The worldwide road tunnel linings are protected against possible fire scenarios to safeguard the structure and assist in occupant evacuation. There are various choices of active and passive protection available, passive protections includes calcium silicate boards, polypropylene fibers, vermiculite cement based sprays, and other intumescent materials. Tunnel fire is a complex phenomenon and researchers in the past has highlighted that there are various factors which affect the tunnel fires. The effect of passive protection techniques on tunnel fire is not well understood, especially for the insulation boards. It's been understood from past research that for a heavy good vehicular (HGV) fire in the tunnel, the heat feedback effect is significant. Insulation boards may also affect the tunnel fires by altering the heat feedback effect in vehicular tunnels and hence this can affect the overall heat release rates and temperature profile inside a tunnel. This study focuses on studying the role of insulation boards in tunnel fires and evaluating its effect on overall heat release rate and tunnel temperatures.


among patients with schizophrenia. I am concerned that their findings may be affected by its methodological limitations. Information about the sampling method and response rates was missing; this would affect optimal estimation of the prevalence rate of obesity and overweight among patients with schizophrenia. The young age (44% being younger than 30 years) and high level of education (40% having studied to the tertiary level) may reflect a biased sample. This may underestimate the prevalence of obesity and overweight among patients with schizophrenia in the general psychiatric setting. 2,3 The major limitation is their use of bivariate analysis. The comparison of body mass index and waist circumference between patients receiving various types of antipsychotics could be confounded by many factors, e.g. gender and duration of treatment. Regression analysis would be an option to model the relationship between these variables. Body mass index and waist circumference are anthropometric measures, which are useful in the assessment of obesity and its related health risk. 4 Body mass index correlates with body fat, morbidity and mortality, while waist circumference indicates the abdominal fat distribution. 4 Lower body mass index on olanzapine and clozapine are inconsistent with large-scale prospective study. 5 The causal relationship could be better estimated by changes in body mass index and waist circumference, which was not addressed in the cross-sectional design. Other shortcomings included the difference in proportion of patients taking weight-gaining antipsychotics between their groups, which


Cycle-to-cycle variation (CCV) of combustion in low load operation is a factor that may cause various problems in engine operation. Variable valve timing and variable ignition timing are commonly used as a means to reduce this variation. However, due to mountability and cost constraints, these methods are not feasible for use in motorcycle engines. Therefore, development of an engine with minimal CCV without utilizing complicated mechanisms or electronic control is required. CCV of combustion may be caused by fluctuations in in-cylinder flow, air-fuel mixture, temperature, residual gas and ignition energy. In this study, the relationship between CCV of combustion, in-cylinder flow fluctuation and air-fuel mixture fluctuation was the primary focus. In order to evaluate in-cylinder flow fluctuation, Time Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (TR-PIV) technique was utilized. In addition, Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) technique was used to measure spatial distribution of the this PLIF study was a mixture of 82% iso-octane and 18% 3-pentanone by volume. 3-pentanone is a widely used fluorescent tracer for PLIF measurements due to its strong fluorescence and low sensitivity to oxygen quenching. In 3-pentanone has a boiling point of 101.5 C, is to the boiling of iso-octane C), [14]


Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most serious manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affecting mainly young women, but can also affect men. It refers to the development of intrarenal tissue inflammation responsible for various damage at this level: glomerular, vascular and/or tubulointerstitial lesions.
 This complication, which can be inaugural, occurs in the majority of cases early in the history of the disease, and constitutes a major evolutionary turning point, which can lead to end-stage chronic renal failure in 5–10% of cases.
 The aim of our study was to analyse the different characteristics of NL in humans, since the latter is little studied due to the rarity of cases.

 We conducted a descriptive retrospective study at the nephrology departments of the Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca, from January 2011 to August 2021 (i.e. 10 years) on LN. All male patients (34 cases) who developed LN confirmed on renal biopsy.

 The average age of the patients was 29.41 years with extremes ranging from 15 to 56 years among them five black patients. The circumstance of discovery of LN was edematous syndrome in 46.87%, nephrotic syndrome 37.5% and renal failure in 15.62% of cases. The renal manifestations were made of arterial hypertension in 21.87% of cases, and haematuria in 15.62% of cases. The extrarenal manifestations were articular in 37.5% of cases, cutaneous in 56.25% of cases and 40.62% of cases had general signs. Biologically, on the blood count, haemolytic anaemia was observed in 87.5% of cases, lymphopenia in 31.25% of cases and thrombocytopaenia in 40.62%, while AANs were positive in 96.87% and anti-DNA antibody were positive in 93.75%. Hypocomplementemia was objectified in 84.37%. Histologically: according to the World Health Organization classification of LN, we have reported: LN class I in a single patient, i.e. 3.12%, and LN class III in 12.5% of cases, LN class IV in 53.12% and LN class V in 31.25%, while the combination of class V and III was seen in one patient and the combination of class IV and V in three cases. Concerning the evolution 34.37% progressed well with complete remission, 31.2% of patients relapsed, while three patients progressed to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and all of three from black. The evolution was also marked by death in eight patients; among them four were black.

 Lupus disease is more aggressive in men and is characterized by a higher rate of complications, including kidney damage. In our study, we were able to deduce that LN in the black race has a bad prognosis.


Power consumption and die heating are of major concern in high-density high-speed integrated circuits. The performance of modern IC designs is limited by power consumption and thermal issues. Direct and continuous measurement of on-chip currents is becoming increasingly common in interconnects at multiple locations on a die with real time feedback to the controller for efficient load management and/or load balancing and system performance optimization. The demand for good on-chip current sensors to support such applications is growing. These on-chip current sensors should have sufficient accuracy as well as compact area and low power consumption. This thesis introduces on-chip current measurement method providing performance improvement as well as lifetime electromigration management. The inherent voltage drop across existing interconnects is used to determine the current flow rather than inserting shunts in the current-flow paths for creating voltage drops,. Current is measured with a MOSFET-only sensing circuit providing 9 bits of resolution with midrange current levels at the threshold where electromigration concerns become relevant. This current sensor can be used for sensing currents in either VDD or VSS busses and is targeted for use in power/thermal management units of integrated circuits. Simulation results show the DNL/INL of this sensor is within +0.15/-0.3 LSB. The current sensor is proved still useful with respect to local mismatches. The small area and low power dissipation make the structure suitable for multiple-site on-chip current measurements.


The combination of the new glycopeptide LY264826 and gentamicin was compared with the combination of vancomycin and gentamicin against 30 strains of enterococci, comprising 20 strains of Enterococcus faecalis, five strains of Enterococcus faecium and five strains of Enterococcus avium, isolated from blood cultures. LY264826 plus gentamicin was synergic against E. faecalis and E. faecium, but not against E. avium.


The forecast translates into a decision, and, accordingly, the uncertainty attached to the forecast i.e. error, needs to be endogenous to the decision itself. In other words the use of the forecast needs to be determinedormodifiedbased on the estimated accuracy about what we should or should not forecastas some forecasts can be harmful to decision makers. (Box et al., 1994; Salas et al., 1980). The main objective of this paper is to forecast the future monsoon rainfall using the proposed algorithm with the help of previous monsoon rainfall data. METHODOLOGY


Porphyrins and metalloporphyrins are one of the most widely studied platforms for the construction of supramolecular structures. These compounds have an extended aromatic system that allows [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] stacking interactions which, together with hydrogen bonds, electrostatic forces and the formation of inter-metallic complexes arising from peripheral groups, offer a versatile platform to control the self-assembly mechanism. In this work, we present the study of nanostructures formed by self-assembly of the water-soluble porphyrins meso-tetra([Formula: see text]-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin (TMPyP) and meso-tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) in the presence of hard nanotemplates. Different nanoparticles (silica, gold, and polystyrene), concentrations and synthetic procedures were explored. The obtained materials were characterized by SEM and AFM microscopies, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering measurements. A clear modification of the SiO2 NP surface roughness using one-pot synthesis was observed. The results were variable depending on the porphyrin–surface interactions and concentrations used. At lower porphyrin concentrations, a shift of the Soret band was observed, while at higher concentrations, free NS were formed. This reflects a competition between surface and solution directed self-assembly.


Fiscal Decentralization is a popular economic development strategy among transition and developing countries. This article reviews the advantages of fiscal decentralization in a theoretical context, but critiques the relevance of the standard theory of federalism as it applies to emerging economies. It is argued that the macroeconomic benefits of fiscal centralization, the absence of good instruments of local government finance, and the centralist politics that characterize most low income countries have been strong enough to hold back increased emphasis on local government finance.


The purpose of the first part of this study was to develop computerized techniques for automation of instrum ent calibration, data collection and calculation of indices of pulmonary mechanical function in resting and exercising horses. The microcomputer system developed enabled a single trained technician to reliably operate the equipment in an equine pulmonary mechanics laboratory. The first experiment investigated the temporal effects of histamine and methacholine aerosols on indices of pulmonary mechanics derived from the linear equation of motion. Data calculated on a breath-by-breath basis were too variable to be reliably modeled. Following application of averaging techniques, the temporal effects of histamine and methacholine on respiratory rate were the most predictable of all the response variables studied. In experiment two, normal tidal breathing flow-volume loops (TBFVLs) of resting horses were characterized. In excess of 90% of the variance of 10 TBFVL indices were summarized by a factor analysis with three factors. The first factor explained 82% of the total variance and was mainly due to time and volume relationships. Factor 2 was the expiratory flow factor, and explained a further 11% of the variance. The third factor was indicative of the shape of the inspiratory part of the TBFVL and explained 7% of the total variance.


