Introduction : Open prostatectomy/adenoma enucleation remains a valuable surgical option in treating large obstructing prostates in patients with large gland volume. We report our series of retropubic prostatectomies with innovative methods to reduce the complications and lead to smooth recovery. Patients and Methods : A total of 75 patients with B PH were treated by retropubic prostatectomy from 2005 to 2015. Patient's demographical, clinical, pre- and postoperative data and final histology were recorded. 3 way Foley's catheter before surgery was kept in the bladder and haemostasis was obtained by applying traction over the prostatic fossa. Results: The mean weight of prostatic adenoma was 82 gm., the smallest being 70gm. and the largest 192gm. Only 2 patients required intra operative blood transfusion. The catheter was removed on the 5th post-operative day. 94% of the patients voided with a good stream with little discomfort after one week. only one patient had incontinence of urine which improved subsequently over a period of 6 to 8 weeks. There was no mortality and no re-exploration for clot retention was required in any patient, Conclusion : Millin's prostatectomy popularized over half a century ago continues to be a valuable option for the surgical treatment of high-volume prostate glands with excellent outcomes for patients with innovative methods.


This article reviews the major theoretical fundamentals of crisis management, the basic situation of crisis management of financial and economic activities of enterprises is a strategic and operative crisis management as an important aspect of financial and economic activities of enterprises.


We would like to express our appreciation to Michael Kane, John Egermeier, Bob Herriott, Sheila Rosenblum, Bob Dentler, Jack Fowler, Tom Mangione, and to several anonymousASQ reviewers of an earlier draft of this paper. Research findings frequently do not seem to have a discernible influence on administrative practice. We propose that a key reason is that research is often conducted in a policy vacuum. Policy vacuums occur in the absence of: an organized constituency of policy makers, identifiable policy issues and research questions, consistent policies and clear policy options, coordination among the independent agencies responsible for a policy area, and an ongoing, operational program that can make use of the findings. Examples of each feature are drawn from two demonstration programs operating in the National Institute of Education. Numerous organizational properties are identified that inhibited the utility of the research connected with the programs.0


In 2014, the University of Sydney launched a website with great potential for the classroom. The website draws on biographical information of over 2000 men and women who served in Europe and the Middle East during the Great War. By tracing the life of these university-educated individuals and mapping where they were born, educated, fought, worked and died, the website has become a powerhouse of possibilities for exploring the impact of war on Australian society and understanding the Great War beyond Gallipoli and other military campaigns.


values for the iodate and periodate fractions for various irradiation times are summarized in Table 1. I t was found that the quantity of I in the reduced forms increases with increasing temperature and time of heating. In connection with the fact that by irradiation of TeOa only a very small amount of metallic tellurium is formed it might be concluded that the change in the I distribution is effected by a reaction of higher valence level iodine with the fragments formed from tellurium dioxide irradiation, which are able to


Is it beneficial for a country's currency to be used internationally? And, if so, can we quantify the benefit? Since the emergence of the euro, there has been great interest in the consequences of a transfer of the dollar's premier international role to the euro. This paper presents a novel model-based approach towards assessing the welfare benefits associated with the international use of a country's currency. Apart from the familiar benefits associated with seigniorage, residents of the issuing country experience an increase in the purchasing power of their currency both at home and abroad. In the calibration exercise carried out in this paper, we find the benefits of an international currency to be quantitatively significant. The welfare gain for the Euro area in having the euro internationally used ranges from 1.9% to 2.3% of consumption depending on relative inflation rates. The rest of the world is not indifferent as to which currency circulates as the dominant international currency. Conditional on their currency not being used internationally, their preference is for the dominant international currency to be the one with the lowest inflation rate.


We provide a purely combinatorial proof of a skein exact sequence obeyed by double-point enhanced grid homology. We also extend the theory to coefficients over Z , and discuss alternatives to the Ozsv´ath-Szab´o τ invariant.


Maggie O'Sullivan's 'Busk, Pierce' from States of Emergency (1987) is a remarkable poem which is exemplary of the sheer energy and exuberance of her output. It is also especially interesting by virtue of its inclusion of a diagram taken from Claude Lévi-Strauss' book Structural Anthropology (1968). In this essay I offer a detailed reading of the poem, and explore it through the link with Lévi-Strauss, developing an awareness of the metaphor of shamanism in relation to O'Sullivan's poetics. I then trace this poetics in the different context of O'Sullivan's collaboration with the North American Language Poet Bruce Andrews, entitled EXCLA (1993), drawing comparisons between their approaches and recognising how the shared technique of the book enables both Andrews' socio-linguistic critique and O'Sullivan's 'shamanic' approach. O'Sullivan's poetry strikes the eye and ear first before specific meanings begin to establish themselves. Short lines, often reminiscent of Anglo Saxon alliterative verse: 'gutteral gardenias | screed | sneak', 'leaden | belenders | lie & blister', and multiple margins skew across the page instilling the poem's figure with kinetic energy. Instead of syntactically normative sentences, the main unit is the phrase, poised and juxtaposed in space and given extra energy by the high frequency of neologisms. Constructing a meaning-paraphrase of the poem necessitates a focus on local intensities – as the poem is structured in an accretive, musical way, rather than by narrative or lyric argument. The poem opens with the italicised phrase 'Injure Tinglit' which acts almost as a sub-title. 'Tinglit' contains within it an unavoidable echo of the Tlingit: the Native American tribe of peoples who inhabit parts of Alaska. To 'Injure Tinglit' might be an imperative from another voice being confronted in the poem – as if to announce the concerns of the poem as a possible protest against the persecution of indigenous peoples. The second line 'fusen deam stroboscope deam skidder' appears linked to the first in that both are separated from the main body of the text by a long dash. The line illustrates O'Sullivan's juxtaposing approach to syntax and can be read as enacting an exchange of semantic energy from one end to the other. This arises from the two end words 'fusen' and 'skidder': 'fusen' suggesting a state of fusedness, perhaps coherency or burnt-outness, and 'skidder' suggesting one who habitually skids, careers, perhaps out of control. Between these two words and the central word 'stroboscope' – an instrument for determining speeds of rotation by flashing intermittently – the repetition of the neologism 'deam' is suggestive. One can imagine the line as a small machine with the stroboscope in the centre sending out light flashes (or 'd-r-eams') which illuminate the words 'fusen' and 'skidder' at the ends, both of which may be outcomes of some kind of process – 'fusen' denoting the receipt of the charge and 'skidder' the physical use of that energy. Placed near the beginning of the poem, and in proximity to 'Injure Tinglit' this line may be read as enacting the means by which this issue will be explored – through an exploration of the materiality of language, rather than through didactic, rhetorical means. The neologism 'TLOKETS' stands at the opening of the poem proper: a suggestive agglomerate of tokens, lockets, tickets. If these are what the reader needs to gain entry to the poem then it seems we are immediately within a register of mourning and death: TLOKETS mourn, leaden


Purpose
Grounding the research in the stimulus-organism-resource (S-O-R) framework, this study aims to address the research gap of explaining and predicting the relationship between price discounts, interactivity and professionalism on college students' purchasing intention in live-streaming shopping. It also attempts to understand if trust plays the role of mediator in the effect of these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data using a questionnaire protocol adapted and refined from the original scales in existing studies. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data collected from 258 college students in China. Other than assessing the path model's explanatory power, this study examined the model's predictive power toward predicting new cases using PLS predict.

Findings
Results indicated that all three predictors have a positive significant relationship with trust, while only price discounts demonstrate a significant relationship with purchase intention. Simultaneously, the mediation results provide support to the S-O-R framework demonstrating that external factors (professionalism, interactivity and price discounts) can arouse organism (trust), which in return, generate a behavioral outcome (purchase intention).

Originality/value
This study is the first few studies that focus on college students' behavioral responses in an online shopping environment. At the same time, this is the first study supplement the explanatory perspective with a predictive focus, which is of particular importance in making sound recommendations on managerial decision-making.


The SCO summit of Qingdao was an important diplomatic activity for China, and it was a global event.

General secretary Jinping Xi has given important instructions on the success of the SCO summit in Qingdao. He has hoped to sum up the useful experience of "having a good meeting and invigorating a city" carefully.

The historical experience has also proved once again that an important international conference brings great impetus and promotion effect to a city. Therefore, as the "SCO summit city", Qingdao is also the "Olympic sailing capital" and "ocean city".

With the continuous development of China's marine sports, sailing has gradually entered the horizon of people. However, China started late in sailing, and competitive sailing has only achieved relatively good results in recent years. It is developing competitive sailing boats. At the same time, the development of recreational sailing is also to be strengthened. The development of recreational sailing is in line with people's demands for exploration of the sea, recreation, and healthy life, so that the popularity of sailing has become a national sport that has strengthened both the north and the south of China. The interaction between the parties has also strengthened economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between home and abroad. (Qing, 2018)

This article has analyzed the status quo of the development of leisure sailing in Qingdao. Its purpose was to analyze the problems of leisure sailing in the process of developing idle resources and lack of reserve forces, and proposed the corresponding solutions and suggestions. For example: rational using of resources to deal with seasonal changes; using of media channels to promote leisure Sailing; developing of reserve forces; sailing events for the masses; organizing community activities. At the same time, it has drawn same lessons from the development experience of foreign leisure sailing and selects suitable methods to cater for the development of leisure sailing in Qingdao.

This article has used the literature, expert interviews and questionnaires to explore the current status of the development of leisure sailing in order to promote the coordinated development of leisure sailing in Qingdao in the future with social, economic and cultural development.


