The regional distribution, relative frequency, and appearance of glucagon (A-cell)-, insulin (B-cell)-, somatostatin (D-cell)-, gastrin (G-cell)-, and serotonin (EC-cell)-secreting cells in the endocrine and exocrine pancreas of Van cats were examined using the immunohistochemistry method. Glucagon immunopositive A-cells were principally found in the central region of the islets of Langerhans, while insulin immunopositive B-cells were located in the periphery of the pancreatic islets. Moreover, several A- and B-cells were observed as only single cells or clusters of 2 to 3 immunopositive cells in the exocrine parenchyma and the pancreatic duct epithelium. Somatostatin and gastrin immunopositive reactivities were negligible in the peripheral regions of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans and in the exocrine parenchyma. However, serotonin-immunopositive EC-cells were observed in neither the endocrine islets nor any other sites of the tissue. The existence, regional distribution, and relative frequency of A-, B-, D-, G- and EC-cells in the pancreas of Van cats have been analyzed in this study for the first time. The immunopositivity and distribution of endocrine cells in the Van cat pancreas were determined to be partially different from those of other carnivorous species such as dogs and other cats.


Background The prevalence of obesity, an important cardiometabolic risk factor, is rising in women. Lifestyle improvements are the first step in treatment of obesity, but the success depends on factors like timing and motivation. Women are especially receptive to advice about lifestyle before and during pregnancy. Therefore, we hypothesize that the pre-pregnancy period provides the perfect window of opportunity to improve cardiometabolic health and quality of life of obese infertile women, by means of a lifestyle intervention. Methods and findings Between 2009–2012, 577 infertile women between 18 and 39 years of age, with a Body Mass Index of ≥ 29 kg/m2, were randomized to a six month lifestyle intervention preceding infertility treatment, or to direct infertility treatment. The goal of the intervention was 5–10% weight loss or a BMI < 29 kg/m2. Cardiometabolic outcomes included weight, waist- and hip circumference, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose and insulin, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP, lipids and metabolic syndrome. All outcomes were measured by research nurses at randomization, 3 and 6 months. Self-reported quality of life was also measured at 12 months. Three participants withdrew their informed consent, and 63 participants discontinued the intervention program. Intention to treat analysis was conducted. Mixed effects regression models analyses were performed. Results are displayed as estimated mean differences between intervention and control group. Weight (-3.1 kg 95% CI: -4.0 to -2.2 kg; P < .001), waist circumference (-2.4 cm 95% CI: -3.6 to -1.1 cm; P < .001), hip circumference (-3.0 95% CI: -4.2 to -1.9 cm; P < .001), BMI (-1.2 kg/m2 95% CI: -1.5 to -0.8 kg/m2; P < .001), systolic blood pressure (-2.8 mmHg 95% CI: -5.0 to -0.7 mmHg; P = .01) and HOMA-IR (-0.5 95% CI: -0.8 to -0.1; P = .01) were lower in the intervention group compared to controls. Hs-CRP and lipids did not differ between groups. The odds ratio for metabolic syndrome in the intervention group was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.33 to 0.85; P < .01) compared to controls. Physical QoL scores were higher in the lifestyle intervention group (2.2 95% CI: 0.9 to 3.5; P = .001) while mental QoL scores did not differ. Conclusions In obese infertile women, a lifestyle intervention prior to infertility treatment improves cardiometabolic health and self-reported physical quality of life (LIFEstyle study: Netherlands Trial Register: NTR1530).


Using a randomized experiment in Ecuador, this study provides evidence on whether cash, vouchers, and food transfers targeted to women and intended to reduce poverty and food insecurity also affected intimate partner violence. Results indicate that transfers reduce controlling behaviors and physical and/or sexual violence by 6 to 7 percentage points. Impacts do not vary by transfer modality, which provides evidence that transfers not only have the potential to decrease violence in the short-term, but also that cash is just as effective as in-kind transfers.


Objective: To evaluate the utility of the holmium laser for partial nephrectomy in a porcine model. Methods: Transperitoneal lower pole laparoscopic partial nephrectomy was performed in 5 farm pigs. All animals underwent a left-sided laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and were kept alive for 2 weeks (survival group). Subsequently, a right laparoscopic partial nephrectomy was performed (acute group), and the animals were sacrificed. A 1000-μm (n=6) or 550-μm (n=4) end-fire holmium laser fiber set at 0.2 joules and 60 pulses per second was used to transect the lower pole of the kidney 1 cm below the level of the hilum. The cut parenchymal surface was then sealed with fibrin glue in the survival animals. The operated on kidneys were inspected grossly and evaluated microscopically. Results: Laser transection was successfully completed in all cases, and hemostasis proved adequate without any adjunctive measures. No perioperative complications occurred. Estimated blood loss was less than 50 cc for each laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. The acute and survival pigs showed no statistically significant differences in specimen size or weight. Serum creatinine levels were normal in all survival animals. Extravasation was noted on retrograde pyelograms of 2 animals in the survival group. Conclusions: The Holmium:YAG laser provides an efficacious modality for transecting the kidney in a porcine model. Clinical trials are necessary to determine its role in laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in humans.


Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a rare, segmental premature aging syndrome of accelerated atherosclerosis and early death from myocardial infarction or stroke. This study sought to establish comprehensive characterization of the fatal vasculopathy in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome and its relevance to normal aging. We performed cardiovascular assessments at a single clinical site on the largest prospectively studied cohort to date. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity was dramatically elevated (mean: 13.00±3.83 m/s). Carotid duplex ultrasound echobrightness, assessed in predefined tissue sites as a measure of arterial wall density, was significantly greater than age- and sex-matched controls in the intima-media (P<0.02), near adventitia (P<0.003), and deep adventitia (P<0.01), as was internal carotid artery mean flow velocity (P<0.0001). Ankle-brachial indices were abnormal in 78% of patients. Effective disease treatments may be heralded by normalizing trends of these noninvasive cardiovascular measures. The data demonstrate that, along with peripheral vascular occlusive disease, accelerated vascular stiffening is an early and pervasive mechanism of vascular disease in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. There is considerable overlap with cardiovascular changes of normal aging, which reinforces the view that defining mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome provides a unique opportunity to isolate a subset of factors influencing cardiovascular disease in the general aging population.


The goal of this paper outlines a business framework for the development of a digitization consulting firm focused on the manufacturing sector. The firm's goal is to help organizations in Michigan leverage technology to keep their business vibrant and workers skilled. The primary services for the firm will be related to the implementation of products and services within Industry 4.0, the cyber-physical smart factory industrial revolution. The beginning of the paper explains the ecosystem surrounding digitalization as well as the nine technologies (ex: big data, simulation, additive manufacturing) driving the innovation. The framework for this business plan uses the business model canvas to explain the key relationships and structures of the firm. An analysis of the plan uses SWOT to judge the proposed firm against its competitors as well as assess potential risks.


The ossification of the pterygospinous ligament form the bridge known as pterygospinous bony bridge and it may create a pterygospinous foramen. Close location of this ossified pterygospinous ligament to the foramina ovale, can entrap the mandibular nerve and its branches which emerges through the foramen ovale and may produce the clinical condition known as mandibular neuralgia. Presence of such ossified pterygospinous ligament may also interfere with the mandibular nerve block. Here, we report a rare case of ossified pterygospinous ligament bilaterally in a dried adult skull. The measurements of variant pterygospinous foramen were recorded as 4.25 mm horizontally and 4.55 mm vertically, on the right side and 4mm, 4.10 mm on the left side. This variation is clinically important for Surgeons, Neurologists and Anesthetists.


In this final briefing, we highlight key findings and recommendations from Phase III of the Researching Women's Collective Action (WCA) project, and share information on stakeholder events in the three focus countries. Quantitative and qualitative analysis was undertaken in one sub-sector per country: honey in Ethiopia, vegetables in Tanzania and shea butter in Mali. The findings provide answers to some important questions: How do women smallholders benefit from collective action? How do groups help women overcome market barriers? Which women participate in collective action and who is excluded? Which strategies are most helpful to ensure benefits to women farmers? The findings will help development practitioners to improve strategies of support to smallholder farmers and to influence others. The WCA project was launched in December 2009 by Oxfam, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The research was conducted in three phases, and gathered much needed evidence on how collective action can improve women smallholders' incomes, strengthen their assets and increase their empowerment. The project also convened key stakeholders in dialogues to improve strategies and policies to support effective WCA in agricultural markets.


