New features are often added incrementally to avionics systems. This avoids redesign and recertification but still requires verifying the timing constraints of both new and existing applications. We introduce a new switch that facilitates this verification by bounding the latency of end-to-end communication across a network. Our clock-driven real-time switching algorithm is throughput-optimal with a bounded worst-case delay for all feasible traffic. Associated heuristics can verify whether the timing constraints of an avionics network are met, after new features have caused traffic to increase, and then search for alternative network configurations if necessary. We show how these heuristics cope with changes to an example environmental monitoring architecture within an avionics system that incorporates our switch. Our approach to analysis can be used to determine, quickly but rigorously, which system architecture meet timing constraints, and it allows the system architect to manage the cascading effects of component changes in a comprehensive manner.


Lean has established itself as the primordial approach to obtain operational excellence. Its simple and intuitive techniques focus on reducing lead time through continuous improvement, involving all levels of employees in the organization. However, the rate of successful implementations has remained low. This paper contributes to the understanding of continuous improvement in a Lean context, by analyzing a database of almost 10.000 improvement actions, from 85 companies, covering the time frame 2010-2018. It discusses categories of actions, their impact and cost, as well as key characteristics of the companies. It proposes an objective criterion to identify "success" and "failure" in Lean implementation and trim to link these to operational results. It is probably the first time an analysis of this magnitude on the subject has been performed.


Ongoing professional development (PD) for in-service teachers has traditionally involved attending seminars or listening to invited guest speaker experts with content often focused on theory and less on practice (Johnson, 2009). Though such opportunities can be valuable, they are typically infrequent and not specific to the day-to-day teaching contexts of teachers. More recent conceptualizations of effective PD aim to remedy this with Borg (2015), for example, suggesting that the following characteristics are required:


The invention relates to a device for supplementing flywheel battery energy by wind force in bicycle riding. The device is characterized in that an internal driving device is added in a vacuum box of a flywheel battery and comprises a magnetic driving wheel, a centrifugal mechanism and a friction concave wheel; an external driving device is arranged outside the vacuum box and comprises an impeller, a speed increaser and a driving sleeve comprising magnets; one end of a flywheel of the flywheel battery is connected with a friction cam, and the friction cam is discontinuously connected with the friction concave wheel. An application method for the device includes that during bicycle riding, the impeller rotates under the wind force to enable the speed increaser to drive the driving sleeve to rotate, and the magnets in the driving sleeve and the magnetic driving wheel are coupled through a magnetic field to drive the magnetic driving wheel, the centrifugal mechanism and the friction concave wheel to rotate together so as to drive the flywheel to rotate to store energy. The device has the advantages that in an occasion without power, the bicycle can be used for inputting kinetic energy to the flywheel battery; when the impeller rotates to reach a certain rotating speed, a driving mechanism approaches to the flywheel automatically to provide the kinetic energy; after the impeller stops rotating, the driving mechanism is separated from the flywheel automatically to avoid energy loss.


This study applies the concept of job specialization and job rotation based on early principles of job design in solving employees' perception of job burnout, using employees of Taiwan's high-technology industry as targets for re-examination. In past management systems of traditional industries, job rotation was adopted to address employees' feelings of monotony, boredom and fatigue as a result of job simplification and specialization. However, with the advancement of technology, shortening of technical life cycles and changes in job characteristics, the relationship between job rotation, job specialization and job burnout is now different from in the past. The results from 304 valid samples collected from employees of Taiwan's high-technology industry reveal that the adoption of job specialization in high-tech industry in fact raises professional efficacy and reduces employees' feeling of job burnout, which is opposed to the benefits of job design purported in past management systems. Therefore, this paper seeks to re-examine the relationship between the three variables. By implementing job rotation or job specialization systems as means to address issues related to employees' job burnout, organizations should not only consider the benefits to job management, but also adjust according to technology and environmental changes. Only by doing so could organizations release the maximum potential from human resources management systems.


Mattelmaki, Maria and Ylikyla, Marika A questionnaire on interpreting exercise material in the degree programme of Sign Language Interpretation in Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. 53 p., 2 appendices, Language: Finnish. Turku, Spring 2013. Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. Degree programme in Sign Language Interpretation. Degree: Bachelor of Humanities. The aim of this thesis was to survey what kind of interpreting exercise material would be best for educational purposes in the degree programme of Sign Language Interpreting. In order to collect expert viewpoints on the matter, an extensive opinion poll was made for the 2, 3, and 4 year students and the teachers of Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. A Webropol questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire had two parts and in the first part we surveyed the present state of the already existing interpreting material. In the second part we wanted to gather information on what kind of material would most benefit the students. The answers received through the questionnaire were used to outline an ideal interpreting material. Theories on language learning and interpreting learning process were used as background material for this thesis. The answers showed that new, good quality interpreting material is needed, because any interference takes energy off from the actual interpreting process. The new interpreting material should preferably be two-way interpreting and easily accessible for the students. The answers also showed that the new interpreting material should concentrate on community interpreting.


Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a control scheme that involves predicting the future behavior of a system and optimizing control actions to accomplish the desired objective. In this study, we develop an intelligent control algorithm, based on MPC to regulate the target pressure in variable-rate agriculture sprayer robots. Modeling and simulation steps of the spraying system are developed using MATLAB/Simulink environment, before passing to the description of the MPC algorithm. Real-time implementation of the MPC algorithm was conducted on an Arduino Mega 2560 controller board by using Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware in MATLAB/Simulink to experimentally validate the preliminary results of simulations. The work evaluates MPC to regulate the pressure in the system and compares the results with a traditional PID control system. Moreover, MPC is a novel method for nonlinear system control that achieves zero steady-state error, low transient response, and reduces peak overshoot compared to the results obtained with a PID controller, thereby reducing the waste of chemicals, and minimizing the toxicology and environmental risk.


FIELD: medicine, medicinal equipment. SUBSTANCE: the given invention has a valve catheter, a slim probe to place catheter into urinary tract and sharpened rod to open catheter valve to drain urinary bladder, and measuring device to determine the length of urinary tract. Catheter has a hollow trunk with stretching hermetizing part at its one end to be introduced through urinary tract and also a head at another end to be placed outwards against a body. Valve may be a part of a trunk or it may be introduced after placing catheter into urinary tract. EFFECT: higher efficiency in providing convenient, clean, discrete and safe procedure for females. 5 cl, 9 cl, 8 dwg


For centuries, Asian rice fanners have progressively improved their varieties and cultivation techniques. This slow process has resLUted in almost stable and sustain able cropping systems. Nematode popLUations, likewise, have followed the same progressive evolution and spe cifie rice-parasitic nematodes are found associated with different traditional rice cropping systems. In the Philip pines and Vietnam, Hirschmanniella spp. are mostly as sociated with flooded rice; Pralylenchus spp. and Me loidogyne spp. damage rainfed rice but not irrigated rice; and Ditylenchus anguslUs mostly occurs in deepwater and floating rice. In the sixties, the pressure imposed by the growing demand for rice has led to the development and adoption ofhigh yielding cLUtivars and to technolog ical improvements that triggered cropping intensifica tion in irrigated rice. However, these changes have not modified the pest status of the different rice-parasitic nematodes because they have not drastically changed the traditional rice cropping systems. More drastic changes in rice production are presently occuring in developing Southeast Asian countries. These changes include modifications of the cropping systems that may influence the behavior of nematode rice pests and there by affect their relative economic importance. Because rice is the staple food and because it plays a unique role in the social life of most Asian countries, adoption of new rice technologies are mostly promoted by economic concerns and governmental policies. Ditylenchus angustus in the Mekong delta of Vietnam


This paper proofs three initial hypotheses in relation with the teamwork competence, Firstly, the new university studentsaccess to the University without enough knowledge about teamwork competence because they have not been trained orevaluated in this competence. This justifies the use of our Comprehensive Training Model of the Teamwork Competence(CTMTC) method, which allows individualized training and assessment of teamwork competence in all the stages,including the outcome of this teamwork too. Secondly, the realised fieldwork for obtaining indicators that allow evaluatethe required effort in order to use CTMTC, focusing on aspects of monitoring (formative evaluation) and outcomes(summative evaluation) and also the enormous effort in time for the teachers to carry it out, are shown. Thirdly, the finalevaluation grades obtained by the teams and by their individual members, with the CTMTC method, justify the need ofapplying that personalized evaluation method and the search of technological tools, such as learning analytics, to help itsimplementation.


In this paper, several nonwoven and woven clothing are be selected for tested their protective, strength and comfortable. Through analysis their properties, the result can be seen that the nonwoven fabrics have better protective properties than woven fabrics, especially PVA nonwoven through water resistance finish. So, varies nonwoven clothing is used in hospital and family protective daily.


The development of high-speed rail requires introduction of new telecommunications technology implemented in an integrated digital technological communication system (IDTC). Features of building such systems comprise provision of switching optical data channels using photonic switches (PS). Switching processes in PS occur at the photon (optical) level. A feature of construction of PS is the use of multi-tier topologies, performed using binary switches (BSs). BS is the simplest switching element with the number of input/output ports equal to one or two. The concepts for constructing PS are based on the technology of the well-known switching circuits using BS whose architecture and topology are assigned the names of their creators (Benes, Spanke, Spanke–Benes architecture, Clos network, etc. With an increase in PS capacity, its structure becomes more complicated: the number of links in the switching circuit, the total number of BSs, the length of switching routes, and the redundancy factor increase. In addition, it becomes necessary to calculate the probabilities of the occurrence of internal blocking in switching circuits, speed of switching optical signals, the value of attenuation of the optical signal in PS circuit, etc. The objective of the study was to develop methods of analysis and synthesis of switching circuits of photonic switches using the example of a circuit of Spanke architecture of a given capacity with calculation of the probabilities of occurrence of internal blocking. The authors used general scientific and engineering methods of mathematical modelling, probability and queuing theory and an example of an algorithm for analysing the structures of Spanke topology with capacities from 4×4 to 128×128. Their topological and probabilistic characteristics (the number of links in the switching circuit, the total number of BS, the length of the switching routes, the probability of occurrence of internal blocking in PS circuits) have been determined. The results of calsulations are presented in the form of tables. The developed methods of analysis and synthesis can be used in the study of similar switching circuits built using BS.