This study examines the leadership approaches associated with sustained improved academic performance of principals heading National Strategy for Learner Attainment (NSLA) schools. This article reports on a qualitative multiple-case study focused on five successful NSLA secondary schools in Cape Town, South Africa. Data was collected from principals, teachers and selected School Management Team (SMT) members via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to understand the leadership practices and personality traits that characterised the leadership approaches of principals to facilitate teaching and learning for improving academic performance of learners. The findings indicated that an integrated leadership principal leadership framework would be most effective because it would cultivate community between teachers and learners and result into improved academic performance. This approach encapsulates the various leadership approaches and the leadership personality traits or characteristics of the principals as well as taking into consideration the situational context for effective leadership and decision-making.


A huge volume of literature has been written about Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses and the fatwa issued in response to it by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Whilst much literary criticism has recommended that we should avoid reading the text and the furore of "the Rushdie affair" along the harmful binary lines of Eastern tyranny and Western freedom, this article addresses this rhetoric of cultural difference directly. Arguing that an unhistorical idea of the Enlightenment is becoming increasingly central to the way that Rushdie and others explain what they perceive as the gulf between "Islam" and "the West", and analysing Rushdie's recent tendency to construct himself as "the new Voltaire", this study crosses centuries and disciplines to shed new light on the ways in which the discursive figure of the Islamic despot is central to the cultural critiques of both authors.


Two blue-emitting fluorescent polymers PTPATPPO and PTPATPP with small singlet–triplet splitting comprising triphenylamine and triphenylphosphine/triphenylphosphine oxide moieties have been designed and synthesized. An appropriate overlap between the HOMO and the LUMO in these compounds was realized. This design strategy endows the two blue-emitting polymers with a high triplet energy of 2.45 and 2.46 eV, a shallow HOMO level of −5.21 and −5.23 eV, and a bipolar feature to act as good host materials. Monochromic organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) using these polymers as emitters show sky-blue emissions with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.24, 0.32) and (0.24, 0.31) together with a maximum current efficiency of 3.63 cd A−1. Moreover, the single-emitting-layer two-element fluorescent–phosphorescent (F–P) hybrid white OLEDs based on PTPATPPO or PTPATPP as both hosts and blue-emitting fluorophores were fabricated by a solution process. Among the two polymers, PTPATPPO-based F–P hybrid white OLEDs show better performance with a maximum current efficiency of 10.5 cd A−1, a maximum external quantum efficiency of 6.1%, CIE coordinates of (0.40, 0.34), and a maximum luminance of 11 962 cd m−2.


According to the European population projections EUROPOP2019 prepared by EUROSTAT, the share of the older adults 65+ will reach 30% and population 80+ will double in the next thirty years. European Silver economy which serves population 50+ is expected to grow by 5% per year in the next decade. Developers of smart cities and communities should take into account human and social factors related to the decline in functional capacities of ageing workers and customers and plan infrastructure for production systems, supply chains, health care systems, social care systems and service systems in such a way to accommodate functional capacities of ageing population. Cyber-physical systems embedded in supply and service networks designed for ageing population require better use of age management and ambient intelligence. To mitigate risks to which older adults are exposed to developers should embed ambient assisted living technologies in age-friendly facilities and amenities. Therefore, digital support systems for older adults and digital social infrastructure should be incorporated in the development of neighbourhoods of smart cities and communities. Digital technologies incorporated in products, services, and systems which are providing support to older adults, form an important part of the emerging Silver Economy, supporting the digital transformation of social infrastructure in ageing regions and the age management of the ageing society. Due to rapid ageing of the population in the developed world, governments and the private sector alike should consider digital transformation of social infrastructure and incorporate it in development of new policies, technologies, management and control of processes to improve quality of life of older adults with declining functional capacities and mitigate growth in health care and long term care public expenditures. Track topics: The track chairs invite scientists, scholars, engineers and planners from academia, government and industry, to contribute their original scientific articles, literature review and applied research papers. This session aims to attract high-quality papers in the areas of management, industrial engineering, civil engineering, medicine and nursing as well as other disciplines relevant for the ageing society, including the papers of practical relevance and case studies. Submission: For author guidelines, please refer to www.ifac-control.org. All papers must be submitted electronically using the PaperPlaza Conference Manuscript Management System. All papers must be prepared in a twocolumn format by the IFAC manuscript style. Please use the official IFAC instructions and template to prepare your contribution as full-length draft paper and submit it online by 25 of December, 2021. Submission details are available on the symposium website. All submissions must be written in English. All papers that conform to submission guidelines will be peer-reviewed by IPC members. The corresponding author submits the paper online (pdf format) as invited session paper. Submission as an invited paper requires the invited session code _217u3_


A cooling system for Molded modules comprises a plurality of individual modules, each comprising a semiconductor chip that is encapsulated by a molding compound, a plurality of terminals which are electrically connected to the semiconductor chip and at least partially are not covered by the molding compound, and a cooling plate, which is at least partially uncovered by the molding compound. A Molded body surrounding an exterior of each individual module to form a multi-chip module. The terminals of each individual module and the cooling panels are at least partially uncovered by the gemoldeten body. A lid with an opening is secured to an exterior of the gemoldeten body on a first side of the multi-chip module. The lid seals the multi-chip module at the first side to form a cavity between the lid and the gemoldeten body to allow a fluid to exit through the orifice or entering to the cooling plates of each individual module to contact.


Site 24 PR5 lies on the Fred Yonkee ranch in Powder River County, Montana, and was reported by Mrs, Margaret Powers, president of Sheridan Chapter of the Wyoming Archaeological Society. This site has a history of being pot-hunted by artifact collectors for at least 35 years. The Sheridan Chapter, with the kind per mission of the ranch owners, decided to conduct an investigation of this site while there was yet undisturbed soil. The bulk of the site had already been destroyed and hundreds of projectile points taken away. In July and August of 1961 a concrete datum post was placed; a survey made of the immediate and surrounding area; an examination made by two competent geolo gists (Dr. Frank Koucky, Professor of Geology at the University of Cincinnati, and Dr. Wilton Melhorn, Professor of Geology at Purdue University); and a camp set up at the site. Fourteen members worked a total of 39 man-days in exca vating 3 different locations on the site, and approximately 25 cubic yards of material was moved, all by hand labor and a wheelbarrow. Geologically, the site lies on a high terrace (elevation about 3600 feet above sea level) of pleistocene origin and con sisting of residual ridges and cones sup ported by sandstone or clinker beds, (Fig. 1). The present change rate is slow. The last period of heavy precipi tation (Little Ice Age) was probably about 3500 years ago, with heavy gully cutting. Since then there had been increasing dry ness and stabilization of gullies. The terrain consists of Fort Union or Wasatch beds, 40 to 60 million years old, with a contmuing sequence sandstone to shale to coal to limey-bed with fossils, follow ed by a repetition of this same sequence . The present surface is predominately heavy gumbo soil with outcroppings of red shale. Prairie grasses and sagebrush are the predominant vegetation, with Ponderosa pine and Colorado juniper scattered along ridges and arroyos . Mule deer and antelope are plentiful in the area, with considerable numbers of sage grouse, jackrabbits, cottontails, badgers, porcupines, and some raccoons. The country is quite arid, and the tem perature was extremely hot with the sun beating down mercilessly during the ex cavation period. The cultural area lies mostly along the north bank of a small arroyo which drains from east to west, emptying into a larger arroyo which drains to the north into a broad, rather flat valley. It appears that ancient man probably drove the bison from the broad valley or collecting basin into the large, north-south arroyo; then, with the aid of a barricade, shunted them into the smaller, east-west arroyo, which at that time probably had more or less verti cal walls. In the east or upper end of this arroyo, the bison were helplessly trapped, and it was an easy matter for the hunters to slay them at practically point-blank range with their stone-tipped projectiles. The rib cage was apparently the favorite target area on the bison, because the majority of the points were found in asso ciation with rib bones. It was decided to excavate at three differ ent locations on the site where surface evidence gave assurance of the presence of a cultural zone with undisturbed soil. The first location, which is called Site #1, was a small, loaf-shaped ridge lying at the head of the arroyo with a steep gully on either side. Some pot-hunting had been done here and much bone was evident in the disturbed dirt. A vertical profile was cut at right angles through the end of the ridge and in undisturbed soil, (Fig. 2). This revealed a cultural layer averaging


In this paper, we report on a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source. The pump focusing conditions allow non-collinear phasematching, which resulted in a 230 nm (190 cm(-1)) spectral bandwidth. Calculations indicate that such phasematching schemes may be used to further broaden OPO spectral bandwidths.


Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion to patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is usually avoided due to the likelihood of destruction of transfused RBCs, but this has not been thoroughly investigated in a clinical setting. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of 24 RBC transfusions given to eight warm-type AIHA patients on nine occasions. AIHA patients with severe hemolysis and an enhanced but insufficient compensatory erythroid response, or with mild to moderate hemolysis and an impaired reticulocyte response, received RBC transfusions. ABOand Rhmatched RBCs, which were incompatible according to standard compatibility tests, were given on all but one occasion. In all cases, RBC transfusion ameliorated anemia and anemia-related symptoms and maintained the hemoglobin level without aggravating hemolysis. Acute and delayed transfusion reactions were not observed except on one occasion when a delayed hemolytic reaction was suspected. In conclusion, this study clearly demonstrates that RBC transfusion to AIHA patients is generally safe and effective and justifies its use when judged necessary.


The subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole (SIOD) and Ningaloo Niño are the two dominant modes of interannual climate variability in the subtropical South Indian Ocean. Observations show that the SIOD has been weakening in the recent decades, while Ningaloo Niño has been strengthening. In this study, we investigate the causes for such changes by analyzing climate model experiments using the NCAR Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1). Ensemble-mean results from CESM1 large-ensemble (CESM1-LE) suggest that the external forcing causes negligible changes in the amplitudes of the SIOD and Ningaloo Niño, suggesting a dominant role of internal climate variability. Meanwhile, results from CESM1 pacemaker experiments reveal that the observed changes in the two climate modes cannot be attributed to the effect of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in either the tropical Pacific or tropical Indian Oceans. By further comparing different ensemble members from the CESM1-LE, we find that a Warm Pool Dipole mode of decadal variability, with opposite SSTA in the southeast Indian Ocean and the western-central tropical Pacific Ocean plays an important role in driving the observed changes in the SIOD and Ningaloo Niño. These changes in the two climate modes have considerable impacts on precipitation and sea level variabilities in the South Indian Ocean region.


