incisal edge has been a standard for the selection and arrangement of artificial teeth. However, form and movements of lips are variable because of their softness and elasticity. The purpose of our investigation was to evaluate movements of lips three-dimensionally (3 D). We used the 3 D Image Scanner (3 D-VMR-201 : Unisn Inc.) for measuring the surface shape of the face. This machine was capable to measure surface shape at high speed without touching the object. We recorded and measured the surface shape of lips in function (smile, pronunciation etc). The movements of the measuring points were calibrated in order to compare each data of the surface shapes in different functions among the dentate subjects. Further, we examine the influence of prosthetic appliance such as bite raising assuming prosthetic treatment for edentate subjects. The following results were obtained: 1. In function times, upper lip moves rearwards and upwards. Lower lip moves rearwards and downwards. Lower lip movements were larger than those of upper lip. 2. The influence of bite raising appeared mainly in upper and lower lip, and those of changing labial surface position appeared in upper lip and both corners of the mouth.


Free Space Optic (FSO) or optical wireless link operates in high noise environments. On the other hand, the performance is subjected to several atmospheric factors like environmental temperature, fog, smoke, haze and rain. Signalto-noise ratio (SNR) can vary radically with the distance and ambient noise. A good sensitivity and a broad bandwidth will habitually use a small photodetection area where the aperture is small. However, FSO optical receiver requires a large aperture and accordingly, to have a large collection area, which possibly will be achieved by using a large area photodetector and large filter. Consequently, large area photodetector produces a high input capacitance that will be reduced the bandwidth. Hence, techniques to reduce the effective detector capacitance are required in order to achieve a low noise as well as wide bandwidth design. In this paper, modeling and analysis of the series and shunt with floating source: and seriesshunt bootstrap transimpedance amplifier (BTA) of front-end receiver for input capacitance reduction will be presented. The result shows that the technique improved the conventional transimpedance amplifier (TIA) bandwidth up to 1000 times with an effective capacitance reduction technique for optical wireless detector


In my contribution I want to detect the durkheimian roots of the Bourdieu's State category. My contribution is organized in three parts. The first part is devoted to a short draft of the Durkheim notion of State. The second part faces the comparison within Bourdieu and Durkheim on the category of State. In this part I will analyze mechanisms, among others, like that of logical conformism and moral conformism that find their definition in Durkheim work, The elementary forms of religious life, and that are the basis of the concept of collective belief of the category of State in Bourdieu. Highlighting durkheimian roots in Bourdieu sociology of State means also to introduce Durkheim within the revival of studies on the State in which Pierre Bourdieu occupies a central role and establish a line of continuity, full of potential developments, between Durkheim and the current debate in Sociology of the State. This is the third and final part.


Transportation scheduling application consists of distributed transportation companies that have to carry out transportation orders which arrive dynamically. Each company has a set of trucks at their disposal. Each company should maximize the satisfaction of orders according to the availability of its trucks. The distributed AI approach is suitable for this application because of: first the complexity of a centralized scheduling algorithm and second the distributed nature of the application (companies and trucks are geographically distributed). Furthermore, the task of transportation is characterized by a high level of uncertainty regarding different factors such as the traffic density, the power of the truck used and soon that cannot be ignored. We present a suitable temporal representation of trucks taking the uncertainty of their availability into account by using the Fuzzy Characteristics Functions and an Extended Contract Net Protocol based on this representation to negotiate the delegation of orders from one company to another one.


The objective of this work is to highlight and discuss a rare cause of curable spinal cord compression with a favourable evolution, through the case of a posterior thoracic epidural arachnoid cyst for which we will discuss its clinical, paraclinical, therapeutic and evolutionary characteristics, with review of the literature. The patient was a six and a half year old boy with no previous pathological history. He was admitted for progressive gait problems with myalgia. MRI showed an extradural cystic lesion in the thoracic spinal cord opposite D5-D10 with a signal similar to that of the CSF. A laminectomy followed by evacuation of the cyst with partial removal of the wall was performed. Pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. The evolution was marked by a total disappearance of the initial clinical symptomatology in the patient. Although rare, the extradural arachnoid cyst is a potential cause of reversible spinal cord compression for which surgical resection is the treatment of choice.


