This paper empirically examines the relationship between bank size, credit risk and profitability of Vietnam's commercial banks during the period from 2009 to 2018. By employing off-balance sheet items in the denominator when calculating return on assets, this paper highlights the role of off-balance sheet items in generating non-interest income as well as contributes to the literature on profitability measurement. By utilising the two-step system GMM, the outcomes show that credit risk has adverse impact on profitability and this impact tends to be slighter in large size banks. The negative correlation between bank size and profitability indicates that large banks tend to perform inefficiently rather than small banks. Also, we found evidence of a non-linear relationship between bank size and profitability, suggesting that bank size has improved bank profitability until it reaches the optimal threshold, which then decreases profitability.


A new variable-step-size LMS algorithm is proposed, and it performance is analyzed. Simulation results indicate that the performance is superior to that of existing VSS algorithm and NLMS algorithm. The proposed algorithm is then applied to adaptive noise jamming cancellation system; the computer simulation shows superior performance over the NLMS algorithm and MVSS algorithm.


This work presents the development of the AGROMET environment: a platform that supports scientific work in a cooperative way providing the reutilization of data, metadata, models, programs and workflow definitions. To reach this goal this environment is composed of five modules that are responsible for: i) data integration; ii) support to the scientific workflows; iii) support to the collaborative decision making; iv) scientific knowledge management, and v) document and content management. To understand the questions involved in the scientific work a study case is accomplished in the agro-meteorology area in the Brazilian Agricultural Research Enterprise (Embrapa Solos). With this collaborative platform the access, sharing and consequent innovation of the scientific knowledge will be better disseminated in the environment work.


The tsunami disaster of Christmas 2004 struck without warning and many countries were faced with totally unforeseen problems. One of theese was how the citizens in the tourists' home countries should be informed and how the political leaders should act in order to create as much trust as possible for the crisis management and for the actions taken in response to the catastrophe. This task was, as known, dealt with in different ways in the countries that were affected and among others Sweden received extensive critic for failure to act and for lacking in communicative ability. In this study one of the positive examples shall be in focus, more precisely the German government's communicative actons taken the days after the catastrophe.


Study Design. Prospective, intraoperative force measurement in consecutive lengthening procedures in a series of growing-rod patients undergoing lengthening. Objective. The purpose of this study was to measure the forces and amount of distraction over time in early onset scoliosis patients treated with growing rods. Summary of Background Data. Growing rods are one of the current techniques used in the treatment of early onset scoliosis, and the goal of the growing-rod technique is to achieve deformity correction, maintaining spinal growth at the same time. Gradual stiffening or spontaneous fusion of the spine can interfere with the ability to lengthen. In addition, diminished acquired length with serial distraction are common observations and need to be evaluated and quantified. Methods. Distraction forces were measured prospectively during 60 consecutive lengthening procedures in 26 patients. All patients had single submuscular rod constructs with side-to-side connectors. For each measurement, output from a transducer on a dedicated pair of distraction calipers was recorded at zero load status and the force was then recorded at every 1 mm lengthening; length was obtained at each event and was recorded in millimeters. Results. The force required to distract the spine doubled at the 5th lengthening procedure (mean 368 N ± 54 N), and the distraction force was significantly higher at the fifth lengthening compared with the previous lengthening (P <0.01). Mean length achieved at each distraction decreased over time such that by the fifth lengthening, consistently 8 mm or less was achieved. Conclusion. Distraction forces increase significantly after repeated lengthening of growing-rod constructs, and the length obtained at each procedure exhibits a decreasing trend.


Utilizing the modern computing technology, highly complex structure can be automatically analyzed by inverse technique in geophysical exploration. Usually a number of blocks are assigned in the structure model numerically constructed and finally the parameters like as magnetization, density, and conductivity are determined for respective blocks. If the number of the blocks is larger than the number of observed data, that is so-called the under-determined problem. To solve the under-determined problem in inversion analysis, we have to include additional condition like as smoothness. The smoothness is one of promising condition in order to solve the under-determined problem and widely used. The resulted structure model with smoothness is a reasonable model in various cases. However, a structure model with non-smoothness is sometimes necessary in specific problem. We have an opportunity to conduct a magnetic survey at the site above the dacite intrusive rocks. This is one of stereotypes of structure with non-smoothness boundary. We want to have the technique to automatically analyze this kind of structure with sharp boundaries. Here we try to show one of effective algorithm to seek the numerical model with sharp boundaries. The algorithm is a kind of grid searches but effectively saving the amount of calculation. Firstly the structure model with two parameters alone, i.e. with two kinds of the values of the magnetization. Next the structure model with three parameters and more. So far, the algorithm is able to apply to the magnetization in magnetic survey or density in gravity survey. But this kind of algorithm is expected to apply to the problems with conductivity in the future.


The objective of this research was to describe anthropometric characteristics and somatotype of young water polo players involved in two intensity levels of training – seasonal and year-round and compare their differences. Study was conducted on 12 year old water polo players (N=30) from three water polo clubs in Biograd area (seasonal training) and on water polo players (N=29) from two clubs in Split (year-round training). Total of 14 morphological variables necessary for determination of somatotype characteristics were measured. In addition, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage (BF%) and sum of seven skinfolds (∑7KN) were calculated. The somatotype components of the individual subjects were calculated and water polo players were grouped in one of the 13 somatotype categories. There was a statistically significant difference in all anthropometric variables measured, except in calf skinfold. Higher values of all anthropometric variables, BMI, BF% and ∑7KN were recorded for water polo players from Split. Mean somatotype of water polo players from Biograd area was 2.85-3.39-3.28, while water polo players from Split had a mean somatotype of 3.87-4.46-2.74. Total of 8 out of 13 somatotype categories were recorded for young water polo players from Biograd area, while 9 categories were determined for players in Split. The results of this study indicate that certain level of selection in water polo occurs already at 12 years of age.


After seven singles players had retired or withdrawn with injuries at Wimbledon 2013, the All England Club issued an extraordinary statement defending the state of its grass. According to the International Tennis Federation, the seven retirements and walkovers in singles were believed to be the most on the same day at a Grand Slam event in the Open era. All of the slipping and injuries led to questions of why. The suggested culprits included the length of the season, the short time to adjust to grass from clay, and the condition of the courts. There have been several significant falls, the most graphic being when Azarenka twisted her right knee during her first-round that left her lying on the court in tears for several minutes. With so many players being asked about court conditions in news conferences and so many news media requests to speak to the groundskeeper, the All England Club issued a statement about the grass."The court preparation has been to exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years, and we expect them to continue to play to their usual high quality." It is said that different types of tennis injury have been associated with play on different court surfaces and current knowledge of tennis player and court interactions is limited. Some research with tennis injury incidence, player movements and the biomechanics of slips were begun and a new direction for assessing tennis player-surface interactions has discussed for practical use in the future regulation of tennis courts. On the other hand, in sports, moving body parts around a fixed joint is very popular, but it seems to limit one's power, whereas more power can be generated and the strain on the body is lessen by using the entire body without twisting motion and not resorting to just the fixed joint. This paper proposed the approach for realization of robust physical movements in tennis based on distributed control of physical body in humanoid biped robots, which uses only small active power making full use of equilibrium instability as a source of driving force with simple state transition. Making postures simultaneously by using the entire body produces natural movements.


Beef tenderness is an important trait in consumer satisfaction and has been considered as the main trait for palatability, for which reason it is important to evaluate its variability in di erent cattle breeds. An experiment was designed to evaluate the Warner Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) of Red Brangus cattle rib eye steaks and consumer acceptance. The tenderness of beef rib eye steaks was evaluated by the WBSF. A consumer preference evaluation test was carried out to quantitatively estimate tenderness, juiciness, avor, doneness and general acceptance of the evaluated steaks. Mean WBSF was 5.03 kg ± 0.93 kg, theoretically indicating a tough beef. The distribution of the samples showed 21 % and 11 % of moderately tender and tender beef cuts, respectively. Cattle condition (bulls and steers) was not signi cant for the WBSF (p > 0.5). All the traits evaluated in the hedonic evaluation had approximately 6 points of a total of 8 (8 was best). Tenderness, juiciness and avor presented a high and signi cant correlation (p < 0.5). None of the subjective traits was correlated with total acceptance. Under theoretical criteria, tender Red Brangus beef cuts are infrequent; however the beef has a good acceptance. Characterization studies may be necessary and useful to create marketing niches speci c for this and other cattle breeds.


Arterial dissections, which involve an abrupt tear in the wall of a major artery resulting in the intramural accumulation of blood, are a family of catastrophic disorders causing major, potentially fatal sequelae. Involving diverse vascular beds, including the aorta or coronary, cervical, pulmonary, and visceral arteries, each type of dissection is devastating in its own way. Traditionally they have been studied in isolation, rather than collectively, owing largely to the distinct clinical consequences of dissections in different anatomical locations – such as stroke, myocardial infarction, and renal failure. Here, we review the shared and unique features of these arteriopathies to provide a better understanding of this family of disorders. Arterial dissections occur commonly in the young to middle-aged, and often in conjunction with hypertension and/or migraine; the latter suggesting they are part of a generalized vasculopathy. Genetic studies as well as cellular and molecular investigations of arterial dissections reveal striking similarities between dissection types, particularly their pathophysiology, which includes the presence or absence of an intimal tear and vasa vasorum dysfunction as a cause of intramural hemorrhage. Pathway perturbations common to all types of dissections include disruption of TGF-β signaling, the extracellular matrix, the cytoskeleton or metabolism, as evidenced by the finding of mutations in critical genes regulating these processes, including LRP1, collagen genes, fibrillin and TGF-β receptors, or their coupled pathways. Perturbances in these connected signaling pathways contribute to phenotype switching in endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells of the affected artery, in which their physiological quiescent state is lost and replaced by a proliferative activated phenotype. Of interest, dissections in various anatomical locations are associated with distinct sex and age predilections, suggesting involvement of gene and environment interactions in disease pathogenesis. Importantly, these cellular mechanisms are potentially therapeutically targetable. Consideration of arterial dissections as a collective pathology allows insight from the better characterized dissection types, such as that involving the thoracic aorta, to be leveraged to inform the less common forms of dissections, including the potential to apply known therapeutic interventions already clinically available for the former.


