An experimental facility was built at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in order to examine the characteristics of convective drying of a moist object. The test facility consists of an inlet section, a divergent and convergent section, a settling chamber, a test section, and an outlet section. Initial moisture content and time-dependent moisture content of a rectangular shaped moist object (4 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm) are measured by this test facility. The potato slice was selected as a sample moist object. Moisture content was measured at different air temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70°C with an air velocity of 2 m/sec. The density of potato slice was determined for various drying temperatures. The volume shrinkage during drying decreased almost linearly with moisture content. The percentage air pores and porosity increased gradually with decreasing moisture content and increasing drying air temperature. Volumes of water, air, and solid content of potato were determined at different drying air temperatures. The results are validated with theoretical data.


Abstract : YPAC in Surakarta is a development and rehabilitation foundation of medical, education, social and skills  rehabilitation for people with physical disabled type ( disability ) and multiple disabled type( mentally and physically ) . The foundation not only develops their talents and think abilities, but also has the ability to interact with human beings in it as well as humanistic environment. To realize YPAC which is humanist, design problems to be solved that ( 1 ) How to determine the required facilities disabled users in accordance with the specification requirements physically disabled , ( 2 ) How to determine the interior , exterior and landscaping of the building that can create an atmosphere that is friendly to the user universal and the environment in the process of rehabilitation and education . Through these problems, the design process is to apply the special needs of persons with disabilities within the city of Surakarta . Keywords : Humani t s, YPAC , Physically Disabled .


This study aims to examine by the effect between working capital management on firm value in cement companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) in the 2012-2017 period, both directly and indirectly through profitability. This study was used by a quantitative approach. Sampling using the saturated sample method. There are 6 cement companies that fulfill the sample category. Furthermore, Partial Least Square (PLS) was used for the analysis and testing of hypotheses, then multiple tests for profitability variables as mediation. The results are showed that working capital that is managed very effectively and also can improve to financial performance, such to increase company value. The results of mediation testing shown that profitability mediates are positively affect between working capital management on firm value. This explains that the implementation of good working capital management can increase profits generated by the company, so the value of the company also increases which eventually investors respond positively.


450 Hyline Brown Laying hens,aged 35 weeks,were allocated to 5 groups at random and each group included 90 laying hens respectively.Layers were fed corn-soybean based diet with 0%,2%,4%,6%,8% Stylosanthes meal for 90 days.The results showed that four experimental groups adding different proportion of Stylosanthes meal were significantly higher than that of control in the production performance of layers.Among them,adding 6% Stylosanthes meal were the best,the egg rate was increased by 15.75%.And average egg weight increased by 1.71%,feed/egg ratio was reduced by 5.51%,mortality was reduced by 10%.There was no effect on egg shape index,egg yolk relative weight,eggshell relative weight and haugh unit.


Objective To comparatively analyze effect of different cooling temperature on postoperative results of patients with Stanford type A aortic disaection underwent surgical treatment.Methods Clinical data of 65 patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection perforred aortic root shaping,ascending aorta and total aortic arch replacement combined with stented elephant trunk technique from April 2007 to March 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.According to the cooling temperature,the patients were divided into two groups:group A and group B.The cooling temperature was 20 ℃ to 24 ℃ in group A and 25 ℃ to 2.8 ℃ in group B.Extracorporeal circulation time,circulatory arrest periods,volume of postoperative drainage,ventilation time and cerebral complications incidence after operation were analyzed contrastively.Results There was significant difference between two groups about extracorporeal circulation time,circulatory arrest periods,volume of postoperative drainage,ventilationtime and transient neurological dysfunction(TND) incidence after operation.There was no significant difference between two groups in postoperative pemunent neurological dysfunction (PND),use of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) and mortality.Conclusion It is safe to appropriately increase the standard of cooling temperature through operating skillfully under the circumstance of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.It,to some extent,shortens operating time and decreases injuries on patients,time of recovery,volume of blood transfusion and complications.

Key words:
Aorta; Aneurysm dissection,aortic; Temperature; Total arch replacement Stented elephant; trunk technique


This article presents a comparative study of German and Swedish teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) in relation to student assessment. It investigates the sources teachers use to improve their knowledge about assessment and the relationship this has to different national contexts. Assessment, as well as evaluation, defines what counts as valid knowledge and how this can be measured. As such, assessment is a major focus of teaching and specifies constraints and possibilities for teacher practice in the classroom. Teachers are seen as agents in a regulated CPD marketplace, and within this framework teachers make decisions about the knowledge sources they use to educate themselves about assessment. These choices can be seen as expressions of what they perceive as important and relevant in relation to assessment. We argue that this expression of opinion can contribute to an understanding of teachers' professional autonomy, especially in relation to their decisions about a crucial aspect of their profession. In this way, we propose a way to conceptualize the impact of the national context on teachers' CPD.


Investigations were carried out in order to clarify the effect of root temperature on the budbreak, shoot growth and development of flower clusters of `Muscat of Alexandria' vines. Six-year-old vines were grown in the greenhouse under confined rhizosphere conditions. Forcing was started on December 18. The air temperature was kept above 18°C and 4 plots were used with root temperatures adjusted to 13, 20, 27 and 20-27°C. In the 20-27°C plot, the root temperature was kept at 20°C for 18 days until the start of forcing and thereafter at 27°C. In addition to these plots, two treatments were set to see their effect on budbreak promotion ; 1) the air temperature near the branches was kept at 25°C and 2) garlic juice was painted on the cane sections. 1. Budbreak began earlier at 27°C than at 13°C, and elongation of shoots and development of flower clusters was more active in the former. Growth at 20 and 20-27°C was similar to growth at 13 and 27°C, respectively. Differences in the percentage of budbreak among the plots were slight. However, the number of sprouted buds per arm was greater at 27°C than at 13°C. Rooting occurred first at 20-27°C followed by 27°C and 20°C. Rooting in these plots occurred before sprouting, while in the plot at 13°C it occurred 2 weeks after sprouting. 2. High temperature treatment of the branches as well as painting of garlic juice promoted budbreak. Garlic juice in particular showed a significant effect on budbreak in all the plots. At 27°C, cluster development was so conspicuous that fully developed florets were observed even at the top of the cluster, while at 13°C development of the cluster was depressed. At 13°C garlic juice was less effective on cluster development and few florets per cluster were observed. 3. There were no significant differences in the percentage of berry set, total sugar content and titratable acidity of berries at harvest among the plots. Although the temperature control of the rhizosphere was terminated 3 weeks after full bloom, berries at harvest were larger at 27°C than at 13 and 20°C.


The highly heterogeneous nature of images found in real-world environments, such as online sharing platforms, has been one of the long-standing obstacles to the transition of steganalysis techniques outside the laboratory. Recent advances in identifying the properties of images relevant to steganalysis as well as the effectiveness of deep neural networks on highly heterogeneous datasets have laid some groundwork for resolving this problem. Despite this progress, we argue that the way the game played between the steganographer and the steganalyst is currently modeled lacks some important features expected in a real-world environment: 1) the steganographer can adapt her cover source choice to the environment and/or to the steganalyst's classifier, 2) the distribution of cover sources in the environment impacts the optimal threshold for a given classifier, and 3) the steganalyst and steganographer have different goals, hence different utilities. We propose to take these facts into account using a two-player non-zero-sum game constrained by an environment composed of multiple cover sources. We then show how to convert this non-zero-sum game into an equivalent zero-sum game, allowing us to propose two methods to find Nash equilibria for this game: a standard method using the double oracle algorithm and a minimum regret method based on approximating a set of atomistic classifiers. Applying these methods to contemporary steganography and steganalysis in a realistic environment, we show that classifiers which do not adapt to the environment severely underperform when the steganographer is allowed to select into which cover source to embed.


The conclusion deals with the author's view of the correct attitude to be taken by France. He warns against the danger of returning the Cameroons and thereby destroying the strategic routes to Lake Chad and the security of Equatorial Africa which it has taken the French eighty years to achieve. But apart from this specific consideration, he invites his countrymen to adopt the larger view and to realize that the German creation of an economic sphere of influence in Central Europe demands that the French should become conscious of the full significance of their own empire. The different parts and sections of the book are interesting and well done, but the relations of the sections to each other and the book as a whole escapes the reviewer. Large parts of the discussion of the legal sources of the mandate system seem irrelevant to the question of the return of the colonies. The validity of the economic arguments put up by the Germans is apparently of no significance for the formulation of a French policy. Four hundred pages of reasoning produce as a conclusion a clarion call for a reaffirmation of faith in French imperialism. The reviewer was at first inclined to explain this apparent lack of cohesion as a symbol of the uncertainty of our times, but to those who dislike symbolic interpretations as objectionable forms of higher criticism, he offers a more simple explanation. The author apologized in the preface for having left his material in the form of a report of a study trip.


Paper In this paper, a new schottky diode with high speed switching is presented. Reverse recovery current and reverse recovery time are two parameters to determine the switching speed of power diodes. If a method could control the depletion of majority carriers in cut off time, it can enhance the switching speed. In this work, some islands, with non-similar type to bulk, are implemented in the bulk of the diode. These islands can gather and recombine the abandon majority carriers. So, the reverse recovery current can be limit by this way. To test this structure a simple fast schottky diode is applied in a DC/DC converter. The simulations are done in Silvaco software.


