INTRODUCTION The role of accountants is critical to society. Accountants serve as financial reporters and intermediaries in the capital markets and owe their primary obligation to the public interest. The information they provide is crucial in aiding managers, investors and others in making critical economic decisions. Accordingly, ethical improprieties by accountants can be detrimental to society, resulting in distrust by the public and disruption of efficient capital market operations. The numerous incidents of unethical behavior in the accounting profession stress the need for increased ethics in accounting education. Students are graduating with accounting degrees who are not familiar with professional codes of ethics, and who do not have the ability to detect nor address ethical accounting dilemmas. Lam & Samson (2005) noted that cleverness and creativity have replaced the traditional honesty and integrity which have characterized accountants of the past. Employers are no longer satisfied with just hiring competent accountants, but are looking for those who know the importance of, and are equipped with skills necessary to make ethical decisions. Therefore, in order for professional accountants to fulfill their role in society, they must not only have intellectual and technical expertise but also moral expertise (Mintz, 1995). However, obtaining moral expertise may be a challenge since accounting curricula may be focusing mostly on the technical aspect of the profession and pushing instruction in ethical behavior by the wayside (Madison, 2002). In the past, a common argument for not including an accounting ethics course involved not having room in an already crammed accounting curriculum. However, having adequate room in the curriculum is no longer a valid argument with the adoption of the 150-hour rule by all but four states. The 150-hour rule provides an opportunity to improve weaknesses in accounting education and better prepare students for careers in the accounting profession. In an attempt to restore the reputation of the accounting profession, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy ("NASBA") proposed that CPA candidates be required to not only take a business ethics course but also an accounting ethics course. However, as a result of numerous responses against mandating a separate ethics accounting course, this proposal was not adopted. While the AACSB only requires that ethics be incorporated into accounting courses, students and administrators agree that there should be more ethics in the accounting curriculum. Kerr & Smith (1995) reported that accounting students are seeking ethical and moral direction and that a lack of ethics can be damaging to the accounting profession and society. The numerous accounting scandals in the early 2000s are evidence of this prophecy and the need for increased ethics in the accounting curriculum. The current mortgage and financial meltdown may eventually also be attributed to accounting and ethical failures. Bernardi and Bean's (2006) survey of advanced accounting students reported that the accounting students were in favor of NASBA's proposal for a separate accounting ethics course by a two-to-one ratio. Furthermore, a survey of 122 accounting administrators from the largest accounting programs in North America reveals that while ethics education has increased substantially in the accounting curriculum over the last twenty years, department chairs would like to see more time allotted to ethics (Madison & Schmidt, 2006). The state of Texas has taken the lead in recognizing the importance and necessity of ethics in the accounting profession. Effective July 1, 2005, those applying to take the CPA exam in Texas must have completed a pre-approved 3-hour accounting or business ethics course. The state of Maryland has also more recently adopted an ethics requirement. Effective, January 1, 2008, those applying to take the CPA exam in Maryland must have completed a 3-hour course in business or accounting ethics, the philosophy of ethics, or a course that examines the framework of ethical decision-making. …


Purpose: To evaluate and compare post-surgical healing and patient's satisfaction in the treatment of gingival melanin hyperpigmentation using Zinc Oxide Non-eugenol periodontal dressing and Isoamyl 2-cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive. Method. Three patients were selected on the basis of Dummett-Gupta Oral Pigmentation Index [DOPI] (1984) that was seen especially in the maxillary anterior tooth region. Clinical photographs were taken preoperatively. The gingival depigmentation was performed with a combined technique using the scalpel and a high speed diamond bur under local anaesthesia. Subsequently, a split mouth technique was used for application of the post-surgical dressing; wherein isoamyl 2-cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive was applied in the first quadrant (site A),  after proper isolation to avoid accidental adherence and a non-eugenol periodontal dressing was placed in the 2nd quadrant (site B). Clinical photographs were taken immediately after the procedures and at the 1st, 2nd, and 4 th week postoperatively to evaluate the healing response. The patients were also asked to fill a questionnaire about any pain or discomfort using the Visual analogue scale and the Gingival Index (Loe H and Silness J 1963) was recorded at all the recall visits. Results:  During the 1 st postoperative week, at the site A, the patients complained of moderate pain and discomfort and the gingiva appeared erythematous; whereas at site B, the patient did not complain of any pain or discomfort and the healing was uneventful. Two weeks after the procedure, the patient had no complaints and clinically, the gingiva showed almost complete healing at both the sites .Four weeks after the procedure, there was significant improvement in gingival healing response. Conclusions: The Non-eugenol periodontal dressing and Isoamyl 2-cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive seemed to be effective for gingival depigmentation procedure. However the periodontal dressing showed better and uneventful healing in the first week postoperatively as compared to the tissue adhesive. Eventually after four weeks the results on both the sites were similar.


The UK Department for International Development (DFID) supports policies, programmes and projects to promote international development. DFID is providing funds for this study as part of this objective but the views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of DFID.


Rock fragment cover has long been an important agricultural crop production technique on the Loess Plateau, China. Although this approach plays an important role in controlling hydrological processes and preventing soil erosion, inconsistent results have been recovered in this field. In this study, we investigated the effects of rock fragment cover on infiltration, run‐off, soil erosion, and hydraulic parameters using rainfall simulation in the field in a semi‐arid region of China. Two field plots encompassing 6 rock fragment coverages (0%, 10%, 20%, 25%, 30%, and 40%), as well as 2 rock fragment positions and sizes were exposed to rainfall at a particular intensity (60 mm h−1). The results of this study showed that increasing the rock fragment coverage with rock fragments resting on the soil surface increased infiltration but decreased run‐off generation and sediment yield. A contrasting result was found, however, when rock fragments were partially embedded into the soil surface; in this case, a positive relationship between rock fragment coverage and run‐off rate as well as a nonmonotonic relationship with respect to soil loss rate was recovered. The size of rock fragments also exerted a positive effect on run‐off generation and sediment yield but had a negative effect on infiltration. At the same time, both mean flow velocity and Froude number decreased with increasing rock fragment coverage regardless of rock fragment position and size, whereas both Manning roughness and Darcy–Weisbach friction factor were positively correlated. Results show that stream power is the most sensitive hydraulic parameter affecting soil loss. Combined with variance analysis, we concluded that the order of significance of rock fragment cover variables was position followed by coverage and then size. We also quantitatively incorporated the effects of rock fragment cover on soil loss via the C and K factors in the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation. Overall, this study will enable the development of more accurate modelling approaches and lead to a better understanding of hydrological processes under rock fragment cover conditions.


Because of the antimicrobial role that defensins play in humans and animals, genes encoding these peptides may be considered as molecular markers of a genetically determined susceptibility (or resistance) of the mammary gland to mastitis. Records were gathered of daily milk yield, fat, protein, and lactose content of milk, and milk somatic cell count (SCC) of 217 lactating Black-and-White cows. To determine the defensin gene polymorphism, DNA was isolated from blood and the RFLP method with enzyme TaqI was used. Twenty different polymorphic systems were revealed, possibly representing variants of genes encoding different defensins. Statistical evaluation included cows with more than seven records, and showing the 2.5% frequency of combined defensin genotypes (CDGs). In this way 13 different CDGs of 204 cows appeared available for statistical evaluation. CDGs significantly affected all dairy performance traits studied, as well as SCC. The important message from these results is that the defensin(s) may probably be used as genetic marker(s) in the breeding programmes aiming at selecting highly productive dairy cattle with increased resistance to udder infections.


Visceral neuropathy-brain anomalies-facial dysmorphism-developmental delay syndrome is characterised by facial dysmorphology, neuropathic visceral dysmotility, neurogenic megacystis, intracerebral calcifications and developmental delay. It has been described in two siblings (brother and sister) born to consanguineous parents. T he girl also had microcephaly and multicystic kidneys. T he boy had a more extensive neuropathic visceral disorder, leading clinically to chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction syndrome (CIPO). Qeios · Definition, February 10, 2020


Since the seminal paper by Esaki and Tsu, semiconductor-based nanometric heterostructures have been the subject of impressive theoretical and experimental activity due to their high potential impact in both fundamental research and device technology. The steady scaling down of typical space and time scales in quantum optoelectronic systems inevitably leads to a regime in which the validity of the traditional Boltzmann transport theory cannot be taken for granted and a more general quantum-transport description is imperative. In this paper, we shall review state-of-the-art approaches used in the theoretical modelling, design and optimization of optoelectronic quantum devices. The primary goal is to provide a cohesive treatment of basic quantum-transport effects, able to explain and predict the performances of new-generation semiconductor devices. With this aim, we shall review and discuss a fully three-dimensional microscopic treatment of time-dependent as well as steady-state quantum-transport phenomena, based on the density matrix formalism. This will allow us to introduce in a quite natural way the separation between coherent and incoherent processes. Starting with this general theoretical framework, we shall analyse two different types of quantum devices, namely periodically repeated structures and quantum systems with open boundaries. For devices within the first class, we will show how a proper use of periodic boundary conditions allows us to reproduce and predict their current–voltage characteristics without resorting to phenomenological parameters. For the second class of devices, we will address the relevant issue of a quantum treatment of charge transport in systems with open boundaries (electrical contacts) when studying and simulating an at least two-terminal device.


