Educational commodity marketing clubs have been an effective tool for producers to develop their grain and livestock marketing skills. These groups are further enhanced when the participants engage in "actual trading" versus "paper trading" techniques. When a club chooses to try actual trading, it becomes more complicated than pooling monies together. Group members need to think of personal liability and state and government regulations with which they need to comply. This article attempts to assist Extension educators as they guide groups through the steps that will limit their personal liability and bring them into compliance with federal regulations.


One of the central issues of brand management is the process in which brand managers have to make decisions concerning the management of private brands – or own label brands as they are known in the UK. Research into the manufacturer's aspect of the private branding process has intensified, due to the increased power of distribution chains in both developed and developing countries, as a result of retailers' aims for higher profits, and because retailers are becoming more proficient at managing store brands as part of their retail format. Due to distributors' increasing strength, national manufacturers can no longer deny the status of private brands or their penetration into many product categories considered impenetrable until recently, such as personal hygiene products. They must, therefore, carefully examine the appropriate possibilities open to them for dealing with the loss of significant market shares of their brands to private brands.


Evaluation of: Nelson RE, Saltzman GM, Skalabrin EJ, Demaerschalk BM, Majersik JJ. The cost–effectiveness of telestroke in the treatment of acute ischaemic stroke. Neurology 77, 1590–1598 (2011). The clinical efficacy of intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in acute ischemic stroke is proven, and the cost-efficacy of tPA is realized through reduction in disability and associated long-term care. Only a modest proportion of eligible stroke patients receive tPA. Potential barriers include distance from treatment centers and lack of local expertise and infrastructure. Nelson and colleagues describe a telecommunications strategy to facilitate increased delivery of thrombolysis. The analysis used a model based on an expert stroke-center 'hub' offering video-based liaison with several peripheral hospital 'spokes'. Economic modeling suggested cost efficacy of this approach, albeit with all the caveats that come with long-term economic analyses of an acute stroke intervention. There is a clinical, ethical and economical imperative to increase uptake of evidence-based acute stroke therapies. These encouraging data suggest that use of audiovisual technologies may facilitate greater access to thrombolysis.


In Fiji, the public sector reform process began in 1985 and went through a number of stages that were closely tied to largely political re-directions and attendant imperatives. When it resumed in 2001 a number of initiatives increasingly brought into question one of the key assumptions of NPM: that the country has a democratic framework of governance. This paper first establishes the theoretical link between NPM and democracy and then analyzes a number of key reforms in order to centralize and discuss the importance of a functioning democratic framework and attendant institutions of control for successful reforms in Fiji.


Purpose: This study tries to explore experiences with a special rating dementia service among family caregivers of elderly people with dementia. Methods: The participants were 11 family caregivers of elderly people with dementia and had used a day-care service from the special rating dementia service for more than 3 months. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Three categories emerged: "reminiscence of an entangled life", "feeling relieved from a stifled life", and "hope for a better life through help and support" with 8 sub-categories and 23 codes. By using the special rating dementia service, the participants experienced relief from the burden of caring for their elderly family member with dementia and restored their social relations or family relationships. They experienced a positive transition in which their caring for elderly family members with dementia was integrated into their daily lives, and they expressed their desires for better policies. Conclusion: These findings imply the importance and necessity of the special rating dementia service. Practical and systematic family support programs are necessary and proactive publicity activities by the government and public agencies are suggested to ensure that family caregivers can easily use the special rating dementia system.


The work subject of this work was begun in 1978 under NASA grant NAS8-32695 which prepared the samples which were included in the assemblage of samples on LDEF which was placed in earth orbit by Challenger crew members during mission 41C on April 1984. Those samples, recovered in February 1990 were exposed to earth orbit environment for a total of approximately 5.8 years. Following their recovery the optical and mechanical properties were characterized and sample surfaces were examined so as to characterize micrometeorite impact sites. Copies of the following are attached to and form a part of this final report: Published papers describing results obtained under this contract include: lo "Low-earth orbit radiation effects on strength of Glasses," J, Am, Ceram, S.c. 75 2893-5 (1992) with D. E. Wiedlocher, D. S. Tucker and R. Nichols. . "Cratering in glasses impacted by debris or micrometeorites," with David E. Wiedlocher, LDEF 69 Months in Space Second Post Retrieval Symposium, NASA Conference Publication 3194 Part 2, 529-539 (1993). o "Physical properties of glasses exposed to earth-facing and trailing-side environments on LDEF," NASA Conference Publication 3257, LDEF Materials Results for Spacecraft Applications, Proceedings of October 2728, 1992 conference, Huntsville, AL with D. A. Wiedlocher, R. A. Weller, R. A. Weeks and M. H. Mendenhall, pgs 227-243. Papers in preparation for publication: . "Elastic Modulus and Thermal Expansion Measurements of LDEF Glasses and Glass-ceramics using a Speckle Technique" D. W. Wiedlocher and D. L. Kinser, to be submitted as a communication to the American Ceramic Society , "Mechanical Failure Probability of Glasses in Earth Orbit" D. L. Kinser and D. E. Wiedlocher, to be submitted to the Journal of The American Ceramic Society:"


This study aims to develop efficient techniques for optimization of electromagnetic problems. We use the PSO algorithm (Particle Swarm Optimization) associated with a metamodel based on an ANN (Artificial Neural Network). Specifically, we use the MLP (Multilayer Perceptron) with the backpropagation algorithm. The ANN will be used to assist the technique of "quasi 3D" ray-tracing in order to reduce the high computational cost of this technique in PSO optimization.


The South African government has released its annual figures on HIV and AIDS, which show a continued increase in the numbers of people contracting the virus. About 4.7 million South Africans now have the virus, compared with 4.2m in 1999.

Some 24.5% of pregnant women were infected with HIV, according to a survey of 16 548 blood samples in the year 2000. The equivalent …


Semantically labeling every pixel in a video is a very challenging task as video is an information-intensive media with complex spatio-temporal dependence. We present in this paper a novel deep convolutional network architecture, called deep spatio-temporal fully convolutional networks (DST-FCN), which leverages both spatial and temporal dependencies among pixels and voxels by training them in an end-to-end manner. Specifically, we introduce a two-stream network by learning the deep spatio-temporal dependence, in which a 2D FCN followed by the convolutional long short-term memory (ConvLSTM) is employed on the pixel level and a 3-D FCN is exploited on the voxel level. Our model differs from conventional FCN in that it not only extends FCN by adding ConvLSTM on the pixel level for exploring long-term dependence, but also proposes 3-D FCN to enable voxel level prediction. On two benchmarks of A2D and CamVid, our DST-FCN achieves superior results to state-of-the-art techniques. More remarkably, we obtain to-date the best reported results: 45.0% per-label accuracy on A2D and 68.8% mean IoU on CamVid.


Introduction The first purpose of this research has been to identify the organs and tissues which are affected by the various causes of exhaustion. It is at once obvious that these do not include the skin, the tendons, the connective tissue, the fat, the bones, the cartilage, the teeth, the hair, the organs of the digestive system or of the genito-urinary system, the lymphatic vessels or glands, the spleen, the sweat glands, the pancreas or the organs of common sensation. The organs and tissues in which one would expect to find signs of exhaustion are organs that are essential to life within the period of death from acute exhaustion. The second purpose has been to ascertain whether or not all the known causes of exhaustion produce identical end-effects in the essential organs. That is to say, do insomnia, infection, exertion, emotion, asphyxia, exophthalmic goiter, iodism, anesthesia, the excision of organs,


Correspondence Address: John Russell Uren, P. Eng. Suite 202 1590 Bellevue Avenue Method and apparatus used to calculate the hydrogen Sulfide West Vancouver, BC V7V 1A7 (CA) and carbon dioxide loading of both rich and lean amine 9 Solutions used to remove acidic gas components from Sour (73) Assignee: SPARTAN CONTROLS LTD. or production gases in order to produce a Sweet or Sales gas for transmission purposes. The amine Solution is divided (21) Appl. No.: 09/919,331 into three(3) liquid streams carrying different proportions of 1-1. heat Stable Salts, hydrogen Sulfide and carbon dioxide. (22) Filed: Jul. 30, 2001 Conductivity measurements are made on each of the Streams Publication Classification and are converted to acid loading values for the amine. The acid loading values of the amine are used to obtain the (51) Int. Cl." ......................... G01N 33/00; G01N 33/22; hydrogen Sulfide and carbon dioxide loading for the amine GO1N 27/00 Solution.