We proposed to place an RF circuit and an antenna on each side of a silicon RF chip in the 60 GHz band, respectively, and to connect between them with low loss by a coaxial-line structure using a hole opening in the chip. We fabricated a 2×2 circularly polarized patch array in an area of 5mm square on a silicon chip and had coaxial-line connection with a separated quadrature oscillator chip. However the oscillation was unstable due to the self-oscillation of the oscillator chip by providing only DC power. In this paper, we design an input structure of 20GHz-band signal to the phased-lock loop in the oscillator chip to make the oscillation stable.


Thirty-two students were selected from the third to sixth grade at a Spanish full-immersion school in St Paul. A team of five investigators collected data from the pupils over a five-month period: 1) verbal report; 2) questionnaire data about the pupils' abilities, attitudes and preferences with regard to thinking in Spanish and using Spanish as a vehicle for communication with peers and adults; 3) insights from classroom observation regarding language use patterns in the process of doing the particular task; and 4) background information on the selected learners, including achievement test scores available from the school office, the learners' school grades, sociolinguistic information on their exposure to Spanish language out of class, and so forth. The findings revealed that, for the immersion students under study, English seemed at times to play a more prominent role in their internal language environment than Spanish. In responding to both numerical and verbal problems in maths, students reported favouring English in their cognitive processing and were also observed to be doing so. They read the problem in Spanish but would shift to English immediately or as soon as they had some conceptual difficulty. These findings may provide some contribu tion to the gaps that have been noted in the spoken and written output of immersion pupils.


Fe(59)-radioactivities in the both hemin iron fraction(Hemin-Fe(59)) and easily split off iron fraction (E S Fe(59)) of the rabbit erythrocyes obtained in reticulocytosis were determined respectively after incubating them with Fe(59) in vitro. On the other hand, immature rabbit erythrocytes labeled with Fe(59) in vivo were incubated in nonradioactive medium, and the same determinations as the above were carried out. The following results were obtained. 1. Reticulocytes of rabbit uptook considerably Fe(59) during incubation in vitro. 2. Fe(59) uptaken in reticulocyte were quickly utilized to the synthesis of hemin. However, Fe(59) at preceding stage of the synthesis were found to be extracted as false ealily split off iron. 3. With the incubation of reticulocytes for 5 hours in vitro, the E S Fe(59) increased after the synthesis of hemin-Fe(59). 4. In vivo, the E S Fe(59) increased in new formed labeled erythrocytes at 6 to 9 hours after intravenous administration of Fe(59), originating from hemoglobin break-down at that stage.


Xu Yuangao's Guoyu Jijie provides its readers with convienience and practicle materials. But slips do exit. Some opinions for correction and supplement are give here for reference.


research and write their own critical literature reviews surrounding a given topic cluster—such as relationships between the medical industrial complex (p. 216), the military industrial complex (p. 224), and the prison industrial complex (p. 257). At the undergraduate level, I might have students research current events related to a given topic cluster—such as xenophobia (p. 355), refugees (p. 272), and deportation (p. 92)—and present briefly to their classmates about how they see the associated gerontological concepts operating in different news and feature stories they find on their own. Overall, I strongly recommend Aging A-Z for any educator looking to center journeys of growing older in the process of learning technical skills and envisioning a more just world. It offers both useful vocabulary and inspiring wisdom to help students both master key concepts in gerontology and apply these concepts thoughtfully in their own professional practice. The encyclopedia style format also makes the book appropriate and engaging for learners just starting to discover aging and life course topics. Aging A-Z offers a wonderful resource for the sociology classroom, the primary care clinic, or anywhere else learners can benefit from a highly accessible primer on intersections between aging and social justice.


Aimed at stemming the tide of marriage breakdown, the Marriage Foundation was launched this week by Sir Paul Coleridge. Backed by legal experts, family groups and religious organisations the organisation seeks to be a national voice making the case for marriage.


Industrial competitiveness is positive to study regional competitiveness. The trend of the internationalization of domestic market is more and more distinct in economic globalization, so that each area must cultivate competitive advantage industries in our WTO entry. Five ways are put forward and evaluated, which can analyze the effect of TNCs to regional industrial competitiveness. In case of Pudong New Area, the paper analyses the effect of TNCs to industrial competitiveness of Pudong New Area in the measure of competitive index. At last, it puts forward some suggestions about enhancing regional industrial competitiveness depending on TNCs.


A simple sonochemical route has been successfully developed to synthesize SnO2 hollow microspheres. The obtained sample is characterized by XRD, TEM, XPS and UV-visible spectrophotometer. The TEM image of the sample at high magnification shows that the shell of the hollow sphere is composed of 3–5 nm SnO2 nanoparticles. A possible formation mechanism of the hollow spheres is briefly discussed.


Considerable attention has been given to market integration and volatility transmission between national stock markets, although this has previously been confined to OECD countries or emerging markets in Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Using a new and comprehensive dataset, this paper finds evidence of volatility transmission between ten rival markets in SSA, noting that this volatility is intrinsically asymmetric. Extensive spillovers are found across these markets, some uni-directional and others bilateral. However, continued illiquidity, incomplete institutions and low levels of domestic participation indicate that an integrated financial community remains premature, and considerable regulatory reform and harmonisation will be necessary before this can be achieved


A strain of resistance to zinc with high concentration,named DX-T3-03,was isolated from the metal-polluted sediment of soils around Dexing copper mine.Basing on morphology,biochemical and physiological characterization,DX-T3-03 was characterized as Sphingomonas sp..A phylogenetic tree was constructed with the published 16S rRNA sequences of relative bacteria species.In the phylogenetic tree,the DX-T3-03 strain has the closest relative to Sphingomonas aquatilis strain JSS-7 with 99% sequence homeology.The optimum growth conditions of DX-T3-03 strain were temperature of 35°C,pH of 6.7,rotating rate of 150 r/min.It could resist zinc of 25 mmol/L or above and be able to grow in a variety of single and combined heavy metals (Cu 70 mg/L,Cd 300 mg/L,Pb 400 mg/L,Ni 60 mg/L).


The emergence of modern drama in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries was integrally linked to the development of modern sexual identities, and Noel Coward's career was at once shaped by and definitive of this larger historical development. Coward began his career when male homosexuality was still illegal in England and the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde for "gross indecency" was still a recent memory; his breakthrough play The Vortex premiered in 1924, just four years before Radclyffe Hall's lesbian novel The Well of Loneliness was banned for obscenity. Coward's historical situation as a necessarily closeted homosexual raises the question of whether and how the subversiveness of his sexual identity is reflected in his work.


Novel hybrid supercapacitor materials were made by the covalent immobilization of nitrogenous ligands onto the surface of commercial carbon support (Vulcan XC-72), then coordinated to iron. The covalent attachment of the nitrogenous ligands allows for the controlled deposition of nitrogen functionalities on the surface of the carbon. The supercapacitor tests in acidic media showed significant growth of the capacitance as a result of the nitrogenous ligands on the support. Notably, the increase of the capacitance values directly correlates with the molecular loading on the surface. Following coordination of the iron to the ligands on the surface further elevated the capacitance via Faradaic reactions of the metal center. Remarkably, the overall capacitance of materials significantly increased after the course of long-term cycling tests (ca. 110% or higher). At the beginning of durability studies, a small decline in capacitance was observed, due to some extent of molecular decomposition on the surface of the electrode. However, the intense cycling further propagates a steady growth of the overall capacitance. This could be attributed to the process of polymerization of physisorbed molecules/ radicals that result in the formation of a 3D network structure that eventually boosts the overall capacitance and charge storage of the electrode.


In this paper stratigraphic scales of loess and cave sediments from the Last Glacial are confronted with the stratigraphic scales from west Europe. These stratigraphic scales are collated with cold and warm events from the Greenland´s glacier. It shows that the stratigraphy of terrestrial sediments of all the Europe is not so detail as from the glacier. Difficulties from this fact are d iscussed and it is recommended tu use the local scales.


Junior students of medicine are suffering just now from the confusion which results not infrequently from a multitude of counsellors. Many of them are within the limits of military age, and to these there has naturally come the supreme question which Lord Kitchener in his Guildhall speech addressed to the young men of the Empire. Does patriotism claim enlistment in the Army or the pursuit of medical studies ? This is an issue which has teen in debate in all the medical schools throughout the country. In the earlier months, when it Was fondly believed that the war could not he a long experience, the question was not a very acute one, as six or twelve months' absence from the curriculum is not a great consideration, and the authorities were willing, so far as legally possible, to relax the rules in favour of the absentees. With the lengthening prospects of the war it soon became


THE Manchester and District Local Section of the Institute of Physics holds each year a summer course of lectures, the primary aim of which is to provide physicists in industry with convenient summaries of recent work in various aspects (both pure and applied) of physical research. This year the lectures were held during June in the Physics Department of the University of Manchester. On June 11, Mr. J. D. Bernal (Cambridge) discussed the properties of "Heavy Hydrogen" and indicated some of its possible chemical uses. Prof. E. N. da C. Andrade (University College, London) dealt with the subject of "Viscosity" on June 13. After considering the relation between temperature and viscosity and its representation by a formula, he discussed a theoretical justification for the use of a formula he has developed and finally dealt with some methods of measurement of viscosities. A comprehensive survey of "Units of Matter" was given by Dr. J. M. Nuttall (University of Manchester) on June 25; he discussed the properties of the proton, electron, anti-proton, positive electron, neutron and neutrino, and gave a summary of the experimental evidence supporting the new ideas on atomic structure. On June 27 short communications on "Alloys" were given by Prof. W. L. Bragg, Dr. A. J. Bradley (University of Manchester) and Dr. C. Sykes (Metropolitan-Vickers Electric Co., Ltd.). This is the fourth occasion on which such a course has been held. Last year the meetings were devoted to accounts of the application of physics to particular industries. On this occasion the original plan was adhered to, summaries of recent work in pure science being presented for the convenience of industrial research workers who do not find it easy to follow the many original papers. There has been a gratifying response to the attempt to organise these meetings, and lively discussions have followed most of the papers.