A refrigerator, comprising an oil deterioration judging container (31) disposed between a four-way directional control valve (2) and a gas closing valve (24), whereby, because a gas refrigerant containing much refrigerating machine oil is discharged from a compressor (1) at the time of heating operation, the degree of deterioration of the oil can be judged easily, and thus the degree of deterioration of the refrigerating machine oil can be judged with a simple structure, and the reliability of the refrigerator can be maintained for long period.


We have added a new assessment activity to the suite of tools we use to assess the computer science major at Drury University. Called problem-based assessment, this activity is an easy and effectiv...


The results of the study of the functional state of the central and peripheral hemodynamics of students 12–13 years old during the trial of active orthostasis and mental stress. It is shown that girls in this age group are characterized by a more cost-effective response than boy son tests of active orthostasis and mental stress (in terms of heart rate, stroke volume and ejection fraction).


This is a collection of works by Albert Doja, translated in Albanian, aimed at showing how anthropology emerged and developed in Albania at the crossroad of Eastern and Western Europe. Albert Doja tries to identify different forms of distinction between folkloric-ethnographic studies and contemporary anthropology, emphasizing the necessity of embracing anthropological methodology in today's Albanian studies as a way to analyze and interpret Albanian specificities as an integral part of world processes. In these writings, he explores a number of issues related to the state of Albanian studies, cultural heritage, and national history, including the social, political, ideological, cultural and moral transformations related to identity processes, religious questions or gender relations. His comparative analyses of history, culture, politics, and society in Albania and Southeast Europe reveals the various academic cultures in which he had contributed and had gained experience, including the debates between structural anthropology and post-structuralism in the perspective of new theoretical approaches.


Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is produced commercially in a two-stage process consisting of a mercerization stage, where the pulp is treated with alkali in a water alcohol solution, followed by an ...


Soil test can be used toanalyze soil characterization. The character of soils can reflect the quality of underground water. Nowadays groundwater can be used as an alternative to drinking water. The mineral contain in soil will give an added value to the quality of groundwater. This study extracted groundwater from lot 1981, Bukit Tembaga, Kuala Nerang Kedah which was in Padang Terap district. Generally this area is classified as hilly area and surrounded by a rubber plantation. The objective of this paper is to analyze characterization of the soil in term of oxide compound, groundwater quality and correlation between chemical concentration and groundwater quality. Chemical concentration in soil was analyzed using XRF. Groundwater quality was tested by using APHA standard 2012. The parameters for groundwater sourcewere compared with the Groundwater Standard. The correlation coefficientvalue is calculated using Pearson's method. The results indicated that certain metals present in the soil and groundwater samples. The negative value of correlation coefficientproved that high concentration of metals in soil resulted to low concentration of metals in groundwater.


A 62-year-old woman had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head after presenting with a possible transient ischaemic attack. The MRI demonstrated no evidence of a recent event but showed small T2 intense foci consistent with mature ischaemic lesions. Incidentally, 'a heterogeneous signal throughout the marrow space of the cranial vault' was reported on the axial T2 scan (left) and a lateral skull X-ray was suggested. This showed multiple 'punched out' lytic lesions throughout the skull vault (right) and she was referred to the haematology department urgently with a probable diagnosis of multiple myeloma. On review, she was asymptomatic and had a normal full blood count, creatinine and calcium. She had an IgMj paraprotein that was too low to quantitate and a normal serum free light chain ratio; her urine was negative for Bence–Jones protein. A skeletal survey demonstrated additional lesions in the mandible, some with endosteal scalloping and less convincing lesions in the right distal femur. Bone marrow aspiration and trephine biopsy were performed, these showing just 3% plasma cells. At this point, the differential diagnosis was reconsidered. The skull has two cortical layers with marrow between them. Skull lesions with lytic appearances can arise from the bone itself or occur either by distant metastasis or local invasion. The differential diagnosis for multiple lytic lesions on a skull X-ray in a patient of this age includes: multiple myeloma, metastases (particularly breast, lung, renal and prostate carcinoma), leukaemia, 'brown tumours' (osteitis fibrosa cystica secondary to hyperparathyroidism), venous lakes and vascular channels, Pacchionian granulations (hypertrophied arachnoid villi), benign lipomas and osteoporosis. Lipomas are relatively rare in the bone marrow despite the fact that it is rich in fatty tissue. MRI is useful for the detection of lipomas because they have a homogenous high signal on T1 and suppression on short T1 inversion recovery (STIR) sequences. This distinguishes them from metastases and inflammatory lesions. Our patient went on to have a further MRI showing high signal on T1, suppression on STIR and no enhancement post-contrast, in keeping with a signal of fat in a lobular pattern, that is multiple lipomas giving the X-ray appearances. A computerized tomography (CT) of the body cavities revealed no primary disease. Some lucencies in the axial skeleton on CT were also confirmed to be the signal of fat on axial MRIs. She was reassured and discharged from the haematology clinic.


Strengthen and extend important foreign policy that cooperates to have been our country to Russia .Develop contin- nously along with economic relation in Sino-Russian,and then appeared the new variety and characteristicses.Under the con- dition of market economy,construct economic cooperative relation in new Sino-Russion,expand the province of Heilongjiang to cooperate with the deep time the contents to the new cooperation realm of Russia continuously,look for the new coopera- tion growth to order is two basic directions of the country economics and trade relationship developments currently,develop economic cooperative relation in place to have huge potential and the foreground of the amplitudes to the two countries par- ticularly,and have the very important meaning towards developping the old industry base of northeast.


Cayratia trifolia (Linn.) Domin (Vitaceae) is a perennial climber, commonly known as fox grape in English, Amalbel, Ramchana in Hindi and Amlavetash in Sanskrit, found in India, Asia and Australia. The infusion of seeds along with extract of tubers is used traditionally for the treatment of diabetes. Whole plant is used as diuretic, in tremors and splenopathy. It is reported to possess antiviral, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, hypoglycaemic, anticancer and diuretic activity etc. The present study was carried out to establish the pharmacognostical studies, physico-chemical parameters along with preliminary phytochemical screening of petroleum ether, chloroform, methanolic and aqueous extracts of Cayratia trifolia (Linn.) Domin. The macroscopical and microscopical characters were studied. The transverse section (T.S.) of stem indicated the arrangement of various cells in cork, cortex, phelloderm and pith region. The histochemical color reaction of T.S with different chemical reagents and preliminary phytochemical screening of various extracts revealed the presence of carbohydrate, flavonoids sterols, phenolic & tannins compounds. The physico-chemical parameters such as total, acid insoluble, water insoluble and sulphated ash (6.85, 0.47, 5.45 and 4.45%w/w respectively), loss on drying (8.17 %w/w) extractive values and fluorescence analysis of extracts and powder treated with different chemical reagents were studied under ordinary light, short and long UV lights. The foaming and swelling index were also studied. These studies will be helpful in developing standards for quality, purity and sample identification of this plant. INTRODUCTION: Cayratia trifolia (Linn.) Domin (Vitaceae) is a perennial climber, commonly known as fox grape in English, Amalbel, Ramchana in Hindi and Amlavetash in Sanskrit, found in India, Asia and Australia . The plant is found in hilly regions as well as the hotter part of India from Jammu and Rajasthan to Assam. The plant have trifoliated leaves with (2-3cm) long petioles and ovate to oblong-ovate leaflets. Flowers are small greenish white and brown in colour. Fruits are fleshy, juicy, spherical, about 1 cm in diameter of dark purple or black color. The roots of the plant is used as poultice on boils. Infusion of seeds along with extract of tubers is traditionally given orally to diabetic patients to check sugar level of blood. Whole plant is used as diuretic, in tumors, neuralgia and splenopathy. The paste of tubers is applied on the affected part in the treatment of snake bite. It is reported to possess antiviral, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, hypoglycaemic, anticancer and diuretic


The Problem discussed here is to minimize functions of positive definite matrices of the form where z1 …wm are given column vectors in C(n) The infinimum of f(R) is found, and necessary and sufficient conditions for f(R) to have a minimum are established. The case in which R is restricted to real positive definite matrices is discussed.


Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in dementia is a major challenge for the health‐care system with a lack of effective treatment strategies. Especially agitation and aggression are pivotal as they represent a large part of the health and social care costs of dementia. But the mechanisms of agitation and aggression are still largely unknown. Comorbid TDP‐43 pathology is common in AD, and here we wanted to explore the association of TDP‐43 pathology and agitation and other NPS in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body dementia (LBD).


