Citizenship is essentially a legal formality that denotes membership of a state. However, it should contain an emotional element for individuals to willingly identify themselves with the nation-state. The absence of such emotion often prompts bloody conflicts where people attempt to carve independent entities of power by fragmenting the nation-state. Youth, with their inherent zest for grand ventures, are often keen participants and even initiators of such conflicts. Citizenship therefore should entail an active process of emotional engagement especially of youth in order that sustainable solidarity may be fostered. Sri Lanka stands as an ideal case study in this regard, demonstrating the terrible consequences of the isolation of youth – whether real or perceived – from the collective identity of the state and the equally powerful impact they can have when properly integrated into the state mechanism. This paper discusses Tamil youth disillusionment in Sri Lanka that manifested itself in a vicious ethnic conflict in juxtaposition with the role of Sri Lankan youth as agents of peaceful change in a post-war nation-building context. In drawing a conclusion, the paper discusses the importance of active civic engagement of youth in building 'One Nation One People'.


In sdgIBA-1, E2 and E4 transition operators of 104-110Pd isotopes are worked out in terms of a microscopic approach. Comparisons of them with the corresponding phenomenm logical operators are made. It is found that the microscopic Hamiltonian and E2 transition operator are very close to the phenomenological counterparts while the microscopic E4 transition operator is apparently different from the phenomenological one. Calculations for the low-lying collective excitation spectra and reduced E2 (E4) transition rates are performed within the framework of the sdglBA-1. We find that the microscopic calculations reproduce the experimental data quite well, in addition, their agreement with the experimental data in general is very close to that of the phenomenological results, especially to the reduced E4 transition rates disregarding completely the apparent difference of operator.


Iterative learning control applied to a simplified model of a robot arm is studied. The iterative learning control input signal is used in combination with conventional feed-back and feed-forward control, and the aim is to let the learning control signal handle the effects of unmodeled dynamics and friction. Convergence and robustness aspects of the choice of filters in the updating scheme of the iterative learning control signal are studied.


Low-carbon production is currently the development direction of enterprises. The government provides low-carbon subsidies to low-carbon manufacturing enterprises to promote the formation of a green supply chain. To better encourage the development of the green supply chain by determining government subsidies and platform authentication fees, this paper constructs a Stackelberg game model that consists of a supplier and a manufacturer, and solves the optimal decisions of each entity using the backward induction method. This study uses the matching method to analyze the payoff matrix for supply chain members when choosing between low-carbon and traditional production. After introducing the online trading platform, the impact of the platform on the profit of supply chain members is studied, considering whether the authentication service provided by the platform is completely accurate. The results show that (1) in the green supply chain, there is a relationship between the enterprises' profit and the level of emissions reduction, which increases first and then decreases. (2) The online trading platform is conducive to achieving green supply chain coordination. The government can pay fewer subsidies to prompt the formation of a green supply chain and the optimal emissions reduction level of the enterprise is higher. (3) When the authentication mechanism of the platform is imperfect, the authentication fee of the platform and the subsidy coefficient of the government need to be set within a reasonable range to avoid the enterprise adopting traditional production pretending to be the low-carbon type. This study contributes to research on the green supply chain and provides insights into pricing strategies for governments and platforms.


We devise a theory of x-ray absorption by symmetric-top molecules which are aligned by an intense optical laser. Initially, the density matrix of the system is composed of the electronic ground state of the molecules and a thermal ensemble of rigid-rotor eigenstates. We formulate equations of motion of the two-color (laser plus x rays) rotational-electronic problem. The interaction with the laser is assumed to be nonresonant; it is described by an electric dipole polarizability tensor. X-ray absorption is approximated as a one-photon process. It is shown that the equations can be separated such that the interaction with the laser can be treated independently of the x rays. The laser-only density matrix is propagated numerically. After each time step, the x-ray absorption is calculated. We apply our theory to study adiabatic alignment of bromine molecules (Br2). The required dynamic polarizabilities are determined using the ab initio linear response methods coupled-cluster singles (CCS), second-order approximate coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CC2), and coupled-cluster singles and doubles (CCSD). For the description of x-ray absorption on the {sigma}g1s-->{sigma}u4p resonance, a parameter-free two-level model is used for the electronic structure of the molecules. Our theory opens up novel perspectives for the quantum control of x-ray radiation.


Explore how to choose the raw material and fittings of doors and windows made of plastic steel,design elaborately,make and compose precisely to guarantee and improve the service function of the doors and windows of plastic steel.


Composites consisting of ceramics and polymer show improved performance when working with low acoustic impedance materials, compared to conventional dense piezoceramics. This study concentrates on composites with a 3-3 structure, made of hard epoxy and a ceramic phase either of lead zirconate titanate (LZT), modified lead titanate (mLT) or pure lead titanate (LT). Manufacturing methods are briefly discussed. Three different materials are compared by their electrical properties and by their performance in a simple transducer setup (air backing, no matching layers) operating in water.<<ETX>>


Immigration is an agency that has the authority to carry out supervision of the traffic of anyone entering and leaving the territory of Indonesia. the Indonesian government opened immigration channels as an effort to increase the country's foreign exchange to increase economic growth. So that the government can grant visa freedom only by giving the stamp and initials given by the official. This is what is often misused by some foreign nationals who do activities in Indonesia that are not in accordance with the immigration rules that have been set. This study aims to describe law enforcement and immigration control of foreign nationals in Samarinda. In the implementation that has been running so far it has been quite good, but has not produced maximum results. To fulfill this goal, there will be 3 ways to supervise foreign countries, namely: Administrative Supervision, Field Supervision and PORA TEAM Coordination. This research will also describe several laws related to immigration law enforcement for foreign nationals.


Purpose : To assess the protective effect of Qizhuyigan capsules containing an  herbal mixture on liver function in a mouse model of immunological liver injury and to explore the mechanism of action. Methods : One hundred and twenty mice were randomly divided into four groups: control, test, bifendate, and Qizhuyigan. Immunological liver injury was induced in all groups except the control group. Mice in the control group and the test group were gavaged with 2.5 g/kg tap water, mice in the bifendate group were gavaged with 12 mg/kg bifendate in water, and mice in the Qizhuyigan group were gavaged with 1,000 mg/kg of an aqueous solution containing the contents of a Qizhuyigan capsule. The gavage continued for 10 days. Changes in liver function-related indices, such as the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate  aminotransferase (AST), malonaldehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6), were assessed. Results : Compared with the test and bifendate groups, the Qizhuyigan group exhibited lower serum ALT (98.3 U/L ± 8.7 U/L vs. 224.7 U/L ± 18.4 U/L vs. 132.8 U/L ± 9.4 U/L); AST (165.5 U/L ± 12.1 U/L vs. 362.6 U/L ± 16.6 U/L vs. 224.6 U/L ± 12.2 U/L); and MDA levels (12.7 ± 2 μmol/L vs. 31.3 ± 6.60 μmol/L vs. 14.4 ± 2.3 μmol/L); a higher SOD level; and reduced TNF-α and IL-6 levels. The differences of the above indices had statistical significance (p < 0.05). Conclusion : Qizhuyigan exerted a protective effect in a mouse model of immunological liver injury. Keywords : Qizhuyigan capsule, Immunological liver injury, Biochemical parameters


This chapter provides an overview of a systematic framework for understanding and analysing policy responses to social issues. It is argued that such an analysis requires attention to three key areas of the political context: the political ideas and public discourse used in advocating or resisting a course of political action; the institutions or organizational means through which such ideas and values are pursued; and the policies, often deeply embedded in national social and economic divisions, by which such institutions are intended to operate and bring political goals to fruition.


|This paper presents the global architecture of the Pro-Lab II demonstrator whose purpose is to develop an electronic co-pilot in order to assist the human driver. It will integrate the works of the diierent French participants to the Pro-Art project. The Pro-Lab II demonstrator has been structured into ve main functions. This paper will focus on thèco-pilot' function which is jointly developed by lifia and heudiasyc. Abstract This paper presents the global architecture of the Pro-Lab II demonstrator whose purpose is to develop an electronic co-pilot in order to assist the human driver. It will integrate the works of the diierent French participants to the Pro-Art project. The Pro-Lab II demonstrator has been structured into ve main functions. This paper will focus on thèco-pilot' function which is jointly developed by lifia and heudiasyc.


The production of liver tumors in the rat by the oral administration of N,N-dimethyl-p-aminoazobenzene (DMB) is markedly influenced by diet. Our early work (1,2) showed that the maintenance of normal hepatic riboflavin levels was of importance in protecting rats against tumor formation. The work of Griffin and Baumann (3) and Miller, Miller, Kline, and Rusch (4) has emphasized the relationship between hepatic riboflavin levels and the carcinogenic action of DMB and related compounds. Riboflavin supplements are not effective in maintaining hepatic riboflavin levels or preventing tumor formation in the absence of adequate protein intake (2). In a study (5) from this laboratory of the effect of diet on the ability of rat liver slices to destroy DMB it was found that the maintenance of rats on a brown rice-carrot diet, which favors tumor production by DMB (6, 7), decreased this activity of rat liver. It was also observed that the addition of protective supplements such as dried brewers' yeast or riboflavin and casein prevented this decrease. Measurement of the riboflavin content of the livers of rats on these diets indicated that, as the riboflavin level fell, the ability to destroy DMB also decreased. The use of brown rice diets in the preceding study (5), while suggesting that the changes observed were due to inadequate riboflavin and protein intake, made it necessary to rule out the presence of a "toxic" factor in the rice as the responsible agent. For this reason, and for the purpose of controlling the intake of other dietary constituents, the experiments have been repeated with diets which did not contain rice or carrot. As the Wisconsin group (8, 9) have published extensively on the effect of caseindextrose diets on the carcinogenic act,ion of DMB, the diets selected were modeled on the ones investigated by that group.