OBJECTIVE—Antilymphocyte serum can reverse overt type 1 diabetes in NOD mice; yet, the therapeutic parameters and immunological mechanisms underlying the ability for this agent to modulate autoimmune responses against β-cells are unclear, forming the rationale for this investigation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A form of antilymphocyte serum, rabbit anti-mouse thymocyte globulin (mATG), was utilized in a variety of in vivo and in vitro settings, each for the purpose of defining the physiological, immunological, and metabolic activities of this agent, with particular focus on actions influencing development of type 1 diabetes. RESULTS—We observed that mATG attenuates type 1 diabetes development in an age-dependent fashion, only proving efficacious at disease onset or in the late pre-diabetic phase (12 weeks of age). When provided at 12 weeks of age, mATG reversed pancreatic insulitis, improved metabolic responses to glucose challenge, and rapidly increased frequency of antigen-presenting cells in spleen and pancreatic lymph nodes. Surprisingly, mATG therapy dramatically increased, in an age-dependent fashion, the frequency and the functional activity of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T-cells. Adoptive transfer/cotransfer studies of type 1 diabetes also support the concept that mATG treatment induces a stable and transferable immunomodulatory repertoire in vivo. CONCLUSIONS—These findings indicate that an induction of immunoregulation, rather than simple lymphocyte depletion, contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of antithymocyte globulin and suggest that time-dependent windows for the ability to delay or reverse type 1 diabetes exist based on the capacity to enhance the functional activity of regulatory T-cells.


Online brand communities are an important tool for creating market opportunities. Previous studies have concluded that they generate value for their brands, yet little is known about how to manage them in order to secure the loyalty of their members. The current study aims to test a model of members' loyalty to online brand communities and to study the impact of the perceived values on members' loyalty through mediator variables which include community satisfaction and community trust. The samples obtained are active participants of Facebook fan pages for automobile brands in Thailand. The sample size was 512 respondents obtained by using a systematic random sampling technique. An online questionnaire was used to collect data, which were analyzed by means of structural equation modeling. The results show that the model fits the empirical data, considering goodness of fit measures, namely Chi-square = 44.761 (df = 20), p-value = 0.001, (χ2/df) = 2.24, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.985, RMSEA = 0.048, and SRMR = 0.018. The perceived value factors were important for the enhancement of members' satisfaction with online brand communities. A high degree of member satisfaction with online brand communities resulted in a greater trust in the communities. Moreover, the members' loyalty was influenced by their satisfaction, but not by their trust. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that the administrators of online brand communities encourage the members' satisfaction by creating brand contents. These lead to high member loyalty by positive communication intention with others. Keywords: online brand community, perceived value, satisfaction, trust, loyalty


We investigated the migration of oil-induced, guinea pig peritoneal macrophages in three-dimensional fibrin matrices, with particular attention to variables which modified fibrin gel structure and/or its adhesive properties for cells. The variables studied were fibrin concentration, gel cross-linking, and fibronectin and glycosaminoglycan content. Macrophage migration was an inverse linear function of fibrinogen concentration. Little or no fibrinolysis accompanied macrophage migration; rather, macrophages migrated through fibrin gels by an active process associated with marked distortions of cell shape and specialized plasma membrane contacts with fibrin strands. Fibrin matrices prepared from fibrinogen that had been depleted of clotting factor XIII and/or fibronectin provided a superior matrix for macrophage migration. Both the number of migrating cells and distance of migration were reduced when the gel matrix included fibronectin and was cross-linked by factor XIII. A hexapeptide containing the fibronectin cell-binding RGDS sequence reversed this migration inhibition, suggesting that fibronectin immobilized by cross-linking to fibrin may have bound macrophages and restricted cell migration. Hyaluronic acid, heparin, and heparan sulfate inhibited macrophage migration in cross-linked fibrin-fibronectin gels over a range of concentrations. These data are relevant to an understanding of macrophage migration in vivo where cross-linked fibrin-fibronectin gels containing variable amounts of glycosaminoglycans are deposited in tissues in immunologic reactions and in many other types of pathology.


Objective: Doxorubicin (DOX) is a highly effective anti-cancer drug with limited clinical use due to its serious cardiotoxicity. Urtica dioica L. seeds (UD), have been widely used in folk medicine, particularly in the therapy for advanced cancer patients, possesses a potent anti-oxidant properties. The goal of present study was to investigate the cardioprotective effects of UD on DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Method: The rats in the UD treated group were given intraperitoneally 2 ml/kg UD. To induce cardiotoxicity, 30 mg/kg DOX was injected intraperitoneally by a single dose and the rats were sacrificed after 48 h. Results: The present study revealed for the first time a protective role of UD against DOXinduced cardiotoxicity. UD therapy significantly protected against DOXinduced myocardial damage which was characterized by conduction abnormalities, vacuolization, inflammatory cell infiltration, hemorrhag es, and myofibrillar disarrangement. As indicators of oxidative stress, DOX caused significantly increase lipid peroxidation and reduction in activities of antioxidant enzymes; superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase. UD treatment significantly attenuated DOXinduced oxidative injury. Conclusion: The present study showed that UD might be a suitable cardioprotector against toxic effects of DOX.


Host feeding is the consumption of host tissue by the adult female parasitoid. We studied the function of destructive host feeding and its advantage over non‐destructive feeding on host‐derived honeydew in the whitefly parasitoid Encarsia formosa Gahan (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). We allowed parasitoids to oviposit until they attempted to host feed. We either prevented or allowed host feeding. Parasitoids had access to sucrose solution, with or without additional access to honeydew. Parasitoids that were allowed to host feed did not have a higher egg load 20 or 48 h after host feeding than parasitoids prevented from host feeding. Host feeding did not increase the number of eggs matured within these periods, nor did the time spent host feeding positively affect any of these response variables. On the other hand, the presence of honeydew did have a positive effect on egg load 20 and 48 h after host feeding compared with parasitoids deprived of honeydew. Parasitoids with access to honeydew matured more eggs within these periods than honeydew‐deprived parasitoids. Host feeding increased life expectancy, but this effect was nullified when honeydew was supplied after the host‐feeding attempt. In conclusion, feeding on honeydew could be an advantageous alternative to host feeding in terms of egg quantity and longevity. This applies especially to parasitoids exploiting Homoptera, because these parasitoids can obtain honeydew from the host itself. It is possible that destructive host feeding has evolved to enable females to sustain the production of high‐quality anhydropic eggs, which may be important in the parasitoid's natural environment. We argue that future studies should take natural alternative food sources into more consideration.


This paper presents two new theories for the fault diagnosis of the linear analog networks of unknown impedance matrices but of known terminal (port) voltages. The concept of the companion network is proposed to fault diagnose the network under test. The impedance matrices of the nominal network and its companion network constitute two overdetermined systems of equations with the two corresponding network port voltage vectors. The idea is based on the block dependency between the nominal impedance matrix of the network under test and the impedance matrix of its companion network after excluding the circuit element or subnetwork under test. If the companion impedance matrix is consistent with the measured port voltage vector, then, the nominal impedance matrix corresponding to the circuit element or subnetwork under test must also be consistent with the same measured port voltage vector which means that this circuit element is faulty or is one of the entities of the ambiguity fault set. By this way all circuit elements can be tested using the companion network only.


The study and interpretation of 'fixed music' remains the predominant mode of practice for most
classical guitarists. Despite this, an emerging body of literature highlighting the historical
significance of improvisation in guiding developments in performance practice and composition
beckons a reinterpretation of prior methods and practices and offers conceptual guidance for a
contemporary re-imagining of this neglected art form. In building on this research, I have examined
the process, methodology and practice of solo guitar improvisation and outlined a personal method
developed from an amalgam of experimental and historically informed practices.
In conceptualizing my approach I have reengaged with the classical guitars performative lineage,
examining methods and practices whose origins date back to the seventeenth-century Spanish
Baroque guitar methods of Francisco Corbetta, Gaspar Sanz and Santiago de Murcia. My approach
builds on the important work of Dusan Bogdanovic and Ralph Towner, whose instructional
methods offer technical, theoretical and psychological insights into the process of solo guitar
improvisation. The parameters of my approach are defined by an evolving vocabulary of materials
and practices garnered from instructional methods, a range of plucked string instrumental
techniques, procedures and forms from early music, flamenco, Celtic and Latin American guitar
practices along with incorporated materials from jazz, ethnic and contemporary experimental
musics.
This research chronicles the evolution of my unique form of practice, outlining the interlocking
processes and methods that informed a series of performances featuring improvised music for solo
guitar. A folio containing a series of recorded performances along with a selection of preparative
scores is accompanied by an exegetical document that explains the applied research methodology,
the conceptual and philosophical framework underpinning my approach, with an analysis of
selected performances.


