Statistical Process Control (SPC) is a collection of problem solving tools useful in achieving process stability and improving capability through the reduction of variability using statistical methods. It can help industries in reduction of cost, improvement of quality and pursuit of continuous improvement. Among all the SPC tools, the control chart is most widely used in practice. Out of all the control charts, chart is the simplest to use and hence most popularly used for monitoring and controlling processes in an industry.A process may go out-of-control due to shift in process mean and/or process variance. To detect both types of shifts, R chart is often used along with chart.
The design of chart refers to selection of three design variables such as sample size (n), sampling interval (h) and width of control limits (k). On the other hand, the joint design of and R charts involves four design variables i.e., sample size (n), sampling interval (h), and widths of control limits for both charts (i.e., k1 and k2). There are four types of control chart designs, namely (i) heuristic design, (ii) statistical design, (iii) economic design, and (iv) economic statistical design. In heuristic design, the values of design variables are selected using some thumb rules. In statistical design, the design variables are selected in such a way that the two statistical errors, namely Type-I error ( ), and Type-II error ( ) are kept at minimum values. In economic design, a cost function is constructed involving various costs like the cost of sampling and testing, the cost of false alarm, the cost to detect and eliminate the assignable cause(s), and the cost of producing non-conforming products when the process is operating out-of-control. The design parameters of the control chart are then selected so that this cost function is minimized. The design based on combined features of statistical design and economic design is termed as economic statistical design where the cost function is minimized while satisfying the statistical constraints. The effectiveness of economic design or economic statistical design depends on the accuracy of minimization of cost function. So, use of effectively designed control charts is highly essential for ensuring quality control at minimum cost.
Most of the researchers have used either approximate or traditional optimization techniques for minimizing the cost function. With time, more and more efficient optimization methods have been utilized for this purpose. There are a number of metaheuristic algorithms reported in literature for optimization in various types of design problems. Out of them one each from two different groups are selected for the present work i.e., simulated annealing (SA) and teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO). SA is a point to point based metaheuristic technique, whereas TLBO is population based technique. SA is one of the oldest metaheuristic algorithms and proved to be the most robust one, whereas TLBO is one of the most recent and promising techniques. The present work requires optimization techniques that can solve non-linear, non-differentiable, multi-variable, unconstrained as well as constrained type of objective function. Both the above techniques are capable of optimizing this type of objective function. However, from literature review it is observed that neither of these two metaheuristic approaches has been applied in economic or economic statistical design of any type of control chart. In this work, both these metaheuristic techniques (i.e., SA and TLBO) have been applied for minimization of cost function for economic as well as economic statistical design point of view for individual chart, and by taking and R charts jointly in case of continuous as well as discontinuous process. Thus, a total of the following eight distinct design cases have been considered for their optimization.
1. Economic design of chart for continuous process
2. Economic design of chart for discontinuous process
3. Economic statistical design of chart for continuous process
4. Economic statistical design of chart for discontinuous process
5. Joint economic design of and R charts for continuous process
6. Joint economic design of and R charts for discontinuous process
7. Joint economic statistical design of and R charts for continuous process
8. Joint economic statistical design of and R charts for discontinuous process
All the above designs are illustrated through numerical examples taken from literature using two metaheuristics i.e., SA and TLBO separately. These two independent techniques are used to validate their results with each other. Their results are found to be superior to that reported earlier in the literature. Thus, eight types of methodologies based on SA or TLBO approach are recommended in this thesis for designing control charts from economic point of view.
Sensitivity analysis has been carried out using fractional factorial design of experiments and analysis of variance for each of the eight design cases, to examine the effects of all the cost and process parameters on all the output responses such as sample size, sampling interval, width of control limits and expected loss costper unit time. The process parameters which significantly affect the output responses are identified in each of the eight design cases. These results are expected to be helpful for quality control personnel in identifying the significant factors and thereby taking utmost care in choosing their values while designing the control charts on economic basis.


Hydrophilic Surfactant proteins, SP-A and SP-D, are collagen like C-type (calcium dependent) lectins called collectins, which contribute significantly in host defence mechanism. Binding studies of SP-A and SP-D with the surface proteins of microorganisms, pollen allergens and lipid ligands were studied. Out of which SP-A was found to bind with a higher affinities with Influenza A- Virus (-542.48kcal/mol) and Di-lauroyl phosphatidyl choline (-114.622 kcal/mol) than SP-D, but Birch pollen allergen (-593.08kcal/mol) bound strongly with SP-D. Rotavirus and Carrot pollen allergen have negative binding with SP-A and positive binding with SP-D


Aim: To report the occurrence of intraoperative complications caused by accidental release of either a viscoelastic or hydrodissection cannula. Methods: This was a retrospective study from 1 January 2004 to 30 December 2009. The records of patients undergoing phacoemulsification during this period were reviewed. The records of patients with complications due to inadvertent release of either a viscoelastic agent cannula or a hydrodissection cannula were reviewed and the data were collected. Results: Four patients had complications due to inadvertent cannula release during this period. The complications noted were zonular dialysis with vitreous prolapse, hyphaema, posterior capsular rupture with vitreous loss, and nucleus drop with vitreous loss. The final best-corrected visual acuity in 3 patients was 20/30, and 20/40 in the fourth patient due to chronic cystoid oedema. Conclusion: Complications due to accidental release of the cannula are unfortunate and can be easily avoided by adopting few simple precautions.


Natural selection may act in different directions among years, life stages, or classes of individuals. Fluctuating selection of this kind is potentially an important mechanism by which additive genetic variation for quantitative traits is maintained, and can prevent populations reaching local adaptive peaks. We analysed natural selection acting on three morphological traits of male and female collared flycatchers via both fecundity and survival, using 15 years' data from a large isolated population on Gotland, Sweden. We particularly investigated variation in the direction and magnitude of selection acting: (1) among years over the study period; (2) on different life stages and (3) the consistency of observed patterns of selection with sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in this population. We found little evidence of natural selection on these traits over the study period. Evidence for directional, stabilizing and disruptive selection was found for some year-trait combinations, but these patterns were inconsistent with respect to both the magnitude and form of selection found. Consequently, our results, based on the detailed analysis of natural selection in a large wild population over a period of 15 years, provide evidence for the common assumption that forces of selection acting on quantitative traits are generally weak. They are also consistent with the suggestion that environmental stability is an important determinant of the degree to which organisms fit their environment.


A page-turning thriller of love and betrayal from the bestselling Master of Suspense and author of If Tomorrow Comes and The Other Side of Midnight. The novel tells the story of Lara Cameron, a successful real estate developer who came from a broken family in Nova Scotia. Early in life, she learns to fend for herself and how to get her own way in a male-dominated world. After her father's death, Lara secures her first deal with the owner of the boarding house and before long her real-estate empire is booming. Moving to Chicago she goes on to become one of America's most successful businesswomen. She falls in love with a talented pianist, Philip Alder, and marries him, but her past comes back to haunt her and she is on the verge of losing everything. Can Lara recover from all her shattered dreams and win back the only man she has ever loved?


Calibration charts are used in colour imaging to determine color correction transforms and for spectrally characterising imaging devices. Traditionally, quite complex charts have evolved as it was reasoned that the more reflectances in a chart the more the chart could represent all other reflectances. However, a chart with many reflectances is both expensive, difficult and tedious to use. The difficulty lies in assuming constant lighting conditions over the whole chart and the tedium appears when the chart must be measured using a spectrophotometer. To circumvent these problems researchers have sought methods to find smaller sets of reflectances which, in some sense, represent larger reflectance sets. In this paper we develop an iterative selection procedure where we select individual reflectances from a colour chart. The first is chosen so it best accounts for the majority of the spectral variance. The next best accounts for the variance that is left. In general the ith selected chart reflectance best accounts for the variance among reflectances (given that i i 1 reflectances are already selected). We show that this procedure is weakly optimal and as such compares with prior art which chooses reflectances using simple heuristics. The new method is also much faster than algorithms that are built on stronger optimality conditions. Experiments demonstrate that our new method represents a reasonable compromise between fast (and feasible) reflectance selection and the optimality of the chosen set.


The cheapest way for banks to finance long term illiquid projects is typically to borrow short term from households. But when household needs for funds are high, interest rates will rise sharply, debtors will have to shut down illiquid projects, and in extremis, will face more damaging runs. Authorities may want to push down interest rates to maintain economic activity in the face of such illiquidity, but intervention may not always be feasible, and when feasible, could encourage banks to increase leverage or fund even more illiquid projects up front. This could make all parties worse off. Authorities may want to commit to a specific policy of interest rate intervention to restore appropriate incentives. For instance, to offset incentives for banks to make more illiquid loans, authorities may have to commit to raising rates when low, to counter the distortions created by lowering them when high. We draw implications for interest rate policy to combat illiquidity.


