Epilepsy is a diverse set of chronic neurological disorders characterized by seizures. Epilepsy affects individuals of all ages, races, social classes, geographic regions and nationalities (1-3). It is among the most common serious neurological conditions. In developed countries, epilepsy has a prevalence of approximately 1% (4,5). Each year, 24 per 100,000 people suffer from epilepsy in Europe and 53 per 100,000 in North America (5-7). In developing countries, the incidence is even higher, with a rate of up to 190 per 100,000 individuals (8,9). Furthermore, epilepsy can be considered a malignant condition because sudden death in individuals with epilepsy is estimated to be at least 20 times higher than in the general population (10,11).

The capacity to replicate human epilepsy in animal models is an important tool for experimental study. Animal studies have contributed significantly to the understanding of the biological basis of epileptogenesis and have provided evidence for the possible mechanisms of action of antiepileptic drugs. However, the relevance of animal models in human epilepsy research depends on how closely the model mimics the human condition (12). These models have provided important information on the brain and the behavioral mechanisms that could be involved in the etiology, pathophysiology and electrophysiological events and their correlations with synaptic interactions. However, the belief that the etiology of epilepsy can be traced to synaptic connections does not take into account the fact that the strength of synaptic interactions may change based on the intra- and extracellular ionic equilibrium.

The mechanisms involved in the intra- and extracellular regulation of ionic levels are usually ignored; however, it has been shown that neuronal and glial activities are intrinsically modulated by the ionic gradients through their cellular membranes. These gradients depend on the complex interaction of mechanisms related to ionic homeostatic regulation, such as the Na/K ATPase, cotransporters and exchanger enzymes. Furthermore, paroxysmal discharges are accompanied by significant changes in the intra- and extracellular ionic concentrations, which challenge the homeostatic equilibrium regulated by these mechanisms. Focally induced cortical seizures are preceded by small reductions in [Ca++]o that become intense during paroxysms (13,14). Posterior investigations (15,16) have clearly demonstrated that hippocampal slices exposed to low [Ca++]o are able to sustain non-synaptic epileptiform activity. Genetically epileptic baboons exhibited such significant drops in their [Ca++]o levels that all synaptic transmissions must have been blocked. However, the researchers did not observe any transmission disruptions in the course of the seizures (17). Overall, these data disprove the widely held belief that epileptic seizures are exclusively generated by the imbalance between excitation and inhibition.

Simultaneous findings showed that changes in the chloride transmembrane gradient might also occur and are able to modulate the activation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptors. These findings suggest that hyperpolarization or depolarization may occur in a manner dependent on intracellular chloride accumulation (18-21). The cation-chloride cotransporters and Cl-/HCO-3 exchanger were identified as the main regulators of the intracellular chloride concentration (22). In the mature brain, the low [Cl-]I level is associated with a Cl- Nernst potential that is more negative than the transmembrane potential; this results in Cl- influx and a hyperpolarizing effect when GABAA receptors are activated. In contrast, in the immature brain, the high intracellular Cl- and positive Cl- Nernst potential relative to the transmembrane potential cause a Cl- efflux and a depolarizing inward current. Pathophysiological conditions, such as neuronal injures and the inflammatory state, may also resemble the immature brain because of a decrease in the potassium chloride transporter KCC2 (23-26).

Based on this information, it is not difficult to surmise that changes in the extracellular concentration may also be accompanied by changes in the equilibrium of non-synaptic mechanisms. The extracellular K+ accumulation, which is always associated with intense neuronal firing, induces Cl- intrusion through the cotransporters and, in turn, reinforces the increased excitation.

Because the synaptic circuit is part of a system in which non-synaptic mechanisms control ionic homeostasis, it is difficult to ignore the effect non-synaptic mechanisms have on seizure sustainment and progression. Therefore, our group has sought to investigate the effects that changes in non-synaptic mechanisms have on different experimental models of epilepsy. Due to the complexity, the first step of our investigation was to develop a computational model to understand the dynamics of the main mechanisms (27). The computational model has been extensively used in our group as an indispensable tool to guide our analysis of the electrophysiological data. Simulations representing the histological changes observed in the hippocampal slices are processed to understand how the changes in ionic homeostasis may change the induced epileptiform activity (28). Our preliminary results show that despite the cellular death associated with the experimental models, the non-synaptic mechanisms are able to compensate for the loss and enhance the epileptiform activity sustained by the neuronal tissue. These promising first results open up new possibilities for understanding seizure disruption. It is also becoming clear that the mechanisms and conditions that disrupt and sustain seizures are highly complex. The evidence that non-synaptic mechanisms are able to modulate the function of the synaptic circuit indicates that the problem is even more complex than we suspected.

The simulations show that the typically intense ionic changes of the sites to which the paroxysmal neuronal population is recruited are able to reduce the corresponding transmembrane gradients of the ions to such a level that synaptic function is depressed. Because the main anti-epileptic drugs target synaptic functioning, no effect would be expected when the synapses are depressed. Therefore, these drugs would not act during the ictal period, nor would they act in epilepsies where the triggering condition is characterized by changes in ionic homeostasis, such as the intracellular Cl- accumulation typical of the immature brain, brain injury and brain inflammation Figure 1.

Figure 1

Diagrammatic representation of conditions in which interference on synaptic transmission and/or non-synaptic mechanisms may affect seizures. Under normal ionic conditions, neuronal activity is not accompanied by important changes in the ionic concentrations ...

Finally, we believe that this is the first step in a long scientific journey that will trigger new research and debates. Thus, it is crucial to promote scientific collaboration to investigate non-synaptic mechanisms of epilepsies and to discover promising drugs that act non-synaptically. This new and exciting possibility for epilepsy research makes us reflect on this quote by Galileo Galilei: The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go.


Rabbit syndrome, termed for the resemblance to a rabbit chewing, is characterized by regular movements of the oral and masticatory musculature at a frequency of 4 to 6Hz without involvement of the tongue.1 Most commonly, rabbit syndrome is associated with prolonged exposure to antipsychotics and has a prevalence of 2‒5% among these patients.2 Because the symptoms are associated with drug treatment, rabbit syndrome is described as an extrapyramidal side effect of antipsychotics that is seen most often in middle‒ aged to elderly patients. In addition, rabbit syndrome has been described in a limited number of cases to arise in antipsychotic patients without administration of antipsychoticsnaive patients, although in all of these cases, rabbit syndrome was secondary to a brain structural abnormality or mood disorder.3‒5 Rabbit syndrome can be distinguished from tardive dyskinesia by the latter involving motion of the tongue while the former sparing the tongue, and this distinction is important because tardive dyskinesia worsens whereas rabbit syndrome improves with antiparkinsonian medication.1,2,5‒7 The mechanism responsible for antipsychotic‒induced rabbit syndrome is thought to involve dopamine receptor blockade in the basal ganglia.7 Furthermore, one study showed decreased basal ganglia perfusion by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in a patient displaying rabbit syndrome.8 Here, we report a case of rabbit syndrome in an antipsychotic naïve naive patient with increased basal ganglia/thalamus perfusion during symptoms. Case report


Introduction Consistent evidence has shown a positive association between air pollution and daily mortality among adults. Less is known about its effect on infant mortality and the modification of this association by socioeconomic status (SES). Objective To assess the association of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤10 μm (PM10) and ozone (O3) on infant mortality and its modification by SES. Methods We evaluated the relationship of 24 h mean PM10 and 1 h daily maximum O3 levels with 12 079 all-cause deaths (3903 respiratory deaths) among 1- to 11-month-old infants residing in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area between January 1997 and December 2005 using a case-crossover approach. The data were analysed using conditional logistic regression models, controlling for weather conditions and day of the week. Results Single-effect models showed, for all-cause mortality, increases of 5.5% (95% CI 1% to 10%) at lag1 and 6.6% (2% to 11.4%) at lag2; cumulative exposure models (0–2 days) showed an increase of 6.3% (0.01% to 32.7%). Respiratory mortality increased marginally at 5.3% (−0.02% to 13.2%) with a 1-day lag and 10% (2.1% to 18%) with a 2-day lag per increase of 38.7 μg/m3 (IQR) in PM10 levels. When data were stratified by SES (low, medium, and high), only infants with low and medium SES presented a significant increase in risk of all-cause mortality and respiratory mortality in relation to PM10. O3 was only significantly related to respiratory mortality in low SES. Conclusion Our results suggest that in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, infants with lower SES (low to medium) are at higher risk of mortality when exposed to ambient PM10 and O3.


Different models which have been introduced in data envelopment approach can help managers in decision making process in order to address efficient and inefficient units. But limited number of researches considers sensitivity analysis of enhanced efficiency. One of the important issues for a decision maker is to select an appropriate way to move an inefficient DMU toward efficiency frontier. In this paper a modified model is proposed to analyse sensitivity of inefficient units. In this model, instability radius of each inefficient DMU is determined in terms of variations in inputs and outputs. Also, management coefficients are applied to determine the possibility of variations in inputs and outputs variables. The main advantage of this model in comparison with other model is its flexibility in decision making process. Finally, the proposed model is examined in a case study in hotel industry to confirm the applicability of proposed model.


