EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIntroductionThere has been little change in the full-time gender pay gap since the mid 1990s andin the female part-time/male full-time pay gap since the mid 1970s. The gender gapin hourly earnings for those employed full-time in Britain in 2003 was 18 per cent,while that between women working part-time and men working full-time was 40 percent.This research uses statistical methods to identify how much of the gender pay gap isassociated with different factors. The data set analysed is the British HouseholdPanel Survey, a sample of around 10,000 adults. The data are weighted to benationally representative.Broadly, the research finds that gender differences in life-time working patternsaccount for 36% of the pay gap. Rigidities in the labour market, including those thatconcentrate women into particular occupations and mean that they are more likely towork in smaller and non-unionised firms, account for a further 18% of the pay gap.38% is due to direct discrimination and differences in the labour market motivationsand preferences of women as compared with men. The remaining 8% is due towomen's lesser educational attainment in the past.In many instances, these factors will of course be related to each other. For example,the occupations with higher female participation in which women are concentratedwill sometimes also be those where part-time work is particularly prevalent.The importance of indirect discrimination and systematic disadvantage is noted. Theycan affect the labour market motivations and preferences of women; they are part ofthe causes of labour market rigidities; and they are part of the reasons that particulartypes of working patterns result in lower wages. It is therefore incorrect to make asimplistic assumption that gender wage differences due to variations in educationand working patterns are legitimate because they reflect skills, qualifications andexperiences that are relevant to employers.KEY FINDINGSFactors affecting wagesThe first stage of the analysis was to model how different factors impact on wages forboth women and men. Because the BHPS is used, the regression model is able toinclude the impact of work histories and a particularly wide range of variables. Keyfindings from this part of the research show that:iiiMODELLING GENDER PAY GAPS??? for each year of full-time education, hourly wages increase by 6%;??? for each year of full-time employment, hourly wages increase by 3%;??? for each year of part-time employment, hourly wages decrease by 1% (inaddition to missing out on the 3% gain that each year of working full-timebrings);??? for each year of interruptions to employment for childcare and family care work,hourly wages decrease by 1% (again, in addition to missing out on the 3% gainfrom each year of full-time employment);??? for every ten percentage points higher the proportion of men working in anoccupation, hourly wages are boosted by 1% (in other words, on average, thoseoccupations with more women working in them are valued less in terms of thewages paid):??? other factors associated with being female have a particularly large impact,reducing hourly wages by 9%. These factors include direct discrimination. Theyalso include the different preferences, motivations and attitudes to the labourmarket of women as compared with men, which may in part be attributable toindirect discrimination (or systematic disadvantage).Although some of these percentages sound small, the cumulative effect can be great.For example, ten years spent as a part-time worker would leave someone with hourlyearnings more than a third below that of someone who had worked full-time for thesame period.The size of the components of the gender wage gapThe gap in wages between men and women occurs because, on average, theposition of women and men in relation to the above factors that affect wages aredifferent. For example, on average, the occupation a man is employed in is 68%male, while that for a woman is 32% male. As stated above, the research shows thatthe higher the proportion of males in an occupation, the higher the wages, so the factthat women are more commonly in occupations with fewer males means that theiraverage wages are lowered by this factor. Similarly, the fact that women spend moretime out of the labour force caring for their family or working part-time and feweryears working full-time also lowers their wages relative to men who spend less timedoing so.ivEXECUTIVE SUMMARYAnother statistical model (simulation) is used to identify how much of the total paygap between women and men (the gender wage gap) is accounted for by each of thefactors. The most important are:Employment experience:??? less full-time employment experience (19%);??? more part-time employment experience (3%);??? more experience of interruptions to employment for childcare and other familycare(14%);Where women work as a result of rigidities in the labour market:??? the concentration of women into occupations with high proportions of femaleworkers (10%);??? other institutional factors, including the greater proportion of women working forsmaller firms and the smaller proportion in a union or staff association (8%);Direct discrimination and different labour market preferences and motivations:??? other factors associated with being female, including direct discrimination anddifferent preferences and motivations (some of which will be attributable toindirect discrimination or systematic disadvantage) (38%);Education:??? women's lesser education (8%).Discrimination can affect all components of the pay gapThe components of the gender pay gap listed above include factors that havetraditionally been associated with either the development of knowledge and skills(education, employment experience) or with discrimination (occupationalsegregation; some of the other factors associated with being female). Thedevelopment of knowledge and skills (human capital) has been seen as a legitimatesource of earnings differences because it is made up of skills, qualifications andexperiences that are relevant to employers. Moreover, the attainment of humancapital has been seen primarily as being determined by an individual. By contrast,discrimination has been seen as a failure in the working of the labour market, andthus a legitimate site of public policy intervention.This simple distinction between human capital and discrimination is overdrawn andcan have misleading implications for policy. This is because women can face indirectvMODELLING GENDER PAY GAPSdiscrimination and systematic disadvantage in acquiring human capital. Theacquisition of human capital depends upon women's place in the labour market, aswell as on individual decisions.This can be seen in the case of part-time employment. While working full-time isassociated with increased wages, working part-time is not - not even pro-rata.Rather, experience of part-time employment is associated with a slight reduction inwages. The typical assumption in human capital theory, that experience ofemployment increases human capital and thus increases wages, is challenged bythis finding. Rather, whether or not employment experience leads to increases inwages depends on the location of that experience within a differentiated labourmarket. Some of the reasons that women find themselves in a different labourmarket, i.e. competing for a different range of jobs than equivalently qualified men,may be thought of as indirect discrimination.The differential impact of years spent working part-time, as compared with full-time,has serious implications for both women???s wages and UK productivity and is worthyof policy intervention, whether or not discrimination is the whole cause of thedifference or not. Discriminatory practices, both direct and indirect, may be found notonly embedded in factors such as occupational segregation, but also within theprocesses by which human capital is acquired.Implications for policyThese findings have implications for two main types of government policy: first,policies concerned with gender justice; and second, policies concerned with theproductivity of the UK economy and its capacity for economic growth.In relation to the latter, this research has found that the acquisition of skills and otherforms of human capital is associated not only with education and length ofemployment experience, but also by the context of that employment experience(whether the experience is full-time or part-time) and by interruptions to it. There is agendered dimension to the acquisition of human capital, which is affected by theinstitutional context.In relation to competition, the research has found that labour markets are notperfectly competitive, and that they contain significant rigidities (such as occupationalsegregation) and forms of discrimination, which affect women???s potential in the labourmarket.viEXECUTIVE SUMMARYviiFuture research modelling policy scenariosThe next phase of this research could be to identify specific policies and to modeltheir implications for the gender pay gap and other policy relevant concerns.Examples of such policies are:??? universal childcare;??? training for returners;??? improved flexibility in the workplace;??? anti-discrimination policies.The analysis will identify the implications of such policies for a range of stakeholdersand beneficiaries including the Exchequer and employers as well as the UK economyas a whole and society as a whole.


A simple, selective, precise, and sensitive stability-indicating high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed and validated for the analysis of zafirlukast both in bulk drug and pharmaceutical dosage form. The separation was performed on a pre-coated silica gel 60 F254 plates using toluene-methanol-acetone (7:2:1 v/v) as mobile phase. Densitometric analysis was performed in reflectance-absorbance mode at 240 nm. The linear regression analysis data for the calibration plot showed good linear relationship with r2 = 0.999 in the range of 50–400 ng spot−1. The mean value of slope and intercept were 15.35 ± 0.341 and 337.81 ± 1.52, respectively. The minimum amount of zafirlukast that could be authentically detected and quantified was 16.43 and 49.80 ng spot−1, respectively. The drug was subjected to acidic, basic, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal conditions. The drug undergoes degradation under acidic, basic, H2O2, photolytic, and oxidative conditions. The degradation products were well separated from the pure drug under the optimized condition. The developed method was validated with respect to linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, and robustness. As the method could effectively separate the drug from its degradation products, it can be employed as stability-indicating. The proposed HPTLC method is compared with the latest reported high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the assay of zafirlukast both in bulk drug and pharmaceutical dosage form.


Objective To investigate the protective effect of Fomes fomentarius extracts on CCl4-induced acute liver injury in mice.Methods 50 Kunming mice were randomly divided into control guoup,CCl4 model group and low,medium,high dosage of Fomes fomentarius extracts groups.Acute hepatic injury models of mice were induced by 1%CCl4 through intraperitoneal injection.The protective liver effect of Fomes fomentarius extracts was observed by measuring ALT,AST activity in serum and MDA content,SOD activity in hepatic tissue.Liver index and histopathological changes were also observed.Results the liver index,ALT and AST activity and the content of MDA decreased and the activity of SOD increased in Fomes fomentarius extracts groups.Liver histological section test under a microscope denmonstrated that Fomes fomentarius extracts could relieve hepatic injury of mice induced by CCl4.Conclusion Fomes fomentarius extracts can protect the CCl4 induced experimental liver injury,and its mechanism might be related to antioxidant activity of Fomes fomentarius extracts.


An unsymmetrical photochromic diarylethene named 1‐[(2‐methyl‐5‐phenyl)‐3‐ thienyl]‐2‐[(2‐methyl‐5‐acetylenyl)‐3‐thienyl]perfluorocyclopentene (1o) was synthesized and its properties such as photochromism, fluorescence as well as reaction kinetics were investigated in detail. The dithienylethene has shown good photochromic behavior and fluorescent switches in solution.


A simple and sensitive method for the determination of dihydrostreptomycin has been developed. The method entails the recovery of dihydrostreptomycin by cation exchange with subsequent fluorometric determination.