The replacement of circulating blood volume has been, for a long time, the accepted therapy for shock due to loss of intravascular fluid. This concept is solidly based on principles established experimentally many years ago by Blalock 2 and by Parsons and Phemister. 13 However, efforts to assist in the maintenance of blood pressure by increasing the peripheral resistance have been increasingly common in recent years, particularly since the advent of pressor agents such as levarterenol and phenylephrine Neo-Synephrine. Objections have been raised to the production of normotensive pressures by this method, in the presence of hypovolemia, since the problem of maintaining blood flow through vital tissues is by no means assured. 10 Thus Remington et al. 14 reported that the use of levarterenol decreased the survival time of dogs subjected to hemorrhagic shock, while Langston and Guyton 7 showed that levarterenol by its direct action on the kidney, decreased


The purpose of this study is to analyze the difference of school attitude of middle school students participating in school sports club and to identify the necessity of school sports club activities. For this purpose, 520 middle school students who participated in school sports club and 485 middle school students who did not participate were selected as research participators. The difference in school attitude was analyzed by the presence of school sports club, participation period, the frequency of participation per week, and the number of participation in competitions. Collected data were statistically processed by using the SPSS 25.0 program. Exploratory frequency analysis, reliability analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA were conducted and verified by the post hoc test. As a result, significant differences are as follows: First, all sub-factors of school attitude of middle school students showed differences as per their participation in school sports club. Second, all sub-factors of school attitude of middle school students showed differences as per the participation period of school sports club. Third, all sub-factors of school attitude of middle school students, except school friend factors showed differences as per the participation frequency of school sports club. Fourth, all sub-factors of school attitude of middle school showed differences as per the participation frequency of school sports club competitions. According to these results, the followings are concluded: First, school sports club policy should be established from a long-term perspective. Second, the number of school sports club competitions should be increased. This study is significant as an empirical data that participation in school sports club positively affects the formation of school attitudes of middle school students. 1


This work reviews the information related to predation on Neotropical primates by human and non-human predators. Paradoxically, humans have been systematically neglected while evaluating the potential effects of predation in the structure of non-human primate populations. Predation paradigms do not include humans in their propositions. In this review, it is shown that effectively humans are the main predators of monkey communities in the Neotropics. The results also suggest that humans do not fit with predation theoretical views given for non-human predators. Homo cultural hunting practices contribute to this situation. For example, humans seem to prefer larger primate groups that allow their location for hunting, or humans tend to prey primary larger monkeys with longer interbirth interval. In sum, it is suggested that since at least 11,000 years of human occupation in the Neotropics, Homo might have been played a fundamental role in the current organization and distribution of primate populations, including local extinctions. Humans seemed to have potentially influenced New World primate population in such short ecological time scale.


This report presentsthe regulatoryanalysisfor Generic Issue (GI-143), "Availabilityof ChilledWa_er System and Room Cooling." The heating, ventilating,and air conditioning(HVAC)systemsand relatedauxiliariesare requiredto providecontrolof environmentalconditionsin areas in light water reactor (LWR) plantsthat containsafety-relatedequipment. In some plants,the HVAC and chilledwater systemsserve to maintain a suitable environmentfor both safety and non-safety-relatedareas. Although some plants have an independentchilledwater system for the safety-relatedareas, the heat removalcapabilityoften dependson the operabilityof other supportingsystemssuch as the servicewater systemor the componentcooling water system. The operabilityof safety-relatedcomponentsdependsupon operationof the HVAC and chilledwater systemsto remove heat from areas containingthe equipment. If coolingto dissipatethe heat generatedis unavailable,the abilityof the safety-relatedequipmentto operateas intendedcannot be assured. Typicalcomponentsor areas in the nuclearpower plant that could be affectedby the failureof cooling from HVAC or chilled water systemsincludethe (I) emergencyswitchgearand batteryrooms, (2) emergencydiesel generatorroom, (3) pump rooms for residualheat removal, reactorcore isolationcooling,high-pressurecore spray,and low-pressure core spray, and (4) controlroom. The unavailabilityof such safety-related equipmentor areas could cause the core damage frequency(CDF) to increase significantly.


We welcome the response from Baldev Raj to our article.1 However, it does not satisfactorily address the issues raised therein. To begin with, it does not explain how 100 MJ is an upper bound on mechanical energy that could be released in a core disruptive accident (CDA). Raj states that safety studies have shown that mechanical energy release from loss of coolant flow together with failure of safety systems is less than 1 MJ. This contradicts DAE's published studies of the PFBR,2 cited in our article, which show that energies on the order of 1000 MJ are possible. A key assumption in this calculation is the reactivity "insertion" rate (which depends on how much of the core collapses, in what configuration and how fast); the 100 MJ limit is based on assuming that only a part of the core participates in the accident. As we show in our article, the DAE's analysis that calculates the effect of the initiating events on the extent of core melting is limited by omissions (ignoring of cladding failure modes and the effects of burnup on fast reactivity feedbacks as well as fuel thermophysical properties) and therefore is unduly optimistic. Regarding the small CDA mechanical energy to thermal power ratio estimated for the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) as compared to previous fast reactors, Raj points to other recent designs with even smaller figures. The problem is that the reactors he offers as counter-examples have not yet been cleared for construction by the appropriate safety regulators in those countries, let alone constructed. We see no reason to expect that French regulators, for example, would be satisfied with a reactor design that offers less containment strength than the Superphénix, after the series of accidents that the Superphénix experienced. The only reactor under construction in the list Raj offers is the Russian BN-800. However, this reactor has been designed to have a very small or negative sodium void coefficient and therefore is not the most relevant benchmark for the PFBR which has a large positive value.3 The BN-800's containment design must also be seen in the background of the safety performance of Russia's breeder program. The largest reactor constructed so far, the BN-600, experienced 27 sodium leaks between 1980 and 1997, 14 of which resulted in sodium fires.4 In most, if not all, cases, it appears that the reactor was not even shut down and continued operating as the fires were raging, indicating that inadequate priority is given to safety.


The aim of this study is to propose the new simple seismic retrofit technique of existing R/C frame by steel bracing frame or steel framed pre-cast R/C panel (hereafter, referred to as PC panel). According to the test results, the following became clear. The conventional retrofit technique to connect steel bracing frame to the existing R/C frame by studs induced the shear failure of the existing R/C column in its bottom region. The retrofit technique proposed in this research prevented the damage of existing R/C column, and showed the same strengthening effect as the conventional one did. The existing R/C frame and the PC panel behaved in monolithic manner until R=2.0%. The observed lateral load carrying capacity of specimens strengthened by the steel bracing frame was approximately 6 times of that of the existing R/C frame specimen. On the other hand, in the specimens strengthened by PC panel, the lateral load carrying capacity was 4 times or more of that of the prototype specimen.


The sol-gel processes of YAG and YAG doped Nd are presented. The mechanism of YAG powders formation by sol-gel method is described. The gel is formed by reaction of inorganic salts or oxides Y, Al, Nd elements with acetic acid and ethylene glycol. Conditions of sol-gel processes in the range of temperature treatment from 100 0 C to 1000 0 C and mechanism of reactions are investigated using DTA, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopic methods. Size, shape, and morphology of the surface of the YAG powders are characterized by scanning electron microscope. Finally one phase of YAG and yttrium substituted by neodymium up to 28% at. are found. At higher concentration of Nd (up to 100% at.) two phases of garnet and perovskite type are detected.


Significant changes in fed cattle marketing methods have occurred over time. This report summarizes a survey conducted to determine current and intended marketing practices of cattle feeders. Use of marketing agreements has increased over time. In 1996, 23% of cattle fed by survey respondents were sold under some type of marketing agreement. This increased to 52% in 2001 and was expected to increase to 65% by 2006. Use by cattle feeders of cash live and carcass weight pricing is expected to decline, and grid pricing is expected to increase substantially over time. The percentage of cattle that survey respondents marketed using cash markets declined from 82% in 1996 to 53% in 2001, and it is expected to be only 33% by 2006. Grid pricing increased from 16% of marketings in 1996 to 45% in 2001, and this is expected to reach 62% by 2006. Respondents indicated a strong desire to have grid base prices tied to boxed beef or retail markets, but a slightly less strong desire to have base prices negotiated.


ObjectivesThis research was performed to assess systolic and diastolic left ventricular function in patients with ventricular and AV sequential pacing, placing particular emphasis on the long-term evaluation of left ventricular function in ventricular and AV sequential pacing. We also compared the short-term effects of different modes of pacing on LV function. MethodsWe conducted a prospective one-year echocardiographic study on 40 patients with ventricular and AV sequential pacemakers at our center in Tehran. Echocardiography was done before and 1 week, 2, 6 and 12 months after pacemaker implantation. Systolic and diastolic functions were assessed as well. Results12 (30%) women and 28 (70%) men aged 65.32±13.11 years were recruited in the study. 32 (80%) had advanced AV block and 8 (20%) had sick sinus syndrome. End diastolic volume, stroke volume, and ejection fraction were significantly decreased (p<0.01) in ventricular pacing group in short and long–term evaluations. In AV sequential pacing group, end diastolic volume, end systolic volume, and stroke volume were significantly decreased (p<0.01 for both). ConclusionIn spite of a decreased ejection fraction, ventricular pacing can improve cardiac output both in short and long-terms, but AV sequential pacing improves cardiac output by increasing both ejection fraction and the heart rate. Diastolic function assessment by echo is not as reliable as in systolic function. (Iranian Heart Journal. 2002; 2(4)&3(1): 6-10)


This note investigates the methodological conditions necessary to a fair deal between conservation and conversion of wetlands. We consider conversion cases to agriculture and industrial uses. In this latest situation, one could think that it is not possible to rely on conservation benefit calculus, based on individual preferences to stop or restrain wetland conversion. It is BEAUMAIS et al. (2008)'s conclusion, published in this review. We show that taking some theoretical deepening and methodological precautions, it is not impossible to have reverse conclusions.


BACKGROUND AHA guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have recommended that administration of atropine can be considered for asystole or pulseless electrical activity (PEA), because atr...