An analgesic-antipyretic drug widely used is paracetamol, which has various health benefits and several adverse effects. Therefore, various natural products have been extensively studied as alternative analgesic-antipyretics, one of which is sweet orange peel. This study aimed to investigate sweet orange peel's analgesic and antipyretic activity by in vivo methods. This experimental study evaluated the analgesic and antipyretic effects of sweet orange peel extract extracted by the maceration method. The analgesic effect was evaluated by tail immersion (Maximum Possible Analgesia) and acetic acid-induced writhing method (total abdominal writhing). Meanwhile, the antipyretic effect was evaluated by the brewer yeast-induced hyperpyrexia (body temperature) method. This study showed that sweet orange peel methanol extract significantly increased the maximum possible analgesia value (132.79%) and reduced the number of abdominal writhing (44.05%) at the highest dose of 750 mg/kg BW. It indicated analgesic activity from sweet orange peels. Meanwhile, the antipyretic effect of sweet orange peel methanol extract was observed from 1-4 hours after administration, and the highest percentage inhibition of body temperature 4 hours after administration was found in a moderate dose, that was 5.98% (P value: 0.042). Therefore, it can be concluded that sweet orange peel methanol extract has analgesic and antipyretic effects with an optimal dose range of 500-750 mg/kg BW.


With today's Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) technology, the BAW resonator has always some undesired modes such as lateral mode and gasket (border edge overlap) mode. The existing modified Butterworth-Van-Dyke (MBVD) model cannot model the loss due to these spurious modes, which results in the failure of predicting filter passband slope distortion. This paper has expanded the current MBVD model to overcome this limitation by modifying its parameters to be frequency dependent. It also discusses how the new frequency dependent MBVD model has been made to be scalable to resonator sizes, thus enabling its use for filter design and optimization.


Data mining has become increasingly crucial in deciphering reservoir dynamics given that operators currently acquire an enormous amount of data. These data contain valuable information about subsurface processes. Interwell connectivity is one of the most significant aspects of subsurface characterization that can impact a project's success. In this study, we present novel techniques to quantify and monitor interwell communication by applying signal processing methods to observed and derived well-based measurements.
 We construct a suite of realistic reservoir models under varying conditions involving multiple producing and water injection wells. More than 40 static and dynamic parameters including permeability, porosity, water saturation, fluid properties and rock-fluid interaction terms are varied using experimental designs to capture realistic uncertainty. Waterflood scenarios are modeled using streamline simulation to infer injector-producer pair connectivity, pattern allocations, drainage efficiency, and their evolution period. These injector-producer variables are analyzed using numerous signal processing methods including cross-correlation, time-lag correlation coefficient, coherence, and periodogram, among others. Well variables examined involve pressure, rate, and their derivative functions.
 We employed a thorough and systematic multipronged approach to decipher signal processing of the injector-producer well variables. At one level, the objective was to identify which variables pair provides meaningful connectivity information. Combination of well variables examined includes injector bottomhole pressure (BHP) - producer BHP; injection rates - production rates; injector productivity index (PI) - producer PI; injector well variables - producer gas-oil ratio; and F1 - F2. Here, F1 is a producer well-variable defined as the production rate added to the product of PI and BHP of the producer, while F2 is simply the difference between injection and production rates.
 The other objective was to identify which signal processing technique(s) will be most useful to infer interwell connectivity. To verify well connectivity, we used streamline simulation allocation pair-wise values. Our analyses indicate cross-correlation of F1 - F2 contain most meaningful connectivity information. Currently, we are investigating more advanced signal-processing techniques to explore if we can retrieve enhanced connectivity information. In this context, we have also compared the performance of our approach with the capacitance-resistance model for validation. A large dataset from the Permian Basin constituted the primary content of this investigation.
 We examined and devised several signal-processing techniques of well variables to assess interwell connectivity in realistic reservoir settings. The approaches reveal new insights into determining reservoir communication metrics. The proposed methods can be easily implemented in the automated virtual flowmetering system. These methods also help identify the predominant injector-producer pairs and making operational decisions at any stage of any waterflood and enhanced recovery projects.


This study evaluated the performance of anaerobic treatment of cattle manure (CM) with palm oil mill effluent (POME) inoculum in terms of biogas production and volatile solid (VS) reduction. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of substrate to (POME) ratio used as inoculum on digester performance. The study was conducted in a 10-L lab-scale bioreactor operated at thermophilic (53 o C) temperature. The result from the study showed that anaerobic digestion of cattle manure with POME inoculum can be done successfully in batch and semi-continuous mode. Biogas production was observed to commence immediately and the POME inoculum shown a strong influence on the initial biogas production rate. Average biogas yield was estimated to be about 0.346 and 0.299 m 3 kg -1 VS added for the CM(5) : POME(1.5) and CM(5) : POME(1) respectively. However, nearly similar chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 33% and 30% with volatile solids (VS) removal of 58.6% and 52% for the CM(5):P0ME(1.5) and CM(5):POME(1), respectively was achieved. These results are hopeful for the treatment of cattle wastes and POME mass available in Malaysia.


Contact between rough surfaces of conductors is considered in which a clustered contact spot distribution is dominant through a multiscale process. The electrical contact resistance on a microscopic actual contact spot between two conductors is calculated by the coupled numerical analysis considering both electrical and mechanical load. It is shown that including finer scale in the fractal contact surface causes the predicted resistance to approach a finite limit. The results are compared with the analogy of Barber, who shows that there is strict proportionality between incremental stiffness and the conductance in the elastic regime for every contact between half spaces.


Neuroinflammation is a significant pathological feature contributing to cognitive deficits that can arise from exposure to environmental toxicants such as pesticides. Metam sodium (MS) is one of the emergent pesticides largely used in the agriculture and public health sectors. In the present study, we verified whether exposure to this compound would affect cognitive performance, and induce neuroinflammation as an underlying mechanism. In this context, mice received chronic treatment with different doses of MS and were submitted to novel object recognition and step-through passive avoidance tests. Hippocampal regions from treated animals underwent an immunohistochemical evaluation of the expression of GFAP and Iba-1 as markers of astrocytes and microglia respectively. The main findings showed that chronic exposure to MS resulted in a decrease in the ratio of time spent beside the novel object and strep-through latency indicating alterations in recognition memory as well as short- and long-term memory respectively. Moreover, treated animals exhibited a significant rise in immunostaining of neuroinflammatory markers GFAP and Iba-1 in the dentate gyrus as well as in the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus. The present work demonstrates that MS diminished cognitive performance in tasks relying on hippocampal-dependent memory closely associated with high expression of neuroinflammatory markers.
Keywords:  Metam sodium; cognitive performance; neuroinflammation; hippocampus; GFAP; Iba-1.


This is a final report on the establishment, observing procedures, and observational results of a survey program for the detection of lunar transient phenomena (LTP's) by electro-optical image conversion means. For survey, a unique detection system with an image orthicon was used as the primary element in conjunction with a 24-in. f/20 Cassegrainian telescope. Observations in three spectral ranges, with 6,466 man-hours of observing, were actually performed during the period from October 27, 1965, to April 26, 1972. Within this entire period, no color or feature change within the detection capabilities of the instrumentation was observed, either independently or in follow up of amateur LTP reports, with the exception of one general bluing and several localized bluings (probably ascribable to the effects of the terrestrial atmosphere) that were observed solely by the Corralitos system. A table is presented indicating amateur and professional reports of LTP's and the results of efforts to confirm these reports through the Corralitos system.


Marker-based selection of Ep-D1b has been used successfully to incorporate Pchl, the gene for eyespot resistance on chromosome 7D, into commercial wheat. However, attempts to transfer resistance conferred by Pch2 (on chromosome 7A) through selection for Ep-A1b have not always been successful. Linkage relations among eyespot resistance gene Pch2, a gene encoding for an isozyme of endopeptidase, Ep-A1b, and RFLP marker Xpsr121 on chromosome 7A were determined using 80 homozygous recombinant substitution lines. The recombinant lines were derived from eyespot susceptible 'Chinese Spring' hybridized with a resistant disomic substitution line of 'Cappelle Desprez' that has chromosome 7A substituted into 'Chinese Spring'. Segregations of Pch2, Ep-A1b and Xpsrl21 fit an expected 1:1 single-locus ratios based on X 2 tests. Linkage analysis revealed that Pch2 was not tightly linked to Ep-A1b (15% recombination). However, close linkage (3.8% recombination) existed between Ep-A1b and Xpsr121. The order of these loci is Pch2-Xpsr121-Ep-A1b. Unlike Pchl and Ep-D1b, where little or no recombination is found, Pch2 and Ep-A1b showed considerable recombination and therefore linkage cannot be utilized efficiently in marker-based selection.


According to the shortcoming of traditional spray routing in dynamic opportunistic networks,an adaptive multi-copy routing protocol based on seed spray(ASSR) was proposed in this paper.ASSR calculates the number of seeds and estimates the routing cost in source node,and make spray decisions in relay nodes which have fresher knowledge of the networking conditions than the source.ASSR utilizes only a small quantity of seed nodes to spray message copies for reducing redundant copies.Simulations show that ASSR show prominent superiority in routing cost and adaptability,and is an efficient delay-bounded multi-copy routing protocol for opportunistic networks especially in dynamic conditions.