Let (G, S) be a Coxeter group. We construct a continuation, to the open unit disc, of the unitary representations associated to the positive definite functions g 7→ r l(g) . (Here 0 < r < 1, and l denotes the length function with respect to the generating set S.) The constructed representations are uniformly bounded and we prove that this implies the weak amenability of the group G.


Tunnel squeezing is one of the major geological disasters that often occur during the construction of tunnels in weak rock masses subjected to high in situ stresses. It could cause shield jamming, budget overruns, and construction delays and could even lead to tunnel instability and casualties. Therefore, accurate prediction or identification of tunnel squeezing is extremely important in the design and construction of tunnels. This study presents a modified application of a multiclass support vector machine (SVM) to predict tunnel squeezing based on four parameters, that is, diameter (D), buried depth (H), support stiffness (K), and rock tunneling quality index (Q). We compiled a database from the literature, including 117 case histories obtained from different countries such as India, Nepal, and Bhutan, to train the multiclass SVM model. The proposed model was validated using 8-fold cross validation, and the average error percentage was approximately 11.87%. Compared with existing approaches, the proposed multiclass SVM model yields a better performance in predictive accuracy. More importantly, one could estimate the severity of potential squeezing problems based on the predicted squeezing categories/classes.


Mitral valve aneurysm (MVA) is an ominous complication of infective endocarditis (IE), with worse outcomes seen among patients with preexisting valvular disease or intravenous drug use. Valve aneurysms can perforate or lead to rupture of the chordae tendineae, with the consequent development of severe mitral regurgitation and acute pulmonary edema. We present a case of a 54-year-old woman with hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peptic ulcer disease, obstructive sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, intravenous drug abuse and bipolar disorder who developed MVA one month after being discharged for IE. Decline in the clinical status of patients with IE is a troubling sign that may indicate an IE complication such as MVA. Physicians should diligently monitor patients with IE for changes in signs and symptoms, as early recognition and surgical intervention are key to prevent further morbidity and mortality.


The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of mentoring as a form of learning and development for Irish SME's. The study will take an exploratory approach on the subject as there is very little research that has been done on this area within an Irish context. For the purpose of this study, a qualitative approach has been used in the form of semi-structured interviews. Five interviews were carried out amongst clients who recently participated in the Dublin Local Enterprise Office's (LEO) mentoring programme. The participants came from different backgrounds and all the participants have their own businesses in a variety of sectors such as crafts, education and male grooming. The study produced some interesting results regarding the extent to which mentoring can affect the mentoree's ideas due to the level of validation the mentoree gains from the mentor. The study also found that culture can affect the mentoring process as one of the participants from the Czech Republic found the mentoring process difficult to follow because of cultural differences. Following the findings of the study, areas such as culture shock within the mentoring process and the effects of learning from the mentor's perspective were considered for future research.


Introducion: An epileptic seizure may be conceptualized as a paroxysmal pathological process in the brain of a heterogeneous etiology with heteromorphic clinical and electrophysiological manifestation. Current research aimed to study the aetiology of convulsions in relation to clinical, electrophysiological and radiological changes and management. Material and methods: It was a prospective study carried out on 50 patients of convulsions admitted in the medical wards. Patients with convulsions of all age groups were included in this study. Results: The incidence of convulsions in those people below 18 years of age was 30% and in adults above 50 years of age was 30%. The incidence is not in confirmation with porter's studies where it is highest above 80% in the children below 18 years age. Most common etiology in study was cerebrovascular accidents 13(26%) and followed by infraction in 10 cases(20%). Incidence of seizure was more in males than compared to females. Most of the patients with seizures were presented with generalised tonic clonic seizures(20 cases). Conclusion: Focal seizures were more commoner than other groups of seizures. 20% of patients in this study remained undiagnosed with obscure aetiology. Keyword: Aetiology of Convulsions, Relation to Clinical, Electrophysiological and Radiological


Yoon Sang-yeol defected to North Korea for political reasons, where he was branded as a fractionalist. So his life was unknown to the world. He began his career as a painter, and after worked as a set designer in theater and a production designer in a movie studio. Also he was a activist of the proletarian art movement who struggled against rule of Japanese imperialism. After liberation he was the central figure of film movement which was led by lefties. In 1948, he defected to North Korea. he was elected to representative of the North Korea`s supreme command, but he was purged when North Korea purged Workers` Party of South Korea at Korean War. Yoon Sang-yeol was a fauve in Korea. He used a contrast of color, shape and space. He cut details and emphasized on the spatial feature at his stage.


of influence which is described as ''when one actor intentionally communicates to another so as to alter the latter's behavior from what would have occurred otherwise'' (p. 24). This definition provides the outline for their conceptual framework. They require their contributors to focus on actual relationships and spaces within which NGOs communicated with other actors to assess what were the boundaries of these relations and to look at what kind of tools NGOs used in these communications to change other actors' views. They then provide contributors with two methodological orientations to help them analyze their data: process tracing that looks at ''causal mechanisms linking NGO participation in these negotiations with their influence'' and counterfactual analysis: looking at ''what would have happened if NGOs had not participated in the negotiations'' (p. 28). In this way the editors request from their contributors both a particular kind of data and a particular way of analyzing it to be able to assess the influence of NGOs in these various forums and to lead to a general understanding of their role. This is an ambitious project that proposes a new methodology to study NGOs and also attempts to implement this methodology in the various case studies to be tested. No doubt this is the outcome of an ongoing research program undertaken by the editors for an extended period of time. Presenting the framework with the case studies is useful but it also has its shortcomings. There are questions about the feasibility of the methodology and questions about some of the case studies as to how far they were able to actually apply and demonstrate influence in the way the editors hope. The most interesting question about the methodology is on counterfactual analysis. In a given situation there can be large numbers of counterfactual narratives, it is not clear how the editors or the authors should choose among the various narratives. Furthermore, in deciding to choose there is a need to rely on a theoretical framework which will provide the causal story. If they are relying on International Relations based theories this would be a limiting factor for the analysis. Considered from this angle, it is not clear how the absence of NGOs can be accurately characterized as an important determinant in a given decision process. Claims of such a causal link could be dependent on a theoretical or ideological determination. Another issue is how the concept of the NGO is interpreted by the editors and most of the contributors. The concept is not nuanced, nor does it reflect the debates on these issues. As a result, when looking at international environmental diplomacy it seems that mostly organizations that are within the environmentalist camp are considered. Some organizations that appear to be linked with private sector interests or others without environmental credentials are not considered as NGOs. These qualifications do not make them less of an NGO, as they also have influence in this field. The chapter on the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is an exception in this area. It provides a nuanced discussion on the NGO form, and provides an interesting debate on this sector within the IWC discussions. A third missing component is a focus on the role of international civil servants in creating policy spaces. This is an important area to consider. In summary, there is no doubt that the book provides an interesting view of NGOs. It would be interesting to take this work further by expanding each case study to focus on the micro-politics of these relations to analyze the actual mechanism and processes that are mediating them.


From the characters of centralization,opening and urbanization during the development of higher educational area,this article analyzes the characters of group events happening in the higher educational area and proposes some solutions on prevention and deal,such as making efforts to eliminate the causing sources,constructing some relevant dealing system,cultivating colorful and advanced campus culture,enhancing Ideological and Political Education of college students,and so on.


The utility model belongs to the technical field of boiler energy conservation and brown coal drying, and particularly relates to a system using boiler flue gas waste heat for drying brown coal. A part of high-temperature flue gas at an economizer outlet enters an air preheater, another part of the high-temperature flue gas enters a brown coal drying drum through a drying system bypass to dry the brown coal, partial boiler flue gas waste heat is used as a heat source for a brown coal drying system, partial flue gas waste heat is recycled, and flue gas at an outlet of the brown coal drying drum enters an electrostatic dust collector after being mixed with flue gas at an outlet of the air preheater. A bypass shutoff damper is arranged between the economizer outlet and an inlet of the brown coal drying drum and used for splitting the brown coal drying system, and a bypass modulation damper is arranged between the outlet of the brown coal drying drum and the electrostatic dust collector and used for modulating the quantity of the flue gas passing the brown coal drying drum. The system uses the partial boiler flue gas waste heat for drying the brown coal, thereby achieving the purposes of energy conservation and emission reduction of the brown coal drying system.


In telerobotics two control modes are usually implemented for guiding: position control and rate control. Numerous works have been carried out comparing them. This chapter introduces a new re-configurable system for guiding robots. It is based on the fact that guiding performance depends directly on the task requirement. The system presented is able to change its control scheme during task execution in order to accommodate itself to the task requirement at all times. An architecture for the re-configurable system is proposed. It has been experimentally implemented and tested. Its performance is compared to conventional force-position and force-rate bilateral control schemes. Findings show that the re-configurable system obtains the best results in all analysed variables.


Although nonlinear burst and tonic SCS are believed to treat neuropathic pain via distinct pain pathways, the effectiveness of these modalities on brain activity in vivo has not been investigated. This study compared neuronal firing patterns in the brain after nonlinear burst and tonic SCS in a rat model of painful radiculopathy.