Global energy supply comes from commonly of using carbon fossil, however, it is necessary to rapidly reduce its consumption from the use of renewable energy sources with lower cost, such as ethanol, biofuel that have promoted secure and sustainable energy. Seeking for efficient methods for achieving bioethanol involves among other factors the selection of more efficient strains. For that reason, this study aim to investigate the performance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains commonly used for ethanol production. Thus, we used in all three strains of S. cerevisiae Catanduva 1, Pedra 2 (CAT-1 and EP-2) obtained from the Centro de tecnologia Canavieira, SP, and the baking strain (Fleischmann®). Yeasts were reactivated in Sabouraud agar plates by streaking method and incubated at room temperature for 48 h. After the growth period, the strains were subjected to morphological analysis under optical microscopy. To prepare the pre-inoculum we used 100 ml of fermentation medium (pH 5.0). Flasks containing the yeasts were incubated for 24 hours at 30° C to 200rpm. After growth time, 10 mL of preinoculate were transferred to 175ml of fermentation medium in a concentration of 80 g / L sucrose. Aliquots were collected every 6 hours for analysis of fermentation parameters such as biomass, residual sugar and ethanol. After fermentation, the following analytical tests were carried out: concentration of reducing sugars was determined by acid 3,5dinitrosalicílico method (DNS). The ethanol analysis was transferred 80 mL fermented broth to a single distiller. Then, the measurement was performed in alcoholometer and determining the percentage of ethanol content (v / v) in the sample. As a result, all strains consumed most of the available sugars in the fermentation medium, however, PE-2 strain used approximately (43.5 g / L) of the medium sugars after 6 hours of fermentation whereas Fleischmann® strain consumed (22.5 g / L) in the same period. Ethanol production by strains PE-2, CAT-1 and Fleischmann was 4%, 3% and 3%, respectively. The PE-2 strain has a better performance compared to other strains analyzed due to it showed great productivity and efficiency.


Type.-Adult male, No. 364,874, U. S. National Museum, Biological Survey collection; Arctic-Alpine Zone of Mt. St. Helens, Skamania County, Washington, June 10, 1941; Stanley G. Jewett, original number 1,016. Subspecific characters.-Similar to Otocoris alpestris arcticola Oberholser (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 24 (No. 1): 816, 1902) but smaller and more grayish (less brownish); dark centers of dorsal feathers appear darker and more blackish in contrast to the more grayish edgings; hind-neck, upper tail-coverts, and lesser wing-coverts brighter and more pinkish (less cinnamomeous), contrasting more sharply with the color of the back. Measurements.-Male (seven breeding specimens from Mt. St. Helens, Washington): wing, 107-112 mm. (average, 109.7); tail, 66.5-72 (68.4); exposed culmen, 9.5-10.5 (10.2); tarsus, 22-23.3 (22.8); middle toe without claw, 12-13 (12.7). Female (seven breeding specimens from Mt. St. Helens, Washington): wing, 95.5-105 (100); tail, 57-66 (62.2);


The present study discusses the findings from a survey of BA students in their 3rd year or higher, as well as MA degree program students, regarding their perception of Western corporate culture and internationalisation in relation to their foreign language major. The students surveyed (n=445) belong to one of 24 different foreign language programs. Besides demographics, the respondents were asked to state their level of agreement or disagreement concerning different scenarios they might expect to encounter during their first full-time position in a corporate firm. Data analyses were conducted with SPSS. A sample of students in nonforeign language majors was used as a control group (n=112). Significant findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of Stakeholder Theory in Education. Foreign language students have a higher perception and understanding of internationalisation than non-foreign language students. A statistical analysis of internationalisation among foreign language students showed the highest correlation for the following factors: Evaluation of English for Career, Status of Foreign Language, and Business Interest. The findings have a practical implication for human resource managers, as they indicate which type of students have the highest theoretical potential to help a firm striving for greater internationalisation. One limitation of this study is that survey respondents are affiliated with only one university. A future tracer study could test the model to see whether students with the highest level of agreement to internationalisation really are involved after graduation in the internationalisation process of the firms they are affiliated with.


Because of the etiology and pathogenesis are not fully understood,the treatment of ulcerative colitis is lack of effective drugs at present.Either Chinese or Western medicine is exploring and trying the effective treatments and drugs.Integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment has broad prospects for development in improving the efficacy,shortening the course of disease,reducing recurrence and other aspects.Traditional Chinese medicine,Western medicine and integrated Chinese and Western medicine treatment of ulcerative colitis are summarized as follows,to provide reference for clinical use in recent 5 years.


As I prepare this guest editorial for this month's issue of American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy, I am in awe of the sheer breadth and advances in research, we, as a community publishing. It was not that long ago that we were limited to basic surgical technique and small single institution retrospective studies. Reviewing, this exciting issue, we really get a fantastic appreciation for advances in surgical technique, novel prospective investigations, large database studies, and high-quality basic science work. I really feel that we are in a golden era of innovation in our field, and this journal continues to demonstrate they are in the forefront of innovation. We were fortunate to see several publications discussing advanced surgical techniques. Li and colleagues evaluated the efficacy of a Denker's approach versus a prelacrimal approach to the pterygopalatine fossa and infratemporal fossa. Utilizing cadaveric dissection, they found while both approaches can provide access to those areas, the Denker's provides improved freedom of motion ultimately suggesting that this would be the preferred approach for pathology in the pterygopalatine and infratemporal fossa. Similarly, this month's "how I do it" publication by Takaishi demonstrates a novel method of reconstruction of a medial orbital wall fracture. Here, Takaishi utilizes the patients nasal tissue, specifically septal cartilage to reconstruct the defect after any bone fragments are removed, and the orbital contents are reduced and avoids using alloplastic implants. Switching gears to a prospective investigation, we had an excellent study by Esmaeilzdeh et al prospectively identified 66 moderate to severe allergic rhinitis patients and placed them in 3 treatment arms; montelukast and steroid spray, intranasal antihistamine and steroid spray, and intranasal steroid with a placebo tablet. They found that the nasal antihistamine group with steroid spray was the superior outcomes arms in regard to SNOT-22 scores. Conversely, in their investigation, they found montelukast has no improvement over intranasal steroids alone. We also had several excellent retrospective studies published in this issue. Huang and colleagues published a retrospective study of chronic rhinosinusitis patients 55 and old and stratified by the Charlson Comorbidity Index and identified that even with worse medical comorbities, patients still had similar improvement in SNOT-22 scores. Interestingly, they also looked at complication rates but this needs to be looked into further. Another study very relevant to sinus surgeons was published by Ritter et al. Their group looked at detection and outcomes of invasive fungal rhinosinusitis in immunosuppressed children. They identified in their retrospective cohort that enhanced panfungal polymerase chain reaction and treatment with both novel antifungals and aggressive surgical approaches improved their outcomes in this challenging treatment population. Moving through this issue of American Journal of Rhinology and Allergy (AJRA), we get the opportunity to see the power of well-performed database studies. Han and colleagues performed a very interesting cross-sectional study of nationwide data in South Korea evaluating the association between the concentration of air pollutants and the prevalence of allergic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis. They found the prevalence of allergic rhinitis was significantly associated with the particulate matter but chronic rhinosinusitis was not associated with air pollutant concentrations. Abdelshafy et al performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of bilastine, a novel oral second-generation H-1 antihistamine for both allergic rhinitis and chronic urticaria. They included 9 randomized trials including 3801 participants and found bilastine safely improved total symptoms in hyper histaminic allergic conditions involving nasal symptoms. Another great study by Son Editorial


This research aims to do the research on Dujiangyan's global tourism public service for the first time, and designs a brand-new service evaluation index system, including travel convenience and benefit services, tourist rights protection services, tourism public safety services, tourism public convenient transportation services, and tourism public information services. And from the perspective of satisfaction, through questionnaires, interviews and other methods to understand tourists' view on the five aspects of services above, it is concluded that tourists' overall evaluation of Dujiangyan's global tourism public services is between general and satisfaction. Tourism public information services earns the most score while tourism public security services scores least. This article also explores the relationship between the overall evaluation of its tourism public service and the evaluation of each subsystem by using multiple linear regression. Finally, in response to the problems reflected in the evaluation results, this article proposes to take some measures, such as increasing the development of scenic spots, building smart tourism, improving public transportation services, improving the public safety service system, and strengthening the protection of tourists' rights and interests, so as to improve the quality of service and improve tourist satisfaction.


The purpose of this article is to understand how academics in management deal with the concept of generation in workplace. A conceptual framework of generational diversity was elaborated through an interdisciplinary literature analysis. Four levels of analysis (society, career, organization and occupation) and three dimensions (age, cohort, event/period) were identified. Authors propose a meta-analysis of 65 papers in management classified with this conceptual framework. The results show a diversity of generational approaches with a focus on age and cohort dimensions at the societal level. Four factors seem to explain these results: the recent desynchronization of generational dimensions and levels, the novelty of theoretical models, stereotypes amplified by mass medias, and the methodology used by researchers. This paper contributes to develop a more realistic view of the generational diversity in workplace for academics and practitioners. It also highlight unexplored but promising new research areas.


set out an agenda for future research. They are slight and give the impression of more of the same, when what is needed is serious consideration of radical solutions as budgets tighten and the volume of accessions of digital content accelerates. Because of the way working practices have changed in the digital environment and the expectations of users for greater diversity, this will not simply be an extension of appraisal in the analogue, but on a hugely different scale, possibly four times as much. If the archive service simply has to take what amounts to a mass of stuff, it confronts three huge challenges: how to appraise it, how to review it for sensitivity and how to develop tools to enable users to navigate it. There is no way any of this can be done manually, so forget listing, as this book suggests, because there will be far too much material. The research agenda must be driven by ways of automating all these processes using advanced computational and IR techniques. In building such tools, archivists need to concentrate on what they know best – the form and structure of content and talk to and not past the technologists. For those who are interested in how archive services have engaged with the emerging digital environment, this book is a useful guide, but for those who want some insight into what happens next, let alone how to ingest digital content, it is less than helpful. The voice that is largely missing is that of the user, this is book written for archivists from an archival perspective.