Aim. The study was carried out to identify and analyze the factors of a positive outcome of surgical and radiation treatment of acromegaly. Methods. The work was performed on clinical material and summarizes treatment results of 256 patients (90 males and 166 females). 86% of patients underwent surgical treatment, 14% of patients received radiation therapy during 2002–2018. Significance of factors of a positive outcome of treatment was carried out using the RStudio program. Results. The results of the study revealed that: 1. Significant factors (p <0.05) of a positive outcome of surgical treatment of acromegaly are somatostatin analogs (SSA) therapy before surgery, a small tumor size (microadenomas), and the absence of extrasellar tumor spread. 2. The most significant factor in achieving remission of acromegaly after non-radical adenomectomy is postoperative therapy with SSA (p <0.05). 3. Aggressive pituitary tumors invading surrounding structures, high baseline IGF-1 levels, unfavorable histological findings, macroadenomas, growth hormone levels above 10 μg/L before therapy, and extrasellar tumor spread were associated with less favorable outcomes of acromegaly radiation therapy (RT) (p <0.05). The most significant factor in achieving remission of acromegaly is SSA therapy after RT (p <0.05). Conclusion. Surgical treatment is the optimal primary treatment for acromegaly. Drug therapy with SSA is effective and the preferred treatment after non-radical surgery.


Autobiographical memory—memory for our personal past—is a multifaceted mnemonic activity that evolves throughout the lifespan and interacts with numerous other cognitive functions. Retrieving personal past events engages processes of cue specification, search, and elaboration of details within the specified event. The retrieved content varies from specific episodes unique in time and place to more general representations of autobiographical facts (personal semantics). As expected given this complexity, autobiographical memory is mediated by distributed brain networks, with key regions in the medial temporal lobes and their connections to both anterior and posterior cortical regions supporting different levels of specificity in memory retrieval. These patterns only partially overlap with those evoked by laboratory-based episodic memory paradigms. While most empirical work on autobiographical memory focuses on the recall of particular past events, more recent research concerns individual differences in the way that people tend to remember their past. The formal study of autobiographical memory dates to the 19th century, but research in this field is burgeoning, particularly in relation to brain network connectivity. New paradigms that bridge the gap between traditional laboratory memory tasks and rich, naturalistic autobiographical memories will enhance the understanding of memory as it operates in everyday life.


Objective To study the effect of early intensive insulin therapy on the prognosis of severe trauma patients. Methods 64 severe trauma patients (ISS 20, blood glucose levels were controlled within the range 6~8 mmol/L)were randomly divided into intensive insulin therapy group and control group, which were given intensive and routine insulin respectively. Blood samples were obtained at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 day after admission to hospital. APACHEⅡscore was counted continually, and biological parameters of organ function and main prognostic indexes were recorded. Results The safety of intensive insulin therapy was better. After blood sugar was controlled strictly by intensive therapy, the incidences of acute renal, heart and liver failure reduced obviously. APACHEⅡscore decreased. There were obvious differences in mortality and the incidence of nosocomial infection. Conclusion In comparison with control group, intensive insulin therapy can protect organ functions of injured patients in ICU and reduce infection incidence and mortality of organ function failure patients.


An antioxidizing coated layer of carbon fibre reinforced SiC material is composed of adhesive layer, self-healing layer and impact and corrosion resistant layer. It is prepared through isothermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) for preparing adhesive layer, coating sludge and sintering for preparing self-healing layer, and isothermal CVD for preparing the impact and corrosion resistant layer.


The given research showed the feeding up with such elements as Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Co, Se, I couple with Methionine Succinic acid had made for live weight gain at 12.7% and 18.4% dead weight gain of bull-calves.


This chapter explores some of the themes identified in the previous chapter through a European and perhaps a particularly UK-orientated lens. It begins by considering some of the reasons for the different approaches to the regulation of reproduction within Europe. Second, the chapter looks at the role of rights and rights-based legal claims in relation to assisted reproductive technologies, concluding that they have played a relatively minor role. Third, compared with the United States, professional self-regulation and tort law are background considerations in many European countries, with detailed regulations more commonly found in statute and in the 'soft law' guidance and codes issued by regulators. Fourth, increasing numbers of people are engaging in cross-border reproductive care, not only within Europe but much further afield as well. Finally, although there is state funding for assisted conception services in many European countries, access tends to be limited, and hence there is a market in fertility treatment to a much greater extent than there is for most other medical procedures.


INTRODUCTION Businesses are competing increasingly on responsiveness and service. Companies cannot survive if they fail to obtain competitive advantages by providing a high level of service and distributing in shorter delivery times with quicker inventory turnover. Since the early 1970s, three important approaches have evolved for companies to achieve competitive advantages, each challenges old assumptions and ways of doing things. These are ABSTRACT In the late 1970s, a new approach to the management of operations was developed by Goldratt. Now known as the theory of constraints (TOC), it provides a coherent management theory for running an organisation. It has two major components: a philosophy which underpins the working principle of ongoing improvement and a generic approach for investigating, analyzing, and creating solutions to problems, called the " thinking process " (TP). Several books, numerous articles, and a few journal special issues have been published on TOC. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of TOC concepts, philosophy, and working principles. The Theory of Constraints and Cox, 1984) in which the theory is gradually unravelled through the context of an everyday production situation. The concepts identified in this book (The Goal) were more fully developed as results from actual OPT implementation became known. A second book, The Race (Goldratt and Fox, 1986), was written to illustrate overcoming difficulties encountered in implementation. It introduced a logistical system for material flow, called drum-buffer-rope (DBR), and gradually, the focus of OPT has moved from the production floor to encompass all aspects of business. By 1987, the overall concept became known as the theory of constraints (TOC), which Goldratt viewed as " an overall theory for running an organisation " (Goldratt, 1988, p.453). This refinement to OPT recognised that the main constraint in most organisations may not be physical but rather managerial and policy related. To address the policy constraints and effectively implement the process of ongoing improvement, Goldratt (1990, 1994) developed a generic approach, 'Thinking Process' (TP). In the following section provides a review of existing literature, highlighting the areas of TOC application and its impact on organisational performance.


Apolipoprotein B (apo B) is the integral apolipoprotein of chylomicrons, very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), intermediate-density and low-density lipoproteins. It is heterogeneous, occurring in two forms. In humans, the larger apo B-100 is formed by the liver in VLDL and the smaller apo B-48 is produced by the intestines in chylomicrons. In the rat, apo B-48 is also found in liver VLDL. Lee et ul. [ 1,2] reported small amounts of apo B-100 in rat chyle which disappeared on storage o r repeated Centrifugation. They suggested that proteinases, present in chylomicron preparations, were responsible for degradation of apo B-100 into apo B-48. However, it has also been shown that apo B-48 has thc same amino acid sequence as the N-terminal region o f apo BI00 and is formed from the same mRNA in intestine, apo €3-48 being released as a result of the action of a premature stop codon [ 3 ] . The nature of the origin of apo B-48 in chyle is of sufficient importance to warrant reinvestigation of the significance o f proteinase activity in generating this apoprotein. Malc Wistar rats (340-350 g) were tube fed 1.5 ml of corn o i l fortified with 10 i.u. o f a-tocopheryl acetate/ml as antioxidant. After 1 h they were anaesthetized with sodium pcntobarbital (60 mg/kg body weight) and the thoracic duct cannulatcd with polycthylene tubing. Chyle was collected in an ice bath in the presencc of final concentrations of 3 mM-


A comparative study of equivalent-step-index (ESI) techniques is performed on the basis of the ESI fiber's ability to predict the bend, transition, microbending and splice loss, waveguide dispersion, launching efficiency, and second-mode cutoff wavelength. Theoretical and experimental investigations were performed to determine the accuracy of the predictions. It was found that none of the present ESI techniques can be used to characterize all features of interest for a single-mode fiber with great accuracy. However, for the purpose of producing specifications on the behavior of single-mode fiber systems, it may be adequate to specify bounds on parameters such as bend loss within a factor of two.


The design of the bumper beam and the front part of the longitudinal member$ and their connection defines the consumptioness of the frontal structure of cars. These structures are the crushable members for absorbing the collision energy for axial impact and offset impact. The behavior of these structures depends upon their geometry and the eccentricity of load, The most effective behavior of tube for absorbing the impact energy is the progressive folding not the bending-collapse, But thin-walled lubes under eccentric compressive load are generally bending-collapsed if the rotation of tl1eir end-supports are not prevented, The behavior$ of thin-walled tubes allowed to rotate within some angle are different and depend upon the restriction angle.


This paper assumes that the demand is a Poisson random process, the inventory strategy is (s, S), each demand amount Q* is same, scale of the economic transport quantity Q0=p Q* (p is a positive integer), in which Q* is the optimal order quantity of joint pricing used by the supplier and retailer, and the supplier will be entitled to ignore small group of temporary order bills to accumulate them to a certain amount and so as to distribute together, and the retailer also agrees to wait in allowed delaying time. Based on this hypothesis, we establish an inventory-transport integrated Optimization model, design an algorithm, and exemplify the rationality of the model and algorithm by a concrete example.