Predictive Maintenance is the catchword in the present times. First ,the paper analyze the feature of the Predictive Maintenance, include scientific, approximation, timeliness, condition monitoring, fault diagnostic and so on, second the technology system for Predictive maintenance has been studied, including: condition monitoring technology, fault diagnosis technology, state prediction and maintenance decision support and maintenance activities. Finally, the Strategies of Predictive maintenance is given.


The development process is very important in determining the resist resolution of lithography. Polymer dissolution during development was studied based on resonance frequency and impedance measured by the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method. A transmission-line analysis of QCM data was then carried out. The dissolution characteristics were also evaluated from the standpoint of molecular structures and polymer acidity measured by potentiometric titration. Fluoropolymers showed dissolution characteristics which reflect large fluorine effects in addition to acidity effects. The fluorine effects retarded the dissolution rates and formed a swelling layer. Poly(methacrylate)s had a complicated swelling behavior during development owing to the hydrophobic components in the polymers. The fluorine and hydrophobic effects rather than polymer acidity play the dominant role in forming the swelling layer during development.


INTRODUCTION
Blocking Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) entry via C-C chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) inhibition has remained an essential strategy in HIV drug discovery. This underlies the development of CCR5 blockers, such as Maraviroc, which, however, elicits undesirable side effects despite its potency.

BACKGROUND
Recent lead optimization efforts led to the discovery of novel 1-heteroaryl-1,3-propanediamine derivatives; Compd-21 and -34, which were ~3 times more potent than Maraviroc, with improved pharmacokinetics. However, atomistic molecular interaction mechanism of how slight structural variance between these inhibitors significantly affects their binding profiles have not been elucidated.

METHOD
This study employed explicit lipid bilayer molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and advance analyses to explore these inhibitory discrepancies.

RESULTS
Findings revealed that the thiophene moiety substitution common to Compd-21 and -34 enhanced their CCR5- inhibitory activities due to complementary high-affinity interactions with Trp862.60, Tyr1083.32, Tyr2516.51, Glu2837.39. These cumulatively accounted for their ΔGbind which were higher than Maraviroc. Binding dynamics further revealed that the compounds mediated direct competitive inhibition at CCR5 by blocking the gp120 V3 loop. Furthermore, constituent tropane and triazole moieties in the compounds commonly engaged in interactions with Glu2837.39 and Trp862.60, respectively. Structural analyses also revealed that both Compd-21 and -34 elicited distinct internal dynamic effect on CCR5 relative to Maraviroc.

CONCLUSION
Structural modifications at the thiophene substituent and the addition of new functional groups to the triazole ring may enhance inhibitor competition with gp120 V3-loop. Findings herein highlighted would contribute to future structure-based design of inhibitors of HIV-1 CCR5 with improved potencies.


The suggested technique offers a way to stop people from robbing ATMs of their money. The tactics that criminals employ to steal money from ATMs are numerous. Despite the fact that there isn't a workable answer, The suggested system seeks to prevent all of these techniques for the most popular technique employed by thieves, stabbing victims, and the cash was stolen. The project's main goals are to stop and catch ATM fraud. The numerous forms of ATM fraud instances in different countries have been thoroughly studied, and our system, which was designed with streams combined as one to recognize human activity using machine learning and ATM surveillance cameras, has provided answers for some of the typical cases. The camera must capture streams for the system. In many vision-based applications, Background reduction is a crucial step in the preprocessing process. To technically separate the static background from the changing foreground.


558 Objectives: 18F- fluciclovine (fluciclovine) is a synthetic amino acid PET radiotracer that is transported via amino acid transporters, including LAT1 which has been shown to be upregulated in endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer cells. Compared to FDG, fluciclovine has low urinary bladder excretion allowing better target to background ratios for viewing pelvic structures. Fluciclovine is currently FDA approved for imaging PSA recurrent prostate cancer. The utility of fluciclovine in PET/CT imaging of gynecological (GYN) cancers is yet to be explored. The aim of this study is to evaluate the uptake characteristics of fluciclovine in PET/CT imaging of endometrial, cervical and ovarian GYN cancers and its feasibility for potential use in clinical imaging.
 Methods: This is a prospective clinical study enrolling 30 women with biopsy proven endometrial (n=10), cervical (n=10), and ovarian (n=10) GYN cancer (initial or recurrence) prior to therapy. After the IV injection of average dose of 8.7 (±0.8) mCi fluciclovine, dual time point fluciclovine PET/CT scans were acquired from the proximal thigh to the skull base using 2 mins/bed position at 4 min (early) and at 24 mins (delay) post injection. Fluciclovine uptake was then quantified in target lesions using SUVmax and compared to SUVmean of background structures; abdominal aorta (at the bifurcation), bone marrow (L3), and liver. In relation to background structures, all lesions with sustained moderate (≥ marrow but < liver) to intense (≥ liver) uptake from early to delay images were considered positive for disease. The tumor SUVmax and background (bone marrow) SUVmean were recorded and analyzed. Results: The initial 4 women enrolled with an average age (range) of 62 (42-71) years had a total of 5 biopsy proven lesions. Details of location and histology findings can be found in Table 1. All lesions demonstrated down trending time activity curve from early to delay images. However, uptake was constantly higher than background. Average SUVmax (early, delay) was highest in endometrial (7.7, 7.2) followed by cervical (7.2, 6.3) and ovarian cancers (7.2, 6.3). The average ratios (±SD) of tumor SUV max to marrow SUV mean across early and delay time points are 1.9 (±0.2), 2.3 (±0.8) for endometrial, 1.7 (±0.7), 1.6 (±0.4) for cervical, and 1.7, 1.6 for ovarian cancers.
 Conclusions: Initial data on fluciclovine uptake in known endometrial, cervical and ovarian GYN cancer demonstrates sustained higher uptake above background over time. Further prospective feasibility and uptake characterization studies are currently ongoing.


Designing and Planning Programs for Nonprofit and Government Organizations, by Edward J. Pawlak and Robert D. Vinter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004. 288 pp., $67.00 cloth.


This paper compares the eigenstructure and modulation algorithms, which are used for two-channel lossless FIR filter optimization. We study the effects of eigenvalue separation of the input covariance matrix and the step size on their convergence behavior. First, we show that the convergence rate of two algorithms increases as the separation of eigenvalues of the covariance matrix increases. The modulation algorithm converges more rapidly than the eigenstructure one because of its better eigenvalue separation. Second, the necessary condition for which the two algorithms converge is derived. Simulations are presented which support the analysis.


Geochemical modeling codes for radionuclide migration play an important role in studying geological disposal of high level radioactive waste.The principles,structures,functions and features of several geochemical modeling codes,i.e.CHEMSPEC,EQ3/6,MINEQL+ and VMINTEQ were compared.The tests of these four codes with several examples show that the different results mainly come from the differences in thermodynamic data bases such as the differences in equilibrium constants,temperature correction data and activity coefficients.For sufficiently dilute solutions under standard state,good agreement is reached for all results obtained from the four modeling codes.


II. The second thing is to lessen the intake. We all eat too much, and in no age was the sayina more true that " the platter kills miore than the sword." Time and again I have been impressed with this as a possible factor in .obscure forms of hypertension and arterio-sclerosis in persons otlherwise temperate. Largely a matter of lhabit, the amount of food taken should be just enouah to keep tlle engines going at a steady speed. A diet of low protain content is best, and fairly large quantities of liquid slhould be taken. III. Thirdly, elimination should be promoted in every way, by miaking the action of the kidneys, bowels, and skin thloroughly efficient. IV. Fourthly, of drugs none are entirely satisfactory in clhronic hypertension. Nitrites in various forms maly be used, and are often of te;iporary benefit, but I tlhink the general opinion now is that neitlher the nitrites nor potLtssium iodide are of permanent benefit; tlhough now anid again one meets with an instance in which thle prolonged used of potassium iodide is followed by marked lo-wering of the pressure. A preparation of mistletoe has also been much lauded, but it, too, is very variable in its effe-ts. Be careful in this point-if the patient does not feel so well, and begins to get thin and look badly, stop all drugs, trust to general measures, and let the pressure lris>. In the robust man of full habit in the hypertensive crises with headaches, dyspnoea, or angina, a free venescction is indicated, to be followed by mercurial and saline purges.


Trichoptera are a silk spinning order of stream macroinvertebrates that play an important role in stream ecosystems. Commonly used in metrics used to evaluate water quality and stream health, Trichoptera are a valuable source of information, and as such the most detailed understanding of them available is desirable. This project sought to achieve better understanding of how physiochemical parameters affect Trichoptera populations. Since geology is a key determinant of physiochemical factors in streams, Trichoptera populations were sampled from a limestone stream, a sandstone stream, and the mix zone where the two streams converged in order to determine if the differing physiochemical habitats affected the community structures. Collections and environmental sampling took place throughout the late summer to early spring, and gut analysis of three Hydropsychidae genera were conducted to detect food preferences. General Pearson-Correlations were used to examine preferences among genera for physiochemical parameters and revealed that free-living Hydropsychidae were positively correlated to certain chemical parameters while case building Glossosoma had negative correlations to numerous chemical parameters. Analysis of rock pick samples showed a preference from Hydropsychidae for larger surface areas. Overall populations were significantly larger in the fall. Gut analysis revealed that more animal content was found in Hyrdopsyche as compared to the other two genera, and less plant material was found in Cheumatopsyche. These findings reveal practical insights into the ecology of Trichoptera based on physiochemical parameters and food preferences.


