Objective: To study the expressions of survivin and caspase-3 in epithelial ovarian cancer and to investigate their roles in the generation and development of ovarian cancer.Methods: The expressions of survivin mRNA and capspase-3 mRNA were detected by in situ hybridization in 60 cases of epithelial ovarian cancer,10 cases of borderline ovarian tumor,10 cases of benign ovarian tumor,and 10 normal ovarian tissues.Results: The expression of caspase-3 mRNA in epithelial ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumor was significantly lower than that in benign ovarian tumor(P0.05) and normal ovarian tissue(P0.01).The expression of caspase-3 mRNA in epithelial ovarian cancer of stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ was significantly lower than that in epithelial ovarian cancer of stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ(P0.05).Survivin mRNA was overexpressed in epithelial ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumor.The expression of survivin mRNA in epithelial ovarian cancer and borderline ovarian tumor was significantly higher than that in benign ovarian tumor(P0.01) and normal ovarian tissue(P0.01).The expression of survivin mRNA in epithelial ovarian cancer of stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ was significantly higher than that in epithelial ovarian cancer of stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ(P0.05).The expression of caspase-3 mRNA correlated negatively to that of survivin mRNA.[WT5"HZ]Conclusion: The down-regulation of caspase-3 expression and the overexpression of survivin may play an important role in the generation and development of epithelial ovary cancer.Survivin may inhibit the activity of caspase-3 directly or indirectly and thus result in the generation and development of ovarian cancer.


Ultrasonic pulse echo measurements on alumina bodies of porosities ranging from 1 to 40% show linear relationships between both the shear and longitudinal velocities and the total porosity. A quadratic relationship is deduced for the dependence of Young's and shear moduli on porosity. The values extrapolated to zero porosity agree reasonably well with results of other works. Poisson's ratio is constant within the limits of the experimental errors. The attenuation of the echoes increases substantially with increasing porosity. When the experimental results are compared with various theoretical models, it is clear that the ``dilute‐suspension'' models are incapable of fitting the observations. Among the ``elastic‐bound'' models, a cylindrical pore model seems to fit the data much better than a spherical model.


de facto behavior. Finally, in the book there is perhaps too much optimism about the benefits of trials for past human rights violations. Skaar argues that whereas truth commissions bring only truth, trials bring both truth and justice. However, because of the aforementioned legal and political problems associated with those trials, the outcome might also be disappointing. As a former East German victim said after a transitional justice trial: "We wanted justice, but we got the rule of law."


The sustainable development debate is based on the assumption that societies need to manage three types of capital (economic, social and natural) which may be non-substitutable and whose consumption might be irreversible. Nonetheless, the problem of social and natural capital deterioration in SubSahara Africa is quite alarming without sufficient response mechanisms. The paper examines the challenges and implications of sustainable development in Africa with a special focus on Nigeria. Using descriptive and analytical approaches, the paper posits that the prominent challenges which hamper the achievement of sustainable development in Africa include; extreme poverty, rapid population growth rate, rapid urbanization, deforestation, environmental impact of extractive industries, rate of economic growth, rural development, climatic variability and natural environmental hazard. The paper considers the implications of these challenges on post 2015 agenda in Africa and suggests plausible policy options to address social, economic and environmental sustainability. Since it was discovered that inconsistency in government policies among others things have impacted adversely on the sustainability of Nigerian development, the paper furthermore recommends the establishment of the Sustainable Development Trust Fund (SDF) saddled with the responsibility of enforcing economic, social and environmental sustainability.1. IntroductionWhile Africa maintained positive growth rates during the 2000, very few countries have achieved and maintained the growth rates necessary to reduce poverty. African countries still face the critical challenge of raising the rate of GDP growth and sustaining high growth rates over an extended period in order to accelerate progress towards meeting the MDGs (ECA, 2007). Indeed, annual economic growth for 1990-2000 averaged only 2.1 per cent, compared to the population growth rate of 2.8 per cent. The economic growth rate of the continent is less than the 7 per cent growth needed to reduce by half the proportion of Africans in poverty by 2015 (ECA, 2001a). However, African economies have continued to sustain the growth momentum of the early 2000s and recorded an overall average real GDP growth rate of 5.4 percent (ECA, 2007) . Moreover, despite substantial progress in macroeconomic stabilization, deregulation, privatization, trade, and exchange rates reform, structural constraints and institutional weaknesses continue to inhibit a vigorous supply response, as most economies still depend on primary products, exhibiting a high export concentration. While 60 per cent of all exports from Africa are agricultural (66 per cent of which is unprocessed); they account for only 8 per cent of the countries' GDP.One of the major challenges facing developing countries is to provide an equitable standard of living, adequate food, clean water, safe shelter and energy, a healthy and secured environment, and educated public, and satisfying job for present and future generations (Iganigan & Unemhilin 2011). Of all these necessities, the first and most basic to human life and survival is enduring food security: which may be defined as a situation in which majority of the populace of a country have access to domestically produced food at affordable prices at all times (Akinboyo, 2008) . Historically, there has been a close correlation between economic growth and environmental degradation. As communities grow, so the environment declines. Unsustained economic growth has been starkly compared to the malignant growth of a cancer, because it eats away at the earth's ecosystem services which are its lifesupport system (Adams & Jeanrenaud, 2008). There is concern that, unless resource use is checked, modem global civilization will follow the path of ancient civilization that collapsed through overexploitations of their resource based (Diamond, 1997).The crave for attainment of sustainable development has led to the development of various tools and measures for structuring and conducting sustainable development policy analyses. …


Daytime-based fall detection systems (FADEs) are designed to prevent falls and help individuals carry out their activities independently. However, FADE for nighttime use is still a challenge for researchers. This article reviews various FADE systems and categorizes the open challenges for the design of nighttime-based FADE.


Objective:to investigate the Hepatitis virus infection status of syphilis patients. Methods: to detect 320 syphilis patients HBV "two half-and-half" and anti-HCV by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: among 320 syphililis cases, positive HBsAg and positive anti-HCV is 15.3%(49/320) and 5.6%(18/320) respectively, which is higher than those of control group. " great three positive" of syphilis group is 59.2%(29/ 49), which is higher than that of control group 30.3%(10/33); while "small three positive" is lower than that of control group. Conclusion: Syphilis patients' infection rate of HBV and HCV is higher than average persons. Detection of Hepatitis virus markers of syphilis patients should be strengthened.


This work portrays the manner that the teaching hospital of the Federal University is facing the integration process of governance practices in their environment, especially the impact that this will suffer during and after the adoption of restructuring measures (REHUF). The hospital serves as a large organization and, in this way, is able to align management practices with governance policies making it necessary to have clarity and soundness in the strategies, processes and structures of these hospitals. In this context, the research helps to clarify some points: The management model of the hospital to adopt governance practices. If so, how they occur in the context of internal processes. To ensure that the analysis of the empirical data is able to contemplate the various aspects that involve the whole object of investigation, the procedures following the assumptions of the exploratory and qualitative research. The guidelines of the research include: degree of centralization/decentralization of administration, form of participation in the decisions of hierarchical levels, degree of autonomy and managerial accountability and reporting process.


This year's Psychiatric Services Achievement Award winners provide care to survivors of domestic violence, community-based support services to people with serious mental illness in Baltimore, and p...


THE SECOND WAVE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT was one of the most important cultural and social phenomena of the twentieth century.1 The movement's mobilization was a result of grassroots organizing undertaken by national feminist organizations and hundreds of local women's groups. Although, as Myra Marx Ferree and Patricia Yancey Martin have argued, this mobilization produced many organizations that have worked for social change, "few of them have been studied in the depth and detail they deserve."2 Even more importantly, existing studies of the women's move-ment have been largely limited to large metropolitan areas in the North or on the East and West Coasts.3 This focus on large metropolitan areas has created a bias in our understanding of the movement's history. First, as Nancy Whittier notes, "[p]eriodization based on the national movement and on major cities does not. . . accurately describe the course of the movement at the grassroots level in smaller cities."4 Second, the lack of attention to what happened outside large cities has obscured the centrality of the grassroots movement to the development of women-oriented services and the greater integration of women into the economic and political structure in mid-size urban areas. This study seeks to rectify this situation by examining the emergence and the first years of the grassroots women's movement in Fayetteville, Arkansas.5 In doing so, it focuses on the similarities and differences between the local movement and those movements that emerged in larger cities. At the beginning of the 1960s, the so-called "woman's issue" moved to the center of public debate in the U.S. John F. Kennedy's creation of the President's Commission on Women in 1961, the nearly simultaneous publication of the commission's report and Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963, and the establishment of the National Organization for Women in 1966 helped focus national attention on existing gender inequalities and fostered the development of the more mainstream, women's rights-oriented, feminist movement. On the other hand, the civil rights and the New Left movements served as midwife to the more radical, grassroots feminist movement. Unlike national women's organizations, radical grassroots groups operated outside of mainstream politics, sought to transform existing institutions, and emphasized the importance of creating women's-only groups and building egalitarian organizations, rather than structuring its activities more bureaucratically and creating mixed organizations and groups.6 In the 1960s, the civil rights movement in the South and various antiwar student groups concentrated in the North, including Students for a Democratic Society, offered women opportunities for activism. In the South, as Sara Evans has argued, feminist consciousness first emerged within the network of women involved in the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. To become activists in the civil rights movement, these women had to challenge the ideals of southern femininity and create a new sense of self. In turn, participation in the civil rights movement brought to their attention "the tangled relationship between race and sex" as well as the recognition that "racial equality required fundamental changes in sex roles."7 This changing consciousness, which was reinforced by the disparaging treatment women activists received from some male comrades, prepared many southern women to become active participants in the impending women's liberation movement. The mobilization of women in other parts of the country resulted from their growing awareness of gender oppression, especially as they experienced gender discrimination and inequality within the New Left itself. Between 1967 and 1968, Evans argues, women activists within the civil rights and New Left movements became the main constituency of radical feminist groups, which, in turn, gave birth to the massive grassroots feminist movement.8 In Northwest Arkansas, however, the majority of grassroots feminist activists did not have such experiences. …


The in former years nearly exclusively agriculturally structured coastal areas of Lower Saxony recently undergo an increasing industrialisation. This process was introduced by the settlement of a Titandioxyd factory at the Weser estuary, which releases acid sewage. The problems, connected with the discharge of this sewage are discussed, as well as the tests performed in order to prevent a possible overstrain of the Weser water. The hitherto gained results are described and preliminarily interpreted. The recent, partly surprising biological development cannot be traced back to a measurable ecological change in the Weser estuary and therefore is inducement to think over critically the applied procedure.


