Conventional decision systems, when applied to policy selection in autonomous driving, can introduce unsafe factors due to uncertainty. Thus, in this paper, we introduce and implement an improved algorithm Advantage Actor-Critic Method of Actor-Critic Method to improve the safety of autonomous driving policy selection, and give a specific push-to process, including the combination of advantage function with Reinforce with Baseline algorithm, we applied the algorithm to the agent of the scenario designed in this paper, and militarily expanded the design based on the autopilot scenario, the agent will be trained by the A2C policy-value network learning the rules of the designed scenario for adversarial gaming, and the value of the loss function is reduced from about 4.5 to about 1.7; and also with the game tree related algorithm for gaming in the pentad scenario, the win rate are above 60% Finally, the algorithm has better performance in strategy selection from the game results.


Teacher talking time refers to the amount of class time the teacher spends speaking to the class, either as part of a lecture or in discussions. Particularly in ESL classes, more time needs to be given to students so they can speak more—foreign language learners improve more rapidly when they are able to practice what they've learned more often.Some EFL/ESL researchers say that students should speak for 70% of the lesson. Teachers should speak for 30% of the time. Of course, some lessons may require longer explanations on the part of the teacher. Or other lessons may only require a minimal amount of explanation, and 90% or more may be devoted to conversational activities. But this 70/30 figure works well as a goal in most classroom situations.The aim of the paper is to show whether this percentage is true and achievable and whether this percentage is applicable for both literature and linguistic content. The results will be achieved through a research conducted with the teachers of English in both elementary and high schools in Bitola, who will answer a series of questions regarding how much they talk in class and how much time they dedicate to Q&A sessions.


Preterm labor is one of the most current problems of modern medicine. Preterm labor is defined as the birth of a child in the gestation period less than 37 full weeks of gestation and is the second most common cause (after congenital anomalies) of neonatal mortality [3]. The highest percentage of morbidity and mortality occurs in children born to gestational age less than 32 weeks, although the proportion of these newborns is 16 % of all preterm infants [4]. Preterm labor is a polyetiology problem that depends on many factors. One of the major problems is the formation of placental dysfunction, which manifests itself by morphofunctional changes in the placenta associated with violation of uterine-placental circulation.
The aim of the study – to obtain the peculiarities of placentas' histological condition in women with burdent anamnesis and preterm labor with different Apgar point scale of newborn.
Materials and Methods. A total of 19 placentas of women with preterm labor were observed in Maternal Hospital No. 5 of Odesa, Ukraine. We studed their residence areas, obstetrical and gynacology anamnesis, current pregnancy and labor anamnesis. We examined the ultrasound datas of the newborns, studied their anthropometric, Apgar scale and histology of placentas' datas. All interviewed women were devided into two groups: less than 35 years old – 12 women of the group 1 and more than 35 years old – 7 women, it was the group 2. The average age of the examined groups was 31.3 years old. Statistical datas processing was carried out by using the Fisher angular transformation. The degree of probability (P) between two comparative values was considered to be statistically valid when P<0.05.
The research results showed that all elder women were married, lived in ecoregions of the city, had more often revolved to artificial reproductive technologies, had singleton gestation compared to younger group of patients. Newborns of women afer 35 had better points of Apgar scale and no one had IUGR compared to newborns of the younger women. Signs of placenta dysfynction were detected in placentas of both groups of women.
Conclusions. In our investigation the women of different age groups with preterm labor had signs of placenta dysfunction but women after 35 years had better datas of newborn babies according to Apgar scale and absence of IUGR. Probably, it is connected with residency, official marriage and better preconceptional preparation in this group.


Provided is a method for extracting proteins and functional lipid from soybean liquid by oriented continuous catalysis with nano magnetic immobilized enzymes. Soybean liquid made of crushed soybeans is used as a raw material and serves as a continuous mobile phase. Nano magnetic immobilized enzymes are locked as stationary phases in respective three-phase magnetic fluidized beds. Nano magnetic immobilized cellulase, nano magnetic immobilized pectinase and nano magnetic immobilized alkaline protease are used for breaking cell walls, decomposing lipoproteins and lipopolysaccharide complexes and destroying lipoprotein membranes on the surfaces of oil droplets so that lipids can flow out. Magnetic immobilized phospholipases are used for catalyzing phospholipids in the liquid to change the polarity of phospholipids and control the generation of emulsification phenomenon of the liquid. Multiple types of enzymes continuously enzymolyze the soybean liquid in the same system. The various enzymes do not interfere with one another, and soybean proteins and functional lipids are obtained.


Responding to natural language requires performing two major tasks: information processing (cognition), and decision making (conation). In order to motivate and best guide an entity performing such complex tasks, motivation must originate in the self-interest of the entity. This motivation guides cognitive and conative processes at the lowest possible level by assigning values (measures of importance) to various process components and using them in making process decisions. Through such a motivational mechanism, every decision taken will be to further the entity's self-interests. We describe a model for such a mechanism and the affect process which embodies self-interests.


The purpose of this study is to contribute to the development of a conceptual model
of perceived service quality in airports, The study adapted the concept of expectations
underlying Fodness and Murray's (2007: 492-506) selection of methodology for
measuring service quality, with a focus on passenger perceived service quality. In this
study, the researcher used a quantitative method to test an objective approach to
measuring passengers' perception and satisfaction of airport service quality at
Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand. Questionnaires were collected from 500
passengers who had arrived, were departing or transiting at Suvarnabhumi
International Airport. The results of factor analysis identified three items:
1) Environment Service Provider, 2) Personnel and Passengers' Relationship, and
3) Servicescape (areas providing a variety of services). The findings of this study
indicated that passenger perceptions of satisfaction concerning airport service quality
have a positive influence on overall passenger satisfaction. After comparing the
perception of airport service quality attributes and passengers' demographic profiles
(purpose of travel, trip orientation, and frequency of travel) between Thai and foreign
passengers, the results showed that there were significant differences in airport
service quality attributes between Thai and foreign passengers.


The rise in global activities has seen the form of an international system on competition regulation being discussed heatedly in the academic circles. Well-organized international competition would maximize not only global welfare, but economic freedom as well. Although a comprehensive agreement on competition policy is yet to come into the WTO regime, there are several provisions in the existing WTO agreements that deal with competition matters. In this respect, competition policy is already an integral part of the WTO. There are, however, still a few unresolved issues and hence a need to negotiate and establish an agreement to secure better and more equitable conditions for international trade, facilitating effective voluntary cooperation on anti-competitive practices which adversely affects international trade and assisting WTO Members in the establishment, implementation and enforcement of competition rules within their respective jurisdictions.


Her crippled legs cured, Pollyanna takes her glad heart to cheer new friends in Boston before travelling to Europe with Aunt Polly and Dr chilton. But growing up brings sorrows as well as joys, and when she returns after six years, with Dr Chilton dead and Aunt Polly fallen on hard times, even Pollyanna has trouble maintaining her usual cheerful outlook.


Educationally significant behaviors of students, teachers, and supervisors were directly assessed daily for a fiscal year in a residential school in which the results of behavior analysis research are applied to all levels of schooling. The variables assessed included those found to be concomitantly related to effective schooling as determined by the educational research literature, and functionally related to effective teaching as determined by the literature of behavior analysis. Weekly summaries of the following variables were analyzed for each of two daily shifts of teachers and supervisors: (a) number of trials presented and correct number of trials, (b) number of instructional sessions conducted, (c) number of learning objectives achieved, (d) percentage correct in each of three curricular areas, (e) weekly teacher observation scores, and (f) the total and rate per hour of supervisors' task accomplishments. There were strong positive correlations between: (a) instructional sessions and learning objectives, (b) teachers use of behavioral techniques in weekly observations by supervisors and students' achievement, (c) number of supervisor tasks completed and number of instructional sessions conducted by teachers, (d) number of teacher observations by supervisors and teachers' performance during observations, and (e) number of student objectives attained and number of tasks completed by supervisors. The assessment is the most comprehensive and sustained analysis of the daily behaviors of schooling. The relationships found between students and teacher behaviors replicate the effects of numerous experiments but do so in a total school setting. The relationships found between supervisor and student behavior have not been demonstrated in prior research. There is a need for similar school wide assessments in other types of schools to determine the generality of the relationships obtained in the present article.


We prove asymptotic equidistribution results for pieces of large closed horospheres in cofinite hyperbolic manifolds of arbitrary dimension. This extends earlier results by Hejhal ['On the uniform equidistribution of long closed horocycles', Loo‐Keng Hua: a great mathematician of the twentieth century, Asian J. Math. 4 (2000) 839–853] and Strömbergsson ['On the uniform equidistribution of long closed horocycles', Duke Math. J. 123 (2004) 507–547] in dimension 2. Our proofs use spectral methods, and lead to precise estimates on the rate of convergence to equidistribution.


This study evaluates work satisfaction level and burnout for workers in M2 First Solar (M) Sdn Bhd. The study also assessed the relationship between job satisfaction factors and burnout, and also identified important factors which influenced levels of satisfaction and monitor which job satisfaction factors that can cause the burnout. Respondent consisting of 90 shift workers in M2 First Solar (M) Sdn. Bhd. Data were processed collectively by using "Statistical Packages for Social Sciences"
(SPSS ver. 20). Data were gathered by using the combination of research tools of Job Descriptive Index (JDI) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaires 'The data were processed as a collective data and the statistical techniques used were as percentage, cross tabulation and Pearson correlation in determining the outcome for the questions built. Research showed overall workers at in terms of moderate level of job satisfaction and burnout. It was also observed that there was no
significant relationship between burnout with job satisfaction among employee at M2 First Solar (M) Sdn. Bhd. Overall, inference analysis also did not show significant difference between demographic features on burnout (depersonalization. emotion barrenness and personal achievement) except from gender perspective. As a conclusion, the burnout factor and job satisfaction are very essential for every working individual especially the First Solar (M) Sdn. Bhd. workers because
employees that are satistied with the work would become more productive and will be more committed towards their work.