On our two week journey to South Thailand in February-March 2020, my wife Aoi and I visited the southeastern corner of the country. This area was new to me whereas my wife had made some business trips to this remote region decades before. The three southeastern provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are probably the least visited in Thailand. Tourists are discouraged from going there due to occasional terror attacks. In terms of culture and religion this area is quite different from the rest of Thailand as Muslims are the majority of the population. Usually tourists are concentrated in small parts of Thailand, but you may still encounter some throughout much of the country although the COVID19 pandemic has dramatically stopped tourism in Thailand, same as elsewhere in the world. The pandemic began a couple of weeks after our journey, but we did not see one single westerner in these three provinces and had a pleasant stay! The fourth province in Thailand dominated by Muslims is Satun in the very southwest where terror attacks generally do not occur.


Like most medical students who spend their elective abroad, I shall always look back on mine with pleasure as I remember happy times enjoyed with new friends. I am also grateful for the opportunity it provided to get to know another country and its people. I spent the summer months working on my elective project with a Swedish drug company in a Stockholm suburb. I did this under the praktikant system, which allows science and technology students to spend their vacation working for a commercial firm and applying their know ledge and skills to the practical problems of running their own re search project. The praktikant usually joins a team and works under the super vision of the team leader, but he has a clearly defined research object ive for which he alone is responsible. He has to justify his methods and use of resources to the team leader, who acts as a scientific devil's advocate; but if the system works properly the leader should not use his control of the purse strings to dictate policy, nor should he assume the role of nursemaid when minor difficulties arise. The aim is that the praktikant should learn to accept responsibility for his own work and ideas. Thus the gap between student days and work is bridged in much the same way that clerkships and final-year locum jobs introduce the medical student to clinical responsibilities. The relationship between academic research and the pharmaceutical industry is closer in Sweden than in most other countries. In the commercial pharmacology department where I worked there were two senior researchers who were honorary associate professors at the University of Stockholm, and two others were recognised teachers. The company farmed out drug development projects to several university departments, and encouraged their co-operation on joint projects. Visits to our department by clinical and academic researchers were frequent and welcome.


The effects of five-minute fixation by means of maxillary sling (pig catcher) on the behaviour of various blood and blood plasma components were recorded from eleven purebred Piétrain pigs. Blood was taken through indwelling catheter from the jugular vein and up to 60 minutes after the beginning of restraint. Exposure of the animals to such psychomotor stress led to maximum rise of lactate levels by 53 mg/100 ml on average as well as to increase in glucose by 37 mg/100 ml, haemoglobin concentration by 2.3 g/100 ml, and haematocrit by 9.7 per cent. Concentrations of free fatty acids in blood plasma, on the other hand, dropped with significance during stress, that is by the order of 111 mumol/l. No significant changes in glycerin were recordable. The values returned to their initial levels within 60 minutes from the end of fixation.


While pollution is almost everywhere, certain communities are burdened with a disproportionate number of facilities that fill the air, soil, and water with contaminants. Typically found in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities and low-income communities, industrial polluters such as landfills, trash incinerators, coal plants, and toxic waste dumps affect the well-being of residents. Their health is also often compromised due to a lack of access to healthy foods in their neighborhoods. Those who work on Environmental Justice issues refer to these inequities as environmental racism.


We investigated the effect of oestrogen receptor (ESR) gene on total number of born (TNB), number of born alive (NBA) and number of weaned (NW) piglets in Large White (LW), White Meaty (WM) and Landrace (L) sows from six Slovak breeding farms. Detection of ESR (Pvu II) genotypes was performed by the PCR-RFLP method. The frequencies of favourable B allele in LW, WM and L were 0.33, 0.25 and 0.08, respectively. We found a highly significant effect of ESR locus on NW ( P ≤ 0.01) in LW, however, we observed a negative effect of BB genotype on the trait. In WM, a positive association of B allele with TNB, NBA and NW was found but the differ - ences were not confirmed statistically. A highly significant effect of ESR locus on TNB, NBA and NW ( P ≤ 0.01) was identified only in L breed. We found an increase of +0.62 ± 0.18 (TNB), +0.65 ± 0.18 (NBA) and +0.51 ± 0.16 (NW) pigs per copy of B allele.


This paper aims to analyze the different theories of enunciation in order to identify the presence of the "subject of experience" in the making of the discourse. All the semiotic approaches to the process of enunciation have serious difficulties when explaining the issue of the subject-in-the-text. The theories of Jesus Gonzalez Requena, rooted in Benveniste's, solve those difficulties considering enunciation as a process in which the subject uses language given a specific space and time.


To keep the heat recovery unit with water as heat medium running steadily,it is essential that the system should be operated in heat balance.A heater of a delayed coking unit using water heat medium system is studied to analyze the factors affecting heat balance,such as water flow rate,fuel consumption,air consumption and temperature of water entering flue gas heat exchanger.Results indicate that the water flow rate,fuel consumption and air consumption are the main factors affecting the heat balance of system;based on the actual heater operation data,selecting suitable value of fuel consumption and air consumption as design basis in system design is important.


Focus groups conducted with students, parents, teachers, and alumni (N=540) at 13 Catholic Marianist high schools provided rich insights into the experience and meaning of the education provided at these institutions. While academic excellence was a common thread woven across meaning given by both parents and teachers, students and alumni articulated a meaning replete with images of belonging. That these schools valued persons holistically (rather than solely academically) permeated most groups. Using theories of organizational culture as the foundation, the relationship between missions and the meaning of life in these schools is discussed.


A 64-year-old woman with a past medical history of hypertension and diabetes mellitus presented to the emergency department complaining of shortness of breath and right-sided chest pain for one month. Her shortness of breath had gradually worsened to the point where she was feeling short of breath while at rest. She described her chest pain as sharp, worse with deep inspiration, and located near the fifth intercostal space along the midaxillary line. There was no history of chest trauma. Review of systems revealed a dry, nonproductive cough. She denied fever, chills, leg-swelling orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, weight loss, or decreased appetite. Past surgical history was significant for a remote hysterectomy. She had a two-pack-year history of tobacco smoking but had quit 15 years prior. She occasionally drank alcohol. She was taking a thiazide diuretic, an ACEinhibitor, aspirin, and insulin and had an allergy only to iodine. There was no history of cancer. She had remotely worked in a shipyard for two years doing primarily administrative work. Her ex-husband had worked in a shipyard for more than 20 years, and during this time, they lived in the same household. On physical examination, she was tachypneic with respirations of 30 per minute. Oxygen saturation was 95% on room air. Her remaining vital signs were within the normal ranges. Lung examination revealed decreased breath sounds, dullness to percussion, and decreased tactile fremitus over the right midand lower-lung fields. Serum electrolytes, glucose, and renaland liver-function studies were within normal limits. Her brain natriuretic peptide was 125 (Normal <100pg/mL). A plain radiograph of the chest demonstrated a large, right pleural effusion. A thoracentesis was performed, and approximately 800 milliliters of serous pleural fluid were removed, with immediate symptomatic improvement. Pleural fluid analysis was consistent with an exudate by Light's Criteria,1 ie, effusion total protein to serum total protein was 1.8 (>0.5), effusion lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) to serum LDH was 15.8 (>0.6), and pleural fluid LDH was 2114 (>2/3 of the upper limit of normal for serum LDH). Gram stain of the fluid was negative, as were bacterial and fungal cultures. A computed tomogram (CT) of the chest revealed a calcified pleural plaque over the right hemidiaphragm and a loculated posterior pleural effusion. Pleural-based nodules were present along the lateral and posterior chest walls. Some of the nodules appear to extend into the chest wall (Figures 1-3). A subsequent CT-guided needle biopsy was performed and sent to pathology for tissue evaluation. The patient was discharged home to await fluid cytology and biopsy results. The fluid cytology and biopsy returned with inconclusive results, so a second biopsy was scheduled. Before it was performed, a therapeutic thoracentesis was repeated to alleviate symptoms of worsening shortness of breath. A repeat CT-guided needle biopsy was performed. The biopsy demonstrated changes consistent with a malignant epithelioid tumor, most likely a malignant mesothelioma. She was started on chemotherapy with carboplatin and pemetrexed.


This article reports on a study of air-assisted spraying where the effects of air speed, airflow rate, and air jet
orientation were isolated. The study was carried out in a spray chamber. A carriage supporting a standard spray boom
was moved at 6 km/h over micro-plots of greenhouse grown potato plants. Air was delivered slightly behind the nozzles
from a variable width slot producing a uniform two-dimensional air jet that was adjustable in tilt in the direction of
travel. Experiments were carried out using a central composite design (CCD). Compared to a full factorial design, this
design required fewer experiments and allowed one to find the optimum operating conditions. The range of the
independent variables was: air speed, 0 to 36 m/s; airflow, 0 to 1.3 m 3 /s/m, and air jet angle, –10.2 to 40.2°. Two sets of
flat fan nozzles (VMD = 230 and 400 µm, both delivering 250 L/ha at 6 km/h) were used to carry out two full sets of
experiments. Results showed that air speed had the larger impact on leaf coverage. Higher air speeds (> 25 m/s) increase
the coverage on the underside of the leaves at all levels within the canopy and on the top side of the leaves in the lower
third of the canopy. However, lower air speeds (< 20 m/s) are desirable for a better coverage on the top side of the leaves
in the higher two-thirds of the canopy. Based on data presented here, the use of an air speed higher than 25 m/s coupled
with an air jet angle of 20° forward and a fine spray increase both the coverage of hidden parts of the plants and the
spray penetration towards the bottom of the canopy. Airflow rate affected coverage significantly only in conjunction with
finer spray.