This dissertation investigates two research problems to protect wireless network topology and routing: (1) designing protocols with configurable overhead to defend against wormhole attacks; (2) designing an intruder identification mechanism to locate and isolate the malicious nodes in distance vector routing protocols.
Previous approaches for wormhole detection in ad hoc networks assume a relationship of trust between direct neighbors and cannot detect wormholes when the attackers are legal members in the network. As a generic approach, an end-to-end mechanism is proposed that assumes trust only between the source and the destination of a route. It integrates the positions of nodes and loosely synchronized clocks to identify fake neighbor connections. An information management scheme is designed to allow a mobile node to predetermine the resources that are consumed on wormhole detection. In our experiments, the computation overhead is less than 0.28% of the CPU time for a ten-hop route. This justifies the feasibility of the proposed mechanism.
For wormhole detection in sensor networks, we propose the first group of approaches that do not depend on any special hardware. A normalized variable wormhole indicator is defined based on the distortions in edge length and angles among neighboring sensors. As a centralized approach, MDS-VOW reconstructs the network layout using inaccurate distance measurements among sensors and identifies fake neighbor connections. As a distributed approach, Dis-VoW allows every sensor to detect wormholes locally when the network topology changes. The research creates a new method to solve wireless network security problems by integrating techniques from social science, computer graphics, and scientific visualization.
An intruder identification mechanism is designed to locate and isolate malicious nodes that attack the AODV protocol with false destination sequence numbers. The propagation paths of false routes are marked through reverse labeling and the suspicious attackers are put into blacklists to achieve isolation. The quorum voting method is adopted to reduce false positive alarms. In our experiments, the proposed mechanism can improve the packet delivery ratio by 30% even when there are multiple malicious nodes in the network.


A key factor in understanding the global recession is movements in residential property price indexes (RPPIs). Of concern is that more than one national RPPI is often compiled and disseminated for a country, each differing in regard to their methodology, and thus results. Key methodological issues include the: (i) use of stocks or flows and values or quantities for weights; (ii) method of enabling constant quality measures; (iii) coverage in terms of geography, type of housing and financing; and (iv) valuation of prices. The paper outlines such issues by way of three case studies: the United Kingdom, the United States and the Russian Federation.


This volume is concerned with one of the few thorough-going Labovian studies carried out in Britain. Based on a survey of over hundred randomly selected informants from the towns of Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield, it deals first with the methodology employed, and then sketches some aspects of the 'traditional' dialects of the area before describing a large number of variables. Other non-standard features encountered during the survey are described, since these too are part of the changing patterns of speech in West Yorkshire. The final chapter draws a distinction between 'dialect' and 'accent' which is slightly different from that generally employed, and suggests that while 'dialect' features seem to have declined under the pressure of the standard language, 'accent' still persists as a social differentiator.


The function of motor-operated valves provided in nuclear power plants during an earthquake has been previously evaluated on the basis of seismic test results; however, since the response acceleration has increased with a recent reassessment of standard earthquake ground motions, it is necessary to evaluate their function during high acceleration earthquakes.
 In order to carry out seismic test analysis, we examined the compression characteristics of the gaskets in three kinds of representative valves, in terms of the current load and slide coefficient, by element tests. We created an analysis method using the finite element method which used the gasket's characteristics, and the result of these analyses could explain the loosing and the amplitude of the bolt connecting force and gasket slipping at the time of excitation to the safety side.
 According to the analysis, the actuator connection part of the motor-operated butterfly valve showed a seismic resistance of 20 × 9.8m/s2 and other parts showed a seismic resistance of 30 × 9.8m/s2.


This paper tests the long run risk and valuation risk model using a robust estimation procedure. The persistent long run component of consumption growth process is proxied by a news based index that is created using a random forest algorithm. This news index is shown to predict aggregate long term consumption growth with an R-square of 57% and is robust to inclusion of other commonly used predictors. I theoretically derive an estimatable bias term in adjusted Euler equation of the model that arises due to measurement error in consumption data and show that this bias term is non-zero. Using a three pass estimation procedure that accounts for this bias, I show that the long run risk and valuation risk model fails to explain cross section of equity returns. This contrasts to the results from regular two pass Fama-MacBeth estimation procedure that implies that the same model explains the cross section of asset returns with statistically significant risk premia estimates.


In early study of Engel manifolds from R. Montgomery, the Cartan prolongation and the development map are central figures. However, the development map can be globally defined only if the characteristic foliation is "nice". In this paper, we introduce the Cartan prolongation of a contact 3-orbifold and the development map associated to a more general Engel manifold, and we give necessary and sufficient condition for the Cartan prolongation to be a manifold. Moreover, we explain the Cartan prolongation of a 3-dimensional contact \'etale Lie groupoid and the development map associated to any Engel manifold, and we proof that all Engel manifolds obtained as the Cartan prolongation of a "space" with contact structure are obtained from a contact 3-orbifold.


INTRODUCTION
Forest resources are the most significant natural asset of the state of Latvia. According to data of the 2nd stage of forest resource monitoring for 2014, Latvia has 3575 thousand hectares of forest land comprising 55.3 percent of the total territory of Latvia, while the total timber stock is estimated at 668 million cubic meters (Bumanis et al., 2014).
However, from the available data on forest resources it is only possible to theoretically and hypothetically state what proportion of these resources would be useful and economically justified as an energy supply. Each forest stand has a certain amount of undergrowth and understorey – small woody plants (shrubs) which have not been researched much until now. A precise determination of the amount of energy wood in Latvian forests would be of great benefit to the Latvian economy.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Research data were collected in forests at the Jelgava Forest District "Forest Research Station". The research was carried out in two forest subquarters of forest site type Myrtillosa mel. Eight circle-shaped sample plots were established. The area of each single plot was 25 m2.
In the sample plots, the understorey and undergrowth trees were cut at the root neck. A sample was prepared from each tree harvested which was then sent for drying.
The wood samples were transferred to "Forest and wood products research and development institute Ltd" for moisture determination. Total moisture content of the wood sample was determined according to standard LVS EN ISO 18134-2: 2016.
RESULTS
In the forest subquarter with a stand composition of 10Pine (66 years old) the sum biomass of undergrowth and understorey was 177.91 kg per sample plot. In the forest subquarter with a stand composition of 9Pine1Birch (88 years old) there was a total understorey tree mass of 180.9 kg but 16.17 kg of undergrowth per plot. This means there was more biomass in understorey than undergrowth in the site investigated.
DISCUSSION
When the tree stand was 10Pine (66 years old) the amount of dry matter to be extracted from all sample plots was 12.37 t ha-1 on average. In the forest subquarter with a stand composition of 9Pine1Birch (88 years old) the amount of dry mass is 10.24 t ha-1 on average.
According to previous research, 7-20 t ha-1 of dry mass was obtained in Sweden, 7 to 12 t ha-1 in Poland,  6 to 14 t ha-1 in Germany and 8 to 12 t ha-1 in Latvia (Lazdina et al., 2010). There are also several researches papers which describe biomass from young hardwood stands on abandoned agricultural land in Canada: the values vary from 0,6 t ha-1 to 82,6 t ha-1 (Lupi et al., 2017). Consequently, a sufficient amount of biomass was obtained in the forest subquarters investigated in our research, which fits with the results of other studies carried out.
CONCLUSION
The volume of potential energy wood in undergrowth and understorey in Myrtillosa mel. forest site types is significant and it is advisable to use it as a raw material for energy production together with felling residues. However, it is necessary to evaluate the technical and technological capabilities from an economic perspective in each particular case.


Deformation-dependent punching shear resistance often constitutes the decisive design criterion for reinforced concrete slabs supported by columns. The increasing number of aging structures exhibiting insufficient punching resistance and detailing deficiencies, and undergoing changes of usage has resulted in a growing demand for strengthening against brittle punching failure. Hence, the research presented in this thesis aims at gaining a better understanding of the identified problems occurring especially in existing structures, such as pre-deformation. A further objective is the experimental and theoretical validation of the performance of a new strengthening concept. A detailed analysis is carried out of the structural behavior of centrically supported rotation-symmetric slabs subjected to punching. In the first part of this research project a literature review is conducted to characterize the available punching models for new slabs and discuss to what extent they are able to consider the problems linked with existing slabs. Benefits and limitations of current strengthening solutions are illustrated, suggesting local prestressing as a promising concept. In the second part such a concept is analyzed that has been developed to improve the system efficiency and punching resistance by immediately activating the post-installed shear reinforcement composed of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, thus partially unloading the slab. An experimental campaign comprising sixteen slabs verifies that the installation of this strengthening concept leads to a more ductile system behavior and significant increase of punching resistance compared to a non-strengthened slab. In the third part the load-deformation behavior of slabs is analyzed and a modification of an analytical model applied to a slab sector is developed, considering the influence of shear on flexural behavior. An overestimation of the flexural capacity and consequently of the punching resistance is thus avoided. The agreement of the modified sector model results with experimental results is confirmed for a large number of experiments from literature. The model is also capable of predicting the load-rotation responses and punching resistances of slabs strengthened with prestressed CFRP straps. The fourth part of the research concerns the effect of pre-deformation, or load history, on the structural behavior of uniaxial members and biaxial slabs. Single unloading and reloading cycles, which reduce tension stiffening and result in additional deformations, leading to decreased concrete punching resistance, are investigated. In slabs prestressed CFRP straps can compensate the additional deformations caused by load history.


