This essay draws on one of the chapters of my new book Religious Difference in a Secular Age: A Minority Report published by Princeton University Press. In this book, I argue against the oft-repeated claim that the recent violence we have witnessed against religious minorities in the Middle East is a product of age-old Islamic hierarchies and religious antagonisms that characterize the region. Instead, I suggest that, while Islamic concepts are important, modern secular governance has played a crucial role in exacerbating religious tensions in the region, hardening interfaith boundaries and polarizing religious differences. This claim may appear counterintuitive to those who believe that secularism is a solution to the problem of religious strife rather than a force in its creation. My book challenges this assessment by examining the career of four cornerstones of secularism--political and civil equality, minority rights, religious freedom, and the legal separation of private and public domains-in the colonial and postcolonial Middle East, with a particular focus on Egypt. Far from securing a separation between religion and state, I argue, these concepts have made religious identity more rather than less consequential to national politics, amplified religious differences, and consecrated majoritarian religious values and norms within the laws of modern polities. My analysis here is indebted to the burgeoning field of secular studies that has, over the past two decades, definitively challenged the conventional account of secularism as the separation between church and state, religion and law, and ecclesiastical and political authority (Asad, 2003; Agrama, 2012; Bauberot, 2000; Connolly, 1999; Fernando, 2014; Fessenden, 2006; McLeod, 2000; Modern, 2011; Taylor, 2007). Scholars from a variety of disciplines have argued that modern secularism is far more than this minimalist formulation allows; it entails fundamental shifts in conceptions of self, time, space, ethics, and morality, as well as a reorganization of social, political, and religious life. The secular, in other words, is not the natural bedrock from which religion emerges, nor is it what remains when religion is taken away. Instead, it is itself a historical product with specific epistemological, political, and moral entailments-none of which can be adequately grasped through a nominal account of secularism as the modern state's retreat from religion. Broadly speaking, this emergent scholarship explores two distinct, albeit related, dimensions of the secular: political secularism and secularity. Secularism pertains to the modern state's relationship to, and regulation of, religion, while secularity refers to the set of concepts, norms, sensibilities, and dispositions that characterize secular societies and subjectivities. (1) This essay is concerned with political secularism, which, following Talal Asad (2006), I conceptualize as the modern state's sovereign power to reorganize substantive features of religious life, stipulating what religion is or ought to be, assigning its proper content, and disseminating concomitant subjectivities, ethical frameworks, and quotidian practices. The state's sovereign power to define and regulate religious life is neither monolithic nor predetermined. Rather, it is shot through with a generative contradiction. On the one hand, the liberal state claims to maintain a separation between church and state by relegating religion to the private sphere, that sacrosanct domain of religious belief and individual liberty. On the other hand, modern governmentality involves the state's intervention and regulation of many aspects of socioreligious life, dissolving the distinction between public and private and thereby contravening its first claim. This does not mean that the liberal state's ideological commitment to keep church and state apart is false or specious, or that secularism constrains religion rather than setting it free. …


Forecast demand of electrical energy Sultan Syarif Kasim II Pekanbaru years 2017-2027 with linear regression method. Linear regression method used to determine to had forecast or predicting the value of one variable in conjuction with other variables. On method is divided into 3 (three) segments services available in the Sultan Syarif Kasim II Pekanbaru, namely aeronautics, non-aeronautics and cargo segments services. Forecast demand of electrical energy influenced by electric energy consumption. The data used history data for 6 (six) years, namely from year 2011 until 2016. Master plan Sultan Syarif Kasim II Pekanbaru City Province of Riau will further developing the airport and necessary forecast demand of electrical energy. The percentage of growth forecast demand of electrical energy Sultan Syarif Kasim II Pekanbaru is 11,15% per-years will total needs 10.842.880,19 kWh in 2017 and increased until 2027 is 35.376.553,72 kWh.


Background: Second grade burn injuryis burns which includes the destruction of epidermis and upper layers of the dermis and injury in the deeper dermis. Smear use aloe vera and betel leafs, it is an non-pharmacological methods that can accelerate the burn injury healing. Objectives: Determine the effectiveness of aloe vera and betel leafs to the healing of grade II burn injury on white rat in Kediri Sidomulyo livestock. Methods: This research uses a True Experimental, with post test only control group design. The sample in this study were 18 male rats, selected using Sample Random Sampling. Theburns injury made by inducing an iron plate (1x1 cm2) that already heated with boiling water for 5 minutes then stick it on the backs of rat for 30 seconds (area of the epidermis). Data collected using observation sheet, ofusing burn injury woundcare observational sheet. Results: Using ANOVA The results of this study showed that the p value = 0.000, which means that H1 is accepted. Conclusions and Suggestion: There are differences in healing burns secondgrade by using a smear of betel leaf and aloe vera on white rats. This study can be recommended as the development of science in medical-surgical nursing for wound care is more effective and faster in accelerating the healing of burn injury.
Key Words :Grade II Of Burn Injury, Aloe Vera, Betel Leafs, White Rats


The complete sequence of mitochondrial genome of Daphnia magna was determined using long PCR, normal PCR and primers walking approaches. The results showed that the entire mitochondrial genome of Daphnia magna is 14948 bp in size, in which the content of A, T, G, C is 32􀆰 37% , 34􀆰 73% , 15􀆰 58% , 17􀆰 31% , respectively. The mitochondrial genome organization and gene order of Daphnia magna were consistent with that of Arthropod, which contains 13 protein⁃coding genes (PCGs), 22 tR⁃ NA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes ( large and small ribosomal RNAs), and a control region. Except for COI gene using CTG, ATP8 with GTG, and ND3 with ATC, and ND6 with ATT as the initiation codon, and other 9 PCGs of the mtDNA in Daphnia magna started with the typical ATG codon. TAG and TAA were used in 9 PCGs as usual termination codons, except for COI, COII,ND4 and ND5 genes with incomplete termination codon (T). There are 9 intergenic spacer sequencer totaling 81 bp (1-62 bp for each sequence) and 13 overlapping sequences totaling 77 bp (1-27 bp for each sequence), scattered throughout the ge⁃ nome, respectively, and the largest overlap (27 bp) region is located between 16S rRNA and tRNAVal genes. The secondary struc⁃ tures of 22 tRNAs were predicted and it was found that tRNASer1 failed to form a complete secondary structure, others have typical


The cominciamiento philosophical instance refers to the absolute first step of thought, which is the presupposition and ground of all content, mode and subsequent act of thought itself. In modernity, the start instance is vindicated by Hegel, who, like Thomas Aquinas in the Middle Ages, conceives "being" as the beginning of thought. Despite this convergence between both authors, there is a deep speculative divergence. Both, convergence and divergence will be examined in this paper, by following the researches of the Italian philosopher Cornelio Fabro.


Polymer optical fibers provide a cost-effective, design flexible, and industry-scalable platform for THz waveguides. We here review the latest developments in the design, fabrication and characterization of plastic-based optical fibers for the terahertz.


We present an extension to existing Monte Carlo photon transport methods to simulate integrating sphere experiments. This method uses a Monte Carlo approach to simulate photon paths in tissue and an analytical expression for the probability of a photon in an integrating sphere being re-incident on the tissue. Analytical models, previous works on Monte Carlo photon transport, and measurements of a synthetic tissue phantom validate this method. We present two approaches to back-calculate the optical properties of samples. Experimental and simulation uncertainties are propagated through both methods. Both back-calculation methods find the optical properties of a sample accurately and precisely.


Introduction Regional anaesthesia, usually in the form of caudal epidural, is a foundation of analgesia for hypospadias repairs. Recent publications have demonstrated a strong association between caudal blockade and fistula formation or glanular dehiscence. If caudals were causing complications, abandonment of caudals would necessitate a plausible and efficacious alternative that may itself be associated with side effects. We sought to review our own institutions' outcomes in this area. Methods Retrospective case note review in partnership with University College Hospital (UCH). Data analysed in Microsoft Excel using XLSTAT. Results A total of 177 boy's notes were reviewed; 116 from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). Median age was 18 months (IQR 11) and median weight 11.5 kg (IQR 3.5). Median duration of surgery was 90 min (IQR 48.25). 94% received caudal anaesthesia with a median volume of 0.7 ml/kg (IQR 0.2). Clonidine was an adjunct in 41% of caudals but was only used at GOSH. There were 40 wound complications including 21 fistulae and 7 dehisced wounds. 5 were lost to follow-up. OR for wound complication with caudal anaesthetic was 0.41 (95% CI −0.1–1.5). Significantly less intra-operative fentanyl was administered to boys receiving caudals, p<0.005. Conclusion Complication rates were similar to previously published studies with respect to urethrocutaneous fistula. Surgical duration was markedly lower. Usage of caudal block was much greater than in previously published work; 58% and 63%. The complication rate for caudal recipients was in line with other studies. The use of clonidine to prolong analgesia was not universal, despite strong evidence to support its use. The complication rate was higher for the children that did not receive any regional anaesthesia. The efficacy of caudal anaesthesia in hypospadias repair is demonstrated by the significantly lower opioid doses received in the caudal group. Our results do not support the abandonment of caudal anaesthesia for hypospadias repair.