BACKGROUND
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus guidelines for parathyroidectomy in primary hyperparathyroidism were developed addressing only the classic symptoms and physiologic markers of hyperparathyroidism. The purpose of this study was to assess whether NIH guidelines predict the severity of all symptoms and the outcome of operation.

METHODS
Symptom severity measurements using a disease-specific outcome tool called the parathyroidectomy assessment of symptoms (PAS) scores were previously obtained in patients with hyperparathyroidism. Patients were retrospectively stratified into 2 groups: group A, in which 1 or more of the NIH guidelines were met; and group B. in which operation was performed without any of the NIH criteria. For comparison, group C consisted of patients with non-toxic thyroid disease. PAS scores were collected preoperatively, and at 7 days, 3 months, and 12 months postoperatively.

RESULTS
There were 95 patients in group A, 22 in group B, and 58 in group C. The median preoperative PAS scores for group A (354) and B (301) were not significantly different, however, both were more symptomatic than group C (176, P <.01). After parathyroidectomy, patients in both group A and B had a significant improvement in their PAS scores (A=177 and B=130, P <.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with no NIH criteria for operation are equally symptomatic compared with those who meet the NIH guidelines. Parathyroidectomy significantly improved these symptoms whether or not the patient met the NIH consensus guidelines.


In recent years in Germany, several research projects were carried out concerning the effects of abrasive spreading in regard to traffic flow, traffic safety, maintenance costs, environment, dust and recycling. Based on the results of this research and on the collected practical experiences with abrasive spreading, there are now new recommendations for winter maintenance and spreading of materials.


For neutrino-beam production, 12-GeV protons from the KEK proton synchrotron (PS) are extracted in a 1.1μs spill every 2.2seconds. The proton beam is bent to the Kamioka direction, and hits an aluminum target embedded in the first horn. A pair of horn magnets focuses positively charged particles, mainly positive pions produced in the proton-aluminum interaction. A pion monitor[3] is occasionally put downstream of the 2nd horn in order to measure the direction and momentum of the pions. The positive pions decay into μ and νμ during their flight in a 200-m decay pipe. The νμ is used for the experiment. The beam is monitored by a muon monitor pulse-by-pulse by measuring the muons from π decay. The neutrino beam, itself, is monitored by a near detector system located 300 m from the target. The near detector system consists of a 1-kiloton water cherenkov detector (1KT), a scintillation fiber detector (SCIFI),[4] a muon range detector (MRD)[5] and originally a KEK Preprint 2004-22 Talk presented at the 5th Workshop on Neutrino Oscillations and their Origin (NOON2004), Tokyo, Japan, February 11-15, 2004 Partially supported by the Grants for Scientific Research of Monkasho.


In very recent work the mean field theory of the jamming transition in infinite dimensional hard spheres models was presented. Surprisingly, this theory predicts quantitatively numerically determined characteristics of jamming in two and three dimensions. This is a rare and unusual finding. Here we argue that this agreement in non-generic: only for hard sphere models it happens that sufficiently close to jamming the effective interactions are in agreement with mean-field theory, justifying the truncation of many body interactions (which is the exact protocol in infinite dimensions). Any softening of the bare hard sphere interactions results in effective interactions that are not mean-field all the way to jamming, making the discussed phenomenon non generic.


The present invention provides a data processing method. The method comprises: synchronizing data of a physical detection device by using an intelligent control center; and then outputting health data of a user by using a display device, so that the user can visually learn about a health condition of self, and accuracy of the health condition can be improved by real-time detection. The present invention further provides an intelligent control center and a health management system.


Few people in cardiovascular research can boast of so many accomplishments as Steve Vatner. After training with Eugene Braunwald, Steve went on to launch an impressive record investigating contractile regulation in integrative systems. Among Steve's notable accomplishments is the establishment of rigorous methods for evaluating contractility and coronary flow in vivo, which enabled him to discover key phenomena including that of myocardial stunning. He has worked on animals as large as giraffes and as tiny as mice. Famous for the …


Objective: To evaluate the risk factors of subclinical neuropathy, and the nerve conduction study (NCS) results in children, and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Methods: A total of 81 patients without neuropathy symptoms were studied. Demographical features, pubertal stage, disease duration, NCS results, lipid profile results in the last 2 years, HbA1c results in the last 5 years, and the types of treatments (multiple-dose and insulin pump therapy) were recorded.
Results: The median age was 14 (5) years, 49.3 % (n=40) of the study group was female and 81.5 % (n=66) of the patients were pubertal. Of the patients, 16.04% had abnormal NCS results. There were no significant differences between patients with normal and abnormal NCS results in terms of demographical features, pubertal stage, disease duration, lipid profiles, and dysglycemia. No significant differences were found between the types of treatment in terms of NCS results. The proximal and distal compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes of the median nerve were significantly lower in patients with poor glycemic control than in those with well-glycemic control. Sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitudes of sural nerve were significantly lower in patients whose disease durations were ≥60 months than in those <60 months.
Conclusions: About a sixth of the T1DM has subclinical neuropathy. CMAP amplitudes of the median nerve are the most affected measurement from poor-glycemic control. Additionally, SNAP amplitudes of the sural nerve are the values most affected by longer disease duration.


This article reviews the biological function of the two indispensable amino acids arginine and glutamine and the relation between them and exercise. Conditionally essential amino acids are closely related with exercise performance. In high intensive and long time training, decreasing concentration of arginine and glutamine affects exercise performance. Supplementation of Arg or Orn and Gln or BCAA make content of Arg and Gln increase, improve the function of immune and nerve system and delay appearance of fatigue and promote recovering of fatigue.


This study investigated the potential influence of word-of-mouth (WOM) and need-for-cognition (NFC) on consumer information search in the blogosphere. This study, in particular examined how consumers perceive corporate and consumer-generated blogs as product/brand information sources. The results of an online survey indicated that NFC and susceptibility to WOM influenced consumer's information search process, ultimately leading to purchase intent. The findings also showed that while high NFC individuals showed more favorable attitudes toward consumer-generated blogs over corporate blogs as an information source, low NFC individuals did not have a specific preference for either type of blog. In addition, participants reported greater purchase intent for products addressed in consumer-generated blogs than corporate blogs. This difference in purchase intent existed even when their attitudes toward both types of blogs and the brands/products mentioned there were regarded similarly.


Introduction The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) is a degree-awarding higher education institution with the dual characteristics of open access and distance education. Some courses are offered in Chinese, which is the first language of the majority of the students, and some are offered in English. Students are from all walks of life. Most are working adults in full-time employment. Some of these students are highly successful in their courses and achieve outstanding results. On the other hand, a sizeable percentage achieve fairly low results, indicating difficulty with meaningful learning.


Multimedia conference systems are classified into the tightly coupled conference and the loosely-coupled conference, the former is a peer-to-peer-conference or multi-point-conference based un the ITU-T H.323 standard, and the latter is the H.332 standard extended from the ITU-T H.323 standard. Loosely-coupled conference based on the H.332 standard is composed of small participants with the capacity of the send-receive mode and large participants with the capacity of the receive-only mode. In the H.332 conference, a subject and a media type of the multimedia conference is pre-announced for conquest of the difficulty of capability negotiation, and used SDP of IETF for that. Therefore, the H.332-conference can conquer a defect of the H.323 multimedia conference scalability. This paper analyzes H.332 standard for the loosely-coupled conference and describes an implementation of the H.332 multimedia conference systems.


Diploid organisms have two copies of all genes. Each copy is inherited from one of the two parents of the organism. In most diploid organisms the genes are bi-allelically expressed i.e. both inherited copies of the gene are functional. However, a subset of mammalian genes are monoallelically expressed depending on the parent-of-origin. Either the copy inherited from the mother or the one from the father remains functional. The alternate silenced copy of the gene is said to be "imprinted". The process of imprinting consists of epigenetic modifications that control the expression of a gene without modifying the underlying DNA sequence itself. The dynamic nature of epigenetic modifications makes experimental identification of imprinted genes a complex time-consuming process. However it is possible to use computational resources to analyze sequences of imprinted genes with the aim of constructing a model to automatically classify candidate genes as being imprinted or not. Computational prediction of imprinted genes can thus help in narrowing the search by identifying a smaller subset for experimental verification.


Energy production via renewable sources and saving it efficiently has become timely needed issues all around the globe. Supercapacitors have been identified as a class of suitable energy saving devices with respect to conventional capacitors and batteries. There are two types of supercpacitors namely redox capacitors and electrochemical double layer capacitors. In this study, redox capacitors were fabricated using a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) and two conducting polymer electrodes. GPE was consisted with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the polymer, sodium thiocyanate (NaSCN) as the salt and ethylene carbonate (EC), propylene carbonate (PC) as solvents. Hot press method was used to prepare the GPE. Its composition was optimized by varying the salt concentration and measuring the room temperature conductivity. Characterization of redox capacitors was done using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV). When increasing the salt concentration, the room temperature conductivity increased initially but after a certain concentration, it started to decrease. The increment of conductivity with salt concentration may be due to the increment of charge carriers which are directly responsible for conductivity. The following decrement with further increment of salt concentration may be due to lowering of charge carrier motion upon viscosity enhancement and also due to formation of ion pairs or clusters which do not assist conductivity as per their neutrality. The optimum room temperature conductivity was 1.92 x 10 Scm. The composition which exhibited the highest room temperature was selected to fabricate redox capacitors. A thin GPE film was sandwiched in between two identical polypyrrole (PPy) electrodes which were galvanostatically polymerized in the presence of sodium perchlorate (NaclO4). Impedance data were gathered using a frequency response analyser and specific capacitance was calculated using the bode plot. The specific capacitance was found to be 85 F/g. Under the CV test, cycling was done at the scan rate of 10 mV/s in the potential window -1.0 V to +1.0 V. The calculated specific capacitance was 102.7 F/g. The difference between the two values obtained by the two methods may be due to the fact that the specific capacitance value obtained using CV test is depending on the scan rate. Apart from that slight difference, the specific capacitance values are seemed to be satisfactory. The combination of the GPE based on PAN and the polymer electrodes based on PPy are suitable to be employed for redox capacitors.