As online wait has become pervasive and its negative impacts on online users' perception and behaviors were well recognized, a waiting screen is suggested as one of the proactive mechanisms to manage this concern. However, to date only a few studies have investigated how to develop an effective waiting screen. In addition, despite the presence of significant gender differences in traditional wait, a lack of studies of this aspect has been acknowledged in online wait context. This study proposes a research model of online wait management based on the theories of time perception and cognitive absorption theory to test the effects of waiting interfaces by manipulating the types of a progress cue and a background color on waiting time perception and gender in a simulated online context. Controlled experiments with the ANOVA and MANOVA tests will be conducted.


Studies concerning the production of particleboards with sugarcane bagasse as an alternative fibrous material have been carried out as an attempt to provide a sustainable and viable destination for this residue. This work aimed to evaluate the influence of several processing variables related to the microstructure of sugarcane bagasse particleboards (mat type, adhesive type and adhesive content) on their permeability and water sorption properties. Air permeability data was collected by the rotameter method. Superficial air permeability ( kg), Darcian constant (k 1 ) and non-Darcian constant (k 2 ) were measured. kg was related to sorption behavior of the particleboards. 1-layer particleboards presented significantly higher kg values than the 3-layer particleboards. In general, adhesive type, position and content did not influence kg of particleboards. However, these processing variables influenced interactions between fluid and material and tortuosity of the porous media. Particleboards produced with urea-formaldehyde with high kg presented higher water absorption and thickness swelling after 24 hours. Such relations were not observed in particleboards produced with melamine-urea-formaldehyde.


The factors which, from a chemical point of view, determine the quality of milk that is destined to cheesemaking are revised in this article. The effect of ...


Electron-doped manganites La0.9Hf0.1MnO3 (LHMO) films were epitaxially grown on 0.67Pb (Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.33PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) substrates. The effects of the strain induced by ferroelectric poling on the magnetic and electric properties have been investigated. The polarization of the PMN-PT crystal reduces the biaxial tensile strain in the formed LHMO layer. It results in a significant decrease in resistance and an enhancement of the phase transition temperature as well as the magnetization of the grown LHMO films. Our study shows that the strain-induced distortion of MnO6 octahedron plays an important role in impacting the properties of LHMO films.


A healthy Danish man presented with infected prepatellar bursitis 8 months after being involved in a car accident in Malaysia resulting in exposure of a laceration of his knee to stagnant water. Tissue samples grew Burkholderia pseudomallei and diagnostic work up revealed no secondary foci. The patient was successfully treated with surgical debridement and 3 months of oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. At 6 months follow-up the patient was without relapse.


The present invention discloses a locking mechanism A satellite launched on the deployment angle measuring method, comprising the steps of: locking mechanism will start to be tested is fixed to one end of the platform, and the other end coupled with a slider; slider to the other end of the slide is placed table; to be tested is folded to expand the locking mechanism, the slider is set in position for the retracted position of the slide table; to be measured when the locking mechanism is released to expand, stopped, the slider is set at a position of the slide table as developing a locked position; the angle between the stowed position and a deployed position of the locking assembly is the spread angle. The present invention solves the problem of accuracy of assembly expanded dynamic angle measurement made simple assembly, the assembly is small spread angle measurement error and the like benefits.


A speech enhancement method based on regular triangle topology is implemented. It is different from the original version of first order and second order differential microphone arrays based on linear topology. A second order differential microphone array based on regular triangle topology is proposed and fulfilled, the algorithm is able to enhance twelve directions and the SNR is enhanced 3 to 4 dB compared with first order linear microphone arrays.


In this paper a statistical model for analysing mortality pattern among chicken is developed. The model is used to infer the mortality characteristics in four strains of white leghorn birds.


In this paper a classification-based method for the automatic detection of glottal closure instants (GCIs) from the speech signal is proposed. Peaks in the speech waveforms are taken as candidates for GCI placements. A classification framework is used to train a classification model and to classify whether or not a peak corresponds to the GCI. We show that the detection accuracy in terms of F1 score is 97.27%. In addition, despite using the speech signal only, the proposed method behaves comparably to a method utilizing the glottal signal. The method is also compared with three existing GCI detection algorithms on publicly available databases.


This paper presents a technique for extending the operating frequency of an inductive link used for wireless power transfer. The extension is achieved by segmenting the primary inductor. A circuit model is proposed for a single-coil squared inductor, which provides the basis for the model of the segmented inductor. These models help to understand the operation of the segmented inductor and serve as a guide to its design. A prototype of the link was fabricated, in which the primary inductor has an average diameter of 22mm and four segments. The secondary inductor has an average diameter of 4mm and the two inductors are expected to be optimally coupled at the distance of 15 mm. The operating frequency was experimentally validated to be 980MHz which is higher than the 415MHz measured for a conventional inductive link of same dimensions, while the link efficiency is maintained at the same value of 30%.


FIELD: individual supplies. SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a liquid heating device for preparation of hot liquid or vapor for domestic needs, mainly for preparation of hot beverages. The device contains a body frame equipped with a channel for liquid circulation. The channel contains an inlet and outlet ports for liquid and joined with one electric heating element which is powered by switching devices connected with control tools. The channel contains first and second sections of the channel joined with each other by third section of the channel forming a connecting passage. The first and second sections of the channel are connected with one heating element. The connecting passage is joined with an intermediate temperature sensitive element connected with the control tools. The intermediate temperature-sensitive element is made with the possibility of being contacted directly or indirectly with liquid circulated in the channel for measuring temperature of liquid. The control tools and switching devices are made with the possibility of controlling the heating element of the second section of the channel depending on quantity of useful power required for supplying the second section of the channel to bring intermediate temperature measured by the intermediate temperature-sensitive element till the set temperature. EFFECT: invention allows heating liquid instantly. 31 cl, 5 dwg


Social insect societies are characterized by a caste determined reproductive and non-reproductive division of labor. Usually, queens stay in the safe surrounding of the nest and produce offspring, while workers refrain from reproduction and care for the brood, forage or defend the nest. However, workers of many social insect species are principally capable of laying unfertilized eggs, which can develop into males. In cooperatively breeding birds or mammals, helpers forgo early reproduction to benefit from brood care experience or nest inheritance and thus, gain an increased direct fitness later in life. However, workers in highly social insect species as in many ants, bees and wasps, generally cannot inherit the nest and replace a fully fertile queen due to physiological restrictions, and the importance of direct fitness benefits for workers has long been neglected.

Referring to Hamilton (1964b), it is assumed that ant workers refrain from direct fitness (their own produced offspring) to benefit from indirect fitness the offspring produced by the queen due to their help) and thereby, increase their inclusive fitness. Questions arose whether this is sufficient to explain a lifetime resignation from reproduction in social insect workers. Indeed, several studies report selfish behaviors like worker policing, egg dumping or the refusal of costly tasks, possibly to increase the chance for future direct fitness in individual workers.

Here, we studied the importance of direct fitness for workers in the monogynous, monandrous ant Temnothorax crassispinus. We examined the reproductive success of workers by ovary dissections and genotyping workers and males from natural queenless and queenright colonies (chapter 2), and monitored the survival and productivity of queenless and queenright colonies for four years in captivity (chapter 3). We compared fitness traits of queen- and worker-produced males under near-natural and standardized conditions (chapter 4) and investigated whether males produced by workers in the absence of a queen, are accepted in queenright colonies during colony reunification before hibernation (chapter 5). Moreover, we hypothesized that the reproductive potential of young workers might induce selfishness and limit behavioral flexibility under pathogen threat (chapter 6) and examined the effect of selfish reproduction on sanitary behavior of the workers (chapter 7). Our studies show, that queen presence or absence, respectively did not affect ovary development in workers and that around 30% of the genotyped males were not produced by the estimated queen in natural colonies. Most males that were not produced by the queen, were produced by workers not related to the colony. Accordingly, the reproductive success of workers related to the queen seemed to be comparably low in nature but increased under laboratory conditions. Workers seem to be capable of increasing their
direct fitness by the expulsion or killing of the queen and a reinforced reproduction afterwards. Queenless colonies were highly productive and persistent and sperm traits of worker-produced males varied only little from that of queen-produced males. Furthermore, larvae produced in queenless colony fragments could be readily integrated in queenright laboratory colonies during colony reunification before hibernation, and contributed
considerably to male production in queenright colonies. However, the prospect of future reproductive success did not affect altruistic self-removal in health compromised workers, but microbiota growth seemed to be encouraged in queenless colonies when sanitary behavior is neglected.


This paper aims to identify the Brazilian repertoire for trumpet ensemble and its use as pedagogical tool to teach chamber music for trumpets. A research of the active ensembles was held with mainly emphasis on the ensembles that enabled the raising of new repertoire for trumpet ensemble as well a catalog of Brazilian works.


