SUMMARY Introduction: We aimed to quantify patients' and physicians' preferences for therapeutic trade-offs involving the efficacy, side-effect risks, and evidence uncertainty in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatments. Materials and Methods: Physicians who treat CHB patients and adult patients with a self-reported physician diagnosis of CHB comp- leted a web-enabled, discrete-choice experiment survey in Turkey. Both patients and physicians answered 12 treatment-choice questi- ons. Each question required evaluating a pair of hypothetical CHB medication profiles defined by the years the medicine has been stu- died (weight of evidence), probability that the patient's viral load remains undetectable for five years with possible reversal of disease progression (efficacy), five-year treatment-related risks of a fracture and renal insufficiency, and monthly medication cost. Logit models were used to estimate preference weights for all attribute levels and the profile preference scores for three current CHB treatments. A choice format conjoint analysis was used. Results: 159 physicians and 117 patients completed the survey. Patients and physicians had discordant views on the relative impor- tance of CHB treatment attributes. Patients ranked weight of evidence and efficacy as the most important attributes, while physicians ranked efficacy and risk of renal insufficiency as the most important attributes. Both groups preferred a CHB medication profile charac- terized by potent efficacy and low side-effect risk versus a medication profile characterized by a potent efficacy and moderate side-ef- fect risk profile (p> 0.05). Both medication profiles were preferred over a CHB medication with poor efficacy and low side-effect risk pro- file (p> 0.05 for patients and p< 0.05 for physicians). Conclusion: This is the first study to quantify patients' and physicians' preferences for CHB treatments in Turkey. Discordance betwe- en physicians' and patients' preferences can be explained by asymmetric knowledge and information regarding the importance of we- ight of evidence and efficacy versus side-effect risks. This fact highlights the need for reflection of physician and patient perspectives on regulatory and reimbursement decisions.


In our everyday life we often see objects or persons and are aware that there are related digital services such as an online ticket service when seeing a poster advertising a concert. Currently it is a rather time consuming activity to find the related information. Using our Contextual Bookmark system a user can define a snapshot with her mobile phone consisting of a picture, time stamp and location. Such a bookmark can then be stored on the mobile phone, exchanged with friends and in particular be used to access related videos, web pages, and other services. This helps the user to bridge the gap between the virtual and the real world in order to use related services. Combining content and context analysis objects are recognized without any visual markers or electronic tags. We would like to demonstrate our system based on a nomadic usage scenario in which a person defines a Contextual Bookmark of a movie trailer, buys the corresponding movie, plays the movie on a TV, and exchanges the bookmark with a friend.


Marine tephra layers form important chronostratigraphic markers and may also provide information on eruption dynamics and chronology. Recent experiments, and field data from the 1991 Pinatubo eruption, challenge tacit assumptions that, following atmospheric fallout on the ocean surface, marine sedimentation of ash-grade material occurs by Stokes Law settling of individual grains. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that vertical density currents can be initiated at representative mass flux rates: further experiments, described herein, involving sustained particle fluxes entering stratified environments, demonstrate that ash particles can decouple from the transporting fluid, whose vertical motions are limited by the stable density gradient. In the ocean, vertical density currents generated by ash-loading and gravitational destabilization of the water column can overcome the strong stable density gradients in the ocean and transport ash particles vertically 1–3 orders of magnitude faster than possible by Stokesian settling, greatly reducing their residence time. Sea-bed sedimentation is inferred to involve settling of individual coarse or dense grains through the entire water column, plus suspension fallout from the polydisperse turbid layer delivered by convective plumes, yielding normal distribution grading. The turbid layer may continue laterally as a (nepheloid) current under the influence of bottom slopes and/or geostrophic forces, either mechanism possibly modifying the grain-size distribution of the suspension and hence the resulting ash layer by transporting selected fractions into different depositional locations. Consequently, and regardless of any subsequent reworking, deep-sea ash isopachs may not directly reflect an eruptive signal, and the ash layers may not directly record the order, rate, or location of arrival of ash particles at the ocean surface.


This commentary on Marilyn Strathern's article, "Binary License," discusses certain implications of her assertion that intertribal relationships among urban migrants in Papua New Guinea are not "ethnic." For if such social encounters do not involve a conventional politics of identity, what then might its politics be? By comparing Strathern's Melanesian case with ethnographic examples in Corsica and Mongolia, a novel relational modality of "intensive ethnicity" may be identified, one that differs qualitatively from the "extensive ethnicity" with which anthropologists have usually been concerned. The two forms of ethnicity are equally relative, in that a given group's self-understanding and self-designation are in both cases the result of its relations with other groups. However, ethnically extensive relations of the standard anthropological variety involve symbolic processes of boundary making and boundary maintenance whereby contrasting cultural traits or contents are arbitrarily assigned to and distributed among preexisting social forms and social scales (whether individuals, communities, or nations). Conversely, the more intensive intertribal engagements described by Strathern and certain other anthropologists are relational all the way down, given that everything about the terms of these relations (including their form, scale, and dimensioning) is defined by the particular quality in question. Thus a contrast may be established between the politics of identity and what might be called non-identity politics. If the former amounts to an ethnic economy in which subjectivities are exchanged in a commodity-like, alienable way, then, in the latter, stereotypical naming and other seeming "ethnic" practices amount to gift-like, non-alienable insertions of selves into others.


Background: Emotional intelligence is based upon self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. It is considered one of the strongest predictors of performance. Current study was planned to determine the effect of age and gender on emotional intelligence in medical students. Methods: Sample of the study comprised of 347 students of 2nd and 3rd year from Army Medical College Rawalpindi. The Quick Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire was used to measure Emotional Intelligence of the respondents, whereas the demographic information regarding their age, gender and year of study was recorded on a separate sheet. Descriptive and inferential analysis using multiple linear regression, t-test and chi square was employed to analyze the data. Results: Multiple regression analysis on age and gender revealed that gender had significant effect on emotional intelligence F (2, 344) = 6.13, (p< .01). Using multivariate analysis of variance, results further revealed that male gender was significantly associated with emotional management (p<.001) and relationship management (p<.000). Frequency comparison using chi square was used to determine differences in male and female students across three categories of EI which was significant at .05 level. Conclusions: Male gender was associated with high levels of emotional intelligence especially with emotional and relationship management in the present sample. However, age did not significantly contribute in EI. These findings further suggest that effect of gender on EI may be viewed with reference to sample specificity rather than ignoring it. Hence special consideration is needed when concluding that gender may impact EI.


Based on 40 interviews and 11 on-site workplace observations of people using computer applications at work, we confirm that use of printed and on-line help is very low and find that providing greater detail of categories solution methods can present a more realistic picture of users' behaviors. Observed study participants encountered a usability problem on average about once every 75 minutes and typically spent about a minute looking for a solution. Participants consumed much more time when they were unaware of a direct way of doing something and instead used less effective methods. Comparison of results from different data-collection methods suggests that interviews, and probably surveys, provide less reliable views of users' problem-solving behaviors than do participatory evaluation and direct observation.


This market-leading text has received wide acclaim for providing an applied, practical, and student-oriented approach to educational psychology. Psychology Applied to Teaching takes complex psychological theories and demonstrates how they apply to the everyday experiences of in-service teachers. The Twelfth Edition combines fresh concepts and contemporary research with long-standing theory and applications to create a textbook that addresses the needs of today's teachers and students. This new edition also reflects the Houghton Mifflin Education mission to help bridge the gap from preservice to practice. To that end, several of the program's features foster in students an appreciation of reflection. The first and last chapters discuss the concept and importance of reflective teaching; by providing Pause & Reflect and Journal Entry opportunities throughout the text prompt active reflection; and a new feature, Revealing & Challenging Assumptions, offers aspiring teachers opportunities to confront and reflect on problematic assumptions about teaching and learning.


The demographic change underway, declining adequacy levels from traditional pay-as-you-go old-age social security systems, structural reforms in pension schemes and the reduction in the traditional family support have increased the need for additional private savings to cover the old age income gap. In this paper we discuss the necessity, the role and the viability of home equity release schemes in supplementing public and private pensions in an integrated way. We use the latest European data from the Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) to analyse the household's wealth composition and accumulation process in the euro area. To quantify the size of the housing wealth and its potential to enhance existing and future retirement income, we compute the equity-to-value ratio (ETV) for all countries, estimate the time to loan payoff and compute the amount of home equity that is expected to be released over a 10-year period through regular monthly mortgage payments. We then catalogue and discuss the many alternative options for managing and accessing housing wealth over the life cycle, and highlight the main characteristics, risks, advantages and drawbacks of the two most important market products (home reversion plans and reverse mortgages). Finally, we discuss the main demand-side and supply-side obstacles and challenges to the development of equity release markets and extract some policy implications.


