Records of Holstein cows from the Dairy Records Processing Center at Raleigh, NC were edited to obtain three data sets: 65,720 first, 50,694 second, and 65,445 later lactations. Correlations among yield traits and somatic cell score were estimated with three different models: 1) bovine somatotropin (bST) administration ignored, 2) bST administration as a fixed effect and 3) administration of bST as part of the contemporary group (herd-year-month-bST). Heritability estimates ranged from 0.13 to 0.17 for milk, 0.12 to 0.20 for fat, 0.14 to 0.16 for protein yields, and 0.08 to 0.09 for somatic cell score. Estimates were less for later than first lactations. Estimates of genetic correlations among yields ranged from 0.35 to 0.85 with no important differences between estimates with the 3 models. Estimates for lactation 2 agreed with estimates for lactation 1. Estimates of genetic correlations for later lactations were generally greater than for lactations 1 and 2 except between milk and protein yields. Estimates of genetic correlations between yields and somatic cell score were mostly negative or small (-0.45 to 0.11). Estimates of environmental correlations among yield traits were similar with all models (0.77 to 0.97). Estimates of environmental correlations between yields and somatic cell score were negative (-0.22 to -0.14). Estimates of phenotypic correlations among yield traits ranged from 0.70 to 0.95. Estimates of phenotypic correlations between yields and somatic cell score were small and negative. For all three data sets and all traits, no important differences in estimates of genetic parameters were found for the two models that adjusted for bST and the model that did not.


In Sutton v Mishcon de Reya and Gawor & Co it was held that a contract between cohabitants, as opposed to a contract for cohabitation, would be valid. The case did not involve a typical cohabitation contract, but for that very reason more closely resembled earlier authorities, particularly eighteenth-century cases. This article reviews the past approach to, current use of, and future potential for, cohabitation contracts.


The empirical literature on development has labelled as "middle-income trap" (MIT) the fact that many developing economies struggle to adjust to new sources of growth after reaching middle-income levels. For Latin America and the Caribbean, this is an especially challenging scenario, as only Chile, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay have become high-income economies in the last six decades while several other LAC countries, already middle-income as early as 1950, stayed in that income range. This paper analyses empirically the main policy areas explaining the MIT, based on the experiences of 76 emerging economies and OECD countries, comparing those which evaded it and those which stayed there since the 1950s. Based on more than 200 000 estimations using a linear discriminant analysis, we identify institutional, social and economic features that help characterise policy priorities to overcome the middle-income trap. Furthermore, using the Synthetic Control Method, we present for selected Latin American countries their main policy gaps according to their unique characteristics.


The spatial distribution of major ion concentrations limits the predictability of solute transport processes in field soils. Therefore, it is important to analyze solute transport with chemical reactions based on results obtained from field soils and numerical simulation. A simulation model with cation-exchange reactions was developed and applied to solute-transport analysis of an undisturbed field soil. Chemical reaction terms in the convective-dispersive equation were estimated by the Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear least-squares regression technique to satisfy physical and chemical processes simultaneously. The reliability of the model was tested with liquid-phase and solid-phase concentrations of measured spatial distributions of Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + , and K + after continuous infiltration of KCl solution into an undisturbed soil column. The experimental results revealed that the selectivity coefficients for Ca-Na and Ca-Mg exchange could be kept constant, while those for Ca-K exchange increased with the equivalent fraction of K + in the solid phase. The effects of the exchange selectivity coefficient on reactive solute transport are discussed based on the simulation results. When a constant selectivity coefficient was used, the model failed to predict the spatial distributions of cation concentrations in the solid phase. Thus, model predictions can be improved by use of variable instead of constant selectivity coefficients.


Abstract—Current trend of urban expansion, especially in the developing countries has caused significant changes in land cover, which is generating great concern due to its widespread environmental degradation. Energy consumption of the cities is also increasing with the aggravated heat island effect. Distribution of land surface temperature (LST) is one of the most significant climatic parameters affected by urban land cover change. Recent increasing trend of LST is causing elevated temperature profile of the built up area with less vegetative cover. Gradual change in land cover, especially decrease in vegetative cover is enhancing the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in the developing cities around the world. Increase in the amount of urban vegetation cover can be a useful solution for the reduction of UHI intensity. LST and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have widely been accepted as reliable indicators of UHI and vegetation abundance respectively. Chittagong, the second largest city of Bangladesh, has been a growth center due to rapid urbanization over the last several decades. This study assesses the intensity of UHI in Chittagong city by analyzing the relationship between LST and NDVI based on the type of land use/land cover (LULC) in the study area applying an integrated approach of Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and regression analysis. Land cover map is prepared through an interactive supervised classification using remotely sensed data from Landsat ETM+ image along with NDVI differencing using ArcGIS. LST and NDVI values are extracted from the same image. The regression analysis between LST and NDVI indicates that within the study area, UHI is directly correlated with LST while negatively correlated with NDVI. It interprets that surface temperature reduces with increase in vegetation cover along with reduction in UHI intensity. Moreover, there are noticeable differences in the relationship between LST and NDVI based on the type of LULC. In other words, depending on the type of land usage, increase in vegetation cover has a varying impact on the UHI intensity. This analysis will contribute to the formulation of sustainable urban land use planning decisions as well as suggesting suitable actions for mitigation of UHI intensity within the study area.


This thesis investigates the widespread phenomenon of franchising in the real estate agency sector. To date, franchising research has been largely multi disciplinary, explanatory theory relatively undeveloped and there has been heavy reliance on the point of view of the franchisor. This thesis broadens investigation to include multiple perspectives of both the franchisor and franchisee. It examines the important contribution made to the relationship by both parties and the nature of their parallel business venturing. Drawing on data collected from the main real estate franchisors operating in New Zealand and from samples of franchisee business owners in the Asia-Pacific region, the study uses a pragmatic mixed methodological approach. It is believed by breaking the quantitative tradition the complex nature and sector specific characteristics of franchising can be better understood. Two inter linked studies are undertaken. First, the franchisor' s perspective of franchising is examined and a window study is used to illustrate the notion of resource competency. Second, franchising as an entrepreneurial activity mainly from the franchisee point of view expands existing debate linking franchising with the entrepreneurship domain. It is argued that the strategic decision to franchise taken by real estate agency franchisors requires a wider explanation than offered by current agency and resource scarcity theory. The success of franchising in this sector is based on the development of a sophisticated resource competency that ensures a highly evolved, sustaining relationship with the franchisee and perpetuation into the mature growth phase. Franchising systems are defined as entrepreneurial organisations in which co operation between two different types of entrepreneur takes place. The franchisor initiates the system and builds the brand while the franchisee develops the local market. Thus value is created as entrepreneurial ventures are established and flourish. Franchisors and franchisees amalgamate innovations and franchisees develop their own resource competencies complimentary to the parent organisation. Together with the people involved, wealth creation and innovative processes and activities undertaken by both parties in the relationship, franchising in real estate agency is shown to be fully compatible with entrepreneurship constructs.


The sandy soils of industrialized northwestern Indiana are contaminated with aerially deposited Cd, Zn, Cu, and Pb, which are retained largely in the upper 5 cm of soil. To evaluate the leaching of these metals, intact soil cores of the Oakville (Typic Udipsamment) series sampled from forested sites in this area were leached in the laboratory with acidified or metal-containing solutions corresponding to 1 or 10 y of simulated rainfall. Metals in the leachate were below detection limits, and analyses of core sections showed that the applied Cd, Zn, Cu, and Pb were concentrated in the litter layer and top 2.5 cm of soil. Adsorption experiments performed on 0- to 2.5-cm samples of Oakville soil containing initial levels of 5 µg Cd, 1000 µg Zn, 100 µg Cu, and 200 µg Pb/g soil demonstrated that these soils could retain up to twice the amounts of metals initially present. A similar soil with lower pH and less organic matter adsorbed less of all the metals, while showing higher retention of Cu and Pb compared with Cd and Zn. Sequential extraction of the sorbed metals showed that chelation by organic matter (Na₄P₂O₂-extractable) and surface reaction with carbonates and/or Fe oxides (EDTA-extractable) were the most likely retention mechanisms in the Oakville soil, although adsorption on cation exchange sites was observed for Cd and Zn at high loading rates.


Yield potential is defined as the yield of a cultivar when grown in environments to which it is adapted, with nutrients and water non-limiting and with pests, diseases, weeds, lodging, and other stresses effectively controlled. As such, it is distinguished from potential yield, which we define here as the maximum yield which could be reached by a crop in given environments, as determined, for example, by simulation models with plausible physiological and agronomic assumptions. Several implications of the definitions given above are considered, particularly those arising from cultivar interactions with agronomic practices and with the biotic and abiotic environments. We then discuss both direct and indirect methods of measuring progress in yield potential. Continuing progress in yield potential through conventional breeding is apparent in many crops, and is significant for yield progress at the farm level under a wide range of conditions. Among the small grain cereals, greater yield potential has derived mainly from the rise in harvest index associated with dwarfing, whereas in maize (Zea mays L.), it has come from increased tolerance to closer planting. The duration of photosynthetic activity has been extended in several crops but there is little evidence of increases in photosynthetic capacity or maximum crop growth rate. The rise in genetic yield potential in wheat and maize cultivars has been associated with progressive widening of their genetic background, and there is little sign of this slowing down.