Aims:  To compare pressure resistance between strains of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter lari and Campylobacter fetus, and to investigate the effect of suspending medium on pressure resistance of sensitive and more resistant strains.


There is general agreement among academic researchers that information systems can prove strategic if they are well crafted. However, the field currently lacks frameworks that predict which applications might provide lasting benefit and sustainable competitive advantage. Moreover, little has been attempted in analyzing effects on the organization of industry. These effects may, in the long term, prove at least as interesting as effects on individual firms. We present here an initial examination of the effects of information systems and telecommunications on the competitive position of firms. Our intention is to provide guidelines for choosing opportunities that convey sustainable competitive advantage. We present also an initial analysis of predicted changes in the organization of industry. This work draws on field research and on recent work in market economics. INTRODUCTION assessing options and choosing preferred strategies, seem yet more distant. A growing literature attests to the fact that information systems can be used as competitive There are firms that, through well-timed and weapons within the context of a market well-crafted applications, have achieved reduced economy (Clemons, et al., 1984; Clemons and costs or enhanced service for their customers, McFarlan, 1986; Harris, 1985; Ives and Learleading to improved margins or increased month, 1984; Jonscher, 1983; McFarlan, 1984; market share; perhaps they have also gained Petre, 1984; Porter, 1985; Rackoff, 1985; sustainable competitive advantage. Merrill Wiseman, 1985). This literature largely relies Lynch Cash Management Accounts, American on a common and perhaps overworked collecHospital Supply and McKesson Drug Company tion of examples that plausibly demonstrate use distribution systems, and American Airlines and of information systems to gain competitive adUnited Airlines reservation systems are among vantage. Since the authors' tone is generally the most widely-cited examples of such applicaevangelical, the examples selected are those that tions. Many others are known. There have also can be described as major successes. Unhappily, been mistakes, of which very little is written. neither the literature not the oral tradition goes into much depth; both are largely anecdotal. For examples of the benefits of successful straLittle is understood by way of general principles tegic choices and of the costs of mistakes, we or theory about why certain moves work or are look initially to financial services and banking. likely to work, or why others fail. Still less is Cash Management Accounts (CMAs), introknown about the longer-term organizational efduced by Merrill Lynch in the late '70's during a fects on industry of existing or anticipated inforperiod of high inflation and high interest rates, mation systems technologies. Normative and successfully drew billions of dollars out of banks predictive models, which would be valuable for and out of savings and loan institutions. Now,


In the process of industrialization in China, the three periodic fluctuations have their own traits with different kinds of influence on the national economy. Generally speaking, since 1949 the fluctuation of the secondary industry has been the dominant force on the fluctuation of the national economy as a whole, while agriculture as the primary industry with its special significance and undeniable position has exerted less influence, and the fluctuation of the tertiary industry has exerted an increasing influence on the national economy.


Objectives. Program accreditation is used to ensure the delivery of quality education andtraining for allied health providers. However, accreditation is not mandated for paramedic education programs. This study examined if there is a relationship between completion of an accredited paramedic education program andachieving a passing score on the National Registry Paramedic Certification Examination. Methods. We used data from the National Registry Paramedic Certification Examination for calendar year 2002. Successful completion (passing) of the examination was defined as correctly answering a minimum of 126 out of 180 (70%) of the questions andmeeting or exceeding the individual subtest passing scores. Accredited paramedic training programs were certified by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) on or before January 1, 2002. Candidates reported demographic characteristics including age, gender, self-reported race andethnicity, education, andemployer type. We examined the relationship between passing the examination andattendance at an accredited paramedic training program. Results. A total of 12,773 students completed the examination. Students who attended an accredited program were more likely to pass the examination (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.51–1.81). Attendance at an accredited training program was independently associated with passing the examination (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.43–1.74) even after accounting for confounding demographic factors. Conclusion. Students who attended an accredited paramedic program were more likely to achieve a passing score on a national paramedic credentialing examination. Additional studies are needed to identify the aspects of program accreditation that lead to improved examination success.


Objectives: To compare the clinical outcomes after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) in patients older than 70 years old against a matched cohort of patients younger than 70. Methods: A search of the department database revealed that 285 consecutive patients underwent PD from 1996 to 2009. Forty-one patients (14%) were identified to be older than 70 years (group 1), and they were matched with 41 patients younger than 70 (group 2) according to sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score and tumor staging. Medical comorbidities, preoperative CA19-9 and hemoglobin levels, operative and histopathologic data, postoperative course, and survival outcomes were compared between the 2 groups of patients. Results: Statistical analyses revealed no significant difference between the 2 groups, except for preoperative CA19-9 and hemoglobin levels, operating time, duration of hospitalization, and the number of lymph nodes removed. These parameters, however, did not have an impact on morbidity, mortality, and overall survival. Conclusions: Based on our study, perioperative morbidity, mortality, and overall survival are not poorer in patients older than 70. Thus, PD should not be contraindicated solely on the basis of chronological age. Moreover, PD can be rationally proposed to patients meeting the "fit elderly" definition.


Melghat Tiger Reserve is one of the finest dry deciduous and mixed deciduous habitat is situated in southern offshoot of the Satpura mountain province in Maharashtra. A detailed survey of butterflies was conducted between October 2010 and March 2011 in the Gugamal National Park which is core zone of the Tiger Reserve. The objective of the survey was to determine the presence of butterflies in the survey area. A total of 35 line transects were surveyed, each were repeated five times. A total of 66 species of butterflies belonging five families distributed over two super families (Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea) were recorded from the respective survey area. The highest number of species were documented in Nymphalidae (31 species) followed by Pieridae (16 species), Papillionidae (8 species), Lycaenidae (7 species) and Hesperidae (4 species) were recorded during the survey period. The observed butterflies were categorized as Common (C) 49.2% (31 species), Rare (R) 41.3 % (26 species) and Very Rare (VR) 9.5 % (6 species). Most of the butterflies were observed near water holes and scrub areas. Out of 66 species, Six species of butterflies namely Pachliopta hector-Linnaeus, Hypolimnasmisippus-Linnaeus, Appisalbina-Boisduval, Euploea core-Gramer, Euchrysopscnejus-Fabricious and Lampidas boelicus-Linnaeus are scheduled species under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972


Objective: To assess whether physical activity is a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Methods: From February 2008 to April 2012, 652 patients with ALS from European population-based registries(France, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, Serbia) and 1,166 population controls (matched for age, sex, and residency)were assessed. Upon direct interview, data were collected on occupation and history of sport and leisure activities,physical activity, and accidental injuries. Physical exercise was defined as having spent time doing activities thatcaused an individual to breath hard at least once per month and was coded as none, job-related, and/or sport-related. Sport-related and work-related physical exercise were quantified using metabolic equivalents (METs). Riskswere calculated using conditional logistic regression models (adjusting for age, country, trauma, and job-relatedphysical activity) and expressed as odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs (Adj ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: Overall physical activity was associated with reduced odds of having ALS (Adj OR 50.65, 95% CI 50.48–0.89) aswere work-related physical activity (Adj OR 50.56, 95% CI 50.36–0.87) and organized sports (Adj OR 50.49, 95%CI50.32–0.75). An inverse correlation was observed between ALS, the duration of physical activity ( p50.0041), and thecumulative MET scores, which became significant for the highest exposure (Adj OR 50.34, 95% CI 50.21–0.54). An inversecorrelation between ALS and sport was found in women but no t in men, and in subjects with repeated traumatic events.Interpretation: Physical activity is not a risk factor for ALS and may eventually be protective against the disease.


(1) Reprint request should be addressed to W. Nakamura, Division of Radiation Hazards, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 9-1, 4-chome Anagawa, Chiba, 280, Japan. (2) The following abbreviations were used in this paper : 5-HIAA, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid ; 5-HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) ; XA, xanthurenic acid ; BAIBA, jS-aminoisobutyric acid ; 11-deoxy-17-KS, 11-deoxy-17-ketosteroid ; DRPS, Dische reaction-positive substance(s). (3) Biochemical analyses were performed by W. Nakamura and Y. Nishimoto for 5-HIAA, K. Mizobuchi, Y. Aoyagi and M. Chiba for amino acids (BAIBA, glycine, alanine etc.) and taurine, F. Sawada for DRPS, T. Kankura for creatine and creatinine, S. Kobayashi for XA, E. Kojima for 5-HT, and by N. Osawa for 11-deoxy-17-KS, total estrogens and cortisol. Volumes of urine were measured by W. Nakamura and Y. Nishimoto. ABSTRACT


The phase stability of "bulk" A15 compounds prepared using ordinary metallurgical technique is contrasted with high pressure-high temperature synthesis in relation to the formation of high T c "stoichiometric" compounds. Alloys of Nb-Ge, Nb-Al, and Nb-Ga were prepared by standard metallurgical procedures and subsequently submitted to simultaneous high pressure-high temperature treatment. These materials were characterized as to phase development and superconducting properties to evaluate the influence of the high pressure treatment. The results indicate that high T c materials may ultimately be obtained by high pressure-high temperature synthesis. The high pressure phase stability of A15 compounds is discussed. The phase formation of off-stoichiometric high T c A15 compounds is also presented in terms of a non-equilibrium process involving a high quench rate.