In orthogonal multiple access (OMA) communication systems, resources are allocated to numerous users based on time, frequency, or code domains. The low bandwidth of the underwater acoustic network limits the number of nodes that can be supported by the OMA system, due to limited resources. The innovative concept of nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) provides a solution that offers more nodes and increases spectral efficiency. As a promising technique, it optimizes power allocation through channel characteristics and adopts serial interference cancellation algorithms to decode the signal at the receiver. This paper introduces an underwater communication system based on the node pairing algorithm of maximum and minimum weight (MMW-NOMA). First, we build the system model in a UAN scenario. Second, we present the node pairing strategy. Third, we design a node replacement mechanism. Furthermore, we offer a power allocation algorithm. Finally, we compare the performance of MMW-NOMA with randomly paired NOMA (RP-NOMA) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). Numerical results show that MMW-NOMA outperforms RP-NOMA and OFDM in throughput, mean square error, and energy efficiency. However, the complexity of MMW-NOMA is slightly higher than that of RP-NOMA but significantly lower than OFDM. These results show that MMW-NOMA achieves a reasonable trade-off between performance and complexity.


In the drug development enhancement of oral bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs is one of the most challenging aspects of drug. The pharmaceutical industry face the problem poor dissolution characteristics of water insoluble drug. these problem solve by applying recent techniques "powdered solution technology" or "liquisolid technology", for prepare water-insoluble drugs into rapid-release solid dosage forms. Design and formulation of this approach is prescribed according to new mathematical model given by spires et al. the solubility is Increasing by using a non-volatile solvent which is suitable for drug, their by dissolving the drug in the non volatile solvent it is termed as liquid medicament. This case, the drug is in a solid dosage form, it is held within the powder substrate in solution or, in a solubilized, almost dispersed state, which contributes to the enhanced drug dissolution and release properties. Liquisolid system is characterized by flow behavior, wettability, powder bed hydrophilicity, saturation solubility, drug content, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, in-vitro release and in-vivo evaluation.


The Ferns Inquiry identified over 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between
1962 and 2002 against 21 priests operating under the aegis of the Diocese of Ferns.
Six of the priests had died before any allegations of abuse were made against them.
Three more died subsequent to the allegations.
The nature of the response by the Church authorities in the Diocese of Ferns to
allegations of child sexual abuse by priests operating under the aegis of that diocese
has varied over the past forty years. These variations reflect in part the growing
understanding by the medical professions and society generally of the nature and the
consequences of child sexual abuse and in part the different personalities and
management styles of successive Bishops.
Between 1960 and 1980 it would appear that Bishop Herlihy treated child sexual
abuse by priests of his diocese exclusively as a moral problem. He penalised the priest
in respect of whom the allegation was made by transferring him to a different post or
a different diocese for a period of time but then returned him to his former position.
By 1980, Bishop Herlihy recognised that there was a psychological or medical
dimension to the issue of child sexual abuse.
His decision in 1980 to send priests in respect of whom allegations of abuse were
made to a psychologist was appropriate and broadly in accordance with the
understanding then evolving. What was wholly inappropriate and totally inexplicable
was the decision of Bishop Herlihy to appoint to curacies priests against whom
allegations had been made and in respect of whom a respected clerical psychologist
had expressed his concerns in unambiguous terms as to their suitability to interact
with young people.
Equally inappropriate was Bishop Herlihy's decision to ordain clearly unsuitable men
into the priesthood when he knew or ought to have known that they had a propensity
to abuse children.
It is the view of the Ferns Inquiry, as it was the view of Roderick Murphy SC (now
Mr Justice Roderick Murphy) as expressed in his Report on Child Sexual Abuse in
Swimming (1998), that where a credible allegation of child sexual abuse is made
against an employee (or other person acting under authority) it is the responsibility of
the employer or superior to require the employee to step aside promptly from any post
or position in which he has access to children. Bishop Comiskey accepted that this
principle was equally applicable to the exercise by a bishop of his authority under
Canon Law in relation to priests of his diocese. Furthermore it was recognised that in
the case of diocesan clergy "stepping aside" from a position in which there is
unsupervised access to children necessarily entailed stepping aside from the active
ministry entirely pending the investigation of the allegations.


This paper discusses the properties of the least polynomial of matrix,and provides an elementary method to get it using linear correlation.Comparing to other methods [ 3 ,4) ,this kind of method is simple and effective.


The authors have studied the prostaglandins (PGs) in the perilymph from guinea pig with type II collagen induced autoimmune ear disease. Hartly guinea pigs were immunized with type II collagen in CFA and auditory brain stem responses (ABR) were measured at 2, 3, 4, and 6 months after initial immunization perilymph was obtained and the levels of PGE2 and 6 keto-PGFl..cap alpha.. were measured by radioimmunoassays. Temporal bones were examined for the histopathologic changes. Immunized guinea pigs showed the evidence of hearing loss by ABR. The temporal bones showed the following changes: spiral ganglia degeneration, mild to moderate degree of degeneration in organ of Corti, infrequent very mild endolymphatic hydrops and labrynthitis. The perilymph from immunized animals contained about 5 times more PGE2 and about 3 times more 6 keto-PGFl..cap alpha.. than control animals. However, between these two groups, there was no difference in the CSF and sera levels of PGE2 and 6 keto-PGFl..cap alpha... Thus, this study suggests that these inflammatory mediators might be involved in the pathogenesis of collagen induced autoimmune inner ear disease.


White pollen in corn (in contrast to normal yellow) is determined by the double recessive condition for the anthocyanin factor c2 with a newly discovered factor, whp. The pigmentation is determined by the genotype of the sporophyte bearing the pollen rather than by the genotype of the pollen grain itself. Pollinations made with white pollen have been unsuccessful. Deposition of flavonoids in the pollen grain appears to be essential to normal pollen function.


Abstract Context. Large-scale human modification of the environment has caused an overall loss of biodiversity; some species, such as crows, do benefit from these changes. Increased crow numbers in Slovenia in the past two decades have caused one of the main human–wildlife conflicts. To reduce these conflicts, successful and effective wildlife management is needed that is rooted in an evaluation of general public opinions and attitudes towards action. Aims. The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that affect the willingness of the public to participate in actions for crow management. With knowledge about the factors that affect the willingness to participate in management actions, we can enhance public intention and behaviour. Methods. A research model based on variables from a public survey was set up and tested with ordinal regression analysis. Key results. The willingness to participate in crow management was influenced by (1) attitudes towards action, (2) interest in crows and conflicts in interaction with the moderator variables of education level or place of residence, (3) perceived behavioural control, (4) fear towards damage caused by crows, and (5) trust in experts in with the moderator variables of gender, education level, or utilitarian behaviour. Conclusions. Public do not possess sufficient competences for crow management. With additional information and awareness, they could decide more clearly about their participation in management. Implications. To increase the number of participants in actions, we need to educate the public about critical skills and competencies, provide explanations why some actions are effective and feasible, and convey the importance of public participation. With low confidence about their competences and low, or even no, trust in decision-makers, the willingness to participate was found to decrease.


The benefits of using CT skills in an online learning environment are evident in many ways; however, the influence of culture on students' CT is not clear. This paper highlights how students' cultural backgrounds can affect the way they use CT skills through the blog in a multi-cultural society. The participants were an intact class of ESL tertiary level students from different ethnic origins: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Students were trained to apply different CT skills in their writing through the blog. The results indicate that Malay students tended to rely more on applying CT skills than Chinese and Indians. Limitations and some directions for future research related to promoting students' CT by using technology in a multi-cultural society are suggested.


Croatian tourism has been challenged by global tourism trends and Croatian accession to the EU. Cultural heritage is widely recognized as strength in all Croatian tourism and strategic development documents, however, multisectoral cooperation for its commercialization and development of continental (inland) tourism is still lacking. The question is why numerous features of Croatian tourism have not been used for better positioning Croatia as the cradle of European culture. This paper addresses the need for recognition and acknowledgment of the significant role of archeology in the development of continental tourism. It also points out the need for cooperation between universities, institutions, business and civil society, and knowledge of the cultural and natural environment for the launch of the innovative development of tourist destinations, their commercialization and networking with the compatible regions of Europe. The starting point for this paper was found in the unique archaeological heritage of Pannonian Croatia and in the work of world known archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1871. In order to develop and utilize this tourist potential, it is necessary to evaluate the key factors that influence the creation of innovative tourism product. Therefore, the PEST analysis was made. In addition to analyzing the existing intersectoral collaboration and analysis of Triple/Quadruple/Quintuple Helix dynamics, this paper offers recommendations for introducing commercial aspect of this particular tourism product and easier access to financial resources for its implementation The contribution of this paper is in identifying neglected potential of existing archaeological heritage as advantage for the development of continental tourism, placing the same in the context of crosssectoral cooperation, and pointing towards the need for strengthening cooperation in achieving a common goal.


This paper investigates two hybrid inverter topologies consisting of a slow switching DC/AC main voltage source inverter and output series connected low-voltage rated, fast switching auxiliary inverters that may be suitable for medium and high voltage AC grids. Two topologies of auxiliary inverters are investigated: the use of AC choppers implemented with bidirectional switches as well as using the more traditional H-bridge inverter. A modified modulation scheme for the main inverter enables the elimination of the zero voltage vectors which allows the use of only two switchings per switching period which may reduce significantly the associated switching losses. As the result is a quasi-trapezoidal output phase voltage, the auxiliary inverters are controlled to remove the differential mode distortion. Simulation results prove that the proposed hybrid grid interface is able to provide low harmonic voltage content.