Analyses articles and citations in Demography India from 1972 to 2001. Identifies core areas of demographic studies, institution-wise contribution of articles and geographical area pertaining to the articles. Determines the trend-line and fiveyearly moving average of the year-wise distribution of collaboration coefficients for ascertaining the trends in the distribution of single and multi-authored articles. Obtains slight inclination of authors towards collaboration. Using regression analysis formulates Lotkais relationships and hence determines the values of constant K and index ‐ in the relationship. Finds that Lotkais relationship is valid for authors with more than three publications only. Determines some closer relationship than Lotkais by using regression ranking. Identifies most-cited journals, examines bibliographic forms of cited documents, average age of citations and rate of citation per article. The findings of this study are compared with the results of similar studies.


The article deals with the problems of management and marketing use in the formation of the market-focused model of region development management. The influence of management and marketing on industrial, financial and social policy is shown. The role of investments in maintenance of self-development of a region's economy is defined.


Finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) is a very attractive solution control tool for power converters and drives. FCS-MPC is based on the calculation of the future system behavior and evaluated a cost function g of all switching states available in the three-level neutral-point clamped (3L-NPC) inverter. The optimal switching state minimizes g is selected and applied directly to the inverter. The main drawback of FCS-MPC is the larger computational burden. In this paper, a modified multi-objective (MO) FCS-MPC for 3L-NPC inverter based on compensation of computational delay is proposed. Accordingly, four MO FCS-MPCs are proposed and they transient-state and steady-state performances are compared with each other by simulation results.


High speed and low cost sorting architectures are highly desired in many signal processing applications. Recently, the specific sorter that outputs only the first two minimum/maximum values received specific attention due to its major role in iterative channel decoders. In this paper, a high speed and low cost architecture for the selection of the first two smallest values is proposed. A detailed analysis of the elementary sorting units, computational complexity and structural modularity are addressed. Compared to existing architectures, the proposed architecture offers the highest throughput and, when synthesized on 28-nm TSMC technologies, achieves up to 50 % area reduction and up to 30 % critical path reduction. Consequently, the area efficiency, defined as the number of sorted symbols per second per µm2, is increased by a factor ranging from 1.17 to 2. The proposed architecture is suitable for binary and non-binary LDPC decoders as well as for any other application requiring a two-minimum sorting function.


Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 46 ul'yanova St., Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Russian FederationThe aim of the investigation was to evaluate the cutting properties of a laser scalpel by applying heavily absorbing coatings (HAC) on an operating silica fiber end.Materials and Methods. In the investigation we used a laser scalpel with wavelength 0.97 µm and output power 3 and 7 W. Tissue was incised by a fiber without coating and coated by a carbon layer or graphite-based HAC.Results. The assessment of ex vivo tissue incision rate showed a laser scalpel with HAC on a fiber tip to provide maximum cutting rate. Moreover, the mode was characterized by the minimum coagulation area. Incision width is slightly less than that resulted from using a clean fiber end. HAC was more resistant to mechanical and laser action, and persisted on a fiber tip far longer than carbon. In vivo studies on animal skin showed all tissue incision modes to exhibit high coagulability. Histological analysis revealed that laser cutting using a fiber tip having different coatings formed similar tissue structural changes. Skin appeared to have burn destruction of epidermis along the laser exposure width. Derma was found to have visible coagulation morphological changes of the structure. Beneath the coagulation area there were collagen fibers with altered properties: areas with swollen fibers, as well as destruction areas with disruptions and ruptures. HAC application enabled to reduce laser radiation power to provide effective tissue incision.Key words: laser scalpel; laser radiation; heavily absorbing coatings.For contacts: Elagin Vadim Vyacheslavovich, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Resection of Biotissue


Substitute structures for old railway bridges with open railway tracks, which are constructed in accordance with valid European standards and regulations, require a specific, suitable deck slab design. Therefore, a composite plate with cellular longitudinal shear connectors and a low overall depth of 200 mm has been investigated at the Research Centre of Steel Structures (TU Wien). The research programme comprised experimental studies as well as additional numerical analyses by means of the finite element method concerning the shear force transmission‐mechanism of the sandwich design. Laboratory studies included, among other issues, information about the failure mechanism in the core concrete. This article provides a description of the test program and gives a brief summary of selected research results. A short overview on continuing research activities to determine the serviceability, the load‐bearing capacity as well as the fatigue strength of the sandwich plate is presented.


Rooted in Spanish colonization, white and Indian crossbreeding is a subject of great interest for understanding both the colonial society and the whole social history of Latin America. This article seeks to study the phenomenon. It first inquires into the type of society that characterized the colonial period as well as about the mestizos' place in it, showing their marginal status. It then approaches the question of the development of this society, emphasizing the mestizo response to their own exclusion through diverse socialcamouflage mechanisms. Given these strategies, together with the slow growth of the mestizo population within Latin American society, and based on the advantages of their bi-culturalism (due to their Hispanic and American origins), the formally ignored mestizos slowly undermined the social system itself, without having to participate as a cohesive social group in the bourgeois revolution that led to independence.


By using the specific primers designed from the FaEtr1 cDNA and the FaErs1 cDNA,580 bp fragment of FaEtr1 and 445 bp fragment of FaErs1 were cloned.The FaEtr1 and FaErs1 cDNA were inserted into reverse orientation between the CaMV 35S promoter and Nos terminator of the expression vector pBI121,respectively,and two antisense expression vectors pBI121Etr1 and pBI121Ers1 were obtained.FaEtr1 and FaErs1 antisense genes with 35S promoter and Nos terminator were inserted into expression vector pCAMBIA1301 together to generate double genes plant expression vector pFRS.Vectors of pBI121Etr1,pBI121Ers1 and pFRS were transformed into Agrobactrium tumefaciens EHA 105.Correct construction and transformation were confirmed by PCR and restriction enzymes analysis.


Uncertainty of crude oil market causes the value of oil and gas exploration assets to fluctuate upward, remain unchanged, and fluctuate downward. So exploration project investment is usually chartered by multistages. This brings many challenges to investment decisions regarding the sustainable utilization of exploration assets. To avoid the investment risk of exploration projects, a portfolio option method based on the trigeminal tree model was proposed. By analysing the real options involved in oil and gas exploration assets, the investment process is divided into European options and American options. The pricing model of portfolio options is constructed by the trigeminal tree method, and sequential compound diagram and compound option diagram are built. Volatility is predicted based on the GARCH model, and then, the trinomial tree of the underlying asset value, evolution chart, sequential compound option chart, and portfolio option chart is established, respectively. Finally, the project option value is calculated. The application shows that the ROV of oil and gas exploration project of company A is 1.39 million US$ (USMM$), and the project value is 279.87 USMM$. Compared with the binary tree model, the model is superior to the traditional option pricing method in the application effect, which provides a scientific basis for investment decision-making.


In this paper a new detection technique based on the instantaneous reactive power signature analysis is proposed for the diagnosis of rotor cage faults in induction motors drives. Experimental tests were carried out on an induction motor with several faulty rotors and the obtained results corroborate the effectiveness of the instantaneous reactive power approach for the detection of broken rotor bars in inverter-fed induction motors. A suitable fault severity factor is also proposed as an indicator of the condition of the machine.


Abstract Beginning in the 1970s, education has responded to the rise of neoliberalism across macro-, meso-, and micro-level contexts through shifts in practice and structure. Meanwhile, language learning is often promoted as an instrument in job attainment and transnational business communication. For example, in language education, courses in language for specific purposes, whose ubiquity continues to increase, often reflect the market rationality embedded in contemporary education and support an instrumental orientation to language learning. This ethnographic study investigates the neoliberal discourses taken up by students and the instructor in a university-level Spanish for Business classroom. Drawing on triangulated data from classroom observations, field notes, informal interviews with students and the instructor, and a semi-formal interview with a focal student participant, the findings suggest that competition, compliance, and individualism were among the ideological discourses of the classroom. However, while societal and institutional discourses of neoliberalism were often interpellated, they were also resisted. Implications for praxis are also discussed.


In automotive parts manufacture, the quality of the products is the most important issue for a manufacturer. This research presents the design and development of an intelligent vision module classifying the defects on object surfaces using image processing, artificial intelligence, convolutional neural network algorithm as if using human vision. The developed prototype was a neural network-supported computing system for classifying the defects on the surface of black car jacks of 10x10x19 cm (W x L x H) in an environment with specific brightness. The test result was the average precision of 95.6%, showing that it could detect defects on the four types of surfaces previously specified in the Deep Learning process. It could also detect more than one defects on the same object on the belt conveyor system in real time without underfitting or overfitting problem.


Objective Heat shock protein 70(Hsp 70) might be of significance in the generation, formation and prognosis of cerebral infarction. We performed this study to investigate dynamic changes and possible roles of anti-Hsp70 antibody in the onset and recovery of ischemic stroke. Methods We selected 65 patients aged over 60 years with cerebral infarction( 22 mild, 21middle and 22 severe), and 34 healthy cases as control group. We tested anti-Hsp 70 antibody levels of the patients on 1st, 15th and 30th day after the onset of cerebral infarction using western blot. Results Our results showed that there is a significant increase of positive rate of this antibody in rnild (2/22), middle (4/21) and severe (5/22) elderly patients with cerebral infarction when the onset of this disease compared with control group(1/34) and it is highest in severe patients among these groups. There is a significant decrease of positive rate in these patients with cerebral infarction during their recovery and there is only one patient with positive anti-Hsp70 level at 1: 10 dilution on the 30th day after the onset. Conclusion Our results suggested that anti-Hsp70 antibody may play an important role in the generation and recovery of cerebral infarction.