The primary goal of this study is to create a robot that can monitor human activity by using wireless night vision cameras and Using an Android Bluetooth application, robots can be manually controlled. A night vision wireless camera built into the robot can send videos of people. This robot's job is to go around and collect audio and video data from the environment it is in, then communicate that data to the user. In this project, a mobile device is used to control the robot. This robot can send data to a distant IoT cloud database after collecting it from a faraway location. By transmitting commands via the Bluetooth software on our Android phone, we can direct the robot's movement. In the proposed system, we are going to construct a low-cost Microcontroller Based Android operated Robot that can move in any of the directions of Forward, Left, Right, Backward, and Stop. The robot will travel in the directions indicated by the mobile device, including forward, backward, left, and right. There are numerous uses for this system. The goal of our project is to create a robotic vehicle with a wireless camera capable of night vision for remote monitoring/spying applications. Even in dimly lit areas, the night vision camera enables the transmission of real-time night vision footage. The camera's footage can be watched on a PC for reference.


Along with development of computer network techniqu e, network safety i s already focus paid attention to by people at present. The paper summarizes som e kinds of type of threatening computer network, elaborates all kinds of safe pr oblems rare, but possibly happening at any time, analyses production and operati on process of it, in view of them, puts forward appropriate preventive measures, in order to ensure safe running of computer system. They make computer users no t disturbed by the outside world, reduce loss of network users.


NaOH/poly(sodium acrylate) composites were prepared by in situ polymerization of acrylic acid with an overneutralization level by adding excess NaOH. The composites were studied by XRD, IR and 23Na MAS NMR spectroscopy. The results showed that the high neutralization degree (>100%) may lead to a complete polymerization. Both XRD and 23Na MAS NMR spectra did not show any peaks of phase-separated NaOH or Na2CO3 until the neutralization degree was up to 217.5%. It can be presumed that the aggregates of Na+ ions can contain approximately two Na+ units for every carboxyl group before the phase separation.


AIMS
Paclitaxel is a potent and effective inhibitor of neointimal proliferation after coronary stenting. The Conor stent loaded with Paclitaxel can be programmed with multi-parameter matrix of dose, temporal release profiles and release pathways. The aim of this study was to determine the most efficacious dose and release pattern of Paclitaxel in a porcine model and parallels the PISCES trial.

METHODS
32 farm pigs were implanted with Conor stents loaded with 10 or 30 microg of Paclitaxel with, 10 or 30 day and mural or bidirectional release patterns. Angiographic and histomorphometric analysis was -performed at 30 and 90 days.

RESULTS
All doses of Paclitaxel were angiographically superior to control (P < 0.01). At 30 days, intimal thickness was similar between Pisces D4 (30 microg/10 days, bidirectional release), D5 (10 microg/30 day mural) and D6 (30 microg/30 day, mural) with D4 having the lowest intimal thickness (167+/-59 microm). There was a significant increase in the mural injury associated with D4 in comparison to all other doses (P < 0.00001). At 90 days D4 was significantly worse in comparison to Pisces D5 and D6; (P < 0.01) and Pisces D5 and D6 were similar to controls.

CONCLUSIONS
10 day release of Paclitaxel may be too short a period to inhibit neointimal proliferation after coronary stenting, or the rapid release of Paclitaxel may induce chemical injury causing secondary insult to the artery resulting in a rebound increase in intimal thickness at 90 days. These data parallel clinical findings in the PISCES trial.


Dear Sir We would like to bring this life threatening, and we feel under-reported and unrecognized, association to the attention of your readers. There has been an increase in use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) in recent years, and in 2000, there were 1.425.122 prescriptions dispensed. It is known from previous work that ACE-I therapy rarely causes angioneurotic oedema. The stated incidence is 0.1–0.3 per cent of those receiving the drug. It is important to recognize this side-effect due to its life-threatening nature and tendency to recur if ACE-I therapy is continued. In the 24-month period, January 2001–2003, Žve patients with angioneurotic oedema, secondary to ACE-I therapy, presented to our large district general hospital (population served 500.000), three out of Žve required intubation and two went on to have a tracheostomy. There is no clear relationship between length of therapy and the onset of angioneurotic oedema. It is this variability in presentation which may mislead the physician and make the diagnosis obscure. We contacted the 'Committee on Safety of Medicines' to report the Žve cases that presented to us in the two-year period studied. It was interesting to note that, previously, only seven other cases had been reported to them in the UK, despite widespread usage of the drug for 20 years. It seems likely then that the condition has either been underestimated, under-reported or has gone unrecognized here. The speed of onset of symptoms and often relentless progression despite emergency drug treatment necessitates prompt decision about the management of the airway. The frequent involvement of the tongue results in a difŽcult intubation not to be attempted by a junior anaesthetist. A senior anaethetist capable of Žbre-optic intubation and an experienced ENT surgeon should be contacted immediately. As the number of patients on ACE-Is increases, more will present with angioneurotic oedema leading to upper airway obstruction. A brief survey in our hospital showed that in the same 24-month period, only 14 urgent tracheostomies were performed by the ENT department, most of which were performed in a semi-elective situation in operating theatres when percutaneous tracheostomy was felt unsafe. However, 99 tracheostomies were performed percutaneously by anaesthetists on the intensive care unit, in the same period. This relative lack of experience, in performing tracheostomies, of ENT Registrars has major implications for training and patient safety. Especially given that the few tracheostomies that are performed by the ENT department are often in emergency situations, complicated by being on the ward or ITU in difŽcult conditions.


In a retrospective chart review study, researchers identified two cohorts of patients diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux at a New York hospital


This study represents work in progress towards a complete system of a humanoid robot. With this aim, the system must be capable to interact with a human, Give response to the question, do gestures, assist with finding an information, remember different types of thing, find internet data regarding the user's query, find errors in its system and save a log file in order to further development and debug, autonomous servo control with the help of PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controlling. Open CV, Servo Control (Head) the system integrates with facial and object recognition to achieve its objectives based on PID quality, among other advanced capabilities derived from Open CV (camera). Details of the implementation of the currently developed system will be displayed. Towards the end, after success in the preliminary results obtained on our campus, we are encouraged to do so in order to obtain a complete prototype.

https://universepg.com/public/storage/journal-pdf/Development and design of a humanoid Robot System MIRAA_intelligent & autonomous mobile assistant.pdf


Based on the analyzing of the features of analog TV′s and digital TV′s signal,this paper presents a debugging method with common testing instrument in the analog-to-digital hybrid cable transmission system.It gives a test in the real network,and then summarizes the result and data.


Theories of ledge dynamics for crystals evaporating by the stepwise mechanism predict a change from crystal edge control to dislocation control of the evaporation kinetics as the gas phase saturation is reduced. This effect was studied by measuring the rate of evaporation from the (100) face of high purity KCl crystals vs gas phase saturation with a specially designed spherical effusion cell of variable orifice area. The experiments minimized or eliminated variation in sample temperature, area, dislocation density, and purity and gave results of sufficient precision to confirm the theoretical predictions. Ledges arising from dislocations do not influence the evaporation rate of KCl if the incident to equilibrium flux ratio (Vi/Veq) exceeds 0.93±0.02, at 460 ° C. This conclusion is based on an observed change in slope of evaporation rate versus incident flux at a value of Vi/Veq consistent with the theory of stepwise evaporation and independent estimates or measurements of surface energies, surface reactio...


The multiple and overlapping regional integration initiatives in Africa have for many years been used as examples of what it means to lack political will. Despite there being a general consensus that regional integration is an indispensable pillar of Africa's development, it remains puzzling why the integration initiatives in the continent have not been rationalized. It has been argued that the integration initiatives in Africa have been driven more by political economic issues, rather than a true desire to foster trade integration. The need for rationalization and harmonization of the integration initiatives has also been accepted in principle, with some African countries now going the extra mile to conduct cost-benefit studies to determine the viability of being in more than one overlapping regional economic communities. One example where progress appears to be starting is the coming together of the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and agreeing to work towards a fast-track process to lay the foundation for a grand Eastern and Southern Africa FTA. This paper looks at what the grand COMESA-EAC-SADC (CES) FTA portends. The paper uses the recent African GTAP database to uncover what the grand CES FTA could hold for the future of the member countries. Besides aiming to uncover policy lessons that the three RECs could draw from the analysis, the paper takes on board the Economic Partnership Agreements that the three RECs have individually been negotiating with the European Union, as they are likely to have impact on the optimality of the grand CES FTA.


This article deals with a significant, timely problem facing the legal profession. The problem is significant because the number of malpractice claims filed against attorneys is steadily increasing. The article cites a 2012 American Bar Association study finding more than a 30% increase in the number of claims reported between 2007 and 2011. The problem is also timely because of two 2013 state supreme court decisions. Until recently, the majority view was that if a current outside client threatened its firm with a malpractice claim, the attorney-client privilege did not apply to the consultations between the firm members representing the client and in-house counsel responsible for issues such as ethics and risk management. Thus, in any subsequent malpractice litigation, the former client could discover any written records of the internal consultations and depose firm members about related oral communications. However, on July 10, 2013, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts decided to recognize an intra-firm privilege; and on the very next day, July 11, 2013, the Georgia Supreme Court arrived at the same conclusion. The thesis of the enclosed article is that the Georgia and Massachusetts courts arguably reached the right result. The first part of this article is descriptive, surveying the current split of authority. The second and third parts are evaluative. The second part addresses the threshold question of whether the courts should recognize an intra-firm privilege in any circumstances. The second part criticizes the majority view and, in particular, challenges traditionalists' reliance on the so-called fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege. The third part attempts to identify the circumstances in which the courts ought to uphold an infra-firm privilege. Initially, the third party reviews the internal procedures that the firm ought to put in place to establish its status as the client of the in-house counsel. The third party then turns to the thorny question of whether the firm may engage in such internal consultations even without the outside client's consent. The article suggests that the argument for requiring the client's consent misconceives an evidentiary issues as an ethics question. Given the paucity of authority in point and the recency of the Georgia and Massachusetts decisions, the article does not purport to offer a definitive analysis of these issues. However, legal malpractice claims are so common and the interests of the bar and its clientele are so vital that the current split of authority is unsatisfactory. The intent of this article is to prompt a deeper, more robust debate over these issues.