Recently, the concept of prebiotics has been revisited to expand beyond non-digestible oligosaccharides, and the requirements for selective stimulation were extended to include microbial groups other than, and additional to, bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. Here, the gut microbiota-modulating effects of well-known and novel prebiotics were studied. An in vitro fermentation screening platform (i-screen) was inoculated with adult fecal microbiota, exposed to different dietary fibers that had a range of concentrations (inulin, alpha-linked galacto-oligosaccharides (alpha-GOS), beta-linked GOS, xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) from corn cobs and high-fiber sugar cane, and beta-glucan from oats), and compared to a positive fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) control and a negative control (no fiber addition). All dietary fibers displayed prebiotic activity, with beta-glucan showing more distinct effects on the microbial composition and metabolism compared to the other fibers. Beta-glucan induced the growth of Prevotella and Roseburia with a concomitant increase in propionate production. Inulin and both forms of GOS and XOS had a strong bifidogenic effect on the microbial composition. A dose-response effect was observed for butyrate when exposed to beta-glucan and inulin. The findings of this study support the potential for alpha-GOS, XOS, and oat beta-glucan to serve as novel prebiotics, due to their association with the positive shifts in microbiome composition and short-chain fatty acid production that point to potential health benefits.


This article features a panel discussion organized by David Cummins and Neil Doherty for the 2005 World Risk and Insurance Economics Congress (WRIEC) on recent changes in the insurance brokerage industry resulting from the investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The moderator is Neil Doherty, Ronald A. Rosenfeld Professor of Insurance and Risk Management, and Insurance Department Chair at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The first panelist is J. David Cummins, Harry J. Loman Professor of Insurance and Risk Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. David Cummins has published extensive research on the insurance industry, receiving the most citations in a recent survey in this field. The next panelist is Gerald L. Ray, President for Corporate Operations at the Van Gilder Insurance Corporation, a large independent agency that is headquartered in Denver. Gerald Ray has been with Van Gilder for twenty-five of his thirty-seven years in the industry and has experience on the insurer and broker sides of the industry. He is on the board of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers (CIAB), and in 2004 was elected as the Insurance Person of the Year by the Colorado State Insurance Association. The final panelist is Terri Vaughan, Ph.D. She was the Insurance Commissioner for Iowa, serving through both Democratic and Republican state administrations. She is currently a Professor at Drake University, and a graduate of the Huebner Program at the Wharton School. Neil Doherty: The Spitzer investigation began as an investigation of broker compensation. It then proceeded to issues involving how brokers placed business with insurance companies, finding cases of apparent bid rigging. The investigation expanded to other areas too. There were issues of possible conflicts of interest involving reinsurance placements, and then issues involving insurance companies arose. Finite reinsurance and its possible use as an earnings management tool received some of the spotlight as well. This panel discussion focuses on brokers and all of the issues raised by the Spitzer investigation. The consequences of Spitzer's investigations are quite profound already even without consideration of any new court determinations. For example, all four of the major brokers have abandoned contingent commissions as part of a settlement or in anticipation of class action suits. Also, two members of the Greenberg family have fallen victim to these investigations-the president and the CEO of Marsh and the CEO of AIG. Shareholder values have been significantly affected by changes in the compensation arrangements for brokers. This will possibly lead to a restructuring of the industry in the future in ways that we may not even be able to imagine today. We have a great panel to look at these issues. First, David Cummins will provide a statistical overview of the brokerage industry and discuss the current state it is in. Gerald Ray will talk next about some of the issues facing brokers and how brokers are addressing those issues. Terri Vaughan then will discuss regulatory aspects related to the brokerage industry and the Spitzer investigation. Just to start things off, Spitzer came on to the scene and effectively declared that brokers are the agents of their clients. But, if they are paid by contingent commissions, then their interests may not be the same as those of their clients. Therefore, Spitzer purports that such commission structures are wrong. Let me challenge you, as a group of insurance economists, to think a little more deeply about this. The Rothschild-Stiglitz model indicates that when there is adverse selection, there may be an equilibrium in which the insurance company offers a menu of contracts. In a separating equilibrium, good risks signal their status by accepting lower levels of insurance coverage at the cost of lower utility. Some argue that the insurance broker is an information intermediary that presents significant features of the risk to the insurance company. …


This empirical study investigates the dynamics and the determinants of social capital in Europe over the period 1990-2008, using empirical data from EVS. Methodologically, factor analysis and regression analysis are implemented. The analysis covers 20 Western-European countries, 10 new member states and 15 EU neighbouring countries. Comparison of the levels of social capital showed that, with few exceptions, the levels of social capital are lower in Eastern Europe as compared to the old member states in Western Europe. Regression results of the determinants of social capital showed that most influential factors of social capital are education and satisfaction with democracy. It follows that investments in educational system and improving democratization processes could increase the level of social capital as an important factor of economic development.


Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of wall thickness on load at fracture of monolithic zirconia dental crowns after aging. Materials and Methods: Seventy translucent monolithic zirconia crowns (DD Bio ZX2, Dental Direkt GmbH) were produced to fit a second upper premolar preparation with a circumferential shallow chamfer. Thirty crowns had a minimum wall thickness of 0.4 mm and 40 had 0.8 mm. TwentyAQ4 of the thick-walled crowns were glazed. The remaining crowns were polished. Ten crowns from each group functioned as controls, while the remaining were subjected to an aging procedure of alternation between dynamic loading and autoclaving. The surviving crowns were assessed for margin damages and surface wear before beeing subjected to quasi-static loading until fracture. All fractures were analyzed by fractographic methods. Results: There were statistically significant differences among the test groups concerning the effects of aging and surface wear. All thick-walled and eight of the thin-walled crowns survived the aging procedure. All fracture origins both from dynamic and quasi-static loading were located in the cervical margin with crack propagation corresponding to cervical hoop stress as observed in clinical failures. Conclusions: Thin-walled translucent monolithic zirconia crowns were more affected by the aging procedure than thick-walled crowns.


Objective: To determine the antioxidant and hepatoprotective potential of methanol extract of rhizome of Curcuma angustifolia (MECA) against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic damage in vitro and in vivo. Methods: DPPH, ABTS and reducing power assays were performed to estimate the antioxidant effect of MECA. In vitro cytotoxicity of MECA against HepG2 cells was evaluated, whereas serum biochemical parameters and levels of antioxidative enzymes were measured in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, histopathological studies were estimated in order to investigate the hepatoprotective efficacy of MECA. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis of the extract was performed to identify the chemical components. Results: MECA exhibited strong antioxidant activity and attenuated CCl4-induced decrease in the viability of HepG2 cells. Additionally, MECA significantly restored the ALT, AST, ALP, TP and albumin level in comparison with the CCl4 group. After pre-treatment with MECA, effects of SOD, CAT and GSH were increased as well as lipid peroxidation amount decreased on CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in in vitro and in vivo model. Furthermore, histopathological observation confirmed that MECA reduced liver injury induced by CCl4 in rats. GC-MS analysis confirmed the presence of bioactive constituents such as α-tocopherol (12.27%), phytol (7.61%), squalene (3.71%), β-sitosterol (2.19%), eugenol (2.59%), curcumenol (1.20%), β-elemene (1.00%) and eucalyptol (0.89%). Conclusions: MECA contains antioxidant and hepatoprotective constituents such asa-tocopherol, phytol, squalene and eugenol and exerts hepatoprotective effect both in vitro and in vivo.


Based on waveform data from a profile of aftershocks following the north-south trace of the 28 June 1992 Landers rupture across the Mojave desert, we construct a new velocity model for the Mojave region that features a thin, slow crust. Using this model, we obtain source parameters, including depth and duration, for each of the aftershocks in the profile and, in addition, any significant (M > 3.7) Joshua Tree-Landers aftershock between April 1992 and October 1994 for which coherent TERRAscope data were available. In all, we determine source parameters and stress drops for 45 significant (Mw > 4) earthquakes associated with the Joshua Tree and Landers sequences, using a waveform grid-search algorithm. Stress drops for these earthquakes appear to vary systematically with location, with respect to previous seismic activity, proximity to previous rupture (i.e., with respect to the Landers rupture), and with tectonic province. In general, for areas north of the Pinto Mountain fault, stress drops of aftershocks located off the faults involved with the Landers rupture are higher than those located on the fault, with the exception of aftershocks on the newly recognized Kickapoo (Landers) fault. Stress drops are moderate south of the Pinto Mountain fault, where there is a history of seismic swarms but no single throughgoing fault. In contrast to aftershocks in the eastern Transverse ranges, and related to the 1992 Big Bear, California, sequence, Landers events show no clear relationship between stress drop and depth. Instead, higher stress-drop aftershocks appear to correlate with activity on nascent faults or those that experienced relatively small slip during mainshock rupture.


Abstract : Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South) is well known within the U.S. Government as the "gold standard" for interagency cooperation and intelligence fusion, despite its preference for keeping a low profile and giving other agencies the credit for its successes. It is often cited as a model for whole-of-government problem-solving in the literature on interagency collaboration, and other national security organizations have tried to copy its approach and successes. Despite the plaudits and attention, the way that JIATF-South actually operates has only received superficial analysis. In fact, few people actually understand why JIATF-South works as well as it does or how its success might be replicated. This study attempts to fill the gap in knowledge about JIATF-South as a model for cross-organizational collaboration. It traces the evolution of the task force from its roots in the "War on Drugs" in the 1980s, through its original manifestation as Joint Task Force-4 in the early 1990s and its later reinvention as Joint Interagency Task Force-East, to its present day name of JIATF-South). The study then examines how JIATF-South actually works with the help of 10 organizational performance variables taken from organizational and management research on cross-functional teams. Investigating JIATF-South's performance through these different organizational lenses, and weighing the importance of each variable in light of the Task Force's historical experience, yields a compelling explanation for JIATF-South's stellar performance. The results contribute to a better understanding of interagency teams and help to answer the pressing question of whether successes like JIATF-South can be replicated elsewhere in the national security system.