The shrimp spawn in autumn and the eggs are carried as out roe by the females until spring when the larvae hatch. Within a period of 2-3 months the shrimp larvae settle to the bottom. Today's assessment and forecast of the shrimp stock productivity and potential fishing yields is weak. This is partly due to poor knowledge on population dynamics from hatching and till the shrimp are caught in the fishery at the age of three or four years in the. Since 1995 juvenile shrimp has been caught by a net attached to the underbelly of the survey trawl during the annual cruise in the Barents Sea. The abundance of settled shrimp larvae varies in time and space. The recruitment to the fishery has been quite stable with the exception of the 1996 year-class that was observed as l+ but has not been registered since. We study the annual settlement and survivor of juveniles until recruiting to the fishery. The spatial and temporal distribution as well as density of the four youngest year-classes are studied in relation to temperature, depth, shrimp stock abundance and presence of predating cod in the Barents Sea.


Background Tophus burden is currently measured using physical examination and imaging methods. The aim of this study was to develop a patient-reported outcome (PRO) tool to assess tophus burden in people with gout. Methods The responses from interviews with 25 people with tophaceous gout were used to generate items for a preliminary PRO tool. Following cognitive testing of each item, a preliminary 34-item questionnaire was administered to 103 people with tophaceous gout. Rasch analysis generated a 20-item Tophus Impact Questionnaire (TIQ-20). Test-retest reproducibility and construct validity of the TIQ-20 were assessed. Results The TIQ-20 responses fit the Rasch model and demonstrated unidimensionality, adequate precision, absence of differential item functioning and adequate person separation index. The TIQ-20 included items related to pain, activity limitation, footwear modification, participation, psychological impact and healthcare use due to tophi. In the 103 patients with tophaceous gout, floor effects were observed in 4.9% and ceiling effects in 1%. The TIQ-20 test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.76 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.85). All predicted correlations for construct validity testing were observed, including weak correlation with serum urate concentrations (r<0.30), moderate correlation with subcutaneous tophus count and dual energy CT urate volume (r=0.30–0.50), and stronger correlation with Health Assessment Questionnaire scores (r>0.50). Conclusions We have developed a tophus-specific PRO in patients with tophaceous gout. The TIQ-20 demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties. Initial results show internal, face and construct validity, reproducibility and feasibility. Further research is required to determine responsiveness to change.


The Chinese garden has been explored from a variety of angles. Much has been written about its structural features as well as its cosmological, religious, philosophical, moral, aesthetic, and economic underpinnings. This book deals with the poetic configurations of the private garden in cities from the ninth to the eleventh century in relation to the development of the private sphere in Chinese literati culture. It focuses on the ways in which the new values and rhetoric associated with gardens and the objects found in them helped shape the processes of self-cultivation and self-imaging among the literati, as they searched for alternatives to conventional values at a time when traditional political, moral and aesthetic norms were increasingly judged inapplicable or inadequate. The garden was also an artifact and a locus for material culture and social competition. Focusing on a series of anecdotes about private transactions involving objects in gardens, the author dissects the intricate nexus between the exchange of poetry and the poetry of exchange. In tracing the development of the private urban garden through the writings of Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Sima Guang and their contemporaries, the author argues that this private space figured increasingly as a place of disengagement for those out of political power and hence was increasingly invaded by poltical forces.


Calcite, the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), attracts growing attention due to its wide applications in many fields, such as composite materials, food industry, biomineralization, and dating of archeological and geological objects. Our study shows the influence of UV, X-ray and γ-radiation on the mechanical and physicochemical properties of calcite at the nanoscale. Using nanoindentation technique we observed a clear detriment in the mechanical response (hardness and elastic modulus) of the calcite (104) surface after irradiation, most visible in the case of UV. Changes in mechanical properties were correlated with the accumulation of radiation defects detected using EPR spectroscopy, and information on chemical bonding and composition obtained through XPS analyses. Additionally, the efficiency in generating defects for all three types of radiation was compared, which allowed us to propose a possible mechanism of UV-induced formation of radiation defects in calcite.


This well-written reference resource explores the Islamic Empire's society, culture, and daily life, including architecture and art; astronomy and mathematics; customs, holidays, sports, and foods; government systems; industry and trade; language and literature; military structure and strategy; and mythology and religious beliefs. While Islam, the world's second-largest religion, is the most obvious legacy of the Islamic Empire, the political and scientific contributions are equally formidable. Islamic Empire addresses these and other important connections to our modern world.


This paper presents a study conducted with nineteen students from the Technical
University of Catalonia. The study examines user experience and acceptance of an
Augmented Reality (AR) system as a visualization tool for Computer-Aided Design
(CAD) classes. Although results showed that AR does not improve the learning of CAD
techniques, students mentioned that they would find it useful and interesting to
continue using AR in CAD lectures. They said that AR helps them to easily understand
the forms and volumes of objects and better comprehend the location of objects in
the space and its relations with others.


The right-to-die movement, a great popular movement sweeping half the globe couldn't develop without organization, paid workers, newsletters, access to the media, PR specialists, traveling speakers, campaign headquarters active before every referendum, national and international congresses, (622) and very large donations. In the U.S., the organizations which promote assisted suicide receive money from George Soros' Open Society Institute, (623) the Columbia Foundation, Greenwall Foundation, Water & Ellis Haas, Nathan Cummings, Robert Wood Johnson, Fan Fox, and Leslie R. Samuels Foundations, and the extremely generous Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation. (624) Many capable and dedicated people are working for the movement's organizations, activists little known to the public. But the movement also needs prominent leaders able to catch popular imagination. Since these are the people who plan to lead us into the New Society, it may be useful to know who they are. The Unemployed Pathologist. Dr. Jack Kevorkian helped more than 130 persons to commit suicide, gained enormous publicity through all media, won thousands of ardent supporters all over the U.S., and successfully fought several attempts to prosecute him--until the misstep of showing on "60 Minutes" the video showing him administering a lethal injection to a patient. This led to conviction and a jail sentence that prevented Dr. Kevorkian from continuing his activities. Dr. Kevorkian was an ascetic figure. He was never married. Before his imprisonment he lived modestly on a social security check, in a basement, playing his flute. His doctor's licenses in Michigan and California were revoked, but even before that, he was unemployed. Trained as a pathologist, he never was a practicing physician. It is understandable, therefore, that he made mistakes, arranging for suicides of people who did not have the diseases he thought they had. (625) A fixation on a single subject can be traced from the beginning of Dr. Kevorkian's career. As a young resident, he used to ask the hospital nurses to notify him whenever a patient was nearing death: he wanted to watch people's eyes at the moment of death. Painting had been one of his hobbies, and on the paintings he exhibited there were broken human bones, dead people's skulls showing red tongues, skin peeling off of a head and hanging there, eyes protruding from the skulls' eye sockets. (626) The American Medical Association and medical associations in most states prohibit doctors' involvement in executions, but in the articles Dr. Kevorkian published, he argued that it is the physicians' duty to administer lethal injections to persons condemned to death. (627) He proposed the option of death to all prisoners sentenced to long jail terms. (628) Other of Dr. Kevorkian's ideas are a macabre travesty of "utility ethics." He argued that medical experiments should be conducted on people sentenced to death, and organs or transplantation ought to be harvested before executions. (629) Also other people approaching unavoidable death, those who decide to commit suicide, or to undergo euthanasia, should not be wasted, but used for experiments and as a source of organs for transplantation. (630) Dr. Kevorkian also announced that he would offer for transplantation the organs of people he was helping to die, (631) and on at least one occasion stealthily delivered somebody's kidney to a hospital. Apparently he did not know that the diseases that his "patients" had, or claim to have had, disqualified them as organ donors; nor that organs for transplantation must be harvested, preserved, and transported according to strict rules which assure their viability and prevent infection. All his life Dr. Kevorkian has been obsessed with the dying, the killing, and the macabre aspects of death. His ideas of "utility" place him firmly outside the circle of our civilization. Dr. Kevorkian was a bizarre psychopath. …


The profession of agricultural education is experiencing shortages across the nation. Texas is critically impacted due to the renewed emphasis of career and technical education. This leads to questions about the preparedness of recent college graduates to handle the demands placed upon agricultural educators. Starting in 2012, Texas Tech University restructured the courses within the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications to better prepare graduates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the agricultural education program at Texas Tech University by examining the preparedness of student teachers as determined by the cooperating teachers. A survey containing the characteristics of effective agricultural teachers identified by Roberts and Dyer (2004) was administered to cooperating teachers of Texas Tech University student teachers. The cooperating teachers evaluated the importance of the characteristics and the preparedness of Texas Tech University student teachers. The results of this survey were analyzed using a Borich needs assessment model. Texas Tech University cooperating teachers perceived student teachers to be most prepared in the categories of personal qualities and community relations and found the student teachers need further development of skills related to the categories of Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and program planning/management.


Concise mathematical relations have been derived for Planar Near-Field measurements that quantify the effects of x, y and z-position errors on antenna parameters such as gain, sidelobe level, pointing, and cross polarization. Because of the complexity of the theory, similar relations for spherical near-field measurements have not been developed. The requirements for the spherical coordinate system are generally defined in terms of the alignment parameters such as orthogonality and intersection of axes, θ-zero, xzero and y-zero rather than individual errors in θ, φ and r. Mechanical, optical and electrical techniques have been developed to achieve these alignments. This paper will report on the development of methods to estimate the antenna parameter errors that will result from spherical alignment errors for typical antennas.


