SummaryCell lines are valuable resources for the study of the malignancy and potential therapy of human breast cancer. A major problem with adapting fresh breast tumor specimens to grow in vitro is contamination by fibroblasts. Previously, we have reported a technique to overcome this problem (Nayak, S. K; Dillman, R. O. Clin. Biotechnol. 3:237–242; 1991). We have recently established two new breast cancer cell lines, HH315 and HH375, that were derived from abdominal and supraclavicular lymph node metastases from two patients. They were characterized by (1) growth kinetics; (2) staining with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to cytokeratin-19, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), anticarcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), breast cancer antigen 1 (BRST-1), breast cancer antigen 2 (BRST-2), Her2/neu, and p53; (3) expression of domains of urinary plasminogen activator (uPA), neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), and haptoglobin (Hp) (Harvey et al., 1997); and (4) karyotypic analysis. Growth kinetic studies showed that doubling times for both lines ranged from 48 to 96 h. These two cell lines were found to have characteristics of the metastatic breast cancer cells. Both lines stained positive with MoAbs to cytokeratin-19 and EMA, thus confirming their epithelial origin. They also strongly reacted with the pan-breast carcinoma MoAbs BRST-1 and BRST-2, and carcinoembryonic CEA MoAb. Both cell lines overexpressed the oncogene proteins Her2/neu and p53. The tumor cells were negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors. HH315 cells were poorly differentiated, whereas the HH375 cells exhibited adenocarcinoma morphology. Both cell lines showed intense cell surface and some cytoplasmic staining for uPA, NCAM, and Hp domains, which is a characteristic of malignant neoplasms (Harvey et al., 1997). The HH375 cell line showed two cell types, of which 60% were hyperdiploids with 60–70 chromosomes and 5–10 marker chromosomes. The remaining cells were polyploid with more than 200 chromosomes. Cell line HH315 consisted of only a polyploid population. These cell lines may be useful in breast cancer research.


Background: Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is characterized by an unremitting activation of CD8+ T lymphocytes and macrophages that leads to organ damage. Methods: 40 patients diagnosed of having HLH secondary to infections admitted in the last 5 years in a tertiary hospital in Western Maharashtra, were studied retrospectively. The data was collected from the indoor patient records and files, detailed clinical profile and all relevant investigations were noted. Results: 40 cases of diagnosed HLH were studied. Age group of 30-40 years was involved more (25%), followed by age group of 61-70 years. The condition was more common in males (64%). Dengue was more common having more chance of secondary HLH. Early diagnosis and treatment was effective in 90% cases. Conclusions : HLH was seen to occur more in tropical fevers. The mortality rate was more in haematological malignancies. Early diagnosis and rapidly initiated treatment had a positive effect in decreasing the mortality rate of the condition.


Time-depth information derived from checkshots, vertical seismic profiles (VSPs), and sonic logs is an important element in deriving models to correlate well and seismic data. Many times we need to calculate a smooth model to view trends or convert data quickly. The Occam inversion technique provides a methodology to produce a smooth trend in the velocity data. We have further enhanced a simple Occam inversion presented by Lizarralde and Swift (1999) to add boundary constraints allowing for a piecewise discontinuous velocity profile across a boundary. Application of such a technique is shown for interpreting checkshot, VSP, and sonic log data in different geologic environments. Insights are provided in areas of interpreting subtle, but meaningful, velocity changes and rapid interpretation of noisy data.


The phase Ⅳ project of Qintan Municipal Sewage Plant in Changzhou city has been designed as the conventional A~2/O process, and operated as the reversed A~2/O process which cancels the reflux of mixed liquid and increases the reflux ratio of sludge. It was demonstrated by the operation for over two years that the removal efficiencies of COD_(Cr), BOD_5, SS, NH_3-N and TP are respectively 94.8%,97.9%,94.8%,97.8% and 91.7% under the condition of MLSS;3.5~4.5 g/L, SVI:80~140 mL/g, sludge loading:0.08~0.15 kg BOD_5/(kgMLSS·d),organic loading:0.20~0.35 kgCOD/(kgMLSS·d),sludge age:11~20 d. Effluent reaches the first class discharge standard in GB18918-2002. The reversed A~2/O process can dramatically remove ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus, and some problems deserved to be discussed forwardly.


In spite of its complicated nature, the topic of this paper is simple to state: how is one's identity – especially one's political identity – formed in the beginning of the 21st century, especially in the so called developed countries and the areas in which the brutal battle for souls of the youngsters is going on? Completely answering such a broad question in a short paper is impossible, but in order to fulfill the task as well as possible, I will introduce both new theoretical concepts ('ideological power apparatus' and a 'move' as an object a and some very concrete examples (Xbox game Close Combat, the web side of the US marines etc.). In this way, I want to continue and develop the line of thought opened by Slavoj Žižek and some other contemporary thinkers: I will use Lacanian concepts without hesitation for conceptualizing social and political matters, as well as mix them with certain Marxian concepts (especially Louis Althusser's 'Ideological State Apparatus').


The proper assessment of the status of vitamin D requires the accurate measurement of both 25-OH vitamin D2 and 25-OH vitamin D3, which collectively constitute 25-OH vitamin D, the best indicator of vitamin D status. Currently, numerous assay methods are available for 25-OH vitamin D measurement but their comparability is uncertain. We employed isotope dilution liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC-MS/MS) to quantify 25-OH vitamin D2 and 25-OH vitamin D3 in human serum. Hexadeuterium labeled 25-OH vitamin D3 internal standard was added to calibrators, controls prepared in 6% bovine serum albumin in phosphate buffered saline, and patients' sera. Zinc sulphate was added to release 25-OH vitamin D metabolites for vitamin D binding protein, followed by a precipitation step withthe addition of acetonitrile. Subsequent online phase extraction by trap column followed by chromatographic separation on a C-8 column using a water/acetonitrile gradient was employed. Detection was performed using Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (AP-CI) in a Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mode. The method was linear from 4 to 70 ng/mL. The intra and inter-day CV% were ≤ 10 for both 25-OH vitamin D2 and 25-OH vitamin D3. Recoveries ranged between 39.09 % to 64.31 % for 25-OH vitamin D2 and 30.44 % to 58.66 % for 25-OH vitamin D3, while recoveries from hexadeuterium 25-OH vitamin D3 ranged from 44.11 % to 67.5%.We compared the newly validated LC-MS/MS with a commercial Enzyme Immunoassay from Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDS EIA) in terms of inter-method agreement, correlation, and impact of assay variation on the diagnostic categorization of vitamin D status through the measurement of 182 subjects' sera. The mean bias % of the IDS EIA relative to the LC-MS/MS was -34.28 ± 10.15 (mean ± std) with 95% CI [-24.13 to 44.43]. The two methods were ingood agreement with reasonable correlation (r²=0.82, P value = 0.000). Inter-method diagnostic categorization was variableand depended on the type of assay method and the applied cut offs used. Cross calibration and standardization of vitamin D assay methods is crucial for proper clinical assessment of vitamin D status. This LC-MS/MS method is reliable and robust for the measurement of both 25-OH vitamin D2 and 25-OH vitamin D3 in human serum.


Black patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are less likely to receive multimodality treatment and have worse survival compared to White patients. However, little is known regarding racial differences in postoperative outcomes. The primary aim of this study was to determine if 30‐day complication rates following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) differ by race.


The purpose of the study was to determine the level of community satisfaction with the attributes of the Indomie brand instant food products in East Lombok Regency and the attributes of the Indomie brand instant food which have consumer satisfaction and collective interests. Determination of the location of the study deliberately in East Lombok Regency. The research objective estimation method uses the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), Importance Performance Analysis (IPA), and Conjoint analysis. The results of the analysis show that the attributes of the Indomie brand of instant food with a high level of consumer satisfaction include halal labels, taste, clarity of expiration, information on nutritional values, and ease of access (marketing). Overall, the instant food attributes of the Indomie brand provide consumer satisfaction with a value of 76.64% which is included in the satisfied criteria. While the conjoint method estimates the most important factor and has a high usability value, namely quality with a coefficient of importance value of 47% at the product packaging level, product texture, and product color, the price attribute has a value of 22.6% at the selling price level and the price is appropriate. quality, while the service quality attribute with a value of 11.5% at the level of customer service numbers


With the advent of fly by wire(FBW)airplane,aeroservoelasticity(ASE)flight test and flight control system stability flight test became necessary.Therefore,it was the key of stability margin flight test that input proper excitation signal of the servo control system in order to calculate the exact stability margin.The flight control system of large airplane was complex.It was hard to get experience from other flight test.Traditional signal generation methods of flutter excitation system could not help ASE flight and flight control system stability flight test.The new excitation signal was designed and that was compatible with flight control system of the airplane.It satisfied ASE flight test and flight control system stability flight test of the airplane and laid the foundation for the subsequent other types of airplane ASE and flight control system stability flight test,and futhermore saved the cost of flight test.


Cs$_2$ Rydberg-ground molecules consisting of a Rydberg, $nD_{J}$ (33 $\leq$ $n$ $\leq$ 39), and a ground state atom, 6$S_{1/2} (F=$3 or 4$)$, are investigated by photo-association spectroscopy in a cold atomic gas. We observe vibrational molecular spectra that correspond to triplet $^T\Sigma$ and mixed $^{S,T}\Sigma$ molecular states. We establish scaling laws for the ground-state molecular binding energies as a function of effective principal quantum number, and obtain zero-energy singlet and triplet $s$-wave scattering lengths from experimental data and a Fermi model. The permanent electric dipole moments of the molecules are attained by analyzing line broadening in external electric fields. We find qualitative agreement between measured and calculated magnitudes of the dipole moment. The sign of the dipole moment is predicted to be negative, which differs from previously reported cases.