Allograft vasculopathy (AV) remains one of the major challenges to the long-term functioning of solid organ transplants. Although its exact pathogenesis remains unclear, AV is characterized by both fibromuscular proliferation and infiltration of CD4+ memory T cells. We here tested whether two experimental immunosuppressants targeting K+ channels might be useful for preventing AV. PAP-1 inhibits the voltage-gated Kv1.3 channel, which is overexpressed on CCR7− memory T cells and we therefore hypothesize that it should suppress the memory T cell component of AV. Based on its previous efficacy in restenosis and kidney fibrosis we expected that the KCa3.1 blocker TRAM-34 would primarily affect smooth muscle and fibroblast proliferation and thus reduce intimal hyperplasia. Using immunohistochemistry we demonstrated the presence of Kv1.3 on infiltrating T cells and of KCa3.1 on lymphocytes as well as on proliferating neointimal smooth muscle cells in human vasculopathy samples and in a rat aorta transplant model developing chronic AV. Treatment of PVG rats receiving orthotopically transplanted aortas from ACI rats with TRAM-34 dose-dependently reduced aortic luminal occlusion, intimal hyperplasia, mononuclear cell infiltration and collagen deposition 120 days after transplantation. The Kv1.3 blocker PAP-1 in contrast did not reduce intima hyperplasia despite drastically reducing plasma IFN-γ levels and inhibiting lymphocyte infiltration. Our findings suggest that KCa3.1 channels play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic AV and constitute an attractive target for the prevention of arteriopathy.


Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are pervasive in embedded systems requiring low-power utilization. A novel power optimization methodology for reducing the dynamic power consumed by the routing of FPGA circuits by modifying the constraints applied to existing commercial tool sets is presented. The power optimization techniques influence commercial FPGA Place and Route (PAR) tools by translating power goals into standard throughput and placement-based constraints. The Low-Power Intelligent Tool Environment (LITE) is presented, which was developed to support the experimentation of power models and power optimization algorithms. The generated constraints seek to implement one of four power optimization approaches: slack minimization, clock tree paring, N-terminal net colocation, and area minimization. In an experimental study, we optimize dynamic power of circuits mapped into 0.12 μ m Xilinx Virtex-II FPGAs. Results show that several optimization algorithms can be combined on a single design, and power is reduced by up to 19.4%, with an average power savings of 10.2%.


Bureaucracies are configured differently to private sector and political organizations. Across a wide range of civil services entry is competitive, promotion is constrained by seniority, jobs are for life, and retirement occurs at a fixed age. This implies that older entering officers, who are less likely to attain the glittering prize of reaching the top of the bureaucracy before they retire, may be less motivated to exert effort. Using a nationwide stakeholder survey and rich administrative data on elite civil servants in India, we provide evidence that: (i) officers who cannot reach the senior-most positions before they retire are perceived to be less effective and are more likely to be suspended and (ii) this effect is weakened by a reform that extends the retirement age. Together, these results suggest that the career incentive of reaching the top of a public organization is a powerful determinant of bureaucrat performance.


In Switzerland, the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) is responsible for developing an effective method for the safe disposal of vitrified high level waste (HLW) and spent fuel. One of the options for disposal canisters is thick-walled carbon steel. The canisters, which would have a diameter of about 1 m and a length of about 3 m (HLW) or about 5 m (spent fuel), will be embedded in horizontal tunnels and surrounded with bentonite clay. The regulatory requirement for the minimum canister lifetime is 1'000 years but demonstration of a minimum lifetime of 10'000 years would be desirable. The pore-water to which the canister will be exposed is of marine origin with about 0.1-0.3 M Cl. Since hydrogen is generated during the corrosion process, it is necessary to assess the probability of hydrogen assisted cracking modes and to make recommendations to eliminate that probability. To that aim, key reports detailing projections for the local environment and associated corrosion rate of the waste canister have been evaluated with the focus on the implication for the absorbed hydrogen concentration in the steel. Simple calculations of hydrogen diffusion and accumulation in the inner compartment of the sealed canister indicate that a pressure equivalent to that for gas pockets external to the canister (envisaged to be about 10 MPa) may be attained in the proposed exposure time, an important consideration since it is not possible to modify the internal surface of the closure weld. Current ideas on mechanisms of hydrogen assisted cracking are assessed from which it is concluded that the mechanistic understanding and associated models of hydrogen assisted cracking are insufficient to provide a framework for quantitative prediction for this application. The emphasis then was to identify threshold conditions for cracking and to evaluate the likelihood that these may be exceeded over the lifetime of the containment. Based on an analysis of data in the context of the waste canisters it is concluded that the likelihood of cracking due to absorbed hydrogen is remote. Recommendations are given for selection of steel composition, processing and welding procedures to eliminate effectively the probability of cracking for the assumed operational conditions for the disposal canister.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of brain training for improving eye-hand coordination activities of elderly patients' type 2 diabetic mellitus with stress.
Design: Experimental study.
Setting: The stress and type 2 diabetes mellitus elderly patient health board service plan 4 service areas at Tharuea Hospital.
Participants: Thirty- fourth elderly people (men 16, women 18) aged between 60- 86. The participants were divided into two groups: 17 participants in the experimental group (brain training of eye-hand coordination activities), another 17 participants in the control group (medical treatment during the study to control blood sugar and risky behavior), and 3 sessions of 40 minutes each of brain training (each week) (24 sessions) for 8 weeks.
 Main outcome measurements: The instruments used in this study measured the cortisol level and FBS, OHQ, WHOQOL, and SPST- 20. T-test independent between group and t-test dependent within group were used to analyze the data.
 Results: The elderly patients' stress and type 2 diabetes mellitus was stress, QOL, happiness and cortisol level of the experimental group and control group were significantly different and after the experimental were significantly different, and found that, FBS the experimental group before and after were significantly different.
 Conclusions: The elderly patients' stress and type 2 diabetes mellitus regularly practiced brain training of eye-hand coordination activities showed better QOL, happiness and decreased of stress, cortisol level and FBS. Hand box activity (HBA) as a coordination exercise may reduce the risk function of the adrenal glands (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and maintain the secretion of cortisol hormone control. Keywords Brain training; Eye-hand coordination activities; Stress; Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus


Dental phobia is definitely a problem because it affects such a large portion of the population (25 to 40 million Americans). I found in a review of literature (e.g., Mass, 1995) that a good patient/dentist relationship is needed in order for dental phobics to experience successful and comfortable dental appointments. Before a good patient/dentist relationship can exist, the dentist should be aware of the needs possessed by dental phobics. In other words, a dentist should have some kind of training and experience with dental visits involving dental phobics. Thus, the first purpose of my research was to find out how many dental schools offer such training to dental students.

Because dental phobia is a problem, my second goal was to find out more about its etiology. In a review of the literature, I found that more research is needed on several possible factors that could contribute to the development of dental phobia. These factors include the age of onset of a phobia, and family, childhood, and personality characteristics of phobics. Thus, the second purpose of my research was to explore the personality characteristics of dental phobics.


Organizations of the extreme right are clearly dominated by men, much more than parties of the political mainstream. But instead of analyzing the specific attractiveness of right-wing extremism for men, gender sensible research in this field has mainly focused on women. This explorative study will reconstruct discourses of masculinity within the Freedom Party of Austria, which is part of the national government since 2000. The analysis of two of the party's newspapers and of group discussions conducted with young party activists will show the party's willingness to seize on the insecurities that men experience in the ongoing transformation of gender relations. We can find a general orientation towards a traditional concept of gender roles, but the ways of developing and distributing this knowledge differ widely, depending on the specific conditions in the different political arenas in which the newspapers and the activists are involved.


Globally, our road transport sector is powered almost exclusively by internal combustion engines (ICE) and more than 90% of these engines are powered by fuels derived from crude oil. Both the current cost and projected future costs of crude oil have risen sharply in the last years. Doubts about of security of imported crude oil supplies remain, and prices are expected to remain volatile but higher than in the past. Road transport is also a major source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and air pollutants such as NOx, PM10 and volatile organic compounds. In the European Union (EU), it is responsible for 18% of GHG emissions. Changing the cars, fuels and related infrastructure we use today is a complicated and expensive transition. To reduce dependence on crude oil in transport, the use of electricity and hydrogen in cars has been advocated. However, hydrogen and battery powered cars were found to be uncompetitive by a large margin: even if the cost of fuel cells would come down to 120 €/kW or the cost of batteries to €150/kWh, advanced hybrid cars are found to have a lower cost of driving. Due to increased efficiency, series hybrid cars can reduce emissions of CO2 by 34%-47% compared to regular diesel and petrol cars. Plug-in hybrid cars and fully battery powered cars can further reduce GHG emissions, depending on the source of electricity used. Based on the generation capacity projected for the Netherlands in 2015, electricity for electric vehicle (EV) charging would be generated using natural gas, and this would mean a reduction of GHG emissions of 51%-78% compared to current cars and fuels. If off-peak charging is successfully introduced, electric driving need not strain infrastructure even in case of a 100% switch to electric vehicles. Reduction of oil dependence and, possibly, GHG emissions can also be achieved by using alternative fuels. Synthetic fuel may be competitive with oil-based diesel, and for gas-to-liquids (GTL), coal-to-liquids (CTL) and biomass-to-liquids (BTL) oil price should be above 33, 60 and 75 $/bbl, respectively. However, CTL is found to increase our transport-related GHG emissions per km driven by 25%-110%. Diesel from synthetic crude oil (SCO) increases GHG emissions by 13%-60% and GTL chains without CCS by 10%. GTL with CCS is found to reduce GHG emissions by around 5% compared to fossil diesel. The net emissions from BTL can be an order of magnitude smaller and can even be made negative by application of CCS. When necessary GHG reductions in road transportation and electricity generation are considered together, lowest overall costs are achieved by using hybrid cars and both biomass and CCS to maximum potential, and by using the least-cost CO2 emissions reduction options in road transportation, even if that reduces biomass and CO2 storage capacity available for electricity generation. However, significant uncertainties remain in the cost of alternative fuels, as well as fuel cells and batteries. EU regulation on car emissions will presumably force a shift to hybrid vehicles by 2020 unless fuel cells or batteries become very cheap very soon, with additional GHG emissions reductions achieved through use of biofuels if sufficient supply of sustainable biomass feedstock can be secured. However, non-cost barriers, such as lack of familiarity and impact on car performance, to public adoption of alternative fuels remain. Simulations of the co-evolution of motorist demand and production capacity indicate that multiple barriers to adoption of alternative fuels reinforce each other. All else being equal, sustainable biofuels and hybrid cars may be adopted by motorists on grounds of GHG emissions reductions and economic arguments. Furthermore, these alternatives can also be implemented without dramatic changes in vehicle fleets and energy infrastructure.