The goal of this study was to explore financial literacy and investment decisions among traders in the Techiman Municipality. A sample size of 150 respondents selected for the study. Convenience sampling technique was employed for the study. Questionnaire was employed for the study. Based on the findings it was established that traders lack knowledge in investment. Most of the respondents did not understand the concept of liquidity which describes the extent to which an asset can be promptly bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset's price. Additionally, the study indicated a strong positive relationship between financial literacy and investment decisions. It was realized that that 38.5% of the variations in the investment decisions are accounted for by the changes in the financial knowledge of the trader. The study recommended that more financial literacy programmes should be organized by the financial institution to create awareness. The government should also include financial literacy in the educational curriculum of the basic or elementary schools and higher learning institutions. Keywords: Financial literacy, investment decisions, traders DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-6-07 Publication date :March 31 st 2019


We are grateful for Ravat et al.'s interest in our article on PLA2G6-parkinsonism. They reported an additional case showing some clinicoradiological diagnostic hints we highlighted, including young onset of levodopa-responsive parkinsonism, occurrence of truncal dystonia and cerebellar signs, early development of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, and presence of cerebellar atrophy as well as possible lack of iron deposition on brain MRI. Their case reinforces our observation that NM_003560.4(PLA2G6):c.2222G > A (p. Arg741Gln) is the most frequent variant in Indian cases of PLA2G6-parkinsonism. It also adds to the hitherto scant evidence that deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be effective for managing symptoms and early complications of dopaminergic treatment in this disorder. Further cases of PLA2G6-parkinsonism are in keeping with the main findings of our work and confirm the core phenotype depicted therein, including another patient we identified (Table 1, Case S1). This is a 35-year-old female born to consanguineous Pakistani parents after uncomplicated pregnancy and birth. She experienced occasional falls during childhood and required crutches because of lower-limb spasticity since her teenage years. Despite a mild learning difficulty, she completed her secondary education at a normal school. At age 16, she had a psychotic FIG. 1. Sagittal T1 (A) and axial T2 (B) magnetic resonance (MR) images show mild cerebellar atrophy. 99mTc-TRODAT SPECT scan (C) reveals bilateral, asymmetric reduction of tracer uptake, more prominent on the left side, with putaminal uptake more reduced than the caudate bilaterally, consistent with the pattern seen in Parkinson's disease. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]


A special L ´ evy process with two-sided jumps is studied. Firstly, based on the characteristic function of the L ´ evy process during a random time interval [0; e(u)], we get the probability density of the infimun. Secondly, it is implied that the two-dimensional Laplace transformation and the discount density of the hitting time and the deficit. At last, we analysis a simplified Gerber-Shiu function based on the above conclusions.


We previously reported a high concordance of in vitro micronucleus (MNvit) results obtained by flow cytometry to the known cytogenetic activity of ten commercially available compounds mentioned as validation compounds in an early draft of the OECD MNvit TG487 [Bryce et al., 2010 ; Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD), 2007 ]. The current study investigated this method in Chinese hamster V79 cells with pharmaceutical compounds of unknown genotoxic potential. Twenty‐five compounds from several therapeutic areas such as oncology, neuroscience and immunological research were tested in the flow cytometry assay, and for comparison using the cytokinesis‐block microscopy assay. Five of these 25 compounds were considered positive for micronucleus induction by the microscopy assessment. In all cases, the results from the flow cytometry assessment matched the results of the microscopy assay. Thus, flow cytometry is a viable method for assessing the aneugenic/clastogenic potential of pharmaceutical drug candidates. The flow method offered several advantages over traditional microscopy. For instance, the ratio of micronuclei (MN) to 10,000 nuclei was evaluated in less than 2 min vs. 15 min to manually assess 600 binucleate cells. Evaluation by flow cytometry can be automated, freeing resources and eliminating scorer fatigue. The assay may also provide for mechanistic understanding of MN formation based on size and the ratio of nuclei with sub‐2N DNA content, allowing for discrimination between aneugenic and clastogenic compounds. Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Using the temperature profiles obtained by COSMIC satellite from January 2007 to December 2012,we have investigated the global morphology of stratospheric gravity waves(GWs)with vertical wavelength from 3to 10 km.In the tropical region,the activities of GWs show clear quasi-biennial oscillation(QBO)structure,and correlate well with the QBO zonal wind with a downward speed of approximately 1km per month.At the upper stratosphere(above35km)in the tropical region,the GWs illustrate clear semi-annual oscillations(SAOs)variation.In the mid-and high-latitudes,the GWs exhibit evident annual variations with maximum value during winter and minimum value during summer.Further,the GWs over the South Pole arelinked with polar jet,which indicates the importance of the polar jet in generating the GWs.On the other hand,below 30 km,the GWs are strong over the tropical region and agree with the deep convection region,while,above 30 km,the GWs have some relation with the stratospheric sudden warming(SSW)and night-time polar jet.


Governor Jon Corzine visits the Edmund Hmieleski, Jr., Early Childhood Center in Perth Amboy to announce that New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) has completed 144 major construction projects, including 45 new schools.


Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) is a statewide college-preparatory policy that applies to the high school graduating class of 2011 and later. Using detailed Michigan high school transcript data, this article examines the effect of the MMC on various students' course-taking and achievement outcomes. Our analyses suggest that (a) post-MMC cohorts took and passed approximately 0.2 additional years' of math courses, and students at low socioeconomic status (SES) schools drove nearly all of these effects; (b) post-policy students also completed higher-level courses, with the largest increase among the least prepared students; (c) we did not find strong evidence on students' ACT math scores; and (d) we found an increase in college enrollment rates for post-MMC cohorts, and the increase is mostly driven by well-prepared students.


The article is aimed to highlighting how current reality influences and structures the global discourse, namely – how Coronavirus has led to the emergence of neologisms and nonce words as a response to the crisis and the instrument of better coping with it. The article lists the most commonly used newly coined words, which gained popularity and wide usage in media and everyday discourse. It is stated in the article, that the mere precedent of Covid-19 inspiring the appearance of new linguistic coinages is not new: throughout history pandemics and other meaningful events affecting the social life of people witnessed new terms and concepts proliferating, English not being the only language experiencing this. The article also presents a short diachronic investigation into how previous diseases outbreaks led to the appearance of the words and that the Coronavirus-inspired nonce words appearance is not unprecedented neither by scope, nor by the mere fact of this. The article also focuses on how effective different metaphors are in encouraging compliance with public health advice, as well as issues of translation, interpretation and access to healthcare. The reason behind this new vocabulary becoming strongly enrooted in the language is that it helps people articulate their worries about the biggest health crisis and social changes like lockdown they have seen in generations. Among others, humour is central to virus-related coinages as it undoubtedly presents one of the best coping mechanism there is. One of the biggest factors in the spread of coronavirus terminology is the fact that people are now more digitally connected than ever before. Despite gaining universal popularity and usage, most of Covid-19 coinages are believed to fade away as the virus seizes being the reality shaping our daily life and routine. But it remains to be seen.


1. Bergstrom N, Braden BJ, Laguzza A et al. The Braden Scale for predicting pressure sore risk. Nurs Res 1987;36:205–210. 2. Bergstrom N, Demuth PJ, Braden BJ. A clinical trial of the Braden Scale for predicting pressure sore risk. Nurs Clin North Am 1987;22: 417–428. 3. Pancorbo-Hidalgo PL, Garcia-Fernandez FP, Lopez-Medina IM et al. Risk assessment scales for pressure ulcer prevention: A systematic review. J Adv Nurs 2006;54:94–110. 4. Swets JA. Measuring the accuracy of diagnostic systems. Science 1988;240:1285–1293. 5. Jones CM, Athanasiou T. Summary receiver operating characteristic curve analysis techniques in the evaluation of diagnostic tests. Ann Thorac Surg 2005;79:16–20. 6. de Souza DM, Santos VL, Iri HK et al. Predictive validity of the Braden Scale for pressure ulcer risk in elderly residents of long-term care facilities. Geriatr Nurs 2010;31:95–104. 7. Bergquist S, Frantz R. Braden scale: Validity in community-based older adults receiving home health care. Appl Nurs Res 2001;14: 36–43. 8. Gaubert-Dahan ML, Castro-Lionard K, Blanchon MA et al. Severe sensory neuropathy increases risk of heel pressure ulcer in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2013;61:2050–2052. 9. Man SP, Au-Yeung TW. Hypotension is a risk factor for new pressure ulcer occurrence in older patients after admission to an acute hospital. J Am Med Dir Assoc 2013;14:e1–e5. 10. Takahashi PY, Chandra A, Cha SS. Risk factors for pressure ulceration in an older community-dwelling population. Adv Skin Wound Care 2011;24:72–77.


