This paper takes as college students consumer as the subject,studying their sports consumption motivation,sports consumption self-concept and sports consumption behavior.Then the author discusses the relationship between sports consumption self-concept and consumption motivation,the manners in which sports consumption self-concept and consumption motivation guide sports consumption behavior,the possibility of predicting the consumption behavior,seeking the interaction among these three side.The result shows that among the factors influencing the university students' sports consumption behavior,both the objective and subjective factors affect the formation and training of their consumption behavior.These factors are associated with the immediate effect of the sports consumption motivation,and with the direct or indirect influence of the self-concept in sports consumption.


"A cow that is healthy in every other respect, but has a diseased or nonproducing udder, is worthless in a dairy herd. The prevention and treatment of the diseases which bring about this condition are discussed in this bulletin. The limitations of a bulletin of this kind preclude anything more than a brief discussion of each disease and a suggested line of simple treatment adapted to the means and condition of the average dairyman." -- p. ii. Diseases discussed include inflammatory diseases, abscesses, gangrene, tuberculosis, cowpox, warts, tumors, fistulas, bad flavors and odors, bloody emissions, and fevers.


PUPPETRY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FEBURARY 1995 JOHN L. TIERNEY B.A., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Patricia Silver The use of puppetry to motivate and teach children in early education settings has a long tradition, yet there is very little research evidence linking puppetry training for teachers to the use of puppets in early elementary school classrooms. In this study, 120 early childhood educators completed a survey about the use of puppetry in schools and their perceived value as an educational tool. Teachers were also asked to indicate the type of training they had had in puppetry skills (college course, workshop, both college and workshop, neither), and their perceived abilities as puppeteers. The survey data were tabulated to determine overall frequency response rates. Chi Square analyses were used to examine relationships between the type of training and the following factors: the overall use of puppetry in the classroom; teachers' perceived ability as a puppeteer; the number of professional programs presented in the classrooms; and teachers' attitudes towards the effectiveness of puppetry in the classroom.


The memory control charts, including cumulative sum (CUSUM) and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts, are widely used to monitor small‐to‐moderate shifts in the process location and/or dispersion. The homogenously weighted moving average (HWMA) control chart is the advanced form of the EWMA control chart to monitor process location shifts. Besides, the auxiliary information‐based memory control charts efficiently monitor process location shifts. The objective of this study is to propose an auxiliary information based double HWMA, symbolized as DHWMAAIB control chart to further enhance the monitoring of process location shifts. The DHWMAAIB control chart is modeled by mixing the auxiliary information‐based HWMA plotting statistic features into the other HWMA control chart. For numerical results, Monte Carlo simulations are used as a computational technique. Famous performance measures including average run length ( ARL ), extra quadratic loss, relative ARL , and performance comparison index are used to compare the performance of proposed DHWMAAIB control chart against other control charts including classical CUSUM and EWMA, mixed EWMA ‐ CUSUM , auxiliary information based EWMA ( EWMAAIB ), HWMA, auxiliary information based HWMA ( HWMAAIB ), and double HWMA control charts. The comparisons revealed that the proposed control chart outperformed other control charts, especially for small‐to‐moderate process location shifts. An automobile braking system application is also provided for users and practitioners to demonstrate the importance of the proposed study from a practical perspective.


AbstractThe great interest in carbon dioxide lasers stems from their continuous power capability, high efficiency and ease of construction. The CO2 laser is a gas type laser with a wavelength of 10.6μm in infrared region. Their high efficiency and tremendous power outputhave made them one of the most commonly known transition wavelength facilitates laser cutting, drilling and marking of a wide variety ofmaterials in the electronics and medical industries. CO2 gas discharge laser operation was characterized in power, cutting speed and stability over a long time. The resultsindicate a good operation, optimum powers and beam quality with maximum speed. So CO2 laser are used for cutting and welding of metals and nonmetals. In this paper we discuss about cutting of steel material by using CO2 laser.


The purpose of this study was firstly, to evaluate the contents of vocabulary game applications for young children's language learning. and secondly, to examine whether there is any differences between Korean and English word games in terms of the evaluation score. For this purpose, the word game applications in smart phone and tablet PC were analyzed, which included 30 Korean word games and another 30 English ones. The criteria to evaluate the contents were developed based on Children's Software Evaluation Instrument developed by CTR, the multimedia evaluation standard by Hee Sook Park, Young Joo Lee, and mobile contents evaluation standard by Soo Ui Choi. As a result, the educational value got the highest score whereas the design characteristics area got the lowest score in the whole evaluation analysis. And English word game applications mostly got higher score than Korean versions. The result of this study would suggest the way to evaluate educational game applications in use and to contribute to developing educational game contents aimed at young children's language learning. ■ keyword :∣Smart-Phone∣Vocabulary Learning Game∣Application∣Young Children∣ * 본 연구의 초기내용은 2012년 한국 HCI 학회 학술대회에서 "유아용 단어게임 애플리케이션 분석"이라는 제목으로 발표되 었고 그 내용을 수정보완 한 것이며 2010년도 정부재원(교육과학기술부 인문사회연구역량강화사업비)으로 한국연구재단 의 지원을 받아 연구된 것임(NRF-2010-32A-B00183 )." 접수일자 : 2013년 07월 23일 수정일자 : 2013년 08월 21일 심사완료일 : 2013년 09월 17일 교신저자 : 연혜민, e-mail : firstname.lastname@example.com 한국콘텐츠학회논문지 '13 Vol. 13 No. 11 552


ABSTRACT An inhibition immunoassay for the determination of total 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-OHC) in human serum samples using the BIACORE biosensor is described. 7-OHC-BSA was immobilised onto BIACORE sensor chips and 7-OHC was premixed with a polyclonal anti-7-OHC antibody and injected over this surface. Excess antibody bound to the immobilised conjugate, generating a binding response that was inversely proportional to the amount of 7-OHC in the sample. The sample buffer was formulated to minimise non-specific binding of serum components to the sensor surface. Regeneration of the sensor surface was optimised such that the conjugate-coated surface retained acceptable antibody-binding capacity over 64 binding-regeneration cycles. The recovery of free drug from samples spiked with 7-hydroxycoumarin-glucuronide (7-OHCG) approximated 100%, while the inter- and intra-day coefficients of variation for the assay were less than 8.76% for 5 replicates. The assay had a measuring range of 0.5 – 80 μg/ml. This BIACORE-bas...


Aromatic poly(amide amine)s (APAAs), as novel high-performance polymers, have been obtained by the condensation polymerization of N,N'-bis(4-bromobenzoyl)-p-phenylenediamine with two different primary aromatic diamines via palladium-catalyzed aryl amination reaction. The structures of the polymers are characterized by means of FTIR, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis, the results show a good agreement with the proposed structures. DSC and TGA measurements exhibit that polymers possess high glass transition temperature (Tg > 240 °C) and good thermal stability with high decomposition temperatures (T5 > 400 °C). These novel polymers also display good solubility. In addition, due to its special structure, APAA-2 is endowed with significantly strong photonic luminescence in N,N-dimethylformamide and good electroactivity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 4845–4852


Aiming at the problems in the design and manufacturing process of mechanical products,an interactive,distributed information management platform for the product design and manufacturing process is developed.According to the digital design and manufacturing process of mechanical products,the digital information is classified into design analysis data,graphics data and management data.The engineering database is applied to managing the information.A digital design and manufacturing information management platform for mechanical products is developed via Web technology.The application of the platform to the design and manufacturing of some product show that it can realize exchanging and sharing the information on the Web,but also meet the requirements of collaborative design,do beneficial exploration to improve the ability with informatization method to promote mechanical product design and manufacturing industry.


One of the puzzling conditions encountered in the practice of pediatrics is the fairly well-defined syndrome known as cceliac disease. This condition was originally described in 1888 by Gee29 who formulated as the principal symptoms: distended abdomen, pronounced emaciation affecting the limbs more than the face, muscular atrophy, anemia, and a white diarrhea. Cheadle20 called the condition "acholia", believing, despite the absence of jaundice, that the pale color of the stools resulted from a lack of bile secretion into the intestine. What appears to be the same syndrome was described in 1908 by Herter34 under the name of "intestinal infantilism", with the same symptoms as described by Gee. Heubner"6 designated the disease, which he considered to involve a constitutional weakness of the digestive apparatus, by the noncommittal title of "schwere Verdauungsinsuffizienz beim Kinde jenseits des S'auglingsalters". Modern opinion (Miller52, Neff54, Thaysen80) concurs that Gee, Cheadle, Herter, and Heubner were describing the same disease complex, for which, in view of its obscure etiology, Miller and Neff suggest the retention of Gee's original name of cceliac disease. The similarity of coeliac disease and tropical sprue is emphasized by Thaysen80 81, who considers that Gee's "cceliac affection of Englishmen returning from India" could be nothing but tropical sprue. Thaysen78, and later Holmes and Starr38, in describing under the name of non-tropical sprue a sprue-like affection of northern countries, emphasize the strong resemblance between nontropical sprue, cceliac disease, and tropical sprue, and Thaysen80 discusses all three diseases, which he considers to be identical, under the name of "idiopathic steatorrhea".