FFA is grounded in tradition; wearing our blue and gold jacket, reciting of the FFA Creed and closing all meetings with the phrase "let us be diligent in labor, just in our dealings, courteous to everyone and, above all, honest and fair in the game of life." In addition to these national traditions, there are many local traditions. As a teacher of agriculture and FFA advisor at Rockcastle County High School for the past eighteen years, I have been able to foster success and utilize tradition in Kentucky's State Small Power Equipment Career Development Event (CDE) by winning the state contest seven out of the last eight years. Through that time I have had to field a variety of questions about the reasons my teams have been so successful. I believe it is a combination of philosophy, instruction, tradition, recruitment, and support.As an undergraduate and graduate student at the University of Kentucky, I was blessed to have had Dr. Charles Byers and Dr. Rodney Tulloch as my primary agriculture education instructors. They helped shape my philosophy for contests and agriculture education as a whole. One of the most important items to consider when deciding to participate in a contest is if the contest fits in the curriculum that I am teaching within the given year. I don't base my curriculum around the contest but rather the contest around my curriculum. The year we failed to win the state contest was because we did not have a course in small engines that year, thus we didn't field a team. It is imperative that the event meets the needs of the instruction and not the other way around. I also inform all the students in my small engines class on day one how the team members will be determined. The selection of the team is based completely on the local contest scores where each student has an equal chance at making the team. The local contest consists of four different parts which occur over the course of the semester. The local contest also serves as the unit exams in the small engine class. When each student realizes he/she has a fair opportunity to make the team, and not that team members are predetermined, the motivation for the entire class increases.The second component to success is instruction. Some people will say you are just teaching FFA, but if you are teaching the content outlined in state and/or national standards, you will be teaching what is needed to be successful in the CDE. We are fortunate that the individuals who designed our FFA CDEs aligned them with the content that should be taught within our agriculture classes. With eighteen weeks of small engines instruction my students have a huge advantage in knowledge and confidence over most students who have received little to no instruction. There is no secret to instruction; it is simply working hard every day to prepare and present a quality lesson. Anyone can present a great lesson occasionally when the principal is scheduled to observe but the truly committed teachers teach every block, every day. If you take of care of instruction on a daily basis then success in CDEs will soon follow.Success and tradition is much like the chicken and the egg argument. With success comes tradition which in turn leads to more success. A tradition is only as meaningful as it is presented to the students. What may be considered a sacred tradition at one school may be laughed at in another school, depending on how it is handled. At Rockcastle County High School, we have several traditions that relate to the small engines team. Articles about the results of our CDEs appear in the local paper and on the school's district website. Announcements are read over the school's intercom and awards are presented at our local FFA banquet. …


The phenomenon of brain drain migration from Greece, also known as Greek neomigration, has acquired an
 astoundingly massive character due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country. Considering that a migrant's identity is defined
 by a physical move from one place to another, this paper aims at exploring the discourse practices of place-making by Greek
 neomigrants, focusing on the role of social media in this endeavour. Drawing on discourse analysis (Myers 2010; Aguirre and Graham Davies 2015), identity
 construction theories (Blommaert 2005; Benwell and
 Stokoe 2006), environmental psychology (Proshansky, Fabian and Kaminoff
 1983) and discourse-centred online ethnography (Androutsopoulos 2008), this
 study presents and discusses empirical data from a Greek neomigrant settled in the UK, who writes about his migration experience
 on his blog as well as on his Twitter and Facebook accounts. The analysis demonstrates that the Greek neomigrant place identity
 construction can be realized through a complex of linguistic and discourse strategies, including comparison and evaluation,
 construction of in-groups and out-groups, language and script alternations, entextualisation of other voices, and visual
 connotations. It is shown that, for migrants, social media constitute significant outlets for place-making, constructing
 place identity and asserting (or eschewing) belonging. In so doing, it also brings to the surface crucial social, cultural and
 psychological aspects of the current Greek neomigration phenomenon and confirms the potential of social media discourses to
 heighten awareness of neomigrants' dis/integrating processes, placing discourse analysis at the service of global mobility
 phenomena.


Dutch glasshouse firms are facing the introduction of a system of tradable CO2 emission quota. Also, the firms will be faced with a cut of CO2 emissions of approximately 5% by the year 2010. This paper employs a nonparametric method for modeling tradable CO2 emissions of Dutch glasshouse firms. The method is capable of generating shifts in CO2 emissions across the sample of firms. Also, changes in volumes of outputs produced and inputs used are computed. Results show that firms using a conventional heating technology will be net purchasers of CO2 emissions, whereas firms using more advanced heating technologies will sell part of their emission quota.


Border gateway protocol (BGP) prefix hijacking is a critical threat to Internet organizations and users. Despite the availability of several defense approaches (ranging from RPKI to popular third-party services), none of them solves the problem adequately in practice. In fact, they suffer from: (i) lack of detection comprehensiveness, allowing sophisticated attackers to evade detection; (ii) limited accuracy, especially in the case of third-party detection; (iii) delayed verification and mitigation of incidents, reaching up to days; and (iv) lack of privacy and of flexibility in post-hijack counteractions, on the side of network operators. In this paper, we propose ARTEMIS, a defense approach (a) based on accurate and fast detection operated by the autonomous system itself, leveraging the pervasiveness of publicly available BGP monitoring services and their recent shift towards real-time streaming and thus (b) enabling flexible and fast mitigation of hijacking events. Compared to the previous work, our approach combines characteristics desirable to network operators, such as comprehensiveness, accuracy, speed, privacy, and flexibility. Finally, we show through real-world experiments that with the ARTEMIS approach, prefix hijacking can be neutralized within a minute.


BACKGROUND
The Subarachnoid Hemorrhage International Trialists (SAHIT) repository is a collection of randomized clinical trials, prospective observational studies, and hospital registries that was used to create a predictive model of unfavorable outcome/mortality following aneurysmal SAH.

OBJECTIVE
To externally validate the SAHIT model using Barrow-Ruptured Aneurysm Trial (BRAT) data, which was not included in the SAHIT repository.

METHODS
This is a post hoc analysis of the prospective, randomized BRAT. Three models were created: (1) Core (age, hypertension, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies grade), (2) neuroimaging (aneurysm size/location, Fisher score), and (3) full model (model 1 and 2 plus treatment type). The performance of the models was evaluated by measures of model discrimination (area under the curve [AUC]) and model calibration (goodness of fit test, calibration in-the-large, calibration slope).

RESULTS
A total of 338 patients (average age 54 years; 67.7% good clinical grade; average aneurysm size 6.7 mm; 84.1% anterior circulation) were included. Due to a large number of crossovers, more aneurysms were clipped than coiled (67.5% vs 32.5%, respectively). A total of 10.1% of the patients died and 29.6% experienced an unfavorable outcome. For unfavorable outcome, the AUCs for the three models were: 0.728, 0.732, and 0.734, respectively. For mortality, the AUCs for the three models were: 0.721, 0.739, and 0.744, respectively. Overall, all models showed good calibration, and the measures of calibration fell within 95% CI of those produced in the SAHIT study.

CONCLUSION
Using the BRAT data, we have externally validated the SAHIT model for predicting unfavorable outcome and mortality after SAH. The model may be used to counsel patients and families on prognosis following aneurysmal SAH.


One of the most crucial stages of a client's estate plan is the will execution ceremony — the point at which the client memorializes his or her desires regarding at-death distribution of property. Unfortunately, attorneys may handle this key event in a casual or sloppy fashion. There are even reports of attorneys mailing or hand-delivering unsigned wills to clients along with will execution instructions. Some attorneys allow law clerks or paralegals to supervise a will execution ceremony. This practice is questionable not only because it raises the likelihood of error, but also because the delegation of responsibility may violate the rules of professional conduct proscribing the aiding of a non-lawyer in the practice of law. An unprofessional or unsupervised ceremony may provide the necessary ammunition for a will contestant successfully to challenge a will.Since the earliest recognition of the power of testation, some type of ceremony has accompanied the exercise of that power. Will ceremonies help demonstrate that the testator was not acting in a casual, haphazard, whimsical, or capricious manner by furnishing proof that the testator deliberated about testamentary desires and had a fixed purpose in mind when making the will. The ceremonies also provide evidence that the will was actually made by the testator, by impressing the act on the minds of witnesses.A proper ceremony, coupled with sensitive and tactful counseling by the attorney during the entire estate planning process, may make it easier for clients to cope with the inevitability of death. Unfortunately, attorneys have been accused of showing "little concern about the therapeutic counseling that goes on in an 'estate planning' client's experience." Thomas Shaffer, The "Estate Planning" Counselor and Values Destroyed by Death, 55 Iowa L. Rev. 376, 376 (1969). You need to remember that many clients make only one will during the client's entire life and that the psychological effects of confronting death are strong. Even if you conduct scores of will ceremonies each year, you must not lose sight of the client's emotions and the psychological benefits that may be obtained through client interviews and will ceremonies.One commentator has somewhat humorously summarized the psychological benefits of the ceremony as follows:When a client comes in to do something about his estate planning problem, he wants a lot of things. He wants solace because he is thinking about the day when he will not be here. He wants approval of what he has done and what he proposes to do. And he wants something else he almost never gets — a ceremony. Now, life offers very few opportunities for high ceremony. Birth is not a very good time. It is too laborious. Marriage is handled in rather a spectacular style. Nobody has been able to do much with divorce on the ceremonial side. For death, there is a ceremony, but it is hard for a decedent to be there to enjoy it. He is the principal.The estate planning process . . . ought to be a high ceremonial occasion because a client should be getting great intangible satisfactions about these significant decisions that he has made that were embodied in the instruments he leaves behind. Estate Planning for Human Beings, 3 U. Miami Inst. on Est. Plan. § 69.1902 (P. Heckerling ed. 1969) (statement of Dean Willard H. Pedrick, panelist).This article suggests a comprehensive step-by-step format for a proper will execution ceremony under Illinois law that can provide economical "will insurance" for every testator.


