ENCOURAGING ENTREPRENEURSHIP: BRITAIN'S NEW ENTERPRISE PROGRAM Along with most western countries, Britain experienced severe economic turbulence in the 1970s. Companies fought to survive as costs rose and competition from low labor-cost centers increased. Many businesses experienced insolvency and subsequent liquidation; other closed down corporate headquarters and contracted operations. As a result, unemployment grew to a level never before believed politically acceptable. The significance of small firms as providers of new jobs, new services, and new products became more apparent, along with the need, highlighted by the Bolton Report of 1971, to harness the entrepreneurial spirit by encouraging people to start new firms and, moreover, to help them to survive. The problem was how to do it. Clearly, since the number of potential new firms is, by definition, very large, and since resources are limited, it was important to identify the specific needs of particular groups and to design appropriate assistance. Schemes were set up by government, by local authorities, by companies, and by educational institutions. The New Enterprise Program (NEP) is one of these cooperative efforts. This program offers courses aimed at helping the potential entrepreneur to succeed, and the success rate is dramatic. Of the 252 people who attended the first 19 programs, 96 percent started a business following graduation. The program and the extent to which it fits the needs of participants are discussed in this article. BACKGROUND The first New Enterprise Program was held in Manchester Business School in 1977, sponsored by the Manpower Services Commission (MSC). Encouraged by the apparent success of the program, the MSC determined to expand it nationwide. Two course levels emerged. The first, typifying the NEP as originally envisaged, attempted to identify employment. These courses would be placed in the University Business Schools. The second type of course, called the Small Business Course, was aimed at those who sought self-employment or who wished to develop small businesses that employed only one or two people. These were placed in the more practically oriented Polytechnics and Colleges, similar to junior and community colleges in the United States. Patterned closely on the original Manchester Programs, NEPs were established in Durham University Business School in 1978, London Business School (LBS) in 1979, and the Scottish Business School in 1980. The initial format of the program was the same in each institution: four weeks of full-time residence followed by twelve weeks of field work with three two-day feedback sessions at equal intervals. The MSC paid all tuition and gave a training or living allowance to each participant. Although the programs were similar in outline, the format and philosophy varied substantially according to the styles and attitudes of the program directors. Despite the differences, common issues emerged. The major ones to be discussed in the first part of this article are: * identifying the type of person who would benefit most * selecting participants * timing of the intervention * course design and content * the program director THE NEW ENTERPRISE PROGRAM The Participants Any program must focus on the needs of its target group, and the extent to which they are likely to be willing to participate. For many educators and participants, the idea of a course for entrepreneurs is a contradiction in terms, since entrepreneurs are thought to avoid educational institutions. It is, therefore, especially important to understand the characteristics of those who would apply for a course in entrepreneurship, particularly a fairly long one, and to decide which applicants are most likely to benefit from the experience. One of the reasons for the view that an educational experience could be unattractive to entrepreneurs is that they are often viewed as having low educational attainment, a characteristic which Stanworth and Curran describe as contributing to their "social marginality. …


Polyhydramnios is a common obstetric condition, but its management can often be challenging. Mild polyhydramnios resolves frequently and is not usually associated with adverse perinatal outcomes. There is a higher prevalence of aneuploidy (10–20%) in severe polyhydramnios. Unexplained polyhydramnios has been associated with increased rates of perinatal morbidity and mortality.


The article analyzes some of the key features of comic discourse. Its specifcity is outlined in terms of the construed semantic relations between the text and non-textual reality, as well as between «said» and «implied». It is suggested that the comic discourse is not inclined to focus on the literal meanings of the used language units, yet at the same time does not deny them, acting as a carrier of a special kind of «displaced» meanings.


Michael J. Gerardi, MD, FACEP, Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's Medical Center, Atlantic Health System; Vice-Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine, Morristown Memorial Hospital. Michael A. Gibbs, MD, FACEP, Residency Program Director; Medical Director, MedCenter Air, Department of Emergency Medicine, Carolinas Medical Center; Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC.


Some of the more common applications of digital computers in the electrical utility field are discussed. The emphasis is placed not only on their present-day uses, but also on their possible future utilization.


New equipment has been designed and constructed to simultaneously measure dynamic viscosity and density on the basis of capillary flow technique and vibrating tube method, respectively, up to 70 MPa and 423.15 K. This apparatus has been built taking into account a number of physical parameters such as volumetric flow, length, and inner radius of the capillary tube and border effects. On the basis of the results of this work, densities for liquids are measured with relative combined expanded uncertainties of 0.07 % for water and ethanol, 0.7 % for hexane, 0.2 % for heptane, and 0.17 % for 1-pentanol and 1-heptanol. For the dynamic viscosity, the corresponding relative combined expanded uncertainties are 0.7 % for water and ethanol, 4.0 % for hexane, and 1.1 % for heptane, 1-pentanol, and 1-heptanol. In the calculated uncertainty for density and dynamic viscosity was included the contribution of the sample impurity. Experimental determinations of both dynamic viscosities and densities are performed, for sev...


A ne w al~orilhm is ~ive n fur cumpulin ~ Ihe soluliun of a ny secu nd-orde r lin ea r diffe re nce e qua lion which is a ppli cable when s impl e rec urrence proce dures ca nnol be used becau se uf in sla bilil Y. Co mpare d wilh Ih e we ll -knuwn lV1ill e r a l ~o rilhm Ih e ne w m elhod has Ih e advanla~es of (i) a Ul umal ic ally deLermining the currec t number of rec urrence steps. (ii ) app lying to illllOlllo~en eou s differe nce eqlla ~ li uns, (iii ) e nab lin g mure powerful e rrur a na lyses lu be co ns lru c led. The me lhud is illuSlra led by num e rica l comp ulalion s, ineludin~ e rror ana lyses. uf A n~e rWe be r . S iruve, a nd Besse l fun c li uns, and Ih e s u luli un of a differe nli a l e qualiun in C he bys he v se ri es.


The nature and character of Islamic law and the divine ordinances of the Shari'a furnish additional proof of the necessity for establishing government, for they indicate that the laws were laid down for the purpose of creating a state and administering the political, economic, and cultural affairs of society. -Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini After the advent of the Iranian revolution in February 1979, the theocratic Islamic state launched a comprehensive program known as "Islamization." In its economic dimension, the objective of the program was to lay the foundation of an Islamic economic system in Iran. More than 10 years later, the practical obstacles of establishing an Islamic economic order are now more discernible. It is the purpose of this study to analyze the process of economic policy formation under the Islamic Republic of Iran during the early stages of the revolution. It is hoped that it will reveal some of the difficulties associated with the idea of establishing an Islamic economic order in other areas of the world, such as Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, and the emerging Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union, where Islamic revivalism is presenting itself as an alternative socioeconomic order to those of the West. The author is the Executive Director of the Bennington Corporation. This article is based on his 1991 doctoral dissertation titled "Islamization of the Economy: The Iranian Experience" at The American University in Washington, D.C.


International competition and dynamically changing customer demands lead SME's to join dynamically formed, 'smart' enterprise networks aiming to increase their competitiveness and market share. Supporting such networks with decision making related to collaborations and providing adaptive user interfaces are key challenges. In this paper, we use furniture manufacturing SME's as a case study and we provide an overview of our ongoing work on e-Furn, an agent-based system for supporting 'smart' collaboration in enterprise networks. We outline two main features of the proposed approach: a) assisting users in typical collaboration decisions, such as product bundling and task outsourcing, and b) providing users with dynamically adaptive user interfaces.


This study was conducted to examine which metaphors teachers attribute to educational reforms. This research adopted a phenomenological design, in which the data were collected through metaphors. The findings indicated that teachers have negative beliefs about educational reforms. Also, the findings showed that teachers have traditional beliefs about educational reforms, rather than contemporary ones. Although teachers believed that educational reforms are a need for the education system, they perceived reform acts negatively, approaching them from a more traditional perspective.


Hue is an important attribute of color information.Hue invariability is very important to color image enhancement.Normally,people transform the color space of image from RGB to HIS,then enhance the variable I(intensity) only.Because of the transformation between RGB and HIS is very complex,the program will compute for a long time.Therefore a new method of color image enhancement is proposed.After analyzing the simplified model of HIS,it is found that the hue will keep invariant if the R,G,B multiplies or adds same number.So we can gener-alize the enhancement scheme for grey scale images to color images with out transformation of color space.This paper also discusses the gamut problem and its solution.The gamut problem will lead to distortion of color.The method proposed by this article keeps off the transformation between RGB and HIS,so it can obviously simplify the computation.FPGA(programmable logic device) is an effective driver to realize real-time parallel processing of batches of video data.In this article,this characteristic is used as a solution of the histogram equalization enhancement algorithm and make it realized through improving the histogram equalization enhancement algorithm.It is very useful in real-time situation of LED display.Experiment results have shown that the proposed method works well in enhancing color image,and it's efficient.


Abstract Different γ-Al2O3–TiO2 catalysts were tested in a pilot plant fixed-bed reactor in order to evaluate the effect of atomic ratio (Ni/Ni + Mo) on hydrotreating activity of heavy gasoil FCC feed. Hydrotreating reactions were carried out at three temperatures (330, 365, and 400°C) and LHSV of 6 h−1. Studies of atomic ratio were done varying Ni amounts (2, 2.4, and 2.95 wt%) whereas molybdenum loading was kept constant (6 wt%) for all catalysts, the behavior of these catalysts was compared with a reference catalyst containing 11.5 wt% of Mo and 2.95 wt% of Ni, which was evaluated at the same conditions. All catalysts were prepared by incipient impregnation method over γ-Al2O3–TiO2 (Ti = 5.6 wt%). Experimental results showed correlation between the atomic ratio (Ni/Ni + Mo) and the best results for hydrodemetallization where found for the catalyst with atomic ratio of (Ni/Ni + Mo) = 0.45.


