Alexander Regier and Stefan H. Uhlig, eds. Wordsworth's Poetic Theory: Knowledge, Language, Experience. Houndmills, Basingstoke, UK; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Pp. vii+220. $75.00. "What has a poet to do with a theory?" William Whewell asked. In their introduction to Wordsworth's Poetic Theory, Alexander Regier and Stefan Uhlig respond that "Wordsworth makes his contribution to our modern ways of thinking about poetry both inside his poetic writing and alongside it," and moreover that his theory "forms a decisive part of his work's claim on us" (1). Regier and Uhlig's collection of eleven essays by emerging and well-established scholars explores key areas of Wordsworth's "poetic theory," from the poems and prose of Lyrical Ballads to The Excursion and the "Essay, Supplementary to the Preface." At the heart of this book's wide-ranging analysis of Wordsworth's aesthetic theory is neither the privileging of "low and rustic life" announced in the Preface to Lyrical Ballads nor the Preface's controversial claim that the volumes' poems approximate the "real language of men." It is the Preface's most famous, twice-stated, claim: that "all good poetry" is produced by "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings." As several essays in Wordsworth's Poetic Theory help us to see, this claim's elaboration reveals the inherent difference and complexity that predominate in the creative process. Any "good" poem may originate in a superflux of sensation, but poetry can at best only point toward that origin by way of mediating kindred feelings and the superadded "pleasures" of material language, form, and meter. As Regier and Uhlig's book title aptly suggests, the focus of the essays is thus not only upon Wordsworth's theory of poetry but also upon the "poetic" character of that theory and its articulation. In the Advertisement and Preface to Lyrical Ballads, as in the subtler workings of the Essays upon Epitaphs and 1850 Prelude, the poet's theory is poetic in part both because it is predicated upon a complex process and because it posits a poetics of an indeterminate character, yet situated within the theorized bounds of a system. The Preface imparts not just a "systematic defense of the theory" upon which the poems of Lyrical Ballads were composed, as Wordsworth states; it also presents a systematic theory of poetic complexity and poetical limits set against a world of experience and material things. Several of the essays in Wordsworth's Poetic Theory in fact draw upon what Bill Brown and other theorists herald as "thing theory," concerning the connections between culture, including poetry, and material thingliness, where a "thing" is that which precedes the categorized object apprehended through perception and representation. Indeed the great virtue of Regier and Uhlig's collection is the way it helps us to see familiar aspects of Wordsworth's theory in new and uncanny ways. The book also serves as a useful companion of sorts to Lyrical Ballads, as ten of the eleven essays consider works from one or both of the volumes. The subtitle of Wordsworth's Poetic Theory signals three sites of interrelated tensions in Wordsworth--knowledge, language, and experience-and in the leadoff essay, "Wordsworth's Poetic Ignorance," Andrew Bennett provocatively addresses the first of these. Following upon his book Ignorance: Literature and Agnoiology, he contends that the poet's works often involve "the possibility of making the reader not know his or her own world" (21). For Bennett, the Preface to Lyrical Ballads ultimately privileges a condition of "not knowing, of ignorance" (21), and the 1798 volume's "The Thorn" and "The Idiot Boy" are likewise at bottom agnoiological narratives "constituted by and constructed around ignorance and around ignorance within ignorance" (29). In the best, most humbly Socratic sense, these and other texts in Lyrical Ballads represent "the democratizing, liberatory power of . …


We discuss the status of financial inclusion, education, and literacy in Azerbaijan as well as measures to foster the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, which currently have inadequate access to financial resources. The Government of Azerbaijan is facing the primary challenge of defining its role in creating broader access to financial products and services. We highlight the barriers to financial inclusion, recommend solutions to overcoming the challenges, and discuss lessons learned and a potential way forward.


A vacuum‐ultraviolet monochromator, a mass spectrometer, and a molecular‐beam source of high‐temperature vapors have been combined to obtain photoionization efficiency curves of high‐temperature species. In the TlI system, the ions Tl+, I−, and TlI+ were observed. Two independent threshold processes yield 2.770 and 2.769 eV for D0(TlI). The ions Na+, NaI+, Na2I+, Na2I2+, and Na3I2+ were detected in NaI vapor. The threshold for Na+ yields 3.00 eV for D0(NaI). No negative ions were observed in NaI vapor. The ions MgI2+ and MgI+ were measured in MgI2 vapor, the latter providing a basis for estimates of the energies for successive removal of I atoms from MgI2. The ionization potentials of TlI, NaI, Na2I2, and MgI2 are found to be 8.469, 7.64, 7.64, and 9.57 eV, respectively.


Dense medium cyclone (DMC) is a high-tonnage device that is widely used to upgrade the run-of-mine coal in coal preparation industry. It is known that wear is a serious problem in the operation of DMCs, but is not well understood. In this work, the wear rate of DMC walls due to coal particles is first predicted by combining computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method (referred below as CFD-DEM method), facilitated by a wear model from the literature. The numerical results show that the "groove" wear pattern observed in the practice can be predicted by the approach, and severe wear is also predicted to occur on the inside wall of the spigot and outside wall of the vortex finder. This work suggests that the developed CFD-DEM approach could be a useful tool to study the effect of wear in DMCs under different conditions.


SUMMARY The present investigation was undertaken with the objective to study the regeneration capacity among F 3 genotypes of cross between HC308 (single cut) and SSG59-3 (multi-cut variety). The parameters such as plant height, number of tillers, number of leaves, stem girth, leaf breadth and green fodder weight per plant were recorded in each cut. Forty one F 3 lines were found to be non-regenerated, three F 3 lines were moderately non-regenerated, six F 3 lines were moderately regenerated and sixty nine F 3 lines were highly regenerated.


Lattice-polarity dependence of InN surface photovoltage has been identified by an anomalous surface potential behavior observed via photoassisted Kelvin probe force microscopy. Upon above bandgap light illumination in the ambient atmosphere, the surface photovoltage of the In-polar InN shows a pronounced decrease, while that of the N-polar one keeps almost constant. Those different behaviors between N-polar and In-polar surfaces are attributed to a polarity-related surface reactivity, which is found not to be influenced by Mg-doping. These findings provide a simple and non-destructive approach to determine the lattice polarity and allow us to suggest that the In-polar InN, especially that with buried p-type conduction, should be chosen for sensing application.


Escarole is a form of endive that is both versatile and tasty. Sometimes referred to as broad chicory or common chicory and characterized by broad outer leaves, this member of the chicory clan does have a slightly bitter taste, but much less so than many


Lead-free double perovskites such as Cs2AgBiBr6 are gaining attention because of their environmental friendliness compared to the lead halide perovskites. In order to establish their photoactivity,...


The problem of definition of the maintenance and the methods of development of the abilities of design-enterprise activity of senior pupils in a profile type of training with a technological profile is solved with the help of performance of enterprise projects that is one of effective tools of development of individual-business qualities of senior pupils for demand on a labor market, and also for preparation for market conditions of ability to live.


Hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients are always prescribed intravenous (IV) antibiotics. Inappropriate and unnecessary IV antibiotics usage leads to an increase in healthcare costs and bacterial resistance. IV to per oral (PO) conversion therapy can overcome these problems. The aim of the study was to evaluate the practice of switching from intravenous to oral antibiotics of inpatients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This retrospective observational study was conducted by taking patient medical record from january until december 2019. Outcomes of the study are patient characteristics, pattern use, antibiotic and type conversion therapy. Adult inpatients on conversion therapy were eligible for study enrollment. Data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS 17.0. The study showed that among 78 patients who were eligible for conversion therapy. Most of the patient has mean duration conversion therapy 48-72 hours as much as 55 (70,5%). Beta-lactams were the most commonly converted antibiotics. However, the step-down therapy was the major type of conversion practiced in this study as much as 48 (61,5) followed by sequential and switch over with numbers 21 (27%) and 9 (11,5%) respectively. Based on the study findings wangaya hospital should improve the practice of sequential therapy in order to reduce the burden of CAP.


The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a fraternal community of priests and non-priests, the members of which are encouraged to spread God's glory by Christian love and apostolic legation and seek evangelical perfection for themselves. The special aim of the Congregation is to earnestly strive for all the people living on the earth or the ones who are in the purgatory to achieve eternal happiness in the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Congregation pursues this aim especially when obtaining education and teaching others, carrying out the holy service and helping priests in dioceses. One of the most important activities which is suitable for monks is to infuse faith in people's hearts and spread virtuousness. Missions and recollections are important means for this purpose. The first Marian monastery in Lithuania was founded in 1750, in Marijampolė. After 150 years the Marian monastery vanished due to unfavourable historic circumstances, the old monks nearly died off and there were no new callings. In 1909 the Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis reopened the Congregation. The most favourable period of time for the activity of the Marian Congregation was the independence of Lithuania. During the interwar period the province of Lithuanian Marians united 165 members. The Marians settled down in several Lithuanian towns. During the first Soviet occupation conditions for pastoral care were unfavourable for the Catholic Church and congregation due to Soviet politics in respect of religion – some churches were closed, the property of churches and monasteries was nationalized and the victimization of priests and monks was started. Some monks were exiled and imprisoned. However, the Marian Congregation was still doing the work of pastoral care in different places of Lithuania. The biggest amount of remaining information comes from the archive of Marijampolė house which is kept in the National Central Archive of Lithuania. The Marians conducted recollections, preached sermons at the wake and gave sacraments. When Lithuania was occupied by Nazi Germany the life of the Church and Congregation revived. Monks who had been scattered in different corners of the country came back home. They found it plundered and devastated. The formation houses started to work again, the requirements of the Regulations and the usual order of recollections were observed, and the senior of the provinces started visiting the old and the newly opened houses of monks. The occupation authorities allowed monks to work in their previous workplaces, they also granted the suits of some congregations and they gave back the nationalized gymnasiums. The Marian gymnasium was not given back but the Nazis allowed teaching religion in primary schools of Lithuania, although they controlled the appointment of the teachers. Most of the prohibitions of the Soviet authorities were cancelled but the activities of the Church and the Marians were constantly controlled by the Nazis. At this time the Marians developed their activities of pastoral care to a large extent in the whole diocese of Vilkaviskis, i.e. they conducted recollections, performed missions, taught religion at schools, they appointed chaplains, made the work of the fraternities more active and administered sacraments. At the time of the Nazi occupation, as well as at the time of the interwar, parish priests were visiting their parishioners and blessing their home. In conclusion, it is worth pointing out that at the time of the Nazi occupation the conditions for the activities of pastoral care were better than the ones at the time of the Soviet occupation.