The aim of this study was to monitor the mycobiota of wine grapes, occurrence of ochratoxigenic microfungi in wine grapes and occurrence of ochratoxin A and Alternaria mycotoxins in fresh grape juice, must and wine from domestic crops in the year 2004. Thirteen samples of wine grapes (white /nine samples/ and red /four samples/) were collected during harvesting in the Znojmo wine region, SE Moravia. One sample of a wine grape variety was represented by three subsamples of wine grapes, which were sampled in left, middle and right part of the vineyard. Five wine grape berries per bunch were randomly selected, plated onto Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) agar, and incubated for 5–7 days at 25 °C. Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarum, C. cladosporioides, Penicillium expansum, P. aurantiogriseum, P. spinulosum and Rhizopus nigricans were isolated from the samples. Ochratoxigenic microfungi, e. g. Aspergillus carbonarius, and other species of section Nigri, A. ochraceus, Penicillium verrucosum and P. nordicum, were not found in the samples. The HPTLC method for quantification of ochratoxin A (OTA) and Alternaria mycotoxins (alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), altenuene (ALT), and tenuazonic acid (TeA)) in fresh grape juice (13 samples), must (13 samples) and wine (13 samples) was used. The limit of quantification (LoQ) was 8 ng/l for OTA, 1.5 μg/l for AOH, 1.5 μg/l for AME, 1.5 μg/l for ALT and 7.5 μg/l for TeA. Occurrence of OTA and Alternaria mycotoxins in fresh grape juice, must and wine was not proved.


This is a summary of the reports submitted by 17 local governments describing their participation in the Older Pedestrian Demonstration Project. In that project, these local governments were funded by the Federal Government to undertake demonstrations of the types of approaches that could be taken to overcome older pedestrian safety problems. This Final Report includes a brief synopsis of each of the local governments' activities for older pedestrian safety in the funding period, and a discussion of the various methods used. It is intended that this Final Report will provide local governments around Australia with a resource document that details treatments used to improve older pedestrian safety.


The digital geophysical maps and GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques have been employed in obtaining a better understanding of global heat flow. The starting point has been a system of 1o x 1o equal longitude grid consisting of 64800 cells. Superposed on this grid system are a set of 190 polygons that approximates boundaries of tectonic provinces and another set of 137 polygons that outlines age provinces. The area extents of these "tectonic polygons" were determined, and heat flow values calculated based on the empirical relation between heat flow and age of last thermos-tectonic event. Maps derived using such polygon representations reveal a pattern quite similar to that obtained in higher-degree spherical harmonic representations of global heat flow. In addition, an updated assessment of observational data has been carried out and estimated values assigned for cells where observational data are currently unavailable. This practice has been found to provide reasonable bounds in interpolations, leading to better representations of heat flow on a global scale. The mean global heat flow values obtained by this procedure is found to fall in the interval of 58 to 63mW/m². This estimate is lower than that reported in some of the previous studies in which use has been made of theoretical values derived from half-space cooling models as substitutes for experimental data. According to the results of the present work, based on reappraisal of global heat flow database and with due emphasis on observational data, the global conductive heat loss falls in the range of 28 to 35TW. This is nearly 22 to 35% less than those reported in earlier studies.


Despite significant progress in basic neuroscience research of stress and PTSD, no definite biological pathways of traumatization have been identified. As a result, the biological part of transgenerational transmission of Holocaust traumatization (HT) cannot be verified. Why has it been so difficult to find biomarkers of HT? The presentpaper  tries to answer this question with the help of a discussion of the various obstacles in this line of research. Such obstacles are not only caused by methodological constraints, but also because HT cannot simply be regarded as one specific and persistent disorder, whichare detached from the human mind. It has also become increasingly clear that the difficulties in finding biomarkers are caused by the fact that HT (1) cannot be easily measured in human beings; (2)is not clearly identified; (3) tends to vary between individuals and populations; (4) is not constant over time; and (5) may be the result of a failure to regain physiological homeostasis rather than a simple physiological response to stress. Such methodological, conceptual, diversity, dynamic and adjustment factors have all contributed to the difficulties in finding biomarkers of HT and they have made this kind of psychophysical research extremely complex. It is concluded that a more integrative bio-psycho-social explanatory model to the study of traumatization remains more viable than the pure neurobiological one.


The role of procurement within global companies has changed dramatically over the past 25 years from that of simply buying goods and services to overseeing an integrated set of management functions. This brings new challenges and opportunities to procurement. Offshoring and the increased emphasis on specialization and fragmentation of production enhance the strategic character of procurement decisions. Increasingly, procurement decisions have become intertwined with strategic management in general. In this article, the authors discuss the changes in procurement from the perspective of transaction cost economics. They separate transaction costs into �soft� and �hard� costs and differentiate between the internal and external factors that affect these costs. In making procurement decisions, the authors argue, managers need to consider the full range of cost elements. In addition to traditional transaction costs such as transport costs and tariffs, managers need to recognize such elements as cultural and legal differences, government regulation, social preferences, environmental issues, political stability and risks involved in unethical business behavior. The authors argue that knowing the risks and opportunities of the different exposures is a critical management competence. Although management decisions originate in many different parts of the company, procurement managers need to keep a close eye on the various cost exposures and flag concerns as they arise. Procurement, therefore, will need to become more closely connected with strategic decisions throughout the company. This broader view represents a major extension of the concept of total cost of ownership in procurement decisions. Global sourcing creates many new opportunities for value creation, which well-run companies must learn to take advantage of.


There have been few studies on the structure and dynamics of sponge-dominated assemblages, despite the fact that such assemblages are vulnerable to environmental impacts from many anthropogenic disturbances. Sponges are generally slow to recruit, slow growing and long lived; hence, they may be very vulnerable to anthropogenic and natural disturbances. In order to understand how such assemblages may respond to disturbance, it is essential to measure natural pat- terns of spatial differences and temporal changes, so that any future impact assessments can be iden- tified. This study quantified and contrasted patterns of abundance in sponge-dominated assemblages on deep reefs (18 to 20 m) exposed to direct oceanic swell with reefs in the more protected entrances to large embayments. We examined the hypothesis that erect sponges would dominate the reefs within embayments, while encrusting species would be more prevalent on the wave-exposed reefs. We also predicted that wave-exposed reefs would show greater temporal and spatial variability. Four reefs within embayments and 4 open coastal reefs, each with 3 nested sites, were sampled with ran- domly placed photo-quadrats. Sponges dominated the reefs we examined, accounting for around 25% of the cover of the substratum on exposed reefs and usually >40% on sheltered reefs. A total of 82 species of sponge were identified. As predicted, erect sponges accounted for the majority of the species richness and cover of sponges on sheltered reefs, whereas encrusting species predominated on the exposed reefs. The contribution of other sessile invertebrates to the cover and species richness on these reefs was small. nMDS plots revealed striking and consistent differences in the assemblages between the exposed and sheltered reefs, although PERMANOVA failed to detect significant differ- ences. ANOVA revealed significant fluctuations in the cover and richness of taxa at various spatial and temporal scales. Examination of the components of variation of selected taxa showed that most of the variability was found at the smallest spatial scale, i.e. within the residual, and this variability was generally greatest for taxa on exposed reefs compared with sheltered reefs. These results have important implications for monitoring programmes designed to detect environmental impacts on sponge-dominated assemblages.


Spirulina is unique among blue-green algae, it has a long history of safe use, Spirulina have many benefits for many body systems. The present study deals with the effect of Spirulina Platens that purified from DXN company in Malaysia on the function and histological changes of liver in mice. This was achieved by evaluating the following: 20 mice were divided in to four groups each group has 5 mice: treated groups G1, G2 and G3 (200ug/kg, 100 ug/kg and 50 ug/kg) respectively were orally administration with spirulina compare with control group was administrated normal salin . Body weighs, blood test (haematology and biochenmical parameters) and histological evaluations were studied. The results were showed a significant (p< 0.05) increases in Hb, MCHC, MCV WBC and lymphocytes, levels in G1 compare with control. Other hand the results of liver biomarkers such as cholesterol, Triglycerides , AST showed decreased in G1. a significant difference (p< 0.05) in B.W in all groups compare with control. In conculsion. The results of the study reflected that Spirulina was a valuable and more effective in treatment and It seems deserves attention as potential natural supplemented.