leadership and change in the multilateral trading system leadership and change in the multilateral trading system leadership and change in the multilateral trading system leadership and change in the multilateral trading system apec, the wto and asia-pacific leadership for global trade china and the multilateral trading system by robert z china's status and influence in the multilateral trade system part i wto time to restore a balanced, rules-based multilateral change an peter drysdale columbia university deadlocks in multilateral negotiations assets the seychelles time for wto membership and multilateral american leadership in the emerging global economy gpo networks design and management tidtid chapter 3 settling disputes world trade organization leaders make the future ten new leadership skills for an tc013-13 the global trading system and the dynamics of leadership and the persistent development challenge policy manual of steel construction 8th edition aisc eleina convert pages to word oligra skin immune system sis 2nd edition hilfsweise the world trade organization leadership transition the multilateral trading system of the future unctad xiii 1987 southwind rv manual dramland 2013 gmc sierra parts manual edbl trade and development symposium ictsd annual council sessions wcoomdpublications future of the multilateral trading system: why the wto neural networks theory firext the state of the trading system, the wto and the doha urisys 1100 users manual dfnk yamaha t9 9w f9 9w outboard service repair workshop manual csc exam flashcard study system csc test practice suggestions for a trade-related work programme national foreign trade council, inc. nftc possible responses challenges to the multilateral trading the centre for international governance innovation working trade patterns and trade clusters: the impact of cibs on restoring multilateral trade cooperation reflections on the international trading system and in support of international trade: business leaders speak out


Introduction:Vitamin D, a steroid vitamin, has attracted noticeable interest of clinicians and researchers for decades because of its diverse array of biological functions. Various studies have shown that the level of vitamin D is low in significant proportion of healthy individuals. However, indoor workers especially health care professionals are not focused, particularly in Nepal. We aimed to measure level of vitamin D in apparently healthy health care professionals.Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in apparently healthy health care professionals working at Kathmandu University Hospital in Dhulikhel, Nepal. Structured questionnaire including sociodemographics, dietary habits, and anthropometric measurements was filled in by the participants. Total serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D was measured by Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) technique. Results were analyzed with t-test, Chi-square test, and Pearson correlation test.Results:Data from 64 female and 47 male were analyzed, mean 25-hydroxy vitamin D level was 8.81 ng/dl (SD = 4). Almost all (98.2%, n = 109) participants had vitamin D lower than normal where 72.7% (n = 92) were deficient, 24.5% (n = 17) were insufficient, and only 2.7% (n = 2) were having adequate level. Non-specific body pain was the only factor among all we studied that was significantly associated with vitamin D levels (p = 0.002).Conclusion:Hypovitaminosis of 25-hydroxy vitamin D was found to be very common (98.2%) in apparently healthy health care subjects of Dhulikhel Hospital. This may necessitate further research to redefine the biological reference value for our population. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22502/jlmc.v6i1.173


According to official data from Italian National Institute of Health to date 26th of march 2020 the We report a case of a 50 years old man with typical clinical picture of SARS-CoV-2 infection that was admitted to Emergency Department at Assisi Hospital. ABSTRACT The impACT of CoViD-19 on ChRoniC oBSTRuCTiVe pulmonARy DiSeASe: A CASe RepoRT Info Authors : 1 Emergency Department USL UMBRIA1 Assisi (Perugia) 2 Radiology Department Asl Umbria 1, Assisi Hospital, Italy 3 Bambino Gesù Hospital – Rome, Italy


SYNTHESIS OF PEPTIDE-LIGAND CONJUGATES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS by NITINKUMAR DILIPKUMAR JABRE August 2011 Advisor: Jeremy J. Kodanko, Ph.D. Major: Chemistry Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Three research areas pertaining to this dissertation, (i) synthesis strategies of peptideligand conjugates, (ii) their applications and (iii) chemistry of ferryls were surveyed in the introduction chapter. Next, the divergent and dual divergent strategies for the synthesis of non-heme ligand-peptide conjugates were developed. Using these strategies various peptideligand conjugates were synthesized via solution as well as solid phase synthesis. The scope and the functional group compatibility of these strategies were also established. The utility of the dual divergent strategy has been demonstrated by synthesizing a small library of metalbinding LHRH analogues. This work showcased the ability of the dual divergent strategy to rapidly construct the diverse array of ligand structures. In another application, the synthesis and characterization of the first ferryl-peptide conjugate was presented. In this work the reactivity and the mechanistic study for this ferryl-peptide conjugate were also described. From the mechanistic studies it has been proven that the remote benzyl group controls the stability of ferryl-peptide conjugate via an intramolecular hydrogen atom transfer mechanism.


The wild endangered medical plants resources in Heili River Nature Reserve of Inner Mongolia were studied.Through field investigation,collecting specimen,classification and identification,consulting literature,about 540 medical plants in Heili River Nature Reserve were preliminarily confirmed.Among them,there were 13 species of national protective endangered plants,belonging to 8 families and 13 genera.The habitat,efficacy and modern study progresses of 13 species of endangered plants were expounded.It was pointed out that the wild endangered medical plants in the protective area in recent years were damaged in various degrees.And some protection and utilization countermeasures were proposed.


Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a major environmental problem worldwide. Apart from their adverse effects on aquatic habitat, and possible economic losses, they also pose a serious threat to public health. Future climatic uncertainties that include possible shifts in patterns of climatic variables are points of concern in terms of how such changes would affect the development, growth, and duration of HABs. Weather whiplash, abrupt dry-to-wet or wet-to-dry condition transitions, is one of these shifts in climatic patterns and despite its potential environmental impacts, few studies have examined the implications of such changes on lake water quality. Lake Champlain, located on the US-Canada border, has repeatedly faced cyanobacterial HABs predominately in its shallow bays. The aim of the current work is to (i) investigate potential changes in the persistence of hydroclimatic variables (precipitation and temperature) and (ii) examine their effects on cyanobacterial HABs in the lake’s shallow Missisquoi Bay. Our approach focuses on short-term persistence (STP) shifts over different timescales (daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual). STP scenarios that capture these plausible shifts are constructed using projected climate scenarios for the period 2000-2040. An Integrated Assessment Model that simulates the Missisquoi Basin’s physical processes, including watershed hydrology, management, and the Missisquoi Bay’s water quality dynamics, is utilized to run the modeled STP scenarios for each timescale. The determination of changes in STP through a scenario-based approach offers a framework to rigorously investigate the effects of persistence at different timescales on lake cyanobacterial HABs.


Many of the formalisms available for describing real-time systems and assessing their performance are based on some flavor of Petri nets. Most of these formalisms are expressive but not analyzable, or vice-versa. To overcome these limitations, the authors increase the expressiveness of a current formal method, by extending it with controlled forms of transition expansions. An example is discussed.<<ETX>>


Nine 1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2-benzoxepin derivatives have been prepared as mimics of the folded (gauche) conformation of cyclamenaldehyde (1) and related compounds, but none of them showed the typical lily-of-the valley (muguet) odour activity. However, conversion of these substances to previously unknown analogues of 1 having a Me substituent on the aromatic ring in an ortho position to the side chain led to new fragrance substances with remarkable properties. The results indicate that the extended (anti) conformation is more likely to be the 'bioactive' one at the receptor site(s).


Given a connected graph G=(V, E) (without any isolates), a set ${\mathcal {S}} \subseteq$V is a total dominating set if each node i$\in$V is adjacent to at least one node in $\mathcal{S}$. A total dominating set $\mathcal{S}$ is minimal iff there does not exist a node i$\in \mathcal{S}$ such that the set $\mathcal{S}$-{i} is a total dominating set. In this paper, we propose a new self-stabilizing algorithm for minimal total dominating set. The stabilization time is O(n2) steps using a central daemon, and the space requirement at each node is O(logn) bits for an arbitrary connected graph with n nodes. In the literature, the best reported stabilization time for a minimal total dominating set algorithm is O(n3) with the same space requirement at each node using central daemon.


The Dead Heart is American author Douglas Kennedy's first novel. It was first translated into French in 1997 as Cul-de-sac. It was this translation that made Kennedy a household name in France and that gave The Dead Heart its identity as a roman noir. In the space of just 20 years the novel has been translated twice into French and adapted twice more, as a film and now as a graphic novel. Elsewhere, we have analyzed this trajectory from the perspective of retranslation and the ostensible differences between the two translation Skopoi, and the use of paratextual branding to target specific reading publics. Focusing on the graphic novel allows us here to go beyond the problematics of translation and to broaden the scope of our study of textual adaptation. It also allows us to reassess the originality of the source text.


The invention discloses a grabhook and a grabhook opening and closing method. The grabhook comprises a rack, a clamping jaw device and a clamping jaw opening and closing drive device. A clamping jaw is unfolded and folded through matching of a rotating cam, a pressure plate and a pressure spring, and meanwhile the grabbing and autoroatation effects can be achieved just by two motors. The grabhook is simple in structure, low in cost, reliable to operate, suitable for occasions where test tubes are required to be moved frequently and capable of bringing better operation benefits.


Recommended Citation Repository citation: Chase, Leah A.; VerHeulen Kleyn, Mary; Schiller, NaTasha; Goltz King, Abby; Flores, Guillermo; Balcazar Engelsman, Sasha; Bowles, Christina; Lang Smith, Sara; Robinson, Anne E.; and Rothstein, Jeffrey, "Hydrogen Peroxide Triggers an Increase in Cell Surface Expression of System xc in Cultured Human Glioma Cells" (2020). Faculty Publications. Paper 1487. https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/faculty_publications/1487 Published in: Neurochemistry International, Volume 134, March 1, 2020, pages 104648-. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier.