Process for the preparation of a Sodium paraperiodate wherein an iodine compound is converted into the Sodium paraperiodate in the presence of Na" ions by means of an alkali metal hydroxide and an alkali metal hypochlorite. The iodine compound is applied in the form of an iodine containing mixture in which besides the iodine compound in the form of I, iodide or iodate compounds, one or more compounds chosen from the group of chlorides, bromides, Sulphates, Sulphites, carbonates, bicarbonates, nitrates and dissolved organic components are also present. The inven tion also relates to the preparation of Sodium metaperiodate and other alkali and alkali earth metal periodates, wherein the Sodium paraperiodate obtained is converted into Sodium periodate or into an alkali or alkali earth metal periodate by means of an acid or an alkali and alkali earth metal Salt at an elevated temperature. The acid used preferably is HNO.


Ultraviolet sounding rocket images of several nearby galaxies are used to simulate the appearance in optical bandpasses of similar systems at redshifts z = 0.5-2.67, as observed by the WFPC on HST and by ground-based instruments. Since the morphology of galaxies is a strong function of the wavelength, the appearance of galaxies at large redshifts is subjected to a large k-correction effect. The strong dependence of monochromatic surface brightness on redshift also implies that observed morphology of distant systems will be crucially dependent on the limiting surface brightness set by the sky background. Although the angle subtended by sources depends only weakly on z, the fraction of a galaxy whose surface brightness is above the detection threshold varies strongly with z. Morphological distinctions of spiral from elliptical, spiral from irregular, and barred from unbarred types become more difficult, as does accurate evaluation of interactions or of the local environment. 32 refs.


ABSTRACT The smoothing spline method is used to fit a curve to a noisy data set, where selection of the smoothing parameter is essential. An adaptive Cp criterion (Chen and Huang 2011) based on the Stein's unbiased risk estimate has been proposed to select the smoothing parameter, which not only considers the usual effective degrees of freedom but also takes into account the selection variability. The resulting fitted curve has been shown to be superior and more stable than commonly used selection criteria and possesses the same asymptotic optimality as Cp. In this paper, we further discuss some characteristics on the selection of smoothing parameter, especially for the selection variability.


Support groups have begun to take an active role in advocating for the planning, development, and delivery of effective services for individuals and families affected by genetic disorders. The author provides a brief history of voluntary organizations dealing with genetic disorders, describes some specific advocacy efforts assumed by these groups, and offers suggestions of ways in which human service professionals can help genetic support groups mobilize for improved and necessary genetic services and benefits.


This experience report aims to present understandings and perceptions about the intervention of the members of the University of Vale do Itajai – UNIVALI "Intergenerational Law and Transversality" extension project with 31 high school students from a non-public school and two teachers from the same institution, which focused on awareness and prevention of violence against the woman. In order to achieve the proposed objective, the planning and the activity (dialogued lecture) carried out by extension workers in the community will be demonstrated. From this experience, it is possible to evidence that the community in which the intervention took place was and is receptive to dialogue about gender violence. Furthermore, in establishing this discussion, we worked with a real and urgent social demand, in which knowledge was shared between the two ends–University and community–, allowing to modify, minimally, the current power relations in society.


Sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were used to detect molecular marker polymorphisms among five parents and four crosses of citrus and their relatives in Aurantioidea. Four SRAP primer combinations produced a total of 160 polymorphic fragments with an average of 40 per primer combination and the an-average polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.86. The unweighted pair group method arithmetic average (UPGMA) analysis demonstrated that the accessions had a similarity range from 0.35 in the cross between Lemon and Clementine to 0.43 in the Grapefruit parent with a mean of 0.37. The dendrogram separated the parents and the resulted crosses of Citrus species into two main sub-clusters with a similarity value of 0.37. Only one member of the first sub-cluster which is Clementine or the parent of all the resulted crosses. In the second main sub-cluster, Only one member of the first sub-sub-cluster which is Grapefruit or the parent of one cross. The second sub-sub-cluster has consisted of one parent separated alone (Succari parent) and another sub-cluster. This sub-cluster is formed from the sub-sub-cluster including the parent Cleopatra mandarin and the resulting from cross Cleopatra mandarin x Clementine. The last sub-cluster has consisted of one group containing the parent Lemon and the resulted cross Lemon x Clementine. The other group consisted of two crosses; Grapefruit x Clementine and Succari x Clementine.


This artcle briefly introduces the concept of orbit and its symmetry classification, and has tried to show the importance of orbit symmetry by explaining the application of orbit symmetry in the process of molecule formation and chemical reaction.


This article contributes to the empirical price transmission literature with a statistical investigation of market prices in the fish supply chain for Uganda. We are particularly interested in the extent of ex-vessel prices impacting links downstream in the fish supply chain. We test for vertical and horizontal co-integration for five important fish species using the Johansen vector error correction model. We search for price leadership using the Toda and Yamamoto procedure to test for Granger causality. And ARIMA models are used to forecast ex-vessel prices. Our results show that ex-vessel prices are only weakly related to downstream markets.


Like credible intelligence nonfiction, attempts to probe into the sensitive world of contemporary Special Operations Forces (SOF) activity provide numerous, often impenetrable, challenges for authors attempting to write factually accurate portrayals of such clandestine capabilities. However, from time to time, good writers with good access, good sources, and a little luck are able to piece together intricate and disparate sources to penetrate the veils of secrecy and operational security; Sean Naylor's Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command is one such publication.


The dilute solution properties of two polyimides have been studied using size exclusion chromatography, light scattering and viscometry in various solvents. Molecular parameters (conformation and aggregation) are found to be solvent dependent. Addition of a non-solvent (H2O) to 6FDA-mPDA, a fluorine-containing polyimide, or Ultem a polyetherimide, in the good solvent N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is responsible for an increase in molecular weight. This is attributed to aggregation of polyimides in these conditions. ©1997 SCI


ABSTRACT This study deals with how often Raditya Dika produces types of deixis in stand-up comedy show. This research was based on descriptive design by applying qualitative method and converting the data numerically. The data of this study  were the three selected videos of Raditya dika downloaded from youtube. There were 709 sentences produced after transcribing those videos into written language. The findings of this study show that those five types of deixis were found in Raditya Dika's utterances, they are: person (68.94%), spatial (5.24%), temporal (5.83%), discourse (8.60%) and social (11.37%). The most dominant type of deixis found is person deixis with "gue" or "I" as the dominant deictic word. Person deixis is dominantly used because the comics in stand-up comedy conduct first point of view that make the use of personal pronoun more often than others. Keywords : Deixis, Utterances, Stand-up comedy.


Global governance is a horizon. However, like any historic process, global governance emerges from historic dynamics that can, at any moment, break, become deformed, or produce unforeseen effects. The line between horizon and mirage is thin and unpredictable.


[ Objective] To investigate and probe into the effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on protecting brain function of lead-exposed mice. [ Method] The mice were divided into five groups. The lead-exposed groups were fed with different dosage of LBP,since the next day,using Morris water maze the time taking to reach the hidden platform in three weeks and six weeks were measured separately.After the experiment,the brainwas taken to measur tanning indexes using indirect immunofluorencence. [ Results] Different dosage of BLP can influence the refuge time markedly . In the third week,the refuge time in the control group was 16.90±3.91s,in the model group 27.81±4.69,in the high-dosage group to low-dosage group 23.76±4.77-24.67±3.66;In the sixth week:in the control group10.77±2.96,in the model group 18.99±6.01,in the high- dosage group to low-dosage group 13.27±2.95-17.51±5.27 .High dosage group prevents the expression of Fas antigen in hippocampus and cortex obviously. In cortex the expression rate in the control group was 100.0±4.0,in the model group 196.21 ±12.7,in the low-dosage group 189.9±23.6,in the mid-dosage group 176.31±31.7,in the high-dosage group 129.5±19.5; In hippocampus:in the control group 100.0±4.0,in the model group 189.1±16.2,in the low-dosage group 177.5±22.6,in the mid-dosage group the function of memory was improved markedly,which can speculate that the function of 162.3±19.5,and in the high-dosage group 137.1±26.2. [ Conclusion] LBP is able to protecting brain cells,it might implement by preventing expression of Fas antigen via influence apoptosis of cells.


The species of Diachasmimorpha Viereck from China are revised. A key to species is provided and the following new species are described: D. palleomaculata sp. nov., D. bicolor sp. nov., D. dicrocarinata sp. nov., D. flavifacialis sp. nov., D. melathorax sp. nov., D. curvinervis sp. nov. and D. ammanotus sp. nov. D. longicaudata (Ashmead, 1905) is recorded from China for the first time.