The present invention relates generally to a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) communication system, apparatus, methods and processor control code. An adaptive MIMO communications system comprising a MIMO transmitter and a MIMO receiver and having a feedback path from the receiver to the transmitter, MIMO transmitter comprising: a receiver, receiving a feedback signal transmitted from the receiver via the feedback path; and a controller, responsive the feedback signal from the transmitter to the receiver to configure a MIMO transmission; MIMO receiver configured to receive a MIMO transmission; and wherein the MIMO receiver comprises a decision module, judging module comprising: a power instruction input, input indicating a desired receiver power consumption signal; and an output for sending a MIMO configuration signal to the MIMO transmitter, the response judgment module is configured to determine a MIMO transmission power instruction input configuration and an output a MIMO configuration signal for feedback to the transmitter to configure the transmitter according to this determination.


Professional identity formation is a dynamic process that begins in undergraduate nursing education and continues to develop throughout one's professional career. In recent decades, nursing educators emphasized the social dimension of professional identity formation in which professionalization is achieved through following rules, codes, and standards set by the profession. Character or psychological development and the proper use of virtues like integrity, compassion, or courage are often part of the hidden curriculum. The purpose of this article is to introduce a recently developed conception of professionalism that is grounded in virtue ethics and integrates both social and character development into a professional identity that is dynamic, situated, and lifelong. The conception is operationalized through the Framework for Nurse Professionals (FrNP) and the Stair-Step Model of Professional Transformation. The FrNP and the Stair-Step Model promote a robust and morally resilient professional nursing identity that will foster professional growth throughout one's career. (Index words: Approach; Professional identity formation; Professional ethics; Virtue ethics) J Prof Nurs 30:376 – 382, 2014. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Solid State Disk (SSD), a type of NAND-flash memory semiconductor device becomes popular storage systems in various types of appliances. The surveys have brought out its essential demand for replacing the classical storage devices (e.g, Magnetic disk) in a multimedia streaming server such as a Video-On-Demand (VOD) server. The most important factor in providing an efficient server is the realtime playback experience by the users. However, the NAND-flash has three issues those related to the nature of its I/O accessing procedures. This paper studies the effectiveness of proper data layout in the SSD to overcome those issues in handling the VOD server real-time playback requirement. Data allocation acts as an engine that store or retrieve the continuous media (CM) data from the server and send to users at a proper rate, good quality and offer smooth VCR functions - pause, fast/slow rewind/forward. Two allocations those utilizing the rich parallelism stripping nature in SSD, namely; i) Sequential, and ii) Interleaving have been examined in this study. Both allocations intelligently organize the CM data using the residue class algorithm and the results from the simulation experiments shown both allocations have significant outcomes in terms of the access latency and the throughput.


This paper performs a simulation study of the operation of a phase-shift controlled LLC resonant converter at frequencies above the resonant frequency. The circuit's performances at different phase-shift angles, loads and ratios between parallel and series inductances are analyzed. The output characteristics obtained from the simulations and their comparison with the theoretical results are discussed. The influence of different parameters on the output power regulation conditions while maintaining the ZVS conditions of the transistors in the "lagging" leg is analyzed. Simulations for continuous current mode have been implemented using OrCad PSpice. Good agreement between theoretical and simulation results is observed.


The ultrasonic flaw detection issues of valve bridge guide in terms of probe, detection sensitivity, flaw equiralence determination and detection method are discussed. The temporary repairs happened in 1996~1998 resulting from cracks of valve bridge guides in liuzhou locomotive depot were counted up. Some suggestions are proposed.


Chiral aziridines 5, 6 and enamine 7 were synthesised; compounds B, C and D, which were obtained over 100 years ago, were not aziridines; the product described as B was identified with isomeric enamine 7. The crystal structures of aziridines (±)- and (+)-6 were studied.


By claiming that the recovery and translation of Greek texts and a renewed interest in Roman and Ancient culture defines the Renaissance, historians have insured that syncretism appears everywhere in Renaissance thought and art. Often syncretistic blends of Ancient and Christian ideas create memorable impasses, even contradictions. Sir Philip Sidney, in his Apology for Poetry (1579, publ. 1595), concluded that "our erected wit maketh us know what perfection is, and yet our infected will keepeth us from reaching [enacting] it." 1 In the first part of this assertion, Sidney taps into Christian Neo-Platonism. He has just argued that the inspired poet can deliver a "golden" world in his writing, better than the "brazen" nature in which we live, because he can intuit heavenly Ideas. Pico dell Mirandola, Baldassare Castiglione, and other Renaissance Humanists had given Neo-Platonism a Christian cast when they proclaimed that divine love could transform the soul "into an Aungell," whereby "it understandeth all thinges that may be understoode: and without any veile or cloude, she seeth the meine sea of the pure heavenlye beawtye." 2 Sir John Davies, in his late Elizabethan poem, Nosce Teipsum (1599), almost agrees: So, many stayres we must ascend vpright Ere wee attaine to Wisdom's high degree; So doth this Earth eclipse our Reason's light. Which else (in instants) would like angels see. 3


This research aimed at comparing mind mapping technique and semantic mapping technique in teaching reading comprehension. It was intended to find out which technique (mind mapping or semantic mapping) was more effective to strengthen the reading comprehension and which technique was more interesting in learning process to the second graders of SMAN 5 Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It was an experimental research. There are two classes taken as sample, XI IPA1as experimental 1 class, and XI IPA2 as experimental 2 class. Researcher collected the data through reading test and questionnaire as research instrument. The result revealed that (1) students obtained higher score after being taught under mind mapping technique as opposed to those who studied under semantic mapping technique (2) students who studied narrative text under mind mapping technique showed great reading interest.


Michael Les Benedict, professor of history emeritus at Ohio State University, enjoys wide recognition as a leading scholar of the Reconstruction era. A past president of the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, he is a specialist in constitutional, legal, and political history. He established his credentials more than thirty years ago with the seminal works The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson (1973) and A Compromise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction, 1863-1869 (1974). He has published numerous important articles. In the present volume, he offers revised versions of ten of the most influential of these works. Observers generally place Benedict among the historians of Reconstruction whom Eric Foner describes as postrevisionists. These scholars not only reject the condemnatory Dunning School interpretation dominant during the early to mid-twentieth century; they also believe that the anti-Dunning revisionists, writing during the civil rights era, went too far in emphasizing the idealism and accomplishments of Republican Reconstruction. Benedict has been a leading exponent of the idea that Republicans' enduring commitment to federalism and other essentially conservative ideals circumscribed what they were willing and able to do to secure African Americans' rights in the postwar South. This notion pervades many of the articles reprinted in this volume, but Benedict is not content merely to let his previous arguments stand. He has carefully updated each of these pieces, refining his assertions where new findings so dictate. In revisiting these issues, he has read widely and deeply in the historical literature, and taken altogether, the notes to the chapters represent a detailed and immensely useful survey of Reconstruction historiography. A brief review cannot do justice to the complex and nuanced arguments


Calciothermic reduction of Nd₂O₃ was attempted to produce Nd-Fe mother alloy in the presence of a flux, CaCl₂ at temperatures of 820℃ to 1050℃. Feed material was a powder mixture of Nd₂O₃, Ca, CaCl₂ and Fe, having a given composition. Reduction experiments were carried out under stirring condition and reduced Nd was collected into a molten metal pool of Nd-Fe alloy at the bottom of the crucible. Recovery of the metallic Nd was calculated by the difference of weights of the alloy and slag. Alloy and slag thus made were analyzed by I.C.P., SEM and X-ray diffractometer. Metal recovery was increased with increasing temperature, reaction time and also stirring rate. Experimental results showed that the optimum amounts of metallic Ca and CaCl₂ were 15% in excess than the theoretical amount and 4.0 mole ratio to the theoretical moles of CaO formed, respectively. The alloy composition was in the range of 76.31 to 85.23wt% Nd, 13.90 to 23.41wt% Fe and 0.29 to 0.39wt% Ca depending on the experimental temperature. The best purity of the alloy was analyzed to be 99.55wt%.


The Interlacustrine region of East Africa, with its oral traditions of the process of state formation and of rituals of chiefship, has provided a fertile area for anthropologists who find themselves drawn towards history for primary data and, as in the present work, for historians who find themselves drawn towards anthropology for additional insight. To these are added here a cogent insight into the ecology of the area and its relevance for cosmological beliefs and ultimately the dynamics of the political system. The Bashu of the Kivu region of Zaire were predominantly agriculturalists who cleared the forests on the north-eastern slopes of the Mitumba Mountain. Lineage authority and ritual leadership were primarily based on reputation for controlling natural hazards which inevitably dogged an area of high population density and unpredictable rainfall, varying from severe drought to incessant rain. Because of the localized nature of these hazards, authority, confidence in authority and loss of confidence were necessarily also localized, providing an element of local autonomy and instability that inhibited the development of larger political units. However, in clearing the forest, the Bashu had also opened the area to pastoralists who were facing increasing competition on the plains. Dry-season transhumance to the mountain slopes developed, and with it a symbiosis through trade and exchange of products. The pastoralists were better adapted to the hazards of drought and famine, and therefore in a stronger position to assert the superiority of their ritual control over the elements, and ultimately the authority of thenleaders of the Babito dynasty as rain-makers. By forming strategic alliances with Bashu ritual leaders, especially through marriage, and by the offering of ritual privileges, the Babito could generate a climate of confidence in a wider prosperity that could transcend the problems of local famine. The author stresses the overriding importance of this confidence with examples indicating that this is translated into economic action by patronizing trade (e.g. p. 89) and redistributing resources to overcome the effects of local famine (e.g. p. 163). Success bred confidence and confidence in its turn boosted success. To this extent the Babito chiefs could stave off real


Although controversial, lower maternal intake of n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) during pregnancy and lower levels of omega‐3 PUFA in serum phospholipids during childhood have been related to obesity. The main source of omega‐3 PUFA is fatty fish in the diet.