European Union law has introduced a duty for creators engaged in the business of providing various types of on-demand audiovisual content to register. In practice, this duty applies to individuals running audiovisual channels on platforms such as You Tube and similar platforms. The people concerned are very different, providing content of an educational nature (platforms for learning foreign languages, e.g. English, Spanish). The registration duty is also to be extended to those who also provide typically entertaining channels on digital platforms (e.g. reviews of films, books, computer games, comics). These individuals include creators, i.e. entities that provide certain intellectual content to the Internet protected, for example, by copyright and related rights. Relevant registers are to be kept in member states by public administration bodies, such as the National Broadcasting Council in Poland. The purpose of the above duty is increased control over the safety of content provided to the Internet (e.g. from the point of view of whether it is suitable for children or whether it does not contain hate speech). In addition, the purpose of the said duty is also to control whether the owners of channels on YouTube, Tik-Tok, etc. properly settle the income they earn through published content. The Polish legislator wants to propose new legal solutions in this respect. This is because the European Union legislator has introduced certain requirements, but has not determined how they would be implemented. The presentation of the experience of the Polish legislator may be interesting for the Ukrainian viewer, especially in view of Ukraine's aspirations to become a member of the European Union. If Ukraine joins the European Union, it will be obliged to implement relevant solutions in this respect. In this article, I have tried to show that the issue of registration of persons providing audiovisual media services is a new problem in the European Union, raising considerable public concern. The obligation to register audiovisualmedia service providers should not be too broad and cover providers that have a small audience or publish new content irregularly. Therefore, it is important to introduce clear criteria for which audiovisual media service providers should be registered.


The Soil Depth to Bedrock (SDtB) parameter is highly variable over the landscape and is an important input for soil surface modeling including various types of mass movement that most often ignores the variability of soil depth. In landscapes that have been heavily modified by humans, SDtB parameters do not necessarily depend on natural processes, making it difficult to apply physically-based approaches. This study explored the possibility of using topographic attributes to model the SDtB in the complex topography of Phewa watershed in the Panchase region of Nepal. In June 2017, 865 SDtB points were surveyed along the excavated rural roads (approximately 300 km) within the watershed (111 km2). Topographic attributes such as slope, curvatures, altitude and compound terrain index were derived from a Digital Terrain Model along with Land use land cover attributes derived from recent Landsat remote sensing images. Utilizing these attributes as explanatory variables, we implemented simple kriging (SK) and multiple linear regressions (MLR) to predict SDtB for the watershed. The results showed that the MLR predicted SDtB map was statistically significant (R2 = 68%, EC = 0.93) over the SK (R2 = 12%, EC = -0.46). We concluded that the MLR approach in predicting SDtB for the complex geo-morphologic landscape such as the Phewa watershed in the Panchase region of Nepal can effectively be used, helping to inform the evolution of land-use as the region continues to develop.


Identification of user expectations and requirements, which is vital to the successful implementation of architectural programs, can be achieved through the application of behavioral science and human factors techniques to the professional practice of architecture. The taxonomy of informational objectives stresses analytic techniques based on direct observation of user behavior.


Free-standing polycrystalline diamond films grown by microwave plasma CVD technique were tested for detection X- ray radiation from a synchrotron source. Two different configurations of collection electrodes on diamond were used. The first (sandwich) geometry uses a thin amorphous conducting layers formed by nitrogen ion irradiation on both sides of the diamond plate. The second (planar) one, which showed better characteristics, comprises of an interdigitated planar array of metallic contacts on a face exposed to photon flux. However, in both cases a polarization effect that leads to a decrease of the detector response with exposition time, was observed. Better device performance is expected for diamond films of improved quality.


Among various surgical techniques of arytenoid adduction, lateral cricoarytenoid muscle (LCA) pull operation has been newly developed as a further improved treatment of choice for one-vocal-fold paralysis. This operation has been conducted under a local anesthetic condition through a 10mm×8 mm thyroplasty window created just anterior to the oblique line and 7 mm to 8 mm cranial to the lower edge of the thyroid cartilage. In the window, several pices of 4-0 Ti-cron stiches are passed and tied securely at different points of the atrophic LCA bundle. Those threads then are fixed anteriorly and inferiorly to the thyroid cartilage. Direction as well as strength of the threads on the thyroid cartilage are all decided with reference to intra-operative voice improvement of individual patients. A total of 38 patients with one-vocal-fold paralysis underwent LCA pull operation over the periods of 1987 through 1994. In 32 of the cases (84.2%), vocal-fold fixation occurred at the intermediate position preoperatively. In the other 5 cases (13.2%), it occurred at the paramedian position preoperatively. The remaining one case showed median fixation of a vocal fold yet to present weaker and diplophonic voice preoperatively. All the patients had complained not only of marked breathy voice, aphonia, weaker voice or diplophonia but also of intermittent aspiration preoperatively. LCA pull operation outcome:1. Successful medialization of the vocal fold resulted in 90.6%.2. Normal thickness of the vocal fold resulted in 92.3%.3. Straight status of the vocal fold from the preoperatively bowed status resulted in 86.7%.4. Successful adjustment of vocal-fold level difference resulted in 75%.5. Extension of maximum phonation time exceeding 5 seconds up to 30 seconds resulted in 68.4%.6. Clearer, volumef ul non-breathy voice resulted in 75.8%.7. Successful elimination of diplophonia resulted in 93.5%.8. Louder voice instead of weaker voice resulted in 78.9%.9. Resolution of aspiration problem resulted in 88.5%.10. None of the cases showed postoperative air-way problems.


: The aim of this paper is to investigate the notion of literary realism both in the contemporary debate and in aesthetic reflections of the twentieth century. What I intend to show, in fact, is the possibility to exploit some conceptual tools developed during the last century in the context of German literary aesthetics in order to give an answer to a set of problems closely connected to the contemporary discussion. To this aim, I intend to present Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno's notion of 'literary realism' as a possible solution to some problematic refrains in the philosophical investigation of literature. My argument is here divided in three steps: first, I'll sketch out the basic lines of the historical debate about realism in novels; second, I'll outline Adorno's notion of realism, in order to discern it from Lukács' elaboration of the notion; third, I'll try to show to what extent Adorno's definition could provide an answer to recurring issues in current debates.


During its 70‐year existence, China's modern banking system has typically been ill used by its government Nevertheless, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chinese government made effective use of ten years and a lot of capital to restructure its banks And on the eve of the global financial crisis in 2008, China's principal banks had cleaned up their bad loans and received or raised large amounts of equity, in part by listing their shares internationally In so doing, such banks may well have positioned themselves to face the crisis with the strongest balance sheets in the world But since then, in the wake of the global financial crisis, China's banks have used securitization models—originating for the most part in the U S —to create products similar to the mortgage‐backed securities that nearly brought down the global banking system The collapse of such securities in 2008 compelled China to undertake a massive stimulus program driven by bank lending This stimulus has lasted nearly a decade, with a second recent and massive injection prompted by the COVID‐19 pandemic The net effect of such stimulus is that China's total bank assets are now over 3 5 times national GDP—as compared to 1 0 in the U S —and more than twice the total level of U S banking assets in an economy just two‐thirds the size But even with such an increase, reported non‐performing assets have remained at remarkably low levels—though the report itself has been received with near universal skepticism Fueling this skepticism, the scale and balance sheet quality of these banks do not compute when one takes a closer look at the banks' main borrowers: largely local government entities with limited revenue bases In China, local governments do not enjoy taxing authority and their budgets consistently exceed their revenue, with the funding gaps filled by ever more bank loans As a consequence, most local governments are effectively bankrupt How, then, given the financial condition of their borrowers, do Chinese banks continue to report superlative earnings and clean balance sheets? The author discusses in detail the two main methods banks have used to meet their accounting requirements while obscuring asset quality: (1) converting bank loans into bonds issued by the same borrowers;and (2) the creation of massive amounts of wealth management products (or WMPs), which are retail deposits backed not just by Treasuries and other liquid securities (as in the U S ), but in significant part by illiquid assets that create troublingly large maturity mismatches After pointing out the similarity of such WMPs to the mortgage‐backed securities used by American banks a decade ago, the author emphasizes the irony that, having used American banks as models for restructuring, China's government has forced its banks to continue to follow in their path to what at some point is highly likely to be a painful reckoning


Abstract Background Acromegaly is a rare, lifelong disorder characterized by excess growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Extended dosing intervals (EDIs) of pharmacological treatments may reduce patient burden and costs compared with standard dosing. This systematic literature review (SLR) investigated outcomes in patients with acromegaly receiving treatment at EDIs. Methods MEDLINE/Embase/the Cochrane Library (2001–June 2021) and key congresses (2018–2021) were searched for relevant literature; identified SLR bibliographies were also reviewed. A dual reviewer process was utilized. Included publications reported clinical effectiveness, safety, humanistic, and economic outcomes in longitudinal/cross-sectional studies in adult patients with acromegaly. Interventions included EDIs of lanreotide autogel (LAN), octreotide long-acting release (OCT), and pasireotide (all administered less often than every four weeks), oral octreotide (less than twice daily), pegvisomant (PEG; less than once daily), and cabergoline (less than twice weekly), with no comparator required. PROSPERO 2021: CRD42021278922. Results In total, 35 publications reported on 27 studies: 14 on PEG, 9 on LAN, and 4 on OCT as monotherapies or combination therapies at EDIs. No identified studies assessed EDIs of oral octreotide, pasireotide, or cabergoline. At Baseline, disease control and treatment history differed across studies. As compared with Baseline, treatment at EDIs resulted in reduced IGF-1 levels in 12/16 studies assessing LAN, OCT, or PEG (7–104 patients treated at EDIs) and GH levels in 5/6 studies (LAN/OCT; 15–32 patients). Normalized IGF-1 and/or GH, using study definitions, was achieved/maintained in 70%–100% of patients in 12/13 studies (LAN/OCT/PEG; 15–124 patients). Proportions of patients experiencing adverse events (n=4 studies reporting overall events; LAN/OCT/PEG; 8–96 patients) or discontinuing treatment (n=9; LAN/OCT/PEG; 7–124 patients) were similar across EDI and standard regimens. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) improvement from Baseline was reported in 9/10 studies after treatment at EDIs (LAN/OCT/PEG; 7–109 patients); HRQoL did not deteriorate versus standard regimens. Patients preferred EDIs (2/2 studies; LAN/OCT; 8–112 patients), and satisfaction with EDIs was high (2/2 studies; LAN/OCT; 13–109 patients). Substantially reduced costs were observed with EDIs versus standard regimens in 3/3 studies (9–23 patients) with LAN (120 mg every 6 versus 4 weeks), OCT (20–30 mg every 6–12 versus 4 weeks), and PEG (40–160 mg weekly versus 15–60 mg daily, both with LAN/OCT). Conclusion Clinical, safety, and HRQoL outcomes in patients with acromegaly were similar and costs lower with EDIs versus standard regimens. Satisfaction was high with EDIs. Limitations, including variation in study design and endpoints, and small, heterogenous patient populations, precluded conducting meta-analyses. Physicians should consider EDIs where appropriate. Further clinical research may substantiate reduced patient and healthcare system burden with EDIs versus standard regimens. Study funded by Ipsen. Medical writing support provided by Costello Medical. Presentation: Monday, June 13, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.