Context. The presence of dust in the neutral interstellar medium (ISM) dramatically changes the metal abundances that we measure. Understanding the metal content in the neutral ISM, and a direct comparison between different environments, has been hampered to date because of the degeneracy to the observed ISM abundances caused by the effects of metallicity, the presence of dust, and nucleosynthesis. Aims. We study the metal and dust content in the neutral ISM consistently in different environments, and assess the universality of recently discovered sequences of relative abundances. We also intend to assess the validity of [Zn/Fe] as a tracer of dust in the ISM. This has recently been cast into doubt based on observations of stellar abundances, and needs to be addressed before we can safely use it to study the ISM. Methods. In this letter we present a simple comparison of relative abundances observed in the neutral ISM in the Galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds, and damped Lyman- α absorbers (DLAs). The main novelty in this comparison is the inclusion of the Magellanic Clouds. Results. The same sequences of relative abundances are valid for the Galaxy, Magellanic Clouds, and DLAs. These sequences are driven by the presence of dust in the ISM and seem "universal". Conclusions. The metal and dust properties in the neutral ISM appear to follow a similar behaviour in different environments. This suggests that a dominant fraction of the dust budget is built up from grain growth in the ISM depending of the physical conditions and regardless of the star formation history of the system. In addition, the DLA gas behaves like the neutral ISM, at least from a chemical point of view. Finally, despite the deviations in [Zn/Fe] observed in stellar abundances, [Zn/Fe] is a robust dust tracer in the ISM of different environments, from the Galaxy to DLAs.


The center of our Galaxy is made up of stars, stellar remnants, dust, molecular and ionized gas, with a supermassive black hole at its heart. This black hole is surrounded by a small cluster of high velocity stars, known as the S-stars. One aim of this thesis is to constrain
the amount and nature of the stellar and dark mass associated with this cluster in the immediate vicinity of the black hole. I use near-infrared imaging to determine the Ks-band luminosity function of the S-star cluster members, and the distribution of the diffuse background emission and the stellar number density counts around the central black hole. This allows one to determine the stellar light and mass contribution expected from the
faint members of the cluster. I then use post-Newtonian N-body techniques to investigate the effect of stellar perturbations on the motion of S2, as a means of detecting the number and masses of the perturbers. I find that the stellar mass derived from the Ks-band luminosity extrapolation is much smaller than the amount of mass that might be present considering the uncertainties in the orbital motion of the star S2. Also the amount of light
from the fainter S-cluster members is below the amount of residual light at the position of the S-star cluster after removing the bright cluster members. If the distribution of stars and stellar remnants is peaked near the supermassive black hole, observed changes in the orbital elements of S2 can be used to constrain both their masses and numbers. Based on simulations of the cluster of high velocity stars, I find that at a wavelength of 2.2 micron, close to the confusion level for 8 m class telescopes, blend stars will occur. These line-of-sight clusterings will last for typically three years before they dissolve due to proper motions.

I also present the analysis of mid-infrared VISIR observations. Their field of views are centered on the major Galactic Center targets that we plan to observe with the MIRI instrument aboard the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The value of these new observations lies in the fact that they are the first and only data that cover a large field of view of the region with spatial resolutions better than Spitzer survey data. The spectral indices of the compact sources detected in our multi-band observations will aid in the identification of massive young stellar objects, and will allow the tracing of their spatial
distribution and concentration. When combined with the current multi-wavelength surveys and future MIRI observations it will enable us to trace and draw a better picture of the past 8 Myr of cluster based star formation in the Galactic Center.

Furthermore, I report a curious convex-like mid-infrared feature at a distance of 0.68 pc (17") from the position of the supermassive black hole. This feature resembles a stellar bow shock with a symmetry axis pointing toward the Center. I discuss the possible nature of this feature and the implications of its alignment with other dusty comet-like objects previously found inside the central parsec. All of these objects are remarkably aligned perpendicular to the plane of young mass-losing stars very close to the central SMBH. The lack of a larger number of similar objects in the field can be explained either by the short life span of massive stars and/or the intermittent nature of the responsible mechanism.


IN 1978, AT THE outset of its economic reform, China was the world's tenthlargest economy, with a GDP of about $150 billion, or less than 6 percent of U.S. GDP at the time. By 2005, however, China's economy, at $2.2 trillion, had grown to become the fourth largest in the world, behind only the United States at $12.5 trillion, Japan at $4.5 trillion, and Germany at $2.8 trillion. The above figures, which come from the World Bank, evaluate GDP at current exchange rates and do not take account of differences in the purchasing power of currencies. When measured instead at purchasing power parity (PPP), China is already the world's second-largest economy, with almost $9 trillion in output, nearly three quarters that of the United States. It has been suggested that, at current growth rates, China's GDP stated in PPP terms could exceed that of the United States as early as 2010. 1 When China's GDP converted at current exchange rates does match that of the United States, assuming that China's population remains four times the U.S. population, Chinese income per capita will then be but one quarter that of the United States. By comparison, the purchasing power of the average Chinese resident will substantially exceed one quarter that of the average U.S. resident, perhaps rising to the vicinity of one half.


We review Hennigian phylogenetics and compare it with Maximum parsimony, Maximum likelihood, and Bayesian likelihood approaches. All methods use the principle of parsimony in some form. Hennigian-based approaches are justifi ed ontologically by the Darwinian concepts of phylogenetic conservatism and cohesion of homologies, embodied in Hennig's Auxiliary Principle, and applied by outgroup comparisons. Parsimony is used as an epistemological tool, applied a posteriori to choose the most robust hypothesis when there are confl icting data. Quantitative methods use parsimony as an ontological criterion: Maximum parsimony analysis uses unweighted parsimony, Maximum likelihood weight all characters equally that explain the data, and Bayesian likelihood relying on weighting each character partition that explains the data. Different results most often stem from insuffi cient data, in which case each quantitative method treats ambiguities differently. All quantitative methods produce networks. The networks can be converted into trees by rooting them. If the rooting is done in accordance with Hennig's Auxiliary Principle, using outgroup comparisons, the resulting tree can then be interpreted as a phylogenetic hypothesis. As the size of the data set increases, likelihood methods select models that allow an increasingly greater number of a priori possibilities, converging on the Hennigian perspective that nothing is prohibited a priori. Thus, all methods produce similar results, regardless of data type, especially when their networks are rooted using outgroups. Appeals to Popperian philosophy cannot justify any kind of phylogenetic analysis, because they argue from effect to cause rather than from cause to effect. Nor can particular methods be justifi ed on the basis of statistical consistency, because all may be consistent or inconsistent depending on the data. If analyses using different types of data and/or different methods of phylogeny reconstruction do not produce the same results, more data are needed.


The results of a careful analysis of all the available information on the activities of Heisenberg and of his talks during the years 1939 to 1945 can be summarized in the following way. Like several other German physicists Heisenberg was drafted by German Army Ordnance when war began in Europe in September 1939 to investigate whether the energy from splitting Uranium nuclei by neutrons could be used for technical and military purposes. Heisenberg found that this is possible in principle but that military use would require such enormous industrial expenditures that it would take many years and would be impracticable while the war lasted. The project was therefore dropped by the Nazi government in 1942. Heisenberg even refrained from calculating a precise value for the critical mass of U 235. He was relieved that he was thus spared a moral decision between obeying an order to build the bomb or risking his life by refusing to be involved in the project or sabotaging it. He was happy to be confined to a project of building a small test reactor under civilian administration that the government had approved. In 1941 Heisenberg tried to get the opinion of Niels Bohr in Copenhagen on what the international community of nuclear physicist could possibly do or prevent regarding the long-range technical feasibility of making nuclear weapons. Bohr completely misunderstood the cautious approach of Heisenberg.


The Level 4 Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories, written by Roderick Hunt and illustrated by Alex Brychta, provide a rich story context to help develop language comprehension and decoding skills. Stories, More Stories A, More Stories B and More Stories C help children to progress from teacher-supported reading at the early Levels to more independent reading. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.


