Governance play an important role in providing conducive environment for investment, human development, opportunities for employment and economic growth. However, in most developing countries, governance has been a long-standing issue. This paper reports a comparative study of the impact of political stability, rule of law, control of corruption and government effectiveness on real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The data originated from World Bank database on worldwide governance indicators and real GDP per capita and was analysed using descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model. The results revealed that of the four countries studied, Vanuatu had the best performance in political stability and rule of law. Fiji had the best performance in the control of corruption, government effectiveness and real GDP per capita. Results from the OLS regression show that an improvement in political stability and rule of law increases real GDP per capita. An improvement in the control of corruption and government effectiveness decreases real GDP per capita in Fiji. It suggests that some businesses in Fiji may be benefiting from corrupt practices in the public sector and ineffectiveness of government in providing public services. Political stability and rule of law can be improved by increasing the capacity of political and governance institutions and promoting the independency of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Control of corruption and government effectiveness can be improved by identifying areas that some businesses have been using to benefit from corrupt practices and ineffectiveness of government and block the areas. The findings contribute to how best to stimulate economic growth by considering governance indicators.


Background Infective endocarditis (IE) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement is a devastating complication associated with a high mortality. Our objective was to determine the impact of cardiac surgery (CS) and antibiotics (IE‐CS) compared with medical treatment with antibiotics only (IE‐ABx) on 1‐year mortality in patients developing IE after transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Methods and Results Patients developing IE after transcatheter aortic valve replacement were included in this retrospective analysis. All‐cause 1‐year mortality was the primary end point. A total of 20 patients underwent IE‐CS compared with 44 patients treated by IE‐ABx. In this unmatched cohort, patients treated by IE‐ABx were older (P=0.006), had a higher Society of Thoracic Surgeons score (P=0.029), and more often had severe chronic kidney disease (P=0.037). One‐year mortality was not different between groups (IE‐CS versus IE‐ABx, 65% versus 68.2%; P=0.802). The rate of any complication during treatment was higher in the IE‐CS group (P=0.024). In a matched cohort, baseline characteristics were not significantly different. All‐cause 1‐year mortality was not different between groups (IE‐CS versus IE‐ABx, 65% versus 75%; P=0.490). A Cox regression analysis revealed any indication for surgery (hazard ratio, 6.20; 95% confidence interval, 1.80–21.41; P=0.004), sepsis on admission (hazard ratio, 4.03; 95% confidence interval, 1.97–8.24; P<0.001), and mitral regurgitation ≥2 (hazard ratio, 2.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–6.37) as factors associated with 1‐year mortality. Conclusions In patients developing IE after transcatheter aortic valve replacement, mortality was predicted by the severity of IE and concomitant mitral regurgitation. In this small, and therefore statistically limited, but high‐risk patient cohort, CS provided no significant mortality benefit compared with medical therapy. Individual decision making by a "heart and endocarditis team" is necessary to offer those patients the most reasonable treatment option.


The Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk is an Upper Cretaceous marine deposit found in Kansas and adjacent states in North America. The rock, which was formed under the Western Interior Sea, has a long history of yielding spectacular fossil marine vertebrates, including fishes. Here, we present an annotated taxonomic list of fossil fishes (= non-tetrapod vertebrates) described from the Smoky Hill Chalk based on published records. Our study shows that there are a total of 643 referable paleoichthyological specimens from the Smoky Hill Chalk documented in literature of which 133 belong to chondrichthyans and 510 to osteichthyans. These 643 specimens support the occurrence of a minimum of 70 species, comprising at least 16 chondrichthyans and 54 osteichthyans. Of these 70 species, 44 are represented by type specimens from the Smoky Hill Chalk. However, it must be noted that the fossil record of Niobrara fishes shows evidence of preservation, collecting, and research biases, and that the paleofauna is a time-averaged assemblage over five million years of chalk deposition. Our historical review suggests that, whereas the number of described fish species from the Smoky Hill Chalk has declined in the last 75 years, the amount of research on fish taxa has constantly increased for the last three decades. We recognize three major periods of Smoky Hill Chalk paleoichthyological research: 1) between 1870 and 1879 due mostly to E. D. Cope's effort in describing the majority of osteichthyan taxa; 2) between the late 1890s and into the early 1900s due primarily to efforts of new workers such as O. P. Hay, F. B. Loomis, A. Stewart, and S. W. Williston; and 3) since the mid-1960s. The recent resurgence in the study of fish taxa of the Smoky Hill Chalk appears to reflect the renewed interest in systematic ichthyology, biostratigraphy, and paleoecology.


A high-speed video spectroheliograph was developed for imaging spectroscopy observations in multi-wavelength bands. It is attached to the focal plane of the spectrograph of the 60 cm Domeless Solar Telescope at Hida Observatory, Kyoto University. Although to take spectroheliograms needs some time to scan the solar image on the slit, a spectroheliograph gets spectral information co-temporally without suffering image blurrings by the seeing effect. Therefore, a spectroheliograph is suitable to obtain a data cube (spatial 2-D + spectral 1-D) for quantitative spectral analyses such as velocity field calculations. In our spectroheliograph system, up to three CCD video cameras can be attached to the spectrograph, and we can simultaneously observe up to three wavelength bands, for example, Ca II K/G-band/Hα,with three CCD video cameras, owing to the wide wavelength coverage of the spectrograph. Therefore, heliograms at different heights in the solar atmosphere can be obtained simultaneously. Images from the cameras are digitized by a frame grabber to 512 (4.3' along the slit) pixels × 256 (along the dispersion, typically 24 Å wide) lines and processed by a PC with a frame rate of 30 frames s-1. Therefore, it takes only 17 s to obtain a set of 512 × 512 pixel heliograms, which cover the field of view of 4.3'×4.3'.


For the purpose of increasing throughput of electron beam lithography machines, an in‐lens electrostatic deflection system, using 20 pole nonequisectored‐type deflectors has been investigated with a view to extending scanning fields to as much as 10 mm squares. This type of deflector requires only two sets of driving voltages: ±X and ±Y. It has been confirmed with experiments that an in‐lens deflection system using 20 pole nonequisectored‐type deflectors can provide sufficiently good scanning properties in the wide scanning field up to 10 mm square.


We describe a new, green, and cheap route to the preparation of zinc sulfide nanocrystals at moderate temperature open to air in noncoordinating solvent paraffin liquid. The as-prepared ZnS nanocrystals with average size 4.7 nm presented particular UV-vis absorption. Cubic crystal lattice structures with good crystallization are characterized. A mechanism of ZnS nanocrystals formed in paraffin liquid as well as other similar solvent is demonstrated.


A measurement method for an unsteady temperature field by using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and image processing technique is presented. In this study, the results measured by this method were compared with the calculated results under Reynolds numbers (Re = UL/v) ranging to less than 350 in the steady-state. The unsteady characteristics of the local Nusselt numbers (Nux = αxL/λ) around an elastically vibrating plate were investigated under the conditions that the reduced frequency (N = 1/Ro) ranged from 4.8 to 8.6 and the amplitude of vibration was kept small relative to the plate length. In this study it was clarified that the distributions of the Local Nusselt numbers were observed flutteringly, and that the phase of the time-averaged Nusselt number is delayed compared to the phase of the velocity at the trailing edge. These results indicate that the enhancement of the time-averaged heat transfer coefficient around the vibrating plate depended on the Rossby number. © 1997 Scripta Technica. Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res. 25 (2): 88–102, 1996


The CMA's relationship with its provincial and territorial divisions, affiliate societies and Canada's 60 000 physicians is under the microscope as a newly formed Committee on Structure prepares a white paper on organization and governance options. The document, which will soon be circulated for discussion and feedback, will lead to recommendations for a revitalized structure to make the CMA a more efficient organization that is more responsive to members' needs. Imagesp96-a


ABSTRACT In this paper, numerical computations using PLAXIS 2D and 3D have been conducted to optimize a row of piles in cohesive-frictional slope stabilization. First, 2D parametric studies were performed to identify both the optimal location and length of the pile as well as the effect of pile head conditions. Next, more rigorous parametric studies taking account of the exact geometry was carried out using 3D analyses. According to the obtained results, the fixed pile head located at the slope middle better improves the stability and reduces the optimal length of the pile. Piles with free head contribute marginally to the increased factor of safety of cohesive-frictional slope. In 3D analyses, it is shown that spacing ratio beyond S/D = 4 (S: pile spacing, D: diameter of the pile) , the soil will flow between piles leading to a total vanish of the arching effect when S/D exceeds 12. Comparing the results, the limitation of 2D analysis for piled cohesive-frictional slope is highlighted.


Defense of cell volume against excessive shrinkage or swelling is a requirement for multiple essential cellular functions and organismal survival. Cell swelling triggers a homeostatic counter‐response. regulatory volume decrease (RVD), resulting in K+ and Cl– efflux (and osmotically‐obliged water) via the activation of K+ channels, volume‐regulated anion channels (VRACs)), and K+‐Cl– cotransporters (KCCs) such as KCC3 (SLC12A6). Here, we characterize a molecular switch of KCC3 activity, cell volume, and intracellular K+ ion content (Ki) encoded in the relative phosphorylation state of two threonines (T991 and T1048) located in the cytoplasmic KCC3 C‐terminus. Constitutive dephosphorylation of T991/T1048 stimulates KCC3 activity >25‐fold, is accompanied by a complete inhibition (and reversal) of the related bumetanide‐sensitive Na+‐K+‐2Cl‐ cotransporter (NKCC1), and results in a rapid (<10 min) and significant (>90%) reduction in Ki via both Cl–‐dependent (KCC3 + NKCC1) and Cl–‐independent (DCPIB [VRAC inhibitor]‐sensitive) pathways. Together, these effects render cells less prone to swelling in even extreme hypotonic stress. We speculate that stimulating KCC3 by antagonizing T991/T1048 phosphorylation might be a novel strategy of countering pathological cell swelling, as seen in cerebral edema, by "re‐setting" the cellular osmostat.


【The purpose of study is to investigate costumes of the heroin in the opera which has performed by 4 different directors ; Metropolitan opera by Franco Zeffirelli, San francisco opera by David Hockney, Salzburg Festival by David Pountney and Korea Arena opera by Zhang Yi-mou. In these performances, Her costumes normally expressed the change of her characteristic from a haughty and cruel lady to a lady who realized a true love. The former is wearing exaggerative and splendid styles while the latter is wearing simple and ladylike styles. Costume styles of each performance are like this. In the Metropolitan's opera, costumes are very splendid using brilliant fabrics and accessories of Chinese peking opera. Their costume styles are influenced by Chinese 'Pao' which is similar to Ming Style. In the San Francisco's opera, costumes are very simple, specially pattern of dragons. This silhouette mixed Chinese style and western dress. In the Salzburg Festival's opera, costumes are based on simple western style but they expressed her mind effectively like a extremely long skirt which means her haughtiness. In the Seoul arena opera, costumes are based on Ming styles using silk which embroidered dragons, phoenixes and flowers.】


Each antenna presents a considerable contribution to the energy balance of a radio link. It performs two tasks: amplification of a received/transmitted signal and practical performance of space selection of radiation direction. Quantitative parameters describing these tasks are energy gain and radiation pattern (mainlobe width and sidelobe level), respectively. Growing demands concerning radioelectronic systems imply more severe requirements for antennas applied there. The search for a new solution in reflecting antenna design is still a problem to be solved. Reflecting antennas are in some cases hardly replaceable in spite of many existing satisfactory multibeam array structures. At present double reflecting antennas are mostly applied because of some advantages over single-reflecting ones. The most important is their possibility of considerably greater directivity value due to greater uniformity of radiated field distribution. We show a comparison between field distribution in apertures of both single and double reflector antennas. In both cases a uniform source radiation pattern is assumed. An additional and essential advantage of a double-reflector antenna is a very convenient location of the radiating source supply feeder, at the rear part of the reflector.


In this paper, the notion of picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace of a hyper vector space is introduced and some related results are investigated on the basis of some basic operations (intersection, union, Cartesian product etc.) on picture fuzzy sets. The concept of picture fuzzy linear transformation with respect to some picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace is initiated here and some important results are studied in this regard. It is shown that with respect to some pre-assumed picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace, linear combination of two picture fuzzy linear transformations is a picture fuzzy linear transformation, composition of two picture fuzzy linear transformations is a picture fuzzy linear transformation and inverse of a bijective picture fuzzy linear transformation is a picture fuzzy linear transformation. The effect of good linear transformation on picture fuzzy sub-hyperspaces is discussed here. It is shown that the image of a picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace is a picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace under bijective good linear transformation and the inverse image of a picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace is a picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace under good linear transformation. Some important results on picture fuzzy sub-hyperspaces in the light of $ (\theta, \phi, \psi) $-cut of picture fuzzy set are studied here. Finally, an application of picture fuzzy sub-hyperspace conditions in decision making problem is presented here.


In this paper we extend the work done in [1] in which graph based approach is described. The algorithm defines a predicate used for segmenting images. In this paper we show the analysis of the defined predicate and vary the threshold K of the predicate and examine the regions generated and determine the best predicate for segmenting images and we further extend this work by implementing segmentation in a video on cluttered environment on 3 different categories of video such as entertainment, sports and nature. For a real life application, video sequence can be of much longer duration. In order to handle the seamless video sequence efficiently, we have proposed one of the ways of handling the memory. Multithreading and Process Concurrency is the underlying principle employed in the model.


The following paper has a look at the historical context of South Africa while attempting to identify key economic drivers. To do this a Random Forest was fit to the data in order to leverage the power of machine learning and determine the feature importance. It was found that Investment GFCF is a key driver and it was confirmed by applying a linear regression in the traditional fashion.


There are still a few human populations which live a life of hunting and food gathering, as must have been true of all human beings throughout the Pleistocene. Among them, African Pygmies are perhaps the most important group. It was considered of interest to investigate their population structure, demography, and genetics, since the destruction of the forest in which they live, or other causes, may soon result in the disappearance of these people, or at least of their culture. African Pygmies are interesting not only because their origin and position in African anthropology are still uncertain but, in addition, they are an example of a population which still lives according to a highly primitive economy. This may have an influence on genetic structure and therefore on evolutionary rates. Naturally, it is difficult to expect that their culture is unchanged since the Pleistocene. It may however be possible to understand what changes have been due to contact with neighboring cultures. Pygmies may have in the past occupied the whole tropical forest belt of Africa. Today there are several scattered groups of Pygmies with large gaps between them, but they still have extensive cultural similarities. It is likely that they were once a single group, but the time of separation is not known. Whenever they have been in contact with other African cultures, their own culture has been affected to some extent. Some groups, and especially the peripheral parts of most groups, are undergoing acculturation, mostly in the sense of a transition to a simple type of agriculture.


One of my earliest and best memories is of going to bed, supposedly, but then sneaking a flashlight from under the bed and a book from the shelves above my bed. My dad built the shelves in the form of cubbyholes of various sizes, my mom painted the cubbyholes in different pastel colors, and my sister and I organized our books in them. Horse stories in the lavender cubbyhole, poetry in the yellow, fairy tales in the blue.... I went through a horse phase and a fairy tale phase, but the fairy tales are the ones that stuck with me.


Superlattice structures in rhombohedral perovskite (Pb1-xCax)ZrO3, which has high dielectric constant with small temperature coefficient and high Q value at microwave frequencies, were refined by the X-ray Rietvelt powder profile analysis. The superlattice structure is caused by slight displacement of lead and zirconium ions from the ideal perovskite sites, together with twisting and deformation of oxygen octahedra. The Q value of (PbCa)ZrO3 at microwave frequencies has no relation to the formation of the superlattice structures, as indicated by the absence of cation ordering.


It expounds the event environment,institutional environment and consumer environment of media communication of China's major sports events.Basing on stakeholder theory,the stakeholders of media communication of major sports events are analyzed.It holds that government is both the guider of media propagation direction,and the provider of public service;media is the platform of information exchange of major sports events,and the agenda setter;event organizer is an advocator for the positive significance of the event,and the communicator of the organization's core philosophy;audience is the starting point and the end result of sport events,and the driver of economic operation;sponsorship is the injector of fund for sustainable development of major sports events,and the main promoter of the tournament rules and organizations;event participants should become a good demonstration of the media image,and a positive media response,and the direct interpreter of the spirit of sport.


The building of arcades in London's West End in the nineteenth century was a distinctive phase in the emergence of the pleasure district. This article explores the three most important arcades: the Royal Opera Arcade, the Burlington Arcade and the Lowther Arcade. It decodes the forms of consumerism, pleasure and identity that the arcades made possible. The arcades were designed for different kinds of public and different classes but were sites of emulation and display. The article draws attention to an under-studied form of retail, the fancy repository: shops that offered knick-knacks and toys and which fed the market for cheap consumerism, including that of children. The study explores the psychic charge that arcades possessed.


Evidence from recent studies suggested that visual areas (V1-V3) might be also actively involved in visually remembered features. The work presented in this thesis extended to other visual attributes, including motion coherence and contrast, with more detailed psychophysical and neuroimaging evidences to support the role of early visual areas in human visual working memory. The mnemonic characteristics of those visual traits were explored from temporal and spatial aspects using conventional psychophysical and functional brain imaging.
Along the temporal domain, our results support the multi-channel theory that models the process occurred in early visual cortex when different visual features were perceived. In addition, experiments with "memory masking" procedures indicate that these ongoing representations show specificity of stimuli.
Besides answering the question of whether early visual cortex was engaged in VWM, we also addressed the issue of how visual information is processed and held in these areas. We revealed that the visual system might exploit the "image-like" representation to discriminate stimuli with different contrasts, rather than only extracting and retaining the luminance differences.
With the advent of up-to-date imaging technology, we also used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to investigate the neural correlates of visual WM of contrast in human brain. In addition to the conventional fMRI analysis, we executed multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA), which allows more precise understandings of the structure and neural mechanism of WM. By using MVPA, we confirmed our previous psychophysical results.
Along the spatial domain, this thesis provides further evidence of behaviour and brain activity when stimuli were displayed in different hemifields. Our findings showed the extra time and information cost when information relating the contrast of a stimulus was transmitted across hemispheres. Moreover, we unravelled the effect of spatial attention on primary visual cortex while visual features at different spatial locations were processed and memorized.


The paper introduced low-carbon economy and low-carbon technology, and proposed the de-tailed technical measures of low-carbon build-ing technology. Moreover, it has quantitatively calculated the "implicit" CO2 emission of C40 and C50 concrete columns, aluminium curtain wall, wall paintings and common floor decora-tion materials. The calculation results show that it is preferable to use high strength concrete, reduce the usage of aluminium materials and use wooden floor according to location. The paper can be a reference for quantitative meas-urement to the low-carbon technology and en-ergy efficiency.


This paper explains some of the the goals and objectives of the newly started HYPER-I-NET Marie Curie Research and Training Network. In particular, the requirements related to the definition and implementation of an efficient, adequate and sufficiently general data processing chain for hyperspectral data analysis are considered. Some of the research lines that are expected to play a central role in the activities of this network are also presented and briefly discussed.


Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate externalizing problems and maternal mood properties of mothers as well as determining features of mother- child relationship at the beginning and during the course of the treatment of children diagnosed with leukemia. Method: 27 children that were diagnosed as leukemia and their mothers who were being followed up in Uludag University Medical School Hospital Pediatric Hematology Unit were included in the study.. Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavioral Disorders Screening and Rating Scale, Adolescent Family Process Scale were applied to the mother while Trait and State Anger Scale was applied to the children in the study in the beginning and at 6/8th month of treatment. Results: It was observed that mothers' moods were negatively affected and they went through a lot of stress during the course of treatment while children had significant increase in trait and controlled anger as well as externalizing problems. During the course of treatment, mother- child relationship properties altered in the sense that as closeness, close communication and peer acceptance dimensions decreased, support, conflict and monitoring dimensions increased. While there was an inclining relationship between the increase in mother's depression and anxiety with stress scores na increase in externalizing problems while declining relationship in closeness and close communication domains as well as an inclining relation within conflict, monitoring and support domains, trait anger and anger control scores were also found related to the increase in mother's mood scores. Conclusions: A continuous aid involving psychiatric services seems as a management tool for overcoming physical and mental burden caused by the treatment of leukemia. Along with education that increases the information levels as well as adjustment to the parents, the child and even the sibling(s), carrying out psychiatric evaluations, interventions and referrals also is of vital importance.


A numerical investigation of incompressible and transient flow around circular pipe has been carried out at different five phases. Flow equations such as Navier-Stocks and continuity equations have been solved using finite volume method. Unsteady horizontal velocity and kinetic energy square root profiles are plotted using standard k   model and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model and their sensitivity is checked against published experimental results. Flow parameters such as drag coefficient and lift coefficient are studied and presented graphically to investigate the flow behavior around an immovable pipe and scoured bed. The standard k-ε model and LES both can predict accurate results in comparison to other turbulence models


Mental Images: Towards a Media History of the Psyche around 1900. Presupposing that visual practices are inherent to the social constitution of knowledge, this article suggests juxtaposing photographs and films produced in a psychiatric environment to popular films run in theaters around 1900, thus identifying cinema's particular "Denkstil" (Fleck). Rejecting science's dominating paradigm of visual objectivity (Daston/Galison), the visual apparatus [dispositif] of early cinema facilitates subjective experience of unreason and irrationality and thus initiates a different epistemological approach to knowledge as self-knowledge of a modern, self-reflexive subject. This is particularly evident in early cinema's depiction of the psyche, which does not solely focus on the physical manifestation of the 'mad', 'insane' body, but also visualizes the subject's inner life: technical means like montage, multiple exposure or stop motion can be employed to illustrate subjective visions, fantasies or dreams. Thus, the invisible mind becomes visible as the "unthinkable within thinking" (Deleuze), while the subject is invited to participate in cinema's "gay science" (Nietzsche).


Objective: Burn injuries are among the most important causes of unintentional death in young children. Although most pediatric burns do not cause serious clinical problems, severe burns have a higher mortality rate than adult patients with similar burns. In this study, we aimed to discuss the clinical features of pediatric burn patients hospitalized in the Burn Center of Eskisehir City Hospital.
Materials and Methods: Pediatric patients between 0 and 18 years of age were followed up since August 2023 and were evaluated retrospectively. Patients were evaluated according to age, gender, presence of chronic diseases, parenteral treatment rates, types of burns, total body surface area and the area affected by the burn.
Results: The most common burn type was scald burn with 89.5% (n=246). According to the types of burns, especially scalding and flame burns were found to have a longer hospitalization period than electrical burns. While there was a significant correlation between the percentage of burns and the duration of intensive care unit stay and hospitalization (p=0.001), the number of operations increased as the percentage of burns increased (p=0.072).
Conclusion: Exposure to burns was mostly observed in children aged 0-24 months. Burns may cause more serious consequences in pediatric cases. By looking at the types of burns in pediatric patients according to age groups, we think that burn cases in this age group can be reduced by raising awareness of families and taking precautions.


Using their previously demonstrated gaze-following abilities, juvenile chimpanzees (and 3-year-old human children) were tested to determine if they interpreted seeing as the mental state of attention. The studies tested predictions generated by a low-level model of chimpanzee gaze-following which assumes that chimpanzees do not understand attention as an unobservable, internal mental state, and a high-level model which assumes that they do. In Expts 1 and 2, chimpanzees were first trained to respond to a cup to which an experimenter pointed, and then tested on probe trials to determine if they could respond correctly when the experimenter either oriented his or her whole head toward the correct cup, or just looked with the eyes. In Expt 1 these cues were static, whereas in Expt 2 the experimenter actively moved his or her head and/or eyes back-and-forth form the subjects' faces to the correct cup as they were attempting to make their choice. Expt 3 validated the logic of Expts 1 and 2 by demonstrating that 3-year-old human children responded in a manner predicted by the high-level model. The results of the experiments converged on supporting the predictions of the low-level model of juvenile chimpanzees' understanding of seeing.


Irrigation schemes in Awash Basin, Ethiopia, are severely affected by the buildup of soil salinity. Despite being an important basin for agricultural productivity, hundreds of fertile productive fields are turned into unproductive land every year. The main source of the salinity is shallow groundwater heightened by improper irrigation practices and management. However, salinity predictions have not been developed based on directly measured data for the basin. Therefore, this study aims to predict topsoil salinity in irrigated land from basic hydrological parameters using two machine learning algorithm approaches: Artificial neural networks (ANNs) and Partial least squares regression (PLSR). Data were collected during one year at four different irrigated fields. Irrigation water amount, water table depth, precipitation, and estimated canal seepage were considered for variable inputs. The groundwater table was measured by extended bucket auger drilling in four weeks intervals. Soil and water samples were taken for salinity analysis, and applied irrigation water was measured with an enclosed hydro-flume. Our results showed that ANNs were superior over PLSR in predicting soil salinity, explaining 64% vs. 46% of the variance in soil salinity with root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.15 vs. 0.86 dS/m. In both models, groundwater table depth is the most influential variable for soil salinity prediction, with relative contributions of 65% and 45% for PLSR and ANNs, respectively. The irrigation water source is non-saline river water; hence irrigation application and canal seepage do not have a direct significant implication for topsoil salinity buildup. However, these factors contribute to the rising groundwater table which has high salinity leading to soil salinization and, in further consequence, to the abandonment of the irrigated lands. Our study proves that the key to reducing salinity accumulation and productivity loss in Awash Basin irrigation schemes is sustaining the depth of the groundwater table in the area.


Asparagus spears deteriorate quickly after harvest, losing sensory and visual quality. With the rapidity of changes in physiological and gene expression associated with harvest in mind, we have investigated whether the onset of senescence is also characterized by changes in the composition and structure of cell wall polysaccharides. Our data suggest that wall accumulation (particularly pectin) continues to occur during the first 24 h after harvest. Some fluctuation in molecular weights of wall polysaccharides also occurs over this time, primarily of pectin in the tip of the spear and hemicellulose (including xyloglucan) in the main axis of the spear. We suggest that harvest-related changes in asparagus cell walls are initially manifest as a slowing down and eventual cessation of wall accumulation, rather than extensive wall breakdown. This response tends to reflect the immature nature of the asparagus spear at harvest, and suggests that textural deterioration seen after harvest is not, initially at least, linked to wall integrity.


The involvement of Ukrainian clinical scientists in the field of orthopedics and traumatology in world of medicine is an urgent problem, as evidenced by the level of reflection of domestic research in international specialized publications. Objective: to determine the features of scientific activity of Ukrainian orthopedic and traumatology surgeons based on the analysis of quantitative indicators as Scimago Journal & Country Rank, Scopus and Web of Science. Methods: the Hirsch index (h-index, Scopus) of 92 doctors of medical sciences in the specialty «Traumatology and Orthopedics», selected from the «Scientists of Ukraine» database (V. I. Vernadsky National Library), was evaluated. The number of publications of these researchers in foreign journals in general (according to the Scimago Journal & Country Rank) was analyzed. We also estimated the dependence on the quartile of the journal (Web of Science) in the specialty Orthopedics and Sports Medicine from 2014 to 2018. Results: for the studied period of time (2017–2018), the publication activity of Ukrainian doctors was increased in the specialty Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. So, in 2017, Ukraine took the 69th place (Scimago Journal & Country Rank) in terms of the number of publications in the ranking of countries of the world, and in 2018 — already 62nd. More than half of the identified works were published in the journals of the fourth quartile, and only a quarter of the first. The citation index of the most orthopedic traumatology surgeons remains low, which can be explained by the choice of a journal for publication with a low impact factor or a small number of published works indexed by Scopus and Web of Science. Conclusions: it is necessary to introduce Evidence-based medicine research standards into everyday practice. This determines the importance of teaching our native scientists how to plan and conduct research study, analyze and prepare for printing the results.


This study aims to isolate non specific bacteria on reproductive tract of dairy cattle during artificial insemination in KSU Tunas Setia Baru, Tutur District, Pasuruan Regency. This study used a sample of servical mucus taken by cutting on plastic sheath tip during artificial insemination. Then the samples that had been collected in isolation using selective media and general media. Bacteria isolation was done by Gram staining method, catalase test, spore test, motility test, TSIA test, manitol and glucosa test. Result of research from 1 sample of control and 20 different isolate samples obtained non spesific bacteria which are positive Gram and negative Gram. From the morphological characteristics of bacteria about 4/20 (20%) samples of the isolates were positive Gram coccus bacteria namely genus Staphylococcus, 15/20 (75%) samples were gram positive bacil bacteria namely genus Corynebacterium and 8/20 (40%) samples were negative Gram cocobacil bacteria was genus Escherichia, which is a class of non specific bacteria targeted in this study. The fact of the field shows there were still non specific bacteria on reproductive tract. This is due to bad environmental hygiene, inseminator hygiene and lack of awareness of breeders for the health and hygiene of their livestock.


This paper argues that the character of Emilia might be both read and cast as a black woman, and considers the interpretive and performative possibilities in such a move. First it considers the present-day uses of such a reading and discusses the ways that modern theatre practitioners have experimented with race in casting Othello. Then it suggests a sort of thought experiment: imagining a Jacobean performance tailored to the interests of the new royal family—specifically Anne's interest in black entertainers—a performance that in Emilia gives us possibly the first depictions of an African woman on the English stage and an exploration of the racial and gender dynamics in not one, but two interracial marriages.


Synthesis of bimetallic oxides from individual components poses a challenge on the conventional material processing methods largely due to the differences in the intrinsic chemical behaviour of the starting materials that leads to undesired stoichiometries and residual monometal phases in the final material. To a large extent, this limitation can be overcome by employing metalorganic precursors that contain all atomic constituents, required to form the target solid-state phase, in a single molecule. The fact that the extended solid-state structure is derived from molecular building blocks substantiates the inherent advantages of chemical methods due to controlled and defined reaction chemistry. We have examined the single-step conversion of various heterometal alkoxides via Sol-Gel process to obtain nanocrystalline bimetallic oxides with homogeneous particle sizes and narrow size-distributions.


The paper analyses the metropolitan system in Italy. The debate on this matter has been going
on for 60 years with peaks in specifi c moments. Aim of the paper, is to verify the adequacy
of the system of 15 metropolitan cities in terms of relevance and weight on national and
international scale.
The paper begins from the analysis of the backgrounds and of the actual state of the research
on the metropolitan issue. A second section analyses the metropolitan cities in Italy in terms of
signifi cance on an international scale and in terms of system of rules and functions.
The third part identifi es the main sectors infl uencing metropolitan cities stating it in specifi c and
transversal sectors. The paper deepens the specifi c sectors using a system of indicators and
statistical analyses bringing to the computation of indices of metropolisation. These indexes
outline more precisely the belonging of the Italian cities to the metropolitan category confi rming
the hypothesis that 15 metropolitan cities is a too large sample.


A large variety of design optimization methods have been proposed in recent years. Comparison of the relative performance of each method is a difficult task, and attempts to do so are often based on a limited number of numerical experiments. Recently, a 'basins of attraction' construction has been proposed as a graphical tool for investigating global performance of iterative design optimization methods, and as a basis for comparison of different methods. The phase-space representation presented in this paper is a companion to the basins of attraction construction. Basins of attraction reveal the relationship between starting design and final outcome of the solution process; the phase-space construction reveals that nature of the paths connecting the starting design and final outcome. The two constructions complement one another in summarizing the performance of design optimization processes. Both constructions are demonstrated in this paper, applied to the optimal design of an elastic grillage structure using Newton's method and the stress ratio method.


SUMMARY The fire control problem deals with intensively managed softwood forest areas. The early use of the fire fighting truck in South Australia was associated with good access conditions in plantation areas. Improvement of truck performance in loose sand has been obtained by changes in gear ratio (to low gear of 8 to 1). and the size of wheels (reduced to 18 inches) and tyres (increased to 9 inches). Power pump equipment has changed from plunger pumps of low rate of delivery (5 gallons per minute) to centrifugal pumps, which are driven direct from high speed engines, and have an outlet of up to about 25 gallons pev minute. The 4-ton truck is the standard fire fighting vehicle. This is equipped with a 500 gallon tank, power pump with outlet through two "live" reels, and a hand pump, all fixed to a steel frame. The latest power pump has a flexible performance, with a range of delivery from 2.5 to 28.8 gallons per minute, and a stream distance up to 80 feel. The assembly of this unit, loading methods and ...


MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF HEAVY METALS DIFFUSION AND REMOVAL FROM CYLINDRICAL CEMENT FORMS COATED WITH BIO-FILM by Mojdeh Tabatabaie A mathematical model is developed to predict bioleaching of heavy metals from long cylindrical shape cementitious samples. In this model, the metal concentration difference within the solid and its surface is considered as the main driving force for transport of metals to the surface of a sample at a given temperature and pressure. Fick's first and second law are applied to explain the motion of contaminants in a long and uniform cylindrical solid. In addition, the model considers Michaelis-Menten type kinetics, a special case of the widely accepted Langmuir-Hinshelwood reaction mechanism, at the surface of the encapsulating cylinder. The resulting model is solved analytically by applying regular perturbation techniques and Laplace transform. Specifically, the mathematical model consisting of a partial differential equation describing the mass transfer of the targeted species as it moves through the encapsulating cylinder toward the surroundings. The nature of the species interaction at the surface of the cylinder renders an otherwise linear problem to be nonlinear. However, by applying a boundary perturbation technique, a series of linear problems are generated that can then be solved using traditional methods such as the Laplace Transform. The Residue Theorem is used to carry out the inversions yielding closed form solutions of the targeted species concentration profile. The model was benchmarked by using effective diffusivities and specific surface bio-reaction rate constants within published ranges. Values of the mass concentrations generated by the model for bioleaching of a number of metals namely cobalt, calcium, and chromium, from encapsulated cementitious cylindrical matrices are in reasonable agreement with those reported in the published literature. MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF HEAVY METALS DIFFUSION AND REMOVAL FROM CYLINDRICAL CEMENT FORMS COATED WITH BIO-FILM by Mojdeh Tabatabaie A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering Otto H. York Department of Chemical, Biological and Pharmaceutical Engineering


The Consumer Insight Classic. Clear and engaging - written by one of the top professionals in consumer insight. The book takes you through the process step by step - from Data to Information to Insight to Inspiration. This book is used worldwide by both students and professionals.


The mainstays of therapy of familial dyslipoproteinemia (FDB) are diet and long-term niacin or fibrate therapy. Statins are progressively recognized as accepted alternatives for FDB. We hereby describe the case of a 32-year-old obese man with treated panhypopituitarism and FDB, whose hyperlipidemia improved significantly on atorvastatin therapy. In this patient, we also noted a marked discrepancy between the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and apolipoprotein (apo-) AI levels, with HDL-C being disproportionately low in comparison to the corresponding apo-AI values. Although atorvastatin therapy resulted in a significant improvement of lipid metabolism parameters within 8 weeks, the aforementioned discrepancy between HDL-C and apo-AI levels persisted. This case buttresses the effectiveness of atorvastatin therapy in FDB, and highlights the occurrence of discrepancy between HDL-C and measured apo-AI levels in rare cases of dyslipidemia. We speculate that the latter phenomenon may be caused by allelic variation(s) in any of three genes: apo-AI, apo-CIII, and apo-AIV.


The invention belongs to the field of cosmetics, and particularly relates to a moisturizing skincare mask. The moisturizing skincare mask provided by the invention comprises glycerinum, butanediol, dipropylene glycol, squalane, glycine betaine, glycosyl trehalose, allantoin, lecithin, ceramide 3, plant amino acids, a tremella fuciformis (TREMELLA FUCIFORMIS) extract, a viola tricolor (VIOLA TRICOLOR) extract, polyquaternary salt-51, crylic acid (ester) C10-30 alkanol acrylic ester cross-linked polymers, triethanolamine, panthenol, polysorbate-20, polysorbate-80, tocopherol (vitamin E), hyaluronic acid, phenoxyaethanol, methylparaben, propyl hydroxybenzoate, EDTA disodium, essence and pure water. The mask contains a plurality of intensive moisturizing and water-locking components; a plurality of active moisturizing components are matched with one another, so that the moisturizing skincare mask has the functions of intensively locking water, lastingly moistening the skin and resisting winkles and oxidation when replenishing moisture; the skin problems such as dry and tight skin and winkles are prevented; and the moisturizing skincare mask is mild and free of stimulation, so that the moisturizing skincare mask can be trustingly used by any skin.


Transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil (JCO) to biodiesel using Ca O as a solid base catalyst is studied. Effect of molar ratio of methanol to oil, water content, reaction time and mass ratio of catalyst to oil are investigated on bench scale. Experimental results revealed that a 12:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil, addition of 1.5% (w/v) Ca O catalyst , 70oC reaction temperature, 2% water content in the oil produced more than 95% biodiesel yield after 3 hours reaction time. Calcium oxide activated with ammonium carbonate was an efficient super base catalyst for a high yield transesterification reaction and the base strength of Ca O was more than 26.5 after dipping in ammonium carbonate solution followed by calcinations. Transesterification of Jatropha oil using supercritical methanol has been studied under different conditions of temperature (from 120oC to 250oC), pressures (from 5- 37 bars) using superbase catalyst Ca O and acid catalyst. The reaction products were analyzed for their content of glycerol by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)which indicated that the process of supercritical transesterification achieved a yield of more than 95% after 1 hour.


Five hundred thirty three cashew genotypes of seedling origin with 25 years age were evaluated under rainfed conditions in poor, red gravelly lateritic soils. It was found that, 3 trees namely Tree No 33, 38 and 50 recorded more nut weight and yield. Tree No. 38 recorded more nut weight (8 g) and yield (24.3 kg/tree) followed by Tree No 50 with nut weight (7 g) and yield (23.5 kg/tree) and Tree No 33 with nut weight (7 g) and yield (20.7 kg/tree). Thirteen trees viz; Tree No. 34, 35, 51, 62, 63, 73, 110, 127, 385, 407, 408, 412 and 448 recorded nut weight in the range of (7-11 g) and less yield (8.25 - 17.3 kg/tree) and remaining 517 trees recorded less nut weight in the range of (2-3.9 g) and less yield (5- 18.9 kg/tree) than control BPP-2.


of modern China. Though it is legitimate to consider the political and diplomatic contexts of some of the military conflicts covered here, much in the book can also be found in general Chinese history texts. There seems to be insufficient specific information on military matters. The details of China's acquisition of foreign military technology and arms purchases from the West since the late 1800s, for example, receive only marginal treatment. Worthing also sheds little light on how the military has influenced the overall culture and society of modern China. It has been widely noted by scholars that warlords, secret societies, Guomindang troops, and Communist guerillas have significantly militarized Chinese civilian life in the last century. Was this indeed the case? As a study of the military experience in modern China, issues such as this deserve at least some attention from the author. With no introduction or conclusion, Worthing's work is probably designed as a text for undergraduate courses and therefore ready for frequent updating revisions. As such, college teachers should find it very useful, even though it adds limited original research to the field.


Continuation of the study of saturation solubility of hydrogen chloride in alcohols at 0–50° has led to the assessment of the contribution to the solubility of each part of a molecule, according to its polar character and distance from the oxygen atom. Correlation of solubility with electron density on the oxygen atom is in excellent agreement with the correlation of the basic strength of alcohols, esters and ethers, and certain physical and chemical properties.


As one of the founding fathers of medicine, Hippocrates was prescient in his discernment that patients show differences in the severity of disease symptoms and that some individuals can better cope with their disease compared with others. He believed that it was more important to know the person who has the disease than to tailor the treatment. Hippocrates was one of the earliest physicians to practice precision medicine, where medical decisions and therapies are tailored to the individual patient. In the modern era, precision medicine accounts for individual variability in genes, lifestyle, and environment that may cause patients to manifest disease differently and potentially respond to treatments differently. In the 1990s, scientific and technological advances brought about the genetics revolution, where studies of the human genome suggested that diseasemay have a genetic basis. Since then, advances in genomics and proteomics have provided great insight into the nature and evolution of disease. Simultaneous to the genetics revolution, shifts in health care reform led to the implementation of the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which incentivized the adoption of the electronic health record (EHR). The widespreaddeployment of EHRs led to the accrual ofmassive amounts of digitized clinical data, populated from biospecimens, health care visits, and administrative claims, amongst many others. From its inception as a field of acute caremedicine, anesthesiology directly practiced precision medicine, when the first anesthesiologists administered ether to their patients in unique amounts based on direct observation of clinical effects. Today, clinicians must interpret large amounts of clinical data for critical and timely decisions in the delivery of anesthetic and critical care. As afield, anesthesiology has a history of pioneering patient safety through the use of informatics. The data-rich acute care environment allows anesthesiology to shape the developing field of acute care informatics in a way that may provide advances in patient safety and quality and in reducing health care expenditures. Anesthesiology clinical and research enterprises will require new thinking, training, tools, and a vision for how to utilize and interpret acute care data. This chapter explores how anesthesiology can become the acute care arm of precision medicine by utilizing informatics to address the increasingly complex needs of patients, populations, and organizations.


The article examines legislation of the early modern period, namely Lithuanian Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania through the prism of gender analysis. The term "gender" is used not in the biological sense but as a system of interpersonal interactions, that is as a social construct which makes the basis for the stratification of society by gender. Gender is considered one of the three (along with race and class) most important elements which form synergetic systems of domination and subordination. Therefore, legislation of the 16th–17th centuries is considered in relation to equality of rights and possibilities for different sexes. Given the fact that the problem of relationships between a man and a woman lies in the plane of gender history, it should be studied by using gender history methods.The first (1529) and the second (1566) editions of the Lithuanian Statute are the subject matter of gender examination in this article. The third edition (1588) is not considered since Ukrainian lands became part of the Commonwealth as a result of the Union of Lublin (1569). Hence, the Statute of 1588 did not apply to those territories, whilst the Statute of 1566 continued to be in force there. The article analyses regulations of those parts of the Statute which formed foundations of social institutions and first of all that of the family and therefore directly affected gender relations.Having analysed legal regulations of the Lithuanian Statute, the author argues that legislation of the early modern period was based on gender norms and gender identities, ensured preferential attitude towards men and denied equal rights and opportunities for women. Thus, already at the legislative level regulations of the Lithuanian Statute laid conditions for gender asymmetry. That resulted in discrimination against women and dominance of men.


The German satellite TerraSAR-X, launched in 2007, carries an advanced synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with a variety of standard and experimental modes of operation, including along-track interferometry (ATI) capabilities for direct line-of-sight target velocity measurements. The potential of TerraSAR-X for high-resolution imaging of surface current fields has been discussed in several publications. In this paper we show first results based on actual TerraSAR-X ATI data, explain our data processing procedure, and give an update on the status of the instrument and on upcoming developments.


The enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Its inhibition improves the cholinergic function and moderately delays the disease progress. In the present study, we performed a docking-based virtual screening for novel hits binding to AChE on the standard lead-like set of ZINC database containing more than 6 million small molecules. Two of the top best best-scored hits were tested in vitro for AChE affinity and neurotoxicity. Both compounds bind to the enzyme with affinities in the micromolar range but are moderately toxic. They are promising for further lead optimization to increase affinity and reduce toxicity. The present study proves the concept that the virtual screening is a reliable technique for discovery of novel AChE inhibitors.


In this paper, we present two new algorithms focusing on a high quality fast motion estimation process for high definition video coding. Both algorithms provide more efficiency to avoid falling into local minima in fast motion estimation when compared to diamond search (DS) algorithm. They were called multi-point diamond search (MPDS) and dynamic multi-point diamond search (DMPDS). The multi-point search could be done in a serial or parallel approach. In the parallel approach, the penalties in the performance are minimal near the impressive gain in final quality. The MPDS and DMPDS algorithms were implemented and evaluated on ten HD 1080p video sequences. The results show an average quality gain, in comparison with original DS, about 3.9 dB and 4.55 dB for MPDS and DMPDS respectively.


Shorebirds forage on intertidal mudflats and roost at inland roost sites forced up by the rising tide. Resting condition in roost sites affects the body condition of the shorebird, which could, eventually, affect the overall fitness. Therefore, shorebirds should select roost sites that maximize their fitness. Until now, few studies have examined whether resting condition in roost sites affects the shorebirds' roost site selection. This study documents the relationship between the number of individuals using the roost site and resting conditions (e.g., comfortable resting: sleeping, preening and foraging or uncomfortable resting: head-up, alert and moving) at three roost sites in Kanghwa Island, Republic of Korea. Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica, Eastern Curlews Numenius madagascariensis, Great Knots Calidris tenuirostris, Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola, Green Shanks Tringa nebularia, Terek Sandpipers Xenus cinereus and Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus were observed at the roost sites. Among the three roost sites, each species had different main roosting sites, and resting conditions varied between each site for each of the shorebird species. In our study, Grey Plovers did not select the roost site based on the resting condition (p=0.116), but Green Shanks did (p<0.05). Although other possible causal factors were not included in this study, it shows that some shorebirds select roost sites based on other factors, else the availability of comfortable resting.


Objective To check out the effect of the ultrashort wave therapy with nerve blocking to cure the disorders of masticatory muscles.Method Using the ultrashort wave therapy which has the wave length of 7.37 m and output of 40~80 W and nerve blocking to cure individually 60 cases of masticatory muscles disorders.Results The experimental group has a evident effect compared with control group.Conclusion Ultrashort wave therapy with nerve blocking can be used as the first method to cure disorder of the masticatory muscles.


A summary of the chronology for the key paleontological and archaeological site of Volchia Griva in the southern part of the West Siberian Plain is presented. Currently, 42 reliable 14C values have been generated on animal bones (37 14C dates) and charcoal (5 14C dates). Three stratigraphic levels of animal bones are established. The 14C ages of the fossils are as follows: the upper level—ca. 10,620–12,520 BP; the middle level—ca. 13,700–17,800 BP; and the lower level—ca. 18,230–19,790 BP. The majority of animal fossils and artifacts are associated with the lower level. Based on the results obtained, we suggest that Upper Paleolithic people occupied the Volchia Griva site during the second part of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), ca. 18,200–19,800 BP, and perhaps occasionally afterwards. It is obvious that these humans were well adapted to the cold and dry climate of the LGM, as well as numerous other populations in Siberia south of 58°N. It is noteworthy that the youngest 14C values on woolly mammoth are of ca. 10,620–11,815 BP, and this makes the Volchia Griva one of the latest mammoth refugia in northern Eurasia outside of the Arctic.


The amount of electrical power consumed in data centers is increasing, so reducing power consumption is an important issue for cloud computing. An effective approach to reducing power consumption is suitable data allocation in data storage. Previous studies of this approach were mainly based on data-access frequency to decide the allocation of data. We propose a data allocation method based on query-pattern analysis. Because many Internet applications use the XML format to transfer and store data, we study XML queries here. Fortunately, a tree structure in XML is useful to distinguish the chunk of information to be accessed by a query. Our proposed algorithm, XARrP, an XML data Allocation algorithm for Reducing Power consumption, treats queries in XPath format with special symbols and attributes. XARP is separated into four steps: XPath processing, class mining, association, and data allocation. The XPath process retrieves multiple XML classes from query logs, even though some of them may not be expressed exactly. The class mining process analyzes query patterns to discover frequent classes. Infrequent classes are separated into several class sets in the association process. Finally, the frequent classes and the infrequent class sets are stored in different disks to reduce power consumption. Assuming no special hardware but disk drives spinning down after a specific time period, evaluation results show that power consumption is reduced by 32.5% compared with applying a naive striping method and reduced by 10.8% when compared with a method applying a previous XML cache algorithm. The performance expressed as number of transactions processed per unit of power of the proposed method is 2.5 times better than that of striping.


As a renewable energy technology, microbial fuel cell (MFC) has been attracting increasing attention in recent decades. However, practical applications of MFCs has been hampered by the unsatisfactory electrode performance, in particular, at the cathode. Herein, Fe/N/S‐doped carbon hollow tubes were prepared by a facile two‐stage procedure involving hydrothermal treatment and pyrolysis at controlled temperatures. Electrochemical studies showed that the obtained samples exhibited an apparent electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction in both alkaline and acidic media, a performance comparable to that of commercial Pt/C, and the sample prepared at 800 °C stood out as the best among the series with a half‐wave potential of +0.81 V vs. RHE and an electron transfer number of 3.98 at +0.6 V vs. RHE. The Fe/N/S‐doped carbon tubes also exhibited a remarkable performance as an MFC anode by facilitating bacterial growth and electron transfer between the biofilm and electrode. In fact, an MFC based on the carbon tubes as both cathode and anode showed a markedly higher performance (maximum power density 479 W m−3) than the control MFC based on a graphene aerogel anode and Pt/C cathode (359 W m−3). These results suggest that Fe/N/S‐doped carbon composites can be used for the fabrication of high‐efficiency MFC electrodes.


Abstract The evolution, from the paraelectric to the ferroelectric phase, of the total and partial densities of states determined from tight-binding band structures for KNbO3 and BaTiO3, is analysed and connected with the orbital interactions


The main challenges in the design of wireless communication systems are the limited resources, such as constrained transmission power, scarce frequency bandwidth, and limited implementation complexity-and the impairments of the wireless channels, including noise, interference, and fading effects. Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) communication has been shown to be one of the most promising emerging wireless technologies that can efficiently boost the data transmission rate, improve system coverage, and enhance link reliability. Equalization is a well known technique for combating inter-symbol interference. In this paper, we are considering the equalization; a filtering approach that minimizes the error between actual output and desired output by continuous updating its filter coefficients. Moreover, this article compares the performance of MIMO Systems in Rayleigh and Rician Flat fading channels. We observed that the successive interference methods provide better performance as compare to others, but their complexity is high. Simulation results shows that ML equalizer with BPSK gives better performance as compare to QPSK. Finally we concluded that Sphere decoder provides the best performance.


The present paper is an attempt to make clear the process of the development of religious buildings in northern Mesopotamia, that is, from the phase which might be called "religious structure" to that of "temple". The process could be observed in relation to the settlement around the building. In this point of view, the development of religious buildings from Hassuna-Samarra period to Late Gawra period can be devided into the following five stages: I. The stage in which the religious structure occupies a part of a building (Hassuna-Samarra period). II. The stage in which the religious structure develops into a building (Halaf period). III. The stage in which the religious structure occupies a section in the settlement (Early Ubaid period). IV. The stage in which the section of the religious structure increases its importance in the settlement (Late Ubaid-Middle Gawra period). VI. The stage in which the religious structure becomes the center of the settlement (Late Gawra period). Through the above classification, we can observe the explicit process of the development of religious buildings: from the phase of "religious structcure" to that of "temple", with the result that the fifth stage corresponds to the period in which "religious structure" has attained the constant function as "temple".


Featured within Circular 20, a publication from the Typocircle, 'An Anatomy Lesson' is a chapter that compares four type designers/foundries: Alias, Fontsmith, Or Type and Production Type to produce a further repository of images.

Its purpose is to operate as a rational, curiosity or instruction that articulates a particular design decision for a typeface. Or to loosely describe the essence of the collection in the foundry. Adding to the ever-growing landscape of visual repositories, this assemblage describes the peculiar anatomy of the participants' typefaces.

Circular 20 was edited by Alex Hough (author of this title) and Typocircle Committee.


We introduce the optimal obstacle placement with disambiguations problem wherein the goal is to place true obstacles in an environment cluttered with false obstacles so as to maximize the total traversal length of a navigating agent (NAVA). Prior to the traversal, NAVA is given location information and probabilistic estimates of each disk-shaped hindrance (hereinafter referred to as disk) being a true obstacle. The NAVA can disambiguate a disk's status only when situated on its boundary. There exists an obstacle placing agent (OPA) that locates obstacles prior to NAVA's traversal. The goal of OPA is to place true obstacles in between the clutter in such a way that NAVA's traversal length is maximized in a game-theoretic sense. We assume OPA knows the clutter spatial distribution type (referred as clutter type for brevity henceforth), but not the exact locations of clutter disks. We consider various obstacle placement schemes against different clutter point realizations sampled from Poisson, clustered, and regular spatial point distributions. In our obstacle placement schemes, obstacles are located according to a Poisson distribution in various window types. We analyze the traversal length using repeated measures analysis of variance for various obstacle number, obstacle placing scheme, and clutter type combinations in order to identify the optimal combination. Our results indicate that as the clutter type becomes more regular (clustered), NAVA's traversal length gets longer (shorter). On the other hand, the traversal length tends to follow a concave-down trend (i.e., increases, reaches a peak, and then decreases) as the number of obstacles increases. We also provide a case study on a real-world maritime minefield data set.


ASUMAN SUNER, New Turkish Cinema: Belonging, Identity and Memory (London, New York: IB Tauris, 2010), Pp. 224, £ 59.00 clothUnlike those of Yesilcam, the highly popular cinema of the 1960s and 1970s which was often harshly criticized for its formula films, the relatively recent auteur directors of New Turkish Cinema do not make their oeuvres readily available to movie goers. It is no longer a matter of recognizing patterns and continuities, or of defining structures. While the film critic of Yesilcam was quite at home with the films in distribution and felt free to use worn out cliches to condemn narrative tics and cinematographic goofs and blame it all on the machinations of the corrupt system of production-distribution, today's critic is urged to take risks, make cautious remarks, seek specificities, and marshal the forces of the notoriously difficult post- structuralist theory, trying to relate them to the general framework of New Turkish Cinema. One has to deal with individual filmmakers, each striving to explore and conquer hitherto unknown territories of cinema while also seeking to create their own individual voice. Are they, thus, younger versions of Antonioni and Godard? Fredric Jameson, in "A Note on the Specificity of Turkish Cinema," warns against understanding them in reference to the enfants terribles of other cinemas:Turkish filmmakers today have indeed been compared to Antonioni, along with Tarkovsky and Kiarostami, and no doubt many others; and if it is always comical to watch people coming to terms with the unknown and the unexpected by referring to the familiar and the already known, and awkwardly trying to squeeze the new into the outlines of already catalogued names and styles; nonetheless, these particular names are interesting first-thoughts and will perhaps allow us to triangulate Turkish production in a tentative way.Ironically, in Zeki Demirkubuz's official homepage, a quote from the newspaper Guardian welcomes us: "Take the ennui of Camus, the soul of Bresson and the unwavering gaze of Kiarostami and you might get something like Zeki Demirkubuz's Fate." We know very well that these names are dear to him; however, one cannot help but ask if this is really the best way to approach a Zeki Demirkubuz film.Against all the risks I have described, Asuman Suner's New Turkish Cinema: Belonging, Identity and Memory comes to the aid of the perplexed reader/moviegoer. Suner, to use the language of Jameson, makes accessible what was "unknown" and "unexpected." This is the first book in English to offer a comprehensive study of cinema of Turkey in the 1990s and 2000s, a period which witnessed the rise of popular nostalgia films, political films and the coming of a new wave of directors. The films of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Zeki Demirkubuz, Reha Erdem, Dervis Zaim, Yesim Ustaoglu, and Yilmaz Erdogan have reached out to a wide audience both at home and abroad and are now winning awards at Cannes, Locarno, Berlin and other prestigious festivals. In addition, they are becoming the object of scholarly interest.As the title indicates, Suner's analysis revolves around the notions of "belonging," "identity," and "memory." She skillfully provides the films a socio- cultural context, describing not only the conditions of social change, which is mostly traumatic, but also the conditions of production modes. One of the virtues of the book is that Suner, drawing on a wide range of sources, from Deleuze and Bergson to Ella Shohat, from Mieke Bal to Svetlana Boym, from Gaston Bachelard to Etienne Balibar, introduces a rich and useful set of conceptual tools, which I believe should be taken by the fellow travelers of film studies as an invitation for further critical production."Nostalgia," for example, is the central concept of the first chapter. Dozens of popular nostalgia films prove to be symptomatic in the sense that between remembering and forgetting, the society conceals its incapability in dealing with its past. …


The article discusses organizational and legal aspects of electronic health information exchange in developed countries, particularly, introduction of electronic medical records in the United States and Europe, as well as topical issues related to standardization of information technologies in health care. We briefly describe the most popular standards used in e-medicine, such as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), openEHR and HL7. The questions of syntactic and semantic interoperability in the exchange of electronic medical records and some aspects of the digital signature use are also considered. We suggest mechanisms for implementation of electronic document management and sharing of digital medical information, as one of the most important directions of information technologies in health care. It is noted that today, the main limiting factor in providing the digital exchange of health information in Russian Federation is unresolved legal issues, i.e. the absence of a legal framework of electronic medical records share. At the same time, the level of IT development in our country is quite sufficient to meet current challenges. It is stated that, despite the unresolved number of problems (for example, completeness of medical data on a patient, given to relatives in critical situations), the adoption of a single electronic card is able to bring medical care to a new level, especially in emergency and urgent medicine.


Objective— We reported previously that neuropeptide Y (NPY) induces an atherosclerotic-like lesion that is significantly reduced by NPY-Y1 and NPY-Y5 receptor (R) inhibitors. Because antagonists also inhibit neointima induced by angioplasty alone, we now test whether stress-induced endogenous NPY release mimic these changes. Methods and Results— Rats were nonstressed or stressed (4°C water; 2 hours per day for 14 days) starting immediately before and continuing after carotid artery angioplasty. Stress acutely and chronically increased blood pressure and doubled plasma NPY levels. After 14 days, angioplasty-induced neointima was markedly greater in stressed (than nonstressed) rats, in which most of the vessels became occluded with an atherosclerotic-like lesion containing macrophages, lipids, thrombus, and microvessels that was similar but more inflammatory than the injury in the NPY-treated vessels. Fourteen days after angioplasty combined with stress or NPY, Y1R and Y5R (mRNA and protein) became upregula...


Urinary excretion of noradrenaline was measured after 1 h in supine and 1 h tilted head-up 70 in 8 healthy persons 71–75 years of age. The lack of increase in noradrenaline excretion in response to tilting found in the investigation is probably a normal consequence of an altered reflex circulatory adaptation in this age group.


The paper analyzes the barriers against its process innovation capability and puts forward some invigorating measures for the decision making in this regard.


markable. Spinal fluid analysis revealed 43 mononuclear cells/mm3, a protein of 65 mg/dl, and normal glucose; mild lymphocytic pleocytosis was confirmed by repeat lumbar puncture the next day. He was discharged on antiepileptic therapy when spinal fluid cultures and cytologies were unremarkable. Over the next month, the patient developed poor memory, unsteadiness, and impotence. EEG and head MRI with gadolinium-enhanced images were normal, while repeated spinal fluid analyses revealed only t h e mild lymphocytic pleocytosis. Cognitive function deteriorated; he became lost in his own home. Three months after the initial seizure, he continued to experience weekly seizures despite anticonvulsant medications. He was readmitted for dementia, delusions, and visual hallucinations. Repeat head MRI and cerebral angiography were unremarkable. Routine biochemical, hematologic, and serologic studies were unremarkable, as were serum copper, ceruloplasmin, and ammonia levels, and a urine heavy metal screen. Negative CSF studies included cultures for bacteria, viruses, tuberculosis, and fungi, and an angiotensin-converting enzyme assay. Repeat EEG revealed diffuse slowing, with right temporal and parietal spikes and sharp waves. A new pulmonary lesion was detected on chest film, was biopsied, and was confirmed as small-cell carcinoma; brain biopsy was deferred by family. Metastatic workup was unremarkable, and four months after the onset of the illness he began radiotherapy to t h e chest and systemic chemotherapy (doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide/vincristine; corticosteroids were not used). After completion of therapy 14 months later, restaging showed resolution of the initial mass, with no evidence of metastatic disease. A month after initiation of chemotherapy, the patient began to show steady clinical improvement, with complete seizure control and normalization of behavior and cognitive performance. There also was complete resolution of unsteadiness and partial resolution of impotence, Within 6 months, the spinal fluid and EEG abnormalities had resolved, and neuropsychological test performance was normal (table). This improvement has been sustained for over 18 months, and the patient remains free of known malignancy. Discussion. Although histologic examination of the brain was not available in our patient, his condition almost certainly was attributable to paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis. First, he developed the classic picture of memory loss, psychiatric disturbances, and seizures in the context of newly diagnosed small-cell carcinoma of the lung. Second, the subacute onset and rapidly progressive course is characteristic of the syndrome, as was the neurologic presentation, which may precede the diagnosis of tumor in up t o 90% of patients by a n average of 4 months. Third, our patient exhibited spinal fluid and EEG findings typical for limbic encephalitis. Numerous additional ancillary studies did not reveal an alternative diagnosis. In the absence of pathologic examination, however, an infectious process cannot be definitely excluded. Although uncommon, limbic encephalitis is an important syndrome to recognize. The symptoms and signs may provide clues to an occult malignancy that may be curable when found in an early stage. The neurologic manifestations (seizures and dementia) themselves can be associated with morbidity and mortality. This case demonstrates that early recognition of limbic encephalitis and i ts underlying malignancy, followed by prompt anti-tumor therapy, may reverse the neurologic deficits.


Curcuma longa plant produces Curcumin which is widely used as spices and colouring agent in food. Curcumin is also used to treat various diseases due to its medicinal and pharmacological activities. The present study is based on analysis of anti-influenza activity of Curcumin by using computational methods. The Curcumin derivatives obtained from the data base were docked against the HA protein of influenza (2009 H1N1) virus. Further analysis by evaluating the biological activity and pharmacophore modeling results about the pharmacophoric features responsible for the inhibition activity. The results demonstrated that some of the specific Curcumin derivatives can be successfully used against influenza virus infection.


Probing attack is a severe threat for the security of hardware cryptographic modules (HCMs). In this paper, we make the first step to evaluate the vulnerability of HCMs against probing attack, wherein we investigate the probing complexity and the key candidate reduction capability for probing attack on every signal in the circuit. We also present approximate solutions for the calculation of the proposed metrics to reduce computational complexity. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed evaluation metric is both effective and efficient.


A number of legislative instruments are in force, providing for mechanisms for a Member Stateof the EU to seek the collection of admissible evidence in criminal matters in a cross-border context. The paper deals with the instruments that are involved in the concept of the free movement of evidence in criminal matters in the EU and answers the question whether it does work. First, it focuses on the development from mutual legal assistance to mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters in the EU. Second, it deals with the current procedural instruments – an Order freezing property or evidence and a European evidence warrant. Third, it analyses legislative development in this field – a European investigation order. Mutual legal assistance, Mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters in the EU, Order freezing property or evidence, European evidence warrant, European investigation order. 1. INTRODUCTION Jeremy Bentham: " . " 1 We all use evidence every day. For example, we might look out the window to see what the weather is like and use this evidence to decide what to wear, or scientists conduct experiments and use the evidence to find cures for diseases. Police investigators also try to gather as much evidence as possible. The judge hears all the evidence and decides if the defendant is guilty. 2 ' ' 3 250 The ) . Free movement of evidence appears to be one of the goals within the establishment of that area and an essential element to fight efficiently against cross-border and organized crime. As pointed out by the European Commission, closer co-operation in this field is a key to the effectiveness of criminal investigations and proceedings in the EU. Area of freedom, security and justice ) Thus, a wide range of things and many types of documents can be used as evidence. The EU set itself the objective the establishment of an ) Evidence is the basis of justice: exclude evidence, you exclude justice


New computational techniques are developed to study conformational equilibrium in helical peptides at finite temperature. Two dimensional umbrella sampling methods involving coordinate systems which incorporate the α-helical hydrogen bonding distances along the peptide backbone as collective variables are presented. The umbrella sampling techniques are combined with new extended system multiple time step molecular dynamics simulation methods to allow peptide equilibria to be examined on a realistic potential energy surface. In particular, this combination of methods is employed to study a sixteen residue alanine-based peptide, Ac−(AAAAK)3A−NH2, at T=300 K in vacuo and solution, under the all-atom CHARMM22 force field. The efficiency of the multiple time step integration methodology permitted a minimum total run length of 30 ns to be employed in each umbrella sampling calculation reported.


The analysis of correlation between cardiovascular diseases and hyperuricaemia as a component of methabolic syndrome has been performed; the emphasis has been done on predominant mechanism of its development -- reduction of renal clearance. The need for primary prophylaxis of stroke with a help of safe metabolically antihypertensive therapy has been substantiated. The results of secondary analysis of LIFE study represented its results on effective primary prophylaxis of stroke depending on the dynamic of serum uric acid levels taking into account uricosuric effect of losartan have been discussed.


SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites) is an internal International Space Station (ISS) Facility that supports multiple investigations for the development of multi-spacecraft and robotic control algorithms. The SPHERES Facility on ISS is managed and operated by the SPHERES National Lab Facility at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) at Moffett Field California. The SPHERES Facility on ISS consists of three self-contained eight-inch diameter free-floating satellites which perform the various flight algorithms and serve as a platform to support the integration of experimental hardware. To help make science a reality on the ISS, the SPHERES ARC team supports a Guest Scientist Program (GSP). This program allows anyone with new science the possibility to interface with the SPHERES team and hardware. In addition to highlighting the available SPHERES hardware on ISS and on the ground, this presentation will also highlight ground support, facilities, and resources available to guest researchers. Investigations on the ISS evolve through four main phases: Strategic, Tactical, Operations, and Post Operations. The Strategic Phase encompasses early planning beginning with initial contact by the Principle Investigator (PI) and the SPHERES program who may work with the PI to assess what assistance the PI may need. Once the basic parameters are understood, the investigation moves to the Tactical Phase which involves more detailed planning, development, and testing. Depending on the nature of the investigation, the tactical phase may be split into the Lab Tactical Phase or the ISS Tactical Phase due to the difference in requirements for the two destinations. The Operations Phase is when the actual science is performed; this can be either in the lab, or on the ISS. The Post Operations Phase encompasses data analysis and distribution, and generation of summary status and reports. The SPHERES Operations and Engineering teams at ARC is composed of experts who can guide the Payload Developer (PD) and Principle Investigator (PI) in reaching critical milestones to make their science a reality using the SPHERES platform. From performing integrated safety and verification assessments, to assisting in developing crew procedures and operations products, to organizing, planning, and executing all test sessions, to helping manage data products, the SPHERES team at ARC is available to support microgravity research with the SPEHRES Guest Scientist Program.


The problem of global optimization of M phase-incoherent signals in N complex dimensions is formulated. Then, by using the geometric approach of Landau and Slepian, conditions for optimality are established for N = 2 and the optimal signal sets are determined for M = 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12. The method is the following: The signals are assumed to be equally probable and to have equal energy, and thus are represented by points ṡ i , i = 1, 2, …, M, on the unit sphere S 1 in C N . If W ik is the halfspace determined by ṡ i and ṡ k and containing ṡ i , i.e. W ik = {ṙϵC N :| ≥ | ˂ṙ, ṡ k ˃|}, then the Ʀ i = ∩/k≠i W ik , i = 1, 2, …, M, the maximum likelihood decision regions, partition S 1 . For additive complex Gaussian noise ṅ and a received signal ṙ = ṡ i e jϴ + ṅ, where ϴ is uniformly distributed over [0, 2π], the probability of correct decoding is P C = 1/π N ∞/ʃ/0 r 2N-1 e -(r 2 +1) U(r)dr, where U(r) = 1/M M/Ʃ/i=1 Ʀ i ʃ/∩ S 1 I 0 (2r | ˂ṡ, ṡ i ˃|)dσ(ṡ), and r = ǁṙǁ. For N = 2, it is proved that U(r) ≤ ʃ/C α I 0 (2r|˂ṡ, ṡ i ˃|)dσ(ṡ) – 2K/M. h(1/2K [Mσ(C α )-σ(S 1 )]), where C α = {ṡϵS 1 :|˂ṡ, ṡ i ˃| ≥ α}, K is the total number of boundaries of the net on S 1 determined by the decision regions, and h is the strictly increasing strictly convex function of σ(C α ∩W), (where W is a halfspace not containing ṡ i ), given by h = ʃ/C α ∩W I 0 (2r|˂ṡ, ṡ i ˃|)dσ(ṡ). Conditions for equality are established and these give rise to the globally optimal signal sets for M = 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12.


The utilisation of technology has been widely practiced for the system of payment. It is now being utilised for the payment of zakat. Therefore, this research aims to gauge the awareness of an e-zakat online system in the Selangor and also to examine the extent of utilisation of an online e-zakat among individual zakat payers using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Although the model was reviewed by the prominent researchers, but, it still has a limited resource to explore the usefulness of using e-zakat online system. The primary data collection was carried out through a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was distributed to the academicians in the Klang Valley. The results provide an intellectual challenge and contribute to knowledge in this area of user perceptions of IT utilisation and provide indispensable evidence of the necessity of improving the awareness and utilization of e-zakat online.


Abstract There are about 70 Galactic supernova remnants (SNRs) that are now confirmed or suggested to be in physical contact with molecular clouds (MCs) with six kinds of evidence of multiwavelength observations. Recent detailed CO-line spectroscopic mappings of a series of SNRs reveal them to be in cavities of molecular gas, implying the roles the progenitors may have played. We predict a linear correlation between the wind bubble sizes of main-sequence OB stars in a molecular environment and the stellar masses and discuss its implication for supernova progenitors. The molecular environments of SNRs can serve as a good probe for the γ-rays arising from the hadronic interaction of the accelerated protons, and this paper also discusses the γ-ray emission from MCs illuminated by diffusive protons that escape from SNR shocks.


Pseudorandom transmissions (approximately 20 Hz bandwidth) from a WHOI deep‐moored (2000 m) source were acquired at single elements of two continental shelf mounted receivers. The receivers, at a range between 800 and 900 km, were separated by the Gulf Stream. For both receivers a total of 25 transmission samples were acquired, each 90 min in duration. These samples were distributed over a time period of one month. With appropriate averaging procedures applied to each sample, the multipath structure for the transmissions which did not pass through the Guff Stream (first receiver) is shown to be temporally stable over the full month. The multipath structure of the transmission which did pass through the Gulf Stream did not exhibit the same stability. For the first receiver, 18 twelve‐hour samples of the carrier of the PRS transmission were also acquired across the full spatial aperture of the receiver. These samples were used to study long‐term variability in horizontal arrival angle. The observed spread i...


Smallholder dairy farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are constrained by inadequate supply of good quality protein sources particularly during the dry season. Commercial protein concentrates are expensive and not readily accessible. Multipurpose forage legumes and other non-conventional protein sources available on-farm have been promoted as alternative cheaper protein sources. The major problem faced by smallholder dairy farmers however is the formulation of diets balanced for the key nutrients and also being cost-efficient. This paper presents a step by step spreadsheet based procedure of diet formulation for smallholder dairy production. The procedure ensures that the diet is balanced for all the key nutrients, is low-cost and the user has significant control over the formulation process. An example using this formulation method incorporating the fodder legumes


The sociological research was implemented to reveal features of the determination approaches to safety management and labor safety at small construction enterprises. It is inferred that there is a conflict between systems of labor efficiency management and labor safety at small construction enterprises. The cause of conflict is the change of worldview and axiological principles of workers and the low maturity of the management culture.


The failure causes of a superheater pipe of a supercritical once-through boiler were analyzed based on the chemical composition analysis, tensile test, hardness and microstructure analysis. The results show that the microstructure changing from martensite to austenite due to the high temperature exceeded Ac1 causes the sharply decrease in the strength of superheater pipe.


Objectives: The crude protein extracts of edible marine invertebrates Pitar erycina and Donax cuneatus collected from the coastal area of South India were evaluated for its antimicrobial potency against broad spectrum of bacterial pathogens. Methods: The crude proteins were extracted from the flesh with 5percent cold acetic acid and buffers at acidic, neutral and basic pH. The crude was partially purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation method and the precipitate was stored at -20˚C still evaluation. The antimicrobial property was assessed by well diffusion method. Both the edible oyster extracts showed inhibitory effects against the tested bacterial and fungal strains. Results: The maximum zone of 24mm was observed with Donax cuneatus acidic extract against Bacillus subtilis and a minimum of 17mm zone was observed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Shigella flexneri. The Pitar erycina acidic extract showed the maximum activity against E.coli  and Shigella flexneri  with 17mm and 15mm zone respectively. The antimicrobial potency of buffer extracts of the two bivalves was comparingly low with that of the acidic extracts. 1.23mg/ml protein was estimated in Donax cuneatus acidic extract. Conclusion: The crude extracts of protein from edible bivalves showed potent bactericidal property against highly pathogenic species, which may helps to find a safe novel protein/peptide antibiotic. Keywords:  Edible bivalve, Marine invertebrate, Antimicrobial Assay, Antimicrobial Peptides


ABSTRACT Alpine landscapes with their melting glaciers and loss of biodiversity represent the epoch of the Anthropocene. In this article, the Anthropocene is understood as a concept that shifts the focus on landscapes as assemblages of entangled human, geological, biological, and meteorological actors that enables a new form of telling stories about human–environment relationships. In the first part, I discuss in the example of Ötzi, the Ice Man, the nature of shifting borders and the agency of mountains. In the second part, I reactivate post-war Swiss Volkskunde (folklore studies) and anthropological studies about the role of Alpine pastures as commons, complemented by a case study from Grisons, Switzerland. The focus on entanglements and storytelling outlines alternative common futures as an epistemological and ontological challenge and as defined by communal work and the commonality of people and things.


Frequency-domain equalization (FDE) is prior than time-domain equalization in complexity. FDE is based on the cyclic signal property within a data block. This means that the channel must remain constant during this time interval. But in fast fading environments, the channel is time-variant. In order to deal with this problem, a variety of sub-block based FDE techniques have been proposed, but these kinds of algorithms have very high complexity because a tentative equalization and decoding are necessary before sub-block processed. In many practical applications requiring high real-time attribution, processing speed of algorithms is more important than processing capacity, so we must sacrifice performance of algorithm in exchange for speed at this time. In this paper, a simple FDE algorithm without tentative equalization and decoding is proposed for fast fading channel. The proposed method reduces the complexity of algorithm by preserving partial of the frequency equalization result instead of tentative equalizing and decoding. Numerical simulation results show that this lower complexity of algorithm can also effectively decrease the intersymbol interference(ISI) in fast fading environment.


Just 5% of the human genome is subject to neutral evolution, but this process remains central to understanding the history of human migration across the Earth.


The alternating cluster process is a Poisson process the rate of which is modulated by an underlying two-state process. We derive the power spectral density of the alternating cluster process; besides random noise we obtain excess noise due to the impact of modulation.


This study examines the structural relationships between factors which influence academic achievement of multicultural adolescents based on the third wave data from Multi-cultural Adolescent Panel Survey(MAPS). On executing the Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) of sixth graders, it was found that parental monitoring, teacher-student relationship, self-esteem, and achievement motivation have a significant effect on academic achievement of multicultural students. It turned out that the economic status of their families did not affect academic achievement, teacher-student relationship, achievement motivation, and self-esteem of the students. However, parental monitoring and teacher-student relationship directly affected academic achievement of the students and also indirectly affected achievement motivation and self-esteem. Self-esteem also had a direct influence on academic achievement and an indirect influence on achievement motivation. Lastly, it was proven that achievement motivation was the factor that had the strongest effect on academic achievement. On the basis of the results of the analysis, this study discusses the ways to improve academic achievement of multicultural students.


Systems continuously deteriorate over time, and hence require repair and maintenance to uphold their reliability and availability. Two imperfect multi-component repair models are examined in this paper, where it is assumed that the performance of a system becomes inferior after each failure. The first model presents a system that fails in a single failure model, while the second examines a system that fails in one of two modes. In both models, the long-term performance of a system is studied by measuring the steady-state probability of the system in the operational state. An example is presented to illustrate the concept.