Gene expression can be highly heterogeneous in isogenic cell populations. An extreme type of heterogeneity is the so-called bistable or bimodal expression, whereby a cell can differentiate into two alternative expression states. Stochastic fluctuations of protein levels, also referred to as noise, provide the necessary source of heterogeneity that must be amplified by specific genetic circuits in order to obtain a bimodal response. A classical model of bimodal differentiation is the activation of genetic competence in Bacillus subtilis. The competence transcription factor ComK activates transcription of its own gene, and an intricate regulatory network controls the switch to competence and ensures its reversibility. However, it is noise in ComK expression that determines which cells activate the ComK autostimulatory loop and become competent for genetic transformation. Despite its important role in bimodal gene expression, noise remains difficult to investigate due to its inherent stochastic nature. We adapted an artificial autostimulatory loop that bypasses all known ComK regulators to screen for possible factors that affect noise. This led to the identification of a novel protein Kre (YkyB) that controls the bimodal regulation of ComK. Interestingly, Kre appears to modulate the induction of ComK by affecting the stability of comK mRNA. The protein influences the expression of many genes, however, Kre is only found in bacteria that contain a ComK homologue and, importantly, kre expression itself is downregulated by ComK. The evolutionary significance of this new feedback loop for the reduction of transcriptional noise in comK expression is discussed. Our findings show the importance of mRNA stability in bimodal regulation, a factor that requires more attention when studying and modelling this non-deterministic developmental mechanism.


This article examines Richard Steele's 'The Spectator' essays and the way in which Steele instructs and positions his female readers in the English public sphere. Steele's encouragement of female agency and expression is fundamentally dependent upon whether readers are in the private or public realm. 'The Spectator' not only promotes women's critical thinking and analysis of literature and the arts, it also advocates for their engagement in debates with men within the private sphere, even triumphing over men in said debates. However, in the masculine public sphere, 'The Spectator' delivers a profoundly different ideology, one in which women are dependent upon the assistance and intervention of men and are afforded significantly less agency and avenue for expression than they are in the home.


Suburbia. Tupperware, television, bungalows and respectable front lawns. Always instantly recognisable though never entirely familiar. The tight semi-detached estates of thirties Britain and the infenced and functional tract housing of middle America. The elegant villas of Victorian London and the clapboard and brick of fifties Sydney. Architecture and landscapes may vary from one suburban scene to another, but the suburb is the embodiment of the same desire; to create for middle class middle cultures, middle spaces in middle America, Britain and Australia. Visions of Suburbia considers this emergent architectural space, this set of values and this way of life. The contributors address suburbia and the suburban from the point of view of its production, its consumption and its representation. Placing suburbia centre stage, each essay examines what it is that makes suburbia so distinctive and what it is that has made suburbia so central to contemporary culture. _


The development of creative industries in Bandung, Indonesia showed a quite satisfactory improvement. This success needs to be completed by performing revitalization and city branding for Bandung. This study aims to examine the factors of competitiveness and productivity in the knitted industry of Binong Jati in the revitalization of creative industries and city branding in Bandung, West Java Province. The research used census method and verification with statistical method of Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The unit of analysis is thirty people of owners or knitted creative business entrepreneurs in Bandung city. The result of this research is that out of twenty-eight factors studied, the dominant factor of industrial competitiveness is drawn to seven factors which are the production equipment used, the owner quick response, the product trend periods, knitting machine used, the processed of raw material, delivery of goods, and workers with accuracy. There are four factors of productivity and one dominant factor is flexibility.


economic efficiency is one of the many essential demands regarding the technical management of windstorms. the main goal of this paper is to analyze a hypothetical scenario in which a forest owner works independently on windstorm restoration, using his own equipment and work power. managing windstorm damage is a difficult and dangerous task, although a potentially lucrative endeavour as our investigation shows. a windstorm represents an opportunity for instant profit for forest owners who are independent of regular forest income. economic damage is greater and longer lasting for owners with large forest properties and for farm households, which depend on regular forest income. We compared two potential scenarios in a wind-damaged area within the 20002010 forestry management period. First, we include a hypothetical scenario in which the windstorm did not occur. an inventory of regular thinning as well as simulation of future events based on past dynamics was done. We also performed a second scenario in which we assumed that private owners carry out windstorm restoration alone, although in reality felling has been carried out with short-wood technology (mechanized cutting). the results section presents the possibilities to attain reasonably high yield by dealing with the consequences of a mi nor windstorm. Kljucne besede: storm damaged forest, windstorm restoration, scenario, production ef fects, gross margin, cost analysis


Voice interfaces are becoming more ubiquitous and are now the primary input method for many devices. We explore in this paper how they can be attacked with hidden voice commands that are unintelligible to human listeners but which are interpreted as commands by devices. We evaluate these attacks under two different threat models. In the black-box model, an attacker uses the speech recognition system as an opaque oracle. We show that the adversary can produce difficult to understand commands that are effective against existing systems in the black-box model. Under the white-box model, the attacker has full knowledge of the internals of the speech recognition system and uses it to create attack commands that we demonstrate through user testing are not under-standable by humans. We then evaluate several defenses, including notifying the user when a voice command is accepted; a verbal challenge-response protocol; and a machine learning approach that can detect our attacks with 99.8% accuracy.


In this paper, we propose a unified framework for rate allocation and admission control for CDMA data networks with a goal of maximizing the service provider's revenue taking into consideration user churn behavior, i.e., users' migration from one provider to another. The power constrained discrete rate allocation (PC-DRA) problem that finds the rates at which the base station must transmit to each user is very difficult because of the nonlinear nature of the objective function, the discrete nature of available rates, and the complex relationship between data rate, the target SINR, and the total power constraint. We prove that the PC-DRA problem is NP-complete for CDMA data networks and then propose three heuristics - a two step selective rate reduction (SRR) scheme, a genetic algorithm (GA), and an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) to solve it. We show that all three heuristics can achieve suboptimal that is very close to the global optimal, while SRR provides solutions of high quality with much less computation time than GA and IGA. At the frame level, the rate allocation maximizes the service provider's revenue by adjusting individual user's data rate on a frame by frame basis. On the other hand, the service provider's revenue varies with the system load, which is decided by admission control at the session level. Thus, the admission control needs to maintain an optimal system load. An efficient resource management framework is provided by the cross level (layer) interaction between the link layer (rate control) and the network layer (admission control) in the sense that 1) they share the same objective of maximizing the service provider's revenue, and 2) the solution to the rate allocation problem provides critical information for the admission control decision. The proposed framework is evaluated by extensive simulation experiments with realistic Web browsing and FTP traffic models. Simulation results confirm that the framework is able to provide class-based differentiated data services that also maximize the service provider's revenue


SUMMARY Humboldt penguins Spheniscus humboldti in captivity and free-living Magellanic penguins S. magellanicus were fitted with loggers to determine beak angles during breathing. The Humboldt penguins were also fitted with masks for determining rates of air flow during breathing. During periods of higher gas exchange requirement, Humboldt penguins opened their beaks during inspiration, where tidal volume was linearly correlated with both change in beak angle and maximum beak angle, closed them slightly during the final stages of inspiration and finally closed them during expiration. Substantial differences were apparent between individuals. Contrary to the condition proposed for most birds, our data suggest that expiration is passive during periods of high respiratory tidal volumes, and that the increased resistance of the respiratory pathway serves to slow air flow so as to maximize gas exchange in the lungs. During foraging, Magellanic penguins at the surface between dives showed similar breathing patterns but maximum beak angles were much higher and breath cycle time shorter, as would be expected for animals attempting to maximize gas exchange. Both maximum beak angle per breath and breath frequency changed systematically over the surface pause; both were initially high, then decreased to a low before rising again to a maximum just before diving. Based on known changes in tidal volume with beak angle derived from Humboldt penguins, a simple model is proposed to examine rates of gas exchange over the surface pause. This indicates that the observed patterns do not maximize the rate of transfer of oxygen over the whole of the surface pause but are rather concerned with an initial rapid accumulation of oxygen in the tissues followed by effective carbon dioxide release.


Cloud computing is a big buzzwords today. Just watch the commercials on TV and I can promise that you will hear the word cloud service at least once. With the growth of cloud technology steadily rising, and everything from cellphones to cars connected to the cloud, how secure is cloud technology? What are the caveats of using cloud technology? And how does it all work? This thesis will discuss cloud security and the underlying technology called Virtualization to better understand the security from a technical point of view. We will show how some vulnerabilities can be utilized to steal personal information, and how an attacker can exploit vulnerabilities to take control of a system.


The speed and stability of anaerobic digestion depends mainly on the particle size of the input material. In this paper, particle sizes of 500μm, 250μm, 100μm and 25μm were investigated to evaluate the effects of particle size on biogas production and identify the most suitable size that would improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion. The study was conducted using anaerobic digestion batch scale tests and gas chromatography to investigate the quality of the gas produced and the optimum particle size to maximise methane production. Prior digestion, the distributions of particle sizes of all samples were determined using single and double pass distribution techniques. 59%, 53%, 33% and 39% of CD, CM, PM and SW were recovered, respectively. In both techniques, the weight of the feed recovered reduced as the sieve became smaller. Decreasing the particle size of the feedstock significantly increased the amount of biogas. At 25μm particle size, 583ml, 569ml, 538ml and 398ml of methane was produced on the 4th day of gas production for CD, PM, CM and SW, respectively. At optimal particle size (25μm) methane was 3 - 30 % higher as compared to that of 100μm, 250μm and 500μm particle size in mesophillic batch digestion tests.