A novel inorganic–organic composite coagulant, poly-ferric-magnesium (PFM) polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride (PDMDAAC), was prepared using FeSO4, MgSO4 and PDMDAAC as raw materials and was introduced to treat landfill leachate. The coagulation performance of the new reagent was evaluated and compared with those of other coagulants. The new reagent was characterized in terms of the analysis of ferron-timed spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The coagulation mechanism was investigated by measuring the ζ-potential reduction and chemical oxygen demand removal at different dosages. Coagulation experiments revealed that the new reagent exhibited better coagulation performance compared with the simple PFM and the PFM + PDMDAAC. Ferron-timed spectroscopy showed that the new reagent exhibited increased effective polymer species concentration. XRD and FTIR spectroscopy showed that the new reagent was not a simple mechanical mixing of PFM and PDMDAAC, but a composite system with inorganic–organic complex interpenetration networks. The predominant coagulation mechanism of the new reagent was charge neutralization at low dosages, as well as adsorption bridging and co-precipitation netting at high dosages, when treating landfill leachate.


Ceramic micro and nanomaterials have gained interest by the research community during last decade. They have contributed to improved performance in the fields of catalysis, biomedicine, energy and electronics. Amongst these ceramic materials, nanofibers have shown good potential; their large aspect ratio enhances several material properties.

This PhD thesis focuses on the development of novel functional ceramic fibers and nanochannels. Different materials were fabricated, characterized and tested in different applications.

The ceramic nanofibers and nanochannels have been fabricated by combining two techniques: electrospinning and sol-gel processing. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the influence of the fabrication process of different ceramic nanofibers on their properties, and subsequently to explore their potential in different fields of application.

In order to be able to tune the materials' microstructure and properties, the process of preparing ceramic nanofibers by electrospinning was studied. The role of the solution properties on the process was thoroughly investigated as it controls most of the process and determines the feasibility of producing fibers. It was demonstrated that the fiber diameter, morphology and alignment can be modified. The possibility of preparing nanotubes is also shown. Such understanding was essential to design materials in order to enhance their performance in different fields of application.

A flexible ceramic consisting of a 3% Yttrium Stabilized Zirconia non-woven mat of fibers was designed to be used as scaffold for bone regeneration. Although that ceramic material is inherently rigid and bioinhert, it was proven that it can be turned into flexible and offered an improved bioresponse towards osteogenesis when shaped into nanofibers. Similarly, the possibility of shaping β tri calcium phosphate, a well-known bioactive material for bone regeneration into nanofibers, has been demonstrated. The final grain size in the resulting nanofibers was smaller than reported elsewhere, which is thought to be caused by the fibrous morphology.

Ceramic nanofibers also showed potential to be applied in the field of electronics. The fabrication of aligned ZnO nanofibers, and the semiconducting and photoelectric properties were studied in field effect transistor and UV detector applications. It was proven that electrospinning can be used for rapid fabrication of large area electronic devices.

A novel method to fabricate porous ceramics with controlled catalyst deposition is also presented. Polymer nanofibers were used to template ceramic materials and form nanochannels. 3% Yttrium Stabilized Zirconia / Ni cermet was chosen a model material to be used in the field of solid oxide fuel cells. Nevertheless, the same method can be extended to other fields.

In conclusion, it can be stated that ceramic nanofibers offer a promising alternative in different fields of application. However, the scaling and commercialization still remains a challenge.


This chapter aims to present to the reader an overview of the current status of the Japanese clean energy technology, in perspective with the current Japanese Energy Policy, putting emphasis on MGs in the country and its interrelation with, and its role within the whole energy sector in Japan. The main current trends, reflected in the new revised Japanese energy policy following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, including the pilot projects in the country or carried out by Japanese companies and institutions abroad, are addressed in this chapter. The roles and characteristics of MGs can be better appreciated from the perspective of a country with strict requirements for energy reliability due to its risky location regarding natural disasters and demanding geography. It is expected that from this chapter the reader can appreciate how largely Japanese clean energy sector has changed and is now evolving in order to establish a future energy mix to achieve the targets of CO2 emission reduction, enhanced energy security and a sustainable energy generation.


The purpose behind this case study is to share with a wider audience of placement officers, tutors and those who are involved in the management of placement students or employment of graduates, the approach taken to encourage reflective learning in undergraduate placement students at Aston Business School. Reflective learning forms an important foundation of the placement year at Aston Business School, where a professional placement is a mandatory element of the four year degree, for all Home/EU students (optional for International students) who are taking a Single Honours degree (i.e. a fully business programme). The placement year is not compulsory for those students taking a Combined Honours degree (i.e. a degree where two unrelated subjects are studied), although approximately 50% of those students taking an Aston Business School subject opt to take a placement year. Students spend their year out undertaking a 'proper' job within a company or public sector organisation. They are normally paid a reasonable salary for their work (in 2004/5 the average advertised salary was £13,700 per annum). The placement year is assessed, carrying credits which amount to a contribution of 10% towards the students' final degree. The assessment methods used require the students to submit an academic essay relating theory to practice, a factual report about the company which can be of use to future students, and a log book, the latter being the reflective piece of work. Encouragement to reflect on the placement year has always been an important feature of Aston Business School's approach to learning. More recently, however, feedback from employers indicated that, although our students have excellent employability skills, "they do not think about them" (Aston Business School Advisory Panel, 2001). We, therefore, began some activities which would encourage students to go beyond the mere acquisition of skills and knowledge. This work became the basis of a programme of introductions to reflective learning, mentoring and awareness of different learning styles written up in Higson and Jones (2002). The idea was to get students used to the idea of reflection on their experiences well before they entered the placement year.


The Iberian language is directly attested by ca. 2,250 inscriptions spanning the period from the 5th century BC to the 1st century AD, distributed between Eastern Andalusia and Languedoc. Although it must be considered a non-deciphered language, a large number of personal names have been identified in Iberian texts. The document that enabled the understanding of the basic structure of Iberian names is a Latin inscription from Italy (the Ascoli Bronze) recording the grant of Roman citizenship to Iberians who had fought for Rome during the Social War (90-88 BC). The study of this document paved the way for the identification of Iberian names in texts written in local languages, on the one hand, and in Latin and Greek epigraphic and literary sources on the other. This paper provides a state-of-the-art overview of research on Iberian onomastics, by synthesising the main recent achievements along with the remaining lines of research; it also investigates our understanding of the grammatical and syntactic structure of Iberian names, and analyses the evolution of Iberian naming patterns under Roman domination, by taking into account both Iberian and Latin documents.


This study set out to take a definitive look at African Caribbean entrepreneurship by delineating the broad spectrum of historical and contemporary theories of ethnic entrepreneurship. It also looked in particular on the phenomenon of African Caribbean entrepreneurship through the lens of Pentecostalism, which is the most popular religious expression of African Caribbean peoples in the UK. The extent to which the socio‐cultural and psycho‐religious underpinnings of the African Caribbean person are amenable to entrepreneurial engagement was also subjected to analysis. This analysis focused on themes and perspectives, which are general to African Caribbean experience – individual, family and community. They were presented as age, gender or sex, education, family structure, motivation, and funding of entrepreneurial ventures. Also in connection with these were a number of factors, which operate at the nexus of African Caribbean Pentecostalism and entrepreneurship. These include historical antecedents, socioeconomic situations up to the 1950s, the ambiguity of Scriptures towards wealth as well as the impact of the psychology of time on the African Caribbean mind. All these provide a framework in which the existential and transcendental interact in the community of faith.


Polymerizations of pyrrole and thiophene on a platinum foil coated by polyethylene adipate (PEA) were carried out in acetonitrile by electrochemical methods. Different compositions of semi-conducting composite films of PEA/Polypyrrole(PPy), PEA/Polythiophene(PT) were prepared by the electrochemical polymerization of pyrrole and thiophene on PEA electrode. The polymerization was possible only for a certain thickness of the polyethylene adipate(PEA) on the platinum. Conductivities of PEA/PPy, PEA/PT, films at different compositions were obtained. The films were examined by FTIR spectroscopy. The topography of surface films were analyzed by a scanning electron microscope(SEM). The conductivity behaviour of (PEA/PPy), (PEA/PT) films at different compositions when exposed to Ar, N2, C3H8 and H2 gases indicated that these films cannot be used as gas sensors.


This paper distinguishes between two approaches to the analysis of linguistic variation among texts: microscopic and macroscopic. Most previous text analyses have used a microscopic approach, considering in detail the communicative functions of individual linguistic features in particular texts. Macroscopic analysis, on the other hand, sets out to define the underlying parameters of textual variation, or the textual 'dimensions', within a set of text types. In the present paper, the different goals and strengths of these two approaches are discussed, followed by a detailed presentation of the macroscopic approach to the analysis of textual variation. The paper argues that only a multifeaturejmultidimensional approach is adequate for macroscopic analyses. The primary analytical tool in this approach is factor analysis, with explicit emphasis placed on the selection of a broad range of linguistic features and texts for the analysis. Factor analysis statistically groups together linguistic features that co-occur with a high frequency in texts, and these groups of co-occurring features can be interpreted as textual dimensions. The paper describes in detail the use and interpretation of factor analysis in macroscopic text analyses and illustrates this technique through previous research on the linguistic relations among spoken and written text types.