A convenient approach toward the indoloquinolines neocryptolepine and 6-methylquinindoline from
a common intermediate, is reported. Both sequences, designed for maximum use of accessible reagents
and robust conditions, are straightforward and efficient. They involved the amidation of 2-
aminobenzaldehyde (prepared by iron-mediated reduction of 2-nitrobenzaldehyde) with 2-
nitrophenylacetic acid, followed by a K2CO3-assisted cyclization to form a 3-(2-nitrophenyl)quinolin-2-
one as the common precursor. Me2CO3-mediated N-methylation of the lactam, reduction of the nitro
moiety and final cyclization resulted in 55% overall yield of neocryptolepine, whereas cyclocondensation
and N-methylation afforded 79% overall yield of 6-methyl quinindoline. Thus, the sequences toward the
targets entailed two POCl3-promoted C–N bond forming reactions, two Fe-mediated nitro group
reductions and two base-promoted transformations.


This article describes how Critical Communicative Methodology (CCM) has been used successfully to analyse educational inequalities in ways that generate real transformation towards social justice. We begin by arguing that educational research today should employ new methodological approaches that can ensure the inclusion of different voices in social science research and the production of knowledge that transforms social exclusion. We then analyse the main epistemological positions of CCM, based on Habermas' communicative action theory, and explain how it was implemented in the European Union-funded INCLUD-ED project. Finally, we illustrate how INCLUD-ED has had a social and political impact and we argue that research with vulnerable groups, based on the principles of CCM, can generate social and educational transformation.


The theory of the vibration isolation of automobile engine by means of resilient mountings was established. The condition of decoupling, under which the motion of the engine in each degree of freedom becomes independent of each another, which is the most important point for vibration isolation, was introduced. In view of satisfying the above obtained condition, the method of determining the location, the arrangement and the spring constant of the rubber mountings is recommended.


The author comments on the different conclusions reached by various scholars concerning urbanization trends in China since 1949. In particular he comments on a recent article by Kam Wing Chan and Xueqiang Xu and a book by R. J. R. Kirkby. A reply by Kam Wing Chan (pp. 104-9) is included. (ANNOTATION)


In recent years, the waterway navigation and transportation industry has been developing rapidly, and the living environment of ship cabins has not received much attention. Using questionnaire surveys, data collection and computer simulations, this study explored the problems and causes related to thermal comfort that affect a crew living onboard. The survey showed differences in the thermal sensations of the crew. Cabins below the deck of a ship are usually more comfortable than those above deck. These differences were related to the range of frequent activities undertaken in the cabins. The data and calculations show that the thermal comfort in the stern winch cabin and the engine cabin was significantly higher than in the top living cabin and the meeting cabin. For cabins without windows in winter, the PMV and PPD indexes of those below deck were on average 11.95% higher and 7.03% lower, respectively, than those above deck, indicating better overall thermal comfort below deck. The simulation showed that the simulated PMV of an occupied cabin was up to 17.55% higher than the actual PMV, indicating that the number of crew members in the cabin significantly affected its level of thermal comfort. The results provide a reference for understanding and improving the thermal environment of ships and temporary water facilities.


Polymerizations of a series of phenylalanine NCA's carrying various ring substituents, such as P-CH3O, P-H, P-NO2, and m-NO2, initiated by poly(2-vinylpyridine) were investigated in different solvents, such as dimethylformamide, nitrobenzene, methyl benzoate, and acetophenone; the polymerization rates were compared with those induced by α-picoline. The binding constants of the α-amino acid NCA's for different initiators were also determined. It was concluded that in methyl benzoate or acetophenone poly(2-vinylpyridine) is particularly effective in the polymerization of electron-accepting NCA because the electron-donating polymer binds NCA through hydrogen bonding as well as through a charge-transfer interaction. In nitrobenzene only the hydrogen bonding between the polymer and the NCA's was involved in the accelerated polymerization by poly(2-vinylpyridine). In dimethylformamide no interactions were operating between the polymer and the NCA's, and consequently the polymerization by poly(2-vinylpyridine) which is a weaker base than α-picoline was slower. These findings suggest the possibility of substrate-selective polymerization using a polymer initiator with a suitable choice of solvent.


[formula: see text] Aminocyclodextrins (ACDs), perfunctionalized at the 6-position with amino groups, bind phosphonoformate (PFA) diesters and accelerate acyl transfer reactions with high efficiency at neutral pH. Aminolysis and esterolysis are accelerated and hydrolysis of PFA diesters is catalyzed by ACDs. PFA diesters have significant antiviral activity. The rapid reactions observed with ACDs show that biological nucleophiles may undergo facile covalent modification by PFA esters at physiological pH, which has significant implications for prodrug and drug design strategies.


Relates to a person's real-time participation and business ad management and retrieval system is also based on the advertising investment through the sellers and buyers of interactive discovery and monitoring of ad engagement situation, not of individuals only search vendor or product, advertising person of the company Search, an ad management and retrieval system for monitoring and maximizing the advertising effect of participation condition advertising recipients, information on the information about the individual members, business members, information about information about products, advertising or events, advertising and to save the result information of the purchase activity information storage means, the storage means using the information stored in the search for an ad receives participants of the company and individual companies, search means for searching for products and advertising companies enter the search criteria select an ad for the recipient, or individuals for the purchase of the target search terms and advertising companies and Selection means for selecting a product, check the individual involved situations where the ad person has been selected by the company in the selection means participation or private, depending on the participating individual members step in the verification means and the checking means to check the progress stage of participation advertising individual members were to provide a configuration that includes a means of payment to pay incentives. The advertisement management and search online sites or providing public relations function for the introduction page of the store to the community features in between the seller and the buyer, and each online and offline makers its members through a search by using the system as described above individually the company is actively managed, and is faithful to hold individual members, private companies and has obtained excellent products, and the effects vary, and that the approach of adjacent advertising events more easily. Advertising, search, buy, wired or wireless modem


When the sale or acquisition of a business involves the transfer of stock, the applicability of the federal securities laws becomes an important issue.1 An exception to the applicability of the federal securities laws may be available in certain sale-of-business transactions. Proponents of the sale-of-business doctrine argue that the sale of a controlling interest2 in a business by the sale of its stock is in reality a sale of the underlying assets with stock passing as a mere indicia of ownership in those assets.3 Since transfer of a business is an entrepreneurial transaction, the transfer of stock being only incidental, and not an investment in securities, the federal securities laws do not apply.4


MARAMAG, Bukidnon— " The armed men formed a line, pointed their guns at us and fired," This was how Erlinda Bacandon described how around ten gunmen fired at a group of farmers who occupied a ranch owned by a prominent supporter of President Benigno Aquino Jr., in Maramag town, Bukinon this morning. 4 August 2010 Lanie Factor - 09209512269 Joseph Coles - 09183529463 Two of the farmers were hurt and have to be rushed to a hospital in Maramag but Bacandon said many more farmers sustained (...)


The dependence of the density and grain size of Ce_(0.8)Y_(0.2)O_(1.9) on sintering temperature(1000~1500 ℃) was studied.Statistical analysis of grain size by SEM observation suggested that the grain growth of Ce_(0.8)Y_(0.2)O_(1.9) followed different kinetic equations when sintered at two different temperature ranges.At low temperature range of 1000~1300 ℃,the activation energy of grain growth was relative small(171.1 kJ/mol),indicating a weak effect of temperature on the grain size.However,at high temperature range of 1300~1500 ℃,the activation energy became large(479.8 kJ/mol),indicating the grain growth was sensitive to the sintering temperature.The dispersion of the distribution of grain size also became evident.The relative density of the sintered body increased fast with increasing temperature and reached 98.5% at 1400 ℃.Then,it increased gradually at temperature above 1400 ℃.


The paper focused on a topic related to the possibilities of using wavelet analysis to evaluate the changes in the geometrical structures of the surfaces arising during the honing process with whetstones with variable granularity. The cylinder liners of the combustion engine are machined elements. The basics of the wavelet analysis and the differences between filtering with standardized filters (e.g., Gauss filter), Fourier analysis, and the analysis of the results obtained when measuring the surface roughness with other wavelets were described. Trials of honing four cylinder liners were carried out. Roughness measurements of 3D spatial structures of the prepared liners were made. The principle of selecting wavelets for roughness assessment of structures with cross-hatch pattern was described. Roughness structures generated on the honed surfaces of cylinder liners were assessed using Gaussian filtration and Morlet, Daubechies Db6, and Mexican hat wavelets. In order to demonstrate the differences generated when the Gaussian filtration and selected wavelets were used on surface structures, the surfaces obtained with the use of these filtering tools were subtracted from each other, which allowed obtaining information about the changes occurring on the assessed surfaces, which were generated after the use of various filtering tools. For the assessed surfaces, during the subtraction operation, the mean square error was calculated, informing about the degree of similarity of both compared surfaces. The result of the work carried out is the creation of basic recommendations for the selection of wavelets when assessing honed surfaces with different degrees of regularity of the traces generated on them.