We argue for an alternative paradigm in evaluating machine translation quality that is strongly empirical but more accurately reflects the utility of translations, by returning to a representational foundation based on AI oriented lexical semantics, rather than the superficial flat n-gram and string representations recently dominating the field. Driven by such metrics as BLEU and WER, current SMT frequently produces unusable translations where the semantic event structure is mistranslated: who did what to whom, when, where, why, and how? We argue that it is time for a new generation of more intelligent automatic and semi-automatic metrics, based clearly on getting the structure right at the lexical semantics level. We show empirically that it is possible to use simple PropBank style semantic frame representations to surpass all currently widespread metrics' correlation to human adequacy judgments, including even HTER. We also show that replacing human annotators with automatic semantic role labeling still yields much of the advantage of the approach. We combine the best of both worlds: from an SMT perspective, we provide superior yet low-cost quantitative objective functions for translation quality; and yet from an AI perspective, we regain the representational transparency and clear reflection of semantic utility of structural frame-based knowledge representations.


In a claim for loss of support by the spouse of the deceased breadwinner, the claim will be influenced by the probable remarriage of the surviving spouse. In light of the recent extension of the traditional concept of family and 'husband and wife', the wider term 're-partnering' is suggested, instead of remarriage. If the widow has already entered into a new relationship during the course of the trial, it is taken into account as a proven fact and not as a contingency, according to the theory on compensating advantages. The right to a claim for loss of support is not automatically lost due to the re-partnering. The income and life expectancy of the new partner will be taken into account in calculating the extent of the claim. In three Australian jurisdictions, the Northern Territories, Victoria and Queensland, the legislature has promulgated legislation forbidding the use of remarriage as a contingency deduction in a claim for loss of support, irrespective of whether the re-partnering is a reality or just a probability. In general it can be stated that South African courts tend to over-emphasize the influence of probable re-partnering by a widow. In contrast to this, the manner in which re-partnering as a contingency is handled in Australian case law can be recommended as realistic and appropriate. In the recent decision in De Sales v 1 Ingrilli , the High Court of Australia held that in cases where remarriage has not yet occurred, it should only be taken into consideration as part of the 'standard' adjustment (general contingency adjustment) for uncertain future events, and could no longer be applied as a specific contingency, which tends to be higher than the mentioned general contingency adjustment. The court determined that the general contingency adjustment, which incorporated the remarriage of the widow, should only be five percent.


We study a new type of queries called the k-nearest neighbor temporal aggregate (kNNTA) query. Given a query point and a time interval, it returns the top-k locations that have the smallest weighted sums of (i) the spatial distance to the query point and (ii) a temporal aggregate on a certain attribute over the time interval. For example, find a nearby club that has the largest number of people visiting in the last hour. This type of queries has emerging applications in location-based social networks, location-based mobile advertising and social event recommendation. It is a great challenge to efficiently answer the query due to the highly dynamic nature and the large volume of the data and queries. To address this challenge, we propose an index named TAR-tree, which organizes locations by integrating the spatial and temporal aggregate information. We perform a detailed analysis on the cost of processing kNNTA queries using the TAR-tree. The analysis shows that the TAR-tree results in much fewer node accesses than alternatives. Furthermore, we propose two enhancements for the kNNTA query: (i) an algorithm suggesting the least amount of weights to be adjusted to explore different query results and (ii) a collective processing scheme to share index traversal among a batch of queries. We conduct extensive experiments using real-world data sets. The results validate the accuracy of the cost analysis and show that the TAR-tree outperforms alternatives by up to ten times in node accesses. The results also show that the weight adjustment algorithm and collective processing scheme outperform their baselines by significant margins.


Companies use crowdsourcing to solve specific problems or to search for innovation. By using open innovation platforms, where community members propose ideas, companies can better serve customer needs. So far, it remains unclear which factors influence idea implementation in crowd sourcing context. With the research idea that we present here, we aim to get a better understanding of the success and failure of ideas by examining relationships between characteristics of ideators, characteristics of ideas and the likelihood of implementation. In order to test the methodological approach that we propose in this paper in which we investigate for business relevant innovativeness as well as sentiment based on text analytics, data including unstructured text was mined from Dell IdeaStorm using webcrawling and scraping techniques. Some relevant hypotheses that we define in this paper were confirmed on the Dell IdeaStorm dataset but in order to generalize our findings we want to apply to the Leg o dataset in our current work in progress. Possible implications of our novel research idea can be used to fill theoretical gaps in marketing literature, help companies to better structure their search for innovation and for ideators to better understand factors contributing to successful idea generation.


A wet scrubber is a device used in underground coal mines for the exhaust treatment system of various internal combustion engines (generally diesel) primarily as a spark arrestor with a secondary function to remove pollutants from the exhaust gas. A pool of scrubbing liquid (generally water based) is used in conjunction with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). Scrubbers are widely used in underground applications of diesel engines as their exhaust contains high concentration of harmful diesel particulate matter (DPM) and other pollutant gases. Currently the DPFs have to be replaced frequently because moisture output from the wet scrubber blocks the filter media and causes reduced capacity. This paper presents experimental and theoretical studies on the heat and mass transfer mechanisms of the exhaust flow both under and above the water surface, aiming at finding the cause and effects of the moisture reaching the filters and employing a solution to reduce the humidity and DPM output, and to prolong the change-out period of the DPF. By assuming a steady flow condition, heat transfer from the inlet exhaust gas balances energy required for the water evaporation. Hence the exit humidity will decrease with the increase of exit temperature. Experiments on a real scrubber are underway.


The recent trend in the building industry of Turkey as well as in many European countries is towards utilizing the tunnel form (shear-wall dominant) construction system for development of multi-story residential units. The tunnel form buildings diverge from other conventional reinforced concrete (RC) buildings due to the lack of beams and columns in their structural integrity. The vertical load-carrying members of these buildings are the structural-walls only, and the floor system is a flat plate. Besides the constructive advantages, tunnel form buildings provide superior seismic performance compared to conventional RC frame and dual systems as observed during the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey (1999 Mw 7.4 Kocaeli, Mw 7.2 Duzce, and 2004 Mw 6.5 Bingol). With its proven earthquake performance, the tunnel form system is becoming the primary construction technique in many seismically active regions. In this study, a series of nonlinear analyses were conducted using finite element (FE) models to augment our understanding on their failure mechanism under lateral forces. In order to represent the nonlinear behavior adequately, The FE models were verified with the results of experimental studies performed on three dimensional (3D) scaled tunnel form building specimens. The results of this study indicate that the structural walls of tunnel form buildings may exhibit brittle flexural failure under lateral loading, if they are not properly reinforced. The global tension/compression couple triggers this failure mechanism by creating pure axial tension in the outermost shear-walls.


This paper argues that the revival of the Gothic as an expression of contemporary tensions and issues has significance for our views of childhood and, as a consequence, for literacy and literacy education. While the ways in which Gothic literature and other Gothic popular culture forms are used to speak to these tensions have shifted across time and place, they have, regardless, proved an enduring forum for the articulation of uncomfortable issues and anxieties. Constructions of childhood and the world in which children live are positioned within these larger social, economic and political currents and, more specifically, are cornerstones of perceptions of literacy, education and the literate citizen's identity. It is from this stance that this paper examines the seepage of the Gothic into popular culture for children. The paper begins by acknowledging the significance of the contemporary Gothic and then moves on to consider how deeply the Gothic has seeped into popular culture, by examining a range of Gothic toys. If the contemporary Gothic revival is a marker of anxiety around identity, trust, authenticity and, to some extent, childhood itself, then how does this impact on the kinds of literate practices and moral economies associated with children? The paper explores this question.


The purpose of this study was to determine the remote after-effects (RAE) of a resistive static contraction of the pelvic depressors (RSCPD) using a Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) pattern in the mid-range of pelvic motion in side-lying as an indirect approach on the improvement of hand-behind-back (HBB) range of motion (ROM) in patients with rotator cuff tears. A static stretch (SS) group and hold-relax (HR) group were used for comparison to the RSCPD group. Twelve outpatients with symptomatic rotator cuff tears were randomly assigned to the RSCPD group, HR group, or SS group. The mean (SD) age was 68.8 (6.2) years (range: 34-81). HBB ROM determined by measuring the distance between the top of the thumb and the spinous process of C7 (TSD) in centimeters was assessed with a tape. Percentage change in TSD after each technique was calculated in comparison with TSD before the technique. Group means were compared using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Scheffe's test. The results of a one-way ANOVA showed significant differences between the techniques. Scheffe's post hoc testing revealed a significant difference only between the RSCPD group and SS group (p<0.05), sreflecting a greater percentage change in TSD in the RSCPD group. Application of RSCPD technique may be an effective approach in indirectly treating extremities that cannot be exercised directly because of pain. RAE of RSCPD technique may improve the AROM of the shoulder joint in patients with rotator cuff tears.


Dynamic scripting languages such as Ruby provide language features that enable developers to express their intent more rapidly and with fewer expressions. Organizations started using these languages in order to add enhancements to their existing applications or create composite applications. Current research has not yet addressed how security specification and enforcement can be done for scripting based application development. To fill this gap, we developed a framework for the design and facilitation of security. Our approach enables a business oriented application developer to add high-level security intentions to his business process model. The framework supports the automatic generation of security configuration and enforcement. As a proof-of-concept, we present an architecture and report the implementation status.