In the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, fractures and fault zones have developed in this area, where earthquakes and extreme rainfall frequently induce debris flow disasters, which seriously threaten the safety of the people and properties. In this study, Zhujiagou, Minxian County, Gansu Province in China, has a typical debris flow channel in a small watershed on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has been used as the case study for risk assessment. A debris flow-risk assessment method has been developed in this study. The fusion algorithm of entropy weight and coefficient of variation has been used to evaluate the susceptibility of debris flow in each tributary channel in the watershed. Further, numerical simulation of the debris flow events at the main channel and at the high-prone debris flow tributary channel has been carried out. The "7.18" Zhujiagou debris flow event has been used to verify that the accuracy of the numerical simulation is higher than 74.12%. This method has been applied to design the Zhujiagou debris flow-risk zoning under extreme rainfall conditions, aimed at forming a set of debris flow-risk evaluation system suitable for this type of small watershed. The results show that the peak single-width clear water flow at the mouth of the channel, the length of the channel, and the shallow surface rock formation are the main factors influencing the susceptibility of debris flow. The main tributaries of the watershed are Hagu channel, Zhuling channel, Songshu channel, and Langjia channel which are all high-prone debris flow channels. The Zhujiagou debris flow accumulation fan under the designed 1% rainfall frequency will block the Taohe, which will threaten the safety of the residents and properties near the channel, at the mouth of the channel and in the urban area on the opposite bank of the Taohe. Compared with Hagugou, Zhulinggou, and Songshugou, the low-risk area is Langjiagou. The research results of this study can be used for evaluation methods and as a basis for preventing debris flow disasters on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.


OGSA-DAI has been developing Grid middleware for over two years now. A high profile project within the Grid community OGSA-DAI is increasingly being used by Grid based projects to provide their Data Access and Integration (DAI) requirements. From a simple set of services relatively sophisticated usage scenarios may be realised. This presentation examines a number of DAI scenarios identified by OGSA-DAI and the GGF DAIS working group and demonstrates how the existing OGSA-DAI framework satisfies them. A number of real use-cases from the projects that are using OGSA-DAI are outlined and gaps within the existing OGSA-DAI framework are identified. The OGSA-DAI software distribution and further information about the project is available from the project website at http://www.ogsadai.org.uk/. 1 Data Access and Integration Scenarios To date, most of the effort in the Open Grid Services Architecture – Database Access and Integration (OGSA-DAI) project has concentrated on developing an extensible document-based framework that provides uniform data access mechanisms for a number of different data resources, i.e. mainly relational and XML based databases although there is also some support for accessing files through OGSA-DAI. Currently the framework used by OGSA-DAI is described in the draft Grid Database Service Specification, [1], of the Global Grid Forum's (GGF) Data Access and Integration Services (DAIS) Working Group as presented at GGF7. Although this viewpoint no longer aligns with the current direction of the DAIS specifications there are no real inconsistencies between the two approaches – differences arise mainly in the granularity of the requests going to the services. At some future point OGSA-DAI will adopt the presently defined DAIS interfaces although the document based access method will still be actively supported. Basic data integration capabilities are currently not as well supported through the existing framework although it is possible to do this using the existing core OGSA-DAI distribution. However, this relies on an OGSADAI client explicitly chaining services together – clearly this is neither a scalable solution nor necessarily an easy one to implement. Work is currently underway at EPCC investigating simple data integration scenarios with a view to understanding how well the existing OGSADAI distribution serves this and to try and identify what additional functionality might be added to facilitate data integration capabilities. It is worth noting though that OGSA-DAI does not have to provide the whole of the data integration layer. Instead, it can exploit data integration capabilities provided by the data resource themselves or through some other third party means and wrap these data resources, already constituting a federated resource, which may then be further federated with additional data resources of different types by an OGSADAI layer. This model of operation is similar to one used by the eDiaMoND project (see below). However, as things stand, we find that the data access scenarios (1-6) and data integration scenarios (7,8) identified by Greg Riccardi and Simon Laws, shown in Figure 1 below, can all be supported by the current OGSA-DAI distribution. In addition, many of the data access and integration requirements of existing projects employing OGSA-DAI may be classified under these scenarios. More sophisticated data integration capabilities are realisable via Distributed Query Processing (DQP), currently available as a separate package that may be downloaded from the OGSA-DAI web site. DQP is layered over OGSA-DAI providing an additional abstraction layer that allows queries to be applied to various relational data resources as though they were a single logical resource. This is done through an additional set of Grid services that extend the scope of OGSADAI: one of these services acts as the point of contact for a client and orchestrates other services behind the scenes, including services that evaluate queries on each data resource. Data integration scenarios can be managed at either the client or service end; DQP illustrates an extension to OGSA-DAI at the service end, enabling data integration. Future work within OGSA-DAI will investigate to see whether it is possible to integrate this type of functionality directly on to the core OGSA-DAI distribution. Key to Symbols


With an evolution of working methods, and being aware of the need to increase the productivity, the development of tests requires sufficient time in the faculty of a higher education institution. Knowing this, present the project for the development of a functional prototype, of an application responsible for generating tests, having course, difficulty and subject, an end of dynamization of this process. Under a justification of reducing the time dedicated by the teacher, when creating estimates with satisfactory quality. I have, as a general objective, to simplify the exams creation process, and as specific objectives, to alter, solve errors and irregularities present in the test, and to make illegal consultation difficult during its execution. The expected result is that the faculty has more time to dedicate to other activities, and to reduce errors and cases of cheat during the exam.


The study aimed to know the extent of the use of forensic science teachers to methods of individualizing education, The extent of their knowledge of this strategy, and the obstacles to its use, this study was applied to the forensic science teachers in the middle stage, In the general education schools in Layla affiliated to Al- Aflaj Governorate, during the first semester of the year 1441- 1442 AH, whose number is (18) female teachers, The researcher used the descriptive method, The questionnaire was used to collect data, The data was analyzed using SPSS, and the results indicated that there is a dearth of training courses in this strategy, It also indicated that 94.4% of the teachers do some unique methods, such as choosing the most appropriate means of reinforcement for the desired behavior, And pause a little to make sure the student understands the skill, and develop a treatment plan for the underachieved students and arouse the enthusiasm of the students for active participation, Also, the increase in the teaching quorum is the most important obstacle that affects the application of methods.


Abstract We consider computation of market values of bonus payments in multi-state with-profit life insurance. The bonus scheme consists of additional benefits bought according to a dividend strategy that depends on the past realization of financial risk, the current individual insurance risk, the number of additional benefits currently held, and so-called portfolio-wide means describing the shape of the insurance business. We formulate numerical procedures that efficiently combine simulation of financial risk with classic methods for the outstanding insurance risk. Special attention is given to the case where the number of additional benefits bought only depends on the financial risk. Methods and results are illustrated via a numerical example.


Traditional Chinese medicine,which has long been valued throughout Chinese history,is now a thriving industry in China.Due to its heavy reliance on natural ingredients.Sustainable use of natural resources is key to developd the industry.Therefore,fulfillment of social responsibilities by medical corporations is a worthy question to being discussed.Based on studies of listed Chinese medicine companies using panel data model,this paper takes a stakeholders' perspective to analyse the effect of stakeholders' satisfaction on the enterprise performance,and then comes to the conclusion that participation in resource protection by medicine corporations is insufficient,and thus,the input/output ratio,which determines stakeholders' satisfaction,has yet to be maximized.


A possible origin of the iron-deficiency in PG1159 stars could be neutron captures on Fe nuclei. A nickel overabundance would corroborate this idea. Consequently we are looking for nickel lines in PG1159 stars. Prime targets are relatively cool objects, because Ni VI is the dominant ionisation stage and the spectral lines of this ion are accessible with UV observations. We do not find such lines in the coolest PG1159 star observed by FUSE (PG1707+427, Teff = 85,000 K) and conclude that the nickel abundance is not enhanced. Hence, the Fe-deficiency in PG1159 stars remains unexplained. In addition, we present results of a wind analysis of the hybrid-PG1159 star NGC 7094 and the [WC]-PG1159 transition-type object Abell 78 in order to derive F abundances from the F VI 1139.5 Angstrom line. In both cases, we find F overabundances, in agreement with results of photospheric analyses of many PG1159 stars. Surprisingly, we find indications for a very low O abundance in NGC 7094.


on their presentations that are published in this April 2018 issue. Through these collaborations, I partnered with an all Native American geoscience principal investigator team including O. ConroyBen (Arizona State University), R.E. Emanuel (North Carolina State University), R. Torres (University of South Carolina), and S. Pete (Salish Kootenai College). In the fall of 2017, we were awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Integrative and Collaborative Education


In order to promote the implementation of institutional reforms that enhance equitable and sustainable economic development in aid-recipient countries, multiple tools for measuring the quality of public institutions have emerged in recent years. This article describes and classifies these tools, and indicates the possible uses they may have for different agents working in international cooperation.