We have numerically studied the instability of the spherically symmetric standing accretion shock wave against nonspherical perturbations. We have in mind the application to collapse-driven supernovae in the postbounce phase, where the prompt shock wave generated by core bounce is commonly stalled. We take an experimental standpoint in this paper. Using spherically symmetric, completely steady, shocked accretion flows as unperturbed states, we have clearly observed both the linear growth and the subsequent nonlinear saturation of the instability. In so doing, we have employed a realistic equation of state, together with heating and cooling via neutrino reactions with nucleons. We have performed a mode analysis based on the spherical harmonics decomposition and found that the modes with l = 1,2 are dominant not only in the linear regime but also after nonlinear couplings generate various modes and saturation occurs. By varying the neutrino luminosity, we have constructed unperturbed states both with and without a negative entropy gradient. We have found that in both cases the growth of the instability is similar, suggesting that convection does not play a dominant role, which also appears to be supported by the recent linear analysis of the convection in accretion flows by Foglizzo et al. The oscillation period of the unstable l = 1 mode is found to fit better with the advection time rather than with the sound crossing time. Whatever the cause may be, the instability favors a shock revival.


The crystallization of isotactic polypropylene in contact with pine wood was studied by hot stage polarizing microscopy. The agents applied to chemical treatment of wood were maleic, propionic, phthalic, crotonic or succinic anhydrides. Mercerization and extraction processes were used as well. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of chemical modification of pine wood on its nucleation activity in polypropylene crystallization process. The occurrence of the transcrystallization layer (TCL) was found to be strongly dependent on the type of chemical treatment of wood surface. Predominant nucleation ability was establish for unmodified pine wood. However, mercerization and extraction processes of wood slightly decreased its nucleation ability in polypropylene matrixes. Moreover, it was determined that wood modified by anhydrides can enhance the transcrystallization layer of PP in comparison with wood mercerized or extracted. Unexpectedly, wood modified with succinic anhydride did not induce transcrystallization.


Drying not only represents a standard postharvest technology for preservation of medicinal plants but also a fundamental processing step for the development of herbal medicinal products. Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is among the most important herbs in Germany. The objective of this study was to find the optimum drying temperature of M. officinalis in terms of drug quality and energy requirement. Therefore, drying experiments with a range of air temperatures were carried out in order to assess the quality of leaves with regard to color, rosmarinic acid as well as essential oil content and composition. Besides moisture content, another important material property related to drying and storage is water activity. Modern techniques were used in this work for the determination of moisture sorption isotherms at temperatures typically found in handling of medicinal plants. The equilibrium moisture contents of leaves and stems were separately established at 25, 35 and 45 °C over a stepwise increase of relative humidity ranging from 0 to 90% by dynamic vapor sorption. The modified Oswin equation was the best model to describe the experimental sorption isotherms of both plant organs. Predicting microbial stability at 25 °C, the leaves and stems should be stored at a maximum moisture content of 11 and 10% wet basis, respectively. Further analysis of the sorption data revealed that the isosteric heat of adsorption of leaves was greater than that of stems. The evolution of essential oil content was investigated in a high precision laboratory dryer at different drying temperatures varied from 30 to 90 °C, constant specific humidity of 10 g kg-1 dry air and uniform airflow of 0.2 m s-1. The essential oil yield was determined by hydrodistillation and the essential oil constituents were analyzed by GC/FID. The process was described by a first-order reaction kinetics model in which the temperature dependence of the rate constant was modeled by the Arrhenius-type relationship. Essential oil loss was observed primarily in the initial phase of drying and was proportional to air temperature. Drying at 30 and 45 °C resulted in 16% and 23% losses in essential oil, respectively, whereas drying at increased temperatures caused significantly higher losses, for instance 65% at 60 °C. Distinct changes in the major essential oil components were found to occur at 60 °C: neral, geranial and citronellal decreased, while citronellol showed an increasing tendency. Scanning electron images indicated that in addition to volatility of the oil constituents at increased temperatures, the losses in essential oil yields can also be attributed to the structural modifications caused by drying. The effect of drying temperature on CIELAB color changes was also examined. Total hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives were quantified by the photometric method and expressed as rosmarinic acid equivalents. Kinetic modelling was very useful in describing both redness and yellowness during hot-air drying. Color deterioration started immediately in the initial phase of drying, when moisture content was still high in the material. The rate of color degradation was found to increase as temperature increased. The rosmarinic acid equivalents in the leaves decreased with increasing drying temperature and this decrease was assumed to be responsible for browning, especially at higher temperatures. Based on the results, optimal drying air temperature was found to be 30 °C, because the least quality deterioration in terms of color, rosmarinic acid, essential oil content and composition was documented. However, the choice of drying temperature remains a decision of the operator, implying a trade-off between drying time and quality. Due to the temperature sensitivity of the herb, an attempt was made to investigate the impact of alternative drying methods on moisture sorption behavior and quality of dried leaves. An electric hygrometer was used to generate equilibrium relative humidity data in the head space from a common set of partially dried samples treated by convective-, vacuum- and freeze drying. The sorption data was modelled by the modified Halsey equation, while the isosteric heat of sorption was directly calculated by the model in which the Clausius-Clapeyron equation had been incorporated. The drying method was found to influence the moisture sorption properties of the material to some extent, for example the freeze dried leaves were more hygroscopic as compared to the vacuum- and air-dried ones within the storage-relevant level of water activity. Sample cross sections displayed a less dense cell structure with indications of open pores between the lower and upper epidermal layers in the freeze-dried leaves. The isosteric heat of sorption increased with reducing moisture content and temperature. Sorption heat was greater for the freeze dried samples within the monolayer and polymolecular regions of the sorption mechanism, which meant that more energy was required to remove water vapor by freeze drying. Over drying should be prevented as an additional energy requirement is generated at low moisture contents. With respect to quality, freeze drying caused minimal essential oil losses, preserving large amounts of the key aroma compounds, namely geranial and neral. Vacuum drying caused more pronounced essential oil losses and significant reduction in citrals. The interrelation between essential oil losses and structural alterations was also supported by scanning electron images. Finally, freeze drying and vacuum drying enhanced the conservation of rosmarinic acid, presumably due to the induced structural rearrangement at reduced operating pressure.


The mysid fauna of the River Tamar Estuary was sampled monthly between January and December 1989. The following species of mysid were found In the estuary. MosopodOPSIS slabborl, Noomysis Intogor, Praunus fioxuosus and SchistomysIs omata. The latter two species, present In low densities throughout tho year, occupied the lower, more salino (>30%o) parts of the estuary, whereas M. slabborl and N. Intogor were abundant In the upper estuary (0.5-30%o). Mosopodopsis slabbori produced between two and three generations per year, and showed a pattern of alternating early and lato-brooding generations. A maximum growth rate for this species was 0.24 mm d" for thd fastestgrowing summer cohort and annual production estimates ranged between a moan value of 50.6 mg dry weight m*3 y'and a maximum (based on the highest density measured on each sampling date) of 241.4 mg dry weight m*3 y'. This Is the first time that growth and production have been estimated for M. slabbort. There were marked seasonal and spatIal changes In abundance and distribution of M. slabborl. Abundance Increased from a low of <50 m-3 In winter to a maximum of 354 m3 (100 mg dry weight m3 ) In summer. Salinity appeared to be the major variable Influencing spatial distribution and the different agoclasses of M. slabborl had clearly Identifiable and distinct salinity distributions. There was evidence of a seasonal (winter) down-ostuary movement of the M. slabborl population. The ostuadno distribution of N. Intogorovorlappod with that of M. slabborl, but N. Intogor had a wider salinity distribution and colonisod lower salinity regions of the estuary (<5%. *) than M. slabborl. Largo Immature and adult N. Intogorworo not sampled successfully In those surveys, suggesting that those stages exhibited a different behaviour from other lifehistory stages. The physiology undorlying the wide salinity tolerance of A Intogor was examined. NoomysIsintogormaintainod Its blood hyporosmotictosoawatorln the salinity range 0.5 to 20%. * and the haomolymph responded rapidly to acute changes In salinity. This high osmorogulatory ability was correlated with changes In amino acid concontratlons, and glutamino, glycino, taudno and alanino were Identified as important osmoolloctors In this species.


In his philosophy, William of Ockham (1285-1347) offered an important and detailed response to the classical argument from the truth of a statement regarding the future to the necessity (unpreventability) of the statement. In this paper, Ockham's solution and the possible formalisation of it are discussed in terms of modern tense and modal logic. In particular, the famous branching time formalisation suggested by A. N. Prior (1914-19) is discussed. Weaknesses and problems with this suggestion are pointed out, and an alternative formalisation of Ockham's solution without the use of branching time is presented.


Studies on the role of heredity in the transmission of handedness in nonhuman mammals have, so far, led to the isolation of mouse strains that differed in the lateralized versus ambidextrous use of the forepaw in a food-retrieval task (strength of paw preference). Here we report that left versus right use of the forepaw (direction of paw preference) is associated with a genetically expressed structural asymmetry of a sensory system, the whisker-to-barrel pathway. Mice that express whisker pad asymmetry of a direction that corresponds with the asymmetry for which they were bred demonstrate an opposite shift in the distribution of handedness: a right or left dominance of the whisker pad predicts a high proportion of left-handers or right-handers, respectively. Is an altered brain circuit--that is, a consequence of the asymmetry of the whisker pad--associated with a change in the circuitry that governs handedness? Or, alternatively, are there two gene sets responsible for the phenomena that we report--one that causes "whiskeredness" and another that causes handedness?