A framework of political judgment has been rapidly emerging in recent years, linking, within its normative and cognitive parameters, the liberalization of the international compact ('disembedded liberalism') with policies of labour re-commodifiction in advanced industrial democracies. This paper attempts to expose the social technology of political judgment enabling the trans-ideological consensus in support of re-commodification. Bringing political economy (back) into the project of discourse theory, this analysis relates the framework of judgment guiding policy choices to the aggregate social impact of the new economy, expressed politically in an emerging electoral re-alignment across Europe. My leading hypothesis is that a new opportunity-risk vector of alignment, styled by attitudes to globalisation, is opting out to replace the capital-labour dynamics of conflict and consensus that underpinned the welfare state. This realignment is now shaping the cognitive and normative frameworks of valid political reason-formation within national polities.

I propose to see the particular social technology that alters the parameters of political judgment in terms of interaction between three elements: 1) the social basis of political interest articulation; 2) collective perceptions of relevant public goods (the demand side of political mobilisation); 3) the patterned policy response of political actors (the supply side of political mobilisation).

The dynamics of interaction between these three elements are incurring (within a constitutive, rather than causal, logic) long-term changes in the normative and cognitive frameworks of post-industrial societies. These changes ultimately direct (enable and constrain) the articulation of justice claims within a socially meaningful framework of valid political reason-formation.


This paper investigates the causes behind the euro debt crisis, particularly Germany's role in it. It is argued that the crisis is not primarily a "sovereign debt crisis" but rather a (twin) banking and balance of payments crisis. Intra-area competitiveness and current account imbalances, and the corresponding debt flows that such imbalances give rise to, are at the heart of the matter, and they ultimately go back to competitive wage deflation on Germany's part since the late 1990s. Germany broke the golden rule of a monetary union: commitment to a common inflation rate. As a result, the country faces a trilemma of its own making and must make a critical choice, since it cannot have it all--perpetual export surpluses, a no transfer / no bailout monetary union, and a "clean," independent central bank. Misdiagnosis and the wrongly prescribed medication of austerity have made the situation worse by adding a growth crisis to the potpourri of internal stresses that threaten the euro's survival. The crisis in Euroland poses a global "too big to fail" threat, and presents a moral hazard of perhaps unprecedented scale to the global community.


Objective To investigate whether the Victorian mandatory personal flotation device wearing regulations that came into effect on 1 December 2005 reduced drowning deaths among recreational boaters in Victoria, Australia. Design A retrospective population-based 'before and after' study using Victorian coronial data on drowning deaths of occupants of recreational vessels operating in Victorian waters. Methods The annual numbers of deaths in the 5 years after the transition year of the regulations (2005) was compared with the annual numbers of deaths in the 6 years prior to the transition year, using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results There were 59 recreational boating drowning deaths in the 6-year preintervention period (1 December 1998 to 30 November 2004) compared with 16 in the 5-year postintervention period (1 December 2005 to 30 November 2010). The analysis showed a significant decrease in drowning deaths among all recreational boaters (U=30.0, p=0.01) and among these strata: vessel occupants aged 0–29 years (U=28.0, p=0.02) and 30–59 years (U=27.5, p=0.02), vessel occupants engaged in pleasure cruising (U=29.0, p=0.01) and in 'other' boating activities (U=25.0, p=0.04), boaters on small powerboats ≤4.8 m in length (U=29.5; p=0.01), boaters on motorised (U=29.5; p=0.01) and sail-powered vessels (U=26.0; p=0.04), and occupants of vessels operating in inland waterways (U=30.0; p=0.01). Conclusions These findings provide further support for the adoption of a regulatory approach to personal flotation device wearing to reduce drowning among recreational boaters.


The argument of this contribution, departing from a famous
 article by Arnold van Ruler, is that a fully Trinitarian theology requires attention
 to God's work and not only God's identity and character. The three relationships
 between Father and Son, Son and Spirit and Father and Spirit are briefly explored in
 order to demonstrate how difficult it is to do justice to both God's work of
 creation and of salvation, to both the freedom of the spirit and the discernment of
 the spirit, and to both a diversity of spiritualities and the identity of the spirit
 as the one commissioned by the Father of Jesus Christ. This yields the conclusion
 that a fully trinitarian theology remains elusive despite the trinitarian
 renaissance over the last few decades.


Type 1 hereditary tyrosinemia (HT1) is a metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH). Using a full-length FAH cDNA and specific antibodies, we investigated liver specimens from seven unrelated HT1 patients (six of French Canadian and one of Scandinavian origin). The expression of FAH in livers of these individuals was analyzed at several molecular levels including mRNA, immunoreactive material (IRM), and enzymatic activity. Four phenotypic variants were differentiated by these assays: (i) presence of FAH mRNA without any IRM or enzymatic activity, (ii) decreased FAH mRNA, IRM, and enzymatic activity, (iii) moderately decreased FAH mRNA and IRM with severely reduced enzymatic activity, and (iv) undetectable FAH mRNA, IRM, and enzymatic activity. These various molecular phenotypes suggest that this disorder may be caused by a variety of FAH mutations. Interestingly, we found no apparent relationship between the clinical and the molecular phenotypes, except that patients with absent IRM and enzymatic activity tend to have higher levels of serum alpha-fetoprotein and an earlier clinical onset. To further analyze the molecular basis of HT1, the FAH cDNA of a patient designated as variant A was amplified and sequenced. An A-to-T transversion, which substitutes asparagine16 with isoleucine (N16I), was identified. This patient was heterozygous as shown by direct sequencing of the amplified region and hybridization with allele-specific oligonucleotide probes. The N16I allele originates from the father and the second allele appears not to be expressed in the liver of the proband. CV-1 cells transfected with the mutant cDNA produced FAH mRNA, but no protein or hydrolytic activity, as predicted by the "A" phenotype of the patient. This is the first demonstration of heterogeneity in the expression of FAH at the levels of protein, mRNA, and enzymatic activity in the livers of HT1 patients and is the first identification of a causal mutationin this disease.


Orientation: Details of applicants' secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be a useful screening tool when processing large applicant pools. Here, the relationships between secondary education (incorporating subject choice) and the reasoning and visual perceptual speed components of the Differential Aptitude Test are explored. Research purpose: The objective of the study was to determine whether type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be used as a substitute for reasoning (verbal and non-verbal) and/or visual perceptual speed aptitudes in the selection of operators for an automotive plant in South Africa. Motivation for the study: The motivation for this study arose from the evident gap in academic literature as well as the selection needs of the automotive industry. Research design, approach and method: This research adopted a quantitative approach. It involved a non-probability convenience quota sample of 2463 work-seeking applicants for an automotive operator position in South Africa. Participants completed a biographical questionnaire and three subtests from the Differential Aptitude Test battery. The Chi-square test was used to determine the relationship between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) and selected cognitive aptitudes. Main findings: The study's findings revealed statistically and practically significant relationships between type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice), verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and visual perceptual speed. Broad performance levels in the three aptitude subtests employed in this study were significantly associated with the type of matriculation certificate held by applicants. The findings specifically indicated that the secondary education types that included the subjects mathematics or both mathematics and science were associated with higher levels of performance in the three aptitudes. This had consequences for these applicants' success in the screening process which could lead to enhanced chances of employability. Practical and managerial implications: Applicants' type of secondary education (incorporating subject choice) could be regarded as a key criterion in human resource selection and be instructive in the screening process. This could reduce the candidate pool prior to more costly psychometric assessments. Contribution or value-add: The findings are specifically relevant to the South African automotive industry in terms of their human resource selection practices. The insights gained from the findings may also be used as a guide to human resource practitioners in the selection of similar level employees in other working contexts. The study makes a case for a multiple-hurdle approach to selection.


Increase your knowledge of vocabulary with Collins Vocabulary for IELTS and get the score you need. IELTS is the world's leading test of English for higher education and migration and is recognised by 6000 institutions in over 135 countries. Collins Vocabulary for IELTS is a self-study book for learners of English who plan to take the Academic module of the IELTS test. This book is an ideal tool for learners studying at CEF level B1 or above or with a band score 5-5.5 who are aiming for a band score of 6 or higher. Key IELTS vocabulary and its usage are presented using Collins COBUILD dictionary definitions and example sentences from the Collins corpus. Learn and remember the vocabulary through the practice exercises, and read the practical exam strategies and tips to improve your IELTS score. You can familiarise yourself with the test questions by doing the Practice exam section at the end of each unit and then evaluate your progress in the revision units. The Audio CD provides valuable Listening and Speaking practice to help you prepare for the test. * Also available in the 'Collins English for Exams' series: - Listening for IELTS - Speaking for IELTS - Writing for IELTS - Reading for IELTS - Grammar for IELTS


The games industry has developed online multiplayer three-dimensional game worlds that allow players from different geographical locations to engage in competitive and cooperative gameplay together. This has enabled players from different cultures to inhabit the same virtual game world, bypassing any geographical or cultural boundaries found in the real world. These 3D game worlds ask the player to use the basic principles of spatial awareness and movement from the real world, and are often virtual representations of real world environments. These spaces are designed for players from all nationalities to inhabit concurrently. There is now a need to determine design considerations for these multicultural multiplayer game worlds but any investigation must consider the historical evidence from the games industry of cultural differences in gameplay preferences.
This thesis discusses the effect of cultural knowledge on the spatial design and interpretation of three-dimensional game environments that are based on real world affordances. A new methodology for the comparative analysis of the design of three-dimensional game environments is established using Space Syntax metrics. This facilitates the discussion of cultural models applied to design thinking for the implementation and interpretation of game environments. Through spatial metrics the analysis of the intelligibility underlying three-dimensional game environments is correlated to the imageability of the projected two-dimensional screen image.
The application of this methodology to internationally popular, and culturally specific, game environments establishes new knowledge on tacit cultural influences within game design processes. The analysed intelligibility of the environments indicates cognitive differences between Eastern and Western cultures, already recognised in the interpretation of two-dimensional imagery, also exist within the design and interpretation of three-dimensional game spaces.
This study establishes a new methodology through the analysis of intelligibility for design research into game environments. The resulting evaluation of tacit cultural influences within the design of the environments establishes new cultural differences and commonalities. These design characteristics can inform future game design methodologies within industry for the design and implementation of multicultural game environments.