Both moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE) (performed for ≥ 1 hour) and high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) (performed for ≤ 30 minutes) has been reported to reduce the magnitude of postprandial lipemia and glycemia. It is unclear if low-volume MICE and HIIE performed for a similar duration and expending similar amounts of energy would have a comparable or different effect on postprandial lipemia or glycemia. PURPOSE: Examine the effects of low-volume MICE and HIIE on postprandial glucose, insulin, and triglyceride (TG) concentration following a mixed meal (MM) ingested at 0.5 hours and 15.5 hours postexercise. METHODS: Recreationally active men (n = 7; age = 22.2 ± 2.1 yrs; body mass = 93.7 ± 18.0 kg; body fat% = 29.2±8.1; WC = 91.3 ± 16.5) completed a 1) rest bout, 2) MICE bout, and 3) HIIE bout in a randomized order between 1500-1600 hours on the afternoon of Day1. Rest consisted of sitting quietly for 20 minutes. MICE required 20 minutes of continuous cycling at 60% maximal work rate (WRmax). HIIE consisted of performing 20 (15-second) cycling sprints (@ 130% WRmax) followed with 45 seconds of passive cycling. Thirty minutes following the completion of each trial, participants consumed a MM in the form of a milkshake providing 5.3 ± 0.7 kcal/kg BM (body mass) with a macronutrient composition of 50% carbohydrate (CHO), 15% protein, and 35% fat. Blood samples were acquired prior to each trial and at 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 hours postMM. On the morning of Day2 (between 0730-0800 hours) following a 10-hr fast participants consumed a second MM providing 7.1 ± 0.8 kcal/kg BM. Blood samples were acquired at 0, 2, and 4 hours post-MM. Blood samples on Day1 were analyzed for glucose, insulin, and TG concentration. Blood samples on Day2 were analyzed for TG concentration. Postprandial responses were quantified via the incremental area under the curve (AUCI) using the trapezoidal method. Significant differences (p<.05) between trials were determined using a one-way, repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc test. RESULTS: The average work performed over 20 minutes was similar between MICE (120.8 ± 30.8 W) and HIIE (115.6 ± 15.7 W) (p = .63, ES = .17). The energy expenditure was similar between MICE (159.1 ± 21.7 kcal) and HIIE (166.3 ± 42.4 kcal) (p = .63, ES = .33). Glucose AUCI on Day1 was reduced following HIIE (10.7 ± 14.8mg·dl-1·2hr-1) when compared to MICE (19.1 ± 14.0mg·dl-1·2hr-1) (p = .029, ES = .57). HIIE was not different from Rest (17.3 ± 25.9mg·dl-1·2hr-1) (p = .77, ES = .45). Insulin AUCI on Day1 was unchanged between trials, however HIIE did elicit the lowest AUCI (32.8 ± 31.8μIU·ml-1·2hr-1) compared to rest (51.6 ± 31.7μIU·ml-1·2hr-1) (p = .17, ES =.59) and MICE (52.4 ± 30.2μIU·ml-1·2hr-1) (p =.15, ES = .63). TG AUCI on Day1 was unchanged between trials. On Day2, TG AUCI was unchanged between trials, however both MICE (10.1 ± 11.9mg·dl-1·4hr-1; p = .51, ES = .78) and HIIE (12.8 ± 12.8mg·dl-1·4hr-1; p = .15, ES = .65) elicited moderate reductions when compared to Rest (25.9 ± 20.2mg·dl-1·4hr1. CONCLUSION: While not significant, the results suggest that MICE and HIIE of similar volume and energy expenditure may elicit a similar effect on postprandial TG metabolism when performed the day before a mixed meal. In addition, HIIE may be advantageous over MICE when evaluating postprandial glucose and insulin metabolism when the exercise is performed shortly before a mixed meal. A larger sample size should clarify these trends as the current study included only a pilot sample of seven participants.


Lithium is the first-line therapy for bipolar disorder. However, its therapeutic target remains controversial. Candidates include inositol monophosphatases, glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3), and a β-arrestin-2/AKT/protein phosphatase 2A (β-arrestin-2/AKT/PP2A) complex that is known to be required for lithium-sensitive behaviors. Defining the direct target(s) is critical for the development of new therapies and for elucidating the molecular pathogenesis of this major psychiatric disorder. Here, we show what we believe to be a new link between GSK-3 and the β-arrestin-2 complex in mice and propose an integrated mechanism that accounts for the effects of lithium on multiple behaviors. GSK-3β (Gsk3b) overexpression reversed behavioral defects observed in lithium-treated mice and similar behaviors observed in Gsk3b+/- mice. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation of striatial tissue from WT mice revealed that lithium disrupted the β-arrestin-2/Akt/PP2A complex by directly inhibiting GSK-3. GSK-3 inhibitors or loss of one copy of the Gsk3b gene reduced β-arrestin-2/Akt/PP2A complex formation in mice, while overexpression of Gsk3b restored complex formation in lithium-treated mice. Thus, GSK-3 regulates the stability of the β-arrestin-2/Akt/PP2A complex, and lithium disrupts the complex through direct inhibition of GSK-3. We believe these findings reveal a new role for GSK-3 within the β-arrestin complex and demonstrate that GSK-3 is a critical target of lithium in mammalian behaviors.


OBJECTIVE
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) likely result from disorders, as yet unspecified, of the neural mechanisms of language. Here we examine the functional neuroanatomy of single-word reading in patients with and without a history of AVH.

METHOD
Eighteen medicated schizophrenia patients (8 with AVH and 10 without AVH) and 12 healthy control subjects were scanned with PET (15)O-water technique under 2 conditions: reading aloud English nouns and passively looking at English nouns without reading them.

RESULTS
The contrast between the 2 conditions shows higher activation in Wernicke's area during the reading condition in the patient group and a reversed laterality index for the supplementary motor area in the AVH group.

CONCLUSIONS
These findings provide indications about the possible mechanisms of AVH. We suggest that the abnormal laterality of the supplementary motor area activity accounts for the failure to attribute speech generated by one's own brain to one's self and that the activation of Wernicke's area accounts for the perceptual nature (hearing) of the patient's experience.


The Open University UK (OU) has around 10,000 distance learners who declare a disability. For many of these students the movement to online content and activity has huge advantages over traditional educational methods involving face to face meetings and print-based materials. However for others, working online presents serious difficulties. There are many steps which can be taken to minimise these problems, in the design of the learning platforms and the content presented online. As learners are increasingly required to study via the Internet, it is becoming vital for educational institutions to know what can be done to reduce problems of access for learners with disabilities. This paper discusses the common accessibility issues for elearners and how they are being addressed at the Open University


This study examines the empirical relationship among inequality, poverty and economic growth in India. Using data on consumption from the 13th to the 55th Rounds of the National Sample Survey, the author computes, for both rural and urban sectors, the Gini coefficient and three popular measures of poverty. The observed changes in inequality and poverty are explained in terms of the behaviour of key macroeconomic aggregates. A sharp rise in rural and, particularly, urban inequality and only a marginal decline in poverty have characterized the post-reform period. The rise in inequality is explained in terms of an increase in the relative share of output going to capital as compared to labour, a drop in the rate of labour absorption and the rapid growth of the services sector. The rise in inequality has diminished the poverty-reducing effects of higher growth. The reforms have also been characterized by widening regional inequality. This is especially true in the case of the incidence of rural poverty, but also, to a lesser extent, urban poverty. Statistical convergence among states in terms of inequality, poverty and real mean consumption is weak. Several policy conclusions are advanced. Raghbendra Jha, ASARC, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Fax + 61 2 6125 0443, E-mail: <email@example.com >. This paper has been prepared for the WIDER project "Rising Income Inequality and Poverty Reduction: Are they Compatible?" For very helpful comments on two earlier drafts, the author is grateful to Giovanni Andrea Cornia. Conversations with G. Vaggi, Michael


An early post-WWII debate concerned the most desirable demand and inflationary pressures at which to run the economy. Context was provided by Keynesian theory devoid of a full employment equilibrium and containing its mainly forgotten, but still relevant, microeconomic underpinnings. A major input came with the estimates provided by the original Phillips curve. The debate seemed to be rendered obsolete by the curve's expectations-augmented version with its natural rate of unemployment, and associated unique equilibrium GDP, as the only values consistent with stable inflation. The current behavior of economies with the successful inflation targeting is inconsistent with this natural-rate view, but is consistent with evolutionary theory in which economies have a wide range of GDP-compatible stable inflation. Now the early post-WWII debates are seen not to be as misguided as they appeared to be when economists came to accept the assumptions implicit in the expectations-augmented Phillips curve.


Despite the fact that much has been written on crisis negotiations, very little literature actually looks at the turn by turn identity work that is employed to do persuasion. Taking a social constructionist approach to identity, and using transcripts of negotiations between police negotiators and Merah, a self-proclaimed Mujahedin, this paper reveals the identity work that is strategically deployed in an attempt to persuade Merah to surrender peacefully. Findings indicate that, on the one hand, the police do identity work that negates the relevance of the default identities Mujahedin/Kafir, and on the other hand they do identity work that makes relevant alternative identities that make a peaceful solution more likely.


Fungal polysaccharides had been approved to show manifold biological activities in the medical and health fields, including antitumor, antioxidant and immune stimulatory. The aim of this paper is to study the mechanism of the antitumor and immune-stimulatory activities of the polysaccharides from Lactarius deliciosus Gray (LDG-A) acting on macrophages. A fungal polysaccharide was fractionated and purified by using the DEAE-Cellulose 52 to fast flow column. After that the Sevag method was used for de-proteinization. The LDG-A was used to stimulate macrophages to secrete cytokines. The cytokines that were secreted by macrophages were detected by protein chips. The results indicated that 96 cytokines were up-regulated and 56 cytokines were down-regulated. All cytokines were imported into KEGG PATHWAY Database and NCBI to carry out analysis of the signalling pathway and biological function, respectively. The results showed that LDG-A could induce the immune response of macrophages through a series of signalling pathways. The major signalling pathways were JAK-STAT, PI3K-AKT and NF-kappa B. In addition, ELISA experiment was used to further verify that macrophages stimulated by LDG-A could secrete cytokines through the three major signalling pathways to regulate the antitumor and immunostimulatory activities.


The Better Approach To Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (BATMAN) protocol is designed as an alternative to ad- hoc network routing protocols such as OLSR. Like most such proposals, BATMAN does not provide any security mechanisms that could limit participation in a specific ad-hoc network. In this article we provide a brief overview of previous work on ad- hoc network security, identify shortcomings in these solutions, and subsequently describe our BatCave security extensions to BATMAN. The BatCave extensions control network participation and prevent unauthorized nodes from influencing network routing. We discuss our prototype implementation and ns-3 simulation results, and suggest options for further work.