A novel passive millimeter wave imaging (PMMW) system that utilizes a special arrangement of N equals 36 focal plane elements is presented. N MMW radiometric receivers generate a N X N PMMW image. We discuss the system fabrication and testing.


Environmental implications resulting from association of clay minerals with K concentrations in soils close to an abandoned Mn oxide mine were investigated. Clay minerals in the < 4 µm fraction of soil samples were determined by X‐ray powder diffractometry, and K concentrations in the bulk samples by flame photometry. Identified kaolinite, illite and muscovite were semi‐quantified. Potassium concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 2.9 cmolckg−1. Correlation coefficients depicted very weak negative association except kaolinite/illite which was moderate and kaolinite/K weak but positive. Four clusters were generated: cluster one consisted mainly of illite in major quantities; cluster two, muscovite in trace or more quantities; cluster three, illite in trace or more quantities and more K than the others; and cluster four, kaolinite in minor quantities. Spatial distibution of data presented four successions of mainly illite and kaolinite which were related to the clusters, clay minerals genesis, and vegetation cover of the area.


Diabetes mellitus is an excessive level of blood sugar concentration disease. One of the compounds that can moderate the blood sugar level is chlorogenic acid that mostly found in green coffee. This study aims to determine the extract activity of Arabica (Coffea arabica L.) green coffee in decreasing the blood sugar level of mice (Mus musculus) that induced by alloxan monohydrate. The method is True Experimental Laboratories with the analysis of chlorogenic acid levels using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The research design is Post Test Control Group Design, using 24 mices that divided into six treatment groups. The groups consist of negative control (distilled water), Dose I (100 mg/kg bw), Dose II (200 mg/kg bw), Dose III (300 mg/kg bw), Dose IV (400 mg/kg bw), and positive control (metformin). Blood sugar levels of the mice is measured at the intervals of 1 st day, 7 th day, 21 st day. The data is analyzed using the SPSS program with normality tests (Kolmogorov-Smirnov), homogeneity tests (Levene Test), and parametric statistical tests (One-Way ANOVA). The data results was normally distributed and homogeneous (P> 0.05) with several pairs of data in the treatment group were significantly different (P> 0.05). The extract of Arabica (Coffea arabica L.) green coffee contained 4.235% chlorogenic acid, could reduced the hyperglycemia mice blood sugar levels by the dose of 10.72% (Dose I); 19.85% (Dose II); 27.20% (Dose III); and 31.60% (Dose IV) with dose IV as the effective dose.


Polarization propagator calculation of spectroscopic constants and radiative lifetimes for the A /sup 1/Pi--X /sup 1/..sigma../sup +/ band system are presented. The spectroscopic constants agree well with experimental and other theoretical values. We have also performed an iterative Rydberg-Klein-Rees (RKR) calculation of B/sub e/, ..omega../sub e/, and ..omega../sub e/x/sub e/ for the experimental X /sup 1/..sigma../sup +/ state.The calculated radiative lifetime for the A /sup 1/Pi state (v'=0) is 660 ns and 598 ns, with theoretical and experimental potential energy curves, respectively. This difference (about 60 ns) indicates the inaccuracy in the present calculation. Experimentally the most recent estimate of the A /sup 1/Pi (v'=0) state is 630 +- 50 ns, and theoretically the Yoshimine et al. transition moment gives tau (A /sup 1/Pi, v'=0) =722 ns.The radiative lifetimes calculated for CD/sup +/ are between 1.3% and 3.9% larger than the corresponding CH/sup +/ lifetimes.


For disclosing the effects of seed priming with biophysical and biochemical methods on yield and other characteristics on safflower (Carthamus Tinctorius L.), the seeds of one safflower cultivar was treated with 72 mT strength for 10 min, hydro priming for 72 hours and gibberellic acid with 50ppm concentration for 8hours before germination and cultivation. In this experiment traits such as yield components, seed yield, biological yield, harvest index, petal yield, percentage of oil, percentage of huld seed and correlations were measured. Seed priming was significantly impressed characteristics under study. Plants showed that yield parameters and major traits were increased, in most cases, for magnetic treatment versus control (non-treated seeds) and other pretreatments. Results indicated that biophysical methods (magnetic field) had greatest difference with biochemical methods and control at traits under study.


Electron-induced electrostatic discharge (ESD) can lead to severe spacecraft anomalies. It is crucial to the success of space missions that the likelihood of ESD occurrence is understood and mitigated. To aid in predicting ESD occurrence, a model for electric fields above and below the charge layer inside an electronirradiated dielectric material was developed. An instrumentation system was also designed to induce and detect ESD events. Because ESD events with a wide range of maximum current values can occur over a range of time intervals, multiple simultaneous detection methods were employed as charge was accumulated on a sample surface; these included monitoring of sample current and optical emissions from the sample surface. Data from ESD experimentation for James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) materials was used to verify that the instrumentation system was effective in inducing and observing ESD. Two types of discharge events were observed during JWST testing: a sudden-onset, decaying current accompanied by luminescence in the optical data, and an arc or flash in optical data. JWST test results were applied to the electric field models developed to determine the threshold electric field for luminescence onset. The models were also applied to the JWST materials in five different space plasma environments to determine the accumulated electric field as a function of time, and to thereby predict the likelihood of sample luminescence in each location.


The main purpose of this article is to discuss some approximation properties for a generalization of Szász-Mirakjan operators based on quantum calculus. We obtain a recurrence formula for the moments and compute the central moments for the first, second and fourth order. Moreover, we examine the uniform convergence by Korovkin's type approximation, the order of approximation with regard to the modulus of continuity on a finite closed set and for the functions belong to the Lipschitz class. Further, we investigate the local approximation as well as the weighted uniform approximation results on unbounded interval. Also, we compute the order of convergence in terms of the weighted modulus of continuity and prove the Voronovskaya-type asymptotic theorem for the related operators. Finally, with the help of Maple software, we give a comparison of the convergence of these operators to the certain function with some graphics.


We realized real space imaging of transient carrier dynamics by combining ultrashort pulse laser technology with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The new microscopy, called shaken-pulse-pair excited STM (SPPX-STM), simultaneously has the temporal resolution of ultrashort laser pulse width and the spatial resolution of STM. We successfully imaged carrier dynamics in semiconductors with nanoscale structures in real space by the new microscopy techniques.


should be thought of as both a political philosopher and as positing an actual political philosophy in his own right. In other words, the author argues that we should read Gandhi's life and work as contributing to the formulation of a philosophy framed by these purusharthas. To view his life and work through any other lens would be a disservice. Much of this excellent book deals with Gandhi's view of the state and the function of nonviolence in a nonviolent state. Controversial for some who may disagree, Parel insists that Gandhi posited a coercive state informed and guided by nonviolence. In this sense, the peaceful political order, what Parel refers to as "Pax Gandhiana," is no fantasy; it is the pragmatic response by the "Newton of nonviolence" to a violent world governed by Weberian states. There is something almost relieving about the author's account of Gandhi as a political philosopher (he does not trouble himself overly with the predominant views of Gandhi as either a politician or a saint, for example), focusing mostly on primary sources (Gandhi's collected works alone comprise more than a hundred volumes) to show that Gandhi did indeed advocate for and see the necessity of a coercive state. Given that Parel not only is well known for his work on Gandhi but is also a scholar of Machiavelli, it makes sense that he would highlight Gandhi's pragmatic statements of the necessity of violence. But what does it mean for Gandhi the political theorist, pioneer of nonviolence, and inventor of satyagraha that he might view violence as necessary? (Parel points out that Gandhi saw the justness of a war against the Nazis and later advocated that independent India should use military force to defend itself against Pakistani incursions into Kashmir, for example.) Parel frames the writings and the debates between India's independence leaders in the context of Samuel Huntington's contested notion of a "clash of civilizations," arguing that "civilizations are belligerent when they are tied to political and military power." Alternatively, "peace among civilizations is possible when they are free of such ties" (p. 137). Parel shows that even though Gandhi ultimately considered violence inevitable, insofar as humans live in bodies and therefore must kill to survive, he frames this in the context of "self-defense." Thus, the author's Gandhi is less an advocate of a puritanical or binary "violence or nonviolence" but, rather, views nonviolence and violence on a spectrum. The point is to reduce the amount of violence in the world. Gandhi's state, by extension, is one that uses coercive force to defend itself from external threats and to protect the rights of the citizens who live within it: "Gandhi is a pacifist only within the limits of maintaining internal order and external security with the aid of a minimal state" (p. 163). An expansionist state is not a nonviolent state, but a nonviolent state may, in fact, employ violence. One is reminded of Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated the use of the National Guard in the service of integration of schools as the "intelligent use of police force." While this makes intuitive and even logical sense, its sophistication may be lost on those who prefer a simplistic binary understanding of "violence or nonviolence." The four ends of life, by this account, cannot be supported without a coercive state. A life worth living is one where politics, ethics, pleasure, and transcendence work together. When these ends are out of balance, we see all of the evils of history manifest: war, colonialism, profits over people, racism, sexism, and so on. Given the difficulty of realizing Pax Gandhiana, it is appropriate that Parel includes an entire chapter dedicated to Gandhi's conception of art.Without training in and appreciation for art, it is likely that the subtleties necessary to weave such a delicate balance would not be possible. Gandhi's definition of art is similar to Tolstoy's, as "striving towards the good" (p. 160). This simple statement goes a long way to describe how we achieve nearly all social and political goals, through struggle. In essence, achieving the four ends of life requires art since doing so is not a feat of engineering but a process requiring constant effort. Much has been justifiably made of Gandhi's particular idiosyncrasies, most notably his quick temper, his obsession with purification (both moral and physical), and his views on sex. (On these and others, see Joseph Alter's Gandhi's Body: Sex, Diet, and the Politics of Nationalism (2000) and Manfred B. Steger's Gandhi's Dilemma: Nonviolent Principles and Nationalist Power (2000).) However, Parel seems to draw from an almost intuitive reading of Gandhi's published works, arguing, for instance, that the later Gandhi should be taken more seriously than the earlier Gandhi where one contradicts the other. He justifies this view by employing Gandhi's own thoughts on the very subject (p. 134). However, in some instances, it is not clear enough that the author's conclusions are justified. While it is correct, for example, that Gandhi advocated for the use of a coercive state to protect individual human rights and defend against foreign invaders, it is not clear that he squared this view with his insistence that nonviolence would solve all problems. Gandhi may have held two opposing views. I, for one, agree that this tension is inherently productive and that wrestling with it will help to produce a more nonviolent world, a Pax Gandhiana.