Mosquito-transmitted Plasmodium parasites cause millions of people worldwide to suffer malaria every year. Drug-resistant Plasmodium parasites and insecticide-resistant mosquitoes make malaria hard to control. Thus, the next generation of antimalarial drugs that inhibit malaria infection and transmission are needed. We screened our Global Fungal Extract Library (GFEL) and obtained a candidate that completely inhibited Plasmodium falciparum transmission to Anopheles gambiae. The candidate fungal strain was determined as Aspergillus aculeatus. The bioactive compound was purified and identified as asperaculane B. The concentration of 50% inhibition on P. falciparum transmission (IC50) is 7.89 µM. Notably, asperaculane B also inhibited the development of asexual P. falciparum with IC50 of 3 µM, and it is nontoxic to human cells. Therefore, asperaculane B is a new dual-functional antimalarial lead that has the potential to treat malaria and block malaria transmission.


Retinal degenerations, both hereditary and acquired, are major causes of visual morbidity world-wide. Two of the principal disease categories are age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). AMD is the major cause of blind registrations in the over 65 age group in the western world and retinitis pigmentosa has an incidence of 1:3500 but, significantly, affects much younger patients. As yet there are no treatments available for these diseases that are either definitively preventative or curative. Retinal cell transplantation is one treatment strategy that has been proposed for such patients: retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) grafts for AMD and neural retina for retinal dystrophies. The genetic heterogeneity of retinitis pigmentosa and the lack of understanding of the key pathobiological mechanisms in AMD make treating the final common pathway with retinal cell transplantation an attractive option. To date results in humans have not been encouraging, highlighting the need for further studies in animal models in terms of visual function, the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms involved and exploration of other potential cell types for transplantation. This thesis examines the potential of several different donor cell types, both immortalised allogeneic (LD7.4) and xenogeneic (human: hlRPE7 & ARPE19) RPE cell lines for treating retinal degeneration in the dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat. The dystrophic RCS rat has a primary RPE defect resulting in failure of rod outer segment ingestion and subsequent secondary photoreceptor degeneration. Additionally, syngeneic neonatal Schwann cells were transplanted into the subretinal space of the rhodopsin knockout (Rho -/-) mouse, a knockout model that never elaborates outer segments. Dystrophic RCS rats (21 days old) received subretinal grafts of immortalised allogeneic (LD7.4) RPE cell lines in non-immunosuppressed rats or immortalised xenogeneic (hlRPE-7 or ARPE19) cell lines in immunosuppressed rats. Appropriate sham control injections were delivered to age-matched groups of rats. The animals' visual function was assessed longitudinally using a head-tracking system at 16, 20, and 26 weeks of age. Retinal sensitivity maps were produced for selected animals from each group at 20 weeks (LD 7.4 only) and 26 weeks (hlRPE7 and LD7.4 cell). Further groups of animals received grafts of ARPE19 or LD7.4 cells pre-labelled with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in order to identify donor cells in vivo. Another labelling technique, transfecting LD7.4 cells with Human Foamy Virus (HFV) expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), was also tested. Syngeneic neonatal Schwann cells were grafted to the Rho -/- mouse at 5 weeks of age, prior to total photoreceptor loss and analysed for functional (electroretinogram, ERG) and histological rescue at 10 weeks. Each cell type demonstrated behavioural, functional and morphological rescue in the RCS rat model. In the human cell-BrdU labelled group (i.e. with immunosuppression), grafted cells were seen integrated between host RPE cells on Bruch's membrane in association with areas of photoreceptor rescue up to five months post-grafting. In contrast, animals that received allografted cells prelabelled with BrdU (without immunopuppression) were not detectable on the host Bruch's membrane immunohistochemically by 4 weeks post-transplantation. Even though no donor cells were detectable, host visual function and photoreceptors were preserved. This result was repeated in the LD7.4/GFP labelled cell group. The Schwann cell grafted Rho -/- mice showed significant photoreceptor preservation over sham-injected animals at 10 weeks of age. These results demonstrate a number of key points regarding cell transplantation strategies for retinal degeneration. In some circumstances it is possible to achieve integration of grafted RPE cells on host Bruch's membrane with preservation of photoreceptors and visual function in the RCS rat. Allografts of immortalised RPE cells do not appear to survive in the subretinal space of the RCS rat beyond 4 weeks. Schwann cell transplantation to two different rodent models (RCS rat and Rho -/- mouse) preserved visual function in the former and morphology in both groups. Cell transplantation for retinal degeneration is an exciting prospect for treating these diseases, RPE transplantation for AMD or primary RPE disease and Schwann cell transplantation for hereditary retinal disease (RP). Before these strategies become clinically useful a number of issues need to be addressed including integration of the grafted material with the host, appropriate functioning of the grafted tissue in the subretinal space (SRS) and long-term survival of the transplants.


The ASCO annual meeting draws a large crowd of physicians, cancer researchers, policy makers, and industry representatives. The crown jewel of the annual events is the Plenary session where impactful, influential and visible abstracts are selected for the largest audience. Plenary topics are frequently paired with concurrent New England Journal or Lancet publications.  Here, we review 9 years of ASCO plenary sessions.  Several themes emerge.  First, many of the topics selected have indeed been practice changing, such as the use of ALK inhibitors for ALK rearranged NSCLC, or checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic melanoma.  Second, although some plenary topics seemed destined to change practice, they ultimately falter, such as the use of Cetuximab in NSCLC, vaccine therapy for follicular lymphoma, and even Bevacizumab in metastatic renal cell cancer. Who could have forseen bevacizumab displaced by several VEGF TKIs?  Third, negative trials are rare among Plenary sessions, but when they are presented they are immensely important.  Examples include a seminal study using CA-125 levels to guide treatment of relapsed ovarian cancer, the use of lapatinib combined with traztuzumab in the adjuvant treatment of HER2 + disease, and studies showing no survival benefit to upfront bevacizumab in glioblastoma multiforme.   Fourth, we note a large industry presence among Plenary sessions, as the Industry in part sponsored 62% of Plenary abstracts.  Ultimately a review of 9 years of ASCO plenary reveals the plenary for what it is: a conservative selection of abstracts that, at the time, are thought to change the face of oncology.  Time, however, is the true arbiter, and some succeed in this quest, while others falter.  ASCO plenary sessions reveal the influence, legacy and future of cancer care.


Interactions among neighbors influence the structure of communities of sessile organisms. Closely related species tend to share habitat and resource requirements and to interact with the same mutualists and natural enemies so that the strength of interspecific interactions tends to decrease with evolutionary divergence time. Nevertheless, the degree to which such phylogenetically related ecological interactions structure plant communities remains unclear. Using data from five large mapped forest plots combined with a DNA barcode mega-phylogeny, we employed an individual-based approach to assess the collective effects of focal tree size on neighborhood phylogenetic relatedness. Abundance-weighted average divergence time for all neighbors (ADT_all) and for heterospecific neighbors only (ADT_hetero) were calculated for each individual of canopy tree species. Within local neighborhoods, we found phylogenetic composition changed with focal tree size. Specifically, significant increases in ADT_all with focal tree size were evident at all sites. In contrast, there was no significant change in ADT_hetero with tree size in four of the five sites for both sapling-sized and all neighbors, even at the smallest neighbourhood scale (0–5 m), suggesting a limited role for phylogeny-dependent interactions. However, there were inverse relationships between focal tree size and the proportion of heterospecific neighbors belonging to closely related species at some sites, providing evidence for negative phylogenetic density dependence. Overall, our results indicate that negative interaction with conspecifics had a much greater impact on neighborhood assemblages than interactions among closely related species and could contribute to community structure and diversity maintenance in different forest communities.


INTRODUCTION: Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) are one of the main public health problems in the world. Most of these infections are associated with several pathogens, and viruses are the most prevalent agents. Recently, a new parvovirus named Human Bocavirus (HBoV) has been described. Investigations on the relationship between this new agent and cases of ARI in individuals are still scarce. Herein, we review a study of HBoV in a population segment in the Amazon. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, samples of nasopharyngeal aspirates from patients with ARI treated in Health Care Units in Belem, Brazil, were analyzed. Identification of the virus was carried out by polymerase chain reaction using pairs of specific oligonucleotides, followed by phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide sequences obtained. RESULTS: Of the 397 samples studied, three specimens were HBoV-positive, and one presented as a co-infection with the respiratory syncytial virus. DISCUSSION: The positivity rate obtained in this investigation was lower than that described in other studies; however, previous studies involved hospitalized patients, which constitute a different population group. The phylogenetic analyses revealed a significant similarity between the virus strains found and those previously described. CONCLUSION: This is the first report associating HBoV with ARI in the Amazon.