Cytochromes are an abundant family of proteins incorporating heme as a prosthetic group and are involved in processes of electron conduction or redox reactions. Heme consists of an aromatic porphyrin macrocycle and the central coordinated iron ligand. Cytochromes of the c-type bind the heme group covalently to the protein backbone. A conserved amino acid heme binding motif is therefore providing two cysteine sulfhydryl groups, to which the heme group is attached via two thioether bonds. The covalent attachment allows for unique properties, such as massive heme group clustering within a protein. X-ray crystallography experiments revealed the presence of a perpendicular and a parallel structural conserved heme group packing motif. Investigations on these motifs are often complicated by the sheer number of heme groups in multi heme cytochromes, as biochemical and spectroscopic data is summing up and therefore indistinguishable.The recombinant diheme c-type cytochrome DHC2 from the anaerobic microorganism Geobacter sulfurreducens was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity using affinity- and gelfiltration chromatography. The protein was characterized using UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and redox titrations. DHC2 was crystallized and its structure solved by an X-ray diffraction experiment.The structure is showing two monomers in the asymmetric unit, as well as two covalently bound heme groups per monomer, showing a structural conserved heme packing motif. The structural arrangement of amino acids at the heme groups is reflected by results from the electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, as histidine imidazole planes show a small dihedral angle in mutual plane arrangement. The observed mid-point potentials of -135 mV and -289 mV are a result of the specific geometry of heme groups and their ligands respectively. During the structure refinement process unusual high refinement R-factors were recognized, which were indicating a problem with DHC2 crystals. For this reason, an analysis of diffraction data was carried out, showing the presence of pseudo-merohedral twinning in crystals of DHC2. Two twin domains build up the crystal in a ratio of 2:1 using the twin law l, -k, h. The twinning by pseudo-merohedry is allowed due to pseudo-orthorhombic non-crystallographic symmetry. The order disorder (OD) theory describes the crystal as being composed of layers, forming the crystal lattice by translation. The weak binding energies connecting these layers are reflecting weak protein interactions, and are therefore responsible for the ambiguous translation operation, forming the crystal. These weak contacts seem to be responsible for twinning in the case of DHC2.To eliminate twinning a site directed mutagenesis study was carried out. A structural characterized mutant is showing improved diffraction behaviour, higher crystallographic symmetry and no presence of twinning. The structural model is differing from the wild-type model in the region, where the mutagenesis was carried out. The only drawback from this mutation is non-crystallographic translation symmetry having a negative effect on reflection intensities.


Abstract 139 The chromosomal translocation t(14;18) is present in most human follicular lymphomas (FL), however, it is not sufficient for lymphomagenesis. A number of studies have suggested a potential role for antigen activation of the B-cell receptor (BCR) in the pathogenesis of FL and other B-cell malignancies. However, the nature of the antigen(s) recognized by FL BCRs has not been well studied. We hypothesized that the antigen(s) recognized by FL BCRs is either a self or non-self antigen. The objective of this study was to identify self antigen(s) recognized by FL BCRs. We generated clonal tumor immunoglobulins (Igs) from 217 patients with FL using either hybridoma or recombinant DNA technologies. Purified tumor Igs were tested for autoreactivity against whole cell lysate prepared from a human epithelial cell line, HEp-2, in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We observed that FL tumor Igs were frequently self-reactive. To determine the nature of the antigen recognized by the tumor Igs, we performed polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of HEp-2 cell lysate. The single band recognized by the tumor Igs was analyzed by mass spectrometry and was determined to be vimentin. Using recombinant vimentin protein, we demonstrated that the tumor Igs specifically bound to vimentin when tested by ELISA and Western Blot. Furthermore, pre-incubation of the tumor Igs with recombinant vimentin protein significantly inhibited their reactivity against HEp-2 cell lysate in a dose-dependent manner. Using indirect immunofluorescence staining, we showed that the vimentin-reactive tumor Igs co-localized with a mouse anti-vimentin mAb in HEp-2 cells. Using a series of truncated recombinant vimentin protein fragments, we determined that the epitope recognized by the tumor Igs is localized to the N-terminal region of vimentin. Overall, 42/217 (19.35%) FL tumor Igs recognized N-terminal region of vimentin. Vimentin-reactivity was more commonly observed with IgG than IgM FL tumor Igs (30.4% vs. 10%; P=0.0022). However, comprehensive analysis of the sequences of the variable regions of heavy and light chains of the FL tumor Igs showed that vimentin-reactivity did not correlate with VH, JH, Vκ, Jκ, Vλ, and Jλ gene usage; CDR3 length; number of positively charged amino acid residues in CDR3; rate and pattern of mutations; or rate and pattern of N-glycosylation. In addition, we did not observe recurrent IgVH- or IgVL-CDR3 motifs amongst the vimentin-reactive FL tumor Igs. By immunohistochemistry, we showed that vimentin was expressed in the T-cell rich regions of FL suggesting its availability for binding with BCR within the tumor microenvironment. Interestingly, vimentin was also recognized by 9/18 (50%) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) tumor Igs and 12/31 (38.7%) multiple myeloma (MM) tumor Igs. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that vimentin is a shared autoantigen recognized by non-stereotypic FL BCRs as well as tumor Igs from MCL and MM and suggest that it may play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple B-cell malignancies. The identification of a shared autoantigen recognized by tumor BCRs could lead to development of in vitro and in vivo models to better understand the pathogenesis and natural history of FL and other B-cell malignancies. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Large-scale transformation of natural habitats to urban, industrial and agricultural land-use often increases the frequency and severity of human-wildlife conflict. The Cape Peninsula's chacma baboon (Papio ursinus) population has been enveloped by human-modified environments, causing human-baboon conflict to escalate. Current conflict mitigation is achieved through the use of baboon monitors who 'defend' the urban edge. This method, although effective, is expensive and labour intensive and monitored troops still succumb to high levels of human-induced injury and mortality. I have implemented and tested various methods to enhance or replace the monitoring system. Each method was assessed for its biological efficiency and practical and financial sustainability. Light aversion, using reflective prisms, although inexpensive and practical, was unsuccessful. A combination of noise aversion and monitors holding the urban line has achieved a 100% reduction in raiding over a ten month period. Lastly, food provisioning, adapted from King et al. (2008) reduced the percentage of time that baboons spent in urban areas, increased natural foraging and was most effective when restricting access to urban food sources. My work suggests that successful deterrents are impervious to habituation, increase the risk to reward ratio of foraging in urban areas and exploit key elements target species' biology. I am currently testing waste management techniques to assess innovation, cultural transmission of learnt behaviour and their implications for baboon management. This work will provide a scientific basis for the goal of achieving sustainable commensalism between humans and baboons and valuable results to the primatological literature.


Bluetongue virus (BTV) is a global threat to domestic and wild ruminants, causing massive economic losses throughout the world. New serotypes of the virus are rapidly emerging in different continents, unfortunately there is little cross-protection between BTV serotypes. The eradication of the virus from a region is particularly complicated in areas where multiple serotypes circulate for a long time. The present review summarizes the actual concerns about the spread of the virus and relevant approaches to develop efficient vaccines against BTV, in particular those focused on a multiserotype design.


Methods and compositions are provided herewith for the production of multimetal diffusion coatings on metal articles providing prolonged protection against chemical or galvanic corrosion of the surface of the coated article during prolonged exposure to corrosive conditions, and particularly high-saline content marine atmospheres, especially where the protective coating is also subjected to mechanically erosive and abrasive environments, with the multiplicity of coating metals being selected so that the combination thereof provides a coating varying through the thickness thereof from outer surface toward the interface of coating layer and coated article so that the mechanical resistance to chemical corrosion is greatest at the outer surface but decreases as the coating thickness is eroded away, while the components of the coating offering sacrificial or cathodic protection are more concentrated adjacent the coating-article interface so that cathodic protection of the coated articles increases as the coating is removed by abrasion or erosion. As illustrative, the outer coating surface includes a high concentration of metallic components inherently resistant to saline corrosion and/or abrasion, although offering less cathodic protection for the coated article; while inner layers of the coating are rich in metallic components offering high sacrificial or cathodic protection, although less erosion or saline corrosion resistance.


We seek to understand the human teammate's perception of fairness during a human-robot physical collaborative task where certain subtasks leverage the robot's strengths and others leverage the human's. We conduct a user study (n=30) to investigate the effects of fluency (absent vs. present) and effort (absent vs. present) on participants' perception of fairness. Fluency controls if the robot minimizes the idle time between the human's action and robot's action. Effort controls if the robot performs tasks that it is least skilled at, i.e., most time-consuming tasks, as quickly as possible. We evaluated four human-robot teaming algorithms that consider different levels of fluency and effort. Our results show that effort and fluency help improve fairness without making a trade-off with efficiency. When the robot displays effort, this significantly increased participants' perceived fairness. Participants' perception of fairness is also influenced by team members' skill levels and task type. To that end, we propose three notions of fairness for effective human-robot teamwork: equality of workload, equality of capability, and equality of task type.


In this paper, we concentrate on the problem of cross-domain aerial scene classification. The primary assumption of the proposed cross-domain distance metric learning (CDDML) framework is that training data are adequate in the source domain but limited in the target domain. One major problem of cross-domain scene classification caused by different dates, sensor positions, lighting conditions, and sensor types is data distribution bias. To solve this problem, the CDDML framework first replaces the existing color space with the proposed hybrid color features derived from all candidate color components to decrease the spectral shift between domains. Then, hybrid color features and bag of convolution features (BOCFs) are put into a discriminating DML (DDML) method to reduce the data distribution bias in the feature space. Finally, the image-to-subcategory distance measure is proposed to decrease the effect of intraclass variability on the nearest neighbor classifier by fusing hybrid color features and BOCF in the distance space. The experiments on three aerial target images or data sets confirm that the CDDML framework can obtain better results than most of the previous methods in the case of inadequate samples. Experimental results also demonstrate that DDML, hybrid color features, and the image-to-subcategory distance measure can increase the classification performance.