Highly porous and interconnected styrene/acrylic-based porous materials were prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of styrene/acrylic acid monomers onto surface of silica prepared from rice husk ash. The influence of synthesis conditions; such as irradiation dose, monomer concentrations and different solvents; were studied. It was found that the nature of the solvent had profound influence on the copolymerization reaction and water /ethanol mixture was selected as a suitable solvent for copolymerization processes. Graft copolymers of styrene/ acrylic onto silica surface was verified through Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Eenergy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX) was used to investigate the surface profile of representative copolymers by viewing the distribution of elemental nitrogen. Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) of the copolymers were investigated. From the characterization of the prepared copolymer it was found that: copolymers of (styrene/acrylic)/silica are considerably different from each other, (styrene/acrylic)/silica based copolymers exhibited relatively more homogenous surface compared to (styrene/acrylic) copolymers. Water uptake percent increases as silica ratio increases to reach 24174 (mol/gm) and this prepared copolymer has a considerable capacity for adsorption of organic compounds and metals.


The Yoga Sūtras, a Sanskrit text authored by the Indian philosopher Patañjali (ca 100 b.c.e . to 200 c.e. ), are interpreted using Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's (1865–1961) model of Western alchemy. The alchemical process gave Jung a language with which to understand the psyche's transformation from unconscious to increasingly conscious states. This process, which Jung termed individuation or Self-becoming, serves as the interpretive lens to view the Yoga Sūtras. Alchemical stages are compared to Patañjali's definition of yoga (citta-vṛtti nirodhaḥ), the obstacle to achieving yoga (saṁyoga), and the goal or end of yoga (kaivalya). Through utilizing an alchemical hermeneutic the aim of the Yoga Sūtras reads not as a final separation of matter and spirit as traditionally interpreted, but as depicting a process of reunification and differentiated wholeness.


If the baryon charge asymmetry in the very early universe is attributable to decay of superheavy X-bosons, with violation of CP invariance and of the baryon-charge conservation law, then primordial adiabatic fluctuations would be able to generate entropy perturbations. In a standard universe one can obtain entropy perturbations whose spectrum resembles that of the adiabatic perturbations. In a model with a second-order phase transition due to spontaneous symmetry breaking, the exponential expansion of the universe during the phase-transition era will generate entropy perturbations of fairly substantial scale. A discussion is given of the primordial adiabatic- and the ensuing entropy-perturbation spectra and their role in molding the large-scale structure of the universe.


When test responses from specimens such as Post-Mortem Human Surrogates (PMHS), anthropomorphic test devices (ATD) or vehicle crash events are "perfectly repeatable," the response in terms of transducer time histories is similar and the output from any one of the tests can be used to represent any other test. However, if there is test-to-test variability, the underlying fundamental response as obtained by the transducer time history is not determined by a single test and methods are needed that can use multiple tests to reduce the inherent error. This paper will explore, using different transducer time histories from PMHS, ATD and vehicle tests, the effect of signal alignment and signal "shape" on the results from signal addition. New procedures for transducer time history alignment and signal addition will be introduced and discussed, and different methods of obtaining the underlying response will be evaluated. The full text of this paper may be found at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv21/09-0249.pdf For the covering abstract see ITRD E145407.


opinion it did not give good results. As Musser, of Philadelphia. in his paper entitled " Oil of Eucalyptus in some Malarial Affections," seemed to show that the drug is useful in certain febrile states, I made a number of observations with the medicine in Malta fever. In the cases in which it was given it was always well borne, and as it is said to act as an antiseptic, carminative, and stimulating expectorant, further experience may prove it to be really beneficial. My own opinion is that it has no effect on the course of the fever. Aconite.-At the beginning of the fever, when the temperature was high and continuous, some observations were made on the action of this drug, which was usually given in five-minim doses for several consecutive hours. The drug did not seem to have any effect on the temperature or on the general febrile condition. Calomel.-Tommasi states that this drug seems to shorten the course of the fever when there is no diarrhcea. Gulia writes that it is the sovereign remedy and anchor of hope in some cases of this fever, and gives it as far as to induce slight irritation of the mouth. Marston thinks the occasional exhibition of a mercurial (ealomel), combined with ipecacuanha and rhubarb, or colocynth, is very useful. I have never made any observations on the action of this medicine in Malta fever. Salicylic Acid and the Salicylates.-Rummo states that he has tried salicylate of soda, but with negative results. Tomaselli is of opinion that salicylates used in cases of continuous high temperature tend to depress the heart, to weaken, to aggravate the sweating, and show no counterbalancing good effects. I think there is a temptation to exhibit this drug, especially in those cases in which the joints are painful and swollen; but as this condition is always associated with anEemia and depression of all the vital functions, this medicine ought to be avoided. Other Drugs.-Finally, in regard to other medicinal treatment, Veale writes as follows: "'Colchicum, with or without saline aperients, also in combination with aconite or quinine, arsenic, turpentine, salicylic acid, the hyposulphites, and many other drugs have been tried as freely as seemed to be safe, but no reliance can be placed on them, either to arrest the fever or even to diminish the night-sweats or the rheumatoid pains. Carbolic acid has been tried both by the mouth and subcutaneously. In no case did it do any good; in several it did very positive harm when injected under the skin. The solutions of carbolate of ammonia and of carbolic acid in combination with iodide of potassium, as recommended by D6clat and others, have also been used for hypodermic injection, but without any advantage. When the hoemorrhagic tendency has been a source of danger, the continued use of the tinctura ferri perchloridi has seemed to be beneficial. Ergot and ergotin have also been of service in arresting heemorrhage and checking bronchorrhoea when it has been profuse, but neither remedy has any influence in arresting the progress of the disease. The hypodermic injection of morphine, and the liniments of aconite, opium, and belladonna are useful in relieving the lumbar, sciatic, and articular pains; but blisters appear only to substitute temporarily one pain for another."


C. S. Lewis and Friends: Faith and the Power of Imagination. Edited by David Hein and Edward Henderson. (Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2011, Pp. x, 149. $18.00.)The purpose of this brief volume of essays is to explore the relationship of faith, imagination and reason in the writings and the lives of C. S. Lewis and a few contemporary authors in his circle of acquaintance. The overarching theme of the essays is that, while the relationship of imagination, reason, and faith might be complex, it is never contradictory. And all three are essential to the linking of truth with meaning.In his essay exploring the inner world of C. S. Lewis, Peter J. Schakel argues that, while Lewis loved imagination from childhood, he grew to trust reason more as he matured as a thinker. With a lawyer father, a mathematician mother and his famous tutor, W. T. Kirkpatrick, the "Great Rationalist" according to Lewis, perhaps this evolution was inevitable. Lewis' own teaching career drove him to take reason more seriously during the 1920s. Nevertheless, through the persuasion of Tolkien and others, Lewis came to see that he needed both imagination and reason to complete his spiritual journey to faith in Christ. In a 1939 essay, Lewis declared reason the "organ of truth" while imagination was the "organ of meaning." Christianity was the "myth that really happened" and that myth could not be personally appropriated without the aid of imagination. Schakel shows that Lewis was more comfortable with apologetics and reason in his earlier writings like The Problem of Pain (New York: HarperOne, 1915), Miracles (New York: HarperOne, 1915), and the Broadcast Talks (London: G. Bles, 1942). When Lewis finally affirmed the value of the imagination he had always loved, his writings blossomed into a full appreciation of myth (1950s) with works like the Narnia Chronicles (New York: Harper Collins, 1950-56) and Til We Have Faces (New York: Harcourt, 1956).In his essay on "The Sacramental Imagination" of Austin Farrer, Edward Henderson argues that Farrer saw imagination as the means by which God's gracious action takes visible effect in the world. Jesus' life is the personification of Old Testament images, a personification that transforms those images by breaking them on the hard rocks of reality and giving them new meaning. Farrer, like Lewis, saw Christianity as the "myth that actually happened" and argued even more thoroughly for the historical authenticity of this myth. …


Given the growing interest in providing social and emotional learning opportunities within after-school and youth programs, identifying high-quality and innovative learning materials is critical. This review of the newly launched Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning framework and curriculum, developed at Emory University, provides an overview of this curriculum and its potential use in after-school and youth programs. This comprehensive learning system includes curriculum for young people from kindergarten through 12th grade and an online professional development site for those who deliver the curriculum.


Five filamentous fungi (Aspergillus clavatus, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium sp., Penicillum chrysogenum
and Trichoderma sp.) isolated from agrowaste samples in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria, depolymerized
citrus pectin. Best pectolytic activity, as indicated by the diameter of clear, hydrolyzed zones on the
medium plates containing commercial citrus pectin as sole carbon source, was obtained with A. niger,
closely followed by P. chrysogenum. The two fungi also produced pectinases with different agrowastes
(pineapple peel, orange peels, sawdust, sugarcane pulps and wheat bran) as the sole carbon source.
The highest pectinase activity by both fungi was produce with wheat bran as the sole carbon source.
Peak pectinase activity of 350.28 ± 2.82 and 478.25 ± 3.04 IU mg-1 protein was respectively obtained by
submerged fermentation (SmF) at 48 h for A. niger and P.chrysogenum in media containing wheat bran
as the sole carbon source. Solid-state fermentation (SSF) yielded higher levels of pectinase activity
than the SmF. The strains of A. niger and P. chrysogenum have good prospect for pectinase
production. Wheat bran is a good low-cost fermentation substrate for pectinase production by the
investigated fungi.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease. A decreased risk of cancer, except for melanoma, has been observed in patients with PD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between brain tumor and PD in a Taiwanese population.