The development of photocatalysts with wide spectral absorption and high charge separation efficiency has always been a pursued objective for photocatalytic solar energy conversion. Herein, we reported a wide-range visible-light-active Bi4TaO8Cl (BTOC) single crystal nanoplate with dominating {110} and {001} facets for enhancing the intrinsic charge separation efficiency. Insitu selective photodeposition of metals and metal oxides provides evidences of photogenerated electrons and holes spatially separated on {110} and {001} coexposed facets of BTOC, respectively. The intrinsic charge separation efficiency was demonstrated to be closely dependent on the crystal facets, which can be modulated by tuning the coexposed crystal facet ratio. Further surface modification of BTOC with suitable dual cocatalyst Ag and RuOx enables remarkable improvement of charge separation efficiency and photocatalytic water oxidation performance. Investigation by comparison between well-defined BTOC nanoplate and BTOC nanoparticles confirmed the significance of coexposed crystal facets for efficient spatial charge separation and the blocking of reverse reaction from Fe2+ to Fe3+ ions during water oxidation reaction, indicating that rational modulation of exposed crystal facets is significant for controlling the intrinsic charge separation efficiency on Bi4TaO8Cl photocatalyst for efficient photocatalytic water splitting.


Abstract. The aim of the study: to establish differences in the immunological status of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in the development of allergic and toxico-allergic adverse reactions during treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs. Materials and methods of research. An analysis of the examination data of 68 patients with pulmonary TB who underwent inpatient treatment at the State Organization «Yanovsky National Institute of Phthisiology and Pulmonology NAMS of Ukraine». The mean age of patients was (38.2 ± 1.8) years (19 to 76 years). At the beginning of inpatient treatment in the clinic all patients underwent a complex examination: clinical, radiological, laboratory (general blood and urine tests, with blood levels of bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea, creatinine, glucose), microbiological, immunological (determination of serum tryptase level, total IgE level, lymphocyte migration inhibition (LMI) reaction and assessment of erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ERS) to first-line antitubercular drugs (ATD) (rifampicin, isoniazid and ethambutol)). Conclusions. The study revealed a significant difference between a number of immunological parameters in patients with pulmonary TB in the development of allergic and toxic-allergic reactions to ATD. The presence of clinical signs of allergy to ATD in patients with TB causes the formation of: elevated serum levels of tryptase and IgE, which indicates the activation of mast cells and basophils under the influence of ATD; significantly higher frequency of positive reactions of ERS (to isoniazid and ethambutol) and LMI (to isoniazid) — which reflects the state of sensitization to ATD. The immune status of patients with TB with allergic manifestations to ATD (without toxic reactions) differs from that in patients with toxic-allergic reactions with more pronounced laboratory signs of immediate hypersensitivity reactions to ATD. Immunological reactions in patients with TB with toxic-allergic reactions have a number of differences that are not typical for patients of group 1 with allergies: significantly lower lymphocyte sensitization in patients with ATD (only to isoniazid in LIM), lack of correlation of IgE serum levels with tryptase levels — indicating the genesis of other mechanisms of hypersensitivity to ATD (possibly pseudoallergic) in such patients. The formation of toxic-allergic manifestations of intolerance to ATD is influenced mainly by liver dysfunction, which indicates a leading toxic effect of ATD in such patients. Key words: allergic reactions, immunological parameters, cellular hypersensitivity, anti-tuberculosis drugs, toxic-allergic reactions, pulmonary tuberculosis


Objective: Radiation proctitis is a serious complication due to pelvic radiotherapy after pelvic malignancies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of 4% formalin solution enema application in hemorrhagic proctitis caused by radiation therapy. Methodology: From February 2008 to February 2009, 13 patients with hemorrhagic radiation induced proctitis were treated in our clinic with 4% formaldehyde solution enema application. They were followed up to six months after the treatment. Results: In all cases, bleeding ceased after the first application. One of the patients experienced re-bleeding three weeks after the formalin application, and repeated formalin enema application controlled the bleeding. Follow up evaluation at sixth month showed no signs of acute proctitis or rebleeding. Two patients suffered from perianal pain during the first two months after the formalin application, however symptoms improved after that. Conclusion: 4% formaldehyde solution application for treatment of hemorrhagic radiation induced proctitis, can be performed easily and is a well tolerated technique with good long


Abstract. Producing high quality offspring of good logical performance, able to survive to independence and, then, to reproductive maturity is a major component of life history strategies. The ability of nestling altricial birds to develop a good physiological condition depends to a large extent on the amount and quality of food provided by parents, as well as other aspects of parental care. We hypothesized that experimental changes to the original brood size should affect both parental Blue Tits and their offspring, resulting in corresponding changes in the body condition of the nestlings. Over two breeding seasons, using two habitat sites, we conducted an experiment with two manipulative treatments applied to broods of three-day-old nestlings — the reduction or enlargement of broods by three nestlings, and one non-manipulative control treatment. Our aim was to test whether the experiment would affect a number of different measures of nestling condition: blood concentrations of hemoglobin and glucose, heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and morphometric condition index, all being analyzed when the nestlings were 13 days old. We found no effect in the case of hemoglobin, despite the fact that it had previously been shown to be sensitive to large-scale differences in trophic conditions between habitats and years and to the experimental removal of nest parasites. All the remaining variables, i.e. heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, glucose concentration and morphometric condition index, responded to the experimental treatments, showing different but reasonable patterns of variation. We suggest that an experimental increase in brood size definitely hinders the development of nestling physiological condition, but even an experimental reduction of broods can affect some physiological indicators (glucose), probably because of readjustments in the feeding rate.


The political dynamic in Yogyakarta during the Liberal Democracy period was marked by the occurance of three general elections, that was in 1951, 1955, and 1957. The 1951 General Election which led Masyumi as the triumph of the local election, became the successful experiment of democracy among people in Yogyakarta. The 1955 General Election was a national-scale election which was placed PKI in the first position. The position went on to that of 1957 local election. Fascinatingly, in the middle of the 1951 democratic festivity Yogyakarta was recognized as city of education and city of bike, which was triggered by the presence of Gadjah Mada University which attracted students from different regions of Indonesia to continue their study.


In this paper, we examine the role experimental research plays in developing accounting knowledge. We use as a framework for this examination an information economic perspective, positing that the general goal of accounting research is legitimate, consequential belief revision. We then evaluate how the characteristics of experimental research provide advantages and disadvantages in creating legitimate, consequential belief revision within the context of accounting issues. Throughout the paper, we provide guidance on how to design and implement experiments with the greatest potential to influence thought.


At the 1987 International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment, conferees expressed concern regarding the accuracy of analytical data in the published scientific literature. Journals dealing with human health and environmental issues are now rejecting papers in which authors fail to use either accepted reference methods of analysis and/or do not include assay results for a recognized standard as a means of verification of accuracy for their reported analytical results.


The insulation for the magnet plays a large role in the lifetime of the magnet. It drives the shielding requirement, which drives the size and cost of fusion devices. We briefly describe the status of the magnet insulation materials for fusion magnets, and describe the options for materials for future fusion machines. We also describe an R&D program to investigate these options. A focused development effort with coordinated activities of universities, national labs and industry should be undertaken. The program should include development of inorganic insulating systems and ceramic insulators. Industrial partners have proposed the development of superior insulating materials with simultaneous improvements in insulation strength and radiation resistance.


Pomegranate orchards grown under hot, semi-arid to arid tropical climate were surveyed to diagnose nutrient constraints through soil and leaf analysis. A total 347 pomegranate orchards covering an area about 60, 000 ha were surveyed in major pomegranate growing areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states during 2007 to 2013. Physico-chemical analysis of the soil samples revealed that most of the pomegranate cultivation is on shallow and light textured soils having pH (< 8.9), EC (< 1.86dS/m) and CaCO3 (< 10% in majority orchards) which is within tolerable limit for pomegranate cultivation. Soil as well as leaf nutrient status indicated that P was the most limiting nutrient, followed by N while K and Ca was in sufficient quantity. Micronutrient constraints through foliar analysis revealed that Fe content was in sufficiency range in almost all the orchards despite its low availability in the soils. Similarly, leaf Cu content was very low in majority orchards despite its availability in the soil in excess range. Zinc content in the leaves was in sufficient quantity in all the orchards located in all the states. The nutrients should be applied in a balance ratio ensuring periodical application of organics to maintain soil health.


Traditional use of molluscan genera and species as paleobathymetric indicators requires the assumption that evolutionary change has not occurred. However, bathymetric ranges of taxa may be altered dramatically by both micro- and macroevolutionary processes. An alternative, the taxonomic structure method, is developed and used to document a distinctive deep-water (greater than 200 m) suite of mollusk faunas in Cenozoic rocks of the marginal northeastern Pacific. Cenozoic deep-water mollusk faunas are further broken down into recurring ecological associ- ations. Six major communities are designated: (1) Acesta Communities are characterized by patchy occurrence of shells of giant limid bivalves in association with brachiopods and glass sponges; (2) Mud Pecten Communities are characterized by patchy concentrations of small epifaunal pectinids and propeamussiids; (3) Thyasira-Lucinoma-Solemya Communities are dominated by low diver- sity assemblages of large infaunal bivalves adapted for suspension feeding in low productivity settings; (4) Protobranch Communities are dominated by a high diversity of small, thin-shelled, deposit-feeding bivalves; (5) Bathybembix Communities are dominated by large, thin-shelled epi- faunal deposit-feeding trochid gastropods associated with less abundant carnivorous epifaunal gastropods; (6) Turrid Communities are characterized by a high diversity of small-shelled preda- ceous neogastropods, with as many as seven species of Turridae co-occurring in a single assemblage. Major elements of these communities appear abruptly between 38 and 40 MYBP, correlated with major world-wide oceanographic events at the close of the Eocene, and undergo rapid speciation during the Oligocene. Detailed taxonomic and evolutionary studies of the dominant genera in these communities should lead to refined age determination and correlation of deep-water facies of the marginal eastern Pacific.