As opposed to other fuel combustion appliances, in case of gas stoves, combustion products are released directly into the apartment air. Some people actually spend much time in such environment. Therefore, even low concentrations of harmful substances emitted with combustion products can pose a threat to health and life of people. Maximum allowable concentration of harmful substances in the air was analyzed for various countries. Theoretical calculations of possible content of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in gas-supplied kitchens were performed. Actual NOx content in the air was experimentally studied under various operating conditions of gas stoves and ventilation options. According to the study results, in most of the room, NOx concentration at the height of breathing level of a standing person can exceed the allowable value for premises intended for permanent occupancy.


The enzymatic degradation of solution-cast films of bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [PHB] and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(HB-co-HV)] with various comonomer compositions and with various composition distributions was investigated by using PHB depolymerase purified from Alcaligenes faecalis T1. We prepared P(HB-co-HV) samples with different composition distribution by fractional precipitation of P(HB-co-HV). The rate of enzymatic degradation of the P(HB-co-HV) samples showed a linear increase with the HV content up to about 30 mol-%. Although the crystalline phase structure of the P(HB-co-HV)s changes depending on the composition distribution, their enzymatic degradability is independent of the composition distribution. The comonomer composition distribution and the crystalline phase structure have little effect on the rate of enzymatic degradation. The rate of enzymatic degradation of P(HB-co-HV) can be predicted on the basis of its average monomer composition.


Abstract Objective To improve estimates of vitamin A deficiency in children of pre-school age in the 2006 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS 2006). Design A cross-sectional study in which dried blood spot samples were analysed for C-reactive protein (CRP). Retinol-binding protein (RBP) had previously been analysed using a commercial enzyme immunoassay. Setting A population-based study in Uganda. Subjects A systematically selected subset of the dried blood spot samples collected from children aged 6–59 months for UDHS 2006. Children were categorized into 'normal CRP' (Group A) and 'raised CRP' (Group B) using a CRP cut-off of 5 mg/l. A correction factor was calculated to adjust the Group B RBP values for the influence of the acute-phase response. Results Geometric mean CRP was 6·2 (95 % CI 5·5, 7·0) mg/l, 1·6 (95 % CI 1·5, 1·8) mg/l and 17·9 (95 % CI 16·4, 19·6) mg/l in all children, in Group A and in Group B, respectively. Geometric mean RBP in all children, in Group A and in Group B was 1·18 (95 % CI 1·14, 1·22) μmol/l, 1·26 (95 % CI 1·20, 1·33) μmol/l and 1·12 (95 % CI 1·07, 1·17) μmol/l, respectively, before correction. Correction increased mean RBP in Group B to 1·26 (95 % CI 1·21, 1·31) μmol/l. The prevalence of vitamin A deficiency (RBP < 0·825 μmol/l) reduced from 18·4 % (95 % CI 17·2, 23·0 %) to 13·9 % (95 % CI 11·3, 16·5 %). Conclusions Correcting for the acute-phase response significantly reduced the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency; thus, the acute-phase response should be considered when vitamin A status is assessed using RBP in order to improve population-level estimates of vitamin A deficiency.


Purpose
This paper aims to critically reflect on the growing systems orientation in marketing research and the approaches used to understand marketing systems. In response, the paper offers an integrative metatheory built on the ontic necessity and subsequently constitutive and causal efficacy of relations.

Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper is built on a logic of critique, identifying the generative absences that produce problems in the frameworks in use and attempting to rectify these problems by offering an alternative meta-theoretical structure. This paper draws from critical realism, systems thinking and relational sociology.

Findings
This paper advocates for an emergentist ontology for marketing systems built on the value of both substance and relation as co-principles of existence and the subsequent irreducible stratification derived from this. This position suggests the following propositions: the ontological premise of being is reliant on relations; the social world is constructed of stratified levels of organisation in which entities, their properties and powers emerge by virtue of these relations; these entities operate in complex and mutually modifying interrelations; stability and change is the result of this complex interplay of temporally/spatially stratified relations; and time and space are properties and potential powers of organisation.

Originality/value
This paper considers a number of inconsistencies in current approaches to the study of marketing systems arguing these arise based on the absence of a view of relations that supports an effective theory of emergence. In response, the paper develops a set of ontological presuppositions regarding the nature of marketing systems and a subsequent set of epistemic conditions as an integrative metatheoretical position, through which these systems are better understood and analysed. The paper argues that these improve our ability to theorise about the multi-dimensionality of these systems.


1. Intraperitoneal injections of cimetidine into rats markedly reduced gastric acid production. When given at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight, rate of acid production fell from a mean of 2.73 μmol/min (s.d. = 0.32) to a lowest level of 0.81 (s.d. = 0.28): the difference was highly significant (P< 0.005). When given in a dose of 100 mg/kg, the rate of acid production further fell to 0.18 μmmol/min (s.d. = 0.12; P< 0.001).


The present chapter discusses the nature of e-loyalty in B2C e-commerce. Based on previous theoretical work on loyalty in traditional commercial settings, we argue that highly affective forms of loyalty are unlikely to develop in online environments. Rather, we suggest that the e-commerce environment promotes self-sufficiency and mitigate the need for customer/employee interaction which represents a primary source of affect. Research on relationships in both social psychology and marketing suggests that this loss may not affect all customers equally. We distinguish between customers who value establishing interpersonal relationships with company employees (communally oriented) from customers who see customer/employee interactions as utilitarian and who derive little social benefits from such encounters (exchange oriented). The chapter suggests that online environments may be seen as useful by communally-oriented customers but relationally unsatisfying. Conversely, there exists a good "fit" between what exchange oriented customers value in their relationships with companies and what online environments offer. Consequently, online companies should not be surprised to find that e-loyal customers may be predominantly exchange oriented. Finally, we argue that because e-loyalty lacks a strong affective foundation, it may be less enduring than "traditional" customer loyalty. Implications of our analysis and areas for future research are discussed.


The invention discloses a safety syringe structure comprising a syringe, a push rod arranged inside the syringe and a syringe needle group connected with the push rod, wherein a syringe needle of the syringe needle group extends out of the syringe, and a cover is sleeved on the syringe needle. The safety syringe structure is characterized in that the push rod comprises a rod body, a butt joint seat is arranged at the top of the rod body, a butt joint hole is disposed on the butt joint seat and connected with the bottom of a metal hook body; the syringe needle group comprises a syringe needle seat and a syringe needle connected with the syringe needle seat, and a lock groove is arranged at the bottom of the syringe needle. When in use, the cover of the safety syringe needle is taken down for normal injection, and when the injection is finished, the metal hook body is inserted into the lock groove and positioned, and the push rod is pulled out outwards, and thereby the syringe needle is driven into the syringe, and the push rod is snapped. Accordingly, the syringe needle is arranged in the syringe, a user is not prone to be stabbed and infected. The invention has the advantages of safety, sanitation, high working efficiency and low manufacturing cost.


The method compiles system program and each application program respectively. The generated system files and application files in standard file format are stored in pointed space of flash memory. Themethod makes system or application files in handheld device possible to update singly, makes operation of system and application software simpler, easier and more efficient. Thus, the invention provides more convenient use environment for users.


A new control problem of roll-pitch seeker about the disturbance coupling is investigated in this work. Previous control strategies of roll-pitch seeker rarely considered the effects of the dynamic coupling disturbances from the missile angular motion, and because of the polar coordinate structure, the disturbance rejection strategies of yaw-pitch seeker cannot be utilized directly on roll-pitch seeker. Thus this article presents a new control strategy to improve the disturbance rejection ability of roll-pitch seeker. To analyze the disturbance coupling problem, the roll-pitch seeker model is derived with consideration of the missile body angular motion and torque disturbances. The motion equation of roll-pitch seeker shows that part of the dynamic coupling disturbance can be eliminated by certain choices of inertial parameters. The rest of disturbance is reduced by the stabilization loops using a differentiator-based disturbance compensation controller. Particularly, a missile body angular acceleration estimation method is designed for the compensator based on an adaptive differentiator. In addition, comparisons with other control strategies are carried out via numerical simulations, and the results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Diesel and sunflower oil (sfo) injection sprays have been filmed using a high speed camera and a single shot fuel injection rig. The fuel was sprayed into atmospheric air, or dry nitrogen, at either 2, 4 or 6 mpa. A range of fuel rack settings were also used. The injection characteristics, of penetration and spray angle, were then derived from the film data for the fuels under the various test conditions. The differences in diesel and sfo fuel sprays are highlighted and qualitatively related to the physical and chemical properties that may cause these differences, and their likely influence on engine operation (a).


Objective
To provide a basis for development of preventive measures through dynamical monitoring of the changing trends of endemic fluorosis areas and the prevalence of drinking-water-borne endemic fluorosis.

Methods
Using simple random sampling method, thirty monitoring villages in 11 counties of Inner Mongolia were selected as fixed monitoring villages from 2012 to 2016. The operation of water improvement projects was investigated, and water fluoride content was tested. Dental fluorosis of all 8 to 12-year-old students was diagnosed in the villages. Stratified random sampling by age was used to select 50 adults over 25-year-old in each monitoring village, and skeletal fluorosis was examined by X-ray.