Historically the strength of sealed brachytherapy sources has been described by many physical quantities, including true activity, apparent activity, and equivalent mass of radium. Recently, the AAPM Task Group 32 recommended that these quantities be replaced by a single quantity, air-kerma strength, with units of muGy m2h-1. A set of equations has been developed for unambiguously converting source strength estimates and renormalizing published dose-rate tables, which assume traditional quantities and units, into forms consistent with air-kerma strength. For commonly used brachytherapy sources, multiplicative conversion factors for each source-strength formalism and set of units are given. To convert equivalent mass of radium to air-kerma strength requires a single multiplicative factor, 7.23 muGy m2h-1/mgRaEq, applicable to all sources. Based upon a review of vendor source specification practices, the factors for converting source strength of 198Au, 103Pd, and 125I seeds from apparent mCi to air-kerma strength are 2.06, 1.29, and 1.27 muGy m2h-1/mCi(apparent), respectively. These factors are independent of source geometry but depend on the nominal exposure rate constant value selected by the vendor. Conversion factors applicable to mass of radium or true activity depend upon both source geometry and radionuclide identity. Because many of these conversion factors depend upon vendor choices of physical constants and exposure rate constants, readers are cautioned to carefully review vendor source strength specification practices before adopting these values clinically. Finally, the relationships between the various source strength quantities and absorbed dose rate in the medium surrounding the source are elucidated.


The ability of the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphor-bol-13-acetate (TPA) to induce the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and to stimulate DNA synthesis was studied in four different cell types in vitro. The effects of this agent on each cell type were different: (a) in hamster embryo cells, TPA induced ODC but had no effect on DNA synthesis; (b) TPA induced ODC and stimulated DNA synthesis in BALB/c 3T3 mouse cells; (c) it did not induce ODC in human fibroblasts but did stimulate DNA synthesis; and (d) it induced neither ODC nor DNA synthesis in rat embryo fibroblasts. In contrast to the effects of TPA, ODC was induced and DNA synthesis was stimulated in all cell types by fresh serum-containing medium. Treatment of the cells with a combination of fresh medium and TPA resulted in an approximate summation of the effects of treatment with each agent alone. These results emphasize the differences in the responses of various cells to TPA. They also show that in some cells, at least, the induction of ODC and stimulation of DNA synthesis following TPA treatment can be regulated independently. and induces neither ODC nor DNA synthesis in fibroblasts.


Previous reports concerning benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECT) were re-investigated, including new data concerning both the presentation of the long-term clinical courses of three cases and the results of magnetoencephalography (MEG) in one patient, with respect to the following points; (1) the electro-clinical characteristics of sylvian seizures and rolandic discharges (RD), and (2) long-term outcome of idiopathic and symptomatic partial epilepsies with RD other than BECT. The epileptic focus of sylvian seizures is located either in the inferior rolandic cortex or underneath the sylvian fissure, which is strongly supported by the results of clinical seizure manifestations, ictal and interictal EEG findings, and interictal MEG findings. The presence of rolandic discharges is not a hallmark of benign outcome. Instead, the presence of sylvian seizures heralds a benign outcome of partial epilepsy regardless of the presence or absence of an organic lesion. The pathophysiological mechanism of BECT remains unknown. Further neurophysiological as well as genetic investigations are needed.


Aim: The present investigation highlights the formulation and evaluation of matrix tablets of propranolol hydrochloride (HCl) using a natural polymer, is gum kondagogu. Materials and Methods: Wet granulation method was used for the preparation of matrix tablets of propranolol HCl using varying proportions of natural polymer as a release retardant, Avicel pH 102 as diluent, talc and magnesium stearate as glidant and lubricant respectively. Total 12 formulations (PG1-PG12) were prepared by using different proportions of drug and gum kondagogu (1:0.5, 1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2) with the aid of granulating fluids such as distilled water, ethanol and isopropyl alcohol. Granules of propranolol HCl formulations were evaluated for pre-compression parameters and flow properties. All the prepared matrix tablet formulations after compression subjected for physico-chemical evaluation of hardness, friability, thickness, weight variation, drug content, swelling index and in vitro drug release studies. Results and Discussion: The distinguishable difference in the results was shown to be dependent on characteristics and composition of polymer concentrations. Based on in vitro drug release the polymer gum kondagogu showed better dissolution control in all formulations, which is result of its release retardant characteristics. The formulations PG4, PG8 and PG12 (drug:polymer ratio 1:2) have shown more than 95% drug release for 12 h and hence PG10 (drug:polymer ratio 1:1) was selected for further studies. The selected formulation PG10 studied for the effect of electrolytes (sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate) on release of drug by employing in different concentrations (25, 50 and 75 mg). These electrolytes were employed to examine matrix swelling and gel properties. Swelling study suggested that when the matrix tablets come in contact with the medium, they take up medium and swells, forming a gel layer around the matrix and simultaneously erosion also takes place. Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed that there was no interaction between drug and polymers. Drug release analysis was confirmed that there exists a significant difference in the measured Higuchi rate constant among the matrices. Conclusion: The combination of both hydrophilic natural polymer and electrolytes successfully employed for formulating the sustained release matrix tablets of propranolol HCl.


The interest in societal forms of entrepreneurship has increased in recent decades, emphasizing different kinds of prefixed such as "social" "ecological", "sustainable", "regional". In this article societal and social is at stake. Taking a point of departure in the prefix stories of entrepreneurship we read a wish to break with the grand narrative of entrepreneurship as well as attempts to feed into and draw legitimacy from the grand narrative. In this article we take a point of departure in an initiative taken in Sweden to introduce and finance a program labeled "Societal entrepreneurship". The purpose is to create knowledge about, as well as conditions for, initiatives aiming at improving what is missing or does not work in public structures, and finding new and innovative solutions in order to create an economically, socially and ecologically sustainable society. Applying Burke's pentad it is illustrated that the grand narrative of entrepreneurship consists of the heroic entrepreneur (agent) who creates a kingdom (act) by way of establishing a company (agency) on the market in order to make a profit and contribute to growth (purpose). Applying the concept of Tamara, introduced by Boje, it is further illustrated how the grand narrative of entrepreneurship emphasizes capitalism, rationality and hierarchy in line with the epoch of industrialization, whilst the antenarrative of societal entrepreneurship gives priority to both premodern and postmodern discourses. The importance of community, of non-economic values, artisan craftsmanship is stressed, but also of how societal structures must be changed. The story of societal entrepreneurship thus de-centers human agency seeking to create instability as well as openings for enactment.


This article presents a historical synthesis in order to trace how the collective belief in the existence of hermaphrodites and sex-changes was slowly eroded in the changing medical and cultural context of Enlightenment Spain. In order to explain this change, three interlinked processes are outlined. First, the naturalization of the monster and the disappearance of the "marvellous" in Enlightenment science. Second, the consolidation of modern legal or forensic science and the rise of the medical specialist as the relevant authority in the determination of sexual identity. Third, the emergence of the notion of fundamental biological differences between the sexes. The article concludes by discussing the consequences of these shifts for early nineteenthcentury Spanish medicine.


The Stone Age record of South Africa provides some of the earliest evidence for the biological and cultural origins of Homo sapiens. While there is extensive genomic evidence for the selection of polymorphisms in response to pathogen-pressure in sub-Saharan Africa, there is insufficient evidence for ancient human-pathogen interactions in the region. Here, we analysed shotgun metagenome libraries derived from the sequencing of a Later Stone Age hunter-gatherer child who lived near Ballito Bay, South Africa, c. 2,000 years ago. This resulted in the identification of DNA sequence reads homologous to Rickettsia felis, and the reconstruction of an ancient R. felis genome, the causative agent of typhus-like flea-borne rickettsioses. The concurrent detection of DNA reads derived from Toxoplasma gondii, the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, confirms the pre-Neolithic incidence of these pathogens in southern Africa. We demonstrate that an R. felis and T. gondii co-infection, exacerbated by various additional bacterial and parasitic pathogens, contributed to the ill-health and subsequent demise of the boy from Ballito Bay.


A 57-year-old man underwent myocardial revascularization for unstable angina. Cardiocirculatory arrest complicated the procedure and the patient was rapidly treated with advanced cardiac life support. After 26-min long resuscitation attempts, 5 DC-shock and cardioactive drug administration, an extracorporeal system was positioned and activated (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO). After ECMO positioning, sinus rhythm was achieved after another DC-shock. Therapeutic hypothermia was started with a target temperature of 33°C. ECMO was removed after 12h, and therapeutic hypothermia was continued for 27h without any complications. The patient was discharged with good neurological outcome. This report shows the feasibility of treatment of a dramatic event such as refractory cardiac arrest, using modern and advanced techniques in the intensive cardiac care unit.


Contemporary trends in tourism in recent decades are leading to a constant increase in tourism activity worldwide. This unique phenomenon leads to expansion of tourist movements and opening of businesses that are directly or indirectly associated with it. Because of the rapid pace of development of tourism there is a critical need for professional staff in this field. Higher education institutions are places where students acquire knowledge and skills in a particular area. Besides theoretical background, curriculum also contains practical work. The practical work is a system for training and preparing students for their future profession. There are many types of practical work defined under various criteria, but the criteria for the division of different types of practical work are subject to constant change due to the rapid development of industry, information techniques and technologies, globalization and many other factors. The practical work is very important for students in terms of their personal and professional development. Often, the practical work is introduced through joint initiatives by the public sector, universities, faculties, student unions, high schools and chambers of commerce. The objectives of the practical work should be set in relation to competence expected of the students and they should comply with the legitimate expectations of the training. The practical work is widely recognized student activity in the European countries, in the US and worldwide. In this paper, a comparative analysis of the practical work and its place in curriculum in selected faculties of tourism in the Republic of Macedonia was conducted. The main method used in this paper is an analysis of the content of curriculum using official web pages of selected institutions. The research that was done for the purposes of this paper points to the fact that in the Republic of Macedonia, the universities that offers tourism programs pay serious attention to practical work.