Hepatitis B in pregnant women causes coagulation effects, organ failure, and increased maternal mortality, while in newborns, it causes asphyxia and low birth weight. Pregnant women need to know about Hepatitis B and have a positive attitude to prevent transmission to pregnant women. It can be improved through health education. This study aims to determine the effect of individual method health education with leaflet media on increasing knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women about Hepatitis B at the Sidodadi Health Center Bengkulu Tengah in 2022. The research design was quasi-experimental with a non-equivalent control group design, with a pre-test post-test control group approach. The population is all pregnant women in the area of the Sidodadi Health Center in 2022, amounting to 37 people, using the Lemeshow formula, a sample of 34 respondents (17 in intervention groups and 17 in comparison). Data were analyzed using the dependent T-test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test. There is a difference in the average knowledge score and attitudes before and after being given individual method health education with leaflet media. There is a significant difference between the two groups with ?= 0.000. It means that there is a significant effect on individual method health education with leaflet media on knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women about Hepatitis B at the Sidodadi Health Center in 2022, with a mean difference of 3.47 on the knowledge variable and 5.65 on the attitude variable. A diversity of counseling methods is needed to increase the knowledge and attitudes of pregnant women about Hepatitis B. Health workers must increase their role in improving methods and media in providing counseling to pregnant women to prevent transmission of Hepatitis B.


Thirty-six mature goats were allocated into three groups, i.e. long-day photoperiod, short-day photoperiod, natural day photoperiod groups, in each of the groups half of the goats had melatonin implanted. The results showed that there was a signifi cant difference in body N retention and fl eece N partitioning among the different photoperiod treatments and melatonin implants. Fleece N partitioning increased as the photoperiod declined, implanted subgroups had higher values than the non-implanted ones. Body composition was dramatically changed in different treatment groups.


A novel distributed bus protection based on the transmission line traveling-wave power directions and the wavelet transformation is presented. The theoretical analysis and EMTP simulation tests show, (a) It is not effected by current transformer saturation due to using the faulty information of the traveling waves. (b) The protection criterion based on the wavelet transform can distinguish internal faults from external ones reliably, and its performance can endure the influences of various conditions such as fault type, fault resistance, etc. (c) The new distributed architecture is more economical and convenient than existing bus protection architectures due to using the transmission line directional protection and the wavelet transform technique.


Understanding the responses of vegetation phenology to natural and human disturbances is essential for better understanding ecosystems. In this study, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data and products were used together with other relevant data to analyse vegetation phenological responses to urbanisation and natural factors in the major urban agglomerations of the Urumqi-Changji, Shihezi-Manasi, and Wusu-Kuidun-Dushanzi regions on the Urban Agglomeration on the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains (UANSTM). Vegetation phenology distributed along an urban-rural gradient showed distinct variability, with start of growing season (SOS), end of growing season (EOS), and growing season length (GSL) occurring earlier, later, and longer, respectively, in urban areas than those in suburban and rural areas. In the Urumqi-Changji region, the earliest SOS, the later EOS, and the longest GSL occurred. Surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) was most pronounced in the Urumqi-Changji region, with a heat island intensity of 1.77–3.34 °C. Vegetation phenology was influenced by both urbanisation and natural factors, whose contributions were 44.2% to EOS and 61.8% to SOS, respectively. The results of this study emphasise the importance of quantifying the vegetation phenological responses to human disturbances, including climate change, along the urban-rural gradient on the UANSTM.


The nonlinear induced scattering of waves at plasma particles and its influence on the dynamics of beam instability is investigated. Within a definite range of plasma parameters in which the scattering of the waves at the ions is important, the scattering cross section increases considerably. In this case the transfer associated with the scattering, of the waves generated by the beam to the non-resonance region of the spectrum may lead to stabilization of the beam instabilities, even when intense extraneous "noise" is absent. The corresponding stability criterion is obtained. When the waves are scattered only at the plasma electrons, stabilization of the beam instabilities is possible by extraneous noise of large amplitude in the nonresonance region of the spectrum; we determine the energy of such noise to obtain stabilization.


For the design of active vibration controller,the measurement of the traditional algorithm are velocity and displacement.It brings errors because velocity and displacement is difficult to be measured.So this paper proposed state-derivative feedback equation in which measurement is acceleration based on state space equation.The feedback gain matrix and state-derivative estimator can be determined by Lagrange multiplier method and functional minimization method.State-derivative feedback algorithm of closed-loop control system is formed.According to this algorithm,vibration control of a annular space truss with diameter of one meter is analyzed,and effect of vibration control is evaluated by modal parameter identification of time domain.The control effect on LQR algorithm and state-derivative feedback algorithm is compared by a three layers of shear frame structure.The results show that effectiveness on vibration control is apparent and the algorithm of state-derivative feedback control can apply to active vibration control on spatial structure.And also,state-derivative feedback algorithm is superior over LQR algorithm.


We present Chandra observations of EMSS 1358+6245, a relaxed cooling flow cluster of galaxies at z = 0.328. We employ a new deprojection technique to construct temperature, gas, and dark matter profiles. We confirm the presence of cool gas in the cluster core, and our deprojected temperature profile for the hot component is isothermal over 30 kpc < r < 0.8 Mpc. Fitting the mass profile to a Navarro-Frenk-White model yields rs = 153 kpc and c = 8.4. We find good agreement between our dark matter profile and weak gravitational lensing measurements. We place an upper limit of 42 kpc (90% confidence limit) on the size of any constant-density core. We compare this result to recent simulations and place a conservative upper limit on the dark matter particle-scattering cross section of 0.1 cm2 g-1. This limit implies that the cross section must be velocity-dependent if the relatively shallow core mass profiles of dwarf galaxies are a direct result of dark matter self-interaction.


In the regulatory process, two terms, validation and qualification, sometimes are used to describe the same things. To further confuse the issue, a third term, verification, also has been thrown into the mix. Three recent documents help to define and delineate these three terms to stem the potential for confusion.


The current multimedia landscape is characterized by a significant diversity in terms of available media formats, network technologies, and device properties. This heterogeneity has resulted in a number of new challenges, such as providing universal access to multimedia content. A solution for this diversity is the use of scalable bit streams, as well as the deployment of a complementary system that is capable of adapting scalable bit streams to the constraints imposed by a particular usage environment (e.g., the limited screen resolution of a mobile device). This dissertation investigates the use of an XML-driven (Extensible Markup Language) framework for the format-independent adaptation of scalable bit streams. Using this approach, the structure of a bit stream is first translated into an XML description. In a next step, the resulting XML description is transformed to reflect a desired adaptation of the bit stream. Finally, the transformed XML description is used to create an adapted bit stream that is suited for playback in the targeted usage environment. The main contribution of this dissertation is BFlavor, a new tool for exposing the syntax of binary media resources as an XML description. Its development was inspired by two other technologies, i.e. MPEG-21 BSDL (Bitstream Syntax Description Language) and XFlavor (Formal Language for Audio-Visual Object Representation, extended with XML features). Although created from a different point of view, both languages offer solutions for translating the syntax of a media resource into an XML representation for further processing. BFlavor (BSDL+XFlavor) harmonizes the two technologies by combining their strengths and eliminating their weaknesses. The expressive power and performance of a BFlavor-based content adaptation chain, compared to tool chains entirely based on either BSDL or XFlavor, were investigated by several experiments. One series of experiments targeted the exploitation of multi-layered temporal scalability in H.264/AVC, paying particular attention to the use of sub-sequences and hierarchical coding patterns, as well as to the use of metadata messages to communicate the bit stream structure to the adaptation logic. BFlavor was the only tool to offer an elegant and practical solution for XML-driven adaptation of H.264/AVC bit streams in the temporal domain.


The automatic computing of the estimated hydraulic parameters of an aquifer when the data consist of the piezometric head and the flow rates of the wells (the 'inverse problem') is a very good example of an improperly posed problem, if we try to solve only its mathematical part. Yet if we use the available physical information about the structure of the desired solution, the problem becomes properly posed mathematically. The main idea is that the desired solution is the regional distribution of the hydraulic parameters and is consequently the softest mathematical solution. Nevertheless, as the mathematical problem improves, we need a practical way to obtain the best estimate of the hydraulic parameters from actual measures, which always include errors. The new method gives a solution to these two problems. Because of the complexity of the theoretical aspects of the method, the present paper is only an abstract.


University Laboratory is an important place for teaching and research,and laboratory safety is also an important part of the school building,effective management methods,and education and training mechanism,so that the majority of faculty and students from the ideological to establish a people-oriented,production safety awareness,make college really provide a powerful guarantee for teaching and research.


The 2001 survey of western Arctic (Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas) bowhead whales was conducted from 5 April to 7 June near Barrow, Alaska. Visual observers recorded a total of 3,295 "new" (not seen before) and 532 "conditional" (possibly seen before) whales in 1,130 h of watch effort, including 121 new calves (3.7% of the new whales). Concurrent with the visual survey, passive acoustic surveillance was conducted almost continuously from 16 April to 31 May, resulting in 27,023 locations of vocalizing bowhead whales. The estimated number of whales within 4 km of the perch (N4) was 7,025 (SE = 1,068). The estimated proportion of the whales within 4 km of the perch (P4) was 0.862 (SE = 0.044, computed by a moving blocks bootstrap). Combining these, the abundance estimate (N4/P4) for 2001 is 10,470 (SE = 1, 351) with a 95% confidence interval of 8, 100–13, 500. The estimated annual rate of increase (ROI) of the population from 1978 to 2001 is 3.4% (95% CI 1.7%-5%). Reports from hunters and results of an aerial survey in June 2001 indicate whales continued to pass Barrow after the survey had ended. In 2001 51% (572 h) of the watch was scored as occurring during "fair-excellent" visibility conditions, somewhat lower than the average for all surveys since 1978. Sea ice in the leads and fog were the principle environmental factors affecting visibility for all years. The estimated rate of increase and the fact that the number of calves counted in 2001 is the highest ever recorded suggest a steady recovery of this population. Other populations of large balaenids, notably the North Atlantic right whale, have failed to recover despite 70 yr of protection. The recovery of the howhead whale is likely attributable to low anthropogenic mortality, a relatively pristine habitat, and a well-managed subsistence hunt. Nonetheless, offshore oil development, increasing shipping traffic, changes in the Bering Sea ecosystem, sea ice retreat, and possibly killer whale predation within its range could impact this bowhead population and should be carefully monitored.