This study empirically examines the growth of return, volatility shocks, market efficiency and investors' sentiment on prime ministers during their administration as a prime minister. Thus, various volatility forecasting measures are applied. It is observed that BSE return does not follow a random walk and inefficient during their tenures as a prime minister. ARCH measure confirms about volatility clustering. According to the EGARCH measure leverage effect does not exist, but the presence of this effect based on TARCH during the tenure of few prime ministers. Finally, the investors are trustful to those prime ministers who are elected from the Indian National Congress according to the growth of return.


Parental divorce has a various impact for each individuals, especially in young adulthood. Young adults with divorced parents are reported to be having an intimacy and relationship problems, one of them is their attitudes toward marriage. This study is aimed to compare attitudes toward marriage among young adults with divorced and non-divorced parents. This study uses the attitudes toward marriage scale which was arranged by Widodo (2010) based on the tripartite model of attitude by Rosenberg and Hovland. This study involves participant aged 20-30 years old. The total of participants in this study is 179 participants, with 79 participants has divorced parents and 100 participant has non-divorced parents. Mann Whitney U test showed U = 3073, p = 0.011; p < 0.05, which means there is a significant differences between attitudes toward marriage among young adult with divorced and non-divorced parents.


IT is well recognized that cancer cells implanted onto a raw tissue surface are capable not only of surviving there but also of growing and forming a metastatic nodule. Accordingly, when a malignant tumor is being excised, care is taken, whenever possible, not to transgress the limits of the growth or to cut across invaded tissue, for if either occurs the surgeon's gloves and instruments are likely to become contaminated with malignant cells and spread them throughout the wound. Recurrences by this method are well documented after operations for carcinoma of the breast, bladder and ovary.1 In addition it is . . .


This article first analyzes the development trend of IoT technology to determine its process framework in the industry. Then, through sample analysis, the application value and direction of intelligent instruments in sample analysis are identified. Finally, by integrating intelligent instruments in sample analysis with IoT technology, the application of intelligent instruments in sample analysis under IoT technology is studied. This article is based on the application of Internet of Things technology to intelligent instruments, obtaining a new type of intelligent instrument and exploring its application in blood cells. It mainly conducts comparative experiments on the counting and classification of blood cells. The experimental results of the comparison between the model algorithm and instrument method in this article indicate that the algorithm of this model has a certain degree of accuracy and effectiveness, and the intelligent analysis in this article further improves the research on samples.


contributed considerably to influence favourably the decisions of non-Catholics to become Catholics from the 1880s to 1962'. Clausen uses sparse and disparate sources to make a convincing argument. The thesis is a useful contribution to our knowledge of Danish Catholicism. It offers an original perspective, with detailed analysis and description of the public libraries serving the Danish Catholic minority. Its account of the influence of these libraries on non-Catholic Danes, while somewhat weaker, nevertheless provides a useful picture of the situation. The author estimates that in 1962 there were about 245,000 volumes in Danish Catholic libraries. Unfortunately, he omits the 125,000 volumes held in collections belonging to the religious orders, and offers no explanation for this omission. Libraries in monasteries and convents also served the Catholic mission in Denmark, although more indirectly. Likewise, it is regrettable that Clausen's analysis does not include Catholic literature housed in private libraries. A few secular priests (for instance, Bernhard Hansen and Peter Schindler) had extensive libraries in their homes in Danish provincial towns. Moreover, Clausen himself stresses that the Catholic elite in Denmark tended to purchase their Catholic literature instead of using the Church's public libraries. Thus some lay people must have had sizeable private libraries that would have deserved some comment in this study. This is the case, for example, with the apologetical Catholic writer and aristocrat Holstein-Ledreborg, who for a short period (1909) became Denmark's only Catholic prime minister up to that time. Both established researchers and young scholars have carried out detailed work on Danish Catholicism in recent years. Clausen's dissertation is a useful addition to these studies, which pose a counterpoint to the Lutheran domination of Danish church history. The value of Clausen's study to the international public is primarily that it is one of the very few English-language studies of the Danish Catholic minority. With freedom of religion constitutionally granted in 1849, the Catholic Church in Denmark could benefit from substantial support from the Catholic Church in other countries. As a result, the Danish Catholic libraries discussed by Clausen both gained inspiration and received books from Germany, France and the United States.