This note describes how a submarine, the F.A. Forel, carrying a vertical array of high‐resolution temperature sensors, was used along with conventional measurements from a lowered conductivity‐temperature‐depth probe (CTD) to make novel measurements of the temperature field in Lake Geneva during summertime conditions of stable stratification and during winter convection. The submarine speed was about 0.5 m s−1. In addition to the temperatures, the pressure, orientation, and tilt were recorded at frequencies of at least 10 Hz. Observations were made on a vertical scale of 0.1 to 2.5 m and on a horizontal scale from 0.5 m to 1 km. Examples of the data are presented. During the summer, evidence was found of internal waves and of extensive layers of low vertical temperature gradient, with vertical and horizontal scales of 0.5 m and 0.5 km, respectively; within this gradient, the temperature changed monotonically in the horizontal. During periods favoring convection, in the winter, when air temperatures were about 7°C below the surface‐water temperature, convectively unstable regions, typically of 5‐m horizontal scale, were observed in the mixed layer. These appeared to be convective plumes. These winter measurements also included observations of a layer of cold water that was adjacent to the sloping boundary of the lake. This was identified as being a plume of dense cold water with thickness on the order of 10 m, which was driven by surface cooling, and consequent more rapid temperature decrease, in the shallow nearshore water. On meeting the thermocline at a depth of about 100 m, this plume spread horizontally and formed an intrusion some 30 m thick.


(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)The flourishing of mysticism in the Hispanic world attracted considerable attention during the early modern period and, in recent years, has been the subject of extensive study by scholars. In this new collection, Hilaire Kallendorf has brought together both younger and more established scholars in the field to show the breadth and depth of that scholarship. In the introduction, Kallendorf articulates a clear tension that pervades the collection. On the one hand, she explains how she hopes to "expand the mystical canon" (3). On the other hand, she wants to "introduce graduate students or new scholars" to the subject matter (3). As a result, the collection lacks continuity; however, some of the seventeen articles by scholars in Spanish literature, Religious Studies, History, and Music are better at achieving the first goal, while others succeed at the second.Although Kallendorf hopes to "expand the mystical canon," not surprisingly, many of the essays deal directly or indirectly with the most well known mystic of the period, Teresa of Avila. Her mystical writings and the scholarship on her works provide the framework for most of the scholarship. Some of the authors like Luce Lopez-Baralt, focus solely on one aspect of Teresa's work. However, many of the authors are clearly working to "expand the mystical canon" either by looking at lesser-known figures like Cecilia del Nacimiento and Juana de la Cruz or by taking very different perspectives on what constitutes mystical activity. In his essay on religious autobiography, Francisco Duran Lopez takes a very broad view of mystical activity, nearly equating all authors of spiritual autobiographies with mystics. Freddy Dominguez, in his study of Maria de la Visitacion, sees mystical activity as the source of authority for an otherwise problematic holy woman. In contrast, Glyn Redforth focuses on the limitations of mysticism, arguing in his essay on Luisa de Carvajalthat that "a mystic must want to be seen as such" (294). Still others expand the canon by taking different approaches to mysticism and mystical writings. Christina Lee considers Cervantes's use of mysticism in his novel The Trial of Persiles and Sigismunda and Tess Knight looks at the presence of music in mystical writings. Both Maria Mercedes Carrion's study of the use of mudejar elements and Maryrica Lottman's piece on the garden in Teresa's work focus on the relationship between mysticism and space. …


Cost of living is an important indicator to track and monitor basic living standards for cities. There is no reliable and consistent index available in the literature for comparing the cost of living across different major cities to guide policy analysis. Commercial cost of living surveys, while very useful in facilitating compensation decisions for expatriate managers, are inadequate as they do not account for differences in consumption patterns among cities and also do not consider differences in lifestyles between ordinary residents and expatriates across cities. In this context, this paper makes a pioneering attempt in the literature to come up with a comprehensive way to measure the cost of living for ordinary residents of 103 cities in the world. One of the features of the paperi¯s empirical methodology is that it makes a distinction between the cost of living for expatriates and ordinary residents. We focus on the results pertaining to ordinary residents in this paper.


Although it is well established that early infant feeding has a major influence on the establishment of the gut microbiota, very little is understood about how the introduction of first solid food influences the colonization process. This study aimed to determine the impact of weaning on the faecal microbiota composition of infants from five European countries (Sweden, Scotland, Germany, Italy and Spain) which have different lifestyle characteristics and infant feeding practices. Faecal samples were collected from 605 infants approximately 4 weeks after the introduction of first solid foods and the results were compared with the same infants before weaning (6 weeks of age) to investigate the association with determining factors such as geographical origin, mode of delivery, previous feeding method and age of weaning. Samples were analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and flow cytometry using a panel of 10 rRNA targeted group- and species-specific oligonucleotide probes. The genus Bifidobacterium (36.5 % average proportion of total detectable bacteria), Clostridium coccoides group (14 %) and Bacteroides (13.6 %) were predominant after weaning. Similar to pre-weaning, northern European countries were associated with a higher proportion of bifidobacteria in the infant gut microbiota while higher levels of Bacteroides and lactobacilli characterized southern European countries. As before weaning, the initial feeding method influenced the Clostridium leptum group and Clostridium difficile+Clostridium perfringens species, and bifidobacteria still dominated the faeces of initially breast-fed infants. Formula-fed babies presented significantly higher proportions of Bacteroides and the C. coccoides group. The mode of birth influenced changes in the proportions of bacteroides and atopobium. Although there were significant differences in the mean weaning age between countries, this was not related to the populations of bifidobacteria or bacteroides. Thus, although the faecal microbiota of infants after first complementary foods was different to that before weaning commenced, many of the initial influences on microbiota composition were still evident.


The dissertation has the aim to present a complete description of the same – sex marriage case the Italian Constitutional Court has faced, and of its possible developments. To this extent, two perspectives of Law and Literature are identified. The first, which can be defined as a "narrative perspective", is focused on the special role played by the Constitutional Court in indentifying and reconstructing the legal meaning of key-terms (family, marriage, natural society) and is developed in Chapters I and II; the second is about the activity, played by the judges of merit in redefining (through a style that can be called as "formulaic") the most significant passages pronounced by the High Courts about same - sex marriage, and is developed in Chapter III. These two activities, that both have the aim of the reconstruction (the first "top-down", the second "bottom-up") of legal meanings may be framed into a process (also polemic) that leads to refine the lexicon and that, because of its relation and its impact and on society, can be analyzed also through the sociological theories about literature (especially Erich Kohler's theory about the literature of the Occitan troubadours, which shows very interesting results, as analyzed in Chapter III). The key point of this research is the achievement of a full consciousness about the meaning of article 3 and article 29 - two central articles of the Constitution- that in the pronounce n. 138 /2010 of the Constitutional Court, in the opinion of the doctrine, had not been deeply analyzed (also in their relationship and in their mutual influences, more considered in the past jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court). The awareness of the fact that the not "alterable" meaning core of article 29 of the Constitution, identified by the heterosexuality of the spouses, may find a break – point through an appreciation of the equality principle only by a serious inquiry about the process in which legal meanings are reconstructed, represents the main result of this dissertation. Talking about "the constitutional case" of same – sex marriage, is to refer not only to the sentence n. 138/2010 of the Constitutional Court, but also to the previous and following judicial steps. This perspective, in its complexity, endorses the theme of the "legal meaning" which permits to focus on the importance on defining and interpreting words also in legal studies and that should be analyzed in a more systematic framework. In this context it must be remarked the fact that the Italian legislator is not showing the political will to extend the institution of marriage to same – sex couples neither to regulate opposite – sex partnerships or same - sex partnerships (as seen in Chapter IV). The analysis of the definition of the concepts of family and marriage (and of the related concept of partnership), by stressing the importance of conveying concepts by words, might contribute to a more considered processing of the role and of the activity of the constitutional players that will face one another soon again about this theme.


Suicidal behavior aggregates within families, yet the specific mechanisms of suicide-risk transmission are poorly understood. Despite some evidence that abnormal patterns of reward responsiveness might constitute one such potential mechanism, empirical evidence is lacking. The goal of this study was to examine neural responses to gains and losses in children of suicide attempters with no personal history of suicide attempt (SA) themselves. To objectively assess these neural responses, we used feedback negativity (FN), a psychophysiological marker of responsiveness to reward and loss. Participants were 66 parents and their 7–11-year-old children (22 with parental history of SA and 44 demographically and clinically matched children of parents with no SA history). Diagnostic interviews were used to gather information about psychiatric diagnoses, symptoms, and histories of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Children also completed a guessing task, during which continuous electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. The FN was scored as the mean amplitude, 275–375 ms, following gain or loss feedback at frontocentral sites (Fz and FCz). Children of suicide attempters exhibited significantly more negative &Dgr;FN (i.e., FN to losses minus FN to gains) than children of parents with no SA history. We found that this difference in &Dgr;FN was due specifically to children of parents with a history of SA exhibiting a stronger response to loss, and no group differences were observed for responses to gains. The results suggest that an increased neural response to loss might represent one of the potential pathways of the familial transmission of suicide risk.