This paper investigates the use of the R-fuzzy significance measure hybrid approach introduced by the authors in a previous work; used in conjunction with grey analysis to allow for further inferencing, providing a higher dimension of accuracy and understanding. As a single observation can have a multitude of different perspectives, choosing a single fuzzy value as a representative becomes problematic. The fundamental concept of an R-fuzzy set is that it allows for the collective perception of a populous, and also individualised perspectives to be encapsulated within its membership set. The introduction of the significance measure allowed for the quantification of any membership value contained within any generated R-fuzzy set. Such is the pairing of the significance measure and the R-fuzzy concept, it replicates in part, the higher order of complex uncertainty which can be garnered using a type-2 fuzzy approach, with the computational ease and objectiveness of a typical type-1 fuzzy set. This paper utilises the use of grey analysis, in particular, the use of the absolute degree of grey incidence for the inspection of the sequence generated when using the significance measure, when quantifying the degree of significance fore each contained fuzzy membership value. Using the absolute degree of grey incidence provides a means to measure the metric spaces between sequences. As the worked example will show, if the data contains perceptions from clusters of cohorts, these clusters can be compared and contrasted to allow for a more detailed understanding of the abstract concepts being modelled.


The lignocellulosic fibres extracted from the leaves of New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax, have been used as the principal textile fibre by Maori since pre- European times. Variations of antifungal activity were observed in Phormium fibres of different cultivars. The most resistant cultivars of P. tenax in an aqueous antifungal assay also possessed the greatest variety of naturally-occurring 7-hydroxycoumarins as identified by mass spectroscopy, ESI-MS. In addition to antifungal effects, coumarins function as fluorescent whitening agents in Phormium fibres and play a role in the fibre's photodegradation. Ultraviolet irradiation (350 – 400 nm) of the fibre resulted in a substantial loss of the blue fluorescence originating from a number of 7-hydroxycoumarins present, together with the formation of new fluorophores absorbing and emitting at longer wavelengths, which contribute to the photoyellowing of the fibre. The photolysis of two standard 7-hydroxycoumarins in aqueous solution was examined and two primary photoproducts were elucidated by ESI-MS: a photodimer containing a linking cyclobutane ring and a monomeric photooxidation product. The formation of at least some of the photoproducts is associated with the coumarin-sensitised generation of reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide and superoxide. The fluorescence properties and photodegradation of Chinese handmade papers were also investigated. Papers manufactured by traditional methods were found to be more photostable than that produced from chemically-facilitated techniques.


Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of seasonally dry grasslands in Mediterranean climate zones is determined by the duration and intensity of rainy vs. dry seasons. Precipitation in these zones is expected to decline with climate change during the next century, possibly reducing NEP. Ecosystem models used to study climate change impacts on grasslands in these zones need first to simulate effects of soil wetting and drying on the duration and intensity of net C uptake and emission during rainy and dry seasons under current climate. Continuous eddy covariance (EC) measurements of CO2 and energy exchange provide well constrained tests of such models. In this study, hourly CO2 and energy exchange from the ecosystem model ecosys were tested against EC measurements recorded over an annual grassland at Vaira Ranch, CA in a Mediterranean climate zone during eight years (2001–2008) with variable rainy seasons. Variation in measured CO2 and latent heat fluxes was sufficiently well simulated during each year of the study (0.7 < R2 < 0.9) that most of the variation unexplained by the model could be attributed to uncertainty in the measurements. Interannual variation in NEP from the model was also correlated with that from EC measurements (R2 = 0.75). Annual NEP from both the model and EC were correlated with the duration of net C uptake, but not with the amount of precipitation, during the rainy seasons. Average annual NEP of the grassland modelled from 2001 to 2008 was 29 g C m−2 y−1 with an interannual variation of ±110 g C m−2 y−1 caused by that in the duration of net C uptake. During climate change (SRES A1fi and B1 under HadCM3), changes in modelled NEP were determined by changes in duration and intensity of net C uptake in rainy seasons vs. net C emission in dry seasons. In years with briefer rainy seasons, modelled NEP rose because rates of net C uptake increased with higher temperature and CO2 concentration, while the duration of net C uptake remained limited by that of the rainy season. However in years with longer rainy seasons, modelled NEP declined because the duration of net C uptake was reduced when warming hastened phenological development and caused maturity of annual plants to be reached before the end of the rainy season. As climate change progressed, declines in annual NEP gradually exceeded rises, causing the small C sink modelled under current climate to be almost completely lost after 90 years under SRES −2 −1 and B −2 −1 A1fi (2 ± 103 g C m y )


This paper discusses the relative importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for rural households in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana. It aims to compare and contrast the significance of NTFPs for income generation in rainforest areas, both within and across these countries to draw out regional patterns in a wider ecological, social and political context. In doing so, we bring the added value of highlighting the different roles which NTFPs currently play, or might likely begin to play out, in wider landscapes. The contribution NTFPs make to rural livelihoods depends largely on the availability of forest resources and access to markets, as well as socio-economic variables including wealth, gender and migration status. The findings indicate that remote communities and poorer households rely more on NTFP-based income compared to more accessible communities and wealthier households. NTFPs are relatively unimportant as an income source for households in more accessible rural areas, where farm-related income dominates. These findings support the theory that NTFPs are an important component to rural livelihoods and make significant and timely income contributions to poor households. Furthermore, in times of economic and climatic uncertainty, NTFPs and the forest and agricultural landscapes within which they are found, make a significant contribution to the resilience of rural forest dwellers' livelihoods.


All computer users needs to deal with End User License Agreements(EULA). Every time we install software or sign up for a web service we are expected to read and accept such a legal agreement. For most users this is only a slightly annoying step in the process, and we have been conditioned through many years just to accept these texts unwittingly. These texts are often long and filled with legal jargon, and hence almost impossible for an interested lay person to understand. In this thesis I have explored the use of common natural language processing and knowledge extraction techniques in the domain of EULAs and license agreements. My project have included the development of an artifact that use these techniques, and then makes the data available through the usage of semantic technology. It extracts document structure, named entities, binary relations and definitions. I have built a classifier that use topic modeling to find binary relations. These topics are then used by the classifier to decide in what topic a given binary relation belongs. I have also experimented with the use of text search in ontologies to try and find the realization of a given binary relation in a specified ontology. The artifact is run on a specific EULA, and I evaluate the knowledge extracted from each of the techniques investigated. I have not tried to find the best existing implementation of a technique, but instead evaluated the kind of data extracted and what specific needs that arise in the domain of licenses. The extraction and representation of the structure of the license were a success, and I have used that extraction as a basis for a vocabulary that describes my extracted data. All extractions are related directly back to the text were it was extracted. This is because of the legal documents role in a judicial system. As the text decide the results in court, it is important to keep a reference back to the source document. Because of this my system can be viewed as a system that semantically enrich a text, but without reasoning about higher levels of knowledge. I conclude that extracting knowledge using common NLP and knowledge extraction tools is feasible and opens up for research into its use in document summarization and in facilitating comprehension of such legal texts. I also conclude that my classifier for binary relations has weak performance, but list a set of changes and prerequisites that would warrant further experimentation. I also conclude that we will need to take special steps in the construction of our ontologies for my experiment with using the built in comments and labels in an ontology to be viable.


This paper uses content analysis to examine 66 reviews on 33 manuscripts submitted to Accounting and Finance. Selected extracts from reviews are provided to illustrate the issues considered important to reviewers. The main message is that papers need to be work-shopped and more care taken over editorial matters. A checklist for prospective authors is provided.


The Article re-conceptualizes corruption through the lens of the broken windows theory of community policing, focusing on the root consequences of corruption as well as its secondary effects. Part II of the Article posits that corruption is a broken window that signals the breakdown of community controls necessary for the maintenance of social order. A government that abuses its power for private gain is a government that cannot be trusted to pursue the general welfare. Empirical evidence finds ample support for this claim, confirming that corruption negatively alters the public's perception of government and society.Part III of the Article illuminates how corruption is associated with other matters of grave public concern, such that the struggle against corruption is the struggle to promote a variety of public benefits. Corruption is inextricably linked to many other public concerns. Empirical evidence finds a positive relationship between a country's corruption ranking and its ranking on other major indices measuring public welfare. Communities that are perceived to take corruption seriously score well on their commitment to other social goods, such as global competitiveness and productivity, increased standards of living, enhanced children's health, protection of civil liberties, and the safeguarding of political freedom. These corruption correlations provide an evocative snapshot of the connection between corruption and social order. Part IV of the Article analyzes the legal efforts to combat corruption, with particular focus on the utility of cooperative efforts to regulate and prosecute corruption. Empirical studies show that coordination strategies between OECD enforcement authorities alter the behavior of corporations, foreign officials requesting bribes, and government officials prosecuting the payment of bribes.Part V of the Article discusses how these findings have important implications when considered from the perspective of a "broken windows" theory of international corruption. How would a broken windows theory of corruption alter the legal landscape of anti-bribery laws? I offer three suggestions. First, a broken windows approach would redefine and reframe corruption as distrust and disorder. Conceptualizing corruption as a matter of public trust heightens its importance. Public trust is essential to the rule of law. Second, a broken windows approach would augment the battle against corruption with a greater emphasis on petty bribery. Thus far the legal enforcement strategies have focused on high-profile, large-scale corruption. A broken windows strategy would not ignore those cases, but would also focus on low-profile, petty corruption that alters quality of life and undermines public trust. Third, a broken windows theory would place greater emphasis on a partnership between the public and private sectors to combat corruption. This approach would mean that corruption should be considered in the local context, with a focus on its destabilizing effects in specific countries and communities.


Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) interventions reduce the cumulative probability of transmission from a HIV positive woman to her child by as much as 40 percentage points. This paper is the rst economic analysis of the behavioral e ects of PMTCT. I examine fertility responses to the scale-up of PMTCT in Zambia, a country where approximately 15 percent of adults age 15-49 are HIV positive. My results suggest that the local introduction of PMTCT reduced pregnancy rates by up to 20 percent, that the fertility response was greater among women who were more likely to be HIV positive, and that PMTCT substantially increased breastfeeding rates.


Eric Jan Hansum* I. Introduction Just when talk-show audiences thought they had seen and heard it all-Geraldo's nose being broken on national television, accusations of staged fights on the Jerry Springer show-in 1998, a new chapter was written on what talk shows may have to deal with in the near future. Oprah Winfrey received some early insights about this new chapter when she was forced to appear in court over her warnings made about hamburgers during an April broadcast entitled "Dangerous Food."1 The episode featured several guests appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the impact of bovine spongiform encephalophathy-dubbed "mad cow disease" by the press in Great Britain, where it began-and the ramifications if the disease spread to the United States.2 As is often the case with talk shows, there were two versions of the program: a prerecorded version that exhibited a relatively balanced viewpoint but did not air before a national audience and a controversial version that was broadcast to millions.3 The latter emphasized statements made by Howard Lyman, a vegetarian activist.4 According to Mr. Lyman, if humans eat beef tainted by mad cow disease, the health consequences "could make AIDS look like the common cold."5 Oprah responded to this dire prediction by saying she would be "stopped cold from eating another hamburger."6 The following day, beef prices plummeted-some cattle ranchers called it the "Oprah Crash." Rather than advertise about safety factors to counteract the show's effects, cattle ranchers filed suit against Oprah Winfrey in Amarillo alleging several different causes of action.' One cause of action, which is the subject of this Note, was brought under the Texas False Disparagement of Perishable Food Products Act.8 Texas's act was passed around the same time as twelve other state statutes in the aftermath of the seminal food disparagement case - Auvil v. CBS "60 Minutes. "9 In Auvil, Washington State apple growers claimed that their ability to sell apples was severely diminished after CBS broadcast a program that lambasted the spraying of the pesticide Alar on apples to regulate their growth because the substance had potential carcinogenic effects.10 After years of litigation, the action was dismissed on various grounds, one of which was that the CBS report had been balanced in its viewpoint and could not be regarded as disparaging.11 The agriculture industry was not pleased with the lack of legal protection for its goods, for a news organization could wreak havoc in the marketplace by broadcasting negative comments about a product. Consequently, thirteen states enacted various food disparagement laws.12 Unfortunately, the rush to create laws granting protection for the agricultural industry has created some complex questions over the constitutionality of such laws and whether they violate the 1 st Amendment's guarantee of free speech.13 While some articles have suggested that the answer to whether a food disparagement statute is constitutional may be derived from recent defamation cases such as New York Times, Gertz, and Dun,14 the interrelation between defamation and commercial speech cases has either been ignored or discussed with limited analysis. Accordingly, Part II of this Note discusses the facts and policies underlying food disparagement laws, especially as adopted in Texas. Part III focuses on disparagement laws against the backdrop of defamation and commercial speech jurisprudence as developed by the U.S. Supreme Court. Moreover, that section introduces a twotiered analysis that examines first the plaintiff and second the context in order to help courts deal with food disparagement laws in a way that is consistent with current concepts of defamation and commercial speech cases. The two-tiered analysis attempts to balance free speech and the public's need for knowledge against the protection of business interests, especially those of the farmer, whose very survival depends on selling the next harvest. …


The suspense that invests the elusive Ghost in Act 1 of Hamlet is unprecedented on the early modern English stage, where Senecan ghosts are commonly bloodthirsty but not eerie. Recent work has pointed to a purgatorial source for the Ghost, but this ascription ignores the long vernacular tradition, often at odds with clerical orthodoxy, of popular fireside stories or "winter's tales." Folk specters from the Middle Ages onward were corporeal, earthy, and dangerous; of uncertain origin, they presented themselves as bodies cast up by the sepulcher to revisit the night. Their stories stress the uncanny, investing them with an unearthly horror. Paradoxically, these ghouls may also be wistful, soliciting attention and regretting the loss of irrecoverable human warmth. At the same time, they long for rest. Like Old Hamlet, such figures often return to report their own undetected murders or to urge survivors to put right injustices perpetrated against their heirs. In addition, the walking dead offered the living a mirror where they were invited to see their own inevitable future. Hamlet's encounter with the revenant who shares his name constitutes his first confrontation with his own mortality, the issue that will continue to haunt him and the imagery of the tragedy.


Hodgkin-Huxley, and most of our current neuronal models consist of differential equations to explain the behavior of a single neuron with an electrical synapse, a chemical synapse, or both. In order to model a network of neurons, we need to couple these differential equations, and consequently, increasing the number of equations to solve. This will be difficult to do manually, and even, subjected to the limits of computing power of today's computers, when done numerically. In this paper, we propose a model for a network of neurons (N = 10 000) placed in a 100 x 100 lattice, with a linear activation function as the rule of the cellular automaton.


Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI) is an optical technique used to generate blood flow maps with high spatial and temporal resolution. It is well known that in LSCI, the speckle size must exceed the Nyquist criterion to maximize the speckle's pattern contrast. In this work, we study experimentally the effect of speckle-pixel size ratio not only in dynamic speckle contrast, but also on the calculation of the relative flow speed for temporal and spatial analysis. Our data suggest that the temporal LSCI algorithm is more accurate at assessing the relative changes in flow speed than the spatial algorithm.


The septation initiation network (SIN) regulates aspects of cell growth and division in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and is essential for cytokinesis. Insufficient signalling results in improper assembly of the contractile ring and failure of cytokinesis, generating multinucleated cells, whereas too much SIN signalling uncouples cytokinesis from the rest of the cell cycle. SIN signalling is therefore tightly controlled to coordinate cytokinesis with chromosome segregation. Signalling originates from the cytoplasmic face of the spindle pole body (SPB), and asymmetric localisation of some SIN proteins to one of the two SPBs during mitosis is important for regulation of the SIN. Recent studies have identified in vivo substrates of the SIN, which include components involved in mitotic control, those of the contractile ring and elements of the signalling pathway regulating polarised growth. The SIN is also required for spore formation following meiosis. This has provided insights into how the SIN performs its diverse functions in the cell cycle and shed new light on its regulation.


ABSTRACT
To determine the elemental composition and health risk of particles in the roadside microenvironment, particulate matter samples (PM10 and PM2.5) were collected at the side of four roads in winter, spring, and summer of 2015. The total concentrations of crustal and trace elements and the average concentrations of most single elements followed the sequence of spring, winter, and summer. Crustal elements accounted for 18.9%, 13.2%, and 9.3% of the PM10 and 15.1%, 11.2%, and 18.8% of the PM2.5 in the three seasons, respectively. On average, Zn contributed the largest share, accounting for 34.0%, 32.2%, and 34.2% of the total trace elements in PM10 and for 35.2%, 28.3%, and 35.6% in the PM2.5 for winter, spring, and summer, respectively. The enrichment factor results showed that Mn, K, Na, Co, and Si originated in crustal sources; V, Ca, Mg, Mo, Cr, Fe, Ti, and Ba were derived from both anthropogenic and crustal sources; and Cd, Sb, Zn, Cu, Pb, As, and Ni were largely derived from anthropogenic sources. The results of principal component analysis explained 72.64% of the total variance for PM10 and 78.76% of the variance for PM2.5. Possible sources include resuspended road dust, vehicular exhaust, fugitive dust (road dust and soil dust), and tire/brake wear. The respective ratios of Fe/Al, Mn/V, Cu/Sb, Cu/Zn, Zn/Pb, V/Ni, and Cu/Pb in this study were 0.58, 2.87, 11.07, 0.28, 1.23, 1.34, and 4.45 for PM10 and 1.07, 0.83, 23.07, 0.44, 1.83, 1.60, and 4.18 for PM2.5. Accumulative non-cancerous toxic elements in winter and spring may pose risks to roadside workers via inhalation. The integrated cancer risks (CR) of As, Co, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in PM2.5 and PM10 ranged from 1.58E-05 to 4.95E-05 CR.


This article identifies and evaluates the kinds of constitutional scholarship currently produced in Canada and suggests some directions in which future research might profitably be directed Part I sets out the framework within which the state of Canadian constitutional scholarship will be assessed, considers some of the factors that have shaped that scholarship, and provides a brief overview of the various kinds of work being produced in Canada. Part II outlines some of the areas where more and different work needs to be done, concluding with some general thoughts on how the development of such directions in scholarship might be facilitated. This special issue article is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol23/iss3/7 CONSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARSHIP IN CANADA


Although many of the physiological functions of neurosteroids are currently unknown, evidence suggests that these endogenous molecules may play a role in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and treatment strategies. Neurosteroids have been linked to SSRI action and may be relevant to antipsychotic drug effects. Do neurosteroids have neuroprotective properties or HPA axis effects?