Describes a polynomial interpolation based filter digitization technique which aims to preserve an analog system's frequency response. It is shown that the procedure is capable of digitizing non-bandlimited, including highpass, analog filters. In most cases considered, it results in digital filters whose frequency response is closer to the frequency response of the analog filter than that of filters designed using impulse invariance or the bilinear transformation. >


In this study, we consider a critical challenge in architectural design methodology-methods of form making in landform architecture. Based on the authors' methodology, the approaches and methods of form making are specified and systematized, depending on the algorithm of the form-making process and the basic principles of building composition. The approaches to architectural form making, including image-based, generative, and functional approaches are determined. The methods within the framework of the image-based approach are identified. These methods include natural «mimicry» and metaphorical methods, as well asan image-based and combinatorial method. Furthermore, the principles and techniques of form-making methods are examined, and their capability and potential to create esthetically expressive and poetically shaped buildings, which can be integrated into existing natural landscapes, are determined.


With the combination of the R 2LS algorithm [1] and the multi model and reinitialization techniques,this paper presents the multi model tracking and prediction(MMTP)algorithm for maneuvering targets.The on line computation of MMTP is greatly reduced because much of the computation can be achieved beforhand.


Abstract : In this work, we discuss the design and fabrication of a nickel-titanium (Ni50Ti50) shape memory alloy (SMA) cantilever array that was thermally actuated by harnessing the residual stress difference during the martensite-to-austenite phase transformation during heating. The cantilever devices were fabricated on a silicon (Si) wafer using standard microfabrication techniques and released using a xenon difluoride (XeF2) dry-etch technique and may therefore be applicable to microelectromechanical system (MEMS) switch or actuator applications. We demonstrated partially released devices capable of tearing a 1 3 m rib of Si upon thermal actuation.


In this paper, we introduced the perceived value (including product value, cewebrity value, service value, image value and economic value) and perceived trust variables to proposed an Extended TAM Model in order to identify key factors affecting Consumers' Purchase Intention in E-commerce Live Broadcast. We collected questionnaire data from 495 participates who have bought goods in E-commerce Live Broadcast in China, and validate the results with structural equation model. The empirical results show that: All kind of perceived value in e-commerce live broadcast significantly and positively affects consumers' purchase intention; Perceived trust in e-commerce live broadcast significantly positively affects consumers' purchase intention. These findings can lead to several management strategies to improve the Consumers' Purchase Intention in E-commerce Live Broadcast.


The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is an astroparticle physics detector that has been installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2011. The purpose of the experiment is to study with unprecedented precision and statistics cosmic-ray particles in an energy range from 0.5 GeV to few TeV. The AMS-02 Tracker system accurately determines the trajectory and absolute charge (Z) of cosmic rays by multiple measurements of the coordinates in nine layers of double-sided silicon micro-strip detectors. Given the high dynamic range of the front-end electronics, nuclei from hydrogen up to iron and above can be identified. The charge resolution could be naturally degraded by a number of detector effects that need to be carefully accounted for. In this contribution we describe the procedure that has been used to accurately calibrate the Tracker response. Finally we will discuss the Tracker calibration stability with time.


Samples of wetwood from four living western black cottonwood (Populustrichocarpa Torr. and Gray) trees growing near Vancouver, B.C., were incubated anaerobically with acetylene to detect nitrogen fixation using the acetylene-reduction method. Significant acetylene reduction was detected in all trees and ranged up to 5.16 nmol acetylene g–1 day−1. It is suggested that nitrogen fixation in wetwood may be a significant phenomenon in forest ecosystems.


Five mathematical models for predicting subsurface flow were compared to discharge measurements made by Hewlett and Hibbert (1963) on a uniform sloping soil trough at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory. The models included one- and two-dimensional finite element models based on the Richards equation, a kinematic wave model, and two simple storage-discharge models based on the kinematic wave and Boussinesq assumptions. The simple models simulated the subsurface response and water table positions as well as the more complex models based on the Richards equation and were much more economical to use from the point of view of computational costs. Such models have features that would allow them to be incorporated into more complex watershed models, thus placing hydrologic prediction on a more physically correct and less empirical footing.


This research is expected to improve the sustainable tuna fisheries management of Fisheries Management Area Republic of Indonesia (FMARI) 572 by considering fish resources and fishermen welfare. The objectives of the research are examining the status of tuna fisheries in the FMARI 572, analyzing the bioeconomic model of tuna fisheries in the FMARI 572, and determining the strategy of a sustainable tuna fisheries management in the FMARI 572. This research was carried out for 3 months from February to May 2019 at the existing fishing ports located along the west coast of Sumatra (FMARI 572), such as Lampulo Fishing Port (Aceh), Sibolga Fishing Port (North Sumatra), Bungus Fishing Port (West Sumatra), and Nizam Zachman Fishing Port (Jakarta). Some factors analyzed were: The fishing capacity of fishing units with a variety of fishing gears, the potential of fish resources, the optimum level of efforts reaching the sustainable maximum catches, and the implementation of fisheries bioeconomic models. The results of this study showed the level of utilization tuna in FMARI 572 is still moderate, Tuna fisheries in FMARI 572 have not experienced biological and economical overfishing, and there were 3 sustainable tuna fisheries management strategies proposed.


This contribution deals with modelling of the uncontrolled plant behaviour on the sensor/actuator level that will eventually provide the basis for synthesis of distributed controllers. It presents a modular modelling formalism as well as a modelling methodology for model engineering rather than designing a model from scratch. The improved modelling formalism includes new modular system semantics. This enables us to study the dynamic behaviour of the modular model without performing a complete composition and thereby destroying the modular nature of the model. A well-structured modelling example of a laboratory plant is provided to illustrate the method. It shows that the method is able to cope with rather large systems of realistic scale.


A theoretical description of pressure-calibration method based on wavelength modulation absorption spectrometry (WMAS) with second harmonic detection for precise measurements of trace gas concentration will be present in this paper. The method can obtain the consistent relation between gas concentration and second harmonic signal in pressure changes. The signal is monotonic function when gas concentration as metrics and it becomes a complete linear function when density of particles number as metrics. It not only allows complying with traditional WMAS technique without any calibration methods, but also applying to various environment of pressure variations. Typical applications like environmental monitoring and remote sensing can be used this method to calibrated measurement results. In addition, the method is not restricted to situations with typical applications. Furthermore, it can also easily be adapted to various gas concentration detection under pressure changes. The pressure-calibration method can be useful for gas concentration measurements so that assist to ensure the accuracy of data in research.


This paper reports about the energy use in making carrot preserve, apple-pineapple jam, tomato sauce and mango pickle. It is observed that the maximum manual energy is consumed in the operations of pricking, bottling and cutting for the carrot preserve, jam and sauce and mango pickle, respectively. The total energy use to preserve jam, sauce and pickle was observed to be 8306 7, 8620 3 6888 7 and 117 7 MJ respectively for one tonne of raw material


Background and Objective: Coffee is one of the common drinks in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia due to its desirable aroma, taste and putative positive physiological functions. The concentration of metals is commonly present in coffee powder. The presence of heavy metal concentration in different brands of coffee powder available in Saudi Arabia market has been analyzed.
Methods: Thirteen different coffee brands were selected in different markets, all assessment was carried out in advanced instruments such as Inductively Coupled Plasma and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. There are 14 metals which divide into seven non toxic and seven toxic metals were analyzed. Non toxic metals are calcium (Ca), iron (Fe),magnesium (Mg), Magnese (Mn), Potassium (K), phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), and toxic metals are arsenic (Ar), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony and cadmium (Cd).
Results: The mean and standard deviation of non-toxic and toxic metals concentration in different samples of coffee were as follows: Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P and Na were 24.87±6.76, 6.670±4.88, 235.98±100.05, 407.02±22.56, 8.63±10.14, 0.01±0.01, 333.86±247.35 respectively. Toxic metals concentration were as Al, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Si, Zn were   11.04±10.03, 0.80 ±2.52, 2.43±3.02, 0.07±0.11, 7.57±9.26,  23.48±27.32  and 1.853±1.66 respectively. These concentration values were high compared to threshold limit values (TLVs) of metals.
Conclusion: It was concluded from the study that coffee powder had high concentration of heavy toxic metals which is the major public health problem. Thus, quality control for food safety recommended during production of coffee.


This paper argues against the priority of temporality over spatiality, which Heidegger defends in Being and Time. The argument, however, does not follow the turn in Heideggers philosophy and his later retrieval of the spatial, but is developed as a delimitation that is, an internal critique and reconstruction undertaken within the transcendental framework of his early thinking. This delimitation proposes a demonstration of the fundamental role of spatialising, defined as dissemination, in the constitution of human Being-in-the-world. A rethinking of human Being-there in terms of the co-originality of spatiality and temporality permits a revisiting of the question of the transcendental and makes it possible to pursue the overcoming of a philosophy of the subject which, critics often point out, Heidegger unsuccessfully sought to transgress in his early work.