The following report is a compilation of data on by-products/wastes from clean coal technologies, specifically integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and pressurized fluidized-bed combustion (PFBC). DOE had two objectives in providing this information to EPA: (1) to familiarize EPA with the DOE CCT program, CCT by-products, and the associated efforts by DOE contractors in the area of CCT by-product management and (2) to provide information that will facilitate EPA's effort by complementing similar reports from industry groups, including CIBO (Council of Industrial Boiler Owners) and EEI USWAG (Edison Electric Institute Utility Solid Waste Activities Group). The EERC cooperated and coordinated with DOE CCT contractors and industry groups to provide the most accurate and complete data on IGCC and PFBC by-products, although these technologies are only now being demonstrated on the commercial scale through the DOE CCT program.


Introduction: Delegation of controlled medical acts by physicians to paramedics is an important component of the prehospital care framework. Where directives indicate that physician input is needed before proceeding with certain interventions, online medical control (a "patch") exists to facilitate communication between a paramedic and a Base Hospital Physician (BHP) to request an order to proceed with that intervention. The clinical and logistical setting will contribute to the decision to proceed with or withhold an intervention in the prehospital setting. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of various clinical and situational factors on the likelihood of a patch request being granted. Methods: Prehospital paramedic calls that included a mandatory patch point (excluding requests exclusively for termination of resuscitation and those records which were unavailable) were identified through review of all patch records from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2017 for Paramedic Services in our region. Written Ambulance Call Reports (ACRs) and audio recordings of paramedic patches were obtained and reviewed. Results: 214 patch records were identified and screened for inclusion. 91 ACRs and audio patch records were included in the analysis. 51 of 91 (56%) patch requests were granted by the BHP. Of the 40 paramedic requests that were not granted, the most commonly cited reason was close proximity to hospital (22/40; 55%) followed by low likelihood of the intervention making a clinical impact in the prehospital setting (11/40; 27.5%). Requests for certain interventions were more likely to be granted than other requests. All requests to perform needle thoracostomy for possible tension pneumothorax, administer atropine for symptomatic bradycardia and treat hemodynamically unstable hyperkalemia were granted (2/2, 3/3 and 7/7, respectively), while requests for synchronized cardioversion (7/19; 37%) and transcutaneous pacing (2/6; 33%) were approved less than half of the time. Conclusion: This retrospective review suggests that requests to perform certain critical and potentially time sensitive interventions are more likely to be granted which calls into question the requirement for a mandatory patch point for these procedures. Furthermore, the interplay between proximity to hospital and the decision to proceed with an intervention potentially informs future modifications to directives to facilitate timely, safe and efficient care.


Anti-inflammatory drugs are lacking in COPD and inhibitors of the phosphodiesterase type-4 (PDE4) enzyme have been suggested as an interesting class of drugs to treat inflammation in COPD. We report the findings of a Phase II trial of a novel inhaled PDE4-inhibitor.Three doses of the compound UK-500,001 were tested, 0.1mg, 0.4mg and 1mg twice daily (BID), in a double-blind placebo-controlled 6 week trial in 209 patients with moderate or severe COPD. The primary efficacy parameter was trough FEV1 after 6 weeks of treatment, and secondary endpoints included other lung function endpoints, and symptom scores assessed at 2 weekly intervals. The study was stopped following a planned interim analysis for futility. No effect was observed at any dose after 6 weeks of treatment on the primary efficacy parameter, other measures of lung function or symptom scores. However, after the first 2 weeks of treatment, there was an improvement in the 1mg BID dose group compared to placebo on a number of outcome measures. The drug was well tolerated although PDE4-inhibitor related side effects were observed, especially in the highest dose group. Our findings question the role of inhaled PDE4-inhibitors in COPD. Comments. There have now been several trials with oral PDE4 inhibitors including roflumilast and cilomilast that have shown efficacy but have produced significant side effect,s particularly gastrointestinal upset. PDE-4 inhibitors have been shown to reduce neutrophilia induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in animal studies. Hence, this study looked at the use of an inhaled PDE4 inhibitor formulation with the primary endpoint being improvement in trough (Pre-dose) FEV-1 in a 6 week trial. After the first 150 patients were recruited, an interim futility analysis determined that there was no statistically significant benefit of the study drug over placebo and the study was terminated. While the authors do not appear optimistic as to the future of this particular inhaled formulation of a PDE4 inhibitor for treatment of COPD, the results are informative. Patients had GOLD stage II-III disease (mean FEV-1 1.45 L or 51%) with mean reversibility of around 15%. Hence, this is a group with similar characteristics to patients in registration trials for combination treatment with fluticasone/salmeterol and the tiotropium studies where there was a statistically significant improvement in trough FEV-1 but these are or have bronchodilator components, and the PDE4 inhibitor is primarily an anti-inflammatory agent. We have not seen improvements in FEV-1 with inhaled steroids alone and hence it should not be surprising that this drug would not demonstrate a significant improvement in a primary endpoint that focuses on bronchodilation in a group that has generally less than a 200 cc improvement to standard bronchodilators. Further, there were some signs of improvement in secondary endpoints with regard to symptom scores and trough FEV-6, IC and FVC, but not enough patients were recruited to have enough power to detect statistically significant improvements. While there remain concerns about the use of these medications in terms of their efficacy versus safety, it is important that we consider the appropriate outcomes as primary endpoints (i.e. exacerbations, exercise endurance, symptom reduction) over appropriate periods of time before we discount their utility in COPD.


The dynamic behavior of first-order autonomous space invariant cellular neural networks (CNNs) is investigated. It is shown that complex dynamics may occur in very simple CNN structures, described by two-dimensional templates that present only vertical and horizontal couplings. The bifurcation processes are analyzed through the computation of the limit cycle Floquet's multipliers, the evaluation of the Lyapunov exponents and of the signal spectra. As a main result a detailed and accurate two-dimensional bifurcation diagram is reported. The diagram allows one to distinguish several regions in the parameter space of a single CNN. They correspond to stable, periodic, quasi-periodic, and chaotic behavior, respectively. In particular it is shown that chaotic regions can be reached through two different routes: period doubling and torus breakdown. We remark that most practical CNN implementations exploit first order cells and space-invariant templates: so far only a few examples of complex dynamics and no complete bifurcation analysis have been presented for such networks.


Abstract The writer has mapped for the Swedish State Power Board a flatlying intrusion of Jotnian dolerite in the outlet tunnel and canal at the Umluspen power station, Storuman, Swedish Lappland. The dolerite occurs in a veined gneiss probably belonging to the Middle Archean Elvaberg series (G. Kautsky, 1957) and a grey palingenic granite (Revsund granite) which is in part distinctly intrusive. The general strike of the veined gneiss is east-west, with high dips. The direction of the tunnel is north-south. Part of the dolerite intrusion is seen in Fig. 1. Its width varies between 8 and 15 m. Its dip is low, 10–20°W. Apophyses are known. The texture is ophitic to sub-ophitic. The kernel of the intrusion is medium-grained, whereas the marginal parts are dense though plagioclase phenocrysts appear there. The following mafic minerals have been observed (in order of decreasing quantities): titaniferous augite, olivine, titano-magnetite, biotite, and apatite. Similar flat-lying intrusions of Jotnian dolerite h...


Abstract During an archaeological rescue excavation in center of city Olomouc (Moravia region, Czech Republic) several graves were found. Those graves were a part of a defunct cemetery situated in the area surrounding a church of St. Peter and Paul. The research was focused on analysis of 13 children's skull samples affected by a chronical pathology known as "cribra orbitalia" (CO). X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were used to examine differences in the samples with respect to an individual's age, degree of porosity (representing the progress of CO) and other observed pathologies. Both techniques proved that the ratio of calcium to iron gradually increases with the age of the child without regard to the degree of CO damage. Moreover, the ICP-MS data were evaluated using principal component analysis, which pointed out that the highest contents of Pb were found in samples from individuals suffering from rickets. The preliminary results reveal that more research on this pathology should be performed – not only for post-medieval individuals but also in prehistorical ones.


The series consists of 51 healthy newborn infants born in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Central Hospital of Turku. Infants having asphyxia or malformations or weighing less than 2 000 g were excluded from the series. For practical reasons only infants born between 4.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. were included in the study. The subjects of the study make 15.7 per cent of all live born infants delivered during the Ltudy in a period of six weeks. The infants were examined clinically twice by the same paediatrician at the ages of 1 day and 1 week and the neurological findings were regarded as normal. In the series there were 17 infants of primiparae and 34 of multiparae. There were 31 girls and 20 boys. The mean birth weight for the whole group was 3 490 5 550 g. The girls had the mean 3 400 f 520 g with a range from 2 220 to 4 650 g and the boys the mean 3 630 & 570 g with a range from 2 700 to 4 960 g. The mean height at birth was 50.7 f 1.9 cm in the whole group. The mean height of girls was 50.1 f 1.8 cm and that of boys 51.4 f 1.7 cm. The head circumference was on the average 34.6 f 1.5 cm at birth for the entire group; 34.0 f 1.3 cm for girls and 35.1 f 1.1 cm for boys. The gestational age was on the average 39.7 & 1.3 weeks. The mean for girls was 39.4 +1.4 weeks and for boys 40.0 f 1.2 weeks (Table 2). The weights, heights and occipitofrontal head circumferences of the subjects in the study are presented more accurately in Figures 13, 14 and 15.


Value of information systems at the organizational and process levels has been addressed by many IS researchers. However, value-addition of IS at the individual level has not been studied extensively. In this paper, we build on the rich research tradition of linking behavioral antecedents of IS use and extend it to study IS value-addition at individual level. Our study focuses on the antecedents of IS-enabled individual productivity. We conceptualize IS-enabled productivity as a process output which is co-determined by behavioral antecedents and the nature of IS use. We tested our research model by surveying 482 individuals and collected data across two IS applications. Our research model is validated both at the aggregate level and across the two individual IS applications. The study results confirm our proposition that the quality of the use process is as important as the extent or duration of use of an information system while determining IS enabled productivity. Based on study findings, we provide theoretical and managerial implications of the relationship between productivity and IS use.