Abstract : From 17 September to 10 October 1978 SEASAT made collinear passes over the Gulf of Mexico. Altimeter data for eight, three-day repeat passes over the eastern Gulf were examined using an arc-segment fitting technique to determine the mesoscale temporal variability of the sea surface. The pattern of sea height variability was then compared with sea height data generated by a numerical model of the Gulf (Hurlburt and Thompson, 1980) from the simulation of a complete cycle of Loop Current intrusion and shedding of an anticyclonic eddy. The model data was found to match that from the SEASAT altimeter when an anticyclonic eddy separated from the Loop Current and the Loop began to repenetrate into the eastern Gulf. Analysis of sparse ground truth data from ship-of-opportunity XBT's, satellite infrared imagery of the Loop Current boundary, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, also from SEASAT, tend to confirm the circulation patterns deduced from the altimeter data and the numerical model. (Author)


The authors examined student and faculty members' responses to a survey on the perceived importance of syllabus components. Initial responses from 72 faculty members and 83 undergraduates in a pilot study led to revisions in the survey instrument. Descriptive analyses from this initial investigation indicated differing perceptions of the importance of syllabus components between faculty and students. For both the pilot study and the primary study, faculty members were surveyed via electronic mail using the university's faculty listserv; course instructors administered the surveys to students. In the primary study, 242 undergraduates and 74 faculty members responded to a 39-item survey. Using the Welch t-test revealed significant differences in faculty and student responses. The authors discuss these differences and their educational implications.


The effects of via contact test structure on electromigration (EM) lifetime were investigated. We model the median-time-to-failure (MTF) and log-normal dispersion of the failure time (/spl sigma/) of via contacts with consideration to stress-induced backflow effect and Al drift velocity. The MTF and /spl sigma/ are described as a function of the critical length and the length between vias of via contact test structure and increase as the length between vias approaches the critical length. Also, MTF and /spl sigma/ depend on stress current density in accelerated EM test. We propose an optimized via contact test structure and accelerated conditions for the accurate extrapolation of EM lifetime of multilevel interconnects.


The purpose of this paper is to point out the inherent defects of the Likert scale as a research tool. Research in social science is accomplished through survey questionnaire. The questionnaire is the instrument for the research. If the instrument is defective, the measurement would most likely be inaccurate. The accuracy in social science research is measured by means of bias determination. In addition to pointing out the structural defect of the Likert scale, this paper also provides a means for instrument calibration by calibrating the survey instrument to produce a 95% confidence interval yield. For a 95% confidence interval, the number of answer choice is 2 with a degree of freedom of 1. This paper presents trial runs which point to a conclusion that a discrete binomial data element is the most accurate and displays the least bias. According the survey instrument should be construct to solicit {yes|no} answers. A response subspace with successive integers in a Likert form should be avoided in order to eliminate artificial data bias.


Over the last decade, several new biologic agents have become available for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriasis (Ps). In contrast to conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), these biological agents have rapid onset of action and pronounced disease reducing activity when administered as monotherapy or in combination with MTX. Pre-registration randomised clinical trials have compared biological agents against placebo over a limited time span (1-3). Wider use of biologics has resulted in reports of a wide range of adverse events (4), including evidence of reactivation of latent tuberculosis, increased incidence...


Student teachers, beginning teachers, and experienced teachers bring with them to the classroom a set of practical theories acquired from many experiences and influences. Because of their nature, practical theories are hard to change. Sets of more permanent practical theories can be considered practical paradigms; they are shared by the school community and are not easily relinquished by teachers. When using a practical paradigm, practitioners selectively identify those aspects of the context which allow them to use that practical paradigm even though it may be inappropriate and should either be modified significantly or discarded completely. This paper examines cases in which two high school teachers applied a practical paradigm (fixed grading policy) in situations for which it was inappropriate. The existencof the paradigm caused these teachers to be extremely selective in their observations of the particular situations and in their analysis of the problems they encountered. In the first case, a teacher intern regarded the practical paradigm as immutable; in the second case, a novice teacher applied the paradigm but had begun to question it. To effect a paradigm shift, teachers need to reflect on and evaluate both the situation and their own values and beliefs. Both preservice and inservice teacher education should include a component that would prepare teachers to do this reflection. (IAH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Practical Theories, Practical Paradigms, and Teacher Education Allan Feldman Stanford University U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Otfice of Educational Reearch and improvernen) EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) C rrl,s document haS been reprpeuced as ,ete)ved Iron, tne person or Organization pr)g(nat(ng C Mono.. changes nave been made to improve reproducPon gaily Po)nts of view or opinions Staled it ,docu rnent do not necessardv ,ecoese,, cohcal OERI 0051110n or 00hcy PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCLS INFORMATION CENTER tERIC). Paper to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, April 20-24, 1992, San Francisco, CA. Practical Theories, Practical Paradigms, and Teacher Education Allan Feldman Stanford University Ethical Choices and Good Teaching Teaching is a moral activity. What I mean by this is that when teaching, a person makes numerous choices each day (Clark & Lampert, 1986) which must be decided upon based on some set of morals. That is because teaching is in itself a social activity and, therefore, entails the intervention of the teacher into students' intellectual and personal development ( Tom, 1984). John Elliott, in his paper, "Educational Theory, Practical Philosophy and Action Research (1987)" supports my claim through reference to H. G. Gadamer ( 1975). For Gadamer all understanding of human artifacts, institutions, and practices involves interpretation by an interpreter who confronts a particular concrete situation in which he or she has to make practical choices in the light of values and beliefs (Elliott, 1987, p. 159) Thus the problems of teaching are ethical problems because they are concerned with making practical, ethical choices within the particular context of the classroom. These problems are practical problems: problems "about what to do ... whose final solution is found only in doing something, in acting (Gauthier, 1963, p. 1) The solutions to practical problems differ significantly from solutions to the sorts of questions factual questions that teachers usually ask students. Factual questions have an answer which is either right, the correct solution to the problem, or wrong, and not a solution to the problem. Their solutions are in knowing. The solutions to practical problems are in acting, and these actions can be the wrong actions. Practical problems must be phrased in the form "What should be done?" as opposed to


Lessons learned are generally documented with limited review until the next policy driven decision point. Additionally, data collected in lessons learned repositories may lack the depth necessary to determine root causes, leading to additional disparate data being required. This passive, disconnected approach is an example of the type of current processes that are desired to be supplanted by the outcome of the digital transformation. Our customer defined a task to deliver a pilot incorporating active lessons management, for which we designed around digital engineering principles to facilitate data manipulation and sharing. To deliver the capability, we re‐envisioned the passive lessons learned as active lesson applied by developing an enterprise‐level methodology for identifying root causes and risk mitigations based on lessons learned. We are also evolving a digital ecosystem for implementing the lessons applied methodology. This article serves to provide documentation of our lessons applied methodology and insight to our supporting digital infrastructure and the unique benefits gained from the infrastructure.


(R)-Benzoins and (R)-2-hydroxypropiophenone derivatives are formed on a preparative scale by benzaldehyde lyase (BAL)-catalyzed C−C bond formation from aromatic aldehydes and acetaldehyde in aqueous buffer/DMSO solution with remarkable ease in high chemical yield and high optical purity. The substrate range of this thiamin diphosphate-dependent enzyme was examined with respect to a broad applicability of this benzoin condensation-type reaction in stereoselective synthesis.


The Northern Territory (NT) is a vast but sparsely populated area in Australia, occupying a sixth of the continent but with a population of less than 200,000. In 1995, its legislature of twenty-five enacted (by a small majority) the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act ('ROTTI'). The Act permitted both PAS and VAE. ROTTI ROTTI was a long and complex Act. This chapter will first outline its main provisions and then consider whether they were any more capable of preventing abuse than the Dutch guidelines. The Act stated that it sought 'to confirm the right of a terminally ill person to request assistance from a medically qualified person to voluntarily terminate his or her life in a humane manner; to allow for such assistance to be given in certain circumstances without legal impediment to the person rendering the assistance' and 'to provide procedural protection against the possibility of abuse of the rights recognised by this Act'. The patient's request Section 4 provided that a patient who 'in the course of a terminal illness' was experiencing 'pain, suffering and/or distress to an extent unacceptable to the patient' could 'request the patient's medical practitioner to assist the patient to terminate the patient's life'. The Act defined 'terminal illness' as an illness which 'in reasonable medical judgment will, in the normal course, without the application of extraordinary measures or of treatment unacceptable to the patient, result in the death of the patient'.


This research paper is aimed to determine the best type of stabilizer in the manufacture of snakehead fish PCD products, to determine the level of panelists' preference for flavor variations based on organoleptic testing, and to determine the physicochemical properties of the final products. This research consists of three stages, to determine the type of stabilizer with variations in the concentration of the type of stabilizer in the form of xanthan gum and CMC by analyzing the phase separation ratio and redispersibility products after storage on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. The second stage was to determine the best formulation using the line scale hedonic organoleptic test for the mother panelists and the facial hedonic scale for the children panelist. The third stage was to characterize the optimal formulation by analyzing the physicochemical properties of the end product. The result of determining the best type of stabilizer based on the addition of variations of xanthan gum and CMC as a stabilizer showed that the use of xanthan gum obtained better product stability than CMC. The best snakehead fish PCD product is obtained by adding xanthan gum 0.3%. The best formula is based on the preferences of mother panelists and children acquired from dispersion products of snakehead fish protein concentrate with the addition of strawberry flavor.


