Migration, broadly defined, characterizes the movement of peoples and businesses across borders. The latter part of the 20th century saw notable business expansion across borders spurred by currency, capital, and investment restrictions and by the increased ability to manage global activities through technology and communications. Twenty plus years into this business globalization, we have witnessed the dramatic rise of transparency and disclosure rules and regimes. These regimes, which have dominated much of global international tax reform, include: (1) country-by- country reporting of tax information, (2) automatic exchange of tax rulings among jurisdictions, and (3) disclosure of beneficial ownership of entities. In this symposium essay, I suggest that the increased transparency and disclosure are the consequence of the increased business border flexibility. Although modern business migration is the fundamental force underpinning the creation of new reporting and disclosure regimes, the regimes' precise shape and timing are a function of convulsive triggers such as tax leaks that drive specific moments of reform.


The teaching material of equilibrium and rotational dynamics in this study developed using a philosophical approach. Teaching materials compiled contain elements of ontology, epistemology, and axiology. The research conducted using the research and development method through 9 stages, namely the study of potential and problems, data collection, product design, design validation 1, revision stage 1, design validation 2, revision stage 2, limited trials, and final product. The feasibility test of teaching materials based on two expert validators and students' responses using a questionnaire. The results of the study indicate teaching materials included in the feasible category, with an average value of 80.83%. The results of students' responses agreed type, with an average of 79.41%. Thus it was concluded that the entire instructional content of equilibrium and rotational dynamics developed was suitable for use in learning.


Abstract : Expectations of society, which until now has not significantly met by the world of education in Indonesia, it becomes a challenge to improve the quality of education. The rise of the brawl, the case of drugs and free sex among students makes people pessimistic about the quality of education and educational output. Associated with the various problems that come across, character building of young generation ago into something that absolutely must be done. An understanding of identity, duties, and responsibilities of students, and also habituation to the values and norms in the community becomes a necessity that must be installed. Counseling services as a form of education play a major role in providing assistance to students in order to achieve optimal development. Achieving optimal developmental tasks, and effectively became the foundation of character formation of students and the fulfillment of the expectations of society toward education. Keyword : Character, Counseling Services, Education


With the invention of autonomous vehicles, it make easier to know about the future directions of the vehicles. The main purposes of vehicle detection and tracking are to identify the on-road traffic conditions, hazards or hurts as well as to communicate with other on-road vehicles/objects. To meet the above requirements, the following methodologies are useful which are like Fuzzy based, Radar and V2V fusion, Background subtraction, Active contour, Single learning based method and etc., Those methodologies are implementing either independently or collaboratively may lead to focus towards not only on the vehicles and other objects of our interest. In order to track the vehicles, first to detect the various objects and from them only it is possible to identify the vehicle objects. After the identification of vehicular objects, we can segregate them according to their sub-category. In this paper, various object/vehicle detection techniques have been discussed. The process of segmentation and separation of vehicle objects and its types can be possible by implementing a certain fuzzy rules. Detection of an object using various fusion techniques makes more effective in terms of obtaining the information regarding that particular vehicle directly or via nearby vehicles. While capturing the object, there is a possibility of false detection. This can be avoided by clearly eliminating the shadows, illumination and etc., from capturing object image. This kind of elimination process is termed as background subtraction. Active contour is one another detection method which gives us succession of images from which the internal and external borders of several objects can be identified. By a single extraction various objects are identified and then given to different detectors according to their sub-category. All these kind of techniques are discussed in this paper.


This research examines the natural tourism landscape of the Mount Sumbing slope. The components of the natural tourism landscape, which concludes attractions and compatibility, have become one of the most critical factors to determine the potential level's assessment indicator of the region's environmental compatibility and attraction so that the pattern of these characters and attractions can be identified. The result obtained by this research shows that the level of natural tourism landscape of Mount Sumbing slope has a significant index quantity, as seen by the higher the natural environment's quality, the higher attraction and compatibility can be achieved. This research concludes that the natural tourism landscape constitutes the natural environment's compatibility physically in the form of potential water resources, potential natural resources, and a positive natural environment index. Both are representations of a condition that refers to the natural tourism landscape of the Mount Sumbing slope's potential.


The study is about determining the level of satisfaction and exhaustion among the employees of Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) Sik, Kedah. It is also to see the relationship between the satisfying factors and burnout as well as indentifying the eminent factors that affect their satisfaction and exhaustion level in their work. Respondents consist of 90 employees from IKM Sik, Kedah. The gathered data is
processed collectively by using 'Statistical Packages for Social Sciences'. They are
collected through the distribution of questionnaires and research instrument based on
the Job Descriptive Index. Statistical techniques used are by descriptive, mean
comparison and Pearson correlation to find the answers to the research questions formed. The study reveals that entirely, the employees are on the high level of satisfaction and the burnout in their work. There are not any significant relationships between the demography factors among the workers of IKM Sik, Kedah. Entirely the inferential analysis on the differences of burnout among the staff of IKM Sik, Kedah namely in personal achievement, depersonalization and emotional desolation. Further analysis shows the significant relation between burnout and job satisfaction factors. What can be concluded from this study is that satisfaction and exhaustion are two essential factors to working individuals, because those who are pleased with their work will endlessly giving full commitment and eventually will enhance their
working qualities better