1887 Content in this section does not reflect any official policy or medical opinion of the American Cancer Society or of the publisher unless otherwise noted. © American Cancer Society, 2017. and her colleagues who advocate for patients with pancreatic cancer wanted to learn whether the information on these websites could be considered accurate and understandable. Although previous research had evaluated the quality of online information regarding pancreatic cancer, the analyses then were based on ratings by health care professionals with regard to the information's accuracy. To the authors' knowledge, this study was the first to assess how the online material is perceived by the general public. The researchers' previous work had demonstrated that users needed a high level of education to understand the information. For the current study, Dr. Storino and her colleagues recruited 10 community volunteers who were not patients with pancreatic cancer. The volunteers were asked to evaluate 50 websites that discussed treatment modalities for pancreatic cancer, including alternative therapies, chemotherapy, clinical trials, radiotherapy, and surgery. Volunteers used a Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) instrument, which comprises assessments on overall suitability, readability, accuracy, and likelihood to be recommended. Each website was given a single SAM score to reflect layout, appropriateness and readability of content, quality of visual aids, learning stimulation, and cultural appropriateness. Volunteers also were asked how likely they would be to recommend the website to someone who has pancreatic cancer. The findings demonstrated that clinical trials websites received lower SAM scores than others, despite their having the highest level of accuracy in information. Surgery websites were given higher SAM scores than those dedicated to alternative therapies, chemotherapy, and clinical trials. websites for surgery and radiotherapy were recommended more than other treatment modalities, and nonprofit websites were more strongly recommended than privately produced websites. The most important finding, Dr. Storino notes, concerned the websites' relative user-friendliness and inclusion of pictures, which proved to be a key focus for study volunteers. This result suggests that patients tend to gravitate toward user-friendly websites and assume they are accurate. Thus, they rely on the sites' creators to provide correct information. Furthermore, the authors note that approximately 229 million Americans, 72% of all internet users, look online for health information, yet few carefully evaluate their sources. The researchers plan to use these results to help patients with cancer find and navigate the most effective health information websites by recommending those that already have been vetted for accuracy.


Rebecca Thomas, 'All's Well that Eats Well: Sharing Food, Ideas and Ideals in the Creative Arts', poster presented at FoodNet Public Health Event, Hatfield, UK, 28 January, 2015.


Part I. Human Personal Death: 1. Introduction 2. Biological death 3. So-called 'personal death' 4. The anthropological challenge of neocortical death 5. Ethics as the criterion for defining death 6. Diversity of definitions of death in a secular ethic 7. Conclusion Part II. Theory of Knowledge about Death: 8. Scheler's intuitive knowledge of mortality 9. Heidegger's being-towards-death 10. Is mortality the object of foreknowledge? 11. Inductive knowledge of death and Jean-Paul Sartre 12. Knowledge of mortality is inseparable from the relation to the other 13. Death as the object of experience Part III. Does Death Mean Nothing to Us?: 14. The 'nothingness of death': Epicurus and his followers 15. Discussion of experientialism and the need for a subject 16. Death: an evil of privation Conclusion.


Significant progress has been achieved in the active control of civil engineering structures in recent years. Although many control algorithms has been proposed, only few experiments in active structural control have been performed. In this paper, active structural control experiments were carried out using a scaled model structure simulating a three-story steel frame building. The model was subjected to a base motion on a shake table. A neural network based controller was implemented to control the response of the structure. This trained neural controller was implemented to control the response of the structure. It is experimentally verified that the neural network is able to generalized to new inputs, i.e. a properly trained neural network is capable of providing sensible outputs when presented with input data that has never been used during training. Results from this experimental study indicate great promise for the control of civil engineering structures under dynamic loadings using the artificial neural network controller.


Fluidized bed reactors are used in a wide range of applications in various industrial operations, including chemical, mechanical, petroleum, mineral, and pharmaceutical industries. Fluidized multiphase reactors are of increasing importance in nowadays chemical industries, even though their hydrodynamic behavior is complex and not yet fully understood. Especially the scale-up from laboratory towards industrial equipment is a problem. For example, equations describing the bubble behavior in gas-solid fluidized beds are (semi) empirical and often determined under laboratory conditions. For that reason there is little unifying theory describing the bubble behavior in fluidized beds. Understanding the hydrodynamics of fluidized bed reactors is essential for choosing the correct operating parameters for the appropriate fluidization regime. Two-phase flows occur in many industrial and environmental processes. These include pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and mineral industries, energy conversion, gaseous and particulate pollutant transport in the atmosphere, heat exchangers and many other applications. The gas–solid fluidized bed reactor has been used extensively because of its capability to provide effective mixing and highly efficient transport processes. Understanding the hydrodynamics and heat transfer of fluidized bed reactors is essential for their proper design and efficient operation. The gas–solid flows at high concentration in these reactors are quite complex because of the coupling of the turbulent gas flow and fluctuation of particle motion dominated by inter-particle collisions. These complexities lead to considerable difficulties in designing, scaling up and optimizing the operation of these reactors [1-3]. Multiphase flow processes are key element of several important technologies. The presence of more than one phase raises several additional questions for the reactor engineer. Multiphase flow processes exhibit different flow regimes depending on the operating conditions and the geometry of the process equipment. Multiphase flows can be divided into variety of different flows. One of these flows in gas-solid flows. In some gas-solid reactors (fluidized reactors); gas is the continuous phase and solid particles are suspended within this continuous phase. Depending on the properties of the gas and solid phases, several different sub-regimes of dispersed two-phase flows may exist. For relatively small gas flow rates, the rector may contain a dense bed of fluidized solid particles. The bed may be homogenously fluidized or gas may pass through the bed in the form of large bubbles. Further increase in gas flow rate decreases the bed density and the gas-solid contacting pattern may change from dense bed to turbulent bed, then to fast-fluidized mode and ultimately to pneumatic conveying mode. In all these flow regimes the relative importance


Despite the popularity of the promotional activities of low external input agriculture (LEIA), systematic evaluations of the impact of these activities are scarce. This paper discusses an impact evaluation study of a training project on LEIA in Guatemala. The evaluation design is based on a simple quasi-experimental design and complemented by qualitative methods of data collection. The paper illustrates the utility of this kind of mixed-method evaluation for studying the outcome and impact of small-scale development interventions given their specific constraints of money, expertise and time. In addition, a number of specific lessons regarding the role of the evaluation study, the training project and the adoption of LEIA practices are highlighted. Research findings • The study shows how a basic quasi-experimental design, complemented by qualitative research methods, and without relying on sophisticated statistical techniques, can be very useful to determine the outcome and impact of a training project at the farm level, controlling for the influence of external variables. This type of mixed evaluation method would be quite adequate for the evaluation of similar relatively small-scale interventions.  Farmers' adoption behaviour after the termination of the project can be characterised as selective and partial. Given the particular circumstances of small farmers (e.g. risk aversion, high opportunity costs of labour) it is not realistic to assume that a training project as described in the paper will bring about a complete transformation from a conventional farming system to a LEIA farming system. • In line with the literature, the most popular practices (in this case for example organic fertilisers, medicinal plants) are those that offer a clear short-term return while not requiring significant investments in terms of labour or capital. Policy implications  The lessons produced by the baseline study could not be used to make mid-course corrections in the design and implementation of the project, with negative consequences for its eventual outcome and impact. It is suggested that a formal appraisal study be carried out to identify potential constraints before selecting the implementing organisation and defining the terms of reference of the project.  Project outreach was concentrated in a limited number of communities and social networks connected to project extensionists who were themselves farmers in the region. When working with farmer-to-farmer extension and education models, close attention should be paid to possible biases in beneficiary selection and indirect effects on local power dynamics. If necessary, corrective action to ensure a broader and more equitable outreach should be taken.  An ideological faith in the absolute supremacy of LEIA practices is not in the best interests of the farmer. Projects promoting LEIA should focus on the complementary effects of LEIA practices and conventional farming techniques, encouraging each farmer to choose the best balance for his/her needs.


In their recent Journal of Experimental Biology paper on mottle camouflage patterns of cuttlefish and the visual background stimuli that evoke them, Chiao et al. state that 'the mottle body pattern works by the principle of background matching' ([p. 188][1]) ([Chiao et al., 2010][2]). 'Mottle


Baeckea frutescens is an aromatic shrub used as ornamentals and as food flavor spices in the southern part of P. R. China. Two novel C-methylated biflavonoids named baeckeins J (1) and K (2) were isolated from the roots of B. frutescens, which possessed the unique carbon skeleton conjugated of a flavonol and one isoflavanonol molecule via the linkages of C(2)–C(8*) and C(3)–O–C(7*). The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were elucidated by analysis of 1D- and 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS spectral data, and the absolute configuration for chiral C-atoms C(2) and C(3) were assigned by CD spectrometry combined with quantum chemical calculations. In the bioassay, baeckeins J and K exhibited strong cytoprotective effects on H2O2-induced oxidative cell death in PC12 cells.