21103 Background: Complete pathological response (pCR) has been considered a reliable endpoint to assess the benefit of NC. However, different pathological responses ranging from near complete resp...


Structural plasticity and its control at the nanoscale are a vivid area of material science. In this contribution, we report a conceptually simple and versatile strategy for the formation of reconfigurable nanoparticle arrangements. The key role in our approach is played by star block copolymers from controlled radical RAFT polymerization, which fulfill the dual task of guiding the particle arrangement and also of equipping the nanomaterials with stimulus-responsiveness. By virtue of their block structure, the star polymers provide at the same time colloidal stability and responsive properties. Structural switching in response to the applied stimulus was investigated by means of small-angle X-ray scattering and dynamic light scattering. The developed approach is general, easy to implement, and may provide new prospects for the development of colloidal actuators, nanoscale materials with switchable properties, and nanoscale machines.


Adenocarcinomas of lower oesophagus, gastro‐oesophageal junction and cardia in humans are highly invasive tumours with poor prognosis. The localisation of urokinase‐type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) was determined in 66 patients; 60 with adenocarcinomas and six cases with Barrett's oesophagus. uPAR was expressed in nearly all cases of invasive adenocarcinomas by populations of cancer cells, macrophages and myofibroblasts at both the invasion front and the tumour core. In areas with high‐grade dysplasia or with Barrett's metaplasia adjacent to the tumour tissue, no uPAR‐immunoreactivity was found. High local expression of uPAR, therefore, appears to be a characteristic marker for invasive behaviour in this tumour, suggesting that uPAR's contribution to matrix degradation during invasive growth is a late event in carcinogenesis. Using a scoring system for semiquantitative estimation of uPAR‐positivity on immmunohistochemically stained specimens, a significant association was found between poor overall survival and high uPAR‐score for cancer cells in the tumour core and for macrophages peripherally at the tumour invasion zone. In multivariate analysis, these two uPAR‐scores were confirmed as highly significant prognostic parameters independent of Tumour, Node, Metastasis (TNM)‐stage and World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The proteolytic action of these malignant and nonmalignant accessory cells thus seemed to follow two main patterns: one dominated by uPAR positive cancer cells and one by uPAR‐positive macrophages. Scoring of uPAR‐positivity might be a useful parameter for onset of invasion and prognosis in these adenocarcinomas.


The numerical analysis of laser welding process with consideration of analytical methods determining the phase transformations and mechanical properties of welded joints are presents in this paper. The analytical CCT diagram and final structural composition of S355 steel are presented . The empirical relations presented in the paper are determined by chemical composition of investigated steel and cooling rates between temperatures 800-500 o C (t 8/5 ). Phase composition and mechanical properties of each structure of welded steel are calculated in weld and HAZ on the basis of analytical methods. Laser welded flat is used in numerical simulations performed in ABAQUS. Different mathematical models of volumetric welding source are used in calculations. Temperature field, shape and size of melted zone for chosen points in the cross-section of the joint are determined on the basis of numerically obtained thermal cycles.


This paper explores the current machine learning based methods used to identify Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in humans. With ADHD being one of the most prevalent mental health disorders worldwide, machine learning could be one of the effective solutions to objective diagnosis support to clinicians. We explore the use of machine learning with different sensing techniques such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery (fMRI) and Electroencephalography (EEG). Moreover, we also explore other approaches to detect ADHD such as computer based tasks, medical questionnaires and medical notes. With mental health awareness on the rise, it is necessary to survey the existing literature on ADHD for a machine learning based reliable Artificial Intelligence (AI). Which can aid clinicians in order to speed up the ADHD diagnosis process.


: Modern technology has been offering an increasing number of tools for the digitalisation of monuments or works of art. 3D visualisations, which allow obtaining a very realistic image of the subject, are particularly popular. However, for many culture and science institutions, including museums, such tools can be unavailable, primarily for financial reasons. The Reflectance Transformation Imaging (further as: RTI) method, discussed in this article, appears to be a solution, which – being relatively inexpensive – offers a wide range of possibilities regarding the documentation of monuments by allowing – without the need to resort to high-tech equipment – to create 2.5D images out of regular digital photographs. The article offers a brief characteristic of the way in which the RTI method works, at the same time presenting successive stages in the procedure of obtaining images. In order to illustrate the results of this method the authors referred to their experiences with RTI Imaging; with this purpose in mind they described RTI images of three stones with petroglyphs featured at the Archaeological Museum in Poznań. Upon the basis of their achievements and pertinent literature they presented their assessment of the RTI method, indicating both its positive and negative aspects.


Innovative solutions are paramount to the identification and development of alternative energy resources, specifically for the production of potable water. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a trending emerging technology that promises green energy production while simultaneously treating wastewater. At present, several research efforts are working towards determining which bacteria, fuels, and materials are optimal for developing the most efficient MFCs; microsized MFCs have a key role in this goal. Therefore, in this Review, we summarize recent microfabrication techniques for building microsized cells and elaborate on their advantages and the challenges that need to be overcome. We will then focus on the integration of nanomaterials into MFCs and finish with an overview on the challenges to scale up MFCs and potential uses for these miniature cells.


The wind-induced buffeting response of long span continuous rigid-frame bridge can not be negligible when the basic frequency of the bridge descends to the region of predominant frequency of natural turbulent wind.Taking the Hanjiang Bridge over Jiangjun River in Shiyan City as an example,this paper simulates the stochastic turbulent wind-velocity field of bridge site on the basis of the improved Iwatani-innovated linear regressive filter method,analyzes the wind-induced buffeting response of the bridge at the longest cantilever construction stage by means of the Davenport quasi-steady buffeting force model and compares the response to the static gust wind response values of the bridge site.In the end,the paper also reviews the safety and comfort of construction crew on the bridge according to the analysis results of the buffeting.


We present a case of successful thrombectomy with the Solitaire AB device for a large thrombus burden in a 34-year-old patient with acute inferior myocardial infarction, with optical coherence tomography confirming its efficacy and safety.


The publication is devoted to the history of religion in the Russian Far East in the 17th — 21st centuries. The article considers the emergence and development of religious organizations and communities in the region, the formation of a multi-confessional population, the creation and transformation of church administrative structures, issues of relations between the state and religious organizations, interfaith relations. The historical features and characteristic features of the religious life of the Russian Far East are shown. The main stages of historical development and key events are noted.


To characterize DTI metric changes throughout the length of the entire spinal cord from the acute through chronic stages of spinal cord injury (SCI).


This paper sheds some light on the benefits of IFRS adoption beyond consolidated earnings under a valuation perspective. Specifically, we investigate the extent to which the transition to IFRS help investors to better understand the information content of Parent-only and Investees' earnings when forming expectation about future earnings. We present an approach that totally exclude from the parent company's earnings the amount corresponding to the equity accounting result arising from the investees' earnings. This measure turns in an advantage since it allow us to completely segregate consolidated earnings into its parent-only and investees' earnings components (i.e.: affiliates, subsidiaries or joint venture). We show that investees plays an important role in the capital structure of Brazilian companies. Moreover, our results reveal that in Brazil investors overprice the persistence of the investees' earnings in the pre-IFRS period, and that this market anomaly could no longer be detected after IFRS adoption. These findings suggest that the IFRS adoption generates benefits beyond the consolidated level by increasing investors' attention on the investees and by allowing market participants to better understand affiliated transactions.


In this paper, a concept of chip-package-board (CPB) interactive physically unclonable function (PUF) is presented as a physical countermeasure against malicious counterfeiting at not only chip fabrication but also at package/board assembly stages. A fully CMOS compatible coupled chaos oscillator with inductive wireless interaction incorporates assembly variations into PUF identification (ID) generations without any additional process/assembly options. Chaos is essentially not a random phenomenon but a deterministic non-periodic flow which can be utilized to extract reproducible ID. The strong parametric sensitivity of the chaos guarantees ID variety and unclonability over unpredictable process/assembly variations. An undesirable disturbance due to dynamic parametric fluctuations can be removed by phase-locked loop (PLL)-based replica feedback compensation together with mixed-signal post-processing for stable ID reproduction. The proposed CPB interactive PUF is silicon prototyped in 0.18- $\mu \text{m}$  CMOS for the proof of the concept. Eight samples of a compact 3150  $\mu \text{m}^{2}$  PUF successfully reproduce 512-bit unique IDs with <2.5% bit error rate (BER) before and after assembly. This for the first time demonstrates a potential capability of PUF ID traceability extended through CPB process/assembly stages for an advanced secure supply chain.