The article presents different approaches to the characteristic of notions «society» and «education» and gives opinions of the most prominent scientists philosophers, pedagogues of different countries and epochs. The main indicators of «social education», such as value orientation, availability, folk origins, and openness are examined.


BACKGROUND AND STUDY RATIONALE Severe acute malnutrition remains an important underlying cause of morbidity and mortality for children under five years of age globally and locally. This study aims to evaluate the nutritional outcomes of the children on outpatient management, a concept who's adaption to the non-emergency settings has only been recently done.


The effects of adult day care (ADC) operational choices on the satisfaction of informal caregivers were examined for 312 pairs of caregivers and care receivers from 10 case study sites that participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's national demonstration of Dementia Care and Respite Services. Cognitive, behavioral, and affective components of satisfaction were examined. Satisfaction was represented by measures of perceived affordability, length of stay, intensity of use, and caregiver well-being. Multivariate analyses indicated that controlling for other factors, program operational choices about nursing approaches, respite services, and activities programming had direct and interactive effects on satisfaction. The study concluded that dementia status is not a strong predictor of satisfaction with ADC, and the operational choices made by ADC programs can influence consumer outcomes, but no single choice accounts for all aspects of consumer satisfaction.


A straightforward and solvent-free synthesis of various secondary and tertiary cyanoformamides from carbamoyl imidazoles and TMSCN has been developed. Both cyclic and acyclic carbamoyl imidazoles react smoothly to form the relevant cyanoformamides in excellent yields, often within minutes.


Summary form only given. Although schemes have been proposed, there has been no experimental realization of continuous measurement in atom optics. We study the effect of phase noise on laser-cooled atoms undergoing dynamic localization. Depending on the type of noise the master equation also describes a continuous measurement of momentum or position. Hence it is possible to test the effect of measurement in quantum chaos by tailoring the noise source.


A neurodegenerative disease (ND) is defined as an irreversible disorder in most cases, leading to progressive loss of neurons and intellectual abilities. ND can lead to fatality in most circumstances, and the elderly above the age of sixty-five (65) constitute the major risk category. The most common type of ND includes Alzheimer's disease (AD), and Parkinson's disease (PD). Other NDs are Huntington's disease (HD), motor neuron disease (MND), spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and prion disease. ND strikes mainly in the middle to late life incidence expected to rise as the population ages.


Provided is a topical Chinese medicinal composition for treating mastitis, said Chinese medicinal composition being made of raw powders or extracts of the following Chinese medicinal materials: 15-20 g of Szechuan lovage, 15-30 g of white turmeric, 15-30 g of river bulrush, 1-3 g of devil's trumpet, 5-15 g of clove, 15-30 g of honeysuckle vine, 15-30 g of patrinia, and 5-15 g of dandelion.


We herein report a power-free microfluidic chip for fluorescent DNA detection with high single-nucleotide polymorphism discrimination, using a DNA intercalator and graphene oxide.


Designing and developing user-friendly software is difficult. The use of HumanComputer Interaction (HCI) within software design and development, usability engineering and evaluation techniques all play an important part in producing usable software. This paper explores how HCI and usability fit within the software lifecycle. It examines the advantages and disadvantages over traditional software methodologies such as formal methods, as well evaluating some of the techniques in the development of software. A meetings almanac manager for a Computer Science University Department was developed using iterative prototyping and user-based interviews and observation techniques. The use of such methods concentrated the design on the needs of the users, and through feedback ensured the final system was user-friendly and implemented on time, incorporating additional functionality.


Property management provides the initial impression of a system and method for displaying information to quickly view the most relevant. The view can be customized by the user. In the context of search, the search may be performed based on a set of search criteria. Users can create a set of initial impression attributes to display, or using a default set of initial impression attributes. The default group can be determined based on statistical analysis. When the search results are displayed, an initial impression of the properties may also be displayed, so that the user can review the initial impression of the properties and make decisions based on the initial impression of part attribute. The initial impression attributes may also be used in a threaded conversation online or in a browser inventory. Search or browse context may include online dating search, product search, groups, real estate, and even career search.


Frame synchronization is classically treated in literature for equiprobable data symbols. In this case the optimum metric has been derived both in the case of periodically and aperiodically embedded synchronization words and the corresponding performance has been evaluated. In this paper we evaluate the performance of sequential frame synchronization for non- equiprobable data symbols, assuming no a-priori information about data distribution. Results show that the performance may sensibly differ from the case of equiprobable data symbols and strongly depends on the chosen synchronization word.


With regard to Trevor Clay's suggestion about promoting second-level nurses to division one (Nursing Standard June 26). And why not?


Ethan Berkove (firstname.lastname@example.com) holds a Davies Associateship, which combines teaching at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, with research at the Army Research Labs. At the University of Michigan he majored in mathe? matics and Japanese, and his Ph.D. (1996) is from the University of Wisconsin under Alejandro Adem. Besides dabbling in applications of mathematics, he enjoys origami and his favorite application of physics: rock climbing.


Melanoma accounts for one third of tumors metastasizing to the gastro-intestinal tract. The preferential site for metastases is the small bowel. Primary melanoma is also described in the digestive tract. Abdominal symptoms or anaemia in a patient with a history of melanoma should be considered as a potential abdominal metastasis whatever the time passed since the primary lesion diagnosis. Although the role of surgery in the treatment of gastrointestinal metastases was primarily reserved for symptomatic patients or for palliation, it is now recognised that complete surgical resection is associated with better long-term survival. Selection of patients for resection of abdominal melanoma metastases is difficult because prognostic factors are not clearly identified. In the absence of these prognosis factors, the decision to perform radical surgery can only be taken within the framework of a multidisciplinary meeting.


Multicultural competence, defined as an understanding of international business and social relations plus the attitudes, skills, and special knowledge necessary to apply it, is identified as an emerging component of human capital in the global economy. This article documents the growing demand for multicultural competence, describes the course content and advisor activities that have been recommended to develop this capacity, and comments on the limits and inherent dangers of providing multicultural exposure to everyone. The article also identfies new roles, such as that of a "culture broke<" which characterize the global economy. Academic advisors are urged to help students maximize their human capital by adding multicultural competence skills as part of their formal education. In a recent article in the NACADA Journal, I advocated a human capital approach to academic advising (Shaffer, 1997). Based on the distinction between earning a credential and getting a good education, I recommended that students be encouraged to make academic decisions, from choosing a major to investing time in cocurricular activities, by maximizing the development of their human capital. Following conventional economic analysis, I summarized investment in human capital development into five distinct types: formal education, adult education, on-the-job training, health, and geographic mobility. The following expands the focus of human capital to the emerging concept of multicultural competence.


Spoken language encodes two different forms of information: linguistic (related to the message) and indexical (e.g., speaker's age, gender, and regional dialect). However, some speech-language impairments (such as dyslexia) can reduce a listener's ability to process both linguistic and indexical speech cues. For example, Perrachione et al. (Science, 333, 2011) demonstrated that individuals with dyslexia were less able to identify new voices than were control listeners. This study examines the ability of listeners with and without dyslexia to identify speaker dialect. Eighty listeners—40 adults and 40 children (20 in each group were dyslexic, 20 were not; 40 were males and 40 were females)—listened to a set of 80 sentences produced by English speakers from Western North Carolina or central Ohio and were asked to identify which region the speaker came from. Results demonstrated that adult listeners were significantly better at dialect identification and that listeners with dyslexia were significantly poorer at dialect identification. More notably, there was a significant age by listener group interaction—the improvement in dialect identification between adults and children was significantly smaller in listeners with dyslexia. This indicates that an initial limitation in language learning can inhibit long-term development of speaker-specific phonetic representations.


Abstract Let X1, X2 and Yl. Y2 be two indepently and identically distributed random variables each from the unknown distributions F and G respectively. Using a new constructive definition of the Dirichlet process we derive the Bayes estimate of the probability that {max (X1, X2) < min (Y1, Yz) or max (Y1, Y2) < min (X1 X2)}. We demonstrate how this constructive definition simplifies considerably the 'linearized Dirichlet process' approach adopted by Yamato (1975) to derive the Bayes estimate of a related functional. The limiting Bayes cstimato is shown to be asymptotically equivalent to a U-statistic, and its asymptotic normality is established. This problem relates to testing whether F and G arc identical.


This thesis describes two separate projects. The first part of the thesis involves the synthesis of materials for enabling thermochemical water splitting at temperatures below 1000oC, while the second part focuses on the structure-property relationships for the catalytic conversion of methanol-to-olefins. In the first project, metal oxide clusters are impregnated in a silica support and tested as catalysts for the thermochemical splitting of water at temperatures below 1000oC. These supported catalysts are able to do either the oxidation or reduction half cycle, but not both. Thermodynamic analyses reveal that for most common metal / metal oxide pairs, a thermochemical water splitting cycle can not occur in two steps below 1000oC. Thus, a multi-step thermochemical cycle is developed using Mn3O4 and Na2CO3. This new cycle can be closed at temperatures that do not exceed 850oC. Additionally, three metal spinels (Mn, Fe and Co based) are investigated with three alkali metal carbonates (Li, Na and K) for both thermochemical water splitting and thermochemical CO2 reduction. The manganese, sodium system is found to be the optimal combination for water splitting. The second project explores the effects that zeolite structure has on the product selectivity in the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction. After first ensuring that literature results on the more common MTO catalysts could be reproduced, the effects of several zeolite structure features on product selectivity are elucidated. Structural features such as channel width and channel eccentricity, cage size (tested on the LEV, CHA and AFX frameworks) and framework composition (tested on the LEV, AEI, CHA and AFX frameworks) are explored. It is found that the product selectivity does not have a strong correlation with channel width and eccentricity. Ethylene selectivity did increase with a reduction in cage size, while propylene selectivity is a maximum with the CHA cage. The most consistent theme noted is that between the aluminosilicates (zeolites) and the silicoaluminophosphates (SAPOs), the effect of temperature on the C3=/C2= is the same (if the aluminosilicate shows an increase in C3=/C2= with an increase in temperature, so does the silicoaluminophosphate, etc.).