The paper aims to assess the evolution of sectoral development disparities (as regards value-added and employment, for the main sectors of the economy) in the regions and counties of Romania. Using classical shift-share analysis tools, we investigate the extent to which the existing interregional and, especially, intra-regional and inter-county inequalities can be attributed to different factors, such as industry mix, and to regional specific factors. The results reveal a diverse milieu and offer useful insights for both general and specifically targeted policies in the area of regional development.


We compute the full one-loop Electro-Weak (EW) contributions of O(alpha_S alpha_EM^3) entering the electron-positron into a quark-antiquark pair plus one gluon cross section at the Z peak and LC energies in presence of polarisation of the initial state and by retaining the event orientation of the final state. We include both factorisable and non-factorisable virtual corrections, photon bremsstrahlung but not the real emission of W^\pm and Z bosons. Their importance for the final state orientation is illustrated for beam polarisation setups achieved at SLC and foreseen at ILC and CLIC


Extant research has demonstrated that public service motivation (PSM) might have a dark side on public employees. However, empirical research on this assumption remains unclear. Based on Job Demands-Resources Model, this study explores the psychological mechanism of PSM on burnout and examines the relationship from both positive and negative aspects by classifying work stress into challenge stress and hindrance stress. A study with 255 street-level public employees shows that PSM has significant negative effects on burnout. Specifically, perceived hindrance stress mediates a negative relationship between PSM and burnout, and perceived challenge stress mediates a positive relationship between PSM and burnout. This study not only contributes to the development of theories on the doubled-edged nature and psychological mechanism of PSM in relation to burnout but also provides management enlightenment for improving employees' well-being and mitigating burnout.


A General Electric F-404 turbofan engine was calibrated for thrust and airflow at the NASA Lewis Propulsion System Laboratory in support of future flight tests of the X-29 aircraft. Tests were conducted with and without augmentation, over a range of flight conditions, including the two design points of the airplane. Data obtained during the altitude tests will be used to correct two independent gross thrust calculation routines which will be installed and operated on the airplane to determine in-flight gross thrust. Corrected airflow data as a function of corrected fan speed collapsed onto a single curve. Similarly, trends were observed and defined for both augmented and dry thrust. Overall agreement between measured data and F-404 Engine Spec Deck data was within 2 percent for airflow and 6 percent for thrust. The results of an uncertainty analysis for thrust and airflow is presented. In addition to the thrust calibration, the exhaust gas boundary layer pressure and temperatures were surveyed at selected condition and engine power levels to obtain data for another NASA F-404 program. Test data for these surveys are presented.


The application of websites to offer free samples of products and services to consumers is widespread. Online approaches, including the use of "freebie" sites and social media, offer consumers free product samples by completing a request form. However, this study demonstrates that a significant number of requests are ignored or unfulfilled. Companies who fail to provide the requested samples, risk undermining the potential benefits of offering freebies online by creating customer dissatisfaction.


This study adopts observational method to measure the time consumption of suit sewing process,the measuring result have been analyzed in aspects of the producing beat and balance rate of assembly lines.It finds that the bottleneck beat of producing suits is long and balance rate of assembly lines is low at the enterprise.To solve these problems,the improvement measures for the time management of assembly lines for suits are discussed.Aiming at the problem about the balance rate of suit manufactures,the production efficiency can be improved by allocating staffs and optimizing the arrangement of sewing process.Suit manufactures can also measure the manufacturing time of other types of suits to accumulate data and improve the management of assembly lines for suits.


Mathematics, the only subject, which is used in every sphere of our lives. However, it can't be learnt overnight. Understanding and practicing mathematics regularly helps to make a firm base. Though it is a fascinating subject, but a very large fraction of students find the subject creepy. Such problems may crop up as a result of improper guidance in their initial stages. This paper is an attempt to study the difficulty areas occurred while learning and teaching mathematics. It is also aspired to bestow a fruitful implication for the development of teaching learning mathematics at the under graduate level.


Results from an experimental study of large-scale, two-dimensional incompressible transitional boundary layer flows are presented. Tests were conducted on a heated flat wall with a zero pressure gradient for two levels of streamwise acceleration. Convective heat-transfer distributions, laminar, transitional, and fully turbulent boundary layer mean velocity and temperature profile data, and free-stream turbulence intensity distributions are presented. Boundary layer integral quantities and shape factors are also given. Transition onset Reynolds number data obtained for this program agreed well with the results of other experimental and theoretical studies for both zero pressure gradient and accelerating flows. Comparisons of the profile data and wall heat-transfer distribution data indicated that fully turbulent mean velocity profiles were achieved upstream of fully turbulent wall heat-transfer rates.


The notion of quality is defined as the totality of the attributes and essential aspects by virtue of which one is what it is, distinguishing itself from the other things. The article has as its starting point the definition of quality according to SR EN ISO 9001:2015. This standard defines the quality like "the set of properties and features of a product or service that gives it the ability to meet the expressed and implied needs of the customers". Our article treats three categories of expressed and implicit necessities: the expressed and implied needs of clients, as beneficiaries of Products/Work/Services (P/W/S); the expressed and implied necessities of an efficient production management; the expressed and implicit necessities of society as a whole. In the article we present and analyze the components of quality (decalogue of quality) and the correlations between them. The quality term involves two main aspects (components), namely: utility, expressed by degree of utility (this component quantifies the extent to which the P/W/S meets the customer's needs and consequently sells). Technical component (intrinsic), which refers strictly to the technical characteristics of P/W/S. It is obvious that there is mutual dependence between the two components of the concept of quality (biunivoc).


The purpose of an innovation ecosystem is to create a network through which institutions can remain competitive and up-to-date with technological, social, and cultural changes that we face as a society. The objective is to gather information and collaborate with different research institutions to support innovative projects. To achieve this, it is necessary to determine the weaknesses and gaps in knowledge in the institutions that form the ecosystem, as well as understand the most competitive external knowledge in order to create a strategy to achieve higher market growth and social input/contribution. To that end this model was created, which runs on knowledge variables that allow us to measure the innovative capacity of every institution in the ecosystem. The model has been applied and exposed in several countries.


The objective of this text is to elaborate an approach to the poetic language of the work of Iria do Castelo, taking into account witches and surrealism issues that arise from it. In this sense, reflection on the possible ritual readings that arise from the artistic use of elements such as hair will be essential. As a conclusion, we will try to verify that the polyhedral idea of the witch — along with others such as surrealism, magic, the carnival, the sinister, death ..— concur in the work of Iria do Castelo, and in what way it appears before the spectator.


Abstract Random multi-attribute decision-making is a finite option selection problem related to multiple attributes, and the attribute values are random variables. Its application and supply chain risk management can transform interval decision numbers and fuzzy decision numbers into standardised decisions. Based on this research background, the article provides a primary method to determine the randomness of standard random variables based on expectations and variance through theoretical analysis. Second, the article determines the range of the total utility value of each supply chain selection plan based on the 3σ principle. Experiments have proved that this method can solve unifying opinions due to different knowledge, experience, and preferences of evaluation experts. This provides a new method of supplier selection.


This article is concerned with what is known as "the problem of simple minds", considered by four participants in the debate on the possibility of attributing the mental life to animals without assigning them the ability to use language: Donald Davidson, John McDowell, Peter Carruthers, and Jose L. Bermudez. The first two defend the belief-desire model of thinking in which the ability to use language plays a decisive role. The other two combine the belief-desire model with an argument against the connection of thought with language. After analyzing in detail the arguments of both positions I favor the solution proposed by Carruthers and Bermudez.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the level of expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and -9 by cells isolated from the peritoneal fluid of women with ovarian carcinoma.

STUDY DESIGN
Tumor tissue specimens and cells isolated from peritoneal fluid from 20 patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma were examined for MMP-2 and -9 expression using immunostaining. Six benign peritoneal effusions containing mesothelial cells were also included in the study.

RESULTS
Expression of both MMP-2 and -9 was noted in cancer cells in peritoneal fluid of all cases studied. Peritoneal fluid cancer cells showed increased expression of both MMP-2 and -9 relative to mesothelial cell expression of these MMPs. Positive immunoreactivity of these MMPs in primary tumor tissues was confirmed by immunohistochemistry.

CONCLUSION
Our findings suggest that both MMP-2 and -9 are frequently overexpressed in ovarian cancer cells disseminated in the peritoneal cavity and that determination of cellular MMP-2 and -9 expression could be useful in distinguishing cancer cells from mesothelial cells in peritoneal fluid cytologic specimens from women with ovarian epithelial carcinoma.


A design methodology for interstage and output matching networks for wide-band Power Amplifiers for wireless applications is proposed. Leveraging wideband inductively coupled resonators, we apply Norton transformations for impedance matching. A two-stage differential PA with neutralized common source stages has been realized in 28 nm CMOS using low-power devices. The PA delivers 13 dBm saturated output power over 40-67GHz bandwidth with a peak power-added efficiency of 16% without power combining. To the best of author's knowledge, the presented PA shows state-of-the art performances with the largest fractional bandwidth among mm-wave PAs reported so far.