In many developing countries such as India and China, low educational levels often hinder economic empowerment. In this paper, we argue that mobile learning games can play an important role in the Chinese literacy acquisition process. We report on the unique challenges in the learning Chinese language, especially its logographic writing system. Based on an analysis of 25 traditional Chinese games currently played by children in China, we present the design and implementation of two culturally inspired mobile group learning games, Multimedia Word and Drumming Strokes. These two mobile games are designed to match Chinese children's understanding of everyday games. An informal evaluation reveals that these two games have the potential to enhance the intuitiveness and engagement of traditional games, and children may improve their knowledge of Chinese characters through group learning activities such as controversy, judgments and self-correction during the game play.


This article evaluates the movement of Egyptian personal piety and its relation to Israelite wisdom texts. Hymns and prayers of personal piety developed in the New Kingdom at the same time as "heretic" Harpers' songs and love songs. The personal piety affected also the genre of instructions. The instruction of Amenemope had not only a literary effect on "The Words of the Wise" but also a theological impact on its view of god. Amenemope and Qoheleth agree in the acknowledgement of a god with an awesome power but Qoheleth doesn't develop a personal piety. The hymns of personal piety didn't have an independent effect on Qoheleth. The hymns of personal piety share vocabulary and motifs with the Egyptian love songs, which in turn had an effect on Song of Songs. An acquaintance of Song of Songs with texts of personal piety outside of Egyptian love songs did not exist.
(Acta Theologica, 21 (1), 2001: 1-23)


A study was conducted to explore the spatial variability of major soil nutrients in a soybean grown region of Malwa plateau. From the study area, one hundred sixty two surface soil samples were collected by a random sampling strategy using GPS. Then soil physico-chemical properties i.e., pH, EC, organic carbon, soil available nutrients (N, P, K, S and Zn) were measured in laboratory. After data normalization, classical and geo-statistical analyses were used to describe soil properties and spatial correlation of soil characteristics. Spatial variability of soil physico-chemical properties was quantified through semi-variogram analysis and the respective surface maps were prepared through ordinary Kriging. Exponential model fits well with experimental semi-variogram of pH, EC, OC, available N, P, K, S and Zn. pH, EC, OC, N, P, and K has displayed moderate spatial dependence whereas S and Zn showed weak spatial dependence. Cross validation of kriged map shows that spatial prediction of soil nutrients using semi-variogram parameters is better than assuming mean of observed value for any un-sampled location. Therefore it is a suitable alternative method for accurate estimation of chemical properties of soil in un-sampled positions as compared to direct measurement which has time and costs concerned.


Programs for American undergraduate students abroad reflect the range of choices available to program sponsors in location, community partners, curriculum, housing, facilities, staff support, term length, and admission requirements. Quality standards for programs abroad allow for these differences, provided in each case that the program format adheres to its goals for student learning and development. In this respect, standards for quality in education abroad follow the same principle as those for all institutions of higher education in the United States: strict adherence to the institutions mission and flexibility in planning how to achieve that stated mission. The Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) is a nonprofit program provider that is organized as a consortium of nearly 175 U.S. colleges and universities whose representatives direct its academic governance policy and procedures. Founded in 1950, it operates ninety programs at thirty-two locations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. In 2008-09, IES enrolled more than five thousand students in fall, spring, summer, full-year, and short-term programs. IES Abroad offers an example of an international education system that applies principle to practice, adhering to two sets of standards in operating its programs of education abroad, the IES Model Assessment Program (MAP) and the Forum on Education Abroad Standards of Good Practice. Both sets of standards are explicit in describing the framework for planning and operating a program abroad and the types of policies and procedures that are required to support the framework. IES Abroad administrative and teaching staff collaborate to interpret the standards in the context of the locale and to create a total learning experience to support goals for student learning and cultural adaptation. Two examples are presented here of the creative application of the standards to the planning of intentionally designed, fully integrated educational environments: internships and community-based learning in Rome and field study in Beijing. COMPREHENSIVE STANDARDS APPLY TO A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS The IES MAP standards emerged from discussions across IES with international administrative and teaching staff and members of the consortium about what constitutes academic quality in education abroad, specifically in terms of programming for students' intellectual and intercultural growth. The document focuses on three categories: (l) the student learning environment, including coursework, internships, and field study; (2) resources for student learning, including administrative and teaching-staff qualifications, student qualifications, facilities, housing, health, and safety and risk management; and (3) the field of assessment of student learning and development abroad. These categories serve as a framework for the design, development, and evaluation of programs abroad. The IES MAP is undergoing its fifth revision - evidence of expanding goals for student learning and development abroad, the dynamic nature of educational opportunities, and the changing academic and sociocultural needs and interests of the American undergraduate population. The IES MAP served as the starting point for the Standards of Good Practice, first drafted in 2004 by the Forum on Education Abroad. The forum undertook the project of writing clear and comprehensive standards for the field shortly after its creation to provide a means to assess program quality in light of the growing number of student enrollments abroad and of program types. The forum was awarded the status of Standards Development Organization by the federal government, conferring legitimacy to the Standards of Good Practice for a variety of program types. The Standards of Good Practice address the same categories as the IES MAP standards and also articulate standards that apply to the field at large. As guidelines for program evaluation, both documents follow the premise that a program should be evaluated according to its own mission and goals. …


Fundamentals of Ecological Modelling: Applications in Environmental Management and Research, Fourth Edition, provides a comprehensive discussion of the fundamental principles of ecological modeling. The first two editions of this book (published in 1986 and 1994) focused on the roots of the discipline the four main model types that dominated the field 30-40 years ago: (1) dynamic biogeochemical models; (2) population dynamic models; (3) ecotoxicological models; and (4) steady-state biogeochemical and energy models. The third edition focused on the mathematical formulations of ecological processes that are included in ecological models. This fourth edition uses the four model types previously listed as the foundation and expands the latest model developments in spatial models, structural dynamic models, and individual-based models. As these seven types of models are very different and require different considerations in the model development phase, a separate chapter is devoted to the development of each of the model types. Throughout the text, the examples given from the literature emphasize the application of models for environmental management and research. * Presents the most commonly used model types with a step-by-step outline of the modeling procedure used for each* Shows readers through an illustrated example of how to use each model in research and management settings* New edition is revised to include only essential theory with a focus on applications* Includes case studies, illustrations, and exercises (case study of an ecological problem with full illustration on how to solve the problem)


Repeat-pass interferometry data were acquired during the first and second SIR-C/X-SAR missions in April and October 1994. This paper presents the first results from X-SAR interferometry at four different sites. The temporal separations were one day and six months. At two sites the coherence requirements were met, resulting in high quality interferograms. A digital elevation model in ground range geometry has been derived. The limitations of the X-SAR interferometry are discussed. >


Background: The insertion of a permanent cardiac pacemaker is today one of the most commonly performed interventions on the heart. Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain the high incidence of conduction system disorders in the eastern part of our country. We studied the clinical profiles and outcomes of patients undergoing pacemaker implantation at the Regional Institute of Medical Science Imphal, Manipur, India. Materials and Methods: Thirty-seven patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria and underwent pacemaker implantation were studied. Detailed evaluation was done for each patient. Electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography, chest x-ray, lipid profile, and other routine investigations were carried out. Patients were followed up for 6 weeks for any acute complication of pacemaker implantation. Results: Of the 37 patients, 21 (57%) were male, and the mean age of the study group was 63.24 years. The indications for pacemaker implantation were atrioventricular (AV) block [in 24 (64.9%) patients], sick sinus syndrome (SSS) [10 (27.1%)], and trifascicular block [3 (4.5%)]. The most common presenting symptoms were syncope (in 59.9% of patients), lightheadedness (62.2%), palpitation (56.7%), and dyspnea (56.7%). Cardic arrhythmias were associated with hypertension (in 59.5% of patients), diabetes mellitus (21.6%), thyroid disease (16.2%), and coronary heart disease (CAD,13.5%). In 32.4% of the patients there were associated comorbid conditions. No further syncopal attack occurred following pacemaker implantation, and the other symptoms improved significantly. The complications observed were pneumothorax and pacemaker implant site wound exudation in one patient each. Conclusion: The major indications of pacemaker implantation were found to be complete heart block (CHB) and SSS. Pacemaker implantation is a lifesaving procedure and improves quality of life dramatically. Complications associated with pacemaker implantation are relatively low.


In Scripting Reading Motions, Manuel Portela explores the expressive use of book forms and programmable media in experimental works of both print and electronic literature and finds a self-conscious play with the dynamics of reading and writing. Portela examines a series of print and digital works by Johanna Drucker, Mark Z. Danielewski, Rui Torres, Jim Andrews, and others, for the insights they yield about the semiotic and interpretive actions through which readers produce meaning when interacting with codes. Analyzing these works as embodiments and simulations of the motions of reading, Portela pays particular attention to the ways in which awareness of eye movements and haptic interactions in both print and electronic media feeds back onto the material and semantic layers of the works. These feedbacks, he argues, sustain self-reflexive loops that link the body of the reader to the embodied work. Readers' haptic actions and eye movements coinstantiate the object that they are reading. Portela discusses typographic and graphic marks as choreographic notations for reading movements; examines digital recreations of experimental print literary artifacts; considers reading motions in kinetic and generated texts; analyzes the relationship of bibliographic, linguistic, and narrative coding in Danielewski's novel-poem, Only Revolutions; and describes emergent meanings in interactive textual instruments. The expressive use of print and programmable media, Portela shows, offers a powerful model of the semiotic, interpretive, and affective operations embodied in reading processes.