Geosphere, February 2012, v. 8, p. 141-157, doi:10.1130/GES00720.1, Supplemental File - Zipped file containing a Word file of the details of receiver function processing; an ASCII .txt file that lists all the latitude, longitude, crustal thicknesses, and standard deviations determined across the study area; and a .pdf file of three supplemental figures. The file size is 24 MB.


Laser machining is successfully applied at tungsten carbide cutting tools in order to produce intricate geometries, which cannot be generated by abrasive methods. In previous investigations it was shown that laser machining, applied to cubic boron nitride (cBN) cutting tools, initiates chemical reactions of nitride and binder material, which may form films of tool protecting hard material. This paper shows the effects of laser machining on phase composition, surface roughness, and residual stresses of cermet cutting tools. Cutting experiments with tools before and after laser machining have been executed in the form of external cylindrical turning of AISI 1045. Tool wear has been investigated and is discussed. Introduction Laser machining, here especially laser beam material removal, has been on the upswing in cutting tool preparation recently. This technique can be applied for a great number of materials. Especially those materials, which are mechanically hard to machine offer potential for laser machining, particularly for individual tool geometries, like e. g. flank face undercuts. Besides short pulsed picoor even femtosecond lasers, also low cost nanosecond lasers or simple marking lasers can be used for the preparation of cutting tools [1]. Influences of laser machining on cemented carbide tools concerning residual stresses, phase transformations etc. have been investigated for several years [2-5]. Some studies highlight that laser machining of cBN tools improves the tool behaviour and increases tool life [6-8]. Comparatively few knowledge exists on laser machining of cermets. Yuxin et al. [9] described a fabrication process of cermets using laser machining. They used powders of nickel, titanium and carbon on a low carbon steel substrate to create TiC-Ni cermets by a 5 kW continuous wave CO2 laser. The nickel amount proved to be responsible for different cermet properties. Sun et al. [10] were able to create ZrB2-Zr cermets by a combined laser sintering/melting technique with the aid of electromagnetic induction heating. The cermet properties, especially hardness, were determined by the ZrB2 and the Zr content. Cermet laser machining in terms of drilling was investigated by Gurauskis et al. [11, 12]. Drilling of the sintered material led to inferior results than machining of the green material. Morimoto et al. [13] conducted a targeted surface modification of thermally sprayed Cr3C2NiCr cermets by a direct diode laser. The treatment resulted in a distinct increase of Vickers hardness and wear resistance. Despite an increasing use of cermet cutting tools in industry, the knowledge on tool preparation via laser machining and its influence on tool life is very limited. In the following material properties of laser treated cermet cutting inserts and their wear behaviour during external turning are presented and discussed. Euro PM2015 – Hard Materials – Processing 2


This research paper presents a novel approach for fusing time series of cloud-affected optical normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data with more regularly sampled synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-estimated NDVI data. We employ a deep learning model based on gated recurrent units (GRU), a recurrent neural network (RNN) cell, that can handle missing data and variable sequence lengths efficiently. Numerical results demonstrate that our method achieves dense and accurate NDVI time series with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.05, closely resembling the optical NDVI values. Visual comparison also shows the high performance.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address a knowledge gap on advocacy outcomes from mental health service users' perspective, and the implications for evaluating advocacy impact. The studies discussed highlight challenges for measuring the outcomes of advocacy, but underline the importance of doing so, and of involving service users alongside other stakeholders in co-designing evaluation systems.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses findings from three qualitative studies of independent advocacy involving focus groups and interviews with: 30 African and African Caribbean men who were mental health service users; 90 "qualifying patients" in a study of Independent Mental Health Advocate services; and nine young women in children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).

Findings
A comparative analysis and synthesis of findings from three studies identifies four common dimensions: how mental health advocacy is conceptualised and understood; how service users define advocacy outcomes; wider impacts; and, user involvement in evaluating advocacy outcomes. Advocacy outcomes were conceptualised as increasing involvement, changing care and treatment and supporting personal development. There was evidence of advocacy acting to empower mental health service users, and of broader impacts on service regimes and policies. However, there was limited evidence of transformational impact. Evaluating advocacy outcomes is increasingly seen as important.

Originality/value
Few researchers have focused primarily on the perspectives of people using independent mental health advocacy, or on the experience of "advocacy as empowerment", and none have done so across diverse groups. This analysis adds insight into the impact of independent advocacy. Data from empirical studies attest to the important role independent advocacy plays in modern mental health systems.


Amlodipine Besylate is a Calcium channel blocker, anti-hypertensive agent. Various methods for analysis of the same are available but are time consuming and expensive. Here we have developed a new, precise and simple UV spectrophotometric method for estimation of Amlodipine Besylate from tablet formulation. The drug obeyed the Beer's law and showed good correlation. Absorption maxima of Amlodipine in double distilled water was found to be at 239 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in concentration range 2 – 12 mcg/ml. The results of analysis were validated by recovery studies. The recovery was more than 99%. The method was found to be simple, accurate, precise, economical and robust.


Summary – Charcoal samples from the Colbricon open air sites 3, 7, 8A and 9 (north-eastern Italian Alps) were dated. The AMS calibrated 14C ages obtained, while confirming the cultural attribution of the sites to the early Mesolithic, indicate an adaptive change between the earliest and the latest sites. Author suggests this change, clearly evidenced by differences in settlement typology, could be linked to the environmental modifications occurred at the Preboreal-Boreal transition. This hypothesis is also supported when evidences from other northeastern Italian early Mesolithic sites are compared.


Motivated by the heavy-flavor experiments at running Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and upgrading SuperKEKB, which provide abundant Υ data samples, the tree-dominated Υ(nS) → Bcρ and BcK∗ (n =1, 2, 3) weak decays are studied within the framework of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) factorization. The QCD corrections to the longitudinal and transverse amplitudes are evaluated at next-to-leading order, and the branching fractions and polarization fractions are predicted. Numerically, the Υ(nS) → Bcρ decays have relatively large branching fractions at the order of 𝒪(10−10) and are in the scope of the LHC and SuperKEKB/Belle-II experiments.


Photograph probably taken at an hotel in Picton during a Christmas/New Year cruise. From left to right: Robert Turnbull [?], Bert Stirling, and Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull. (A H T is wearing a jersey labelled "Iorangi" which is the yacht he owned from October 1901). The photographer is probably Grafton Bothamley.
See: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZFL19011019.2.26.3
Quantity: 1 b&w copy negative(s).
Physical Description: Film negative


This thesis investigates the application of Deep Learning and Mixture Models on the prediction of human drivers in traffic. The chosen approach is a Mixture Density Network where the Neural Network is composed of Long-Short Term Memory units and the Mixture Model consists of univariate Gaussian distributions. The model outputs accelerations for the next four seconds in longitudinal and lateral directions as well as indicating whether the driver intends to change lane during this time or not. The results of the motion prediction is promising with a Mean Absolute Error of around 1 meter after a 4 second prediction. The intention prediction results in around 75% accuracy in identifying lane change trajectories 1.7 seconds prior to the lane change and around 95% accuracy 1 second prior to the lane-change. The conclusion of the study is that in order to accurately predict humans, the model has to make use of as many variables as possible. However it will not be possible to fully predict humans by just observing the environment since there are many unobservable variables affecting the decision-making. One way to take this into account is to make use of signals humans use to display their intentions, such as indicator lights.


Introduction The increase in population aging establishes new risk scenarios in the face of the intensification of disasters due to climate change; however, previous experiences and collective memory would generate opportunities for older people to acquire adaptive and coping capacities in the face of these events. Objective To analyze the theoretical-methodological characteristics presented by the studies carried out between the years 2012 and 2022 about the experience and collective memory of the older adult in the face of climate change. Method A systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out following the guidelines of the PRISMA statement. The databases consulted were Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO host, and Redalyc, selecting 40 articles in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. Results The importance of experience and collective memory in the face of disasters as an adaptive factor in older people was identified. In addition, sharing experiences allows them to give new meaning to what happened, emphasizing confidence in their personal resources and self-management capacity and fostering perceived empowerment. Discussion It is essential that in future studies the knowledge provided by the older adult can be privileged, recognizing the importance of their life histories and favoring the active role in their development and wellbeing.


Abstract We propose a new model for description of solar flare lightcurve profile observed in soft X-rays. The method assumes that single-peaked 'regular' flares seen in lightcurves can be fitted with the elementary time profile being a convolution of Gaussian and exponential functions. More complex, multi-peaked flares can be decomposed as a sum of elementary profiles. During flare lightcurve fitting process a linear background is determined as well. In our study we allow the background shape over the event to change linearly with time. Presented approach originally was dedicated to the soft X-ray small flares recorded by Polish spectrophotometer SphinX during the phase of very deep solar minimum of activity, between 23 rd and 24 th Solar Cycles. However, the method can and will be used to interpret the lightcurves as obtained by the other soft X-ray broad-band spectrometers at the time of both low and higher solar activity level. In the paper we introduce the model and present examples of fits to SphinX and GOES 1-8 Å channel observations as well.