quency was calculated at 10um intervals. diameters,this communication gives an indication that the permeability of microcapsules towards ions decreases with decreasing capsule diameter. Ethylcellulose microcapsules containing dilute solution of gelatin were prepared by an interfacial polymer deposition technique which is quite similar to that used in a previous work2).The microcapsules prepared in this way were fractionated in water by passing them through a series of mesh-screens.In Fig. 1 are given the size distribution curves for the three fractions of ethylcellulose microcapsules used in the permeagility experiments.The mean capsule diameters of these fractions were 45,109,and 205pm,respectively. As in earlier wsrks3,4),the permeability of microcapsules towards ions was estimated from the change in electrical conductance with time of the mixture of microcapsule dispersion and electrolyte solution. The permeability coefficient of an electrolyte,P,was calculated by the following equation:


Contents: Introduction The making of a historian a " Sleidan in France Historian of the Schmalkaldic League In the service of Strasbourg Sleidan's De statu religionis et reipublicae, Carolo Quinto, Caesare, Commentarii a " an official Protestant view of history? Sleidan and the German historians Sleidan's reception in France Conclusion Appendix Select bibliography Index.


In post-Soviet Havana, material resources emerge as a factor in terms of which women assess a man's desirability as a potential partner. These tendencies in current gender relations relate to the larger transformations in Cuba's political and economic context. The fall of Eastern European and Soviet state socialisms seriously diminished the Cuban state's ability to provide social services. Remittances generated through transnational kin ties and recent liberalistic changes in labour politics intensify the disparities of wealth. Moreover, Cuba's dependence on tourism as a source of national income has brought about changes to the possibilities for social mobility available through the promises of migration and affluence that relationships with foreigners can offer. This article focuses on the gendered consequences of these large-scale transformations, experienced as the increasing intertwining of material resources and desirability, especially when it comes to men's attractiveness. Coping with increasing demands from women, men draw on local notions of masculinity that include elements both of machismo and responsible manhood. Men thereby at times comply and at times resist women's expectations on them.


This study investigated faculty members' perceptions of program community and what they do to support it in online graduate programs. Researchers developed and administered an online survey to ascertain perceptions of program community among education and engineering faculty members at United States, land‐grant, research‐extensive universities. Three hundred forty‐four faculty members responded. Most participants thought that fostering community beyond courses was important. Faculty members used a variety of strategies to accomplish this task, including social media, synchronous communication and advising, face‐to‐face socials and orientations, and cohort models. Yet, many also relied on classroom strategies. Several participants indicated that they and their students lacked the time, resources or interest to pursue program community and that geographical distance and university reward policies complicated its establishment. Differences via discipline, gender and years of online teaching experience were also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


Clouds are a critical component of the Earth's coupled water and energy cycles. Poor understanding of cloud–radiation–dynamics feedbacks results in large uncertainties in forecasting human-induced climate changes. Better understanding of cloud microphysical and dynamical processes is critical to improving cloud parameterizations in climate models as well as in cloud-resolving models. Airborne in situ and remote sensing can make critical contributions to progress. Here, a new integrated cloud observation capability developed for the University of Wyoming King Air is described. The suite of instruments includes the Wyoming Cloud Lidar, a 183- GHz microwave radiometer, the Wyoming Cloud Radar, and in situ probes. Combined use of these remote sensor measurements yields more complete descriptions of the vertical structure of cloud microphysical properties and of cloud-scale dynamics than that attainable through ground-based remote sensing or in situ sampling alone. Together with detailed in situ data on aeroso...


Homogeneous, nearly-isotropic Bianchi cosmological models are considered. Their time evolution is expressed as a complete set of non-interacting linear modes on top of a Friedmann–Robertson–Walker background model. This connects the extensive literature on Bianchi models with the more commonly-adopted perturbation approach to general relativistic cosmological evolution. Expressions for the relevant metric perturbations in familiar coordinate systems can be extracted straightforwardly. Amongst other possibilities, this allows for future analysis of anisotropic matter sources in a more general geometry than usually attempted. We discuss the geometric mechanisms by which maximal symmetry is broken in the context of these models, shedding light on the origin of different Bianchi types. When all relevant length scales are super-horizon, the simplest Bianchi I models emerge (in which anisotropic quantities appear parallel transported). Finally we highlight the existence of arbitrarily long near-isotropic epochs in models of general Bianchi type (including those without an exact isotropic limit).


To the editor, It was with great interest that we read the article by von Meijenfeldt et al.[1] In this study, the results showed MPODNA complexes, as a special marker for neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), were independent predictors of transplantfree survival in patients with severe acute liver injury (ALI) or acute liver failure (ALF). This is an intriguing study; however, several points need a deep discussion. First, the authors showed that patients with acetaminophen (APAP) etiology had significantly lower plasma levels of MPODNA complexes than patients with other etiologies. The timing of blood sampling due to rapid admission may be one of the reasons, as previous studies have revealed that neutrophil activation has been rarely observed at or before the peak of APAPinduced ALI.[2] Moreover, a growing number of evidence have showed that neutrophils activation can also coordinate the resolution of inflammation, implying that there were two faces of neutrophil activation.[2] Hence, the role of neutrophil activation and NETs in APAPinduced ALI and ALF remains unclear, even though innate immunity including neutrophils and macrophage activation has been found to be involved in this setting.[3,4] Second, it is not clear whether NETs can activate coagulation in liver diseases.[5] Hence, more indepth analysis about NETs and coagulation in this research may provide a more comprehensive understanding and is encouraged. First, plasma markers of thrombosis (e.g., plasma thrombinantithrombin complexes, Ddimer levels), which were usually available in most clinical practice, could be recorded and analyzed. More importantly, as the interaction of NETs with platelets and coagulation factors may contribute to the formation of thrombi, colocalization of H3citB and platelets in the liver tissues by immunofluorescence could help determine whether there was an interaction between NETs with platelets in severe ALI and ALF. In conclusion, these data emphasize the need to classify the role of etiology and coagulation in NETs formation in severe ALI or ALF.


Most education agencies have implemented new teacher evaluation systems that promise to improve teacher performance. Post-observation performance feedback is a theoretically important driver of this promise as it should ultimately develop teacher-specific weaknesses. This is the first large-scale study to use the written feedback provided to early-career teachers during formal post-observation conferences and quantitatively link critical feedback characteristics (CFCs) to measures of teacher human capital. We find that most conferences do not include CFCs, that feedback is typically unidimensional, and that less effective early-career teachers receive higher shares of CFCs. However, goal-setting is the only CFC associated with subsequent teacher performance. Beginning and less-educated teachers, for whom goal-setting may clarify performance expectations, drive this relationship.


The spectroscopy of baryons composed of u, d and s quarks is being studied using a separable approximation to the quark-quark scattering kernel. As in the studies of mesons, the kernel is obtained by using a separable approximation to invert the DSE for the quark propagator. An initial focus of the study is to analyze the importance of diffuse diquark correlations in baryons and to determine accurately the effective mass and radius of these correlations. This Faddeev equation approach, which employs confined, dressed-quark quasi-particles, is a natural framework within which to calculate the {pi}-N {sigma}-term ({sigma}{sub N}) and preliminary results are in good agreement with the experimentally determined value. This indicates that {sigma}{sub N} is simply and directly related to the shift in the nucleon mass due to the nonzero bare quark masses. The approach also provides a straightforward, microscopic understanding of mass-splittings. The Faddeev amplitudes obtained will form the basis for the calculation of scattering observables such as electromagnetic form factors and Compton scattering.


Monkeypox virus is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that results in up to 10% mortality in humans. Knowledge of clinical manifestations and temporal progression of monkeypox disease is limited to data collected from rare outbreaks in remote regions of Central and West Africa. Clinical observations show that monkeypox infection resembles variola infection. Given the limited capability to study monkeypox disease in humans, characterization of the disease in animal models is required. A previous work focused on the identification of inflammatory patterns using PET/CT image modality in two non-human primates previously inoculated with the virus. In this work we extended techniques used in computer-aided detection of lung tumors to identify inflammatory lesions from monkeypox virus infection and their progression using CT images. Accurate estimation of partial volumes of lung lesions via segmentation is difficult because of poor discrimination between blood vessels, diseased regions, and outer structures. We used hard C-means algorithm in conjunction with landmark based registration to estimate the extent of monkeypox virus induced disease before inoculation and after disease progression. Automated estimation is in close agreement with manual segmentation.


local government as an efficient agency and also demonstrates that most local councillors have strong local roots and favour local participation. In contrast, unelected members of public boards tend to have less roots in a locality and are often far more sceptical about the value of public opinion. It also shows that whilst councillors generally believe local government to be more efficient than private sector business, the businessmen who (led) most TECs strongly consider the public sector to be less efficient than the private sector.


Examines the source of conflict between buyers and sellers as it relates to the price of goods purchased for use in production. Focuses on management's understanding and application of the term "maximize shareholder value", which is found to result in business decisions that marginalize suppliers' capabilities and interests. Concludes that conflict between buyers and sellers is an inevitable outcome when buyers make decisions principally centered upon the literal interpretation of management's role as agents of the board whose primary responsibility is to maximize shareholder value. This finding has widespread implications for both academics and practitioners, as making this linkage explicit defines the challenge for improving purchasing and supply chain management practices in a new way.