In order to further improve the efficiency and accuracy of translation, based on the existing computer-aided translation software modules, artificial intelligence technology is introduced to gradually design its architecture, functional modules and databases and other components, and build a test environment, and test the function of the translation system software by taking Chinese to English as an example. The test results show that the translation system software can complete the translation task, and all the indicators meet the standards, which proves that the computer-aided translation software based on artificial intelligence technology designed this time has achieved initial success.


A two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulation with the realistic ion-to-electron mass ratio of 1836 is carried out to investigate the electrostatic collisionless shocks in relatively high-speed (∼3000 km s−1) plasma flows and also the influence of both electrostatic and electromagnetic instabilities, which can develop around the shocks, on the shock dynamics. It is shown that the electrostatic ion-ion instability can develop in front of the shocks, where the plasma is under counterstreaming condition, with highly oblique wave vectors as was shown previously. The electrostatic potential generated by the electrostatic ion-ion instability propagating obliquely to the shock surface becomes comparable with the shock potential and finally the shock structure is destroyed. It is also shown that in front of the shock the beam-Weibel instability gradually grows as well, consequently suggesting that the magnetic field generated by the beam-Weibel instability becomes important in long-term evolution ...


The DDS middleware (Data Distribution Service) has being used for addressing the data distribution and interoperability between different networks, architectures and operating systems. A essential point in the integration of these heterogeneous environments relies on the discovery process. A DDS discovery protocol matches publisher and subscriber entities (Endpoints) placed in different network nodes. The scalability of a DDS infrastructure is limited by the discovery protocol, hence the discovery process is one of the most important features of a DDS implementation. This master project address the design and evaluation of alternatives to the current DDS discovery protocol, the Simple Discovery Protocol (SDP). These alternatives should improve the scalability of the SDP protocol for allowing the use of DDS in larger scenarios. In SDP, the number of sent messages and the consumed network bandwidth grow with the number of Endpoints. Additionally, each node consumes memory for storing all the remote node's discovery information. Basically, the total number of messages sent over the network is P ∗ E where P is the number of Participants and E the number of Endpoints with E P . We propose to improve the DDS discovery process by using a compact information representation technique called Bloom filter. We propose to modify the SDP for using Bloom filters. We call this proposal SDPBloom. By using Bloom filters the number of messages sent over the network is closer to P ∗ P instead of P ∗ E. Additionally, both the spent network bandwidth consumption and nodes memory usage decrease. The analytical results show the improvement of SDPBloom over SDP. In addition, we have implemented a test application for measuring the real advantages of using Bloom filters for representing discovery information. The analytical and experimental results show that the number of messages sent to the network for announcing Endpoints still constant with no dependency with the Endpoints number (E). As it will be show, under some circumstances the proposed approach can provide a discovery information compression ratio equal to 50 : 1.


This paper presents experimental results for master-slave synchronization of two robot manipulators using a recently developed observer-controller scheme. The paper aims to investigate the value and the limitations of the theory. In particular, the theoretical result of uniform ultimate boundedness of the synchronization errors is investigated. Back-to-back simulation results are also presented.


The article states that health education plays an important role in P.E.teaching by using the method of document materials and the method of logic analysis.According to the health state of the students in present stage of China,it points the problems in P.E.teaching and analyses the subjective and objective reasons that formed the problems.It also suggests feasible reform measures and methods about P.E.health education combining the situation of China with the experience of P.E.and health education abroad.


Modulation ratio is an important index for power converters, which is related to the circuit parameter selection, converter transformer taps changing, control scheme design, etc. Nevertheless, the modulation ratio in modular multilevel converters (MMC) has not been well studied yet, and in most cases, it is used by referring to the modulation ratio of two-level converters. However, considering the particular features of MMCs, whether the modulation ratio can likewise be applied for MMCs is required to be studied. This article found that there are three problems lying in the modulation ratio of MMCs; as a result, the modulation ratio cannot always accurately reflect the modulation characteristics of MMCs. The study concluded that, in evaluating the overmodulation risk of MMCs, the modulation ratio is only accurate in the situation where the circulating current suppression controller is adopted in the control scheme. Using modulation ratio as the substitution of the amplitude of fundamental modulation signal can introduce large errors (from −15.63% to 12.74% in case studies), except when the MMC mainly outputs/consumes the active power. Finally, the analyses and conclusions are verified by the Zhangbei HVDC project based on the RT-Lab platform and by the 5 kVA/400 V downscaled MMC prototype.


To assess the effects of angioplasty (PTCA) and intracoronary streptokinase (STK) on relative myocardial perfusion, the authors administered Tc-99m macroaggregated albumin (MAA) into the uninvolved coronary artery (CA) before PTCA in 31 patients (PTS) and before STK in 8 PTS and In-111 MAA into the same vessel post intervention. In 8 PTCA PTS MAA was injected into the involved Ca. All STK and 36 PTCA studies were anatomically ''successful''. Computer processed images were acquired in registry and compared to each other, to 9 control studies, to angiography and to the distribution of T1-201 in rest images performed prior to or soon after intervention in 22 PTS. When MAA was injected into the uninvolved CA, scintigraphy revealed retraction of the perfusion zone from that of the involved CA in 15 of 28 successful PTCA PTS and in 4 of 8 STK PTS. When MAA was injected in the involved CA, a relative increase in perfusion was seen in 4 of 8 PTS post PTCA. There was no change in the perfusion pattern in controls or after unsuccessful PTCA. Compared to the distribution of T1-201, there was little change in global perfusion pattern. Regions previously supplied by collaterals (COLL) were generally wellmore » perfused after intervention. Only 2 STK and 5 PTCA PTS had angiographic collaterals. The authors conclude the following: 1) CA COLL perfusion may be inapparent angiographically; 2) CA COLL perfusion regresses rapidly after PTCA or STK; 3) Native perfusion is generally restored after successful PTCA or STK relieves the need for COLLS; and 4) Post intervention, total resting perfusion may not change, but its source may demonstrate beneficial alterations, shifting from COLL to native circulation.« less


To study the temperature effects which cause degradation of building materials in exterior is necessary to know the coefficient of heat transfer on its surface during the cross-flow. In this paper the values of heat transfer coefficient on circular cylinder for the cross-flow of air characterized by Reynolds number 78 200 were determined. The values of heat transfer coefficient were obtained by comparing numerically computed temperatures in several points in cylinder with measured values of temperatures during experiment.


Describes an approach to maximizing team performance which integrates traditional business methods with those of the performing arts. Defines the ACE team as aligned, creative and exploring, and explains how the ACE Team Star Profile can be used to create a visual profile of a team′s strengths and development needs.


Electrical discharges can be used as an after treatment for diesel exhaust. We are presently involved in research to determine the feasibility of this process. These discharges have been shown to remove nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulates and many organic compounds. A key issue is the efficiency of this removal since it effects both capital and operating costs. These discharges must be of short duration, less than one microsecond, to avoid energy losses due to heating of bulk gas molecules. The voltage must be kept below the voltage breakdown limit where ion heating creates an arc discharge. The basic process is the acceleration of electrons which then collide with gas molecules to form radicals such as O and OH. These radicals then react with and eliminate pollutants. Two basic electrode geometries are used to generate these discharges. The barrier discharge is when one or both of the electrodes is insulated and the pulse length is limited by charging of the insulator. This discharge must be driven by alternating current to permit alternating charging of the insulator. The other geometry is when one electrode has a peak voltage stress five or more times the average stress. We have been investigating themore » high stress geometry which uses a small wire inside a pipe. The principal experimental apparatus utilized by this effort uses a closed loop gas system. This system permits the production of various gas combinations prior to testing. Analysis can be conducted during or after these tests. The recirculated gas can be heated up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. This system can measure the energy used and the pollutant removal to determine efficiency. Our primarily goal is the simultaneous removal of nitric oxide and particulates typical of diesel exhaust. This is expected to be accomplished in one or more metal tubes no larger than two inches in diameter and thirty-six inches long.« less


Cooperative relaying methods can improve wireless links, but introduce overhead due to relay selection and resource reservation compared to non-cooperative transmission. In order to be competitive, a cooperative relaying protocol must avoid or compensate for this overhead.

In this paper, we present a MAC protocol for relay selection and cooperative communication as an extension to CSMA/CA which addresses resource reservation, relay selection, and cooperative transmission while keeping the overhead in terms of time and energy low. We discuss the efficiency of this protocol for packet error rate, throughput, and message delay in a multi-hop network. Simulation results show that the protocol performs similar and without noticeable overhead compared to standard CSMA/CA for good SNR while it is able to significantly improve throughput and reliability at larger distances.


With the development of the electronic industry,the demand of ultra purity ammonia increases substantially.However,the production technology of ultra purity ammonia in our country is relatively backward.Considering the technical difficulties and the requirement of environment for this process,we master the core technologies of this process for high-purity ammonia production after years of our efforts.At present,this process has been realized in large-scale industrialized production,in which the cost of equipment and operating is reduced.The most important is that the product performance reached the international advanced level.


Ukraine's emerging national narratives, like those of other newly independent states, need to find their place among and within other, sometimes conflicting, established narratives.