The traditional Bayesian qualitative account of evidential support (TB) takes assertions of the form 'E evidentially supports H' to affirm the existence of a two-place relation of evidential support between E and H. The analysans given for this relation is C(H,E) =def Pr(H|E) > Pr(H). Now it is well known that when a hypothesis H entails evidence E, not only is it the case that C(H,E), but it is also the case that C(H&X,E) for any arbitrary X. There is a widespread feeling that this is a problematic result for TB. Indeed, there are a number of cases in which many feel it is false to assert 'E evidentially supports H&X', despite H entailing E. This is known, by those who share that feeling, as the 'tacking problem' for Bayesian confirmation theory. After outlining a generalization of the problem, I argue that the Bayesian response has so far been unsatisfactory. I then argue the following: (i) There exists, either instead of, or in addition to, a two-place relation of confirmation, a three-place, 'contrastive' relation of confirmation, holding between an item of evidence E and two competing hypotheses H1 and H2. (ii) The correct analysans of the relation is a particular probabilistic inequality, abbreviated C(H1, H2, E). (iii) Those who take the putative counterexamples to TB discussed to indeed be counterexamples are interpreting the relevant utterances as implicitly contrastive, contrasting the relevant hypothesis H1 with a particular competitor H2. (iv) The probabilistic structure of these cases is such that ∼C(H1, H2, E). This solves my generalization of the tacking problem. I then conclude with some thoughts about the relationship between the traditional Bayesian account of evidential support and my proposed account of the three-place relation of confirmation. 1. The 'tacking problem' and the traditional Bayesian response2. Contrastive support3. Concluding comments The 'tacking problem' and the traditional Bayesian response Contrastive support Concluding comments


We show that, for any braided compact closed bicategory [Bscr ], the bicategory Ladj ([Bscr ]) of left adjoints in [Bscr ] also admits a braided compact closed structure.


Abstract Christian sacred art is not only an artistic and aesthetic phenomenon, but can also be seen as a manifestation of the divine, the objects becoming a presence of what they represent. A substantial proportion of this kind of art remains dispersed in churches and ecclesiastic treasuries without any special provision for its care and much is still in ceremonial use, continuing to be handled and moved. Recording by inventory and transfer to museums are only recent developments. Portugal has developed various strategies for the preservation of these collections, including the creation of Diocesan Sacred Art Commissions, diocesan museum networks where small museums and museological treasuries are maintained separately but have a common technical staff, a Secure Church Programme and temporary exhibitions, which play a role in conservation, promotion and public awareness. Although not conventional conservation, these actions have helped us to keep the memory of the past alive and let us carry it into the future.


The branches of Sophora japoncia treated with different solution of azadirachtin were fed to the adults of the longhorn beetle Apriona swainsoni. The effects of the insecticide azadirachtin on adult survival,antifeedant activity,oviposition and egg hatching were investigated. The results showed that all treatments with azadirachtin exhibited significant toxicity against Apriona swainsoni. When the concentration was dilute by 300-fold,400-fold,500-fold,600-fold and 700-fold,the mortalities of the adults were 97.6%,86.0%,73.8%,50.0% and 36.1% within 6 days,respectively. The antifeedant activity enhanced accordingly with increasing and prolongation of concentration and time. the antifeeding rates of the treatments of 300-fold and 400-fold were 94.87%,90.22% within 6 days,respectively. The consumption of the branches was significant less than that in control. When the concentration was diluted by 500-fold,600-fold and 700-fold,the antifeeding rates of the beetle adults were 61.28%,41.54% and 37.00% within 6 day,respectively. The oviposition and egg hatching rates of females,which had been fed on the twigs treated with different concentration of azadirachtin,were significant less than that in control.


In Brazil and in the world today, the number of HIV diagnoses in the elderly has increased. From 2007 to 2017, diagnoses grew seven times. In women aged 60 or over, an increase of 21.2% was observed when compared to the same period. The present article has as general objective to verify the causes of the increase of HIV cases in the Third Age. Integrative review has been used as a methodology in virtual databases Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO) and Virtual Health Library (VHL). As a criterion for the inclusion of scientific articles from reliable sources on the topic, published in the period from 2008 to 2019. Results point out that the main factors of the growth of HIV in the Third Age are related to changes in behavior and in the dissemination of information, accompanied by the lack of prevention information, through the focus of Organs responsible bodies to be limited to the young population, also because the active sex life of the elderly has increased due to pharmacological resources. This paper concludes the need for the implementation of educational practices focusing on the elderly and HIV in order to have greater attention by health professionals in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease, ensuring the improvement of quality of life of the elderly.


Boujari [5] proved a xed point theorem with an old version of the integral type contraction , his proof is incorrect. In this paper, a new generalization of integral type contraction is introduced. Moreover, a xed point theorem is obtained.


In clinics and hospitals, in conference rooms and classrooms, in hallways and lunchrooms, we demonstrate daily our effectiveness or ineffectiveness as team members. We interact with patients, coworkers, and learners in ways that result in smooth, well-functioning, patient-centered processes, or we


The describing-function method of analysis fails to predict the existence of a limit cycle when applied to a relay control system for a nuclear reactor. This is demonstrated by a direct solution of the system differential equations and by experiment on the Universities' Research Reactor.


The core-based design style of integrated circuits (ICs) helps to manage the development challenges brought by the ever increasing complexity of integrated systems and the ever tighter time-to-market. Nevertheless, test-related problems are still far away from having a unitary and satisfactory solution, especially in the system on a chip (SOC) context. For the test of ICs two reference approaches are available: external testing and built-in self-test (BIST), out of which a variety of hybrid test strategies are obtained by test resource partitioning (TRP). The final goal is to provide advantageous tradeoffs of the test evaluation indicators like: test development and application cost, hardware overhead, fault coverage, etc. BIST offers support for in-field, on-line, burn-in and at-speed test that is indispensable for delay fault testing. Moreover, tradeoffs between fault coverage, hardware overhead and test length are possible. External testing is characterized by flexibility, reduced hardware overhead and high fault coverage for a given test length. Deterministic logic BIST (DLBIST) is an attractive test strategy, since it combines the advantages of deterministic external testing and pseudo-random logic BIST (LBIST). Unfortunately, previously proposed DLBIST methods are unsuited for large ICs, since computation time and memory consumption of the DLBIST synthesis algorithms increase exponentially, or at least cubically, with the circuit size. In this work, a novel procedure for the development of the so-called bit-flipping DLBIST scheme is proposed, which has nearly linear complexity in terms of both computation time and memory consumption. This new method is based on the use of Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs). The efficiency of the employed algorithms is demonstrated for industrial designs containing up to 2M gates. The embedded test sequences obtained by mapping deterministic cubes to pseudorandom sequences are also evaluated with respect to the coverage of non-target defects, which are modeled with the help of resistive bridging faults. The experimental results prove that both deterministic cubes and pseudo-random sequences are useful for detecting non-target defects. Moreover, possible tradeoffs between test length, hardware overhead, fault coverage and non-target defect coverage are analyzed. This work additionally presents the results of extending the bit-flipping DLBIST scheme such that it also supports the transition fault testing besides the stuck-at fault testing. Transition faults model defects which are responsible for the incorrect operation of the core under test (CUT) at the desired speed. The importance of these defects is continuously enhanced by the ever increasing clock rates and integration density of today's circuits. Experimental results obtained for large industrial benchmark designs are reported. No pure DLBIST approach for the test of delay faults in circuits with standard scan design has been published so far.


Objective:To prepare a novel poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA)/collagen composite membrane for guided bone regeneration,characterize the membrane,and evaluate the effect on proliferation of osteoblastic cells.Methods:PLGA and type I collagen were combined together to prepare a two-layered membrane.The functional groups,surface topography and contact angle of the composite membranes were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(ATR-FTIR),field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) and contact angle meter.Osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 was chosen to seed on the membranes.MTT and flow cytometry(FCM) were used to value the cell proliferation.Results:The spectrum of ATR-FTIR showed that collagen layer was successfully grafted onto the PLGA surface.The characteristic microstructure of interlaced fibers of collagen was observed by FESEM.The contact angle of composite membrane was significantly lower than pure PLGA.The results of MTT and FCM demonstrate the cell viability and proliferation index of cells cultured on PLGA/collagen membrane were significantly higher than PLGA.Conclusions: The PLGA/collagen composite membrane prepared in this study combined synthetic and natural polymers into a versatile entirety and adopted the advantages of the both.


Previous work on cooperative cellular networks has mostly considered homogeneous relaying architectures where all nodes act as both sources and relays. In this paper, we examine the performance of heterogeneous cooperative cellular networks with the following two classes of nodes: source nodes (SNs) that do not act as relays and relaying agents that are dedicated to relaying functions with little concern about power consumption. In this architecture, SNs are able to reap the benefits of cooperative communications, such as improvements in the achievable data rate and reductions in the transmit power, while reducing the overall power consumption since they do not act as a relay. With an SN employing no more than two parallel relaying agents between itself and the base station, the proposed architecture achieves a 10%-80% improvement in the average achievable rate and a 15%-30% savings in the average amount of consumed power as compared to the situation where an SN can use, at most, a single relay agent.


A woman presented with metastatic breast cancer, having extensive lytic bony involvement of C2 vertebra and limited symptoms. We present the radiologic findings and case history.