The article investigates the effectiveness of computer-mediated communication as a teaching tool. It gives the concept of "computer-mediated communication" and describes its main characteristics. The article covers some teaching principles and approaches for teaching computer-mediated communication.


Objective To introduce a new spinal surgery navigation system based on structured light scanning(structured light navigation system,SLNS),and to compare accuracy of pedicle screw placement using SLNS,CT based navigation system and free hand technique.Methods Thirty-two calf vertebral pedicles,40 and 32 were placed with pedicle screws using SLNS,CT navigation system,and free hand technique,respectively.The pedicle breakage ratio,transverse section angle (TSA),sagittal section angle (SSA),screw offset deviation of each screw were detected according to CT images.Results The pedicle breakage ratio of pedicle screws in SLNS group,CT navigation group and free hand group were 6%(2./32),5%(2/40),25%(8/32),respectively.The difference between each of the two navigation groups and free hand group were statistically significant regarding frequency of screw misplacement.The difference between the two navigation systems was not obvious.The average SSA error and TSA error in SLNS group were 2.58°±2.74° and 4.26°±5.20°.For CT navigation group,they were 2.95°±2.61° and 3.13°±-2.75°.There was no statistical difference between the two navigation methods for the SSA or TSA error.There was no statistical difference in offset deviation among SLNS group,CT navigation group and free hand group.Conclusion The SLNS is a new and practical navigation system,which has similar accuracy with CT navigation system.

Key words:
Surgery,computer-assisted; Spine; Bone screws


The peer review method is one of the problem learning methods. Its essence lies in the mutual study of each other's written works by students in order to comment and evaluate them for further revision. Like any teaching method, the peer review method has linguodidactic properties – characteristics that underlie it, essential for the methods of teaching foreign languages and distin-guishing this method from others. Also, the method of peer review has specific linguodidactic functions – an external manifestation of the linguodidactic properties of the teaching method, which show what educational and cognitive tasks are solved by using this method in practice in foreign language teaching. Based on the analysis of the literature, the following linguodidactic functions of this method are identified: a) the development of student mentoring in teaching;
b) sharing of responsibility by students for mastering the educational material; c) the use of blended learning in the implementation of the peer review method; d) changing the role of a teacher from a "bearer of knowledge" to a moderator of educational and cognitive activities of students; e) changing the ratio between classroom and extracurricular educational and cognitive activities of students; f) reduction of the terms of checking students' training written works. The work describes in detail each of the selected functions.


The paper explores the development of artificial neural network learning dynamics in terms of fuzzy uncertainty. In conventional artificial neural networks utilizing crisp variables, a set of error metrics required to achieve network convergence can be developed in the information-theoretic plane (based on the probabilistic uncertainty of the network variables). However, in a fuzzy neural network, consideration of fuzzy uncertainties can also facilitate a model to depict the convergence dynamics in the information-theoretic plane. A formulation is presented to achieve the fusion of a fuzzy neural network with the information-theoretic cost functions.


There are a variety methods that can characterize carbon dioxide (CO2) mixing ratios in the atmosphere at coarse scales, however mapping CO2 emissions and sequestration at fine scales remains a challenge. In this research, a new method for mapping microscale CO2 emissions in cities was developed. First, a compact, mobile CO2 sensor system was built using open source hardware and an infrared gas analyzer. Second, a measurement campaign was carried out in which 5 mobile sensors were deployed within a 12.7 km study area in the City of Vancouver, BC, Canada for 3.5 hours to map CO2 mixing ratios to a grid resolution of 100 m × 100 m. The CO2 mixing ratios ranged from 382 ppm to 518 ppm and averaged 417.1 ppm and were highest in the downtown and arterial roads and lowest in well vegetated and residential areas. Third, an aerodynamic resistance approach to calculating emissions was used to derive CO2 emissions from the mobile CO2 mixing ratio measurements in conjunction with data collected from a 24 m tall meteorological tower in the study area. The measured emissions showed a range of -12 to 225 kg CO2 ha −1 hr−1 and averaged 36.39 kg CO2 ha −1 hr−1. Fourth, an emissions inventory was developed for the study area using emissions estimates derived from buildings energy use and traffic counts. The emissions inventory averaged 25.88 kg CO2 ha −1 hr−1 and was used to compare against the measured emissions. The results showed strong linearity between median CO2 mixing ratios and the total emissions inventory (R 2 >0.9) binned at equal intervals. The results also indicated that the measured emissions and the total emissions inventory were positively correlated by 78.43% with 99.43% of the measured emissions within ± 1 order of magnitude of the emissions inventory. Ultimately, this research demonstrates the possibility of using a network of mobile sensors and an aerodynamic resistance approach to map emissions at high spatial resolution across a city. While further research is necessary, microscale emissions maps may be used to better inform urban policy and design as well as engage citizens about emissions reductions strategies.


Flooding is one of the most dangerous weather events today. Between $2015-2019$, on average, flooding has caused more than $130$ deaths every year in the USA alone. The devastating nature of flood necessitates the continuous monitoring of water level in the rivers and streams to detect the incoming flood. In this work, we have designed and implemented an efficient vision-based ensemble solution to continuously detect the water level in the creek. Our solution adapts template matching algorithm to find the region of interest by leveraging edge maps, and combines two parallel approach to identify the water level. While first approach fits a linear regression model in edge map to identify the water line, second approach uses a split sliding window to compute the sum of squared difference in pixel intensities to find the water surface. We evaluated the proposed system on $4306$ images collected between $3$rd October and $18$th December in 2019 with the frequency of $1$ image in every $10$ minutes. The system exhibited low error rate as it achieved $4.8$, $3.1\%$ and $0.92$ scores for MAE, MAPE and $R^2$ evaluation metrics, respectively. We believe the proposed solution is very practical as it is pervasive, accurate, doesn't require installation of any additional infrastructure in the water body and can be easily adapted to other locations.


Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder and can lead to many severe complications; however, the majority of patients remain undiagnosed. Although polysomnography (PSG) remains the gold standard of diagnosis, it is usually uncomfortable and costly for patients. Purpose: The study aims to assess the agreement of the AHI measured by polygraphy (PG) (Philips Alice NightOne) with that of polysomnography (Philips Alice PDx) simultaneously recorded in-lab. Methods: A total of 11 voluntary participants over 18 years old underwent one night of simultaneous PSG and PG recording in sleep laboratories. Studied parameters (AHI, OAI, CAI, MAI, and minSpO2) were analyzed and reported by the Philips Sleepware G3 software. PSG and PG results were scored by qualified staff. Results: In terms of AHI, the mean AHI derived from PG was different from that of PSG—7.78 and 2.37 events/h, respectively. A Bland–Altman analysis of the AHI on PSG versus PG showed a mean difference of 5.41; limits of agreement (equal to ±2 standard deviations) were from −6.74 to 17.56. The Bland–Altman analysis showed a slight difference between the two methods, with a mean difference of −0.12 events/h in CAI, 1.35 events/h in OAI, and 0.42 events/h in MAI. Conclusions: In the population with a low suspicion of OSA, the PG showed a low agreement with the simultaneous PSG in the sleep lab. Therefore, PG should only be used as a screening method. Further studies with sufficient sensors in the expanded populations of OSA are needed.