Stormwaters, flowing into storm sewers, are known to significantly increase the annual pollutant loads entering urban receiving waters and this results in significant degradation of the receiving water quality. Knowledge of the characteristics of stormwater pollution enables urban planners to incorporate the most appropriate stormwater management strategies to mitigate the effects of stormwater pollution on downstream receiving waters. This requires detailed information on stormwater quality, such as pollutant types, sediment particle size distributions, and how soluble pollutants and heavy metals attach themselves to sediment particles. This study monitored stormwater pollution levels at over 150 locations throughout the Netherlands. The monitoring has been ongoing for nearly 15 years and a total of 7,652 individual events have been monitored to date. This makes the database the largest stormwater quality database in Europe. The study compared the results to those presented in contemporary international stormwater quality research literature. The study found that the pollution levels at many of the Dutch test sites did not meet the requirements of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) and Dutch Water Quality Standards. Results of the study are presented and recommendations are made on how to improve water quality with the implementation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) devices.


A central goal of science education is to help students to develop their higher order thinking skills to enable them to face the challenges of daily life. Enhancing students' higher order thinking skills is the main goal of the Kurdish Science Curriculum in the Iraqi-Kurdistan region. This study aimed at assessing 7th grade students' higher order thinking skills level. The higher order thinking level test (HOTLT) was developed based on the Bloom Taxonomy of cognitive domain and consisted of 20 multiple-choice questions. The test was distributed to a randomly chosen sample comprising 418 7th grade students in the Iraqi-Kurdistan region. The overall findings revealed that the majority of the 7th grade students were at lower level of thinking skills (LOTL) n = 278 (79.7%). More male students were at lower level than female students. However, there was no significant difference between students' level of higher order thinking skills and their gender (p > 0.05). Based on the results of students' level of higher order thinking skills, the study provided evidence that almost all students needs to improve their higher order thinking skills especially the synthesis and evaluation skills required for improving students' creativity in science.


A key issue for power electronic converters is the ability to tackle periodic signals in electrical power processing to precisely and flexibly convert and regulate electrical power. This book provides complete analysis and synthesis methods for periodic control systems. It covers the control, compensation, and filtering of periodic signals in power electronic power processing and proposes a unified framework for housing periodic control schemes for power converters, providing a general proportional-integral-derivative control solution to periodic signal compensation in extensive engineering applications - a perfect periodic control solution for power electronic conversion. It provides number of demonstrative practical examples of the application of periodic control to: standalone constant-voltage-constant-frequency (CVCF) singlephase Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) inverters; standalone CVCF singlephase High Frequency Link (HFL) inverters; standalone CVCF three-phase PWM inverters; grid-connected single-phase inverters; grid-connected singlephase "Cycloconverter" type HFL rectifiers; grid-connected three-phase PWM inverters; programmable AC power sources; shunt active power filters; and UPS systems. Periodic Control of Power Electronic Converters is of key importance for researchers and engineers in the field of power electronic converter systems and their applications, for control specialists exploring new applications of control theory in power electronics, and for advanced university students in these fields.


The word "liberal" as part of our political vocabulary, comes from Spain. It was first used to describe a group of radical patriots cooped up in Cadiz, refugees from the French invasion of 1808. In 1812 they drew up a constitution enshrining the sovereignty of the people wich struck at the very basis of the old monarchy and became the model for advanced democrats from St Petersburg to Naples. Universal male suffrage was established in Spain in 1890 - earlier than in Britain. The imposition of advanced liberal institutions on a conservative society, both economically and socially backward, inevitably caused tensions; and these, Raymond Carr argues, explain much of Spainsh history. His analysis, incorporating much new research, starts at the "September Revolution"of1868 and goes rught up to the present day. In the 1970s and 80s the country suffered less from the violent social disruption experienced in previous decaces, but - as always - Spain is beset with acute regional problems which become more pressing the longer they remain unsolved. starts at the "September Revolution" of 1868 and goes right up to the present day. This book is intended for students (degree-level) of modern European history and politics.


Microscale surface structures are commonly found on macroscale bodies of natural creatures for their unique functions. However, it is difficult to fabricate such multi-scale geometry with conventional stereolithography processes that rely on either laser or digital micromirror device (DMD). More specifically, the DMD-based mask projection method displays the image of a cross-section of the part on the resin to fabricate the entire layer efficiently; however, its display resolution is limited by the building area. In comparison, the laser-based vector scanning method builds smooth features using a focused laser beam with desired beam-width resolution; however, it has less throughput for its sequential nature. In this paper, we studied the hybrid-light-source stereolithography process that integrates both optical light sources to facilitate the fabrication of macro-objects with microscale surface structures (called micro-textures in the paper). The hardware system uses a novel calibration approach that ensures pixel-level dimensional accuracy across the two light sources. The software system enables designing the distribution and density of specific microscale textures on a macro-object by generating projection images and laser toolpaths for the two integrated light sources. Several test cases were fabricated to demonstrate the capability of the developed process. A large fabrication area (76.8 mm × 80.0 mm) with 50 μm micro-features can be achieved with a high throughput.


Scope-of-permission goods are goods of arbitrary scope, where consumption of the good is non-rivalrous, where users can be excluded from consuming the good - through market organization, technology or law - and where increments to the good can be added to the good, once they are created, at zero marginal cost. Scope-of-permission goods naturally include pay TV, computer software, copyrighted works and licenses from collective right collectives such as ASCAP and BMI. These goods have been at the heart of some of our most difficult cases in antitrust law and competition policy. This includes the extended antitrust litigation over the blanket licenses for the use of copyrighted works issued by ASCAP and BMI. It also includes the Windows operating system, especially as it has grown over time with the addition of Internet Explorer and the Windows Media Player. In the ASCAP cases and in the U.S. and EU antitrust actions against Microsoft, the core question is to what extent do we want to re-scope a scope-of-permission could so as to foster entry. In the recent revision of the 40-year-old consent decrees in ASCAP, we have once again pushed ASCAP to offer meaningfully smaller licenses - a required subtraction of scope - with the hope that we would create entry in collective rights organizations. The U.S. and EU have taken different paths in their actions against Microsoft. Both focus on the scope of the rights given to end-users in Windows. The U.S. has chosen to limit the visibility of the Windows Media Player by allowing computer sellers to hide visible means of access to WMP. WMP remains present to rise up if invoked by a savvy consumer or by a third-party. In contrast, the European Commission has required Microsoft to engage in mandatory versioning, requiring Microsoft to offer computer sellers versions of Windows with and without WMP. The U.S. remedy intrudes less directly into product design, the EU remedy does a better job of preserving competition in media players by limiting the reach advantage that Microsoft has by being able to tie and distribute WMP with Windows. But we had a better alternative available, one that was rejected by both the U.S. and the EU. Imposing a must-carry obligation - requiring Microsoft to distribute other media players if it chose to distribute WMP with Windows - would have neutralized Microsoft's ability to tie WMP to Windows, while avoiding concerns about fragmenting the programming infrastructure available to third parties. This would have created the possibility of strong competition, akin to the facilities-based competition we have sought to create in U.S. telecommunications. At least for software, we should think that there are strong asymmetries between subtraction and addition remedies. Subtracting disrupts the natural flow of product development and leaves the software producer with the difficult task of unscrambling the software code. It also creates the risk of fragmenting the programming base available to third parties. Subtraction may be sensible when the underlying goods are more distinct - when we can separate Bach from the Beatles - but in the Microsoft cases, instead of subtracting scope, as we did in ASCAP and the U.S. and EU have done in Microsoft, we should have expanded the scope of Windows by imposing a must-carry remedy.


It is well recognized that an important component in mathematical instruction is to provide students with an opportunity to develop and use diverse representational systems in order to solve a variety of mathematical tasks (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Representations play an important role during the construction of models that help students to solve problems. What type of problem-solving activities do students need in order to develop ways of thinking that value the use of distinct representational systems to understand, and solve, and eventually propose problems? Teachers often state that it may be difficult for them to formulate new problems or situations that actually help their students search for different ways to approach them. It is also recognized that textbooks are the main source of examples that teachers use in their classrooms. Can textbook exercises be transformed into problem-solving activities that encourage students to develop mathematical thinking? This study documents what high school students showed when they were explicitly asked to use technological tools to examine and solve a set of routine problems from different angles or perspectives. A fundamental instructional principle used to organize and structure the learning activities implemented in this study was to encourage students to think of different ways (construction of models) to solve problems and to discuss strengths and limitations associated with each solution method. Goldenberg (1995) states that: In current practice, the great bulk of mathematics teaching takes place within a single representational system. Much time and effort are spent in building students' skills in manipulating the formal symbolic language of traditional classroom mathematics, while relatively little time is devoted to other representations of the same ideas (p. 156). Thus, it is important to acknowledge that students' mathematical understanding involves not only the use of various representations but also being able to transit, in terms of meaning, from one representation into another. That is, it becomes important that students' learning experiences not only focus on reporting solutions but also on identifying features of the models used to solve the problems. Here, the process of finding different methods to approach the tasks requires that students use several types of representations that help them develop appropriate conceptual systems. These systems tend to be expressed by students through models that involve the use of descriptions, explanations, and the use of diverse representations (Lesh, in press). In particular, the use of technology often offers students an important window to observe and examine connections and relationships that become relevant during the solution process. Lines of Mathematical Inquiry There are different learning trajectories for students to take in order to achieve mathematical competence; however, a common ingredient is a need to develop a clear disposition toward the study of the discipline. Such a disposition includes a way of thinking in which students value: (a) the importance of searching for relationships among different elements or components of the tasks in study (expressed via mathematical resources), (b) the need to use diverse representations to examine patterns and conjectures, and (c) the importance of providing and communicating different arguments (Santos, 1998). Thus, it becomes important to encourage students to think of the discipline in terms of dilemmas or challenges to be met and resolved. This means that they need to conceptualize their learning experiences in terms of activities that involve posing questions, identifying and exploring relationships, and providing and supporting their answers or solutions (NCTM, 2000). It is necessary to value the students' participation and persuade them about the power of reflecting on what they do, in mathematical terms, during their interaction with tasks or mathematical content. …


This paper considers the distributional effects of imposing additional excise duties on energy products according to carbon content. The assumed duties escalate from 1999 to 2010 and achieve levels reducing CO2 emissions by 10 per cent below baseline by 2010 for 11 EU member states. By 2010, real personal disposable incomes are 1.6 per cent above baseline and employment is 1.2 per cent above, assuming that the change is tax-revenue-neutral. The study concludes that the changes will be weakly regressive for nearly all the member states in the study if revenues are used to reduce employers' taxes and strongly progressive if they are given back lump-sum to households.