In their paper on the age of the Detroit River Group, the authors, E.C. Prosh and C.W. Stearn, suggest that the occurrence of two to four species of stromatoporoids in the Detroit River, which are also known to occur in well-dated Lower Devonian Arctic formations, outweighs the evidence of conodonts and goniatites that is currently used to date the Detroit River as mostly, or entirely, Middle Devonian. The conodont and goniatite evidence is much stronger than indicated by the authors and too strong to be set aside in response to their new data. Correlation difficulties are attributable to the known endemism of the eastern North American Early and Middle Devonian faunas and to environmental differences.


: Shaping original rod structures goes less and less fre-quently according the traditional methods of design, whereas optimization processes rise in significance. Bionic explorations impact the development in contemporary architecture trends that inspire architects to create more tectonically fascinating solutions. The logic behind forming such structures is effectiveness in the use of materials and energy. The dynamic development of digital technology provides new tools for authors to design increasingly complex spatial forms, often arising as a result of multi-criteria optimization processes. In the times of universal computerization, generative design methods are modern, creative tools of the architects that allow them to create diverse, multi-variant structures based on similar assumptions about the com-mon boundary in the search of synergistic solutions for a new generation in architecture and design. The search for optimal solutions was adopted to study the bionic trends in regular and irregular flat rod structures on the Voronoi-based divisions.


The purpose for field and laboratory tests is to provide the needed data for optimal design process of soil constructions, foundation systems calculation, bearing capacity calculation, tunneling and slope stability analysis. A complete characterization detailing the intricate and complex response of soils remains a challenging task that can only be realized through careful drilling and sampling program coupled with detailed laboratory testing. However, the situation when complete data for computer analysis is not included in the geotechnical studies is very often encountered. The determination of different correlations between the geotechnical parameters will simplify the input process for computer analysis and will also facilitate the process of selection for the correct parameters needed for analysis. The main purpose of this study is about to determine the required parameters from the geotechnical parameters that can easily be determined from laboratory tests. However relations between the geotechnical parameters need to be accurately calculated in order to precisely represent the true behaviour of the soil.


In 1979, the Federal Reserve Board, led by Chairman Paul Volcker, drastically raised the federal funds rate as part of their efforts for taming inflation. As a consequence of this increase, borrowing costs for Mexico rose substantially. Eventually the country suspended its debt payments in 1982, which was followed by an economic crisis and seven years of little to no access to foreign credit. In this paper we use a standard sovereign default model to explore the extent to which the rise in U.S. interest rates caused the default in Mexico. We find that, even if interest rates had remained low, Mexico would still have defaulted. We then extend the model to allow for endogenous re-entry to financial markets via debt restructuring. Within this framework we analyze whether the crisis could have been shorter and less severe had interest rates remained low.


Background: Several studies have indicated that the depth and duration of treatment response in multiple myeloma are both reduced in the relapsed setting. With further lines of therapy, responses continue to weaken in depth and shorten in duration. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines suggest that regimens may be repeated in the relapsed setting if there has been a duration of at least 6 months since that regimen was given; however, there is limited information regarding treatment response and duration in the setting of re-treating patients with agents previously utilized. Moreover, preliminary data has suggested that carfilzomib-based regimens in the frontline may be able to attain deeper and longer responses than alternative therapies, which has led to carfilzomib being used more frequently in the frontline. This motivated us to investigate the treatment response, depth, and safety of re-challenging patients with carfilzomib in the relapsed setting.
 Methods: In this retrospective chart review, we identified all patients who were treated with multiple courses of carfilzomib-based regimens at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center between January 1, 2014 and November 30, 2018. Our primary objectives were to assess the response, duration of response and treatment, and safety of re-exposure to carfilzomib-based regimens. Responses were assessed as per IMWG 2016 consensus criteria (Lancet Oncol 2016). In this review we describe the clinical course, safety, and efficacy of re-challenging patients with carfilzomib in the relapsed and refractory settings.
 Results: Fifteen patients were identified as having received multiple, independent lines of carfilzomib-based therapy. The median age of the cohort was 58 years (49-76) with 53% male (8); two patients had R-ISS stage 1, eight stage 2, and five stage 3 disease. Five of these patients received their initial carfilzomib in the frontline as part of KRD; four of whom attained a sCR with the fifth attaining a VGPR. The remaining ten patients received their initial carfilzomib in the second-line (4) or 3rd and subsequent lines (6). Upon re-exposure to carfilzomib, patients were heavily treated with a median of four lines of therapy (2-15). All but three patients had at least one adverse cytogenetic abnormality; eight with 17p-, five with 13q-, three with t4;14, and six with 1q+. Regimens utilized in the relapsed setting included KRD (N=4), KPD (N=3), Cyklone (N=2), KD + HDAC inhibitor (N=3), KD (N=1), KCD (N=1), and KRD + daratumumab (N=1). Four patients received carfilzomib at a dose of 27 mg/m2 while the remaining 10 received > 36 mg/m2. Responses were seen in all but four patients (two VGPR, five PR, and four MR), with one patient experiencing progression during carfilzomib with no response; notably, this patient only attained a MR to primary carfilzomib therapy and their second exposure was the 15th line of therapy. The median time to next therapy was 4.8 months (1.9-19.4) with one patient being bridged to autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), one to allogeneic HCT, and three are currently receiving ongoing carfilzomib treatment (13.9, 2.8, 2.5 months with VGPR, MR, and PR, respectively). Exacerbation of baseline hypertension was identified in three patients, but these instances were treated successfully with standard medications with no further complications. No additional cardiovascular events were identified in the frontline or re-treatment settings.
 Conclusions: We report that in a heavily pre-treated, high risk patient cohort, patients previously treated with carfilzomib-based regimens may be safely re-challenged with carfilzomib. Importantly, none of these patients experienced cardiovascular adverse effects other than exacerbation of underlying hypertension, further supporting the ability to safely re-treat a select group of patients with carfilzomib. We conclude that depending on the patient and treatment history, re-challenging with carfilzomib at relapse may be appropriate salvage therapy, particularly as a bridge towards HCT and/or clinical trials.

 Hassoun: Novartis: Consultancy; Janssen: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Mailankody:Juno: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Takeda Oncology: Research Funding; CME activity by Physician Education Resource: Honoraria. Lesokhin:Genentech: Research Funding; Serametrix Inc.: Patents & Royalties; Janssen: Research Funding; GenMab: Consultancy, Honoraria; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Juno: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria. Smith:Celgene: Consultancy, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Fate Therapeutics and Precision Biosciences: Consultancy. Landau:Prothena: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Research Funding; Caelum: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria. Shah:Janssen Pharmaceutica: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Scordo:Angiocrine Bioscience, Inc.: Consultancy; McKinsey & Company: Consultancy. Giralt:Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Spectrum Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Miltenyi: Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Actinium: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy; Johnson & Johnson: Consultancy, Research Funding; Kite: Consultancy. Landgren:Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Theradex: Other: IDMC; Merck: Other: IDMC; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding.


Many aesthetic practitioners who work in isolation often seek advice from peers on topics such as treatment protocols, product choice and managing patient expectations. However, in times of need, some practitioners post threads on online forums about complications they are experiencing, which can lead to colleagues posting inaccurate and dangerous comments. Helena Collier explores this issue


The decay modes $\jpsi\ar\gamma\pi^0, \gamma\eta$ and $\gamma\etap$ are analyzed using a data sample of 58 million $\jpsi$ decays collected with the BESII detector at BEPC. The branching fractions are determined to be:
$Br(\jpsi\ar\gamma\pi^0)=(3.13^{+0.65}_{-0.44})\times10^{-5}$,
$Br(\jpsi\ar\gamma\eta)=(11.23\pm0.89)\times10^{-4}$, and
$Br(\jpsi\ar\gamma\etap)=(5.55\pm0.44)\times10^{-3}$,
where the errors are combined statistical and systematic errors. The ratio of partial widths $\Gamma(\jpsi\ar\gamma\etap)/\Gamma(\jpsi\ar\gamma\eta)$ is measured to be $4.94\pm0.40$, and the singlet-octet pseudoscalar mixing angle of $\eta-\etap$ system is determined to be $\theta_{P}=(-22.08\pm0.81)^{\circ}$.


Temporal shifts in precipitation and runoff regime curves appear throughout the continental United States, but differ from region to region. This paper explores these regime shifts by building upon a hydroclimatic classification system that partitions the United States into clusters of similarly behaved catchments using four simple hydroclimatic indicators. Hydroclimate data from over four hundred catchments over a 55 year period (belonging to the MOPEX data set) are analyzed to reveal how the indicators have shifted before and after 1970, before and after 1975, and before and after 1980. Statistically significant hydroclimatic changes in these indicators are explored qualitatively, suggesting which catchments today might resemble other catchments tomorrow. Thus, a preview of current locations in one class under future conditions is provided by observing existing locations of another class. The classification system structure enables organization of these data, allowing patterns of regime change to emerge without highly specified models at each individual site. Regional analyses explore changes in mean seasonal precipitation/runoff regimes, including shifts in the daily variability of precipitation and runoff. Additionally, changes in regime curves of minimum and maximum precipitation/runoff observations are analyzed and discussed. Results indicate that after 1980, classifications typically found in the southeastern quarter of the United States have expanded northward and westward. Regionally, the Midwest and Rocky Mountains seem to demonstrate more frequent, but less intense storms after 1980, while southeastern catchments receive much less water in the form of precipitation and runoff than in previous years.