Abstract This study examined the prevalence of high potency (liquor, malt liquor, fortified wine) and other alcoholic beverage consumption (beer, wine/wine coolers) among adolescents, the impact of gender and ethnicity, and the risk and protective factors that predicted consumption. A confidential survey revealed that, among eighth grade students, wine/wine coolers were the most popular alcoholic beverages, with the highest levels of lifetime use, and the greatest current frequency and quantity of use, followed closely by beer and liquor. Minor gender differences were found, as well as notable ethnic differences, in consumption. Intentions and attitudes were important predictors of use across beverages. Different factors may need to be targeted depending upon the type of beverage that is addressed in future prevention programs. INTRODUCTION High potency beverages have either higher than typical alcohol content (e.g., high proof liquor) or are sold in larger than average serving sizes (e.g., 40 ounce malt liquor) and thus, have a higher than typical potential for abuse. Wine coolers, high proof liquor, malt liquor, and fortified wines have become increasingly popular with adolescents (Boys, Marsden, Stillwell, Hutchings, Griffiths & Farrell, 2003; McBride, Midford, Farringdon, & Phillips, 2000), and in recent years, the alcohol industry has intensified the development and marketing of these types of drinks to the youth market (Center on Alcohol Monitoring and Youth, 2002; Hughes, MacKintosh, Hastings, Wheeler, Watson, & Inglis, 1997; Jackson, Hastings, Wheeler, Eadie, & MacKintosh, 2000; Martin et al., 2002; McKeganey, Forsyth, Barnard, & Hay, 1996). Only wine advertisements targeted adults more than youth (Garfield, Chung, & Rathouz, 2003). For example, according to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University, 45 percent more beer and 27 percent more distilled spirits advertisements targeted youth than adults in 2001. Although the exact amounts can vary, the Indiana Prevention Resource Center (Bailey, 1998) reports that the percent alcohol by volume is 4-4.5 percent for beer, 5-8 percent for wine coolers (specialty wine coolers can be up to 20%), and 8-12 percent for wine. Malt liquors are as high as 8 percent, fortified wines are almost 20 percent, and high proof liquors can be over 75 percent alcohol by volume. The fact that beer and wine coolers are both often sold in 12 ounce bottles, for example, can create an erroneous perception that the two drinks are equivalent, while in fact a 12 ounce wine cooler is one-and-a-half times more potent than a 12 ounce beer. A 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor, as it is often sold and consumed, has the equivalent amount of alcohol of approximately six beers. Given this large range of alcohol content and serving sizes, it is critically important that researchers carefully define and measure high potency beverages. Furthermore, it is important that researchers examine individual beverage types separately, as the patterns of consumption are likely to vary widely, as are the consequences of their use. Little research has been conducted in the area of high potency alcohol consumption by adolescents. However, one study (McBride et al., 2000) found that wine and regular beer were preferred among a 13-year-old sample when initially surveyed, but that when surveyed a second time later in the school year, the preference for spirits and alcoholic sodas had increased. A qualitative analysis by Hughes and colleagues (1997) found that most adolescents were acquainted with the so-called designer drinks (defined by the researchers as a range of fortified wines including MD 20/20 and white ciders such as White Lightning). Fourteen and fifteen year old participants reported consuming almost anything that was "relatively strong, inexpensive, and pleasant tasting" (all characteristics of designer drinks). In contrast, 16- to 17-year-olds tried to appear mature and experienced with alcohol, and opted for spirits and bottled beers. …


The grassland resourcesin Southern China was veryrich, but the efficiency of grassland utilization was very low. The current situation, superiority and problemsof grassland resourcesin Southern China hadbeen comprehensively analyzed. The strategies and direction of development, the main production-management model of grassland resourcesand its evaluation system were proposed.


The authors take the Autonomous County of Tujia and Miao Nationality of Youyang, Chongqing, as an example, and adopt the method of participatory rural appraisal(PRA) to study the livelihoods of rural households in six typical towns. Based on the investigated data and the statistical yearbooks, the study demonstrates the marginalization of agricultural land and presents the responses of farmers to agricultural land use. The results are as follows. During the recent 10 years, the sown area of farm crops and the year-end cultivated area in common use are decreasing. Geographic, geomorphic, and anthropogenic factors have resulted in the abandonment of agricultural lands. Moreover, potential natural disasters threaten agricultural production, including sowing and cultivation. For the diagnosis factors mentioned, it can be predicted that land marginalization has emerged in Youyang. Agricultural land use, especially the marginalization of agricultural land, has been driven by farmer's livelihood strategies and their agricultural land management behavior. The integrative factors, such as threats of geographic environment, small-scale agricultural business, and bad agricultural production conditions, have influenced this behavior as well. Consequently, the livelihood strategies of farmers have become diversified. The fact that income from agricultural production is comparatively low and that the main labor force of agricultural production engages in the secondary and tertiary industries are the primary causes of the shortage of rural labor force and the marginalization of agricultural land. Imitating the process of the county and studying the micro response of the farmer can explain the microcosmic interaction between the marginalization of agricultural land use and farmers' livelihood.


Introduction: It was reported that there are differences in tissue morphology of in-stent restenosis (ISR) lesions according to stent type and timing of restenosis. However, little is known about optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of very late ISR lesions after bare-metal stent (BMS) and sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) implantations. Methods: Between July 2008 and November 2013, OCT was performed in 53 ISR lesions (BMS group; 25 BMS-ISR lesions and SES group; 28 SES-ISR lesions) which had occurred beyond 5 years after stent implantation. We examined tissue structure (homogeneous, heterogeneous, or layered), incomplete stent apposition (ISA) and multiple inter-strut hollows (MIH) as indices of endothelial delayed healing, and lipid-rich intima and thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) as indices of neoatherosclerosis. OCT finding of ISA was defined as separation of at least 1 stent strut from the vessel wall which is not related to a side branch, and MIH was defined as multiple hollows (the maximum depth >0.5 mm) existing between and outside the well-apposed stent struts. Lipid-rich intima was defined as a diffuse border, low signal lesion due to marked signal attenuation and lipid arc more than 90 degrees. TCFA was defined as a lipid-rich plaque with thinnest fibrous cap thickness less than 65 μm. Results: The patients were 46 men and 7 women, and the mean age was 69.2±7.7 years. The mean time between stent implantation and OCT procedure was significantly longer in the BMS group than in the SES group (10.6±2.7 years vs. 6.1±1.0 years, p Conclusions: Although there was a difference in the stent age between the two groups, OCT findings of endothelial delayed healing were frequently observed in ISR lesions beyond 5 years after SES implantation, while those of neoatherosclerosis were frequently observed in ISR lesions beyond 5 years after BMS implantation.


In the study of hadith criticism, there are two aspects that cannot be favored one of them. They are the criticism of sanad and the criticism of matan. Both of them have several validity criterias, they are the continuity of sanad, the narrators are reliable ('ādil) and retentive (dābit), and free from the absurdity (shādh) and defect ('illah). Many Muslim Scholars have formulated methods of hadith criticism. One of them Akram Diyā' al-'Umarī. Academically, this article examines Akram Diyā'  al-'Umarī's  thoughts on the hadith  criticism. He is a professor in the field on Islamic history and modern science. The background of Islamic historian adds to the options in the study of hadith criticism. He is a productive contemporary scholars. Many of his works were used as references by hadith researchers. One of his works that become masterpiece is Manhaj al-Naqd 'ind al-Muhaddithin Muqaranan bi al-Manhaj al-Naqdi al-Gharbi (the Method of hadith criticism according to h}adith Scholars compared with Western criticism methods).


Connecting with the requirements of university for improving university students' information literacy,this paper studies the methods of reference service and reading guidance for knowledge audience,and probes into how to give better play to university library's working functions for making the teachers and students more close to the library,be willing to go to the library to learn knowledge,and thus enhancing the cultural quality of university students.


. The stellar associations are defined as loose unbound concentrations of young stars with a bright OB stellar component, mainly located at the most recent star forming regions, representing the smallest units in the hierarchy of stellar systems in galaxies. The definition of the associations is discussed and the main properties of their stellar content are summarized. Using plates taken with the 1.2m UK Schmidt Telescope a method is developed to detect all stellar associations in the LMC and to find their spatial distribution relative to the LMC's recent star formation history. In 40% of the LMC region, the number of "single peak" associations has increased considerably (rv 3 x). A very interesting result is that the faint limit, where the identified associations are revealed, varies by about 3 mag. This indicates not only extinction differences but also the presence of pre-main sequence stars at a wide range of masses.


Salt workers' work song,a style of folk song in south Sichuan,has distinctive artistic features and his-toric value. As the precious cultural legacy left by salt workers in south Sichuan and the result of collective intelligence,salt workers' work song has showed the laborers' feelings and aesthetic taste. As an art style in cultural history of humanity,the existence and development of salt workers' work song in south Sichuan has its inner causes. Besides the aesthetic value,the salt workers' work song used to be a work tool involved in people's production activities. It is a basic purpose to reveal the duality of the work song that exists in the special saline circumstances in south Sichuan. This paper analyzes its social functions and values which not only participate material wealth creation,but also are the spiritual products of the working people,so as to understand aesthetic functions and values of cultural heristage.


One has to know the geographical environment determining the possibilities of people living in a particular geographical region, in order to attain knowledge on their everyday life. Orosháza is a very important city in this point of view and it had an outstanding road-network. In the surrounding of this city a large number of metal artefacts was discovered in a Muslim settlement next to Orosháza dating back to the 12-13 century. The majority of these artefacts are coins, including few dozens of denars coming from Friesach. According to archaeological assumptions most of them are counterfeit. These fake coins are very exciting for us because they refer to the period and the place of the money exchange and may shed light to methods and variegation of forgery in that time. Due to this we aimed to accomplish archaeometric studies on these coins. The first method was non-destructive chemical analysis with handheld and portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF). The chemical composition of 25 coins was determined and the first results show that most of the coins are bronzes (tin-copper alloy) with 1-4 wt% lead content, yet, there was one coin with significantly high lead content (14 wt%). In three coins high level of silver content was measured (86 97 wt%) but according to the concentration of some trace metals (Cu, Bi, Pb, Au), which can indicate different provenance of the silver material, these three coins differ from each other. Among these 25 pieces of coins, mercury was detected on the surface of 14 indicating amalgam silvering which could be a method of counterfeiting. Besides pXRF which is fundamentally a surface analytical technique, further examinations are planned to get more precise and suitable information.