The Collection contains selected research articles and proceedings of participants of the session «Kuzbass Region Strategic Universitarium» of the Fouth International Research-to-Practice Conference «Strategizing: Theory and Practice». The Kuzbass Region session of the conference is attended by members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professors, doctors of sciences, PhD candidates, postgraduate students and graduates, researchers and professionals in the field of strategizing, heads of industrial enterprises of various levels and industries from many regions of Russia, including from Moscow, Kuzbass Region, St. Petersburg, as well as foreign researchers from Armenia, China, France, Germany, Israel, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Slovenia, USA, and Republic of Uzbekistan. Research studies describe the theoretical, methodological and practical issues of regional and regional-sectoral strategies. Research articles and proceedings of the conference published in this collection are useful for researchers and scientists, practitioners in the field of strategizing, as well as postgraduates, graduates students and students of higher educational institutions.


We investigate some preservation properties for classes of regular languages of unranked ordered terms under an appropriate generalization of term rewriting subsuming both standard term rewriting and word rewriting. The considered classes include languages of hedge automata (HA) and some extension (called CF-HA) with context-free languages in transitions, instead of regular languages. In particular, we show, with a HA completion procedure, that the set of unranked terms reachable from a given HA language, using a so called inverse context-free rewrite system, is an HA language. Moreover, we prove, using different techniques, the closure of CF-HA languages with respect to context-free rewrite systems, the symmetric case of the above rewrite systems. As a consequence, the problems of ground reachability and regular hedge model checking are decidable in both cases. We give several several counter examples showing that we cannot relax the restrictions.


Genetic Algorithms are a class of optimization algorithms that seek improved performance by sampling areas of the solution space that have high probability of leading to a good solution. They imitate the natural evolutionary process is that, in each generation, the fittest individuals have a better chance to produce off-springs by mixing features of the parents or by altering one or more of the parents characteristics whereas, the worst individuals are most likely to die.


In this project we will implement and use space-time behavior based correlation algorithm to recognize the human activity and pose. Space-time correlation method measures the similarity between two distinct video clips based on the motion. We will use this algorithm in a nearest neighbor type classifier to find the best match to a new query in the database and then recognize the human activity based on prior known labels of the database.


Abstract : The bounded rationally constraint sets an upper limit on the rate with which decisionmakers can process information satisfactorily. This rate is studied both experimentally and analytically. A simple computer game for a single decisionmaker was used in which subjects were asked to find the smallest of a set of ratios present on the screen for a limited amount of time. Both the amount of time (twelve values) and the number of ratios (two values) were varied. A Gompertz curve is used to model the experimental results and establish the existence of a time threshold beyond which performance decreased significantly. An information theoretic model of the cognitive workload is used to estimate the workload associated with the tasks. The time threshold T* and the cognitive workload lead to a value for the bounded rationality constraint for each subject and each number of ratios. The distribution of the bounded rationality constraint across subjects for each number of ratios is found to be normal. Also, the bounded rationality of each subject as the number of ratios is changed does not vary significantly. These results may be used in the design of multi-person experiments and eventually in the methodology for organization design. First, a single value of the bounded rationality constraint for each decisionmaker would be needed for similar types of tasks. Second, since the distribution of the bounded rationality constraint across subjects appears to be normal, establishing the threshold level for a sample of decisionmakers could be sufficient to estimate the level for a larger population. Keywords: Theses, Decision making. (jhd)


Composite services often run in dynamically changing environments where new composition requirements can be added and Web services may disappear or their quality of service may decline. The service composition requirements are classified into three groups: functional, nonfunctional, and transactional requirements. The functional computing requirements concern functional capabilities of Web services. The nonfunctional computing requirements are defined as service-level agreements (SLA) constraints. The transactional computing requirements define behavioral constraints and are expressed by designers using the acceptable termination states (ATS) concept. In this work, we proposed an adaptive service composition (ASC) approach. Such an approach is adaptive as it can be used to either define or reconfigure composite services according to SLA and ATS constraints. It introduces a new recovery capability (RC) concept for capturing the recoverability level supported by Web services. We adopted a genetic-based algorithm to model the ASC approach. The choice of such an algorithm is justified by the nature of the problem of our ASC process which belongs to the NP-hard class. We experimentally showed the effectiveness of our ASC approach and empirically studied the service composition RC in particular.


NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) Program is now collecting unprecedented volumes of data (nearly one petabyte/year) to aid the nation in its understanding of the Earth near and long-term climate processes. These data are a national resource that must be carefully preserved to maximize the nations return on the EOS Program. To address this need NASA has initiated the development of a Remote Data Store (RDS) backup and recovery capability that will operate independent of but closely allied to, the current Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs). This paper outlines the following: the evolutionary technology path that will ultimately provide automated, secure, seamless and efficient remote on-line redundant storage; and the recovery and access of operational EOS mission data products. Significant factors that affect the total cost of operations are discussed, as well as emerging technologies and standards. Preliminary modeling points to the operational staffing levels as a dominant cost component. If on-line storage management techniques cannot improve to the point where a small staff can manage petabytes of data, the viability of disk-based storage solutions for large scientific data repositories is unlikely.


Neural network integrated circuits enhance functionalities of both remote terminals (called "pendants") and communication links, without necessitating installation of additional wires in links. Makes possible to incorporate many features into pendant, including real-time display of critical welding parameters and other process information, capability for communication between technician at pendant and host computer or technician elsewhere in system, and switches and potentiometers through which technician at pendant exerts remote control over such critical aspects of welding process as current, voltage, rate of travel, flow of gas, starting, and stopping. Other potential manufacturing applications include control of spray coating and of curing of composite materials. Potential nonmanufacturing uses include remote control of heating, air conditioning, and lighting in electrically noisy and otherwise hostile environments.


The invention discloses a preparation method for extracting, separating and purifying hydroxysafflor yellow A from a Chinese medicinal material safflower at high yield and purity. The method comprises the following steps of: performing ultrasonic water extraction on the safflower medicinal material, separating by using HZ801 macroporous adsorption resin, performing LH-20 sephadex chromatographic separation, performing ultrafiltration, and performing freeze drying. The content of the prepared hydroxysafflor yellow A dry powder is 99.8 percent, and the yield of the hydroxysafflor yellow A is 62.7 percent.


The 13C n.m.r. spectrum and the 13C satellites in the 19F n.m.r. spectrum of tetrafluoro-1,4-benzoquinone (TFBQ) dissolved in CDCl3 solution have been recorded and analysed. The partially oriented spectra determine the sign of at least one J19F –19F coupling constant. By assuming that the sign of the one bond J13C –19F coupling is negative, the signs of the remaining J19F –19F and of three of the five J13C –19F have been determined from the isotropic spectra. 19F n.m.r. spectra of TFBQ have been successively obtained in various liquid-crystal solvents: (I)trans-4-heptyl-(4-cyanophenyl) cyclohexane; (II) Nematic Phase IV (Merck); (III) ZLI Nematic Phase (Merck); (IV) 4,4′-bis(heptyl) azoxybenzene; (V) a lyotropic mesophase formed by poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) in CD2Cl2 solution. Some of these solvents [(II) and (IV)] have been shown to form a charge-transfer complex with TFBQ. For solutions (I) and (II) the 13C satellites of the oriented spectra have also been obtained. The dipolar direct couplings, Tij, corrected for the effect of molecular vibrations, were used to obtained the rα structures which have been compared with the electron-diffraction structure and with the solid-state X-ray structures of both complexed and uncomplexed TFBQ. Finally, the chemical shielding anisotropy has been investigated in solutions (II), (IV) and (V). The quantity Δσ=[σaa–½(σbb+σcc)] has been evaluated and compared with the value from solid-state n.m.r. measurements.


Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) still remains a challenge to treat in the clinic due to a lack of good targets for treatment. Although TNBC lacks expression of ERα, the expression of ERβ and its variants are detected quite frequently in this cancer type and can represent an avenue for treatment. We show that the variants of ERβ, namely ERβ1, ERβ2, ERβ4, and ERβ5, regulate aggressiveness of TNBC by regulating hypoxic signaling. RNA-seq of patient derived xenografts (PDX) from TNBC show expression of ERβ4 and ERβ5 variants in more than half of the samples. Furthermore, expression of ERβ4 in the immortalized, normal mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A that is resistant to mammosphere formation caused transformation and development of mammospheres. By contrast, ERβ1, ERβ2 or ERβ5 were unable to support mammosphere formation. We have previously shown that all variants except ERβ1 stabilizes HIF-1α but only ERβ4 appear to have the ability to transform normal mammary epithelial cells, pointing towards a unique property of ERβ4. We propose that ERβ variants may be good diagnostic tools and also serve as novel targets for treatment of breast cancer. Citation Format: Faria M, Karami S, Granados-Principal S, Dey P, Verma A, Choi DS, Elemento O, Bawa-Khalfe1 T, Chang JC, Gustafsson J-A, Strom AM. The ERβ4 variant induce transformation of the normal breast mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10A; the ERβ variants ERβ2, ERβ4 and ERβ5 increase aggressiveness of TNBC by regulation of hypoxic signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-07-10.