The 2003 Chengkung earthquake of magnitude (MW) 6.8 on December 10, 2003 was the strongest earthquake near the Chengkung area in eastern Taiwan since 1951. The Antung radon-monitoring station was located 24 km from the epicenter. The Antung hot spring is situated in a basaltic fractured block inside mudstone. Under such geological conditions, we made a hypothesis that the dilation of rock masses was produced at a rate faster than the recharge rate of pore water and gas saturation developed in rock cracks preceding the earthquake. In-situ radon volatilization into the gas phase may explain the groundwater radon anomalous decrease precursory to earthquakes. Since January 2011, we started to monitor groundwater-dissolved radon and methane. The mechanism of in-situ radon volatilization has been corroborated by the simultaneous concentration changes in groundwater-dissolved radon, methane, and ethane observed during the above time period.


A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) method with ultraviolet visible (UV) detection was used for the determination of 1,7‐naphthalenediol, 2,3‐naphthalenediol, 1,5‐naphthalenediol, and 2,7‐naphthalenediol in cosmetics. The current method for their determination in various cosmetics is high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Separation conditions affecting the MEKC method were optimized as 20 mM Na2B4O7–50mM SDS, pH 9.8, with 22 kV applied voltage and UV detection at 230 nm. Under optimal conditions, electrophoretic analysis was completed in less than 6 min, with limit of detection (LOD) of 0.070–0.19 μg/mL and limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.23–0.63 μg/mL. A good linear relationship (r2 > 0.99) was obtained at the range of 0.75–20 μg/mL. Recoveries for the four naphthalenediols in lotion, loose powder, and sun cream are between 91.2–107.2% with relative standard deviation (RSD) less than 4.04%. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of the four naphthalenediols in different kinds of cosmetics. A comparison with HPLC‐UV method was also carried out according to the National Standards of the People's Republic of China. The results obtained by MEKC and HPLC methods are comparable, but the proposed MEKC method can help us obtain a much shorter detection time and low cost.


Preface Contemporary Palestinian Arab Nationalism: Historical Roots The Problem of Legitimacy Internal Organization Strategy and Tactics The PLO and the Arab States The PLO and the International Community The Palestinians and Israel Conclusion: Problems and Prospects Appendix 1: The Balfour Declaration Appendix 2: The Palestine National Covenant Appendix 3: The Palestinian Declaration of Independence Selected Bibliography Index


The article substantiates necessity of the proposals tiered analysis for foreign students for the purpose to detect denotative and significate components in content. The theory of speech activity (psycholinguistics) by A. Leontiev should be considered as a methodological basis of teaching Russian syntax for foreigners.In this article are related, on the one hand, the stages of speech production and, on the other hand, levels of proposals as remarks in Linguo-didactical language model in M. Vsevolodova's concept. It is concluded that there is a complete correspondence between the Linguo-didactical description of sentence as a remark in functional-communicative grammar (M. Vsevolodova's and others approach) and the Theory of Speech activity by A. Leontiev. Explanation syntactic semantics should be done not only "from the form" (specify the type of "follow the pattern"), but also taking into the denotative roles account, that is, the way from content. This Linguo-methodical approach is communicative in nature, since it corresponds to the mechanism of human speech production.


The method of approximate particular solutions (MAPS) was first proposed by Chen et al. in Chen, Fan, and Wen, Numer Methods Partial Differential Equations, 28 (2012), 506–522. using multiquadric (MQ) and inverse multiquadric radial basis functions (RBFs). Since then, the closed form particular solutions for many commonly used RBFs and differential operators have been derived. As a result, MAPS was extended to Matérn and Gaussian RBFs. Polyharmonic splines (PS) has rarely been used in MAPS due to its conditional positive definiteness and low accuracy. One advantage of PS is that there is no shape parameter to be taken care of. In this article, MAPS is modified so PS can be used more effectively. In the original MAPS, integrated RBFs, so called particular solutions, are used. An additional integrated polynomial basis is added when PS is used. In the modified MAPS, an additional polynomial basis is directly added to the integrated RBFs without integration. The results from the modified MAPS with PS can be improved by increasing the order of PS to a certain degree or by increasing the number of collocation points. A polynomial of degree 15 or less appeared to be working well in most of our examples. Other RBFs such as MQ can be utilized in the modified MAPS as well. The performance of the proposed method is tested on a number of examples including linear and nonlinear problems in 2D and 3D. We demonstrate that the modified MAPS with PS is, in general, more accurate than other RBFs for solving general elliptic equations.© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 33: 1839–1858, 2017


Objectives: Progressive respiratory failure is the main cause of clinical worsening in Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients. The decision to intubate during the follow-up of COVID-19 patients is critical because of high mortality rates. Methods: We analyzed the COVID-19 related intubation and in-hospital mortality risk factors of patients admitted to two tertiary hospitals. Results: Of the 275 patients included in the study, 44 (16%) were intubated, while 30 of them were patients (53%, 30/56) who had previously received steroid therapy. In 23 patients (77%) who received steroid therapy and were intubated, antiviral therapy was started in the first 6 days and Lymphocyte / White blood cells (LYM/WBC) ratios were lower than 0.18. The LYM/WBC ratio was found to be less than 0.12 in 14 patients who were intubated but did not receive steroid treatment before. 30(11%) of the patients included in the study died. While the number of deaths among those who did not receive steroid treatment was 10 (5%), it was 20 (36%) among the patients who did. Among in these 20 patients, it was observed that all 9 people who started antiviral treatment before 3 days, who were over 57 years old and whose oxygen saturation result was moderate or severe, died. Conclusions: We think that the use of steroids in early period may be detrimental in rapidly progressive patients with lymphopenia that may be an independent marker of immune dysregulation.


Silicon cantilever probes with monolithically integrated tips are commercially available and are routinely used for atomic force microscopy (AFM). For such probes, amagnetic refinement of the silicon tip has been developed and results in a deposition of ferromagnetic material such as nickel or CrCoTa in the top area of the tip. The method consists of essentially three steps: (1) A broad-area sputter deposition of a ferromagnetic material; (2) a selective electron beam-induced carbon deposition at the top of the tip; (3) a broad-area ion-beam sputter etching, which removes the magnetic layer everywhere except underneath the carbon cap. The method allows to control the total amount and extension of the magnetic material left at the tip. It is applicable to all kinds of ferromagnetic materials which can be deposited as a thin layer by sputter deposition or evaporation. Experiments indicate that the method is reliable and improves the resolution of magnetic force microscopy (MFM). With such magnetically refined tips on silicon cantilevers, MFM measurements have been performed in contact mode as well as in dynamic and static noncontact modes. In this paper, the method for magnetic tip refinement is described and MFM measurements with these tips are presented.


Asian corn bore(ACB) and Trichogramma were investigated with diverse maize planting density in a maize field. The results showed that the 100-maize plants egg masses amount and eggs number were relatively high of the 1st and 2nd generation ACB with low planting density. The corn was damaged serious by the 1st-generation ACB in 45 000 plants/ha maize field. In addition, The correlation analysis showed that egg masses amount, eggs number,bored-hole number, hole pass length, alive worm amount per 100-maize plants and the parasitism rate of ACB egg masses were negatively correlated with planting density. Healthy plants number was positively correlated with planting density. The broken-up ear stem rate, the broken-ear handle rate, the broken-tassel rate increased a little as maize planting density increases. The planting density had almost no effect on natural parasitism rate of Trichogramma.There were slightly higher the egg masses parasitism rate(figure 44.24%) and the eggs parasitism rate(figure 39.00%)of the 1st-generation ACB with 30 000 plants/ha than other planting density. Both were very high the egg masses parasitism rate and the eggs parasitism rate of the 2nd-generation ACB with diverse planting density. The average values were 84.59% and 80.84%.


A few active directions in string theory are described in this paper, in particular, string cosmology and challenges to theorists posed by recent results in observational cosmology.


Objective To investigate the result of the surgical treatment for lumbar disc resorption syndrome(LDRS). Methods Sixteen patients underwent surgeries, and their outcomes were analysed. Results After surgery, all patients reported disappearance of the pain in lumbar and lower limbs. The results according to JOA scale were classified as excellent in 7 patients, good in 6, and fair in 3. Conclusions Surgical treatment is necessary in most cases of lumbar disc resorption syndrome. The keys of the surgical treatment are adequate decompression of the nerve root canal.


We present a case study of significant heating (up to 8 keV) perpendicular to the geomagnetic field of outflowing oxygen ions at high altitude (12 R-E) above the polar cap. The shape of the distrib ...


This paper deals with a study on multiplexer topology based on 3dB couplers. A diplexer in Ku-band was conceived and printed using material jetting (Polyjet®) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technologies for this purpose. The different parts composing the diplexer are separately tested. In a first step, 3 dB directional couplers are printed with both technologies experimentally confirming the expected behavior. 4th order printed TE101 mode filters are tested as well, also providing sufficient performances (unloaded Q around 600) for the purpose of this paper. After assembling the different 3D printed parts composing this diplexer, the measured response confirms the reliability of the different manufacturing techniques and the robustness of this multiplexer technology.