Objective: To assess whether the presence in bile of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, which are secreted predominantly into the bile, influences biliary lithogenicity. Design: Physiologic biliary concentrations of the hydrophilic HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor pravastatin were added to supersaturated model bile (cholesterol saturation index 1.4) and vesicles, the latter with and without the concomitant addition of the nucleation-promoting bile salt taurodeoxycholate. Outcome measures: Nucleation time, defined as the number of days after which cholesterol monohydrate crystals are visible by phase contrast microscopy in filtered samples of model bile and vesicles, was assessed. Results: The addition of pravastatin 0.01–1 mg/ml did not influence the nucleation time of supersaturated model bile (mean nucleation time without pravastatin: 8.3 ± 2.2 days (SD), with pravastatin 1 mg/ml 9.3 ± 0.4 days and pravastatin 0.01 mg/ml 7.6 ± 2.3 days). The addition of similar concentrations of pravastatin to vesicle fractions alone did not influence nucleation time (>20 days), nor could it prevent the nucleation-promoting effect of taurodeoxycholate (nucleation time with or without pravastatin 1 day). Conclusion: The results from this in-vitro study indicate that the presence of pravastatin in bile may not influence gallbladder bile lithogenicity. It can be hypothesized that this also applies to other HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors.


The petroleum products are from non-renewable source, which is available in the nature in limited quantity. Also Air pollution is becoming a major concern in recent times in many countries. Hence there are studies conducted across the globe on using alternative fuels from renewable resources, which can replace the petroleum products effectively. Biofuels are promising renewable alternative for petroleum based fuels. Hence In this study, testing of a diesel engine has been carried out with different percentages of Pongamia derived biofuel and diesel blend. The variations of Specific Fuel Consumption and Brake Thermal Efficiency with respect to Power Output have been studied. Also emission characteristics namely smoke density and gaseous pollutants like unburnt hydrocarbon have been studied. Results indicate that 20% biofuel blend can be used for short term engine operations.


A primary breakup model for diesel spray based on two-phase flow in injector nozzle is proposed.According to the distribution of vapor and liquid phase at exit of nozzle hole,the jet is divided into cavitation zone and liquid zone,which show different atomizing effect.From the opinion of energy conservation,the model describes the primary breakup process in two zones as follow,the total breakup energy coming from cavitation collapse and turbulence is converted to surface energy and radial kinetic energy of breakup droplet.KIVA code with this breakup model is applied to modeling symmetric and asymmetric nozzles spray.The simulated results are proved by Hiroyasu empirical formulation,and show asymmetric structure in asymmetric nozzle spray case.


The article shows various methods that can be used to improve production efficiency in solving the tasks of fulfilling orders at an enterprise within the time limits that are specified by contracts. The task is to assess the possibilities of approaches to effectively distribute orders between similar structural units, if there are various restrictions. The results of theoretical and experimental studies of queuing system, Simplex method and multi agent simulation are presented for orders allocation task of enterprise shops. In the process of work, we used the BPsim. MAS dynamic modeling system.


Chromium is often added in some functional foods to aid in the treatment of diabetes or in fortified dairy products. The toxicity of chromium depends on the oxidation state. Therefore, it is necessary to identify or quantify chromium species to assess food safety hazards. In this study, the species of Cr (III) and Cr (VI) were determined by liquid chromatography (LC) with collision cell inductively coupled plasma mass specctrophotometry (ICPMS). The main param eters such as the concentration of complexing agents, the effect of pH, the mobile phase flow rate, the extraction solvents as well as the extraction time and temperature were optimized. The method detection limits (MDLs) of 20 μg/kg for Cr (III) and 10 μg/kg for Cr (VI) obtained based on peak hight at mass 52 for injections at low level spiked samples. The repeatability of Cr (III) was 1.96 % while that of Cr (VI) was 7.78%. The recovery of Cr (III) and Cr (VI) at 1.0 mg/kg was in the range of 88.0  103% and 89.3  96.7%, respectively. The validated parameters completely met the Association of Official Analytical Collaboration (AOAC) performance requirements, which was applied to analyze Cr species in some functional food samples collected on the market. The content of Cr (III) was found in accordance with products label declaration while Cr (VI) was not detected.


Objectives: Cost of the medicines is a concern for the patients. Within India cost of medicines varies, the basic reason behind this is the brand price quoted by the pharmaceutical industries. Survey was undertaken to review and analyse various facts about branded and generic medicines of the same drugs. Method: By survey of Jan Aushadhi Stores price list and other resources by the authors it is found that there is a vast difference between prices of branded and generic medicines. Further survey was conducted for following target groups and individuals. The groups are Literate population (science background), Common public (educated but non science background) and Practicing Pharmacists. The different sets of questionnaire were prepared for each group and survey was conducted. The questions were designed as to check awareness, knowledge and preference of medication. Results: The highlighting results of this survey based project are that more number of consumers want economic alternative to the brand medicines which includes persons with or without science background, a remarkable number of consumers does not have knowledge about generic medicines, most of the physicians do not prefer generic medicines and most of the practicing pharmacists have very less business through generic medicines. Conclusion: Even if generic medicines are going to be made available free of cost at the government hospitals the war of prices between b randed and generic may not stop. More stringent rules and regulation are required for making the drugs available at reasonable cost for the masses. For the benefit of the patients, if pharmacist needs to change a brand for generic medicine, should be permitted by law.


ABSTRACT This study investigated the emerging practice of online counselling. Although the traditional practice of counselling involves face-to-face interaction between counsellor and client, a growing number of practitioners are providing counselling or therapy services via the Internet. In the present study, a total of 67 online counsellors completed a questionnaire exploring the backgrounds, services, fees, and communication technologies of practitioners offering online counselling to the public. Results suggest that online counselling is conducted by relatively experienced, primarily Western-based practitioners and is characterised by the use of email. Online clients are mainly female and receive relatively short-term interventions. Although the field appears to be evolving as its popularity increases, some ethical concerns raised by early research remain inadequately addressed.


In recent years, contrastive learning (CL) has been extensively utilized to recover sentence and document-level encoding capability from pre-trained language models. In this work, we question the length generalizability of CL-based models, i.e., their vulnerability towards length-induced semantic shift. We verify not only that length vulnerability is a significant yet overlooked research gap, but we can devise unsupervised CL methods solely depending on the semantic signal provided by document length. We first derive the theoretical foundations underlying length attacks, showing that elongating a document would intensify the high intra-document similarity that is already brought by CL. Moreover, we found that isotropy promised by CL is highly dependent on the length range of text exposed in training. Inspired by these findings, we introduce a simple yet universal document representation learning framework, LA(SER)$^{3}$: length-agnostic self-reference for semantically robust sentence representation learning, achieving state-of-the-art unsupervised performance on the standard information retrieval benchmark.


The observation that natural killer (NK) cell activity is abnormally low in endometriosis patients and abnormally high in women with otherwise unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion represents, at present, an intriguing curiosity. There is evidence suggesting that these conditions are associated with an opposite regulation of NK cell behaviour. This review discusses these observations and potential relationships.


ABSTRACT Artificial neural network model was constructed to analyse and evaluate the engine performance. The experiments were conducted on a diesel engine with the blend of plastic pyrolysis oil with diesel and ethanol. Three input layer with two hidden layers and five output layers were used in artificial neural network modelling. The learning algorithm called feed-forward back-propagation was applied for the hidden layer. To train the neural network, 70% of the complete data from the experimentation was selected and 30% in predicting from the neural network. The model developed for prediction has excellent agreement as observed from the correlation coefficient (R) within the range of 0.964–0.9816. Statistical analysis shows that the ANN predicted and experimental results are in close agreement with each other. Overall, it could be concluded that it is a mean to predict the virtual sensing in studying the real time with established artificial neural network architecture. In addition, common rail direct injection engine operation could give complete freedom from diesel and thereby provides energy security and sustainable of a nation.


In 2011 the Inspector-General of Taxation announced the terms of reference of a review into the ATO's utilisation of early and alternative dispute resolution. Against this background, this article considers mediation as an alternative method in resolving tax disputes. Specifically, this article looks at how mediation is utilised in the tax disputes resolution procedures in the United States and in Australia - by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and Federal Court of Australia. It provides recommendations on what the ATO and Australian policymakers can learn from these experiences in order to enhance the use of tax mediation in the disputes resolution process in Australia.


32 volunteers, none of whom showed any symptoms for kidney, liver or pancreas disease, were given by infusion 500 ml of various type of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) at a concentration of 6% (450/0.7, 450/0.5, 450/0.3, 300/0.4) as well as of 10% (200/0.7, 200/0.5, 200/0.3, 200/0.1) over a period of 30 min. After infusion both the Mw and the Mn diminished. The rate of elimination of HES from serum entirely depended on molar substitution and not on Mw. The quotient Mw/Mn decreased considerably over the entire test period. The lower molecular weight limit in serum remained relatively the same at 60,000 Daltons. Maximum molecular weight limit of urine, too, was 60,000 Daltons.


Serum total PSA (prostate specific antigen) has been considered since some time for diagnosis or prognosis of breast cancer. PSA is present both as free and complexed form. Many researchers have shown total PSA increases in all forms of breast disease, whether cancerous or benign lesions. Few scientists  have demonstrated that the free form of PSA is the predominant form in breast cancer. 1,2  Also the observation that there is a marginal reduction in total PSA after surgery in comparison to a remarkable decrease in free PSA is a strong indicator that a large portion of total PSA is produced by normal tissue and that free PSA is produced by breast tumors. 3,4,5 Moreover  free PSA as the predominant form was found to be highly specific for breast cancer when compared to benign and normal tissues. 3 In India, Dash et al.,(2011) in their study in Indian population observed similar results using total and free PSA in patients of breast tumors 5 augmenting  its role as a prognostic marker. With a heterogeneous  study population in India where breast cancer is commonly encountered, population based studies  are essential to study the molecular forms of PSA  with respect to  the disease process  like relapse or metastasis and therefore with future treatment. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v6i2.11110 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.6(2) 2015 129


The prediction of drug-target interactions (DTIs) plays an essential role in drug discovery. Recently, deep learning methods have been widely applied in DTI prediction. However, most of the existing research does not fully utilize the molecular structures of drug compounds and the sequence structures of proteins, which makes these models unable to obtain precise and effective feature representations.

In this study, we propose a novel deep learning framework combining transformer and graph neural networks for predicting DTIs. Our model utilizes graph convolutional neural networks to capture the global and local structure information of drugs, and convolutional neural networks are employed to capture the sequence feature of targets. In addition, the obtained drug and protein representations are input to multi-layer transformer encoders, respectively, to integrate their features and generate final representations.

The experiments on benchmark datasets demonstrated that our model outperforms previous graph-based and transformer-based methods, with 1.5% and 1.8% improvement in precision and 0.2% and 1.0% improvement in recall, respectively. The results indicate that the transformer encoders effectively extract feature information of both drug compounds and proteins.

Overall, our proposed method validates the applicability of combining graph neural networks and transformer architecture in drug discovery, and due to the attention mechanisms, it can extract deep structure feature data of drugs and proteins.


This issue represents something of a landmark for The Mathematics Educator (TME). For 10 years now TME has been published by the Mathematics Education Student Association (MESA) at the University of Georgia (UGA). TME was conceived by members of MESA who wanted first-hand experience in the makings of a research journal. As with any profession, those entering the field desire to get their feet wet; given the necessity of publication to academic career longevity, the ins and outs of publication are a natural area of interest to graduate students. They wonder what goes into doing and reporting research; but, in addition, they ask questions like " What gets published? " and " How are manuscripts received, reviewed, accepted, rejected, edited, and published? " MESA added the publication of a journal to its constitution in the spring of 1989. To get the ball rolling, a seminar was organized for winter quarter 1990; the intent of the seminar was to " produce a pilot issue of the proposed journal in order to establish and document necessary policies and procedures related to its publication " (TME, 1990, inside front cover). The seminar participants took joint responsibility for collecting and reviewing manuscripts from within their ranks as well as from the UGA faculty. The first issue was published in the summer of 1990. Although many aspects of the journal have evolved over time, the intent has remained the same: 1) to give students in MESA an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with the ins and outs of publishing literature related to mathematics education, and 2) to give students and faculty at UGA and around the world a place to publish their work. I will now discuss some of the changes that have occurred over the past 10 volumes of TME, as well as some interesting facts from over the years. The initial vision of TME was one in which a yearly seminar of MESA members took joint responsibility for publishing the journal. The logistics of this enterprise, however, called for more continuity and structure. Nicholas Oppong, a member of the founding seminar, took on the challenge of being the first editor of TME. Associate editors and a general staff were organized during the 1990-1991 school year, and the summer of 1991 saw the publication of the second issue of TME. Feedback from the first issue was positive and encouraging. In response to a request …


An exposure apparatus for the lithographic projection, comprising: - a container (10); - a radiation source (12) disposed within the container (10) and is suitable for emitting electromagnetic radiation having a predetermined wavelength; - a reticle (42) disposed within the container (10) and which is provided with a pattern (44); - a substrate holder (46) disposed within the container (10) and which is adapted to receive a provided with a resist layer semiconductor wafer (50); - projection optics (40) disposed between the substrate holder (46) and the reticle (42) within the container (10) and the reticle (42) projected penetrating electromagnetic radiation onto an image plane via the substrate holder (46); and - an electromagnetic latch (20) which is arranged within the container (10) and which is adapted during operation of the radiation source (12) to collect light emitted neutral particles by an ionizing means (30), the neutral particles ...


In the wake of the ongoing interest of the so-called unit-root econometrics which eventually led to the feat of cointegration theory within the framework of the VAR approach to econometric model building -, the issue of shedding some more light on the mutual positioning of structural and time-series econometric specification is worth revisiting. This is what the paper aims to do, by providing as a prerequisite a neat and concise exposition of the basic statistical and analytical toolkits, and by ultimately highlighting the comparative features of dynamic model specification from both the structural (i.e. theory-driven) and the time-series (i.e. data-driven) standpoints. JEL Classification : C 300 C 320.


This research paper discusses the impacts of the coal combustion in thermal power plant, emphasized the problems associated with fly ash, collection using Electro Static Precipitator, mitigation measures for fly ash has also been highlighted such as development of bricks, use of fly ash for manufacturing of cement, development of ceramics, fertilizer, development of distemper and use of fly ash in road construction and road embankment. This article gives the direction for the beneficial use of fly ash generated during coal combustion in power plants


Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a modern radiotherapy modality that uses a multileaf collimator to enable the irradiation of the patient with non-uniform maps of radiation from a set of distinct beam irradiation directions. The aim of IMRT is to eradicate all cancerous cells by irradiating the tumor with a prescribed dose while simultaneously sparing, as much as possible, the neighboring tissues and organs. The optimal choice of beam irradiation directions – beam angle optimization (BAO) – can play an important role in IMRT treatment planning by improving organ sparing and tumor coverage, increasing the treatment plan quality. Typically, the BAO search is guided by the optimal value of the fluence map optimization (FMO) – the problem of obtaining the most appropriate radiation intensities for each beam direction. In this paper, a new score to guide the BAO search is introduced and embedded in a parallel multistart derivative-free optimization framework that is detailed for the extremely challenging continuous multi-modal BAO problem. For the set of ten clinical nasopharyngeal tumor cases considered, treatment plans obtained for optimized beam directions clearly outperform the benchmark treatment plans obtained considering equidistant beam directions typically used in clinical practice. Furthermore, treatment plans obtained considering the proposed score clearly improve the quality of the plans resulting from the use of the optimal value of the FMO problem to guide the BAO search.


The study of Southeast Asian politics has its roots in the scholarship of colonial civil servants, but flourished especially in the postwar period, as new Southeast Asian countries emerged from the debris of World War II and the fading colonial empires. Much of the postwar literature on Southeast Asian politics focused on the countries' prospects for modernization, and also had a strong emphasis on the role of culture in shaping political outcomes. In the 1980s and 1990s, the literature was especially notable for contributions in the areas of political economy and democratization, reflective of the fact that the region was experiencing a transformative economic boom and some countries were also transitioning to democratic governments. Since the 2000s, significant studies on state formation, political parties, and political economy have been produced. Much of the more recent scholarship has tended to be more explicitly comparative and more self-consciously methodological.


A "core–coronae" type hybrid amphiphile, which contains urethane unit in the coronae was synthesized, and the monolayer property was studied. The hybrid amphiphile formed a liquid-like monolayer at...


Laser Rayleigh scattering was applied for remote, nonintrusive point probing of the vapor concentration and its fluctuation near the spark plug of a motored spark ignition engine, which was caused by the intermittent injection of Freon-12 vapor into an intake port. The theoretical analysis showed that the instantaneous fuel vapor concentration can be split into three components : the ensemble-averaged mean concentration, the cyclic variation of temporal mean concentration and the temporal concentration fluctuation in a specific cycle. This paper concentrates on the measurements of the ensemble-averaged mean concentration and the cyclic variation of temporal mean concentration. The results show that both the ensemble-averaged mean concentration and the cyclic variation of temporal mean concentration increase and reach a peak, after which they decrease during the intake and compression strokes. Moreover, they are strongly affected by air-fuel ratio, engine speed, injection duration and injection timing.


The study was conducted to determine utilization and knowledge of teachers and students on Computer Technology in Zone I, Division of Zambales during the School Year 2019-2020. The sample population of the study was be limited to the use of twenty (20) teachers and two hundred seventy-five (275) students from selected secondary schools of DepEd at Zone I, Division of Zambales. The researcher framed this study based on the descriptive research design in order to gather pertinent data with regards to the presentation of the demographic profile of respondents and in the evaluation and analysis of responses made by both teacher-and student-respondents to determine both the utilization and knowledge on Computer Technology in classrooms in terms of teaching and learning, as mandated by the DepEd K-12 academic program as to provide for quality education in modern society. It also indicated that the level of significant difference on the perceptions of the respondents on utilization and knowledge of both students and teachers on the application of computer technology in classroom instruction may vary when they are grouped based on profile variables and based on categories of availability of resources, teaching styles and student knowledge in the use of computers. Furthermore, this study finds that there is no significant difference on the perceptions of the student-respondents and teacher-respondents on the perceived utilization and knowledge on the application of computer technology as to availability of resources; to teachers teaching styles; and to knowledge of students on the use of technology.


Abstract: Soil fertility and plant productivity are known to vary across the Amazon Basin partially as a function of geomorphology and age of soils. Using data on herpetofaunal abundance collected from 5 × 5 m and 6 × 6 m plots in mature tropical forests, we tested whether variation in community biomass of litter frogs and lizards across ten Neotropical sites could be explained by cation exchange capacity, primary productivity or stem turnover rate. About half of the variation in frog biomass (48%) could be attributed to stem turnover rate, while over two-thirds of the variation in lizard biomass (69%) was explained by primary productivity. Biomass variation in frogs resulted from variation in abundance and size, and abundance was related to cation exchange capacity (45% of variation explained), but size was not. Lizard biomass across sites varied mostly with individual lizard size, but not with abundance, and size was highly dependent on primary productivity (85% of variation explained). Soil fertility and plant productivity apparently affect secondary consumers like frogs and lizards through food webs, as biomass is transferred from plants to herbivorous arthropods to secondary consumers.


We studied the relationships between feeding behavior, prey selection and bill size for sympatric Pied (Haematopus longirostris) and Sooty (H. fuliginosus) Oyster- catchers feeding at Australian intertidal mudflats. Foraging Sooty Oystercatchers used a rapid pecking behavior for a greater proportion of time and used a slow pecking behavior for a lesser proportion of time as compared to Pied Oystercatchers. Within each species males used a rapid pecking behavior for more time and used a slow pecking behavior for less time than females. As rapid pecking was used mainly for the capture of crabs, snails and bivalves while slow pecking was used mainly for the capture of polychaete worms, the diet of Sooty Oystercatchers contained significantly more hard-shelled prey and less soft- bodied prey than Pied Oystercatchers. For each species, males took more hard-shelled prey and fewer worms than females. Thus, species and sexual differences in foraging behavior and prey selection segregated the foraging roles of Pied and Sooty Oystercatchers, poten- tially reducing competition, facilitating their coexistence. A general pattern for oystercatch- ers is that longer bill length is associated with higher percentages of soft-prey in the diet for different species, and for sexes within species. A comparison of bill lengths indicated that in Tasmania Sooty Oystercatchers had longer bills than Pied Oystercatchers and within each species, females had longer bills than males. Thus, our results for species are counter to general expectations while results for sexes are consistent with general patterns. Received


—The goal of this article is to study and analyze the container orchestration technology Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Apache Mesos by performing performance evaluations and inspecting how many requests and responses the server can handle. Due to the fact that managing information system resources is a challenge in terms of performance, usability, reliability, and the cost of information resources. Some orchestration tools cannot automatically allocate resources depending on the scope of the information system resource management. This leads to allocating resources more than the needs of system requirements, resulting in excessive costs. Therefore, this article proposed testing the system by measuring its effectiveness using a structured process by examining measurement variables such as the number of requests per second, number of responses to requests, and resource extension period using all three-orchestration technology. From the testing and analysis of all three variables as mentioned, it is possible to know the efficiency of the Kubernetes technology in such a similar environment and compared it with other orchestration tools like Docker Swarm and Apache Mesos orchestrator. For Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, and Apache Mesos, the mean value of its handling average request per minute is 30,677.25/min, 33,688.67/min, and 29,682.6/min, respectively. Swarm performed better in aspects of handling requests per minute by 9.35% of the difference when compared to Kubernetes and by 12.64% when compared to Apache Mesos. However, there are several things which should be taken into consideration because each orchestration tool has its own strong and weak points. The testing experiment could display a piece of information on the dashboard for visualization and analytic purposes and there is an elaboration at the end of when to use which container orchestration tool to suit the business proposes the most .


176th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Miami, Fla., Sept, 1978, Physical Division. (b) The integrated band intensity data for HOC1 were sent to one of the authors (J.G.C.) in a private communication from P. D. Maker. (17) R. L. Jaffe, preliminary data given to one of the authors (J.G.C.) prior to publication. (b) E. J. Hamilton, Jr., and R.-R. Lii, Int. J . Chem. Kinet., 9, 875 (1977); (c) S. N. Foner and R. L. Hudson, Adv. Chem. Ser., No. 36, 34 (1962). (16) (a) P. D. Maker, H. Niki, C. M. Savage, and L. P. Breitenbach, paper 80 in the Symposium on Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopic Studies of Atmospheric and Interstellar Species, presented at the


Pregnancy during adolescence may increase the risk of overweight/obesity. There is evidence that increasing calcium intake, alone or vitamin D‐combined, may favor loss of weight and/or fat mass.


The gear vibration signal of industrial machinery is usually complex. It contains both Gaussian distribution and non-Gaussian distribution components. When early failure of the gear happens, weak fault information often hides in various complex components, which brings great difficulties for feature extraction and trend analysis. This paper took the measured gear vibration signals as the research objects. By means of time-domain analysis, frequency-domain analysis and bispectral analysis, the gear variation has been researched from normal state to pitting fault state, and then feature extraction and fault trend analysis were made in turn. The results showed that the traditional analysis methods were difficult to analyze the characteristics and trend of pitting fault. However, bispectral analysis method could not only effectively suppress Gaussian noise, but also analyze the nonlinear non-Gaussian changes caused by pitting fault from the standpoint of higher order statistical characteristics. Especially the non-Gaussian eigenvalue based on bispectrum had a high sensitivity and a stable performance to the pitting fault, and was able to obviously show the pitting fault trend. Its effects were far better than time-domain and frequency-domain characteristics, a new reliable feature was provided for the subsequent fault recognition.


Applying image processing technologies to pedestrian detection has been a hot research topic in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). However, the existing video-based algorithms to extract background image may suffer their inefficiency in detecting slow or static pedestrians. To fill the gap, an improved Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) for pedestrian detection is proposed in this paper. Three novel components have been incorporate into the traditional model. Firstly, the phase of graph segmentation is added before conventional parameters updating. Secondly, a mergence time adjustment scheme is employed to prevent foreground from merging into background. Thirdly, the notion of average weight is introduced as a secondary judgment criterion of foreground segmentation. To show the performance of the proposed method, this algorithm is applied into the real videos for pedestrian detection. The results show the accuracy and adaptability of this proposed method are over standard GMM.


Since the early 2000s, there has been a growing trend in the sharing of commodities by renting or purchasing secondhand goods through online platforms—a phenomenon known as collaborative consumption (CC). One of the major concerns among CC users is the issue of contamination (i.e., feeling 'grossed out' when sharing items with anonymous others). Still, very little is known about how CC companies can handle this issue. The purpose of this research is to examine the issue of contamination through exploring the effect on consumers' CC intentions by ownership type of the shared goods.


Machine to machine communication (M2M) or machine type communication (MTC) facilitates communication of two network enabled devices, without any human intervention, to take some intelligent decision based on the interaction of devices. Because of ubiquitous coverage and global connectivity, cellular networks are playing a major role in the deployment of M2M communications. Due to some unique characteristics of M2M communication, supporting M2M applications in cellular networks is very challenging. One of such challenge is congestion in radio access network (RAN) during RACH procedure. This is because of the fact that there are large numbers of M2M devices which access the radio network at the same time. As a solution, we propose an adaptive RACH congestion management function (ARC) which specifies congestion handling method to be used by all M2M devices based on the current congestion condition of the network.


ABSTRACT This essay presents excerpts from a reading of the section 'England' in Wilfred Bion's autobiography The Long Weekend, 1897–1919: Part of a Life. Findings are now presented alongside a series of the reader's own memories that were evoked, at varied speeds, both during and after the reading process. Drawing on the fields of infant observation and child psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the essay demonstrates how exercising an observational stance to the reader's own subjective material and subsequent, reflexive internal dialogues contributed to penetrating layers of meaning of the book. Furthermore, it aims to show how a reading of an autobiography unexpectedly enabled a powerful, parallel creative process within the reader.


With the rapid development of the software industry, the software supply chain is becoming more and more complex, which increases the maintenance difficulty of software Supply chain security security. The traditional software reliability fault diagnosis and modeling methods can no longer meet the needs of the industry development. This article takes into account the complexity of the software supply chain, the severity level of failure states of influencing factors, and the randomness of influencing factors, and constructs a software supply chain reliability analysis framework using fuzzy fault tree and dependent Bayesian model. The framework focuses on three aspects: software source code, technical base and supply chain management, summarizes the impact factors of software supply chain reliability, and establishes a fault tree model. Then T-S fuzzy method is introduced to define the fault state of the influence factor and calculate the fault probability of each node. Finally, the fault tree model is equivalent to the dependent Bayesian network, which describes the connection relationship between nodes and forms the fault diagnosis network model. When a node fault result is given, the influencing factors and probabilities that affect the result can be inferred, thereby completing top-down fault diagnosis.


Elderly patients with preexisting osteoporotic hip fracture are at high risk of a subsequent fracture in their contralateral hip. Current preventive approaches commonly have a long delay in restoring bone strength leaving patients at continued risk despite preventive efforts. Femoroplasty — injection of bone cement into the proximal femur — has been proposed as a potential preventive approach. However, it can cause complications because of extravasation of the cement into unwanted regions of the bone and an increased pressure within the bone, if not controlled and planned carefully. Therefore, precise modeling of the diffusion of the bone cement in osteoporotic bone and control over the injection process is of substantial importance. This paper presents a patient-specific fluid dynamics model to simulate the diffusion of the bone cement inside femur. The model is based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method for particle-based modeling of fluids. The Navier-Stokes equations were built into the SPH formulations and viscosity effects were added to model the flow of cement inside porous media. To validate the model, a new prototype automatic injection device was used to inject acrylic silicone into a porous foam block. Results of simulation of the injection show close matching with experimental data. The model is therefore promising for further development of optimized and fully controlled femoroplasty procedures.© 2010 ASME


Mechanical vibration is an important cause of the large-sized rugged military LCD module for damage,in order to improve the quality of the rugged LCD,we need to analyze the LCD module's force 、energy transmission and distribution in the strong vibration case,in this study,firstly,according to the structure of the LCD module,we built up a box-type by 4 plates,through energy strength and transmission,we studied the vibration of the large size rugged military LCD module.Through the above analysis,we knew the mechanical vibration energy mainly distribution and the location of the formants,the results showed that the force in the direction perpendicular to the coupling edge was strongest,and on this basis,we proposed a set of feasible solutions.This study results provided a theoretical basis for further improvements in the quality of the LCD screen.


The utility model relates to a gas-phase esterification and deacidification protection device for biodiesel. The device comprises a feed heater, an esterification kettle and a gas-liquid separation tower. The feed heater adopts a tubular heat exchanger, one end of the tubular heat exchanger is connected with a methanol feed pump, the other end of the tubular heat exchanger is connected with the bottom of the esterification kettle, and methanol is gasified through the heater and introduced into the esterification kettle through the bottom of the kettle. The esterification kettle is provided with a jacket heating system, a stirring device is arranged at the top of the kettle, a grease raw material and a catalyst are arranged in the kettle, and the gas-phase methanol is introduced to a methanol rectification device through the gas-liquid separation tower at the top of the kettle. The gas-liquid separation tower adopts a packed tower, acid-containing grease droplets and acid-containing catalyst droplets included in the gas-phase methanol pass through the gas-liquid separator, liquid is captured and flows back to the esterification kettle along the tower, and the water-containing gas-phase methanol passes through the gas-liquid separation tower and then enters a methanol rectification system. The gas-phase esterification and deacidification protection device disclosed by the utility model can accelerate reaction, protect equipment and reduce corrosion.


Garlic pulp is a very important spice with many therapeutic properties, well known all over the world. The Sudanese garlic has strong odour compared to other imported varieties and studies on it are scant. The in vitro antibacterial investigation using disc-diffusion method revealed that garlic has effective antibacterial activity against most tested bacteria and it was a competitor to the antibiotic (Chloramphenicol). However, its efficacy was much higher against the gram-positive bacteria. The highest susceptible gram-positive bacteria was Staphylococcus epidermidis (27.5±4.5mm), followed by Staphylococcus saprophyticus (20.5±0.5), Staphylococcus aureus (20.5±0.5mm), Bacillus cereus (18.5±0.5mm) and Streptococcus pneumonia (15.0±1.0mm), respectively. While, the most susceptible gram-negative bacteria was Escherichia coli (14.0±0.0mm) and Shigella flexsneri (14.0±1.0mm), followed by Proteus vulgaris (12.5±0.5mm), and Klebsiella pneumonia (10.0±1.0mm), respectively. Only Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not show any susceptibility toward garlic juice. The use of fresh garlic pulp in the daily dietary habits, particularly in developing countries, unhygienic areas and rural cantons, may lead to minimizing the probability of spread of bacterial diseases in these areas.Â


The problem of rainfall over Egypt has been investigated.

The distribution of annual amounts of rainfall is given and remarkable variations along the Mediterranean coast are discussed.

Winter is the season of rain in the north of Egypt, but in the south (Upper Egypt), two main seasons are found, namely, May and October.

The diurnal variation of rain of two coastal stations and one inland station is given and discussed.

Warm-front rain practically does not occur, and cold-front rain forms only a small proportion of the total amount and occasions of rain. Most rainfall is found to be non-frontal and associated with upper cold troughs (or lows) which seem to play an important role, not only in Egypt, but all over the Eastern Mediterranean.

Rainy situations in each season are discussed. It is found that, in winter, rain is generally associated with Mediterranean depressions, but when these depressions are not associated with upper cold troughs, they move quickly with very little precipitation. In the spring and autumn, however, rain is usually associated with small desert lows with cold upper lows or troughs.


Cyclometalation of bis(di-tert-butylphosphino)pentane (DtBPP) and subsequent product dehydrogenation take place in reactions of DtBPP with [OsCl6]2- and [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 to give the M(IV) dihydrides, MH2Cl[CH(C2H4PBut2)2], and the (alkylidene)osmium and (olefin)ruthenium complexes OsHCl[C(C2H4PBut2)2] and RuHCl[But2PCH2CH2((E)-CHCH)CH2PBut2].


Surface mining laws in South Dakota can put the rights of the surface owner in conflict with those of the mineral developer if the surface is owned by a private party. The author discusses the origin of severed estates, minerals owned privately or by government entities, theories of recovery for damages, and types and measures of damages. The trend of the law in these areas suggests that the historical concept of the dominance of the mineral estate is still alive and well, although the courts have restricted and qualified those rights through the doctrine of reasonable necessary use, the due regard or accommodation doctrine, the least destructive alternative approach, and the balancing of the respective interests of the surface and mineral owners. The courts use these qualifying doctrines to soften the dominant mineral estate concept by applying equitable principles on an individual care basis.


A reduction in nephron number leads to "hyper" glomerular filtration and increases risk for renal injury. Children born with a solitary functioning


In the research period, the nurses in the vaccination centres invited all mothers with children aged 7-8 months to participate in the study and the vast majority expressed an interest. Infants were excluded if they had had severe illness in the neonatal or research period, had a birthweight below 2500 g, had a non-Spanish parent, or if they were being breastfed, as this would have complicated the daily nutrient intake calculations. In addition, only families with a freezer and where babies were given home-prepared meals were considered. A few further cases were excluded because the mother could not be contacted, or because the mother thought collaboration would be too time-consuming. Although the total amount of protein per meal was the same for both the home-made and the commercial baby meals, the energy provided by the home-made meals was lower than that of the commercial meals. The energy deficit was compensated for by the use of other, often proteincontaining foods. The mother kept a 24-h food diary. Average daily energy and protein intake are detailed in Table 1. The mean energy intake is in agreement with energy recommendations for children of 7-8 months old, whereas the mean protein intake far exceeds the recommendations (4-6), which include a safety margin to cover even the protein needs of those children with high requirements . We see no objections to using guidelines intended for commercial baby meals for home-made meals, as both should provide the same energy and nutrients to the child. Olive oil has indeed been added to baby meals for years in Spain, and 61% of our sample contained olive oil. The amount of oil added, however, was insufficient, resulting in a low fat and energy content. Sierra et al. make the same observation. No conclusions can be made on the clinical implications of our observations, as it is impossible to evaluate the influence of one single food or meal on parameters of growth. The results of this study, however, should be made widely known to make paediatricians more aware of the correct preparation of home-made baby meals. Further studies on this subject are needed.


the relations between a university predominantly clerical and a borough. None can be summarised in a short review; one can but recommend the reader to draw his own conclusions from them, adding that they are not likely to differ materially from Dr. Elton's sober and witty estimates. Some details call for criticism. It is misleading to suggest (198) that in medieval times royal writs could normally be 'kept out' of a franchise; 'return of all writs and the execution of them' had always been the normal limit of franchisal privilege. William Stevyn's words against his enemy, Gold, are perhaps not quite so obscure as Dr. Elton thinks; they look like a picturesque accusation of fornication (190). If George Whelplay, as is suggested (chapter 3), made little or nothing by his informing it is difficult to see how he paid his agents. Three misprints have been noticed: 'ligendo' for 'ligando', 'degrees' for 'decrees' and '1637' for '1537' (21, 53, 118). Finally, is it the author's Cambridge associations which make him prefer the spelling 'Boccardo' for the more familiar 'Bocardo' ?


This paper presents a case study of the Sutter Medical Center project in Castro Valley, California (SMCCV). This project's commercial terms are established in an Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA). This project stands out in several ways. One is the way in which the team used visualization tools to create transparency and to establish a common goal for the team. Another one is how the integrated team worked hand-in-hand with representatives of the state permitting agency to develop strategies and work methods to implement the Phased Plan Review (PPR) process. PPR is one option the team and the agency could pursue in unison to result in permitting for construction of this healthcare facility. This paper details the project delivery's operating system the team put in place in order to obtain increased certainty in the project's design, permitting, and construction phases. It includes examples regarding the actions team participants took to achieve this objective and relates these actions to lean principles they reinforced throughout their application.


The intention is to present an strategic to teachers who intend to work in Early Childhood Education, Elementary School and High School, activities that work with the four artistic languages (Visual Arts, Music, Dance and Theater), as many educators believe that children should only play in Early Childhood Education. , but playing (playful) is the means by which they learn, so adding learning objectives in the games, thus taking advantage of the reading of the world that they already have, becomes necessary and Art is such an important subject for the development of children as much both in the social and in the moral, not only in the first segment, but in all Basic Education. For this, bibliographic research will be used on the National Curriculum References for Early Childhood Education (RCNei), Curricular Parameters of Arts (PCN of Arts), Law of Directives and Bases (LDB), Arouca (2012), Barbieri (2012), Zagonel (Org) (2013), Barbosa (2006), these documents and authors address the arts in Basic Education that will help to base a methodology for the education of students, as their knowledge inspires and provokes readers to seek new knowledge in the arts. It is known that Art is present in the daily life of schools, but little explored, as many teachers use music, drawings and other activities to fill their time in classrooms. This research sought foundations on the students' perception when they observe the colors, textures, movements, sounds and figures around them that contribute to their social, affective, emotional and psychomotor development.