Industrialization operation of agriculture is of great importance to the development of agriculture in Yunnan, It is also the only way of the development of agriculture and rural economy in Yunnan. The author analyzes process and problems of industrialization operation of agriculture and gives proposal for further improving industrialization operation of agriculture in Yunnan.


We study the effect of inter-subband interaction on nonlinear electron mobility <tex>$\mu$</tex> in asymmetric <tex>$AlGaAs$</tex> parabolic double quantum well structure. We take into account the ionized impurity <tex>$(imp-)$</tex> and alloy disorder <tex>$(al-)$</tex> scatterings for calculation of <tex>$\mu$</tex>. We keep well width <tex>$w2$</tex> towards the surface side fixed and vary <tex>$\mu$</tex> with well width <tex>$w1$</tex> along the substrate. The mobility <tex>$\mu$</tex> enhances with <tex>$w1$</tex>. As <tex>$w1$</tex> increases, there is a change in the number of subbands occupied, i.e., single, double and again single. When double subband occupied the inter-subband interaction induces nonlinear behavior of <tex>$\mu$</tex> as a function of <tex>$w1$</tex>. This is due to the cusp like the fluctuation of <tex>$imp-$</tex> and <tex>$al-$</tex> intersubband scattering rate matrix elements.


The 'grey zone' is a term coined by the Italian Holocaust survivor Primo Levi in his essay collection The Drowned and the Saved (1989; originally published in Italian in 1986), the last book he completed before his death. In 'The Grey Zone', the second chapter and the longest essay in the book, Levi acknowledges the human need to divide the social field into 'us' and 'them', two clearly distinct and identifiable groups, but points out that such binary thinking is inadequate in the face of the...


ABSTRACT This study aims to examine and analyze the influence of brand image , Product Quality, Price Perception, Sales Promotion o n The Purchase Decision o f Honda Products i n Mpm Motor. Population and sample in this study were 78.  The method s to collect the data was questionnaire. Data analysis in this study used SPSS version 14. In this study the application used to test the data were " validity test, reliability test, Normality test, multiple linear regression analysis, classical assumption test, and testing the research hypothesi s". The result in this study indicated that Brand image and Sales Promotion have a significant effect on Honda MPM Motor Purchase Decisions. Product Quality and Price perception have no significant effect on purchasing decisions . Keywords: Product Quality, Price Perception, Sales Promotion On The Purchase Decision


The purpose of the article is to assess the financial sustainability of the household sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its impact on the real and financial sector in the context of minimizing the credit risks of the regulated banks of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The paper analyzes various points of view on assessing the financial sustainability of the household sector, makes a successful attempt to assess at a macroeconomic level the financial sustainability of households and the drawing potential of households in Kazakhstan using the OECD and IMF methods. The work made a holistic analysis of the financial condition and solvency of households in Kazakhstan, a forecasted VAR-model for assessing the impact of household financial sustainability on the state of the real sector of the economy has been developed; a regression model for assessing the impact of financial stability of households on the financial sector of Kazakhstan has been developed.


Abstract The aim of this paper is to study the existence of a nontrivial solution of the following semilinear elliptic variational inequality where Ω is an open bounded subset of ℝN(N ≥ 1), λ is a real parameter, with λ ≥ λ1,the first eigenvalue of the operator -Δ in H01(Ω), ψ belongs to H1(Ω), ψ|∂Ω≥ 0and p is a Carathéodory function on Ω ×ℝ, which satisfies some general superlinearity growth conditions at zero and at infinity.


The utility model discloses a push-button dimming lamp controller, characterized by comprising a 220V AC power supply, a capacitance voltage reduction rectifying circuit, and a 7.5V DC stabilized power supply, a TRIAC trigger circuit, and an incandescent lamp drive circuit. The capacitance voltage reduction rectifying circuit and the 7.5V DC stabilized power supply are formed by a voltage reduction capacitor C3, a resistor R6, a silicon rectifier diode D1, a voltage-stabilizing diode DW2, and an electrolytic capacitor C2. The TRIAC trigger circuit is formed by a key switch AN1 and a resistor R2, a key switch AN2 and a resistor R1, an electrolytic capacitor C1, a voltage-stabilizing diode DW1, a resistor R3, and an enhanced N-channel field-effect tube VT1, and a resistor R4. The incandescent lamp drive circuit is formed by a resistor R5, a TRIAC SCR, and an incandescent lamp HL. The push-button dimming lamp controller is characterized in that brightness of the lamp can be adjusted by manpower. The brightness of the incandescent lamp is not changed with variation of ambient light of surrounding environment.


A Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) can be defined as a collection of mobile nodes, which form a highly resource constrained network and a dynamic topology. Because of the dynamic topology, routing procedures and protocols are a key field of testing and research. In a research environment, research tools are required to test, verify and identify problems of an algorithm or protocol. These tools are classified in three major techniques: simulators, emulators and real-world testbeds. In most of research in MANET, their performance is evaluated in both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Throughput performance, routing efficiency, security and energy consumption are some of the key issues that are addressed frequently on MANETs. The future MANET technology will have to ensure a certain degree of security and scalability and provide the infrastructure for collaborative computing. In this thesis, we design and implement a testbed and a simulation system in order to analyze the performance and compare the results of different routing protocols, mobility models and other environmental parameters. In both approaches we use different models, scenarios and traffic data models. We use our simulation results to improve the experimental environment. We experimented in indoor and outdoor environment, in horizontal and vertical topologies and in linear and mesh logical topologies. We also added mobility to specific nodes. From results, we found that the mobility of nodes brings oscillations in performance and route instabilities. Using our simulation tool, we simulated different mobility patterns in different protocols. We found multi-flow traffic decreases the performance of the network. We also proposed a data replication framework based on fuzzy logic to improve QoS in MANET. From simulation results, we found that the proposed framework had a good performance. The contributions of our work are: 1. Implementation and evaluation of a MANET testbed;


Studies on the genetic variation among Camellia sinensis L. varieties (cultivated tea) in Malaysia were conducted by using RAMs markers. Six varieties were selected from Sungai Palas Boh Estate, Cameron Highlands and nine varieties were selected from Bukit Cheeding Boh Estate, Banting. These tea varieties were classified as resistant, intermediate, or susceptible varieties based on the level of infestation by the mosquito bug, Helopeltis theivora. DNA was extracted from the leaves of 225 individuals belonging to different varieties from the two populations. Four RAMs primers were used to evaluate the genetic variation in 15 varieties of tea. Distances were calculated based on Nei and Li's (1979) similarity coefficients using the data from the RAMs markers. A cluster analysis employing UPGMA was done and the dendrogram grouped the tea varieties into two clusters with intermediate variety grouping and the resistant (the first cluster) or susceptible (the second cluster) varieties. The first cluster consisted of all the varieties from Cameron Highlands, except for BC223 (resistant) and 63/14 (resistant) from the Banting population, while the other clusters consisted of all the varieties from the Banting population, except for BC196 (resistant) from the Cameron Highlands population. The dendrogram showed that the genetic differences were based on the populations' geographical distributions and partially based on their resistance towards attack by H. theivora.


Two-steps optimization strategy based on statistical experimental design was carried out to enhance bioprotein production by liquid state bioconversion utilizing pineapple skins as substrate. A two-level Plackett-Burman design was employed first where 11 variables were studied for their influence on bioprotein production. Pineapple Skins Soluble (PSS) sugar content, KH2PO4 and NH4H2PO4 were the most significant variables for improving bioprotein production. A three-level Central Composite Design (CCD) was employed for maximizing the bioprotein production. A mathematical model was developed to show the effects of each medium component and their combinatorial interaction on bioprotein production. The optimal medium composition for maximum bioprotein production was PSS content 1.0, KH2PO4 0.1 and NH4H2PO4 0.25. The final experiment was carried out to validate the model, which has shown to produce 514.2 g kg-1 bioprotein on the 5th day of fermentation with a slight increase of 0.02 from the experimental run in CCD. 2009 Asian Network for Scientific Information.