Visual impairment in childhood has implications in all aspects of the child's development. It posses educational, occupational and social challenges, with affected children being at risk of behavioral, psychological difficulties, impaired self-esteem and poor social integration. Moreover, visual problems are an important contribution to poor school performance. Visual problems are known to deteriorate and become visual impairments if they are not identified and treated early. Despite this realization, high risk learners in primary schools remain unnoticed, undiagnosed and do not benefit from special education services and interventions. The purpose of this study was to document challenges that teachers in public primary schools experienced in identifying and assisting children with visual problems. Utilizing a descriptive survey design, a study involving 36 teachers was conducted in 12 public primary schools in Central Kenya. Questionnaires and observation schedules were used. The study established the major challenges faced by teachers in identifying learners with visual problems as:  lack of knowledge and skills in special education and visual screening as well as lack of school visual screening programs. Strategies suggested to address the challenges included special education training and special education seminars for teachers and introduction of school visual screening programs for all the learners.


SCUBE2 (signal peptide‐CUB‐EGF domain‐containing protein 2) belongs to a secreted and membrane‐tethered multi‐domain SCUBE protein family composed of 3 members found in vertebrates and mammals. Recent reports suggested that zebrafish scube2 could facilitate sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling for proper development of slow muscle. However, whether SCUBE2 can regulate the signaling activity of two other HH ligands (IHH and DHH), and the developmental relevance of the SCUBE2‐induced HH signaling in mammals remain poorly understood. In this study, we first showed that as compared with SCUBE1 or 3, SCUBE2 is the most potent modulator of IHH signaling in vitro. In addition, gain and loss‐of‐function studies demonstrated that SCUBE2 exerted an osteogenic function by enhancing IHH‐stimulated osteoblast differentiation in the mouse mesenchymal progenitor cells. Consistent with these in vitro studies and the prominent roles of Ihh in coordinating skeletogenesis, genetic ablation of Scube2 (‐/‐) caused defective endochondral bone formation and impaired IHH‐mediated osteoblast differentiation of ‐/‐ bone‐marrow mesenchymal stromal‐cell cultures. Our data demonstrate that Scube2 plays a key regulatory role in IHH‐stimulated osteoblast differentiation during endochondral bone formation.


BRL 1241 (" celbenin ") is a new antibiotic derived from the penicillin nucleus (6-aminopenicillanic acid) isolated and characterized in the Beecham Research Laboratories (Batchelor et al., 1959), and chemically it is sodium 6-(2,6 dimethoxybenzamido)penicillanate monohydrate. BRL 1241 has a spectrum similar to that of penicillin G, but in addition to activity against penlcillin-$ensitive staphylococci it is active against all penicillin-resistant staphylococci at a concentration of 1.252.5 pg./ml. (Rolinson et al., 1960). BRL 1241 is both stable and active in the presence of staphylococcal penicillinase. It has been shown to be non-toxic in animal studies, and single doses of up to 2.5 g./kg. have been given intravenously to male albino mice with complete absence of side-effects (Brown and Acred, 1960). BRL 1241 is unstable in acid medium and cannot be given orally; it must therefore be administered by the intramuscular or intravenous route. Before the value of a new antibiotic can be assessed a suitable dosage scheme must be established. This paper describes the investigation carried out to determine this. Methods Asay of BRL 1241 In Body Fluids Antibiotic concentrations were determined by the cupplate biological assay method using Sarcina lutea ATCC 9341 as test organism. Nutrient agar (" oxoid" No. 2) was seeded with 5 ml. of an overnight broth culture per 500 ml. of agar and poured into large assay plates to give an agar depth of approximately 4 mm. Plugs of


Background Data: Reperforming minimally invasive discectomy (MID) approaches are typically challenging and demanding for patients with recurrent lumbar disc herniation (rLDH). Purpose: The aim of this study to assess the safety and efficacy of reperforming Minimally invasive discectomy in recurrent lumbar disc herniation surgery. Study Design: Retrospective clinical case study. Patients and Methods: The author reviewed the medical records all patients reoperated after MID during the period from June 2010 to April 2016 via minimally invasive approaches for recurrent lumbar disc herniation. Age, gender, presenting symptoms, disc herniation level and side, type of MID approach used in first surgery, period between 1st and 2nd surgeries, redo surgery duration, intra or post-operative complications, visual analogue scale VAS for pain at 1, 30, and 90 days postoperatively were recorded. Results: We could track 18 patients (12 males, 6 females), with mean age 43.2±6.3 years. The most operated level was L4/5 in 12 patients. Disc herniation on the left side was presented in 11 patients. Mean duration between the two surgeries was 44±19 weeks. Main clinical presentations were recurrent leg pain in 16 patients and new onset of partial foot drop in 2 patients. Duration of redo surgery was 97±37 minutes. Intraoperative minor dural tears were reported in 2 with no serious sequels. VAS for leg pain improved from 7.3±1.2 preoperatively to 2.1±1.1, 1.4±0.5 and 1.2±0.4 at 1, 30 and 90 postoperative days respectively. Conclusion: MID approach for rLDH following initial MID surgery sounds feasible option with better perioperative and short-term outcome. Clinical outcome in the present study showed favourable outcome regarding operative time and incidence of dural tears with CSF leak comparing to open approaches. (2017ESJ151)


Any serious student of American educational history is fully cognizant of the fact that in the last fifteen years his field has undergone a major reawakening. It all began when Bernard Bailyn asked the first of all questions: What is education? He had his own answer, of course, and suggested that historians view education as the "entire process by which a culture transmits itself across the generations." He then went on to say that once the historian begins from this point he "is prepared to see great variations in the role of formal institutions of instruction, to see schools and universities fade into relative insignificance next to other social agencies." Finding Bailyn's definition of education too broad in its failure to distinguish between socialization and education, Lawrence A. Cremin has sought to restrict it while at the same time retaining Bailyn's insight of conceiving education in broader terms than the institution of the school. Cremin, in a recent work, has come to view education as the "deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to transmit and evoke knowledge, attitudes, values, skills, and sensibilities." But while Cremin is more concerned with the deliberateness of educational efforts than is Bailyn, he still regards it as the proper concern of the educational historian to ask "what agencies, formal and informal, have shaped American thought, character, and sensibility over the years and what have been the relationships between these agencies and the society that has sustained them." Thus, in recent years our entire conception of what constitutes educational history has been substantially enlarged. This essay is in that tradition.


ABSTRACT The Bia3owie¿a Forest, a lowland area located along the border of Poland and Belarus, is a remnant of an extensive, larger forested region that once covered east-central Europe. In the 1400s the forest was set up as a separate administrative unit, a decision that has had long-term consequences for its preservation. Over the past 600 years the natural uniqueness of this ecosystem has been brought into sharp relief. Above all the Bia3owie¿a Forest stands out for the dominance of broadleaved and mixed coniferous stands, some of them in a near-primeval state. These stands are highly diversified with respect to age structure, canopy layers and species structure. There is an abundance of old trees and a wealth of other species, particularly spore-bearing flora and invertebrates that utilize wind-thrown or otherwise fallen trees and their decaying elements. The abundance and richness of ground vegetation, fungi, insects and microorganisms has resulted in a highly biodiverse ecosystem. The Bia3owie¿a area is also a refuge for Europe's greatest assemblage of large herbivores, including Moose, Red Deer, Roe Deer, Wild Boar, and European Bison. It is also the site of Poland's first National Park and three leading scientific institutions.


Fig. 1 .-Serous cystadenoma of the pancreas. A, CT portogram shows low-attenuation mass (arrow) in head of pancreas with septa and central punctate calcification. B, Angiogram shows hypervascular mass supplied by gastroduodenal artery and superior and inferior pancreaticoduodenai arcades. C, Cut surface of gross specimen shows muitilocular tumor with central scar. D, Photomicrograph shows multiple small cysts lined with a layer of flat epithelium.


The rate that starch is digested in the small intestine is a major determinant of the extent that foods raise blood glucose and insulin levels after a meal. This is of nutritional relevance as it is generally recognised that reducing glycaemic responses may have health beneficial effects. Biological origin and processing can influence starch digestibility greatly, and a total starch value alone does not reflect these nutritional properties. A more informative approach has been to divide the available portion into rapidly digestible and slowly digestible starch (RDS and SDS respectively), with an additional resistant starch (RS) fraction reflecting the part escaping digestion in the small intestine. The nutritional relevance of these fractions has been demonstrated previously through a series of in vivo studies. The methodology for determination of these starch digestibility fractions was designed to use an excess of pancreatic enzymes for the amylolytic starch hydrolysis, which overcomes variability introduced by enzyme activity or sample amount. Conforming to these principles ensures reproducible measures of; RDS as the glucose release after 20 min incubation adjusted for any free sugars present; SDS as the additional glucose release after 120 min; and RS as the remaining starch. The present study investigated the performance of the method for RDS and SDS by inter-laboratory trial. Six laboratories took part in the study, two each from UK, France and US. Ten cereal grain products with a range of RDS (23·4–76·9 g/100 g) and SDS (0·8– 24·2 g/100 g) were tested blind in triplicate, with duplicate analysis of the free sugar glucose and fructose. Analysis was performed in two batches of six samples, with two of the samples included in both batches. Statistical analysis was performed using Jmp9SAS-Institute to determine the repeatability and reproducibility of the method so that the uncertainty of the RDS and SDS measures could be calculated. The table shows means and standard deviations for the products analysed in the trial, including the within-laboratory betweenbatch results for the two samples. The repeatability and reproducibility were respectively 0·86 and 1·78 g/100 g for RDS and 0·72 and 0·88 g/100 g for SDS. The calculated uncertainty was therefore 3·62 g/100 g for RDS and 1·91 g/100 g for SDS, which divided by the median values for each gave global variability of 3·21% for RDS and 2·75% for SDS.