For some time, the issue of waiting lists and waiting times has played a significant role in the debate about access to health care services in Canada. They are increasingly being blamed for hindering reasonable access to health care services and governments across Canada, both provincial and federal, are continually called on the address the issue of waiting lists and waiting times. A comprehensive understanding of the nature of waiting lists and waiting times is critical to the development of effective policies. The evidence regarding the nature of the waiting lists and waiting times and the factors affecting them remains in the early stages. The purpose of the study is to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of the waiting lists and waiting times. Specifically, the study seeks to: (1) critically review the published and unpublished literature; (2) develop a conceptual framework identifying various patient, physician and hospital factors that may affect waiting lists and waiting times; (3) assess the validity and reliability of the B.C. Surgical Waiting List Data (SWL); and (4) identify patient, physician and hospital factors that significantly affect patient waiting time. The study focuses on four surgical procedures: knee replacement, hip replacement, cardiac and cataract surgery. Literature Review A critical review of the existing literature from Canada and abroad revealed several key themes and gaps in our understanding of waiting lists and waiting times. First, the accuracy of waiting list data and the validity and reliability of key measures (i.e. "date-on", "date-off', waiting list size) are often suspect. Second, the evidence regarding factors affecting waiting lists and waiting times remains in the early stages of development and as such, there are significant gaps in the evidence. Validity/Reliability of the SWL Data The accuracy of the SWL data were assessed using established data assessment methods for a single and multiple data sets. Additional administrative health care data, hospital separations and physician billing data, were used to assess the validity of the SWL. Overall, the data


pulmonary vein isolation procedures in patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2004;15:1050–5. 6. Mulder MJ, Kemme MJB, Allaart CP. Radiofrequency ablation to achieve durable pulmonary vein isolation. Europace 2022;24:874–86. 7. Valderrábano M, Peterson LE, Swarup V, Schurmann PA, Makkar A, Doshi RN et al. Effect of catheter ablation with vein of Marshall ethanol infusion vs catheter ablation alone on persistent atrial fibrillation: the VENUS randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2020; 324:1620–8. 8. Pambrun T, Denis A, Duchateau J, Sacher F, Hocini M, Jaïs P, et al. MARSHALL bundles elimination, pulmonary veins isolation and lines completion for anatomical ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation: MARSHALL-PLAN case series. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2019;30:7–15. 9. Lai Y, Liu X, Sang C, Long D, Li M, Ge W et al. Effectiveness of ethanol infusion into the vein of Marshall combined with a fixed anatomical ablation strategy (the "upgraded 2C3L" approach) for catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2021;32:1849–56. 10. Valderrábano M, Liu X, Sasaridis C, Sidhu J, Little S, Khoury DS. Ethanol infusion in the vein of Marshall: adjunctive effects during ablation of atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm 2009;6:1552–8. 11. Osorio J, Hunter TD, Rajendra A, Zei P, Silverstein J, Morales G. Predictors of clinical success after paroxysmal atrial fibrillation catheter ablation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2021;32:1814–21. 12. Pranata R, Vania R, Huang I. Ablation-index guided versus conventional contact-force guided ablation in pulmonary vein isolation – systematic review and meta-analysis. Indian Pacing Electrophysiol J 2019;19:155–60. 13. Ioannou A, Papageorgiou N, Lim WY, Wongwarawipat T, Hunter RJ, Dhillon G et al. Efficacy and safety of ablation index-guided catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: an updated meta-analysis. Europace 2020;22:1659–71. 14. Yamaguchi J, Takahashi Y, Yamamoto T, Amemiya M, Sekigawa M, Shirai Y et al. Clinical outcome of pulmonary vein isolation alone ablation strategy using VISITAG SURPOINT in nonparoxysmal atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2020;31:2592–9. 15. Dave AS, Báez-Escudero JL, Sasaridis C, Hong TE, Rami T, Valderrábano M. Role of the vein of Marshall in atrial fibrillation recurrences after catheter ablation: therapeutic effect of ethanol infusion. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2012;23:583–91. 16. Żabówka A, Jakiel M, Bolechała F, Jakiel R, Jasińska KA, Hołda MK. Topography of the oblique vein of the left atrium (vein of Marshall). Kardiol Pol 2020;78:688–93. 17. Valderrábano M, Morales PF, Rodríguez-Mañero M, Lloves C, Schurmann PA, Dave AS. The human left atrial venous circulation as a vascular route for atrial pharmacological therapies: effects of ethanol infusion. JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2017;3:1020–32. 18. Kamakura T, André C, Duchateau J, Nakashima T, Nakatani Y, Takagi T et al. Distribution of atrial low voltage induced by vein of Marshall ethanol infusion. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2022;33:1687–93. 19. Tan AY, Chou CC, Zhou S, Nihei M, Hwang C, Peter CT et al. Electrical connections between left superior pulmonary vein, left atrium, and ligament of Marshall: implications for mechanisms of atrial fibrillation. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2006;290:H312–22. 20. Barrio-Lopez MT, Sanchez-Quintana D, Garcia-Martinez J, Betancur A, Castellanos E, Arceluz M et al. Epicardial connections involving pulmonary veins: the prevalence, predictors, and implications for ablation outcome. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2020;13: e007544. 21. Gillis K, O'Neill L, Wielandts JY, Hilfiker G, Almorad A, Lycke M et al. Vein of Marshall ethanol infusion as first step for mitral isthmus linear ablation. JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2022;8:367–76. 22. Takigawa M, Vlachos K, Martin CA, Bourier F, Denis A, Kitamura T et al. Acute and midterm outcome of ethanol infusion of vein of Marshall for the treatment of perimitral flutter. Europace 2020;22:1252–60.


Mid-rise RC buildings gradually rise in Kabul and entire Afghanistan since 2001 due to rapid increase of population. To protect the safety of resident, Afghan Structure Code was issued in 2012. But the building constructed before 2012 failed to conform the code requirements. In Japan, new sets of rules and law for seismic design of buildings had been issued in 1981 and severe earthquake damage was disclosed for the buildings designed before 1981. Hence, the Standard for Seismic Evaluation of RC Building published in 1977 has been widely used in Japan to evaluate the seismic capacity of existing buildings designed before 1981. Currently similar problem existed in Afghanistan, therefore, this research examined the seismic capacity of six RC buildings which were built before 2012 in Kabul by applying the seismic screening procedure presented by Japanese standard. Among three screening procedures with different capability, the less detailed screening procedure, the first level of screening, is applied. The st...


It is rare, indeed epochal, that anyone is given the privilege of discovering a principle of broad explanatory power. But it is mine! I believe, with all modesty, that I have discovered a principle that represents the philosopher's stone of special education! Or, if not the entire stone, at least a resplendent shard therefrom. Its significance clearly transcends the boundaries of any traditional Kuhnian scientific revolution, as will the Apocolypse the current intrajurisdictional stridencies within the Council for Exceptional Children. Aware that my apotheosization is at hand a paperclip's throw away from my typewriter I have searched hard and fast (and at my age and weight it is really hard to be fast) to discover another principle or formula of comparable importance. E= MC2 fleetingly occupied my sensorium, only to be rejected on the basis of its parochial status. Clearly, at the very least, I can look forward to membership in special education's Pantheon of Immortals along with the inventor of the balance beam and the theoreticians who formulated the calculus


The article deals with the problem of lexical and semantic collocations – systematic, normative, and idiomatic. The focus is on the analysis of collocations which are problematic for Ukrainians studying Polish, and the most frequent types of mistakes made by Ukrainian students are analyzed. Text exercises using lexical and semantic collocations including prefixal verbs are proposed for advanced Ukrainian-speaking learners.


Each year, institutions of higher education take on the responsibility of mentoring and guiding newly appointed student leaders through a year of personal and academic growth. Many of the nation's most successful leadership programs find ways to conjoin both their educational and leadership experiences to help promote lasting change in both students and the institution of higher education (Eich, 2008). Encouraging student leaders to recognize the words of John F. Kennedy (1963) when he stated, "leadership and learning are indispensable to each other" can truly enrich the student leadership experience. In the spirit of President Kennedy's sentiment and past research findings, the following article outlines simple, but tangible suggestions from past student leaders to help future student leaders be more successful in conjoining their leadership experiences with academic growth. To help accomplish this goal, we provide personal insight from our leadership experiences to explain both individual and organizational challenges experienced in leadership roles at an institution of higher education. In explaining these challenges, we provide relatable and tangible solutions to help improve the successes of future student leaders.* Experiential Student Leadership: Encouraging Self-Growth Through Leadership Experiences Ty B. Aller, Nadir Tekarli, & Jacie Rex Utah State University


The elasticity of taxable income is a key parameter in tax policy analysis. To examine the large variation found in the literature of taxable and broad income elasticities, I conduct a comprehensive meta-regression analysis using information from 61 studies containing 1,720 estimates. My findings reveal that estimated elasticities are not immutable parameters. They are correlated with contextual factors and the choice of the empirical specification influences the estimated elasticities. Finally, selective reporting bias is prevalent, and the direction of bias depends on whether deductions are included in the tax base.


One of the villages in East Halmahera Regency known as center of anchovy catch production area is Saramaake Village. The fishery community empowerment activities were carried out for 6 months from June to December 2017, aimed at developing institutions in order to improve production management and added value of anchovy. Methods used were training and mentoring conducted by experts and field mentors. The scope of activities includes institutional development, training, and mentoring. Institutional development was begun by lift-net fishermen and fish processing group establishment, developing business group (KUB-Indonesian) and cooperative. The data used was consisted of primary data (based on interview, observation, and mentoring) and secondary data (village profile and fish production). Based on activities carried out, the institution that has been built since 2016 has been upgraded from fishermen and fish processors groups, to business group (KUB), then developed into cooperatives in 2017. The Akesalaka Monge Bahari producer cooperative has obtained a legal entity No.006389/BH/M.KUKM.2/XI/2017. The cooperative was able to implement a better togetherness work to produce fish processing, and wider market development. Through this institutional development, fishermen and marine processors can be better to manage their business independently and be able to increase the bargaining position in the marketing of anchovy and other processed marine products.


The goal of this paper is to introduce a heterogeneous semantic network that supports binary and quasi-binary relations. The method is worked out which allows replacing relations of any complexity and combinations of different kinds of binary relations with the single quasi-binary relation. This is obtained by introducing the technique of formation of plural entities from atomic ones. Creation of new nodes and relations in semantic networks is possible at design time and run time. When conjoining nodes, the topology of the network is being changed. This will simplify the knowledge representation and the procedure of inference. By means of a constructed network, it becomes possible to solve a large class of the problems that are not formalized within the framework of networks with constant topology.


Review of: Experimental Evolution: Concepts, Methods and Applications of Selection Experiments. Edited by Theodore Garland, Jr. and Michael R. Rose, 2009. Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, California. 752 pp. Hardcover ISBN 9780520247666, $75.00; Paperback ISBN 9780520261808, $45.00. It has become a cliche to say that evolutionary biologists need multiple types of approaches to be effective. Comparative approaches help us identify interesting patterns, theoretical approaches help us clarify important processes, and experimental approaches help us infer causation between processes and patterns. Because of their complementary strengths and limitations, different approaches are more effective when used together than separately. With his well-known Anolis lizards, for example, Jonathan Losos has elegantly demonstrated the power of the combined use of comparative and experimental approaches (Losos 2009; Vamosi 2010). Many evolutionary biologists, however, practice only one or two types of approaches, even though they may consult findings by others who use other approaches. This is understandable, given the difficulty for an individual to master all existing approaches, but perhaps because of the limited use of different approaches by individual researchers, there is still ongoing discussion and even confusion in the literature regarding which approach can do what. Experimental Evolution: Concepts, Methods and Applications of Selection Experiments, edited by Theodore Garland, Jr. and Michael Rose, is a collection of chapters by practitioners of experimental approaches. The primary goal of the book is to "foster selection experiments and experimental evolution as a central component of evolutionary biology." The editors have come up with a catchy way of introducing this goal: in the introductory chapter, they say that the book is about "correcting Darwin's other mistake." Because Darwin got most key points right about evolution, the few mistakes he did make get highlighted, and rightly so, because his mistakes are as illuminating as his correct discoveries. Darwin's primary mistake was, of course, to think of blending inheritance as a mechanism of heredity. Rose and Garland point out that another major mistake was to assume that natural selection always act very slowly, with its effect too miniscule to be observed in experiments. The editors suspect that, as a consequence of this mistake by Darwin, experimental approaches have not been as fully exploited by evolutionary biologists as comparative or theoretical approaches. The book's purpose is to remove what the editors refer to as the "Darwinian inhibition," that is, the incorrect notion that evolutionary changes always happen too slowly to manipulate and observe in action in experiments. In doing so, they seek to promote a wider and better use of experiments in evolutionary biology. The book covers an impressively wide range of topics including behavior, morphology, demography, life history, ageing, altruism, evolution of sex, speciation, adaptive radiation, phylogenetics, and genome evolution. The coverage of topics is so comprehensive that it seems as though any evolutionary biologist can find their favorite subject in this book. As such, the book readily succeeds in showing how effective experiments can be in studying evolution. Case studies used are also highly variable, with a broad taxonomic spread of study organisms ranging from bacteria to insects to mammals. Study organisms are, however, dominated—although by no means entirely—by a handful of model organisms, such as Eschericia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Saccharomycetes cerevisiae, Drosophila species, and


In the past, extensive numerical thermal-hydraulic investigations have been performed on the coolant of LMFBR fuel assemblies. These investigations have usually been limited to 7 to 19 pins and axially periodic boundary conditions due to the lack of ava il ble computer power. A generic investigation has been performed at CEA-Grenoble to develop a modelin g and validation strategy in order to analyze the thermal-hydraulic behavior of full scale helica l wrapped fuel bundles by using the Trio_U 1 code. This strategy respects as far as possible the recom mendations of Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) concerning the selection of appropriate physical an d numerical models, the meshing procedure as well as sensitivity studies on the meshing and modeling. The proposed validation procedure has been focused on a correct prediction of the pressure dis tribution (not only the pressure drop) and of the velocity field within the fuel bundle as well as of the temperature distribution within the bundle.


Objective To explore that dynamic state of quantity of outside bod y parasitic fleas on Mormota hemanayana effect on marmot plague in Xishui area,S hunan country. Method We adopted surveillance method of marmot plague and evalua ted and analyzed effects of surveillance during 1982 to 2001. Result Annual cha nges of index marmot outside body parasitic fleas,especially cave fleas index ha ve positive correlation with the rate of checking out Y.pestis in local marmot p lague(P 0.01). Conclusion It has more important significance for marmot parasit ic fleas to have effects on marmot natural focuses of plague and keep nature of the natural focuses of plague and take care of Y.pestis for ever.


Introduction. The search of the unified tools of competences measurement of vocational training institutions graduates and identification of mechanisms of interrelation of these competences with requirements of professional standards imposed to workers of various levels are brought into focus in the context of formation of National system of qualifications of the Russian Federation, introduction of the Third-generation Federal State Educational Standards and transition of professional education to the modular, and competence-based model of the organization of training. The aim of the article is to justify the content, structure and technology of competency-based assessment, as a set of interrelated activities and regulated procedures performed on the basis of the standardized interdisciplinary evaluation materials. Methodology and research methods. The present investigation is based on systematic-activity and competency-based approaches, analysis, systematization, and generalization. Results. The place of competencies, as a part of educational outcomes of vocational education programs, is justified. Critical analysis of typical methodological solutions that are typical for the modern pedagogical practices of the competency-based assessment is performed. The content and organizational design of the process of competency-based assessment is described. Scientific novelty. The conceptual apparatus of competency-based assessment is supplemented with the «sub-competence» category - component of competence, which retains all of its properties due to human activities. Factors of objects choice and methods of assessment in identifying the professional competences are proved. Practical significance. Results of the study can be used by researchers involved with assessment procedures; methodologists and teachers of professional educational organizations, training institutes, independent centers of the qualifications evaluation for the organization of professional competences and qualifications assessment.


Marco Antonio Villa explains why, on the fiftieth anniversary of the Brazilian military coup of 1964, it is necessary to go back in history to understand the present, and what influences today are similar to those of yesterday—and which are not.


* Product Manager, Telesensory Systems, Inc., Mountain View, California † Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Stanford University Medical School, Palo Alto, California The development of the Crib-O-Gram neonatal hearing screening audiometer was initiated in 1970 by F. Blair Simmons, M.D., at Stanford University Medical Center. The rationale behind the design of the Crib-O-Gram device was to overcome the problems of detecting serious hearing loss as early in life as possible. Some of the problems relating to testing techniques included scorer subjectivity in behavioral response and human observation methods, personnel time and high costs involved with electrophysiological techniques, and the limited detection rate of the high-risk register when used alone to identify neonates with hearing impairment (Feinmesser and Tell, 1976; Mencher, 1974). The Crib-O-Gram instrument was designed to detect hearing losses in excess of 45 dB HL. These are losses that will affect normal speech and language development and can be categorized as moderately severe to profound. Justification for newborn hearing screening programs include:


Composite materials are increasingly used nowadays in the most advanced sectors of technology. So, it is important that designers have a powerful tool to simulate composite structures. Available simulation tools in commercial software are limited. In this project the capabilities for the analysis of composites in the ABAQUS Software are extended, by developing a material subroutine for composite damage. An UMAT subroutine is developed for predicting damage initiation and progression in composite materials with one of the most advanced material models that exist. The model is implemented and then verifed by comparison with different experiments available in the literature. Results show an increment of accuracy with respect to the available model in ABAQUS. This implies that with this subroutine better results can be achieved with the same effort.


SANCTIONSReviews by Margaret P. Doxey, Emeritus Professor, Trent UniversityEdited by Neta C.Crawford and Audie KlotzNew York: St. Martin's, 1999, xv, 292pp, US$59.95 cloth (ISBN 0-312-21854-0), US$19.95 paper (ISBN 0-312-21856-7)It is not surprising that extensive use of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council since 1990 and continued reliance on sanctions as a foreign policy tool by the United States have prompted much scholarly activity. Numerous conferences, seminars, and symposia have been sponsored by governmental and non-governmental bodies, and a steady stream of reports, books, and articles has appeared in print. Most of these included policy prescriptions for a wiser choice of measures and greater efficiency in applying them. And although 'constructive engagement' tended to be discredited as a means of ending apartheid in South Africa, doubts about the efficacy of negative measures and concern for their adverse effects on innocent parties has revived interest in offering positive inducements to good behaviour as an alternative to negative sanctions.The three books reviewed here are all welcome additions to the sanctions literature. Two are edited works that use the case study approach to offer description, analysis, and prescription in respect of positive and negative measures; the third is a theoretically focused, single-author work which briefly addresses policy questions in the final chapter.In The Sanctions Paradox Daniel Drezner charges that recent literature on economic statecraft offers 'well-crafted theories that lack empirical support or well-crafted case studies that produce generalizations of dubious quality' (p 19). His criticism has some validity, although the overall judgment is too harsh. Drezner is careful to acknowledge the theoretical and methodological limits to his own work, and the reader who reasonably expects more balance in his analysis will not be disappointed. He develops a 'conflict expectations model' in which sanctions are viewed as policy gains that can be used to advantage in future conflicts and uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to test its validity. Russian economic coercion of other members of the former Soviet Union and attempts by the United States and other Western countries to check nuclear proliferation in the Korean peninsula provide the material for well-presented and interesting case studies.Drezner contends that because sanctions are grounded in expectations of conflict they are more often used against enemies than against allies; the paradox that gives the book its title is the finding, shared with many other scholars, that allies are more susceptible to pressure than adversaries. Drezner's explanation is that the latter are less concerned to avoid conflict with the governments that impose sanctions - indeed they expect it.Heavy use of mathematical modelling does not make for an easy read, but there is much of interest in this book, and the case studies, particularly those concerning Russia and its neighbours, break valuable new ground.In How Sanctions Work Neta Crawford and Audie Klotz have assembled a set of essays that describe the wide range of sanctions imposed on a variety of South African targets. Arms embargoes, oil sanctions, disinvestment, diplomatic and cultural isolation are dealt with by American, Canadian, and South African authors.Following their introductory chapter, the editors present a 'framework for analysis' for evaluating the direct, indirect, and counterproductive consequences of sanctions (p 25). Tables set out models of influence (compellence, normative communication, resource denial, and political fracture) and 'sites' (that is, targets) where consequences should be felt. Sites are listed as elite decision-makers, the economy, civil society, regional and global spillover. The disaggregation of specific targets is a welcome feature of this book, given the extent of concern over the adverse consequences of comprehensive economic sanctions and recent focus on targeted measures that seek to deprive decision-makers and elites of the use of financial assets and other amenities. …


A new large format focal-plane shutter with high frame frequency is designed to the space camera with a transmission optical system and a focal length of 1 000 mm.The focal plane shutter adopts a single curtain with multiple slits in structure,and two shutters are orthogonal layout and are driven synchronously by a motor with gears.The design allows to exposure of two stitched area CCD simultaneously.A Digital Signal Processor(DSP) is used to control the motor velocity according to the curtain encoder,so as to ensure the exposure uniformity of the CCD.The experiment results show that this new shutter has a higher stability of movement,a long life span more than 2×105 operating times,a wide range of exposure time in 1/ 200 s to 1/ 1 000 s and a exposure error within 8%.Moreover,the max frame frequency can be 4 frame/s.The performance of this shutter is fully satisfied with the requirements of area scan CCD aerial cameras.


Summary This paper considers cognitive differences between twins and other higher multiple births when they start school and their progress in reading and maths during the first year at school. The data came from the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS) project which has developed an on‐entry assessment designed to provide a solid base against which the relative progress (value added) of pupils can be measured. Some of the findings were surprising, in that they appeared to be in conflict with some earlier work, but there was also some agreement. Additionally, teachers were asked to assess pupils on the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) scale at the end of their first year in school, and this information was used to check out an earlier rinding that twins were more prone to score highly on this scale.


Objective To study the expressions of NF-κB and VEGF in human ovarian cancer Caov-3 cells after using proteasome inhibitor MG132 combined with DDP.Methods Immunohistochemical assessment was performed for the changes in expressions of NF-κB and VEGF.Results The expression levels of NF-κB and VEGF decreased in Caov-3 cells after being treated with MG132 combined with DDP for 24 hours.The differences were statistically significant(P0.01).Conclusions MG132 could significantly induce the apoptosis of Caov-3 cells.by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB,and thus inhibite the growth of tumor vessel.


At the cell voltages required to reach technologically viable current densities in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, IrO2 catalysts are suspected to undergo a transformation to an amorphous hydrous form. Here, we present a systematic ab initio thermodynamics study analyzing the shape and stability of IrO2 nanoparticles in this potential range. Our results confirm a thermodynamic instability of the rutile crystal structure induced by the stabilization of highly oxidized O species at the surface already at onset potentials for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Intriguingly, this is preceded by a transformation of the equilibrium shape at even lower potentials. Instead of the well-studied IrO2(110) facets, this shape is dominated by IrO2(111) facets that have hitherto barely received attention. Our findings highlight the need to extend detailed characterization studies to this high-potential range, not the least to establish more suitable active-site models for the OER that may then serve as t...


The Orion Bar is an ideal astrophysical laboratory for studying photodissociation regions because of its nearly edge-on orientation in the observer's line of sight. High angular resolution (~9'') maps of the Orion Bar in the J = 1-0 emission lines of HCO+ and HCN have been made by combining single-dish millimeter observations with interferometric data. This mapping technique provides both large-scale structural information and high resolution. The new maps show that HCO+ and HCN have globally similar spatial distributions in the Orion Bar. Both molecular species show the same clumpy NE to SW bar seen by previous observers in molecular line emission from the Orion Bar. However, our maps show HCN emission to be more confined to the bar structure and to clump cores than HCO+ emission. We do a crosscut comparison of our full-synthesis maps with previously published observations of the Orion Bar in: (1) the rotational transitions of 12CO J = 1-0, 13CO J = 1-0, CN N = 3-2, and CS J = 7-6; (2) the UV-pumped rovibrational transition of H2 at 2.122 μm; (3) 3.3 μm emission attributed to the aromatic C–H bond stretching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); and (4) the atomic fine-structure transitions of C I (609 μm), O I (63 μm), and C II (158 μm). The crosscuts show the same chemical stratification seen by previous observers as expected from an edge-on photodissociation region. In addition, we see that the HCN peak profile is relatively narrow and symmetrical compared to the broader asymmetrical HCO+ peak. We argue that this difference in peak shape supports a previously published suggestion that HCO+ production is enhanced in warm gas at the surface of the photodissociation region. We explain these observations using a nonhomogeneous photodissociation region model to which we have added nitrogen chemistry and the thermal chemical effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Instead of using a homogeneous model, we follow more recent models employing two components because the clumpiness seen in all the recent observations suggests at least two density components in the Orion Bar. From our model calculations, we have found that a ridge of dense clumps (3 × 106 cm-3) embedded in a lower density interclump medium (5 × 104 cm-3) explains our observations very well. Although some of the observations (e.g., emissions from H2, CO, O I, C I and C II) arise from the interclump medium, we show that HCN and HCO+ J = 1-0 emission must come from a ridge of dense clumps near the ionization front. This result agrees with the findings of previous observers, who have suggested the presence of dense clumps in the Orion Bar.


Ventilated façades help to ventilate the humidity out of buildings constructions and also help to protect interiors against overheating during the summer seasons. The efficiency of the ventilated façade construction depends on a design of the ventilated cavity and a cladding type. The air flowing around the façade construction may influence the air velocity in the ventilated cavity. This study presents the experimental assessment of the wind influence on the cavity air velocity in the different designed ventilated cavities. The experimental assessment is based on two sections of ventilated façade constructions with different type of the ventilated cavity design. Both sections are fitted by small size claddings with open joints between the adjacent cladding parts. The cavity temperature and airflow differences are assessed during the one week period for the experimental setting. Results show that the effect of wind is significantly different for open joint ventilated cavities that are differently designed.


Existing measures of belonging in schools do not explicitly elevate the contextual and cultural insights of the educators and students they were designed to assess. Our study addresses this shortcoming through the co-creation of an Opportunities to Belong survey measure for urban middle schoolers. The tool was developed in partnership with practicing educators and normed around Black and Latinx students ( N = 225). Results of a multilevel confirmatory factor analysis revealed strong evidence for single factor structure. A within-persons multilevel model revealed that shifts in opportunities to belong predicted fluctuations in student engagement across different academic courses. Implications are discussed.


Caesar is a name that became famous thanks to two famous works, the Commentaries. Using the artifice of the double, the author adorns his name with every good quality: first of all, his extraordinary strategic and military achievements. He celebrates bis own feats, telling how twice he succeeded in crossing the Rhine defeating the Gerrnans; in Britain, too, he twice defeated the indigenous forces; then, of course, there was the 'pacification' of Transalpine Gaul following the defeat of Vercingetorix, and his victory in the war against Pompey the Great. Moreover, he is generous with his enemies and a great supporter of justice. It is in the name of justice that he moves against Rome and Pompey the Great. After him, the name of Caesar goes down in history and becomes the symbol of absolute power right up to the present day, until the First World War, when 'Kaisers' in Germany and Austria, the Russian Tsar and a Sultan named Kaiser i Rum after the Conquest of Costantinople, were wiped out.