This paper selected more than one intrinsic property of surface cracks,with construction of the metric space to complex data sets to form a topological space.Deduced topology contravariant relations and realized the characteristics of complex data sets,laid the foundation of extracting data sets characteristics.According to this method,designed the main structure of the system.At last,the experiments analyzed the de-noising performance and ability to identify of the new road surface crack detection method.


Onychomycosis is a chronic fungal infection that may involve any component of the nails. Although the main causes of onychomycosis typically include dermatophytes such as Trichophyton rubrum or T. mentagrophytes (T. interdigitale), non-dermatophyte species like Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Scopulariopsis spp., Fusarium spp. and Acremonium spp. may also invade the nail plates. Recently, the incidence of infections due to saprophytes has increased; therefore, more attention to these organisms is required. Infections caused by Aspergillus niger and closely related species, altogether known as the black aspergilli, are particularly common in tropical and subtropical regions, where they are among the most common causes of external otitis and the few cases of keratitis. Black aspergilli are known as the third common cause of invasive aspergillosis and aspergilloma, following A. fumigatus and A. flavus. It has been reported that A. niger is able to induce fungal sinusitis, and oxalic acid produced by some species can cause renal complications. Differentiation of closely related species such as members of the sections Flavi, Fumigati, Nigri, Sparsi and Usti is a vast challenge due to similar morphological characters, and for a similar reason, identification and classification of black aspergilli may be even more problematic. On a routine basis, Aspergillus isolates with black colonies are considered A. niger. Because of their widespread distribution in the environment, their ability to produce toxins, the potential differentiated pathogenicity and probable differences in drug susceptibility, the identification of black Aspergillus at species level is critical in clinical, epidemiological and biological respects. Here, we report the first case of onychomycosis due to A. uvarum, a rare Aspergillus species, identified by both conventional and molecular methods.


The immature embryo development of Leymus arenarius, L. secalinus, L. mollis, L. angustus, (L. racemosus), and L. chinensis was studied using in vitro culture. Immature embryos of the six species of Leymus developed directly into normal plantlets on N6 culture medium without any hormones. The germination rates varied with species, with L. chinensis achieving the highest rate at 98.8%. The germination rates reduced when half strength N6 culture medium was used. No dedifferentiation was observed, regardless of whether N6 or 1/2 N6 was used. In contrast, 91.7%-93.5% of immature L. chinensis embryos dedifferentiated when (2,4-D) was added to the culture medium. A few plantlets were regenerated from resulting callus. These results provide useful information for research of immature embryo development in Gramineae forage, and have latent utilization value for crossbreeding of perennial grasses.


With the increasingly requirement of cosmetic,flavor industry,esqecially the production of synthesized flavors has been developed quickly.The technological process and the hazard in production of heterocyclic flavor is expatiate,also the fire protection measures is given in this paper.


The traditional ultrasonic computerized tomography (UCT) method needs numerous measurements to detect the inside conditions of concrete. Considering the damage is sparsely distributed in the reinforced concrete, compressive sampling (CS) is applied to advance the UCT method at both the measurement stage and the imaging stage to localize damage part in the structure. The proposed detection algorithm requires much fewer measurements compared to the traditional UCT with the same accuracy. In the measurement stage, the pitch–catch paths are randomly selected to capture the travel time of ultrasonic wave from one side to the other side in the dense measurement net. When ultrasonic waves propagate in the structure, they will interact with the damaged part, prolong the propagation length, and delay the time of flight (ToF). In the imaging stage, the whole specimen is divided into small pixels based on the desired accuracy. The conventional Rando equation is advanced based on ℓ1‐minimization algorithm from CS method to solve the slowness of each pixel to reconstruct the damaged part. The functionality of the proposed algorithm is validated via both numerical model and experimental testing on a reinforced concrete beam in the laboratory. The results reveal the UCT based on CS is more efficient for localizing and imaging the damage with much fewer measurements, which has the immense potential in the development of structural health monitoring (SHM).


ABSTRACT This article explores the digital divide among young people in Spain by examining four traditional socio-demographic variables (gender, age, education and employment situation). It proposes the concept of 'technological capital' as a means to put people's socioeconomic conditions of existence into relation with the different forms of accessing and using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Methodologically, a quantitative approach is taken, based on the National Statistics Institute's survey of ICT Equipment in households, which makes use of both bivariate and multivariate analysis. Finally, a typology of young users of the Internet is proposed (1 – Digitally Excluded; 2 – Basic Users; 3 – Users in Mobility; 4 – Cyber Consumers; 5 – Cyber Experts) which takes into account the importance of technological capital, the socio-economic position and cultural resources of subjects in their incorporation of ICTs into their daily life.


Antipsychotic drugs have been shown to increase the risk for stroke, especially in older patients, but factors that mediate the risk are not entirely


The building of a centralized university document repository is a challenge posed by multiple factors - heterogeneous processes and procedures where users and applications with different rights create and use diverse documents. The article presents a model of a document in a digital repository. It supports heterogeneous metadata that facilitates the search for and use of documents by users and external systems and their automated retrieval for the needs of various institutional procedures.


Bimetallic core–shell nanostructures are of great interest because of their unique properties. Although bimetallic core–shell nanostructures with plenty of shapes are prepared, synthesis of core–shell nanostructures with asymmetric core and shells is still elusive. This work reports a facile seed‐mediated synthesis of Au@Ag right bipyramids with high yield (>95%) and broadly tunable edge length (from ≈130 to ≈230 nm) as well as tunable localized surface plasmon resonance properties. For the first time, a four‐leaf‐clover‐like tetramer of bipyramids is obtained through self‐assembly of the synthesized Au@Ag right bipyramids. The as‐assembled structure performs well in surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy with an analytical enhancement factor up to 1.4 × 107 because of the existence of both sharp tips and "hot‐spots." The present work not only develops a new kind of nanomaterials, but also shows promising applications in optics and sensing.


This paper examines the effects of different types of cross border external linkages on innovation. Using Taiwan as the empirical setting, we examine how the effects of external linkages on innovation vary depending on the type of linkages (joint Venture, licensing, acquisition, etc.) as well as the type of innovation (radical versus incremental). Our result is robust to both patents and R&D based measures of innovation. Two recent econometric approaches for causal inferences are applied in order to tackle possible endogeneity between external linkages and innovation. Our evidences suggest that external linkages have positive effect on innovation. The benefit of a linkage, however, depends on a firm's ability to utilize the linkage to exploit a particular set of complementary assets. These results are robust to a variety of statistical techniques and measures.


The contraceptive use prevalence rate in Africa at 31% still remains lower than that of the
world, 63%. The rate of maternal mortality in the developing world is high where a total of
529,000 women die at childbirth due to pregnancy related complications each year. This
has been attributed to the low level of utilisation of family planning (FP) of whose reasons
vary from one context to another geographically. The study therefore sought to establish
factors influencing utilization of FP services in Malindi Sub-county with an aim to
establish the role of men in uptake of FP services. Using a cross-sectional study design,
married women and men of 18-45 years residing within 2km radius of the health facilities
were interviewed. Data was collected by interviewer-administered questionnaires, key
informant interviews and focused group discussions.
The overall prevalence of utilization of FP services was 174 (53.0%). Awareness was
established at 326 (92.4 %) on the modern FP methods for women. Several factors were
associated with contraceptive use at bivariate analysis this includes age of respondents at
category between of 30-40years (OR=0.56 CI: 0.56-0.98). This was protective in
comparison to the younger couples of between 18-29years and more than 40years. The
others factors were the level of education of respondents (tertiary level), type of marriage
(Kadhi's wedding and customary) and awareness on FP were associated with FP use at
univariate analysis. A married woman whose husband is involved was 2.43 times more
likely to use contraceptive than a woman whose husband is not involved (p value= 0.003)
at univariate analysis. The main available contraceptive methods included pills, injectables,
implants and male condoms. Utilization of FP services is low in Malindi sub-country, it
was influenced by age, educational level, customary type of marriage and religion. Male
involvement in FP remains low and was strongly associated with increased FP use. There is
v
need for increased promotion of family planning services targeting men including creation
of male friendly centers.


The microscale preparation of flutamide, a nonsteroidal antiandrogen prescribed as Eulexin for the treatment of prostate cancer is outlined. The synthesis involves N-acylation of a trisubstituted aromatic compound, 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitroaniline. The procedure is easily adapted to generate structural analogues of flutamide. A significant feature is the curricular flexibility afforded by this experiment. The fundamental reaction is appropriate within an introductory organic laboratory course, demonstrating amine and acid–halide reactivity. Functional group transformations can be observed by IR spectroscopy. 1H NMR spectra of reactant and products facilitate a thorough examination of shielding and deshielding effects and aromatic proton coupling. With more advanced students there exists the potential to discuss principles of retrosynthetic analysis, pharmaceutical synthesis, and structure–activity relationships.