Fresh from victory in the north, Cao Cao returned to his base territory, reaching Ye city in the first month of 208. During the first half of 208 Cao Cao paid chief attention to the strengthening and organisation of his government, making a number of changes and putting new systems in place. In the winter of 208, Sun Quans general Zhou Yu and the allied army defeated Cao Cao at the Red Cliffs, who then withdrew to the north. With the defeat at the Red Cliffs, Cao Caos short-lived control over the greater part of Jing province was broken, and he was faced by two rival and growing powers, Sun Quan on the lower Yangzi and the ambitious Liu Bei in the middle basin. He could never dominate the south of China as he had the north, and the armed forces of Wei would never cross the Yangzi.Keywords: Cao Cao; Jing province; Liu Bei; Red Cliffs; Sun Quan


Interest has rapidly grown in the use of unconventional resources to compensate for depletion of conventional hydrocarbon resources ("easy hydrocarbon") that are produced at relatively low cost from oil and gas fields with large proven reserves. When one wants to ensure the prospects for development of unconventional resources that are potentially vast in terms of their energy potential, it is essential to determine the quality of that energy. Here we consider the development of shale gas, an unconventional energy resource of particularly strong interest of late, through analysis of its energy return on investment (EROI), a key indicator for qualitative assessment of energy resources. We used a Monte Carlo approach for the carbon footprint of U.S. operations in shale gas development to estimate expected ranges of EROI values by incorporating parameter variability. We obtained an EROI of between 13 and 23, with a mean of approximately 17 at the start of the pipeline. When we incorporated all the costs required to bring shale gas to the consumer, the mean value of EROI drops from about 17 at the start of the pipeline to 12 when delivered to the consumer. The shale gas EROI values estimated in the present study are in the initial stage of shale gas exploitation where the quality of that resource may be considerably higher than the mean and thus the careful and continuous investigation of change in EROI is needed, especially as production moves off the initial "sweet spots".


The Family Court was introduced in Australia in 1976, almost by legislative legerdemain. There had been little debate about it beforehand. There was no Royal Commission, no Law Reform Report. There was little public agitation or debate about its merits. It was suddenly upon us, as part and parcel of the reform of the divorce laws. How this differs from the position in other countries! In England, the Law Commission invited submissions on Family Courts as early as 1970. The Finer Committee in 1974 strongly recommended them! Numerous commentators since have advocated them in one form or another. The debate continues! But none has yet been set up! France and Germany have established tribunals loosely akin to our Family Court. But they are pallid imitations only. Other countries have tried some experiments. But I know of no country, save possibly Japan, that has established such a radical reform as Australia.


New type simple solid-electrolyte NOx (NOx; NO, NO2) sensor devices were fabricated using an yttriastabilized zirconia (YSZ) as an impedance transducer and metal oxides (Fe2O3, Co3O4, NiO, CuO and ZnO) as receptors. The sensor signal could be simply detected as the impedance change of the only YSZ plate. The sensing performance of the impedancemetric NOx sensor for the detection of NOx in the range 10 ~ 150 ppm at 300 ~ 500˚C was investigated using AC impedance analyzer. The NiO/YSZ-based compact impedancemetric sensor device showed good sensing properties for NO and NO2 at 400˚C on 100 kHz.


Andre Goedee, Dockwise, The Netherlands, discusses the new offshore opportunities afforded by the creation of a new supersized class of maritime transport vessel.