Elected bodies utilize a significant number of oversight methods to ensure that the governmental agencies entrusted with public funds are not only carrying out the will of elected officials, but are doing so in an efficient manner. The question is what constitutes effective government oversight? What are the important components of effective oversight? The purpose of this research is two fold. First, this paper presents characteristics of effective government oversight as developed from scholarly literature related to agency evaluation. Next, the research takes these characteristics and applies them to the oversight procedure used by the Texas Sunset Review process to explore how closely the process meets the characteristics of effective oversight. To conduct this exploration, a case study of the Sunset Review process at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is utilized. In this way assessing the implementation of Sunset allows for a more complete view of effective oversight as well as a deeper understanding of the Texas Sunset Review process. The literature provides four primary characteristics of effective oversight: 1. Effective oversight is detailed, 2. Effective oversight is comprehensive, 3. Effective oversight contains an "in person" element, 4. Effective oversight results in legislative action. Based on the evidence provided via the case study in the form of document analysis and interviews, it was determined that the Sunset Review process as implemented at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs was 1) effective, 2) contained an "in person" element and 3) resulted in legislative action, however the evidence did not support the conclusion that the Sunset Review process as implemented at the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs was comprehensive. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research in two areas; 1) how the application of the "community of inquiry" concept, as discussed by Patricia Shields in her forthcoming article.' would improve the Sunset Review process and 2) a comparison of the Sunset staff's notes to the final sunset report as well as the Sunset staff's report to the final legislation. Uri https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/3510 Collections Applied Research Projects, Texas State University Name: fulltext.pdf Size: 499.5Kb Format: PDF


Librarians have traditionally taught information literacy skills to science graduate students in separate courses dedicated to information-seeking, during assignment(s)-based library sessions for other courses, or through workshops. There is little mention in the professional literature of teaching graduate students within their research groups. This is certainly an alternative to consider -- especially for smaller science graduate programs where the more traditional means of reaching graduate students are less likely. This article discusses a collaborative effort between a Chemistry professor and Physical Sciences Librarian at Rutgers University-Newark to design a mini-course for a research group. With the amount of customization possible when working with research groups, this option may even become increasingly significant due to the growing importance of interdisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


Purpose - This paper aims to set out several of the key issues and areas of the inter-disciplinary field of climate change research based in accounting and accountability, and to introduce the papers that compose this Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an overview of issues in the science of climate, as well as an eclectic collection of independent and inter-disciplinary contributions to accounting for climate change. Through additional accounting analysis, and a shadow carbon account, it also illustrates how organisations and nations account for and communicate their greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints and emissions behaviour. Findings - The research shows that accounting for carbon and other GHG emissions is immensely challenging because of uncertainties in estimation methods. The research also shows the enormity of the challenge associated with reducing those emissions in the near future. Originality/value - The paper surveys past work on a wide variety of perspectives associated with climate change science, politics and policy, as well as organisational and national emissions and accounting behaviour. It provides an overview of challenges in the area, and seeks to set an agenda for future research that remains interesting and different.


21 year old female with no significant past history presented with altered mental status as noted by her family members. Two days prior to presentation, she started becoming increasingly restless, tearful, loud and irritable. Social or functional status has been reported as well. Of note, she was evaluated for a skin rash involving her mouth, palms and soles two month prior to presentation and was diagnosed with possible hand-foot-mouth disease. On admission, patient vital signs were notable for. A Petechial rash was noted in the mouth, palms and soles bilaterally. Mental status examination was notable for severe agitation, labile mood, tangential thought process and delusions. Initial laboratory studies were significant for white blood count of 2100/mm3, red cell count of 3.24/mm3 and platelets of 77000/mm3. EKG confirmed sinus tachycardia. Urine drug screen was negative. Lumbar puncture showed normal CSF cell count was normal with normal protein. Patient was started on quetiapine and Haldol. Further laboratory testing revealed erythrocyte sedimentation rate of 24 mm/h, positive ANA with titer of 320, Anti dsDNA of >300, low C3 and C4 complement level of 38 mg/dl and 3 mg/dl respectively. MRI and MRA were normal and EEG revealed mild diffuse background slowing indicating mild diffuse cerebral dysfunction. Rheumatology was consulted due to concern for lupus cerebritis based on high ANA titers, evidence of vasculitis on skin examination, abnormal EEG and exclusion of other more common etiologies. Patient was started on 1 gram methylprednisolone after which she showed considerable improvement in mentation with normalization of her thought content and process. Our case also illustrates the importance of maintaining a high degree of clinical suspicion of NPSLE even with a paucity of evidence of clinical systemic activity.


. The hardness of the Learning with Errors (LWE) problem is by now a cornerstone of the cryptographic landscape. In many of its applications the so called "LWE secret" is not sampled uniformly, but comes from a distribution with some min-entropy. This variant, known as "Entropic LWE", has been studied in a number of works, starting with Goldwasser et al. (ICS 2010). However, so far it was only known how to prove the hardness of Entropic LWE for secret distributions supported inside a ball of small radius. In this work we resolve the hardness of Entropic LWE with arbitrary long secrets, in the following sense. We show an entropy bound that guarantees the security of arbitrary Entropic LWE. This bound is higher than what is required in the ball-bounded setting, but we show that this is essentially tight. Tightness is shown unconditionally for highly-composite moduli, and using black-box impossibility for arbitrary moduli. Technically, we show that the entropic hardness of LWE relies on a simple to describe lossiness property of the distribution of secrets itself. This is simply the probability of recovering a random sample from this distribution s , given s + e , where e is Gaussian noise (i.e. the quality of the distribution of secrets as an error correcting code for Gaussian noise). We hope that this characterization will make it easier to derive entropic LWE results more easily in the future. We also use our techniques to show new results for the ball-bounded setting, essentially showing that under a strong enough assumption even polylogarithmic entropy suffices.


Introduction. Chapter 1. Introduction to Access 2007 VBA. Chapter 2. The Basics of Writing and Testing VBA Code. Chapter 3. Programming Applications using Objects. Chapter 4. Creating Your Own Objects. Chapter 5. Interacting with Data Using and SQL. Chapter 6. Building Interactive Forms. Chapter 7. Importing, Linking, and Exporting Using External Data Sources. Chapter 8. Using Access with Web Services and SharePoint Lists. Chapter 9. Creating Reports and Web-Enabled Output. Chapter 10. Building SQL Server Applications with Access Projects. Chapter 11. Building SQL Server Applications with Access Projects. Chapter 12. Finishing the Application. Chapter 13. Case Study I: Project Tracker Application. Chapter 14. Case Study II: Customer Service Application. Appendix A. Exercise Answers.


Vaccination with tumor-specific immunoglobulin or idiotype (Id) is a promising new form of immunotherapy for B-cell malignancies. Id protein vaccination has demonstrated clinical activity in B-cell lymphomas, yet it requires the laborious and time-consuming procedures of tumor-myeloma cell hybridization, large-scale in vitro culture, and protein purification. Recombinant adenoviruses are highly efficient and immunogenic gene transfer vehicles from which individualized vaccines can be rapidly assembled using polymerase chain reaction-amplified tumor Id genes. Id-encoding adenoviruses were evaluated as vaccines in 2 murine B-cell lymphoma models. A single injection of recombinant Id adenovirus provided protection from subsequent tumor challenge that was equivalent or superior to that afforded by Id protein vaccination. Protected mice had substantial serum titers of Id-specific antibodies. When used in conjunction with chemotherapy, vaccination also prolonged the survival of mice bearing pre-existing tumor. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that tumor protection was not dependent upon T cells. Importantly, in mice prevaccinated with an irrelevant adenovirus, tumor protection following vaccination with Id adenovirus was not significantly impaired. These findings have implications for the design of future lymphoma immunotherapy trials.


CTB-MPR(649-684), a translational fusion protein consisting of cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) and residues 649 684 of gp41 membrane proximal region (MPR), is a candidate vaccine aimed at blocking early steps of HIV-1 mucosal transmission. Bacterially produced CTB MPR(649-684) was purified to homogeneity by two affinity chromatography steps. Similar to gp41 and derivatives thereof, the MPR domain can specifically and reversibly self-associate. The affinities of the broadly-neutralizing monoclonal Abs 4E10 and 2F5 to CTB MPR(649-684) were equivalent to their nanomolar affinities toward an MPR peptide. The fusion protein's affinity to GM1 ganglioside was comparable to that of native CTB. Rabbits immunized with CTB-MPR(649-684) raised only a modest level of anti-MPR(649-684) Abs. However, a prime-boost immunization with CTB-MPR(649-684) and a second MPR(649-684)-based immunogen elicited a more productive anti-MPR(649-684) antibody response. These Abs strongly blocked the epithelial transcytosis of a primary subtype B HIV-1 isolate in a human tight epithelial model, expanding our previously reported results using a clade D virus. The Abs recognized epitopes at the N-terminal portion of the MPR peptide, away from the 2F5 and 4E10 epitopes and were not effective in neutralizing infection of CD4+ cells. These results indicate distinct vulnerabilities of two separate interactions of HIV-1 with human cells - Abs against the C-terminal portion of the MPR can neutralize CD4+-dependent infection, while Abs targeting the MPR's N-terminal portion can effectively block galactosyl ceramide dependent transcytosis. We propose that Abs induced by MPR(649-684)-based immunogens may provide broad protective value independent of infection neutralization.