Modulation of dopamine systems is an important therapeutic strategy, but desired effects and side effects are often elicited simultaneously. Recent advances (e.g., allosteric or functionally selective drugs) provide a route to superior drugs, but translating in vitro data to the intact animal is difficult. We investigated whether the 6‐OHDA unilateral‐lesioned rat model could differentiate functionally selective dopamine ligands and antipsychotic drugs (APDs). Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were lesioned (MFB) and verified by apomorphine‐induced contralateral rotations. Typical and atypical APDs and functionally selective ligands were tested alone and versus quinpirole. Quinpirole‐mediated rotations were inhibited by typical and most atypical APDs, but not by functionally selective ligands. Importantly, no clinically approved APD caused rotations on its own, but several APD compounds that failed clinical trials caused rotations on their own and did not block quinpirole. Although widely considered a model of Parkinson's disease, these data suggest that this model may be a useful addition for screening novel APDs. The pattern of action on dopamine signaling pathways highlights some of the critical signaling pathways and may help translate novel drugs to the clinic.


Thus, in a village the disease came to light more often in young and elderly age, and among the city dwellers is more often in young. Under the social status in compared groups the quantity(amount) of the unemployeds was more in 1-st group (village). The diagnosis of a tuberculosis easy more often was established in terms from 1 about 3 months after occurrence of symptoms. At the same time it is obvious, that more quarter of the analyzed patients addresses behind medical aid and 3-6 months from a beginning of disease come to light in late terms -. The contact to the patient by a tuberculosis in 1-st group more often was marked family, while in 2 group in places of deprivation of freedom. General(common) percent(interest) of the cured patients has made in 1-st group 76,0% and in 2 to group 78,5%. Among the city dwellers terms of the termination(discontinuance) have come(stepped) in 2 months in 1,2 times more often, than among the inhabitants of village, that has made 75,0 % and 62,5 % accordingly. These factors influenced efficiency of treatment.


The buoyancy-driven magnetoconvection in a vertical square duct is investigated numerically using the CFX package. The implementation of an MHD problem in CFX is discussed, with particular reference to the Lorentz forces and electric potential boundary conditions for arbitrary electrical conductivity of the walls. The method proposed is general, and applies to arbitrary geometries with an arbitrary orientation of the magnetic field. Results for fully developed flow under various thermal boundary conditions are compared with asymptotic analytical solutions. The comparison shows that, for higher values of the wall conductivity, the asymptotic analysis is confirmed, and high velocity jets occur at the side walls. For lower values, the side layers become better conducting than the side walls and high current jets appear parallel to the side walls. As a consequence, velocity jets don't occur anymore and the core solution is corrected just by viscous forces at the wall. The capability of CFX in describing properly an MHD problem is proved. Numerische Simulation von magnetohydrodynamischen Konvektionsstromungen mit CFX


Traditionally, communication devices are designed to overcome distance in space or time. How can personal mobile tools augment local interaction and promote spontaneous collaboration between users in proximity? Mobile ad hoc collaboration is an emerging framework that attempts to answer this question. This thesis reviews current research in mobile ad hoc collaboration, explores its precedents in art, and examines the enabling wireless communication and location sensing technology. It then proceeds to consider location, proximity and spatial organization as major factors in the development of interfaces and applications within the framework. The importance of seamless transitions between face-to-face communication and mediated communication is emphasized, and the principle of ad hoc communication group formation on the basis of proximity is proposed. The principle is demonstrated in a prototype wearable system for synchronous voice messaging. Thesis Supervisor: William J. Mitchell Title: Dean, School of Architecture and Planning Academic Head, Program in Media Arts and Sciences Professor of Architecture and Media Arts and Sciences


The motion of an electron in a periodic potential field, and accelerated by a uniform field, can be obtained by treating the time-dependent Schroedinger equation. The result shows that the wave vector increases linearly with the time within the bounds of a single Brillouin zone. At the boundaries of the zones transitions to other zones may take place if the accelerating field is large enough.


Performance analysis of energy, heat exchanging and mass exchanging technical systems has a important meaning in the solution of the energy savings problem. Taking specific measures to improve the systems should be based on the thermo-economic analysis of all system. Observation results on the operation of the system in the form of gaugings of regime parameters and preliminary conclusions on its condition for a long period of its exploitation are accepted as the initial data for the analysis carrying out. The results of the detailed analysis of elements work of the technological scheme on the purification of natural gas from sour components, and some offers for its improvement are shown in the paper.


Out-of-band network management is becoming more and more popular amongst high tech companies since high availability of network services is becoming more and more important. Especially servers with built in out-of-band management capabilities are growing in numbers as the increasing demand in bandwidth forces companies providing web services to outsource their networks to colocation centers that often lack the possibility for physical access. This article describes different benefits for network administrators, especially for administrators of out-of-band management devices for servers. Despite of the benefits this article mainly focuses on security issues surrounding out-of-band management devices for servers, analyzing the firmware of a Dell iDRAC 7 which is the latest out-of-band management device for Dell's rack servers. It shows what privileges potential attackers may gain by compromising out-of-band management devices. Finally some practical advise for system administrators on how to secure their systems against attacks is given.


Pure cultures of anaerobic bacteria colonized the gastrointestinal tracts of germfree rats and induced an increase in the cellularity of intestinal tissue.


The current indiscriminate use of antibiotics for veterinary is irresponsible and misguided; it causes antibiotic resistance and adversely affects public health. The terms "habit" and "path dependence" are often used to explain the "excessive" use of agrochemicals. Yet, no research explored where the habit comes from and how it changes. This study investigates how veterinary antibiotic use changed with the production risk based on the multi-period production data set of 1,526 broiler contract farmers. The results show that the production risk has a ratchet effect on farmers' antibiotic use, leading to path dependence of farmers. Specifically, it showed a farmers' habit of steadily increasing antibiotic use and confirmed that the historical broilers' peak mortality was a key determinant to the continuation of this habit. It implies that higher the historical peak mortality, higher the current antibiotic use by farmers. Likewise, the impact of historical peak mortality on antibiotic use gradually increased with the farming experience. The increased historical peak mortality increased farmers' antibiotic use every time. Furthermore, large-scale farmers were more sensitive to historical peak mortality and therefore they increased antibiotic use excessively. The study suggests that improving farmers' production risk management capabilities, especially large-scale farmers, might help prevent extreme events. Moreover, this work contributes to the theoretical and empirical evidence on the ratchet effect, habit formation and farmers' antibiotic use and offers coherent insights for stakeholders to limit antibiotic use.


1. A vessel comprising a housing and a motor, wherein the motor comprises at least one propulsion unit and at least one tunnel element forming at least a portion of the tunnel through the housing, wherein at least one propulsion assembly and at least one tunnel element have cooperating fastening device for releasably securing the at least one propulsion unit, at least one tunneling element, wherein the interacting attachment devices include several cavities provided nnyh tunnel member and a few staples comprising projecting fastening element, characterized in that the at least one propulsion assembly has a screw propeller blades and the inner ring of the screw, surrounding the propeller blades, the propeller blades are attached to the inner ring of the screw, wherein said at least one propulsion assembly has an outer ring of the screw, an inner ring surrounding the rotor, and the inner ring taken screw rotatably relative to the outer ring, wherein the fastening elements are staples Orm corresponding cavities and are arranged in the cavities, and the staples are configured to releasably secure the outer ring of the screw assembly mover via one or more fastening means so that the propeller assembly can be assembled in a tunneling member by insertion node mover along the axis of the tunnel, while it reaches staples, followed by fastening brackets to the propulsion unit by means of said fastening means so that the propeller assembly can be disconnected from the brackets and pushed on from tunnelya.2 axis. A vessel according to claim 1,


School choice reforms allow families to apply to non-local schools and assign additional funding to schools based on families' demand. For these reforms to promote high-quality schools, families need to infer school quality from past performance, but past performance also depends on student ability. Because reforms alter the allocation of students to schools, it is unclear whether performance becomes more or less informative about quality. I model families as trading off estimated quality against proximity, and analyze a steady-state Bayesian-Nash equilibrium. I show that performance-based rankings become more informative about quality only if oversubscribed schools can choose whom to accept.