The fifth generation wireless network (5G) has already begun its journey but making it a reality comes with several challenges along the way. A huge amount of work is underway from telecom operators for designing new technologies that are going to replace the current one (4G). With the arrival of 5G technology, also a wide range of use cases and business models will be enabled. Therefore, telecom networks need to support much greater throughput, lower latency and provide higher flexibility and scalability. To achieve the 5G target goals, the concept of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) is introduced. NFV gives the opportunity to mobile operators to modernize their networks by creating a programmable platform, capable of being automated and exposed for operators to extract more value. To make real NFV, operators are using programmable servers in cloud able to run applications locally. One of those applications running on cloud is Network Exposure Function (NEF), a 5G Core Network Function. This thesis work is concentrated on this core network function, presenting its capabilities and features as a future function of new core networks on 5G technology. This thesis work is developed in TeVA lab (Milano) a joint lab between Vodafone and Nokia. It presents a detailed way of Network Exposure Function feature based on the standardization and the NEF developed on lab environment. The main scope of the thesis is to work on lab environment for research and development purposes, setup and showcase NEF for 5G Vodafone Core Network and also enabling a number of 5G use cases for NEF. The last part of the thesis is concentrated on the development of a new application able to exploit NEF exposure capabilities and test NEF features at the same time. This application can be for testing purposes on the lab but at the same time is a good idea for marketing.


This paper deals with the relationship between the passive and the indefinite pronoun from a functional perspective. We point out that the linkage between these two constructions is often made possible due to politeness, in a sense that both constructions create pragmatic distance between a speaker and interlocutor, often known as impersonalisation. One can observe this linkage throughout the history of English, but indefinite pronouns were used more frequently in earlier times, and the passive later. The change of functional load in these constructions illustrates that impersonalisation has always been important, but has been achieved by different constructions. We argue that politeness played an important role in this change.


Long-term streamflow forecasting is of great significance to the optimal management of water resources. However, the forecast lead time of long-term streamflow forecasting is relatively long and the forecasted precipitation within the forecast lead time has inherent uncertainty, so long-term streamflow forecasting has major challenges. In this paper, a hybrid forecasting model is developed to improve accuracy of long-term streamflow forecasting by combining random forests (RF) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The RF model is used to forecast monthly precipitation which is further downscaled to a daily dataset according to the hydrological similarity principle for use in the SWAT model of the Danjiangkou Reservoir basin, China. Performance of this hybrid model is compared to that of seasonal autoregressive (SAR (P)) model. Results show the RF precipitation generator yields accurate predictions at the monthly scale and the hybrid model produces acceptable streamflow series in long-term forecasting cases. In addition, the comparison shows that in the Danjiangkou Reservoir basin, the hybrid model performs better than the SAR (P) model, with average Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values of 0.94 and 0.51, which is better when it is closer to 1. This study provides a method of improving accuracy of long-term streamflow forecasting.


Knowledge about
characteristics shared across known members of a protein family enables their
identification within the complete set of proteins in an organism. Shared
features are usually expressed through motifs, which can incorporate specific
patterns and even amino acid (AA) biases. Based on a set of classification
patterns and biases it can be determined which additional proteins may belong
to a specific family and share its functionality. A bioinformatics tool
(Prot-Class) was implemented to examine protein sequences and characterize them
based upon user-defined AA composition percentages and user defined AA
patterns. In addition the tool allows for the identification of repeated AA
patterns, biased AA compositions within windows of user-defined length, and the
characteristics of putative signal peptides and glycosylphosphatidylinositol
(GPI) lipid anchors. ProtClass is general purpose and can be applied to analyze
protein sequences from any organism. The Prot-Class source code is available
through the GNU General Public License v3 and can be accessed via the Google
Code Repository: http://code.google.com/p/prot-class/.


The Tiv Song Theatre is the major expressive medium of the Tiv people of central Nigeria. However, this medium has become a tool for negative portrayal of female sexuality in Tiv land. Consequently, this paper presents some selected Tiv songs and through a semiotic-content analysis gives an insight into the genderisation of the womenfolk as a downward trend in Tiv culture. In carrying out the research, content analysis of Tiv songs, oral interview and participatory observation have been adopted as the methods of collecting data. The paper submits that, women are usually subjugated, ridiculed, insulted, maligned, denigrated, and condemned both in practice and discourse on sexuality by men, who are however usually exonerated. It therefore condemns this development and sues for a change of attitude in order to attain a moral and balanced representation of sex related matters.


This essay evaluates popular and scholarly claims about the peace-promoting benefits of formal truth-telling and truth-seeking mechanisms in the aftermath of civil wars. Its purpose is twofold. First, it synthesizes and clearly articulates in one place the full range of claims about the relationship between truth-telling and peacebuilding. Second, it evaluates these claims by systematically examining the core factual and theoretical assumptions on which they are based. An argument is made that many such claims—and their core assumptions—are flawed or highly contentious as well as that truth-telling advocates claim far more about the power of truth-telling than logic or evidence dictates. This is not to say that truth-telling has no role to play in preventing the resumption of violent conflict in postwar societies, only that proponents likely overstate its importance. Before proclaiming the necessity of truth commissions or trials in the aftermath of violent conflict, we need to better understand how truth-telling prevents the recurrence of civil war, how important it is relative to other factors and other peacebuilding strategies, and when it is likely to prove helpful, harmful, or irrelevant.


The objectives of this research were to evaluate the effect of wood species and layer structure on physical and mechanical properties of strand board made from Paraserianthes falcataria, Maesopsis eminii and Acacia mangium woods collected from planted forest in Bogor district, Indonesia. The densities of P. falcataria, M. eminii and A. mangium woods were 0.36, 0.41 and 0.46 g cm-3, respectively. Three types of layer structures namely perpendicular, parallel, and random orientation were applied. Methylene diisocyanate (MDI) resin with 7% resin amount (w/w) was used. The physical and mechanical properties of strand board were evaluated based on CSA 0437.0 standard. The results indicated that strand board manufactured from wood with lower density (P. falcataria) had higher mechanical properties (modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bond) and lower dimensional stability (water absorption and thickness swelling) compared to strand board manufactured from higher density (A. mangium), vice versa. Strand orientation strongly affected the physical and mechanical properties of board with perpendicular orientation showed superior performance as compared to parallel and random orientation. Physical and mechanical properties of oriented strand board (OSB) made from fast growing tree species met the requirement of CSA 0437.0 standard for grade O-1 OSB panels. Key words: layer structure, methylene diisocyanate resin, strand board, tropical wood species,


This thesis serves to substantiate the critical importance of language and cultural training for our nation's military leaders, particularly those in the U.S. Army, in the ever-changing global security environment. Beginning with an overview of the inseparable relationship between language, culture, and society, the first chapter introduces this study surrounding two Army Reserve Officer Training Corps training programs that focus their attention on developing leaders capable of transcending linguistic and cultural boundaries. The second chapter presents a case study of post 9/11 military operational deficiencies in Afghanistan and Iraq, and delves into current Department of Defense (DoD) and Army policy surrounding language and cultural training for our armed forces. The following three chapters outline in depth the two programs in question Project Global Officer (Project GO) and the Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency (CULP) program and analyze their progress towards meeting DoD targets for language capabilities. These chapters include surveys and interviews with past program participants from Syracuse University, as well as select ROTC staff members, in order to analyze the programs' viability moving forward. Finally, by considering the current ongoing operations of the U.S. military, the final chapter brings into focus the importance of language and cultural training as a strategic necessity for an adaptive and responsive joint force in the 21st century. Towards a Multilingual and Cross-Cultured Officer Corps: A Study of Language and Culture Training Programs for Army ROTC Cadets


Whereas the cluster [Mo3 S4 (acac)3 (py)3 ](+) ([1](+) , acac=acetylacetonate, py=pyridine) reacts with a variety of alkynes, the cluster [W3 S4 (acac)3 (py)3 ](+) ([2](+) ) remains unaffected under the same conditions. The reactions of cluster [1](+) show polyphasic kinetics, and in all cases clusters bearing a bridging dithiolene moiety are formed in the first step through the concerted [3+2] cycloaddition between the C≡C atoms of the alkyne and a Mo(μ-S)2 moiety of the cluster. A computational study has been conducted to analyze the effect of the metal on these concerted [3+2] cycloaddition reactions. The calculations suggest that the reactions of cluster [2](+) with alkynes feature ΔG(≠) values only slightly larger than its molybdenum analogue, however, the differences in the reaction free energies between both metal clusters and the same alkyne reach up to approximately 10 kcal mol(-1) , therefore indicating that the differences in the reactivity are essentially thermodynamic. The activation strain model (ASM) has been used to get more insights into the critical effect of the metal center in these cycloadditions, and the results reveal that the change in reactivity is entirely explained on the basis of the differences in the interaction energies Eint between the cluster and the alkyne. Further decomposition of the Eint values through the localized molecular orbital-energy decomposition analysis (LMO-EDA) indicates that substitution of the Mo atoms in cluster [1](+) by W induces changes in the electronic structure of the cluster that result in weaker intra- and inter-fragment orbital interactions.