This article presents a quantitative analysis of the association between doctoral training abroad and international scientific collaboration in four countries – Brazil, Mexico, China and South Korea – in the period 1997-2013. We found distinct patterns of inclusion in the global system of science: Brazil and China are still dependent on the doctoral training in world-class institutions to maintain or increase the internationalization of their knowledge bases; South Korea and Mexico, under the influence of specific conditions and trajectories, are able to maintain its international scientific insertion even reducing doctoral training in world-class institutions abroad. Similar forms with regard to the evolution of the two variables over the period reinforce the plausibility of the association between doctoral training abroad and international scientific collaboration.


This essay explores the trope of "compensation" in the sermons which helped promote Virginia Company activities in early seventeenth-century England. Not only were these sermons, in and of themselves, made to compensate for the lack of material gain or for the ill fate of prior English ventures to the same or adjacent areas, but, in their content and tone, they also used the trope of compensation as a means to redress a long series of historical, ideological, and socioeconomic aspects in which England's colonial venture had been, and still was, defective. At the same time, the preachers commissioned to write and deliver these sermons – some of them, like William Crashaw, active participants in the Company's enterprises – also employed rhetoric in order to create a convenient place for themselves in the "new" England they were promoting along with these ventures sent across the Atlantic.


The present invention allows an unmanned aircraft to fly while avoiding a flight prohibited area, which changes depending upon the movement of a mobile unit. This unmanned aircraft control system (1) includes: a mobile unit position acquisition means (102) for acquiring mobile unit position information relating to the current position of the mobile unit moving over the earth; an area setting means (103) for setting, on the basis of the mobile unit position information, a flight prohibited area where the flight of an unmanned aircraft (20) is prohibited; and a flight control means (105) for controlling the flight of the unmanned aircraft (20) so as to avoid the flight prohibited area set on the basis of the mobile unit position information.


Objective: To explore the effects of Shujin Granules on neuroethology assessment and pain threshold in rats with post-stroke hypermyotonia.Methods: Rats with post-stroke hypermytonia were randomized into three groups: Shujin Granules group,baclofen group and model group.The neuroethology scores and pain threshold were assessed and compared on day 3,6,9 and 12 after treatment.Results: The improvement of rat mobility in Shujin Granules group on day 12 was superior to that in model group,the difference was statistically significant(rank sum test,P0.01).The difference in pain threshold changes among three groups on day 3,6,9 and 12 after treatment was statistically significant(ANOVA test,P0.05);The pain threshold changes in Shujin Granules group and baclofen group were superior to those of model group,but there was no difference in pain threshold changes between Shujin Granules group and baclofen group(P0.05).Conclusion: Shujin Granules can improve the neuroethology scores and pain threshold in rats with post-stroke hypermyotonia.


Large collaborative datasets offer the challenging opportunity of creating systems capable of extracting knowledge in the presence of noisy data. In this work we explore the ability to automatically learn tag semantics by mining a global georeferenced image collection crawled from Flickr with the aim of improving an automatic annotation system. We are able to categorize sets of tags as places, landmarks, and visual descriptors. By organizing our dataset of more than 1.69 million images using a quadtree we can efficiently find geographic areas with sufficient density to provide useful results for place and landmark extraction. Precision-recall curves for our techniques compared with previous existing work used to identify place tags and manual groundtruth landmark annotation show the merit of our methods applied on a world scale.


Many traditional SPAM filters work by analyzing the content of each email message in turn against a set of rules that are used to measure the spaminess of the message. Unfortunately, because spammers have access to these rules, the content of SPAM messages continually changes to evade detection. This is similar to the difficulties the immune system faces in identifying and clearing the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV). Intriguingly, some individuals are resistant to HIV. We explore the parallels between HIV and SPAM in order to deduce a method of identifying SPAM that transcends the polymorphic nature of the SPAM message body. This proposed method is based on the group behavior of SPAM messages, rather than on the content of a SPAM message. We are in the process of implementing a SPAM filter that uses the proposed method.


A multi-level speech recognition driven system provides user specific adaptive voice feedback based on a specific user's level of sophistication. If a voice input is detected, the system determines whether the voice input is associated with a specific user. When a user of the system has not provided a voice input for a predetermined user specific time period the system provides an adaptive voice feedback to the user. When a voice input is detected, the system determines whether the voice input is recognized. If the recognized voice input corresponds to a speech selectable task, the corresponding speech selectable task is performed. In another embodiment, the system is deactivated when a voice input has not been received for a user specific set number of predetermined user specific time periods at a given level.


THE PIONEER WORKER on the New Zealand Aleyrodidae was W. M. Maskell, who also described species from all over the world. The Maskell collection of Aleyrodidae is therefore an important one. It has recently been returned to New Zealand after having been on loan to the Bureau of Entomology of the United States Department of Agriculture for many years and is now, together with the equally important Maskell collection of Coccidae, in the collection of the Entomological Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at Nelson. It is desirable that Maskell's species should be redescribed. This task has been facilitated by the location of Maskell's unmounted duplicate material of some species and the collection of others from the field. In addition to Maskell's species there is one New Zealand species described by Takahashi (1937). Two species are described as new. Considerable confusion has centered around Maskell's genus Asterochiton, though this has been clarified, in so far as it affects the genus Trialeurodes, by Russell (1948). Maskell (1879) described the first Aleyrodids from New Zealand. These were lecanioides (which has page precedence) and aureus, for which two species he created a new genus Asterochiton, placing it in error as a Coccid genus. No genotype was designated and it


We investigate the paramagnetic periodic Anderson model using the dynamical mean-field theory in combination with the modified perturbation theory which interpolates between the weak and strong coupling limits. For the symmetric PAM, the ground state is always a singlet state. However, as function of the hybridization strength, a crossover from collective to local Kondo screening is found. Reducing the number of conduction electrons, the local Kondo singlets remain stable. The unpaired f-electrons dominate the physics of the system. For very low conduction electron densities, a large increase of the effective mass of the quasiparticles is visible, which is interpreted as the approach of the Mott-Hubbard transition.


A common and effective way to train translation systems between related languages is to consider sub-word level basic units. However, this increases the length of the sentences resulting in increased decoding time. The increase in length is also impacted by the specific choice of data format for representing the sentences as subwords. In a phrase-based SMT framework, we investigate different choices of decoder parameters as well as data format and their impact on decoding time and translation accuracy. We suggest best options for these settings that significantly improve decoding time with little impact on the translation accuracy.