Students with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) have difficulty demonstrating their academic knowledge in standardized tests because of their limitations in accessing visual information. Therefore, in high-stakes tests, such as the SAT and the Graduate Records Examination, braille, large print, and the extension of time have been provided for them as basic and minimum accommodations, in consideration of their slower reading and writing speeds than students without disabilities. However, the barrier of vision loss for demonstrating what the students with visual impairments know may not be removed sufficiently with these accommodations (Sitlington, Clark, & Kolstoe, 2000). That is, because large print and braille are the basic literacy media for students with visual impairments, without these media the assessment of the reading comprehension or reading speed of those who are visually impaired may not be meaningful. The extension of time as a test accommodation for students with visual impairments can have an impact on students' reading performance. However, depending on the academic performance of each student, the level of difficulty of the reading materials, or the students' physical health (such as shoulder, back, or neck pain from an inappropriate posture while reading), the effects of an extension of time can be either positive or negative. Arguing the issue of fairness and the additional advantage for test takers with visual impairments, some professionals have expressed negative attitudes toward test accommodation (Sireci, Li, & Scarpati, 2003). However, researchers have found that the validity of test accommodations increases when the test scores of students who need a particular accommodation increases, while the scores of those who do not need it remain the same (Sitlington et al., 2000). The study presented here was conducted to examine the effects of read-aloud, the practice of providing a reader to read tests out loud as an accommodation for student with a disability. In this study, read-aloud was investigated in combination with commonly used accommodations for students with visual impairments like braille, large print, and extensions of time. The study was conducted as a pilot study before the investigation of the effects of read-aloud as a test accommodation on the academic achievement of students with visual impairments because of the paucity of previously conducted studies. METHOD Participants and settings The participants were 10 South Korean middle school students with visual impairments who were enrolled in a special school for students with visual impairments and a group of 10 Korean public school students without disabilities who were comparable in age and grade level in public schools. Two students in Grade 1, 4 in Grade 2, and 3 in Grade 3 were included in each group. Among the students with visual impairments, 3 had low vision and 7 were totally blind. The participants with visual impairments were familiar with commonly used accommodations, such as braille and large print, because as students in the special school, they always used these media. Also, they were familiar with time extension because unlimited time when taking tests is usual in special schools for students who are visually impaired. The tests for the students with visual impairments were administered in a classroom in their school, and the tests for the students without disabilities were administered in the conference room of a community church. The students without disabilities could not take the tests in their school because they did not attend the same school. Information on the participants and the settings is presented in Table 1. The variable for the study was the read-aloud accommodation. Therefore, to examine the effect of this variable, the test without read-aloud and the test with read-aloud were defined as Test Format 1 and Test Format 2, respectively. …


Recent studies on underwater object detection have progressed with the development of deep-learning methods. Generally, the model performance increase is accompanied by an increase in computation. However, a significant fraction of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) operate in environments with limited power and computation resources, making large models inapplicable. In this paper, we propose a fast and compact object detector—namely, the Underwater Light-weight Object detector (ULO)—for several marine products, such as scallops, starfish, echinus, and holothurians. ULO achieves comparable results to YOLO-v3 with less than 7% of its computation. ULO is modified based on the YOLO Nano architecture, and some modern architectures are used to optimize it, such as the Ghost module and decoupled head design in detection. We propose an adaptive pre-processing module for the image degradation problem that is common in underwater images. The module is lightweight and simple to use, and ablation experiments verify its effectiveness. Moreover, ULO Tiny, a lite version of ULO, is proposed to achieve further computation reduction. Furthermore, we optimize the annotations of the URPC2019 dataset, and the modified annotations are more accurate in localization and classification. The refined annotations are available to the public for research use.


Educational curriculum of teachers is an important guarantee for the professionalization of teachers. For the improvement of teacher's professional level, the educational curriculum of teachers should be reformed in five respects: 1. adjustment of curriculum structure; 2. expansion of curriculum category; 3. conformity of curriculum contents; 4.enforcement of practice curriculum; 5. exploitation of potential curriculum. The construction of the professionalization of teachers needs the educational curriculum system of teachers which can supply a strong support and guarantee for the cultivation of professional-standard teachers.


While the triplet-like Higgses up to a few hundred GeV masses are already excluded for a vast region of the model parameter space from the LHC searches, strikingly, there is a region of this parameter space that is beyond the reach of the existing LHC searches, and doubly/singly-charged and neutral Higgses as light as 200 GeV or even lighter are still allowed by the LHC data. We study several search strategies targeting different parts of this LHC elusive parameter space at two configurations of e − e + colliders—500 GeV and 1 TeV centre of mass energies. We find that a vast region of this parameter space could be probed with 5 σ discovery with the early e − e + colliders' data.


Introduction. The article is devoted an analytical overview of the methods of applying the Nature solutions for designing structures made of plastics reinforced with fibers, in particular, using rational curved fiber trajectories. The first section provides an overview of different structural models and some approaches to the micromechanics of composites.
Materials and methods. Sections 2-7 discuss: analysis of rational elastic-strength properties of wood and composites for crack arrest by weak interface; methods for constructing curved paths of fibers of "flowing holes"; analyzes the applied and promising technologies for manufacturing attachment points, in which holes are formed using curvilinear fiber paths; "nature-inspired" principles of optimal design of pipe composite structures similar in structure to ladder of bamboo stalk; examples of the effective use of fibrous composites in elastic elements such as leaf springs; developing additive technologies for 3D printing of fiber composite parts with fiber laying along calculated trajectories.
Results. Each section of the article presents conclusions related to the peculiarities of composites structures calculation and design: calculations show that in order to increase the crack resistance of fibrous composites, it is necessary to significantly increase the shear characteristics of the binder and strive for rational properties created by Nature in wood; as a result of the calculation, it turns out that the maximum stress per fiber at the optimal reinforcement structure becomes about 3–4 times less than with a uniform rectilinear laying; rational reinforcement leads to a significant reduction in local stresses per fiber, elimination of splits and damages of fibers and an increase in the carrying capacity of the assembly; it has been shown that the bamboo rings are arranged to prevent the barrel from splitting from bending compressive stresses and tangential stresses when the barrel is twisted by wind load; analyzed the relationship of equal-strength profiling with Leonardo's rule for tree crown branching. The works on creation of bio-similar shape and structure of curvilinear reinforcement of specimens for correct determination of unidirectional composites strength at tension along fibres were discussed; analyzed the role of composite technologies in modern mechanical engineering, in particular, in the creation of composite structures in open space.
Conclusions. The article is devoted to the analysis of the tasks of fibrous composites macromechanics, therefore, in the opinion of the authors, the three most promising and related areas in macromechanics of composites that require further research are biomechanics of strength, computer modeling of optimal structures and technological mechanics of composites.


This essay addresses the topic of research lifeworlds and personal lifeworlds and what we gain and lose as researchers, and as people, from their overlaps and collisions. The essay analyses six narrative accounts of the authors lived experience of a unique collision between research and personal lifeworlds when the researcher-mother presented with her sick daughter to the hospital emergency department that served as the field site for her own research. This analysis revealed the following themes through which a researcher's personhood animates the research process: feeling exposed but empowered; gaining conceptual clarity while opening up ethical ambiguity; and becoming liminal because of identity shifts and coping through self-reflexivity. The essay contributes to our collective understanding and shared learning of the ways a researcher's personhood shapes, and is shaped by, the research process and (re)production of knowledge.


Abstract Efforts to quantify the uncertainty in weather forecasts began more than 75 years ago, and many studies and experiments involving objective and subjective probability forecasting have been conducted in meteorology in the intervening period. Moreover, the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) initiated a nationwide program in 1965 in which precipitation probability forecasts were formulated on an operational basis and routinely disseminated to the general public. In addition, the NWS now prepares objective probability forecasts for many variables, using statistical procedures. Hence probability forecasting in meteorology is unique in that very large sets of probability forecasts that have been subjected to detailed evaluation are available. This article has four objectives: (a) to review the history of probability forecasting in meteorology to acquaint statisticians with this body of literature; (b) to describe recent methodological, experimental, and operational activities in this field; (c) to exa...


The purpose of this project is to design and test a functional proof DC to DC boost converter. A microcontroller provides the necessary control signal to the switching circuit and it also monitors the input and output voltage levels. The input and output voltages are displayed on an LCD. Based on the input from a potentiometer, the microcontroller adjusts the duty cycle of the control signal thereby controlling the output voltage. An input voltage between 3-12 volts can be given and the device can produce a maximum voltage of 25V. This device is particularly useful in situations where standard voltage requirements do not match user's application.


This paper attempts to highlight progress in studies of magnetosphereionosphere coupling made during the last two years using a wide variety of techniques, covering a broad range of topics. Emphasis is placed on pointing out the key issues in the area that need substantial innovation in the near future. This includes the problem of differentiating between the substorm expansion and enhanced convection, and the importance of time-dependent treatment of the entire magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling system.


As the main focus of religious celebrations, a religious building becomes a magnet for the social celebrants. The architectural composition of a religious structure is undoubtedly a crucial factor in determining the quality of public space in its surroundings. This study aims to explore the relationship between the sacred space of Gereja Ayam and the social space of Pasar Baru. This research employs the digital approach to the narrative storytelling of the Pasar Baru area and the Gereja Ayam as the case study, with the primary state of the art being the social space positioning of the Gereja Ayam sacred space on creating the sustainable urban environment of the Pasar Baru neighborhood. The main research question was how the Gereja Ayam as a sacred space created a close relationship with the Pasar Baru neighborhood. The research would help the digital concept of creating an integrated communal space as part of the Pasar Baru revitalization plan.