Auto unique styles are closely related with product family and their brand features. The paper focuses on the methods with which brand features can be applied to auto body design. It takes BMW sedans as an example to illustrate methods to analyze and describe auto styling designs and proves the relevance between form and image features in the product exploration based on brand features.


This paper summarises the state of research on the long-term effects of congestion charging in Stockholm and Gothenberg. Sweden's two largest cities introduced time-of-day dependent, cordon-based congestion charging systems in 2006 and 2013. Public support for congestion charging initially increased following the introduction, but then slightly declined after a revision of the systems. While travel demand in Stockholm has become more price sensitive over time, the reverse happened in Gothenburg. The study examines the reasons behind these findings and discusses policy implications.


The transition from vegetative growth to flowering is a major developmental switch in the plant cycle and the timing of flowering is very critical for reproduction of plant species. In transition to flowering in plants, Flowering locus C (FLC) is one of the crucial factors. Here, we showed How the stability and activity of FLC are regulated by sumoylation mechanism. By pull-down assay, we showed that FLC interact with E3 SUMO ligase in vitro and vivo. And we showed that FLC is sumoylated in vitro condition with AtSUMO1 protein. In transgenic plants with overexpression of FLC and inducible expression of AtSIZ1, sumo E3 ligase led to increase of FLC protein level and delayed the post-translation degradation of FLC indicating that Arabidopsis E3 sumo ligase AtSIZ1 stabilizes FLC. Also, the plants with overexpression of mutant FLC (K154R, a mutation of the sumoylation site on FLC) flowered considerably earlier than plants with overexpression of FLC but comparable with wild type indicating that sumoylation is a important part for function of FLC. Our data indicate that the sumoylation of FLC is critical for its role in the control of flowering time.


This paper analyzes the concrete expressions of"Silver Hair Tide"impacts from five aspects such as aging of population making social compensation rate higher,and puts forward and expounds on the specif- ic contents of strategies of positive aging to relieve"Silver Hair Tide".


1.1 Brain tumours in children and adults Primary Central Nervous System (CNS) tumours are considered to be those that originate in the CNS and usually remain there. Primary CNS tumours, despite not leading the cancer frequency rates, rank first among cancer types for the average years of life lost (Burnet et al., 2005). By contrast with other malignancies, where research has lead to the establishment of more successful treatment options, the diagnosis of a CNS tumour, particularly the more malignant histological types, still has devastating effects on the patients and their relatives, not only due to the dismal prognosis of these tumours with extremely high rates of mortality, but also to the great morbidity that actual treatment options cause (Laughton et al., 2008; Mulhern et al., 2004; Silber et al., 1992). The estimated annual worldwide age-standardized incidence of malignant primary CNS tumours is 3.5 per 100,000 people, which represents more than 200,000 cases. The rate is slightly higher in males (3.9 per 100,000 people per year) than in females (3.1 per 100,000 people per year) (Ferlay et al., 2008). The frequency of brain tumours is also higher in more developed countries (5.2 per 100,000 people per year) compared to less developed countries (3.0 per 100,000 people per year), probably due to diagnostic advances, as well as access to adequate health care in the developed regions (Ferlay et al., 2008; Wrensch et al., 2005). Similarly, estimated annual global age-standardized mortality of malignant primary CNS tumours is higher in males (3.0 per 100,000 people) than in females (2.2 per 100,000 people), with higher rates also in more developed countries (3.2 per 100,000 people) than in less developed regions (2.3 per 100,000 people) (Ferlay et al., 2008). The median age of diagnosis for all primary CNS tumours is 57 years, however the histology-specific median age ranges from 9 to 70 years ( Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States [CBTRUS], 2010).


Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Tony Street together at the Thirteenth South Pacific Forum SPEC (South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation) Committee Meeting in Rotorua, New Zealand, 9-10 August 1982.
Comments: Malcolm Fraser visited Malaysia, China, the Philippines and New Zealand during this 11 day trip in August 1982.
Inscription: In an album labelled "Overseas Visit by The Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser, CH, MP, Prime Minister of Australia 1-10 August 1982".
Previous Control Number: UMA/I/6363
Previous Control Number: PA/180


Summary The frontier offshore basins of Angola hold tremendous potential for hydrocarbons in the Pre-Salt section. The Angolan basins have similarities with the Pre-Salt of the Brazilian margin which abutted the Angola offshore area prior to opening of the South Atlantic. Traps were formed during rift phases and include horsts and tilted fault blocks. Depth-migrated dual-sensor streamer seismic improves the imaging of syn-rift structures, which now allows the identification and mapping of prospects in underexplored acreage.


This essay examines the significant role that Justice Stevens has played in curtailing some of the doctrinal excesses produced by the so-called "inhospitality tradition" of antitrust law and policy. Spawned by neoclassical price theory, the inhospitality tradition was uniformly hostile to nonstandard contracts, agreements that restrained the autonomy of a firm's trading partners before or after a transaction. By banning such contracts, the Court enforced a vision of unbridled rivalry drawn from price theory's model of workable competition. Justice Stevens joined the Supreme Court when this tradition was at its apogee, as the Supreme Court even banned maximum vertical price fixing and non-price restraints ancillary to pro-consumer joint ventures. The essay explains how Justice Stevens helped the Supreme Court repudiate the inhospitality tradition and the vision of "competition" that it produced. In particular, Justice Stevens embraced and articulated a vision of "competition" that made room for various non-standard contracts that overcome market failures that unbridled rivalry would otherwise produce. As Justice Stevens explained, such contracts can in many cases actually enhance competition, by altering the incentives of the parties to them and thus encouraging a more productive allocation of resources. The paper concludes by examining three questions still left open despite Justice Stevens' important opinions: the current scope of the per se rule, the definition of "cognizable" benefits that courts apply when conducting per se analysis, and the methodology for conducting rule of reason analysis. The essay suggests that the deeper logic of Justice Stevens' opinions undermines decisions such as United States v. Topco, even though Justice Stevens has cited such decisions with approval. The essay also suggests that benefits are "cognizable" whenever they alter a market's background rules or the incentives that market actors face in a manner that prevents or mitigates market failure. Finally, the essay concludes that Justice Stevens' logic requires courts to reform current rule of reason doctrine whereby proof that a restraint results in higher prices itself establishes a prima facie case. This logic also requires courts to reconsider their purported practice of "balancing" a restraint's benefits against harms presumed once a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, as well as the related "less restrictive alternative test."


plenary lectures are only a few of the highlights that Prof. Pieter ter Wee, President of the 51st ERA-EDTA congress entrusts to all the nephrologists that are coming to Amsterdam for the Congress. In this interview he takes a glance at the programme. Prof. ter Wee, what will be the main highlights of the scientific programme? Prof. ter Wee: The agreed mission of the ERA-EDTA is to promote nephrological science – clinical science as well as basic research – in order to benefit patients with kidney disease. To this end, the programme committee chaired by David Wheeler from London has compiled an attractive programme for this Congress, reflecting all the key areas of nephrology (e.g. transplantation, dialysis, prevention of CKD, hypertension, diabetes, vascular disease, glomerular diseases, acute kidney injury, hereditary disorders). Some of these are of particular topical relevance. Cardiovascular complications, for example, are still a major problem – and secondary prevention strategies have therefore acquired special importance. Polycystic kidney diseases are another hot topic because many promising research results have been published in recent years – and the topic is enjoying a renaissance. The CME course on intensified dialysis strategies is also striking a chord, and of course there are the plenary lectures. I am especially looking forward to the talk Hans Clever will deliver on "Adult stem cells and regenerative medicine". Although hopes of being able to grow kidneys on stem cells so far have been disappointed, we know now that stem cells can be used as an intermediate treatment for some kidney diseases. Last, but not least, I would like to draw particular attention to two greatly anticipated symposia on late-breaking clinical trials, on Sunday and Monday morning. The Congress programme covers the whole spectrum of nephrology. To what extent does the Congress bridge the usually wide gap between basic research and clinical nephrology? Prof. ter Wee: The gap is there, in that clinicians and basic researchers often believe they are doing completely different things. But the fact is that both, clinical and basic research, are just two sides of one and the same coin. One cannot do one without the other. Basic research is always a step ahead, in a way, but clinical studies are important for verifying the hypotheses that were generated in the models and experimental studies. Sometimes clinical studies produce disappointing results and do not fulfil the high hopes nurtured by the results of experimental studies. But this is what science is all about: every study enlightens us, brings us a bit further – and in small steps we keep on going. To achieve this scientific progress, communication and exchange between basic and clinical researchers is vital – and the Congress is a platform for promoting such a scientific culture and for encouraging translational projects. What, in your opinion, makes this Congress attractive for young nephrologists? Prof. ter Wee: First of all, the poster presentations and abstracts – more than 2,000 abstracts have been submitted. So the Congress gives a full picture of the state of the art in nephrology. Latest developments and research projects are presented, and young colleagues especially should not miss the chance to become part of this community. In addition to that, we also have a special symposium of the Young Nephrologists ́ Platform. Its aim is to involve young nephrologists in all the activities of the ERA-EDTA – so I want to recommend young nephrologists to join this platform. So for everyone who is Ethical controversies More fairly or more effectively �������������������������page 6 Young Nephrologists' Platform Learning and progressing in a young network ���������������������������page 7 50 years ERA-EDTA Registry A unique example of international cooperation �������page 8 Lessons learned from CONTRAST Pooling project on individual patient data ������������������������������page 12 The ISN "0 by 25" project Acute renal failure: unacceptable death sentence globally ���������page 18 Today in your Daily Congress News Pieter ter Wee, President of the 51st ERA-EDTA Congress © ter Wee ERA-EDTA


As you know, the development of small and medium-sized businesses in practice gives results in increasing the country's competitiveness and improving the lives of the population. Despite the improvement in the situation because of the activation of entrepreneurship, the international rating system shows a low rating of the country's business, especially in the field of licensing, international trade, and attracting enterprises, and all this, means the inefficiency of state mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurship. The article defines and analyzes the rating of the state. The purpose of the study is a scientific justification of recommendations for improving the rating of small businesses in Kazakhstan in the system of international assessment. Results achieved: Recommendations for improving the rating of small businesses in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the international assessment system. Practical significance and applicability of the results: tasks, conclusions and recommendations in the study can be used to create effective conditions for improving the rating of entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan, the development of new directions. A number of proposals available in the work can be use in the course of improving the legislative framework, developing business programs, as well as in the activities of state bodies in the territory where the study conducted.