Findings from 2 U.S. national probability household sample surveys (1971 and 1976) of women aged 15-19 indicate a rapid increase in premarital sexual activity and a definite shift toward use of more effective modern contraceptive methods. Although this shift has been dramatic a significant proportion of sexually active adolescent women have never used contraceptives or have used them sporadically. The findings indicate that few teenagers fail to use contraception in order to become pregnant. There is evidence that many are sexually active for up to a year before beginning contraceptive use. Based on the 1976 survey information reasons are explored that premaritally sexually active teenage women give for failing to use contraception. Information on the nonuse of contraception was elicited for the last reported unprotected premarital intercourse and in the case of respondents premaritally pregnant at interview for the time at which that conception occurred. Results definitely indicate that sexually active young women engage in a substantial amount of unprotected intercourse. Most believe they are protected by their youth infrequent sex or time of month or say sex was unexpected. The data dramatize the need among young people for greater knowledge of the facts about pregnancy including the risks of conception when contraception is not used and it is concluded that people providing contraceptive services to adolescent women must initiate new approaches which take account of ignorance about risk of pregnancy sporadic sexual encounters and earlier


Pathogenesis of thyroid associated ophthahnopathy (TAO) is still unclear.Studies showed that orbital fibroblasts were not only the target cells but also the effector in the autoimmune response of TAO.The orbital fibroblasts,through their autoantibodies expression and oxidative stress reaction,might play the important role during the occurrence and development of TAO.Based on the relative studies,the new potential pathway of clinical pharmacotherapy for TAO may be explored.

Key words:
thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy;  orbital fibroblast;  oxidative stress


The first experiment to realize Bohm's gedanken experiment, inspired by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen in their famous paper published in 1935,1 was a measurement of the polarization correlation between a pair of high-energy photons produced by the spin zero positronium annihilation.2


Patchoulol (1) forms 2,2,6,8-tetramethylbicyclo [5.3.1]undec-7-en-3-one (5) with lead tetraacetate. This ketone undergoes acid-catalyzed cyclization to 2,6,6,10-tetramethyltricyclo [5.3.1.01,5]undec-9-en-5-ol (10), and is reduced to 2 stereoisomeric alcohols with lithium aluminium hydride. One of these alcohols 8 is readily dehydrated with cyclization to 2,6,6,10-tetramethyltricyclo [5.3.1.01,5]undec-9-ene (12) and a double bond isomer 13, longer treatment with acid resulting in a Wagner-Meerwein rearrangement to a mixture of two 1,3,7,7-tetramethyltricyclo [6.2.1.02,6]-undecenes (19 and 20), isomeric with β-patchoulene (23). The other alcohol 7 with p-toluenesulfonic acid forms the cyclic ether, 1,3,7,7-tetramethyl-11-oxatricyclo-[18.104.22.168,8]dodecane (15).


Background: Hand hygiene adherence is the single most important infection control practice among healthcare workers. Hand hygiene is cost-effective and adherence to protocols can reduce hospital-acquired infections. Research regarding hand hygiene adherence has been shown to improve patient safety and reduce hospital-acquired infections. Adherence to hand hygiene protocols among healthcare workers is poor and improvement efforts lack sustainability. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to improve hand hygiene to be at or greater than 90% in acute care areas of a critical access hospital


Summary— In children, tiaprofenic acid (TA), a non steroidal antiinflammatory drug, propionic‐acid derivative, has been proven effective in the treatment of symptoms of tonsillitis and pharyngitis but not yet in the symptomatic treatment of fever. This doubleblind, parallel group, placebo (PI) controlled study was designed in order to demonstrate the antipyretic activity of TA. The coprescription of other antipyretic medications in children may therefore be avoided. Two groups of children, 29 (TA group) and 26 (PI group), were included and received either 4.2 ± 0.5 mg/kg of TA given orally in a single dose or a PI match. Rectal temperature was recorded just before and 1, 2, 4 and 6 hours after dosing. The maximum temperature decrease was significantly greater in the TA group (– 1.3 °C ± 0.7 °C) than in the PI group (– 0.4 °C ± 0.8 °C). The percentage of children who needed a rescue treatment during the study was 35% (10/29) and 62% (16/26) in the TA and PI group, respectively. The rescue treatment was composed of a single oral acetaminophen dose in case of fever above 39.5 °C or if the temperature decrease was not at least equal to 0.6 °C four hours after dosing. No major side effect was reported by the parents during the study period. In conclusion, TA at a single mean 4.2 mg/kg oral dose, is an effective antipyretic drug in febrile children. The duration of the antipyretic effect was estimated as at least four hours.


In 1994 the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government launched a project to interconnect networks under various ministries and agencies. The project is called the Inter-Ministry Computer Network System (IMNet). As a site of IMNet we are implementing a network-oriented database for surface chemical analysis such as Auger electron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra. To create a network-oriented database, the stored spectral data must be shared by the client's computers. Therefore, spectral data must have a common format, and the energy and intensity scales should be calibrated. To achieve these objectives, the software named the "Common Data Processing System" has been created and is provided via the Internet. A workstation has been installed to store the spectral data acquired on different analysis machines via computer networks. In the future we hope that all computers used with surface analysis machines can be connected to the system so that every surface analyst wor...


Covert research has a mixed reputation within the scientific community. Some are unsure of its moral worth, others would proscribe it entirely. This reputation stems largely from a lack of knowledge about the reasons for choosing the covert method. In this chapter, these reasons will be reconstructed in detail and all the elements that will allow one to judge the level of ethicality of covert research will be laid out for the reader. In particular, the chapter will answer the following questions: What harms can result from covert research to the subjects participating in the research? Is covert research necessarily deceptive? In which cases is it ethically permissible for a researcher to deceive? What is the scientific added value of the covert research, that is, what does covert research discover that overt research does not? What are the risks to researchers acting undercover? Finally, some suggestions will be offered to research ethics reviewers to help in their appraisal of covert research.


Objective In order to explore the association between mobile phone addiction and mental health among college students,this study aimed at investigating the related basic status of mental health education.Methods By using stratified cluster sampling method,investigation was conducted among 1 172 subjects.They were assessed with the Mobile Phone Addiction Index Scale and Symptom Checklist 90(SCL-90).Results The rate of mobile phone addiction was 15.4%.There was significant difference in gender or major(P 0.05).Mobile phone addiction score of students majoring in arts or girls was higher.Mobile phone addiction was correlated with the total score of SCL-90 and the score of nine factors(P 0.01).Moreover,anxious,psychotic,obsessive-compulsive and terror had the significant prediction function on mobile phone addiction(Beta = 0.22,0.11,0.10,0.08).Conclusion There is different mental health problems in mobile phone addicts.It suggests that mental health might be important variable to influence mobile phone addiction in college students.


The flavoring substances contents of fruit beer were measured by headspace sampling and small-bore capillary column GC.This method made use of hydrogen flame ionization detector(FID) and counted by area normalization method.The test results showed that the degree of separation was high,the chromatogram apices were symmetrical,the average recovery up to 98 %,the relative standard deviation within 1 %,and the reproductivity was better.It proved that the method was simple,convenient,high-speed and accurate.It could meet the needs in analysis and testing.


The effects of strong light and high temperature on quantum yield and 77K fluorescence spectra of Dioscorea zingiberensis were tested.The results showed that the maximal quantum yield decreased under strong light and high temperature for short time,but it could recover quickly and existed overcompensation.Strong light firstly destroyed the photosystem Ⅱ,which caused the appearance of F680 fluorescence peak in 77K fluorescence spectra.After induced with 670 nm red light,parts of light-capture system Ⅱ transferred to photosystem Ⅰ,which resulted the increase of photosystem Ⅰ fluorescence.After induced with 716 nm red light,some pigment proteins of light-capture system Ⅱ transferred to photosystem Ⅱ,which increased the fluorescence of photosystem Ⅱ.The difference of each fluorescence peak reduced after treatment.In conclusion,the stress by strong light and high temperature causes energy re-adjusted in two photosystems and status changed from one to another.The researches have reported the appearance of F672 and F675 fluorescence peak for the first time and predicted that there are at least 16 pigment complexes on the thylakoid membrane in chloroplast.


This study was conducted to investigate the effects of mulching of easily-decomposable organic materials including rice powder and corn starch on rice paddy fields. The treatments were including seven mulching materials each consisted of rice powder [Rice], starch with black color[Starch-B] and transparent [Starch-T] and stone powder [Stone], and conventional vinyl [Conventional], no-mulching without herbicide [Control-O] and no-mulching with herbicide [Control-C]. Rice growth and yield were different among the treatments; the highest yields were observed for [Rice] (6.51 ton ha -1 ) and [Conventional] (6.47 ton ha -1 ) followed by [Starch-T] (6.25 ton ha -1 ) and [Stone] (6.20 ton ha-1) which is comparable to the [Control-C] (6.15 ton ha -1 ). However, [Starch-B] showed lower rice yield (4.93 ton ha -1 ) than the [Conventional] or [Control-C]. Mean soil temperature ranged form 23.6 to 24.1°C with the highest temperature for [Rice] treatment, and cumulative soil temperature was also significantly higher in the [Rice] treatment. Among the soil parameters, electrical conductivity, organic matter content, and phosphorus concentration were also different among the treatments. The amount of earthworm casting was higher for [Rice] treatment (17.7 kg m -2 ) compared to the others (5.5~9.8 kg m -2 ). It was suggested that mulching of rice fields with organic materials containing rice powder is better than others in respected to rice yield and earthworm activity.