A crudely purified polyhydroxyalkaloid (PHA) extract of Hyacinthoides non-scripta (Hyacinthaceae) was studied by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), liquid chromatography/sequential mass spectrometry (LC/MSn) and direct infusion atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation-mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) to determine the best method for screening plant extracts for PHAs. Direct infusion was determined to be the technique of choice to carry out rapid screening, whereas LC/MS has the potential to reveal isomeric compounds with appropriate high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation, and we report here a successful HPLC separation of underivatised PHAs in a crude extract. The requirement to derivatise PHAs for GC/MS analysis was found to confuse screening due to the formation of multiple derivatives. Also, the electron ionization (EI) mass spectra were of limited diagnostic value and GC/MS failed to detect high molecular weight PHA derivatives such as those of PHA-diglycosides. Two glycosides not previously reported in Hyacinthaceae were detected by direct infusion APCI-MS. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This chapter addresses a new approach to organizational learning, namely, artistic interventions, which encompass a variety of ways th at people, products, and practices from the world of the arts enter the world of organizati ons. Although the field has grown rapidly, little empirical research has been conducted on wha t actually happens inside organizations during and after artistic interventions. The author argues that, to close gaps and correct for biases in existing work, future research will need to engage multiple stakeholders (employees, artists, managers, intermediaries, and policy-makers), address multiple ways of knowing, especially the neglected bodily senses, an d draw on concepts and methods from diverse disciplines. The need for organizations to learn is undisputed: The speed of technological change, the severity of problems in societies and the natur al environment, and the pressure from competitors imply that organizations cannot simply continue doing the same things in the same way and expect to flourish in a sustainable sy stem. The challenge is not limited to the private sector; public sector and civil society org anizations are experiencing similar pressures to learn, intensified by shrinking budgets. Althoug h the need is evident, how to address it is not. Of course, numerous techniques to stimulate an d sustain organizational learning already exist (Dierkes, Berthoin Antal, Child, & Nonaka, 20 01), but the size and scope of problems require experimentation with fresh approaches. A ne w type of experimentation is "artistic interventions," which bring people, products, and p ractices from the world of the arts into organizations, with a more or less clearly defined learning orientation. At first glance this entrance of the world of the a rts into the world of organizations may appear either very obvious or very surprising. Different logics underpin these two possibilities, which coexist in practice. 2 A. Berthoin Antal, When Arts Enter Organizational S paces 1. The "obvious" connection is that creativity gene rat s new ideas. The arts are associated with creativity, so bringing employees into contact with the arts should develop their creativity. This is an attractively simple solution , based on the assumption that once the creativity of employees is stimulated, it will then automatically be at the service of the organization. 2. The idea is surprising because "to multitudes ar t eems to be an importation into experience from a foreign country" (Dewey, 1934/200 5, p. 11). The world of arts has its own codes, behaviors, and values, and these are usu ally perceived to be very different, even diametrically opposed to, those that operate i n organizations like companies, hospitals, or municipal authorities. The logic behi nd the "surprising" idea of bringing the "foreign" world of the arts into organizational spa ces is that the discovery of different possible ways of seeing and dealing with the world should permit the organization to learn by expanding its repertoire of potential interpreta tions and responses (Huber, 1991; Swidler, 1986). New knowledge can emerge from the c ombination of, or clash between, different bodies and forms of knowledge (Abel, 2008 ; Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Stark, 2009). Clashes between the presumably very differen t cultures can reveal and challenge the assumptions and routines engrained in the organizat ional culture and thereby trigger double-loop learning (Argyris & Schön, 1978). Both lines of reasoning have potential, and in comb ination they may even drive artistic interventions into becoming a new manageme nt fad. It is therefore important from the outset to recognize that they also both raise quest ions. Is it really so obvious that bringing the arts into organizations can stimulate individual cr eativity and thereby trigger organizational learning? Years of research in organizations, speci fically with the power of organizational cultures and the barriers to organizational learnin g, make the last link in the chain particularly questionable (Berthoin Antal, Lenhardt, & Rosenbroc k, 2001). The established ways of 3 A. Berthoin Antal, When Arts Enter Organizational S paces seeing and doing things are embedded in routines an d power relations that make it difficult or even dangerous for employees to express new possibi lities that challenge existing procedures, structures, and beliefs (Schein, 1993). Psychologis ts have shown that individual and collective creativity can indeed be stimulated (e.g ., Amabile, 1996; Funke, 2009), and interactions with the arts can play an important pa r in that process (Barry, 1994; KEA, 2009). But under what conditions does the introduct ion of the arts into organizations make of that space a milieu of creativity in which cultural change is possible (Meusburger, 2009; Meusburger, Funke, & Wunder, 2009)? Similarly, the "surprising" logic that artistic interventions can stimulate organizational learning through the clash of cultures is appealing, but how realistic is it? Research on individual lea rning from exposure to different cultures suggests that the outcome is far from predictable ( Adler, 2002; Friedman & Berthoin Antal, 2005). Confrontations between different people with orld views may contribute to strengthening rather than dismantling stereotypes, and they may trigger defensiveness rather than encourage engagement. If mechanistic models th at imply an instrumentalization of the arts in organizations are misleading, what kinds of m dels are appropriate? The literature in this field is growing rapidly eno ugh to generate curiosity about these questions. In the past decade an increasing number of scholars, consultants, and artists have written about ways of bringing ideas and practices from the world of the arts into organizations (e.g., Adler, 2006; Anderson, Reckhen rich, & Kupp, 2011; Barry & Hansen, 2008; Barry & Meisiek, 2004; Biehl-Missal, 2011b; B rellochs & Schrat, 2005; Chodzinski, 2007; Seifter & Buswick, 2005; Taylor & Ladkin, 200 9). But too little empirical research has been conducted to provide answers to such questions at this time (Barry & Meisiek, 2010; Berthoin Antal, 2009; Berthoin Antal & Strauß, 2013 ). The purpose of this chapter is to explore the phenomenon of artistic interventions in organizations from the perspective of organizational learning, knowledge, and space in or der to formulate a research agenda. I start 4 A. Berthoin Antal, When Arts Enter Organizational S paces by illustrating the multiplicity of ways that arts are being brought into organizational spaces, then present some conceptual maps and models that s tructure the field, highlighting aspects that are relevant for organizational learning. This review shows the need to expand the theoretical framework in future research on organiz tional learning because artistic interventions have put issues of space and the dive rse human senses, to which little attention has been paid to date, squarely on the agenda. Artistic Interventions in Organizations: A Multifacetted Phenomenon Artistic interventions, which I define broadly and eutrally as processes in which people, practices, and/or 4 products from the world of the arts enter into the world of organizations, vary greatly along several dimension s, such as time, purpose, and connection to other organizational processes. 5 Some artistic interventions are long term (several months, even years), use multiple art forms, and are embedd ed in the organizational culture and strategy; however, most are short, lasting hours or days, and use one art form. Many interventions are launched to develop people or to develop the organization (Berthoin Antal, Taylor, & Ladkin, in press); some are intended to d evelop new ideas for products and services. Interventions are often brought in by a s enior manager (e.g., CEO, director of a business unit, head of HR or marketing) who wants t o try a new idea and has heard about or experienced an artistic intervention in another con text (e.g., conference, business school). Many artistic interventions also come in projects w ith consultants who draw on artists and artistic processes to complement their approach. Th e idea of trying an intervention is often introduced by intermediary organizations, which hav e recently emerged in several countries to bridge between the world of the arts and the wor ld f organizations in various ways. They help organizations define a need and select an arti st, they generate funding and provide 5 A. Berthoin Antal, When Arts Enter Organizational S paces guidance during the intervention; some also train a rtists to enter the workplace (Berthoin Antal, 2011b; Grzelec & Prata, 2013). There is no complete overview over the past and cur rent artistic interventions that are burgeoning around the world. The intention in this chapter is to start by illustrating the wide variety of possibilities that have been tried in th ree broad categories—products, people, and practices—as suggested in my working definition of artistic interventions and by Barry and Meisiek's (2010) review of the field of "workarts." In the following pages I focus on artistic interventions at the workplace; however many intere sting experiments are underway in schools and communities to address societal issues such as unemployment and peacebuilding. Product-based Artistic Interventions Art collections are the longest lasting (and probab ly lso the oldest) type of artistic intervention in organizations. They are traditional ly ssociated more with impressing stakeholders than with stimulating learning, althou gh there are important exceptions, such as the collection of American magnate Albert C. Barnes , who wanted to edify his employees through art in the first quarter of the 20 th century. 7 Many organizations' art collections may still just be about "personal aggrandizement, organ izational prestige, and long-term investment and the decoration of the work environme t


Article History: Received 2, April, 2015 Received in revised form 10, April, 2015 Accepted 4, May, 2015 Published online 28, May, 2015 The effect of PEG-6000 induced water stress on germination and early seedling growth stages was studied. Five to mato germplasm were tested for drought tolerance using 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%,10%, 12%, 14% and 16% PEG-6000 and the data was recorded on various seedling parameters like germination rate, root length and shoot length.The experiment was carried out in three replicates under Complete Randomized Design. No significant difference was observed in germination rate between control and PEG induced drought stress up to 12% PEG concentration. After this critical point, a reduction in germination ratewas observed and all the varieties were unable to germinate at 22% of PEG solution. The shoot length increased significantly in Arka Rakshak, Arka Vikas and PKM-OP at 2% PEG stress condition in comparison to control. Subsequently noteworthy reduction was noticed in root and shoot length with the increasing PEG concentration. The longest shoot length (6.5 cm) was noticed in Arka Rakshak at 2% PEG in comparison to other germplasm. A positive correlation between shoot length and root length at all stress conditions was noticed. The results obtained in present investigation provided useful data in screening of drought tolerant germplasm using PEG.


The therapeutic recreation field has made progress toward the establishment of a recognized professional entity. There exist discrepancies, however, with regard to those standards recognized and accepted by the profession and those standards accepted by state personnel systems. This study examines the status of therapeutic recreation within state personnel systems.. Prevalent titles, salaries, and the minimum criteria required for the recruitment and employment of persons in therapeutic recreation related positions are presented.


This paper investigates the problem of maximum-power-point-tracking for variable-speed wind turbines (VSWT), where the input signal is quantized by a sector-bounded quantiz-er. This quantizer has the advantages of relaxing the transmission bandwidth requirement and reducing the load of the drive system. Compared with existing results in adaptive control for VSWT, an adaptive neural-network unit is designed to account for modeling uncertainties of the wind turbine, thus, removing the requirement of availability of precise aerodynamics. The proposed control algorithm consists of a supervisory part and robust neuroadaptive part based on prescribed performance bound (PPB) connected by a soft linking module, which is able to ensure the continuity of the controller at the moment of switching. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is confirmed by systematic stability analysis and simulation.


We study properties of thin sets introduced recently by T. Banakh and E. Jablonska. Using Banach-Mazur games we prove that all thin sets are Baire spaces and generic (in particular maximal) thin sets are not Borel. We also show that the Cantor cube can be decomposed to two sets of this type. This result is related to so-called xor-sets defined by D. Niwinski and E. Kopczynski in 2014.


Previous self-consistent field theory (SCFT) calculations have predicted that the steric interaction between two polymer-grafted particles in good solvent can become attractive, but this conclusion has since been questioned. Here we reexamine the problem with a new numerical scheme using multiple coordinate systems, and find that the interaction remains repulsive regardless of the particle size, brush thickness, or particle separation. The erroneous attraction in the earlier calculations can be attributed to numerical inaccuracy and a subtle issue with how the chains were grafted to the particles. Using our corrected SCFT solution, we also investigate the accuracy of a previous calculation based on strong-stretching theory (SST) and the applicability of the Derjaguin approximation, where the interaction between large particles is estimated from the one-dimensional uniform compression of polymer brushes.


We study the complexity of computing the kth-power of an element of F2n by constant depth arithmetic circuits over F2 (also known as ACP). Our study encompasses the complexity of basic arithmetic operations such as computing cube-root and computing cubic-residuosity of elements of F2n. Our main result is that these problems require exponential size circuits.
 We also derive strong average-case versions of these results. For example, we show that no subexponential-size, constant-depth, arithmetic circuit over F2 can correctly compute the cubic residue symbol for more than 1/3 + o(1) fraction of the elements of F2n. As a corollary, we deduce a character sum bound showing that the cubic residue character over F2n is uncorrelated with all degree-d n-variate F2 polynomials (viewed as functions over F2n in a natural way), provided d l nε for some universal ε > 0. Classical methods (based on van der Corput differencing and the Weil bounds) show this only for d l log(n).
 Our proof revisits the classical Razborov-Smolensky method for circuit lower bounds, and executes an analogue of it in the land of univariate polynomials over F2n. The tools we use come from both F2n and F2n. In recent years, this interplay between F2n and F2n has played an important role in many results in pseudorandomness, property testing and coding theory.