Results
①In 2012-2016, the water-improved rate of monitoring villages was 78.67% (118/150). Of all the water-improved projects, normal operating projects accounted for 92.98% (106/114). The exceeded rate of water fluoride in water-improved village was 31.36% (37/118). ②The detection rate of dental fluorosis and community fluorosis index (CFI) in children aged 8-12 of the villages with normal operating projects and qualified fluoride content were 20.88% (533/2 553) and 0.41; the detection rate of dental fluorosis and CFI of the villages with water-improved projects under abnormal operation or excessive fluoride were 49.53% (318/642) and 0.98; the detection rate of dental fluorosis and CFI of the villages without water-improved projects were 37.14% (442/1 190) and 0.76. ③The detection rate of X-ray skeletal fluorosis in adults of the villages with normal operating projects and qualified fluoride content was 18.97% (140/738); the detection rate of X-ray skeletal fluorosis in adults of the villages with water-improved projects under abnormal operation or excessive fluoride was 31.53% (111/352); the detection rate of X-ray in adults of the villages without water improvement projects was 31.17% (96/308).

Conclusions
Up to now, in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, some villages have not yet improved their drinking water quality, water fluoride content in some projects has exceeded the standard seriously, the prevalence of dental fluorosis in children aged 8-12 is very mild, there are still moderate and severe endemic areas. So the prevention and control measures of the water-improved defluoridation need to be further strengthened.

Key words:
Fluorosis, dental; Skeletal fluorosis; Monitoring


Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the millennials' intention to choose tawarruq home financing in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach
The primary data were gathered via the questionnaire survey administered among Islamic banking customers in Sandakan, Sabah. Data obtained were analysed via multiple regression analysis using the software, Statistical Package for Social Sciences.

Findings
This study found that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, religiosity and knowledge in muamalat had a positive significant relationship towards millennials' intention to choose tawarruq home financing in Sandakan, Sabah.

Research limitations/implications
This study used the sample size by inviting over 150 participants who filled the questionnaires and the area of coverage for the current study was limited to Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. Besides, the contributions of this study were confined to those factors examined in the research's conceptual framework.

Practical implications
The results obtained through this study can help muamalat practitioners in providing the best practice of tawarruq home financing in the locality at best. In addition, this study also helps to guide managers of Islamic banks to plan better offers of the facility among local folks.

Originality/value
This study integrated religiosity and knowledge in muamalat in explaining millennials' acceptance of tawarruq home financing in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.


This paper is focused on Modern Monetary Theory's (MMT) treatment of inflation from an open economy perspective. It analyzes how the inflation process is explained within the MMT framework and provides empirical evidence in support of this vision. However, it also makes use of a stock-flow consistent (open economy) model to underline some limits of the theory when it is applied in the context of a non-US (relatively) open economy with a flexible exchange rate regime. The model challenges the contention made by MMTers that measures such as the job guarantee program can achieve full employment without facing an inflation-unemployment trade-off.


"Comprising 15 essays by Canadian writers and scholars, Renegade Bodies is a book that embraces lively discussion about artistic and cultural shifts along with the social and political transformations of the 1970s. How were dance and its practitioners affected by the vigorous and varying beliefs, the principles and key societal trends of the times?" -- Publisher's website.


Abstract:In much recent research on missions and colonialism, the notion of a civilizing mission has served to highlight asymmetries of power in colonial encounters. Drawing on the example of the school and orphanage run by German Protestant deaconesses in late Ottoman Beirut, this article questions these perspectives, arguing that an analysis focused on the criterion of discipline fails to seize the profoundly reciprocal character of missionary encounters. Missionaries were doubtlessly involved in bringing about global cultural transformations, but they were not omnipotent. Offering a novel perspective on the study of missions, this article shows that local agency as well as the dynamics of the larger field turned the missionary encounter into a process of negotiation starkly at odds with the idea of a unidirectional civilizing mission.


Multi-utility Spacecraft Charging Analysis Tool (MUSCAT), a spacecraft charging analysis software, has been developed as a joint work of JAXA and KIT. Experiments for the fundamental code validation were carried out at the plasma chamber of LaSEINE in KIT to show accuracy of the solver. We evaluated that the test section in the chamber with respect to the plasma environment by measuring two-dimensional plasma distribution and plasma drift velocity. A cube area of 400mm on a side whose center located at the 550mm downstream from plasma source can be considered as the test section with no plasma flow. The averaged plasma density, temperature and plasma potential within this test section were 3±2x10 12 m -3 , 2±1eV and 10±5V, respectively. The length of test section 400mm corresponds to about 67λ D . Spatial distribution of electric potential and IV characteristic curve were measured with an emissive probe and the Langmuir probe whose electrode were cubic in shape to adjust the rectangular numerical domain of MUSCAT. Comparing those experimental results with the numerical ones, both had good agreements. These results show that the physical functions of MUSCAT simulate charging processes quite well. Also, numerical model of the cell-side of solar array paddle was obtained. Conductor patches whose size is the quarter of total amount of the interconnector exposed area put on the coverglass can simulate the cell-side of a real solar array with respect to current collection.


Objective: We recently described a novel regulatory role for histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) in vascular endothelial cell protection against the known endothelial injury stimulus Oxidize Low Density ...


Reprint requests: Dr. Robbins, Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 In normal adults, speech production and swallowing are automatic behaviors that necessitate smooth, rapid integration of afferent and motor impulses supplying oropharyngeal structures and the respiratory system. Although the movement patterns of swallowing and speech production differ substantially, the major components of the vocal tract and the movements of those components, synchronized with respiration or its cessation, are much the same. Therefore, it is likely that impaired sensory or motor innervation of the structures will result in functional deficits of both sensorimotor activities. In fact, neurologically impaired adults frequently exhibit co-occurring disturbances of speech production and swallowing (Darley, Aronson, and Brown, 1975; Logemann, Boshes, Blonsky, and Fisher, 1975; Robbins, Logemann, and Kirchner, in press).


INTRODUCTION Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by highly variegated stereotype behavior and deficits in social interactions [1]. There is also evidence of significant motor deficits in gait in comparison to children with typical development [2,3]. This may place children with ASD at a motor functional disadvantage when carrying a loaded backpack during over-ground walking [4], which may increase their risks of sustaining an acute injury (trips, slips, and falls). A child's school is a dynamic environment and may challenge children with ASD to process information about their surroundings more quickly. A child with ASD may not be able to process this information and it is therefore important to obtain more insight into the mechanical adaptations made during over-ground walking when carrying the load of a school backpack [2].


A morphological descriptor based on the Fourier analysis of particle profiles is proposed to measure the particle shape, roughness and surface texture. To illustrate the potential practical use of the proposed method, profiles of two typical crushed aggregate particles were captured using an imaging technique and Fourier analysis was performed on the profiles to obtain the proposed morphological descriptor. Physical meanings of the proposed descriptor were also explored.


PREFACE The purpose of this report is to describe the applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the European Space program that are being developed or have been developed. This report describes the results of a study sponsored by the Artificial Intelligence Research and Development program of NASA's Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology (OACT). The report is divided into two sections. The first consists of site reports, which are descriptions of the AI applications we saw at each place we visited. The second section consists of two summaries which synthesize the information in the site reports by organizing this information in two different ways. The first organizes the material in terms of the type of application, e.g., data analysis, planning and scheduling, and procedure management. The second organizes the material in terms of the component technologies of Artificial Intelligence which the applications used, e.g., knowledge based systems, model based reasoning, procedural reasoning, etc. This Preface provides the reader with the context in which the study was undertaken and carried out. NASA's AI R&D program is responsible for the development of AI technologies and for their application to NASA projects for the purpose of reducing the cost of operations and for increasing the return on investment in Space science projects. The former is done through AI applications in areas such as intelligent design assistance, automated fault diagnosis, planning, and scheduling. The latter is done through the use of intelligent tools for science data archiving, retrieval, analysis, and visualization. The program is responsible for fundamental research into new AI technology which will be useful to NASA, and for the infusion of existing AI technology into ongoing and planned NASA projects in which that technology yields reduced cost, improved operational capability, or increased levels of scientific study. A brief look at the history of this program will provide the context as to why this review of applications of AI to European Space projects was undertaken. In 1985, NASA initiated an Artificial Intelligence R&D program. This was done in response to a request from Congress that NASA develop and implement advanced automation technologies for use on Space Station and in the Space program. I was named the AI program manager at its inception, and have held that position ever since. Ames Research Center was named the Lead Center, and Dr. Peter Friedland was brought on to build and lead a team of AI researchers …


This article analyses how the political matters of the Spanish colonies were dealt with in the Court. Besides the interest that this topic has as such, this matter may help to define a paradigm of the "regimen de despacho" in the court of Philip III, about which there is no a model unanimously accepted. The analysis of the "consultas" and the royal decrees reveals the existence of a continuist institutional model in which the king had an active and decisive role, the "valido" –favourite- held the seat of the previous royal secretaries, and the Council of Indies still had the primacy in the bureaucratic apparatus which advised the king.


During my PhD program in "Human Reproduction, Development and Growth"
(XXVII Cycle, years 2011-2014), I contributed to the development of new approaches
for the treatment of PIDs and other genetic diseases by advanced therapies, such as gene
and cellular therapy.
Moreover, I participated in the clinical and biological characterization of patients
with immunodeficiencies and in the implementation of new approaches for the clinical
management of children affected by hematological and immunological disorders
undergoing bone marrow transplantation.
My other lines of research have been focused on the use of new drugs in
pediatric population, characterization of severe and unusual conditions and description
of the State of the Art of known patologies in childhood.