This paper presents case study of two existing high-rise buildings, each with its own unique challenges, where innovative seismic retrofit solutions were used to mitigate the critical deficiencies. The case study buildings include a 14story concrete residential tower and 14-story suspended floor slab building, both located in California in highly active seismic zones. The buildings were designed and constructed in the 1960's and both buildings were determined to pose a significant collapse hazard in the event of a major earthquake. Each of the buildings with its unique structural characteristics and design and construction constraints required unique seismic retrofit solutions. In one case an exterior solution consisting of Buckling Restrained Brace Frames was used while the other case primarily involved use of fluid viscous dampers at the interior of the building. Case Study I: 14-Story Nonductile Concrete Tower The first case study building is a 14-story existing concrete post-tensioned moment frame residential building located in Los Angeles, California. It was constructed around 1972 but was designed per the 1965 edition of the Uniform Building Code. The building has a relatively small rectangular floor plate with plan dimensions of approximately 75 ft x 105. The gravity system of the building consists of a post-tensioned concrete flat slab and the lateral system of the building consists of perimeter post-tensioned concrete moment frames with non-ductile detailing of the beams and columns. The slabs, column, and beams are all constructed using 5,000 psi lightweight concrete. The existing foundation system consists of isolated spread footings. 1 Managing Principal, Saiful/Bouquet Structural Engineers, 385 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91101 2 Vice President, Saiful/Bouquet Structural Engineers, 385 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91101 3 Principal, Saiful/Bouquet Structural Engineers, 385 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 200, Pasadena, CA 91101 Analysis of the existing building identified seismic concerns that needed to be addressed to achieve structural life-safety performance objective. The primary seismic concerns included: 1. Presence of Non-ductile Post-Tensioned Concrete Moment Frames: The existing lateral bracing system of the tower consists of perimeter non-ductile concrete post-tensioned moment frames. Pre-1976 concrete moment frame buildings such as this one were detailed and constructed without the proper reinforcing to provide adequate post-yield deformation capacity. The additional compression in these beams provided by the post-tensioning has the effect of further reducing the ductility of the beams. 2. Excessive Building Deflection: The results from the nonlinear time history analysis of the existing building showed that the tower will experience an maximum story drift of as much as 2.5% during the design earthquake (475-yr) event. These deformations were considered excessive in light of the "non-ductile" detailing of the building. 3. Excessive Joint Shear: Analysis also indicated that joint shear demands at several existing moment frame interior beam-column joints are over permissible joint shear stress limits due to the significant quantity of longitudinal reinforcement provided in the existing beams. While a significant amount of ties were provided in the beam-column joints (#5 bars at 2" spacing), the primary concern was the potential brittle crushing of the concrete in the joint core due to diagonal compression. The seismic retrofit of the 14-story building was approached as a voluntary seismic upgrade with the following stated objectives: (1) mitigate the major seismic deficiencies in the building, and (2) meet the life safety/collapse prevention intent of the current building code. In addition to addressing the structural seismic deficiencies, the owner required that a seismic retrofit solution be developed that is: (1) aesthetically acceptable (since it is one of the taller buildings in the area), (2) be non-intrusive, (3) minimize interior construction work, and (4) allow open views for the occupants. In order to meet these objectives, a performance-based design approach was utilized whereby the seismic retrofit design followed a two-stage process: 1. The seismic retrofit scheme was first designed based on linear dynamic response spectrum analysis using the design (475-year) response spectrum developed. An "R" value of 8.0 was used to reduce the force demands on the new elements. 2. The performance of the building system, including the retrofit design, was then verified by nonlinear time history analyses. To meet the intent of the building code, a set of two seismic performance objectives were established: (a) "Life Safety" performance for a Design-Basis (475-yr) earthquake (denoted EQ-III), and (b) "Collapse Prevention" for a Maximum Considered (2475-yr) earthquake (denoted EQ-IV). Table 1 shows the seismic design criteria used on this project. The proposed seismic upgrade consisted of adding new Buckling Restrained Brace Franes (BRBF's) on the exterior of the building to improve the overall lateral load resisting capability as well as to reduce the building drift. The new exterior BRBF's are located on each side of the existing building as shown in Figure 1a. The beams and columns of the new BRBF frames are constructed of reinforced concrete with steel embed plates which are used to connect the braces to the concrete frame. The new concrete frame is detailed as a moment frame to provide additional redundancy and mechanism for added energy dissipation. The buckling restrained braces used were manufactured by Nippon Steel and had design axial capacities varying anywhere between 230 kips (Type B1) to 700 kips (Type B5). Table 1 Building Acceptance Criteria for Nonlinear Verification Analyses Components EQ-III EQ-IV Buckling Restrained Braces Axial Strain (From Tests) 2.12% (Type B1) 3.04% (Type B2-B5) 2.12% (Type B1) 3.04% (Type B2-B5) Cumulative Plastic Ductility (From Tests) 400 (Type B1) 1260 (Type B2-B5) 400 (Type B1) 1260 (Type B2-B5) Existing Beams Plastic Rotation 0.01 rad. 0.015 rad. New Beams Plastic Rotation 0.02 rad. 0.025 rad. Figure 1 (a) Typical floor plan Figure 1(b) Building after retrofit The introduction of the exterior BRBF's effectively addressed the major seismic deficiencies of the existing building. Figure 1b shows the building after retrofit. Stable energy dissipation characteristics and non-degrading stiffness and strength behavior are particularly attractive features of the BRBF system for this building since the existing lateral system is comprised of non-ductile concrete moment frames with poor energy dissipation capacity. The addition of the new exterior concrete beams and columns over the existing moment frame also mitigated the excessive joint shear concern. The use of cast-in-place concrete beams and columns also allowed an easier and more reliable connection (via dowels) to the existing concrete elements of the building. The use of braces minimized obstruction to windows and allowed natural light into the dorm rooms. The exterior application of the BRBF system was very beneficial as it allowed work to be done from the outside without interior of the building. A three-dimensional nonlinear analysis model of the existing building and retrofit elements was created using the RAM Perform-3D computer program. The beams, columns and basement shear walls of the existing structure and the beams, columns and braces of the new BRBF's were modeled using nonlinear elements. The new and existing concrete beams were modeled using frame elements with moment-rotation hinges at each end. The corner columns which were subjected to significant axial loads and biaxial bending were modeled using frame elements with nonlinear fiber cross-sections at each end. All other columns were modeled using frame elements having moment-rotation hinges with P-M interaction surfaces. The new buckling-restrained braces were modeled using Perform-3D BRBF nonlinear elements. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 Drift Ratio (%) Fl oo r L ev el Retrofit


This chapter unravels the complexities of resistance to, and collaboration with, the British colonizers of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, by the inhabitants of the Upper Kat River Valley. Since the Khoikhoi landholders of the valley had received their land as a result of British action against the Xhosa, and had generally accepted the precepts of mission Christianity, it could on the one hand be expected that they would fight on the side of the British against the Xhosa. On the other hand, they were subjected to racist attacks by the British settlers whose farms they defended, and by British officials. In addition, the ethnic distinction, on which the British acted, between Xhosa and Khoikhoi was more tenuous than they generally assumed. As a result, in the successive wars on the Eastern Frontier, the stance taken by the Khoikhoi was often uncertain, and finally led to a minority joining the Xhosa, and thus going into rebellion against the British. Notes, ref., sum. [Book abstract]


Hyperspectral remote sensing presents a unique Big Data research paradigm through its rich data collected as hundreds of spectral bands which embodies vital spatial and spectral information about the underlying terrains. Typical hyperspectral data analysis methods are often based on spectral information. Although there has been prior efforts in literature for incorporation of spatial, spectral, contextual and other forms of information to improve the classification performance of hyperspectral data analysis, this additional information extraction and knowledge discovery process comes at the expense of increased computation and memory requirements. Therefore, the caveats of large scale data analysis such as increased computation, transmission and memory requirements presents a major impediment to efficient automation and classification performance of hyperspectral data analysis methods. In this respect, this paper presents a novel deep learning-based hyperspectral data analysis model, which provides an efficient means for automation and extraction of the spatial and spectral information present in the hyperspectral data compared to conventional spatial-or spectral information-only based methods. In this work, the concept of Gabor filtering is used for spatial feature extraction along with sparse random projections for computationally efficient spectral feature extraction and dimensionality reduction purposes. A convolutional neural network based supervised classification is then performed to validate the performance of the proposed method with respect to conventional spatial-spectral information extraction methods. Experimental results reveal that the proposed hyperspectral data analysis model outperforms the conventional spectral-spatial feature extraction techniques compared.


Despite high charge capacity, iridium oxide (IrOx) coating is susceptible to delamination under prolonged stimulation, restricting its long‐term application. Here, a flower‐shaped platinum (Pt) nanocrystal with intensive high‐surface area is developed as an intermediate layer for accumulating IrOx (<3 wt% Ir) with enhanced adhesion, showing a multiplier effect. The impedance of IrOx/Pt flower coated microelectrode at 1 kHz is down to ≈2 kΩ (reduction of 94.23%). The corresponding cathodic charge storage capacity (CSCc) and charge injection capacity (CIC) are increased up to 202.75 ± 2.18 and 6.53 ± 0.16 mC cm–2, respectively. IrOx layer adheres tightly to Pt nanocrystals, demonstrating robust chronic stability under continuous electrostimulation for 1 × 108 cycles. Besides, the as‐prepared coatings show good biosafety, and exhibit promising electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 0.5 m sulfuric acid (H2SO4), requiring a low overpotential of ≈150 mV to reach 10 mA cm–2. IrOx helps in reducing the Tafel slope of Pt flower from 162.9 to 41.1 mV dec–1 drastically, also with excellent durability after chronoamperometry test. Excellent antibacterial properties toward Escherichia coli are also observed. This coating strategy provides a functionalized flexible electrode for neural interface, water oxidation, and anti‐microbial contamination, which will moreover extend to numerous applications.


This paper describes the experience of implementing internal management contracts in a public hospital. These contracts are understood as tools within the context of co-management and, within the perspe ctive of humanization, as interventions in healthcare and management pract ices. With this focus, the methodological lines of the collective construc tion of such contracts and the indicators for the implementation process are p resented. Through the process of agreed targets and participative evaluat ion, the following results were observed: in addition to increasing the instit utional efficiency and effectiveness, the effects unleashed through these tools revealed their potential for transforming the work relationships, promoting coresponsibility between subjects and teams, adding v alue to workers and forming commitment networks for improved care.


Background: To study the left ventricular(LV) function in Type 2 Diabetes mellitus patients having no other known risk factors of myocardial dysfunction and to find out its correlation with severity of microalbuminuria. Methods: In this prospective observational study Type 2 DM patients fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria were subjected to Micral test . Those patients who were positive for microalbuminuria (n=62) underwent Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function .The severity of left ventricular dysfunction was statistically correlated with the severity of microalbumiuria . Results: Total number of patients in the study group were 62.(male 39 and female -23).The age range in the study group was 46-66 years (mean-53.7 years).The mean duration of the disease was 14.5 years(9-18 years).Mean BMI among the subjects was 27.17(21.05 to 36.89). The mean values of lipid profile were Total cholesterol 217 mg/dl, TG 188mg/dl, HDL-29.4 mg/dl, VLDL60 mg/dl and LDL159 mg/dl. Subjects with microalbuminuria in the range of 20mg/dl, 50mg/dl ,100mg/dl and 150 mg/dl were 18%,31%, 40% and 11% respectively.Majority of cases with LV dysfunction were above 50 years of age (81% of cases were >51 years).LV diastolic dysfunction was noted in 46% of cases and systolic dysfunction in 19% cases. 11% of patients had global LV dysfunction. The mean values of Ejection Fraction(EF) were from 61.12±5.11 to 43.00±2.16, mean value of cardiac output (CO) were from 4.11±0.27 to 3.11±0.4. Mean values of Isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) were from 108±9.9 to 116.43±7. and deceleration time(DT) from 232 ± 11.58 to 241 ± 12. The ejection fraction, fractional shortening and cardiac output were decreasing with increasing severity of microalbuminuria from 20mg/dl to 150 mg/dl with statistically significant values (P < 0.001, P < 0.001 and P <0.001 respectively) . similarly E point septal separation, Isovolumic relaxation time, Deceleration time and A/E ratio linearly increasing with severity microalbuminuria with P values <0.01, < 0.001, < 0.001, and < 0.001 respectively. Conclussions:Left ventricular dysfunction occurs in Type 2 DM and the severity of dysfunction well correlates with severity of microalbuminuria.