The details of tha assessment of autonomous Mars ascent and orbit rendezvous for earth return missions are presented. Analyses addressing navigation system assessments, trajectory planning, targeting approaches, flight control guidance strategies, and performance sensitivities are included. Tradeoffs in the analysis and design process are discussed.


We use the complex o 4 field at finite density as a model system for developing further techniques based on worldline formulations of lattice field theories. More specifically we: 1) Discuss new variants of the worm algorithm for updating the o 4 theory and related systems with site weights. 2) Explore the possibility of canonical simulations in the worldline formulation. 3) Study the connection of 2-particle condensation at low temperature to scattering parameters of the theory.


In the context of the research project "Solar2Fuel" funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (2009 – 2011) the aim is to examine the necessary steps for building up of a conversion technology of CO2 into a valuable product with the help of solar energy. In focus of this article is the photocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol (CH3OH), the identification of large-scale solar regions in South Europe and North Africa and the CO2 transport via pipeline. The estimated scenarios are built on a calculated CO2 amount of 50 Mt/a which is the equivalent to ten modern coal fired power stations with an installed power of 800 MW each.


The 3D finite element model of the sliding-plate and worktable system of KT450 hi-speed NC engraving and milling tool was established utilizing ANSYS.Based on the modal analysis of the sliding-plate and worktable system,the first 8 natural frequencies and vibration models were obtained,which were verified by the testing of modal parameter identification.Some methods to improve dynamic characteristics of the machine tool were put forward.


Reported herein is a patient who developed symptoms of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome following radioactive iodine induced hypothyroidism. A review of the literature is presented.


We investigate the usability problems of e-commerce online shopping websites from user's preferences and determine the relative importance of factors such as navigability, content, design, ease of use, and structure through user survey. The main intent of this ranking of web site characteristics is that a designer can relatively give higher efforts on designing features that may lead to higher merit and better usability. As such, our research work help us capture the data by involving user testing (usability testing) and open source automated tools such as Camtasia. Hence, the outcomes of the above approach show the navigation, content, design were the first, second, and third priority for evaluating the usability of e-commerce websites whereas ease of use and structure were the fourth and fifth features from the overall usability value calculation. There is a significant statistical difference between novice and expert users only for navigation feature. The maximum number of users feels satisfied with navigation, content, and design features whereas they are dissatisfied with ease of use and structural features of the websites.


Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (IPPFE) is a rare interstitial pneumonia in idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs). Currently, surgical lung biopsy (SLB) is needed to make a diagnosis for IPPFE. But it is often difficult to perform SLB for the patients who were clinically and radiologically suspected IPPFE. Here we studied the patients with 1) unknown etiology (Idiopathic), 2) intense pleural thickening with upper lobe predominace on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), and 3) disease progression. Among 20 patients fulfilling the above criteria from 2004 to 2013 in our facility and related hospitals, six patients had surgical lung biopsy. Biopsy specimens from all six patients were consistent with pathological diagnosis of IPPFE. There was no significant difference in clinical characteristics and in survival between the patients with or without biopsy. The clinical features of all patients are relatively uniform, including older age, low BMI, restrictive pattern in pulmonary function test, and they had very poor survival (3-yr survival; 38.4%). Collectively, patients fulfilling above criteria were highly suspected of IPPFE. Their clinical characteristics were unique, and the prognosis was poor.


Eight diverse genotypes of watermelon were crossed in half diallel fashion (without reciprocal crosses) to estimate the heterotic parameters and combining abilities, Heterosis estimation in the present study indicated the presence of high magnitude of heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis in hybrids for fruit yield and quality components, thus advocating the exploitation of heterosis in F1 hybrids at commercial level in watermelon. Highest desirable heterosis expression over better parent and standard hybrid was observed for fruit yield per plant. The hybrid Arka Manik x Durgapura Selection was noted to be the best performing hybrid. Two crosses, namely GP-7 X AHW-187-2 were the best crosses showing per se performance for resistance against anthracnose disease with desirable heterosis in yield traits. Asahi Yamato and Durgapur Selection were adjudged as the superior performers for fruit yield per plant based on general combining abilities. Arka Manik and GP- 7 were found to be anthracnose resistant sources which could be used in future for anthracnose resistance breeding. The hybrid GP-7 x RW- 117- 3 was found to be superior when SCA effects were considered for many of the yield traits.


This study presents a suitability assessment of three (3) different CFD RANS models and a Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) model, in predicting flows over a surfacemounted hemisphere. Three different diameter-based Reynolds number flows are simulated and the hemisphere surface-pressure distributions compared against new experimental data. It is found that a region of laminar flow on the windward side of the hemisphere exists, hence leading to a laminar-turbulent transition region for a thin boundary layer. The Transition SST model obtains the closest predictions to the experimental data out of the RANS models tested. Unsteady-RANS was found unsuitable for the prediction of unsteady pressure fluctuations and limitations for DDES are highlighted.


Ritual slaughter to produce kosher meat is rooted in the teachings and writings of the Talmud. However, the preslaughter handling features of modern systems, particularly the shackling and hoisting of large steers, contravene the basic message of humaneness included in the teachings. The throat-cutting of a live, conscious animal is relatively pain-free, provided that certain precautions are followed, but U.S. kosher plants need to install newly developed conveyor restrainer systems to eliminate the abuses of shackling and hoisting. Conveyor restrainer systems for large and small animals are discussed.


Any serious steganography system should make use of coding. Here, we investigate the performance of our prior linguistic steganographic method for tweets, combined with perfect coding. We propose distortion measures for linguistic steganography, the first of their kind, and investigate the best embedding strategy for the steganographer. These distortion measures are tested with fully automatically generated stego objects, as well as stego tweets filtered by a human operator. We also observed a square root law of capacity in this linguistic stegosystem.


Univalent logharmonic mappings from the unit disc onto spirallike domains are represented by means of univalent conformal spirallike mappings. Furthermore the class of logharmonic automorphisms on U is completely characterized.


The crucial problem in cloth simulation based on physicalmodel is how to solve the motion differential equations.The simu-lation technology of cloth modeling based on mass spring model is presented completely,fabric mechanics models are established pre-cisely,and several kinds of explicit numerical integration are compared detailedly,especially,using RK-4 method greatly improve system's stability.In these base,aiming at the mass-spring model has the "super elastic" effect in simulation.Compared to the previous methods of dealing with this problem,super elastic problem is reasonably solved using of deformation constraint.This cloth simulation method is applied to cloth software,examples proved that this method is advanced and practical.


The present era is being dominated by cloud computing technology which provides services to the users as per demand over the internet. Satisfying the needs of huge people makes the technology prone to activities which come up as a threat. Intrusion detection system (IDS) is an effective method of providing data security to the information stored in the cloud which works by analyzing the network traffic and informs in case of any malicious activities. In order to control high amount of data stored in cloud, data is stored as per relevance leading to distributed computing. To remove redundant data, the authors have implemented data mining process such as feature selection which is used to generate an optimum subset of features from a dataset. In this paper, the proposed IDS provides security working upon the idea of feature selection. The authors have prepared a modified-firefly algorithm which acts as a proficient feature selection method and enables the NSL-KDD dataset to consume less storage space by reducing dimensions as well as less training time with greater classification accuracy.


ABSTRACT Whilst the role of online communities (OCs) in knowledge exchange and generation has been widely discussed, limited research exists on the distance and direction of OC knowledge flows. In this paper, we examine this issue by taking the case of an industry-founded OC that rendered around the use of a specific Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) module used by public sector organisations. Through a grounded analysis approach, we extend literature on OCs by identifying user-generated practices that enable knowledge flows in the online space as well as by examining the travels of these knowledge flows, taking particular account of the distance they cover and the direction they take. Findings point to within, outwards and inwards travels of OC-related knowledge flows showing a widely spread OC knowledge impact. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.


Highly weathered tropical acidic soils are characterized by low pH, low organic matter, and aluminium and iron toxicity. These factors pose a challenge to achieving sustainable agriculture. The continued increase in the human population with the accompanied increasing food demand have negatively impacted the global N cycle partly because of excessive use N fertilizers particularly urea which is commonly used in agriculture. Ammonia volatilization from urea as an example, negatives the environmental quality. This study focuses on soil-N availability, pH, exchangeable acidity, Al3+, and H+ of a highly weathered acid soils (Bekenu series) through the combined use of charcoal, sago bark ash, and urea. To this end, an incubation study was conducted for 90 days through the combined use of charcoal, sago bark ash, and urea to determine if this approach could improve soil N availability and pH at the same time reducing exchangeable acidity, and Al3+, and H+ toxicity. The amount of urea used was fixed at 100% as the recommended rate. Charcoal and sago bark ash were varied by 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, respectively of the recommended rate. Selected soil physico-chemical properties were determined using standard procedures. This study revealed that combined use of charcoal, sago bark ash, and urea increased soil pH and base cations simultaneously the approach also reduced exchangeable acidity, exchangeable Al3+, and exchangeable H+. There were no significant differences in soil total N, exchangeable NH4+, and available NO3− for the combined use of charcoal, sago bark ash, and urea and urea alone because of the acid neutralizing effect of the amendments. Apart from the sago bark ash's liming effect, the high affinity of the functional groups of the charcoal for Al3+ might have impeded Al3+ from undergoing hydrolysis to produce more H+ because a complete one mole of Al3+ hydrolysis produces three moles of H+. Thus, the combined use of charcoal and sago bark ash can mitigate soil acidity and aluminium toxicity, although this approach has minimal effect on-N.