A comparative study of dietary intake of a representative sample of 651 rural school children from Chile's Metropolitan Region was carried out between two periods: 1986-1987 and 1989. Standard procedures for 24 hr dietary recall individual interviews were used to collect data. The percentage of adequacy of energy and protein intake was calculated based on FAO/OMS/UNU (1985), and vitamins and minerals according to National Research Council Recommended Dietary Allowances. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured through Graffar's Modified Method. Statistical procedures included chi-square test, analysis of variance and Student "t" test. Between 1986-1987 and 1989 not significant difference was found for dietary intake, despite the socioeconomic conditions had improved. Most part of the sample satisfied energy and protein requirements, but approximately 1/3 of the sample presented a low energy intake; the same was observed for protein intake. Protein contributed 12.0% of the dietary energy, fat 23.0% and carbohydrates 65.0%. Animal and vegetable protein intake was found in the proportion 4:6. Dietary intake significantly differed according to age and SES, and deficiencies in calcium, vitamin A, riboflavin and niacin intake were detected in both sexes. These results could be useful for food and nutrition planning related to school feeding programs and nutrition education.


Opioids are mu receptor agonists and have been an important part of pain treatment for thousands of years. In order to use these drugs appropriately and successfully in patients, whether to control pain, to treat opiate-induced side effects, or opiate withdrawal syndromes, a solid understanding of the pharmacology of such drugs is crucial. The most recognized full agonist opioids are heroin, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, meperidine, and fentanyl. Phenanthrenes refer to a naturally occurring plant-based compound that includes three or more fused rings. The opioids derived from the opium plant are phenanthrene derivatives, whereas most synthetic opioids are simpler molecules that do not have multiple rings. Methadone acts as a synthetic opioid analgesic similar to morphine in both quality and quantity; however, methadone lasts longer and in oral form, has higher efficacy, and is considered a diphenylheptane. Fentanyl is a strong synthetic phenylpiperdine derivative that exhibits activity as a mu-selective opioid agonist approximately 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Meperidine is another medication which is a phenylpiperdine. Tramadol is considered a mixed-mechanism opioid drug, as it is a centrally acting analgesic that exerts its effects via binding mu receptors and blocking the reuptake of monoamines. Some of the most common adverse effects shared among all opioids are nausea, vomiting, pruritus, addiction, respiratory depression, constipation, sphincter of Oddi spasm, and miosis (except in the case of meperidine). Chronic opioid usage has also established a relationship to opioid-induced hypogonadism and adrenal suppression. Physicians must be stewards of opioid use and use opioids only when necessary.


The article substantiates various theoretical and applied principles of developing high-tech pharmaceutical industries (HTPI). It is established that the key problem of developing countries in this area is the dependence on resources and markets of developed countries, while the involvement of advanced foreign technologies can be a catalyst for increasing the technological potential of host countries (subject to the availability of proper knowledge and human capital, changes in the institutional environment, and improved the framework conditions for innovation). In the context of the development of HTPI, the author shows the importance of the network nature of the acquisition by pharmaceutical companies of sustainable competitive advantages based on resources that are difficult to simulate or replace. It is substantiated that networks built with local research institutions, higher education institutions, and research units of other companies, give pharmaceutical manufacturers the opportunity to access complementary assets and become their specific resource, which provides unique competitive advantages. The author reveals various methodological and statistical features of the categorization of industries by the level of technology in the conditions of globalization. It is substantiated that the current low value of the ratio of research and development (R&D) to value-added generated by pharmaceuticals of individual countries is not a sign of the industry's low technological level, as the current revenues are the result of long-term R&D and harmonization procedures for launching new drugs with lags of 10-15 years. A new tool for the study of international trade in high-tech pharmaceuticals is proposed, whose peculiar feature consists in the categorization of nomenclature items by end use; the List of high-tech medical and pharmaceutical intermediate goods is formulated (in accordance with SITC Rev.4 and UKT FEA); the following indicators are proposed: the coefficient of import dependence of pharmaceutical production, the coefficient of "purified" exports of pharmaceutical products and the coefficient of imports coverage with HTPI output, and the formulas for their calculation are provided. The author's approach is the first to create the opportunity to assess the scale of costs and the dependence of the pharmaceutical industry on imported components that embody advanced technologies and are the industrial supplies for HTPI. It was found that in Ukraine the share of foreign intermediate high-tech goods in the consumption of the industry reaches 82.2%; the industry, working on imported substances, produces mainly products for the domestic market, without earning foreign currency, even to cover the cost of purchasing the necessary ingredients; manufacturers do not rely on synthesized chemical products of domestic production, primarily due to the fact that the products of the chemical industry for the needs of pharmaceuticals in Ukraine are virtually non-existent; and the increase in output depends on foreign technologies and intermediate goods. It is substantiated that Ukraine's pharmaceutical industry is critically dependent on imported supplies to ensure the smooth operation of enterprises and the healthcare industry. Key endogenous barriers that hinder the development of HTPI have been identified, including problems in the training of specialists and a lack of scientists whose competencies would contribute to solving the problems of endogenous development of the industry; lack of state aid to business entities for research, and technological and innovative activities; lack of own funds to increase expenditures on R&D and implementation of large-scale investment and innovation projects; and lack of cheap loans, due to which Ukrainian pharmaceutical manufacturers find themselves in unequal conditions compared to foreign competitors. Conceptual bases of HTPI development in Ukraine are proposed; justified the expediency of legal changes, definition of strategic priorities and introduction of measures of development of HTPI in Ukraine based on the comprehensive approach, which will cover creation and development of pharmaceutical ingredients for medicines (chemical and biotechnological goods), medical products, fillers, packing materials, machinery and equipment for pharmaceuticals to help reduce the dependence on foreign technologies, and to increase the level of production localization, employment and revenues to the budgets of all levels.


In the paper, an actively controlled reactive power influence to the thermal behavior of multi-MW wind power converter with Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) is investigated. The allowable range of internal reactive power circulation is firstly mapped depending on the DC-link voltage as well as the induction generator and power device capacity. Then the effects of reactive power circulation towards current characteristic and thermal distribution of the two-level back-to-back power converter is analyzed and compared. Finally the thermal-oriented reactive power is introduced to the system in the conditions of constant wind speed and during wind gust. It is concluded that the thermal performance will be improved by injecting proper reactive power circulation in the wind turbine system and thereby be able to reduce the thermal cycling and enhance the reliability.


Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic syndrome associated with immune defects. The extent of immune dysregulation in DS is substantial, spanning the innate and adaptive systems and including anomalies in: T and B cells, monocytes, neutrophil chemotaxis, circulating cytokines, and suboptimal antibody responses which all contribute to an increased risk of infections, poorer clinical outcomes and chronic inflammation in this vulnerable cohort. Other aspects of innate immunity may also be abnormal and contribute to the increased morbidity and warrant further interrogation such as: gamma delta T cell function, the inflammasome, Toll-like receptors and their pathways. Pharmacotherapies such as pavilizumab, pneumococcal and influenza immunizations, as well as potential immunoprophylactic agents such as pidotimod, azithromycin and Broncho-Vaxom may help alleviate the infectious consequences. Children with DS need to be managed with a heightened sense of awareness and urgency in the setting of sepsis and signs of chronic inflammation need regular screening and appropriate follow up.


Steganography is still in its infancy as in comparison to cryptography in terms of research and development. The word steganography comes from the Greek roots Steganos Graphos, that literary means 'covered writing'. While cryptography aims to obstruct information access to unintended third party, the aim of steganography is to deny the very existence of it. Users of steganography do not advertise the existence of information in fact, denies its existence in the first place. Cryptography can be used prior to using steganography for an added layer of data security. The general model for steganography consists of three main components, that is the embedded data (the message one wishes to secretly send), the CoverObject (the media being used to hide the data) and the StegoObject (the product of using coverobject to hide the embedded data). Simmons (1984) introduces the Prisoners' Problem as a classic scenario for covert communication. The problem describes a scenario where two prisoners named Alice and Bob that are put in two different cells and needed to communicate an escape plan with each other. All communications need to go through the warden, Willy and as long as Willy does not suspect anything, the communication can be put through. Many steganographic techniques mainly focus on the information payload and undetectability of the system. In this research, we approach the steganographic problem of a passive warden and also with great considerations the threats of an active attack by an active warden in which the robustness of the stegoobject is concerned. We see this third criteria as equally important as the first and second because an active attack does not require the attacker to know whether an object is a stegoobject or not. An active attack simply change or modify a particular object's characteristic in its path with conditions that the object is still viewable and acceptable for general view. Applying the cover generation technique, the proposed steganographic technique can evade detection, able to carry useful amount of information and also at the same time survives an active attack that can jeopardise the information it carries.


Famous for its blind cavefish and Darwin's finches, Latin America is home to some of the richest biodiversity hotspots of our planet. The Latin American fauna and flora inspired and captivated naturalists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including such notable pioneers such as Fritz Müller, Florentino Ameghino, and Léon Croizat who made a significant contribution to the study of embryology and evolutionary thinking. But, what are the historical and present contributions of the Latin American scientific community to Evo-Devo? Here, we provide the first comprehensive overview of the Evo-Devo laboratories based in Latin America and describe current lines of research based on endemic species, focusing on body plans and patterning, systematics, physiology, computational modeling approaches, ecology, and domestication. Literature searches reveal that Evo-Devo in Latin America is still in its early days; while showing encouraging indicators of productivity, it has not stabilized yet, because it relies on few and sparsely distributed laboratories. Coping with the rapid changes in national scientific policies and contributing to solve social and health issues specific to each region are among the main challenges faced by Latin American researchers. The 2015 inaugural meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology played a pivotal role in bringing together Latin American researchers eager to initiate and consolidate regional and worldwide collaborative networks. Such networks will undoubtedly advance research on the extremely high genetic and phenotypic biodiversity of Latin America, bound to be an almost infinite source of amazement and fascinating findings for the Evo-Devo community.