MasterCAM is a very efficient for numerical control processing. While the program automically produced by the MasterCAM has some illogical steps. On the base of amended the automatic program for deep-hole processing, the article researched how to perfect the program. The case had been used in teaching.


Big data, defined as a massive dataset based of the five V's volume, velocity, variety, veracity and va lue[1]. The world is connecting and producing a huge amount of data from applications like social media, e commerce, in ter et, sensors, health care, informatics, net banking etc. There are few major challenges of these datasets: data collec tion, data analysis, data enrichment, data distribution, data security and privacy. These datasets play a vital role in any of the application areas. There are various tools and tech niques which are developed to manage Big data. There are m ainly two processing techniques to process these datasets : Ba ch processing and Non batch processing. Different appl ication areas use different tools and techniques depending upon the efficiency and capability of managing different for ms of data produced by them. In this paper we have suggested s ome of the efficient tools and techniques for managing the data produced by a particular application area by analyz ing and comparing all the possible techniques to manage Big data. Keywords— Big data, Datasets, Hadoop, MapReduce, computing techniques.


Changes were studied in fatty acid composition of the pulp, aroma and flavor of gamma irradiated (0.25kGy) and control mature green Alphonso mangoes during ripening at 25–30°C. Ripening of both control and irradiated mangoes was accompanied by changes in glycerides as well as fatty acids. Oleic acid of pulp oil of irradiated mangoes decreased appreciably during ripening as compared with controls. Lin-oleic acid of pulp oil of unirradiated fruits decreased markedly on the 6th day of storage. With irradiated fruits linoleic acid remained unaffected up to the 12th day of storage. Linolenic acid content of pulp oil of irradiated fruit increased much more than that of unirradiated fruit during ripening. Gas chromatographic profiles of volatiles of control and irradiated mangoes showed no difference.


In 2007, 5 of the 7 second-generation antipsychotics were listed in the Top 200 Drugs prescribed by retail sales in the United States. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of natural death in individuals with schizophrenia. Second-generation antipsychotics have been implicated with metabolic and cardiovascular adverse effects, and it is important for nonpsychiatric practitioners to be familiar with the monitoring parameters recommended for these agents. This article discusses the risk of weight gain, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, hyperprolactinemia, and cardiovascular concerns associated with second-generation antipsychotic agents. It also discusses the proposed mechanisms for each of these adverse effects. Furthermore, it reviews suggested monitoring parameters to help manage cardiovascular disease in this patient population, and to improve the gap that exists between mental health care and physical health care in the schizophrenic population.


Strenuous physical exercise of the limb muscles commonly results in damage, especially when that exercise is intense, prolonged and includes eccentric contractions. Many factors contribute to exercise-induced muscle injury and the mechanism is likely to differ with the type of exercise. Competitive sports players are highly susceptible to this type of injury. AM3 is an orally administered immunomodulator that reduces the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines and normalizes defective cellular immune fractions. The ability of AM3 to prevent chronic muscle injury following strenuous exercise characterized by eccentric muscle contraction was evaluated in a double-blind and randomized pilot study. Fourteen professional male volleyball players from the First Division of the Spanish Volleyball League volunteered to take part. The participants were randomized to receive either placebo (n = 7) or AM3 (n = 7). The physical characteristics (mean±s) of the placebo group were as follows: age 25.7±2.1 years, body mass 87.2±4.1 kg, height 1.89±0.07 m, maximal oxygen uptake 65.3±4.2 ml · kg−1 · min−1. Those of the AM3 group were as follows: age 26.1±1.9 years, body mass 85.8±6.1 kg, height 1.91±0.07 m, maximal oxygen uptake 64.6±4.5 ml · kg−1 · min−1. All participants were evaluated for biochemical indices of muscle damage, including concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase (CK) and its MB fraction (CK-MB), myoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, urea, creatinine and γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, both before and 30 days after treatment (over the peak of the competitive season). In the placebo group, competitive exercise (i.e. volleyball) was accompanied by significant increases in creatine kinase (494±51 to 560±53 IU · l−1, P < 0.05) and myoglobin (76.8±2.9 to 83.9±3.1 μg · l−1, P < 0.05); aspartate aminotransferase (30.8±3.0 to 31.1±2.9 IU · l−1) and lactate dehydrogenase (380±31 to 376±29 IU · l−1) were relatively unchanged after the 30 days maximum effort. AM3 not only inhibited these changes, it led to a decrease from baseline serum concentrations of creatine kinase (503±49 to 316±37 IU · l−1, P < 0.05) and myoglobin (80.1±3.2 to 44.1±2.6 IU · l−1, P < 0.05), as well as aspartate aminotransferase (31.1±3.3 to 26.1±2.7 IU · l−1, P < 0.05) and lactate dehydrogenase (368±34 to 310±3 IU · l−1, P < 0.05). The concentration of CK-MB was also significantly decreased from baseline with AM3 treatment (11.6±1.2 to 5.0±0.7 IU · l−1, P < 0.05), but not with placebo (11.4±1.1 to 10.8±1.4 IU · l−1). In conclusion, the use of immunomodulators, such as AM3, by elite sportspersons during competition significantly reduces serum concentrations of proteins associated with muscle damage.


The stability of the shape of an infinite cylinder undergoing radial growth controlled by diffusion is studied by a method originated by Mullins and Sekerka (MS). It is found that the circular cross section of a cylinder is stable when its radius is less than and unstable when its radius is greater than a certain radius Rc. This result is analogous to the MS result that a sphere is stable below and unstable above a certain radius Rc, which is seven times the critical radius R* of nucleation theory. However, in the present case, the ratio Rc/R* is not equal to seven, but is a function of S=(c∞‐cs)/(C‐cs), where c∞, cs, and C are the concentrations of the solute at infinity, at the surface of the cylinder, and in the precipitate, respectively.The case of perturbations in the radius along the length of the cylinder is also treated. Potential application of the result to such problems as the growth of branches on dendrites is discussed.


By analyzing the narratives of the "ancestral spirit" experiences of Japanese-American and Caucasian-American members of the Church of World Messianity in Los Angeles, California, I attempt to generalize major thematic patterns and to arrive at cultural "paradigms" underlying the narratives of these two groups. Divergences and convergences of the two ethnic groups' narrative patterns will be elicited, and sociocultural factors responsible for them will be examined. Despite the fact that the two ethnic groups share the general ideology and ritual behavior of the Church of World Messianity, why do these groups exhibit marked differences in their world view? What are the socio-cultural processes responsible for their divergences? If we accept the idea of Clifford GEERTZ that "religion" is a "cultural system" of which the "symbols" are a significant subsystem (1973), then we may ask what kind of transformation the core symbols of a religious group undergo when that group attempts to spread its teaching beyond its own society? I n other words, how are the symbols of a religious group that originated in one society interpreted and reinterpreted by members of another society in which that group transplanted itself? To investigate these questions, I examined one Japanese religious organization that is conducting missionary activities in the United States, a Japanese New Religion named the Church of World Messianity (hereafter, Messianity) in Los Angeles, California. I paid special attention to "narratives of religious experiences" in which members orally express various religious experiences that occurred in the course of their lives. These narratives exemplify how the major symbols of Messianity are interpreted-they are important material by which one can construct the "culture" of the narrator. ' I would especially like to focus on the "ancestor" symbol because it is


The goal of this article is to enhance awareness of witchcraft-related femicides. In Ghana, stereotypes abound of elderly women as witches. In some instances, suspicions or accusations of witchcraft are followed by lethal or nonlethal assault of the supposed witch. This article examines witch beliefs in Ghana and analyzes 13 incidents of homicide committed against women accused of witchcraft during 1995 to 2001. The author presents a genderbased analysis of witchcraft accusations that contextualizes witch murders as a form of gender discrimination. The results indicate that appreciation of the social and cultural contexts, as well as the status of women in the society, is crucial in developing an understanding of witch-related femicides in Ghanaian society. Suggestions for reducing witchrelated violence in Ghana are offered.


Ev dence from tox colog cal and ep dem olog cal studes nd cates that human health hazards are assoc ated w th exposure to d esel eng ne part cles (DEP), also called d esel part culate matter (DPM). The hazards nclude acute exposure-related symptoms, chron c exposure related noncancer resp ratory effects, and lung cancer (EPA 2002). As new and cleaner d esel eng ne and fuel technology, together w th eff c ent exhaust aftertreatment, replace a substant al number of older eng nes, the general appl cab l ty of the health hazard conclus ons w ll need to be reevaluated. W th new eng ne and fuel technology expected to produce s gn f cantly cleaner eng ne exhaust, s gn f cant reduct ons n publ c health hazards are expected for those eng ne uses affected by the regulat ons. However, every newly developed technology has to be exam ned accord ng to ts nfluence on human health r sks.