A field experiment was carried out at CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Research Centre Purara, Bageshwar, Uttarakhand, India during 2014 and 2015 in sandy loam soil on Influence of NPK levels on plant growth and yield of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni under lower hills of Kumaon Uttarakhand were tested in a randomized block design with factorial concept in three replications. Four harvestings were taken in a year. Stevia were treated with three doses of nitrogen (100,200,300 N kg/ha), three doses of phosphorus (60,120,180 P2O5 kg/ha) and two levels of potassium (80,160 K2O kg/ha). Pooled results indicated that significantly higher dry leaf yield was obtained with nitrogen @ 300 Kg/ha (45.68 t/ha) and it was on par with 200 kg/ha (43.76 t/ha). Phosphorus @ 180/ha recorded significantly highest dry leaf yield (40.68 t/ha) and it was on par with 120 kg/ha (43.40 t/ha). Potassium @ 160 kg/ha recorded dry leaf yield of 43.12 t/ha and it was comparable with potassium @80 kg/ha (41.84 t/ha). The growth parameters viz., plant height (cm), number of branches per plant and number of leaves per plant were significantly higher with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium @ 300 kg/ha, 180 kg/ha and 160 kg/ha, respectively which were on par with 200 kg/ha, 120 kg/ha and 80 kg/ha respectively. In pooled data nitrogen N3 i.e., 300 kg/ha recorded the highest B:C (4.60) which was on par with nitrogen @ N2 i.e., 200 kg/ha (4.34), but significantly higher than N1 i.e., 100 kg/ha (3.38). Phosphorous P3 i.e., 180 kg/ha resulted in higher B:C (4.61) which was on par with P2 i.e., 120 kg/ha (4.50). Potassium level influenced the B:C non-significantly. Significantly lowest B:C was recorded with absolute control in pooled data (2.19). Nutrient level of 300:180:160 kg/ha NPK applied in equal splits to four harvestings in a year has been considered as an economically optimum level of nutrients for stevia.


The evaluation of floating bushing ring oil seals is of great importance for designs of high pressure centrifugal compressors. This is a result of their enhanced damping capacity at low speeds and their strong destabilizing action at speeds in excess of twice the compressor first critical speed. Accurate prediction of oil seal leakage and exit temperature is very important from the standpoint of the pump and cooler selection for the seal oil console. The previous research has performed thermohydrodynamic (THD) analysis of bushing seal rings with various geometries. The current work is to evaluate the influence of the mechanical deformation on the thermohydrodynamic analysis of the bushing seal ring. The finite element method is used to predict the mechanical deformation of the bushing seal ring due to oil pressure and to solve the nonlinear and coupled Reynolds and energy equations for the pressure and temperature distributions, respectively. The perturbation technique is used to evaluate the stiffness and damping coefficients of the oil seals. Eigenvalue analysis is performed to study the dynamic stability of the compressor rotor. Results comparing the seal leakage, seal oil outlet temperatures, stiffness and damping coefficients, growth factors and damped natural frequencies from the THD analyses with and without the influence of the mechanical deformation of the bushing seal ring are presented. The results indicate that under high pressure conditions the influence of the mechanical deformation of the bushing seal ring on the seal performance is very significant.


This book presents the state-of-the-arts application of digital watermarking in audio, speech, image, video, 3D mesh graph, text, software, natural language, ontology, network stream, relational database, XML, and hardware IPs. It also presents new and recent algorithms in digital watermarking for copyright protection and discusses future trends in the field. Today, the illegal manipulation of genuine digital objects and products represents a considerable problem in the digital world. Offering an effective solution, digital watermarking can be applied to protect intellectual property, as well as fingerprinting, enhance the security and proof-of-authentication through unsecured channels.


Two-dimensional (2-D) force and power loss equations are derived for the case when an arbitrary magnetic source is moving and/or rotating above a conductive plate composed of linear material. The problem is formulated using both the magnetic vector and scalar potential. In order to compute the forces and power loss due to the induced eddy currents, only the magnitude of the field along the surface of the conductive plate needs to be provided. The equations are validated by comparing them with a 2-D finite-element model.


This study aims to develop an ultrasonically assisted grinding technology for precision internal grinding of a small hole measuring several millimeters in diameter, such as those formed in a fuel injector for an automotive engine. In a previous work, an experimental apparatus mainly composed of an ultrasonic vibration spindle was designed and constructed, and grinding experiments were carried out. The previous investigation found that applying ultrasonic vibration to the wheel decreased the normal and tangential grinding forces, respectively, and improved the surface roughness in surface grinding. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of ultrasonic vibration on grinding force and surface roughness in internal grinding when the grain sizes of small cBN grinding wheel are changed. The experimental results indicate that applying ultrasonic vibration to the wheel decreases the normal and tangential grinding forces by more than 83 % and 80 %, respectively, and improves the surface roughness by as much as 62 % while the wheel grain size is changed. In addition, over the range of grinding conditions employed in this paper, the grain size as small as 3 µm can be used in ultrasonically assisted internal grinding.


Charity organizations often display photographs of children on their websites along with an appeal to donate. This research focused on the emotional appeals by facial expressions and color schemes and their influence on behavioral intention to increase the willingness of visitors to make online donations. An online questionnaire tested four image conditions (happy vs. sad facial expression in colored vs. grayscale) in a mock-up website of a fictitious charitable organization (n=169). The results showed that the facial expression in photographs led to more positive behavioral intentions of the participants, to stronger affect and to a higher processing fluency than the sad facial condition. The effects were mediated by the affective response happy mood and by processing fluency. Color scheme showed no main effects. On the basis of this study, it could be recommended to use a child with a happy facial expression on the website of a charity website for children in need to influence behavior. The outcomes were discussed in relation to a fictitious case. The study contributed by challenging existing scientific research on emotional appeals by facial expression and enlarging the discussion of the congruency and processing of various design stimuli especially for the careful consideration of photographs.


As organizations shift due to changes in technology, there is an increasing need to find IT employees that have more than the necessary technical skills for a position. Increasingly, organizations want candidates with other attributes valuable to the organization, such as creativity, a thirst for learning, or problem-solving skills. In this short paper, we propose that an applicant's accomplishments in online gaming can signal the presence of important characteristics to an IT hiring manager. This research identifies how accomplishments in online games can be translated into knowledge, skills, abilities, other characteristics, or credentials that are consistent with characteristics of team members that are successful in organizations. We offer recommendations to support hiring managers in discussing online gaming accomplishments in the resume and interview process as the organization seeks to find the IT talent needed.


Particle filtering (PF) has been widely used in solving nonlinear/non Gaussian filtering problems. Inferring to the target tracking in a wireless sensor network (WSN), distributed PF (DPF) was used due to the limitation of nodes' computing capacity. In this paper, a novel filtering method -- asynchronous DPF (ADPF) for target tracking in WSN is proposed. There are two keys in the proposed algorithm. Firstly, instead of transferring value and weight of particles, Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is used to approximate the posteriori distribution, and only GMM parameters need to be transferred which can reduce the bandwidth and power consumption. Secondly, in order to use sampling information effectively, when target moving to the next cluster head region, the GMM parameters are transfer to the next cluster head, and combine with the new local GMM parameters to compose the new GMM parameters incrementally. The ADPF can also deal with the situation of different number of nodes in different cluster when using the dynamic cluster structure. The proposed ADPF is compared to some other DPF for WSN target tracking, and the experimental results show that not only the precision is improved, but also the bandwidth and power is reduced.


ObjectiveTo compare percutaneous tracheostomy with conventional operative tracheostomy. DesignRandomized clinical trial. SettingThe medical and surgical critical care units of a large, tertiary-care, private hospital. PatientsTwenty-five male and 21 female translaryngeally intubated patients with respiratory failure, in whom tracheostomy was indicated on clinical grounds, were randomly assigned to one of two groups. InterventionsThe 24 patients in group 1 underwent conventional operative tracheostomy, and the 22 patients in group 2 underwent percutaneous tracheostomy. One patient in group 2 required tracheostomy on three separate occasions during a prolonged hospital stay. Measurements and Main ResultsPatients were examined daily throughout their hospital stays for adverse events related to the tracheostomy. In all patients who survived until decannulation, plain tomography of the trachea was performed within 3 days of decannulation. Repeat physical and tomographic examinations were performed 6 and 12 wks later.Fifty-eight percent (14/24) of the operative tracheostomies were associated with at least one complication, compared with 25% (6/24) of the percutaneous tracheostomies (p < .05, 95% confidence interval 7% to 59%). Predecannulation problems were more frequent in group 1 patients than in group 2 (46% vs. 13%, respectively; p < .01, 95% confidence interval 9% to 57%), as were later sequelae (88% vs. 27%; p < .05, confidence interval 26% to 96%) in survivors. Group 1 patients were more likely to have multiple complications, and their complications tended to be more serious. ConclusionIn this study, percutaneous tracheostomy appeared to be superior to the conventional operation.


A tobacco nitrite reductase (NiR) cDNA and its corresponding gene were isolated from cDNA and genomic libraries. An NiR antisense mRNA was expressed in transgenic tobacco under the control of a double 35S promoter. Transformants were obtained on a medium containing ammonium as the sole source of nitrogen. One plant growing normally on ammonium but displaying drastically reduced development and chlorotic leaves when grown on nitrate as the sole source of nitrogen was studied further. This plant accumulated nitrite fivefold over wild-type level and showed reduced amounts of ammonium (11% wild-type level), glutamine (19%), and total protein (8%). NiR mRNA and activity were below detectable levels. Under these conditions, nitrate reductase (NR) activity and mRNA were overexpressed, suggesting that N-metabolites resulting from nitrate reduction are responsible for the repression of the expression of the NR gene, independently from the presence or absence of a functional NR protein.