Dislocations in heterostructures CdTe/ZnTe/GaAs(013) and CdTe/ZnTe/Si(013) were investigated using selective etching and transmission electron microscopy. The calculations of critical film thickness hc were fulfilled for 12 various slip systems, the experimental results were obtained for 4 of them. Misfit dislocations are introduced in a ZnTe film at the stage of formation of the first monolayers. With their introduction, the crystal lattices of the substrate and the film unfold relative each other that is confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements. An increase in the dislocation density into the CdTe and HgCdTe films was observed using layer-by-layer etching. That is testifies to the annihilation of threading dislocations during the growth of CdTe and MCT films. The dislocation annihilation rate is higher in films grown on GaAs(013) than on Si(013). Perhaps this is due to the higher proportion of gliding dislocations in CdTe films on GaAs substrates (013). It was made annealing of MCT films under cyclic temperature change in such way that activity of MCT components was changed to enhance the non-conservative motion of dislocations. As a result, the density of penetrating dislocations in the active areas in MCT films on silicon substrates was decreased to the value of 2.5×106 cm-2. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) publishes and presents to stakeholders seasonal outlooks of key environmental variables including precipitation, temperature and streamflow. A similar forecast system for soil moisture (SM), if skilful, could benefit many stakeholders and sectors. Potential applications include agricultural planning (e.g. irrigation and sowing scheduling, planning of tilling, sowing and harvesting), livestock management, economic forecasts (e.g. improved crop yield predictions) and emergency management (e.g. bushfire and flood risk assessment). The aim of this study was to develop a proof-of-concept for a seasonal SM forecasting system for Australia and to test its performance. Specifically, we aimed to answer the research question: Can SM over the coming three months be forecast with better skill than the climatological expectation? This paper presents a SM forecasting methodology that combines the POAMA-2 seasonal climate prediction system with the AWRA landscape water balance model (AWRA-L). POAMA-2 is a global coupled oceanatmosphere model that currently underpins the BOM seasonal climate outlooks. POAMA-2 hindcasts of precipitation, air temperature and solar radiation, available for 1981-2014 on a 2.5° x 2.5° grid, were converted into a suitable format to force AWRA-L. The AWRA-L gridded water balance model simulates daily land surface water fluxes and stores, including SM for three soil layers (0-10 cm, 10-100 cm, 100-600 cm), on a national 0.05° grid. Combining these two modelling systems, we produced hindcasts of monthly SM stored in the AWRA shallow soil layer (10-100 cm soil depth: corresponding to the root depth of many agricultural crops) for the period 1981-2013, with 12 hindcasts per year starting on the 1st of each month and 22 ensemble members per hindcast. Further, we calculated probabilistic hindcasts of the occurrence of a potentially harmful event (PHE). The PHE aims to capture critically dry soil conditions with potentially adverse effects on, for example, agriculture. It is defined as a month in which the 20th percentile of SM in this month is drier than a 1-in-5-year event. Each hindcast had a length of three months, and all individual forecasts at one-, twoand three-month lead time were subsequently combined into continuous monthly time series with 22 ensemble members per time series. We assessed the skill of the hindcasts of soil moisture against i) historical SM simulations using AWRA-L forced with daily gridded climate analysis data produced by BOM and ii) ground-based in situ measurements of SM (0-90cm) from the OzNet network in the Murrumbidgee catchment. The predictive capacity of the hindcasts at one-month lead time appear relatively high and are mostly related to the state initialisation of AWRA-L, highlighting the importance of soil memory and SM initialisation at shorter time scales. However, at twoand three-month lead times, our results show relatively low predictive skill across Australia, with a few exceptions in wet regions in the northern, southern and south-western parts of Australia. Most of the skill stems from the ability of the forecasting system to reproduce the mean spatial and seasonal pattern of SM, however, increasing the skill to predict deviations from the mean climatology requires further work. This study presents baseline estimates of predictive skill at different time scales, which may be used as reference for future developments of SM forecasting systems, and provides recommendations for future research.


How should players bid in keyword auctions such as those used by Google, Yahoo! and MSN?allWe consider greedy bidding strategies for a repeated auction on a single keyword, where in each round, each player chooses some optimal bid for the next round, assuming that the other players merely repeat their previous bid. We study the revenue, convergence and robustness properties of such strategies. Most interesting among these is a strategy we call the balanced bidding strategy (BB): it is known that BB has a unique fixed point with payments identical to those of the VCG mechanism. We show that if all players use the BB strategy and update each round, BB converges when the number of slots is at most 2, but does not always converge for 3 or more slots. On the other hand, we present a simple variant which is guaranteed to converge to the same fixed point for any number of slots. In a model in which only one randomly chosen player updates each round according to the BB strategy, we prove that convergence occurs with probability 1.We complement our theoretical results with empirical studies.


Putting in place Circular Economy strategies is an urgent action to be undertaken. Manufacturing processes play a relevant role as efficient material reuse enabler. Scientists have to make an effort either to find new process or to rethink old process to reprocess End-of-life (EoL) components to recover both material and functions. In this paper, Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) process is used for reshaping sheet metal EoL components. Deep drawing process as well as uniaxial pre-straining (to imitate the End-of-Life component) followed by SPIF operations (to obtain the reshaped components) are setup and implemented to form and reform aluminum sheet metal components. As the authors have already proved the technical feasibility of such an approach, the present paper aims at a better understanding of the formability and geometrical accuracy performance of SPIF process as used to reform components. Specifically, an experimental campaign varying kind and extent of restraining is developed and the formability and geometrical accuracy of the subsequent SIPF operations is analyzed. Results proves that SPIF process is a promising approach for reshaping purpose.


Background and objective: The effects of age and related factors on insulin sensitivity have not been de fi nitively evaluated in East Asian populations. We proposed a reference range for the glucose disposal rate (M-value) on hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic study and its association with other parameters. Methods: Healthy, non-diabetic young (n=10) and elderly (n=13) male subjects with normal body mass index were eligible for this study. Subjects who passed the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) underwent hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp with high-dose (80 mU/m 2 ·min) insulin infusion. Results: M-values were normalized to body weight (M BW ) and fat-free mass (M FFM ). Neither M-value was signi fi cantly different between age groups ( P =0.458 and P =0.900, respectively). An inverse correlation was observed between M FFM and baseline insulin ( r = − 0.418; P =0.047), baseline C-peptide ( r = − 0.426; P =0.043) and OGTT 2-hour glucose ( r = − 0.452; P =0.030). Regarding correlations with other insulin sensitivity indices, M-values were positively associated with the Matsuda index but not with homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. Conclusion: Our results suggest that age is not a critical determinant of insulin sensitivity, while fasting insulin and C-peptide levels, OGTT 2-hour glucose level, and Matsuda index are predictable markers of insulin sensitivity in healthy Koreans. transaminase; CV, coef fi cient of variation; GGT, gamma-glutayltransferase; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; FFM, fat-free mass; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test; TG, triglyceride.


One of the most important contributions of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is the detailed elaboration on the historical position,scientific content,spiritual essentials and ultimate demands of the concept of the scientific approach of development.The key to the implementation of the congress's decisions is to fully understand the content of the concept of scientific development.Taking the concept as a guide,by focusing on the promotion of the quality of instruction,enhancing teacher qualification,speeding up major adjustment,updating educational ideology,furthering administrative management,molding academic spirit,we can bring about a good and quick development of our university.


A simple, rapid, selective and sensitive differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric (DPASV) technique for the direct quantitative determination of inorganic total arsenic in natural hotwater was developed. The electrochemical de- termination of total arsenic has been carried out at the novel rotating lateral gold electrode in hydrochloric acid solution (37 % w/w). The analysis was performed with a special gold electrode whose active surface was located on the side. Re- productivity of measurement was achieved by the conditioning of the gold electrode. This was done every day before the measurements as well as when the background current varied strongly from measurement to measurement. The determina- tion limit of 0.5 � g L -1 was achieved with 10 mL sample solution. The total arsenic concentration was made by appropri- ate selection of the deposition potential. During the deposition step, the total arsenic content was reduced at -1200 mV by nascent hydogen to As o . During the subsequent voltammetric determination, the preconcentration As o was again oxidized to determine the level. The method was applied successfully to the direct quantitative determination of total inorganic ar- senic in hotwater. In order to show the accuracy of the results developed from voltammetric technique, the values obtained were compared with those obtained from inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).


The first Tertiary cockatoo or any psittaciform from Australia is recorded from an incomplete rostrum from the Riversleigh deposits of northwestern Queensland, Australia. It is placed in the extant genus Cacatua but cannot be diagnosed at the specific level. This cockatoo was probably similar in size to the modern C. roseicapilla, with a short, unspecialized crest and probably white plumage. The rostrum is useful in studies of the systematics of parrots. Rostral characters support some traditional subdivisions of the order, while suggesting that others warrant re-examination.


Chemical components,mineral composition and mineral dissemination characteristics of Yuanjiacun quartz-type oxide ore were studied.The experiments on grinding fineness,flowsheets for rough concentrate processing,and flotation reagent rate show that the flowsheet of desliming-reverse flotation has advantages over that of direct reverse flotation,as the former can not only elevate obviously the grade of iron concentrate,but also save the assumption of flotation reagents.


Monocular vision-based 3D scene understanding has been an integral part of many machine vision applications. Always, the objective is to measure the depth using a single RGB camera, which is at par with the depth cameras. In this regard, monocular vision-guided autonomous navigation of robots is rapidly gaining popularity among the research community. We propose an effective monocular vision-assisted method to measure the depth of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from an impending frontal obstacle. This is followed by collision-free navigation in unknown GPS-denied environments. Our approach deals upon the fundamental principle of perspective vision that the size of an object relative to its field of view (FoV) increases as the center of projection moves closer towards the object. Our contribution involves modeling the depth followed by its realization through scale-invariant SURF features. Noisy depth measurements arising due to external wind, or the turbulence in the UAV, are rectified by employing a constant velocity-based Kalman filter model. Necessary control commands are then designed based on the rectified depth value to avoid the obstacle before collision. Rigorous experiments with SURF scale-invariant features reveal an overall accuracy of 88.6% with varying obstacles, in both indoor and outdoor environments.