A essay discussing selected key works from the last 250 years as an overview of the nature of the book from a design and content perspective; from the novel to the artist's book and back again.


The presence of radiatively driven outflows is well established in ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs). These outflows are optically thick and can reprocess a significant fraction of the accretion luminosity. Assuming isotropic emission, escaping radiation from the outflow's photosphere has the potential to irradiate the outer disc. Here, we explore how the atmosphere of the outer disc would respond to such irradiation, and specifically whether unstable heating may lead to significant mass loss via thermally-driven winds. We find that, for a range of physically relevant system parameters, this mass loss may actually switch off the inflow entirely and potentially drive limit-cycle behaviour (likely modulated on the timescale of the outer disc). In ULXs harbouring neutron stars, magnetic fields tend to have a slight destabilizing effect; for the strongest magnetic fields and highest accretion rates, this can push otherwise stable systems into the unstable regime. We explore the prevalence of the instability in a simulated sample of ULXs obtained from a binary population synthesis calculation. We find that almost all neutron star and black hole ULXs with Eddington-scaled accretion rates of ¤ <0 < 100 should be able to drive powerful outflows from their outer discs. Several known ULXs are expected to lie in this regime; the persistence of accretion in these sources implies the irradiation may be anisotropic which can be reconciled with the inferred reprocessed (optical) emission if some of this originates in the wind photosphere or irradiation of the secondary star.


Sound that travels through the ocean from a source to a receiver is commonly distorted by multipath acoustic propagation. The severity and details of this distortion are determined by the sound channel's characteristics, which may not be known. However, recovery or reconstruction of undistorted signals from recordings made in unknown complex multipath environments—a process commonly referred to as blind deconvolution—is advantageous in many applications of underwater acoustics. This paper presents a simple and robust means to achieve blind deconvolution in unknown sound channels with an array of receiving transducers. The technique, artificial time reversal (ATR), can be effective when there is a linear relationship between frequency and the phase of the low-order propagating modes of the sound channel. Broadband simulations of ATR in a generic shallow ocean sound channel show that the maximum correlation between the original signal and the reconstructed signal may approach 100% for signal pulses having a 258 Hz bandwidth and a 500 Hz center frequency. Application of ATR to ocean sound-propagation measurements produces original-to-reconstructed signal correlations from 80% to 95%. Possible extensions and improvements of ATR are discussed.


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Tropical leaf vegetables are grown in the tropics and are rich sources of nutrients, particularly minerals, and vitamins (Oomen and Grubben 1978). A number of species and cultivars have been introduced and grown in the continental US on a limited-scale, particularly in the southern region (Lamberts 1993). The US is a major market for tropical and specialty greens and most of the shipments come from the Caribbean and Latin America. For example, in 1998, total US imports for dasheen leaves (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott, Araceae) was over 90 t. From this total, 70% came from Jamaica and 30% from the Dominican Republic (Pearrow 1991). In the same year, the US imported amaranthus (Amaranthus spp. L., Amaranthaceae) at 27 t from the same countries. In 1988, shipments of Oriental, Mexican, tropical, and exotic produce, including specialty leafy greens, accounted for about 5% of fresh vegetable shipments, whereas in previous years the volumes have been too low to track (Cook 1990; Lamberts 1990, 1993). There are several reasons for the increasing demand of tropical and specialty leafy greens in the US. Growth in ethnic populations contributes to demand for product diversity within the produce section (Cook 1990) and food, previously considered ethnic or regional in nature is increasingly being consumed by a broader portion of the population. This trend will likely continue as the ethnic population continues to grow and more Americans become familiar with and develop the taste for the new crops. This research study is undertaken with the following objectives: (1) collect and describe growth characteristics of minor tropical leaf vegetables; and (2) evaluate yield performance and commercial potentials in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.


An expert in the software and process improvement (quality) fields addresses a broad spectrum of software engineering, management, and quality topics.


The Portal is one of the hottest topics in the Web environment, and has been for a while due to its multidisciplinary focus. Their ability to be customized is what differentiates portals from standard websites. Two common and widely-used forms of customization are based on preset user profiles and preferences. This paper takes a look at portals from a different angle an angle based on Artificial Intelligence, robotics, intelligent agents and adaptive systems. Portals and Artificial Intelligence are much-researched topics in their respective fields. However, less academic research has been conducted in bringing these two disciplines together. This paper defines certain key terms and discusses a third form of Portal customization, one that requires a learning and adaptive back-end system and is based on user habits and usage patterns.


Thank you for downloading copyright in school libraries. As you may know, people have search hundreds times for their chosen readings like this copyright in school libraries, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some infectious virus inside their computer. copyright in school libraries is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our books collection saves in multiple countries, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Kindly say, the copyright in school libraries is universally compatible with any devices to read.


In this paper we give explicit calculations of the Laplace operator's spectrum for smooth real or complex functions on some connected compact simple Lie groups of rank 4 with biinvariant Riemannian metric and establish a connection of these formulas with the number theory and quadratic forms in two, three and four variables.


This paper investigates the influence of Russian realist prose on Irish prose literature of the late nineteenth century by examining the case of Tomas О Criomhthain (Tomas O'Crohan, 1856-1937), one of the major Irish-language writers of the early twentieth century and the author of one of the most influential 'Gaeltacht memoirs', autobiographical accounts of peasant life in Irish-speaking districts. I argue that Tomas О Criomhthain's memoir An t-Oileanach (The Islandman, 1928) was directly inspired by his reading of Maxim Gorky's memoir of growing up in provincial Russia, Detstvo (Childhood, 1913). О Criomhthain spent his entire life on the main island (the Great Blasket) of a rocky, windswept archipelago off Ireland's south-west coast, earning a living from fishing and subsistence farming. Despite the extreme poverty and isolation endured by the island community, at the turn of the twentieth century they were visited and intensively studied by international academics and visitors from the Irish mainland. This was because the Blasket Islanders, by reason of their isolation, were reputed to speak the purest Irish. Several islanders, including О Criomhthain, were singled out by visitors because of their storytelling gifts and intellectual ability. Influenced by these visitors, О Criomhthain became literate in both English and Irish; in the early 1920s, he read Gorky, Knut Hamsun's Hunger (1890) and other literary accounts of peasant life which encouraged him to record his own memories. О Criomhthain's literary production is an isolated instance within a campaign by Irish nationalist ideologues and writers, including Padraig Pearse, Padraic О Conaire, and Daniel Corkery, to introduce Russian realist classics to Irish audiences. The Irish Literary Revival, which lasted from the 1880s to the 1920s, combined ambition for political autonomy from Britain with the desire to create an independent national literature. Organisations such as the Gaelic League (founded 1893) promoted the regular use of spoken and written Irish as well as traditional Irish sports, dance, and music. The increasing availability of Russian writing in translation from the 1880s onwards encouraged the choice of Russian literature, which had successfully defined itself despite the interventions of the authoritarian Tsarist government, as a cultural pattern for Irish literary nationalism. Other signs of Russian influence on Irish prose were the prominence of social realism with heroes chosen from the rural peasantry or urban working classes, as in Corkery's short fiction.


A new youth culture is underway in the Modern Middle East. This culture is based on a concept of youth from the late 1800s, a concept which played a role in the anti-colonial struggle and which influences the way in which youth views itself in relation to traditional values as well as the West.


This paper is concerned with the development of instrumentation and control system for a new sugar refinery. This plant adopts completely centralized control system and man-machine interfaced computing control. After short test running, the plant has been operated successfully by 7 operators per shift with the daily products of up to 800 tons.


Recent soft tissue studies have reported issues that occur during experimentation, such as the tissue slipping and rupturing during tensile loads, the lack of standard testing procedure and equipment, the necessity for existing laboratory equipment adaptation, etc. To overcome such issues and fulfil the need for the determination of the biomechanical properties of the human gracilis and the superficial third of the quadriceps tendons, 3D printed clamps with metric thread profile-based geometry were developed. The clamps' geometry consists of a truncated pyramid pattern, which prevents the tendons from slipping and rupturing. The use of the thread application in the design of the clamp could be used in standard clamping development procedures, unlike in previously custom-made clamps. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) was used as a 3D printing technique, together with polylactic acid (PLA), which was used as a material for clamp printing. The design was confirmed and the experiments were conducted by using porcine and human tendons. The findings justify the usage of 3D printing technology for parts manufacturing in the case of tissue testing and establish independence from the existing machine clamp system, since it was possible to print clamps for each prepared specimen and thus reduce the time for experiment setup.


The authors target the problem of curve fitting on data samples for the purpose of subsequent interpolation. This is what backpropagation was developed for but its dependency on initial conditions and net topology affects its robustness. Here the authors present a different method which is based on an analysis of possible properties of the internal representations developed as a result of learning. Thus they introduce some additional constraints concerning direct control on internal representations. This method incorporates properties of supervised as well as unsupervised learning in the fitting problem.


A static relay system (1, 10) intended to be connected in series with an electrical load (C) supplied with alternating current, characterized in that the system comprises: - two transistors (T1, T2) to effect of series-connected field and made of a high energy material bandgap, - detecting means (3, 30) of a threshold of a voltage across each transistor or the two transistors, - an electromechanical relay (4, 40) in series with the transistors (T1, T2), - control means (5, 50) for controlling the opening at least one transistor or the electromechanical relay when the voltage threshold is exceeded.