The first generation of precast concrete deck system, NUDECK, was implemented on the Skyline Bridge, Omaha, Nebraska in 2004. The second generation of NUDECK system was developed to further simplify the system and improve its constructability and durability. The new generation consists of full-width full-depth precast concrete deck panels that are 12 ft long to minimize the number of deck panels and transverse joints, and consequently accelerate bridge construction. It also uses covered individual pockets and bundled shear connectors at 4 ft spacing to simplify panel and girder production and eliminate the need for deck overlay. Precast deck panels are pre-tensioned in transverse direction and post-tensioned in the longitudinal direction to enhance deck durability. Post-tensioning strands are placed underneath the deck panels (at the haunch area) to eliminate threading strands through ducts and grouting operations. The objective of this project is to investigate the constructability of the second generation NUDECK system through full-scale testing of two key features: 1) using self-consolidating concrete (SCC) to fill the gap between precast concrete deck panels and bridge girders as well as covered deck pockets; and 2) using the proposed deviators and anchorage block in the end deck panels for post-tensioning the bridge deck. These investigations includes evaluating the pumpability/pouring of the developed SCC mixture in mockup and full-scale specimens. Sequence of pumping/pouring of SCC as well as its quality control and quality assurance procedures are also demonstrated. The investigations also include pullout testing of the deviators and pushoff testing of the anchorage block used for post-tensioning to evaluate their performance and refine their reinforcement details.


This study aimed to develop methodologies for the fabrication and testing of side by side layers freeze dried (lyophilized) orally disintegrating tablets (ODT) for same or different phase formulation. These side by side layers tablets will provide opportunities for combination therapies for patients who experience swallowing difficulty (e.g. geriatrics and paediatrics) and might enhance the bioavailability and incompatibility of some drugs. Two different solutions (A and B) were prepared separately and each solution was to create a different formulated layer to obtain different release profiles. The first layer was fabricated by injecting the solution A to an empty tablet blister to the half and freezing at -80°C for one hour in an external freezer. After the first layer was completely frozen, the solution B was injected into the rest half of the tablet blister and frozen at -80°C for one hour in an external freezer to create the second layer. Then, frozen side by side layers tablet was freeze dried and the resulting multilayer tablets were investigated. The study has shown that side by side layers freeze dried orally disintegrating tablets can be fabricated and formulated for same or different phase and with different disintegrating time for each layer to provide different release profiles. The optimization of adhesion between layers is required. The study has also shown that concentrations of gelatin and mannitol can affect the formulation characteristics.


Impelled by both the communication globalization and new-tech application, media convergence has become an inevitable trend for the media development of countries around the world. Based on the analysis of enormous controversies provoked by Sharon Stone's "karma" remark, this article probes the role of media convergence in the cross-cultural communication of media events. Our research has four major findings. First, media convergence greatly promotes the communication of cross-cultural events, in that the advanced degree of media convergence determines the speed, span and depth of communication for cross-cultural events. The mutually complementary and reiterative feeding between traditional and new media in media convergence is very evident; yet, media convergence (to a certain degree) avoids the language barrier of cross-cultural communication. Second, media convergence reconstructs the communication rules of media events, in that journalism and communication transits from single-authority to multi-authorities, traditional media still plays the guidance role of public opinion, and network media is becoming the concourse of multi-authorities. Third, the weakening of cross-cultural interpretation for the key word is the important cause of cross-cultural conflicts, which is shown in the cultural conflicts in network nationalism frame and the subculture conflicts in the same ethical frame. Finally, the ideological opposition is the profound reason for cross-cultural conflicts. We conclude that the meanings of media convergence to the cross-cultural communication of media events manifest in multiple levels. On one hand, media convergence technologically creates enormous communication energy and consequently promotes the content communication for cross-cultural events and narrows the span of space and time between our culture and the others. On the other hand, the technology convergence has not yet produced the culture convergence; in contrast, intervened by multiple powers as nationalism, subculture conflicts and ideologies, media convergence intensifies, amplifies and increases cultural conflicts and prejudices, creating new barriers for cross-cultural communication. (China Media Research. 2012; 8(1): 25-39)


Walking is a fundamental human activity [1]. Rehabilitation of walking is one of the essential goals for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) or other neurological impairments [2, 3]. Early rehabilitation is desirable to maximise the beneficial effects, so training programmes should be initiated even when patients are still on bed rest. In order to promote early rehabilitation of patients with incomplete spinal cord injury who cannot maintain an upright posture, a Gait Orthosis for Early Rehabilitation (GOER) of walking was designed [2] and evaluated in this PhD work.
This research started with a gait analysis experiment, through which the kinematics and kinetics of overground walking were investigated. Based on experimental walking data from able-bodied subjects, a least squares algorithm was developed to approximate the foot trajectories with circles. The determination of the best-fit circle for the toe trajectory over the whole gait cycle provided the basis for inducing toe movement by a rigid bar. Therefore a model of a two-bar mechanism was developed in Matlab/SimMechanics to simulate supine stepping. The simulated kinematics, including the angles of the hip, knee and ankle joints, showed comparable ranges of motion (ROMs) to the experimental walking performance in able-bodied subjects. This two-bar model provided the basis for the development of the GOER system.
The intersegmental kinetics of the lower limb motion during supine stepping were investigated through computer simulation. A model of a leg linkage was firstly developed to simulate upright walking. After the model was validated by successful simulation of dynamic performance similar to experimental overground walking, the model was rotated by 90o to simulate stepping movement in a supine posture. It was found that the dynamics of the hip joint were significantly influenced by the position change from upright to supine, which highlighted the importance of a leg-weight support during supine stepping. In contrast, the kinetics of the ankle joint were much influenced by the forces applied on the foot sole which mimicked the ground reaction occurring during overground walking. Therefore a suitable force pattern was required on the foot sole in order to train the ankle joint during supine stepping.
The simulated kinematic and kinetic results provided the basis for the design process of the GOER system. A GOER prototype with mechanisms for one leg was manufactured, which included a bar linkage to move the leg frame upwards and downwards and a cam-roller mechanism to rotate the shoe platform. The bar-cam GOER prototype achieved coordinated movements in the leg frame through constant rotation of an electric motor. Preliminary tests were carried out in three able-bodied subjects who followed the movements produced by the GOER prototype. The subjects felt walking-like stepping movement in the lower limb. Synchronised motion in the hip, knee and ankle joints was obtained, with the ROMs in the physiological ranges of motion during overground walking. The experimentally obtained joint profiles during supine stepping matched the simulated supine stepping and were close to the profiles during overground walking.
Apart from inducing proprioceptive feedback from the lower limb joints, the GOER system required dynamic stimulation from the shoe platform to mimic load occurring during the stance phase of overground walking. Activated by pneumatic components, the shoe platform managed to apply forces on the foot sole with adjustable amplitudes. The pneumatic shoe platform was evaluated in ten able-bodied subjects and managed to induce walking-like pressure sensation on the foot sole with physiological responses from the leg muscles.
In summary, this thesis developed and evaluated a new gait training robotic system targeting supine stepping for patients who are still restricted to a lying position. The conceptual design process was developed through computer modelling and it was implemented as a prototype. Evaluation tests on able-bodied subjects proved the technical feasibility of the robotic system for supine stepping and led to recommendations for further development.


ENGLISH:

One of the elements of discourse studies is deixis. Deixis makes discourse easier and more effective, giving us a means to pass more information in less time."Deixis" is derived from the Greek word meaning "to show" or "to indicate". It is used to denote those element in language which for directly to the situation.

There are some reasons the researcher chooses this topic because the Global Finance is a magazine which used English in Indonesia, so it can be easily and effectively becoming the object of research, especially to analyze the use of deixis.

The problems of this study are what kinds of deixis are used in the Cover Story Section of The Global Finance. And how the meaning of deixis is expressed in the Cover Story Section of The Global Finance? The researcher limits this research in analyzing the deixis type used by the writer/journalist in the Cover Story Section of The Global Finance.

In analyzing Global Finance as the object, the research uses qualitative method because it analyzes and interprets Global Finance as the object. The step to obtain the data is by describing the sources of data from the source of data, conducting and analyzing the collected data and make conclusion.

The deixis used in Global Finance magazines are included into three types of deixis, namely: person deixis, place deixis, and time deixis. The third person deixis is used mostly, especially in the singular forms. The first and second person deixis are not found in cover story section. In addition the place deixis is used to describe a certain location of a participant in the speech event. The time deixis is used to show temporal time or dertain timewhen the event is used in the utterance. Furthermore, discourse and social deixis can not be found in cover story section.

Finally, the researcher expects this study could give contribution for the other researchers who are eager to know more about deixis. Moreover deixis as an important branch of linguistics is interesting to be studied especially in applied linguistics.


The effect of different processing routes on structure and properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE)-clay nanocomposites was assessed. Different compatibilizer/clay ratios (α) were also studied to determine if interactions exist between processing route and polymer-clay compatibility. HDPE/HDPE-g-MA/clay with α values of 1 to 4 were melt compounded (twin screw extrusion), and then processed via three routes: compression moulding, compression moulding followed by biaxial stretching or blown film extrusion. The structure was examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tensile and oxygen barrier properties were determined. It was found that biaxial extensional forming produced the best enhancement in properties. An interaction between processing route and polymer-clay compatibility is evident. Halpin-Tsai (H-T) model was employed to predict relative modulus values. It showed good agreement with the experimental data. For biaxial extension at α = 4.0, the experimental relative modulus is greater than the predicted value. This may indicate the existence of a "nano" effect at the polymer-clay interface. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers