1074 Background: Mutations in estrogen receptor 1 ( ESR1) confer resistance to aromatase inhibitors but may retain sensitivity to selective estrogen receptor degraders (SERD). Recently, elacestrant, an oral SERD, was approved for patients with HR+/HER2- ESR1mut metastatic breast cancer (MBC). In this study, we evaluated the genomic landscape of ESR1 alterations from a genomic database and also evaluated the impact of resistance-associated alterations on clinical outcomes. Methods: A large de-identified database of mutations detected in plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from patients with HR+/HER2- MBC was assessed for ESR1 mutations and resistance-associated co-alterations. We used the Guardant 360 assay, a 70- to 74-gene targeted next generation sequencing panel and applied a breast cancer subtype classifier based on detected mutations (Bardia A, SABCS 2020). In addition, clinical outcomes were evaluated from a clinically annotated institutional dataset, linking genomic alterations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) to single-agent SERD therapy for patients with MBC. Results: Among 11,456 patients with MBC and detectable cfDNA, 4,694 were classified as likely HR+/HER2-, of which 2,708 (58%) had ESR1 missense mutations, the majority of which occurred in the ligand binding domain (n = 2,690, 99%). Among the latter, alterations included 204 unique mutations, of which 55 were variants of uncertain significance (VUS). Multiple ESR1 mutations were detected in 979 (36%) patients. Among 567 patients classified as HR+/HER2- that underwent serial sampling, 136 (24%) had detectable ESR1 missense mutations that were previously undetectable. Within the ESR1mut population, 1,990 (74%) had co-existing non-synonymous, non-VUS alterations at genes associated with SERD resistance: PIK3CA (n = 1,330; 49%), ARID1A (n = 314; 12%), PTEN (n = 201; 7%), ERBB2 (n = 180; 7%), AKT1 (n = 139; 5%), and NF1 (n = 103; 4%); top amplifications were FGFR1 (n = 522; 19%), EGFR (n = 277; 10%), and MYC (n = 177; 7%). Among a clinically annotated HR+/HER2- subgroup (n = 350), 51 patients received SERD monotherapy, either fulvestrant (n = 9) or oral SERD on clinical trial (n = 42); among 28 patients with cfDNA variants associated with SERD resistance, median PFS and OS were lower compared to the 23 patients without resistance mutations (PFS: 2.4 vs 11.3 mo; HR = 0.44; 95% CI, 0.23-0.81; p = 0.008; and OS: 21.1 vs 31.4 mo; HR 0.47; 95% CI, 0.22-0.98; p = 0.045). Conclusions: ESR1 mutations that qualify patients to receive approved SERD therapy are detectable by plasma-based genotyping and can associate with various genomic co-alterations, including variants that may impact clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to confirm the impact of co-alterations in additional datasets and evaluate the role of SERD-based combination therapy to further improve clinical outcomes of patients with MBC.


Abstract Technology-supported applications have been found to improve cultural heritage tourism experiences. This paper raises the question of whether and how Virtual Reality technology is accepted as a means to communicate cultural heritage. The second iteration of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT 2) is employed to investigate factors driving the user intention to adopt the technology and the subsequent usage behavior. We find that technology acceptance is mainly driven by the level of enjoyment and entertainment the user experiences. Due to the novelty of the technology in the analyzed setting, technology usage intention has not yet converted into actual technology usage.


An overview of historical and contemporary issues surrounding the Cape Breton fiddle tradition of Nova Scotia and an introduction to a publication in progress.


The role of abnormal trading volume on the Italian Stock Market is investigated here. According to Fama's definition of Market Efficiency, no relevancy is left for trading volume. Prices fully reflect the whole firm information, so that extra trading investor's activity cannot have any informative power. In this paper, it is supposed that abnormal volumes can be considered as a signal for informed traders operating on the stocks and, as a consequence, this extra trading activity might lead to future extra-returns. Some evidence following this hypothesis is found on this paper. Abnormal trading volume, associated with no new announcements, tends to predict future abnormal returns and anticipates a new information release on stock market. A profitable possible portfolio strategy based on abnormal volume signals is also proposed and analysed.


Bus Arrival Time Information Service is a key component of Advanced Public Transportation System (APTS). Instantaneous and accurate prediction of bus arrival time can improve the quality of transit service and satisfaction of customer. Based on the collected automatic vehicle location (AVL) data, the variation of transit travel time on day of week and time of day was tested by non-parameter two-related sample tests to identify transit pattern. According to the analysis of transit running process, bus arrival time was divided into interzone link travel time and section travel time. A combined bus arrival time prediction model was promoted with a self adaptive exponential smoothing algorithm to predict interzone link travel time and two statistical algorithms for section travel time prediction based on the day-of-week and time-of-day pattern. An experiment was conducted to compare the performance between day-of-week and time-of-day pattern based prediction models with three measurements of performance, mean error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error. The prediction results show that the time-of-day pattern based model outperformed the day-of-week pattern based model in terms of accuracy, reliability and precision, which provides that it will be reasonable to use travel time in previous time-interval rather than historical data travel time for arrival time prediction in real-time application.


The conventional grid and power system infrastructure is monitored using a centralized approach. Wherein remote terminal units are governed using a master control facility. In the wake of dispersed generations where every consumer is also becoming a producer with solar powered PV panels or wind, managing power is becoming a difficult task. This situation can become unmanageable in an event of cyber-attack on a smart grid.The objective of this paper is to use Block Chain Technology (BCT) to manage data of a power system. Initially, we will consider an attack on a switch of SMIB and issues arising out of it. Then we model two more cases where, BCT will aid in management of power.


HE NEED TO DETERMINE THE NEUROTOXIC effects Of drugs and chemicals for risk assessment is a matter Of T considerable concern. It is widely recognized that numerous chemicals of diverse composition have the potential to cause adverse neurological effects.") Chemicals with neurotoxic action include active pesticide ingredients, industrial intermediates, drugs of abuse, therapeutic drugs, cosmetic ingredients, many naturally occumng substances, food additives, and environmental pollutants such as lead and mercury compounds. It is not surprising then that interest has been building to incorporate specific protocols for neurotoxicity testing in the safety evaluation of new drugs and chemicals.'2' Animal tests for this purpose can be complex and expensive because of the variety of potential target cells within the nervous system and the variety of effects possible with neurotoxicants. One way to reduce overall testing costs is to cull compounds that are unlikely to pass neurotoxicity tests in animals early on in the development process by using an in vitro test battery that can predict neurotoxic potential with reasonable fidelity. The present report is a short survey of the state of the art and an assessment of the prospects of achieving this objective.


The relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoarthritis (OA) remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the cross‐sectional associations between BMD at the total body, hip and spine and joint structural abnormalities including cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in patients with knee OA.


Introduction Few signalling molecules attract sufficient attention to warrant their own scientific field, but one such example is nuclear factorκB (NF-κB). NF-κB is an inducible dimeric transcription factor that comprises one or two of the five Rel family members: RelA (p65), c-Rel, RelB, NF-κB1 (p105, which is processed to p50) and NF-κB2 (p100, which is processed to p52). NF-κB is expressed ubiquitously, recognizes a common sequence motif, and regulates an exceptionally large number of genes in response to infections, inflammation and other stressful situations. Activation of this transcription factor is the hallmark of the innate immune response and, owing to the subsequent induction of cytokines, chemokines, specific enzymes and anti-microbial peptides, NFκB helps to construct the first line of defence against bacteria and fungi (Silverman & Maniatis, 2001). Furthermore, NF-κB has an important role in the development of the acquired immune system, mainly as a result of its anti-apoptotic effect (Li & Verma, 2002). Accordingly, loss of NF-κB function in mice and humans is associated with microbial susceptibility and uncontrolled infections in several organs. An intense research effort during the past decade has generated a detailed map of the NF-κB activation pathways (Fig 1). The canonical pathway converges on the IκB kinase (IKK) complex, which targets the three NF-κB inhibitory proteins (IκBα, β and ε) for β-TrCPmediated ubiquitylation and proteasomal destruction. Despite being relatively well-characterized, new aspects of the canonical pathway emerged at the Keystone meeting; for example, the discovery of ELKS, which is a missing component of the IKK complex (Fig 1A), and further clarification of the IKK-independent degradation of IκB in response to DNA damage (Fig 1C). Perhaps owing to the many inputs that activate NF-κB, new variations of the main activation theme are still being discovered. A notable example is the 'noncanonical pathway', which culminates in processing of the NF-κB2 precursor p100 in response to a distinct class of stimulants, particularly in B cells (Fig 1B; Ghosh & Karin, 2002; Dixit & Mak, 2002). Furthermore, it is becoming apparent that NF-κB activation involves several protein ubiquitylation–deubiquitylation events (and possibly ubiquitylation-like modifications), which regulate IKK and control both the processing and stability of the NF-κB precursors, and the degradation of all IκBs (Fig 1A; Ben-Neriah, 2002). Although NF-κB is particularly important during stressful conditions and tissue invasion by hostile microorganisms, it is sometimes overprotective and the host suffers the consequences. At this meeting, as well as making exciting advances in understanding the biology of this transcription factor, we learned a great deal about the pathology that is associated with the dysregulation of NF-κB, which ranges from skin inflammation and overgrowth to diabetes and cancer. The Lautenberg Center for Immunology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland Corresponding author. Tel: +972 2 675 8718; Fax: +972 2 642 4653; E-mail: email@example.com Corresponding author. Tel: +41 31 631 4315; Fax: +41 31 631 4887; E-mail: email@example.com


Cloud computing (CC) platform not only offers resource sharing for users and also provide many on-demand services. Business procedures can be managed to utilize the workflow technology on the cloud which signifies most of the problems in employing the resources in an effectual approach because of the dependencies between the tasks. Task scheduling (TS) in a CC platform applies to the procedure of effectively allocating resources computing to tasks or jobs submitted to the CC environment. In a cloud platform, tasks are separated as smaller subtasks that are applied in parallel on distinct machines. There are many features to consider if the TS is in CC platform, comprising the kind of tasks like resources cost, resources required, and resources availability. Therefore, this study presents a Hybrid Competitive Swarm Optimization Algorithm based Task Scheduling (HCSOA-TS) technique in the CC platform. The presented HCSOA-TS technique schedules the tasks proficiently in such a way that maximum resource utilization and performance gets accomplished. In the design of HCSOA, Cauchy mutation operator is included in the CSO algorithm and thereby improves the overall performance. In addition, the derivation of the fitness function by the HCSOA-TS technique undergoes optimal scheduling process and decreases energy usage. The experimental result analysis of the HCSOA-TS technique is tested using a series of measures. The comprehensive comparison study highlighted the improvements of the HCSOA-TS technique over recent approaches.


This paper draws upon the results of various research works undertaken between 1998 and 2007 in Indonesia while the author was working at the Centre for Poverty Alleviation through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA), in Bogor Indonesia. CAPSA, formerly the Coarse Grains, Pulses, Roots and Tubers (CGPRT) Centre is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It intends here to discuss the implications of the multiple dimensions of poverty based on field observations and to relate them to policy issues with a focus on poverty alleviation in rural areas and the role of agriculture in poverty alleviation. After setting the stage with a policy matrix framework, it raises a couple of challenges about poverty in rural areas with a focus on agriculture and then provide field based evidence of the role of agriculture in poverty alleviation and the conditions under which one might expect agriculture to significantly contribute to reducing poverty. Field evidence is largely based on Indonesian situations. In the final part of this paper the future challenges of poverty reduction are discussed with a forward looking anticipatory approach based on recent works the author analysed in his current position of Senior Foresight and Development Policies expert with the Executive Secretariat of the Global Forum on Agricultural research. The study of farm trajectories indicate that agriculture has potential as a buffer against crisis and shocks and therefore can contribute to rural poverty alleviation, but it is neither sufficient nor necessary. This is further confirmed by the case of tree crops showing what would be the requirements for a household to reach cross-generation resilience. With a case of secondary crops we see that it is possible to define a framework for poverty alleviation which is people- centered. All these cases converge towards a shift in the concept of battling poverty, switching from a growth-based technological paradigm to a human-centered understanding of the drivers of rural poverty. The analysis of foresight works, though not centered on poverty enables us to derive implications in terms of poverty reduction according to different scenarios. Thus, the role of social sciences and humanities is to contribute to our understanding of the transformations which are shaping the paths to the different scenarios and inform about the actions that would lead to one or another, so that the future state of poverty will not be longer the results of implicit effects of human agency but the results of explicit societal choices. (Resume d'auteur)


@Mercy They seem like completely different products to me.
Known is a CMS which allows you to own your data, then publish and syndicate it


The pattern of gene expression in the phenotype of an organism is determined in part by the dynamical attractors of the organism's gene regulation network. Changes to the connections in this network over evolutionary time alter the adult gene expression pattern and hence the fitness of the organism. However, the evolution of structure in gene expression networks (potentially reflecting past selective environments) and its affordances and limitations with respect to enhancing evolvability is poorly understood in general. In this paper we model the evolution of a gene regulation network in a controlled scenario. We show that selected changes to connections in the regulation network make the currently selected gene expression pattern more robust to environmental variation. Moreover, such changes to connections are necessarily 'Hebbian' – 'genes that fire together wire together' – i.e. genes whose expression is selected for in the same selective environments become co3regulated. Accordingly, in a manner formally equivalent to well3understood learning behaviour in artificial neural networks, a gene expression network will therefore develop a generalised associative memory of past selected phenotypes. This theoretical framework helps us to better understand the relationship between homeostasis and evolvability (i.e. selection to reduce variability facilitates structured variability), and shows that, in principle, a gene regulation network has the potential to develop 'recall' capabilities normally reserved for cognitive systems.


A shortlist of innovative ideas that promise to improve nurse efficiency, enhance patient care and reduce costs was compiled last week.


This mixed-method evaluation study examines relationships between the nature and characteristics of teachers' prior experiences and teachers' practice of standards-based instruction as a measure of instructional quality among alternatively certified mathematics and science teachers. The study found that career length, number of prior careers, and career relevance to subject area were not related to instructional quality. However, teachers with prior career experiences that were education-related practiced standards-based instruction to a greater degree than teachers with no education-relevant career experience. Implications of these findings for policy makers and practitioners are discussed.


The aim of this paper is to examine Romer (1993) hypothesis for a panel of 15 OECD countries over the 1993 to 2010 years. Hypothesis of Romer (1993) implies inverse relationships between degree of economic openness and inflation. Is it possible that economic globalization and higher degree of openness have been helping to drive down inflation? We use the economic dimension of KOF index as a proxy for economic globalization. A non-stationary panel technique and DOLS estimator employed to achieve this purpose. The results of empirical analysis indicate inverse relationship between economic globalization and inflation, so the Romer (1993) hypothesis supported by finding of present study.


Mwea irrigation scheme presents itself as the most hard-hit with climate change impacts particularly drought; Mwea is endowed with modern irrigation infrastructure for rice production, though the watering practice meant to equitably allow every farm with crops to access water effectively and efficiently. In order for all crops in every farm to benefit equitably from such irrigation, therefore, watering of crops in the farms needs scheduling. In that view, therefore, an experiment was set out at KALRO-Mwea to investigate the effect of irrigation scheduling on growth parameters of two Nerica rice varieties. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design in split-plot arrangement replicated thrice. It was justifiable to adopt this design for purposes of controlling variation in the experiment taken through taking account of spatial effects in the experimentation. Two rice varieties (Nerica 4 and Nerica 11) formed the main plots and four irrigation schedules (Daily, Every 4 days, Every 5 days and Weekly) formed the sub plots. Results indicated that the treatments significantly influenced plant height, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf weight, chlorophyll content, panicle length and panicle number of the two Nerica varieties at maturity. On the basis of research findings, it is recommended to the farmers in Mwea that the Nerica 4 on every 3 days and weekly irrigation schedules will be the best method to adopt.


Most of the time when someone wants to bargain over some good, service, or to negotiate over delicate matter, has a clear idea of what is wanted and not wanted as the negotiation outcome. There are deals that are totally unacceptable, some others that could be acceptable under some circumstances, and others that would be totally acceptable. Some times the most difficult part of a negotiation, is to ground the characteristics one wants as outcome. The system presented in this paper extracts the information that the user is expecting to get, by stating the characteristics, quantity and preference of each characteristic. Upon the preferences, a game is designed so a rational set of agents can solve the problem replacing the humans. A multi-agent system model that learns using learning classifier systems is shown to find negotiation solutions based on user preferences.


The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of suppressing arm swing and walking speed on the individual motion and inter-segmental coupling on the thigh, pelvis, and thorax motion in human walking. The subjects were selected 10 healthy college male students and 6 infra cameras were used for cinematograph. Walking speeds were determined with slow(2.8km/h), medium(3.6km/h) and fast(5.2km/h) speed with suppressing arm swing walking(SASW) and normal walking(NW) on treadmill. There was significant difference of stride length in the walking speeds, and the feature of the difference is that the stride length was increased with increasing walking speed. The magnitude of range of motion (RoM) showed various results in the segments with the walking patterns and walking speeds. The result of vector coding on pelvis-thorax showed the most typical pattern which in-phase of the coupling was decreased and out-of-phase of the coupling was increased simultaneously as the walking speed was increased. The percentage of coupling on pelvis-thorax in NW was lower than in SASW. Therefore arm swing led to increase the counter movement of pelvis-thorax with the increasing speed. The counter movement of pelvis-thorax was independent of the coupling on pelvis-thigh and thorax-thigh in walking.


Gcina Mahlaba is the Transformation Manager at BDO South Africa. She has a holistic and unique perspective of a Transforming South Africa, which stems from her current position and tenure as a B-BBEE Consulting Analyst. Her insight from playing the role of both the client and the consultant, has given her an inimitable perspective on how organisations can measure their achievements in the 'Scale of Transformation'.


Production of hull-less seeds of styrian oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo ssp. pepo var. styriaca) is increasing as a result of demand for aromatic seed oil and for other uses. Hybrid cultivars have recently been released but a method forhaploidinductionhasnotbeenestablished.We focusedonthe developmentofaparthenogenetic haploidinduction protocolbased onpollination withpollen irradiated withX-rayradiationat 0, 50, 100,150, 200, 300, and350 Gy.Fruit set largely decreased at 200 Gy, whereas a decline in embryo formation was observed at 100 Gy. Various accessions were tested as the female parent or as the pollen donor and large differences were found. The best parthenogenetic response was found in 'Turkey #2' (10.0%), 'Gleisdorfer Olkurbis' (4.4%), and 'Naked Seed' (3.9%), whereas 'GL Opal' and 'White Acorn' were efficient as pollen donors. The ploidy level of 3830 putative parthenogenetic embryos was determined using flow cytometry. Four ploidy levels (n, 2n, 3n, and 4n) were found with the majority being diploid. Interestingly, a significant proportion was determined to be tetraploid and this was clearly correlated with increased radiation delivered to pollen grains. Using selected simple sequence repeat markers on diploid embryos, no spontaneous chromosome doubling could be confirmed. In this study, haploid induction in styrian oil pumpkin was elaboratedfor thefirst time.We also showed thatX-ray pollenirradiation provides analternative to gamma radiation treatment, yielding a sufficient percentage of haploid plantlets.


.Summary - A fast procedure for the detection of bovine milk in Roquefort cheese is described. It is based on the separation by rapid isoelectric focusing on Phasteysterne apparatus of 12-caseinsfrom the milk of the 2 species. The presence of bovine milk is also confirmed by the detection in the electrophoretic pattern of a ~-casein derived peptide from bovine milk, during cheese ripening, identified by immunoblotting. By using Ihis procedure, levels of bovine milk as low as 5% were easily delecled in Roquefort cheese ripened for a period varying from 10 days to 5 months.


This dissertation is about the solution of Markovian stochastic process algebra (SPA) models and the avoidance of the state-space explosion problem. We try to answer the question whether the compositionality of SPA models can be exploited to overcome the largeness problems appearing when evaluating such models. First, instead of a global view, we take up a local view, i.e., we focus on components of SPA models, and derive some general results about the relation between components. We identify waiting times, throughputs, and branching probabilities as the three quantities that should be known for a compositional performance evaluation strategy. Then, we consider a special class of SPA processes that describe semi-Markov processes. SPA processes in this class are suitable to be solved by a very efficient new technique. An important step in applying this technique is the computation of the mean value of the maximum of phase-type distributed random variables. A naive approach for a computation would require exponential space, but we present an efficient algorithm of polynomial complexity in time and space in the number of considered random variables. Finally, we consider a true-concurrency semantics for SPA models and investigate its use for an efficient solution of SPA models. We identify three important quantities to express performance measures in this semantics. Unfortunately, as we will show, only for very restricted cases the true-concurrency-view on SPA models allows the actual computation of measures.


In this study, static structural analysis and thermal analysis were investigated on a conventional diesel piston, made of aluminum silicon alloy. The usage of Al-SiC Metal Matrix Composites was constantly increasing in the last years due to their unique properties such as light weight, high strength, high specific modulus, high fatigue strength, high hardness and low density. Al-SiC composites of various carbide compositions were produced using a centrifugal casting machine and stir casting machine. The mechanical properties, hardness, tensile strength, yield stress and elongation were studied in order to determine the optimum strength of the metal matrix composites. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the microstructureproperty correlation. It was observed that the tensile and hardness of the composites increased as the proportion of silicon carbide became higher in the composites. Also with increasing proportion of silicon carbide in the composite, the material became harder and appeared to have smaller values for total displacement and total energy during impact testing.


Many problems still exist in the construction process of our highway tunnel.Accidents like landslides,rockbursts,and large deformations appear frequently.This paper discussed the cause of landslide and its treating method.


Focused on the problem of low storage density in embedded systems, in this paper, a new NAND device management solution with high storage density was proposed. In the proposed solution, a generalized mode of information structure in NAND page was designed by researching a great number of NAND storage structures and BCH( Bose-ChaudhuriHocquenghem) parity coding programs. In the mode, data layout in Out of Band( OOB) could achieve Error Correcting Code( ECC) capability while accommodating device management information of partition, thus the main page could be completely used for data storage, which can be treated as a basis for development of device read-write solution and Wear Leveling mechanism. The experimental results show that the proposed solution improves storage density up to 98%, and it is superior to most current common file systems. Having an excellent data storage density, as well as relatively stable device read-write efficiency and Program /Erase( P /E) endurance, the solution has good application advantages in embedded systems.


The spread of COVID-19 became the main public health risk for most countries in 2020. The Spanish government declared a state of emergency, implemented lockdown measures and imposed severe restrictions on mobility and compulsory home isolation. Given this sudden situation, we tested the levels of risk perception, the psychological impact of isolation conditions and of coping behaviors. A total of 1343 adult residents in Spain participated in the study. We measured with an online questionnaire (a) risk perception; (b) individual, social, and physical conditions of isolation; and (c) a set of coping behaviors. We tested how the conditions of isolation and the individual behavior affected positive and negative affect and meaning in life. We observed that risk perception was directly linked with the individual and social situation of the participants. Personal resilience, employment status, profile of cohabitants, and using open air spaces in the house are linked with the emotional situation of the participants. Additionally, we found that some behaviors were related with positive affect, meaning in life, and negative affect. The psychological impact of a nation-wide lockdown is not universal and there are key factors that moderate this impact. We have identified key personal, behavioral, social, and physical factors that may help policy makers and citizens in critical isolation situations


Purpose: The present study was to investigate the effect of music therapy on anxiety, nausea, and vomiting in patients undergoing total body irradiation (TBI) for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Method: A untreated control group with pretest and posttest was used in this study. A total of 35 patients receiving TBI for HSCT were recruited from a medical center at a university in Korea. The music therapy taking for 15-20 minutes per a time was performed twice a day for three days while the patients in the experimental group were undergoing the TBI. Results: The scores of state anxiety, nausea and vomiting tended to increase in the control group as compare with those in the experimental group. The patients in the control group had been administerd antiemetics more often than those in the experimental group. The levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the pulse rates in the experimental group tended to decrease after the experiment. However, there was no statistically significant differences in anxiety, nausea, vomiting, blood pressure, and pulse between the groups. Conclusion: It is suggested to repeat this study with a enough sample size.


Objective  To evaluate the effects of antihypertensive drugs on renal function after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Methods  A retrospective analysis was performed on 193 patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and took antihypertensive drugs regularly. Those patients were admitted to Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital during January 2020 to December 2020. The patients were divided into ACEI/ARB group, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers and hydration control group. All patients received routine hydration during the perioperative period. The changes of serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR) and endogenous creatinine clearance rate (Ccr) before and after operation were compared. Results  The incidence of CIN was 0% in four groups. Compared with the preoperative, there was no significant change in Scr and Ccr in every group. Except for the hydration control group, the BUN levels in three treated groups were reduced after postoperative. Specifically, the BUN reduction in β-blockers group has statistically significant difference compared to the hydration control group and CCB group. In addition, eGFR levels were significantly reduced in the β-blockers group. Preoperative Scr and Ccr levels in patients with high blood pressure (SBP≥140 or DBP≥90) were significantly different from the patients with normal blood pressure (SBP Conclusion  The use of ACEI/ARB and CCB before percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty had no effect on renal function in the short term. β-blockers can slightly reduce renal function, especially in patients with high blood pressure, who should receive special attention.


An investigation is made of the dependence of the exciton energy, in an anthracene crystal, on the magnitude and direction of the quasi-momentum in the two energy bands which correspond to the first electron excitation of the molecule. It is shown that the exciton band width, the exciton effective mass, and the magnitude of the "resonance splitting", depend only on the direction of the quasi-momentum but also on the dimension of the region where the interaction between the molecules occurs. The theory predicts a polarization of the exciton doublets and gives their position for the various directions of the exciton wave-vector. From a comparison of theoretical and experimental values for the resonance splitting the radius of the effective molecular resonance interaction in the anthracene crystal is established to be of the order of 0.05 μm.

[Russian Text Ignore].


Avian frugivores feeding on Mauritia flexuosa (Arecaceae) fruits in Central Brazil. The buriti palm tree M. flexuosa has a widespread distribution in South America and is very common in central Brazil. Information about the interactions between frugivores and the buriti palm tree are scarce. The objective of the study was to investigate the consumption of buriti fruits by avian frugivores in the Cerrado of Central Brazil and to analyze its importance to the plant. In order to describe fruit availability, we sampled 100 buritis determining monthly, the presence or absence of ripe fruit. We gathered data on buriti fruit utilization by avian frugivores by direct observation of bunches on three buriti individuals. Observations included visit frequency, flock size, number of eaten fruits, and foraging behavior. We also placed three buriti fruit collectors to evaluate fruit drop rates. Eight species of birds ate the buriti fruit and psitacids were the main consumers, especially Orthopsittaca manilata. Fruits of M. flexuosa are an important food resource for frugivores in the dry season when other fruits are scarce in the Cerrado.


In this article, social class effects in the political socialization found in education are examined in relation to individual participation in collective action. It is proposed that the way school reinforces the family socialization of class position and the class-related structure of education produce a sense of political efficacy among middle-class students. An analysis of data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of high school seniors shows that political efficacy, being a leader in school organizations, taking college preparatory courses, and attending school in an urban setting encourage later activism among students from families with moderate to high levels of socioeconomic status.


The occurrence of anomalies in the trace of the energy-momentum tensor for massless quantum electrodynamics in spherical spacetime is discussed. It is found that, in contrast to previous investigations of conformal scalar fields, the coefficient of the free-field anomaly acquires a coupling-constant dependence in the interacting theory. In addition, there is a contribution proportional to the renormalization-group $\ensuremath{\beta}$ function. The importance of these results in determining the anomaly for an arbitrary Riemannian spacetime is explained.


Due to favorable geographical location of Bangladesh in the equatorial region, the prospect of harnessing energy from solar PV is quite high. In the backdrop of this fact, the authors in this paper, have made an extensive study to optimize the solar PV power output through the use of different panel sizes in a few sample areas of Bangladesh. For a ftxed area using PVpanels, the output power should remain more or less identical for any size of panels (large or small in dimension) used with negligible variations due to variation in panel efficiency or quality. However, through this study, it has been found that, by using different panel sizes (from 70 WP to 330WP) each at a time, keeping other conditions constant, a wide variation in the output has been observed. Such a difference in the output with the change of size of panels raises a serious question on the selection of appropriate panel size for getting the optimum output at any location. This paper aims to highlight the fact that while designing a grid-tied PVplant, very little attention is given to select the proper size and type of the panels, which may lead to substantial loss of energy. In this study, various panel models with different sizes and watt ratings with nearly identical efficiencies have been analyzed for three selected locations. All these models were simulated with Helioscope software for their annual throughput, using the weather and average solar radiation data from Meteonorm software (version 8.0.3) and TMY (Typical Meteorological Year) hourly irradiance data. Simulation results show that depending on the area of the solar PV installation, proper panel size has to be determined beforehand to get the maximum outputfront the installation.


Statistics of partition noise, including covariances between modes, have been measured for gain-guided lasers at 850 nm. The results are discussed in the light of theories of partition noise and their implications for practical systems are explained.


Deals with the polychromy technique of four 7th-century wooden funerary boxes discovered in China. Describes the polychromy on each box and presents the results of the various types of pigments and binders employed. The examination techniques used are binocular observation, photographic examination, infrared reflectography, and scanning electron microscopy. Materials identification was conducted using microchemistry, x-ray microanalysis, x-ray fluorescence, x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and gas chromatography. The studies revealed that two different decorating techniques using a limited number of pigments had been employed, and that coatings had been applied on the inside of each box. -- AATA


This study describes three defining moments on the spelling formation and evolution of the Munduruku (Tupi) language. The historical path shows that, until recently, the main function of writing in the community was religious education. One of the first texts written in the language was a catechism, produced in early twentieth century, by Frei Hugo Mense, a Franciscan missionary. The constitution of the Munduruku alphabet only occurred in the 1960s, proposed by SIL missionaries. At this moment, writing turns to mother tongue education, albeit in a secondary way. Shortly afterwards, the alphabet underwent a revision and some graphemes were altered, seeking to achieve a greater similarity with Portuguese letters. The analysis of letter-sound correspondences shows that the function attributed to writing was decisive for the choice of which features of spoken Munduruku should be represented graphically, and how these choices affected language teaching in local education.


This Basic Support for Institutionalizing Child Survival (BASICS) Project trip report had the goal of developing an operational plan and budget for sustainable private sale of oral rehydration salts (ORS). This trip followed up prior ones that identified two options for reactivating private sector involvement in ORS. It is stated that the greatest need for ORS was in rural areas. Availability in rural areas is hindered by an insufficient number of pharmacies and existing regulations that prohibit the sale of any drug outside of pharmacies. A primary producer of ORS limits production due to flooding of the market with free packets and high production costs and low profitability. Increased support from the supplier is dependent on the Ministry of Health (MOH) limiting free distribution of ORS the purchase by MOH of ORS from the primary supplier in Morocco (Cooper Maroc) and the MOH approval of a high-priced ORS packet for wealthier consumers. The BASICS team chose to develop strategies to help the private sector with production and promotion of ORS and to increase sales and use in rural areas. Public sector free distribution would be targeted to populations not served by the private sector. In order to implement marketing strategies BASICS must provide summary plans for registration production and promotion of a new ORS with the approval of Cooper Maroc. Cooper Maroc must specify the exact registration needs in order to meet the approval of the MOH and obtain production approval from senior staff. The MOH must facilitate the process of registration of the new ORS produced by Cooper Maroc and to make a commitment to purchase future supplies of the lower-priced ORS from Cooper Maroc. In order to implement the rural marketing strategy USAID must obtain a commitment from MOH to approve sales outside of pharmacies and to obtain plan approval and a contract with an organization to promote and coordinate the program. The MOH must approve sales outside of pharmacies. The integrated marketing plan is presented in the appendix.


This research was designed 1) to define and validate fun as a construct; 2) to compare two different applications(Internet and mobile services). The new four dimension of fun are introduced which are sociability, contentment, achievement and enthusiasm. Dimension of fun is critical to understand IS differentiated between new and established applications. The development of the new fun construct should be extended further to include bigger and wider range of sample especially during the content validation. The comparison study done for to compare usage of mobile service and Internet showed interesting results. These results are suggesting that application types do differentiate type of fun that users experience.


Anthropogenic activities have altered the global nitrogen ( N) cycle, leading to increased N input into the ecosystem through N deposition and the use of N fertilizers. Nitrogen is considered to be the limiting factor of plant growth in many ecosystems; therefore, the increased N input into ecosystems has an important impact on the carbon cycle and carbon accumulation. N use efficiency (NUE) can be an important indicator for the coupling relationship between ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycles. Studies on the temporal and spatial patterns of NUE will aid in assessing the contribution of N input to increases in the terrestrial ecosystem carbon sink, and to predict the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems under different N input increase scenarios. We use a newly developed process⁃based ecosystem model, CEVSA2, to study the spatial and


The invention relates to a blood purifier exhaust method; a suitable blood purifier comprises an adsorption column filled with an adsorbent, and a filter net and a blood port arranged on an inlet end and outlet end of the adsorption column; the blood port on the inlet end is connected with aqueous solution through a tube; the exhaust method comprises the following steps: 1, placing the blood purifier in a mode in which the axis is in a horizontal position, and knocking the housing on the inlet end side of the blood purifier so as to fully exhaust air bubbles on the inlet end; 2, rotating the blood purifier so as to allow the axis in a plumb position, allowing the outlet end on the top and the inlet end on the bottom, knocking the housing on the outlet end side of the blood purifier so as to exhaust most air bubbles on the filter net of the outlet end; 3, rotating the blood purifier so as to form a [theta] angle between the axis and the horizontal plane, allowing the outlet end to be higher than the inlet end, and knocking the upper housing on the inlet end side of the blood purifier so as to fully exhaust the air bubbles in the outlet end, wherein 0<[theta]<=60 degrees. The method is fast in exhausting, and saves laboring.


On the basis of recent discussion of the effects due to topological changes, it is conjectured that the actual values of coupling constants of nature are most probably near the boundary of the anthropogenesis region in the space of all coupling constants.


Abstract A phosphine-free [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of the substituted propargylamines with dialkyl azodicarboxylates at room temperature is described. This reaction provides a new approach to functionalized pyrazoles in good yields and high selectivity.


Even though the E-commerce has promoted the rapid development of business and trade in our country,the trust crisis of the internet really affects the further development of our country's E-commerce,and there still exist problems such as the lagging development of the internet safety technology,the genuineness of the cyber information,the unsound relevant laws and regulations and the unsafe payment in the E-commerce.Analyzing the causes of the above problems,the writer proposes suggestions such as enforcing the security technology of the cyber information,establishing and perfecting the system of trust,improving laws and regulations and strengthening the internet construction with morality as its main body.


This paper discusses some of the basic reasons why digital equipment, rather than analog equipment, is preferable for logging and control systems. Characteristics of system components such as input multiplexer and digitizer, digital computer, and output devices are discussed as parts of an integrated, flexible, and reliable industrial data handling and control system. In discussing the functional role played by each of the above system components, broad design criteria are developed for their construction, and operation is demonstrated when controlled by a general-purpose digital computer.


Structures and properties of various complexes formed between the "golden fullerene", Au32, and group IIB atoms such as Zn, Cd, and Hg have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT). Binding energy values indicate that the group IIB atoms can form stable clusters in most of the different isomeric forms of the Au32 cage. The HOMO–LUMO gap of the Au32 cage remains almost the same even after doping of Zn, Cd, and Hg atoms for high symmetry clusters, while it decreases for the low symmetry isomers. The highest stable isomer for the Hg-doped Au32 cluster is found to be associated with Ih symmetry with a large energy difference from the other low symmetry isomers, using generalized gradient approximation (GGA) type functionals. However, for the Zn and Cd encapsulated Au32 clusters, the highest stable structures are of Cs[1] and C5v symmetry, respectively, along with one low symmetry isomer for each of them, having energy very close to the respective most stable isomer. Nevertheless, depending on t...


It is our goal to gain recognition for the Journal of Global Marketing among the top-tier journals and attract the best research papers with a global, cross-cultural, and/or cross-national research...


The invention discloses a method for azeotropic distillation and purification of thiophene. The purification process is carried out in a distillation tower, an extraction tower and a dehydration tower which are connected in series with each other, and the purification process comprises the following steps of: (1) feeding azeotrope comprising crude thiophene and an azeotropic agent into the distillation tower, distilling at normal pressure, controlling the tower top temperature to 65-75 degrees centigrade, and obtaining rectified azeotrope comprising the thiophene and the azeotropic agent in aweight ratio of (65-68) : (32-35) at the top of the distillation tower; (2) feeding the rectified azeotrope into the extraction tower, extracting by water, obtaining a mixture comprising the water and the azeotropic agent at the top of the extraction tower and obtaining wet thiophene containing little water at the bottom of the extraction tower; and (3) feeding the wet thiophene into the dehydration tower, dehydrating by a water absorbent and obtaining the thiophene as a finished product at the bottom of the dehydration tower. According to the invention, the low-content thiophene extracted from coking crude benzol is taken as a raw material, the purity of the prepared thiophene is above 99.9wt%, the energy resources are effectively saved and the considerable economical benefit is achieved.


The realization of an integrated drop-filter based on tapered Bragg gratings for the compensation of the chromatic dispersion is presented. The device permits the compensation of a dispersion of 500 ps/nm over a WDM channel.


Three different species of marine diatoms, Nitzschia closterium (Ehr) Smith, Chaetoceros sp. (Ehr) and Skeletonema costatum (Grev) Cleve, were isolated from the Adriatic Sea and studied in vitro for the production of extracellular carbohydrates. Variations of the nitrogen (N)/phosphorus (P)/silicon (Si) ratios in the growth medium affect the accumulation and release of carbohydrates. In the N.closterium cultures at high N/P ratio, the rate of extracellular polysaccharide release was higher both in rapidly growing cells (2.14 µg per 106 cells day-1) and in stationary phase (1.0 µg per 106 cells day-1) compared to S.costatum and Chaetoceros sp. Instead, at low N/P ratios, S.costatum and Chaeto- ceros sp. produced large amounts of extracellular polysaccharides during the logarithmic phase, compared to N.closterium, with values of 10 µg per 106 cells day-1 for S.costatum and 2.8 µg per 106 cells day-1 for Chaetoceros sp., respectively; in particular, only S.costatum was able to produce extra- cellular carbohydrates (1.2 µg per 106 cells day-1) during the stationary phase of growth. Under Si limitation, any of the three diatom species produce extracellular polysaccharides both in the loga- rithmic and stationary phase of growth. The potential ecological significance of these findings is discussed.


ABSTRACT Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB) has been regularly documented as a demanding area of practice within the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of this paper is to share a practice model developed in an under-resourced inner London borough. The HSB forum is formed of a multi-agency group of professionals and runs monthly providing a platform for practitioners to seek consultation for young people they are working with who are displaying HSB's. Initial feedback for the forum from practitioners has been consistently positive and they have valued specifically the opportunity to formulate, have clear directions, and the multi-disciplinary perspective. In addition, most reported feeling empowered to implement the recommendations suggested. Given the shared vulnerability factors between those displaying HSB's and other at-risk young people such as those who are being sexually exploited, this model provides an innovative way that practitioners can be supported by multiple agencies where there is a lack of specialist services.


This paper discusses work aimed at accelerating the construction and introduction of planning and scheduling systems in complex application domains. We begin by outlining our basic perspective on planning and scheduling, and our assumptions about the requirements and characteristics of practical planning and scheduling problems. This leads to a particular constraint-based solution framework, and a speciic architecture for connguring application systems. We describe OZONE, a planning and scheduling toolkit that implements these ideas, and give examples from diierent application building eeorts that illustrate the eecacy of the approach.


Abstract The use of fluidized bed boilers in modern power engineering is a promising solution for clean and economically acceptable combustion of various fuels, including coal, biomass and waste, for the generation of electricity. The fluidized bed boilers are nowadays technically advanced and complex combustion facilities where all individual boiler elements are subjected to withstand continuous structural and thermal loads during their operation. Intensive loading of boiler elements can be quite easily linked with boiler operational safety and is quite often one of the main reasons for emergency shutdowns followed by necessary replacements of the damaged items. In case of industrial large-scale circulating fluidized bed boilers the frequency of unplanned shutdowns is also quite often affected by the hydrodynamics of the fluidized bed and some other parameters, such as the intensity of solids circulation, temperature, solids concentration, flue gas composition and velocity, solids accumulation and deposition, as well as the corrosion or erosion of heat transfer surfaces. The present paper briefly reports the results of authors investigation focused on the morphology and structure of some chosen elements (steel anchors) sampled from one of Polish circulating fluidized bed boilers. The anchors were degraded during boiler operation and lost their mechanical durability. In order to determine the reasons of anchors' degradation chemical composition of the elements was determined with the use of a spark spectrometer SPECTROLAB and sample morphology was investigated with JEOL JSM-6610LV scanning microscope equipped with LaB6 cathode.


The physical model based on moving constant loads is widely used for the analysis of railway bridges. Nevertheless, this model is not well-suited for the study of short span bridges (L<=15-20 m), and the results it produces (displacements and accelerations) are much greater than those obtained experimentally. In this paper two factors are analysed which are believed to have an influence in the dynamic behaviour of short bridges. These two factors are not accounted for by the moving loads model and are the following: the distribution of the loads due to the presence of the sleepers and ballast layer, and the train-bridge interaction. Several numerical simulations have been performed in order to decide on their influence, and the results are presented and discussed herein.


This study adapted an improved algorithm based on Artifical Bee Colony Optimization. It is not possible to justify that all the rules generated by fuzzy based apriori algorithm produce optimum result. Thus optimization of the result generated was carried out by Fuzzy Apriori algorithm using Fuzzy Artifical Bee Colony Optimization (FABCO), it's worth noting that a significant findings were revealed. FABCO is used for optimization of rules to get the best classification accuracy. The proposed method was compared with the traditional Artifical bee colony optimization and the particle swarm optimization. The current work proved a better classification performance compared to un-pruned rules.


In the present paper, the methods of collecting ovine oocytes and the optimal conditions for in vitro maturation of ovine oocytes were reported. The factors affecting electrical activation of IVM oocytes and the parthenogenetic development in vitro after activation were studied. The results showed that the maturation rate of ovine oocytes collected by dissection was higher than by aspiration, and the activation of these oocytes after in vitro maturation was more regular. The optimal activation rate was obtained from oocytes collected by dissection after maturation in vitro for 27 h under 2 electrical pulses delivered at an interval of 22 min in 0 28 mol/L inositol solution containing 0 1 mmol/L CaCl 2, 0 1 mmol/L MgSO 4 and 10 mmol/L histidine. Coculture the activated oocytes in M199+10% FBS+SOEC (sheep oviduct epthelial cells) after coculture in CZB+SOEC for 48 h increased the cleavage rate and the rate of developmentto morula and blastula in vitro to 78 3% and 30% respctively.


In this paper a heuristic based method is proposed. The power system is made completely observable by finding the strategic location for PMU's. The simultaneous optimization of minimum number of PMU and maximization of measurement redundancy are performed. Measurement redundancy is performed based on the reliability TESt. Results for IEEE14-bus, 30-bus, and New England 39-bus system were simulated and compared with existing technique.


In recent years,there has been a decline in higher education quality, especially in some disciplines that require much practicality.To solve the problem,teaching reform must be carried out.With Foundation of Mechanism,a main curriculum to the mechanism and engineering specialty as an example this paper makes discussions on the learning-and-teaching reform of this course based on a new concept of teaching quality.


Non-destructive analysis of the major elements in copper-alloyed artifacts by prompt gamma neutron activation analysis is reported. Copper, zinc, tin and lead were measured in several ancient Roman, Greek and Iranian objects. Good agreement was found in comparison with analysis of similar objects by destructive methods.


"I [do not] think the politicians are going to be able to do anything to us.... [It is] kind of like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall." Bill Reeves of Viapro.com (a cyber pharmacy) Introduction The recent death of 57-year-old Marcia Bergeron, which coroners attribute to medication purchased online that was found to contain traces of dangerous minerals (including uranium, strontium, arsenic and lead), revives the debate surrounding rogue cyber pharmacies. (1) Having repeatedly eschewed meaningful regulation, the problem is too often lamentably dismissed as yet another purportedly unmanageable cyber-trend, (2) with fruitful discussion accordingly stifled by an enduring feeling of computer-generated powerless ness. (3) If nothing else, Ms. Bergeron's seemingly needless death, apparently as a result of consuming a sedative not legally sold in Canada, underscores the urgency of examining the phenomenon of I-pharma afresh, with an eye towards developing creative responses to cross-border online enforcement obstacles. It has become no more than a platitude to state that rogue Internet pharmacies--that is to say, those that dole out prescription drugs absent a valid prescription or meaningful physician consultation--significantly imperil consumers. How better to summarize the predicament respecting the regulation of cyber-pharmaceutical crime than with a now infamous incident involving a reporter who obtained Viagra for her cat online, using the animal's exact height and weight! (4) Tom the cat even received a courteous follow-up e-mail, inquiring into his well-being.... Absent regulation, drugs sold online may of course be counterfeit or untested. They may lack active ingredients or- worse- use toxic excipients. (5) Even when the medication itself is above reproach, the lack of meaningful physician oversight or (more alarmingly perhaps) the illusion thereof is decried by professional associations as endangering patients' health and very lives. (6) Whereas legitimate online pharmacies--as distinguished from their rogue counterparts--(7) are usually associated with traditional pharmacies and require consumers to provide a valid prescription before any drugs are expedited, (8) the questionable (or "quasi-rogue") sites discussed herein instead allow patients to simply fill out a questionnaire, which is followed by a "diagnosis" and prescription from a virtual doctor. Notwithstanding the pretense of diagnosis, this format is tantamount to self-medication since the i-doctor routinely rubber stamps the patient's exact specifications. (9) The above reference to the feline being prescribed erectile dysfunction medication leaves little doubt as to the propriety of this approach if left unchecked. It is worth noting that aside from aiding individual patients to avoid the awkwardness of discussing conditions such as those referenced above, these sites are also sought out by those with criminal intent, seeking drugs such as Rohypnol and other medications associated with date rape and sequestration. Worse yet, purely rogue Internet pharmacies, for their part, make no pretense of even requiring diagnosis or prescription, simply permitting consumers to freely purchase the drugs of their choice, including controlled substances.(10) These latter sites, (11) described and differentiated below, specifically form the object of this present inquiry. In addition to safety concerns, the sale of counterfeit medication and improper storage of drugs of lesser quality occasion millions in lost pharmaceutical revenues, (12) thus depriving researchers of precious funds and further raising the soaring price of medication. This in turn, paradoxically, compels consumers to seek refuge from these unaffordable prices on-line, effectively perpetuating a vicious cycle. With regard to privacy--which sometimes prompts consumers to seek out I-pharma ab initio, ironically--these fly-by-night e-pharmacies (which the Washington Post labeled "pipeline [s] for narcotics") (13) are known to sell or misuse confidential patient informanon, (14) and regularly flood Web surfers with unwelcome spam. …


The article analyses design options for a practical 2-10 kV, 1-2 kA LC DC Circuit Breaker module. The impact of multiple series break points with the ultra-fast disconnector is explored in depth using analytical model and 5 kV, 4-break hardware prototype. The experimental testing demonstrates that the arc voltage increases proportionally with each breaking point, and this increases current that can be internally commutated. Further analysis of the impact of delays between break points is presented. Modeling and testing with 4 different capacitors of 1-10 kV concludes that larger capacitances increase commutating current, but relationship is complex and non-linear. Parallel connection of breaking points is also analysed. Successful breaking of DC fault current is demonstrated on hardware for multiple cases including 930 A with 800 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>F, 6.5 kV, capacitor using a 4-break disconnector. The tested DC CB is of mechanical type, which inserts a capacitor in series in a very short time of around 290 <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu$</tex-math></inline-formula>s, and full contact separation is achieved 1.5 ms after the trip signal. It is recommended that the module design should primarily consider maximizing the number of break points in series.


The work Interculturalism, Democracy and Development in Bolivia analyzed over ten chapters and an introduction , now Bolivia and to a lesser extent ecuatoriana- from a political , social and cultural terms. Published by the Spanish political scientist profesoray Esther del Campo, the emphasis is concentrated around the new situation in Bolivia following the arrival of Evo Morales to the presidency in 2005 and especially since the entry into force in 2009 of a new constitution.


Pollinators are important in the evolution of flowering plants, but questions remain about how early stages of pollinator-mediated speciation arise. Studying intraspecific variation in floral traits can shed light on early stages of floral trait divergence and identify how traits evolve as signals to novel pollinators, either acting separately or in concert. Among two hummingbird- pollinated species of monkeyflowers (Mimulus section Erythranthe), M. cardinalis and M. verbenaceus, yellow floral morphs have arisen from more common, red-flowered morphs and have become well-established in several populations. To identify 1) whether these floral transitions involve additional floral traits beyond color and 2) if they represent incipient pollinator shifts, we characterized yellow-flowered morphs of M. verbenaceus and M. cardinalis and their more common red-flowered forms across numerous floral traits (reflectance, pigmentation, volatile organic compounds, morphology, and nectar) and assessed pollinator perception and preference of floral signals by a novel bumblebee pollinator (Bombus terrestris ssp. audax). The two yellow morphs appeared to follow independent evolutionary paths, resulting in distinct hues of yellow that varied in reflectance, pigmentation, and perception by bees. For floral scent, both yellow forms differed from their red conspecific forms: in one case increasing total emissions of a similar scent profile (M. verbenaceus), and in the other, emitting a distinct scent profile at similarly low levels (M. cardinalis). In both species, yellow morphs had wider, less restrictive corolla openings and greater herkogamy than red flowers but produced similar nectar rewards. Collectively, these floral trait differences resulted in a clear preference for yellow floral morphs in both species, with naïve bumblebees choosing yellow flowers twice as often as red forms. Despite the increased attractiveness of yellow morphs, bumblebees had difficulty handling flowers to access rewards, suggesting they may be ineffective pollinators to current floral phenotypes. This study reveals that parallel transitions in floral color in two monkeyflower species involve a suite of changes to other floral traits which directly impacts interactions with potential pollinators. This work highlights the value of integrative studies of intraspecific floral phenotypes and behavioral responses of pollinators to understand incipient pollinator shifts and the potential for future pollinator-mediated floral evolution.


A discussion of relative distribution and geochemical significance of pyrrolic nitrogen compounds in crude oils, oil sands and potential source rock bitumens with wide range of maturity and lithology from Bamianhe oilfield, eastern China are executed. Results show that with increasing of maturity, the extracts of the source rocks show a tendency to enrich nitrogen shield isomers relative to nitrogen exposed isomers; low relative molecular mass of the compounds of carbazoles and benzocarbazoles series relative to high molecular mass ones; and benzocarbazole relative to benzocarbazole. Significant oil migration effects of nitrogen compounds in the oils are observed. It seems migration effect among pseudo homolog of carbazoles and benzocarbazoles is more apparent than that among nitrogen marked, partially marked and exposed isomers. It is inferred that the impact of maturity on the former is much more than that of the later. Results also indicate that migration effect of the compounds could be observed not only between different type isomers but also between the same type isomers suggesting strong polarity and its difference among the compounds.


A method is proposed for estimating base heights of convective clouds from satellite data. The approach takes advantage of the fact that convective water clouds appear as geometrically and optically thin clouds near an approximately constant condensation level in their earliest stage of growth and that deriving geometrical thicknesses for such thin clouds is less error prone. Striking is the fact that the method also provides the base height for clouds with large vertical extensions and high optical thicknesses. The method has been applied to NOAA/AVHRR data of 20 selected cloud scenes. For an evaluation satellite retrieved cloud base heights have been compared to surface ceilometer measurements at the same time. First results are encouraging. The standard deviation of the differences between satellite and ceilometer measurements is ±369m with no systematic bias.


Part 1 Markets, states and housing: markets, states and housing - issues, debates and this book market failure and housing provision conclusions - measuring success and failure in housing provision. Part 2 Comparing European housing systems: housing systems in European welfare capitalism characterizing European housing provision systems comparative housing research and market-state mixes Britain, France and Sweden as type cases. Part 3 Production efficiency and allocative efficiency in housing - alternative systems compared: setting up national comparisons regulation and speculation in British, French and Swedish growth areas production efficiency in the four growth regions allocative efficiency in Berkshire and the E4 corridor conclusions - relative success and failure. Part 4 Dynamic efficiency - housing promotion and land supply in Britain, France and Sweden: dynamic efficiency, types of profit and institutional structures alternative systems of land supply and developer strategies land supply, the planning process and house prices conclusions. Part 5 Dynamic efficiency and housebuilders' strategies in Britain, France and Sweden: introduction, structural trends and countervailing tendencies housebuilders' strategies and promotion form survivability and dynamic efficiency conclusions. Part 5 Conclusions - state intervention and market efficiency: introduction relative efficiency in housing supply creating an efficient market - state intervention, local autonomy and business strategies into the 1990s - lessons learned and lessons forgotten.


Problem Based Learning to Improve Science Literacy on Food Relation with Health. Science literacy is ability to review a problem or phenomenon on the point of science view. Science literacy can be enhanced trough the problem-solving process in science learning. Teacher roles as the information center, transforms into facilitator, motivator and creator to help construct student knowledge. Problem based learning process allows students to be actively involved because  given the opportunity to solve a problem related to an event.. Problem-based learning affects both the science literacy students of class V on the relationship of food to health. This is evidenced by the research using pre-experiment method with pretest-postest one group design which shows that problem-based learning can significantly increase students literacy ability in high, medium and low group. Based on the results of the study problem-based learning can be used as a solution to improve literacy skills of elementary school students.


A case of an adolescent girl with metastatic gastric stromal tumor is described. There were three metastatic nodules in the liver at the time of the admission. A subtotal gastrectomy was performed. The tumor had distinctly nodular appearance and was composed of a variety of cells suggestive of smooth muscle differentiation. Electron microscopy revealed cytoplasmic neural processes and densecore neurosecretory granules. Immunohistochemistry showed positive neuron-specific enolase, synaptophysin, and chromogranin A in some of the tumor cells. Similar findings in the primary tumor and its liver metastases indicated a primitive neural differentiation and enabled us to classify the lesion as a gastric autonomic nerve tumor. No other tumors that would suggest that the gastric lesion is a part of Carney's triad were detected. The child was treated with chemotherapy but the liver metastases did not change significantly. She is alive with unresectable liver metastases 10 months after the gastrectomy.


Covert courses are an important part of physical education curricula.The authors,by means of literature review,mathematical statistical method and logical analysis,made a tracking study of students of Grade 2009 receiving covert PE courses in our school for three semesters and made a comparative study between them and other classes receiving no covert courses.We think that the implement of covert courses enhances the effect of physical education and the quality of teaching,makes the students more active and initiative in their study,and improves the students' achievement in PE courses.


The beta, Johnson's SB, Weibull, lognormal, gamma, and normal distributions are discussed in terms of their flexibility in the skewness squared (β1) − kurtosis (β2) plane. The SB and the beta are clearly the most flexible distributions since they represent surfaces in the plane, whereas the Weibull, lognormal, and gamma are represented by lines, and the normal is represented by a single point.The six distributions are fit to 21 data sets for which both diameters and heights are available. The log likelihood criterion is used to rank the six distributions in regard to their fit to each data set. Overall, Johnson's SB distribution gave the best performance in terms of quality of fit to the variety of sample distributions.


The basin of Heihe River is located in arid area of inland China.The surface water and groundwater in different landscape units has occured a large number,regular and duplicate transformation process,which has greatly improved the utilization of water resources.Early in the eighties of last century,Geology and Mineral Resources Bureau (GMRB) of Gansu Province and other institutions firstly launched the "Seventh Five-Year" and "Eighth Five-Year" scientific and technological projects which researched into the surface water and groundwater transformation mechanism in the Heihe river basin,and got a rich exploration research,promoted the rational development and utilization of limited water resources in the area;since the beginning of this century,as survey theory has been enriched and environmental isotope techniques has been widely utilized,loop transformation of surface water and groundwater resources in Heihe river basin is widely paid attention to in the academic community,and a number of high level academic results have been completed and published,and all these work make the water resources development and protection in the arid area to move forward a single step.However,there are still many shortcomings,such as conversion and transformation relations of water resources is lack of systematic research,deep groundwater recharge can't be determined from the direction in middle and lower reaches of basin,etc;this isn't conducive to coordination of water utilize contradiction between the economic development and ecological protection.


In this paper, several simplification methods are presented for shape control of repetitive structures such as symmetrical, rotational periodic, linear periodic, chain and axisymmetrical structures. Some special features in the differential equations governing these repetitive structures are examined by considering the whole structures. Based on the special properties of the governing equations, several methods are presented for simplifying their solution process. Finally, the static shape control of a cantilever symmetrical plate with piezoelectric actuator patches is demonstrated using the present simplification method. The result shows that present methods can effectively be used to find the optimal control voltage for shape control.


Based on Ant Algorithm with its mechanisms of transfer search and adjacent domain search,an ant algorithm model for the short-term optimal operation of hydropower station is constructed.The case study shows that the ant algorithm,simple to be programmed and easy to be realized,can well solve the problems with complicated constraints for the short-term optimal operation.It puts forward a new and effective method for the optimization concerned.


It is shown that a Hilbert space over the real Clifford algebra C7 provides a mathematical framework, consistent with the structure of the usual quantum mechanical formalism, for models for the unification of weak, electromagnetic and strong interactions utilizing the exceptional Lie groups. In particular, in case no further structure is assumed beyond that of C7, the group of automorphisms leaving invariant a minimal subspace acts, in the ideal generated by that subspace, as G2, and the subgroup of this group leaving one generating element (e7) fixed acts, in this ideal, as the color gauge group SU(3). A generalized phase algebra A⊇C7 is defined by the requirement that quantum mechanical states can be consistently constructed for a theory in which the smallest linear manifolds are closed over the subalgebra C(1,e7) (isomorphic to the complex field) of C7. Eight solutions are found for the generalized phase algebra, corresponding (up to an overall sign), in effect, to the use of ±e7 as imaginary unit in e...


Given the shortage of coke, one way to provide consumers with solid fuel and increase production efficiency is partial or complete replacement of coke with poor-caking coals. This article describes the properties of the most promising coals of this grade from the Kuzbas. It has been shown that it is both possible, and expedient to use coals from the Krasnobrodskii and Krasnogorskii pits in agglomeration and electrothermal processes and in shaft-type lime kilns. While requirements vary widely, one requirement common to all possible consumers is that the coal pyrolysis products contain little or no tar, which can be deposited on surfaces lying in the path of the gases and pollute the atmosphere or final products; another requirement is minimum coal caking capacity (since the components in non-blast-furnace processes would otherwise cake). The coal must also be of the appropriate size class, have adequate reactivity with respect to oxygen and various oxides when heated, and have satisfactory thermostability (in lumps). These requirements are most fully satisfied by grade T coals, particularly the poor-caking coals of the Kuzbas, of which there are substantial reserves.


iversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in research is important. This is the case not only because it is sim-ply the right thing to do but also because DEI fos- ters collaboration, empathy, and psychological safety between scientists and clinicians as well as in our attitudes to and relations with patients. Inclusion of patient samples from diverse populations is critical to ensure that the full range of biological variabilities are represented in basic and clinical research.


Background/Aims: Recent surgical techniques have enabled surgeons to undertake radical operations for a much wider range of liver diseases, but the invasive nature of such operations requires that they be followed up by careful and intensive postoperative management. Since the introduction of the oxidation-reduction(redox) theory in the beginning of 1980s, the significance of the arterial ketone body ratio(acetoactate/g-hydroxybutylate), which reflects hepatic mitochondria] oxidation-reduction potential, has been discussed as one of the metabolic parameters of organ failure. The aim of this study was to assess the significance of arterial ketone body ratio as an early prognostic indicator in liver surgery. Methods: In this study, arterial ketone body ratio and total ketone body concentration were serially measured in 83 patients who underwent liver resection in the department of surgery of Youngnam University Hospital between May 1992 and Feburary 1994. Results: At the postoperative 1 day, arterial ketone body ratio was significantly higher in successful recovery group(n=71, 1.22 0.59) than that of the postoperative complication and mortality group(n=12, 0.66 l 0.34). And patients were classified into three groups by the decrease of ketone body ratio in the postoperative 1 day: group A(70 cases) with ketone body ratio above 0.7, group B(12 cases) between 0.7 and 0.4, and group C(1 case) below 0.4. In group A, 63 patients(90%) were recovered, 6 patients complicated and 1 patient dead. In B group, 8 patients(66.6%) was recovered, 2 patients complicated and 2 patients dead. The only patient of group C(100%) was dead. Conclusions: Postoperative AKBR is useful as an early prognostic indicator in liver surgery, and maintenance of AKBR above 0.7 is crucial to obtain a good surgical outcome. (Korean J Gastroenterol 1995;27: 555 - 562)


The scattering of acoustic waves from soft and hard slender bodies with arbitrary cross sections is considered in the limit ka≪1 and kl∼1, where k is the wave number, a is the lateral dimension of the object, and l is its length. Using the method of matched asymptotic expansions, formulas valid to the leading order in the slenderness ratio a/l are derived for the scattering amplitudes. They are expressed in terms of the cross‐sectional area of the object and the induced‐mass tensor for the two‐dimensional inviscid flow generated by a moving infinite cylinder with the same cross section. The results satisfy the reciprocity relation.


Undergraduate students at land-grant institutions across the country are often unaware of the depth and breadth of Extension services and careers. Agricultural communication students collaborated with an Extension programmatic team in a blended and project-based course at Purdue University to develop online videos about small farm agricultural topics. Student journaling and post-interviews showed working within a real-world context increased their awareness of Extension, the roles and potential careers in Extension, and video production skill development. The authors present details of the course design, student perceptions, and the implementation benefits and challenges of blended project-based learning within an Extension context.


Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the new paradigm in the management of respiratory distress in preterm and term infants. There is an urgent need to optimize the use of this simple but effective respiratory therapy in newborns. In this review we discuss the benefits and the practical aspect of CPAP therapy blending the science and evidence with our own experience.


ABSTRACT Background: Evidence-practice gaps have been identified in the implementation of post-stroke aphasia guideline recommendations. To address this, an implementation intervention tailored to local barriers was developed to target speech-language pathologists' implementation of two aphasia recommended management guidelines in the acute setting (targeting either information provision or collaborative goal setting). A qualitative process evaluation is recommended to understand the mechanisms of action and how context affects the implementation outcomes. Aims: This study aimed to understand the nature of the impact of an implementation intervention as perceived by the speech-language pathologists who participated in a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial (AAIMS). Speech-language pathologists' perceptions of the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of the tailored implementation interventions were investigated. Methods & Procedures: Focus groups were conducted with speech-language pathologists (n = 19) as part of the process evaluation, after they completed the implementation interventions at four acute hospital sites. Focus groups explored speech-language pathologists' perceptions of the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of the implementation strategy. Using content analysis, the qualitative data were analysed to determine themes. Outcomes & Results: Six interrelated themes were identified including the acute speech-language pathologists': (1) understanding of the workshop facilitators; (2) perceptions of the impact of the workshop on clinical practice; (3) understanding of facilitators for implementation of aphasia recommendations; (4) perceived challenges impacting the workshop and implementation; (5) perceived change in practice; and (6) understanding of the focus group acting as a follow-up reflective opportunity. The findings provide support for the perceived efficacy of the implementation intervention, key explanations for its perceived success, and areas for improved implementation processes for the future. Conclusions: This study highlights speech-language pathologists' perspectives regarding facilitators, barriers, and potential mechanisms for change. Implementation interventions should be embedded in context with consideration of local barriers and facilitators. Findings included identification of key intervention components – such as, interactive workshops, accessible resources, reminders, and follow-up – which provide direction to future implementation interventions in acute aphasia management.


The magnetic excitation spectrum in HoCo2 is calculated using a combined model of localised moments on the holmium atoms and itinerant d electrons on the cobalt atoms. The crystalline electric field acting on the holmium atoms is taken into account and the random phase approximation is used. The calculated results of the magnetic excitation spectrum for HoCo2 at 6 and 18K are in fairly good agreement with recently observed inelastic neutron scattering measurements obtained by Castets et al. (1982).


In order to compare the differences between the Wigner-Hough transform(WHT) and Radon-Ambiguity transform(RAT),the expression of input,output signal noise ratio(SNR) and sampling points are deduced basaed on the ergodic property of stationary Gaussian stochastic process,under cases of large sampling points.The realization,computational burden and resolution of RAT are compared with WHT.Simulations testified that WHT by dechirping is more suitable for LFM signals detection and estimation at low SNR.


Internationalization has been a topic of common interest since the emergence of globalization. But not much research work has been done to comprehend the factors effecting the internationalization of Pakistani business. This study is aimed to unveil the most important factors, responsible for driving or restraining the internationalization of Pakistani firms. The authors have presented a theoretical analysis of six research papers that would help in the identification of key factors. The papers have been studied in respect of their importance and impact on internationalization process. Various dimensions indirectly influencing the aura of international business in Pakistan have also been discussed. Theoretical analysis suggested that, government support, research and innovation, development of export industry and entrepreneurial relationships are the key factors driving the internationalization process. Conversely, lack of infrastructure, insufficient finances, inadequate research facilities, lack of sound economic policies and international trade barriers are the factors


The method involves selecting and weighing raw materials such as flour or meal, water and yeast. The raw materials are mixed to form a dough mixture, and the dough mixture is kneaded to form dough. Dough pieces are separated to form bread units, where the bread units are modulated to bake bread.


Abstract We designed a multiple baseline study to evaluate an instructional coaching model in which coaches use video recordings of collaborating teachers' classrooms to inform their coaching practices. In this model, teachers and coaches use video evidence to co-construct a student-based goal and identify best practices to reach their goal. We found that the instructional coaching model is associated with greater use of effective pedagogical strategies among teachers and increased student engagement in the classroom.


This book constitutes the proceedings of the 7th Hellenic Conference on Artificial Intelligence, SETN 2012, held in Lamia, Greece, in May 2012. The 47 contributions included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 81 submissions. They deal with emergent topics of artificial intelligence and come from the SETN main conference as well as from the following special sessions on advancing translational biological research through the incorporation of artificial intelligence methodologies; artificial intelligence in bioinformatics; intelligent annotation of digital content; intelligent, affective, and natural interfaces; and unified multimedia knowledge representation and processing.


This article describes the relationship between economic and technological change and the design and management of contemporary workplaces. The article describes the changing nature of workstyles resulting from economic and technological change which are driving new business models. General management is increasingly having to address the nature of the workplace in order to attract and retain skilled and expensive workers.


Introduction: One important treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) is electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) [1]. Direct visualization of the STN for precise electrode positioning remains an issue, because this structure is relatively small and hard to distinguish from the adjacent substantia nigra (SN) [2]. A recent study used the high contrast of phase images to visualize the STN [3]. Unfortunately, phase images suffer from misleading non-local effects [4]. Here, we acquired high-resolution phase images at 7T, from which we calculated susceptibility maps that gave precise delineation of the STN while completely avoiding non-local effects.


Abstract The housing systems found in the welfare model of Mediterranean countries are particularly unfriendly towards young people. This article analyses the housing experiences of young graduates in a Mediterranean welfare context. We focus on the growing phenomenon of house sharing as a housing solution for these young people, a solution which has been explored in other housing model contexts but not in the Mediterranean. We find young people sharing largely due to economic constraints and yet experiences of sharing vary considerably, with some unhappily confined to living with unknown peers, whilst others live collectively with those they know and benefit greatly from the experience. We recommend that policy makers must learn from young people's experiences of shared living and improve the conditions they face in the private rental sector.


This paper explores the concept of curriculum internationalisation in higher education. It recognises and articulates the fact that the curriculum internationalisation process needs to be deterritorialised and the best approach to this is ensuring student engagement. In discussing this in detail, the paper theorises student engagement and the different perspectives on and of engagement, discusses curriculum internationalisation and deterritorialisation. The paper then focuses on deterritorialising curriculum internationalisation through student engagement. The paper concludes with four key thoughts on curriculum internationalisation on the platform of student engagement in a deterritorialised context. The paper recommends that curriculum internationalisation should be contextual in nature. Also, deterritorialisation of the institution and the curriculum internationalisation process and the curriculum itself are key to successfully internationalising the curriculum and give students the best educational experience. Thirdly, for the curriculum internationalisation process to be successful, there is a need for a practical framework. And lastly, student engagement is critical in the internationalisation process and for the success of curriculum internationalisation itself.


The ecological condition is best reflected on the geographical map of the city and its area. Therefore, the most vivid and generalizable representation and analysis of the indicated information can be fulfilled only with the help of modern geoinformation systems . An analysis and selection of approaches to the study of the ecological status of the districts of the Kharkiv region by means of geoinformation technologies are carried out. The results of the use of modern GIS technologies for the creation of digital cartographic models of atmospheric, radiation, soil and other types of pollution of territories with the aim of determining their ecological quality on the example of the Kharkiv region are presented. Incorporated GIS - oriented system approach to mapping and analyzing the state of contamination of territories during the construction of thematic maps. The object of research is the ecological state of the Kharkiv region. The study relies on the use of ArcGIS 10.3 main software. Thanks to the powerful toolkit of the program and the necessary initial information created a product that solves most of the environmental problems. The result of the work is a methodology for the study of the ecological condition of the districts of the Kharkiv region with the use of geoinformation systems and technologies. The obtained model makes it possible to conduct an analysis of the ecological state of the districts of the Kharkiv region. The urgency of the work lies in the fact that the study of the ecological state of the districts of the Kharkov region will allow developing measures for improving the ecology of the Kharkiv region and requires monitoring, analysis and further adjustments for rational use of the region's resource potential. The identified major hazardous areas are subject to additional monitoring. Key words: geoinformation system; urbanized territories; atmospheric, acoustic, electromagnetic pollution of the territory; pollution of water and soil.


River ice jam formation and release both have the potential to cause flooding and present a threat to human safety. From a flood forecasting perspective, it is highly desirable to be able to predict the effects of ice on streamflow hydraulics. Although a number of models have been developed over the years that do consider ice effects, the majority of these are proprietary. This paper reports on recent developments in incorporating ice processes into the public domain River1D hydrodynamic model. The first objective in this effort was to incorporate river ice formation and melting processes and the application of these components is illustrated for the Peace River in western Canada. The model employs an Eulerian frame of reference for both the flow hydrodynamics and the ice processes and uses a Petrov-Galerkin finite element method to solve the primary equations. Model calibration and validation results with historical data are presented; these indicate that the present model adequately simulates water temperature and ice front progression. However, further enhancements are required to include certain dynamic freeze-up processes, in order to refine the ice front results. Ice jam formation and release components have also been added to the model to facilitate the ice jam flood forecasting application and these capabilities are demonstrated by modeling the large ice jam release event that occurred on the Athabasca River, AB, in 2002. Total ice and water mass and momentum equations are solved in an uncoupled sequence with ice mass conservation, with ice momentum effects considered empirically. The model is found to do a good job of modeling release wave speed and peak magnitude. Further enhancements to consider ice momentum effects more explicitly are underway.


The heads of feeding larvae of the jack pine sawfly are consistently oriented towards the needle tips. This orientation is not obtained from the apically-directed needle teeth, and is found to be independent of gravity and of the flexibility of the foliage. Though light can act to disrupt the orientation, larvae adopt the orientation in darkness so that light cannot be postulated as an essential directive stimulus. The behavior is identified as a "free-end" response, and possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Strength training is the basis for all sports and physical training. Evidence suggests that its benefit may extend to the athlete's general physical fitness, although few studies refer to the table tennis player. Objective: Study the effect of upper limb strength training on the physical fitness of table tennis players. Methods: Twenty sportsmen from a college were selected and randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group had the addition of an upper limb strength training protocol in their training, while the control group continued with conventional training. The experiment lasted eight weeks, with interventions three times a week, at intervals with a minimum of one day. Results: Specific fitness varied widely between groups: spinning technique in the experimental group increased from 36.66±6.85 per minute before the experiment to 41.03±7.06, P<0.05. In the control group, the turning technique was 61.41±4.73/min to 66.49±4.74/min after the experiment, P>0.05. Conclusion: Complementing the tennis training program with specific upper limb muscle strength training can effectively improve explosive muscle strength in its athletes, substantially increasing physical fitness for table tennis players. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.


The structural relationships of northwestern Croatia and the adjacent regions of Slovenia and Bosnia were and remain subject to different treatment. The main approaches are as follows: PETERS (1863) assumed the existence of an ancient "Palaeolithic Land" within the Balkan Peninsula, comprising the "crystalline cores of Slavonia and Siebenburgen". This megastructure was not supposed to have participated in tangential Alpine tectonics. SUESS (1875) attributed northwestern Croatia (including Mt. Medvednica) to the Southern Alps, while DIENER (1903) regarded the area as part of the Eastern Alps. MOJSISOVICS (1880) accepted the "Land" defined by PETERS and introduced the name "Oriental Land". However, he experienced difficulty in defining its boundaries. PILAR (1882) was involved with the geology of western Bosnia and concluded that the "flysch", containing "eruptive rocks" (including ophiolites), continued into Croatia. Later, KI©PATI∆ (1899), studying ophiolites, accepted the opinion that Mt. Medvednica was a continuation of northern Bosnia (i.e., of the Inner Dinarides), as did also GORJANOVI∆-KRAMBERGER (1907), with the exception of the part which was Tectonic Interrelation of the Dinarides and the Southern Alps