Translation of mRNA into protein requires the processive decoding of mRNA triplets into amino acids with concurrent formation of peptide bonds. These interdependent events are mediated by the ribosome in association with other cellular components. The complexity of the translation process makes it a likely candidate for regulation at multiple points. Moreover, the existence of small molecules, e.g., antibiotics, that can perturb specific steps in translation argues for the availability of these same steps as targets for regulation. Given this background, it is remarkable that most known examples of translational regulation apparently do not involve altering the catalytic properties of the ribosome. For instance, one major class of regulation involves a mechanism(s) that prevents translation initiation by the binding of specific proteins to critical segments within specific transcripts (7, 10, 24). In another example, the sequence of the mRNA can "confuse" the decoding process, forcing translation to assume an alternative reading frame (2, 4, 18, 30). Regulation of translation of specific transcripts by the intervention of small, ribosomally targeted trans-acting effector molecules is apparently unknown. A reason for this may be that ribosomes constitute a seemingly homogeneous class of cellular macromolecule. A trans-acting effector that is active on one ribosome would likely modify many ribosomes in a cell, defeating this strategy as a means of achieving selective alteration of gene expression. On the other hand, cis-acting effectors have the potential to induce changes that are unique to the ribosome that is translating a particular transcript. During the past five years, three unrelated examples of cis regulation of ribosome function have been described. In each, the effector or co-effector is the nascent peptide (Fig. 1).


Machinema is a system that allows making movies in virtual environment created in real-time. In the process of making machinema movie, the camera position plays an important role in the process of cinematography. In the real world, the cameraman receives direction form the director to put the camera accordance with the desired viewpoint. Machinema works in real-time, it would a real camera system that can perform the roles of a director and cameraman in determining perspective on every scene in the film making. In the real world cinematography, the director used a variety of viewpoints such as establishing shot, track shot, bird eye, and close up to get an interesting story. If machinema is used to make a film resembling as in the real world then machinema should be possible to take shoot with various position. We designed an intelligent camera system that can accommodate the needs of the virtual cinematography by observing the rules of traditional cinematography in the real world. An intelligent camera system is capable of assisting in the process of making machinema movies. Our method uses behavior trees. The system we made allows the camera to perform as a director in terms of deciding the proper perspective based on priorities and possibilities to make the camera moves automatically and shoots like a cameraman in the real world. In this paper we implement the system we've created in virtual world using unreal engine.


Using the standard waveform composition method for 2+2 dynamic drive schemes results in the dependence of image contrast on image data-content. In this paper, an implementation of this standard method with doubling the frequency of driving signals is proposed. It allows to equalize the effective selection time for all display's pixels independently of preceding and following non-selected pixel voltage waveforms. Thus, data-pattern-dependent defects at the passive-matrix addressing of cholesteric liquid crystal displays are fully eliminated.


As fully autonomous vehicles come into fruition, the role of the driver will transition from controlling the vehicle to monitoring the autonomy's operation. However, there is substantial evidence that as new levels of automation are introduced, systems still are prone to unsafe behaviors when interacting with humans. This means that the communication and interaction between the driver and the automation must be carefully modeled and optimized to guarantee safe performance. We present a framework that formalizes designing user interfaces for intelligent vehicles, by optimizing informativeness subject to brevity and utility. By modeling the system as a communication channel, we estimate the reduction of entropy of human-autonomy system, given a probability distribution over attributes obtained from user data, and information constraints to ensure brevity. Through this, we observe an approximately quadratic relationship between the amount of information displayed to the user and performance metrics, referred to as the information-performance trade-off curve. This trend was found in situational awareness, driving performance, and trust in the autonomy. Thus, in order to optimize interaction and performance, quantifying the informativeness of attributes and the conciseness of the interface is key in developing systems that must smoothly interact with humans.


BACKGROUND
Advances in the therapy of malignant brain tumors in children have led to a significant improvement in survival rates over the last few decades. As a result, the recognition and treatment of late effects have become more important. In addition to secondary tumors and deficiencies in cognitive and intellectual skills, the resulting endocrine disturbances play an important role.

METHOD
Own data and literature review.

RESULTS
Deviations from the normal growth hormone secretion are usually recognized first and are most common, and have already been observed after conventional whole brain irradiation with 18 Gy. With some delay, other hypothalamo-pituitary deficiencies may occur, including panhypopituitarism. Puberty may come too early or too late or may not appear at all. Girls in particular, frequently experience an early and rapid pubertal development after brain tumor therapy, which may lead to further reduction in height due to an accelerated bone maturation. Functional disturbances of the thyroid and adrenal glands due to hypothalamic or pituitary deficiency are less common, and usually seen only after a radiation dose of over 40 Gy.

CONCLUSION
Survivors of childhood brain tumors must be considered as long-term survivors, in whom the first therapy-induced long-term side effects appear almost immediately after the end of therapy. Maximum quality of life for the individual patient can only be achieved by long-term care and close cooperation of specialists in the different medical disciplines involved.


eScholarship provides open access, scholarly publishing services to the University of California and delivers a dynamic research platform to scholars worldwide. Abstract: Ten ice-sheet models are used to study sensitivity of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to prescribed changes of surface mass balance, sub-ice-shelf melting and basal sliding. Results exhibit a large range in projected contributions to sea-level change. In most cases, the ice volume above flotation lost is linearly dependent on the strength of the forcing. Combinations of forcings can be closely approximated by linearly summing the contributions from single forcing experiments, suggesting that nonlinear feedbacks are modest. Our models indicate that Greenland is more sensitive than Antarctica to likely atmospheric changes in temperature and precipitation, while Antarctica is more sensitive to increased ice-shelf basal melting. An experiment approximating the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's RCP8.5 scenario produces additional first-century contributions to sea level of 22.3 and 8.1 cm from Greenland and Antarctica, respectively, with a range among models of 62 and 14 cm, respectively. By 200 years, projections increase to 53.2 and 26.7 cm, respectively, with ranges of 79 and 43 cm. Linear interpolation of the sensitivity results closely approximates these projections, revealing the relative contributions of the individual forcings on the combined volume change and suggesting that total ice-sheet response to complicated forcings over 200 years can be linearized. ABSTRACT. Ten ice-sheet models are used to study sensitivity of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to prescribed changes of surface mass balance, sub-ice-shelf melting and basal sliding. Results exhibit a large range in projected contributions to sea-level change. In most cases, the ice volume above flotation lost is linearly dependent on the strength of the forcing. Combinations of forcings can be closely approximated by linearly summing the contributions from single forcing experiments, suggesting that nonlinear feedbacks are modest. Our models indicate that Greenland is more sensitive than Antarctica to likely atmospheric changes in temperature and precipitation, while Antarctica is more sensitive to increased ice-shelf basal melting. An experiment approximating the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's RCP8.5 scenario produces additional first-century contributions to sea level of 22.3 and 8.1 cm from Greenland and Antarctica, respectively, with a range among models of 62 and 14 cm, respectively. By 200 years, projections increase to 53.2 and 26.7 cm, respectively, with ranges of 79 and 43 cm. Linear interpolation of the sensitivity results closely approximates these projections, revealing the relative contributions of the individual forcings on the combined volume change and suggesting that total ice-sheet response to complicated forcings over 200 years can be linearized.


Summary

Esters are quite important for the aroma of aged red wine as they contribute to the fruity complex nature of this wine. This research paper measured the development of esters during maturation of Merlot red wines. These wines had different amounts of turbidity. The wine was aged for 18 months either after filtration with diatomaceous earth or without filtration. Both American and French oak barrel were used for storage. The results obtained showed that the unfiltered wine had a greater concentration of esters at the end of the storage period than the filtered wine. Fatty acid and ethanol esters decreased more than isoamyl acetate, independently of filtration. Ethyl octanoate and ethyl decanoate decreased both in filtered and unfiltered wine. Isoamyl acetate was formed in unfiltered wine and ethyl butyrate and ethyl hexanoate decreased in filtered wine while they remained constant in unfiltered wine.


For 50 years, D. Elmo Hardy studied the dipteran family Pipunculidae. During that period he produced numerous articles, covering all taxonomic groups within the family and nearly all zoogeographical regions. His contribution to the knowledge of the group has been tremendous and pivotal for all future work. This article gives an overview of the taxonomic knowledge prior to Hardy's work, his contribution from 1939 until 1989, and the impact of his study on the contemporary research of the last decades.


Transition (hybrid, tension, intergradation and contact) zones are the focus of attention of many evolutionary studies. Concepts of speciation and population evolution are dependent on whether the zone is thought to be due to the differentiation of the populations in situ (i.e., primary zones) as in area effect, clinal and stasipatric speciation (Endler, 1977; White, 1978) or due to secondary contact of populations (i.e., secondary zones) as in allopatric speciation or differentiation. It has been pointed out (Endler, 1977) that a major logical flaw in many such studies is that one cannot distinguish between a primary and secondary original event by the nature of the zone. Irrespective of the truth of this it is obviously logically desirable to hypothesize the origin of a zone independent of its nature. Using grass snake populations as an example, this paper describes some ideas


In the theory of the Dirac equation in quantum mechanics, the Dirac matrix beta is taken to connect 'proper time' and coordinate time rates of change of operators. The usual Heisenberg equation for the coordinate time rate of change of an operator then leads to a Heisenberg-like equation for its proper time rate (the 'Hamiltonian' being analogous to the generator of proper time translations in classical mechanics). Certain terms have to be set to zero by the use of the Dirac equation, and this is here justified. The equivalence of the formalisms under these conditions is shown and the method entitles us to derive some well known results for the Dirac equation in a comparatively effortless manner. The present work justifies methods introduced by H.C. Corben (1961).


The influence of the viscosity gradient (due to shear flow) on low-frequency collective modes in a strongly coupled dusty plasma is analyzed. It is shown that for a well-known viscoelastic plasma model, the velocity shear-dependent viscosity leads to instability of the shear mode. The inhomogeneous viscous force and velocity shear coupling supply the free energy for the instability. The combined strength of the shear flow and viscosity gradient dominates over any stabilizing force and makes the shear mode unstable. The implications of this novel instability and its applications are briefly described.