A laboratory investigated was conducted of the propagation of waves on an adverse three-dimensional jet. The problem which was simulated was the ebb-tide flow from a tidal inlet into a constant depth ocean and the effect of such a flow on an incoming waves. The following major conclusions may be drawn from this study: 1. A slat type wave machine which permits flow through the wave generator plate appears to work well for such a study of wave-current interactions. The performance of the generator is described reasonably well by an available theory. 2. The jet discharge from a channel located asymmetrically in the flume appears to agree reasonably well with results for a two-dimensional symmetric turbulent jet. 3. The experimental arrangement used controls the jet discharge by the use of the training wall, and in this manner allows for the isolation of certain aspects of he problem. 4. Even fro small ratio of the average velocity at the channel exit to the wave celerity, i.e., less than 10%, the incident wave height with the adverse current is more than twice what it is without the current. 5. In the region seaward of the channel exit a wave maximum occurs caused primarily by the effects of refraction. 6. The wave height decreases significantly as waves propagate up the channel for the case with an adverse current. This effect apparently is not due to friction. 7. There is a significant lateral variation of wave height across the flume caused by the jet which may be due to both wave refraction and the shoreward velocities induced by the effects of the entertainment of the ambient fluid by the jet which discharges from the channel exit.


Over the past decade the use of ICCD cameras as a means for characterizing non-equilibrium plasmas has been steadily increasing. Due to their high sensitivity and high speed gateability, ICCD cameras enable time-resolved studies of the anatomy and, when adopted in conjunction with filters, monochromators, spectrometers or laser systems, time-resolved investigation of physical and chemical properties of non-equilibrium plasma discharges. This paper is meant as an introduction to ICCD technology and its use as a plasma diagnostic technique, discussing the experimental problems typically associated with its use and providing the readers with practical examples and suggestions on how to address them. In particular, the issues of ICCD camera synchronization with the voltage pulse driving the plasma discharge and of investigating small volume discharges are addressed, focusing mainly on the case of non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jets. Finally, a possible way to achieve absolute calibration of plasma discharge emission is presented and discussed. A wide range of data, mostly unpublished, is provided here to illustrate the points.


Received: May 27, 2019 Accepted: June 29, 2019 Published: July 31, 2019 Volume: 2 Issue: 4 DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2019.2.4.20 The objectives of this study are to find out Firstly, the politeness strategies of request used by Libyan students and their lecturers in the classroom. Secondly, the politeness strategies of request mostly used by Libyan students and their lecturers. Thirdly, the factors that influence the use of the strategies by Libyan students and their lecturers. This study applied a descriptive qualitative approach. According to Creswell (1998:15), qualitative research is an inquiry process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The findings of this research show: first, that the subjects utilized certain strategies which contained politeness values. Some of the nine strategies were found in their requests. The students exhibited their preference for the use of Query Preparatory that falls under conventionally indirect request to depict politeness and to avoid imposition of requests. Second, both the Libyan students and their lecturers mostly used query preparatory strategy. The strategy of query preparatory was used thirty nine times in the study more than other request strategies, followed by direct and non conventional indirect request strategies. Query preparatory is one of the request strategies identified by the Cross-Cultural Speech Act Research Project (CCSARP) (Blum-Kulka, House, & Kasper, 1989). Conventional indirectness which features query preparatory and suggestory formula strategies is by far the most frequently used for making a request. Third, the social power and social distance play a significant role in influencing the use of the strategies by both groups. KEYWORDS


In the period of 2004 to 2014 there was a significant growth of employment in the logistics sector in Indonesia. This reflects a rapid rise in the need for logistics activities to support outsourcing. Because there is strong competition in the sector, logistics services should be able to deliver both cognitive and affective customer satisfaction. Studies in logistic services have been mainly focused on service gaps, an aspect related to cognitive satisfaction in customers. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate logistics service quality using SERVQUAL and the Kano model. However, these are insufficient in addressing all aspects of logistics provision. Hence, a deep understanding of customer affective need (known in Japanese as Kansei) is required, to provide competitive advantage by modeling more comprehensive customer experiences based on perceived logistics services. This paper proposes a combined model of Kansei Engineering, Kano, and quality function deployment (QFD), which it is hoped will generate more innovative ideas for improvements related to customer emotional satisfaction and customer delight. A case study in supporting logistics services has been chosen to validate the proposed model, and a survey through face-to-face questionnaires involving 157 customers was carried out. The model was then validated, and through the House of Quality (HoQ) concept, some innovative improvement ideas are proposed. They include the use of apps for order confirmation and cancellation, the integration of Google Maps into the ordering system, pre-order booking, and a bilingual feature in the transaction menu. Thus, from a practical implication point of view, it is hoped that this study will provide guidelines to the managers of logistics services companies in capturing, measuring and analyzing customer emotional needs (Kansei), with respect to the service attributes which are highly significant to Kansei aspects.


In 2004, an exotic tunicate, Ciona intestinalis, was detected in Montague River, Prince Edward Island. Since it was first detected, this exotic species has become an invasive nuisance species creating production problems in bivalve aquaculture industries including handling difficulties and resource competition with the cultured blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. Ciona intestinalis has become a challenging species to manage because of its long reproductive period and rapid biomass accumulation. Population development of C. intestinalis in a single season was investigated to inform the aquaculture management of this fouling species. The study focused on seasonal recruitment patterns and the subsequent development of the C. intestinalis population after settlement. Recruitment on experimental collectors occurred from mid-June until late November, with a peak in late August. A rapid increase in biomass was documented in late July, six weeks after the initial recruitment. No substantial increase in C. intestinalis biomass was observed in new recruits after mid-August.


As described previously, we found that new triterpenoid compounds, designated fomitellic acids A and B, which selectively inhibit the activities of mammalian DNA polymerases alpha and beta [Mizushina, Tanaka, Kitamura, Tamai, Ikeda, Takemura, Sugawara, Arai, Matsukage, Yoshida and Sakaguchi (1998) Biochem. J. 330, 1325-1332; Tanaka, Kitamura, Mizushina, Sugawara and Sakaguchi (1998) J. Nat. Prod. 61, 193-197] and that a known triterpenoid, ursolic acid, is an inhibitor of human DNA topoisomerases I and II (A. Iida, Y. Mizushina and K. Sakaguchi, unpublished work). Here we report that all of these triterpenoids are potent inhibitors of calf DNA polymerase alpha, rat DNA polymerase beta and human DNA topoisomerases I and II, and show moderate inhibitory effects on plant DNA polymerase II and human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase. However, these compounds did not influence the activities of prokaryotic DNA polymerases such as Escherichia coli DNA polymerase I or other DNA metabolic enzymes such as human telomerase, T7 RNA polymerase and bovine deoxyribonuclease I. These triterpenoids were not only mammalian DNA polymerase inhibitors but also inhibitors of DNA topoisomerases I and II even though the enzymic characteristics of DNA polymerases and DNA topoisomerases, including their modes of action, amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures, differed markedly. These triterpenoids did not bind to DNA, suggesting that they act directly on these enzymes. Because the three-dimensional structures of fomitellic acids were shown by computer simulation to be very similar to that of ursolic acid, the DNA-binding sites of both enzymes, which compete for the inhibitors, might be very similar. Fomitellic acid A and ursolic acid prevented the growth of NUGC cancer cells, with LD(50) values of 38 and 30 microM respectively.


The UK's departure from the European Union poses many challenges, not least in the field of security and defence. This paper assesses the implications of this for both parties and tries to outline options for a new bilateral partnership. The paper opens with a reminder of the headline contribution that the UK has made and continues to make to European security and defence and its significance as an actor within the Union. It goes on to suggest that Brexit is a lose-lose scenario for both partners, notwithstanding a shared set of security threats and an overall common approach to meeting them. The paper outlines the significant advances in the development of CSDP since the Brexit referendum result and the importance of the Commission's proposal of new funding to the development of EU member state defence capacities. The paper then reviews options, which have surfaced in the EU and UK respectively to define a new bilateral partnership. The challenges to involving a third-country in EU policy development and execution are examined and the urgent need for the Union and the UK to devise a new – necessarily weaker – relationship is underlined.