This study aims to contribute to the comprehension of the role of binding proteins specific to thyroid hormones on the homeostasis of the thyroid function. For that, we choose a competitive inhibitor of the thyroid hormones binding with plasmatic proteins, by evaluating the ability of several molecules to displace hormones from their binding sites. We chose phenylbutazone as a competitive inhibitor. In a second time, we tested, in in vitro conditions, the ability of phenylbutazone to displace thyroid hormones from their binding sites. Finally, we studied variations of the plasmatic concentrations in total and free thyroid hormones, following phenylbutazone administration to thyroidectomized ewes supplemented with T3 or T4. We noted that phenylbutazone administration induced a reduction in total T3 (T4) concentrations associated with a reduction in free T3 concentrations.


The article deals with the Yakut historical folklore. The article studies out the formation of historical genre in the Yakut folklore within the historical panorama from the 17th till the 20th century. The genre is closely concerned with everyday life, historical and cultural events of Yakutia that reflects in usage of concrete episodes and real personages of Yakut history in folklore stories. However this genre has not been studies systematically till present and there is some lacks of interpretations of the folklore materials. That is why historical genre is a very important source of reconstruction of history. The link between this form of literature work and folklore shows in oral nature of the translation. The most popular themes of historical genre are the following: the legends about ancestors, the development of north-eastern Siberia territory, the class struggle of the poor against the tyranny of the rich, the episodes of civil war are devoted to the important milestones in the Yakut history. The historical legends mostly tell about the history of people more or less in accurate way because being orally presented they could vary from the original version. Vagueness of some plotlines, ethnical genesis of personages with Turkic or Mongol roots, correlation of real historical events requires involment of supplementary historical materials and intensification of interdisciplinary analysis.


ABSTRACT φC31 integrase is a serine recombinase containing an N-terminal domain (NTD) that provides catalytic activity and a large C-terminal domain that controls which pair of DNA substrates is able to synapse. We show here that substitutions in amino acid V129 in the NTD can lead to defects in synapsis and DNA cleavage, indicating that the NTD also has an important role in synapsis.


Vitamin D deficiency is emerging as a new risk factor for various cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs), specifically atherosclerotic vascular disease. A number of epidemiological studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among many populations cutting across all ethnicities and among all age groups. With the growing menace of the epidemic of CAD, emergence of another commonly prevalent risk factor for the same is a matter of concern. Although the link between vitamin D deficienc y and CAD has been consistently proven, interventional trials with supplementation of vitamin D or calcium have been disappointing in terms of risk reduction. Further research in this direction is underway and is likely to improve our understanding, and open up newer avenues for reducing the risk of CAD.


On the basis of studying archival medicolegal materials, a content-analysis of medicolegal expert examinations has been carried out by determining the severity level of the physical injuries connected with traumas of the organs of the respiratory system. Problem questions of medico-legal diagnostics of this particular kind of trauma have been detected. Ways of improving a forensic-medical examination of traumas of the organs of the respiratory system of live persons have been determined.


The fabrication of a miniature III-nitride angle sensor is demonstrated. A monolithic device composed of a light emitter and four detectors is fabricated on a GaN-on-sapphire wafer. By integrating the device with a glass cylindrical container partially filled with ethanol as a liquid pendulum, the on-chip detectors can effectively sense the change of internally reflected light with angle rotation, and produce the photocurrent signals to indicate the angle level. Verified by a series of experimental measurements, the millimeter-sized sensor exhibits full-angle detection capability, sub-second response time, and high repeatability, which makes it well suited for broad practical applications in angle sensing.


The investigation by Tan et al. [1] addresses an important question regarding the impact of marijuana smoking in middle-aged and older individuals and the relative risk for developing COPD and an accelerated rate of decline in lung function. The importance of this question is underscored by the spreading legalisation of marijuana and the likely impact on its use in both older and younger persons. The authors approached this question using data from a Canadian cross-sectional population-based prevalence study of COPD carried out in subjects ≥40 years (the COLD cohort) and a selected subsample who were followed for up to 4 years and either had physiological evidence of COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) to forced vital capacity ratio <0.70) or served as age- and gender-matched control never and ever smokers with normal lung function (CanCOLD cohort). Since the vast majority (83%) of marijuana smokers in their study also smoked tobacco, the analysis was carried out by adjusting for the concomitant use of marijuana in the dual smokers. Dose–response was analysed by categorising the smokers using three levels of cumulative life-time exposure defined by the number of pack- or joint-years (mild, 1–5; moderate, >5–20; and heavy, >20), and the level of exposure, along with other influential covariates, was adjusted for in the analyses. In their cross-sectional study the authors found that heavy marijuana smoking (>20 joint-years) was associated with spirometrically defined COPD, while in their longitudinal study heavy marijuana smokers were found to experience a substantially faster annual rate of FEV1 decline (nearly 30 mL·yr−1 compared to never smokers of either substance) that was even faster than the decline observed in the heavy tobacco smokers (slightly more than 20 mL·yr−1). The report by W.C. Tan and co-workers raises important questions regarding the impact of marijuana smoking on lung function in older individuals but fails to directly answer them http://bit.ly/2LP2AYi


On April 23, Chairman of PetroChina Company Limited (PetroChina) Ma Fucai announced PetroChina's business performance in Hong Kong. One year earlier, when PetroChina issued IPO in Hong Kong and New York, Mark L. Clifford, a reporter of "Business Weekly", wrote an article to raise such a question - Can the petroleum giant from China take off at Wall Street?


A hand-operated expander for the muscles in the arms and pectoral girdle, the expander consisting of a spiral torsion spring, with two working arms, each of which is either a lever or has a lever, at the end of which there is a handle which is arranged either perpendicularly or parallel to the spring axis, wherein there is no moment of force rotating the expander around the centre of the axis of the spring thereof on account of the fact that the centre of the axis of each handle is located on the centre plane of the spring. Levers which cross each other make it possible to use the expander for the muscles of the shoulders and back when the spring is twisted upon spreading of the handles apart from each other. Additional angles on the levers make it possible to increase the angle at which said levers are spread apart. The expander can also have two torsion springs which are located on a general axis, and handles interconnect the levers of the various springs.


This paper examines representations of implicit cannibalism, in terms of a man in tiger form preying on human(s), in three stories from medieval China. The descriptions of the circumstances of the protagonist's transformations into a tiger and back, and what he faces after his return to human society, show overlaps and divergences in the visions of the relationships among weretigers, human victims, and divine forces. Each story in its own way explores the fluid boundaries between animality and humanity and the limits of human agency and power vis-à-vis divine forces. Such thematizations reveal the development of a communal discourse on the place of humans in a cosmos imagined as hierarchical. The social identities of the featured characters and other details further reveal ways in which the stories convey the interests and concerns of low-level scholar-officials in medieval China.


Data structure is a basic core course for computer science students,which mainly cultivates the students' ability in designing dada structure,programming algorithm and developing software.This article studies the way to solve the problems concerning data structure and algorithm design in the teaching of the computer course in universities.


The 125 GeV resonance discovered at the LHC could be a heavy quarkonium, spin 0 pseudoscalar meson $\zeta^0$. The decay rates of the $\zeta^0$ meson resonance are calculated and compared to the standard model Higgs boson decay rates. The branching ratios and signal strengths for $\zeta\rightarrow\gamma\gamma$, $\zeta\rightarrow Z\gamma$, $\zeta\rightarrow ZZ^*$ and $\zeta\rightarrow WW^*$ are approximately the same as the Higgs boson branching ratios and signal strengths. The decay rates for $\zeta\rightarrow\tau^+\tau^-$, $\zeta\rightarrow b\bar b$ and $\zeta\rightarrow c\bar c$ are suppressed compared to the Higgs boson decay rates. Accurate branching ratios and signal strengths obtained at the LHC can distinguish between the standard model Higgs boson and the heavy composite $\zeta$ meson resonance.


During the decade following its description by Ariyan and Baek et al in 1979, the pectoralis major myocutaneous flap was widely considered to be the "workhorse" flap for reconstruction of major soft tissue defects of the oral cavity and oropharynx. This flap's reliability and the good to excellent outcome with its use inhibited exploration of other more versatile techniques of reconstruction. Although the first microscope-assisted transfer of a free flap was reported in 1973, and microvascular head and neck reconstruction was described in 1976, initially there was limited enthusiasm in the United States to apply free flaps for head and neck reconstruction. This reluctance arose from several perceived potential shortcomings of microvascular tissue transfer. Such concerns included questions regarding the reliability of a technique that was dependent on smallvessel vascular anastomoses for a successful outcome and the potential for an adverse impact on the costs and complications of therapy. The pectoralis major myocutaneous flap was the preferred method for reconstruction of significant soft tissue defects at our institution until the late 1980s, when initial efforts were undertaken to investigate the potential utility of free flaps for head and neck reconstruction. Initially, free flaps were only chosen for reconstruction of selected patients for whom our previous reconstructive efforts using regional flaps had been disappointing (eg, patients with segmental defects of the anterior mandibular arch). During the past decade, our favorable experience with microvascular free tissue transfer has resulted in an evolution of our reconstructive philosophy, so that free flaps are now the preferred method of soft tissue reconstruction when primary mucosal repair or skin grafting would be insufficient in patients who undergo surgical therapy for cancers of the oral cavity and oropharynx. This includes patients with soft tissue resection of many T2 and most T3/T4 tumors, as well as some patients who undergo lateral composite mandibulectomy, in whom a soft tissue free flap is used in conjunction with a bridging mandibular reconstruction plate. We will review our experience with soft tissue free-flap reconstruction of the oral cavity and oropharynx and compare it with the results of regionalflap and free-flap reconstruction reported in the literature to determine whether our current reliance on free flaps is justified. PRO


Income adaptation and social comparison are the standard explanations for the lack of a direct long-run relationship between income and happiness. Individuals evaluate life satisfaction relative to past income or income of others. As individual income increases, so also expectations and the mismatch between income and aspirations hold down the happiness level. When everyone's income increases, the relative position of individuals remains the same, and hence, average happiness does not increase commensurately with increase in income. The validity of the Easterlin Paradox and the relevance of income adaptation and social comparison explanations in India are examined by replicating cross-country analysis with cross-states analysis using the World Values Survey data for 1990–2014 and by applying ordered probit panel estimation. The empirical analysis shows that the long-run income-life satisfaction gradient is negative across states and over time. The panel estimates show the negative relative income effects dominate the positive absolute income effect. There is perfect income adaptation at the individual and aggregate levels. The immediate neighbourhood income—the state average income—is the relevant reference group income. Reducing the income gap and augmenting income sources of the poor may reduce the effect of relative comparison and increase happiness level in the long run in India. JEL Classification: C23, C35, I31


Optically transparent and high‐quality hybrid ZnO nanoparticle and anthracene embedded polyphenylsiloxane (PPS) glass films were spin‐coated on quartz substrates. A strong Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) process was indicated by the observation of quenching of the ZnO emission and an enhancement of the anthracene emission at room temperature. The efficiency of this energy transfer between ZnO and the S1 vibronic states of the anthracene molecules can be optimized to exceed 90%.


Thirty years ago Stott and Davies described a structure for the content and conduct of the general practice consultation.1 This consists of four interconnected topics and tasks — understanding and dealing with the acute, presenting problem, attending when appropriate to comorbidity and other chronic medical problems, incorporating health promotion and risk management and evaluating patients' use of health services and their own engagement with their medical problems. The themes of ideas, concerns, and expectations of the biopsychosocial model of illness, and of communication, diagnostic, and negotiating skills run throughout these tasks. Papers in this issue of the BJGP illuminate and build on this approach to patient care, which is given a welcome and interesting new dimension by Ian McKelvey, who describes The Consultation Hill (page 538), a persuasive account of a model to aid the teaching of consultation skills.

In terms of understanding illness presentation and of making a …


The history of catastrophic events is not always written down; it is often embedded in place-names, oral traditions, and myth. With examples of oral traditions of sea monsters and the folly of wizards, this chapter discusses catastrophic prehistoric tsunamis generated by a massive earthquake and volcanic eruption that affected Polynesian communities and culture in the 15th century. In Japan, where the roots of oral traditions and written records are much older, the origins of the word "tsunami" are traced through the country's cultural progression to its introduction to the Western world and to other related Japanese words that merit adoption, such as "Yoda."


The thought of valuing and protecting common people derived from generalized experiences from the rise and fall of the Xia Dynasty. With its full content of Sang Tang, Pan Geng and Wu Ding period consecutively, it had played a positive role in improving ancient Chinese political civilization. However, it is personal factor which dominated the development of this thought, since it is the rulers who controlled the development and the common people--the real subject, had no participation power.


In this article, we solve nonlinear systems of third order KdV Equations and the systems of coupled Burgers equations in one and two dimensions with the help of two different methods. The suggested techniques in addition with Laplace transform and Atangana–Baleanu fractional derivative operator are implemented to solve four systems. The obtained results by implementing the proposed methods are compared with exact solution. The convergence of the method is successfully presented and mathematically proved. The results we get are compared with exact solution through graphs and tables which confirms the effectiveness of the suggested techniques. In addition, the results obtained by employing the proposed approaches at different fractional orders are compared, confirming that as the value goes from fractional order to integer order, the result gets closer to the exact solution. Moreover, suggested techniques are interesting, easy, and highly accurate which confirm that these methods are suitable methods for solving any partial differential equations or systems of partial differential equations as well.


We investigate the effects of the regularization parameter for the l1 norm (α1) and penalty parameter (μ) in the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) on the quality of restored medical images. Simulation studies are performed using images degraded by a point spread function (PSF) and Gaussian noise. The j-th column of the system matrix (A) is calculated by convolving the image with unity at pixel j and zero at all other pixels and the PSF. The simulation studies show that the mean structural similarity index is maximal when μ μ0 ⁄ is approximately 10 to 20, where μ0 = 1 ‖A Tg‖∞ ⁄ , with A T and g being the transpose of A and the observed data, respectively. The restored image became blurred with a decrease in α1. This study will be useful for identifying optimal parameter values in the ADMM when applied to medical image restoration.


Background Previous studies have shown that body composition is associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and perimenopause is associated with increased fat mass and decreased lean body mass. Muscle wasting is common among patients with CKD. Sarcopenic obesity (SO) refers to excess adiposity with decreased muscle mass. However, little is known about the relationship between SO and renal function decline. Here, we identified the relationship between SO and decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in postmenopausal women. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study based on the data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008–2011). We analyzed 4,560 postmenopausal women who underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Sarcopenia was defined based on weight-adjusted appendicular skeletal muscle mass. Obesity was defined based on body mass index. The eGFR was calculated using the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. Subjects were classified into four groups: normal, obese, sarcopenic, and sarcopenic obese. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between SO and decreased eGFR. The results were adjusted for variable confounders. Results In the unadjusted model, the odds ratio (OR) of decreased eGFR for SO was 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23–2.26). The obese and sarcopenic groups had ORs of 0.67 (95% CI, 0.44–1.03) and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.44–1.10), respectively. After controlling for confounding variables, there was also a significant association between SO and decreased eGFR (adjusted OR, 1.48; 95% Cl, 1.05–2.07). Conclusion SO was independently associated with decreased eGFR in postmenopausal Korean women.


The success of a genetic programming system in solving a problem is often a function of the available computational resources. For many problems, the larger the population size and the longer the genetic programming run the more likely the system is to find a solution. In order to increase the probability of success on difficult problems, designers and users of genetic programming systems often desire access to distributed computation, either locally or across the internet, to evaluate fitness cases more quickly. Most systems for internet-scale distributed computation require a user's explicit participation and the installation of client side software. We present a proof-of-concept system for distributed computation of genetic programming via asynchronous javascript and XML (AJAX) techniques which requires no explicit user interaction and no installation of client side software. Clients automatically and possibly even unknowingly participate in a distributed genetic programming system simply by visiting a webpage, thereby allowing for the solution of genetic programming problems without running a single local fitness evaluation. The system can be easily introduced into existing webpages to exploit unused client-side computation for the solution of genetic programming and other problems.


The following text attempts, without pretending completeness, to analyze approaches to action research based on where and how they position themselves socially, on how they work, and on their actual basic distinctions. The result is a tentative typology presented roughly historically, which cuts through the many labels typical of current action research. Different approaches are useful, each for different purposes. Still, most circle consciously or subconsciously around some form of "practice" which works as a standard of measurement or quality criterion. The conclusion is that there is a certain sine qua non in the field of action research, i.e. a form "toward which, ways of doing things tend to evolve from a wide variety of starting points".


time they could spend on their own provision grounds. The impoverished planters could ill afford this, which, Tomich suggests, led to future economic reorganizations. The processes through which they took place are implicit. From Chattel Slaves to Wage Slaves works better as a single unit than it does as a collection of individual essays. This is not surprising for any anthology with multiple authors; it somehow seems appropriate for a book that analyzes the collectivization of labor negotiations. Because many of the individual essays are so narrow in focus, readers will need to do much of the comparative examination on their own. Turner's introduction goes a long way toward illuminating the broader global issues and locating the former slaves in an increasingly industrial Atlantic economy. She could have strengthened the volume by providing separate introductions for individual contributions, so that readers with broad interests could approach the pieces with a clearer idea of their larger significance. Still, the volume's overall questions should interest scholars concerned about the roles that laborers played in fueling economic change and development. It therefore follows in the tradition of Eric Williams's Capitalism and Slavery (Chapel Hill, 1944). As such, the book seeks to integrate the lives of workers in the Americas with a changing world economic paradigm. These connections—between workers and both local and global economies—need to be much more fully investigated and fleshed out. This volume provides a firm foundation upon which future scholarship can build. At the same time, it integrates the history of the Americas into the narrative of world history, pointing all along the way to the centrality of plantation slavery. On that score, as well, it provides a distinctive contribution. alan l. karras University of California, Berkeley