The long-term thermally elastic responses of a saturated elastic stratum containing a deep point/line heat source of constant strength are studied in this paper. To simulate the stratified earth medium, the soil mass is modeled as anisotropic with properties differing in the horizontal and vertical directions. On the basis of the fundamental solutions caused by a deep point heat source, analytic solutions of the ground deformation, pore water pressure distribution, effective stresses and temperature changes of the porous medium due to the deep line heat source are presented using the appropriate line integral techniques.


At Villanova University we have a popular course for non-majors focused on problem solving with computers, taught using our own lecture and lab materials. This paper seeks to describe the essence of the problem solving course by focusing on an assignment that is given after the first unit of the course has been completed. This assignment, writing an essay about how someone uses a computer to solve a problem, requires the application of most of the topics of the first third of the course and is very representative of the spirit of the course as a whole.


We study the phase structure of quantum improved Schwarzschild–(A)dS black holes in asymptotically safe gravity. Our results confirm some of the well-known properties of quantum black holes. For example, the quantum effect provides a repulsive force in the core region near singularity which stabilizes the thermodynamically unstable small black holes, and also creates a zero temperature state with finite size. We suggest that this could be a candidate for dark matter. We find a new second order phase transition between small and large black holes for quantum improved Schwarzschild-Anti de Sitter black holes. We also discuss the black holes with different spatial topologies and find a notable duality.


The principal types of alteration of oil and of the intimately related sedimentary rocks are the processes of catagenesis and hypergenesis. Catagenesis of oil, often incorrectly called metamorphism, is caused by centripetal movement of the corresponding sectors of the crust that governs the subsidence of the oil pool into a zone of high temperatures and pressure. The main factors of catagenesis - temperature and pressure - act throughout the entire volume of the oil; therefore, with otherwise equal conditions, its mass changes uniformly at one and the same rate. (If the "otherwise conditions" are different, then with catagenesis a relationship of the properties of oil to its reserves may emerge. For example, if the distribution of oil reserves in the stratum is controlled by their clay content, which lowers the porosity and permeability, then it can be expected, because clay is a catalyst, that smaller masses of oil are subject to a high degree of catagenic transformation than large masses.) Hypergenesis is related to centrifugal movements with rise of the oil pool closer to the surface where it enters a zone of greater activity of formation waters and is subject to the action of microbes; in the case of poor shielding properties of the cover, the oil sometimes loses gases and light fractions (1, 5, 13). The movement of the oil may also be accompanied by migrational changes related to transfer not along with the rocks but independently. In this connection the oil is sometimes filtered (1, 7, 13). During hypergenesis the factors that alter the oil act predominantly not on the entire mass but only in the zone of contact with water, where physical chemical and biochemical processes of transformation of the oil take place. The character of the usual hypogene alterations of oil is illustrated in Fig. 1. The oil that has been altered in the zone of contact gradually mixes with the oil that is far from the contact. The effect of the hypergenesis extends through the entire pool very slowly and attenuates


After a century fraught with false claims, evidence for planets around other stars finally appears robust. Infrared imaging and spectroscopy of disks around stars foreshadow detailed models of the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Surveys of main‐sequence stars show that 5% harbor companions of (0.5–8)MJUP within 3 AU, peaked at lowest masses. Their orbits are either within 0.2 AU or eccentric, and occasionally both. These odd orbits suggest that dynamics with gas and planetesimals yield diverse systems and that stable, coplanar orbits of about nine giant and rocky planets may require special initial conditions. Far fewer stars (<1%) harbor (5–80)MJUP companions. This brown dwarf desert for companions stands in contrast to the abundant brown dwarfs that are freely floating.


Plasma elafin concentrations correlate with graft-versus-host disease of the skin and long-term survival. Progress toward biomarker commercialization requires the discovery, qualification, verification, optimization, and clinical validation of a candidate before it is incorporated into existing therapeutic diagnostic platforms. The tremendous value that could be derived from the advancement of methods to detect disease at earlier and more treatable stages puts this pipeline approach at the forefront of biomarker development. However, to date there are no clear success stories in which discovery proteomics has led to a deployed protein biomarker. There is no polymerase chain reaction equivalent available to detect, quantify, and amplify proteins. Rather, proteomics-based biomarker discovery across a wide assortment of diseases is enabled by technologies such as mass spectrometry to sift through a large span of complex analytes at variable concentrations. Now, Paczesny and colleagues use a mass spectrometry–based technique to unambiguously identify candidate plasma biomarkers of skin acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)—the primary cause of nonrelapse mortality after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Rashes are common after BMT and can be caused by a variety of reasons, but because the consequences of GVHD are serious, physicians initiate treatment of suspected GVHD without a bona fide confirmed diagnosis. In the discovery set of this work, the authors examined plasma samples from patients who had received BMT with and without clinical diagnosis of skin GVHD, and found that in patients with skin GVHD, the concentration of one lead marker, elafin, was three times as high. In a follow-up independent validation of 492 BMT patients, skin biopsies stained with elafin stratified the patients consistently according to GVHD parameters, and elafin plasma concentrations were concordantly higher in patients with GVHD. The specificity and sensitivity of elafin relative to other markers revealed that it was the single best discriminator for the diagnosis of GVHD in BMT patients with a rash, and was correlated with the severity of the disease. Elafin concentrations also correlated with the eventual maximum grade of GVHD and with nonrelapse mortality. These results show that elafin concentrations may serve as a noninvasive diagnostic test as well as a prognostic marker in determining GVHD grading in the clinic. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), the major complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, affects the skin, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. There are no plasma biomarkers specific for any acute GVHD target organ. We used a large-scale quantitative proteomic discovery procedure to identify biomarker candidates of skin GVHD and validated the lead candidate, elafin, with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in samples from 492 patients. Elafin was overexpressed in GVHD skin biopsies. Plasma concentrations of elafin were significantly higher at the onset of skin GVHD, correlated with the eventual maximum grade of GVHD, and were associated with a greater risk of death relative to other known risk factors (hazard ratio, 1.78). We conclude that elafin has significant diagnostic and prognostic value as a biomarker of skin GVHD.


Culture is an open system.Not all the nations in the world can exist without being influenced by the culture of other nations.Throughout the development of Chinese language and culture,it has been Absorbing and introducing foreign cultures to enrich and improve itself.Now the fact of globalization has been accelerating the language contact and cultural mergence around the world.In this situation,we must take this opportunity to take in good cultural elements of other nations in an all-round manner so as to establish harmonious culture on the basis of retaining the cultural feature of our own nation.


Class quality development training for freshmen is an outdoor practice teaching link in college students' mental health education courses. In order to demonstrate its practical effect, the author conducted a selfdesigned questionnaire survey on 279 college students who participated in the activity. Two surveys are conducted before and after the activity, and SPSS22.0 software is used to analyze the data before and after the activity. Research methods, such as reliability and validity, difference test, correlation analysis, etc., are used to quantify the training results. The data analysis results show that the self-compiled questionnaire used in the research has good reliability and validity, and the homogeneity and split and half reliability is above 0.7. The KMO value of exploratory factor analysis is above 0.8, which is consistent with the psychometrics index. After training, the self-evaluation of group members has a positive trend, including three significant indicators of "trust yourself", "share experience" and "know others". This work concluded with some implications: Psychological quality development can activate the positive factors of individual's core self-evaluation, improve the level of interpersonal trust, and make individuals have more sense of collective belonging. The complementarity of individual and collective development can be recognized to stimulate individual growth initiatives. It is proved that the effectiveness of quality development training is significant.


Larch forests are most common in the modern high-mountain forests of the Altai. Some relic old-growth Siberian stone pine forests are ingrained to them. Our investigations are fetched out the modern Siberian stone pine forests is the final stage of post-fire succession but the reaching of the stage was possible only in periods with high precipitation levels. The cause which prevents forming of such forests in the modern period in a long time required for the succession as post-fire succession is developing by the inhibition model: successional predecessor species (larch) prevent colonization of successor species (Siberian stone pine) until the disturbance will damage the predecessor population. As a result reaching of the stone pine tree stage may require several hundred years. The fires are usually prevent reaching of this stage.


Using a model Hamiltonian for a single-mode electromagnetic field interacting with a nonlinear medium, we show that quantum expectation values of subsystem observables can exhibit remarkably diverse ergodic properties even when the dynamics of the total system is regular. The time series of the mean photon number is studied over a range of values of the ratio of the strength $\gamma$ of the nonlinearity to that of the inter-mode coupling $g$. We obtain the power spectrum, estimate the embedding dimension of the reconstructed phase space and the maximal Liapunov exponent $\lambda_{\rm max}$, and find the recurrence-time distribution of the coarse-grained dynamics. The dynamical behavior ranges from quasiperiodicity (for $\gamma/g \ll 1$) to chaos as characterized by $\lambda_{\rm max} > 0$ (for $\gamma/g \gtrsim 1$), and is interpreted.


• People on low incomes in the case study areas were anxious about work and future job security, both for themselves and for the next generation. Although exacerbated by the global financial crisis and recession in the UK, this was due more generally to shifts in types of employment practice associated with globalisation, such as increased contract and agency work, combined with the movement of jobs to other countries and employment of migrant workers in the UK.