We consider a central problem in text indexing: Given a text T over an alphabet Σ, construct a compressed data structure answering the queries char (i), rank s(i), and selects(i) for a symbol s ∈ Σ. Many data structures consider these queries for static text T [GGV03, FM01, SG06, GMR06]. We consider the dynamic version of the problem, where we are allowed to insert and delete symbols at arbitrary positions of T . This problem is a key challenge in compressed text indexing and has direct application to dynamic XML indexing structures that answer subpath queries [FLMM05]. We build on the results of [RRR02, GMR06] and give the best known query bounds for the dynamic version of this problem, supporting arbitrary insertions and deletions of symbols in T . Specifically, with an amortized update time of O((1/ )n ), we suggest how to support rank s(i), selects(i), and char (i) queries in O((1/ ) log log n) time, for any < 1. The best previous query times for this problem were O(log n log |Σ|), given by [MN06]. Our bounds are competitive with state-of-the-art static structures [GMR06]. Some applicable lower bounds for the partial sums problem [PD06] show that our update/query tradeoff is also nearly optimal. In addition, our space bound is competitive with the corresponding static structures. For the special case of bitvectors (i.e., |Σ| = 2), we also show the best tradeoffs for query/update time, improving upon the results of [MN06, HSS03, RRR02]. Finally, our focus on fast query/slower update is well-suited for a query-intensive XML indexing environment. Using the XBW transform [FLMM05], we also present a dynamic data structure that succinctly maintains an ordered labeled tree T and supports a powerful set of queries on T . ∗Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907–2066, USA ({agupta, wkhon, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com). 1


In this work we present an immobilized enzyme microreactor
(IMER) based on CYP 2C9 isoform, this IMER was integrated into
capillary which further improves its features due to miniscule
sample consumption and enabling rapid quantification by the
means of capillary electrophoresis. Using this instrument a
kinetic and inhibition study was performed while all kinetic
and inhibition parameters were acquired and showed good
correlation with literature. On the other hand a broadly used
model for determination of the reactants' effective
concentration, the Hagen-Poiseuille law, showed some major
discrepancies and therefore an adjusted model for concentration
profile modelling is presented as well.


Exact control of the response of an inverter can be used for improved torque control in motors or in superior suppression of disturbances in grid connection of inverters. This paper is examining the different control tools available and illustrates how the near perfect tracking of hysteretic control first order over first order systems may be extended to fixed sample rate higher order systems. INTRODUCTION Switching control has been able to be explicitly designed for low order systems using minimum time rules [2, 4] or sliding mode controls [1, 7]. The minimum time design approach is difficult to extend beyond second order systems and need to be rethought before applying for tracking applications. Hysteretic designed controllers show excellent tracking performance for first order systems. For these systems the switch state changes whenever the controlled state deviates from the reference by more than a predefined level called the hysteresis band. The main objections to hysteretic control are that the switching speed is dependant on load parameters and thus cannot be well matched to device characteristics. The hysteretic control has drawbacks of variable switching frequency and being essentially an analogue comparison function can be prone to noise and does not match well with digital controllers. Another class of control which provides an upper limit to the switch frequency is sampled error control. The control is switched high whenever the sampled error is negative and switched low whenever the sampled error is positive. The maximum switch frequency is determined by the sampling rate. This limits the upper switch frequency but has less control over the average frequency. Sampled error controllers limit the maximum switch frequency but require a very high sample rate to achieve good performance. The next class of controls aims to provide tight control of the controlled state using a fixed switching frequency through control of pulse width. In these controls, referred to as current prediction control, knowledge of the system parameters is used to determine the control pulse width, which will force the tracking error to zero at the next time step. This approach often needs knowledge or estimation of the internal emf and has been applied successfully to motor loads. Because of the simplicity of first order responses, the exact response of the system to pulse waveforms can be easily computed and thus perfect deadbeat control achieved. The projection theory in [5] extends this tracking performance to higher order filter applications. For open loop applications pulse width modulation shows good performance and has a specific switching frequency. Closed loop versions of PWM based on sampled error control can achieve good tracking but usually show inferior tracking performance compared to hysteretic control. This paper examines the limits to the performance that can be achieved by sampled controllers PRECISE DISCRETE TIME CONTROL For computer implementation and to ensure finite switching frequencies a discrete time controller is often implemented. The sampled error controller is one example of discrete time control. More precise control can be achieved using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). If a control value of 0.6 is required for a control limited to take values +1,0,-1 then spending 60% of the next control interval at +1 and 40% at 0 will achieve much the same control action. This implicitly assumes a low pass characteristic for the system such that the switch frequency ripple is smoothed out. Implementing linear controls with a PWM output stage can yield very good performance. One limitation is where Deadbeat control is being targeted. For Nth order systems this driving all state errors to zero in N steps is typically a high gain precise control and the differences between samples and hold control values and PWM averaging becomes important. For first order systems of the form Bu x = & , specific computation of the switching instant on the exact trajectory is easily achieved and with sufficient control value, errors can zeroed in one step depending on the noise and precision of transducers. For higher order systems or with a first order exponential, exact direct solution becomes difficult. Consider the system u x x       +      


While beer provides a very stable microbiological environment, a few niche microorganisms are capable of growth in malt, wort and beer. Growth of mycotoxin-producing fungi during malting, production of off-flavours and development of turbidity in the packaged product due to the growth and metabolic activity of wild yeasts, certain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and anaerobic Gram negative bacteria, impact negatively on beer quality. It follows that any means by which microbial contamination can be reduced or controlled would be of great economic interest to the brewing industry and would serve the public interest. There has been an increasing effort to develop novel approaches to minimal processing, such as the exploitation of inhibitory components natural to raw materials, to enhance the microbiological stability of beer. LAB species, which occur as part of the natural barley microbiota, persist during malting and mashing, and can play a positive role in the beer-manufacturing process by their contribution to wort bioacidification or the elimination of undesirable microorganisms. Other naturally occurring components of beer that have been valued for their preservative properties are hop compounds. It may be possible to enhance the antimicrobial activities of these compounds during brewing. Some yeast strains produce and excrete extracellular toxins called zymocins, which are lethal to sensitive yeast strains. Yeast strains resistant to zymocins have been constructed. Imparting zymocinogenic activity to brewing yeast would offer a defence against wild yeasts in the brewery. Thus, the antimicrobial properties of naturally occurring components of raw materials can be exploited to enhance the microbial stability of beer.


The G.M.S. Committee discussed at length vocational training for general practice. Its advisory committee's report on the subject was presented by Mr. D. C. Bowie, the advisory committee's chairman. A summary of the conclusions in the report was printed last week (Supplement, 16 September, p. 129). The G.M.S. Committee approved the report in general and decided to send it to the Royal Commission on Medical Education and to the Central Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education. The advisory committee is to amend its report in the light of the G.M.S. Committee's debate, and particular attention is to be drawn to the G.M.S. Committee's concern that doctors who receive a vocational training for general practice should have available to them when they enter practice the necessary facilities to make effective use of their skills. See leading article at page 754. The general practitioner's case at the next review of doctors' pay by the Review Body is to be presented by counsel. The memorandum of evidence is to be published but not the oral evidence.


Author(s): Kobayashi, Y; Timmers, H; Sabbar, M; Leone, SR; Neumark, DM | Abstract: © 2017 American Physical Society. We present attosecond transient-absorption experiments on xenon 4d-16p core-level states resonantly driven by intense (1.6×1014W/cm2) few-cycle near-infrared laser pulses. In this strongly driven regime, broad induced absorption features with half-cycle (1.3-fs) delay-dependent modulation are observed over the range of 58-65 eV, predicted as a signature of the breakdown of the rotating-wave approximation in strong-field driving of Autler-Townes splitting [A. N. Pfeiffer and S. R. Leone, Phys. Rev. A 85, 053422 (2012)PLRAAN1050-294710.1103/PhysRevA.85.053422]. Relevant atomic states are identified by a numerical model involving three electronic states, and the mechanism behind the broad induced absorption is discussed in the Floquet formalism. These results demonstrate that a near-infrared field well into the tunneling regime can still control the optical properties of an atomic system over a several-electron-volt spectral range and with attosecond precision.


This document gives the implementation details of the numerical model of the central pattern generator presented in the main article (Section 1). Section 2 presents the design characteristics of the salamander robot. Section 3 explains the methods for measuring the kinematics of salamander and robot locomotion. Finally, Section 4 analyzes recent data that show that the limb oscillators intrinsically oscillate at lower frequencies than body oscillators.


1,4-Dioxane is regarded as a priority pollutant because it is hardly degraded by conventional methods of wastewater treatment. In this study, the degradation of 1,4-dioxane in water by the combined use of ultrasound and ozone microbubbles has been investigated. 1,4-Dioxane degradation by ultrasound and/or ozone followed a first-order reaction kinetics. The reaction constant for ozone microbubbles was higher than that for ozone millibubbles. The synergistic effect on reaction constant has been observed by the combined use of ultrasound and ozone microbubbles. The effect of hydroxyl radicals on reaction has also been investigated. Compared with the direct reactions of ultrasound and ozone, hydroxyl radicals play a major role in 1,4-dioxane degradation. The synergistic effect is enhanced with increasing ultrasonic input power and ozone concentration. Empirical equations of the relationships between ultrasonic input power, ozone concentration, and reaction rate constant have been established.