The aim of the study was to determine impact of commercially available hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and its mixture (HVO5, where 5% (v/v) HVO and 95% (v/v) FDD) with diesel fuel (FDD) on the power, torque, fuel consumption, and exhaust gas composition of an atmospheric internal combustion diesel engine used in off-road applications. Diesel fuel was used as the comparative fuel. Testing was realized in a full-load mode on the KOHLER KDI 1903 M 3-cylinder diesel engine on a SIERRA CP-Engineering engine test bench. The AVL SESAM FTIR exhaust gas analytical system was used to determine exhaust gas emissions, while the AVL KMA Mobile fuel consumption measuring device was used to measure fuel consumption. Research showed that the lowest power and torque readings were obtained with FDD, while HVO showed a slightly higher result compared to the fossil diesel fuel. At the same time, the highest hourly fuel consumption was observed running on HVO5, while the lowest was observed with FDD. Increases in carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions were observed for HVO5 compared to those of FDD. The CO content in emissions increased by an average of 3.0% using HVO and by an average of 36% using HVO5, but the NOx content in the emissions increased by an average of 3.0% using HVO and by an average of 8.8% using HVO5. The reduction by an average of 60% using HVO in emissions was found in the case of hydrocarbons (HC). Research confirmed that the physicochemical properties of HVO could leave an impact on the main engine performance parameters and exhaust emissions.


There are over 1.2 million Australians registered as having vision impairment. There are many more cases that go unrecognised and untreated in our society. Welfare for this group costs AUS$12 billion a year with lost business opportunity costs of AUS$42 billion. In the UK, the welfare cost is estimated at £49 billion per annum just for those Blind and Vision Impaired (BVI) that suffer from Glaucoma and Cataracts, indicating that the overall welfare costs of blindness are much higher. Any system which could increase the mobility and independence of the vision impaired has the potential to save significant taxpayer dollars. University of New South Wales, Vision Australia and Ramsey-Stewart Industry Design have secured a four-year ARC Linkage project to develop a Mobility and Location Information system for the BVI. The prototype is a system comprising a handheld/mobile device, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), indoor and outdoor positioning technologies and Server Software that gives a BVI person information about where they are and how to get to where they want to go. Furthermore, a lot of location related information can be provided by such a proposed system. This is an excellent example of a "location-based service", which has been slated as the largest area of growth for ICT in the coming decade. This product will not replace the traditional white cane or guide dog, but is an additional device to enable the BVI to enjoy mobility and have an improved sense of confidence and self assurance. This paper presents some background to the project and discusses the challenges of this research.


In order to determine the impact of lesser snow goose (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) herbivory on above and belowground nutrient dynamics, a grazing and nutrient addition experiment was conducted in two habitat types utilized by snow geese near Churchill, Manitoba. Forage plant nutrition, soil microbial biomass, and inorganic and organic soil nutrients were measured in relation to the timing of grazing, over two consecutive summers. Soil was collected from the rhizosphere to determine the influence of foliar herbivory on root-microbe interactions. Primary productivity in both habitats is co-limited by the availability of both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Aboveground defoliation either caused a reduction or no change in soil microbial biomass nutrients (carbon (C), N, or P). Defoliated shoots had higher N concentrations and did not show compensatory growth within the season. Root biomass was somewhat reduced with grazing, but higher whole plant N content suggests that grazing does not compromise N-uptake.


In scalable video coding (SVC) multicast, videos are encoded into several layers that represent multiple quality levels. Mobile users with different wireless channel conditions can obtain different numbers of layers and have different quality of experience (QoE). To enhance the QoE of the users that suffer from the worse channel quality, it is beneficial to stimulate users' cooperation in relaying enhancement layers. However, potential relays may be unwilling to truthfully cooperate with receivers, which results in the asymmetric information problem in relay selecting. In this paper, we model the video relaying selection as a market with multiple receivers (principals) and relays (agents), and solve the problem according to the contract theory. The proposed solution is divided into following two steps: first, contract design and item preselection, and second, matching between each principal and agent. We propose a contract parameter determination method termed as the Matching-Aware strategy. Different from traditional strategies, the proposed Matching-Aware strategy makes the contract competitive in principal-agent matching without knowing the probability distribution of relays' types. The matching step is undertaken by the base station with the purpose of maximizing the social welfare. Numerical results corroborate that the contract-based video relaying scheme can tackle the asymmetric information problem. Besides, compared with other two baseline strategies, the proposed Matching-Aware strategy achieves higher QoE.


Over the last years, the TrackYourTinnitus project collected data from worldwide tinnitus patients using smart mobile devices. The gathered data set, in turn, is high-dimensional and it is therefore challenging to visualize it for analyzing purposes. To remedy this drawback, a 3D approach that applies the Microsoft HoloLens is proposed. More specifically, we visualize tinnitus records as a hologram, which is augmented by the real world. The developed prototype particularly tackles three challenges in the context of analyzing the TrackYourTinnitus data set visually. First, the detection of correlations between dimensions is simplified by highlighting the relations between the diagram axes and visually displaying the correlation coefficient. Second, an outlier detection method reveals striking data points and, third, a clustering approach allows for the recognition of related data points. Finally, the performance of the prototype can be controlled by subsampling the data set in order to receive different types of resolutions. Therefore, the prototype is able to handle large data sets.


According to linear combination of different discharges during the low water period,a linear equation model for discharge routing of the low water period was established.The model parameters were calibrated by use of the optimization method.Then,a three-layer BP neural network with a hidden layer was developed,with the discharge of the upper profile,water consumption,regional water recharge,and water loss of the river section taken as the input factors,and the discharge of the lower profile taken as the output of the network.Finally,the hydrodynamic method was adopted for simulating the discharge process.Through comparison of the calculated results of the above three methods,some conclusions were drawn: the linear equation model is of high stability,and it is convenient for discharge routing and feedback control calculation;the artificial neural network is of high capacity of generalization and high accuracy of calculation,but it is difficult for discharge feedback control calculation;the hydrodynamic method is not a practical method due to some problems on stability and convergence when it is used for discharge routing and feedback control.


The history of French Atlantic trade and traders has been built up as a result of successive research, which has never been put into a single perspective. Hence the contradictory images of this trade, which this article attempts to re¬ examine and reinterpret. To this end, connections are made between structures (the forces at work within trading companies) and their functions (their role). A diagram of the working organisation of Atlantic trade is proposed, centred around the idea of a «relational capitalism ». Subsequently, we present some tools which enable us to refine the analysis, by means of the notions of 'background1, 'generation3, 'network3 and 'identity3.


Twenty Jehovah's Witnesses (age range: 17 months to 76 years) underwent central or peripheral vascular surgery for congenital or acquired disease. Two patients died: one (74 years old) from myocardial infarction, the other after a subsequent open heart operation. Hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit readings were not low enough in any patient to urge blood transfusion. Hospital convalescence averaged one week. Overall results compared favorably with results in other patients, indicating that a good outcome can be obtained in vascular surgery without blood transfusion.


Cyclosporine (CsA), dosed to achieve C2 targets, has been shown to provide safe and efficacious immunosuppression when used with a mycophenolate and steroids for de novo kidney transplant recipients. This study examined whether use of enteric‐coated mycophenolate sodium (EC‐MPS) together with basiliximab and steroids would enable use of CsA dosed to reduced C2 targets in order to achieve improved graft function.


In the last decades buildings and the lifestyles within, have gone through significant changes. Thus nowadays, improvements in technology and its consequences, have had significant impacts on all aspects of human life. Intelligent Building Architecture emerged right after The Industrial revolution, and of course The Modernism; and it could be said that, existence of these kind of buildings is inevitable. There are various methods that could be employed for a building to meet the standards set for sustainable architecture, one of which is taking Intelligent Building Systems into service. Hence, this paper considers "Intelligent Buildings with sustainable architecture Approach". The research method used for this paper is the library research method; by reading books, articles, and journals, the concepts of computerizing, intelligent buildings, sustainable development and architecture are defined. The results of the studies and researches illustrate that proper use of intelligent systems for buildings, can reduce the cost of maintenance, increase efficiency, and energy saving, which, helps to achieve environmental, economic, social, and at last architectural sustainability.