Gillnet is a wall of netting that hangs in the water column, typically made of monofilament or multifilament nylon, had the same size and usually used by fisherman in Pangandaran. This research aims to see the capture process of white pomfret (Pampus argenteus) on gillnet in Pangandaran Regency. This research was conducted in August 2018 and January 2019 in Pangandaran. The data used in this research are primary data consisting of the proportion of catches and capture process, whereas secondary data obtained from Dinas Perikanan Pangandaran. The results of this research show that the quantity and weight proportion of main catch > bycatch and captured process of white pomfret dominated by wedged by 94% and the lowest is gilled by 6%.


This study analyzes the institutional determinants of bilateral trade flows and homogeneity effect for Pakistan with ECO countries by using panel data for years 2003-2014. Gravity trade model is estimated through panel least squares technique. Impact of institutions is very important for international trade as international businesses involve many governance systems. The results show that average impact of institutional quality and bilateral trade flows is positive. Moreover, institutional homogeneity effect exhibits that bilateral trade flows are positively related with the governance similarity. Thus, institutional quality and institutional homogeneity has dominant impact on the bilateral trade flows.


This paper describes a new accurate sub-entire domain basis functions method (ASED-BFM) combined with volume-surface integral equation (VSIE) for efficient computation of the electromagnetic (EM) scattering from large-scale and finite periodic structures (LFPSs), which composed of the connected and composite dielectric-conductor cells. The numerical results are given to prove the accuracy of the new method.


To evaluate the clinical value of portal-systemic shunt by the study on apiece time H/L ratio imaging in hepatocirrhosis, administration of Tcm-MIBI per rectum was performed in 10 healthy subjects and 36 patients with 99 cirrhosis by calculating H/L ratio and SI within 7 periods in 15—240 min to analyze the degree of hepatocirrhosis as- sociated with portal-systemic shunt. We have found that there is a marked difference between the H/L ratios of the control group and of the hepatocirrhosis group A, B, C ( t = 15.87, 11.76, 16.11, P 0.001 ) , and there is a good cor- relation between H / L ratio and SI ( r = 0.926, P 0.001 ) . It is concluded that this is a safe method for evaluating portal-systemic shunt and thus helping obtain diagnostic index by estimating the degree of hepatocirrhosis and portal tension.


Background
There is evidence representing the possible relationship between avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and other extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains such as human uropathogenic isolates.

Aims
The present study was conducted to evaluate virulence and phylogenetic relationship between a total of 70 APEC and UPEC isolates (35 APEC and 35 UPEC isolates) obtained from the north of Iran which is one of the core areas of the country's poultry industry.

Methods
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD) analyses were conducted using specific primers, and data was analyzed using BioNumerics and SPSS softwares.

Results
The most prevalent gene was fliC (70.6%) followed by fimH (67.1%), but APEC and UPEC isolates showed inordinate and obvious differences in the presence of some virulence genes such as fliC, hlyD, and sfa1 and predominant phylogenetic groups in DNA fingerprinting methods.

Conclusion
The results showed obvious differences existed between isolates of APEC and UPEC in terms of phylogenetics and pattern of virulence gene; however, despite having virulence genes such as papC, ibeA, and iss, APEC isolates can have a high potential for causing disease in humans and may generate dangerous outbreaks in communities with low levels of hygiene in public and the poultry industry.


This book is a general overview of the various dental abnormalities that influence facial appearance and their treatment. All of its nine contributors, with the exception of an anesthesiologist, are dentists, a fact that points out not only the contributions that dentistry has made to this important and complex subject, but also the inroads that some dental oral surgeons have made into the surgical management of these cases. It soon becomes obvious, however, that the main and most important contributors are the orthodontists and the prosthodontists. There are good sections on facial photography, radiography, and cephalometrics. There is an interesting chapter on facial analysis and a very informative section on orthodontic techniques. Growth and maturation are also discussed. The review of the evolution of the surgery for congenital jaw deformities is interesting and adequately illustrated. However, the chapter on the surgical correction of various deformities is presented like a catalog


This paper describes a rheo-forming process for the development of automobile components, such as knuckle, by using rheology material with electromagnetic stirring (EMS) system equipment. The effects of several process and metallurgy parameters such as stirring current, stirring time, pouring temperature, forming pressure, tip velocity, fraction of primary phase, and its morphology and distribution, on the final products are reviewed and discussed. A variety of simulation studies are conducted. In addition, the effect of the vacuum-assisted method on the performance of rheo-forged products is introduced. The EMS is an effective process to improve a feed stock in the rheo-forming process with improved mechanical properties.


The On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) tools access data from the data warehouse for complex data analysis, such as multidimensional data analysis, and decision support activities. Current research has lead to new developments in all aspects of data warehousing, however, there are still a number of problems that need to be solved for making data warehousing effective. View maintenance, one of them, is to maintain view in response to updates in source data. Keeping the view consistent with updates to the base relations, however, can be expensive, since it may involve querying external sources where the base relations reside. In order to reduce maintenance costs, it is possible to maintain the views using information that is strictly local to the data warehouse. This process is usually referred to as "self-maintenance of views". A number of algorithm have been proposed for self maintenance of views where they keep some additional information in data warehouse in the form of auxiliary views. But those algorithms did not consider a consistency of materialized views using view self-maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to research consistency problem when self-maintenance of views is implemented. The proposed "conveyor algorithm" will resolved a complete consistency of materialized view using self-maintenance with considering network delay. The rationale for conveyor algorithm and performance characteristics are described in detail.


Shapes of vesicles with toroidal topology are studied in the context of curvature models for the membrane. For two simplified curvature models, the spontaneous-curvature (SC) model and the bilayer-couple (BC) model, the structure of energy diagrams, sheets of stationary shapes and phase diagrams are obtained by solving shape equations for axisymmetric shapes. Three different sheets of axisymmetric shapes are investigated systematically: I) discoid tori; it) sickle-shaped tori and iii) toroidal stomatocytes. A stability analysis of axisymmetric shapes with respect to symmetry breaking conformal transformations reveals that large regions of the phase diagrams of toroidal vesicles are non-axisymmetric. Non-axisymmetric shapes are determined approxim~tely using conformal transformations. To compare the theory with experiments, a generalization of the SC and BC model, the area-difference-elasticity-model (ADlGmodel), which is a more realistic curvature model for lipid bilayers, is discussed. Shapes of toroidal vesicles which have been observed recently can be located in the phase diagram of the ADlGmodel. We predict the effect oftemperature changes on the observed shapes-The new class of shapes, the toroidal stomatocytes, have not yet been observed.


The Basel II Accords have sparked increased interest in the development of approaches based on internal ratings systems and have initiated the elaboration of models for remote ratings forecasts based on external ones as part of Risk Management and Early Warning Systems. This article evaluates the peculiarities of current ratings systems and addresses specific issues of development of econometrical rating models for emerging market companies.


Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge characterized by highly heterogeneous clinical and laboratory aspects, contrasting from mainly dysplastic (MD) to predominantly proliferative (MP) in different patients. Although no specific cytogenetic or molecular aberration has been associated to CMML, next generation sequencing (NGS) has recently led to the discovery of at least one lesion in up to 90% of patients. Nonetheless, the role of the identified genetic aberrations in CMML onset and progression remains to be clarified.

In a series of 40 consecutive patients we previously reported a higher frequency of RAS and JAK2 mutations and a shorter survival in those with MP- than in those with MD-disease. Furthermore, paired samples analysis showed RAS mutations acquisition in concomitance with progression from MD- to MP-CMML, suggesting these lesions as second hits that confer a proliferative advantage to the malignant clone, leading to poor outcome. In addition to these findings, a highly significant shorter life expectation in the MP-variant of CMML was more recently confirmed in an extended population of 74 patients (p=0.0005), further supporting the association of molecular acquisition of gene aberrations with disease progression.

By comprehensive next generation sequencing (NGS) of selected genes, here we aimed to further investigate the spectrum of aberrations contributing to CMML development and progression and to examine whether MD- and MP-CMML may be also discriminated at the molecular level.

We designed a NGS study (Oxford Gene Technology, Oxford UK) of 44 genes in DNA prepared from MNCs from 12 CMML patients after obtaining informed consent. Of the 21 samples analyzed, 17 were consecutively collected from 9 patients at the time of MD-CMML and later on during the disease course, showing either long lasting stable MD-CMML disease (median follow-up of 102 month), or progression to MP-CMML or AML, and 4 more were obtained from patients with MP-CMML (2 with previous MD-phase). In some patients, DNA prepared from purified CD3+ cells selected by FACS cell sorting was also analyzed.

Candidate mutations were validated by Sanger sequencing. Deep sequencing analysis confirmed TET2 mutations as the most frequent (10/12 patients, 83%) and, the earliest known event in CMML, being present since time of referral in 100% of our cases with sequential samples, supporting their possible role of initiating lesions in CMML. Overall, 9 patients harbored frameshift/nonsense mutations and 1 had an essential splice site substitution. Non-synonymous variations of yet unknown origin were detected in 3 cases while in 1 case the substitution found in MNCs DNA was identified by direct sequencing also in DNA from buccal swab and thus annotated as a SNP. Other documented mutations in variable proportions involved ASXL1, SRSF2, SF3B1, EZH2, CBL, DNMT3A, MPL, NOTCH1, NOTCH2, N- and K-RAS.