Most types of joint inflammation can be controlled with empirical therapies, but only in septic joint inflammation is there an opportunity for cure. The retrospective analysis of 32 culture-proved cases of hematogenous septic arthritis in men by Ho and Su in this issue ofThe Journal(p 797) shows a strong direct correlation between duration of symptoms before treatment and the time needed to sterilize the joint fluid after treatment has begun. Time to sterilize the fluid correlated exceedingly well with treatment outcome, whereas the duration of symptoms did not. These findings are similar to those reported in a prospective study of septic bursitis by the same authors. It is generally accepted that the outcome of joint infection in a previously healthy person will be good if appropriate therapy is given within one week from the onset of symptoms. Delay in treatment beyond one week or the presence of serious


For the last decade, the construction industry has been rapidly and sophisticatedly changed to catch up with the current demands. Also, dramatic changes in social, economic, and environmental issues force construction management (CM) programs to produce more prepared personnel. East Carolina University attempted to analyze important concepts/trends across the construction industry with a goal of determining their impacts on the future of construction and ultimately how these concepts and trends may be incorporated into the CM curriculum. This paper shows how this research has been performed to determine the current industry trends and what recommendations are given to incorporate them into the CM program. This will be able to lead the CM program to meet the challenges of the 21 st century and align the CM curriculum and program with industry requirements. Furthermore, this paper indicates that the CM program will benefit from an annual review of trend related topics to determine their relevance in the program. As determining what concepts and trends should be included systematically throughout the program, instructors can decide on how best to implement these important topics into their courses, thereby aligning with the CM program in educating students to be well prepared for industry.


The economy reeled this summer from the impact of a series of adversities. The most important was the shortage of motor fuel resulting from the disruption of oil supplies from I ran. Others included truck strikes, the airline strike, labor pacts that exceeded Administration guides, soaring interest rates, further price inflation, and still lingering effects of the severe winter. Together, these blows brought an end to a four-year upswing, an expansion already creaky with age by historical standards. Belated recognition of the fact that oil shortages are likely to recur is having a profound effect on patterns of consumer spending, business investment, and real estate development. Rethinking of broad strategies means delays in decision-making and a more sluggish economy. Real activity declined in the second quarter after a miniscule gain in the first. Inflation was running at an annual rate of 10 percent. Many analysts expect the decline in output and the rapid rise in prices to continue through the year. Surveys of both consumer and executive opinion indicated a pessimism perhaps unmatched since the Great Depression. Cautious spending policies could accelerate the downturn. Despite the gloom, total activity remained well above the year-ago level, with important sectors remaining vigorous—some excessively so. Motor vehicle sales were hard hit in total, but demand continued strong for popular small cars and heavy trucks. Housing was weak, but nonresidential construction boomed. Tourism was down in many areas, but airline traffic continued to set records. Sales and output of producer goods continued to rise, especially machine tools and transportation equipment. Agriculture was prosperous with higher grain prices and good crops boosting income. Consumer spending falters


The structures put in place to regulate the activities of men and women in Nigeria condition the programming of the mind of members of the society to the extent that the resulting subordination of women seems normal and acceptable, even to women themselves. With the changing policies and consequent emphasis on female education, the ground is shifting as many women have delved into the hitherto male domains and this includes Academics, but then, women still have to pass some socio-cultural huddles to be able to attain a meaningful level of growth in their chosen carrier. This study reported in this paper adopts a qualitative and quantitative survey research design to identify some socio-cultural challenges faced by female academic staff in selected higher institutions in Igbo land. The design adopted for the study is a descriptive survey. A sample of 228 female academics staff across these five higher institutions in Igbo land within the age range of 25 to 65 were the study subjects. The instruments used for data collection were a 30-item open ended, semi-structured questionnaire titled Appraisal of Socio-Cultural Challenges of Female Academic Staff Development and an interview and Focus Group Discussion. Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed using frequency and percentage, while those collected from the interview and focus group discussion were qualitatively analyzed. The study concluded among others that female academics experience difficulty balancing academic work and family responsibilities, attending conferences outside their base ,staying back in the office after close of work.
 DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n1s1p269


This paper discusses the nonlinear third interpolating polynomials on tree growth data based on volumetric equations used in Forestry Science. Data variables used are diameter of stem at breast height (Dbh), base (Db), middle (Dm) and top (Dt), just before the crown, with their corresponding stem height of tree or bole (ST). There are 130 mensuration data samples, and the cubic interpolating polynomials are interpolated using Maple. To obtain a robust model for biomass estimation, comparisons are simulated and the best model is selected, based on the sum of square error (SSE). Results obtained indicate the range of the constants and β-coefficients of the polynomials. The models are statistically significant based on the variance analysis. The best cubic interpolating model, however, is found to be an asymptotic curve with the parameters from mensuration data. This is with respect to the different tree volumetric equations for biomass estimation.


Why are some refugees more likely to receive provincial income assistance than others? This study looks at 3,608 Government Assisted Refugees destined to British Columbia from 1998 to 2004. By combining federal immigration data with provincial data on welfare, it finds that one in four refugees received welfare. Using logistical regression, the explanatory strength of the model is low. However, the following categories are :jhown to be significant predictors of receipt of income assistance: refugees with a formal trade, dependants, and women were more likely to be welfare recipients whereas refugees with knowledge of English, refugees from Africahiiddle East and AsiaPacific, rehgees destined to Surrey, and a common law marital status were less likely. Women at risk and urgent protection cases were hypothesized to be significant but were not. With these findings, this study supports the status quo but recommends language training overseas for refugees if additional funds are available.


Assessment in education is under pressure to change. Some drivers for change result from new ways of thinking about assessment and its educational purposes. Other drivers are external and are the result of wider changes in society. Technology falls into this second category. This special issue is concerned with change at the intersection of assessment and technology in education.


Four-graviton, eight-derivative couplings in the low energy effective action of toroidal type II string compactifications are tightly constrained by U-duality invariance and by supersymmetry. In this note, we revisit earlier proposals for the automorphic form governing these couplings in dimension D = 3, 4, 5, 6, and propose that the correct automorphic form is the minimal theta series for the corresponding U-duality group. Evidence for this proposal comes from i) the matching of infinitesimal characters, ii) the fact that the Fourier coefficients have support on 1/2-BPS charges and iii) decompactification limits. In particular, we show that non-perturbative effects can be interpreted as 1/2-BPS instantons, or 1/2-BPS particles in one dimension higher (together with Taub-NUT instantons in the D = 3 case). Based on similar considerations, we also conjecture the form of 1/4-BPS saturated couplings such as ∇4R4 couplings in the same dimensions.


A descriptive, retrospective and cross-sectional study of the 15 patients with mycosis fungoides, admitted in the Dermatology Service of "Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas Alfonso" Teaching General Hospital in Santiago de Cuba was carried out from January, 2004 to December, 2012, with the objective of determining the clinical and epidemiological manifestations of the disease, for which the variables age, sex, skin color, predominant skin lesions, clinical course duration and clinical stage at the moment of the diagnosis were analyzed. After evaluating the results of the series, it was concluded that difficulties existed to diagnose the clinical entity because there were not the necessary means, which would decrease the period of the clinical course between the emergence of the symptoms and the confirmation of the presence of this dermopathy.


Using a new mAb, 2F1, we characterize a mouse natural killer (NK) cell antigen termed `killer cell lectin‐like receptor G1' (KLRG1; formerly mouse MAFA or 2F1‐Ag). KLRG1 is expressed on 30 – 60 % of murine NK cells, and a small fraction of T cells, and is composed of a homodimer of glycosylated 30 – 38‐kDa subunits. Strikingly, cell surface expression of KLRG1 by NK cells was substantially down‐regulated in mice deficient for expression of class I molecules, in contrast to the Ly49 lectin‐like NK receptors, which are up‐regulated in class Ideficient mice. We could not demonstrate binding of KLRG1 to class I molecules in a cell‐cell adhesion assay. Transgenic expression of KLRG1 under heterologous transcription elements was unaffected by class I deficiency, indicating that class I molecules do not affect the KLRG1 protein directly, and suggesting that regulation is at the level of expression of the endogenous KLRG1 gene. Evidence is presented that class I molecules regulate KLRG1 via interactions with class I‐specific inhibitory Ly49 molecules and SHP‐1 signaling. Thus, although KLRG1 and Ly49 molecules are both lectin‐like inhibitory receptors that are regulated by class I expression, the effects of class I on the cell surface expression of the molecules are opposing, and the underlying regulatory mechanisms are distinct.


Using the mukalpha model of Ni2+-6X- clusters the true distances between impurity Ni2+ cation and halogen anion in alkali halide lattices are estimated from the optical spectral data. The results suggest that the true impurity cation-ligand anion distances are close to the sum of ionic radii of the impurity cation and ligand anion but not the cation-anion distance of the perfect lattices in the case that the ionic radius of host cation is larger than that of impurity cation.


Populations identified as poor or minority under federal guidelines are protected against discriminatory actions which may result from a myriad of activities, including transportation system capacity enhancements: those infrastructure construction projects intended to improve or expand routes and facilities. The outcomes of environmental justice investigations, and, consequently, the conclusions based on the results of such studies, are critically dependent upon the analytical strategy to be applied in deriving statistical outcomes and the spatial resolution of the research design as dictated by the researcher's choice of reference unit and the selection of a particular areal analysis methodology. This paper investigates the potentially confounding effects of certain research strategies, as applied to an analysis of a large midwestern airport and examines the implications of the outcomes for capacity enhancements within the context of the air transportation system.