Aimes of the present study were to verify the
 influence of different equilibration times (1.5 and 3 hours) on the quality
 of dog spermatozoa diluted with and without 0.5% Equex STM paste (experiment
 I) and the influence of 0.5% Equex STM paste as an additive to a Tris-egg
 yolk-fructose-citrate extender on motility, volume regulation, acrosome and
 membrane integrity of dog spermatozoa during deep freezing (experiment II).
 Ejaculates of four Beagle dogs were examined after equilibration for
 1.5 and   3 hours using the split sample method (experiment I). In experiment
 II ejaculates of eight Beagle dogs were analyzed after dilution and
 adaptation to room temperature for 15 minutes, as well as after deep freezing
 and thawing. The assessment of the sperm quality was evaluated according to
 classical (microscopic estimation of motility, microscopic examination of
 acrosome morphology) and modern spermatological methods (computer-assisted
 motility analysis, computer-aided analysis of volume regulation,
 flowcytometric determination of acrosome and membrane integrity). The
 computer-aided analysis of the sperm volume regulation was determined after a
 5 and 20 minutes incubation of the spermatozoa at 39°C under iso-, hypo-, and
 hypertonic conditions. The amount of acrosome reacted and membrane damaged
 spermatozoa was determined after incubation with the Ca2+-ionophor
 A23187 for induction of the acrosome reaction.
 According to the results of the present study, the equilibration time
 (1.5 and 3 hours) has no effect on sperm quality. Volumetric and morphologic
 sperm parameters are indicating temperature and time dependent changes of
 integrity and function of the sperm plasma membrane. Altogether, addition of
 Equex STM paste to the extender had different effects on individual
 parameters depending on the step of cryopreservation, referring to a central
 role of the integrity and function of the plasma membrane and acrosome.
 Especially, the proportion of osmotically active spermatozoa in the volume
 distribution curve, the modal volume measured under isotonic conditions, and
 the acrosome integrity of the spermatozoa were positively affected by adding
 Equex to the extender. For almost all parameters measured in thawed semen
 using modern spermatological methods, individual differences among dogs were
 identified. Different correlations in thawed semen samples diluted with Equex
 elucidated connections between different functional parameters [modal volume
 of the spermatozoa under isotonic (5 minutes incubation) and hypotonic
 conditions  (5 and 20 minutes incubation), relative increase of the
 sperm volume (5 minutes incubation), RVD and sperm velocity] and between
 functional and morphological parameters [modal volume of the sperm under
 hypertonic conditions (5 and 20 minutes incubation), relative decrease of the
 sperm volume (20 minutes incubation), RVI and acrosome integrity as well as
 modal volume of the spermatozoa under isotonic (20 minutes incubation) and
 hypotonic conditions (5 and 20 minutes incubation) and ability to induce the
 acrosome reaction].
 These results suggest that addition of 0.5%
 Equex STM paste to the extender can be recommended for deep freezing of dog
 semen. The investigation of the exact mode of action of Equex STM paste on a
 molecular level remains to be the objective of further studies. Due to their
 high sensitivity and fast acquisition of additional parameters, modern
 analytical methods provide valuable data for the investigation of unknown
 seminal processes, which can contribute to the development of a more
 efficient procedure for the cryopreservation of dog semen.


This paper presents design and construction of a quad-pole coupling device which is used for measurement of PD signal and AC voltage as the conventional partial discharge testing according to IEC 60270[1]. The developed coupling device is capable to measure AC voltage at frequencies of 50 Hz and 200 Hz. Lower limit and Upper limit frequencies of the developed coupling device are 30 kHz and 20 MHz, respectively. The remarkable feature of the developed coupling device has the accuracy in PD signal measuring and the ability in eliminating noise signal such as unwanted AC signal at PD measuring point and interference signal. Therefore, in the design procedure based on OrCAD computer program, two main parts being the AC signal measuring part and the PD signal measuring part are considered. In the AC signal measuring part, the proper impedance was chosen to achieve appropriate voltage divide ratio and accuracy in PD signal measuring. In the coupling device, voltage surge protective device was installed to protect the PD measuring part. In PD signal measuring part, the value of the components in PD signal measuring circuit must be chosen properly to achieve the determined upper and lower limit frequencies and consider the value of the matching resistance. In this part, noise signal elimination must be considered to gain less effect to PD signal, otherwise the PD signal waveform will distort. From this intensive study, the coupling device circuits were designed and constructed and then, they were tested at 50 Hz and 200 Hz AC Voltage supply. The results of the developed coupling device are compared to that of the reference coupling device in the high voltage laboratory of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. The developed coupling device can be used in conventional PD testing according to IEC 60270. The comparisons of the simulated and experimental results show that the performance of the developed coupling devices as same as the reference coupling device.


The presentation of Peachy Parallel Assignments at parallel and distributed computing education workshops is an effort to promote the reuse of high-quality assignments, both saving precious faculty time and improving the quality of course assignments. These assignments must have been used in class and are selected for being easy to adopt by other instructors and for being "cool and inspirational" so that students spend time on them and talk about them with others. The assignments and their materials are also archived on the Peachy Parallel Assignments website.In this paper, we present two new assignments. The first has students implement the Mandelbrot set in Python, combining an interesting image with Python's ease of use. The second assignment is a substantial project to implement a programming contest judge. It requires that students use many parallel and distributed computing concepts, with the added benefit of solving a "real problem" and creating software with which students may have personally interacted.


Malignant fibrous histiocytoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma of late adult life. This tumor tends to occur in the deep soft tissue of the extremities, but rarely develops in the liver. We report a patient who presented with chest wall tumor as the only initial symptom. He complained of right back pain with swelling in the right postero-lateral chest wall, which he had first noticed one month before. Physical examination and routine blood studies were performed, as well as abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography of the thorax and abdomen. A poorly circumscribed hypodense mass lesion was found in the posterior segment of the liver, with direct invasion of the chest wall. Tissue biopsy of the chest wall tumor led to the diagnosis of malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The immunohistochemical study showed that the tumor cells were positive for CD-68 and vimentin stains, and negative for alpha-fetoprotein, TTF1, HMB45 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The patient died two months after initial diagnosis. We suggest that primary hepatic malignant fibroid histiocytoma, though rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of liver tumor. Early and complete surgical removal of primary hepatic malignant fibroid histiocytoma is necessary because of the aggressive nature of the tumor.


This study investigated the influence of 1,076 state employees' career stage, family characteristics, job tenure and specialization, and perceptions of job favorability, movement, and career development opportunities on willingness to accept upward, lateral, and downward mobility opportunities. Results indicated that employees in early career stages with little community tenure who perceived a lack of congruence between their current jobs and their "ideal" jobs and expressed little desire to remain in their current jobs were more willing to accept mobility opportunities. Few differences were noted in regression models across different mobility opportunities. Implications for future research regarding employee mobility are discussed.


This Master's thesis named "The role of cultural community centres for local development" examines the local culture facility's part in development potential in given area.
The theoretical part of this thesis deals in general with the significance and the part culture plays in sustainable development within both academic and political realm as well as it offers terminology of problems mentioned in this thesis.
The conclusions of the theoretical part are practically verified and proofed on a particular example of cultural and community based facility in Prague using a case study method.


A new approach to the synthesis of Rh(III) corrole complexes is developed and an unusual activation of C-C and C-N bonds is disclosed.


Abstract Polyethylene glycol with average molar mass of 1,450 Da (PEG-1450) was treated with equivalent amount of sodium hydride to convert hydroxy groups to sodium alkoxide. Assuming the PEG oligomer with alkoxy end-groups as a macroinitiator, anionic ring-opening polymerization of some lactones (β-propiolactone, α-methyl-β-propiolactone, δ-valerolactone and ε-caprolactone) with different ring sizes were performed to obtain the ABA-type poly(ester-ether-ester) block copolymers. Copolymers with various compositions were obtained with high yields. Spectroscopic and thermal characterization of the copolymers were performed by using DSC, TGA, FT-IR, and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Formation of the block copolymers and their mass distributions were determined by MALDI mass spectrometry. Structural analyses of the copolymers revealed that chain extensions increased in order of α-methyl-β-propiolactone, β-propiolactone, δ-valerolactone and ε-caprolactone.


The article considers the application of the object-oriented approach in programming in relation to computer science and in the framework of mathematical analysis from the point of view of mathematics. The methodology for creating and encapsulating mathematical expressions and algorithms to ensure their reliable storage in the database is considered. We considered that it is sufficiently flexible for the possibility of expanding the system, the essence of which is the encapsulation of mathematical expressions and algorithms into an object, for their dynamic creation and storage in a database. An analysis and search for all possible solutions to this problem were made, and it was decided to stop at the level of the abstraction variable-operator. The process of solving mathematical problems within the framework of mathematical analysis is considered. The application of the object-oriented approach is proposed, which allows one to clearly decompose the process under study from the point of view of a finite set of objects within the framework of the problem into classes of objects with designated static and dynamic properties.


This paper critically examines Ken Wilber's transpersonal evolutionary theory in the context of the philosophical discourse of postmodernity. The critique focuses on Wilber's refutation of non‐absolutist and non‐universalist approaches to rationality, truth, and morality—such as cultural relativism, pluralism, constructivism or perspectivism—under the charges of being epistemologically self‐refuting and morally pernicious. First, it is suggested that Wilber offers a faulty dichotomy between his absolutist‐universalist metanarrative and a self‐contradictory and pernicious vulgar relativism. Second, it is shown that Wilber's arguments for the self‐refuting and pernicious nature of other non‐absolutist approaches are both fallacious and distorting. Finally, the problematic consequences of absolutist discourse for academic and cross‐cultural dialogue are pinpointed. Taking Wilber's treatment of Nagarjuna's thinking as a paradigmatic example, it is suggested that absolutist thinking both usually leads to "bad"...


ABSTRACT High water turbidity developed in the 1970s in shallow windswept Rice Lake, Wisconsin, and created a depauperate macrophyte community that has persisted more than a decade later. In 1989, this flora was characterized by species with early spring growth, summer leaf canopies, and winter tubers or rhizomes. The community was dominated inshore by water lilies (Nymphaea tuberosa and Nuphar variegatum) and offshore by pondweeds (Potamogeton pectinatus and P. natans). Together with coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), water crowfoot (Ranunculus longirostris), and elodea (Elodea canadensis), the submersed flora reached a summer dry-weight standing crop of only 28–31 g/m2.


The extraction of gold(III) from 0.10 mol dm–3 hydrochloric acid into various aprotic ionic liquids (ILs) was investigated at 25 °C. Eleven kinds of ILs were examined as the extraction solvents; the cations were 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([BMIm]+), 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium, and methyltrioctylammonium; the anions were tetrafluoroborate, hexafluorophosphate, bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide ([NTf2]−), and bis(pentafluoroethanesulfonyl)amide. The metal was extracted as anionic tetrachloroaurate ([AuCl4]−) into all the nonprotic ILs with high distribution ratios (>100). The distribution ratio of gold(III) differs largely (480-fold at most) depending on the IL species and also depends on the amount of extracted gold(III). These dependences of the distribution ratio were quantitatively explained as functions of the solubility product of the IL used, where we considered the equilibrium model comprising the ion pai...