Among patients who were investigated with sequential samples collected at different time points and/or different disease phases, TET2, SRSF2 and ASXL1 mutations were documented from the first presentation in all cases, suggesting their acquisition as early events possibly driving molecular mechanisms of disease onset. In contrast, besides RAS mutations, which were detected at the time of disease progression from the MD- to the MP-variant in 2 patients, other aberrations possibly associated with disease evolution included EZH2 and CBL mutations, both detected in a small fraction of cells at diagnosis but significantly expanding after progression to MP-CMML. Of note, in one case harboring TET2, ASXL1, EZH2 and CBL concomitant mutations the sequencing of DNA from purified CD3+ cells unveiled the presence of TET2, ASLX1 and CBL mutations also in a significant fraction of T-lymphocytes, suggesting the aberration to possibly arise in a multipotent progenitor, whereas the EZH2 mutation appeared restricted to the myeloid lineage.

A combined analysis of sequential samples and single-cell-derived colonies is currently ongoing to better elucidate clonal evolution in CMML, which in turn could help the improvement of disease classification as well as the early identification of patients at risk of disease evolution.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Salivary gland neoplasms are rare tumours, with most arising in the parotid gland. Fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a common method for preoperative evaluation of parotid masses, although its usefulness is controversial. This study was designed to evaluate the accuracy of FNAC in a large cohort of patients, with emphasis on diagnosis of benign tumours and especially Warthin tumour which can be managed conservatively.


The ion-exchange selectivity of H+-form of cubic ammonium molybdate (H-CAM) was studied for alkali metal ions in both HNO3 and NH4NO3 media. Ideal ion-exchange reaction was observed in both the media with high selectivity for Rb+ and Cs+. The selectivity sequence was found to be Li+<Na+<K+<Rb+<Cs+ in accordance with the Eisenman sequence-1 in both the media, with separation factors greater than the commercial polystyrene strong acid exchange resin. Efficient separation of alkali metal ions could be achieved on H-CAM column.


In Reply. —I appreciate Dr Hoffman's comments concerning the Emergency Medicine section in the Contempo 1991 issue of JAMA . I agree with Hoffman that the quote in the margin of the article would seem to suggest at first glance that an error in interpretation of the study by Merigian et al 1 was made. However, I would like to point out that the quote in the margin as well as the quote in Hoffman's letter were both taken out of the context of what was stated in the article. My interpretation of the study by Merigian et al was that while these results suggest that gastric emptying and activated charcoal may be unnecessary in asymptomatic patients, "absolute changes in protocols should await corroborative studies." I would also point out that in the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology Update , published quarterly by the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, the interpretation of


This paper describes a method of parameter estimation of time series data using discrete Fourier transform(DFT). DFT have been mainly used to precisely and rapidly obtain the frequency of a signal. In a dynamic system, a real part of a mode used to learn damping characteristics is a more important factor than the frequency of the mode. The parameter estimation method of this paper can directly estimate modes and parameters, indicating the characteristics of a dynamic system, on the basis of the Fourier transform of the time series data. Real part of a mode estimates by subtracting a frequency of the Fourier spectrum corresponding to 0.707 of a magnitude of the peak spectrum from a peak frequency, or subtracting a frequency of the power spectrum corresponding to 0.5 of the peak power spectrum from a peak frequency, or comparing the Fourier(power) spectrum ratio. Also, the residue and phase of time signal calculate by simple equation with the real part of the mode and the power spectrum that have been calculated. Accordingly, the proposed algorithm is advantageous in that it can estimate parameters of the system through a single DFT without repeatedly calculating a DFT, thus shortening the time required to estimate the parameters.


As much distributed generations (DGs) connected to the distribution networks as much the system are going to be complicated. A new or developed power flow methods are proposed that can deal with this change. This paper focuses on an algorithm for the calculation of power flow in a distribution network with distributed generation. Two cases will be studied network with and without DGs. The code was developed using AT AB for the calculation of P and PV buses.


The paper proposes a new hybrid forecasting model using auto regressive moving average (ARMA) as basic architecture and particle swarm optimization (PSO) as learning algorithm. These two combinations have yielded an efficient prediction model for retail sales volumes. To facilitate comparison ARMA, functional link artificial neural network (FLANN) and MLP models are also simulated. The performance of the new model has been evaluated through simulation study and the results demonstrate the best prediction performance both for long and short ranges.


Of the many intellectual and political questions raised by recent unrest in western nations, few have created as strong a need for rigorous analysis as those dealing with the character and effect of "civil disobedience." Among the matters requiring examination are the following: How is the idea or its practice to be defined if it is to be distinguished from revolution and other forms of conflict? What are the moral or ideological grounds for justifying civil disobedience? How does it relate to the integrity and claims of the law and the state? What assessments can be made of the relative empirical need for civil disobedience in contrast to more orthodox kinds of political action? On the assumption that civil disobedi-


Storm climatological statistics were extracted from digitized weather radar records. The effects of using various definitions for storm cells were small for most attributes and data from 20 to 30 days spread over a few years gave representative results. Only a few per cent lasted for more than an hour and about half of all cells travelled slower than 25 km h−1. Cells defined by the 45 dBz contour at 5 to 8 km above mean sea level lasted on average 18 minutes and travelled at 26 km h−1, compared to 20 minutes and 23 to 31 km h−1 in north-eastern Colorado. The distributions of speeds, lifetimes and areas for the Transvaal were also similar to those for Colorado and they were nearly log-normal. There was a wide range of cell behaviour from day to day and for storms on individual days.


This chapter sets out an application of 2 recently developed methods designed for examining temporal change in the geographic structure of migration systems. It uses these methods to explore how streams of migration flow among 9 broad regions in the US responded during the 1st half of the 1980s to a recession that affected particularly the oil- dependent economies of states in the West South Central section of the US. The methods prove useful in pointing towards interconnections between economic events in 1 region and the population growth and decline of all other regions of a nation. Both the spatial shift-share framework which focuses on decomposing temporal change in each regions net migration and the causative matrices which highlight changes in interregional patterns of migration probability emphasizes the systemic nature of internal migration. Analyses based on these methods explain the dominant role played by the West South Central division in restructuring long-distance channels of population distribution as the oil-glut recession of the early 1980s unfolded. The East North Central division in particular was perhaps critically aided by the slowdown of growth in the West South Central. These analyses have provided tantalizing insights into the swells and swales of US internal movement and are suggestive of the relevance of cyclical economic events to the processes of regional population growth and decline.


In the face of a protracted management crisis, JSC «Ukrainian Railways» loses its attractiveness to investors and its overall management. One of the directions of the strategy of the situation is to use the labor potential effectively. The authors of the article consider the influence of organizational culture on the activity of railway enterprises. The impact of corporate culture on internal regulatory processes, decision-making processes, organizational behavior, competitiveness, and overall performance of the organization. The authors describe a generalized scheme of the influence of organizational culture on the global activities of organizations.


This paper quantifies and analyses the impacts of climate change on water availability for hydro generation and land suitability for key crops in three least developed countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, namely, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The method used for the climate study is supported by the inter-sectoral model inter-comparison project (ISIMIP database). The recent ISIMIP input dataset, ISIMIP2b, outlines simulation scenarios divided into different emissions pathways (or "Representative Concentration Pathways" known as RCPs). This paper focuses on the two extreme RCPs, specifically RCP2.6 and RCP8.5, which would result in global average temperature increases of approximately 1.6 and 4.3°C respectively. Th analysis concentrates on the difference between the historic period and the end of the century (toward 2100) for the climate conditions for the future. The fuzzy logic global land suitability model has been used to calculate the suitability of the land to support growing crops as well as to investigate how the climate changing could impact this. The analysis shows that quite significant changes in hydro-generation potential can occur depending on the region: Laos and Cambodia show decrease when Myanmar shows increase in output potential between present and RCP2.5 and RCP8.5 respectively. Quite significant increases or decreases in land suitability can occur depending on the region and the crop.


Due to declining birth rates and increasing life expectancies, the developed countries can expect progressively ageing workforces comparative to those of Canada and the USA. As a result, employers will be less able to draw on a relatively inexpensive, younger labour force for replacements, and in order to maintain current employee levels there will be a greater need for the increasingly ageing working population to stay at work longer. An outline of some of the age‐related regulatory practices of the USA may indicate the way ahead for other developed countries as they try to introduce greater governmental protection of their older workforces.


Oocyte spindle transfer (OST) is a potent reproductive technology used for mammals that enables the spindle in a deteriorated oocyte at the metaphase of the second meiotic division (MII) to serve as the genetic material for producing descendants. However, whether postnatal growth is achieved via OST using developmentally deteriorated MII oocytes remains unclear. At 16 h after human chorionic gonadotropin administration, denuded MII oocytes immediately after retrieval from oviducts (0 h‐oocytes) were used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) as controls. For IVF using postovulatory‐aged oocytes, the 0 h‐oocytes were further incubated for 12 h and 24 h (12 h‐ and 24 h‐oocytes). These mouse oocytes served as a model for assessing the postnatal growth of individuals produced via OST from developmentally deteriorated oocytes. The embryos from 12 h‐ and 24 h‐oocyte spindles exhibited high rates of development up to the neonatal stage as good as the non‐manipulated controls. However, the mice derived from the 24 h‐oocyte spindles displayed heavier body weights and greater feed consumption than both controls and mice derived from 12 h‐oocyte spindles. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of OST as a potent reproductive technology and its limitation in the use of excessively aged postovulatory oocytes in mammalian reproduction.