Using Shenyang's Beita Park as an example, this paper expresses a concept that urban parks should be dissolved into the urban fabric and be integrated with other land uses instead of being separated as a separated and encircled space; parks can play an important role in historical story tellers of places and the city itself; they are also critical in the establishment of urban ecological infrastructure.


The operational meteorologist is challenged daily by the manifestation of many different types of atmospheric hydrodynamic instabilities. In fact, the forecasting process relies heavily upon the anticipation, recognition, and characterization of such instabilit ies. It is therefore paramount that forecasters strive to understand all phenomena that have the potential to significantly impact or modulate forecast parameters. Conditional symmetric instability (CSI) or "slantwise convection" is one such instability.


OZART HAD NOW BROKEN irrevocably with the Archbishop and Salzburg, and was faced with the problem of establishing himself in Vienna . Three courses were open to him, none of which excluded the others : he could take pupils ; he could make himself a sort of free lance, giving subscription concerts and accepting commissions ; or he could maneuver for a court appointment . Actually he tried all three, but the one in which he proved most successful was the giving of subscription concerts . The notion of so doing may have been suggested to him by the success of his old friend John Christian Bach in establishing a subscription series in London . For many years the Bach-Abel concerts had been one of the most brilliant events of the London musical season, patronized by the wealthy and fashionable ; and the fertile John


Photoemission measurements are used to study the Schottky barrier formation and the intermixing (with GaAs) of the three metals, Cu, Ag, and Au, deposited at room temperature on GaAs(110) cleaved surfaces. It is tentatively concluded that Fermi level pinning cannot be followed satisfactorily for metal coverages above a monolayer. The work of Palau on Schottky barrier height (I–V and C–V) for Au and Ag deposited on cleaved GaAs(110) in UHV indicate pinning positions surprisingly close to those found for other overlayers in the ''unified defect'' model. It was found that ''intermixing'' between noble metals and GaAs decreases in the order of Cu, Au, and Ag. Although island formation probably occurs, it is tentatively concluded that the principle reason for difficulty in using our photoemission measurements to determine Efs for the noble metals is the inclusion of Ga (as well as As) in or on the noble metal overlayer.


The paper deals with the questions related to the reforming activity of Naib Magomet-Amin in Circassia in the late 1840-1850s – at the final stage of the Caucasian War. The author examines the extent of influence of Naib on military, administrative and religious spheres of life of the Adyghean society and perception of events in the Adyghean environment. His political activity as the coordinator of actions of the Adyghes, Turks and their European allies is analyzed.


Suppose that a regime incumbent wants to make changes to legal norms or institutions that cannot be disguised as administrative rules or otherwise hidden from view. How might it justify such changes to its subjects and to the outside world? The literature on "constitutional worst practices" and "isomorphic mimicry" suggests emulating "best" practices from other jurisdictions. Such emulation need not be thorough, or even sincere; it may suffice simply to assert that a proposed change resembles that in a jurisdiction with ironclad rule-of-law credentials – a form of legal "whataboutism."


The number of people with noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in Malaysia is increasing. However, there is no information on whether leisure activities premises are exposing the public to the risk of NIHL. This book, consisting of two parts, assessed the noise exposure during the screenings of movies at a selected movie theatre. The first part of the book measured the noise levels during the screening of 18 movies. For each movie, two readings were taken, one from a center seat and one from a side seat. The genre of the movies and the size of the theatre halls were taken into consideration in the analysis. The second part focussed on determining any statistically significant difference of the seat locations on the equivalent continuous sound level (Leq) and maximum sound level (LASMX) in the same theatre hall showing the same movie.


The mechanism of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of AlB2‒Al2O3 composite powders was studied by means of a combustion front quenching method (CFQM). The results showed that combustion reaction started with the melting of B2O3 and Al particles. As the combustion reaction proceeded, the interpenetration of Al and B2O3 in melts happened. The XRD results of the product revealed the reflections of Al2O3, suggesting there had been an exchange of oxygen atoms between Al and B, and evidencing the reaction, B2O3 (l) + 2Al (l) → 2B (s) + Al2O3 (l). Under higher temperature, some of B2O3 volatilized and reacted with B forming gaseous B2O2, which deposited on the surface of Al to precipitate Al2O3 and B. Then B made available dissolved into Al melt, and reacted with the Al in melt to precipitate AlB12 particles. Finally, AlB12 transforms to AlB2 at the peritectic temperature under high cooling rate. Thus, this combustion reaction can be described by the dissolution-precipitation mechanism. In the final products, besides AlB2 and Al2O3 particles, some of Al was also detected. A model corresponding to the dissolutionprecipitation mechanism was proposed, and the ignition temperature of the combustion reaction was determined to be around 800 °C. Ill. 13. Ref. 47.


On the comparison of centralized sewage treatment and scattered sewage treatment system,the current situation of sewage treatment of China is expounded.


Purpose: Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease and a cause of many disabilities in individuals. Set of symptoms and the chronic nature of this disease, together impair the mental state of the person and cause awidervariety of psychological symptoms worsening the disease. Therefor, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive therapy based on mindfulness psychological symptoms, meta-worry and thought fusion in patients suffering from Multiple sclerosis. Materials and Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental research in which pretest, post test and control group designs were used. The population included all patients recognized having multiple sclerosis admitted to the Multiple sclerosis Society of Kermanshah, among whom 24 people were chosenusing random sampling for both experimental and control groups. The instruments of study were the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Fatigue Severity Scale, Meta-worry Questionnaire, Thought Fusion Inventory and the mindfulnessbased cognitive therapy package. Results: The results of the study showed that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy effectively lowers the rates of depression, anxiety, meta-worry and thought fusion in patients with Multiple sclerosis but is not effective in reducing fatigue severity in these patients. Conclusion: Although drug treatments are effective in relieving the symptoms of Multiple sclerosis, they conversely accompany with a lot of side effects. Thus, the implicit orientation of this study suggests that the variables of depression, anxiety, meta-worry and thought fusion can significantly be improved as the result ofmindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Health authorities in this area should try to consider this therapy as a complementary therapy in the afore mentioned patients.


Summary. Chemical sympathectomy followed transluminal perfusion of the rabbit oviduct with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Histofluorescence studies 1 week after perfusion revealed an absence of form-aldehyde-norepinephrine(NE)-induced fluorescence in treated oviducts while contralateral control oviducts which were not perfused exhibited normal fluorescence. Endogenous NE concentrations of treated and control oviducts and their associated uterine horns were measured biochemically 1 week after perfusion. A dose-dependent decrease in NE was demonstrated in 6-OHDA-perfused oviducts. By contrast, contralateral control oviducts and both uterine horns exhibited no significant decrease in endogenous NE until doses of 6-OHDA in excess of those required for functional denervation were perfused through treated oviducts.


The invention relates to a device (101) for determining a position of a vehicle (203) comprising a position determining means (103) for determining the position and a transmitter (105) for sending the position to the vehicle (203). The invention further relates to a method and a system (501) for determining a position of a vehicle (203). The invention further relates to a computer program.


Identifying influential nodes in complex networks is one of the most important and challenging problems to help optimize the network structure, control the spread of the epidemic and accelerate the spread of information. In a complex network, the node with the strongest propagation capacity is known as the most influential node from the perspective of propagation. In recent years, identifying the key nodes in complex networks has received increasing attention. However, it is still a challenge to design a metric that has low computational complexity but can accurately identify important network nodes. Currently, many centrality metrics used to evaluate the influence capability of nodes cannot balance between high accuracy and low time complexity. Local centrality suffers from accuracy problems, while global metrics require higher time complexity, which is inefficient for large scale networks. In contrast, semi-local metrics are with higher accuracy and lower time cost. In this paper, we propose a new semi-local centrality measure for identifying influential nodes under complex contagion mechanisms. It uses the higher-order structure within the first and second-order neighborhoods of nodes to define the importance of nodes with near linear time complexity, which can be applied to large-scale networks. To verify the accuracy of the proposed metric, we simulated the disease propagation process in four real and two artificial networks using the SI model under complex propagation. The simulation results show that the proposed method can identify the nodes with the strongest propagation ability more effectively and accurately than other current node importance metrics.


Electron-injection detectors are used in an OCT system for the first time. Compared to a commercial p-i-n detector, electron-injection detectors show ~20 dB higher SNR. This could lead to OCT systems without the need for balanced-detection.


Underneath the magma ocean: Element distribution between calcium silicate perovskite and Sulphurbearing iron melts W. VAN WESTRENEN*, M.W. SCHMIDT, D. GUNTHER AND A.J. STEWART Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands (*correspondence: email@example.com) Institute for Mineralogy and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Department of Chemistry, ETH Zurich, Switzerland


To date, it is known that approximately 15–20% of all clinically recognised pregnancies result in spontaneous abortion (Robinson et al. 2001). The American Society for Reproductive Medicine defines...


The present invention provides a method of generating cracks in a polycrystalline silicon rod and a crack generating apparatus. Polycrystalline silicon rod method of generating cracks in the polycrystalline silicon rod is quenched after the heating, thereby generating cracks, characterized in that the method has a portion of the cooling fluid onto the surface of the polycrystalline silicon rod to a point on its surface like a partial cooling process .