The high price for electrical energy increasingly leads companies to engage in self-production, so as to reduce costs, increase their own energy efficiency, and achieve market competitiveness. In general such self-production solutions have positive environmental impacts, since they involve exploitation of renewable sources and high-yield cogeneration plants, as well as avoiding inefficiencies due to network losses. However, the resulting reduction in the network exchange of electrical energy does not lead to proportional reductions in the network costs, and finding adequate coverage for these remains a necessity. Given this context, the role of the regulator becomes fundamental. The regulator must implement strategies for purposes of meeting national needs in regards to costs, but without excessively penalizing the companies and their international competitiveness, and without holding back development of environmentally favourable and sustainable solutions. The current article analyzes the possible regulatory interventions, their technical and organizational difficulties, and the impacts of these strategies in the national context.


The proliferation of liquid, transparent, and inexpensive index-based implementation means that nearly all types of investors, individual and institutional, face a persistent portfolio implementation question regarding the allocation between active managers and index-based strategies. Placing active risk from active fund management in the same framework of uncertainty that asset allocators utilize for other portfolio decisions brings to the active versus passive debate a surprising and enlightening answer that does not match typical discourse on the matter. Instead of a binary, "all or none" answer, reasonable (and even optimistic or pessimistic) expectations for active management imply a balanced implementation approach. Only extreme assumptions (e.g., very positive or negative levels of active return, very short or long time horizons) indicate a binary choice.


A novel approach is proposed to prepare organic-inorganic composite tubular structure by mineralizing silica and/or gold nanoparticle in the LbL assembled polypeptide multilayers films. Mesoporous silica (m-SiO2) and gold nanoparticle/mesoporous silica (Au NP/m-SiO2) tubes were prepared by subsequent calcination. The LbL assembled poly-L-lysine (PLL)/poly-L-tyrosine (PLT) multilayer film within the inner pores of polycarbonate templates acts as both a mineralizing agent and template for the formation of these materials. The as-prepared mesoporous SiO2 and Au NP/m-SiO2 tubes have well-defined structures. Gold nanoparticles with size smaller than 8 nm were immobilized in the silica network and the as-prepared Au NP/m-SiO2 tubes exhibit good catalytic activity towards the reduction of p-nitrophenol. This approach may provide a facile and general method to synthesize organic-inorganic and metal-oxide nanocomposites with different composition and structures.


Background: Type 1 Diabetes mellitus (T1DM) results from a cellular-mediated autoimmune
destruction of the β-cells of the
pancreas. We designed this study to determine the
prevalence of autoantibodies among Saudis patients with T1DM. Methods: Glutamic
acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA), antibodies to Islet cell (ICA) and
Insulin (IAA) were measured in 171 Saudis patients with T1DM. Results: There were 171 patients with T1DM, 71 males (41.5%) and 100
females (58.5%). The mean age was 20.8 ± 6.6 and the mean diabetes duration
was 7.7 ± 5.7. GADA, ICA and IAA were detected in 53.8%, 32.2% and 76%
respectively. GADA, ICA and IAA were nonsignificantly more frequent in female
and GADA and IAA were significantly more frequent in those younger than 20
years of age. Subjects testing positive for GADA had higher levels of ICA
(42.4% vs. 20.3, p = 0.003) and IAA (79.3% vs. 72.2, p = 0.3)
than those negative for GADA. Multiple antibodies (≥2) were observed more often
in patients under the age of 20 years. There were nonsignificant differences in
the prevalence of multiple antibodies between both genders. Multiple logistic regression
analysis showed a significant independent positive relationship between the
serum positivity of GADA, ICA and Multiple antibodies (≥2) with diabetes
duration (0.02, p = 0.03, 0.02, p = 0.01 and 0.01, p = 0.04
respectively). Conclusions: The prevalence of
autoantibodies in Saudi patients with T1DM is similar to those reported for
diabetic patients in other ethnic groups.


Efforts to improve the adversarial robustness of convolutional neural networks have primarily focused on developing more effective adversarial training methods. In contrast, little attention was devoted to analyzing the role of architectural elements (e.g., topology, depth, and width) on adversarial robustness. This paper seeks to bridge this gap and present a holistic study on the impact of architectural design on adversarial robustness. We focus on residual networks and consider architecture design at the block level as well as at the network scaling level. In both cases, we first derive insights through systematic experiments. Then we design a robust residual block, dubbed RobustResBlock, and a compound scaling rule, dubbed RobustScaling, to distribute depth and width at the desired FLOP count. Finally, we combine RobustResBlock and RobustScaling and present a portfolio of adversarially robust residual networks, RobustResNets, spanning a broad spectrum of model capacities. Experimental validation across multiple datasets and adversarial attacks demonstrate that RobustResNets consistently outperform both the standard WRNs and other existing robust architectures, achieving state-of-the-art AutoAttack robust accuracy 63.7% with 500K external data while being 2× more compact in terms of parameters. Code is available at this URL.


Small-bowel lymphoma is not a common disease, accounting for 15-20% of primary extranodal gastrointestinal lymphomas. Peritoneal lymphomatosis is considered a rare and aggressive presentation. We describe the case of a 55 years-old man affected by T-cell intestinal lymphoma, presenting with diffuse abdominal involvement, bowel dysfunction, severe ascites and pleural effusion, who underwent surgery. Clinical course led dramatically to death. Preoperative cytology and radiologic investigations did not yield diagnosis and were unable to differentiate between peritoneal carcinosis and lymphomatosis. It is suggested that, in such advanced cases, with rapidly deteriorating clinical conditions and huge systemic involvement, surgery is not indicated. On the contrary, maximum effort has to be spent to obtain a preoperative diagnosis.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the relationship of serum lipid concentrations with glucose control in youth with diabetes mellitus.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional analyses of data from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study.

SETTING
Multicenter study of youth with diabetes onset at younger than 20 years. PATIENTS/ PARTICIPANTS: Nineteen hundred seventy-three SEARCH participants aged 10 years or older with hemoglobin A(1c) and fasting total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride measured at the SEARCH study examination.

MAIN EXPOSURE
Hemoglobin A(1c).

OUTCOME MEASURE
Lipid concentrations.

RESULTS
There were significant trends of higher levels of TC, LDL-C, triglyceride, and non-HDL-C (but not HDL-C) with higher hemoglobin A(1c) concentrations for both diabetes types. The slopes of TC increase were 7.8 mg/dL (0.20 mmol/L) per unit increase in hemoglobin A(1c) for type 1 and 8.1 mg/dL (0.21 mmol/L) for type 2. Levels of TC, LDL-C, triglyceride, and non-HDL-C were all significantly higher (all P values <.001) in type 2 than in type 1 diabetes (mean differences in milligrams per deciliter [millimoles per liter], +13.6 [+0.35] for TC; +8.3 [+0.22] for LDL-C; +66.3 [+0.75] for triglyceride; +25.5 [+0.66] for non-HDL-C). Levels of HDL-C were lower in youth with type 2 diabetes (mean difference, -11.9 mg/dL [-0.31 mmol/L]). Among those with type 1 diabetes in poor glycemic control, 35%, 27%, and 12% had high concentrations of TC (>or=200 mg/dL [5.17 mmol/L]), LDL-C (>or=130 mg/dL [3.36 mmol/L]), and triglyceride (>or=200 mg/dL [2.26 mmol/L]), respectively. In youth with type 2 diabetes in poor glycemic control, percentages with high levels of TC, LDL-C, and triglycerides were 65%, 43%, and 40%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Glycemic control and lipid levels are independently associated in youth with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.


One challenge of link prediction in online social networks is the large scale of many such networks. The measures used by existing work lack a computational consideration in the large scale setting. We propose the notion of social distance in a multi-dimensional form to measure the closeness among a group of people in Microblogs. We proposed a fast hashing approach called Locality-sensitive Social Distance Hashing (LSDH), which works in an unsupervised setup and performs approximate near neighbor search without high-dimensional distance computation. Experiments were applied over a Twitter dataset and the preliminary results testified the effectiveness of LSDH in predicting the likelihood of future associations between people.


*Corresponding Author: Khawla S. Khashan firstname.lastname@example.com Abstract Titanium dioxide nanoparticles were produced in this work by laser ablation of a high purity titanium objective immersed in distilled water. Optical and structural properties of the obtained TiO2 NPs using a Qswitched Nd: YAG laser of 1064nm wavelength with different laser energy (80, 100, 120, 140, and 160) mJ at 100 pulses was studied. The produced TiO2 NPs were characterized employing UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained TiO2NPs showed a decrease in transmittance in the region of the UV spectrum and an increase in the visible spectrum region. The estimated optical band gap of the TiO2NPs was 3.89eV, 3.8eV, and 3.70eV at 80, 120 and 160mJ laser energy, respectively. The as-produced TiO2NPs appear to be a Brookite crystalline phase with the preferential orientation along (200) direction. The scanning electron microscopy assays showed that the TiO2 NPs have a cauliflower shape. Results show that with increasing the energy of laser pulse, the size of nanoparticles was increased noticeably. Where the particle size and its morphology are affected by laser energy.