The aim of this pilot study was to determine the impact on food literacy among college students when enrolled in an undergraduate food literacy course. Students enrolled in Food Literacy between spring 2015 and spring 2017 completed preand post-course online surveys designed to measure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to food literacy at the beginning and end of the semester. Factor analysis was conducted on 18 survey questions and four factors were identified (1. Confidence of knowledge and role within the food system; 2. Concerns with natural foods; 3. Food preparation and cooking skills; 4. Food purchasing and preparation behaviors). Linear effects mixed models were used to examine differences in factor and question scores over time. Ninety-three students completed both preand post-course surveys. Factor scores 1-3 increased over time (p<0.001 in all cases). Factor 4 lacked internal consistency and its three questions were analyzed separately. Participants reported preparing more frozen and partially prepared food at the end of the semester as compared to the beginning (p=0.05). A Food Literacy course may be an effective way to increase food literacy among college students. Future studies determining effect on dietary choices, utilizing a control group, and a standardized tool are needed. Introduction Food literacy is a concept that was formerly introduced by Jones (1992) in the 1990s, though not much had been published on it until the last several years. Despite the fairly recent surge in literature on this topic, articles aimed at delineating food literacy lack consensus (Palumbo, 2016; Truman et al., 2017). One literature review discovered 38 novel definitions for food literacy among 67 full-text articles (Truman et al., 2017). The most common definition cited in the literature by Vidgen and Gallegos (2014, pg. 54) defines food literacy as "the scaffolding that empowers individuals, house-holds, communities or nations to protect diet quality through change and strengthen dietary resilience over time. It is composed of a collection of inter-related knowledge, skills and behaviours required to plan, manage, select, prepare and eat food to meet needs and determine intake." Other researchers have developed various themes to encompass the breath of food literacy (Vidgen and Gallegos, 2014; Thomas et al., 2019; Truman et al., 2017). Major themes or components include food skills and behaviors, food and nutrition knowledge, self-efficacy and confidence in food and cooking, ecologic factors including food system complexities and social determinants of health, and food decisions (Vidgen and Gallegos, 2014; Thomas et al., 2019; Truman et al., 2017). Food literacy and its components have also been viewed under the framework of Nutbeam's health literacy model (Nutbeam, 2000) which is comprised of three levels: functional, interactive, and critical literacy (Palumbo et al., 2017; Pendergast et al., 2011; Slater, 2013; Slater, 2017; Velardo, 2015). Functional literacy includes the ability 1 Stacy Bevan, MS, RD, Professional Practice Associate Professor, Utah State University, 8700 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322; Phone: 435-797-8122; firstname.lastname@example.com 2 Heidi Wengreen, PhD, RD, Professor, Utah State University; 435-797-1806; email@example.com 3 Xin Dai, PhD, Statistician, Utah State University; 435-797-9267; firstname.lastname@example.com Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge Kristi Spence for project support. There was no funding for this study. This study was completed according to protocol (irb6689) approved by the Institutional Review at Utah State University. Work was completed at Utah State University.


Moral rights originally stemmed from individualism and romanticism s respect for individual creation and personality justified by transcendental idealisms in Germany and the theory of natural rights in France. Moral rights are based on the link between author and his work, and such link theory makes moral rights intrinsically supreme personality rights. But under the influence of pragmatism, moral rights tends to be regarded as a tool of institutional arrangement in contrary with as pure natural rights. We should positively recognize the fact that the inten-eration and limitation of moral right can be beneficial to mitigate the tension between economic rights and moral rights in the copyright transaction market.


Since IAAF acknowledged the record of Female Pole Vaulting,the athlete's techno ledge of the item of our country have walked form the former to more lower the world.In order to show the problem of the developing of our Female Pole Vaulting and improve the "takeover" step.By using the method of mathematical modeling,this paper predicts the Female Pole Vaulting results. The research shows our country Female Pole Vaulting possible near the eighth place of the world by working hard.


In this work, we present a computational method for solving eigenvalue problems of fourth-order ordinary differential equations which based on the use of Chebychev method. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated by three numerical examples. Comparison results with others will be presented.


Background Changes in gender roles, the nature of the family, marriage patterns, political shifts, the nature of work, and the increase in the number and severity of emergencies are influencing volunteering and changing it in accordance with these changes. This study in a remote rural area in the north of Thailand explores paradigms of emergency volunteering in such areas based on the concept of the multi-paradigm model of volunteering. Methods A sample of twenty stakeholders: leaders, village health volunteers, the director of the local administrative organization and community heads provided data during in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Results The results showed that the paradigms of emergency volunteering existing in the community were the functionalist paradigm and the interpreted paradigm. The functionalist paradigm relies on the belief in universal truths, thus emergency volunteering should be controlled and ordered. The community also believe that as a collective entity they achieve positive outcomes and benefits from emergency volunteering. In contrast, the interpreted paradigm relies on the belief in multiple truths. Thus emergency volunteering should be understood in terms of the individual experiences that emerge for each person from emergency volunteering. Furthermore, the community also believe that emergency volunteering should be focused on extracted cues and the process of helping emergency patients. Conclusion The conclusion of this study is that the management of emergency volunteering in the context of remote rural communities should be well ordered and be by consensus.


Abstract : This report covers upgrades made to the General Research Corporation Advanced Surveillance Testbed (AST). Under this task, major upgrades were made to the AST phenomenological models. These included upgrades to the synthetic background models, development of a statistical persistence model, and development of a target intensity model based on CHARM and SIRRM. In addition, selected AST signal processing and data processing modules were upgraded to accommodate the newly defined phenomenological inputs.


Quality and food safety can not only be guaranteed by the results of the test on the final product in the laboratory, but the use of basic materials and good processing also determine the quality and acceptance of the product. The purpose of this study was to know the influence of using basic material and process on organoleptic result of tempe chips in Ngantru, Trenggalek. The design of this study was observational with cross sectional approach. The population were the producers of tempe chips in Ngantru, Trenggalek as many as 70 producers, with simple random sampling technique obtained 60 respondents. Independent variables were the use of basic materials and processing while the dependent variable was the organoleptic result. The instrument used is the observation sheet, the result is analyzed by ordinal regression test at I± = 0,05. The result of this research shows that most of respondent use basic material in enough category, that is 38 respondent (63,3%), most of respondent use basic material in enough category, that is 34 respondent (56,7%) and most of organoleptic test result in category enough, as many as 31 respondents (51.7%). The result of analysis obtained by p-value = 0,006 <I± = 0,05 so h0 rejected and h1 accepted which mean there is influence of using basic material and process on organoleptic result of tempe chips in Ngantru, Trenggalek. The results showed the influence of the use of basic materials and processing with organoleptic results of tempe chips. This is due to the selection of materials and processing that meet the high standards are able to produce tempe chips with good flavor.


Strong gravitational lenses are now being routinely discovered in wide-field surveys at (sub-)millimeter wavelengths. We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) high-spatial resolution imaging and Gemini-South and Multiple Mirror Telescope optical spectroscopy of strong lens candidates discovered in the two widest extragalactic surveys conducted by the Herschel Space Observatory: the Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) and the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES). From a sample of 30 Herschel sources with S500 > 100 mJy, 21 are strongly lensed (i.e., multiply imaged), 4 are moderately lensed (i.e., singly imaged), and the remainder require additional data to determine their lensing status. We apply a visibility-plane lens modeling technique to the SMA data to recover information about the masses of the lenses as well as the intrinsic (i.e., unlensed) sizes (rhalf) and far-infrared luminosities (LFIR) of the lensed submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). The sample of lenses comprises primarily isolated massive galaxies, but includes some groups and clusters as well. Several of the lenses are located at zlens > 0.7, a redshift regime that is inaccessible to lens searches based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopy. The lensed SMGs are amplified by factors that are significantly below statistical model predictions given the 500 μm flux densities of our sample. We speculate that this may reflect a deficiency in our understanding of the intrinsic sizes and luminosities of the brightest SMGs. The lensed SMGs span nearly one decade in LFIR (median LFIR = 7.9 × 1012 L☉) and two decades in FIR luminosity surface density (median ΣFIR = 6.0 × 1011 L☉ kpc−2). The strong lenses in this sample and others identified via (sub-)mm surveys will provide a wealth of information regarding the astrophysics of galaxy formation and evolution over a wide range in redshift.


Hypothesis / aims of study Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) consists of a constellation of symptoms (including voiding, storage, and post-micturition). The impact of the LUTS on patients' health-related quality of life is substantial and multifaceted. Thus, the therapies aimed at treating BPH are concerned primarily with improving patients' symptoms, thereby improving quality of life. When multiple symptoms are present, the level of bother associated with individual symptoms varies and patients prioritize their treatment goals for symptom relief. A measure that addresses patients' most bothersome symptoms (MBS) and evaluation of symptom-specific goal achievements may lead to improved outcomes and patient satisfaction to the treatment. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess patient-reported MBS and symptom-specific goal achievements (PGA) with medical treatment in BPH patients, and (2) to identify factors that influence or have relation to the PGA.


What do broadcastings employees think about the industry to which they belong? What about job conditions? Pay? The boss? The following report is one of a series based on People in Broadcasting, the initial report of a major research study conducted jointly by the Association for Professional Broadcasting Education and the National Association of Broadcasters. An introductory article, discussing the methodology of the study, appeared in the Spring 1962 issue of the Journal of Broadcasting. Further reports appeared in Summer 1962 (on "Broadcasting Management"), Winter 1962–63 ("Problems in Finding Qualified Employees"), and Summer 1965 ("The Broadcasting Employee").


Ferroelectric Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) thin film has obtained considerable attention for emerging non-volatile memory (eNVM) and synaptic device applications. To our best knowledge, the polarization switching of HZO has not been comprehensively investigated in wide-ranging temperatures from deep-cryogenic 4 K to elevated temperature 400 K within the same set of test structures. In this work, we experimentally characterize the reliability effects such as endurance (wake-up, fatigue, and breakdown), retention (including imprint), and small-signal response of the HZO capacitor from the lowest temperature reported (4 K) to the elevated temperature (400 K). We demonstrate one of the highest endurance cycles $ > 3.5\times 10^{10}$ among reported TiN/HZO/TiN capacitors with negligible wake-up/fatigue effects or retention degradation, all obtained at 4 K. Based on the experimental results, we further simulated ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) and ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) to evaluate their potentials as cryogenic memories.


This article addresses the event triggered based H∞ consensus control problem for Multi-Agent Systems (MASs) with a directed graph under time-varying delay. The eventtriggered communication scheme is utilized to overcome the unnecessary utilization of communication bandwidth. Based on this event-trigger scheme a consensus control protocol is presented. The consensus control problem of MAS is transferred into the stability problem of a closed-loop system under time-varying delay. Furthermore, a new version of Lyapunov function (LF) is presented to establish H∞ performance index in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which is different from the tradition (Liu et al., 2014) and attained less conservative results. Finally, a simulation illustration is provided to exhibit the design method.


The international situation surrounding strategic items export has been rapidly changed as the world has taken new establishment of international treaty and convention on the strategic items. In this regard, Korea is actively trying to control strategic items export for world peace and national security. For example, strategic items information system developed by MOCIE supports to maximize enterprise's convenience and manage enterprise's export self-regulation. However, the advance countries, USA in particular, is strictly controlling the strategic items export through preliminary permission if foreign countries offer a technology export. So the related enterprise needs to manage voluntary export system for recognizing dangers that may happen in strategic items export. Therefore, this study would like to suggest priority tasks for the effective export control of strategic items after the analysis of current status and problems on the strategic items control system in view of business process, improvement of connection with interested parties, self-regulating management and legal revision.


Responses of inverted carp's retinae to direct electric stimulation were investigated with special reference to the effects of photic stimuli. 1. The response to an electric pulse (response E) increased in amplitude under background illumination of an optimal intensity, and was suppressed by strong illumination. 2. Interaction between response E and response to light (response L) was investigated. The response E was suppressed when superimposed on a positive-going response L at the site of illumination, but facilitated when superimposed on a negative-going response L recorded in the surrounding field of an illuminated locus. 3. Electrotonus giving rise to a potential variation of the same order as the response L did not cause any appreciable effect upon the response E. 4. When a mechanical cut was made between the stimulating electrode and the recording one, no response E was obtained beyond the cut. 5. As the distance between the stimulating and recording electrodes increased, the magnitude of response E decreased, and the peak-latency was prolonged. The relation between conduction distances and peaklatencies was linear. The conduction velocity obtained from this relation was 115mm./sec. on an average. This value coincided with the conduction velocity of the negative-going response L in the surrounding field.


Introduction: Parasitic diseases transmitted by rodents are more important among zoonotic diseases. On the one hand, rodents are the reservoirs of various parasites, including external parasites such as fleas, ticks, and mites, and some types of internal parasites such as cestodes and nematodes. On the other hand, they have a wide distribution and close relationship with humans which is important from the point of view of environmental health. Methods: A total of 100 rats were caught from different parts of Tabriz in Iran. The trapped rodents were examined for species determination. Then, rats were anesthetized using chloroform and necropsied after recording the profile ensuring that this operation is carefully started from under the skin and all parts are examined to find possible fillers. Next, the abdominal and diaphragm muscles were evaluated for trichinosis, and finally, the entire gastrointestinal tract was separated and split along the length and in separate plates. They were placed together with the physiological serum and examined using a stereo microscope and a microscope. Eventually, smears were taken from the liver and spleen, and the esophagus was investigated for Gongylonema. Results: In this study, out of 100 collected rats, 68 (68%) cases were infected with at least one worm, while 32 (32%) of them were uninfected. The collected rodents were infected with Trichuris muris (9%), Syphacia obvelata (2%), Strongyloides ratti (41%), Gongylonema (1%), Physaloptera (8%), and Nippostrongylus (3%). Hymenolepis nana (18%) and Hymenolepis diminuta (62%), as well as Cysticercus fasciolaris (7%) and Moniliformis moniliformis (2%) were also detected in these collected rodents. Conclusion: The results of our study indicated the presence of Hymenolepis nana, Hymenolepis diminuta, Cysticercus fasciolaris, Moniliformis moniliformis, and Physaloptera as zoonotic worm parasites that have a history of infection in humans based on the findings of parasitological studies worldwide.


Recent studies have indicated that a complex machinery of transactivation of target genes by estrogen or antiestrogen through estrogen receptor (ER) exists. However, the substantial roles of ER-β, coactivators, and corepressors in the development and progression of breast cancer remain to be elucidated. To obtain some clue to these roles, we screened the expression levels of ER-α, ER-β, coactivators (SRC-1, TIF2, AIB1, CBP, and P/CAF) and corepressors (N-CoR and SMRT) in 6 normal mammary glands, 6 intraductal carcinomas, 22 invasive ductal carcinomas, and 7 breast cancer cell lines using a multiplex reverse transcription-PCR. ER-α mRNA expression levels significantly correlated with ER-α protein levels measured by enzyme immunoassay in the breast cancer tissues and cell lines. A significant correlation of expression levels was observed between ER-α and TIF2, AIB1, P/CAF, and N-CoR, and between ER-β and AIB1 and CBP in the tissue samples. A significant correlation was also observed between ER-α and ER-β and between ER-β and CBP in the cell lines. The expression levels of ER-α, TIF2, and CBP were significantly higher in the intraductal carcinomas than those in the normal mammary glands. In addition, the expression levels of ER-α and N-CoR were significantly higher in the intraductal carcinomas than those in the invasive ductal carcinomas. These findings suggest a positive correlation of expression levels among ER-α and cofactors and among ER-β and cofactors, an up-regulation of expression levels of ER-α and cofactors during the development of intraductal carcinomas from normal mammary glands, and a decrease in their expression levels during the progression of breast cancer.


This study examined the relationship between preschool teachers' selfefficacy beliefs and their teaching attitudes. In the study, it was considered whether preschool teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and their teaching attitudes change in terms of certain variables. The research was carried out using a correlational survey model. The target population of the study is the preschool teachers working in Küçükçekmece district, İstanbul Province, in the 2017-2018 academic year. The working group consists of 264 preschool teachers working at the schools in said district. The following assessment instruments were used in the research: "Personal Information Form," "Preschool Teachers' Self-efficacy Beliefs Scale," to identify preschool teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and 'Preschool Teachers' Teaching Attitudes Scale' to determine the teachers' attitudes. The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson multiplication moment correlation analysis, and Regression analysis was performed to determine the level of self-efficacy beliefs of preschool teachers affecting teaching attitudes. Preschool teachers were found to have full self-efficacy beliefs in the teaching-learning process, communication skills, planning, and regulation of learning environments and classroom management, and firm self-efficacy beliefs in family participation. Teachers' attitudes of preschool teachers were found to be democratic at the highest level, followed by autocratic and laissez-faire at the lowest level. As a result of the regression analysis made to determine the level of the effect of self-efficacy beliefs of preschool teachers on their teaching attitudes, the learning and teaching process positively predicts democratic teaching attitudes and negatively predicts laissez-faire attitudes.


Purpose - The present study examines the relationships between perceived HPWS and job performance (include task performance and organizational citizenship behavior). Design/methodology/approach - The present meta-analysis are based on 36 published or unpublished articles from 2000-2020. Findings - The findings indicate that perceived HPWS is positively related to task performance with a corrected coefficient of .312, the effect size (d) of .657 with the total N=11,349. The corrected correlation coefficient between perceived HPWS and OCB is .343, and the effect size (d) is .730 with the total N= 6,577. A moderator analysis of the evaluation source found no significant differences between self-ratings and other-ratings of task performance. The corrected correlations between the perceived HPWS and self-ratings, and the perceived HPWS and other-ratings are .313 and .309, respectively. Research limitations/implications - The common method variance might influence the effect sizes. Practical implications/Social implications - The perception of HPWS from employees will influence their attitudes and working behaviors. Therefore, a meta-analysis study of the relationship between the perceived HPWS and job performance can help to understand the mechanism between HPWS and organization performance. Originality/value - There are few HPWS studies based on the employee's perception. The present meta-analysis study summarized the effect sizes of perceived HPWS and job performance accumulated in the past 20 years.


Objective:To examine the expressions of apoptosis suppressor gene Bcl 2 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast and their clinical significance. Methods:35 cases of paraffin embedded specimens of invasive ductal breast cercinoma were used for immunohistochemical study.Results:The positive rates of both Bcl 2 and PCNA expression were 68.6%.The expression rate of Bcl 2 was closely correlated with the level of estrogen receptor (ER) and the five year survival ( P 0.01,respectively) whereas the expression of Bcl 2 was not related to tumor size.The relationship between the expression of PCNA and histological grade or lymphnode metastases was negative correalted ( P 0.05).The expression of PCNA was closely correlated with tumor size and histological grade ( P 0.05),negative correlated with the age,the level of estrogenrceptor and the survival duration ( P 0.05),no related to lymph node netastases.Conclusion:The results suggest that either over expression of Bcl 2 and or low expression of PCNA predicts a good prognosis and long survial duration.