PURPOSE: To simplify an in-line coating of a rapid evaporative printing ink containing high pigment content and rough pigment in combination with other process by constituting two lacquering units having impression cylinders, plate cylinders and applicator rollers and installed upstream of the unit as a flexographic printing unit. CONSTITUTION: A coating substance is transferred to plate cylinders 10.1 for coloring a letterpress through a lattice cell of an applicator roller 11, and applied to a printed matter supplied to an impression cylinder 8.1. A lacquering unit 7 has roller pair for forming a metering gap. A metering roller 13 is approached and regulated to an applicator roller 14. The substance is introduced directly into the gap between both the rollers, and supplied to a plate cylinder 10.2. Then, the cylinder applies the substance to a printed matter supplied by an impression cylinder 8.2. A good working result for a metal gloss coating is performed particularly by zigzag disposing an offset printing, flexographic printing and laquering.


In the title compound, (C6H6NO2)2[SbCl5]·H2O, the SbIII atom exhibits a distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry. The crystal structure is stabilized by intermolecular N—H⋯Cl, N—H⋯O, O—H⋯Cl and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming an extended three-dimensional network.


This research paper describes the attitude of employees and business managers about training needs and other aspects related to training. It is a descriptive and explanatory research, where a questionnaire was applied to a total of 664 collaborators who were visited in the City of Panama, and 146 questionnaires were applied to company managers. The fieldwork with the collaborators was carried out by undergraduate students, under the guidance of teachers. On the other hand, managers were surveyed by postgraduate students, also under the guidance of USMA faculty. The data was tabulated and processed using the SPSS 24 statistical program. In order to gather the information, a validated questionnaire was applied, which sought the opinions of collaborators and managers on the needs of training courses, and other aspects of training in companies. This research is a contribution of the USMA to show the reality of business training needs, in order to adapt a training offer to the needs of the work environment.


• Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is a deadly tumor that spans more than 780,000 new diagnoses and causes 750,000 annual deaths worldwide. • Alcoholic liver disease represents a common progressive chronic liver ailment that incites liver cirrhosis—a precancerous state of liver scarring—that increases the risk for HCC development • The health status of the liver affects HCC tumor biology and treatment responses; therefore, a large animal model capable of exhibiting both HCC and alcohol induced liver cirrhosis would be a valuable resource for preclinical research investigating HCC in its native comorbid cirrhotic microenvironment. • Pigs represent ideal human disease models due to their similar size, anatomy, metabolism, genetics, and epigenetics compared to humans. • This study utilized the innovative Oncopig Cancer Model (OCM)-–a transgenic swine model that recapitulates human cancer through development of site and cell specific tumors via induced expression of heterozygous KRASG12D and TP53R167H transgenes—to develop alcohol induced fibrosis in a porcine model capable of developing HCC tumors. Introduction


A high quality unburned brick for EAF (electric arc furnace) roof has been developed by using high grade bauxite chamotte as the main starting material ,adding industrial alumina powder to strengthen the matrix ,introducing a suitable amount of sillimanite and compound M and adopting high effective composite binder,The brick has apparent porosity 17%,bulk density 2.88 g/cm^3,refratoriness under load (3% deformation) 1560℃ and thermal shock resis-tance over 30 cycles.The mechanism of improving the spalling resistance is also discussed,The brick has been applied at 30 t EAF roofs,resulting in average service life of 145 heats ,the maximum 210 heats.


The professional activity of a specialist in modern society is primarily determined by their ability to make competent information interactions. Definitely, information is one of the main resources for the scientific, technical and socio-economic development of society. It plays an important role in the process of educational space modernization where the formation of the ability to find, analyse and process this information takes on special importance, requiring the development of innovative approaches to the research competence shaping future Ph.Ds. in their postgraduate studies. The article is aimed at substantiation of methodological approaches to solving the problem of building research competence of future Doctors of Philosophy during postgraduate studies. The objectives of the paper are to define the meaning of the basic component of the article – "approach", to analyse the fundamental approaches that provide building research competence of future Doctors of Philosophy as well as to substantiate the expediency of their use. Complex methods for solving the problems of a scientific paper have been used, including theoretical analysis and synthesis of ideas, results, theoretical statements (explained in scientific literature), generalization and systematization of the results of available investigations of the highlighted issue. Study results. The modern educational system focuses on building future specialists' competence as a result of their readiness and ability to solve educational problems and carry out research activities. The present paper is devoted to the problem of training future Doctors of Philosophy during postgraduate studies because the transmission to new educational standards significantly increased the relevance of the problem of building research competence that determines a lecturer's ability to investigate, plan and organize his /her work effectively to achieve the predicted result. The analysis of scientific and pedagogical studies established the conceptual core of methodological approaches to building future specialist's competence during postgraduate studies. In order to have the holistic view of research competence, its structure and meaning, as well as the laws of its development in relation to future Doctors of Philosophy, fundamental methodological approaches have been systematized, namely acmeological, systemic, cluster, personality-oriented, technological, axiological, competence-based, praxiological, facilitative, participatory, synergistic, meta-subject, and hermeneutic ones. Taking into account the development of new standards and the features of educational paradigms that provide the effectiveness of building research competence of future Doctors of Philosophy, the above mentioned complex approaches have been considered as basic and optimal ones. The analysis of best practices clearly shows that there is no common vision of the principles of combining methodological approaches in solving the issue of building research competence. The article presents the experience of combining methodological approaches in solving the issue of building research competence based on the principle of mean full dominants. The author has found out that the use of these approaches will provide the successful process of building research competence of future Doctors of Philosophy, their ability to create fundamental scientific developments focused on the shaping of educational space that will develop and improve the personality qualities of future Doctors of Philosophy for successful self-realization.


Top-down characterization of combinatorial and dense post-translational modifications (PTMs) on core histones has long been a big analytical challenge because of enormous putative proteoforms for identification and simultaneously enormous putative sites of each individual PTM for localization. ProteinGoggle 2.0, as implemented with the isotopic mass-to-charge ratio and envelope fingerprinting algorithm, has multiple unique strengths for top-down characterization of histone PTMs together with high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Here we report our database search and proteoform identification of HeLa core histone H4 using ProteinGoggle 2.0. The Theoretical database containing all putative proteoforms was created with shotgun annotation from the human H4 flat text downloaded from UniProt; information including the amino acid sequence, putative PTMs (methylation, di-methylation, tri-methylation, acetylation and phosphorylation) and amino acid variation (A77 to P) was adopted from the flat text file. A total of 426 proteoforms were confidently identified with a spectrum level false discovery rate of less than 1%, which represents the most comprehensive H4 proteoforms reported so far. Side-by-side comparison of these proteoforms with those identified by ProSightPC 2.0 was also made. By and large, ProteinGoggle 2.0 can be adopted for database search and proteoform identification of proteins with multiple combinatorial PTMs as well as amino acid variation.


Non-communicable disease (NCDs) refers to those conditions which are chronic, evolve slowly, and progress relentlessly. WHO defines NCDs as diseases of long duration, and with generally slow in progression. The burden of non-communicable diseases continues to increase in the lowand middle income countries despite the widely available evidence for effective interventions. Chronic diseasesmainly cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes-were contribute to around 38 million (68%) of all the deaths globally and to about 5.87 million (60%) of all deaths in India; more than 80% of these deaths occurred in low-income and middle-income countries. NCDs have negative impact on individuals, and family economic production and wellbeing. Modification of Asbab-e-Sitta Zarooriya and lifestyle is pragmatic approach for the control of non-communicable disease.


A man who had neurofibromatosis developed malignant melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. A review of the hospital records of 69 cases of solitary neurofibroma and 44 additional cases of neurofibromatosis revealed eight other patients who developed second neoplasms, including four with cutaneous sarcomas, three with squamous cell carcinoma, and one with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Although the incidence of sarcomatous degeneration is similar to that reported in the literature, the possibly increased incidence of other cutaneous neoplasms has not been previously observed.


In today's world VANET get a lot of attention because of its easy and comfortable less infra-structure and life-saving factor. But whatever the facilities is available now it's not properly able to provide a strong security to the vehicle to vehicle (V2V) or vehicle to infrastructure communication (V2I) so attacks obey the authentication, confidentiality, and security which can influence the privacy of the user. The mechanism of VANET is unloosed with a lot of security risk nowadays. This paper gives an idea of VANETS architecture, existing work in VANET with security issues and challenges. Further, provide the solution to that issue with comparative analysis and use group-based key share algorithm which is enhanced the privacy of users and provides some research guidance for upcoming work.


The emergence of large-scale engineering and macro engineering promotes the development of large-scale complex electromechanical systems (LCESs). The LCES complexity of structures and failure mechanisms makes it difficult to achieve the aim of health management and fault diagnosis of such systems. One of the reasons is lacking detailed consideration of various uncertainties from the process of system assessment. Belief rule base (BRB) shows advantages in modeling nonlinear complex systems under the uncertainty environment. However, the current BRB-based work only focuses on optimizing the initial parameters to deal with the impact of cognitive uncertainty, and issues, such as monitoring and environmental uncertainties, are not considered. Thus, this article proposes the multidiscounted BRB (MBRB) to evaluate the health status of LCESs. Different from traditional BRB, MBRB can reduce the negative influence of cognitive uncertainties on system assessment from another perspective, the so-called expert reliability discount model. In addition, monitoring and environmental uncertainties are also considered in MBRB modeling. Three uncertainties can be quantified by statistical models, and they can be integrated into MBRB by combining with evidence discount theory. Due to the treatment of these uncertainties, MBRB can provide accurate results. In comparison with traditional methods, the proposed method shows superior performance in the health assessment of high-speed trains.


The article refers to the history of the International Architectural Festival "Eco-Shore" – a unique international project on ecological, architectural, town-planning and design comprehension and development of the waterside space of oceans, seas, rivers and lakes. It also reviews the results of the Festival "Eco-Shore 2016" held in Baku.


Increasing evidence suggests that induction of lethal autophagy carries potential significance for the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM). In continuation of previous work, we demonstrate that pimozide and loperamide trigger an ATG5- and ATG7-dependent type of cell death that is significantly inhibited with the cathepsin inhibitors E64D/Pepstatin A and the lipid ROS scavenger α-tocopherol in MZ-54 GBM cells. Global proteomic analysis after treatment with both drugs also revealed an increase of proteins related to lipid and cholesterol metabolic processes. These changes were accompanied by AKT1 (AKT serine/threonine kinase 1) inhibition and a massive accumulation of cholesterol and other lipids in the lysosomal compartment, indicative of impaired lipid transport/degradation. In line with these observations, pimozide and loperamide treatment were associated with a pronounced increase of bioactive sphingolipids including ceramides, glucosylceramides and sphingoid bases measured by targeted lipidomic analysis. Furthermore, pimozide and loperamide inhibited the activity of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), increased lipid-ROS levels and promoted induction of lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP), as well as release of cathepsin B into the cytosol in MZ-54 wt cells. While LMP and cell death were significantly attenuated in ATG5/7 KO cells, both events were enhanced by depletion of the lysophagy receptor VCP (valosin containing protein), supporting a pro-survival function of lysophagy under these conditions. Collectively, our data suggest that pimozide and loperamide-driven autophagy and lipotoxicity synergize to induce LMP and lysosomal cell death. The results also support the notion that simultaneous overactivation of autophagy and induction of LMP represents a promising approach for the treatment of GBM.


Technology is present in human life with the intention of facilitating all kinds of activities that can be accessed by the community. As a result, technology is considered to have a fairly high efficiency value. Along with the development of the technological era, the government has managed to take advantage of this to carry out activities related to public services that have a clear legal basis for implementation, but there are still people in Jayapura Regency who do not know about the website, due to different constraints in each sub-district. The purpose of this study is to find out whether the Jayapura Regency Regional Government Website has been operating properly, as well as to identify the challenges faced and possible solutions. Alvaro Roscha's theory is used in this qualitative descriptive research method on the Jayapura Regency Government website. The method used to collect data includes observation and interviews. Research Results The Jayapura Regency Regional Government website is considered to function well, although the complaint system is still problematic and has not been able to provide a satisfactory response to the public. In addition, the Jayapura Regency Communication and Informatics Office has succeeded in effectively managing the Jayapura Regency Government website, although it still encounters obstacles such as pages that cannot be accessed, complaints that have not been handled, and the appearance of the website which is still simple to improve quality. Jayapura Regency Government, in this case the Ministry of Communication and Informatics can provide website technology training.


Reinforced electrically conductive polymer composites based on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene reactor powder and filled with various amounts of carbon black, graphite nanopowder, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes were studied. The composites were obtained via compaction of a mechanical mixture of the filler and the polymer reactor powders. This was followed by uniaxial deformation of the material under homogeneous shear conditions. The resulting composites possessed high tensile strength (up to 200 MPa) and electrical conductivity (up to 10 S/cm). Effects of the filler type and content on the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of the conductive composites were investigated. Changes in the electrical conductivity of the oriented composite materials during reversible "elongation–compression" cycles along the orientation axis direction were observed. The structure of the reinforced electrically conductive polymer composites was characterized using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. POLYM. COMPOS., 2017. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers


The wastage of resources is a symptom of today's affluent society and manifests itself, among other things, in large quantities of food waste and losses. Food waste and losses occur daily at all stages of the food value chain, with private households in industrialised countries being particularly striking. At the same time, private households show the greatest avoidance potential for the wastage. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the exploitation of this potential by deriving recommendations for target group-oriented communication on food waste reduction. A quantitative online survey (n = 801), representative of the German population in terms of age and gender distribution, was conducted in summer 2018. Based on a systematic literature search, reasons for the occurrence of food waste in private households were identified and combined with items on communication preferences. By means of factor analysis and subsequent hierarchical cluster analysis, six consumer segments were identified which differ in terms of their behaviour, attitudes and knowledge in relation to food waste. The clusters were characterized by demographic variables and their communication preferences. The results of the present work are explicit recommendations for target group-oriented communication with regard to food waste reduction measures. The statistically significant group differences regarding the factors for the generation of food waste underline the need for target group orientation in order to develop effective measures that ultimately contribute to a sustainable development. A need for research has been identified concerning a more profound characterisation of consumer segments in terms of their communication preferences.


The research paper describes the findings of recent excavations in Selungur cave (Fergana valley, Republic of Tajikistan). The study of found materials shows a complex snapshot of the formation of the Middle Paleolithic in the region, and that it is required to review the timeline and cultural background of this archaeological site.


The effects of natural ageing treatment prior to artificial ageing treatment on the microstructures and mechanical properties of AA7075 Al-5.7Zn-2.6Mg-1.5Cu-0.18Cr-0.08Mn-0.05Si-0.17Fe (wt.%) aluminum alloy have been investigated. The hardness of solution-treated samples (91.0 HV) profoundly increased to 146.8 HV after 7 days of natural ageing. The purpose of the present work was to examine the kinetic hardening evolution in subsequent artificial ageing treatments of samples naturally aged for 7 days and their counterparts without natural ageing. The former were labelled as NA-7d samples, and the latter, NA-0d samples. After artificial ageing at 120 °C for 2 h, the hardness of NA-0d samples increased rapidly to 148.2 HV, which was approximately the same as that of the specimens with natural ageing for 7 days, compensating for the prior state of lower hardness without natural ageing. After being treated at 120 °C for 16 h, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS) of NA-7d reached the highest value, respectively, 601 MPa and 539 MPa, followed by a slight decrement of UTS when aged to 24 h. On the other hand, NA-0d specimens aged at 120 °C for 16 and 24 h showed nearly the same UTS (598 MPa); the former possessed YS of 538 MPa, and the latter, 545 MPa. The results presumably reveal that the peak ageing condition for NA-0d samples can be achieved under 24 h ageing at 120 °C. Under the same treatment at 120 °C for 24 h, the size of η' phase in NA-7d sample (with a length of 4.96 nm) coarsened and grew larger than that in NA-0d sample (with a length of 3.46 nm). In addition, some η' phase in the NA-7d sample was found to be transformed into the η2 phase. The results indicated that the naturally aged specimens (NA-7d) reached the peak ageing condition earlier, but did not significantly enhance the UTS in AA7075 aluminum alloy, as compared to the samples without prior natural ageing (NA-0d).


Two-month-old mice which were cold exposed (5 C) from 0 to 25 days of age exhibited increases in brown fat, chose warmer substrate temperatures, and built smaller nests relative to controls, while mice cold exposed from 26 to 50 days of age responded by building larger nests and showed a smaller increase in brown fat. Thermoregulatory response to early cold exposure appears to emphasize increased thermogenesis, while late cold exposure enhances behaviors which reduce heat loss. Also, some early cold exposure effects (e.g., those on nesting and brown fat) are still apparent after 2 mo. The implications of these data in the study of evolutionary adaptation in natural mammalian populations are discussed.


Discussions 191 In discussing the quasi-steady state behaviour of sand under undrained condition, a distinction should be made on whether the tests are conducted under load-controlled or deformation-controlled loading conditions. If it is loadcontrolled as used in the authors' experiments, instability in the form of a runaway deformation will occur once the deviator stress exceeds its peak value as shown in Fig. 4b of the discussed paper. In Fig. 4b, the axial strain increased from 2% to about 15% in less than 2 s. This process is accompanied by a sudden increase in pore-water pressure (also shown in Fig. 4b). By any engineering standard, the soil has failed in a catastrophic way. This instability behaviour is un likely to be affected by whether the end platen is lubricated or not as the axial strain at which instability occurs is nor mally small, e.g., 2% in the test shown in Fig. 4b. After the occurrence of instability, the deviator stress tends to increase with further deformation, as shown in Figs. 4a and 4c. This behaviour is defined as quasi-steady state. The Discusser wonders whether it is still meaningful to study this quasi-steady behaviour as an element behaviour, as severe non-homogenous deformation in the forms of distortion, bulging, etc. normally will occur after the axial strain has suddenly increased to a large strain. In addition to Fig. 4b, another example is shown in Fig. 5 of the discussed paper. The axial strain has increased to 27% in less than 2 s in this test. A more visualized example was given by Peters (1991) in which the development of non-homogeneous deformation during instability is shown by a series of photographs. A similar pattern of non-homogenous deformation was observed by Castro (1969), Chu (1991), and Lee (1997) after instability had occurred. Considerable bulging was also observed by the authors for their tests on medium loose sand (Dr c = 31.4%) as shown in Fig. 11 of the discussed paper. As considerable non-homogenous deformation has occurred