Background: The aim was to study the antibiotic resistance in children with urinary tract infection and to observe any difference between antibiotic resistance rates.Methods: It was a prospective study carried out in SKIMS Medical College Hospital, Srinagar over a period of two years from January 2017 to January 2019. The study included 210 children between 1 year and 15 years who had presented with complaints of urinary tract infection and whose urine cultures were positive for the growth of an organism. These children were analyzed in order to find the frequency of organisms grown on culture, sensitivity of organisms isolated on culture and the rates of developed resistance to the antibiotics.Results: A total of 210 patients aged were included in the study, encompassing 66 (31.4) males and 144 (68.6%) females. Out of 144 female children 108 were under 6years of age while as out of 66 male children 48 were under 6years of age. As per the growth on urine culture,  the commonest organism that grew on culture were Escherichia coli (E. coli) was observed in 156 (74.3%), enterococcus in 18 (8.57%), Proteus mirabilis in 11 (5.2%), Acinetobacter spp. in 7 (3.3%), Pseudomonas spp. 5 (2.4%), Staphylococcus aureus in 4 (1.9%), Morganella spp. in 3 (1.4%) patients. Authors found imipenem, aminoglycosides and nitrofurantoin as the most effective antibiotics for urinary tract infections in pediatric age group.Conclusions: From this study, they concluded that parenteral antibiotics to be started empirically for the treatment of UTIs in all pediatric age groups are  aminoglycosides. In contrast for outpatient management of urinary tract infections, our results suggest that nitrofurantoin should be used for children aged beyond 1 year of age due to the low rate of resistance to nitrofurantoin in patients aged over 1 year.


In the new European food policy following the BSE crisis, the consumer is called upon to take an active and responsible role. But in the political and organizational restructuring processes following the European Union policy, diverse constructions of the food consumer can be identified in different national contexts. The article analyses the discursive framings of the food consumer in four national settings: Norway, Denmark, Italy and Portugal, based on interview data from a comparative research project, TRUSTINFOOD. The main discursive framings that in each national context were shared by all types of actors in the food sector were: `the trusting consumer' (Norway); `the complex consumer' (Denmark); `the quality conscious consumer' (Italy); and `the unprotected consumer' (Portugal). These consensual constructions tie in with national survey results illuminating consumers, self-understandings of individual agency and acting. But consumer responsibilities for food issues also fuel conflictual representations, in the northern countries between different food issues and in the southern countries between different types of actors. Both consensual and main and conflicting framings relate to national organizational institutionalizations in the food sector. It is concluded that references to the European consumer are misleading.


Semiconductor quantum dots are at the forefront of materials science chemistry with applications in biological imaging and photovoltaic technologies. We have developed a simple laboratory experiment to measure the quantum-dot size from fluorescence spectra. A major roadblock of quantum-dot based exercises is the particle synthesis and handling; the former requires dangerous chemicals while the later can lead to sample degradation. We overcome these drawbacks by using commercially available quantum dots. The samples are composed of CdSe–ZnS core–shell nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix. A fluorescence spectrophotometer is used to collect photoluminescence data and the subsequent calculations are straightforward. Student feedback indicates that these experiments provide a new understanding of quantum mechanics and the particle-in-a-box model. We are able to examine the role of spectroscopy in chemical investigations and a cause of spectroscopic line broadening.


Each month, the American Journal of Transplantation will feature Images in Transplantation, a journal-based CME activity, chosen to educate participants on current developments in the science and imaging of transplantation. Participants can earn 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM per article at their own pace. This month's feature article is titled: "Critical Incidental Ultrasound Finding in the Postoperative Renal Transplant Patient."


• Top of the agenda at the European Union (EU) summit on 15/16 December 2005 is the budget for 2007-13. The original proposal from the European Commission was for a budget of one trillion euros or 1.21% of EU gross national income (GNI). The proposal at the end of the Luxembourg presidency, rejected at the summit in June 2005, was for 871 billion euros (1.06% of EU GNI). Six months, and much discussion later, the UK's proposal is for 847 billion euros (1.03% of EU GNI). • Any changes to the overall size and composition of the budget as a result of the summit are likely to be marginal. The current UK proposal includes cuts in development aid to new member states, cuts in rural aid to old member states, a major review of all spending in 2008 and a small reduction in the UK's rebate. • Of the current EU budget, approximately 45% goes on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), 35% on structural funds (the EU's supra-national regional policy) and 7% each on aid, administration and a diverse range of other policies. • The CAP has several negative effects. These include artificially inflating food prices in the EU, which is bad for consumers, particularly poorer ones; driving down the world price of food, which is bad for countries that produce food, many of which are poor and middle-income countries; and encouraging overproduction and specialisation by farmers, both of which may be bad for the environment. • Major reform of the CAP would use the principle of subsidiarity to repatriate the CAP to national level where it clearly belongs. • There are two main problems with the EU's structural funds. First, the allocation of expenditure is highly political and as a result not well targeted on the poorest regions in the poorest countries. Second, the expenditure itself has not been very effective: no Objective 1 region (those targeted by the funds) has moved out of the category. 2 • Major reform of the structural funds would remove the redistributive element that gives funding to richer countries and focus all expenditure on the poorest regions in the expanded EU. This would also involve cuts for regions that were Objective 1 in the old EU15, but are now above average income in the EU25. The current proposals would continue to fund these regions despite the entry of much poorer regions. • EU …


Two different methods for the selection of compounds from molecular databases are presented.

A scoring scheme for the classification of molecules into drugs and non-drugs is used to select compounds with a certain potential for becoming a drug, and a clustering procedure, based on a Kohonen network, is used for selecting a diverse subset of compounds.

This suite of programs can be used for the selection and prioritization of compounds for purchase or biological testing.


The goal of this work has been to design and develop products such as fresh cheese and yogurt, enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fresh milk was used as raw material and soybean oil as source of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in fresh cheese made from skim milk enriched with 2 to 4% soybean oil, increased from 5.01% to 54.83%. Similarly, the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in natural yogurt made from skim milk enriched with 1 to 3% soybean oil, increased from 4.28% to 54.98%. We conclude that is feasible to produce dairy products enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids and their manufacture is recommended.


Two wells close to each other (Well A and Well B) have been selected from the same oilfield in southern Iraq. Both wells were drilled through the Mishrif Reservoir, however, perforated within different sub-units. It was observed that one of the wells shows obvious flow naturally while the other did not notice any kind of flow.
The type of hydrocarbon interpretation by Gas while drilling method (GWD), the results confirmed that both of these wells were located in oil-bearing reservoir with comparable gas profiles.
However, petrophysical properties of the pore distribution and permeability using Neutron Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data in Techlog identified key differences in rock quality between the wells across the perforated intervals.
Reservoir quality reveal very wide differences in performance in spite of both wells are penetrating the oil bearing layers within Mishrif reservoir.
Keywords: Carbonate Formation, Gas While Drilling (GWD), NMR Log.


A novel coupled-fed antenna with compact branch- structure for 4G mobile phone is proposed in this paper. In the proposed design, a driven monopole strip and coupled branch- strips are developed to produce difierent operation band. The prototype of the proposed antenna was fabricated, tested and discussed. Simulation and measurement results reveal that the proposed antenna can provide two wide frequency bands (698»960MHz, and 1710»2690MHz), which covers multi-band for LTE700/GSM850/GSM900/DCS1800/PCS1900/UMTS/LTE2300/ LTE2500. The proposed antenna with compact size of 34£12£6:5mm 3 is suitable for today's mobile phone application.


In this study, to evaluate the abatement of runoff pollution loads by the road sweeping(cleaning), various investigations are implemented at the sample area of the highway. As the results of evaluating the removal efficiency of pollutants along road cleaning, TSS showed about 78 % of the removal efficiency and COD showed 49 % of removal efficiency through the operation of cleaning vehicle of vacuum suction method. In case of TN and TP, they showed the relatively-lower removal efficiency by 30~35 %. TSS removal efficiency along the number of cleaning appeared about 60 % in case of one time of cleaning and the additional removal effect did not appear though the number of cleaning increased to two times. With running speed of cleaning vehicle, TSS removal ratio is lessened from 60 % to 20 % when cleaning vehicle speed up to 20 km/hr from 6 km/hr. It seems that the reasons why the removal efficiencies are inversely proportional to its speed are related to the lower vacuum efficiencies and the disturbed particles on the road. In the pollutant build-up analysis, it is showed that it takes more time to the critical pollutant build-up in the shoulder than the center of the road. It is also showed that the proper cleaning cycle is recommended as 4~6 dry weather days without rainfall events.


In this paper, we introduce xed point theorem for a general contractive condition in complex valued metric spaces. Also, some important corollaries under this contractive condition are obtained. As an application, we nd a unique solution for Urysohn integral equations and some illustrative examples are given to support our obtaining results. Our results extend and generalize the results of Azam et al. [2] and some other known results in the literature.


This article is a review on how it is organized institutionally European
sociology, establishing the necessary search for the union of the various national
associations to fi nd common ground and to try to ignore the existing handicaps
(especially geographical and linguistic ones). Among the common points, it is
stressed the need to achieve the highest possible quality in scientifi c activity,
particularly with regard to didactic, research and internationalization of European
sociology. Finally, there is a special emphasis on the few European funds
for research, bringing pressure on the European Parliament and national political
authorities for them to increase their budgets for this.


This study aims to determine the extent of the affect of organizational-managerial motivation in practice on the performance and productivity. The parts of performance and productivity in motivation has brought a new perspective to motivation research in today's organizations. In this study, a survey was conducted on the workers of service and industry companies. Data of the survey was collected by a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The results of the analysis which are taken from the service and industry companies of the study demonstrated that organizational-managerial motivation practices had an impact on the productivity but had no impact on the performance. A correlation and regression analysis have been utilised in order to see this effect.