Background
The mental health of children and young people (CYP) is a major UK public health concern. Recent policy reviews have identified that service provision for CYP with mental health needs is not as effective, responsive, accessible or child-centred as it could be. Following on from a previous National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) study into self-care support for CYP with long-term physical health needs, this study explored self-care support's potential in CYP's mental health.

Objectives
To identify and evaluate the types of mental health self-care support used by, and available to, CYP and their parents, and to establish how such support interfaces with statutory and non-statutory service provision.

Design
Two inter-related systematic literature reviews (an effectiveness review with meta-analysis and a perceptions review), together with a service mapping exercise and case study.

Setting
Global (systematic reviews); England and Wales (mapping exercise and case study).

Participants (case study)
Fifty-two individuals (17 CYP, 16 family members and 19 staff) were interviewed across six sites.

Main outcome measures (meta-analysis)
A measure of CYP's mental health symptomatology.

Data sources (literature reviews)
MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, All Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Reviews, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC).

Review methods
Titles and abstracts of papers were screened for relevance then grouped into studies. Two independent reviewers extracted data from studies meeting the inclusion criteria. A descriptive analysis and meta-analysis were conducted for the effectiveness review; descriptive analyses were conducted for the perceptions review. These analyses were integrated to elicit a mixed-methods review.

Results
Sixty-five of 71 included studies were meta-analysable. These 65 studies elicited 71 comparisons which, when meta-analysed, suggested that self-care support interventions were effective at 6-month [standardised mean difference (SMD) = −0.20; 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.28 to −0.11] and 12-month (SMD = −0.12; 95% CI −0.17 to −0.06) follow-ups. However, judged against Cochrane criteria, the studies were mostly low quality. Key elements of self-care support identified in the perceptions review were the acquisition of knowledge and skills, peer support and the relationship with the self-care support agent; CYP also had different perceptions from adults about what is important in self-care support. The mapping exercise identified 27 providers of 33 self-care support services. According to the case study data, effective self-care support services are predicated on flexibility; straightforward access; non-judgemental, welcoming organisations and staff; the provision of time and attention; opportunities to learn and practise skills relevant to self-care; and systems of peer support.

Conclusions
Mental health self-care support interventions for CYP are modestly effective in the short to medium term. Self-care support can be conceptualised as a process which has overlap with 'recovery'. CYP and their families want choice and flexibility in the provision of such interventions and a continued relationship with services after the nominal therapy period. Those delivering self-care support need to have specific child-centred attributes.

Future work
Future work should focus on under-represented conditions (e.g. psychosis, eating disorders, self-harm); the role of technology, leadership and readiness in self-care support; satisfaction in self-care support; the conceptualisation of self-care support in CYP's mental health; and efficacy and cost-effectiveness.


Thin film solar technologies can potentially provide energy at a very low device cost, because of lower material consumption. However, given their thin absorbing layer there is a need for absorption boosting measures, such as light trapping or management techniques. This problem is particularly important for organic solar cells, since the active layer thickness is often limited by the exciton diffusion length. Here, we examine a recent promising light trapping scheme, which consists of incorporating small metallic nanoparticles into the organic active layer. It turns out that the localized plasmon resonance of the particles can significantly enhance the optical fields and absorption. We examine the potential of this technique in a thin solar cell with P3HT:PCBM as the active material, by performing rigorous numerical simulations. Ultimately, we find that a layer of only 33 nm thick with silver particles of 24 nm diameter, can provide the same solar absorption efficiency as a layer of 61 nm thickness without particles. Such enhancements may pave the way towards cheaper energy harvesting devices.


Do Think Tanks Matter? evaluates the influence and relevance of public policy institutes in today's political arena. Many journalists and scholars believe the explosion of think tanks in the latter part of the twentieth century indicates their growing importance in the policy-making process. This perception has been reinforced by directors of think tanks, who often credit their institutes with influencing major policy debates and government legislation. Yet the basic question of how and in what way they influence public policy has, Donald Abelson contends, frequently been ignored. Abelson studies the experiences of think tanks in the United States, where they have become an integral feature of the political landscape, and in Canada, where their numbers have grown considerably in recent years but where, compared to their U.S. counterparts, they enjoy less prominence in policy-making. By focusing on the policy cycle, issue articulation (that is, getting issues on the political agenda) and policy formation and implementation (actually affecting the outcome of policies already on the political agenda), he argues that think tanks have sometimes played an important role in shaping the political dialogue and the policy preferences and choices of decision-makers, but often in different ways and at different stages of the policy cycle.


This study draws on diverse research results from investigating the relationship between experiences with nonhuman animal abuse and empathy. We examined whether 108 men with a history of animal abuse showed differences between cognitive (perspective-taking) and affective (emotional) empathy. The effects related to three levels (never, once, multiple times) of witnessing the killing of animals and witnessing the torture of animals. Individuals who witnessed abuse were higher in cognitive empathy than affective empathy. This supports previous findings for a "dissociation hypothesis," which suggests exposure to animal abuse may mediate between emotional and cognitive empathy. Therefore, it may be beneficial for an individual to have the ability to detach cognitive from emotional empathy—particularly those in careers related to animal welfare and veterinary care. An absence of emotional empathy may also lead to a callous or dismissive attitude to people in need. We sought an appropriate balance of the two.


Interest in atmospheric hydrogen (H 2) has been growing in recent years with the prospect of H 2 being a potential alternative to fossil fuels as an energy carrier. This has intensified research for a quantitative understanding of the atmospheric hydrogen cycle and its total budget, including the expansion of the global atmospheric measurement network. However, inconsistencies in published observational data constitute a major limitation in exploring such data sets. The discrepancies can be mainly attributed to difficulties in the calibration of the measurements. In this study various factors that may interfere with accurate quantification of atmospheric H2 were investigated including drifts of standard gases in high pressure cylinders. As an experimental basis a procedure to generate precise mixtures of H 2 within the atmospheric concentration range was established. Application of this method has enabled a thorough linearity characterization of the commonly used GC-HgO reduction detector. We discovered that the detector response was sensitive to the composition of the matrix gas. Addressing these systematic errors, a new calibration scale has been generated defined by thirteen standards with dry air mole fractions ranging from 139–1226 nmol mol −1. This new scale has been accepted as the official World Meteorological Organisation's (WMO) Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) H 2 mole fraction scale.


Beijing and Tokyo are currently involved in a zero-sum battle for soft power. Both governments are actively trying to shape how third party actors understand contested matters in their bilateral relationship. The dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands is the most obvious flashpoint in this ongoing struggle for hearts and minds. A soft power battle might seem like an innocent endeavour, but by entrenching enmity and legitimizing armed conflict, it might actually translate into one where hard power takes centre stage. Indeed, that the dissemination and entrenchment of affective identity narrative make violence seem normal, natural, realistic or perhaps even inevitable is the greatest danger associated with the ongoing Sino-Japanese dispute. However, if both parties were to agree to let the International Court of Justice settle their discord, the islands dispute could provide them with a chance to boost their respective soft power and lay the groundwork for a more peaceful order in East Asia. The article thus argues that the Sino-Japanese soft power battle contains both well-known pitfalls and a less well-known promise.


This research background overshadow by more echoed Indonesia visit year cymbal phenomenon with the title Visit Indonesian Year 2008. its execution newly take place precisely on last 1 January, which opened by Minister Culture and Tourism ( Menbudpar) Jero Wacik. Jero Wacik tell VIY 2008 aim to to increase prosperity of society development of tourism sector by inviting all society component participate visit year success of wisata Indonesia 2008. Elementary framework of national tourism promotion becoming agreement with activity of promotion entangling all governmental stakeholder, private sector and society. Governmental program in order to success of VIY 2008 for example is forming Kelompok Sadar Wisata (Pokdarwis) which represent tip of lance in taking care of, preserve, selling, and drawing up tourism potency in local area. With existence of Pokdarwis expected will be able to make most citizen become conciousness and understand tourism potency will had by them. From various potency of tour in Tulungagung, On duty Tourism of Tulungagung in order to success of Visit Indonesia 2008, performing program Kelompok Sadar Wisata (Pokdarwis) sub-province of Tulungagung. Program with aim to for the socialization of area of wisata to society about area of tour, to be society about understanding, conciousness and tau that area which they lived to have potency of wisata competent and good to be promoted by area exit till all tourist know, that the area make proper to be considered to become area area of wisata charming
This research use descriptive research type qualitative with technique determination of its informan use sampling purposive, where five one who become the source of research informan. Technique data collecting use interview, documentation and observation. Technique analyse data use taxonomy analysis with election of domain beforehand and technique authenticity of data use source trianggulasi.
Result of this research indicate that execution of activity of this Pokdarwis represent canal of policy of center, become in activity of this Pokdarwis On duty Tourism and Culture of Sub-Province of Tulungagung do not research into beforehand, because researching into have been done at central government. Method used to reach the target of activity with communications management that is applying of Management function start from facet Planning, Organizing, Actuating, Controlling at communications component which consist of Source, Message, Media, Receiver, Effect. Evaluate in activity of Pokdarwis Disparbud is being in a meeting evaluation which studying about performance all committee member during activity. Matter taken as performance yardstick at activity of the evaluation is how far all member do its duty. Performance all member can be told goodness if they earn to do its duty is matching with the one which expected.
To the the result, this research can be recommended to researcher hereinafter specially research of ang relate to communications management


This paper reports on the findings of an empirical study that examined aspects of the consultant client relationship (CCR) that affect the adoption of a consultant's recommendations in the context of a small or medium enterprise (SME). In addition, this study found that a SNlE client's judgement of the success of a consultancy project was based on three key factors the financial change in the business, the gaining of new knowledge on operating an SME learnt through the consultancy and any new perspective on the business gained as a result of the consultancy. These findings are drawn from three contrasting case studies each developed from interviews of client/owners in a government-sponsored program to assist SMEs through consultant development of business plans. The3e case studies explored the CCR from the client's perspective presenting an alternative perspective to the CCR from that contained in much of the consulting literature.