Most of studies assume that jobs are simple string type and independent, while in the real-world situations almost all of the final products have several components and they are produced by assembling components together in different layers of subassemblies. In spite this fact, the studies addressing assembly operations are relatively less in the literature. This study considered the hybrid flowshop scheduling problem followed by assembly stage with identical parallel machines. Frist, components of products are processed in the hybrid flowshop, and then they go under assembly operations based on the predefined products assembly structure. Each product may have several assembly operations and final product is obtained by completion of its last assembly operation. The goal is to find a schedule, sequence of products and parts, which minimizes completion time of the last product, i.e., makespan. For this end, a new mathematical model is proposed; on the other hand, since the studied problem is NP-hard, a nature inspired meta-heuristic method, Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm, is then employed such that it can handle the precedence constraints among parts and assembly operations. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, the computational results are demonstrated.


Despite considerable experience and academic research, the proper evaluation of lease agreements is still debated by both financial managers and academics. In the following paper, H. Martin Weingartner offers some further suggestions for practical lease analysis. At the Editor's invitation, Roger Cason and Lawrence Schall have commented on Professor Weingartner's suggestions from the perspective of a practicing financial manager and an academic, respectively. These are followed by Professor Weingartner's rejoinder.


The diagnosis of acute abdominal pain remains hinged on the performance of a careful history and physical exam. Five to ten million emergency department visits occur each year for acute abdominal pain, creating a need to achieve improved diagnostic accuracy in an expedient fashion. Technologies such as ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and diagnostic laparoscopy are helping achieve this goal. Of these, computed tomography appears to be the work horse of diagnostic imaging in the setting of acute abdominal pain. In this review, we examine each of these modalities, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. As well, we have reproduced an excellent algorithmic approach published by Martin and Rossi that shows the reader some basic diagnostic strategies for the evaluation of acute abdominal pain. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.


Bacterial calcium-carbonate precipitation (BCP) has been studied for multiple applications such as remediation, consolidation, and cementation. Isolation and screening of strong calcifying bacteria is the main task of BCP-technique. In this paper, we studied CaCO3 precipitation by different bacteria isolated from a rhizospheric soil in both solid and liquid media. It has been found, through culture-depending studies, that bacteria belonging to Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria are the dominant bacteria involved in CaCO3 precipitation in this environment. Pure and mixed cultures of selected strains were applied for sand biocementation experiments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses of the biotreated samples revealed the biological nature of the cementation and the effectiveness of the biodeposition treatment by mixed cultures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that all the calcifying strains selected for sand biocementation precipitated CaCO3, mostly in the form of calcite. In this study, Biolog® EcoPlate is evaluated as a useful method for a more targeted choice of the sampling site with the purpose of obtaining interesting candidates for BCP applications. Furthermore, ImageJ software was investigated, for the first time to our knowledge, as a potential method to screen high CaCO3 producer strains.


The original active shape model (ASM) has been widely used in facial feature point localization. However, it is neither fast enough nor accurate enough for real time applications. We propose a new search scheme using an active shape model for facial feature extraction. In this scheme, the profile vectors of the original ASM are extended from 2D to 4D. At the same time, a face judgment method is carried out to improve the accuracy of real time fitting for video streams. Experiments using the IMM Face dataset and Frank dataset show that the proposed scheme exhibits better performance than the original ASM in real time video.


Academic studies are a demanding challenge, and individuals cope with it with varying levels of success. Despite the evidence of high levels of stress among college students in Israel, the US as well as a few EU countries, and in many cases alarming rates of dropout, universities and colleges rely on high school GPA and at times, a general mental ability test (e.g.: SAT, psychometric exams) to assess candidates' suitability to their program of study. Such approach, however, ignores personal and interpersonal factors that may facilitate or hinder individuals' development as both scholars and budding professionals, especially in care-related programs (e.g.: psychology, education, social work, etc.). The recently introduced concept of emotional intelligence holds promise as a framework for our understanding of individuals' non-cognitive potentials for adaptation and effective performance. This preliminary study examines cognitive ability alongside emotional intelligence as two effective selection criteria for higher education. A sample of 126 College students located in Israel reported their high-school, psychometric exam and College GPA grades and filled out two measures of emotional intelligence: a self-report and an ability test format. The results showed the psychometric exam and the ability EI measures associated significantly with College GPA, while high-school and self-report EI grades did not. The results are briefly discussed to draw preliminary conclusions and elicit future research in this venue.


Review and evaluation of dilemma of energy choices is urgent for Siberia as the vast region of Russia, spreading from the Urals up to the Pacific Ocean. This megaregion is abundant in fossil fuels and possesses a great capacity of renewables. Current strategy of Russia is to adjust to the New Industrial Revolution, digital economy and climate change. Such strategy stimulates the renewable energy acceleration, but renewables remain to be relatively expensive to explore in Siberia, as they need a new energy infrastructure and appear to be out of the mainstream in this megaregion. Siberia is closely connected with the Arctic by environment and climate (the taiga, tundra, rivers, etc.) and energy capacity (Vorkuta with its coal mines, wind offshore stations in Kamchatka, etc.). Global agenda on climate change makes it urgent to seek the balance between abundant conventional sources of energy in Siberia and renewables, that seem to be the real driver of new industrial&digital age and the catalysis of climate change. Interdisciplinary analysis of alternatives for energy choices in Siberia is important for effective response of Russia to new global challenges.


In the twentieth century, the application of mechanical reproduction technology in the field of art led to a dramatic art revolution, which had far-reaching influence on the present image art. This article takes Benjamin's theory of mechanical reproduction as the starting point of thought, and criticizes and reconsiders the art, the public and the life. This paper is divided into three parts. First of all, the "Aura" of art is disappearing and the alienation of art is emerging due to the characteristics of the times. In fact, the dissemination function of art, that is to say, the value of exhibition replaces the value of worship, which the public play a pivotal role. And ultimately explores the meaning of the relationship between art, life and the public for the contemporary image art.


The direct optical detection of Earth-like planets orbiting nearby stars is the goal of the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer (TPF-I). At infrared wavelengths between about 7 and 17 μm, spectral absorption features in the thermal emission of such planets may indicate the presence of chemical compounds thought necessary for the existence of life. To perform nulling interferometry at these relatively long wavelengths, a long baseline telescope array is needed with an overall length between about 30 m and 200 m. The current flight design effort is concentrated on the dual chopped Bracewell architecture but the design of the flight instrument is to a large degree independent of the exact array layout. Four 4 m diameter telescopes employing a conventional three-mirror design collect the light from the star and a series of sensors and actuators direct the light to a separate beamcombiner spacecraft where a number of beam control actions take place prior to the science light detection. This paper describes the opto-mechanical systems of the telescopes and beamcombiner spacecraft including the wavefront and optical path control devices and the alignment systems. The opto-mechanical layouts of the spacecraft are outlined along with the results from preliminary thermal and vibration performance models of the structure. The layout of the beamtrain control system is also described.


The successful experiment of data mining in highly visible fields like marketing, e-business, and retail has led to its application in other sectors and industries. Healthcare is being discovered among these areas. There is an opulence of data available within the healthcare systems. However, there is a scarcity of useful analysis tool to find hidden relationships in data. This research intends to provide a detailed description of Naive Bayes and decision tree classifier that are applied in our research particularly in the prediction of Heart Disease. Some experiment has been conducted to compare the execution of predictive data mining technique on the same dataset, and the consequence reveals that Decision Tree outperforms over Bayesian classification.


This paper describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of areplication scheme to handle Byzantine faults in transaction processing database systems. The scheme compares answers from queries and updates on multiple replicas which are unmodified, off-the-shelf systems, to provide a single database that is Byzantine fault tolerant. The scheme works when the replicas are homogeneous, but it also allows heterogeneous replication in which replicas come from different vendors. Heterogeneous replicas reduce the impact of bugs and security compromises because they are implemented independently and are thus less likely to suffer correlated failures.
 The main challenge in designing a replication scheme for transactionprocessing systems is ensuring that the different replicas execute transactions in equivalent serial orders while allowing a high degreeof concurrency. Our scheme meets this goal using a novel concurrency control protocol, commit barrier scheduling (CBS). We have implemented CBS in the context of a replicated SQL database, HRDB(Heterogeneous Replicated DB), which has been tested with unmodified production versions of several commercial and open source databases as replicas. Our experiments show an HRDB configuration that can tolerate one faulty replica has only a modest performance overhead(about 17% for the TPC-C benchmark). HRDB successfully masks several Byzantine faults observed in practice and we have used it to find a new bug in MySQL.


ileptic seizure, although in this particular case, the potential confounds of hypoxia and metabolic disturbances in contributing to the seizure and the elevation in CSF-tau cannot be excluded. There is clinical evidence of secondary damage caused by seizures from several studies. A longitudinal MRI study examined 24 patients with mild temporal lobe epilepsy and demonstrated that hippocampal volume loss of 9% on average was seen during the 3.5-year follow-up and that the volume loss was correlated with the number of generalized seizures. Another study found that the duration of poorly controlled epilepsy was associated with ongoing cognitive deterioration. These findings also strongly support that extra attention should be paid to patients with repeated seizures that may result in irreversible sequelae. By contrast, it was previously demonstrated that CSF-tau levels from six patients with chronic epilepsy were all within the normal range, suggesting that well-controlled epilepsy has a favorable long-term outcome, although it is not clear to what extent intense epileptic seizure could raise CSF-tau levels. Therefore, CSF-tau may be a potential marker for patients with repeated seizures, helping to decide about choice of early and radical intervention to sustain cognitive function, although a large number of patients with different types of epilepsy will need to be studied to draw firm conclusions.