Attachment theory proposes that people form strong social ties because certain relationships provide feelings of security and support. Traditionally, theorists and researchers have assumed that because this process is innate and evolved, only human targets are capable of meeting a person's needs for security. Recent research challenges this assumption by demonstrating that an array of targets, such as places and pets, can also satisfy needs for security, particularly under conditions of threatened or absent connection to other people. We bring together these diverse findings and discuss how they enrich our understanding of the nature and operation of attachment processes and related phenomena. Specifically, this line of research contributes to a comprehensive picture of the diverse means by which people flexibly seek and maintain psychological security both within and outside of their close, interpersonal relationships. It also raises new research questions concerning the similarities and differences between human and non-human support. In many parts of the world today, we are observing a major cultural shift from social integration to isolation. Researchers have observed decreased involvement in community and political activities (Putnam, 2000), avoidance of social intimacy (Turkle, 2012), and an increasing number of adults living alone (Klinenberg, 2013). This may be cause for concern. Adults with weaker social ties have less access to social support, an important resource for coping with illness and other stressors (Uchino, 2004). Intimate social relationships are also integral to maintaining healthy psychological functioning (Cohen & McKay, 1984). We might worry, then, that rising individualism deprives individuals of a basic requirement for well-being. Yet people are surprisingly resourceful. Recent research shows that people sometimes seek (and find) feelings of security from a diverse array of non-human targets – things that are not human (e.g., pets), not alive (e.g., landmarks), and indeed may not exist at all (e.g., fictional characters). Although these relationships may not operate in precisely the same manner as close interpersonal attachments, studies show that they provide the person with many of the same psychological benefits, in particular the comforting assurance that someone or something will support them in times of need. This article brings together these diverse studies to illustrate how people use non-human targets to meet their needs for security and the conditions under which people are likely to do so. We outline attachment theory and discuss how its empirical scope is widened by the recognition that people supplement interpersonal attachments by seeking support from nonhuman targets. We then articulate a theoretical framework that integratesthis evidence to guide future research on attachment and support seeking.


For millennia Central Asia has served as a conduit between the Chinese and other commercial centres in the Far East and the Middle East and Europe. The northern branch of the famed Silk Road, traversing through Central Asia, was only one of the routes utilized by the merchants conducting this commerce; these ancient merchants were equally adept in navigating the sea routes connecting these regions in their pursuit of wealth. In the following pages, I would like to draw attention to a few interesting literary motifs found in both a Chinese medieval tale from the T'ang period (AD 618–907) and a 19th century treatise composed in Central Asia; the motifs are concerned with the commercial activities of Iranian-speaking merchants and their adventures at sea. However before delving into the subject of this article, it may prove beneŽ cial to examine, albeit brie y, some other examples of the presence of Iranian elements mentioned in the literary sources of a number of Asian cultures. These basic remarks will also serve as an introduction to the various forms of activities, e.g. commercial, religious, or scientiŽ c, of these expatriates. We begin this overview by bringing to the reader's attention one of the earliest works on Sino–Iranian cultural and commercial exchange, i.e. Sino–Iranica, the classic work of Berthold Laufer. In this work, which is indispensable for any student of Sino–Iranian affairs, Laufer's emphasis, as an anthropologist , was on the bilateral transmission of agricultural and botanical knowledge as well as the goods between these two ancient civilizations. This relation was not limited only to material exchange; indeed, in the literary circles of medieval China, we are aware of a poet of Iranian ancestry, Li Hsün, and his younger brother Li Hsüan who was employed as a druggist in Szechwan. Li Hsün, the poet, enjoyed a 'brilliant career at the small but splendid court of Shu [and] a number of his poems show real feeling for the warmth and color of Nam-Viet'. Additionally, mention has been made of the Tajiks in the poetry of a number of poets of the T'ang period; the Chinese poets considered this branch of Iranian people, with their characteristic felt hats, only to be worthy of inhabiting the lunar grottos.


The issue of modernization of the integrated lighting equipment for take-off and landing of the power supply system of airports in Eastern Siberia to improve the safety of aircraft flights was considered


We have developed a laboratory activity to demonstrate the basic central processing unit (CPU), input, output, and memory of a computer. The activity is intended to help beginning engineering students or non-engineering students to understand basic computer architecture. The activity is based on sixteen individuals who are assigned to conduct specific tasks in a manner analogous to specific computer hardware elements. Tasks assigned to humans include: I/O, memory, control unit, ALU, and registers. The central processing unit consists of five internal registers, an arithmetic/logic unit, and a control unit. These components are interconnected via an internal bus. Bus arbitration is implemented using tri-state buffers. The CPU communicates with memory and the I/O devices through an 8-bit data bus, a 4-bit address bus, and a control bus. The instruction set includes a total of 9 instructions designed to perform arithmetic/logic operations, control flow, and I/O operations involving memory and external devices. Prior to simulation, computer programs are converted to binary code and loaded into memory. Program code comprises a data section and an instruction section. The data section features integers in two's complement notation. The instruction section is composed of a sequence of fixed-length instructions, each consisting of an identifying 4-bit opcode and an optional 4-bit operand. Operands represent absolute memory addresses. Execution starts at address 0000, which corresponds to the beginning of the instruction section. The fetching and execution of an instruction takes up 4 to 5 phases, each requiring a single CPU cycle. Each phase is characterized by a collection of control signals output by the control unit to the rest of the system. There are a total of 18 distinct phases. The control unit can uniquely determine the next phase from the current phase. Although this system supports only the most basic CPU functionality and lacks many features found in modern CPUs (such as multiple addressing modes, variable-length instructions, and exception handling), it can be effectively used to illustrate a variety of fundamental computing concepts. Among these are the fetch-decode-execute cycle, sequential execution, conditional and unconditional branching, and iteration.


A method of controlling luminescent security features, which are arranged in and / or valuable and security products, materials and articles which are excited to emit radiation through the use of radiation from electroluminescent semi-conductor solid elements in the non-visible wavelength range, the luminescent security features, characterized in that that the radiation from the electroluminescent semi-conductor solid elements in a pulsed or intermittent and / or modulated form is carried out, and cooperates with at least two luminescent security features of different decay behavior, that by varying the frequency of radiation from the electroluminescent semi-conductor solid elements, these elements to emit radiation in the visible wavelength range are excited with different wavelength.


The article contains studies of the ways of applying «Advanced training» and its quality metering up to singie educational discipline. There were allocated opportunities and organization of the use of expert and combined methods of metering in a guoted category of measuring tasks. Using automated systems promotes qualitative improvement of the process of student physical education. It gives an opportunity to analyze physical and psychophysical status of each student, individualize education, predict education and introduce elements of advanced education, realize routine and final is gives an opportunity to control the process of education.


There are some difficulties for Chengduese to speak Putonghua in tune, initial consonant and simple or compound vowel of Chinese syllable. Aiming at these difficulties, finding out the differences between pronunciation of Chengdu dialect and Putonghua can solve these problems for Chengduese to speak Putonghua well.


Development of physical training technologies in military lyceums can decrease a share of teachers' impromptus and foster achievement of the planned result. Purpose: to investi- gate the efficiency of usage of boxing elements in the content of the academic discipline "Physical Culture" for improvement of physical fitness of students of lyceums with advanced military and physical training. Methods: theoretical analysis and generalization of data taken from the academ- ic and methodological literature and Internet, pedagogical observation, pedagogical experiment, methods of mathematical statistics. Organization. The research involved students of Mukachevo Lyceum with advanced military and physical training and was carried out in the second term of the academic year 2014–1015. Students were divided into 2 groups: control group (63 students) and experimental group (29 students). Results. The efficiency of usage of boxing elements in the content the academic discipline "Physical Culture" is proved by the established intra-group increase of physical fitness indexes of students based on the following physical qualities: maximum strength – 10.55 and 12.31 %, р≤0.05–0.01, explosive strength – 5.86–17.06 %, р≤0.05–01, flexibility – 12.69–24.82 %, р≤0.05– 0.01, speed abilities – 18.77–25.13 %, р≤0.01, speed endurance and speed and strength endurance – 18.03–28.50 %, р≤0.01, general endurance – 9.42 %, р≤0.01 from the initial level respectively.


The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) instrument has provided daily global measurements of tropospheric NO2 for more than a decade. Numerous studies have drawn attention to the complexities related to measurements of tropospheric NO2 in the presence of aerosols. Fine particles affect the OMI spectral measurements and the length of the average light path followed by the photons. However, they are not explicitly taken into account in the current OMI tropospheric NO2 retrieval chain. Instead, the operational OMI O2-O2 cloud retrieval algorithm is applied both to cloudy scenes and to cloud free scenes with aerosols present. This paper describes in detail the complex interplay between the spectral effects of aerosols, the OMI O2-O2 cloud retrieval algorithm and the impact on the accuracy of the tropospheric NO2 retrievals through the computed Air Mass Factor (AMF) over cloud-free scenes. Collocated OMI NO2 and MODIS Aqua aerosol products are analysed over East China, in industrialized area. In addition, aerosol effects on the tropospheric NO2 AMF and the retrieval of OMI cloud parameters are simulated. Both the observation-based and the simulation-based approach demonstrate that the retrieved cloud fraction linearly increases with increasing Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT), but the magnitude of this increase depends on the aerosol properties and surface albedo. This increase is induced by the additional scattering effects of aerosols which enhance the scene brightness. The decreasing effective cloud pressure with increasing AOT represents primarily the absorbing effects of aerosols. The study cases show that the actual aerosol correction based on the implemented OMI cloud model results in biases between ?20 and ?40 % for the DOMINO tropospheric NO2 product in cases of high aerosol pollution (AOT ? 0.6) and elevated particles. On the contrary, when aerosols are relatively close to the surface or mixed with NO2, aerosol correction based on the cloud model results in overestimation of the DOMINO tropospheric NO2 product, between 10 and 20 %. These numbers are in line with comparison studies between ground-based and OMI tropospheric NO2 measurements under conditions with high aerosol pollution and elevated particles. This highlights the need to implement an improved aerosol correction in the computation of tropospheric NO2 AMFs.


The study reports the results of a meta-analysis about the efficacy of interactive programs to prevent drug abuse within the school setting in Spain. 9 research reports from 1985 to 2002, were used to identify 15 independent studies which complied with the selection criteria. The global Salud y drogas • Vol. 3 • No 2 • 2003 61 SaludyDrogas v3n2 2003 6/5/04 12:46 Pagina 61


This paper presents a new approach to part-of-speech (POS) tagging in which the basic unit being tagged is a contiguous sequence of words rather than a single word. We run experiments on two different tagsets: the UPENN treebank and a treebank annotated with more ambiguous tags that have a semantic component. We show that the phrase-based system alone is a respectable tagger that exceeds the performance of the ME tagger on the ambiguous tagset. Moreover, when a log-linear model is built using features from both phrase-and word-based techniques, the tagging accuracy improved on both of our data sets yielding the highest reported performance to date on the more ambiguous tagset.


The objective of this article was to study the effect of geographical features and geological formations on some physicochemical properties of soils in order to better identify the soil and optimize land management for sustainable agriculture in the southern part of the plain. Urmia, with an area of 35000 (ha) in the province of Western Azarbaijan, Iran. In this investigation, satellite images, aerial photographs, topographic and geological maps were used to identify and distinguish different land forms, soil series classified based on geomorphological and geophysical methods. 30 soil profiles were drilled and the FAO standard dimensions were described. Samples were taken from five soil profiles in each genetic horizon and transferred to the laboratory. The soil moisture and temperature regime was determined as Xeric and Mesic. The soils of the studied area were classified as Fluventic Inceptisols and grid subgroups. The most dominant formations in the Barandoz and Ghasemlou river basins were limestone and lime, which is one of the determining factors in rock formation in different soils in the study area. On the other hand, physiography and topography have also played an important role, so that the upper terraces have more developed soils and some sloping regions have younger and less developed soils. With the decrease in height and proximity to Lake Urmia, the effect of the groundwater level and its salinity on the profiles is evident. Meanwhile, the river bank has young and uncovered soils due to the sediments of the current era.


A METHOD OF USING THE EFFECTIVE STRESS IN THE TENDON TO CONTROL THE FORMATION OF WIDE CRACKS IN UNBONDED PRESTRESSED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION IS DESCRIBED. A NUMERICAL EXAMPLE IS INCLUDED TO SHOW THE APPLICATION OF THE DESIGN METHOD. THIS METHOD WAS INCORPORATED INTO A COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR THE DESIGN OF CONTINUOUS SPANS OF PRESTRESSED POST-TENSIONED CONCRETE. AN OPTION IN THE PROGRAM PERMITS THE USER TO DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF PROTECTION HE DESIRES BY SPECIFYING A SERVICE OVERLOAD FACTOR IN THE INPUT DATA.


This paper aims to explain the effectiveness of mind mapping techniques in counseling to improve s tudents ' memory ability in learning. This research uses experimental d esign, esp ecially p retest-posttest control group designs. The population of this research is the second semester students of Department of Islamic  Communication and Broadcasting of FUAD IAIN Batusangkar Academic Year 2018/2019 . The sample size was 12 students , consisting of an experimental group and a control group. Data analysis used independent t test through the SPSS computer program. release 20. The results of the study indicate that the mind mapping technique in counseling is effective in improving students' ability to remember lessons. These findings can be used as an alternative by lecturers and students to overcom e student s' problem s to remember the lessons in learning.


The purpose of this analysis is to examine the changes to the rural economy of Chiapas, both before and since the Zapatista rebellion. At a social and economic level, a crisis situation is being resolved by peasant migration. No discernible political development is in sight, however, other than the spread of conflict to different areas of Chiapas. Accordingly, an underlying hypothesis of this analysis is that the countryside is in terminal decline, the effects of which are felt in a variety of ways. These include decreasing levels of agricultural productivity, the diminishing contribution of agriculture to GDP, and the exodus of thousands of peasants to labour markets in the north of Mexico and the United States.


The 21 century vehicle on the road is expected to have such features which not only increase the comfort and ride quality but also increase the safety of the driver. For the different road surfaces and increase in traffic congestions, the conventional safety systems are unable to provide the desired action. So, there is a need to develop more and more accurate control algorithms which will be effective in every situation. Due to the ever increase traffic on Indian roads, the most frequently job performed by the driver is to apply the brakes. The braking of the vehicle is not only depends on the driver response, but also takes into number of factors like road-tyre friction coefficient, slip ratio, longitudinal tyre force, longitudinal velocity and lateral tyre force. Control of all these parameters is not done by the driver alone. So, some controllers must be developed for assisting the driver to avert such situations. Sudden application of the brake torque increases the slip ratio which will cause skidding of the wheels. Antilock braking system is a type of braking system which applies and releases the brakes in quick succession to prevent the wheels from locking. Earlier, number of controllers was developed to prevent such lockage. Here, a control algorithm is developed for the brake torque in such a fashion that the slip ratio will be maintained in the desired range. Normally, the braking of vehicle is done when vehicle in straight path is considered. When vehicle moves in the curved path, the effect of camber and fork angle should be considered. The variable camber angle assists the braking in curved path by increasing the contact path of the tyre with the road. But the turning radius of the vehicle changes due to varying camber angle and fork angle. Fork angle increases the stability of the vehicle at higher speeds. While turning, the inner wheel always should have positive camber angle and outer wheel should have negative camber angle. Variable camber mechanism is developed to provide the camber angle to the front wheels while moving in a curved path. Variable camber mechanism ensures no camber angle while moving straight ahead to avoid bump steering. For the analysis, bond graph modelling of various components is done. Quarter car model, Bicycle model and four wheel model of the vehicles are developed. Effect of camber and fork angle on the turning radius, stopping distance and longitudinal speed of the vehicle is analysed. Relation between camber angle and fork angle is also verified. It is also found that camber angle provides additional steering to the vehicle. Analysis of variable camber mechanism is done by using quarter car model. Control algorithm of Antilock braking system is tested using bicycle model and four wheel vehicle model. The control algorithm successfully keeps


Objective To study the clinical effects of IPS e.max Press crowns.Methods 43 patients were restored with 137 IPS e.max Press full - ceramic crowns,followed up 3 years.The crowns were evaluated with a modified USPHS criteria for color match,marginal discoloration,fracture,secondary caries,marginal adaptation and gingival health.Results 97.08%of the crowns were rated as A for color match.98.7%of the crowns had no marginal discoloration.99.27%of the crowns had no fracture.No secondary caries was detected,and 92.70%of the crowns were rated as A for gingival health. Conclusion The effects of IPS e.max Press crowns are perfect in short time and they can be widely applied.


Nowadays, there can not be any clinic without electrocardiograph and moreover VCG has also become popular for daily physical examination. But in our country, the progress and popularization have not progressed rapidly, in spite of being one of the countries in which VCG was first discovered. In the ensuing years, the studies of VCG have become more popular. There are problems about the lead method, namely the placement of electrodes; and many different methods have been used. For examples, methods by Duchosal, Grishman, Kimura and others were used in a combination of bipolar leads, and methods by Milovanovich and Wilson-Burch in a combination of unipolar, or unipolar and bipolar leads. In 1939, N. Kimura, independent of Schellong, reported about the VCG with his lead method for the first time. For several years, little progress was made. Then from about 1950 many investigators, T. Sano, Toyoshima and Toyama and others, studied clinically and obtained results with Grishman's method. And as a fundamental study, Toyoshima reported about the "poliograph" in 1946. It is a more ideal lead method but troublesome to use, as it requires special oscilloscope. Since then, he has studied with his reconstruction method and has made many investigations. On the other hand, as an ideal lead system for spatial VCG the following postulates must be satisfied; 1) 3 orthogonal components of electromotive forces of the heart parallel to X, Y and Z axis of the body must be led with minimum distortion, 2) preferably no equalization factor for any axis is needed, 3) simplicity of the electrode system and procedure of its application is desired. In 1953, McFee and Johnston reported about the lead field concept. Then the orthogonal lead systems, which are better fit to the above mentioned first postulate, were widely studied and several lead systems were presented by Schmidt, Frank, Helm and others. We have also studied how to introduce this concept in clinical use, and in 1955 presented


Background: A large variety of morbidities such as nutritional deficiency disorders (stunting, wasting), menstrual disorders, etc. prevail among adolescents. They make nearly one tenth of Indian population and form a crucial segment of the society. Their current nutritional status will decide the wellbeing of the present as well as the future generations. Under-nutrition among these girls was associated with reduced lean body mass, lack of muscular strength and decreased work capacity and obstetric complications. Anemia is common during adolescence due to demands of increased growth and menstrual blood loss. Studies have shown that iron deficiency exists in both clinical as well as subclinical forms in adolescent girls. In adolescent girls, the onset of menstruation can alter the iron status of an individual not only by creating a demand for more iron due to blood loss but also due to the pro-inflammatory nature of menstrual cycle itself. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from January to December 2012. House to house survey was conducted; a pre-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was administered to all the adolescent girls of 10-19 years in the study area. Results: Majority of girls 121 (38.05%) were in high school; Majority of adolescent girls 132 (41.51%) belong to class IV; Out of 318 adolescent girls, 200 (62.89%) had attained menarche at the time of study; Majority of adolescent girls 176 (55.35%) were moderately anaemic, followed by 15 (4.72%) were having severe anemia, 13 (4.09%) were having mild anemia. Conclusions: Anemia is one of the health problems adolescent girls are facing in rural area.


A high-voltage isolation amplifier, with 0.05% nonlinearity, having greater than 160dB isolation mode rejection, will be described. Features include one LED and a pair of precision amplifiers, one with internal optical feedback for LED linearization.


The application value of three way cross for hybrid rice breeding was studied by using an indica second cytoplasm-genetic male sterile lines(CMS)9730A. It was based on the analysis of the pollen fertility, self bred rate, female fertility, sensitivity to GA_3, out rate of chapiter, bloom time, restoration of male sterile of 9730A, and the variation analysis of heading, plant height, effective panicles, grain yield per plant, seed set rate, panicle length of main culm, flag leaf length of main culm, spikelets per panicle of three cross hybrid. The results indicated that through using the second maintainer of male sterile lines which had different good agronomy characters, the cultivars derived from the traditional breeding methods could be made a good use of the hybrid rice breeding program, and the second CMS lines with better floral characteristics could be obtained. With the second CMS lines ,we could improve the yield level of the hybrid seeds production, and combine the various good agronomy characters to hybrid rice cultivars with keeping their main agronomy traits in the same time.


Two important characteristics make this paraclinic method different from others; to be both functional and objective. Many ocular tests as angiography, ultrasonography and OCT are objective but not functional, and some, as perimetry and contrast sensitivity test are functional but not objective. This is why electrodiagnostic tests are problem solving and conclusive in equivocal instances specially when encountered to forensic or legal cases with probability of simulation.


Over the last 50 years, there has been an increased interest in characterizing Precambrian crystalline rock, such as the Canadian Shield, to investigate the feasibility of deep geologic repositories for isolating used nuclear fuel from the biosphere. Extensive work has been conducted in Canada with a large amount of that work undertaken by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. Few peer‐reviewed journal articles were published based on these data, so a large amount of the data, specifically on fracture zones, are unavailable for modelers and analysts. By collecting and analyzing over one‐hundred technical reports, journal articles, and conference proceedings, written between 1975 and 1996, it was possible to characterize plutonic Precambrian crystalline rock and separate the data into (1) equivalent porous media (EPM) for rock mass and (2) fracture zones (FZs). A third category, aggregate media (AM), was used herein to represent the entire data set (EPM + FZs). Using the data from these studies, a novel logistic function was fit to represent the mean permeability, with respect to depth, of crystalline rock for EPMs and FZs in plutons. Understanding rock permeability is critical for the long‐term isolation of used nuclear fuel so that accurate predictions of fluid flow and mass transport can be evaluated in the area of the proposed storage location.


Background: Multi-drug resistant (MDR) infections have become a major concern in hospitals worldwide. This study investigates membrane translocation, which is the first step required for drug action on internal bacterial targets. b-lactams, a major antibiotic class, use porins to pass through the outer membrane barrier of Gram-negative bacteria. Clinical reports have linked the MDR phenotype to altered membrane permeability including porin modification and efflux pump expression. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here influx of b-lactams through the major Enterobacter aerogenes porin Omp36 is characterized. Conductance measurements through a single Omp36 trimer reconstituted into a planar lipid bilayer allowed us to count the passage of single b-lactam molecules. Statistical analysis of each transport event yielded the kinetic parameters of antibiotic travel through Omp36 and distinguishable translocation properties of b-lactams were quantified for ertapenem and cefepime. Expression of Omp36 in an otherwise porin-null bacterial strain is shown to confer increases in the killing rate of these antibiotics and in the corresponding bacterial susceptibility. Conclusions/Significance: We propose the idea of a molecular ''passport'' that allows rapid transport of substrates through porins. Deciphering antibiotic translocation provides new insights for the design of novel drugs that may be highly effective at passing through the porin constriction zone. Such data may hold the key for the next generation of antibiotics capable of rapid intracellular accumulation to circumvent the further development MDR infections. Citation: James CE, Mahendran KR, Molitor A, Bolla J-M, Bessonov AN, et al. (2009) How b-Lactam Antibiotics Enter Bacteria: A Dialogue with the Porins. PLoS ONE 4(5): e5453. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005453 Editor: Dimitris Fatouros, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom Received October 14, 2008; Accepted April 2, 2009; Published May 12, 2009 Copyright: 2009 James et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This study was supported by EU-grant MRTN-CT-2005-019335 (Translocation), the COST Action BM0701 ''ATENS'', the Universite de la Mediterranee and Service de Santé des Armees (livre rouge operation23e). C.E. James received additional support from a Marseille Allocation Accueil. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com . These authors contributed equally to this work.


Inclusive electron scattering from nuclei at large x and Q^ is the result of a reaction mechanism that includes both quasi-elastic scattering from nucleons and deep inelastic scattering from the quark consitituents of the nucleons. Data in this regime can be used to study a wide variety of topics, including the extraction of nuclear momentum distributions, the influence of final state interactions and the approach to _v-scaling, the strength of nucleon-nucleon correlations, and the approach to x- scaling, to name a few. Selected results from the recent experiment E02-019 at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility will be shown and their relevance discussed.


In this paper we researched the relative rule among the main pollutants in Wuhu section of Qinyijiang River by gradual regressive method. And we also analyzed the change regulation from COD to water flux, which showed that the pollutant concentration is the highest when the flux is 60m 3/s.


An estimate is made of the three-dimensional global oceanic temperature and salinity variability, omitting the seasonal cycle, both as a major descriptive element of the ocean circulation and for use in the error estimates of state estimation. Historical hydrography, recent data from the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, and Argo profile data are all used. Root-mean-square vertical displacements in the upper 300 m of the ocean are generally smaller than 50 m, except in energetic boundary currents and in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre. Variability in temperature and salinity is strongly correlated below the top 100 m. Salinity contributions to sea surface height variability appear more significant at low latitudes than expected, possibly resulting from advective and diffusive processes. Results are generally consistent with altimetric variability under two simple kinematic hypotheses, and much of the observed structure coincides with known dynamical features. A large fraction of the sea surface height variability is consistent with the hypothesis of dominance of the first baroclinic mode.


and key words Linear filters are the most important systems used in Signal Processing. Their input-output relationship is a convolution, which introduces the concepts of impulse or frequency responses. When the input signal of a linear filter is random and stationary there are simple expressions which allows us to calculate the first and second order moments of the output signals in terms of both the properties of the input signal and the impulse response (IR) of the filter. On the other hand the situation is quite different when considering probability distributions. Except in the very important case of Gaussian inputs, it is extremely difficult to obtain explicitly the distribution of the output in terms of both the statistics of the input and the characteristics of the filter. This comes from the fact that the output of a filter is a sum or a series of random variables and even if the characteristic function of this output can often be obtained, its expression is so complicated that it is in general impossible to obtain its Fourier transform which yields the probability distribution. In this paper we introduce a new kind of filtering defined by a random IR so that the expression of the outputs moments are almost the same as those obtained when using classical filtering, while the marginal probability distribution of the output is the same as the one of the input. After a short description of such filtering, we present some of its properties and results of computer experiments showing an excellent agreement between theoretical analysis and experiment. The second section is devoted to the definition of the new filtering and to the analysis of its main properties. As we shall make a comparison between this filtering and the classical one, we recall in (1) the classical relation that yields the output Ȳk of a causal discrete time linear filter with IR hk when the input signal is Xk . If it is random and stationary, its mean value and covariance function are given by (3) and (4). On the other hand the input-output relationship of the filter introduced in this paper is given by (5). Starting from the IR hk of the filter (1) the terms ek are defined by the relation ek = sign(hk) which is equal to 1 if hk > 0 and to 0 otherwise. Furthermore we realize a partition of the interval [0,S] in non-overlapping intervals l of measures |hl | and gl(x) is the indicator function of the interval l. Then traitement du signal 2009_volume 26_numero 4 295 gl(x) takes only the values 0 or 1 and satisfies (6) and ∑ gl(x) = 1 . Finally Bk is a strictly white noise or a sequence of IID random variables. These variables are uniformly distributed in the interval [0,S], where S is given by (2), a relation which characterizes the stability of the filter (1). It results from these definitions that (5) is a kind of filtering with a random IR so that the sum appearing in (5) contains only one non-zero term. The expected value of this IR is given by (7). This kind of filtering introduces two main properties. The invariance property means that if the signal Xk is stationary with a symmetric marginal distribution, then the signals Xk and Yk defined by (5) have the same marginal distribution. The second fundamental property of the filtering (5) is that if Xk is zero mean valued and stationary, then the outputs Ȳk and Yk defined by (1) and (5) respectively are also zero mean valued and their covariance functions γȲ [p] and γY [p] are proportional, except for p = 0, as seen in (12). As a consequence their power spectra are related by (13) and (14). The purpose of Section 3 is to verify these properties in computer experiments. In the first sequence of experiments the filter (1) F1 chosen is defined by the IR hk equal to 1 for 0 ≤ k ≤ 4, to −1 for 5 ≤ k ≤ 9, and to 0 otherwise. In Fig. 1 we present results appearing when the input Xk is a sinus signal. The difference between the classical filter in which the periodic character is preserved and the random filter is clear. The invariance property is especially evident if the input is a white perfectly clipped signal taking only the values ±1 with the same probability. It is extremely simple to generate such a signal by a computer and the results appear in Fig. 2. We observe that the output of the random filter is still a clipped signal (Fig. 2-3) while this property disappears with the classical filter (Fig. 2-2). The same kind of results appear in Figs. 3 and 4. In Fig. 3 Xk is a periodic clipped signal and in Fig. 4 it is a random colored clipped signal. In the following experiments Xk is a white or colored random signal with a specific non Gaussian marginal distribution pX (x) . We describe in detail the procedure used for the simulation of such signals with two particular marginal distributions pX (x) . The first is pX (x) = r[−1,+1](x)(π/4)sin(π |x |/2) where r[−1,+1](x) is the rectangular function equal to 1 for |x | < 1 and to 0 otherwise. It has a minimum for x = 0 , contrary to the Gaussian distribution. In the colored case the covariance function is exponential, or γX [p] = σ 2 X a|p| . The white case appears when a = 0. This PDF is represented in continuous line in Figs. 5 and 6. By applying the random filtering (5) associated to F1 we generate the signal Yk. To ensure a good statistical precision the number of samples of Yk generated is for all the experiments described below of the order of 106. By using normalized histograms we have measured some values of its marginal PDF pY (y). The results are the points appearing also in Figs. 5 and 6 and we see that these experimental points are very well located on the continuous curve of the PDF pX (x) , which show that, according to the invariance property, the signals Xk and Yk have the same marginal PDF. This is valid for a = 0 (Fig. 5) as well as for a = 0.5 (Fig. 6). The case of the signal Ȳk defined by (1) is more complicated. Indeed, when Xk is white, the variance of Ȳk is σ 2 X ∑ hk = Sσ 2 X, because in our experiments hk = 1 . On the other hand σ 2 Y = σ 2 X because Xk and Yk have the same distribution. In our experiment S = 10 , and this implies that it is difficult to represent the PDF of Ȳk with the same scale as the one of Yk. In order to compare signals with the same variance we introduce the signal Zk = (1/S)Ȳk, and this procedure is the one used in the proof of the central limit theorem. In Figs. 5 and 6 we present in continuous line a part of the Gaussian PDF with the same variance. It appears effectively that while the Yks are sums of only ten independent random variables with the marginal PDF pX (z) , their normalized sum pZ (z) has a distribution which is almost Gaussian. In Figs. 7 and 8 we present very similar results obtained when the marginal PDF of Xk is (1/2)exp(−|x |) . The other sets of experiments are devoted to covariance measurements. According to (12), we have γȲ [p] = SγY [p] for p = 0, and we want to verify this relation. The results appear in Table 1. The first three lines correspond to the case a = 0, which means that the signal Xk is white. In this case the covariance function of Ȳk is given by (4) where hk is the IR of the filter F1. In the first line we present the nonzero theoretical value of the normalized covariance function of Ȳk obtained by dividing γT [p] , (T for theoretical), by γT [p] . In the second line we present the measured values of this normalized covariance function γȲ [p]/γȲ [0] . We observe that the agreement between measured and theoretical values is almost perfect. In the third line we present measurements of the covariance function of the random filter multiplied by the coefficient S/γȲ [0], and in agreement with the theory, results of lines 2 296 traitement du signal 2009_volume 26_numero 4 Filtrage preservant les lois marginales


In Ukraine there is broad reform of the entire system of public administration and local government in particular. The changes that are characteristic of the decentralization process to occur very quickly and are not only important theoretical, namely, real change current regulatory framework for regional development, but purely practical guidance on the development of communities combined with the full range of necessary reforms. However, under construction, united community faced a number of problems and challenges, such as globalization of the economy, increased labor mobility and the associated rise in unemployment, increasing international competition for investment and development resources. The answer to these and other challenges, some may be promising (medium and long term) planning OTG. In addition, attention needs to focus methodology development strategy united the local community. Moreover, the process of developing such a strategy must be structured in line with European best practices and have analytical and application components. The methodology should integrate the key aspects of life and development: economic, social and environmental, supporting their interactions, as well as to promote the active participation of all interested and qualified persons in the strategic planning and implementation of development plans in accordance with their interests and capabilities.


In the 21st century in Turkey, traditional public administration started to change. The transition from representative democracy to the participative democracy has accelerated and the phenomenon of governance has emerged. Governance, which is used in the sense of managing together, may be defined as the local civil society organizations, as well as the public are informed about decision-making processes and even participated in decision-making mechanisms. The legislator has made significant efforts compared to previous years in the area of local participative democracy since the local governments, especially the municipalities, is often considered the most appropriate level to achieve the participation of citizens in public affairs. The lawmaker has regulated some instruments of the local governance with the Municipal Law (no: 5393 dated 2005). One of these instruments is the city councils. City councils carry out their activities, in order to implement the concept of governance, by making recommendations by its general assembly, which is the most competent body. In this study, the decisions of the general assembly of the city council will be evaluated. First of all, the scope of city council decisions will be examined and then the effectiveness of city council decisions will be evaluated. While conducting this study was being discussed with several officials of city councils and then web sites and doctrine concerning the city councils were examined. The subject of the city council has been examined by many studies, but the nature, legal structure and impact of the decisions of these city councils have been examined in a limited manner. This study was written to eliminate this deficiency.


[Objective]To investigate the protective effects of cardiac ischemic preconditioning (IPC) in acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in isolated mouse heart.[Methods]Langendorff-perfused mice hearts were stabilized for 16-min and then preconditioned with 2 episodes of 2-min ischemia and 5-min reperfusion prior to the 20/40 min of I/R injury. Control hearts had no episodes of preconditioning. During the whole processes, left ventricular develop pressure (LVEDP), ±dp/dtmax and ECG were recorded simultaneously. At the end of I/R,the infarct size was calculated and presented as percentage of risk area.[Results]Following sustained I/R, infarct size was significantly reduced in IPC group (29.4 ± 2.71)% when compared with non-preconditioned control hearts [ (38.1 ± 1.82)%,P0.05]. No significant improvements in post-ischemic heart function and arrhythmia scores were observed in IPC groups. [Conclusion]IPC plays a pivotal role in reducing myocardial infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion injury. The cardiac protection provided by IPC is unlikely via the improvement of heart function. The occurrence of arrhythmias after I/R injury in mouse cannot be reduced by IPC.


The Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) is a plasma membrane pH regulatory protein that removes one intracellular H+ in exchange for an extracellular Na+. NHE1 is inactive at alkaline intracellular pH but is active with decreasing pHi. The set point of the protein is altered by phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic tail. We examined the mechanism by which phosphorylation mediates NHE1 activation. In the full length protein, mutation of Ser770 and Ser771 to either Asp or Ala resulted in an inability to stimulate the protein by sustained intracellular acidosis. By using western blotting against the HA‐tagged full length NHE1 protein, we found that NHE1 proteins with the mutation S726/729D and S770/771A showed no difference in the digestion pattern or sensitivity to digestion compared with the wild type. However, the S770/771D mutant always appeared to be more sensitive to digestion with trypsin than controls. We examined the expressed C‐terminal regulatory region of NHE1 with and without phosphomimetic S770/771D mutations. These NHE1 proteins had varying sensitivity to trypsin digestion. This difference did not occur with phosphomimetic mutations at S703D, S726/729D. The results suggest that phosphorylation of NHE1 at Ser770 and Ser771 causes a significant changed in the conformation of the NHE1 regulatory tail that may affect NHE1 activity. Supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research.


The latest development in the asset pricing literature is the emergence of empirical asset pricing models comprising q‐factors (profitability and investment factors) in conjunction with other factors. However, as in the case of the older empirical models, there is scepticism regarding the application of these newer factor models consisting of q‐factors because of the debate surrounding the explanatory power of these empirically inspired asset pricing models. This review attempts to synthesize studies pertaining to the four alternative explanations of the asset pricing models comprising the q‐factors (profitability and investment) – the data snooping hypothesis, the risk‐based explanation, the irrational investor behaviour explanation and the interpretation that suggest that the combination of the risk‐free asset and the factors comprising the model span the mean‐variance efficient tangency portfolio that prices the universe of assets.


The article reviews two books: "Keith Haring" by Jeffrey Deitch and "Against All Odds: Keith Haring in the Rubell Family Collection" by Mark Coetzee.


TOD (Transit-Oriented Development) is one of the urban structure concentrated on the multi-functional space/district with public transportation system, which is introduced for maintaining sustainable future cities. With such trends, the project of building complex transferring centers located at a urban railway station has widely been spreaded and a comprehensive and systematic analytical framework is required to clarify and readily understand the complicated procedure of estimation with the large scale of the project. By doing so, this study is to develop a comprehensive analytical framework for estimating a pedestrian OD matrix using a spatial information and an integrated smart card data, which is so called a data depository and it has been applied to the Samseong station for the model validation. The proposed analytical framework contributes on providing a chance to possibly extend with digitalized and automated data collection technologies and a BigData mining methods.


As population growth, climate change, and water quality decline affect the limited water resources of the western United States, local governments, water utilities, and the public must continue their efforts to sustain supplies. Effective management of both water quality and water quantity is especially important for communities in arid and semi arid regions affected by increasing demand and climate variability. Adding to the hardship is the decline in water quality that results from diminished flows during years of drought. Long‐term planning and development of a portfolio of resources to sustain existing water sources to meet the needs of urban, industrial, and agricultural sectors is imperative. Communities and water agencies must work together. The human population can contend with water scarcity only through responsible development, effective resource management, and the realization that the world shares the same finite water supply. Two utilities in the West and Southwest, the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Zone 7 Water Agency in Livermore, California, offer examples of how measures to reduce water demand and protect current supply can be implemented successfully.


The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness and return loss of short carbon-filled polychloroprene rubber composites of varying sample thickness and fiber aspect ratio were studied in the frequency range of 8 to 12 GHz (X-band). It was observed that composites prepared by the cement-mixed method with high fiber aspect ratio (L/D=100) show higher shielding effectiveness and lower return loss than the composites prepared by the mill-mixed method with low fiber aspect ratio (L/D=25). This indicates that loss due to absorption increases with increasing fiber aspect ratio. A similar effect has also been observed with increasing sample thickness. >