We examine the timing of firms' operations in a for mal model of labor demand. Merging a variety of data sets from Portugal from 1995-2004, we describe temporal patterns of firms' demand for labor and estimate production-functions a d relative labor-demand equations. The results demonstrate the existence of substitution o f employment across times of the day/week and show that legislated penalties for work at irre gular hours induce firms to alter their operating schedules. The results suggest a role fo r such penalties in an unregulated labor market, such as the United States, in which unusual ly large fractions of work are performed at night and on weekends.


Alpha particle emission was observed for the new isotopes /sup 184/ /sup 185/Tl as well as for the previously known nuclides /sup 186/ /sup 187/Tl. Also determined were the alpha decay half-lives for lead isotopes with A less than or equal to 192. 8 references. (JFP)


ABSTRACT:  This article aims to analyze and present results obtained through interviews and qualitative analysis of linguistic variation among Portuguese speakers with low education. We also sought to identify the linguistic prejudice that the interviewed speakers suffer in their daily lives due to the linguistic variation they use and how it affects them. Most of the data were collected from adult participants attending a group at the Referral Center for Social Assistance in the municipality of Rondonopolis. The research carried out in this work took place through theoretical bibliographic studies and field data surveys.


Subsurface depth imaging requires high performance computing hardware and techniques. PSPI (Phase Shift Plus Interpolation) method for subsurface imaging is widely used in reflection exploration, since it has less computing efforts and efficiency. Here we implemented parallelized PSPI for prestack depth migration using MPI (Message Passing Interce) LAM. MPI is library for high performance parallel programms that pass messages between processes to make up an overall parallel job. A simple disk velocity model shows that MPI_PSPI reduce the computing time and good subsurface image.


Comparing information thinking with postmodern thinking,we can find that they have many qualities in common and also some obvious distinctions.Their common ground consists in advocating pluralistic thinking,thinking much of diversity,initiating complex thinking and so on.There are also some differences between these two kinds of thinking on realism,evolutionism,reductionism,etc.


Abstract This paper discusses the changing working environment of child psychotherapists in the public sector in the UK whose responsibility is to play a part in providing a general service to a local community. It suggests they operate with a kind of dual citizenship, owing allegiance both to the psychoanalytic community and to the public sector. Transitions between one and the other are demanding, requiring careful thought and management. This has become more demanding because of changes occurring within the public sector as a whole and within multidisciplinary, multi-approach child and adolescent mend health tams. The nature of these changes is outlined. It is suggested that their cumulative effect is radical and irreversible and that, if district child psychotherapy is to be sustained, it will need to adapt to them in ways that are understood by and are acceptable to both the psychoanalytic and the public-sector communities. Hard thinking will be needed to carry forward into the next fifty years the a...


Abstract : The Tactical Digital Data Link has the capability of communicating with five aircraft simultaneously. Independent communication is maintained through the use of selective calling. The equipment uses digital addressing and several short digital messages to reduce the verbal traffic on the voice channel. Differential Phase Shift Key (DPSK) digital modulation is utilized to provide the best error performance at the lowest cost.


A fraction of hemolymph from healthy and bacteria inducted silkworms were collected and total protein content was estimated. Prophenoloxidase in hemolymph of bacteria infected silkworm (Bombyx mori) was partially purified and migrated as two bands in SDS-PAGE system, where as prophenoloxidase band is completely absent in cuticular protein sample of healthy silkworm. Extraction and characterization of pro-phenol oxidase cascade from healthily and bacteria included silkworms was used to determined Phenol oxidase activity. Effect of various sugars on development of phenoloxidase activity was examined. A cane sugar factor (CSF) seems responsible for retention of prophenoloxidase in Cane Sugar-Hemolymph. Microscopic studies revealed that cell clusters or aggregates showed a regular pattern. The results shown that a single protein having molecular mass of 18.5 kDa. These results have clear evidence that upon stimulation by LPS the levels of PEA derived peptide i.e peptide B the 13kDa fragment is significantly increased. Phenoloxidase activity incresed with time when the prophenoloxidase fraction was incubated with the activity cascade (AC) fraction that had been previously treated with Ca² . Presently results clearly demonstrate that cuticular phenoloxidase is truly is âo Zymogen form which is activated through a limited proteolosis.


OBJECTIVE To establish an UFLC-MS/MS method for determination ot tiopronin in human plasma and investigating the pharmacokinetics and bioequivalence of tablets and enteric-coated capsules in healthy volunteers.METHODS Twenty volunteers were randomly divided into two groups(test and reference)in a double cross-over design.Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated with DAS 2.0 program.RESULTS The linear range was 4.05-8 100 μg·L-1,and the limit of determination was 4.05 μg·L-1.The method recoveries were 85.0%-91.3% and the RSD of within-day and between-day was less than 15%.The main pharmacokinetic parameters of tiopronin tablets and enterosoluble capsules were as follows:Cmax(2 151.1±1 135.0) μg·L-1 and (2 363.0±1 055.1)μg·L-1;tmax(4.8±1.3) h and (4.3±1.2)h;AUC(0-t)(11 618.2±3 625.5) μg·h·L-1 and (12 824.0 ±4 464.1) μg·h·L-1;AUC(0-∞) (12 677.7±3 874.9) μg·h·L-1 and (13 803.1±4 686.0) μg·h·L-1.CONCLUSION The method is simple,sensitive and specific and the statistical analysis showed that the test and reference preparation were bioequivalent.


Unlike the transient electromagnetic exploration on land, when transient electromagnetic system is used for seafloor exploration, the instrument systems including antennas can be towed behind the ship, over seafloor, and measurement may be taken during the sailing. Due to the move of antennas in the course of measure, some special requirements are brought forward for some work parameters. They are the frequency of transmitter wave, the number of stack, the speed of survey ship, and the separation between neighboring stations. The study indicates that the four parameters are associated with each other, and they affect on the survey results together. The value of each parameter can be decided according to the survey purpose and environment. However, because of the inter-limit of these parameters, an optimal scheme for survey task should be based on all of them together, not just on each one solely. DOI: 10.2529/PIERS060907101056


The investigation was carried out to detect the health hazard microbiological status in raw (head on and shell on) and ready-to-eat product of black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). The abundance of total bacterial load, total coliform, faecal coliform, Salmonella spp., Vibrio cholerae were determined with three different samples of raw and ready-to-eat product of black tiger shrimp. The study represents that raw (head on and shell on) shrimp contains more microorganisms, because in raw shrimp elimination of head and shell was not occurred which contains maximum number of microorganisms of the total body. Total bacterial load (Aerobic Plate Count) of raw black tiger shrimp (head on and shell on) was 1.8967× 105±0.187× 105 CFU/g whereas in ready-to-eat product of shrimp was 0.17×105CFU/g ± 0.0088× 105CFU/g respectively. However total coliform of raw black tiger shrimp and ready-to-eat product of shrimp were 66.67±14.50 MPN/g and <3 MPN/g respectively, and faecal coliform of raw black tiger shrimp (head on and shell on) and ready-to-eat product of black tiger shrimp were 2.20±1.11 MPN/g and <3MPN/g, respectively. Furthermore Salmonella spp. and Vibrio cholerae were totally absent in raw and ready-to-eat product of shrimp. The above mentioned data were under the limit of international standard. This study implies that the quality of ready-to-eat product of black tiger shrimp was excellent for exporting and presented no harm to human health.


Photoluminescence spectroscopy was observed for a set of Al/sub 0.5/Ga0.5As/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/GaAs/sub 0.643/Sb/sub 0.357//Al/sub x/ Ga/sub 1-x/As/Al/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As 5-layer quantum wells with different Al mole fraction x (different conduction band barrier heights E/sub x/= E/sub c/(Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As) - E/sub c/(GaAs)). The theoretical calculation and the data fitting for the experimental data show the conduction band offset of GaAs/sub 0.643/Sb/sub 0.357//GaAs heterojunction is almost flat (weak type I), /spl Delta/E/sub c/ = E/sub c/(GaAs) - E/sub c/(GaAsSb) = 13 /spl plusmn/ 13 meV and the bandgap bowing parameter for strained GaAsSb is -1.58 /spl plusmn/ 0.01 eV.


This study aims to identify differences in the level of professionalism of form six teachers based on selected demographic aspects in Sandakan district, Sabah. The demographic aspects studied were gender, age, length of service, and highest academic qualification. While the dimensions of teacher professionalism studied are knowledge, skills, and values of professionalism. The number of respondents was 102 teachers from seven secondary schools with form six education in the Sandakan district. The research instrument used is a questionnaire that is divided into two parts, namely part A and part B. Part A contains questions related to the demographics of the respondents while part B contains questions related to the dependent variables of form six teacher professionalism. Data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Data analysis using t-test and one-way ANOVA to obtain significant differences in the level of professionalism of form six teachers based on selected demographic factors. The t-test was used to identify significant differences in the level of teacher professionalism based on aspects of teacher gender and length of service. While one-way ANOVA was used to identify significant differences in the level of professionalism of form six teachers based on age and the highest academic qualification. The results of the analysis showed that there were no significant differences in the level of professionalism of form six teachers based on gender (p=.154), age (p=.887), length of service (p=.385), and highest academic qualification (p=.230) in Sandakan district. This indicates that the form six teachers in the Sandakan district regardless of the demographic aspects studied, have shown a high level of professionalism to realize the success of the form six rebranding. Next, the researcher suggests that this study be extended to other districts in Sabah to get a true picture to represent the population of form six teachers in Sabah.