ABSTRACT Asking about religious beliefs, or lack thereof, is a sensitive and complex issue. Due to cultural norms, people may be motivated to respond in a socially desirable way. In addition, deliberating about beliefs may yield different responses than intuition-based responses. To develop a better understanding of the relationship between intuition and self-reported belief, we developed a new implicit measure of supernatural belief. Specifically, we adapted the Affective Misattribution Procedure (AMP) to measure supernatural belief. In a preregistered online study of 404 American participants, we found that the strength of associations between supernatural entities (e.g., god, devil, heaven) and the concept "real" (as opposed to the concept "imaginary") predicted self-reported supernatural belief and self-reported religious behavior, and these associations were of comparable magnitude to those found in studies where supernatural belief was measured implicitly using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). These results provide provisional evidence that the AMP can be used as an implicit measure of supernatural belief.


Fair Fight? Not likely. Least of all from a criminal who is looking to make a quick profit at your expense. A sad fact is that weapon-wielding thugs victimize 1,773,000 citizens every year in the United States alone. Even martial artists are not immune from this deadly threat. Consequently, self-defense training that does not consider the very real possibility of an armed attack is dangerously incomplete. Whether you live in the city or countryside, you should be both mentally and physically prepared to deal with an unprovoked armed assault at any time. Preparation must be comprehensive enough to account for the plethora of pointy objects, blunt instruments, explosive devices, and deadly projectiles that someday could be used against you. This extensive book teaches proven survival skills that can keep you safe on the street. A multitude of real-life scenarios and case studies analyzing violent encounters will help you to internalize this crucial knowledge. Contents include: Awareness Avoidance De-escalation Countervailing force Armed conflict Managing the aftermath of violence Weapon features and functions If you are serious about self-defense this book is for you. Everyone, including experienced martial artists, security and law enforcement professionals, and concerned citizens will benefit from this vital information.


Composition of fatty acid profile of muscle neutral lipids (NL) and phospholipids (PL) of sea lamprey that enter the Portuguese rivers Minho, Tagus and Guadiana during their non-trophic spawning migration was analysed. The fatty acid profile exhibited differences in the percentage among NL and PL and between river basins. Similarities were found in the fatty acid profile of NL. Monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) were the most representative, followed by saturated fatty acids (SFA) and finally by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Monoenic 16:1 and 18:1ω9 formed a considerable percentage of total fatty acids, followed by SFA 14:0 and 16:0. EPA and DHA were the dominant PUFA fatty acids. In terms of NL, the fatty acid that contributed for the discrimination between the three river basins was 18:1ω7. Individuals from the Minho river basin exhibited a different fatty acid profile of PL characterised by a low PUFA percentage when compared with lampreys from the Tagus and Guadiana river basins. Muscle PL fraction showed that the two monoenes, 16:1 and 18:1ω9, occurred at high percentage, followed by 16:0 and 14:0 (SFA). Among PUFA, DHA was the most representative fatty acid. The fatty acids that contributed to the separation between the three river basins were 16:0, 18:4ω3 and 24:1ω9. Although the results point in the direction of a possible difference between the fatty acid composition of the NL and PL fractions in the muscle samples from the three river basins, further studies, especially in tissues where fatty acid composition will be less sensitive to diet and environmental factors, are necessary to confirm this hypothesis.


The most of the results obtained about stochastic properties of generalized order statistics and their spacings in the literature are based on equal model parameters. In this paper, with less restrictive conditions on the model parameters, we prove some new multivariate likelihood ratio ordering results between two sub-vectors of GOS's as well as two sub-vectors of p-spacings based on two continuous distribu- tion functions. In particular, we apply the new results to obtain some computable bounds on the mean residual life of some unobserved pro- gressive type II censored order statistics.


Background: To support decision-making in aortic valve replacement in children and adults, we provide a comprehensive overview of outcome after the Ross procedure. Methods and Results: A systematic search was conducted for publications reporting clinical outcome after the Ross procedure, published between January 1, 2000, and November 22, 2017. Reported event rates and time-to-event data were pooled and entered into a microsimulation model to calculate life expectancy and lifetime event risk. Ninety-nine publications were included (13 129 patients; total follow-up: 93 408 patient-years, pooled mean follow-up: 7.9±5.3 years). Pooled mean age at surgery was 9.4±5.5 years for children and 41.9±11.4 for adults. For children and adults, respectively, pooled early mortality risk was 4.19% (95% CI, 3.21–5.46) and 2.01% (95% CI, 1.44–2.82), late mortality rate was 0.54%/y (95% CI, 0.42–0.70) and 0.59%/y (95% CI, 0.46–0.76), autograft reintervention 1.28%/y (95% CI, 0.99–1.66) and 0.83%/y (95% CI, 0.68–1.01), and right ventricular outflow tract reintervention 1.97%/y (95% CI, 1.64–2.36) and 0.47%/y (95% CI, 0.37–0.59). Pooled thromboembolism and bleeding rates were low and comparable to the general population. Lifetime risks of autograft and right ventricular outflow tract reintervention were, respectively, 94% and 100% for children and 49% and 19% for a 45-year-old. Estimated life expectancy after surgery was 59 years for children (general population: 64 years) and 30 years for a 45 years old (general population: 31 years). Conclusions: Through excellent survival and avoidance of the burden of anticoagulation, the Ross procedure provides a unique opportunity for patients whose preferences do not align with the outcome provided by mechanical valve replacement and for growing children who also benefit from autograft diameter increase along with somatic growth. On the downside, almost all pediatric and many adult Ross patients will require a reintervention in their lifetime.


Virtual environments with a wide range of scales are becoming commonplace in Virtual Reality applications. Methods to control locomotion parameters can help users explore such environments more easily. For multi-scale virtual environments, point-and-teleport locomotion with a well-designed distance control method can enable mid-air teleportation, which makes it competitive to flying interfaces. Yet, automatic distance control for point-and-teleport has not been studied in such environments. We present a new method to automatically control the distance for point-and-teleport. In our first user study, we used a solar system environment to compare three methods: automatic distance control for point-and-teleport, manual distance control for point-and-teleport, and automatic speed control for flying. Results showed that automatic control significantly reduces overshoot compared with manual control for point-and-teleport, but the discontinuous nature of teleportation made users prefer flying with automatic speed control. We conducted a second study to compare automatic-speed-controlled flying and two versions of our teleportation method with automatic distance control, one incorporating optical flow cues. We found that point-and-teleport with optical flow cues and automatic distance control was more accurate than flying with automatic speed control, and both were equally preferred to point-and-teleport without the cues.


Background: The patient-centered movement in health care is increasing efforts to design studies and interventions that address the outcomes that matter most to patients and their families. Research has not adequately addressed Alzheimer's disease patient and caregiver preferences. Objective: To survey the outcome and treatment preferences of patients and caregivers who had completed a multicomponent behavioral intervention for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: Extending prior work, we conducted an online survey regarding outcome and intervention preferences. Participants were patients with MCI and partners who completed the HABIT Healthy Action to Benefit Independence & Thinking ® program. Results: Both patient and partner respondents ranked patient quality of life as the highest priority, followed by patient self-efficacy, functional status, patient mood, and patient memory performance. Distressing behaviors and caregiver outcomes (burden, mood, and self-efficacy) had low rankings. Regarding the importance of HABIT ® program components, memory compensation training was ranked highest and wellness education lowest by all groups. Conclusion: Additional research should compare patient preference for patient reported outcomes, traditional neuropsychological and clinician outcomes, and modern biomarker outcomes.


Experts consider how the lessons of World War I can help prevent U.S.-China conflict. A century ago, Europe's diplomats mismanaged the crisis triggered by the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the continent plunged into World War I, which killed millions, toppled dynasties, and destroyed empires. Today, as the hundredth anniversary of the Great War prompts renewed debate about the war's causes, scholars and policy experts are also considering the parallels between the present international system and the world of 1914. Are China and the United States fated to follow in the footsteps of previous great power rivals? Will today's alliances drag countries into tomorrow's wars? Can leaders manage power relationships peacefully? Or will East Asia's territorial and maritime disputes trigger a larger conflict, just as rivalries in the Balkans did in 1914? In The Next Great War?, experts reconsider the causes of World War I and explore whether the great powers of the twenty-first century can avoid the mistakes of Europe's statesmen in 1914 and prevent another catastrophic conflict. They find differences as well as similarities between today's world and the world of 1914-but conclude that only a deep understanding of those differences and early action to bring great powers together will likely enable the United States and China to avoid a great war. Contributors Alan Alexandroff, Graham Allison, Richard N. Cooper, Charles S. Maier, Steven E. Miller, Joseph S. Nye Jr., T. G. Otte, David K. Richards, Richard N. Rosecrance, Kevin Rudd, Jack Snyder, Etel Solingen, Arthur A. Stein, Stephen Van Evera


This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and-at long last-is given his special name: Beekle. New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Dan Santat combines classic storytelling with breathtaking art, creating an unforgettable tale about friendship, imagination, and the courage to find one's place in the world.


Background Huntington's disease (HD) is a severe inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized, in addition to neurological impairment, by weight loss suggesting endocrine disturbances. The aims of this study were to look for neuroendocrine disturbances in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and to determine the relationship with weight loss seen in HD Methods and Finding We compared plasma levels of hormones from the five pituitary axes in 219 patients with genetically documented HD and in 71 sex- and age-matched controls. Relationships between hormone levels and disease severity, including weight-loss severity, were evaluated. Growth hormone (GH) and standard deviation score of insulin-like growth factor 1 (SDS IGF-1) were significantly higher in patients than in controls (0.25 (0.01–5.89) vs. 0.15 (0.005–4.89) ng/ml, p = 0.013 and 0.16±1.02 vs. 0.06±0.91, p = 0.039; respectively). Cortisol was higher (p = 0.002) in patients (399.14±160.5 nmol/L vs. 279.8±130.1 nmol/L), whereas no differences were found for other hormone axes. In patients, elevations in GH and IGF-1 and decreases in thyroid-stimulating hormone, free triiodothyronine and testosterone (in men) were associated with severity of impairments (Independence scale, Functional score, Total Functional Capacity, Total Motor score, Behavioral score). Only GH was independently associated with body mass index (β = −0.26, p = 0.001). Conclusion Our data suggest that the thyrotropic and in men gonadotropic axes are altered in HD according to the severity of the disease. The somatotropic axis is overactive even in patients with early disease, and could be related to the weight loss seen in HD patients.