Several micro-bubble generating methods were reviewed in this paper,including dissolved gas flotation,vacuum flotation,jet flotation,electrolysis and ultrasonic flotation method.Each micro-bubble generating mechanism and property were discussed respectively.It concluded that micro-bubble flotation could play an important role in fine minerals processing field through feasibility analysis of micro-bubble flotation methods.


In this conference paper Justice Austin describes current Australian trends in corporate workouts, where a financier such as a bank wishes to assist a corporation in financial difficulty, without making use of any process of external administration. He identifies some legal pitfalls in informal workouts, including the law concerning de facto and shadow directorships (which may lead to liability for the financier under the law of insolvent trading), and the law of accessory and primary statutory liability for misleading conduct and non-disclosure. He analyses the Australian law, noting some parts of the current Australian definition of "director" that might increase the likelihood of liability for a financier, beyond the level of liability identified in the English case law.


Purpose of work. Construction of method for calculating the stress-strain state of cylindrical shell with small initial deflection, to which an end load is applied, using the method of characteristics. Comparison of the calculation results of the obtained model with the works of other authors in this area.
Research methods. For the calculation, the equations of motion of the Timoshenko type shell were used, taking into account both the shear deformation and inertia of rotation, and some nonlinear terms, to which the method of characteristics was applied. To obtain the equations of shell motion, the Hamilton-Ostrogradsky variational principle was used.
Results method is proposed for calculating the stress-strain state of a cylindrical shell with a small initial deflection using characteristics. Comparative analysis of the calculation results with research in this area by other authors, which showed the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Scientific novelty. The equations of the classical theory of shells, based on the Kirchhoff-Love hypotheses, which do not take into account the shear deformation and inertia of rotation, as well as linear equations of the Timoshenko type, have become widespread. In this work, a model of the stress-strain state of an axisymmetric shell with small initial deflections is constructed, taking into account both shear deformation and rotational inertia, and some nonlinear terms.
Practical value. The proposed method can be used to calculate the stress-strain state of structures in which thin shells are present as elements, taking into account small initial deflection. This method makes it possible to study the influence of the characteristics of the initial deflection on the stress-strain state of the entire structure.


Students in a sophomore-level database fundamentals course were taught SQL and database concepts using both Oracle and SQL Server. Previous offerings of the class had used one or the other database. Classroom experiences suggest that students were able to handle learning SQL in the dual environment, and, in fact, benefited from this approach by better understanding ANSI-standard versus database-specific SQL and implementation differences in the two database systems.


Over 1 century and 4 decades after the official abolition of slavery and the repeal of "compulsory ignorance laws prohibiting the schooling of blacks" in the United States, most minority groups continue to languish and ebb in abject poverty. It is worth mentioning that children from minority groups in the United States are still dropping out of school at an alarming rate (Bartolome, 1998). In her book entitled, At the Essence of Learning: Multicultural Education, Geneva Gay discusses the significance of multicultural education. She argues convincingly that multicultural education will help to open the doors of opportunities to all Americans to participate meaningfully in the United States democratic process. As she celebrates the concept of multicultural education, Gay continuously makes reference to the injustices, poverty, and the asymmetrical distribution of power in the American society. Hence, one gets the impression that multicultural education is a tool skillfully designed to address social issues such as inequality, racism, sexism, and bigotry. Likewise, Gay underscores the need for educators to utilize multiple perspectives in the educational system. According to this cogent view, teachers should strive as much as possible to provide students with the opportunities to learn about the disparate accounts of every historical event. She contends that students will comprehend the social and historical accounts better if they are given the means and the opportunities to analyze and decipher the various themes that may surface in their learning process. This argument is predicated on the idea of multiple realities. In her own words, "the quest for knowledge and truth is a continuing process, and a universal feature of humanity ... Consider how perceptions of events change as new information and discoveries emerge" (p. 24). In addition, Gay emphatically asserts that it is not ideal for educators to treat every student "the same." She sees the rationale underlying the concept of treating students the same as a pedagogical flaw that negates students' cultural backgrounds and the different learning styles they bring to the classroom. Thus, to treat students the same means that an educator is insensitive to an individual student and their learning techniques. Unfortunately, educators who are inclined to preferential treatment in the classrooms may not only misappropriate Gay's concept of differential treatment of students; it may also be used to legitimize such behaviors. By and large, Gay's treatise on multicultural education is very insightful. She takes the readers through the concepts of multicultural education and the opposition against it. Similarly, she sagaciously highlights multicultural education as a means of addressing some of the social problems in the United States. Without a doubt, it is a book worth reading by everyone who is genuinely interested in multicultural education, justice, and equality for all humans.


Managing expectations is vital to ensuring commuter satisfaction with their public transportation service. When customers are given an estimated time for their bus and must wait way longer, they lose a sense of control over their commute and become frustrated. In this paper, we present a novel machine learning (ML) modeling approach in which we train and implement specialized models for every single segment of travel time and stop dwell time in our system to capture its uniqueness. The features for training the models include simple calendar and weather data. Most papers assume ideal operational conditions but in practice that's almost never the case. Here, we combine our ML modeling approach with a flexible production-tested algorithm to combine model-generated dwell and travel time (or run time) predictions to produce predicted bus departure times. This algorithm is designed to handle real transit agency challenges like missing models (including those caused by changes to schedules and routes), timing points, and partially traveled segments. We also provide a reference architecture of how this algorithm can be brought to life in a scalable and cost-effective manner.


The thick films of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O(BSCCO) systems have been prepared by a screen printing method on (100) MgO substrates, Ag and some metal tapes. The electrical resistivity and microstructure have been investigated as a function of the postprinting heat treatment. We have succeeded in obtaining a highly oriented thick film with the c-axis perpendicular to the MgO substrate. The film annealed at 885°C for 1 hr followed by annealing at 872°C for 72 hr shows zero resistance Tc(end) of 107 K, which corresponds to the superconducting transition of the high-Tc phase in BSCCO materials. By depositing BSCCO thick films on Ag metals tapes, highly oriented films have also been obtained, which have shown zero resistance at 76 K.


Eric Harry Miles Foxen was born in Watford, the only child of Bessie and Harry Foxen. He was the first pupil from Watford Grammar to take 1st MB and entered Westminster Hospital Medical School for clinical training five months before the outbreak of the second world war.

In September 1942 he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and became regimental medical officer to the Glider Pilot Regiment. He trained in otology at the military hospital in Edinburgh, becoming a graded otologist in …


FIGURE 1. Initial radiographs showing a geographic bone lesion with mixed sclerotic and lytic portions. Abstract: Giant cell tumors of bone (GCTBs) are rare tumors that are locally aggressive but benign. Malignant transformation is described after multiple resections, although more commonly after irradiation. However, there exists a rare variant of GCTB that is malignant in nature. We present a case of a 24-year-old man presenting with 6 weeks of thigh pain. Biopsy demonstrated a benign-appearing GCTB, and final pathology after intralesional curettage yielded the same diagnosis. At 12 weeks postoperatively, a biopsy was performed for a recurrence on imaging, and two independent pathologists confirmed a recurrent GCTB. Single-agent chemotherapy was initiated, yet the patient developed an enlarging soft tissue mass at the same location along with new pulmonary nodules. The patient underwent a third biopsy of the thigh mass as well as a pulmonary wedge resection. The diagnosis at this time was primary giant cell sarcoma of bone. The patient subsequently underwent osteosarcoma-based chemotherapy and above-knee amputation. At 14-month follow-up, patient was found to have biopsyproven recurrent pulmonary metastatic disease. The differential diagnosis for giant cell rich tumors is broad, and it is often difficult to distinguish benign GCTB from their malignant counterparts. The importance of a multidisciplinary approach involving pathology, medical oncology, radiology, and orthopedic surgery is paramount in difficult and rare cases to establish the proper diagnosis and treatment plan.


The following paper investigates the economic determinants of land degradation in developing countries. The main trends examined are rural household9s decisions to degrade as opposed to conserve land resources, and the expansion of frontier agricultural activity that contributes to forest and marginal land conversion. These two phenomena appear often to be linked. In many developing areas, a poor rural household9s decision whether to undertake long–term investment in improving existing agricultural land must be weighed against the decision to abandon this land and migrate to environmentally fragile areas. Economic factors play a critical role in determining these relationships. Poverty, imperfect capital markets and insecure land tenure may reinforce the tendency towards short–term time horizons in production decisions, and may bias land use decisions against long–term land management strategies. In periods of commodity booms and land speculation, wealthier households generally take advantage of their superior political and market power to ensure initial access to better quality resources, in order to capture a larger share of the resource rents. Poorer households are confined either to marginal environmental areas where resource rents are limited, or only have access to resources once they are degraded and rents dissipated. Overall trends in land degradation and deforestation are examined, followed by an overview of rural household9s resource management decisions with respect to land management, frontier agricultural expansion, and migration from existing agricultural land to frontiers. Finally, the discussion focuses on the scope for policy improvements to reduce economic constraints to effective land management.


Phraseology and lexicography are the two fundamental linguistic disciplines in this study. On the one hand I've been working on the specific Cuban linguistic approach in phraseology features. For this purpose, I've been inspired by Carneado More and Trista Perez's research. On the other hand I've been focused on two dictionaries and I've studied the phraseology theories presented in them: Diccionario del Espanol de Cuba and Diccionario de Fraseologia Cubana.


Most of the present classifying methods are based on VSM (the vector space model), of which the widely used method is kNN (the k-nearest neighbors). But most of them are highly complicated on computation, and cannot be used on the occasion of classifying a large number of specimen and the classifier must be rebuilt to increment the training corpora in order to have tough scalability. Two new notions, mutual dependence and equivalent radius, are put forward in this paper. And then a new classifying algorithm based on the two notions, SECTILE is offered in this paper. Later SECTILE is applied to classifying Chinese documents and compared to kNN and CCC methods. The experimental results suggests that SECTILE outperforms kNN and CCC methods, and can be used online to classify a large number of specimen and has good scalability, while the precision and recall of classification are kept.