It is winter in America. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that we have a psychiatrist's self-disclosure that might give you the chills.


The UK government has indicated that it would like to pursue an opt-out of EU measures on police cooperation and criminal justice in 2014, in order to 'repatriate' criminal justice back to the UK. This week a UK House of Lords joint committee reported on its investigation of the opt-out, concluding that it could have negative repercussions. Alicia Hinarejos gave evidence to the joint committee, and argues that an opt-out might be costly for the UK, reduce its ability to police international crimes, and may force it to make concessions in other areas.


Abstract : As with all businesses competing in today's economically oriented health care environment, health service organizations are experiencing an increasing need to ensure the delivery of an acceptable, high quality product to its customers. A skilled staff and experienced, well trained mid-level managers are key elements to increasing efficiency and effectiveness in administrative and managerial functions and processes, and therefore, ensuring quality health care service. Recognizing this, the executive and senior level managers of Moncrief Army Community Hospital (MACH), Fort Jackson, South Carolina, were concerned that their mid-level managers were lacking competency in some requisite management skills, knowledge, and abilities (SKAs), and that these deficiencies were a detriment to the organization's mission and to the quality of services provided. The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify the training needs of MACH's mid-level managers and provide recommendations for a management development and training program. The results of this study demonstrated that all MACH mid-level managers have more than a marginal need for training in all required SKAs, and, although sociodemographics were not systemically predictive of individual and group training needs, certain sociodemographic-SKA relationships did demonstrate significance. Lastly, the findings of this study suggest that a fully reengineered management development and training program for MACH mid-level managers must be implemented and that further evaluation of training needs for all levels of managers and supervisors at MACH is warranted.


THERE are many uses for aluminum in the lamp industry. For example, it is the reflecting coating on all lamps of the sealed beam type; it is used in some lamps as a powder for its beneficial effect on lamp performance, and in the manufacture of a heat-reflecting disk to reduce the base and socket temperatures in some lamp designs. But by far the largest amount of the material is employed in its newest use, the manufacture of bases. This paper is a discussion of data and tests on aluminum as it performs as a base-making material.


Johansen's cointegration technique was utilized with annual data on exchange rates and GDP deflators to investigate the validity of long-run PPP (power purchasing parity) in emerging markets during the 1955–2005 period. We found support for PPP. Given the globalization of financial markets and their impacts on the macroeconomy, PPP is a useful guide for exchange rate policy reforms.


It discloses a novel salt compositions of creatine and taurine salt (health food, food supplement or pharmaceutical) containing the salt.


Efforts to reduce protein in fish feed by maximizing the use of carbohydrates as an energy source must be supported by exogenous enzymes. One source of exogenous enzymes that can be used as a polysaccharide degrading agent easily obtained and wasted is rumen liquid in slaughterhouses (RPH). This study aims to determine the most effective carbohydrate level after being given rumen liquid as a source of exogenous enzymes in maximizing nutrient digestibility and feed efficiency in milkfish (Chanos chanos Forsskal). This study was designed using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) which consisted of 4 treatments and three replications. Thus there were 12 experimental units. The treatments tested were feeds with various levels of carbohydrates (27.81%; 39.50%; 46.97%; and 56.75%) then given cow rumen liquid as a source of the enzyme at a dose of 80 mL/100 g of feed. Nutrient digestibility and feed efficiency data obtained were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and continued with the W-Tuckey test. The results showed that feeding with various levels of carbohydrates in the feed that was first given cow rumen liquid waste had a significant effect (P<0.05) on fibre digestibility, carbohydrate digestibility, and feed efficiency of milkfish, but had no significant impact (P>0.05) on total digestibility, protein digestibility, and fat digestibility of milkfish. The most effective carbohydrate level in feed after being given cow rumen liquid which can optimize nutrient digestibility and feed efficiency of milkfish, is 46.97%.


$g\in G$ (see Definition 2.8). If each of the triple $(G, H, L)$ is reductive then Kobayashi [4] has proved that $L$ acts properly on $G/H$ if and only if the triplet $(G, H, L)$ has the (CI) property. Conjecture 1.1 may be regarded as an analogy to nilpotent cases. Conjecture 1.1 is known to be true in the case of lower dimensional nilpotent Lie groups ([5], [13]). There are counter examples of Conjecture 1.1 if we drop some of assumptions: 1. If $H$ is not connected, then the implication $(CI)\Rightarrow proper$ may fail even though


Flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) of 3-azolylpropenyl alcohols 5–7, 12 or 15 at 650–700 °C (10–2–10–3 Torr) causes loss of water and cyclisation to give 3H-pyrrolizine 8 and its analogues 9, 10, 13 and 16; at higher temperatures (e.g. 900 °C) 5H-pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoindole 13 decomposes by loss of HCN to give naphthalene 18 and benzofulvene 19 and the mechanism of this transformation is studied by deuterium labelling.


One intention of this work was to investigate the peak value, shape and duration of the force and deformation pulses when a surface is loaded with a falling weight deflectometer (fwd). The pulse initiated by the fwd simulates a fast moving wheel load. To ensure that the load impulse is evenly distributed over the surface, alternative solutions have been examined. The best results were obtained if uneven surfaces, such as gravelled roads, were made even with sand on which the loading plate was placed without a rubber plate between the loading plate and sand levelling. The fwd has also been used for control of the increase in bearing capacity on a subgrade of clay stabilized with slaked lime. The possibility of using the fwd for compaction control was examined; the correlation between compaction and dynamic elastic modulus was found to be low. /TRRL/


This paper analyzes on the main interference sources of PLC system, and presents some anti-interference measures based on the hardware and software.


Cleaning agents used for ultrasonic cleaning technology, especially the substitutes for CFC are introduced. Non-cleaning technology is also discussed, including its important procedures, applications and advantages


1 Assistant Lecturer, Department of business administration of Makerere University Business School 2 Senior Lecturer, Department of human resource management of Makerere University Business School 3 Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education of Makerere University Business School 4 Lecturer, Department of finance of Makerere University Business School 5 Senior Lecturer, Department of management science of Makerere University Business School


In the present work, we studied zircons from the less foliated granites of the Chail Group, which form a thrust sheet of the Lesser Himalayan Sequences, Garhwal region. Compositionally, these granites are S–type, formed in a collisional tectonic setting. Zircons possess an internal structure, mineral inclusions, and geochemical characteristics typical of magmatic origin. The U–Th–Pb geochronology and geochemistry were assessed using the laser ablation multi–collector inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) technique. U–Th–Pb isotope dating of zircons from two different samples revealed their age, estimated from the upper intersection of the discordia, to be 1845 ± 19 Ma. Zircons from one sample contained inherited cores belonging to three age groups: Paleoarchean (3.52 Ga), Neoarchean (2.78 Ga and 2.62 Ga), and Paleoproterozoic (2.1 Ga). Zircons with ages of 3.52, 2.62, and 2.1 Ga were interpreted as magmatic based on their geochemical characteristics. The 2.78 Ga core was interpreted as metamorphic. The observed inheritance is consistent with the melting of sedimentary rocks. The inherited zircons could have originated from Aravalli and Bundelkhand Craton and Paleoproterozoic Aravalli Fold Belt rocks. This confirms that the studied granites are S–type and could have been formed in a collisional environment at 1.85 Ga on the western flank of the Columbia Supercontinent.


Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The mandate of the Convention and its 197 Parties is to support "a future that avoids, minimizes, and reverses desertification/land degradation and mitigates the effects of drought in affected areas at all levels – and to achieve a land degradation-neutral world consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." The Global Land Outlook (GLO), the UNCCD's flagship publication released every 4 years, is a state-of-the-art strategic communications product providing a transformative vision and framework for land management practice, policy and planning at global, regional and national scales.


An optical biosensor based on a grating to be utilized for the detection of DNA target molecules was fabricated by photolithographic techniques. The sensor surface implements a grating to create a low effective refractive index platform via the combination of Si3N4 and SiO2 which allows the detection via changes of the reflectivity spectra. The active surface carried a layer of probe biomolecules for specific binding of the target DNA. Immobilization of the probe molecules was carried out via streptavidin using biotin modified ssDNA complementary to the target ssDNA. When molecules attached to the surface of the device, the position of the reflectance spectrum shifted due to the change of the optical path of light that is coupled into the grating structure. The extent of the wavelength shift of the peaks could be used to quantify the amount of materials bound to the sensor surface thereby allowing detection of the surface modifications as well as the quantification of the DNA analyte. The advantages of this device are that it works with a small sample volumes (few microlitres), are integratable in micro array type of setups and can be used at room temperature.


Electrical terminals comprising engaging, wiring and the lead strain relief portion. Insulating the wiring portion and the cut edge recesses, piercing the insulating layer insulated wire and the lead wire is electrically connected to the metal core. Lead strain relief portion has three ears upstanding from each side wall, the side walls from both sides of the bottom convex. Each triangular ears stress and projecting barbs eliminate sharp edges, end edges extending from the sharp edge facing the inner portion of the wiring portion. The strain relief has a bottom portion arranged in rectangular projection, the projection extending into the tip of the strain relief portion. When inserted into the ears lead wiring portion crimped around the wire insulation so that the barbs bite into the wire and the insulating layer protrusion.