Objective:To study effect on protein synthesis by related genes of fluorosis. Methods:To screen differentially expressed genes expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes between chronic fluorosis groups and control group used gene chip technique. The data were analysed with Pathway 3.0. Differentially expressed genes were screened by T-test and Ratio methods, they were identified after BLAST in GenBank. Results:In slight and severe groups compared with control group, there were 2 genes up-regulation (Ratio:2.0462~2.9936);14 genes down-regulation(Ratio:0.0918~0.5034)in which MTIF2、PURA and TIA1 had close correlation with protein synthesis process. Conclusions:Gene expression on humanblood lymphocytes could be effected by excessive fluoride. Especially, persistent and marked down-regulation of MTIF2、PURA:and TIA1 genes will have effect on transcription and translation of protein synthesis.


Abstract The angular distributions of the water dipoles have been calculated from molecular dynamics runs for the first hydration shells of various ions in 2.2 molal LiJ, LiCl, NaCl, CsCl and CsF solutions and in a 0.55 molal NaCl solution. It is shown how the distributions depend on the size of the shell taken around each ion. The results give no indication for the existence of desoriented water molecules in the immediate neighbourhood of the ions.


Research indicates that information technology (IT) governance is attracting enormous attention from practitioners and academics. This is fueled by the growing importance of IT governance in the delivery of IT compliance and in its ability to create value for businesses. IT compliance minimizes risk while IT governance manages risks. This paper is a preliminary report on an electronic survey of 33 firms operating in Malaysian electronics industry. Three key frameworks underpinned the conceptual development in this paper. The findings indicate that IT governance is important to profit- and growth-oriented organisations in terms of cost efficiency, growth, asset Utilisation and business flexibility. Organisations realise the benefits of IT governance but unfamiliar with the IT frameworks. Additional implications of these findings to the electronics manufacturing industry and policy makers in Malaysia are presented.


I. At other times and in divers places I have felt impelled to utter words of criticism upon our public school system ; but in accepting the in vitation of my friend, the Editor, to expound briefly in the catholic columns of his Bistoury, the theories which prompted, the experience which may have warranted such criticism, I had an other object in view. It is not my purpose in the series of articles hereby introduced to apply tests—either destructive or constructive in character—to the existing order of things, here or elsewhere. Nor do I contemplate the orizing merely. On the contrary, I propose to take for granted every possible consideration of a practical nature that can legitimately be urged by any of my readers. Thus, I shall assume that there is as yet no science of teaching, properly so called ; and that an overwhelming majority of parents have neither the time nor the mental and moral equipment—even if they felt the duty or inclination—themselves to in struct their children until these attain the "school going age;" and I do not propose to lay myself open to the charge of postulating either ideal scholars, parents, teachers or super intendence. No, we are poor, weak, foolish mortals, all of us—teacher and taught, it matters not which—let us however, instructed and per suaded by such eminently practical and success ful educators as Pestalozzi, Frobel, Spencer and Baine, try to agree as to the attainable only, in theeducation of the masses, keeping our eyes fixed upon the desirable all the while. Nor can it, accordingly, be my intention to scrutinize the data of history with a view to determining in how far the functions of family and church may have been arrogated by the State; or how in the course of time such alleg edly illegitimate compulsion may have evolved into one of the chief, if not the principal func tions of the body politic. Suffice it to say that in this XIX century, that in these United States of America—ignorance is vice, though it can no longer be said to possess exclusively the fac ulty of breeding the same. We must beware, lest harm befall the Republic, since its health ful growth, nay, its very stability, is dependent upon our eternal vigilance. Now since the State does school our children; and since for better or for worse this duty must under our system of government be a delega ted one, from the irresponsible many to the ac countable few, it concerns us to demand—in so far as they may not already have obtained vogue —the introduction of such a general system, and such particular methods as we may agree, lead to the most practical equipment of our boys and girls in such branches of knowledge as we shall discover to be factors common to the various duties, and avocations of life. Such knowledge, all of


PURPOSE: A belt type mop is provided to offer convenience to a user by automatically rotating a duster in a belt rotation manner. CONSTITUTION: A belt duster is fit into a driving belt roller(130) and a head roller(101), and is rotated by electric power. The head roller has a roller body(138), a roller shaft hole(127) having two roller bearings, and a roller cover. An adjusting crank(118) and an adjusting stopper are installed at the head roller. A driving motor and an adjusting motor are coupled to the inside of a driving roller body(139). The driving belt roller rotates the belt duster with the head roller to clean a floor.


Despite the mythology surrounding the 1986 'people power revolution' in the Philippines, the political system remains a deeply flawed and fragile democracy. This study employs institutional analysis and a critical adaptation of concepts of social capital and political legitimacy to explain both the weaknesses of democracy and its survival. An historical analysis of the evolution of the political system demonstrates that a mismatch between the formal institutions of democracy introduced under US colonial rule and entrenched informal institutions of patronage politics has prevented democratic deepening and the construction of civic‐minded social capital. The concentration of power and wealth in relatively few hands and the persistence of local 'boss rule' have subjected democratic forms of governance to repeated crises of legitimacy. Nevertheless, 13 years of predatory authoritarian rule under Ferdinand Marcos and the collapse of the communist movement have discredited non‐democratic alternatives. The resto...


The invention discloses a big data sharing method for cloud storage based on SMC. The big data sharing method comprises the following stages: (1), initializing, wherein the stage comprises three processes: finishing data encryption and uploading by DO, AA initialization and user registration; (2), secrete splitting, wherein the stage allows the DO to split a key Ki into the following formulas, which are respectively kept by the AA (temporarily), the DO and a CSP; (3), inquiring, a system allows a User to transmit a query request to the CSP, and after the AA verifies a user attribute, the AA transmits the user attribute to the User, and after that, the CSP transmits ciphertext data and the following formula to the User, and finally, the User recovers the key Ki and decrypts a ciphertext. The big data sharing method for the cloud storage based on the SMC provided by the invention can allow the User to directly acquire shared data from the CSP and alleviate the workload of the DO in a data sharing process to the utmost extent; besides, the method can also verify the attribute of the User, so as to guarantee that only legitimate User can acquire data.


In this paper, we use FBG (Fiber Bragg Grating) to measure the signal. At the first, we paste the FBG on an elastic-slice of cantilever beam, and setup onto the sensor. When this sensor affected by the external environment, it will makes the FBG center-wavelength shift. The length of this elastic-slice is adjustable in this paper. So, we can control the sensing sensitivity by adjust the length of elastic-slice to adapt the different environment. In this way, we reduce the practical application cost of sensor.


A four-year pot experiment was conducted at an experimental facility of the Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities; the experiment was set up in a random arrangement in three replications. The following factors were taken into account: I – organic fertilising (no organic fertiliser, sludge from the wastewater treatment plant in Siedlce, chicken litter and brown coal from the coal mine in Turow) at the dose of 2 g C kg-1 of soil; II - liming (no liming and liming at a dose calculated for 1 Hh of soil as CaCO3) ; III – contamination of soil with nickel at different levels (no nickel, 100 and 200 mg Ni kg-1 of soil as aqueous solution of NiCI2 6H2O). Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) was used as the test crop and was harvested four times during each vegetation season. The soil was analysed in each year of the experiment after the fourth (last) harvest of the test crop. All the factors had a significant diversifying impact on dehydrogenase activity in the soil in the years of the experiment. The addition of organic waste and liming increased the activity of the enzymes in question, whereas increasing the soil contamination with nickel to 200 mg Ni kg-1 of soil had the opposite effect. The toxic impact of nickel was mitigated by the addition of organic fertilisation and liming.


This article analyzes a European‐wide dissemination project which aimed at spreading quality management and software process improvement approaches among organizations in the IT sector and beyond to organizations which produce software as part of their primary product. The research presented investigates to what extent that mission has been accomplished and what lessons can be learned for similar actions in the future. For the analysis Rogers' well‐known model of the diffusion of innovations is used. A secondary outcome of the study therefore is an appraisal of the suitability of the model to plan and perform large‐scale diffusion actions.


The article is devoted to the analysis of problems and prospects for the shipbuilding and ship repair industries development in the Far Eastern Federal District, in general, and Primorsky Krai, in particular. Quality of shipbuilding development reflects scientific and technical development level of the country. During all historical periods the shipbuilding of Russia depended on foreign technologies and ship equipment import. Since the beginning of the industry the state has been the large owner of assets, defining a strategy of development and carrying out the control functions. In pre-revolutionary Russia private shipbuilding companies had been founded with participation of banking capital including foreign capital. During the Soviet period the state administration reforms had been mainly directed on changing of institutional subordination of the industry enterprises. Science the beginning of 90-s the governance system destruction led to crisis in the industry. So, between ship repair and the shipbuilding industry, production and information communications are not developed. This fact constrains the structure improvement of these industries, the joint development of their specialization and cooperation. The science serving shipbuilding and ship repair is also disunited the scientific forces of the shipbuilding industry in the region were organized within their industry and have weak links with the corresponding repair organizations. Within the last several years the new governmental paradigm in the industry is being created. Today, there are a number of problems in the industry that require government intervention and private investment.


In this paper we are dealing with the methodology of design, preparation and implementation of quality features measurement of the production process. The aim is to develop a methodology for measuring parts in the structure. This article describes the procedure of the sample process management methodology.