This paper identifies the synergies between wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and nonintrusive electrical-signal-based motor signature analysis and proposes a scheme of applying WSNs in online and remote energy monitoring and fault diagnostics for industrial motor systems. The main scope is to provide a system overview where the nonintrusive nature of the electrical-signal-based motor signature analysis enables its applications in a WSN architecture. Special considerations in designing nonintrusive motor energy monitoring and fault diagnostic methods in such systems are discussed. This paper also provides detailed analyses to address the real-world challenges in designing and deploying WSNs in practice, including wireless-link-quality dynamics, noise and interference, and environmental impact on communication range and reliability. The overall system feasibility is investigated through a series of laboratory experiments and field tests. First, the concept of a remote and online energy monitoring and fault diagnostic system is demonstrated using a simplified star-type IEEE 802.15.4 compliant WSN in the laboratory. Two well-established nonintrusive motor diagnostic algorithms are intentionally used to prove the feasibility. Next, the challenges of applying the proposed WSN scheme in real industrial environments are analyzed experimentally using field test results.


This paper presents various testing, results & analysis of payback period of chopping machine by which the farmer can become self dependent for his everlasting need of organic fertilizer. The study specifies factors influencing the productivity, efficiency, energy consumption of machine to chop the organic waste and recommends the poor farmer the benefit of using the machine. These are based on a systematic study of the organic waste chopping process and testing of a portable model of chopping machine. Also the unit consumption of electricity for chopping is calculated and a comparison between the chemical fertilizers & organic fertilizer is done to know for the money difference which is to be incurred by the farmer to adopt either of them.


"Melanie Parris provides an excellent introduction to social work, dealing with important aspects of social work values, basic areas of knowledge and vital key skills. Her writing is clear and student-friendly with many examples from practice and encouragement for the reader to develop understanding using active learning." Robert Adams, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, Teesside University, UK "This practice focused text clearly draws upon the many years of experience the author has of social work education ! It will be of great help to students who need to integrate theoretical understanding with practical experience and develop core skills. The structure is inclusive and the language accessible. Each chapter has clear learning objectives enabling time pressed learners to focus on particular aspects of professional practice they will encounter in placement." Madeleine Howe, Faculty Head of Quality and Standards, University of Gloucestershire, UK "A very practical and accessible introduction to some of the key concepts and notions which are needed by practitioners in social work. This book helpfully explores the relationship between social work and social care, setting social work in a broader context ! It addresses a spectrum of relevant issues such as communication, collaboration and working with service users whilst encouraging more critical and analytical thinking with a wealth of 'Pause for Thought' exercises." Georgina Koubel, Senior Lecturer, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK This practical workbook is written for social work students and includes both theory and a range of exercises, providing a good foundation for the knowledge and skills you will need for successful practice learning. A variety of active learning features are integrated throughout the book. These are designed to be worked through in sequence, so that the knowledge and skills gained are steadily developed and consolidated. The four key sections cover: Skills for learning and studying in social work -- including setting up study groups, developing a creative approach to learning, making the best use of time and key concepts such as reflection and critical thinking. Social work values -- includes a unique personal narrative linking the experiences of disability with developments in the way society views disabled people, the development of the social model of disability and relevant legislation. Key social work values and codes of practice are also explored along with meaningful service user and carer participation. Communication and interpersonal skills -- why they are important, what communication skills are and different forms of communication -- with a look at the skills required for specific situations with service users. Professionalism in social work -- explores the meaning of professionalism and how it applies to social work, plus the key elements of professional behaviour including how to behave professionally and handle emotions including stress. Importantly, the book also looks at working in teams and with other professions, how to use supervision effectively to enhance professional development, keeping safe and strategies for managing risk to self. An appreciation of the needs and views of service users is integrated throughout the book, with contributions from a carer, a student and a social work practitioner.


This thesis consists of an introduction and seven appended papers. The purpose of the introduction is to give an overview of the field of topology optimization of discretized load carrying continuum structures. It is assumed that the design domain has been discretized by the finite element method and that the design variable vector is a binary vector indicating presence or absence of material in the various finite elements. Common to all papers is the incorporation of von Mises stresses in the problem formulations. In the first paper the design variables are binary but it is assumed that the void structure can actually take some load. This is equivalent to adding a small positive value, epsilon, to all design variables, both those that are void and those that are filled with material. With this small positive lower bound the stiffness matrix becomes positive definite for all designs. If only one element is changed (from material to void or from void to material) the new global stiffness matrix is just a low rank modification of the old one and thus the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury formula can be used to compute the displacements in the neighbouring designs efficiently. These efficient sensitivity calculations can then be applied in the context of a neighbourhood search method. Since the computed displacements are exact in the 1-neighbourhood (when one design variable is changed) the neighbourhood search method will find a local optimum with respect to the 1-neighbourhood. The second paper presents globally optimal zero-one solutions to some small scale topology optimization problems defined on discretized continuum design domains. The idea is that these solutions can be used as benchmarks when testing new algorithms for finding pure zero-one solutions to topology optimization problems. In the third paper the results from the first paper are extended to include also the case where there is no epsilon>0. In this case the stiffness matrix will no longer be positive definite which means that the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury formula can no longer be applied. The changing of one or two binary design variables to their opposite binary values will still result in a low rank change, but the size of the reduced stiffness matrix will change with the design. It turns out, however, that it is possible to compute the effect of these low rank changes efficiently also without the positive lower bound. These efficient sensitivity calculations can then be used in the framework of a neighbourhood search method. In this case the complete 1-neighbourhood and a subset of the 2-neighbourhood is investigated in the search for a locally optimal solution. In the fourth paper the sensitivity calculations developed in the third paper are used to generate first and partial second order approximations of the nonlinear functions usually present in topology optimization problems. These approximations are then used to generate subproblems in two different sequential integer programming methods (SLIP and SQIP, respectively). Both these methods generate a sequence of iteration points that can be proven to converge to a local optimum with respect to the 1-neighbourhood. The methods are tested on some different topology optimization problems. The fifth paper demonstrates that the SLIP method developed in the previous paper can be applied also to the mechanism design problem with stress constraints. In order to generate the subproblems in a fast way small displacements are assumed, which implies that the efficient sensitivity calculations derived in the third paper can be used. The numerical results indicate that the method can be used to lower the stresses and still get a functional mechanism. In the sixth paper the SLIP method developed in the fourth paper is used as a post processor to obtain locally optimal zero-one solutions starting from a rounded solution to the corresponding continuous problem. The numerical results indicate that the method can perform well as a post processor. The seventh paper is a theoretical paper that investigates the validity of the commonly used positive lower bound epsilon on the design variables when stating and solving topology optimization problems defined on discretized load carrying continuum structures. The main result presented here is that an optimal "epsilon-1" solution to an "epsilon-perturbed" discrete minimum weight problem with constraints on compliance, von Mises stresses and strain energy densities, is optimal, after rounding to zero-one, to the corresponding "unperturbed" discrete problem. This holds if the constraints in the perturbed problem are carefully defined and epsilon>0 is sufficiently small.


In order to assess software reliability, many software reliability growth models (SRGMs) have been used for estimation of reliability growth. . In this work, the parameters of (SRGMs) were estimated by using Flower Pollination Algorithm (FPA). Then, the (FPA) was hybrid with Real Coded Genetic Algorithm (RGA) to obtain Hybrid FPA (HFPA). The results that obtained from (FPA) are compared to the results of five algorithms: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), the Dichotomous Artificial Bee Colony (DABC), Classic Genetic Algorithm (CGA) and the Modified Genetic Algorithm (MGA). The results showed that (FPA) outperformed the rest of the algorithms in parameters estimating accuracy and performance using identical datasets. Sometimes, the (DABC) showed better performance than (FPA). Other comparisons were made between (FPA) and (HFPA) and the results show that the hybrid algorithm outperformed the original one.


The story of a pivotal president who watched over our westward expansion and solidified the dream of Jacksonian democracyJames K. Polk was a shrewd and decisive commander in chief, the youngest president elected to guide the still-young nation, who served as Speaker of the House and governor of Tennessee before taking office in 1845. Considered a natural successor to Andrew Jackson, "Young Hickory" miraculously revived his floundering political career by riding a wave of public sentiment in favor of annexing the Republic of Texas to the Union. Shortly after his inauguration, he settled the disputed Oregon boundary and by 1846 had declared war on Mexico in hopes of annexing California. The considerably smaller American army never lost a battle. At home, however, Polk suffered a political firestorm of antiwar attacks from many fronts. Despite his tremendous accomplishments, he left office an extremely unpopular man, on whom stress had taken such a physical toll that he died within three months of departing Washington. Fellow Tennessean John Seigenthaler traces the life of this president who, as Truman noted, "said what he intended to do and did it."