7 Energy Supply 7.1 The Nature of Energy 7.2 Evaluation of the Performance of Desalination Plants 7.3 Reverse Osmosis and Energy Recovery 7.4 Specific Primary Energy Consumption 7.5 Renewable Energies 8 Pre-Treatment and Post-Treatment 8.1 Reasons for Pre-Treatment and Post-Treatment 8.2 Classification of Raw Water 8.3 Seawater Relevant Parameters 8.4 Limiting Factors 8.5 Conventional Pre-Treatment Strategies 8.6 Future Trends in Pre-Treatment 8.7 Post-Treatment and Potabilisation


of reorientation admissible ED patients between March 2017 and August 2017. Patient safety was evaluated with patient follow-up phone interviews one week after their visit to the ED to identify the number of patients who needed to return to a medical facility after their reorientation. Patient satisfaction with the reorientation program was evaluated during the same follow-ups. Results: Of the 980 reoriented patients interviewed, only 57 (5.9%; 95% con fi dence interval [CI] 4.57.5) had to unexpectedly go back to a health care facility. None of these returns were for severe complications. Over 84% of the reoriented patients were satis fi ed with their reorientation and 89% say they would use this program again. Having a transportation problem was most common reason mentioned by patients for refusing to be reoriented. Conclusion: Reorientation to medical clinics using a new computer-based algorithm was safe and no case of urgent return was seen during the 6-month study period. In addition, patients who were reoriented to medical clinics were satis fi ed by their treatment experience. Methods: A retrospective single centre cross-sectional chart review examining adult patients presenting to the ED of a major trauma centre who: a) require trauma team activation or consultation and b) have a MVC related injury. Of those charts meeting these criteria, the proportion of patients with positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was compared between the year before and the four years after implementation of the new legislation. Patients were identi fi ed using electronic medical record logs. We compared the proportion of impaired drivers by year using the SPSS software package and conducted an interrupted time series analysis in order to determine whether the implementation of the law directly affected the measured outcomes. Results: 1470 total MVC related trauma patients were identi fi ed during the study period (468 prior to legislation implementation [2010-2012] and 1002 after [2012-2016]). The proportion of drivers with BAC de fi ned as legally impaired decreased signi fi cantly over this time period (p = 0.003). Based on preliminary interrupted time series analysis we cannot conclude that the implementation of the new laws led to this signi fi cant change (p = 0.524). When analyzing drivers between 16 to 25 years old, we noted a non-signi fi cant but notable decrease in the proportion of impaired drivers from 45.9% in 2011 to 21.1% in 2016 (p = 0.173). Conclusion: While an impact was not seen immediately following the implementation of Alberta ' s new impaired driving legislation, the proportion of impaired drivers requiring trauma team activation has decreased signi fi cantly since enactment of the new legislation from 28.9% in 2011 to 16.9% in 2016. However, based on interrupted time series analysis we cannot conclude the new legislation independently in fl uenced this change. The impact of other factors including public education, societal preferences and generational changes cannot be excluded. There continues to be a dramatic decrease in the proportion of impaired drivers presenting with MVC related trauma under 25 years old This has not yet reached statistical signi fi cance probably due to small sample size but the trend is most prominent in this age group. Introduction: (TLP) effectively (ED) overcrowding, support for these is patchy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of a TLP-like ED Disposition and Care Consultant (EDC) shift at an academic tertiary care ED. Methods: A 24-week pilot project was conducted 11/16-04/17. Physicians worked 8- hour day (07-15:00) and/or evening (15:00-23:00) EDC shifts and performed immediate triage and patient care when needed, assisted triage RNs, answered all incoming calls, and managed administrative matters. Due to their voluntary nature, not all shifts were fi lled. This study compared active (EDC) and control (C) shifts on the following ED metrics: length of stay (LOS), proportions of patients who left without being seen (LWBS), and safety (return visits to ED). Descriptive (median and interquartile range {IQR} and proportions) and simple (Wilcoxson-Mann-Whitney, chi-square, z-proportion) tests are presented for con-tinuous and dichotomous outcomes, respectively. Multiple linear regression identi fi ed factors associated with LOS. Results: Of 112 possible EDC shifts, 58 (52%) were fi lled involving 4289 patients and compared to 276 C shifts involving 21,358 patients. ED volume, patient age (49; IQR: 31, 66), mode of arrival (~30% EMS), triage levels (~51% level 3), and complaints were similar between the groups. Overall, the EDC group reduced LWBS by 16% (8.7% vs. 10.4%; p = 0.001), ED LOS for discharged patients by 30 minutes (5.5 vs. 6.0 hours; p < 0.001), and ED LOS for admitted patients by 42 minutes (9.7 vs. 10.4 hours; p = 0.02). The EDC increased the proportion discharged < 4 hours by 28% (20.1 vs. 15.7%; p < 0.001) and increased the proportion admitted < 8 hours by 17% (8.2% vs. 9.6%, p = 0.002). ED relapses < 72 hours were similar (9.3% vs. 8.9%; p = 0.4); however, admissions were higher in the EDC shifts (25.3% vs. 23.8%; p = 0.04). In addition to EDC coverage status, LOS was in fl uenced by triage level (1.7%, p < 0.001), disposition (19.6%, p < 0.001), and age (4.8%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Our results indicate that an EDC shift, while unpopular with many physicians, pro-vides valuable services to an overcrowded ED and that the implementation of this type of shift could reduce LOS and LWBS statistics in a tertiary care institution. Additional evaluations to examine this and other front-end interventions in other ED centers are indicated. https://www.cambridge.org/core. (R2 = 45%) for EP resource utilization than adjusted workload measurement (R2 = 35%). Higher use of CT was associated with fewer return visits in < 48 hrs (0.13% lower). Male gender, younger age, number of patient consultation for CTAS 3 and fewer patients seen by a learner were all associated with an increase in return visits. Conclusion: We found a signi fi cant difference in pt/hr rates and return visits within 48 hours between EPs with different age ranges, gender, and EM certi fi cation. Increased use of CT scan and x-ray, and consultation for patients CTAS 3 were associated with lower pt/hr. Return visit rates also varied in association with diagnostic imagine use, age, gender and number of patients seen by a learner. Further research is needed to assess the association with these variables on quality of care. evidence (LOE) was assigned using the 2011 Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria. Results: All abstracts (1090) from 2014-2017 have been analyzed thus far. Inter-rater agreement for data extraction was high ( value 0.85). 17.1% (186/1090) of abstracts presented at the conference had a corresponding full text publication in the peer-reviewed literature. Articles were published in 102 different journals, with the greatest number of publications in the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine (CJEM) (15.1%, 28/186), followed by Academic Emergency Medicine (10.2%, 19/186). The mean time to publication was 51 weeks (95% CI 43,59). 30.6% (57/186) of published abstracts had statistically positive fi ndings, while 10.8% (20/186) had negative fi ndings. A signi fi cant difference was present between publication fi ndings and publication status (p < 0.0001, chi-squared). 68.8% (128/186) of published articles were of level III evidence. A statistical difference was found between LOE and publication status (p < 0.0001, chi-squared). Conclusion: A large number of abstracts presented at CAEP are presently unpublished. There may be a publication bias in the literature as a greater number of studies with positive fi ndings have been published. Additionally, two-thirds of studies published are of level III evidence. An increasing emphasis should be placed in publishing studies with higher levels of evidence, and more studies with negative fi ndings. of a of a to represent a of triage manual), practices and ED census An CTAS on-duty triage nurses in the and assigned independent CTAS in assistants not involved in the triage process recorded the triage time. Interrater agreement was estimated using unweighted and quadratic-weighted kappa statistics with 95% con fi dence intervals (CIs). 1200 (738 pre-eCTAS, 462 post-implementation) individual CTAS assessments were audited over 33 (21 pre-eCTAS, post-implementation) seven-hour triage shifts. Exact modal


A six-switch three-phase inverter is widely used in a high-power grid-connected system. However, the antiparallel diodes in the topology operate in the hard-switching state under the traditional control method causing severe switch loss and high electromagnetic interference problems. In order to solve the problem, this paper proposes a topology of the traditional six-switch three-phase inverter but with an additional switch and gave a new space vector modulation (SVM) scheme. In this way, the inverter can realize zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation in all switching devices and suppress the reverse recovery current in all antiparallel diodes very well. And all the switches can operate at a fixed frequency with the new SVM scheme and have the same voltage stress as the dc-link voltage. In grid-connected application, the inverter can achieve ZVS in all the switches under the load with unity power factor or less. The aforementioned theory is verified in a 30-kW inverter prototype.


In order to perform the quantitative analysis with the combined effects of factors such as population growth,economic development and environmental pollution on water environment,the Vensim software modeling system dynamics were selected.In this study,we selected the technology of "social economy-water-discharge load" system dynamics simulation and the population,gross domestic product(GDP),chemical oxygen demand(COD),ammonia nitrogen load as the indicators of water resources carrying capacity.The population model,economic development model,COD model and ammonia model in water environment subsystem were built.By the consistency test,the acquired values with historical data relative error were within the range of 3%,and could reflect the actual evolution of the system.The result could be used for simulation.By using established water environment bearing capacity of the system model,we could not only simulate the status but also analyze the development trend of environmental carrying capacity for the Baita River basin.The measures were raised to improve the water environment carrying capacity such as increasing the point source reduction rate,improving the overall quality of the population,adjusting the proportion of watershed industrial composition of the workforce.


ABSTRACT In this paper the general order kinetics (GOK) equation has been derived using the probability theory. The advantage of using the probability theory to derive the GOK equation is that it does not require the quasiequilibrium equation. Secondly, it helps in determining the range of α, which is , and lastly it helps in finding the mathematical error of the May and Partridge GOK equation.


In order to investigate the regulatory effects of root-cutting and earth-up on growth and development of peanut and enrich theoretical and technical basis for peanut cultivation.A field experiment under mulching was conducted to study the effects of three treatments(root-cutting,earth-up,rootcuttingearth-up)on the photosynthetic characteristics and dry matter accumulation of peanut.The results showed:earth-up strictly increased leaf chlorophyll content,net photosynthetic rate,leaf area index,stem,leaf and pod dry matter weight after treating,and sometimes it reached a significant level.Root-cutting all first restricted and then promoted the leaf chlorophyll content,net photosynthetic rate,leaf area index,stem,leaf and pod dry matter weight.Root-cuttingearth-up showed the positive effects by taking advantages of root-cutting and earth-up,and promoted the accumulation of dry matter of peanut pods significantly.


