This study investigated the communicative role of perceived organizational support and psychological contracts in fulfilling exchange relationships and buffering burnout in employees contributing extra role time organizational citizenship behaviors (ERT-OCB). The lens of social information processing positioned burnout as a job attitude subject to the influence of the organization's communication environment that informs employees as to the value they and their extra role time contributions hold with the organization. Participants (N = d461), high school teachers coaching debate teams from 46 states, completed questionnaires. Findings showed that both organizational support and psychological contract fulfillment buffered the positive relationship between ERT-OCB and burnout.


ALICE physics goals and the characteristics of the ALICE detector essential to achieve them are briefly described. The reconstruction precision for ALICE physics is presented and commented upon from the point of view of the alignment quality. The strategic choices to cope with the alignment challenges are briefly developed. 13.1 ALICE experimental programme The main goal of ALICE is to study the role of chiral symmetry in the generation of mass in composite particles (hadrons) using heavy-ion collisions, in order to attain high-energy densities over large volumes and long time scales [1]. In addition, the aim is to study the physics of parton densities close to phasespace saturation, and parton collective dynamical evolution towards hadronization (confinement) in a dense nuclear environment. In this way, one expects to gain a deeper insight into the structure of the QCD-phase diagram and the properties of the QGP (Quark Gluon Plasma) phase. The nucleon–nucleon centre-of-mass energy for collisions of the heaviest ions at the LHC (PbPb, √ s = 5.5 TeV) exceeds that available at RHIC by a factor of about 30, opening up a new physics domain. The successful completion of the heavy-ion programme requires the study of pp, pA and lighter A– A collisions in order to establish the benchmark processes under the same experimental conditions. Moreover, these measurements are interesting per se as ALICE has a unique ability to study both soft and hard aspects of such interactions. A list of the main heavy-ion observables in ALICE follows: – particle multiplicities, – particle spectra, – particle correlations (flow, HBT), – event-by-event fluctuations, – jets, – direct photons, – dileptons, – heavy-quarks and quarkonia. These observables, studied as a function of collision centrality, form a basis for accessing the physics goals of ALICE. The possibility of reaching them and the number of events needed in order to obtain satisfactory significance levels will depend on the performance of the detectors and on the precision of their calibration and alignment. [2]. In general, the number of collected events depends on the nature and the energy of the beam, the luminosity, and the running time. For completeness let us mention that the overall success of the ALICE physics programme will depend, as for the other LHC experiments, on the background conditions of the LHC. ALICE will take its first data with pp collisions because the LHC will be commissioned with proton beams, and also because pp physics is an integral part of the ALICE programme. ALICE will in fact require pp running throughout its operation; during the initial years longer periods to both commission the detector and to take pp physics data, and later in the programme, shorter periods to start up and calibrate/align the detector prior to each heavyion period. The very first data will be most probably taken with the cosmics which enable initial precious information to be obtained concerning the mechanical precision of most of the ALICE detectors. Later on cosmic events will be collected in parallel with the normal data-taking in the framework of the standard running scheme, both for physics and alignment.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between health perception and health promoting lifestyle with female teacher at elementary school. Method: The survey was carried out on a convenience sample of 757 teachers in B metropolitan city. Data were collected from November to December, 2004, by using the Health Perception Questionnaire and Health promoting lifestyle Profile(HPLP), and analyzed by SPSS program. Result: 1. The score of health perception status was , and health promoting lifestyle was . The highest subcategory of health promoting lifestyle was self actualization, and the lowest one was health responsibility. 2. Health perception was significantly correlated with health promoting lifestyle. 3. Health perception was significantly different according to economic status. 4. Health promoting lifestyle was significantly different according to age, career and economic status. Conclusion: This study revealed that the health perception is an important factor related to the health promoting lifestyle of female elementary school teacher. Therefore, helping consciously the health perception and health promoting lifestyle of female elementary school teacher to do their job attainment and at same time it has to be a model to the student's health promoting lifestyle.


Ever since 1889, when the Emperor Meiji granted his people a constitution, Japan may be called a constitutional monarchy. But these simple words do not tell the whole story. The designation used by the Almanach de Gotha in referring to Czarist Russia—a "constitutional autocracy"—may be as appropriately applied to modern Japan. Japan has a constitution and a monarch, but in the eyes of both the people and the statesmen of the Restoration Period, the monarch comes before the constitution.


— This article offers some thoughts on possible connections between genomics and education. Genomics is already revolutionizing the way medical care is delivered and distributed; it will inevitably affect children's developmental trajectories by introducing more pharmacological and behavioral therapies. Educators should be prepared to understand the effect of these changes on children in the classroom, where children around the world spend a large portion of their formative years. Educators should also be prepared to understand the current advances in genomics and be able to discuss them with the parents and health care providers of their students.


Based on changing principle of flow procedure lines produced by precipitation, one calculating method for designing area precipitation has been studied, in which the earlier stage precipitation must be considered. After that, checking the relationship between designing area precipitation and water level, the scales of designing area precipitation can be defined for each grade of flood index.


Background— Labour induction and caesarean are increasingly done without clinical indication. However, little is known about the prevalence of such interventions, or the characteristics of women who receive them. We used the 2003 revision of the US birth certificates to summarise recorded interventions and to characterise maternal profiles associated with such interventions. Methods— We carried out a retrospective study of 2.35 million primiparous women delivering singleton live births at 37–44 weeks in the United States, 2005–08. We used the 2003 revision of the birth certificate to define delivery categories: "indicated" were those with induced labour or pre-labour caesarean for hypertension, diabetes, chorioamnionitis, failed cephalic version at ≥40 weeks, growth restriction (<3 rd centile), or postterm (≥42 weeks); those with prelabour caesarean with breech at ≥39 weeks; or those with caesarean with labour lasting ≥12 hours, failed trial of labour, vacuum/forceps extraction, or fetal intolerance to labour. Remaining deliveries with induction/caesarean were classified as "non-indicated" and all other deliveries "spontaneous." Results— Half of all term first births (50%) were delivered after intervention, and half of interventions were non-indicated (26% of all deliveries.) Women with interventions were more likely to deliver on a weekday. Non-indicated interventions were more common among socially advantaged women. Conclusions— Nearly a quarter of US term first deliveries had an indicated intervention, and another quarter received intervention without a recorded clinical indication. Both numbers are probably underestimates.


Supercharging system was adopted to investigate the influence of boost pressure on operating range and exhaust emissions by using a supercharger at low temperature diesel combustion (LTC) condition in a 5-cylinder 2.7 L direct injection diesel engine. The experimental parameters such as injection quantity, injection timing, injection pressure and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate were varied to find maximum operating range in LTC condition. As a result of adopting increased boost pressure in LTC, wider operating range was achieved compared with naturally aspirated condition due to increased mixing intensity. Increased boost pressure resulted in lower hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions due to increased swirl rate and mixing intensity, which induced complete combustion. Moreover, increased boost pressure in LTC resulted in much lower soot emissions compared with high speed direct injection (HSDI) condition.


A fast method for determination of melamine and cyromazine residues in milk and dairy products was established in this paper.The samples were extracted by 1% trichloroacetic acid-dimethyl sulfoxide,purified by Waters Oasis MCX column and then analyzed by a liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.The residues were quantified with multiple reactions monitoring(MRM) mode.The linear ranges of melamine and cyromazine were of 10~5000 μg/kg(r0.99) with thedetection limit of the residues being of 10 μg/kg.Within the range of 10~100 μg/kg,the recovery and RSD of the method were 86%-98% and 3.8%-7.5%,respectively.Due to its high precision,repeatability and spiked recovery,this method can be applied for the determination of melamine and cyromazine residues in milk and dairy products.


The culture of keratinocytes from normal skin was attempted for many years but was largely hampered by a tendency for keratinocytes to differentiate in vitro rather than proliferate, and problems with fibroblast overgrowth. However, the report from Rheinwald and Green (1975), which utilizes a mouse 3 T 3 substrate and mitogens, led major advances in culture techniques permitting serial passaging of keratinocyte cultures without fibroblast contamination. Other systems using defined media (Boyce & Ham, 1983) and additives such as epidermal growth factor (Rheinwald & Green, 1977) and bovine pituitary extract (Peehl & Ham, 1980) provide expanded growth without a feeder system. This ability to expand, greatly, a given population of keratinocytes is of obvious clinical application in the repair of epidermal defects and already has been used in the treatment of young burns patients in the States (O'Connor et al., 1981). We report the use of cultured skin in the grafting of an elderly patient with stasis ulceration.


Objective To study the response to COBDP chemotherapy regime in 24 patients with Non Hodgkin lymphoma. Methods Use the modified COBDP chemotherapy in 24 patients with non Hodgkin's lymphoma to observe their efficacies and side effects. Results The CR rate was 58.3% and the overall response rate was 79.1%. Conclusion COBDP regime is a practical and effective chemotherapeutie method in treatment of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma.


This paper concerns main results of research on interacting process of blade and ice during mechanical corrosion. It describes experimental research conditions and their main results. The paper shows argument of reasonable geometrical parameters of blades providing minimal storage density value of tested process.


Double wall axial flow electric heater for applying a leakage sensing provides a improved corrosion and leakage resistance assembly, heater rod outer protective tube and a double protective tube sheets spaced through the plenum When, and a leak detector positioned to sense the leakage through the wall of the protective tube. Its structure includes one or more tube bundles are inserted into the opposite end of the shell surrounding the tube sheet and the heater will. Structure, since the unit can be replaced independently of each heater rod being serviced, provides ease of maintenance. By providing the protective tube with different diameter, variable heat flux is provided from a standard single heat flux heater. By providing a built-in thermowell, it is possible to monitor the temperature of the rod directly. Hot spots are avoided by the use of directing baffles, vibration is avoided by using a spider-shaped baffle.


THE EFFECT OF RACIAL SOCIALIZATION ON A SAMPLE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PARENTS By Remy Jones Thompson, M.A. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. Major Director: Shawn O. Utsey, Ph.D Chair African American Studies Associate Professor, Counseling Psychology Department The typical duties of parenting may be multiplied when they must be performed within very demanding situations and with limited personal and physical resources. African American families may also be subject to race-related challenges that further complicate child rearing. In an effort to combat the effect of imminent racism, some African American parents have sought to racially socialize their children. Within the racial socialization literature, it has been determined that racially socializing one's children has positive effects for those children, however, there is some ambiguity regarding the way it is best done. Although racist acts cannot be predicted nor avoided, parents can likely prevent their children's effects by racially socializing them. If this is done appropriately, and parents feel secure in their preparation it will likely buffer the effects of racism their children feel, which may impact their level of parental stress. However, no literature exists that examines the parental effects of racially socializing one's children. Therefore, this project proposes to 1) examine whether there is a correlation between racial socialization and parental stress in African American parents and to 2) determine whether being exposed to a racial socialization intervention significantly reduces parental stress from pre-test to post-test as compared to the control and comparison groups. 159 African American mothers were randomly assigned to 3 groups, a control, experimental and comparison group, and administered pre and post tests on a scale of racial socialization (SORS-P), affective mood state (POMS-B), and parental stress (PSI). A hierarchical multiple linear regression was conducted to determine whether racial socialization beliefs predict parental stress after controlling for mood. It found that racial socialization beliefs accounted for an additional significant proportion of the variance in parental stress. A preliminary MANOVA was run to determine if there was a significant difference between groups' baseline levels of mood and racial socialization beliefs. Hypothesis 2 was tested by running a (2 X 3) Time (pre-test and post-test) X Group Assignment (intervention, comparison group, control) mixed design ANCOVA. As predicted, changes in parental stress from pre-test to post-test depended on the group assignment. Study results highlighted the importance of racial socialization interventions to reduce parental stress that may accompany racist encounters with their children.


We extracted the parameters of two-section distributed feedback lasers which had 6.5 pairs' distributed Bragg reflector by the regeneratively amplified field, the fourwave-mixing fields and the microwave signals which measured by electrical spectrum analyzer (ESA).


brichti) is a unique species found only in the Red Hills physiographic region of southern Alabama (Schwaner and Mount, 1970). Red Hills salamanders inhabit burrow systems on steep, moist, hardwood-dominated slopes shaded by a full canopy (Dodd, 1991). Information on life-history characteristics, including foraging behavior, of P hubrichti is limited due to their fossorial habits. Red Hills salamanders may feed on prey items found within their burrows and on prey captured on the surface. During burrow excavations, Jordan (1975) found numerous invertebrates that could serve as prey for the Red Hills salamander, including camel crickets, millipedes, spiders, and snails. Red Hills salamanders often sit at the entrance to


With the development of reform in construction industry and perfection of building market the construction engineering contract main realized through pubic bidding. Author points out that scientific and reasonable public bidding method is a standard of comprehensive competitive power to reflect business management level, technological level and equipment conditions of enterprises.


There has been a significant increase in the number of women entrepreneurs in various sectors of the economy throughout the world. Some women entrepreneurs registered some success stories, while others dismally failed and ended up poorer than they were before they started their businesses. The main purpose of this study was to establish the successes, failures and survival strategies of women entrepreneurs in Masvingo city, Zimbabwe. A qualitative research methodology was employed to carry out the study. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted on 40 (forty) participants who were selected by using the snowball sampling technique. Thematic data analysis approach was utilized to analyse the collected data. It was found that despite some registered failures and challenges like failing to retain staff, failing to raise adequate capital, and failing to access advanced technology, a significant number of women entrepreneurs were generally successful in launching, maintaining and growing their businesses. The strategies which women entrepreneurs employed to survive, included among others, buying raw materials or goods for resale in bulk to enjoy the economies of scale; pegging prices and selling their products in United States Dollars (USD); pegging prices in USD and selling products at the prevailing Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rate; or hiring competent staff to ensure that workers were appropriately motivated. It was recommended that women entrepreneurs should continuously scan the macro- and micro-environments to identify new opportunities as well as emerging business threats.


The eruption of the Mt. Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in June 1991 has resulted in increases in the surface and mass concentrations of aerosol particles in the lower stratosphere. Airborne measurements made at midlatitudes between 15 and 21 km from August 1991 to March 1992 show that, prior to December 1991, the Pinatubo aerosol cloud varied widely in microphysical properties such as size distribution, number, surface and volume concentrations and was also spatially variable. Aerosol surface area concentration was found to be highly correlated to extinction at visible and near-infrared wavelengths throughout the measurement period. Similarly, backscatter at common lidar wavelengths was a good predictor of aerosol volume concentrations. These results support the use of satellite extinction measurements to estimate aerosol surface and of lidar measurements to estimate aerosol volume or mass if temporal changes in the relationships between the variables are considered.


This paper is concerned with the way in which Australian policy-makers approached the problem of "White Australia" in the years 1945–67. It makes extensive use of original archival material to show how Australia's increasing engagement with Asia in the 1950s and 1960s exercised a direct influence on officials within the Department of Immigration. In response to Australia's changing geopolitical circumstances and the international community's increasing hostility towards racism during this period, Immigration Department officials persuaded the government to introduce a series of piecemeal adjustments which were specifically designed to placate Asian and world opinion. Although cautious, these changes nevertheless involved a corresponding reassessment of the policy's racial assumptions. By accepting in the late 1960s that certain Asians were capable of being integrated into the Australian community, policymakers had discarded the previously inviolable belief that all non-Europeans were unassimilable by virtue of their race. The White Australia Policy, though not entirely defunct by the end of the decade, was nevertheless crumbling under the weight of Australia's new circumstances.


The potential to broadcast on-demand televisionquality video to a global audience is now possible with the introduction of peer-to-peer Internet television. Joost, originally known as The Venice Project, is a peer-to-peer technology created by the founders of Skype and KaZaA to deliver television-quality, licensed video content. It had taken researchers quite some time to understand the mechanisms and technologies used by Skype, so this paper will begin to unravel the mysteries of Joost through a measurement study. Our contribution will be an understanding of Joost's application behavior, network behavior, and peer behavior. We will also attempt to explore reasons of peer selection as well as uncovering the benefit of Joost using peer-to-peer as a method of content distribution. Our hope is to provide this information in order to assist in future design or modeling of peer-to-peer video distribution systems.


Zhu Xi is the most important theorist of Neo-Confucianism of Song Dynasty.He performs the theoretical innovation of the Chinese classical study and even the Chinese philosophy through the annotation of Confucianism classics,he developed the Chinese classical study and the Chinese philosophy to a new altitude,and in this process he has formed his own new classical hermeneutics.The connotation of Zhu Xi's classical hermeneutics is rich,which merges the classical annotation and the philosophical annotation,and it has developed into a relatively complete ontological system of hermeneutics.In the process of classical annotation,Zhu Xi proposes a systematical principle of methodology of classical annotation.


We discuss a generalization of the Preisach model, based on the assumption that each point (α,β) of the Preisach plane corresponds to a small correlation region of the system cross section, inside which magnetic flux reverses at a rate Φ ∝ Ha − α (or Ha − β) when the applied field Ha exceeds the threshold α (or β). When the magnetizing frequency f is low, the model reduces to the conventional Preisach model. When f is increased, the model predicts that the area of the hysteresis loop should increase with f according to the law C0 + C1f + C2√f, where C1 is related to the so‐called classical loss and C2 is expressed directly in terms of the Preisach function, p(α,β). The prediction of the existence of the excess loss term C2√f is in agreement with experiments. The fact that the coefficient C2 is calculated from p(α,β) implies that one can predict dynamic losses directly from quasistatic hysteresis losses, a remarkable conclusion which is also confirmed by recent investigations with electrical steels.


As part of the California Integrated Remote Sensing System's (CIRSS) San Bernardino County Project, the use of data layers from a geographic information system (GIS) as an integral part of the Landsat image classification process was investigated. Through a hierarchical modeling technique, elevation, aspect, land use, vegetation, and growth management data from the project's data base were used to guide class labeling decisions in a 1976 Landsat MSS land cover classification. A similar model, incorporating 1976-1979 Landsat spectral change data in addition to other data base elements, was used in the classification of a 1979 Landsat image. The resultant Landsat products were integrated as additional layers into the data base for use in growth management, fire hazard, and hydrological modeling.


The competitiveness is the cornerstone of the development of countries, regions and companies. Competitiveness can be so understood at different levels: micro-level, regional level and macro-economic level. The high competitiveness is the objective of the European Union and its member states. This article discusses the macroeconomic competitiveness of the selected EU countries that form the Visegrad Group plus Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Austria and Slovenia. Namely, relation between measurable output indicators is analyzed, among them the degree of openness, export performance, transformational performance and relative power of specialization are ranked. These relationships have been tested through a panel regression in the years 1995-2013, when we assumed significant correlation between export performance and other variables and the degree of openness and the others variables. However, this assumption was confirmed only in the case of export and transformational performance. Keywords—Competitiveness, macroeconomic determinants of competitiveness, panel regression, Visegrad Group plus.


This study was conducted to determine the effect of Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal supplementation on the performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality of broiler chicken. One hundred and fifty day old Abhor Acre strains of broiler birds were assigned to five dietary treatments with thirty birds per treatment in a completely randomized design. Ocimum gratissimum leaf meal at 0g, 100g, 200g, 300g and 400g per 100kg of feed was added to the diets. The experiment lasted for seven weeks. Data on feed intake, weight gain and feed conversion ratio were collected. Two birds per replicate were randomly selected, weighed, slaughtered and properly dressed for carcass parameters such as live weight, plucked weight, dressing percentage, head, neck, wing weight, thigh weight, drumstick, organ weight and sensory evaluation was carried out. The result of the performance characteristics showed that there were significant differences (p


The current personnel training mode characteristics and demand characteristics of vocational landscape specialty were analyzed.Combining with actual situation of Ulanqab Vocational College,aiming at existing problems,the talents training mode "1.5+0.7+0.3+0.5" was constructed,the operation effect was studied,the mode was suitable for vocational landscape specialty in the region.


The N-terminal sequence stretch that defines subcellular targeting for most nuclear encoded chloroplast proteins is usually considered identical to the sequence that is cleaved upon import. Yet here this study shows that for nine out of ten tested Chlamydomonas chloroplast transit peptides, additional sequence past the cleavage site is required to enable chloroplast targeting. Using replacements of native post-cleavage residues with alternative sequences points to a role for unstructured sequence at mature protein N-termini.


The characteristic of "two-shift system" teaching plan reform consisting of know openly education and specialized education two parts is to widen foundation, strengthen quality-oriented education and train innovation ability. But while emphasizing the foundation, should strengthen the guide of specialized education. The problems that appear in the reform of "two-shift system" education of electrical engineering and automatic speciality are analyzed, and the corresponding countermeasures have put forward.


In the 21st century, the Church of Sweden has lost its dominant position with regard to the ritualization of birth, marriage, and death. Above all, civil ceremonies have become more common. These a ...


In the paper a new control device in motor rotors of elevators is studied and developed by utilizing the PLC, its components, working principles and characteristics are introduces . Based on the original control system of elevators, the control links of rotors are improved by the new technique. The greatest potentialities of the system of active elevators are brought out. With the new control device, the reliability and the working function of the system can be improved, and the maintenance cost and the maintenance quantity of the system can be reduced in practice.


A new species of Sicyos (S. daviliae) from the southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca is described and illustrated. This new species is distinguished from the remaining Mexican species of Sicyos with dry and spinous fruits , mainly by the color of its fruits, which when fresh are green-hyaline and occasionally black-maculated. It is similar to Sicyos warmingii Cogn., from Brasil and Argentina, from which differs in several features such as blade consistency, tendril branches, stigma shape and fruit color and size.


Distortions appear in x-ray-absorption spectra obtained by monitoring the fluorescence from thick samples with concentrated absorbing species. The glancing-emergence-angle technique for obtaining spectra from this type of sample eliminates distortions from the measured spectra by monitoring the fluorescence leaving the sample at a small angle relative to the sample surface. This technique is limited by the small signal available from the inherently limited detector solid angle. In addition, no precise estimate of the required restriction on maximum emergent angle [theta][sub max] has been available. We have calculated residual extended x-ray-absorption fine structure distortions as a function of [theta][sub max], and performed experimental tests of the calculations. These calculations provide a means to estimate the required detector geometry for negligible distortions, or alternatively, allow the use of a larger [theta][sub max], increasing the available signal, with the remaining residual distortions removed by application of the calculations. The calculations are also applicable to other detector geometries, and account for detectors subtending a large solid angle by an integration over the subtended angle. This represents an improvement over previous calculations. The application to more general detector configurations is also discussed.


Drug combinations present a powerful strategy to tackle antimicrobial resistance, but have not been systematically tested in many bacterial species. Here, we used an automated high-throughput setup to profile ∼ 8000 combinations between 65 antibacterial drugs in three Gram-positive species: the model species, Bacillus subtilis and two prominent pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Thereby, we recapitulate previously known drug interactions, but also identify ten times more interactions than previously reported in the pathogen S. aureus, including two synergies that were also effective in multi-drug resistant clinical S. aureus isolates in vitro and in vivo. Interactions were largely species-specific and mostly synergistic for drugs targeting the same cellular process, as observed also for Gram-negative species1. Yet, the dominating synergies are clearly distinct between Gram-negative and Gram-positive species, and are driven by different bottlenecks in drug uptake and vulnerabilities of their cell surface structures. To further explore interactions of commonly prescribed non-antibiotic drugs with antibiotics, we tested 2728 of such combinations in S. aureus, detecting a plethora of unexpected antagonisms that could compromise the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments in the age of polypharmacy. We uncovered even more synergies than antagonisms, some of which we could demonstrate as effective combinations in vivo against multi-drug resistant clinical isolates. Among them, we showed that the antiaggregant ticagrelor interferes with purine metabolism and changes the surface charge of S. aureus, leading to strong synergies with cationic antibiotics. Overall, this exemplifies the untapped potential of approved non-antibacterial drugs to be repurposed as antibiotic adjuvants. All data can be browsed through an interactive interface (https://apps.embl.de/combact/).


Predicting the germination behavior of parthenium weed against different conditions of temperature and osmotic stress is helpful for studying the growth and development history of parthenium in different ecological contexts. Sustainable weed control strategies based on population-based threshold (PBT) models are profitable tools for crop planting date, herbicide application, and tillage operation time. To predict the emergence of parthenium by using thermal time (TT), hydrotime (HT), and hydrothermal time (HTT) analyses, seeds were exposed to varying constant temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°C) and water potentials (− 0.25, − 0.5, − 0.75, and − 1.0 MPa) under a controlled environment. Parthenium seeds showed better responses in terms of higher germination percentage and lower germination time at 20 and 25°C. The use of the germination modeling approach proposed the base temperature (7.2°C), optimum temperature (20°C), and ceiling temperature (42.8°C) for this weed. Moreover, germination behavior was also studied at different water potentials under different temperature regimes (10, 20, and 30°C). The HTT model predicted higher germination percentages (82.8 and 54.8%) of parthenium seeds at water potentials from 0 to −0.25 MPa, respectively, under a temperature of 20°C, and also identified a base water potential (Ψb(50) of − 0.54 MPa for germination. In conclusion, the use of the HTT modeling approach is helpful for predicting the emergence response of parthenium in a changing climate and ultimately supportive in time scheduling of parthenium weed management in cropping systems.


Background— This study examined the effectiveness of an online support system (CHESS) versus the Internet in relieving physical symptom distress in patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods— 285 informal caregiver-patient dyads were randomly assigned to standard care plus the Internet or CHESS for up to 25 months. Caregivers agreed to use CHESS or the Internet and complete bimonthly surveys; for patients, these tasks were optional. The primary endpoint, patient symptom distress, was measured by caregiver reports using a modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS). Results— Caregivers in the CHESS arm consistently reported lower patient physical symptom


Outdoor exposure experiments of PCB-Cu, PCB-ImAg and PCB-ENIG were conducted in a tropical marine atmosphere under the synergistic effect of multiple factors, and the corresponding corrosion behavior of the PCBs was investigated by SEM, EDS and EIS. The results indicated that PCB-ImAg had strong resistance to Cl - , and the surface was covered only by several spores, without obvious corrosion products, and it had excellent corrosion resistance. PCB-ENIG was covered with dense corrosion products, and it had poor biocompatibility and was detrimental to the growth of molds. PCB-Cu was significantly corroded, and an obvious shedding of surface corrosion products was observed, with the corrosion rate increasing constantly during the exposure periods. All the corrosion occurred at the active sites where dust particles, salt particles and mold spores were scattered. The probable corrosion mechanism of PCBs inferred that defects in the coatings of PCB-ImAg and PCB-ENIG acted as pathways for the corrosive electrolyte liquid, and the copper substrate was corroded, and localized corrosion cells accelerated the corrosion. Additionally, long-term exposure led to the formation of a double-layer structure in PCB-Cu, with an inner oxide film and an outer layer of loose corrosion products, consequently providing a weak protection effect.


We study qutrit teleportation and its fidelity in the presence and absence of intrinsic decoherence through a qutrit channel. The channel consists of a Heisenberg chain with xyz interaction model and the intrinsic decoherence is implemented through the Milburn model. It is shown that while the fidelity diminishes due to intrinsic decoherence, it may be enhanced if the channel is initially in an entangled state. It is also observed that, for stronger intrinsic decoherence, the initial entanglement of the channel is more effective in enhancing of fidelity.


Aim. To investigate protein level of all subunits of the eukaryotic elongation translation factor eEF1H (eEF1A, eEF1Ba, eEF1Bb and eEF1Bg) in glial tumors of human brain in comparison with normal brain. Methods. The eEF1H components content has been investigated in human glioblastoma clinical samples by Western blot analysis. Results. To determine the eEF1Ba, eEF1Bb and eEF1Bg content, the polyclonal antibodies against all eEF1H subunits were obtained. The tendency of the eEF1Bg protein level to increase in glioblastomas was observed. There were no significant differences in the eEF1A, eEF1Ba and eEF1Bb protein contents. Conclusions. In the previous report we analysed the expression of all eEF1H subunits in human glial brain tumor on the mRNA level. This study showed that eEF1Bg was overexpressed while no significant changes in other eEF1H subunits were observed. It suggests a possible function of eEFBg which is cancer-related and is not connected with the functioning of eEF1H complex in translation.


Problem Solving Environments (PSE) in scientific computing domains require the ability to couple High Performance Computing (HPC) components. A PSE facilitates coupling of tasks or computations in order to aid a scientist in finding a solution to a problem or at least getting closer to a solution. Reflection capabilities are required in order to effectively dynamically couple these components. Reflection facilitates adaptive behavior such as rebinding calls to different functions at run-time, or integrating flexible interpreted languages with compiled languages such as C++ or Fortran. Currently, however, reflection is not available in languages commonly used in high performance computing. While there have been several attempts to incorporate reflection into C++, all of them are either intrusive or are not fully compliant with the C++ standard. In this paper, we present a number of use cases for reflective programming, and show how it can be efficiently and robustly implemented in languages such as C++. Our implementation uses code generation to add metadata, and is fully compliant with the standard C++ specification. We compare the overhead of reflection with languages such as Java, and show that our overhead is acceptable for many scenarios. Our reflection library is open-source, and is available at http://www.extreme.indiana.edu/reflcpp.


Compared with the traditional methods, this paper provides the new methods for the calculations of voltage fluctuation and flicker caused by the reactive impact load and the compensation capacity of dynamic reactive power compensation device.


Excerpt Some years ago, an internist (J. T.) and a psychiatrist (M. G.) initiated a teamwork study, and in 1957 they reported the results of their experience and co-operation. They described the te...


EnglishThis article discusses the difficulties in the acquisition of verb tenses of Portuguese as a foreign language by students enrolled in the Portuguese course for foreigners at Centro deLinguas in FFLCH-USP. The corpus of this work is based on essays produced in this course, in which it was possible to detect difficulties in the use of tenses in the written form of Portuguese. Thus, it can be possible to detect dificult elements in the learning / acquisition of verbal inflections of Portuguese as a foreign language portuguesEste trabalho busca discutir as dificuldades na aquisicao dos tempos verbais do portugues como lingua estrangeira por estudantes matriculados no curso de Portugues para estrangeiros do Centro de Linguas da FFLCH-USP. O corpus deste trabalho baseia-se em redacoes elaboradas no respectivo curso, nas quais foi possivel detectar dificuldades em relacao ao uso dos tempos verbais na producao escrita do portugues. Assim, sera possivel detectar elementos dificultadores na aprendizagem/aquisicao das flexoes verbais do Portugues como lingua estrangeira


Developments in economy and labor market have always been much quicker than developments in high education and this gap has always played a big challenge to employers, as well as high education institutions. While some countries and high education institutions try to follow ever-changing market needs and use digital technologies to lower this gap and innovate on curricula development, others, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, haven't done much to lower this gap between market needs and high education curricula. This paper analyses importance of modern teaching methods in curricula development in high education institution in the BiH. New teaching methods were introduced to class for one semester, while in other class traditions teaching methods were used. It was found that students in this class have much higher skills and competences, and what is most important they needed less time to understand and gain knowledge about subject. Moreover, students in class where new teaching methods were used had higher grades than students were traditional methods were used.


First of all,it analyses the characters of the monopoly market structure. Secondly,the business launch market,which is the typical oligopoly market,is taken apart by market share,market concentration and berries to entry. Thirdly,the competitive situation of the business launch market is described. On this basis,it puts forward the competitive strategies for Chinese business launch.


At least thirteen distinct end members of water-masses are identified in the western Japan Sea. Their origins and conditions of formation are discussed, including the effects of continental water inputs, photosynthesis in remnant winter waters, microbial oxidation of organic matter in the water column or at water-sediments interface, and the cooling of surface waters along the Siberian coast and the northern Japan Sea.


We describe a wet chemical method for the synthesis of uniform and well-dispersed dysprosium vanadate (DyVO4) and holmium vanadate (HoVO4) nanoparticles with an almost spherical shape and a mean size of ∼60 nm and their functionalization with poly(acrylic acid). The transverse magnetic relaxivity of both systems at 9.4 T is analyzed on the basis of magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements in order to evaluate their potential for application as high-field MRI contrast agents. In addition, the X-ray attenuation properties of these systems are also studied to determine their capabilities as computed tomography contrast agent. Finally, the colloidal stability under physiological pH conditions and the cytotoxicity of the functionalized NPs are also addressed to assess their suitability for bioimaging applications.


In the past few years, U.S. political parties have enhanced their effectiveness and their ability to mobilize supporters by using the Internet. Net connectivity helps people communicate quickly and provides them with links to an ever-increasing number of portals and websites. At Ž rst glance, this new development seems to serve democracy, but it also reinforces some undemocratic tendencies in U.S. politics. Two websites, Moveon.com and voteswap2000.com, illustrate the Internet's Herculean potential for political organizing. Moveon.com was started in the home of a Berkeley, California couple during the 1998 Clinton impeachment hearings. Incensed by what they considered to be clear violations of the President's personal privacy, they built a website and e-mailed some friends and family, asking them to sign a petition demanding that Congress terminate the proceedings and "move on." In less than a day over 300 people signed the petition and in two days over 1,500 had signed. By day three, over 9,000 people had signed; and by day four, over 23,000 people had signed the petition. Many offered short comments. Eventually, half a million people signed the petition! Signatory names and comments were then sent to some of the petitioners' respective Congress members, and in 219 of the congressional districts, Moveon.org volunteers actually met with congressional representatives—the meetings taking a mere week to organize, thanks to the Internet. To attempt to in uence the 1998 and 2000 congressional elections, the website also launched a "We Will Remember" campaign, to mobilize readers and fund-raisers. For the 2000 election, the site succeeded in raising over two million dollars for Democratic candidates.


The development of rural tourism in France over the past several decades offers one vantage point from which to explore the processes by which rural heritages are constructed, displayed, and consumed in contemporary France. This article, based on an ethnographic case study of a three-canton area in the Limousin region, considers some of the ways that efforts to develop tourism reflect or affect social relationships and identities among rural-dwellers. It is argued that tourism development helps sustain the ongoing production of specific local identities by providing a forum in which diverse resident populations articulate their assessments of collective pasts, presents, and futures. But because it is generally those aspects of local life that are least significant or contentious to local residents that are ultimately most likely to be displayed, the experience of country life made available to tourists is apt to exclude many distinguishing characteristics of particular identities—comprising instead relatively generic and placid rural heritages.


The Ground Layer Adaptive Optics (GLAO) system for ULTIMATE, the next generation instrumentation project for the Subaru telescope, will generate and use four laser guide stars on sky in side-launch configuration. The design of the GLAO is led and coordinated by the Subaru telescope in collaboration with Tohoku University, Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA), and the Australian National University (ANU). ANU is responsible for the wavefront sensor subsystem and the Laser Guide Star Facility. The GLAO Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF) includes two Sodium guidestar lasers to be split in a total of four, generating an asterism of four artificial stars on the Hawaiian skies. Divided into three main subsystems (beam transfer optics, beam diagnostics, and beam projection), the GLAO LGSF accounts for the conditioning, splitting, and steering of the laser beams as well as for their launching configuration over a patrol field of 20 arcmin on sky. This paper presents the preliminary design of the GLAO Laser Guide Star Facility including different approaches for the most efficient splitting of the guidestar lasers, and specifications summary for the final selection of the laser launch telescopes.


Several stations (seismological, geodetical, etc.) suffer from communications problems, such problems create data gaps in real-time data transmission, also excess humidity and temperatures further than manufacturer limits, usually make components and circuitry, of expensive instruments, failure, and results to unaffordable service or unrepairable damage.

We create a low-cost opensource device that will raise the reliability of the stations and secure the instruments from severe damage, such a device installed as prototype at UOA (University of Athens) seismological station KARY (Karistos Greece) for a year and the reliability of the station raised tremendously, since then the device upgraded to provide wireless connection and IoT GUI (mobile app). A local server was built to serve all the devices uninterrupted and provide a secured network.

The software is fully customizable and multiple inputs can provide addon sensors capability, for example, gas sensor, humidity sensor, etc., all the data are collected to a remote database for real-time visualization and archiving for further analysis.

The shell which covers the circuitry is 3D-printed with a high temperature and humidity-resistant material and it’s also fully customizable by the user.


A novel EEPROM memory cell with new program and erase operations fabricated by standard CMOS logic process is presented. The cell which consists of two N-Type MOSFET transistors in series is programmed by select gate controlled channel hot hole and erased by channel hot electron injection along with more than 10/sup 5/ cycles of endurance and 1000 hours of data retention at 150/spl deg/C. Without an additional P-well or N-well serving as the coupling gate, the area of a bit can be as small as 8F/sup 2/, the smallest area reported for single-poly EEPROM cells.


Jefferson Lab is interested in the production of positrons for nuclear physics applications but also has the capability of producing low energy positrons that could be used for positron annihilation studies. Using the LERF accelerator at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, it is possible to produce a high brightness source of very low-energy positrons. The accelerator requirements are well within the capabilities of the installed hardware. For these experiments, we only need run at up to 120 MeV. A challenge is the production of the positrons. The gamma converter must be able to absorb the 50 kW of beam power that the linac delivers. At this low an energy, the converter, though challenging, is feasible. The transport of the low energy positrons from the production target to the next stage, where the energy is reduced even further, must have a very large acceptance to be able to efficiently transport the flux of positrons from the positron production target to the moderator. We propose to accomplish such a transport by means of a guiding solenoidal field with a novel endcap design. Finally, it is in principle possible to produce a spin polarized beam by filtering the positrons at low energy. The layout of the proposed device will be described in this presentation.Jefferson Lab is interested in the production of positrons for nuclear physics applications but also has the capability of producing low energy positrons that could be used for positron annihilation studies. Using the LERF accelerator at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, it is possible to produce a high brightness source of very low-energy positrons. The accelerator requirements are well within the capabilities of the installed hardware. For these experiments, we only need run at up to 120 MeV. A challenge is the production of the positrons. The gamma converter must be able to absorb the 50 kW of beam power that the linac delivers. At this low an energy, the converter, though challenging, is feasible. The transport of the low energy positrons from the production target to the next stage, where the energy is reduced even further, must have a very large acceptance to be able to efficiently transport the flux of positrons from the positron production target to the moderator. We propose to a...


Three‐dimensional printing of viscoelastic inks to create porous, elastomeric architectures with mechanical properties governed by the ordered arrangement of their sub‐millimeter struts is reported. Two layouts are patterned, one resembling a "simple cubic" (SC)‐like structure and another akin to a "face‐centered tetragonal" (FCT) configuration. These structures exhibit markedly distinct load response with directionally dependent behavior, including negative stiffness. More broadly, these findings suggest the ability to independently tailor mechanical response in cellular solids via micro‐architected design. Such ordered materials may one day replace random foams in mechanical energy absorption applications.


Organozinc and organozinc halides have been synthesized by electrolyzing the solutions of alkyl/aryl halides (cyclopentadiene, bromoethane, 1-bromppropane, 1-chlorobutane and chlorobenzene) in acetonitrile at sacrificial zinc anode. These organozinc halides do not form coordination compounds when refluxed with ligands such as 1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2'-bipyridyl. However, coordination compounds of these organozinc compounds have been synthesized by electrolyzing the solution of the above substrate in the presence of ligands in acetonitrile at sacrificial zinc anode. All these products have been characterized by infrared spectral data, elemental analysis and various physical properties. Current efficiencies of all these systems are quite high.


Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income, edited by Gordon L. Clark, Alicia H. Munnell, and J. Michael Orszag with the assistance of Kate Williams, 2006, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 893 pages Over the past several years the study of the economics of pensions and retirement income has grown in importance, particularly outside the disciplines of insurance economics, law, and mathematics. The interest is increasing mainly because of the discussion about the "population bomb," which is now for most of the industrialized countries a "reversed one," an "implosion!" As international attention on retirement financing increases, it is appropriate that Clark, Munnell, and Orszag have edited this Handbook. The Handbook is divided into five major parts, with each part being organized around a series of sections and themes. All in all, it consists of 42 chapters with an impressive list of contributors. Besides the Introduction, a first part (entitled "Retirement in Context") and a final part (entitled "Looking Ahead"), the book is divided into sections in a manner consistent with the well-known three pillars (or layers) of the pension literature: Public Retirement, Employer-Sponsored Retirement, and Individual and Household Retirement Plans. In its total, this overpowering volume is impossible to review and to do justice to all the contributors. Therefore, let me mention only some chapters I am especially interested in. Chapter 11, written by E. Philips Davis and Yu-Wei Hu, is about "Funding, Saving, and Economic Growth." This is a very important question because with enough growth the demographic changes are almost negligible. The authors focus on "whether such a shift from PAYG (i.e., unfunded pay-as-you-go) to funding is largely a matter of reallocation of the financial burden of ageing (with the risk of a generation paying twice), or whether funding improves economic performance sufficiently to generate some or all of the resources required to meet the need of an ageing population" (p. 201, my emphasis). All in all, the authors weigh their arguments very carefully. David A. Wise, one of the leading specialists in this field, has written chapter 16 about "Early Retirement." The public and private pension plans allow workers to retire earlier; in addition, they "often impose a very substantial 'implicit tax' on work" (p. 310). Combining the trend of early retirement with the forthcoming demographic trends serves to magnify the increasing financial burden for the social security systems "and thus contribute to their own insolvency" (p. 332). As a result, changes in program provision that focus on removing the incentives to retire early can have very important implications for the labor force participation of older workers and thus for the financial position of social security programs. The third part starts with chapter 18, written by Alicia H. Munnell, entitled "EmployerSponsored Plans: The Shift From Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution." The chapter focuses on the United States' and the United Kingdom's second tier (or layer) because "supplementary employer pension plans play a major role in the retirement income system, and the nature of those pensions has changed dramatically" (p. 361) from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) plans. Munnell is selective in her analysis, as she does not examine Canada or the Netherlands. The focus is also not Australia (or Switzerland) because these systems are mandatory. Munnell critically evaluates the implications of shifting from DB to 401 (k) plans, as well the shift to money purchase plans in the United Kingdom. Both "place virtually all risk and responsibility for retirement income on the worker" in choosing "[h]ow much to contribute, how to allocate contributions among stocks, bonds, and fixed income securities, and how to change those allocations over time" (p. 377). Furthermore, at retirement, individual accounts also face further problems: how much to annuitize, how to cope with longevity and inflation. …


Twisted small organic molecules (SOMs) enhance the thermoelectric performance of single-walled carbon nanotubes/SOM hybrid films by dramatically increasing the Seebeck coefficient and minimising the inevitable reduction in electrical conductivity.


Research-based education has now become the new orientation of higher education in China in recent future.Postgraduate in English majors have been engaged in a high-speed development towards this new goal for the past few years.This paper focuses on analyzing some major problems in current research-based postgraduate education of English majors.


To understand the aerodynamic characteristics of an iced conductor under wind load,the air flow field around the iced conductor was simulated with the software Fluent.The lift coefficient,drag coefficient and torsional coefficient under different attack angles were calculated for the iced conductors with different ice thickness.The influences of ice thickness and wind speed on the aerodynamic parameters of iced conductors were obtained.The results show that the ice thickness exerts significant influence on the drag coefficient,lift coefficient and torsional coefficient.The wind velocity exerts great influence on the drag coefficient,but slight influence on lift coefficient and torsional coefficient.The computation results may facilitate the research of conductor galloping.


This paper presents a procedure for designing a supplementary damping stabilizer for a static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) in multi-machine power systems. The objective is to shift the lightly damped inter-area modes toward the prescribed stability region. A lead-lag stabilizer is used to demonstrate this technique, in which a particular measure of stabilizer gain is considered as an objective function. Constraints of the problem for phase-lead and lag structures are derived. The objective function with the constraints is formed as a quadratic mathematical programming problem. For robust design, the parameters of the stabilizer are calculated under various operating conditions. Two types of SSSC-based stabilizer have been presented and designed. Numerical results including eigenvalue analysis and the nonlinear simulations on the 4- and 50-machine power systems are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Hydrogenates are involved in the improvement of the efficiency of N_2 fixation in both free-living and symbiotic aerobic microorganisms. H_2-recycling process has been postulated to be beneficial to symbiotic N_2 fixation. However, the role of hydrogenate in the recycling of hydrogen in maintaining a high efficiency of nitrogen fixation in rice associated N_2-fixing bacteria are still unclear (Table 1).
The conditions necessary for coordinated derepression of nitrogenase and uptake hydrogenase activities in rice-associated anaerobic nitrogenfixing bacteria Entrobacter doacae E-26 and Klebsiella oxytoca NG-13 were studied. A number of carbon sources were screened for their ability to support nitrogenase, and then for hydrogenate activity (Table 2). There was a positive correlation between the level of nitrogenase activity and the corresponding hydrogenate activity among various carbon substrates (Table 3). The kinetics of nitrogen fixation was found to be similar to that of hydrogen evolution supported by carbon substrates (Figs, 1,2).Pretreatment with 40% acetylene caused a decrease of uptake hydrogenate (Fig. 4) but no effect on H_2 evolution was observed, and the inhibition of nitrogenase by ammonia did not affect H_2 evolution (Fig. 3). It was found that strain E-26 and NG-13 could catalyze the reduction of various substances physiologically active at electron acceptors, such as fumarate, nitrate, methylene blue, O_2, etc. (Table 4). A variety of terminal electron pathway in H_2 oxidation in these strains was suggested. However, only with fumarate as electron acceptor nitrogen fixation in E-26 strain was enhanced by H_2(Fig. 6). No significant correlation between CO_2 or NH_3 metabolism and H_2 uptake was observed (Fig. 5). The beneficial effect of interspecific hydrogen transfer in rice fields on nitrogen fixation efficiency was discussed.


This article analyses the class nature of Iran's Islamic Republic, arguing that although this regime did come out of a revolution, it was the counter-revolutionary force defeating that revolution.


In terms of human past knowledge, music may be one of the few things which we are certain that follow us since pre-historic times. As a way of representation, musical score notation has always been the main source of musical expression for non-hearing systems. Programs analogous to optical character recognition systems, called optical music recognition (OMR) systems, have been under intensive development from many years. Nowadays, an interesting application of OMR concerns the online recognition, which allows an automatic conversion of text as it is written on a special digital device. Taking into consideration the current proliferation of small electronic devices with increasing computation power, such as tablets and Smartphones, the exploration of such features applied to OMR may be useful in order to overcome the limitations of offline recognition. The main advantages in using online systems are related to: elimination of segmentation issues caused by overlapped symbols, and extra knowledge about spatial-temporal information of symbols. This thesis represents a step forward on the state-of-the art of optical music recognition with the following contributions: A prototype for capturing gesture-free of musical symbols; the construction of a database collected for a set of users with different musical expertise; statistical analyze of the hand-drawn symbols from the users; study of an classifier using information from the user strokes; and a comparative study between the online and the offline methods.


Man-of-letters-Group in Wuzhong Mid-Ming,in cluding Wu Kuan,Wang Ao,Shen Zhou,Wen-Zhengming and so on,was formed on geographical basis.All characters in it had close connection,resemble temperaments,interests and ideas,equal contacting.The Group is consisted of many people,with fuitful creations.


THIS PAPER IS concerned with the role of interest rates, down-payments, and contract maturities in the allocation of mortgage funds among borrowers. It has been widely observed that decreases in interest rates on mortgage and other consumer loans' are often accompanied by decreases in average down-payments and increases in average contract maturities.2 The most popular explanation for this association is one variant of the credit-rationing hypothesis that might best be called the "multiple-term hypothesis." Lenders, so this argument goes, do not ration funds solely on the basis of price-the interest rate-but also on the basis of other conditions of the loan, requiring higher down-payments or shorter maturities than (some) borrowers would prefer to arrange at the quoted interest rate. When either the demand for loans falls or supply increases, lenders may reduce rates charged but also allow borrowers more generous terms in the form of lower downpayments or longer maturities.8 Likewise, according to this argu-


Fourteen patients with contact dermatitis were admitted to the dermatologic service at the St. Louis City Hospital from May 1940 to December 1940. This dermatitis was caused by the wearing of new unwashed shorts purchased at chain department stores. All the patients were male adolescents; they had worn the shorts for at least forty-eight hours prior to the appearance of a sharply demarcated dermatitis covering the lower part of the back, the buttocks and the upper parts of the thighs. Vesiculation was never noted. Edema with associated pain and pruritus about the genitalia was a constant feature. In several cases catheterization was necessary. In no case could a history of previous sensitization be elicited. All the patients were comparatively free from toxic symptoms after the first few days. In 1 case infection was superimposed on the penile edema. Response to treatment was poor. Several patients retained a pruritic erythema after


Model-driven software development, today's state-of-the-art approach to the design of software, can be applied in various domains and thus demands a variety of domain-specific modelling languages. The specification of a domain-specific modelling language's syntax and semantics can in turn be specified based on models, which represent the approach of metamodelling as a special form of language engineering. The latest version of the unified modelling language 2 (UML 2) and its subset the meta object facility 2 (MOF 2) provide sufficient support for metamodelling, a modelling language's abstract syntax. Furthermore, based on the description of the abstract syntax, a language's static semantics can simply be specified by the object constraint language (OCL) as UML/MOF's natural constraint language, whereas the description of an MOF compliant language's dynamic semantics is still not covered. The authors try to close this gap by integrating MOF/OCL with graph transformations for the specification of dynamic aspects of modelling languages and tools. The formalisation of such an integration is non-trivial because of the fact that UML/MOF 2 offer a rather unusual and sophisticated association concept (graph model). Although there are many approaches, which formalise graph transformations in general and first approaches that offer a precise specification of the semantics of the association concepts of UML/MOF 2, there is still a lack in bringing both together. Here, the authors close this gap by formalising graph transformations that work on a UML/MOF 2 compatible graph model.


Since the inception of the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) liver transplant allocation system in 2002, it has been recognized that some diseases exist for which mortality risk is not adequately measured by MELD score. For this reason patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have been assigned an exception MELD score. In this issue of AJT (1), Washburn and colleagues attempted to determine whether the current exception score results in an unfair advantage for HCC patients. They used competing risk methods to compare rates of dropout from the waiting list between adults who received an exception for HCC, versus those without HCC who were listed with their laboratory MELD score. They found that HCC patients have substantially lower dropout rates than nonHCC patients: 12% versus 18% at 1 year after listing. The authors also analyzed factors independently associated with dropout among HCC patients, which included tumor size, laboratory MELD score and level of alphafetoprotein.


An early, comprehensive rhythm‐control therapy is needed in order to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) effectively and to improve ablation outcomes.


Abstract We consider the solvability, based on iterative algorithms, of the generalized variational inequality (GVI) problems involving the relaxed Lipschitz and relaxed monotone operators.


Desogestrel is known to be commonly associated with mood changes, depressed mood and decreased libido [1]. Anxiety and panic attacks have however not yet been described with desogestrel use. In this letter, we highlight the potential relationship between desogestrel and panic attacks, which has been described by mainly patients and some health care professionals in spontaneous reports [individual case safety reports (ICSRs)] from VigiBase, the WHO global database of ICSRs [2, 3]. Contraceptive drugs are commonly used worldwide. Desogestrel is a hormonal progestin used as monotherapy or in combination with ethinylestradiol. The contraceptive effect is, in contrast to traditional progestogen-only pills, achieved primarily by inhibition of ovulation [1]. A panic attack is defined as a discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, often accompanied by physical symptoms such as palpitations and trembling. Experiencing repeated, consistent panic attacks that get in the way of everyday functioning is considered a defining symptom of panic disorder [4]. In VigiBase, there are a total of 25 reports for panic attacks and disorders [MedDRA high level term (HLT)] for desogestrel used as monotherapy reported between 2003 and October 2017. These reports were identified in a signal detection screening activity focusing on reports received primarily from patients. In the case series, 19 out of 22 reports, which had mentioned the qualification of the reporter, originated from consumers or nonhealth professionals. A disproportionality measure was used to highlight potential signals, and for this particular drug and ADR (MedDRA preferred term panic attacks), 1 case of panic attacks was expected but as many as 17 were reported [5]. A subsequent search in VigiBase revealed eight additional reports for the MedDRA HLT panic attacks and disorders. In all reports, the causality was individually assessed. The well-described reports are all from Europe and concern women between 18 to 48 years (median age 30). In 17 cases, desogestrel is the only drug reported to have been used. Of the eight other reports that had additional drugs reported, only three reports suspected another drug in addition to desogestrel for the reaction. Ethinylestradiol/levonorgestrel was co-suspected and possibly contributing to the panic attack in two cases while in the third case, the co-suspected drug, lymecycline, was unlikely contributing to the reported event. Only one patient had a documented medical history of panic attacks but she had not had a panic attack for five years. Fifteen days after starting desogestrel, she experienced a panic attack. In 11 reports, it was documented that the panic attacks occurred within 2 months of starting the contraceptive drug. The median time from start of drug intake to occurrence of the panic reactions, in the reports where such information was available, was 15 days. Commonly coreported terms were anxiety (15 reports) and depression (7 reports). In 17 cases, the patients were reported to be recovering/have recovered (one with sequelae) after withdrawal of the drug and in one case psychiatric problems (not further specified) reoccurred when the drug was started again. In five cases, it was reported that the patients had not recovered from the panic attacks at the time of reporting. Eighteen reports were classified as serious among the 22 reports that had added information about the seriousness of the case. Often, the panic attacks were not recognized as adverse drug reactions (ADRs) due to desogestrel, as illustrated by these quotes from the patients: British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology Br J Clin Pharmacol (2018) 84 1858–1859 1858


The use of declining-rate filtration in new plants is increasing because it produces better quality water and requires less available head loss. Critical to the conversion of constant-rate or constant-level filter plants to declining-rate operations is the total head loss required for the declining-rate plant and variations in the water level after conversion. Several alternatives for converting to declining-rate filtration are available.


The South African Institute for Educational Research was requested by International Business Machines to conduct an experiment at the Department of Cataloguing and Codification of the South African Defence Force with computer-assisted instruction. Although the experiment did not conform to all scientific standards it did nevertheless show that it is feasible to use computer-assisted instruction.


This paper discussed about group based on a set consists of matrix 3x3 with elements integers modulo p, p a prime number. It begin with determine the number of matrix which hold in set matrix. Using combination of element of integer modulo p, p prime number, we get the total element in matrix set is finite. By group theory, we characterisation this set such that the properties of group theory is hold


Responsible management of fishery resources has been a tradition of Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) of South Sumatera for generations. It was recorded that since 1630 the Dutch Government had made auction policy for managing water territory in OKI Regency as an effort to preserve nature and to avoid the conflict of inland water ownership. Currently, the community-based management model has been adopted by local governments into formal regulations, known as Regional Regulation on Auction of Flood Water Swamp and Rivers (Lelang Lebak Lebung dan Sungai or L3S). This paper describes the success factors and the threats for the failure of the L3S management model in OKI Regency, based on a case study in Pangkalan Lampam District. The study showed that the management mechanism through the L3S system had been well instituted and become a well-established management practice. The management model is in line with the principle of co-management and the approach has become critical success factor in L3S management. However, ecological, economic and social aspects influence the sustainability of such fishery management model. Besides, L3S management model faces limited data and information related to fish stocks, which result in difficulties in determining the total allowable catch.


This paper shows the design and implementation of a fiber optic sensor for detecting and identifying wavelengths in the visible range. The system consists of a diffuse optical fiber, a conventional laser diode 650nm, 2.5mW of power, an ambient light sensor LX1972, a PIC 18F2550 and LCD screen for viewing. The principle used in the detection of the lambda is based on specular reflection and absorption. The optoelectronic device designed and built used the absorption and reflection properties of the material under study, having as active optical medium a bifurcated optical fiber, which is optically coupled to an ambient light sensor, which makes the conversion of light signals to electricas, procedure performed by a microcontroller, which acquires and processes the signal. To verify correct operation of the assembly were utilized the color cards of sewing thread and nail polish as samples for analysis. This optoelectronic device can be used in many applications such as quality control of industrial processes, classification of corks or bottle caps, color quality of textiles, sugar solutions, polymers and food among others.


Based on field investigations in northern Russia and interpretation of offshore seismic data, we have made a preliminary reconstruction of the maximum ice‐sheet extent in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Early/Middle Weichselian and the Late Weichselian. Our investigations indicate that the Barents and Kara ice sheets attained their maximum Weichselian positions in northern Russia prior to 50 000 yr BP, whereas the northeastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet advanced to a maximum position shortly after 17000 calendar years ago. During the Late Weichselian (25 000–10000 yr BP), much of the Russian Arctic remained ice‐free. According to our reconstruction, the extent of the ice sheets in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum was less than half that of the maximum model which, up to now, has been widely used as a boundary condition for testing and refining General Circulation Models (GCMs). Preliminary numerical‐modelling experiments predict Late Weichselian ice sheets which are larger than the ice extent implied for the Kara Sea region from dated geological evidence, suggesting very low precipitation.


This research aims to analyze the level of income and welfare of organic and inorganic rice farmers households in Pringsewu and Pardasuka Sub-District. This research used a case study method in Pringsewu and Pardasuka Sub-District, Pringsewu Regency purposively with consideration that the area is a regional pioneer of organic rice farming in Lampung Province and has obtained SNI certification from the government. The total samples were 37 farmers consisted of 17 organic rice farmers and 20 inorganic rice farmers. The data were collected in April-June 2018 and analyzed by farm income analysis, household income analysis, and welfare analysis based on BPS's criteria (2014). The results showed that the average household income of organic and inorganic rice farmers in Pringsewu and Pardasuka Sub-Districts are IDR 21,520,505.88 per year and IDR18,785,344.38 per year. Based on BPS's criteria, as many as 88.24% and70% households of organic and inorganic rice farmers are included in the already prosperous category.Key words: household welfare, inorganic rice, income, organic rice


OBJECTIVE To compare the distribution and drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in ICU and common wards so as to guide the clinical rational use of antimicrobial drugs.METHODS The P.aeruginosa isolates were detected by VITEK-32 and VITEK-2 compact system,and antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by K-B method.The significance of the resistant rate was analyzed by χ2.RESULTS A total of 341 strains of P.aeruginosa were isolated,which were mainly from sputum(62.5%);most isolates distributed in ICU,accounting for 51.3%;the infection rate was the highest in autumn(34.0%),there was little difference in the monthly distribution of P.aeruginosa between the ICU and the common wards;the resistance rate of the isolates from ICU was 27.4%,the common wards 5.4%,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05);the resistant rates of P.aeruginosa isolates from ICU to amikacin,cefepime,gentamicin,levofloxacin,ceftazidime,tobramycin,and piperacillin/tazobactam were higher than from the common wards,the difference was statistically significant(P0.005);of the P.aeruginosa isolates from ICU,multidrug-resistant(MDR) and pan-drug resistant(PDR) strains accounted for 53.2% and 18.8%,respectively;of the isolates from the common wards,MDR and PDR strains accounted for 14.5% and 3.6%,the difference was statistically significant(P0.05).CONCLUSION P.aeruginosa isolates are mainly isolated from sputum,it is necessary to strengthen the disinfections,which is conducive to the reduction of P.aeruginosa infections;the drug resistance of P.aeruginosa isolates from ICU is significantly higher than from the common wards;the isolation rates of MDR and PDR strains are so high,MDR strains from ICU is more than 50.0%,and the drug resistance is serious.


In phase measuring profilometry, in order to obtain a true phase,a phase-unwrapping process must be needed.For this reason a new algorithm which can directly obtain true phase is put forward.The principle of the algorithm is that the differentiation (one-order) in space is equivalent to multiply a linear factor in the frequency domain.In this way the relation between phase differentiation and light intensity can be obtained.The obtained phase differentiation will be integrated,then a true phase can be achieved.The computer simulation shows that the method is effective and feasible.


The utility model relates to a steam hot pot which comprises a pot body, pot handles are arranged outside the pot body, wherein, a vertical cylindrical heat-collecting liner is arranged in the pot body, the lower end of the heat-collecting liner is fixed at the pot bottom in the pot body, a fluid diversion hole which is open at the upper part is arranged below the heat-collecting liner, and a heat-collecting liner lid which can be opened and enclosed is arranged at the top end of the heat-collecting liner. When soup seasonings are poured into the pot body, the pot body is covered tightly by the heat-collecting line and the top of the heat-collecting liner is enclosed, then the hot pot is positioned on a heat source to heat, the pot bottom part where the heat-collecting liner is positioned is a main heating part; the fluid diversion hole below the heat-collecting liner can stop the food outside the heat-collecting liner to avoid the food from being stuck to the pot bottom after being heated; when being heated, the soup exchanges heat circularly through the fluid diversion hole, in addition, after the soup is boiled, the hot steam is exhausted through the fluid diversion hole below the heat-collecting liner, thereby the soup outside the heat-collecting liner is heated; in a word, the steam hot pot has the advantages that the sticky and burnt problems of the prior hot pot when being heated is avoided, and the heating is uniform, therefore, the fresh soup flavor and the fresh and tender food are conserved.


The main purpose of the developed capacitive sensor is to access, in actual oil pipelines, the sizes, the velocities and the frequencies of the gas-oil structures occurring in the slug flow pattern. The probe is intrusive. It consists of a single rod of stainless steel crossing a metallic tube along the diameter line. The rod is insulated from the pipe. The sensor works by measuring the capacitance between the rod and the pipe wall. The gas and the oil phases are detected due to the changes on the dielectric constants of the media. This paper describes the characteristics of the sensor, including its sensitivity, its circuit block diagram, and the static and dynamic tests in gas-oil pipelines with sizes of 29mm and 150mm in diameter.


Abstract The X-ray photoemission core level spectra of TlCr 5 Se 8 and Tl 0.2 Cr 5 Se 8 definitely exclude the oxidation of Tl(I) to Tl(III) when Tl is removed using a topotactic redox reaction between TlCr 5 Se 8 and bromine in acetonitrile. Alterations are only observed for the multiplett structure of the Cr 3 s core level giving evidences for a partial oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(IV). Significant differences are observed in the valence band regions that were investigated with He I and He II radiation. For the Tl-poor sample an increased electron density at the Fermi level is observed in accordance with the higher electrical conductivity of this sample. The variations of the emissions in the region down to about 3 eV below E F can nicely be explained on the basis of the reduced Tl content and a partial oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(IV).


An improved method that can be easily scaled up has been developed for the preparation of benzyl-N-vinyl carbamate. In this method vinyl isocyanate formed by the Curtius rearrangement of acryloyl azide is codistilled with a solvent such as toluene into benzyl alcohol containing a catalyst and inhibitor. The product thus obtained can be purified by crystallization, avoiding purification by high-vacuum distillation or chromatography. Potential safety issues associated with the process are discussed.


The Brillouin scattering spectrum has been used to investigate the properties of a liquid medium. Here, we propose an improved method based on the double-edge technique to obtain the Brillouin spectrum of a liquid. We calculated the transmission ratios and deduced the Brillouin shift and linewidth to construct the Brillouin spectrum by extracting the Brillouin edge signal through filtered double-edge data. We built a detection system to test the performance of this method and measured the Brillouin spectrum for distilled water at different temperatures and compared it with the theoretical pre-diction. The observed difference between the experimental and theoretical values for Brillouin shift and linewidth is less than 4.3 MHz and 3.2 MHz, respectively. Moreover, based on the double-edge technique, the accuracy of the extracted temperatures and salinity is approximately 0.1 °C and 0.5%, respectively, indicating significant potential for application in water detection and oceanography.


The times change a lot of things, one of them human needs such as shoes. Along with the development of modern life, shoes are an irreplaceable part to maintain one's appearance. So it is very important for companies to provide various types of shoes with certain advantages needed by the community so they can compete with other shoe products. For that reason, the writer tries to make it easier for the seller to make the best shoe recommendations more effectively and efficiently so that they can better utilize the available data to be processed into the recommendations. And the usual manual method is done by looking at the previous shoe data and less considering other criteria with the existence of this support system the results of the recommendations are more accurate and precise. Therefore the researchers made a decision support application using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method, based on web with Dreamweaver Editor application and MySQL database. With the hope that this application will make it easier for the seller to determine the best shoes.


We just released an Open Source receiver that is able to decode IEEE 802.11a/g/p Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) frames in software. This is the first Software Defined Radio (SDR) based OFDM receiver supporting channel bandwidths up to 20MHz that is not relying on additional FPGA code. Our receiver comprises all layers from the physical up to decoding the MAC packet and extracting the payload of IEEE 802.11a/g/p frames. In our demonstration, visitors can interact live with the receiver while it is decoding frames that are sent over the air. The impact of moving the antennas and changing the settings are displayed live in time and frequency domain. Furthermore, the decoded frames are fed to Wireshark where the WiFi traffic can be further investigated. It is possible to access and visualize the data in every decoding step from the raw samples, the autocorrelation used for frame detection, the subcarriers before and after equalization, up to the decoded MAC packets. The receiver is completely Open Source and represents one step towards experimental research with SDR.


The content of Fe, Mn, Al, Zn, Ni, Cu, Pb, Cr, Cd and Hg in higher aquatic plants, moss, charophyta and green filamentous algae was determined using inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. A comparative assessment of metal accumulation was conducted. Plants growing within the heat-affected zone of Gusinoozersk State Regional Power Plant, especially filamentous algae, contained the largest amount of metals, which indicates the higher pollution of water and sediments and intensification of metabolic processes and their accumulation in plants. It was shown that aquatic plants of Lake Gusinoe accumulated most of the studied metals in volumes greater than in other cooling reservoir of Siberia. Thus, this research provides one of the important steps for the development of regional environmental standards and environmental risk assessments.


Several studies can be found where the mechanical strength of fiber composites is evaluated, but not much can be found regarding the influence of voids, as a second phase, in the same mechanical behavior of materials. In the present work, the influence of bubble presence into translucid polymeric bars is investigated. For this purpose, cubic probes with an anisotropic distribution of bubbles were casted, and other were casted controlling the manufacture process to avoid the bubble formation. Each probe was placed in a He‐Ne laser‐photoelastic arrangement and subjected to compression by an static load. The transmitted 630 nm, He‐Ne laser beam was captured by a single mode fiber optic sensor and then transmitted to a spectrometer and PC. Analysis of the spectrometer signals showed that the maximum stresses are concentrated on the bubbles reducing the surface stresses and inducing damping on the probe. The amount of damping depends on the size of the bubbles formed within the probe and their arrangement, thu...


This paper aims to explore the possibility of developing metaverse-based tasks that reflect the characteristics of KFL learner needs and TOPIK speaking tests. Accordingly, this paper examined the characteristics of TOPIK speaking questions based on previous studies. In addition, the elements necessary for TOPIK speaking practice were reviewed by analyzing various functions of the metaverse platforms 'Zepeto', 'iFland', 'Zep' and 'Spatial', which are currently widely used in Korean language education. After organizing the metaverse platform that can be used for each question, the third question, 'Talking with pictures' was selected as an example and specifically suggested a utilization plan. By performing various practice tasks in the metaverse space, KFL learners will be given tasks similar to TOPIK speaking tests, so that they can become familiar with iBT test forms through practice of understanding and calculating language skills required to perform formal tests.


Objective: This teaching case aims to stimulate discussion on some of the main dilemmas and difficulties related to social entrepreneurship. Dilemma: Based on the account of the entrepreneurial process of Libertees Clothing, students will have the opportunity to reflect on the entrepreneurial process with a social bias and debate the entrepreneurial dilemma of balancing social objectives with business profitability. Originality: The teaching strategy consists in enabling the student to learn, firstly, the characterization of a social enterprise and how the entrepreneurial process of social bias is distinguished from its economic counterpart. Relevance: The case inquiries into the tensions existing in the daily operation of the venture, which must balance social aspirations with the objectives of economic-financial sustainability of the organization.


This paper focuses on the evaluation experiment of a Virtual Reality (VR) museum. The exhibits of the VR museum are tools that are related to olive trees and olive oil. For the implementation of the experiment, we have used cognitive walkthrough enhanced with an extra phase for testing the user-friendliness and naturalness of human-computer interaction. According to the method some scenarios are designed and run with the participation of real users. Users are being watched by a human expert while interacting with system and implement the scenarios. The method has a predefined list of questions that have to be answered after the user's interaction with the system has been complemented. The problems identified during this process were prioritized and discussed in the final phase of the evaluation.


Over thirty million Americans suffer from noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). Previous research demonstrated that different types of noises, even with equal sound energies, could produce different amounts of hearing loss. In this project, a novel digital noise exposure system has been developed for generating various noise signals (e.g. pure-tone, Gaussian, impulsive, and complex noise). The developed system can be used to study NIHL in animal models. The system could produce impulse noise with peak sound pressure level (SPL) up to 160 dB, which effectively mimics the noise generated by a military weapon (e.g., M-16 rifle). The preliminary results of in an animal study showed significant permanent threshold shift (PTS) produced by 90 shocks impulse noise with peak SPL = 155 dB generated by the system. In summary, the digital noise exposure system replicates environmental noise allowing researchers to study impulse noise induced hearing loss in a controlled situation.


A quick tutorial of the IEEE Reference Model for Open Storage Systems Inter- connection (OSSI), better known as the Mass Storage System Reference Model (MSSRM) is presented, followed by a brief description of the IEEE Storage System Standards Working Group (SSSWG, Project 1244), which produced the Model. Current activities of the SSSWG and its plans are discussed. The best and current information may be viewed at URL http://www.arl.mil/IEEE, including copies of various documents relating to the Model.


A crystal structure of an organic compound results from numerous, mainly weak interactions between molecules. The energy of interactions strongly depends on a distance between interacting molecules and atoms, so the contribution from the nearest neighbours is dominating. The statement is at the origin of our approach to the quantum chemical (MP2) calculations of the energy of interactions in the crystals under consideration. The experimentally determined crystal structures were assumed in the calculations. The two-body and three-body interactions were considered to represent the many-body interactions in the real crystal. We analysed molecular clusters, i.e. dimers and trimers formed by H-bonded and π stacked molecules in the polymorphs of paraand meta-nitrophenol [1,2]. The calculated energies of the intermolecular interactions within the clusters rationalise the polymorphic structures and may serve as a first-order approximation of crystal properties. The isostructurality of the stable forms of paraand meta-nitrophenol and, respectively, of their metastable forms is also reflected in the molecular translational and librational vibrations as well as in the internal, torsional vibrations of the nitro groups. The mean-square amplitudes of the vibrations were calculated from the variable-temperature anisotropic displacement parameters within the TLS formalism.


We extend to nonstatic black holes our benchmarking scheme that allows for cross–comparison of the efficiencies of asymptotically AdS black holes used as working substances in heat engines. We use a circular cycle in the [Formula: see text] plane as the benchmark cycle. We study Kerr black holes in four spacetime dimensions as an example. As in the static case, we find an exact formula for the benchmark efficiency in an ideal gas-like limit, which may serve as an upper bound for rotating black hole heat engines in a thermodynamic ensemble with fixed angular velocity. We use the benchmarking scheme to compare Kerr to static black holes charged under Maxwell and Born–Infeld sectors.


This study divided cultivars of wintersweet in agricultural zone into 3 groups: Concolor Group, Intermedius Group, Patens Group; and the scientific name were argued in this study. Based on the analysis of the existing cultivar classification principle of wintersweet in agricultural zone, the necessary of cultivar classification principle of wintersweet in agricultural zone according to ICNCP were pointed out. The practicality and scientificalness of the purple texture on the inner tepals as the primary classification standard were demonstrated. 'compliance with international norms, scientific, practical' as the classification principle, the dual classification system of 'cultivar group-cultivar' were carried out.


Actually, there is a controversial discussion in automotive industry if the deployment of inductive power supply is able to avoid the disadvantages of conductive vehicle charging systems. Available charging systems for electric vehicles use wires to connect the vehicle to the grid. This leads to several disadvantages such as vandalism and additional effort for the driver. Furthermore, loose or faulty cables are a safety risk. As an alternative, non-contact charging of electric vehicles allows for a simple, reliable and safe charging process. It improves the user acceptance and contributes to the integration of electric vehicles into the market. Thus, the availability to the grid is increased, which offers a higher degree of flexibility for the storage management.


1,3,5-Tris(dicyanovinyl)-substituted benzene 1 can accept one, two, and three electrons stepwise, as shown by (spectro)electrochemical methods. When the corresponding redox stages are attained by K-metal reduction in THF and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, paramagnetic resonance and optical techniques can identify equilibria between adjacent redox states and different (para)magnetic stages. It can be shown that the dianion can adopt a triplet state whereas the trianion is present in a doublet and quartet spin multiplicity. Similar findings are established for the methoxy-substituted derivative 2. The formation of the different paramagnetic stages is closely connected to the association of the anions with alkali-metal countercations.


Samples of sea-surface microlayer (SMIC) and subsurface bulkwater were collected along a pollution gradient in the German Bight region of the North Sea in March 1990. Toxicity was assessed using cryopreserved veliger larvae of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas L. and the Manila clam Tapes philippinarurn Adams & Reeve. Water samples were analysed for copper, lead and organotins. The results indicate that toxicity and chemical concentrations are greater in the microlayer than in the subsurface waters and decline with increased distance offshore.


The burgeoning world population has exceeded seven billion amid planet Earth's decreasing capacity to replenish lost and fast-depleting natural resources. This makes food security a top concern for most countries, poor and developing countries in particular. Growing demographic pressures coupled with climate change may result in food scarcity becoming a major cause of conflicts between nations competing for survival in the future. The close link between food security and a sound natural resource base is a fundamental natural law that should not be violated in development planning. However, the number of mouths to feed alongside the ever-increasing pace of urbanization and infrastructure build-up may see the future abandonment of ecological ideals and principles. This is already obvious in the rapid transformation of the natural landscape into a mosaic of varied land uses in almost all parts of tropical countries. In this context, striving for food security and biodiversity conservation may no longer be pursued as mutually exclusive endeavours. While on one hand, there is the ecological imperative to preserve nature in its pristine state for aesthetics and ecosystem services, on the other there is continuous pressure on the land in the effort to lift the production of annual crops. In all of these circumstances, food security is a primary goal that needs to be sustained, so we turn to modern technology to address the problem. We may now safely say that genetically modified (GM) corn technology has played a role in the alleviation of the food-security problem. Sadly, however, as is regularly the case in the introduction of man-made innovations, concerns about environmental impacts