More intriguingly, when the two arylmethyloxy substituentswere combined on the 5-hydroxychromone scaffold, theresulting 3,7-bis-O-arylmethylgalangin derivatives (3, Fig.2) showed broad spectrum antiviral activity against SCV[Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Corona Virus,SARS-CoV] as well as HCV.


Abstract:
Unfortunately, a Significant number of type 2 diabetic patients on oral hypoglycemic agents are not achieving the desired and recommended target of glycemic control in terms of reduction of HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose, this is largely because most of them are reluctant to use insulin injections for many reasons, mainly the painful injection, fear of hypoglycemia or inability to adapt to a complex regimen of multiple insulin injections. it has been recommended by many diabetes associations ( the American diabetes association(ADA) and the European association for the study of diabetes(EASD) ), in their algorithm of management of hyperglycemia in patients with uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c < 7 %) to add a basal ( long acting) insulin to their oral drug regimen as a more simple initial step of adding insulin that is acceptable by most patients and capable of achieving target glycemic levels. insulin glargine is the preferred long acting insulin analogue for its pharmacodynamic properties (peakless action profile with low incidence of hypoglycemia and longer duration of action) , furthermore, its pen formulary  makes it less painful  than conventional human insulin syringe injections.


The article focuses on the analysis of Russian regional practice of the governmental support of civil society institutions. The widespread practice of the target programs approach is also analyzed. The author argues the expediency of a public policy in the field of support of civil society institutions in the regions of the Russian Federation.


T are some interesting rituals associated with medical education at many medical schools throughout the world. One of the most fascinating blends of meaningful tradition and innovation is the white coat ceremony (WCC). A plausible explanation for this ceremony is an assumed connection between that and encouraging professional development in medicine. It is also mainly based on the positive emotions in the participants as they feel a sense of respect, inclusion and honor [1]. The WCC is an educational activity, put on by medical schools to introduce medical students to the world of clinical medicine by offering them "the white coat", the symbol for becoming a doctor. Given the cultural significance of "whiteness" that traditionally indicates purity and goodness. The pureness of medicine became reflected in the white coat of doctors. Wearing white, is a way of suggesting the need for cleanliness personified and for having a pure heart and mind to see goodness and purity in everything [2,3]. The WCC reminds the medical students of the need for their responsibility to uphold and advance personal and professional honor, integrity, and the dignity of their profession. It creates a psychological and ethical covenant for the profession from the beginning of the practice of medicine. In Iranian medical schools the ceremony is held twice a year in the end of basic sciences and before entering into a new stage of education as clinical sciences. It has become a symbol of students' transition from the study of preclinical sciences to practicing medicine. In Shiraz medical school, at the beginning of the WCC programs, students participate in ethics workshops and get prepared to make a relation between the clinical education to the ethical values and professionalism. The workshops focus on the role of physicians in society, with emphasis on spirituality, professionalism, empathy, responsibility, and the respectful doctor-patient relationship. The students enjoy the program, believing that medical ethics will serve as a guide in ethical challenges that they encounter in their future practices. The ceremony is started with a welcome speech given by the medical school dean and his administrator colleagues. It continues with the messages from the chancellor of the university, vice chancellor for education and an inspirational message from a role model to express his/her clinical experiences. Then, the chairmen of major clinical departments explain what a medical student should know and what must be employed in academic departments. Afterward, a faculty-authored professional and moral advice (Andarz) is declaimed by a prominent faculty member on behalf of all clinical teachers asking the audience that they must never forget to reflect on what the purposes of being a good doctor Received: 11 Feb 2014 Revised: 01 Mar 2014 Accepted: 09 Mar 2014


The present invention includes a glutamic acid N, N-diacetic acid or a salt thereof (GLDA), a fluid having a pH of between 1 and 14, comprising introducing into the formation, relates to a process for the treatment of sandstone formations. Furthermore, the present invention is glutamic acid N, N-diacetic acid or a salt thereof (GLDA), corrosion inhibitors, surfactants, and includes a mutual solvent optionally a fluid and a kit of parts suitable for use in the method.


We showed through experiments that the magnetochiral index is polarization invariant and reported its wavelength dependence. These properties were investigated with limonene and using a specially-designed Ar{sup +}-ring active interferometer. A Fresnel drag-type optical bias inside the discharge tube, combined with two calibrations and the circumvention of systematic errors, allowed us to reach a detection level in the range of 10{sup -12} when measuring the change in the magnetochiral index of intracavity liquid samples. Our results are in agreement with the different predictions made for magnetochiral refraction.


The 2007 edition of the North American Specification for the Design of ColdFormed Steel Structural Members (Specification) was published recently by AISI (2007a). As the name indicates, the Specification is intended for use throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States. The Specification has been approved in the United States by the American National Standards Institute as the American National Standard, in Canada by the Canadian Standards Association, and has been endorsed in Mexico by Camara Nacional de la Inductria del Hirrro y del Acero (CANACERO). In the 2007 edition, many new design provisions were adopted and significant editorial and technical changes were made. This paper provides an overview of the major changes and additions. Introduction The first edition of the North American Specification for the Design of ColdFormed Steel Structural Members (AISI, 2001) was published in 2001 as the result of a joint effort of the American Iron and Steel Institute's Committee on Specifications (AISI COS), the Canadian Standard Association's Committee on Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members (CSA S136), and Mexico's Camara Nacional del la Industria del Hierro y del Acero (CANACERO). A Supplement 1 President, R. L. Brockenbrough & Associates, PA. 2 Professor, Emeritus of Structural Engineering and Director of Canadian ColdFormed Steel Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada. 3 Distinguished Teaching Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, University of Missouri-Rolla, MO. 4 Senior Structural Engineer, American Iron and Steel Institute, DC.


In order to study the transposase enzymes of Class II prokaryotic transposable elements, we have constructed genes encoding hybrid transposase proteins. This was done by recombination in vivo between the tnpA genes of transposons Tn501 and Tn21. These hybrid genes can complement in trans a transposition‐defective mutant of Tn501. The structures of the products of this complementation indicate whether the specificity of the hybrid transposase in recognising the 38 bp terminal inverted repeats is that of Tn501 or that of Tn21. The determinant of this specificity is in the N‐terminal region of the transposase protein, between amino acids 28 and 216. The predicted amino acid sequences so far determined of transposases from the Class II family reveal an area of homology in this region.


Abstract Rounded and polished igneous or metamorphic pebbles that occur in sedimentary deposits generally are considered to be true gastroliths only when associated with the remains of vertebrate animals. In the Kansas Cretaceous, with the exception of two unusual specimens, a shark and a mosasaur, gastroliths are known to be associated only with the remains of extinct marine reptiles called plesiosaurs (Sauropterygia; Plesiosauroidea). Examples of non-associated, gastrolith-like stones are rare in the fossil record of Kansas. The recent discovery of rounded and polished stones from two localities in the basal Kiowa Shale (Albian, Early Cretaceous) coincides with the documented presence of plesiosaur remains in that formation, including one specimen associated with over 200 gastroliths. Similar sized stones collected from the underlying Cheyenne Sandstone were composed predominately of quartz and are lithologically distinct from the probable gastroliths. The rounded, polished appearance of these stones, including chert pebbles with distinctive conchoidal fractures, strongly suggests that the stones from the basal Kiowa Shale are gastroliths.


The article criticises the neo-liberal economic school for its failure foreseeing the current crises, arguing that neo-liberal approach does not fit any more to the 21st century's reality. Economics must be more people oriented and more sensitive to their 'none-scientific' desires. Social scholars should not forget that they explore human beings and not matters. The author proposes a revised approach to economics, one that incorporates leadership and management principles within its teaching. Thus, the goals of an economic enterprise should contain three elements, profitability, social accountability and compliance with the environment rules. Because economic activity is executed by two key factors; human initiative and capital, they should be enacted evenly, in order to achieve the best results. The author explains why collaborative economics is needed, discusses the competitive economics' fallacies and ends with the promises of the collaborative economics.


Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is inflammatory state of intestinal tissue which mostly occurred in preterm neonates and associated with ischemia and inflammation. This study was aimed to investigate calprotectin level (inflammatory marker) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) (ischemia marker) in preterm neonates with NEC. This research was designed as cross sectional which involve 32 preterm neonates divided into 2 groups as follows: NEC group (n=16 subjects) and control group (n=16 subjects). Diagnosis of NEC was established by clinical and radiological signs (abdominal distension and pneumatosis). Fecal calprotectin and urinary I-FABP were measured using ELISA method. Results showed that fecal calprotectin and urinary I-FABP was significantly higher in NEC group as compared to control group ( Mann-Whitney test , p<0.05). Both calprotectin and I-FABP was positively correlated with NEC state (Spearman correlation test, p=0.000, r=0.866). Moreover, calprotectin and I-FABP level was positively correlated with grade (Bell's classification) and type (Gordon's classification) of NEC (Spearman correlation test, p<0.05). We concluded that calprotectin and I-FABP level was higher in NEC group. Moreover, I-FABP but not calprotectin, were correlated with grade and type of NEC.