59 REF: 11003413 Introduction:Situational awareness is at the core of high reliability organizations. Identification of errors, safety concerns, and near misses is critical for improving patient outcomes especially in multi-center institutions. Our objective was to implement a department-wide voluntary self-reporting anonymous program to improve SA, enhance leadership skills and to identify possible interventions and education opportunities. Methods:A secure one-page secure web based voluntary reporting form was created and activated in 11/2016. Ten primary fields:clinical service, affiliated hospital, location of event, diagnosis, procedure performed, description of event, category of event (technical,equipment/supplies,policies,process or environment,operations,professionalism,other), and safety category (no harm,adverse event-no harm,adverse event-temporary harm,adverse event-permanent harm,adverse event-death,other) were collected. All data was de-identified, aggregated, and reviewed by department oversight committee with hospital affiliate attending, staff and trainee representation. More than two events across the affiliates resulted in evaluation of possible contributing human or system factors. Lessons learned and improvement opportunities were reported in aggregated form monthly at Grand Rounds. Results:65 reports were submitted through 12/2017 with a plateau of 10 reports/month. Faculty submitted 89% of the reports. 50% were from the private affiliate, 28% from the VA and 22% from the county. 67% of the events were reported from OR, and 16% from SICU. Reports were regarding hospital policies/processes/environmental issues(36%), equipment malfunction(34%), Judgment(10%) and communication failure(10%). 48% of reports resulted in no patient-harm, 22%-adverse event-no harm, 15%-adverse event-temporary harm and 4%-adverse event-permanent harm. Information gained identified common human and system factors across the affiliates that if considered individually would not have triggered an intervention. Conclusions: Department-wide self-reporting of errors and safety issues improved situational awareness for residents and faculty, allowed for similar events at different hospitals to be reported resulting in educational interventions, and reports to hospital leadership all improving the delivery of safe and quality care to patients. Improving resident reporting is being investigated.


The purpose of this paper was to analyze the role of illustrations in elementary textbooks (3~4 grade) of the 2009 revised curriculum of science education in Korea from point of view of aim of science by applying the criteria of 5E inquiry process model for reflecting core aim of the science education. The subjects of the paper was the 105 illustrations in the earth-science domain of elementary science textbooks (3~4 grade) of the 2009 revised curriculum of science education in Korea. The analysis criterion was of two categories, the function of illustration and the role of illustration. the function of illustration was divided into three subcategories such as Exclusiveness type, correspondence type and supplementary type. The role of illustration was divide into five subcategories such as Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation. According to results of the illustration analysis are as follows: the result of the function of illustration are exclusiveness type 39, correspondence type 36 and supplementary type 30, the important of point to note is that there are a lot of exclusiveness type considerably. compared with other subjects, this fact indicate character of illustration of the only science textbook. The result of the role of illustration are Engagement 14, exploration 64, explanation 25, elaboration 2 and evaluation 0. This data indicate main role of illustrations in earth-science domain is to help the students to be able to observe and explore. Cross-analysis of the function and role was a significant difference. Role of illustration was evenly distributed within Exclusiveness type on the other hand, the role of illustrations was mainly exploration and explanation in correspondence and supplementary type. Especially, illustration of exploration was mainly correspondence type.


Reiter's disease is a condition of unknown aetiology and in its generally recognized form is a triad consisting of urethritis, arthritis, and conjunctivitis. With increasing knowledge a number of characteristic though less constant features have been added to the clinical picture. However, many patients show only two of the cardinal features (commonly urethritis and arthritis), but the -subsequent course is similar to the fully developed -condition, and it is generally assumed that these are variants of a single disease entity. The condition may follow bacillary dysenteries, non-specific diarrhoea, or venereally acquired urethritis, and it most commonly affects young men. Its outstanding feature is acute arthritis, which usually involves several joints and may show a rapid evolution; it has thus some resemblance to rheumatic fever, and this had led investigators to search -for cardiac lesions.


Since the recent security breach requires the intensification of security management, the documents, describing the best practice of security management, are published by experts. However, the implementations of all best practice are tough because of the cost and the difficulty of cost-effective security investment. This paper discusses the security management theory with cyber risk insurance, especially the effectiveness of cyber risk insurance by Monte Carlo simulation approach.


This paper evaluates the nature of stock market volatility in Africa after the global financial crisis. Specifically, the paper examines volatility clustering and volatility asymmetry in aftermath of the global financial crisis for Botswana, Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BRVM), Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia. The paper employs autoregressive asymmetric generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (AR(i)-GJR-GARCH(1,1)) model. The major findings are as follows: (i) there is evidence of volatility clustering in Africa stock markets returns after the global financial crisis, although with varying degrees; (ii) there is existence of volatility persistence in the African stock market returns after the global financial crisis except for few countries, which are not very persistent; (iii) after the global financial crisis, Africa stock markets returns are asymmetric, with negative shocks producing higher volatility in the immediate future than positive shocks of the same magnitude in some countries, and positive shocks producing higher volatility in other countries. The findings provide comparative basis for assessing market patterns, predicting market risk, and gauging market sentiment in Africa stock markets, as well as provide foreign portfolio managers required evidence for harvesting volatility through portfolio rebalancing for optimal performance.


Some neuropsychological studies of brain damaged patients presenting memory deficits suggest that working memory directly contribute to the long-term learning of non-familiar phonological structures. It seems that a phonological store impairment leads to problems in learning new words (Baddeley, Papagno & Vallar, 1988). Gathercole and Baddeley (1993) studies of normal young children lead to the same conclusion. Phonological short-term memory abilities of 4-5 years-old children directly influence lexical acquisition. Children who exhibit the higher phonological memory skills produce higly discriminable and stable phonological memory traces. For these children, there is a greater probability that memory traces become durable and semanticaly linked to the referent. One can then conclude that the phonological shortterm memory abilities directly influence the way young children acquired new vocabulary items. A study of memory abilities and lexical knowledge of Down's syndrome subjects (mental age:3;5 to 5;4 years old, chronological age: 8;10 to 25;11 years old) lead us to the following conclusion: in Down's syndrome subjects, as well as in normal subjects, one cannot reject the hypothesis that lexical knowledge are linked to the subjects phonological short-term memory abilities and more specially to nonword repetition. Down's syndrome: verbal short-term memory abilities and lexical knowledge -3-


Bob Barnes FIMarEST, director of consulting engineers and naval architects Robert Barnes & Co (and Chairman of the Institute's Small Ship Group Committee) recalls his encounters with the hydrogen peroxide submarine.


The proposition of the cultural consciousness of curriculum is the summary of the curriculum's historical experiences,the requirement of the curriculum revolution,and the necessity of the present curriculum research,while adhering to it has a great theoretical value and realistic significance on the construction of harmonious curriculum culture and the establishment of development of scientific curriculum value.Truly advance the cultural consciousness of curriculum,the scientific development view must be hold.At the same time,we need to correctly deal with the relationship of inheriting and innovation,borrowing and critique,and toward to a road of native independently.


Management of the trauma patient has a lot of different demands in the work of the anaesthesiologist. Guidelines for the treatment of brain injured patients (causing, e.g. elevated intracranial pressure), management of thorax trauma patients (adverse effect on ventilation or circulation) or treatment of those with abdominal trauma (severe blood loss and haemorrhagic shock) have to be known [1–4]. Routine anaesthesiological skills (intubation, setting up central venous or arterial lines) should be done qickly and in a safe way. It is extremely important that interaction with other disciplines (neurosurgery, radiology, chest and abdominal surgery) should be performed efficiently [5].

With one group of anaesthetists (residents and consultants) with different experience in emergency room management (all members of the Department of Anesthesiology, University School of Medicine, Mainz, Germany) we trained theoretically and practically on a full-scale simulator in a realistic environment setting a guideline-oriented trauma-patient treatment. After a determined time, we compared any improvement of theoretical and practical skills in emergency room management with another group, which only had theoretical lessons in emergency room management.

The aim of this study was to show that theoretical and practical training of anaesthesiologists (with different experiences and educational background) on a full-scale simulator in a realistic environment setting improves knowledge of head, chest and abdominal trauma management and it can help to make therapeutic decisions faster and safer than theoretical training alone.


Classroom action research (CAR) is very important to be carried out by a teacher. However, it was found that very few teachers conducted classroom action research. This research is quantitative descriptive. The research aims to identify the teacher's initial ability to carry out the practice of classroom action research. The research subjects were math teachers of the Merauke consisting of 60 teachers. Data collection techniques using interview, questionnaire and observation methods. Analysis of research data with data reduction methods, data presentation and conclusion drawing. The results showed that 73% of teachers had never carried out CAR, 27% had implemented CAR. Most teachers, 85% said that CAR is very important and must be carried out by every teacher. There are still very high teachers who find it difficult to implement CAR, which is 81.7% with average difficulties for the CAR title component (30%) and Library (23.3%). The main need that is urgently needed immediately is mentoring CAR theory understanding (41.7%), proposal preparation assistance (36.7%) and CAR practice assistance (20%). The training model desired by the teacher is a workshop (40.1%) and practicum (31.8%).


We describe recent progress in the theory of the QT distribution in the Drell‐Yan process for 0?QT2≲Q2. The basic theoretical result is in transverse position (b) space. In this talk we discuss in some detail how to get from b‐space to QT‐space.


Annotation: The article focuses on the innovative results of the European Union and Slovakia and their subsequent comparison. In developed economies, innovation is the main driver of achieving the competitiveness of society as well as countries. Achieving the economic development of society and countries requires radical innovations that change habits and have an impact on job creation and regional development. This article helps improve tracking of innovation performance issues.