Transformation of the "core" atomic structure and electronic states of the tilt Σ5 θ = 37° [001]/(130) grain boundary (GB) in poly-Si due to incorporation of oxygen or carbon atoms is studied using a MO LCAO method. C-containing complexes consist of Si2C, Si3C and Si4C configurations, depending on number n of C-atoms inserted into 5- or 7-fold interstitial positions at GB "core". Incorporation of O-atoms can form "chain"-like or "ring"-like configurations for n = 1 – 2 and SiO3 or SiO4 configurations for n = 3 – 4. O- and C-containing complexes at GB "core" result in formation of donor-like levels that are shifted with increasing number of contaminating atoms to the middle of the energy gap (from EC to EC – 0.6 eV) for O-incorporation and to the bottom of conduction band (from EC – 0.536 eV to EC – 0.043 eV) for C-incorporation. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Abstract Background Gastric antral vascular ectasia is an infrequent cause of gastrointestinal‐related blood loss manifesting as iron‐deficiency anemia or overt gastrointestinal bleeding, and is associated with increased healthcare burdens. Endoscopic therapy of gastric antral vascular ectasia most commonly involves endoscopic thermal therapy. Endoscopic band ligation has been studied as an alternative therapy with promising results in gastric antral vascular ectasia. Aims The primary aim was to compare the efficacy of endoscopic band ligation and endoscopic thermal therapy by argon plasma coagulation for the management of bleeding gastric antral vascular ectasia in terms of the mean post‐procedural transfusion requirements and the mean hemoglobin level change. Secondary outcomes included a comparison of the number of sessions needed for cessation of bleeding, the change in transfusion requirements, and the adverse events rate. Methods PubMed, Medline, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register were reviewed. Randomized controlled clinical trials and retrospective studies comparing endoscopic band ligation and endoscopic thermal therapy in bleeding gastric antral vascular ectasia, with a follow‐up period of at least 6 months, were included. Statistical analysis was done using Review Manager. Results Our search yielded 516 papers. After removing duplicates and studies not fitting the criteria of selection, five studies including 207 patients were selected for analysis. Over a follow‐up period of at least 6 months, patients treated with endoscopic band ligation had significantly lower post‐procedural transfusion requirements (MD −2.10; 95% confidence interval (−2.42 to −1.77)) and a significantly higher change in the mean hemoglobin with endoscopic band ligation versus endoscopic thermal therapy (MD 0.92; 95% confidence interval [0.39–1.45]). Endoscopic band ligation led to a fewer number of required sessions (MD −1.15; 95% confidence interval [−2.30 to −0.01]) and a more pronounced change in transfusion requirements (MD −3.26; 95% confidence interval [−4.84 to −1.68]). There was no difference in adverse events. Conclusion Results should be interpreted cautiously due to the limited literature concerning the management of gastric antral vascular ectasia. Compared to endoscopic thermal therapy, endoscopic band ligation for the management of bleeding gastric antral vascular ectasia led to significantly lower transfusion requirements, showed a trend toward more remarkable post‐procedural hemoglobin elevation, and a fewer number of procedures. Endoscopic band ligation may improve outcomes and lead to decreased healthcare burden and costs.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the characteristics of lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal cancer in order to provide evidence for the extent of lymph node dissection and the operation access.

METHODS
A retrospective study was performed on the specimens of 72 patients who underwent radical operation of right transthoracic approach and the features of lymph node metastasis were explored.

RESULTS
Lymph node metastases were found in 48 of 72 patients (66.7%). In 1495 lymph nodes dissected, metastases was identified in 181 lymph nodes (12.1%). The rate of lymph node metastasis in the right and left recurrent laryngeal nerve was 30.6% and 12.5% respectively. Lymph node metastasis was associated with tumor size and tumor invasion depth (both P<0.05), while tumor location and differentiation of tumor cells were not significant (both P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The lymph node metastasis in thoracic esophageal carcinoma can be easily found in the right recurrent laryngeal nerve. The best surgical approach of thoracic esophageal carcinoma is the right transthoracic approach.


Objective To observe the effect in the process before and after treatment of Losartan in spontenously hypertensive rat (SHR) and controlled group(WKY) , and the changes of intralymphocytic calcium i,angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ),and vascular wall ultrastructure. Methods 28 spontenously hypertensive rats (SHR) were randomly distributed to 3 groups: 3-month controlled group (SHR-1) ,6-month controlled group (SHR-2) ,and Losartan group (SHR-3). The 3-month age SHR from Losartan group were treated with Losartan (20mg/Kg/d) until the rats were 6-month age. Rat tail systolic press, lymphocyte cytosolic calcium ( i), ultrastructure of mesenteric artery ,plasma AngⅡwere measured before and after treatment. Results Losartan has a good hypertensive effect in SHRs. Level of AngⅡ,lymphocyte cytosolic calcium i increased in untreated SHRs. Those differences grow with the age increase. Vascular wall impairment appeared in untreated SHRs. Endothelial cells and mitochondrion specific surface significantly decreased. The volume density of mitochondrion in smooth muscle cells increased greatly. After treatment of Losartan, lymphocyte cytosolic calcium i decreased significantly and the impaired ultrastructure of vascular wall reversed. Conclusions Hypertension is related to over-loaded status of calcium in vascular smooth muscle cell. The ultrastructure impairment of arterial vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cell appeared. Losartan has reversal effects to over-loaded status of calcium in vascular smooth muscle and the ultrastuctural impairment of vascular wall.


Authors : Taif Rocky, Uttam Saha, Mahobul Islam Abstract : With a rapid urbanisation in Bangladesh, waste management remains one of the core challenges. Turning municipal waste into biogas for mass usage is a solution that Bangladesh needs to adopt urgently. Practical Action with its commitment to challenging poverty with technological justice has piloted such idea in Gaibandha. The initiative received immense success and drew the attention of policy makers and practitioners. We believe, biogas from waste can highly contribute to meet the growing demand for energy in the country at present and in the future. Practical Action has field based experience in promoting small scale and innovative technologies. We have proven track record in integrated solid waste management. We further utilized this experience to promote waste to biogas at end users' level. In 2011, we have piloted a project on waste to biogas in Gaibandha, a northern secondary town of Bangladesh. With resource and support from UNICEF and with our own innovative funds we have established a complete chain of utilizing waste to the renewable energy source and organic fertilizer. Biogas is produced from municipal solid waste, which is properly collected, transported and segregated by private entrepreneurs. The project has two major focuses, diversification of biogas end use and establishing a public-private partnership business model. The project benefits include Recycling of Wastes, Improved institutional (municipal) capacity, Livelihood from improved services and Direct Income from the project. Project risks include Change of municipal leadership, Traditional mindset, Access to decision making, Land availability. We have observed several outcomes from the initiative. Up scaling such an initiative will certainly contribute for sustainable cleaner and healthier urban environment and urban poverty reduction. It reduces the unsafe disposal of wastes which improve the cleanliness and environment of the town. -Make drainage system effective reducing the adverse impact of water logging or flooding. -Improve public health from better management of wastes. -Promotes usage of biogas replacing the use of firewood/coal which creates smoke and indoor air pollution in kitchens which have long term impact on health of women and children. -Reduce the greenhouse gas emission from the anaerobic recycling of wastes and contributes to sustainable urban environment. -Promote the concept of agroecology from the uses of bio slurry/compost which contributes to food security. -Creates green jobs from waste value chain which impacts on poverty alleviation of urban extreme poor. -Improve municipal governance from inclusive waste services and functional partnership with private sectors. -Contribute to the implementation of 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Strategy and Employment Creation of extreme poor to achieve the target set in Vision 2021 by Government of Bangladesh.


Social movements and global communication governance: the challenge of participation in transnational decision-making processes - New modes of governance increasingly go beyond the traditional intergovernmental approach to include business actors and sections of civil society. Multi-stakeholder processes claim to involve all relevant parties in decisionmaking. However, a closer look reveals that opportunities of participation are often limited to large professionalised NGOs, while grassroots movements are missing. This paper seeks to identify the challenges and obstacles for these actors to get further involved, but also the opportunities that have emerged in recent policy processes. It will suggest changes in governance systems to open up for wider participation. The paper looks at two multistakeholder processes: the UN World Summit on the Information Society (Wsis) and the Council of Europe 7th Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy. Both processes provide interesting case studies as they attracted a diversity of civil society actors, leading to different layers of intervention. We look specifically at activist media projects and community radio stations that usually do not focus on policy, do not have the financial and structural background of a larger organisation, and that chose to intervene in those processes outside the remit of larger advocacy organisations and coalitions. Drawing from the two cases, we identify internal challenges (which aspects of activist networks hinder their influence and how can these be tackled?), relations with other civil society actors (how can different tactics and strategies complement each other?) and structural changes in governance systems, in order to enable activist and grassroots networks to participate. Keywords: global governance; media policies; civil society; activists networks; participation.


Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignances. Identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis of PC is a key imperative. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to be valuable biomarkers in the context of several cancers. Exosomes refer to vesicles released by the tumor cells at the early stage of disease. Thus, detection of miRNA in exosomes can be used as a potential biomarker for PC. In this study, we profiled serum levels of miRNAs in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and PC; the role of miR-23b-3p in PC progression was assessed in vitro. Additionally, we assessed, the expression of miR-23b-3p in exosomes isolated from serum samples and assessed the correlation between the expression of miR-23b-3p and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9). Three serum samples each were randomly selected from healthy controls (n=20), and patients with CP (n=18) and PC (n=16) for miRNA microarray profiling. The dysregulated miRNAs were confirmed using qRT-PCR. Four dysregulated miRNAs common to patients with CP and PC were identified on miRNA microarray analysis and confirmed by qRT-PCR. miR-23b-3p level was consistently higher in serum samples from PC patients as compared to those from healthy controls and CP patients (p<0.05). Overexpression of miR-23b-3p promoted proliferation, migration, and invasion capability of PC cells in vitro (p<0.05). Furthermore, miR-23b-3p was upregulated in exosomes of PC serum samples and the supernatant of pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1), and the expression levels of miR-23b-3p were associated with those of serum CA19-9 levels. This study provides insights into the potential role of miR-23b-3p as a novel biomarker and target for treatment of PC.