Recent years have witnessed the development of small field of view (FOV) nuclear medicine cameras for applications requiring either high spatial resolution and/or compact camera size. Dedicated gamma detectors with high intrinsic spatial resolutions have been built; however, collimation remains perhaps the key determinant of performance for single gamma imaging. In current pixellated gamma cameras, parallel-hole collimators are used with no attempt to match the locations of the collimator holes with the locations of the detector elements. This results in the collimator septa crossing the active portions of the detector crystals. If parallel-hole collimators whose feature sizes exactly matched those of the crystal array can be fabricated, the inactive portions of both structures can be superimposed through precise alignment, maximizing the detection efficiency of the system. We describe here a matched collimator prototype, built in a collaborative effort between the University of Virginia (UVa) and Mikro Systems Inc. (MSI, Charlottesville, VA) to be used with a dedicated breast imaging gamma camera. The camera contains a pixellated array of NaI(TI) crystals of size 1.3 mm with an inter-crystal gap of 0.2 mm. We outline the fabrication process of the prototype, and the process of its alignment with the detector elements. The 2-dimensional Fourier transform (2D-FT) of fluctuations in pixel intensities about the average was obtained for unaligned and aligned collimator settings. While the 2D-FT obtained with the collimator unaligned shows the presence of off-centered peaks, indicating Moire patterns, the absence of these peaks when the collimator is aligned, verifies the reduction of any rotational offsets between the collimator and the detector array. The change in system efficiency with varying amount of collimator-array offset was determined. A variation in efficiency of 11% was obtained experimentally compared to the theoretical 28% increase expected for the given detector geometry.


With the passage of the bill that grants permanent normal trade relations to China in September 2000, the U.S. Senate has finally removed the major hurdle for China to join the WTO by the end of year 2000. This paper aims to assess the effects of China`s entry to the WTO in comparison with benefits/losses accruing to the U.S. and Korea, which are the major trading partner of China among industrialized and developing countries, respectively. The paper analyzes the policy changes that are required by the U.S. and China following China`s admission to the WTO and examines major positive and negative ramifications. The paper finds that the trade-related net benefits are rather small in all countries relative to their overall size of the economy and trade. For China, more important benefits would be indirect economic benefits such as flows of foreign direct investment in the newly opened economic sectors and improvement of economic efficiency through competition with foreign enterprises, structural reform of state-owned enterprises, and better resource allocations. For the U.S., Korea, and other countries, important are non-economic benefits such as world peace and security. The paper concludes that although China`s accession to the WTO would bring in net economic benefits to China in the long-term, the Chinese economy in the short and medium run may have to bear substantial adjustment costs, in particular by means of the reform of state-owned enterprises and massive unemployment of workers. Consequently, China`s leaders may run serious economic and political risks, and the adjustment may take a much longer march than commonly envisioned. And all WTO members need to pay more attention to the monitoring and evaluation of China s implementation of its commitments.


Aim: To review our own experience with Frozen section (FS) in thyroid surgery and to assess its value in the management of patients with thyroid disease.
Methods: This retrospective study examined the results of 1110 frozen sections of thyroid specimens analyzed over the 10 year period from 2003 through 2012 and their correlations with the final histological examination. Deferred responses were not taken into account for statistical calculations.
Results: In our series, FS and final histopathological diagnosis agreed in 85.4% and disagreed in 5.5%. 9.1% of the cases were deferred. The global specificity and sensitivity of FS analysis for all histological subtypes were 99.3% and 64.7% respectively. Its sensitivity for papillary carcinoma was 61.7%, 83.3% for follicular carcinoma and 100% for anaplastic carcinoma. Discordances were due to 6 false-positive diagnoses and 55 false-negative (FN) diagnoses. 50% of FN was represented by papillary micro-carcinoma. The positive predictive value (PPV) of the FS examination was 94.4% and its negative predictive value (NPV) was 93.9%.
Conclusions: Our data supports the utility of intraoperative FS in the confirmation of malignancy of thyroid nodules. It's correlated with a high degree of specificity and an acceptable rate of sensitivity. Most of the discordances between FS and final histopathological diagnosis were explained by papillary microcarcinoma.


Neidhardt, Van Bogelen and Lau, J. Bacteriol., 153: 597-603, 1983 (Feb.). Neidhardt and Van Bogelen, Biochem. and Biophys. Res. Comm., 100: 894-900, 1981. Bachmann, Microbiol. Rev., 47: 180-230, 1983 (Jun.). T. A. Baker et al., "Proteolysis Defect in htpRMutants of E. Coli'', Abstracts of papers presented at Phage and Bacterial Regulatory Mechanisms, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, p. 87 (Aug. 23-28, 1983). V. G. Corces et al., "Localization of Sequences Respon sible for Heat Shock Induced Transcription", J. Cell. Biochem. Suppl., O(6), p. 340 (1982). C. H. Chung et al., "The Product of the lon (capR) Gene in Escherichia coli is the ATP-Dependent Prote 11 Patent Number:


The purpose of this paper is to review the relationship between job characteristics and job stress responses(physiological response, psychological response, behavioral response), and the moderating effect of social support. Based on the responses from 187 employees in small & medium manufacturing industry, hierarchical regressional analysis showed that job characteristics factors have partly negative relationships with job stress response. However, job variety has positive relationship. Social support has partly moderating effect on the relationship between job characteristics and job stress.


Deleterious mutations sometimes revert into beneficial mutations via epistatic interactions with subsequent mutations. This type of interaction among mutations is called "sign-epistasis." Recent works have explored the role of signepistasis in the evolution of asexual populations. Some have indicated that the fixation of sign-epistasic deleterious mutations may be critical for adaptive evolution. However, sign-epistasis is considered to be important only for asexual populations, because recombination in sexual populations tends to disrupts linkage between epistatically interacting mutations. Here, we tested the hypothesis that recombination prevents adaptation via sign-epistatic fitness reversions, by examining deleterious mutations in sexually-reproducing digital organisms. We examined every deleterious mutation that arose on the genealogy between the original ancestor and the final dominant genotype (the "graph of descent"). We show that sign-epistatic pairs of mutations emerged in several replicate populations, and that they contributed positively to the long-term adaptation of the population.


Abstract Thermal decomposition and the burning properties of BAMO and HMX based propellants have been investigated. Lead citrate with carbon black significantly altered the burning properties of the based propellants. Especially the content of 2.9% yielded high value of the burning rate with the low pressure exponent. Although the lead citrate played an important role in the increase of the temperature gradients in the gas phase close to the burning surface of the propellant, the content of 2.9% affected both the temperature gradient and the burning surface temperature. The gas composition at the burning surface was also altered by the lead catalyst. The burning rate of the propellant increased with NO2, HONO, HCN and NO increase and also with N2O, CO and CH2O decrease in the thermolysis gas composition. Since the lowest CH2O content showed highest burning rate, CH2O might be one of the key reactant in the rate controlling steps of the burning rate.


The subject of this article is Leibnizian interpretation of the principle of reason. Although the German philosopher called it principium grande of his philosophy, we do not find its systematic exposition in Leibniz's works. The main aim of my paper is to present a short exposition of the principle. The article consists of three parts: in the first I present systematic exposition of the principle of reason with particular emphasis on explication of terms "principle" and "reason," in the second, I show the origins of the principle, finally, in the third part, I discuss in detail three forms of it: the principle of sufficient reason, the principle of determining reason and the principle of rendering reason. I accept two main theses: firstly, a proper interpretation of this principle requires taking into account the whole context of Leibnizian philosophy, i.e. one cannot limit oneself (as it is usually happens among researchers) to only one discipline, e.g. logic. Secondly, the ultimate methodological and heuristical foundation of the principle of reason is Leibnizian metaphysics, especially natural theology.


A semiempirical pseudopotential for crystalline mercury has been determined using a fitting procedure to experimental dimensions of the Fermi surface. Three separate classes of pseudopotential were found to be consistent with measured calipers of the Fermi surface. One pseudopotential is equivalent to the Evans's pseudopotential used for liquid mercury.


Ubiquitous knowledge environment is the digital information infrastructure of future society. This paper analyzes the new situation and new challenges in university library under ubiquitous knowledge environment,and put forwards the corresponding strategies mainly from three aspects which refers to information resource construction,information resource discovery and information service.


Titanium oxide thin films have been deposited by spin coating technique and then have been analyzed in order to study structural, microstructural, optical and electrical properties In particular their spectrophotometric and conductivity measurements have been performed in order to determine the optical and electrical properties of titanium oxide thin films. The structure and the morphology of such material have been investigated by SEM, high resolution electron microscopy and small area electron diffraction, AFM.


1 The effects of different calcium channel blockers (ω‐agatoxin IVA (ω‐Aga IVA), ω‐conotoxin GVIA (ω‐CgTx GVIA) and dihydropyridines) were tested on spontaneous and evoked transmitter release at embryonic and newborn rat neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). 2 The nerve‐evoked transmitter release quantal content (m) was strongly reduced by the P/Q‐type voltage‐dependent calcium channel (VDCC) blocker ω‐Aga IVA (100 nM) at newly formed endplates of embryos and 0‐ to 11‐day‐old rats, in agreement with the effect of this blocker on transmitter release at mature and reinnervating muscles. 3 ω‐CgTx GVIA (1–5 μm), the N‐type VDCC blocker, also caused a significant reduction in m at newly formed NMJs early in development (embryos and 0‐ to 4‐day‐old rats), while it was ineffective in more mature animals (5‐ to 11‐day‐old rats). 4 L‐type channel blockers, nitrendipine (1 μm) and nifedipine (1 μm), did not significantly affect neurally evoked release at developing NMJs. However, nifedipine (10 μm) was able to increase m significantly at 0‐ to 4‐day‐old rat NMJs. 5 At developing NMJs, K+‐evoked transmitter release was dependent on Ca2+ entry through VDCCs of the P/Q‐type family (100 nmω‐Aga IVA reduced 70% of the K+‐evoked miniature endplate potential frequency). N‐ and L‐type VDCC blockers did not affect this type of release. 6 We conclude that at rat neuromuscular junctions the presynaptic calcium channel types involved in transmitter release undergo developmental changes during the early postnatal period.


Abstract The aim of the present paper is to analyse the evolution of the Romanian honey market in the 2006-2016 period. The analysis, ran over a period of ten years, follows to depict honey's market dynamics starting from 2006, one year before Romania's accession to the EU. The used data consisted in empirical data provided by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations database, European Commission and National Institute of Statistics. Results indicated that Romania covers its honey consumption through production and that the country is a net honey exporter, recording a 30% growth rate in exports from 2006 to 2013. In the 2006-2016 period, Romania has managed to increase its beehives number by 58.81% and its honey production by 16.52%. Honey producer prices also went up by 42.99% in the analysed period.


The social life of the children could be understood from their daily life activities. Moreover, the closest matter is every attitude performing the mental maturity, moral acts, and the great akhlaq from children. Children are priceless treasures in parents' life, thus, their success will depend on the education method used by family and the formal school. The indicator of parents' success is seen from the ways they communicate with others.


The German Aerospace Center (DLR) provides various key contributions to the Swedish led PRISMA formation flying mission. These comprise a redundant GPS hardware architecture for the two spacecraft, a real-time navigation software to support formation flying during all phases, and dedicated experiments for absolute and relative orbit control. This paper addresses the testing and validation of the GPS-based flight software as a standalone unit prior to its full integration into the spacecraft onboard computer. Thank to the model based PRISMA onboard software design, the navigation software can be executed on different platforms in a fully consistent manner. As illustrated in the paper, this allows a seamless transition between offline simulations using GPS flight data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and real-time hardware-in-loop tests comprising real Phoenix GPS receivers and a 2x12 channels Spirent GSS7700 GPS signal simulator. Furthermore the complete application is ported to a Real Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS) environment in a LEON-3 board, representative of the PRISMA onboard computer. Overall the test campaign shows the compliance of the navigation software to the challenging requirements of the PRISMA mission and paves the way for the PRISMA system level tests with hardware-in-the-loop.


We consider the variance estimation of the weighted likelihood estimator (WLE) under two‐phase stratified sampling without replacement. Asymptotic variance of the WLE in many semiparametric models contains unknown functions or does not have a closed form. The standard method of the inverse probability weighted (IPW) sample variances of an estimated influence function is then not available in these models. To address this issue, we develop the variance estimation procedure for the WLE in a general semiparametric model. The phase I variance is estimated by taking a numerical derivative of the IPW log likelihood. The phase II variance is estimated based on the bootstrap for a stratified sample in a finite population. Despite a theoretical difficulty of dependent observations due to sampling without replacement, we establish the (bootstrap) consistency of our estimators. Finite sample properties of our method are illustrated in a simulation study.


Context: Osteoporosis is a commonplace metabolic disorder affecting millions of women worldwide. This study highlights the prevalence of various risk factors associated with the development of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in the Indian population and the determination of risk of fractures in the same using questionnaire-based tools. Aims: The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of risk factors for fractures and determine the 10-year probability of developing major osteoporotic fracture and major hip fractures using QFracture score and Garvan Fracture risk calculator in postmenopausal women. Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional analytical study. Subjects and Methods: A total of 384 patients were evaluated to estimate the prevalence of risk factors for fractures and the 10-year probability of developing major osteoporotic fracture and major hip fractures along with comparison of clinical risk factors between patients with history of prior falls and patients without history of prior falls using the QFracture score and Garvan Fracture risk calculator. Statistical Analysis Used: Mann–Whitney U-test for estimating the overall 10-year risk of developing major osteoporotic and hip fractures using the two scoring systems. Results: The age range of our study population was 50–86 years, while the mean age was 59.86 ± 8.86 years. The most prevalent risk factor for osteoporotic fractures in our study was diabetes mellitus (n = 98 [25.5%]), and the least prevalent risk factor was chronic kidney disease (n = 4 [1.04%]). We also estimated the overall 10-year risk of developing major osteoporotic and hip fractures in two groups: Group 1 (with a history of falls) and Group 2 (without any history of falls). Conclusion: QFracture score and Garvan tool are easily administrable, internationally validated questionnaires which provide definitive information related to risk factors for development of osteoporosis.


The S/KEY authentication scheme and the AsyPassword authentication scheme were described and analyzed at first. For thetwo schemes both couldn't resist some attacks of jacking connection and so on, on the baseof absorbing their designideas, a new dynamicpassword authentication scheme was given including the registration process, the authentication process and the parameter choice. Thesecurity of the scheme was analyzed. The new scheme can resist the attacks of jacking connection and so on.


The article focuses on the need to consider and substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations of structuring the content of education which include sources and factors affecting the structuring of content, its design criteria, and the selection principles. The criteria and principles of content structuring focused on the formation of students' safety culture of professional activity are highlighted. The author's definition of the concept of "the content of formation of safety culture of professional activity of safety and health engineers" is given.


Predator home-range size may serve as a proxy of resource abundance and spatial structure of home range may also reveal information about diet composition of predators. We studied the diet of American mink Mustela vison, an introduced predator in Europe, to explore diet composition and to examine the association of diet with home-range characteristics. We collected scats of radio-tracked mink (two males and nine females) in summers 2004–2005 in the Archipelago Sea, SW Finland. The most important prey groups were fish (33% occurrence), birds (28%) and small mammals (mainly voles; 15%). The proportion of small mammals in female mink diet correlated positively with home-range size, which indicates that larger home ranges include larger islands, where vole populations are more persistent. Our results highlight the importance of fish as main prey for survival and invasion of mink in the outer archipelago, subsidising mink impact on other prey.


Ovarian cancer affects one in 72 female patients in America, and nearly half of the females who carry a BRCA1/2 mutation will be diagnosed in their lifetime. At present, treatment options such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) are effective against ovarian cancer in a subset of the population. In this article, we review important combination therapeutics that maximize the benefits of these agents in as many patients as possible. PARPi targets deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair mechanisms inside malignant cells, inducing cell death through synthetic lethality. ICIs target immunogenic antigens expressed on the surface of malignant cells so that the immune system can eliminate cancer cells. There is a direct relationship between the degree of DNA damage, also known as the tumor mutational burden and the effectiveness of ICIs. This principle suggests that treatments combining PARPi and ICI may allow DNA damage to accumulate by interrupting repair mechanisms, which may result in newly expressed antigens that could be targeted by the bolstered immune system. In addition, heat-shock proteins (Hsps) are upregulated during cellular stress, such as the stress elicited by the immense metabolic demand of cancer cells. Hsp has potential as prognostic biomarkers, and further, study is required to see how they interact with treatment options. More specifically, both Hsp60 and Hsp10 may represent a prognostic biomarker for ovarian cancer, and further, research into their mechanisms is important. ICI and PARPi combinatorial therapies for ovarian cancer may extend the benefits of each drug to a larger population, and Hsp represents an opportunity for predicting outcomes and tracking responses in cancer patients.


The article considers the possibility of introducing a pentenyl radical into the structure of aromatic amines by the interaction of the latter with piperylene and its chlorine derivatives, 4-chloro-2-pentene and 3,4-dichloro-2-pentene. Direct alkenylation of aniline with piperylene in the presence of Lewis acids leads to C-alkenyl arylamines. The most effective catalyst is AlCl3. Along with the expected 2- and 4-(1-methyl-2-butenyl) anilines, the formation of 2,4-di- and 2,4,6-tri-(1-methyl-2-butenyl) anilines is observed, the latter being virtiually the only product in the reaction with a 5-fold excess of piperylene. In addition to Lewis acids, H3PO4 deposited on kieselguhr or silica gel, as well as polyphosphoric acid, were used to catalyze this reaction. Under the action of these catalysts, ortho- and para-alkenylated anilines are mainly formed, and the yield of the ortho-isomer, reaching 34%, always exceeds the yield of the para-product. It is possible that, under these conditions, N-alkenylation occurs simultaneously with direct C-alkenylation followed by an amino rearrangement. The yield of the 2,4-dialkenyl product does not exceed 8%, and trialkenylated aniline is completely absent. The optimal reaction temperature is in the range of 180-200 °C, at higher temperatures the yield of the target products decreases due to the polymerization of piperylene. Various aniline derivatives are also involved in the reaction with piperylene. When one of the ortho positions in the arylamine molecule is occupied, as in ortho-toluidine or in 2-chloroaniline, a mixture of the three products is formed in comparable amounts. The reaction of meta-toluidine with piperylene also leads to the mixture of three products, and the substitution does not affect the 2-position between the amino and methyl groups. If both ortho-positions are occupied, as in 2-methyl-6-ethylaniline, the reaction is quite successfully under way in the para-position (yield is 61%). To increase the selectivity of the process, the alkylation of aromatic amines is best carried out not by piperylene, but by its chlorine derivatives. The reaction of aniline with 4-chloro-2-pentene takes place in the environment of triethylamine and leads to N-(1-methyl-2-butenyl) aniline with a yield of 80%. Other primary and secondary arylamines react in the same way. The reaction with 3,4-dichloro-2-pentene proceeds under more severe conditions. If the reaction of aromatic amines with 4-chloro-2-pentene is carried out not in triethylamine medium, but in an excess of arylamine itself as a solvent, then not N- but C-substituted products are formed. The reaction proceeds as a consequitive-simultameous process. In the first stage, N-alkenylation occurs with the formation of N-(1-methyl-2-butenyl) arylamine followed by an amino rearrangement of Claisen under the catalytic action of evolved HCl. Alongside with the obvious predominance of ortho-substituted arylamine (64-82%), para-isomers and, in some cases 5-12% of 2,4- or 2,6-disubstituted compounds were found in the reaction products. The amino rearrangement in the interaction of arylamines with 3,4-dichloro-2-pentene proceeds with exceptional ortho-selectivity. Alkyl groups at nitrogen and ortho positions accelerate, and ortho-chloro, para-methyl, 2,4-dimethyl substituents slow down the process, while the meta-methyl group has no significant effect. The same dependence was observed in the case of 4-chloro-2-pentene. Thus, pentenyl fragment can be introduced in various ways into the structure of aromatic amines: by direct interaction with piperylene in the presence of catalysts, N-alkenylation of 4-chloro-2-pentene and 3,4-dichloro-2-pentene in triethylamine medium and reaction of arylamines with chlorine derivatives of piperylene, accompanied by an amino rearrangement of Claisen.


A new approach for computing the 2-D DFT (discrete Fourier transform) and 2-D DCT (discrete cosine transform) is presented. A new design of a systolic array for transposed matrix multiplication is also shown in this paper. The new 2-D DFT/DCT avoids the need for the array transposer that was required by earlier implementations, and all processing can be pipelined easily. This approach employs a simple and regular structure that is well suited for VLSI implementation. This array can be easily scaled without modifying the basic control scheme and PE structure.<<ETX>>


This short piece reviews the book "Copyright Beyond Law - Regulating Creativity in the Graffiti Subculture", authored by Marta Iljadica.
Iljadica's book brilliantly narrates how the graffiti creativity works and is regulated from inside. It does so by relying on first-hand opinions from graffiti writers. While highlighting that copyright may be able to regulate a few aspects of the subculture's artistic life, the book argues that the dynamics of graffiti creativity to a large extent are also "beyond law".
Yet, this short note makes the point that the copyright system does not appear useless to many within the graffiti communities, not least because writing is increasingly seen by writers as a possible career path to pay the bills as well as to make profits. And the possibility of relying on copyright as a way to extract value out of graffiti artworks (e.g., tags, throw-ups and pieces) may be considered ancillary to those goals. Possibly, future ethnographic research on graffiti and copyright will confirm that the latter can really play a major role in regulating creative processes within this subculture.


Objective To study the effects of Shengmai decoction(SMD) on the level of cell factors induced by lipopolysaccharide in rats with acute liver failure.Methods The models of acute liver failure were induced by D-galactoasmine(D-Gal),then,based on which endotoxin models by LPS,and Shengmai decoction therapy was compared with control group.At the points of 2nd and 8th hours after modeling,the serum level of Lipopolysaccharide(LPS),TNFα,IL-1β,IL-6,ICAM-1,No,iNOS and zNOS were detected.Results After 2 hours,SMD could significantly reduce the level of LPS,TNFα,IL-1β,IL-6,ICAM-1 and No in rats with acute liver failure induced by LPS(P0.05);and after 8 hours,SMD can significantly reduce the lev-el of LPS,TNFα,IL-1β,IL-6 and ICAM-1 in the rats(P0.001).Conclusion In the SD rats with acute liver failure,the different levels of serum endotoxin are existed and the level of cell factors diversification inflammation progressional reactions can be induced,and SMD can regu-late the level of cell factors to treat the disease.


We have observed the rare decay B0->rho+rho- in a sample of 89 million BBbar pairs recorded with the BABAR detector. We measure the branching fraction B(B0->rho+rho-)=(27+7-6+5-7)10^-6 and determine the longitudinal polarization fraction Gamma_L/Gamma=0.99+0.01-0.07+-0.03. Our results are preliminary.


Abstract Brand salience, or the prominence of a brand in memory, has been linked to brand choice and purchase by consumers. The research reported in this paper proposed and tested a model of brand salience for fast-moving consumer goods, which incorporates knowledge, media consumption, and brand image as antecedents. A quasi-experimental method was utilised, where 270 respondents undertook a free recall exercise using category cues, and then completed multi-item measures of brand knowledge, brand associations, and purchase likelihood. Analysis of the data using SEM found support for an empirical model of brand salience where there was a relationship between brand salience and purchase likelihood. The empirical evidence supports building a brand in a primary category, in order to build the depth and breadth of the brand's associations in consumer memory.


Candidate Trump made reducing unauthorized migration a central theme of his campaign in 2015 and 2016 (Martin, 2017a). Soon after taking office, Trump issued executive orders that instructed the Department of Homeland Security to build a wall on the Mexico-US border, increase deportations, and reduce refugee admissions (Martin, 2017b). Immigration systems are like supertankers, hard to turn around quickly, but President Trump has in three years developed a restrictionist migration policy aimed at reducing unauthorized migration and asylum seeking. Even though Trump's businesses employ low-skilled guest workers, there have been no major changes to the H-2A and H-2B guest worker programs.


Collagen in the muscles of fish constitutes the main component of the connective tissue membanes joining individual myotomes and is responsible for the integrity of the fillets. The content of collagen in fish muscles is from about 0.2 to 1.4% and in squid mantel about 2.6%. Fish and invertebrata collagens contain slightly more essential amino acids than intramuscular bovine connective tissue collagen. The invertebrata collagens are exceptionally rich in sugars linked mainly O‐glycosidically to hydroxylysine residues. During maturation of fish the proportion of collagen to total protein in the muscles increases while the extent of crosslinking does not change significantly. The thermal properties of fish collagens depend significantly on the content of hydroxyproline and proline residues which in turn is correlated to the temperature of the habitat. Generally the shrinkage temperature of fish skin collagens is about 20°C lower than that of mammalian hide collagens. In several species of fish the weakening...


Curriculum-based measurement offers special and regular educators an alternative to traditional standardized achievement testing. As a viable alternative assessment system it has been developed as a technically adequate approach in which pupil progress may be monitored frequently in the curriculum. The studies presented in this article document the benefits of implementing CBM in both special and regular education settings. In Study I CBM is demonstrated to be a valid and reliable measurement system that aides teacher decisions regarding student placement, progress, and intervention effectiveness in an elementary school. A survey of teacher attitudes is also presented. Study II outlines the implementation of CBM in a large school-based resource program serving 1,100 mildly handicapped children. The data presented for this study indicate that CBM may be successfully utilized in making screening, identification, program planning, progress monitoring, and program evaluation decisions for children with learning difficulties.


Traditional laser scanning microscopes require complex control systems to synchronize and control image acquisition. The control system is especially cumbersome in the multimodal laser scanning microscope. We have developed a novel multimodal laser scanning microscope control system based on a National Instruments multifunction data acquisition device (DAQ), which serves as both a data acquisition device and a programmable signal generator. The novel control system is low-cost and easy-to-build, with all components off-the-shelf. We have applied the control system in a multimodal laser scanning microscope. The control system has not only significantly decreased the complexity of the microscope, but also increased the system flexibility. We have demonstrated that the system can be easily customized for various applications.


Optoelectronic technology curriculum are based on optoelectronics, comprehensive use of optical technology, laser technology, analog/digital circuits and computer technology to solve various application problems. Its research contents include optoelectronic signals formation, transmission, acquisition, transformation and processing etc. The integrated design practice project is an effective way to cultivate student's integrated application ability of multi-disciplinary theoretical knowledge. Here, An integrated design project titled "Laser countermeasure - reconnaissance alarm and jamming system" is presented. In this project, students are divided into two groups: The Blue Side and the Red Side. Laser emitting and receiving module, which consists of laser pulse coding circuit, optoelectronics receiving circuit, signal processing circuit and buzzer alarm circuit need be designed and debugged by the Blue Side. For the Red Side, which can receive the opposite radiation optics signal, encode and generate a deceptive laser which include the same coding information as the incoming laser. At last, which lead to the false alarms of Blue Side system. Also, all modules are need designed and debugged by the Red Side independently. For both sides, each group constitutes of about 4 students, project period is about 2 weeks. The practical results show that the project can deepen students' understanding of basic knowledge of optics, mechanics, electronics and computer, improve students' analysis and solving problems ability, inspire the innovation spirit and teamwork spirit.


this paper uses an autoethnographic methodology to examine cultural identity formation from the perspective of an intercountry adoptee. the author, a communication scholar who was adopted from south Korea by an anglo-australian family in the 1980s, draws on documents and memories to examine her own identity construction through various intercultural and interpersonal communications. she identifies that interactions with anglo-celtic australians and 'native' Koreans have destabilised her identity by causing her to question her 'cultural authenticity' as an australian or Korean. However, participation in global online networks of intercountry adoptees has facilitated her self-identification as an 'intercountry adoptee' and enabled the emergence of a cultural identity characterised by hybridity and difference. it is argued that this identity is fundamentally intercultural, continually negotiated through interaction, and subversive and empowering in its hybridity.


The topic of this paper represents a relatively new and still evolving term of socially responsible business, with a focus on application of this concept to transport companies. The goal of this paper is to formulate, in accordance with results gained from the study, concrete potential guidelines for more socially responsible business of transport companies in the Republic of Serbia. Considering multiple positive effects of socially responsible business, confirmed by numerous study activities and practical examples, as well as the fact that influences on one of the key external dimensions of socially responsible business - the environment - are most directly connected with transport business, and, finally, observing traffic as connective tissue of the entire economic system that gives purpose to all areas of material production, this paper analyses, in addition to the nature of the link between economic and social performance, the degree of application of socially responsible business in transport companies in the Republic of Serbia as well.


New problems in safe production of the forest chemical enterprises under the new situation of market economy are presented and the relative solutions given in order to help these enterprises overcome the difficulties met.


ABSTRACT This paper starts with a basic idea: procedural flexibility is a hallmark of restorative justice. If unregulated, the powers that restorative justice employs could potentially render those accused of wrongdoing at the mercy of its agents' unfettered discretion. At the same time, insisting on fixed 'rights of the accused' will likely undermine attempts to salvage a locally responsive justice from today's conflict management arenas. To address this vexing matter, the author proposes that rights be conceived more broadly as part of historical power struggles, and specifically as attempts to resist conceivable injustices of restorative subjection.


This article offers an introduction to the Textual History of the Ethiopic Old Testament (THEOT) project. This includes a description of the background to THEOT and its primary purpose of mapping the history of the transmission of the Ethiopic Old Testament. The bulk of the article summarizes the project's preliminary findings, generally, and, in particular, about Ethiopic Psalms, Song of Songs, Deuteronomy, Ruth, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Haggai. Some attention is also given to evidences of contact with the Hebrew text tradition, although the Ethiopic is clearly a daughter version of the LXX.


A class of time-fractional partial differential equations is considered.The Haar wavelet is effectively associated with the ideas of operator matrix.The function of the known is properly discreted.Let the time-fractional partial differential equations be translated into a matrix equation.So its calculation becomes more convenient,numerical examples are given and the effectiveness of the method is proved.


The invention provides a way to access the service based on the WLAN access authentication, the method comprising: a terminal in the process of receiving the WLAN access authentication WLAN portal server sending a Cookie to the terminal of claim 1 has already passed through the WLAN access authentication; UE confirming that it has a terminal through the WLAN access authentication already by the service authentication center claim 1 Cookie related requests access to a service of an application system, the application system; Wherein said associated service authentication center obtains the terminal identification token by the claim 1 Cookie; Sending the token is the obtained terminal status concerning the service authentication center in the application system; And application system includes the step of providing a service to the access terminal by using the terminal identification token. Through the above method the terminal is able to access the services provided by the plurality of application system after passing through the WLAN access authentication without the need for service authentication, because a better user experience and reduce the system overhead of the application system.


This article examines how young African cultural entrepreneurs harness the economic, technological and creative openings created by globalization with a focus on the Naija Boyz, two Nigerian-born, US-based brothers, who became YouTube sensations via their 'African Remix' genre of hip hop video parodies. With over 20 million views, the videos are situated within four converging movements within contemporary African youth cultural production: the maturation of African hip hop; the specific resurgence of Nigeria as a cultural hub driven by Nollywood and the local hip hop scene; the circulation of new media technologies; and, the formation of an increasingly cosmopolitan, tech-savvy generation of African youth. Using the Naija Boyz' images and lyrics, the YouTube videos are analyzed as critical commentaries of (black) American and African cultural scripts, which interrogate issues of gender, class, citizenship, and inter-/intra-diasporic relations. Moreover, the Naija Boyz are posited as archetypes of a rising generation of African youth, whose intercultural experiences outside of the African continent serve as a form of social capital that constitutes the basis of new (and potentially problematic) creative economies, which expand the presumed boundaries and concerns of African youth cultures.


In order to improve the recognition ability of fuzzy sparse scattered feature distribution image, it is necessary to carry out spatial vision distributed reconstruction and image virtual reconstruction. A virtual reconstruction method of sparse scattered feature distribution image based on complex analysis method is proposed. The grid distribution model of sparse scattered feature distribution image is constructed, and the spatial information feature distributed reconstruction model of sparse scattered feature distribution image is carried out by using image sparse feature point extraction method. Combined with block feature detection and image segmentation method, the boundary region detection of sparse scattered feature distribution image is carried out, and the spatial visual distributed reconstruction model of sparse scattered feature distribution image is established. Combined with fuzzy structure reconstruction method, the image filtering and information fusion of sparse scattered feature distribution image are carried out. according to the texture and detail area of sparse scattered feature distribution image, the 3D texture structure and sparse evacuation scrambling point reconstruction of image are carried out, and the 3D reconstruction of image is carried out by complex analysis method, and the gray histogram of sparse scattered feature distribution image is reconstructed. Virtual reconstruction of sparse scattered feature distribution image is realized based on spatial vision distributed reconstruction. The simulation results show that the visual effect of virtual reconstruction of sparse scattered feature distribution image is better, and the quality of 3D image virtual reconstruction is higher.


This paper illustrates the positivistic nature of person-centered planning (PCP) that is evident in the planning methods employed, the way that individuals with disabilities are described, and in portrayal of the outcomes of PCP. However, a confluence of factors can lead to manifestation of excessive positivism that does not serve PCP constructively. Taken to its extreme, positivism can contribute to the development of unrealistic goals, construing failure as success, ignoring dissenting perspectives, and contaminating evaluations of PCP. Excessive positivism is presented as a misapplication of PCP principles rather than an inherent flaw in the design of the approach.


We present a C \begin{document}$ ^0 $\end{document} interior penalty method for the Cahn-Hilliard equation. We demonstrate that the numerical scheme is uniquely solvable, unconditionally energy stable, and convergent. We remark that the novelty of this paper lies in the fact that this is the first C \begin{document}$ ^0 $\end{document} interior penalty finite element method developed for the Cahn-Hilliard equation. Additionally, the error analysis presented develops a detailed methodology for analyzing time dependent problems utilizing the C \begin{document}$ ^0 $\end{document} interior penalty method. We furthermore support our conclusions with a few numerical experiments.


mutants intheRCC1geneofBHK cells fail tomaintain acorrect temporal order ofthe cell cycle andwillprematurely condense their chromosomes andentermitosis attherestrictive temperature without having completed Sphase. We haveusedXenopus eggextracts toinvestigate therole thatRCC1plays ininterphase nuclear functions andhowthis rolemightcontribute totheknownphenotype oftemperaturesensitive RCC1mutants. Byimmunodepleting RCC1protein fromeggextracts, we findthatitisrequired for neither chromatin decondensation nornuclear formation butthat itisabsolutely required forthereplication of addedsperm chromatin DNA.Ourresults further suggest thatRCC1 doesnotparticipate enzymatically in replication butmay bepartofa structural complex whichisrequired fortheformation ormaintenance ofthe replication machinery. Bydisrupting thereplication complex, theloss ofRCC1might leaddirectly todisruption oftheregulatory system whichprevents theinitiation ofmitosis before thecompletion ofDNA replication. During thecell cycle, numerous processes mustbetemporally coordinated. Inparticular, thetiming ofmitosis must becarefully controlled withrespect tothecompletion of DNA replication. Ifacell weretoinitiate mitosis before replication wascomplete, theresult wouldbechromosome damageorlossor,inmoreextreme cases, complete fragmentation ofthechromosome through inappropriate condensation (45;reviewed inreference 21). We havepreviously shownthatblocking thereplication ofnuclear DNA withaphidicolin inhibits theonset ofmitosis inXenopus egg invitro cycling extracts bypreventing theactivation ofthe MPF (M-phase-promoting factor) kinase (9). However, the mechanism bywhichregulatory systems recognize incomplete replication isstill poorly understood. Mutants ofthe cdc25 geneinSchizosaccharomyces


With the declining cost and continued convergence of computing and communication technologies, and the availability of networked, computer multimedia communication, instruction supported by Web and e-mail interactive technology has been widely adopted by teaching and learning institutions. Adult learning often seems more consistent with the sort of peer learning and exchange that takes place outside formal education and training situations than within them. When more and more adults, who have been away from schooling for a Dong time, need to develop their knowledge or skills, the demands for adult learning increase. Computer multimedia and networking is regarded as an ideal supporting technology to meet the increasing demands for continuing adult education, but may cause a drastic change in the style of adult learning. This technology may or may not suit the learners' characteristics and their prior learning style. Most important, this change provides a more complex learning environment. For example, Pinhey (1998) stated that the Internet made possible a global education curriculum with various nations involved, so that understanding and tolerance of cultural differences is needed to reach a successful learning outcome. Besides more intercultural communication, there also will be more interactions among learners of different age levels during the learning process. These further considerations are prompting researchers to explore the effect of these factors on adult learning outcomes. The Environment of the Case Study This study reports on the experiences of 18 adult learners who were participating in a 12-week credit course. Students learned how to use the computer and the Internet as learning aids. The course used a combination of face-to-face conventional instruction, group work and e-mail interaction. This compound learning style offered an ideal situation to compare learners' preference and the effect on learning between face-to-face and e-mail media. The participants came from various countries, including China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan and the United States. The mean age of the students was 38 years; the youngest was 24 while the oldest was 55. A total of 80 percent of the students had a personal computer in their home and 50 percent were able to access the Internet from home. One student was very sophisticated in IT (Information Technology) and more than half of them had more than three years of workplace computer experience. Through questionnaires, observations and interviews, we investigated the relationship between learner characteristics and their learning outcome, and the impact of the media used. We examined the learners' expectation of the teacher, the preferences by which these learners communicated with their learning peers, the conformity issue and the impact of the language barrier. Introvert vs. Extrovert Yi and Majima (1993) asserted that distance learning provided a low-anxiety learning environment and a relaxed atmosphere that lowered the learner's affective filter. Similarly, in this study, we found that the e-mail interactive learning style was more suitable for the introverts than face-to-face learning styles, because introverts may feel more comfortable in expressing themselves in e-mail interactive learning. The barriers of being embarrassed or being shy are partially removed. With more confidence, introverts are more comfortable in communicating with the tutors as well as the learning peers through e-mail interactive learning, but there is no evidence that such learning style is more efficient for introverts than for extroverts. In particular, even though the extroverts tend to prefer face-to-face interactive learning, this phenomenon can not be generalised to those learners who have a sophisticated IT background. After so many years working in front of the computer, the latter have become used to working/studying in front of the computer rather than working with co-learners face-to-face. …