Background : Students feedback is an indicator of the success of any teaching methodology followed in a department. Aim : To identify strengths and weaknesses in the current teaching-learning and evaluation methodology in pharmacology using feedback from second MBBS students in Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute. Materials and Methods: Questionnaire was designed and finalised after a departmental discussion in concurrence with the Medical Education Unit. The study subjects were 115 (2011batch) second-year medical students. They were requested to fill the questionnaire. A 10- item multiple choice questionnaires were used to explore the student's opinion on teaching. The questionnaires were analyzed. Results : 115 II M.B.B.S students participated and descriptive statistics was used for analysis of data . The analysis revealed 82.82%, 72.17% and 93.64% student's interest towards writing classification of drugs, weekly test and viva-voice respectively. Conclusion : The present study has helped us to elicit the student preference regarding pharmacology teaching and its outcome would be helpful in modifying undergraduate pharmacology teaching patterns.


Recently, we designed artificial zinc-finger proteins (AZPs) that prevent a viral replication protein, E2, of human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV-18) from binding to its replication origin and demonstrated that the gene-delivered AZPs inhibited HPV-18 DNA replication in mammalian cells. In the present study, we examined another approach to delivery of AZPs. We constructed cell-permeable AZPs by fusing an AZP previously generated for inhibition of HPV-18 DNA replication with a cell-penetrating peptide (CPP), and confirmed that these CPP-AZP fusions reduced the replication rate in transient replication assays when added to the culture medium. In particular, 250 nM CPP-AZP reduced HPV-18 DNA replication to 3% of that of a control experiment. Western blot analysis detected 7% of the CPP-AZP added to the culture medium in the cell lysates, and demonstrated that greater internalization of CPP-AZP into mammalian cells causes greater inhibition of viral DNA replication. Furthermore, CPP-AZP did not show any significant cytotoxixity in MTT assays. Thus, our results demonstrate that cell-permeable AZPs could serve as potent protein-based antiviral drugs.


The simulation of existing and newly developed RSFQ components is discussed, and the results interpreted. These components represent data with picosecond voltage pulses. Amongst superconducting logic families, RSFQ promises to be the fastest. Theoretical operational limits are predicted as 300 GHz, 100 times faster than conventional semiconducting logic.


This study simulates random movement and aggregation of particles in two-dimensional space based upon both quantum and classical mechanics. Using an original computer program to perfoon the calculations, the objecti ve is to compare how quantum effects influence the random movement of a particle in comparison to the classical random movement. These effects are further studied by analyzing how the amassing of particles around a "seed" is affected by the differences in the random movement. Using the classical models that were generated as the basis of comparison, the initial results show that the quantum model aggregate grows at a slower ratc than the classical case. Also, the quantum model grows in a more amorphous manner than the clear branching of the classical example, In an effort to more accurately simulate the behavior of the probability function as it encounters other particles, both the quantum and classical models were adjusted, This yielded a quantum aggregation that developed more similarly than the classical modeL The primary difference in the quantum model was a noticeable lack of symmetry as the particles amassed around the seeded particles. It is possible that this iteration of the quantum model develops more rapidly then the classical model, though more simulations are needed to further test this. The effect other particles have on the development of the probability function also needs to be further ex.amined lo ensure that it is being modeled as accurately as possible.


Many key predistribution techniques have been developed recently to establish pairwise keys between sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks. To further improve these schemes, researchers have also proposed to take advantage of the sensors' expected locations and discovered locations to help the predistribution of the keying materials. However, in many cases, it is very difficult to deploy sensor nodes at their expected locations or guarantee the correct location discovery at sensor nodes in hostile environments. In this article, a group-based deployment model is developed to improve key predistribution. In this model, sensor nodes are only required to be deployed in groups. The critical observation in the article is that the sensor nodes in the same group are usually close to each other after deployment. This deployment model is practical; it greatly simplifies the deployment of sensor nodes, while still providing an opportunity to improve key predistribution. Specifically, the article presents a novel framework for improving key predistribution using the group-based deployment knowledge. This framework does not require the knowledge of the sensors' expected or discovered locations and is thus suitable for applications where it is difficult to deploy the sensor nodes at their expected locations or correctly estimate the sensors' locations after deployment. To seek practical key predistribution schemes, the article presents two efficient instantiations of this framework, a hash key-based scheme and a polynomial-based scheme. The evaluation shows that these two schemes are efficient and effective for pairwise key establishment in sensor networks; they can achieve much better performance than the previous key predistribution schemes when the sensor nodes are deployed in groups.


The SEACAP 17 Project aimed to identify cost-effective community orientated approaches for improving all year access to remote rural areas through a low-cost and local resource based improvement of roads in Lao PDR. The trials were undertaken as part of the Asian Development Bank funded Northern Economic Corridor (NEC) Project, comprising the rehabilitation of Route 3 and a number of access roads. Alternative pavements and surfacing to the standard laterite pavement were tested by way of trials on short problematic sections of selected access roads linking Route 3 with the outlying villages. Several of these pavements were previously trialled in Vietnam and Cambodia through DfID research. The trials were carried out under a normal contract environment with local supervision. The research is divided into two phases, construction and monitoring. This paper presents the results of the construction phase.


In the municipality area of Bucharest, the capital of a former socialist state, shows profound changes in landscape structure as a result of economic transition towards market economy and the consequent conversion of certain spaces to different uses (more commerce, less industry for example). The approaches regarding the dynamics of the industrial landscape and how conversion process is taking place is however limited. The purpose of the present paper is to define the industrial landscape, current trends and evolution of this landscape type within the urban tissue. Also, models of conversion in the post-industrial landscape are pointed out in this article. The methodology used is based on evaluation sheets that have been applied in several industrial areas in Bucharest. The results obtained from the survey showed that the industrial landscape is experiencing a quick transition, many industrial units are transformed into supermarkets, malls or business buildings, and often the investors choose to demolish the industrial artifacts instead of preserve and use them. These changes are affecting the urban tissue and the communities, not always being good examples.


This doctoral thesis investigates the application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for detection of labeled biomolecules on nitrocellulose paper. Nitrocellulose paper is a material often used for assays involving the concentration and labeling of a target analyte, followed by label detection. Among paper-based diagnostics are lateral-flow immuno-assays (LFIAs). Research efforts have made LFIAs into accessible, portable,and low-cost tools for detecting targets such as allergens, toxins,and microbes in food and water.Gold (Au) nanoparticles are standard biomolecular labels among LFIAs, typically detected via colorimetric means.Other labels, such as quantum dots, are also often metallic, and research is ongoing to expand the number of portable instrumentations applied to their detection. A wide diversity of lanthanide-complexed polymers (LCPs) are used as immunoassay labels but have been inapt for portable paper-based assays owing to lab-bound detection instrumentation, until now. LIBS is a multi-element characterization technique which has recently developed from a bench-top to a portable/hand-held analytical tool. This is among the first studies to show that LCPs can be considered as options for biomolecule labels in paper-based assays using bench-based and hand-held LIBS as label detection modalities.Chapter one reviews the importance of rapid, multiplexed detection of chemical and biological contaminants, the application of current biosensors, and the role of LIBS as an emerging biosensor. Paper-based bioassays were identified as a promising approach for contaminant detection whose capabilities could be enhanced by LIBS. The next chapter dives into LIBS system designs to address which LIBS parameters were appropriate for label detection on paper assay material. A balance of LIBS parameters was found to be important for successful analyte detection. Chaptert hree optimizes a LIBS design for sensitive detection of 17 metals and establishes limit of detection values for 7 metals. Optimal detection parameters depended on the metal being detected and were applied to the objective of the final chapter: LIBS detection of labeled antigen immobilized on a paper-based assay. Both antibody and bacteria detection assays were successfully performed and analyzed using bench top and portable LIBS,suggesting an exciting future for the use of LIBS as a biosensor.The prospect of using LIBS for multiplexed, rapid and sensitive detection of biomolecules in assays is explored, laying grounds for future work in the ever-relevant field of biological and chemical hazard detection.