The idea is about making vehicles more selfregulating and automatic which may inform or combat vehicle drivers under terrible conditions .The system consist of MQ-3 alcohol sensor to continuously observe the alcohol blood concentration level, to discover the presence of liquor in the breath of a vehicle's driver. By placing sensor on steering wheel of the vehicle, the system has the capacity to continuously check alcohol concentration level from the driver's breath. In case if driver is drunk while driving then the CCW system would get activated. Using CCW the car could change its own position and maintain its own speed depending on other nearby vehicles. This would decrease the extent of accident.


We present MoS2/MoSe2 heterostructures formed through dry transfer method. We report significant quenching of the photoluminescence in MoS2 and a red shift of the photoluminescence in MoSe2 as signs of interlayer charge transfer.


Abstract We will consider the feedback stabilization of a class of in£nite dimensional systems by using boundary control, i.e. control inputs are applied at the boundaries of such systems. Such systems usually possess an internal energy, and along their solutions a conservation of energy equation hold. By utilizing this relation, we will prove various stability results. We will also give an example on the application of the proposed technique to some well known passive systems. We will also present some simulation results.


In this article we present actual projects concerning high resolution measurements developed for future space missions based on ultracold atoms at the Institut fur Quantenoptik (IQ) of the University of Hannover. This work involves the realization of a Bose–Einstein condensate in a microgravitational environment and of an inertial atomic quantum sensor.


Nonlinear convection–diffusion equations are widely used for the description of various processes and phenomena in physics, mechanics and biology. In this work we consider a family of nonlinear ordinary differential equations which is a traveling wave reduction of a nonlinear convection–diffusion equation with a polynomial source. We study a question about integrability of this family of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. We consider both stationary and non–stationary cases of this equation with and without convection. In order to construct general analytical solutions of equations from this family we use an approach based on nonlocal transformations which generalize the Sundman transformations. We show that in the stationary case without convection the general analytical solution of the considered family of equations can be constructed without any constraints on its parameters and can be expressed via the Weierstrass elliptic function. Since in the general case this solution has a cumbersome form we find some correlations on the parameters which allow us to construct the general solution in the explicit form. We show that in the non–stationary case both with and without convection we can find a general analytical solution of the considered equation only imposing some correlation on the parameters. To this aim we use criteria for the integrability of the Lienard equation which have recently been obtained. We find explicit expressions in terms of exponential and elliptic functions for the corresponding analytical solutions.


The invention concerns a method and a software program for determining the position of an elevator car moved in an elevator shaft, wherein an acceleration is measured and combined with measured open/closed states of the car door. The open-states of the door are used to identify floor-levels and a moving run sequence, wherein the car position estimate is then compared with allocated floor-levels from which the destination floor-level is calculated to extract the exact position of the car within the elevator shaft.


Early detection of leakages in hydraulic infrastructures is important to ensure their safety and security. Significant flow of water through the dike can be an indicator of internal erosion and results in a thermal anomaly. Temperature measurements are therefore capable of revealing information linked to leakage. Optical fiber–based distributed temperature sensors present an economically viable and reliable solution for recording spatio-temporal temperature data over long distances, with spatial and temperature resolutions of 1 m and 0.05°C, respectively. The acquired data are influenced by several factors, among them water leakages, heat transfer through the above soil depth, seasonal thermal variations, and the geomechanical environment. Soil properties such as permeability alter the acquired signal locally. This article presents leakage detection methods based on signal processing of the raw temperature data from optical fiber sensors. The first approach based on source separation identifies leakages by separating them from the non-relevant information. The second approach presents a potential alarm system based on the analysis of daily temperature variations. Successful detection results for simulated as well as real experimental setups of Electricité de France are presented.


The importance that the Afro-Pacific community gives to the practice of velorios (wake) for the saints is most significant. This practice, in which the values of a reconstructed religiosity are mixed, together with the very processes of adaptation and transformation of its devotees to marginalized and racialized urban context, become the element that has enabled the community reconfiguration of said groups in different spaces of settlement. Therefore, they come to be spaces of collective memory built from a common understanding that recreates spirituality expressing its usefulness and daily strength. The goal of this paper is to show the importance of the velorios made to the patron saints on the east of the city, specifically, in some neighborhoods of the Aguablanca District, through songs, lullabies, and praise. These have positioned themselves as a storytelling tradition of the permanence and historical belonging of Afro-descendant communities in their diasporic condition, of long and short journeys making possible a way of being and doing in Cali. Moreover, to underline the importance of velorios, involves making a descriptive analysis of the forms and meanings of this practice in the community reconfiguration.


Confidence in the public care system in the United Kingdom (UK) has been shaken by numerous and widespread scandals surrounding the abuse of children and young people, particularly those in residential child care institutions. This paper examines factors associated with such abuse, including: failings in relation to staff recruitment, training, and supervision; ineffective management and systems of accountability; the development of inappropriate institutional cultures; public ambivalence towards children in care; the slow footed response to the threat posed to children and young people by dangerous men and other youngsters in care; and the long-term policy failure to develop coherent and integrated systems of child welfare in the UK.


The study aims to understand influence of customer satisfaction, regret, and switching cost on blog users from blog to facebook and the reasons. The study expects to provide relevant community website proprietors with suggestions for community website management via switch intention factors. The study knows influence of customer satisfaction, regret, and switching cost on blog users from blog to facebook via literature analysis and in-depth review. Research objects are divided into three groups: 1. complete switchers from blog to facebook (four people), 2. partial switchers who use both blog and facebook (three people), and 3. non-switchers who use blog instead of facebook (two people). The study conducts an in-depth interview via an interview outline and then sum up influencers of these nine users from blog to facebook. The main findings of the study are summed up as follows: 1. Correlations of blog customer satisfaction and switch behavior are not high, and only switch behavior of non-switchers is related to blog customer satisfaction. 2. Facebook customer satisfaction is related to blog switch behavior. 3. Correlations of blog customer regret and switch behavior of blog users from blog to facebook are different for different interviewee features. 4. Correlations of facebook customer regret and switch behavior of blog users from blog to facebook are different for different interviewee features. 5. A switching cost is related to a switch behavior. 6. The factors of being from blog to facebook can be divided into two types: separately functional and external factors. A function factor means a facebook function per se, including information mobility, convenience and external expansion in technology and manipulation ease of facebook. An external factor means a driving force of the times trend.


Assessment Methodology: Material Chronology, Early Building Laws, and Loads. Foundation Systems of American Historic Buildings. Historic American Building Systems: Walls and Columns. Historic American Floor Systems - Beams. Historic American Roof Systems: Lateral Bracing of Buildings. The Historic Material Assessment. Bibliography. Index.


The micro-voids which are made by being entangled with fiber made the complicated porous structures on paper surface and inside paper. This porous structure is one of the most fundamental property, and is closely related to printability of paper. In this paper, the measurement methods and examples of their results of porosity, distribution of capillary tubes and distribution of surface roughness are showed and described and then the outlines of their relationea to ink transfer, printing smoothneas, ink penetration and print quality are described.


Background: Item analysis is the process of collecting, summarizing and using information from students' response to assess the quality of test items. However it is said that MCQs emphasize recall of factual information rather than conceptual understanding and interpretation of concepts. There is more to writing good MCQs than writing good questions. The objectives of the study was to assess the item and test quality of multiple choice questions and to deal with the learning difficulties of students, identify the low achievers in the test. Methods: The hundred MBBS students from Government medical college were examined. A test comprising of thirty MCQs was administered. All items were analysed for Difficulty Index, Discrimination Index and Distractor Efficiency. Data entered in MS Excel 2007 and SPSS 21 analysed with statistical test of significance. Results: Majority 80% items difficulty index is within acceptable range. 63% items showed excellent discrimination Index. Distractor efficiency was overall satisfactory. Conclusions: Multiple choice questions with average difficulty and also having high discriminating power with good distracter efficiency should be incorporated into student's examination.


To the Editor: Bronchobiliary fistula (BBF) is a rare entity consisting of an abnormal communication between the biliary tract and the bronchial tree. It usually presents with expectoration of yellow-green sputum containing bile, known as bilioptysis.1,2 Hepatic infections, tumors, trauma, and congenital malformations are the most common causes.3 However, in recent years, BBF is increasingly arising as a complication of extensive surgical procedures and radiofrequency ablation for abdominal pathologies.1 It is associated with a high mortality and morbidity rate, but unfortunately, there is no clear consensus on the treatment of this disorder. Currently, noninvasive and surgical procedures are implemented with controversial results.1,4 We report a case of BBF managed with combined pulmonary and gastrointestinal intervention requiring multiple stent placement and fibrin glue instillation.


The research is devoted to one of the many creative ideas of Gogol in 1834. The textual analysis shows the unity of the two historical works of the writer, which were previously published as separate works. These manuscripts testify that Gogol's "Bibliography of the Middle Ages" and the course of medieval history written at the same time (of ten lectures) represent a special edition that was being prepared for publication (which remained unpublished for unknown reasons). For the first time, the reader got acquainted with the "Bibliography of the Middle Ages" and Gogol's ten university lectures in 1896, but until that moment these materials, published separately, have not been comprehended as a single whole prepared for publication. The publication of the book, which did not take place in 1834, is put in connection with Gogol's then cooperation with the Minister of Public Education S.S. Uvarov. During this period, thanks to the minister, Gogol entered the department of general history of St. Petersburg University and published four articles in the ministerial journal. The article analyzes the content of Gogol's lecture course and its relation to his other works. The author of the article proposes a possible title for the untitled book, based on the surviving Gogol lecture program.