Andre Martinet holds an important position in the history of linguistics in the twentieth century. For more than six decades he decisively influenced the development of linguistics in France and in the world. He is one of the spokespersons for French linguistic structuralism, the structuralisme fonctionnel. The article focuses on a description and critical appreciation of the interlinguistic part of Martinet's work. The issue of auxiliary languages and hence interlinguistics had interested Martinet greatly from his youth and provoked him to examine the matter actively. From 1946 onwards he worked in New York as a professor at Columbia University and a research director of the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). From 1934 he was in contact with the Danish linguist and interlinguist Otto Jespersen (1860–1943). Martinet, who went back to Paris in 1955 to work as a professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne), increasingly developed into an expert in planned languages; for his whole life, he was committed to the world-wide use of a foreign language that can be learned equally easily by members of all ethnic groups; Esperanto, functioning since 1887, seemed a good option to him.


We apply a point load onto a bidimensional packing of elastic grains. The internal state of stress is accessed by means of photoelastic visualization. The region in which the stress response is confined exhibits a parabolic profile. This evidence supports the parabolic nature of the equations describing the stress transmission. Our results oppose classical elasto-plastic models of continuum mechanics, and other recent hyperbolic proposals.


Kristeva, in her work, Revolution in Poetic Language, analyses nineteenth-century avant-garde poetic
texts as exemplars of the manifestation of the otherwise repressed semiotic chora. This thesis involves
an analysis of Percy Bysshe Shelley's poetic texts in a similar critique. Shelley's poetry, though not as
fully as that of avant-garde poets such as Stephane Mallarme, responds to a Kristevan reading. This
reading involves the maternal as being both significant and transgressive. The Introduction opens the
thesis with a discussion of the methodology that marks Kristeva's analysis of the poetic texts of
Mallarme, which is used here as an exemplar for a reading of Shelley's texts. A survey of the last two
centuries of Shelleyan criticism, together with a discussion of how this analysis differs from the critical
legacy, is provided in the first chapter. The second chapter gives a fuller description of Kristeva's
theory of the poetic text, which forms the basis for the analysis of Shelley's poetry in the succeeding
chapters. These chapters form the body of the thesis, as Kristevan theory is applied to a reading of
Shelley's poetic texts, in terms of the maternal. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the partial
interpenetration of Shelley's poetic texts with Kristeva's theoretical texts, which act gives the title to
this thesis: Matrices and Mavericks.


Multimodal spectroscopic imaging methods such as Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI MSI), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy were used to monitor the changes in distribution and to determine semi quantitatively selected metabolites involved in nitrogen fixation in pea root nodules. These approaches were used to evaluate the effectiveness of nitrogen fixation by pea plants treated with biofertilizer preparations containing Nod factors. To assess the effectiveness of biofertilizer, the fresh and dry masses of plants were determined. The biofertilizer was shown to be effective in enhancing the growth of the pea plants. In case of metabolic changes, the biofertilizer caused a change in the apparent distribution of the leghaemoglobin from the edges of the nodule to its centre (the active zone of nodule). Moreover, the enhanced nitrogen fixation and presumably the accelerated maturation form of the nodules were observed with the use of a biofertilizer.


In order to evaluate pavement dynamic responses accurately under truck loading, the full-scale asphalt pavement accelerated loading facility (ALF) was used. 10 strain gauges and 2 soil pressure cells were installed; temperature sensors were also installed in the different depth of the HMA layer. Pavement response was measured under real traffic load with ALF. The measured pavement responses are compared between the pavement sections to evaluate the effects of various experimental factors, such as axle load, speed, et al. Dynamic strain at the bottom of HMA layer and vertical compressive stress on the top of the subgrade were examined in the full-scale testing road, the regression models between dynamic response and axle load, dynamic response and speed were put forward respectively. Studies show that there is not only tensile strain but also compressive strain in the dynamic response, and the strain response is in the station of tension and compression alternation. Under the intermediate temperature, the strain response at the bottom of the asphalt layer is increased linearly with the increase of axle load and the vertical compressive stresses at the top of the subgrade is also increased with the increase of axle load. Speed has a great effect on strain response at the bottom of HMA layer, and has little effect on vertical compressive stress, it affects the loading duration of stress only. The destroy for the pavement by low speed and heavy load is more serious than that is normal.


Overlapping 10-amino-acid peptides, which consecutively span the amino acid sequence of the S3 subunit of pertussis toxin, were synthesised on polyethylene pins and screened for their ability to bind the glycoprotein fetuin. Fetuin binding was localised to a single peptide comprising amino acids 46-55. A free peptide, (E)S3c, of longer sequence (S3 amino acids 44-58) was also found to bind alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, mixed brain gangliosides and fetuin. (E)S3c also recognised asialofetuin but with a lower apparent affinity relative to fetuin. The single tryptophan residue of the peptide yielded a fluorescence-emission maximum of 355 nm. In the presence of either ganglioside or the phospholipid L-alpha-lysolecithin, but not N-acetylneuramin-lactose or lactosylceramide, the emission intensity of (E)S3c was enhanced and the emission maximum blue-shifted to 340 nm by ganglioside, or to 345 nm by L-alpha-lysolecithin. Monosialogangliosides, disialogangliosides, and trisialogangliosides, when fluorescence-titrated, were each found to bind the peptide with a similar dissociation constant of 4.4 +/- 2.8 microM. These findings demonstrate that region 44-58 of the pertussis-toxin S3 subunit is likely to be involved in the recognition of both glycosylated and phospholipid constituents of target-cell membranes.


Proteomics has currently been a developing field in periodontal diseases to obtain protein information of certain samples. Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disorder that attacks the teeth, connective tissues, and alveolar bone within the oral cavity. Proteomics information can provide proteins that are differentially expressed in diseased or healthy samples. This review provides insight into approaches researching single species, multi species, bacteria, non‐human, and human models of periodontal disease for proteomics information. The approaches that have been taken include gel electrophoresis and qualitative and quantitative mass spectrometry. This review is carried out by extracting information about in vitro and in vivo studies of proteomics in models of periodontal diseases that have been carried out in the past two decades. The research has concentrated on a relatively small but well‐known group of microorganisms. A wide range of models has been reviewed and conclusions across the breadth of these studies are presented in this review.


Meat is the main source of animal protein. One type of meat that is most consumed by people is beef. The increasing price of beef due to the scarcity of beef in Indonesia, encourages the government to issue a policy of buffalo meat importation, in order to cope with the void of Indonesian meat stock. The problem is that this policy has many pros and cons from various parties. There are parties who support and there are also those who strongly oppose. Those who oppose this policy are governments in several regions and organizations that feel disadvantaged by the buffalo meat importation policy. Based on the phenomenon that occurs with the import of buffalo, in this study the authors are interested in analyzing Policy Implication of Buffalo Meat Importation to Beef Marketing: Case of Bogor, Indonesia. The method used is a Structural Equation Models (SEM) with 150 respondents. The result of this research is respondents were willing to buy and consume buffalo meat as long as the quality, health and halal were guaranteed.


As concrete structures in nuclear power plants (NPP) are exposed to various environmental conditions, concrete is affected by different deterioration processes during the life time of the power plant. To ensure the integrity and load bearing capacity of the concrete components, especially with regard to the extension of the life time of NPPs, the use of non-destructive testing (NDT) methods are essential for examining the quality of concrete and its reinforcement. However, current NDT techniques are faced with several challenges: (i) NDT inspection may primarily be performed only during the annual overhauls when testing is time-limited, (ii) the accuracy and reliability of NDT testing devices, (iii) uncertainty of the international uniformity of the methods used for NDT tests, and (iv) the creditability of results and analyses. An effective inspection of concrete components is only possible if the deterioration processes are identified and robust NDT testing techniques are available. This paper describes the tool developed for selecting suitable NDT methods for NPP structures made of reinforced concrete based on the age and expected degradation mechanisms of the structures under concern. The paper also assesses critically the NDT techniques that fulfil the needs of the safety evaluation of NPPs in Finland and are currently available for testing of NPP concrete structures. The tool comprises (i) the building materials used in structural components, (ii) ageing defects affecting NPP concrete structures, (iii) available NDT techniques and (iv) inspection schedule for concrete structures recommended for Finnish NPPs.


ABSTRACT Swedish and international research points to serious problems for the education of students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in the care of social welfare, for example, in residential care. The aim of this article is to elucidate how documentation, care plans (CPs) and individual educational plans (IEPs) outline the educational prospects for SEBD students in residential care. A more specific aim is to study how the form or template partakes in the production of educational trajectories. Using post-structural theory and the concepts of actor-network theory, this paper highlights the forms or templates as agentive forces in a network with students, parents, teachers and social workers. Documentation reveals few expectations that these teenagers can become capable learners and almost all of the subjects have been given a reduced curriculum. The lack of headings such as 'Student's or parents' opinion' or 'School subjects' can be understood as indications that these topics are considered to be of less importance. Individual differences between students disappear when the electronic document enables the use of the exact same phrases and words to describe different students. These results, along with previous research, point to an immediate need to discuss both the form and content of documentation in educational practice and to consider what, for what reason and for whom to document.


Dynamic neural models provide an attractive means of fault detection and isolation in industrial process. One approach is to create a neural model to emulate normal system behavior and additional models to emulate various fault conditions. The neural models are then placed in parallel with the system to be monitored, and fault detection is achieved by comparing the outputs of the neural models with the real system outputs. Neural network training is achieved using simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA). Fault classification is based on a simple threshold test of the residuals formed by subtracting each neural model output from the corresponding output of the real system. We present a new approach based on this well known scheme where a Bayesian network is used to evaluate the residuals. The approach is applied to fault detection in a three-phase induction motor.