Virus actively interfaces with host metabolism because viral replication relies on host cells to provide nutrients and energy. For efficient viral replication in culture, vaccinia virus (VACV; the prototype poxvirus) prefers glutamine to glucose, to the extent that in glutamine-free medium, VACV replication is inefficient. Remarkably, VACV replication can be fully rescued from glutamine depletion by asparagine supplementation. By global metabolic profiling, genetic and chemical intervening of asparagine supply, we provide evidence demonstrating that the requirement of asparagine for efficient viral replication accounts for VACV's preference of glutamine to glucose, rather than because glutamine is superior to glucose in feeding the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Further, we show that asparagine availability is a critical factor for efficient viral protein synthesis. Our study highlights that the asparagine metabolism, whose regulation has been evolutionarily tailored in mammalian cells, presents a critical barrier to poxvirus replication, suggesting new directions of anti-viral strategy development.


We discuss recent developments and challenges of beam dynamics in Dielectric Laser Acceleration (DLA), for both high and low energy electron beams. Starting from ultra-low emittance nanotip sources the paper follows the beam path of a tentative DLA light source concept. Acceleration in conjuction with focusing is discussed in the framework of Alternating Phase Focusing (APF) and spatial harmonic ponderomotive focusing. The paper concludes with an outlook to the beam dynamics in laser driven nanophotonic undulators, based on tilted DLA grating structures.


Introduction: During the Apollo program, heat flow measurement was considered among the high science priorities. It was originally planned on 4 of the landing missions, but only Apollo 15 and 17 were successful [1]. The recent expert panel studies have repeatedly recommended additional heat flow measurements on future lunar-landing missions [2-4]. In order to further understand the thermal evolution of the Moon, it is important to constrain the heat flux out of the lunar mantle and the crustal contribution to the Moon's total heat budget. The two existing heat flow data points are located ~800 km from each other in the north-central region of the near side. In addition, radiogenic heat production in the shallow subsurface there may have contributed significantly to the heat released from the surface [5, 6] at both locations.


In order to improve efficiency in the design and installation of the switch mechanism of engineering gate, VP (Virtual Prototyping Technology) is adopted. A technical project is put forward for a switch mechanism of engineering gate, the three-dimensional dynamical model and the virtual prototype of the mechanism are developed, and the kinematics simulation is also carried out based on ADAMS. Kinetic performance is obtained by analyzing the simulation result of the switch mechanism. The research provides a dependable basis for the further design and improvement of the switch mechanism of engineering gate in the engineering application.


Borage (Borago officinalis L.), is an annual herbaceous plant and native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor . Reduced seedling growth is a consequence of seed deterioration.. It is not clear which of these component (s) is affected by seed deterioration. To study this subject, germination characteristics and seedling growth from deteriorated Borage (Borago officinalis L.) seeds were studied; seeds were incubated at two different temperatures of 30 oC and 42 oC for varying times. The results indicated that seed deterioration results in decreased percentage and rate of germination and decreased percentage of normal seedlings. Seedling growth and the fraction of seed reserve mobilization indicated a significant decrease with the advance of deterioration. However, the effect of seed deterioration on the conversion efficiency of mobilized reserves to seedling tissues was not significant. Thus efforts to improve seedling germination and growth in plant breeding programs should focus on improvement of fraction of mobilized seed reserves.


This article focuses on the advocacy of social justice through the implementation of language policies in South African universities. Noting the multilingual complexity of South Africa with 111 official languages and the intricacies surrounding South Africa's political and sociocultural borders, the submission explores the advocacy of social justice in informing the reappraisal and the ensuing implementation of such a language policy by exploring constitutive dimensions (specifically identity) and instrumental dimensions (non-identity/functional aspects) from a linguistic justice perspective. The institution used as a case study is the North-West University (NWU) which is a by-product of three campuses that were merged in 2004. The authors use survey data eliciting opinions about revising the institution's language policy. Central to the analysis is how linguistic justice could be exercised in consideration of constitutive vs instrumental dimensions based on the work of De Schutter (2007). With 20, 000 responses, the authors used a qualitative analysis, supplemented by frequencies, to tease apart identity and non-identity aspects to determine which of these had a closer relationship with linguistic justice and the selected institution's language policy. The results of this study aim to offer insight into future revisions of higher education language policies in order to fulfil the mandate of linguistic justice.


We describe and evaluate two methods for device pose classification and walking speed estimation that generalize well to new users, compared to previous work. These machine learning based methods are designed for the general case of a person holding a mobile device in an unknown location and require only a single low-cost, low-power sensor: a triaxial accelerometer. We evaluate our methods in straight-path indoor walking experiments as well as in natural indoor walking settings. Experiments with 14 human participants to test user generalization show that our pose classifier correctly selects among four device poses with 94% accuracy compared to 82% for previous work, and our walking speed estimates are within 12-15% (straight/indoor walk) of ground truth compared to 17-22% for previous work. Implementation on a mobile phone demonstrates that both methods can run efficiently online.


Smarter Choices Smarter Places (SCSP) is a Scottish Government partnership project with COSLA. The demonstration programme is designed to increase active travel and public transport use and tackle transport emissions and health problems caused by lack of regular exercise. As such it will contribute to a number of transport, health and environmental objectives in the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework and Local Authorities' Single Outcome Agreements.


This article explains how a song, through the aesthetical element that it has, can be applied in the school or at home as a medium of education that is interesting for children in the age of pre-school and kindergarteners. The song chosen by the author is the song with the title 'This Old Man'. Lyrics is a part of literary work in the form of poem that contains the elements that poem has which are: typography, theme, rhyme, dimension, figure of speech, diction, and imagery. Through the analysis of the song, it is found that this song has all the elements that a poem has. However, the author only pinpoints to the elements that related with the title of the article which are connected with education for children. These elements eases the students to learn counting, pronunciation (in English) while singing. The aim of the study is to deliver the information to the teachers specifically, and parents in general, that to educate the children through song can be an effective way to do because children prefer and curious about things that are interesting for them. The method for this study is using descriptive analysis method, by which the author has the understanding towards the target language, yet tend to focus on the generalisation from the corpus taken (literature/poem). The result of this study is the lyrics from This Old Man has typography, theme, rhyme, dimension, figure of speech, and imagery that can help the students to easily learn basic math (counting from 1 to 10), pronunciation, and singing. Key words : lyrics, this Old Man, children.


Using a diblock copolymer melt as a model system, we show that complex Langevin (CL) simulations constitute a practical method for sampling the complex weights in field theory models of polymeric f...


A Doppler free kinetic energy release spectrum of has been recorded at a line width (FWHM) of 40 - 60 meV using a coincidence time-of-flight technique. Vibrational structure has been resolved in the W , B , 1 , 1 , B and 1 electronic states. Complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) and multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations have been performed to predict vibrational levels, Franck - Condon factors and dissociation channels. For the B and 1 states, spin - orbit interaction with the 1 state leads to predissociation into the ground-state ionic pair . Spin - orbit interaction with the repulsive 1 and C states accounts for the dissociation of the B , 1 and 1 electronic states into . The W and 1 states probably dissociate by tunnelling into the ion pair through potential barriers which separate these states from the dissociation continuum.


In order to cope with the rapid changes in the world, enterprises utilize project management methodology to globally outsource their works and to evaluate their internal and external work performance. Of all the project management techniques, Earned Value Management (EVM) is the major one that provides a method to evaluate project performance by integrating schedule and cost of work packages. EVM establishes a performance measurement baseline (PMB) for a project. PMB displays the schedule for expenditure of the resources assigned to accomplish work packages and represents time-phased accumulation of the cost spent to the work subordinate elements. The performance of project evaluates by comparing with planed baseline. The variances between them are reported by Project Management Information System (PMIS). EVM also is capable to forecast project risk through regression analysis of the accumulated cost data on the time frame. Nowadays, EVM has been effectively implemented in the large-scale project management for the project's budget above two billion dollars among U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Sweden, Australia, and Japan, etc[4]. It has been recognized as a valuable tool for project management as well as a standard for measuring contract performance [5][6][7]. Recently, earned value management systems maturity model and the earned value management maturity model were developed. These efforts offer the specific goals for an organization to implement EVM for control and performance evaluation of a project step by step [8][9][10][11].


In view of the shortcomings: "Emphasis on qualitative analysis", "Emphasis on single". This paper used bibliometrics and visualization software of Citespace 5.3. Scientific atlas analysis is about the research status of electromechanical discipline in 2011-2018. It focused on "the whole". It analyzed the research hotspots and the development context of the subject as a whole. It explored the research hotspots of electromechanical discipline through keyword co-analysis, organization distribution, author's volume and the co-author analysis. Meanwhile, revealing the current situation of mechatronics research from the visualization perspective and summarizing and look forward to the future. Keywords—Knowledge Graphs; Electromechanical teaching; Visualization; Prospects


Summary The calculation model is established by using interval transit time and resistivity curves to calculate the rock pyrolysis parameter S1, so as to evaluate the oil-bearing property of source rocks. S1 of 168 wells are calculated by this method, and 71 wells of them have been measured S1 from core samples. Comparing the difference between the average value of calculated S1 and measured S1,it can be seen that the more samples measured S1 in a single well, the smaller the difference between the calculated S1 and the measured S1. By drawing several well-connected sections and S1 plans, the changing trend of oil-bearing property of source rocks in study area is definited, and the favorable oil-bearing areas are pointed out. This S1 calculation method is suitable for the oil-bearing evaluation of regional source rocks and has guiding significance for exploration.