There have been many studies of the impact of higher education (HE) on the wages and earnings of graduates. However, for working women, the variation in wages only explains 30% of the variance in net family income. To understand the overall impact of HE on the living standards of female graduates, we explore the wider impact of HE. We exploit the rich cohort study data in the UK to show that, for women, acquiring HE quali cations increases net family income by around 20%. We fi nd that this increase is driven by higher wages, more working hours and assortative mating, which drives higher partner earnings. We show that the impact on women's own earnings is more important in their early 30s but the role of assortative mating becomes increasingly important at older ages. We compare two cohorts of women born 12 years apart and we show that the overall impact of HE on incomes has remained relatively unchanged. The impact on female labour supply has increased slightly, but this has been counteracted by a smaller wage effect. The role of assortative mating has become no less important. These results shed new light on the benefi ts for women of pursuing HE in the context of ever increasing participation rates.


Longitudinal surveys are valuable tools for investigating health and social outcomes across the life course. In such studies, selective mortality leads to changes in the social composition of the sample, but little is known about how selective survey participation affects the sample composition, in addition to the selective mortality. In the present paper, we followed a Swedish cohort sample over six waves 1968–2011. For each wave we recalculated the distribution of baseline characteristics in the sample among i) the sample still alive and ii) the sample still alive and with complete follow-up. The results show that the majority of the compositional changes in the cohort were modest and driven mainly by mortality. However, for some characteristics, class in particular, the selection was considerable and in addition, was substantially compounded by survey non-participation. We suggest that sample selections should be taken into account when interpreting the results of longitudinal studies, in particular when researching social inequalities.


Achieving manufacturing efficiency requires that many groups that comprise a manufpcturing enterprise, such as design, planning, production, distribution, field service, accounting, sales and marketing, cooperate in order to achieve their common goal. In this paper we introduce the concept of Enterprise Management Network (EMN) as the element to facilitate the integration of distributed heterogeneous functions of a manufacturing enterprise. The integration is supported by having the network first play a more active role in the accessing and communication of information, and second provide the appropriate protocols for the distribution, coordination, and negotiation of tasks and outcomes. The Enterprise Management Network is divided into six layers: Network Layer, Data Layer, Information Layer, Organization Layer, Coordination Layer, and Market Layer. Each of these layers provides a portion of the elements, functions and protocols to allow the integration of a manufacturing enterprise. The Organization Layer plays the central role in the EMN architecture by defining the model of a decentralized structure, and identifying its major components to be supported by the other layers.


Bedtime Stories is a proposal for a long-lasting - environmentally, economically and societally sustainable smart textile service. It is a set of woven bed linen with images that can be recognized by a custom made fairy-tale application. This new way of story creation is an opportunity to share personal experiences and pass that wisdom through generations. Therefore contributing to a better quality of life. Bedtime Stories is part of a research-throughdesign project. It involves crafts (methods and values) in the environmental load of textiles and garments production, selling, wearing and disposing area. Multiple iterations of Bedtime Stories gives insight into how we have been "weaving" traditions together with digital technologies.


▪ Abstract The concepts of socioeconomic status (SES) and class are pervasive in sociological studies, yet an examination of the sociological and social science literature suggests a lack of consensus on their conceptual meaning and measurement. Our review focuses on the use of SES and class in a specific substantive field, studies of child health and fertility in developing countries. We discuss the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between SES and fertility and child health and the divergent results found in this field. We then provide a brief review of the theoretical literature on SES and class, contrasting unitary and component views. Following this is a section on the use of SES and class in empirical studies of child health and fertility in developing countries. We investigate the relationship between the conceptual and empirical literature, highlighting the inconsistencies we find. In addition, we discuss the variety of meanings and measures of SES that researchers use in these studies. Ne...


Stix is a platform managing emerging large-scale broadband wireless access (BWA) networks. It has been developed to make it easy to manage such networks for community deployments and wireless Internet service providers while keeping the network management infrastructure scalable and flexible. Stix is based on the notions of goal-oriented and in-network management. With Stix, administrators graphically specify network management activities as workflows, which are deployed at a distributed set of agents within the network that cooperate in executing those workflows and storing management information. We implement the Stix system on embedded boards and show that the implementation has a low memory footprint. Using real topology and logging data from a large-scale BWA network operator, we show that Stix is significantly more scalable (via reduction in management traffic) compared to the commonly employed centralized management approach. Finally we use two case studies to demonstrate the ease with which Stix platform can be used for carrying out network reconfiguration and performance management tasks, thereby also showing its potential as a flexible platform to realize self-management mechanisms.


A novel tandem-free solution for multiparty VoIP conferences called PASS (peer-aware silence suppression) is presented. Similar to traditional tandem-free solutions, PASS introduces a limit on the number of concurrent speakers in a conference. But in contrast to traditional solutions, PASS silence suppression and speaker selection are completely distributed, running on each client. No speaker selection is performed at the bridge at all. This configuration leads to better scalability, lower bandwidth occupation and jitter buffer delay, and higher compatibility with a wide variety of network topologies. The key component of PASS, distributed silence suppression and speaker selection, is realized through a robust approach proposed in this paper. Based on a voice activity measure derived using machine learning techniques, this approach is able to reliably suppress silence in complex environments, and perform accurate and transparent speaker selection as well


In a distributed system, the hosts execute concurrently, generating asynchronous logs that are challenging to comprehend. We present two tools: ShiVector to transparently add vector timestamps to distributed system logs, and ShiViz to help developers understand distributed system logs by visualizing them as space-time diagrams. ShiVector is the first tool to offer automated vector timestamp instrumentation without modifying source code. The vector-timestamped logs capture partial ordering information, useful for analysis and comprehension. ShiViz space-time diagrams are simple to understand and interactive — the user can explore the log through the visualization to understand complex system behavior. We applied ShiVector and ShiViz to two systems and found that they aid developers in understanding and debugging.


X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) is a powerful technology that can accurately image the internal structures of composite and heterogeneous materials in three-dimensions (3D). In this study, in-situ micro XCT tests of concrete specimens under progressive compressive loading are carried out. The aim of the observations is to gain a better understanding of 3D fracture and failure mechanisms at the meso-scale. To characterise the fracture evolution as the deformation increases, two methods are used. The first segments the reconstructed absorption contrast XCT images using AVIZO software into different phases, namely, aggregates, mortar, cracks and voids. The second uses the digital volume correlation (DVC) technique to map the relative deformations between consecutive XCT images with high precision; bulk mechanical properties can be measured and cracks visualised via their opening displacement. The 3D crack profiles obtained by these two methods are compared, and the contributions that they can make to image-based modelling and its validation are noted.


Five-time Mr. Universe, seven-time Mr. Olympia, and Mr. World, Arnold Schwarzenegger is "the" name in bodybuilding. Here is his classic bestselling autobiography, which explains how the Austrian Oak came to the sport of bodybuilding and aspired to be the star he has become. "I still remember that first visit to the bodybuilding gym. I had never seen anyone lifting weights before. Those guys were huge and brutal .The weight lifters shone with sweat; they were powerful looking, Herculean. And there it was before me my life, the answer I'd been seeking. It clicked. It was something I suddenly just seemed to reach out and find, as if I'd been crossing a suspended bridge and finally stepped off onto solid ground." Arnold shares his fitness and training secrets demonstrating with a comprehensive step-by-step program and dietary hints how to use bodybuilding for better health. His program includes a special four-day regimen of specific exercises to develop individual muscle groups each exercise illustrated with photos of Arnold in action. For fans and would-be bodybuilders, this is Arnold in his own words."


It has been over a decade, in which the journey of State Islamic University (UIN) Malang in developing new scientific paradigm has appeared to be quite successful, particularly in establishing and developing an "image" of Islamic-based sciences in their new forms. The success can be observed from, among other, people's demand—from various segments of the society—to a number of books written by the lecturers of UIN Malang. Such tremendously remarkable achievement becomes certainly a worthy matter to observe and discuss, especially from the Philosophy of Science's point of view concerning on how the pattern of scientific development—as a part of academic traditions—built by this Islamic higher educational institution. This article finds an important information that the development of science in UIN Malang has arrived upon the development of new theories and concepts, by placing al-Qur'ân and al-Sunnah as its main and fundamental foundations. It can be generally observed that there has been a sort of a pattern of "Quranic justification" to the sciences developed by UIN Malang. It means that any scientific activity is intended to prove the "scientificness" of al-Qur'ân. It has been also assumed, moreover, that al-Qur'ân is the book of science.


Abstract To characterize the relationship between hydrodynamic and thermal effects on fragmentation of molten core structural material, which mainly includes cladding material, with the interaction of the coolant of sodium under a wide range of thermal and hydrodynamic conditions, this paper focuses on a series of fragmentation characteristics of a single molten Type 304 stainless steel droplet (5 g) with an ambient Weber number Wea from 199 to 586 and superheat conditions from 23 to 276°C, which penetrates into a sodium pool at an initial temperature from 301 to 313°C. In our experiments, fine fragmentations of single molten stainless steel droplets with high Wea were clearly observed, even under a supercooled condition that is well below its melting point of 1427°C. The dimensionless mass median diameters (Dm/D0) of molten droplets with high Wea are less than molten droplets with low Wea under the same thermal condition. When Wea is approximately >250, the hydrodynamic effect on fragmentation becomes predominant over the thermal effect under a relatively low superheat condition. For a higher Wea range, the comparisons indicate that the fragment sizes of the molten stainless steel droplet and jet have similar distributions to those of molten metallic fuel jets even with different thermophysical properties and a thousandfold mass difference, which implies the possibility that the fragment size characteristics of molten metal jets could be evaluated by the interaction of a single droplet with the sodium coolant without the consideration of dropping modes and mass.