The windows task (a hybrid executive/theory of mind task) requires participants to infer the utility of indicating a box in which a desired object is absent, adjacent to one where it is visible, in the presence of an experimenter in a completive role, and to maintain this response over a number of subsequent trials. We presented two pairs of groups (3 years vs. 4 years and autism vs. MLD) with an automated version of the task in order to find out whether the main locus of difficulty was executive or social. In two conditions the required response was to press a button beneath the chosen box, and in two conditions the deceptive or the merely competitive element was maintained. In the deceptive condition the participant had to tell the opponent which button to press. Automation removed group differences in performance on the first 'inferential' experimental trial, although group differences did remain in performance across all trials. We argue that it was the novel response mode used in the automated task that made it easier than the standard versions: button pressing (or indicating in the deceptive condition) rather than reference to a location. We discuss this possibility with regard to the kind of inhibitory requirements made by theory of mind tasks.


Political Science is a branch of Social Sciences that focuses on political behavior of a human being in the society. No principles can be proved that which method is the best administration. However, it is accepted that democracy is the best administration because the word "democracy", defined as "the rule of the people", is a system dominantly governed by people who have freedom and equal rights.  It is a government by law or the rules of law that protect basic rights of people both in terms of rights and liberties in the property, expressions and living, etc.  Democracy is based on the principle of the majority of votes in conjunction with the respect the rights of the minority. The democratic principle was found in Tripitaka, particularly in many parts of Vinaya Pitaka and Sutta Pitaka. The first chapter of a real democracy is Ovadha Patimokkha It is the heart of Buddhism because it contains three principles of Dhamma:  Three principle, three Ideologies, and six methods. Besides, democracy consisted of three principles of supremacy including autocracy, supremacy of the world and supremacy of the Dharma. Moreover, the democratic principles are also bestowed by Buddha to the Sangha for performing religious activities, particularly in ceremonies performed by a chapter of Buddhist monks assembled in solemn conclave. In this process, discipline is the constitution or law that goes in line with equity or discipline. In addition, the middle path and democracy must be followed by giving the majority decision to the Sangha.


When Doctors Don't Listen is a recently published book written by two emergency medicine doctors from Harvard University, USA. Their objective: to improve emergency department diagnostic accuracy while minimising unnecessary (and expensive) testing. There is a surprising catch – the book is aimed primarily at the patient rather than the doctor. That said, clinicians will still find this a fascinating read. Every year, up to a third of the USA's $2.6 trillion annual healthcare cost is spent on unnecessary medical testing and hospitalisation. This, the authors argue, is fuelled by rampant patient consumerism for the latest medical technology coupled with the growing practice of 'cookbook medicine'. Cookbook medicine is the practice of approaching clinical problems using rigid, non-individualised 'diagnostic recipes' or 'pathways'. Hallmarks include the overdependence on technology (to 'rule-out' rather than 'rule-in' diagnoses), minimal critical thinking, and absent patient-centredness. This disassociates the diagnostic process from the individual's narrative, leading to patient dissatisfaction and increased litigation. To avoid falling victim to cookbook medicine, the authors propose a stepwise strategy for patients – 'the 8 pillars to better diagnosis'. This strategy advocates patients to become more involved in the management of their health, and when visiting doctors, in the making of their diagnoses. Although this idea may appear quite foreign and even consumerist, the advice given is genuinely useful. Advice includes how to best present one's complaints and medical history (e.g. preparing a summarised list of past conditions and treatments or keeping a symptom journal); to participate and aid the doctor during the physical examination; to ensure that the doctor formulates a thorough differential diagnosis; to partner with the doctor in the decision-making process regarding testing and treatment options; and to assert oneself in the doctor's thought process without being seen as a difficult patient. Included in the book are worksheets and exercises for use when preparing for a medical visit. One criticism of their suggestions is that they are not universally applicable, especially in parts of the world where the standard of education is poor or where health services are under-resourced. The book includes a section aimed at doctors, presenting advice on how to be more patient-centred and communicate better, among other things. Giving the patient more responsibility during decisionmaking is also presented as a possible buffer against litigation. The text is written as a conversation in the first person between the two authors and reads very well. Throughout the text the authors have successfully employed a mix of clinical vignettes and panel discussions with the individuals involved. This makes for a lively read. Ultimately, When Doctors Don't Listen advocates and demands further reforms in the delivery of patient-centred care from the modern doctor. Although this book is primarily written for the American patient, South African medical readers will nevertheless find it an interesting read. The book ends with a prescription for a more functional, leaner and lower-cost future American Health System: 'Cut the cookbook recipes, the "rule-out" and the "pathways" in favor of a thoughtful, common sense, and individualised approach to medicine.' This may just be the solution.


Recent object recognition methods propose to represent objects by collections of local appearance descriptors in sev eral interest points. For recognition, this representatio n is matched to image data. Interest points (candidates for matching) are usually selected from images in a purely bottom-up manner. However, in many situations, there is a limited number of objects to search for, and some information about object characteristics should be employed in the detection of salient points, to reduce the number of potential candidates. In this paper we propose a methodology for the selection of candidates with prior information of the object local appearance. Points are represented by a rotation and scale invariant descriptor, composed by the response of filters derived from Gabor functions, denoted as "intrinsic scale/frequency descriptor". When compared to classical salient point detectors, like extremal points of laplacian operators at several scales, the proposed methodology is able to reduce the amount of canditates for matching by more than 60%. Since matching is a costly operation, this strategy will improve the efficiency of object recognition methods.


An enhanced elastic-plastic constitutive equation taking into account strain induced transformation is developed. The variation of the Young's modulus with the martensitic transformation during stamping process is also introduced to improve the accuracy of springback simulation for TRIP steel. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified by comparing with the conventional FE model and experimental results. The enhanced material model is testified to be efficient in accurate prediction on springback for TRIP steels, which will put forward the application of TRIP steel sheet in auto body manufacturing.


The method of convex optimization is used as a tool for model reduction of a class of nonlinear systems in the presence of disturbances. It is shown that under some conditions the nonlinear disturbed system can be approximated by a reduced order nonlinear system with similar disturbance-output properties to the original plant. The proposed model reduction strategy preserves the nonlinearity and the input disturbance nature of the model. It guarantees a sufficiently small error between the outputs of the original and the reduced-order systems, and also maintains the properties of input-to-state stability. The matrices of the reduced order system are given in terms of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The paper concludes with a demonstration of the proposed approach on model reduction of a nonlinear electronic circuit with additive disturbances.


Abstract Sulfate attack is a term used to describe a series of chemical reactions between sulfate ions and hydrated compounds of the hardened cement paste. The present study aims to evaluate the physical (linear expansion, flexural and compressive strength) and mineralogical properties (X-ray diffraction) of three different mortar compositions (Portland Cement CPV-ARI with limestone filler and, with a quartz filler, in both cases with 10% replacement of the cement by weight) against sodium and magnesium sulfate attack (concentration of SO4 2- equal to 0.7 molar). The data collected indicate that the replacing the cement by the two fillers generate different results, the quartz filler presented a mitigating behaviour towards the sulfate, and the limestone filler was harmful to Portland cement mortars, in both physical and chemical characteristics.


Text and data mining offers exciting research opportunities over a broad range of fields. As large corpora of data accumulate, automated and semi-automated analysis of their contents (and often of many different data sets correlated together) reveals patterns and allows establishment of fact patterns invisible to the naked eye. Libraries and librarians have an exciting opportunity to support this work.

This paper reviews some of the possibilities for such work and outlines the challenges and the way ahead for librarians. One challenge lies in the terms by which data sets are licensed and made available to academic and other users; librarians need to be proactive in ensuring that these terms are favorable for the kind of use researchers will need and that the resources themselves are available in a format that allows innovative mining-based research. Another challenge is the need to support users who wish to engage in text and data mining with limited experience, especially when they approach data sets made available through library resources. Librarians should develop the expertise to support their users by making data resources available to them on favorable terms and supporting their mining efforts .


Urban systems are characterized by populations with heterogeneous characteristics, and whose spatial distribution is crucial to understand inequalities in life expectancy or education level. Traditional studies on spatial segregation indicators focus often on first-neighbour correlations but fail to capture complex multi-scale patterns. In this work, we aim at characterizing the spatial distribution heterogeneity of socioeconomic features through diffusion and synchronization dynamics. In particular, we use the time needed to reach the synchronization as a proxy for the spatial heterogeneity of a socioeconomic feature, as for example, the income. Our analysis for 16 income categories in cities from the United States reveals that the spatial distribution of the most deprived and affluent citizens leads to higher diffusion and synchronization times. By measuring the time needed for a neighborhood to reach the global phase we are able to detect those that suffer from a steeper segregation. Overall, the present manuscript exemplifies how diffusion and synchronization dynamics can be used to assess the heterogeneity in the presence of node information.


Small-scale (communal) farmers in South Africa have limited access to factors of production, credit and information, and markets are often constrained by inadequate property rights and high transaction costs. The objective of this research is to investigate whether agricultural cooperatives - considered by the South African (SA) government as organizations that could help promote community and economic development - can facilitate smallholder access to input and product markets that could enhance their development. This paper initially discusses the principles of cooperation, and briefly describes the history and development of agricultural cooperatives in developed and less-developed countries, with an emphasis on the United States and South Africa. A new Cooperatives Act, based on international principles of cooperation, was promulgated in South Africa in August 2005. The theory of cooperatives, and new institutional economics theory (NIE) (including transaction cost economics, agency theory, and property rights theory) and its applicability to the cooperative organizational form, are also presented, as are the inherent problems of traditional cooperatives, namely free-rider, horizon, portfolio, control, and influence cost problems caused by vaguely defined property rights. An analysis of the future of cooperatives in general, based on a NIE approach, suggests a life cycle for cooperatives (formation, growth, reorganization or exit) as they adapt to a changing economic environment characterized by technological change, industrialization of agriculture, and growing individualism.