In order to verify the resource utilization of CO2 from coal-fired flue gas, the conversion of CO2 by sodium borohydride was investigated under atmospheric pressure and moderate temperature. According to the product analysis results of mass spectrometry and ion chromatography, combined with the comparison of electrode potentials, the mechanism of CO2 reaction with sodium borohydride was deduced, in which formate was confirmed as the main reduction product, and the intermediates of [BHi(HCO2)(OH)3–i]−1 were considered as the essential mediums for the formation of formate. The feasibility of this conversion was studied thermodynamically.


Hydrogen transport in low‐pressure chemical vapor deposited Si3N4 has been investigated using samples consisting of a double layer of hydrogenated and deuterated nitride films. Concentration depth profiles of hydrogen and deuterium were measured using elastic recoil detection. Diffusion coefficients for D were derived from the deuterium concentration depth profiles before and after annealing at temperatures in the range 700–1000 °C. The diffusion coefficient is characterized by an activation energy of 2.94 eV for the entire temperature range. Its value varies between 10−17 cm2/s at 700 °C and 5×10−14 cm2/s at 1000 °C.


. In this paper, a type of understudied Inland Shallow and wide ship is studied. Combined with the real ship design parameters and ship model test data, the ship dynamic fuel consumption model is established. The ship's speed and fuel consumption are quantitatively calculated and predicted, provides basic data for determining ship economic speed.


Noise emissions by motor vehicles passing by is determined by three components : engine, tyre and road surface, by which a complex correlation from different mechanisms plays a role. As yet it seems to be not possible to set this completely in a model, by which for specific situations all relevant parameters are incorporated. The quantification of the influence of the road surface properties has the aim to forecast the influence of the average noise emission of different vehicles and different kinds of tyres and not a forecast for each specific combination. The most relevant road surface properties for the noise of passing by vehicles are the roughness, the acoustic impedance and the porosity. Also the stiffness and the skidding resistance can play a limited role. It is recommended to design a complete model for the primary effects of the tyre-road surface-noise, which is started from the good and sufficient description of one or more representative vehicles and tyres. The results of such a model should be evaluated by available measured data.


One party that I attended over the Christmas period will remain in my memory for the rest of my life. It was organized to commemorate the death of a child and was a very moving and enjoyable experience. For several months I had been involved in counselling a family who had lost the youngest of their two sons, Joey. He had suffered from a rare heart and lung condition. He was two and a half years old when he died. His parents were referred to me some 6 months later by the local funeral director who had followed their progress and felt I may be able to help them.


Sputter deposition process is another old technique being used in modern semiconductor industries. Sputtering is a process that can deposit TiO2 material on wafer/glass substrates. In this process target is connected to negative high voltage. Further argon gas is introduced into the chamber and is ionized to a positive charge. The positively charged argon atoms are attracted and strike the negatively biased target. The sputtered atoms and molecules scatter in the chamber and out of which some comes to rest on the wafer. A principal feature of a sputtering process is that the target material is deposited on the wafer without chemical or compositional change. In the present work, DC sputtering techniques has been used:


Summary It is now commonplace in many local education authorities (LEAs) to find criteria laid down to determine whether or not a pupil has such special educational needs as would warrant provision under a statement. It is equally commonplace in many LEAs to find guidelines (if not instructions) as to the way in which educational psychologists (EPs) write about pupils in psychological advice, and what is acceptable to the officers of an LEA. Albeit unwittingly, have we embarked on a slippery slope? This article contemplates this possibility by speculating about how such guidelines might be developed to embrace 'forbidden' words and phrases.


In the goad of improving the reliability of the DNS Anycast server and ensuring the quality of service of the system. In our recent study, we proposed a proactive backup mechanism for DNS servers. However, in reality, the server can be restored to operate when they got problems, and after a period of time, the system can continue working. To analyze the reliability of the system with such repairable units, we used the Markov model to evaluate and compare the reliability of the system in detail.


PSpice is a widely used simulated software of electronic circuits.The circuit performance can be analyzed according to the construction of a circuit and the parameters of the components by PSpice,and the analysis results can be applied to appraise the correctness of circuit design conveniently and exactly.So this software provides a powerful means for the digital circuit analysis and design.This paper introduces an application practice of PSpice software to the curriculum design of digital circuit by an example of color lamp controller.


Early release of mature bone marrow granulocytes either with 'empty' stores or with exaggerated turnover rate of the marrow store furnishes more alkaline phosphatase positive neutrophils, whereas rele


Objective To analyze the soft tissue injury concomitant with tibial plateau fracture so as to understand thoroughly the injury extension and severity of the tibial plateau fracture. Methods 486 (17 to 68 years old) patients with fractures of the tibial plateau were reviewed and assessed in terms of fracture type and associated soft tissue injuries. Results This study found a high prevalence of soft tissue injuries concomitant with fractures of the tibial plateau. 3.9%(19/486) of the popliteal arterial vessels, 14.4%(70/486)of the menisci, 9.67% (47/486) of the collateral ligaments, 8.43% (41/486) of the cruciate ligaments, and 1.85% (9/486) the common peroneal nerve were injured. 7.41% (36/486) of the cases were diagnosed as osteofascial compartment syndrome. Conclusion A high prevalence of soft tissue injuries concomitant with fractures of the tibial plateau found in this study suggests that the surgeons should pay enough attention to the concomitant soft tissue injuries and take into cautious consideration the future knee functions and possible arthrosis.


The acid size detecting and characterizing method for ionic liquid includes dissolving ionic liquid in organic solvent to prepared solution, soaking solid carrier in the solution, filtering, and drying to obtain solid supported ionic liquid sample; making sample with the solid supported ionic liquid sample, measuring infrared spectrum of the sample with alkali compound as adsorbing molecule, and obtaining the acid size based on the characteristic peak strengths of non-protonic acid and protonic acid in the infrared spectrogram of saturation absorbed sample. The carrier is selected from diatomite, bentonite, silica, active carbon and silica-alumina molecular sieve; and the organic solvent is selected from arene, alkane halide, alcohol and ether. The method of the present invention can measure acid size of non-protonic acid and protonic acid in ionic liquid accurately.


With this in mind, we developed a pilot course in which students are offered five different options of coaching and tuition from the lecturer. This approach was called "The tuition Pentagon". The five options are designed to match different levels of motivation, competence and ambition. Students reflect on their motivation, competence and ambition and choose their preferred option. An option with extra assignments offers a challenge for honours students.


Colored glass for use in a motor vehicle comprising a base mixture and a colorant, wherein the colorant has a composition in weight percent of the colored glass of: - 1.3 to 3 wt .-% iron oxide as Fe - from 0.04 to 1.5 wt .-% manganese oxide as MnO - from 0.0075 to 0.025 wt .-% cobalt as Cobalatoxid; - optionally up to 0.0025 wt .-% of selenium, in which - the colored glass has at 4 mm Comparison thickness of a light transmission for illuminant A between 15 and 45%, an ultraviolet transmittance of less than 13% such that at a light transmittance of illuminant A of less than 25%, the ratio of the light transmittance for ultraviolet transmittance greater than or equal to 5; - a color of the colored glass is defined by chromaticity coordinates inside the polygon ABCDA, with the chromaticity coordinates: x y A 0.292 0.319 B 0.25 0.33 C 0.34 0.41 D 0,325 0.36 and - Green is the color that is defined in the polygon ABCDA.


Introducing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) into undergraduate teaching of fluid mechanics is easily justified by the recent explosion in general access to high-quality commercial software. However, the ready availability of powerful CFD software also has its dangers from a pedagogical viewpoint if students are simply encouraged to tackle real problems without understanding the validity and limitations of these tools. The objectives of the Newcastle approach are to emphasize the underlying physical and mathematical concepts which will underpin CFD as commercial software continues to develop in the future. This emphasis has had a significant (and possibly controversial) impact on the choices adopted for applications, solution methods and teaching techniques, including the use of software. Inevitably the sheer breadth and multi-disciplinary nature of the subject means that great selectivity has had to be applied to topics addressed in a general-purpose undergraduate course.


A purposive sampling of Organizational Behavior (OB) texts seems to reinforce that the respective properties of the formal and informal organization are discussed in a splintered fashion. Traditionally the formal structure (authority-responsibility relationships, chain of command, organizational charts, span of management, etc.) is explained under topics such as &dquo;organizational structure&dquo; and/or &dquo;organizational design&dquo; while the informal organization (norms, peer pressure, grapevine, types of power, informal group leaders, etc.) is presented in chapters titled &dquo;managing groups,&dquo; &dquo;power and politics,&dquo; &dquo;group behavior&dquo; or, simply, &dquo;the informal organization.&dquo; This fragmentation may leave students seeing the organizational environment as two mutually exclusive systems. In reality the formal and informal organization frequently overlap. Given today's complex organizations, it seems imperative that managers understand the respective properties of both the formal and informal organization so that they can use the dynamics of the informal organization to enhance rather than impede productivity. After careful reflection, I decided to develop an experiential exercise that integrates key properties of both the formal and informal organization.


Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Romania were placed into an existing phylogeographic framework. Isolates from Italy were assigned to phylogenetic group B.FTNF002–00; the other isolates, to group B.13. Most F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates from Europe belong to these 2 geographically segregated groups.


Silver, gold, platinum and palladium nanoparticles were initially prepared in the AOT [sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)- sulfosuccinate] micelle and characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron macroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. The negatively charged Pt nanoparticles were self-assembled on a glassy carbon electrode by a layer-by-layer method and the modified electrode electrocatalytic reactivity toward methanol oxidation was studied.