Method with the derived circuit arrangements for powering low leakage current of the voltage intermediate circuit of a grid-connected solar inverter. With this method, which is particularly suitable for Wechselrichtuer 3-phase mains supply, the voltage potential of the solar modules with respect to ground can be controlled in such a way that on the one hand, the capacitive leakage currents are minimized with respect to ground, as well as the polarity opposite the Erdleiterpotenzial is adjustable. The inverter (IN) is feeding into an alternating voltage network (DG) with respect neutral (N) and is fed via the inventive proposed as coupling circuit (LK) from the solar generator (SR). The inverter (IN) with the 3-phase bridge with the switches (S1 ... S6) and the freewheeling diodes (D1 ... D6) fed via a symmetrical LC filter (L After the initial precharging of the capacitance of the voltage intermediate circuit (C2) via the charging resistor R


This study aims to empirically analyze the influence of locus of control variables on debtor behavior. In addition, this study also includes religiosity as a moderating variable to influence locus of control on the debtor behavior of consumption credit debtors during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research is quantitative, namely by conducting direct research on 155 respondent, objects to be analyzed using the statistical tool STATA version 14. The source of data in this study is primary data, namely, through surveys of respondents to obtain information in the form of respondents' opinions about debt management behavior during the pandemic Covid-19, the object of this research is Muslim respondents who have debt financial institutions, both Islamic/conventional and non-banking banks. The results showed that locus of control moderated by religiosity had a negative and significant effect on debt behavior so that the higher the locus of control moderated by religiosity, the lower the intensity of debt during the Covid-19 pandemic, religiosity had a positive and significant effect on debt repayment behavior where individuals who experience an increase in the locus of control moderated by religiosity will increasingly understand and carry out religious orders, namely to immediately pay off debts so that they do not become a burden in their lives. These findings indicate that the concept of locus of control can be used as an individual psychological factor to determine attitudes in making decisions on debt behavior, where individuals who have an increased locus of control are moderated by high religiosity, and these individuals have good self-control in managing debt.


This research is to find out how the influence of organizational culture on employee performance. In the context of empowering human resources, in order to produce professional employees with high integrity, it is necessary to have a company standard reference imposed by something. The standard reference is an organizational culture that systematically guides employees to improve their performance. One of the elements that influence employee behavior is the environment of the employee itself, which in this case is the surrounding corporate culture. Organizational culture can influence the way employees behave, the way they describe their work, the way they work with colleagues, and the way they view the future with broad insights defined by their norms, values, and beliefs. Organizational culture determines what can and cannot be done by members of the organization, determines the normative limits of the behavior of members of the organization, determines the nature and form of organizational control and supervision, determines the managerial style that can be accepted by members of the organization, determines the right way of working, and so on. -other. Thus the data is explained through a description of the frequency and proportion. Data analysis using multiple linear regression analysis techniques, and determination. To test the hypothesis is done by using the f test and t test. This study shows that (1) organizational culture has a simultaneous effect on employee performance. (2) there is a dominant influence between trustworthiness and tabligh culture on employee performance. The dominant variable affecting employee performance is the tabligh variable.


Climate change poses a threat to the water security of the Grand River Watershed (GRW) by altering the precipitation patterns and other weather variables, which affect streamflow and freshwater availability extremely in 2022. Therefore, in this study, a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for the GRW, Ontario, Canada, was used to assess the blue and green water scarcity for future periods for future sustainable management of freshwater resources in the region. The ensemble results predicted a warmer and wetter future for the GRW. The ensemble model result, when considering both emission scenarios and future periods, showed that blue water (BW) is projected to increase by 23–40% while green water storage (GWS) is projected to experience an overall decrease (2–8%). The results suggested that BW may become more scarce compared to green water in the future. The scarcity of BW is primarily due to the projected increase in population growth and water demand in the watershed. Green water scarcity in some regions indicated that changes in irrigation might be needed in the future in some parts of the watershed. The results indicate that the water resources of the GRW may become scarce and careful planning is essential for future water management.


A soft lithographic method for forming the structure are provided on a substrate for use in the patterning of the curable ink, the electronic device the functional use of the ink as a part of the structure for performing the method in, and the electronic device. In general, patterning of the curable ink is a first part, defined by the structural unit of (R) SiO (R) a second part, defined by the structural unit of the And an organic solvent. Alternatively, the ink further includes a structural unit (R) R group is an aryl group, are independently selected to methyl group, or a cross-linkable odd, wherein the number of aryl groups is present in an amount in the range of up to 20 mol% from at least one aryl group. Patterned ink may be applied to the substrate using the soft lithography process with good reproducibility of the applied pattern.


In order to improve the fire smoke image recognition accuracy and prevent fire,a fire smoke image recognition algorithm based on multiple linear principal component analysis is proposed. Firstly,the static and dynamic features of the smoke suspected area is extracted respectively,and then multiple linear principal component analysis is used to eliminate the redundant features,and training sample is built according to the features,and finally the training samples are input support vector machine( SVM) to build the smoke image classifier,and the test samples are used to identified the performance. Compared to other smoke image recognition algorithm,the simulation results show that this algorithm can improve the recognition efficiency and accuracy recognition of the smoke image,and has good anti-interference ability,and it can meet the requirements of the smoke image recognition under different environment.


: While multiculturalism is a political precondition for the legal guarantee and protection of minority groups, interculturality implies the establishment of relations between individuals or groups belonging to different cultures with the belief that human experience is enriched and developed through cultural contacts. In order for a person to understand other cultures, s/he must first of all know their own culture, which means language, religion, values, beliefs, norms and worldviews. Thus, current debates are particularly aimed at seeking an adequate relationship between modern nation-states and ethnic and national minorities that are either domiciled or new to their territories are of particular importance. Moreover, the solution is sought in intercultural communication as the next step that would embrace multicultural assumptions and lead individuals to respect their own and other cultures through the intercultural exchange that would be the final, desirable product of intended policies. The paper presents some of the assumptions for intercultural communication that help improve an interactive relationship with people and/or other cultural groups. The need to discuss these concepts lies in circumstances in which they cannot be ignored in the modern world, primarily because it is not possible to return to a time when groups with different cultural and identity backgrounds will no longer be interested in representing their diversity.


Along with other thoughtful people through the ages, Jewish and Christian communities have long wrestled with the mystery of suffering. Although many solutions have been offered, no definitive answers have been recognized by either community. While these ancient traditions persist in their search to understand the moral and spiritual meaning of suffering, 20th-century medicine conceptualizes the enigma of suffering as primarily a technical, rather than a moral or a spiritual, problem. We ask why doctors fail to give adequate pain relief, but not how patients can shape a response to their suffering. The culmination of this approach is, in one sense, the heated debate over physician-assisted suicide. Through physician-assisted suicide, medical technology makes good on its promise to eradicate suffering, even if this means eradicating the sufferer. Much recent analysis of palliative care and physician-assisted suicide has focused on narrowly framed moral and legal issues. We pay less attention to questions about the meaning of intractable suffering. Instead we act as if suffering has no meaning, or as if it is an unambiguous and unalloyed evil, more to be feared than death itself. When medicine, health law, and bioethics take this approach, they ignore thousands of years of effort by philosophers, theologians, and writers to uncover the meaning of human suffering. We learn something about the moral dimensions of human suffering in Tithe Olsen's haunting story, "Tell Me a Riddle" [I]. In the story, Eva— a bitter old woman—is dying of cancer. She has become estranged from David, her husband of 47 years. It seems impossible that anything good can emerge from her horrible suffering. Yet in her last days, Eva gathers her memories of childhood in Russia and celebrates long-forgotten ideological


A strut insulator mounting structure having variable camber and caster is provided to improve rotation performance and straight-driving performance, and to improve handling performance and riding comfort according to tuning without causing loss of steering power. A strut insulator mounting structure having variable camber and caster varies position of a strut assembly(10) according to the operation of a steering device, thereby varying the camber and the caster. The strut insulator mounting structure comprises a rotation plate(40), and a bearing(30). The rotation plate having a disc form is connected to an end of a shock absorber rod(14) of the strut assembly by a fixing nut(50), and is rotated as inserted in an insulator(20). The bearing is inserted in the insulator to rotatably support circumference of the rotation plate. The shock absorber rod is connected eccentrically outward with respect to the rotation plate.


Clutter has a strong interference on target detection. Different statistical model should be applied to specific situation. In this paper, we propose a function of covariance matrix based algorithm to detect target under clutter environment. The statistical covariance matrices with and without target are usually different, thus we can find the target present or absent. The advantage of proposed algorithm is it works effectively with limited sample data when target signal strength is very weak. The probabilities of detection versus SNR and ROC curves using sinusoidal target on Rayleigh distribution clutter model, log-normal distribution clutter model, and Weibull distribution clutter model show that the algorithm is valid for different clutter models. (6 pages)


The proposed coronagraph instrument on the EXCEDE mission study uses a Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph architecture to enable high-contrast imaging of circumstellar debris disks and giant planets at angular separations as close in as the habitable zone of nearby host stars. We report on the experimental results obtained in the vacuum chamber at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in 10% broadband light centered about 650 nm, with a median contrast of 1 × 10−5 between 1.2 and 2.0 λ/D simultaneously with 3 × 10−7 contrast between 2 and 11 λ/D between 2 and 11 λ/D for a single-sided dark hole using a deformable mirror (DM) upstream of the PIAA coronagraph. The results are stable and repeatable as demonstrated by three measurements runs with DM settings set from scratch and maintained on the best 90% out of the 1000 collected frames. We compare the reduced experimental data with simulation results from modeling observed experimental limits; performance is consistent with uncorrected low-order modes not estimated by the Low Order Wavefront Sensor (LOWFS). Modeled sensitivity to bandwidth and residual tip/tilt modes is well-matched to the experiment.