This is an ambitious project, the first volume of a two-part commentary. The section by section comments, even though just on the first forty-five chapters, alone run to 300 pages. It is the first commentary to be published on the Greek text of the Pompey this century (editions of the Agesilaos-Pompey promised from the Fondazione Lorenzo Valla and the Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli are yet to appear), and this is therefore quite properly aimed at the scholar: no text is printed, and the Greek and Latin in the notes are not translated. Unfortunately, H. does not tell us which text he is using. This omission is not altogether surprising: H.'s commentary has its focus, as the title declares, on the historical events and backgrounds of Pompey's life rather than on Plutarch's text per se. Thus appendices discuss three cruces for the career of Pompey: his imperium in Sicily and Africa, the Lex de reditu Cn. Pompei (Sail. Hist. 2.21, McGushin), and the date of his first triumph. H.'s commentary is a revised version of his 1993/4 Vienna doctoral thesis. The decision to write on only the first half of the Pompey was, no doubt, partly motivated by the peculiar demands of the PhD. But the cut-off point, the end of ch. 45, makes admirable sense. This marks the high-point of Pompey's career, as Plutarch's words in 46.1-4 make clear. It is surprising that in this respect H. does not cite Polman (Cl. Phil. 69 [1974], 169-77) on the aKprj of Plutarchan heroes. H.'s main interest is in Pompey as a historical figure and in issues of sourcecriticism. Much of the commentary is taken up with cross-references to alternative literary sources, and almost twenty pages of the introduction are devoted to a discussion of the sources of the Pompey. But his introduction also deals competently with some of the main issues of relevance to a study of this particular, Plutarchan, text. There are sensible discussions of, amongst other topics, the dating of the Parallel Lives, and their purpose, Plutarch's 'Kompositionstechnik' and handling of his source material, the pairing of Agesilaos and Pompey, and Plutarch's views of Pompey's personality and politics. No new insights are to be had here, but H.'s comments provide a brief outline of current debate. There is of course more to be said. The discussion of Plutarch and historiography is based too much on Plutarch's own statements and does not consider whether history and biography were considered distinct literary genres. In a similar way, H. is too uncritical in taking Plutarch's programmatic statements at face value. Do the Lives, and more particularly, does the Life of Pompey, fulfil Plutarch's claim to be providing uplifting examples of virtuous


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to directly examine the information hypothesis of S&P 500 index inclusion announcements by investigating the degree to which information beyond Standard & Poor's eight stated criteria enters the inclusion decision. Design/methodology/approach - Isolating a sample of S&P 500 additions and their eligible candidates during 1987-2004, this paper employs logistic analysis that identifies factors Findings - The evidence indicates that, when choosing among new S&P 500 candidates, the S&P's committee relies primarily on publicly available information related to enterprise risk and historical performance. Material, private insight into future value-relevant information plays at most a small part in the selection. Research limitations/implications - The results suggest that index additions convey limited new information about added firms. Studies analysing index additions should start with the presumption that index inclusion announcements are information-free events, and focus on the consequences of index inclusions such as liquidity, awareness or arbitrage risk, in their relation to index premia. Originality/value - The results indicate that the previous evidence supporting the information hypothesis using the S&P 500 inclusions is not compelling.


We study the Bose-Einstein condensation of a gas with $SU_q(2)$ symmetry. We show, in the thermodynamic limit, that the boson interactions introduced by the quantum group symmetries enhance Bose-Einstein condensation giving a discontinuity in the heat capacity $C_v$ at the critical temperature $T_c$. The critical temperature and the gap in $C_v$ increase with the value of the parameter $q$ and become approximately constant for $q>3$.


Malnutrition is associated with increased mortality risk in patients (pts) with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). On the other hand, concomitant presence of pulmonary hypertension in heart failure is associated with increased adverse events and may be related to interventricular uncoupling and impaired cardiac efficiency. It has recently been shown that an increased mean pulmonary artery pressure to mean systemic arterial pressure ratio (MPS ratio), a marker of interventricular coupling and efficiency, is associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with advanced heart failure. However, there is no information available on the long-term prognostic value of the combination of malnutrition and MPS ratio in pts admitted for ADHF.

 We studied 248 pts admitted for ADHF, who underwent right heart catheterization at the admission and were discharged with survival. Malnutrition was assessed by geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and controlling nutritional status score (CONUT). During a mean follow-up period of 5.2±4.4 yrs, 62 pts had cardiovascular death (CVD). MPS ratio was significantly greater in pts with than without CVD (0.408±0.114 vs 0.347±0.102, p=0.0001). GNRI and PNI were significantly lower, CONUT was significantly greater in pts with than without CVD. At multivariate Cox regression analysis, GNRI and MPS ratio were significantly associated with CVD, independently of prior heart failure hospitalization, eGFR, and serum sodium level and anemia, although PNI and CONUT showed the association with CVD at unvariate analysis. Pts with malnutrition (GNRI≤median value=96.5) and greater MPS ratio (≥median value=0.346) had a significantly higher CVD risk than those with either and none of them (51% vs 20% vs 12%, p<0.0001, respectively).

 The combination of malnutrition and MPS ratio might be useful for stratifying pts at risk for CVD in patients with ADHF.

 Type of funding source: None


Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita (SEDC) is an extremely rare inherited chondrodysplasia characterized by abnormal epiphyses, short stature, and flattened vertebral bodies. We investigate the phenotypes and the disease‐associated variants of SEDC in two unrelated Chinese families.


A friend of mine made what is called an educated guess at the number of people painting pictures in the United States and came up with the number, ten million. Even if it were only ten thousand it would still be a staggering number. It is pointless to question the number because it could be true and the only significant point to be made is simply that painting is an intriguing pastime for many people. In the region in which I live we have close to five thousand amateur painters, (the Florida Federation of Art has 5,200 members, many of whom belong to local organizations scattered about the state. This does not include students in schools, both junior college and university, who number in the thousands, nor the so-called professional painters who teach or make some kind of living from their work as painters.


The aim of this study was to describe the decision making of professional defensive football players according to the recognition-primed decision (RPD) model and to investigate relationships between their recognition processes and use of salient situational features in a naturalistic setting. Behavioral data were obtained from video recordings of four high-level football players in a top-level game, supplemented by verbal data collected during video-cued recall interviews, with the players watching the videotapes. Seven critical defensive stages in one game were studied. The data were analyzed using content analysis in relation to the RPD model in five steps. Considering the salient features the athletes used, 112 decisions were classified into three types of processes and eight typical decisions for defensive stages. These findings are discussed from three perspectives: the salient features the athletes used to assess the situation, the recognition processes of expert sport players' decision making, and future directions for research and decision-making training.


An elementary proof shows that a finite group G is isomorphic to A5 if and only if πe(G)={1, p, q, r}, where p,q,r are distinct primes.


The modal theory is developed for a slab periodic medium bounded by different media on both sides. Dispersion analysis is carried out for the various cases. Wave amplitudes are determined from boundary conditions for electromagnetic field components. The results are compared and reduced to the well-known theories under simplified conditions. Analysis and calculations are aimed at applications to grating couplers, electrooptical modulators, and distributed feedback systems in integrated optics.


The main purpose of this brief study is to contribute to the improvement of the environment conditions estimation in models of path attenuation and SAR determinations. We propose a fuzzified extension of the Hata-Okumura model of electromagnetic waves propagation, with the purpose to improve and extend the current models in view of better computations of the limits imposed by human health concerns. The proposed models are essentially interpolation of the current sub-models based on a fuzzified estimation of the equivalent height of the buildings along the wave path.


The short-term passenger flow prediction in urban rail transit serves as a crucial basis for dynamic adjustments of transportation organizations, enhancing the efficiency of operational services and safety assurances, while effectively advancing the development of intelligent rail transit systems. By examining the impact of adverse weather conditions on rail transit passenger flow, conducting research on cloud models, and analyzing existing short-term passenger flow prediction models, this study proposes a novel concept for a short-term dynamic passenger flow prediction model based on cloud models under rainfall conditions.


A control chart based on the sequential change-point detection model is proposed for monitoring the linear profiles. This chart based on generalized likelihood ratio statistics can detect a shift in either the intercept or the slope or the standard deviation by a single chart that is different from the other control charts for linear profiles. The simulated results show that our approach has good performance across the range of possible shifts. The simple diagnostic aids are also given to estimate the location of the change and determine which of the parameters has changed. We also investigate the effectiveness of these aids and give comparisons with the traditional methods.


The article explores discourses, which, strongly marked by the association between immigration and security/safety issues, shape conflicts between groups in the urban spaces. More specifically, the article analyses daily interactions in a neighbourhood located in a semi-central area of the city of Milan and the discursive strategies of established Italian residents in dealing with neighbours, shopkeepers and public space users of immigrant origin. It focuses on the specific case of a small park which, claimed by the Italian residents in the neighbourhood, is currently a space of different activities by different groups and constitutes a core of an intergroup conflict. Referring to the existent Italian literature on the social construction of immigration as a problem related to security and urban safety issues, the article focuses on how such a discourse is produced and reproduced at the local level in established residents' discourses and practices and their imagination/s of the community of 'us'. While the article analyses how established residents account for the changes that have occurred in their area, discursive strategies about the nature of the place and its 'legitimate' users as well as social practices of appropriation and control are examined in order to show the interrelation between the processes of othering and place-identity making. Keywords: Neighbourhood; migrants; established residents; othering; community; place identity; Milan