Abstract This paper compares the current global financial crisis with the one that struck East Asia a little more than a decade ago. The analysis reveals some striking and surprising differences between the two periods. Whereas the first crisis had a catalytic impact on Asian regionalism this one may not. Despite East Asia generally and China in particular seeming to emerge stronger relative to the US from the current crisis, the impact of the second crisis on Europe reminds us that there is nothing inevitable about the course of regional integration. Not only are Europe's economic problems likely to diminish whatever enthusiasm there was for initiatives such as a common currency in Asia, but China may also find itself increasingly playing a global rather than a regional role. In short, crises can have very different impacts and provide an important insight into the interconnected dynamics of regional and global processes.


Monolayers of 4-(2,6-di(1 H-pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine-4-yl)benzoic acid (DPP-BA) on Au substrates modified by an underpotential-deposited bilayer of Ag were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, and scanning tunneling microscopy. Highly crystalline layers are formed with molecules coordinatively bonding to the surface through the carboxylate moiety in a bidentate configuration. The molecules assemble to rows characterized by densely packed upright-orientated DPP units occupying an area of 41 Å2. The DPP units adopt a trans-trans conformation as inferred from the N 1s XPS spectra taken at different photon energies. Their alignment alternates between adjacent rows, giving rise to a herringbone pattern. The pronouncedly different structure of the weakly commensurate self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of DPP-BA on Ag compared to the commensurate SAM of a DPP thiol on Au is a manifestation of the shift from substrate-directed assembly in the latter case to assembly dominated by intermolecular interactions in the former case.


Measurements using error terms to describe the imperfections of test equipment have been used for a long time, and there are many methods utilized to model the error terms. In all these methods, after having determined the error terms on the basis of calibration measurements, the s-parameters of the device-under-test (DUT) are computed from the measured s-parameters by an appropriate algorithm. One problem that arises in this context is that the methods used for calculating the s-parameters, while widely known for the one- and two-port case, appear to not be generally available for the multi-port situation. This paper addresses this situation by deriving a simple method which allows for calculating the s-parameters of a multi-port DUT from the measured s-parameters, using the error terms obtained in the calibration step. The method generates exact, closed-form solutions, and is applicable to all error models in use today.


We know from observations that globular clusters are very efficient catalysts in forming unusual short-period binary systems or their offspring, such as low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs; neutron stars accreting matter from low-mass stellar companions), cataclysmic variables (white dwarfs accreting matter from stellar companions), and millisecond pulsars (rotating neutron stars with spin periods of a few milliseconds). Although there has been little direct evidence, the overabundance of these objects in globular clusters has been attributed by numerous authors to the high densities in the cores, which leads to an increase in the formation rate of exotic binary systems through close stellar encounters. Many such close binary systems emit X-radiation at low luminosities (LX ≲ 1034 ergs s-1) and are being found in large numbers through observations with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Here we present conclusive observational evidence of a link between the number of close binaries observed in X-rays in a globular cluster and the stellar encounter rate of the cluster. We also make an estimate of the total number of LMXBs in globular clusters in our Galaxy.


Current mainstream multi-object tracking (MOT) algorithms aim to maintain the identities of targets by data-association. However, the accuracy of multi-object tracking would be affected by the unreliability results of detectors. Simultaneously, the separation of motion module and appearance module cannot fully exploit affinity features that will increase computational complexity. To address these issues, we propose a multi-task tracking framework including the United Siamese Network (USN) and Candidate-Refreshing (CR) model. The USN integrates motion affinity and appearance affinity into an end-to-end network. Such design can pay attention to joint learning of similarities between motion patterns and appearance features and enhance the ability to distinguish similar targets in complex environments. The CR model aims to combine detection candidates with tracking candidates, and compensate for unreliable detection results by scoring and regressing the bounding boxes. In addition, we equip our framework with a tracklet confidence function, which is based on the spatialtemporal information. This function can determine the vitality of unmatched tracklets and further alleviate the influence of detectors. Experiments on the MOT16 and MOT17 benchmark datasets show that our framework has achieved outstanding performance on online MOT algorithms.


There is sparse evidence to support any method for smoking cessation interventions in the emergency department (ED). Researchers in Hong Kong


The concept of sustainability has become one of today's most widely used and controversial concepts. It is therefore important to develop activities within organizational context in order to increa ...


It is shown that previous applications of Onsager's theory to dielectric dispersion have contained an incorrect assumption about the behaviour of the reaction field when the applied field is varying. An equation for the complex dielectric constant is derived, using Onsager's model and taking proper account of the reaction field. An approximate method of solving the equation is developed and it is shown that the equation approximates closely to the simple Debye equation - ∞ = (0 - ∞)/(1 + jωτ) the microscopic and macroscopic relaxation times being almost identical.


This paper describes an application of the visual servoing approach to vision-based control in robotics. The basic idea addresses the use of a vision sensor in the feedback loop within the controlled vision framework. It consists in tracking of arbitrary 3-D objects travelling at unknown velocities in a 2-D space (depth is given as known). Once the necessary modeling stage is performed, the framework becomes one of automatic control, and naturally stability, performance and robustness questions arise. Here, we consider to track line segments corresponding to the edges extracted from the image being analyzed. Two representations for a line segment are presented and discussed, and an appropriate representation is derived. A SISO (Single Input Single Output) model for each parameter of a line segment is then derived and represented by an orthonormal Laguerre network put in state space form. The appeal of this new approach is that it eliminates the need for assumption about the plant order, the time delay and the unmodeled dynamics. For modeling by Laguerre filters, The system must be stable. This problem is handled by an input output data filtering. Hence the poles of filtered model are relocated inside the unit circle. A simple adaptive predictive control is then used for its simplicity. To illustrate the advantages of using the Laguerre network associated to an adaptive input output data filtering, over the conventional control techniques, we carry out a comparison on simulated examples to a PID controller.


Genome rearrangement is known as one of the main evolutionary mechanisms on the genomic level. Phylogenetic analysis based on rearrangement played a crucial role in biological research in the past decades, especially with the increasing availability of fully sequenced genomes. In general, phylogenetic analysis aims to solve two problems: Small Parsimony Problem (SPP) and Big Parsimony Problem (BPP). Maximum parsimony is a popular approach for SPP and BPP which relies on iteratively solving a NP-hard problem, the median problem. As a result, current median solvers and phylogenetic inference methods based on the median problem all face serious problems on scalability and cannot be applied to datasets with large and distant genomes. In this thesis, we propose a new median solver for gene order data that combines double-cut-join (DCJ) sorting with the Simulated Annealing algorithm (SAMedian). Based on this median solver, we built a new phylogenetic inference method to solve both SPP and BPP problems. Our experimental results show that the new median solver achieves an excellent performance on simulated datasets and the phylogenetic inference tool built based on the new median solver has a better performance than other existing methods. Cancer is known for its heterogeneity and is regarded as an evolutionary process driven by somatic mutations and clonal expansions. This evolutionary process can be modeled by a phylogenetic tree and phylogenetic analysis of multiple subclones of cancer cells can facilitate the study of the tumor variants progression. Copy-number aberration occurs frequently in many types of tumors in terms of segmental amplifications and deletions. In this thesis, we developed a distance-based method for


The influence of transcranial electrical stimulation on clinical picture and parameters of local and general immunity of patients with mandibule fractures have been studied. It has been shown that the addition of transcranial electrical stimulation in the scheme of traditional treatment of mandibule fractures allows to stabilize the general and local immunity indices and to enhances the effectiveness and duration of in-patient treatment.


quickly refigured as a noble act of self-sacrifice around which supporters of the republic constructed a cult of honor. The study of Austrian Social Democrat Karl Renner explores a rather different but equally mythic figure. Here Loewenberg shows how family dynamics, in this case Renner's accommodating relationship with his father, laid die inner foundations for the at times extraordinary readiness to compromise he displayed in his political career. The essays in Part III on topics such as anxiety in history, racism in comparative historical perspective, and the psychology of policy-making in crisis situations, are less well researched than those discussed here. Although this volume contains interesting insights and suggestive interpretations, readers who are not already convinced of the value of psychoanalytic concepts in historical argument will probably not be persuaded to drop their skepticism.


The invention discloses a method, a system and a device for reevaluating a security state. The method comprises the following steps of: reevaluating a terminal accessing a second security domain; and sending a reevaluation result to the second security domain. The reevaluation is carried out after the terminal accesses RSD for a period of time to ensure that the security state of the terminal accessing a network always meets the requirements of a security strategy of the current network in the whole terminal connecting process so as not to cause certain threat to the network security.


Changes in political and economic environments require a new concept of `culture` and a paradigm shift in cultural policies. Especially, broadcasting is needed to construct a productive infra-structure in order to play its role as culture industry in multi-channel environments caused by the progress of digital technology. In addition, Korea-USA FTA Agreement and a subsequently expected open policy of broadcasting market raise issues of a flow of foreign capital and a compatibility of cultural diversities and cultural identities. From this perspective, this study attempts to suggest alternatives for cultural diversity of program contents in new global media environments. More specifically, these alternatives examine the meaning and achievements of co-production of broadcasting programs as an active and direct method to preserve cultural identities and universalities of cultural contents at the same time. Details of this study are as follows: thorough review of internation co-production and program format industries and their possibilities to overcome cultural harriers and to provide local alternatives.


ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to figure out and describe choir learning on extracurricular activity in State Senior High School of Jember and to know supporting factors and inhibiting factors of choir extracurricular learning process in State Senior High School of Jember. The result of this research showed that choirn extracurricular learning in State Senior High School of Jember: (1) has the purpose to improve musical intelligence and sharpen the cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects of thestudents(2) the material of chir extracurricular learning in State Senior High School of Jember is devided into each voice group , such as sopran, altor, tenor and bass, (3) the used method in choir learning is vary, such as plus lecture method, demonstration method, and drill method, and (4) music learning evaluation in State Senior High School of Jember is open and able to motivate students to be more vigorous in exercise. The supporting factors of band learning in State Senior High School of Jember are interest and talent, motivation, infrastructure, school community and parents and the program. While inhibiting factors are emotion and limitedtime. Keywords: Learning, Extracurricular, Choir


Goal - Logos are one of the most important visual elements to transmit a brand's identity. As a 'face' of the brand, logos should represent the identity of a brand. Logos can be a symbol and/or word mark. Within this study, the link between word marks and archetypal identities is investigated. The goal of this study was to determine to what extent archetypes can be visualised with fonts of word marks.
Method - To answer the main question, three pre tests and a main study have been conducted. The goal of the first pre test was to determine which groups of word marks people distinguish. The pre test yielded five groups of word marks, namely businesslike, modern, personal, luxurious and playful word marks. To conduct the second and third pre test, 120 fonts were selected. During the second pre test, respondents had to judge to what extent these fonts were businesslike, modern, personal, luxurious or playful. In the third pre test, six experts assessed the physical characteristics of the 120 fonts. Based on the results of the pre tests, 40 fonts were selected for the main study. During the main study, an online questionnaire was used to determine the fit between the fonts and archetypes.
Findings - The study showed that fonts of word marks can be used to visualise archetypes. Fonts and their physical characteristics are a helpful tool for a brand to express itself as a particular archetype. Personal fonts, which seem to be written with a feather or fountain pen, fit well with lover brands for example, which is in contrast with ruler brands and their tight, formal and static fonts. It was also found that three clusters of archetypes can be distinguished, namely an Order, Social and Freedom cluster. It can be concluded that fonts of word marks can be used to express an archetypal identity.
Added value and limitations - Within this study, new empirical evidence regarding archetypal branding and word mark design is collected. An early step in the extension of the literature in this domain is thereby taken. The results of this study are interesting and useful for both scientists and practioners. One of the limitations of this study is that more physical characteristics could have been added. During the third pre test, 120 fonts were assessed on eight characteristics. Characteristics such as roundness and width could have been added though.
Future research - In the future, the fit between archetypal identities and brand names could be investigated. Future research could also focus on the assessment of word marks. Personality traits could influence respondents' opinion about the fit between archetypes and word marks. The valuation for word marks could influence this assessment as well. It is advised to investigate these topics in more detail.


Purpose

Accentuating the concept of management under uncertainty in the Uppsala internationalization process model, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model for describing how managers act while keeping uncertainty at an acceptable level.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors perform two empirical studies to underpin the model they construct. First, a survey of 309 chief executive officers and chief financial officers in large, publicly listed international firms in the Nordic region on managerial risk perceptions and, second, a case study of Volvo Car Corporation and its endeavors when developing new car models for the Chinese market on a new platform – a process characterized by unprecedented uncertainty.

Findings

The proposed model describing managers' behavior under uncertainty contains elements such as adjusting/proceeding in small steps, reducing uncertainty via learning, building relationships with important parties in the environment to avoid unforeseen changes and re-dos (i.e. starting all over again) and, perhaps most important, acting despite uncertainty.

Originality/value

The paper highlights a central, though forgotten, concept of the Uppsala internationalization process model, i.e. management under uncertainty, and, thereby, opens a new path for research on how manager behave under the sway of uncertainty.


Tracking current population interests by trends in online media of entities and topics has become increasingly popular. But while notable world events often spur online public discussion, some have been observed originating in social media postings. A natural question arises: Can analysis of social media trends be used to find mainstream newsworthy material? The work reported here takes initial steps towards answering this by investigating whether some characteristics of trending nouns and entities originating in blogs could predict a subsequent trend in mainstream news. Results show that many trends do originate in blogs, with approximately 12% seen subsequently in news media. Frequency based ranking provides a basis for selecting the most predictive trends. The study also suggests that named entity mentions, and co-occurrences thereof, may provide more focused trends than common nouns.


Background: High doses of opioids are frequently used to treat postoperative pain after spine surgery. This leads to opioid-related side effects like nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, etc. The current study is an attempt to find a safe analgesic adjuvant, which will afford opioid sparing property. Method: Sixty-six patients undergoing spine surgery were randomized into 1 of the 3 groups—group K (ketamine bolus 0.25 mg/kg followed by infusion of 0.25 mg/kg/h with midazolam bolus 10 &mgr;g/kg and infusion of 10 &mgr;g/kg/h mixed in the same infusion pump), group D (dexmedetomidine bolus 0.5 &mgr;g/kg followed by 0.3 &mgr;g/kg/h infusion), and group C (normal saline). Study drugs were started in the postoperative period and continued for 24 hours. Pain-free period, pain scores, rescue analgesic (morphine) requirements, and side effects were noted for 48 hours postoperatively. Result: Mean pain-free periods in the ketamine group (860 min) and the dexmedetomidine group (580 min) were longer than in the saline group (265 min) (P<0.002) during the observation period of 48 hours. There was a significant decrease in the rescue analgesic requirement in both ketamine and dexmedetomidine group (P<0.05) (cumulative morphine requirement at 24 h—group C 15.64±9.31 mg, group D 6.89±5.88 mg, group K 2.45±2.06 mg; at 48 h—group C 21.09±12.88 mg, group D 7.98±7.72 mg, group K 2.59±1.97 mg). Hemodynamics were maintained within normal range in all the groups. Patients in ketamine and dexmedetomidine groups were sedated, but none required assistance for maintaining airway patency. Few patients in the ketamine group had nausea, dizziness, and diplopia, but the difference was insignificant in comparison with other groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: Infusion of low-dose ketamine and dexmedetomidine both provide good postoperative analgesia with minimal side effects. Both of the tested analgesic regimes can be used safely and effectively for postoperative pain relief in patients after spine surgery.


Learning Objectives 1. Assess the risk-benefit of anticoagulation during intra-aortic balloon pump counterpulsation. 2. Justify the necessity of anticoagulation in patients with an Impella device. 3. Evaluate the risk-benefit of anticoagulation modification in left ventricular assist devices (HeartMate II, HeartWare, and HeartMate 3). 4. Compare and contrast the use of heparin or bivalirudin for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.


ABSTRACT One of the most exciting classes of organic materials that is able to self-assemble at nanoscopic scale are those exhibiting the liquid crystalline (LC) behaviour which can be distantly tuned by an external stimulus. Under UV/Vis light irradiation, the reversible photoisomerisation process can take place if the compounds possess the photosensitive group, e.g. N=N or cinnamoyl group incorporated in their molecular structure. This can drastically affect the LC behaviour. However, the compounds possessing the cinnamoyl fragment with C=C double bond are capable of both photoisomerisation and photocycloaddition processes. Several cinnamoyl-based reactive mesogens with polymerisable vinyl group have been designed; their mesomorphic and structural behaviour have been studied. Depending on the molecular structure, the reactive mesogens exhibit nematic, orthogonal smectic A and tilted smectic C phases; the kinetics of the phase transition temperatures has been checked. The structure of the mesophases is confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering. The main objective of the present work is to contribute to better understanding of molecular structure – mesomorphic property relationship for new functional cinnamoyl-based photosensitive reactive mesogens which can be further used for design of smart self-assembling macromolecular materials. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Summary The LD50 for rats of LS of E. typhosa was 6 mg/kg, for E. coli 10 mg/kg, S. marcescens 25 mg/kg, B. abortus Bang 60 mg/kg, and Streptococcus A more than 500 mg/kg. The ratio of lethal dosages of the LS for the litters to the single LD50 for the mothers was for E. typhosa 1:3, E. coli 1:10, S. marcescens 1:12, B. abortus Bang 1:2, but could not be determined for the gram positive streptococcus. The LS of the above gram negative bacilli led to intraplacental hemorrhages and destroyed the entire litter of rats in utero in doses not lethal to the mothers when administered after implantation. The doses employed had a peak of fetus destruction between mid term and the 15th g.d. Surviving fetuses were frequently stunted but gross malformations were rarely detected. Placentas frequently survived the fetuses and stayed in utero until term. Large intragastric doses of LS of E. typhosa had no effect on mothers and litters, which, if given i.p. would have been lethal.


As a result of the dramatic increase in global population, food waste, and unsustainable practices, the United Nations urges the promotion of edible insects as an alternative food source. However, edible insects are perceived as an unappealing, disgusting food source despite the nutritional and sustainable advantages, especially among Westerners. Therefore, research is needed to bridge the gap between the call for examining alternative food sources and the marketing initiatives to improve purchasing behavior. This research draws upon information processing and risk perception theories to investigate reducing consumers' negative perceptions toward edible insect food products. The first study examines the effect of image and description in a retail setting while the second study examines a restaurant setting. Results find that in retail settings image was the most significant in reducing perceptions of risk while in the restaurant setting menu description was most important. In addition, vague descriptions were more preferable to explicit descriptions in minimizing risk and increasing purchase intention. Finally, the research provides meaningful implications for the marketers who endeavor to promote alternative food products as well as any products that involve negative and unfamiliar perceptions.