Lattice is a regular alignment of points in multi-dimensional space. The research on it appeared in both number-theory and crystallography in 19th century. Because of the appearance of the famous LLL lattice reduction algorithm, lattices have had surprisinsg applications in cryptology. Before 1996, applications of lattices were restricted in attacking the existing cryptosystems; public-key cryptosystems based on lattice appeared in 1996 and have been studied further more. This paper mainly introduces three celebrated public-key cryptosystems based on lattice and discusses their security and practical efficiency.


Abstract The basic characteristics are outlined of the UN's Gender Inequality Index (GII) and its Gender Development Index (GDI). Their trends in relation to India's real Gross National Income (GNI) per capita indicate a decline in its gender inequality with its economic growth. However, these trends give a distorted and incomplete picture of changes in Indian gender inequality. Several assumptions underlying GII and GDI are questioned in the Indian context, for example, within India more education of females is not associated with a reduced wage gap between males and females, and greater access of females to the labour market can raise gender inequality. The effects of economic growth (absent in the above indices) are assessed on Indian male–female ratios and on violence against women. Variations in gender inequality in India within households are also considered. New data results in the questioning of several existing hypotheses.


This paper discusses the issues of vehicle design, wheelchair securement and placement, and vehicle infrastructure interface, based on the lessons learned from the use of low-floor urban buses in North America and Europe. A literature review was conducted on the work of developers, manufacturers, and researchers in countries that play a leading role in the development and use of low-floor buses: the United States, France, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom. It was found that opinions vary widely as to practices related to seating capacity, wheelchair securement and placement, occupant restraint, and operation. Vehicle design issues are discussed, including low-floor throughout versus stepped-up rear section; the number, location, and width of doors; seating capacity; layout; and location and width of doors. The concerns of wheelchair users - manoeuvrability, securement (front versus rear facing), and secured versus unsecured - are examined. Other challenges addressed include the vehicle infrastructure interface, particularly bus stop designs. The systems approach proposed by France, German and French curb designs, and Canadian bus stop guidelines are described.


The 18S rRNA sequence is highly conserved, particularly at its 3'-end. In contrast, the sequence around the 3'-end is degenerate with similar sites nearby. How RNA is correctly processed by the endonuclease Nob1 is not known, especially because in vitro experiments have shown it to be error-prone. Here we used yeast genetics, biochemistry, and next generation sequencing to investigate a role for Rio1 in monitoring the 3'-end of 18S rRNA. We demonstrate that Nob1 can miscleave its rRNA substrate and that miscleaved rRNA accumulates upon bypassing the Rio1-mediated quality control step, but not in healthy cells with intact quality control mechanisms. Mechanistically, we show that Rio1 binding to miscleaved rRNA is weakened. Accordingly, excess Pno1 results in accumulation of miscleaved rRNA. Ribosomes containing miscleaved rRNA enter the polysomes and produce dominant negative growth defects, suggesting that they cause defects during translation. Our data strongly suggest that ribosome collisions identify these miscleaved 18S rRNA-containing ribosomes as partially functional and target them for degradation. Altogether, the data support a model in which Rio1 inspects the 3'-end of the nascent 18S rRNA, only removing Nob1 and Pno1 from the ribosomes with precisely cleaved 18S rRNA to prevent miscleaved 18S rRNA-containing ribosomes from erroneously engaging in translation, where they induce ribosome collisions. The data also demonstrate how ribosome collisions "purify" the cells of altered ribosomes with different functionalities, with important implications for the concept of ribosome heterogeneity.


Leaf‐cutting ants (LCA) frequently show positive associations with human disturbance in forest biome, explained by habitat opening and increase of pioneer vegetation. However, little is known about LCA response in grassland biome. Agriculture and commercial forestry typically introduce closed habitats and displace pioneer vegetation when occurring in grasslands. The aim of this study was to assess the response of LCA to different land use types developed in a grassland biome. Semi‐natural grassland remnants, soybean crops, cattle pastures and young and mature eucalypt plantations were sampled in Entre Ríos, Argentina. LCA nest abundance and occurrence of workers was obtained by hand sampling and baited pitfall traps. LCA nest abundance significantly decreased in most land use types when compared with the grassland sites. All habitat types were characterized by the presence of different LCA species, which showed different associations with temperature, vegetation and soil structure. Our results suggest that LCA response to human disturbance depends on the biome where it occurs; contrary to what was observed in forests, the LCA assemblage was negatively associated to human disturbance in grasslands. The response of the whole assemblage masked different responses of LCA species, possibly indicating differences in their ecological niche.


An oligotrophic culture of acidophiles (Alicyclobacillus) isolated from Dexin acid mine drainage was evaluated for its synergistic effect in chalcopyrite bioleaching. Bioleaching of chalcopyrite with and without the Alicyclobacillus culture was investigated at different temperatures (33°C, 45 °C and 65 °C) and a culture-independent approach based on 16S rRNA gene clone library was used to analyze changes in the microbial community change during the bioleaching process. For 33 oC leaching tests, only the bacterial community was analyzed, but for the other two temperatures, both the bacterial community and archaea communities were analyzed. Results showed that at high leaching temperature (65°C), Alicyclobacillus culture could increase copper leaching recovery from 57.83% to 60.7%. While at relative low temperature (45°C and 33°C), adding Alicyclobacillus culture inhibited copper bioleaching, copper leaching recovery decreased from 36.10% to 31.52% and from 34.02% to 21.97% respectively at 45°C and 33°C. Clone libraries analysis showed that Alicyclobacillus helps the growth of genus Sulfobacillus at 45 °C while inhibiting the growth of genus Leptospillum at both 33°C and 45 °C. Furthermore, when adding Alicyclobacillus growth of Ferroplasma was limited and Acidoplasma was facilitated at 45°C. At 60°C, adding Alicyclobacillus culture facilitated the growth of genus Metallosphaera while limiting the growth of Leptospillum and Ferroplasma. The results showed potential application of Alicyclobacillus in high temperature chalcopyrite bioleaching and bioremediation of acid mine drainage.


We provide new evidence on the quality of independent analysts' firm value estimates (i.e., price targets). Whereas prior literature generally finds that independent analysts' research underperforms that of sell-side analysts using earlier sample periods, we show that, in a recent sample period, independent analysts' research performs more favorably. That is, we find independent analysts' price targets are less optimistic than investment-bank analysts' forecasts with limited evidence of lower accuracy. Moreover, independent analysts' price targets are less optimistic for firms with characteristics previously associated with overall analyst optimism, including higher stock price momentum and higher valuations. Our evaluation of the fundamental inputs from which independent analysts form their price targets suggests that less optimistic long-term growth forecasts could be responsible for the lower relative optimism in their price targets. Yet, even though independent analysts' price targets provide less optimistic forecasts of firm value, the market reacts relatively less strongly to independent analysts' price target revisions. These findings suggest that investors as well as those interested in extending empirical research into firm valuation can benefit from independent analysts' price targets.


The aim of this paper is twofold: First, data will be presented showing that Stylistic Fronting, i.e. the movement of a past participle, an adjective or an infinitive in front of the finite verb, was productive in Old Spanish. Second, I will argue that Stylistic Fronting in Old Spanish had a semantic impact, like other left-dislocated or fronted elements in the Old Romance languages. More precisely I will show that in contrast to what has often been claimed with respect to Icelandic (cf. Holmberg 2005, among many others), Stylistic Fronting in Old Spanish is not a mere phonological displacement, but instead represents a movement that takes place in narrow syntax.


Summary We investigated the sensitivity of several assumptions associated with a new method for predicting pore-fluid type and saturation using seismic amplitudes and rock-property transforms. The method derives regression coefficients for rock-property transforms from well-log curves and then applies the transforms to the near- and far-angle seismic stacks to yield estimates of the normal-incident reflection coefficient (NI). The NI values are then related to watersaturation (Sw). The sensitivity of two assumptions associated with the method is evaluated. The first is that the porosity of the prospect and down-dip reservoir is the same. The second is that the ratio of the far-angle amplitude is scaled properly to the near-angle amplitude during processing. A field example from South Marsh Island (SMI) demonstrates the method and the sensitivity study.


In recent years a number of different models of bidirectional optimization have been introduced in which productive and interpretive optimization are interdependent in one way or another. One of the reasons for this interest in bidirectionality is the fact that there is a range of phenomena such as ambiguity and (partial) blocking which cannot be straightforwardly accounted for with standard unidirectional optimization. Instead, they seem to require the integration of the hearer's and the speaker's perspective. At the same time, it has been shown that even though both OT syntax and OT semantics are complete theories about the relation between form and meaning the independent combination of the two theories does not yield a model that assigns a consistent relation between form and meaning (Zeevat 2000; Beaver and Lee 2004). That is, it is possible that one does not end up with the meaning one started with when OT syntax and semantics are applied successively. To overcome these problems different models of bidirectional optimization have been proposed in which OT syntax and semantics are dependent on one another: the outcome of one direction of optimization constrains the outcome of the other direction. Among them we can distinguish two main types. On the one hand, there are asymmetric models in which either interpretive optimization is constrained by productive optimization (Zeevat 2000) or productive optimization is constrained by interpretive optimization (Wilson 2001). On the other hand, there are symmetric models in which interpretive and productive optimization constrain each other simultaneously (Blutner 2000). It seems that the latter type of model is currently the favoured one. In this paper I discuss a set of case-marking facts which receive a straightforward analysis using a bidirectional model. However, I will not argue in favour of a symmetric model, but rather in favour of an asymmetrical one. In fact, I will propose a new variant of asymmetrical bidirectional optimization