Minyjun's preparations for life as an Aboriginal stockman came to an end at the age of twelve when he and his family took part in an historic movement which would take his life in another direction. There was discontent among marrngu arising from their poor living conditions on the stations, their low rates of pay, and the little control they were able to exercise over their own lives under the Western Australian Native Administration Act. For a number of years marrngu leaders had discussed their situation among themselves, and with an unusual walypila, Don McLeod, whom they call Mirta, the Old Man, or Ngarnka or Ngarnkawaru, the Bearded One. A well-sinker and prospector, Mirta showed an interest in and sympathy for their plight, and in 1943 was invited to attend a large meeting of Aboriginal leaders at Wantilurr (Skull Springs), on the Davis River. There they discussed the possibility of marrngu regaining control over their lives by acting as a group to withhold their labour from the stations.


This article examines the presence of spatial spillovers in farms' dynamic technical inefficiency scores using Data Envelopment Analysis and a second‐stage spatial truncated bootstrap regression model. Dynamic inefficiency is measured in terms of variable input contraction and gross investment expansion, while the second‐stage model allows an individual's dynamic inefficiency to be influenced by both own and neighbours' characteristics. The empirical application focuses on the panel data of specialised Dutch dairy farms observed over the period 2009–2016 and for which exact geographical coordinates of latitude and longitude are available. The results confirm the existence of spatial spillovers in farmers' dynamic technical inefficiency levels. Although changes in neighbours' subsidies do not significantly influence an individual's inefficiency, an increase in neighbours' age reduces an individual's performance, while an increase in neighbours' levels of intensification improves an individual's dynamic efficiency.


Objective: To assess the correlation between the side of the annular pathology and the radicular symptoms, in the absence of a compressive root lesion.

Materials and Methods: 121 patients underwent MRI scan fro axial back and radicular symptoms. The mean age was 49.9 yrs (24–80). The sex distribution was equal. We excluded the patients that had a compressive lesion, previous operations, spinal deformity, spondylolyses, an underlying pathology (tumour, trauma or infection) or a peripheral neuropathy. Annular pathology was documented as annular tear or a non-compressive disc bulge with its location and side. We also recorded marrow endplate changes and facet arthrosis.

Results: Bilateral radicular symptoms were reported in 16 (13.2%): right side in 33 (27.3%) and left in 47 (38.8%) patients. Additionally, 82 patients (67.8%) had axial back pain. 33 patients (27.3%) were noted to have a right sided annular pathology (tear or bulge) and 72 (59.5%) had a left sided annular lesion. 21 patients (17.4%) had a central annular tear and 43 (35.5%) had a generalised disc bulge. 14 patients (11.6%) with right sided symptoms also had annular pathology, while 38 patients (31.4%) with left sided symptoms had a left sided annular lesion. There was no statistical correlation between the side of symptoms and the side of the lesion ( r = − 0.00066, p=0.994), any particular annular pathology ( annular tear r=0.085, p=0.35; disc bulge r-0.083, p=0.36 ). There was no correlation between the axial back pain and the annular pathology ( r=0.004; p=0.97 ) and facet joint or marrow end plate changes ( r = −, 29, p=0.76 ).

Conclusions: Although annular pathology can cause the radicular symptoms, our results suggest that they do not influence the side of the symptoms.


Objectives. This article examines the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and achievement using an ecological perspective.

Methods. Conventional theory suggests that as parent human capital increases, family resources increase, and therefore student achievement should increase. However, differential academic achievement is still observed between black and white adolescents in similar middle-class families. I first provide a descriptive analysis of three domains of the local ecology that I theorize influence adolescent achievement: neighborhoods, parenting styles, and time use. I then use OLS regression analysis to explore whether the inclusion of various domains of adolescents' environments eliminates the black-white test score differential.

Results. I find that the inclusion of the three domains lessens, but does not eliminate, the black-white test score differential.

Conclusion. Black and white adolescents at all socioeconomic levels face different contexts; these different contexts are associated with differences in achievement.