Some rare earth(RE) is added to high carbon high speed steel whose compositions are as follows: Fe-5%V-5%W-5%Mo-5%Cr-3%Nb-2%Co-2%C.The effects of RE on the as-cast microstructure,heat treatment microstructure and mechanical properties of high carbon high speed steel have been investigated.Results show that, when suitable RE is added into high carbon high speed steel,the austenite and eutectic carbides have been changed.The austenite grains and coarse eutectic structure are refined,and flake carbides in eutectic structure become short and thinner.After heat treatment,most of eutectic carbides are spheroidized and distributed(uniformly.) The hardness and hot hardness of modified high carbon high speed steel are slightly increased,impact toughness is greatly(increased) by 37.81% and reaches 10.17J/cm~2.The mechanism that RE improves the structure and properties of high carbon high speed steel is analyzed.


This study was to evaluate the level of contamination of surface waters by coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli, as well as to detect the fecal pollution and the antibiotic resistance patterns of E. coli strains from recovered Asi (Orentes) River in the southern region of Turkey. Total and fecal coliform results were revealed as ˃1100 MPN/100 mL and 1100 MPN/100 mL for two stations, respectively. A total of 10 E. coli isolates were screened for antibiotic susceptibility by Kirby Bauer method. Resistance to cefotaxime, tobramycin, streptomycin, trimethoprim, cefepime, cefazolin, and ampicillin was determined in 20%, 20%, 40%, 20%, 20%, 20%, and 40%, respectively. These findings point out a widespread distribution of E. coli strains produced antibiotic resistance genes in the surface waters in the southern region of Turkey, suggesting an aquatic reservoir for resistance genes. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) rates of %30 of E. coli isolates were greater than 0.200. This high index indicates exceeding the permissible water quality limits for human use and consumption and is the primary source of contamination in the discharges from domestic, agricultural, and urban.


Simple thermal models based on the creation and cooling of the lithosphere can account for the observed subsidence of the ocean floor and the measured decreased in heat flow with age. In well-sedimented areas, where there is little loss of heat due to hydrothermal circulation, the surface heat flow decays uniformly from values in excess of 6 µcal/cm² s (250 mW/m²), for crust younger than 4 Ma (4 m.y. B.P.), to close to 1.1 µcal/cm² s (46 mW/m²) through crust between 120 and 140 Ma. After 200 Ma the heat flow is predicted to reach an equilibrium value of 0.9 µcal/cm² s (38 mW/m²). The surface heat flow on continents is controlled by many phenomena. On the time scale of geological periods the most important of these are the last orogenic event, the distribution of heat-producing elements, and erosion. To better understand the effects of age, each continent is separated into four provinces on the basis of radiometric dates. Reflecting the preponderance of Precambrian crust, two of these provinces cover the Archean to the middle Proterozoic, and the third covers the late Proterozoic to the Mesozoic. The mean heat flow decreases from a value of 1.84 µcal/cm² s (77 mW/m²) for the youngest province to a constant value of 1.1 µcal/cm² s (46 mW/m²) after 800 Ma. The nonradiogenic component of the surface heat flow decays to a constant value of between 0.65 and 0.5 µcal/cm² s (25 and 21 mW/m²) within 200–400 Ma. Using theoretical models, we compute the heat loss through the oceans to be 727 × 1010 cal/s (30.4 × 1012 W). The comparison between the theoretical and measured values allows an estimate of 241 × 1010 cal/s (10.1 × 1012 W) for the heat lost owing to hydrothermal circulation. We show that the heat flow through the marginal basins follows the same relation as that for crust created at a midocean spreading center. These basins have a corresponding heat loss of 71 × 1010 cal/s (3.0 × 1012 W). The heat loss through the continents is calculated from the observations and is 208 × 1010 cal/s (8.8 × 1012 W). Our estimate of the value for the shelves is 67 × 1010 cal/s (2.8 × 1012 W). The total heat loss of the earth is 1002 × 1010 cal/s (42.0 × 1012 W), of which 70% is through the deep oceans and marginal basins and 30% through the continents and continental shelves. The creation of lithosphere accounts for just under 90% of the heat lost through the oceans and hence about 60% of the worldwide heat loss. Convective processes, which include plate creation and orogeny on continents, dissipate two thirds of the heat lost by the earth. Conduction through the lithosphere is responsible for 20%, and the rest is lost by the radioactive decay of the continental and oceanic crust.

We place bounds of between 0.6 and 0.9 µcal/cm² s (25 and 38 mW/m²) for the mantle heat flow beneath an ocean at equilibrium and between 0.40 and 0.75 µcal/cm² s (17 and 31 mW/m²) for the heat flow beneath an old stable continent. The computed range of geotherms for an equilibrium ocean overlaps the range of stable continental geotherms below a depth of 100 km. The mantle heat flow beneath a continent decays with a thermal time constant similar to that of the oceanic lithosphere. The continental basins subside with the same time constant. These observations are evidence that there is no detectable difference between the thermal structure of an equilibrium ocean and that of an old continent. Thus the concept of the lithosphere as a combination of a mechanical and a thermal boundary layer can be applied to both oceans and continents. We evaluate the constraints placed on models based on this concept by seismological observations. In the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary we favor these models because they provide a single explanation for the thermal structure of the lithosphere beneath an equilibrium ocean and a stable continent.


Following the election of 2010, Cote d'Ivoire suffered through "La Crise", a civil war which lasted until 2011 and came only a few years after the end of the first Ivoirian civil war. In 2015, Cote d'Ivoire held an election without an eruption of violence. This study attempts to explain why using Roland Paris' Institutionalization Before Liberalization theory, which focuses on the dangers of liberalization, arguing that political liberalization can lead to violence if the country has not gone through an institutionalization process. The purpose is to test the IBL-theory on a new case by conducting the same focused analysis of the country in the years before both elections. This study found that the electoral design had not changed, and therefore could not explain the peaceful outcome of the 2015 election. However, notable changes were discovered regarding the electoral institutions as well as the civil society. This study also examines if other variables, omitted by IBL, can explain the successful elections, and formulates a brief criticism of the theory. (Less)


Computer Program ILT15 was earlier developed to accompany a new leach test for solidified radioactive waste forms in the Hungarian NPP Paks. The program was designed to be used as a tool for performing the calculations necessary to analyze leach test data, a modelling program to determine if diffusion is the operating leaching mechanism (and, if not, to indicate other possible mechanisms), and a means to make extrapolations using the diffusion models. The program uses computational algorithm of ASTM C1308 standard. Now we have developed another computational algorithm based on a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) of a cylindrical specimen, solved the PDE by a Crank-Nicolson Finite Difference Method (FDM) and calculated by integration the eluted amount of a given component in time. The new solution more accurate method was integrated into the existing ILT15 computer program and the resulting new ILT20 program is able to calculate the Incremental/Cumulative Fraction Leached IFL/CFL) either by ASTM or PDE numerical solution methods.ILT20 program is written in C++ in the Borland C++ Builder programming environment. A detailed description of application of this upgraded modelling computer program is given.


Three design schemes of the construction control network for north bridge of Runyang bridge are proposed in the paper.By comparing and analysing the results computed with surveying data,the design of three schemes is proved to be accurate.The practice of the project indicates that the sur-veying method of trilateration network or triangulateration network for large-sized bridge can fulfil the accuracy requirements for construction control network.The post-test method of determining weight is suitable for triangulateration network adjustment.In the triangulateration network adjustment with precise distance measurement,increasing the number of direction observation can't effectively improve the accuracy of control network.


Computer aided circuit design is becoming one of the mainstream methods for helping circuit designers. Multiple new methods have been developed in this field including Evolutionary Electronics. A lot of work has been done in this field but there is still a room for improvement since some of the solutions lack the flexibility (diversity of components, limited topology etc.) in circuit design or lack complex fitness functions that would enable the synthesis of more complex circuits. The research presented in this article aims to improve this by introducing Grammatical Evolution-based approach for circuit synthesis. Grammatical Evolution offers great flexibility since it is rule based – adding a new element is as simple as writing one additional line of initialization code. In addition, the use of a complex multi-criteria function allows us to create circuits that can be as complex as required thus further increasing the flexibility of the approach. To achieve this, we use a combination of Python and SPICE to create a series of netlists, evaluate them in the PyOpus environment, and select the best possible circuit for the task. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach in three different case studies where we automatically generate oscillators and high/low-pass filters of second and third order.


ABSTRACT In 2008, it became clear that the pre-crisis growth model of privatised Keynesianism was at least temporarily undermined by the global financial crisis. Instead, housing scholars started pointing out that the combination of reduced home ownership and the resurgence of private landlordism indicated a shifting approach to housing wealth in capitalist societies. However, this research on the housing market of France demonstrates that the rise of private landlordism does not necessarily undermine home ownership. Unlike in many other European countries, pre-crisis credit expansion in France was not only targeted at homeowners, but also at private landlords and buy-to-let investors that used state-authorised credit loans to fund investments in the private rental sector. Because the rise of private landlordism in France has rather complemented than undermined home ownership, this paper shows that privatised Keynesianism in France has both linked homeowners and private landlords to extensive housing debt.


The authors report on the status of the school library and its place in the curriculum in 13 Botswana community junior secondary schools located in northern and northeastern Botswana. During November 1999, the study took place during site visits to the schools that had a teacher-library intern receiving training through the School Library Certificate Program in the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University of Botswana. The authors used semistructured interviews, observations, and journals to provide the data for the descriptive qualitative study. This article is a report of the findings and the recommendations to the Department for changes in the school library curriculum.