The last decades have witnessed an increasing interest in the concept of 'integration' in the study of organizational and inter- organizational phenomena, whether of permanent or temporary nature. ...


I consider a mechanism design problem of selling multiple goods to multiple bidders when the designer has minimal amount of information. I assume that the designer only knows the upper bounds of bidders' values for each good and has no additional distributional information. The designer takes a minimax regret approach. The expected regret from a mechanism given a joint distribution over value profiles and an equilibrium is defined as the difference between the full surplus and the expected revenue. The designer seeks a mechanism, referred to as a minimax regret mechanism , that minimizes her worst-case expected regret across all possible joint distributions over value profiles and all equilibria. I find that a separate second-price auction with random reserves is a minimax regret mechanism for general upper bounds. Under this mechanism, the designer holds a separate auction for each good; the formats of these auctions are second-price auctions with random reserves.


Given an arbitrary $2^\omega \times 2^w$ unitary matrix, a powerful matrix decomposition can be applied, leading to the synthesis of a w-qubit quantum circuit performing the unitary transformation. The demonstration is based on a recent theorem by F\"uhr and Rzeszotnik, generalizing the scaling of single-bit unitary gates $(\omega=1)$ to gates with arbitrary value of $\omega$. The synthesized circuit consists of controlled 1-qubit gates, such as NEGATOR gates and PHASOR gates. We propose a numerical approach to compute the design using a generalization of the Sinkhorn algorithm to scale unitary matrices.


Examined is a multivariate method for evaluating the appropriateness of program placement in an institution for the mentally retarded. Six criterion groups were formed from among those residents attending educational programs in a developmental program sequence; then the groups were subjected to discriminant analysis. Dependent measures consisted of metrics derived from the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale and the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale and included chronological age. The central question of the study was whether the six groups could be separated from one another and, if so, to determine those resident attributes accounting for such differentiation. The major findings were that the measures employed did significantly differentiate among the groups, and that adaptive behavior attributes relevant to programming goals accounted for most group differences. The implications of these findings for the evaluation of the placement aspect of programming are discussed.


V Mkhitarian, D Pavlyuk and S Sidorov This volume contains the papers presented at CMDM 2020: The Fifth Workshop on Computer Modelling in Decision Making which was a big success by holding via online platform on November 26-27, 2020. The CMDM 2020 workshop brought together researchers, postgraduate students and academics interested in computer and mathematical modelling in decision making in different areas. The CMDM 2020 workshop's main topics were computer and mathematical modeling for decision support in solving problems arising in industry, engineering, finance, insurance, as well as decision support methods and tools for data analysis, machine learning, forecasting, analytics, and their applications. The workshop was co-organized by Saratov State University (Saratov, Russia), the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the Department of Statistics and Data Analysis of Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia). The CMDM 2020 workshop was held online due to the pandemic of COVID-19 and was co-located with the IX International Research and Practice Conference on Mathematical and Computer Modelling in Economics, Insurance and Risk Management, Saratov, Russia, November 25-28, 2020. The virtual format of the workshop was a first and novel attempt in this difficult year, but we are very satisfied that we have made it a success. Thirty two papers were submitted and twelve papers were accepted for presentation at the workshop after a careful peer reviewing process with discussions among reviewers and members of the program committee. All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. Each paper was reviewed by at least two reviewers or members of the program committee. We would like to thank all reviewers for their helpful efforts. The Editors, Vladimir Mkhitarian, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia Dmitry Pavlyuk, Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Riga, Latvia Sergei Sidorov, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia Program committee: Vladimir Mkhitarian, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia – Co-chair Dmitry Pavlyuk, Transport and Telecommunication Institute, Riga, Latvia – Co-chair Sergei Sidorov, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia – Co-chair Abraham Althonayan, Brunel University London, London, UK Vladimir Balash, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia Tatiana Belkina, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Sergei Dudov, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia Boris Mirkin, Professor, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia Yuri Blinkov, Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia


The internal coordination within large government departments assumes greater significance as the ministries grow larger and more complicated structurally.Effective internal coordination not only enhances chances for success of the Super-Ministry System that our government is promoting,but ensures its overall executive efficiency,improves organizational cohesion and cost-effectiveness.However,difficulties abound and constrain the effectiveness of intra-ministry coordination.In order to mitigate the problems and enhance efficiency,we should build sound organizational culture within the big ministries,carefully design the organizational structure,and reasonably define their range of responsibilities.Systemic protocols and channels should be instated to streamline internal coordination and offices specializing in intra-department coordination should be created.


Objective. To evaluate genetic mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and virulence of invasive strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from inpatients using whole genome sequencing.Materials and methods. For two carbapenem-resistant multiple-antibiotic-resistant invasive strains of K.pneumoniae, as well as two carbapenem-sensitive invasive strains of K.pneumoniae, sequencing was performed using the MiSeq genomic sequencer (Illumina). Genomic sequences were assembled and annotated. Sequence type determination, search for plasmids and virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes, and efflux mechanisms were performed.Results. K.pneumoniae strains belonged to sequence types ST395, ST101, ST111, and ST512 s and had a hypermucoid phenotype. The iutA aerobactin genes were detected in both sensitive and carbapenem-resistant strains. Virulence genes fimH, fyuA, and irp2 were detected in one strain isolated from blood. Carbapenemase genes (blaKPC, blaNDM) were detected in two strains. Aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones resistance genes were detected in 3 of 4 strains. All strains showed the presence of different systems of active antibiotic elimination from the microbial cell.Conclusion. The possibility of identifying hypervirulent strains of K.pneumoniae using a complex phenotypic test along with hvKp genotyping is shown. The results of full-genome sequencing reflect significant resistance of hypervirulent K.pneumoniae strains isolated from blood to most antibiotics, including β-lactams, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, phosphomycin, chloramphenicol and polymyxins.


York, Inc., 1919. Pp. xi+224. BUCKNER, CHESTER A. Educational Diagnosis of Individual Pupils. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1919. Pp. ix +93CARY, C. P. The State and the Public Schools. Madison, Wis.: State Department of Public Instruction, 1919. Course of Study-Baltimore County Schools. Baltimore: Warwick & York, Inc., 1919. Pp. viii+698. $2.75CUMMINS, ROBERT ALEXANDER. Improvement and the Distribution of Practice. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1919. Pp. vi +72. DEWEY, EVELYN. New Schools for Old. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co.,


The hydrogen-transfer between hydrogen donors and model compounds was studied by using n-C 20 and phenanthrene as model compounds, tetralin as hydrogen donor, and deuterated tetralin C 10 D 12 as deuterated H-donor. The results show that in dual system of paraffin and hydrogen donor, inhibition of thermal- or hydro-cracking of paraffin with tetralin was ascribed to the dehydrogenation of tetralin for scavenging the thermal radicals. It is found that there existed a substantial isotopic effect between H-donor and D-donor. On the other hand, Deuterium-transferring in the ternary system of eicosane, phenanthrene and deuterated tetralin under nitrogen and hydrogen shows that poly-ring aromatics could get hydrogen transferred from donor and yield derivative hydroaromatics.


Some social, economic, and behavioral outcomes are affected by natural experiments, or treatments that take place not by design but by natural occurrences. Treatment effects in natural experimental settings or observational studies are difficult to assess because there may be potential selection bias generated by hidden confounders and because counterfactuals are unobservable, regardless of how many control variables the analyst includes in the model. Whilst panel data in general allow the researcher to better gauge causal effects and factor into individual heterogeneity, they are not immune to possible hidden bias. This paper attempts to assess such potential hidden bias of teenage births, a natural " treatment " event, on an outcome variable such as the mother's postnatal mental wellbeing. When there is no hidden bias, propensity score matching provides an estimate of the treatment effect on an outcome variable. However, matching methods are not robust against hidden bias arising from unobserved variables simultaneously affecting assignment to treatment and the outcome variable. A viable strategy to deal with the problem is the Rosenbaum bounds approach, which provides a " worst-case " scenario. The bounds convey important information about the level of uncertainty contained in matching estimators by showing just how large the influence of a hidden confounder must be to undermine the conclusions of an analysis based on matched data. The first 10 waves of the British Household Panel Survey data are used to estimate the bounds, thus the sensitivity, of the " treatment " effects of teenage motherhood on postnatal mental wellbeing to see how robust these effects are in various years from births.


The invention relates to a device for regulating the air supply which of a filter (2) regulates air coming through a duct (3) to an evaporator (6) with memory function of a motor vehicle, wherein the channel (3) three mutually running through in the longitudinal direction walls (4) having separate channel branches (5). Here, the device (1) in particular two flaps (7).


The incorporation of (a) sorbic acid (0.18 and 0.90 g kg−1, fresh weight basis) and potassium sorbate (0.90 g kg−1) with chopped lucerne, and (b) sorbic acid (0.90 g kg−1) and potassium sorbate (0.90 g kg−1) with chopped maize (whole-plant) at the time of ensiling, led to a reduction in the surface spoilage associated with the ensilage of these two forages. Use of sorbic acid (0.90 g kg−1) and potassium sorbate (0.90 g kg−1) led to (a) a reduction of volatile nitrogen (VN), higher levels of residual water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) in lucerne silage and more aerobically stable lucerne silage and (b) a reduction in weight loss, population of yeasts and moulds, and VN, higher levels of WSC in maize silage and more aerobically stable maize silage when compared to the untreated forages or forages treated with sorbic acid and potssium sorbate at 0.045 and 0.18 g kg−1 (fresh weight basis), respectively.