The authors have examined 30 children from triplet pregnancies aged 18 months to 16.5 years. The group included 20 girls and 10 boys. Triplet pregnancy was found to be, in the average, the fourth consecutive preg nancy in mothers. Physical and mental development was assessed. It was found that 60°/ 0 of children showed a physical development below the appropriate norm for their age. In 83% of the children under examination mental age ranged below chronological age. 3. The mental development was assessed by Psyche-Cattell and Terman-Merrill Development Scale; mental age and intelligence quotients were determined in this investigation. The mental age was compared with the chronological age, and the intelligence quotients with the normal level. 4. All children were subjected to thorough physical examinations and fundamental laboratory analyses were carried out. ABO blood groups and Rh factor were established in all children and in the parents when possible.


For a connected graph G , the reciprocal degree distance is defined as RDD ( G ) = (cid:80) u,v ∈ V ( G ) (cid:0) d G ( u ) + d G ( v ) (cid:1)(cid:0) 2 d G ( u, v ) (cid:1) − 1 , where d G ( u ) denotes the degree of a vertex u in G and d G ( u, v ) represents the distance between the vertices u and v in G . In this paper, upper bounds for the reciprocal degree distance of graphs, arising from four operations introduced by Eliasi and Taeri in [ Discrete Appl. Math. 157 (2009) 794–803], are provided.


This document defines the methodologies for benchmarking performance
of PBB-EVPN.PBB-EVPN is defined in RFC 7623. It is being deployed in
provider network.This document provides the benchmarking methodologies
for PBB-EVPN convergance,data plane,control plane learning of mac.


Increased speleological activity in the last 20 years has led to the discovery of 5,000 karst caves and shafts, concentrated mainly in the Caucasus, the Crimea and the Gissar-Alay mountain system of Soviet Central Asia. The largest caves and deepest shafts of the USSR are identified, and their basic characteristics are listed. The author discusses the position of portals, the character of the watersheds feeding the undergound streams, the morphology of the cavities, the rate of flow of underground streams, the chemical composition of the water, and the mutual arrangement of karst cavities.


ABSTRACT Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has tremendous potential for manufacturing geometrically complex metallic products with freedom of design and desirable performance. Qualification and certification are critical to ensuring the successful adoption of metal AM by various sectors and accelerating the standardisation progress. This article provides a comprehensive review on the status of standardisation and challenges for the qualification and certification of metal AM, which is a timely summary to bridge the readiness gap between metal AM technologies developed at academia and industry. It begins with introducing fundamentals of metal AM qualification and certification. Thereafter, the status of standards, rules, and regulations developed by international organisations and communities is summarised and discussed. The challenges are then addressed, including the qualification and certification process, materials, process reliability and repeatability, post-processing, data, and standards and protocols. Finally, the conclusion and future outlook are drawn to provide guidance for future research and development.


This article argues that, contrary to its detractors, essentialism is a necessary concept in understanding resistance to managerial discourses. The article first suggests that essentialism, under a critical realist framing, need not suffer from the reductionism or determinism found in many 19th and 20th Century essentialized accounts of the self, arguing instead that the concept adds analytical power to explanatory theorizing. Next, taking three common post-Foundational presentations of resistance to managerialist discourses, the article proposes that, despite protestations to the contrary, each relies on essentialist representations of both discourse and the self. The article then seeks to tackle the 'problem' of essentialism head-on by showing its potential for both framing resistance and building bridges between the post-Foundational, realist and natural worlds.


We report a patient with multiple myeloma who was treated with pamidronate disodium every 3 weeks for 18 months without any other chemotherapeutic agents. Pamidronate therapy resulted in a marked reduction of marrow plasmacytosis and serum paraprotein levels, and recovery from anemia together with an increase in bone mineral density (BMD). To our knowledge, this is only the third report in which bisphosphonates showed anti-myeloma effects in humans and the result suggests that the compound has a clinically useful anti-tumor effect.


Sue Fawn Chung is associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is an advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a member of the NTHP's Diversity Council, and an advisor to Preserve Nevada, the statewide preservation organization. Priscilla Wegars is the founder and volunteer curator of the University of Idaho's Asian American Comparative Collection, a repository of artifacts and documentary materials essential for the study of Asian American archaeological sites, economic contributions, and cultural history. Andrea Louie, former senior writer in the Office of College Information at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, is now Communications Manager for a United Nations-affiliated humanitarian organization in New York City. She is co-editor of an anthology, Topography of War: Asian American Essays (The Asian American Writers' Workshop, 2006), and the author of a novel, Moon Cakes (Ballantine Books, 1995). She is currently on the literature review panel of the New York State Council for the Arts and was a 2005 Holt Rinehart & Winston literature research fellow for Asian American youth.


The new Quebec conflict rules relating to the civil union, triggered by a
gust ofliberalism have not sufficiently taken root. The Quebec courts now
have a newcategory distinctfrom marriage, which, when certain criteria
are present, should permit the recognition offoreign institutions such as
the partnership. Nevertheless since the choice ofconnectingfactors does not represent a real and substantial connection with the situation, their
decisions will likely create "limping" unions, without effect in the social
setting ofthepersons concerned, since the substantial validity ofthe civil
union is governed by the law of the place of solemnization. As a result,
practitioners called upon to intervene in a matter relating the civil union,
should inform their clients about the uncertain effects which the
institution may have in foreign jurisdictions where couples who were
united civilly in Quebee have their habitual residence.


In a language services industry currently feeling the pressure of ever-faster translation turn-around times, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) offers a variety of advantages for professional translators, yet also presents challenges. Anecdotal evidence shared on translators' community platforms support the former, but the latter has not received as much attention. This paper reports insights into professional translation practices with ASR, based upon a survey on the use of ASR as well as a study in a naturalistic setting. By examining which translation tasks professionals have been using ASR for, how successfully, and in which workflows, this article highlights some of the main advantages and disadvantages of ASR adoption in the professional translation world. The conclusion is that ASR has the potential to increase the productivity and creativity of the translation act, but the advantages can be overshadowed by a reduction in translation quality unless thorough revision processes are in place.


In this paper, we make 3D stereo backgrounds for a CAVE system from real world for users to feel more realistic. We take panorama photographs with the 3D sweep panorama™ functions and generate equirectangular panorama format image by stitching them manually. Finally 3D stereo background of CAVE is constructed using this panorama format image. We propose a generation method of 3D equirectangular panorama format image and background modeling of CAVE using these images.


network and development of multimedia technologies are becoming more popular, users are not satisfied with the traditional information retrieval techniques. so nowadays the content based image retrieval are becoming a source of exact and fast retrieval. In this paper the techniques of content based image retrieval are discussed, analysed and compared. It also introduced the feature like neuro fuzzy technique, color histogram, texture and edge density for accurate and effective Content Based Image Retrieval System.


We present a 27-year-old female patient received for epistaxis associated with gingivorrhagia. In her medical history, she had undergone an oesogastroduodenal fibroscopy one year earlier, which revealed a bulbar ulcer with gastritis. On admission, she presented with a bleeding syndrome, an anemic syndrome with poor hemodynamic tolerance, and epigastric sensitivity. The blood count performed in the emergency on the citrate tube showed a bicy-topenia (regenerative anemia + thrombocytopenia). The HELIKIT test was positive. Thus, the hypothesis of an acute immunological thrombocytopenic purpura associated with a Helicobacter pylori infection seemed to us the most probable with a Khellaf hemorrhagic score of 8. She had benefited from a bolus of methyl prednisone: 15 mg/kg/day for 3 days then relay per os with prednisone 1 mg/kg/day (and adjuvant treatment); the eradicating treatment of Helicobacter pylori had been simultaneously started.


Introduction: Environmental management systems (EMS) were used commonly by companies to control industrial impacts and support environmental sustainability. In achieving SDG's indicators to focuses on improving sustainable practices in the company environment, the government faces a tough challenge in increasing ISO 14001 certified companies. This study aimed to analyze the barriers and benefits of ISO 14001 certification in the industrial sector and recommend encouraging companies to carry out ISO 14001 certification. Methods: This study used a descriptive analysis method to identify the perception of ISO 14001 certified company practitioners of the certification barriers and benefits. Through survey questionnaires, data collection was conducted to 83 ISO14001 certified companies with a response rate of 49.4%. Results and Discussion: The main barrier in performing the ISO 14001 was the cost of implementation and certification. The highest benefit of ISO 14001 certification was to improve the company's image. A total of 83% of the companies believed that the benefits of ISO 14001 certification outweighed the costs incurred. Conclusion: The companies did not have significant barriers in conducting the ISO 14001 certification and classified into the medium category. The ISO 14001 certification could provide environmental sustainability, social, market, and economic benefits. The government needs to support the interest of companies in conducting the ISO 14001 implementation by overcoming the obstacles and maximizing the benefits. ORIGINAL RESEARCH Open Access


This article presents answers to five questions about molecules of water and air. In Chapter 1 of Volume 1 of The Feynman Lectures on Physics, Richard Feynman suggests that: "If in some cataclysm all scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generation of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis … that all things are made of atoms …."


We developed an enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) for quantitation of plasma cholinesterase substance concentrations in native plasma or serum samples. The ELISA assay is based on polyclonal (rabbit) antihuman cholinesterase and a highly specific monoclonal (mouse) antibody, with a commercially available peroxidase-conjugated (rabbit) antibody directed against mouse immunoglobulins as the signal carrier. The detected serum cholinesterase substance concentrations (mean: 4.51 mg/l, SD: 0.90 mg/l) in randomly selected serum samples from 33 healthy individuals were closely and linearly related to the corresponding catalytic activity concentrations.