The performance of the least mean square algorithm will degrade significantly when the background noise is impulsive non-Gaussian distributed.However the least mean p-norm algorithm can still work well under alpha stable noise conditions.In this paper,we present a sweep-by-sweep adaptive evoked potential estimator which utilizes a radial basis function neural network with a time index series input under impulsive noise conditions.This estimator uses matrix form for weights updating and does not need to design the reference signal.The least mean p-norm algorithm cannot work well when the value of alpha dynamically changes.To overcome this shortcoming,we propose a kind of improved algorithm,namely signed direct adaptive algorithm.Experimental results show that the improved one can work well when alpha dynamically changes.The correlation coefficient between estimated signal and underlying source signal is still greater than 0.9 even if mixed signal-to-noise ratio is-12 dB,and we can draw the conclusion that signed direct adaptive algorithm is one kind of robust adaptive estimator.


The zebrafish has emerged as a very relevant animal model to decipher the pathophysiology of human muscle disorders. However, the vast majority of studies on zebrafish skeletal muscle have investigated genetic, histological, and molecular aspects, but functional approaches at the cellular level, especially in the field of excitation-contraction (EC) coupling, are scarcer and generally limited to cultured myotubes or fibers from embryonic zebrafish. Considering that zebrafish undergoes profound metamorphosis during transition from larval to adult stage and that number of muscle pathologies come up at ages far beyond embryonic stages, there is an actual need to investigate EC coupling in fully differentiated zebrafish skeletal muscle. In the present study, we were able to implement current and voltage clamp combined with intracellular Ca2+ measurements using the intracellularly loaded Ca2+ dye indo-1 in enzymatically isolated fast skeletal muscle fibers from 1-yr old zebrafish. Recording of action potentials (AP) in current-clamp conditions revealed very fast kinetics of the repolarization phase of AP. Measurements of intramembrane charge movements in voltage-clamp conditions showed that charge movement density was half that measured in mammalian fibers, but they displayed much faster kinetics. Ca2+ transients elicited by depolarization displayed a voltage-dependent phase of activation and voltage- and time-dependent phase of inactivation. Recording of Ca2+ signals elicited by trains of AP at different rates in current-clamp conditions indicated that Ca2+ signals fused at very high stimulation frequencies with no sign of Ca2+ signal decay for the entire 0.5 s duration of the stimulation, giving evidence that fibers were still able to generate AP and the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release Ca2+ with stimulation rates as high as 200 Hz. These data indicate that adult zebrafish fast skeletal muscle fibers exhibit strikingly fast kinetics of EC coupling from AP firing to charge movements and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release.


We perform a discrete-time analysis of customer delay in a buffer with batch arrivals. The delay of the kth customer that enters the FIFO buffer is characterized under the assumption that the numbers of arrivals per slot are independent and identically distributed. By using supplementary variables and generating functions, z-transforms of the transient delays are calculated. Numerical inversion of these transforms lead to results for the moments of the delay of the kth customer. For computational reasons k cannot be too large. Therefore, these numerical inversion results are complemented by explicit analytic expressions for the asymptotics for large k. We further show how the results allow us to characterize jitter-related variables, such as the autocorrelation of the delay in steady state.


The facade of the building is the first thing that is visible to potential visitors. In case of restaurants, the facade of the building will give an impression of service, quality, and atmosphere of the restaurant in it so that a restaurant needs something that could represent the concept of the restaurant to be displayed [1]. Restaurants that use heritage buildings as their trading places can be very commercially unique. Generally, they already have concepts that are related to culture and creativity [2]. However, the regulations regarding the adaptation of building functions will still apply to them. For example, the prohibitions in changing the physical structure of buildings which affect the applications of the facade lighting designs, so that artificial lighting in commercial heritage buildings requires special treatment as it must follow the preservation rules. This study aims to analyze the principles and techniques of lighting in restaurant facades of heritage buildings which also accommodate the commercial facade elements. This is a qualitative study based on the survey and interviews with the potential customers. This study uses Café Batavia in Kota Tua area and Tugu Kuntskring Paleis located in Menteng as case studies.


In order to explore the proper modified materials of the raw-soil building in mountain area, the raw-soil modified materials now being used commonly are analyzed effectively at first, and the natural reborn starch resource is thought which has a promising application prospect. In the end, experiments on compressive properties and shear properties of raw-soil material modified by quicklime, slaked lime and starch with different incorporation rates are carried out, and the tests show starch is applicable to modify raw-soil in mountain area.


Research on the hydroponics system with axis has been done. Data was analyzed using completely randomized design, with 5 treatments and 3 replicates. For testing the concentration of ammonia and phosphate dilution of the sample solution by using double distilled water, while to test the concentration of sulfide, zinc and iron samples treated early with wet destruction process using HNO 3 65%. For ammonia and phosphate levels in the analysis using UV/Vis whereas content analysis sulfide, zinc and ferrous metals using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). It was obtained optimum time for the absorption of planting media at 30 days with the hydroponics system. At this optimum time to do the hydroponics system with a variety of media using lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L.), as a plant that will help reduce the levels of ammonia, phosphate, sulfide, zinc, and iron. Ammonia analysis showed a good combination of planting medium on charchoal rice husk (CRH): coconut fiber (CF) (50:50) with 79.14 mg/L concentration. While the analysis of phosphate and sulfide good planting medium CRH at 100% with a concentration of 74.05 mg/L and 0.86 mg/L. Analysis of Zn at 100% CF media with concentration 0.04 mg/L and Fe on a combination of CRH : CF = 1: 4 mg/L. From these data indicate that with the hydroponics system can reduce the concentration of ammonia, phosphate, sulfide, Zn, and Fe.


Recent analysis of drug policy shows an unintentional effect: law enforcement, rather than undermining the market, indirectly promotes its evolution. The risk-benefit balance of trade, as affected by law enforcement and the use of different substances, is considered. Finally, a scenario for the future evolution of the drug phenomenon is described.


In the industrial working area, it is complex to predict any problems such as lift up and down the delivered goods. It may lead to unstable movement while automated guided vehicle tracks the trajectory. In this research, the implementation of Fuzzy Inference System in AGV to stabilize the tracking error under various loads conditions. In the experiment, AGV operates in a real industrial condition with variation of loads. The results indicate that vehicle can work well regardless of the carried loads.


Background: The skeleton regulates glucose metabolism and energy expenditure. Results: Two transcription factors interact to regulate the activity of an osteoblast-secreted hormone favoring energy metabolism. Conclusion: The skeleton utilizes an intricate transcriptional machinery to maintain energy homeostasis. Significance: Transcription factor-mediated regulation of energy metabolism by the skeleton has potential applications in diseases of abnormal glucose metabolism. The Forkhead transcription factor FoxO1 inhibits through its expression in osteoblasts β-cell proliferation, insulin secretion, and sensitivity. At least part of the FoxO1 metabolic functions result from its ability to suppress the activity of osteocalcin, an osteoblast-derived hormone favoring glucose metabolism and energy expenditure. In searching for mechanisms mediating the metabolic actions of FoxO1, we focused on ATF4, because this transcription factor also affects glucose metabolism through its expression in osteoblasts. We show here that FoxO1 co-localizes with ATF4 in the osteoblast nucleus, and physically interacts with and promotes the transcriptional activity of ATF4. Genetic experiments demonstrate that FoxO1 and ATF4 cooperate to increase glucose levels and decrease glucose tolerance. These effects result from a synergistic effect of the two transcription factors to suppress the activity of osteocalcin through up-regulating expression of the phosphatase catalyzing osteocalcin inactivation. As a result, insulin production by β-cells and insulin signaling in the muscle, liver and white adipose tissue are compromised and fat weight increases by the FoxO1/ATF4 interaction. Taken together these observations demonstrate that FoxO1 and ATF4 cooperate in osteoblasts to regulate glucose homeostasis.


The unique occurrence of a solid corneal dermoid in a laboratory rat is described. No other report of such a tumor could be found in the literature.


At present, the expression of MOR1 and its function in gastric cancer remains unclear with evidence suggesting that it is to be involved in tumor progression and metastasis. The study was to assess the clinicopathologic relevance and prognostic value of MOR1 expression in gastric cancer.


Oud Holland 2018 3/4 volume 131 1 John Peter Russell, Portrait of Vincent van Gogh, 1886, oil on canvas, 60.1 x 45.6 cm, Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum (Vincent van Gogh Foundation), inv. s0273V/1962. What did Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) actually look like? We have self-portraits dating back to his time in Paris, when he was already thirty-three, but these 'selfijies' do not always give a consistent impression of the person depicted. The painterly aspect proved more important to Van Gogh than a faithful likeness. All the same, there are certain constants: the ginger hair and beard, a high and slightly sloping forehead, and somewhat deep-set green eyes.1 Interestingly, Van Gogh's contemporary Archibald Standish Hartrick felt that the most faithful resemblance was found not in one of the self-portraits, but in the portrait that John Peter Russell made of Van Gogh toward the end of 1886, in which he looks searchingly over his shoulder at the viewer (fijig. 1).2 TEIO MEEDENDORP & YVES VASSEUR