Abstract : During his presidential campaign, President Bush took a more confrontional stance toward China than had been followed by the Clinton administration. U.S. relations with China during the initial months of the Bush administration seemed to reflect President Bush's categorization of China as a 'strategic competitor'. The low point in relations between the two countries came in April 2001 when China detained the crew of a U.S. reconnaissance plane that was forced to make an emergency landing on Hainan Island. Following September 11th, Sino-U.S. relations have taken an understandable back seat to the U.S. war on terrorists with global reach. China has been supportive of much of the U.S. response against terrorism while the broader confrontational issues defining the relationship over the last decade have been temporarily underscored. However, the basis for confrontation between the two countries remains, dictating that the U.S. cannot ignore the issues indefinitely since they pose a potential threat to U.S. Pacific and global interests. This paper, therefore assesses China's potential to become a peer competitor to the U.S. The driving force behind everything that the Chinese leadership does is the survival of the Communist Party as the sole legitimate source of political power in the country. While the near term stability of the country is still in question, it apparent that China views the U.S. as a threat. The strategic vision of the Chinese government is tied to its ability to challenge U.S. hegemony at least regionally and preferably globally. The communist government is currently pursuing a combination of strategies to improve China's power relative to the U.S. Combining China's latent capabilities with an intent to challenge the U.S., it is imperative that the U.S. respond.


This work presents a 2-pass recognition method for highly inflected agglutinative languages based on an Estonian large vocabulary recognition task. Morphemes are used as basic recognition units in a standard trigram language model in the first pass. The recognized morphemes are reconstructed back to words using hidden event language model for compound word detection. In the second pass, the vocabulary from N-best sentence candidates from the first pass is used to create an adaptive sentence-specific word-based language model which is applied for rescoring the N-best hypotheses. The sentence specific language model is based on the factored language model paradigm and estimates word probabilities based on the preceding two words and part-of-speech tags. The method achieves a 7.3% relative word error rate improvement over the baseline system that is used in the first pass


The randomness of some irreversible quantum phenomena is a central question because irreversible phenomena break quantum coherence and thus yield an irreversible loss of information. The case of quantum jumps observed in the fluorescence of a single two-level atom illuminated by a quasi-resonant laser beam is a worked example where statistical interpretations of quantum mechanics still meet some difficulties because the basic equations are fully deterministic and unitary. In such a problem with two different time scales, the atom makes coherent optical Rabi oscillations between the two states, interrupted by random emissions (quasi-instantaneous) of photons where coherence is lost. To describe this system, we already proposed a novel approach, which is completed here. It amounts to putting a probability on the density matrix of the atom and deducing a general "kinetic Kolmogorov-like" equation for the evolution of the probability. In the simple case considered here, the probability only depends on a single variable θ describing the state of the atom, and p(θ,t) yields the statistical properties of the atom under the joint effects of coherent pumping and random emission of photons. We emphasize that p(θ,t) allows the description of all possible histories of the atom, as in Everett's many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. This yields solvable equations in the two-level atom case.


In order to characterize the signal of moving target in complex image domain (CID) of synthetic aperture radar (SAR), this paper deduces the model of moving target based on Range-Doppler imaging algorithm and stationary phase principle (SPP). In CID, the target approximately modeled as a linear frequency modulated signal (LFM), which has a great improvement in signal-clutter ratio (SCR), and distributes as mis-located segment in the 2D image. The center and slope of the segment is determined by the Doppler center and Doppler ambiguity integer. Meanwhile, the spreading length is jointly determined by the azimuth velocity and Doppler ambiguity integer. Furthermore, this paper derives the Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB) of parameter estimation in CID. At last, numeric experiments is made to approve the conclusion.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of reducing pixel size on the consistency of radiomic features and the diagnostic performance of the downstream radiomic signatures for the invasiveness for pulmonary ground-glass nodules (GGNs) on CTs.

METHODS
We retrospectively collected the clinical data of 182 patients with GGNs on high resolution CT (HRCT). The CT images of different pixel sizes (0.8mm, 0.4mm, 0.18 mm) were obtained by reconstructing the single HRCT scan using three combinations of field of view and matrix size. For each pixel size setting, radiomic features were extracted for all GGNs and radiomic signatures for the invasiveness of GGNs were built through two modeling pipelines for comparison.

RESULTS
The study finally extracted 788 radiomic features. 87% radiomic features demonstrated inter pixel size variation. By either modeling pipeline, the radiomic signature under small pixel size performed significantly better than those under middle or large pixel sizes in predicting the invasiveness of GGNs (p's value <0.05 by Delong test). With the independent modeling pipeline, the three pixel size bounded radiomic signatures shared almost no common features.

CONCLUSIONS
Reducing pixel size could cause inconsistency in most radiomic features and improve the diagnostic performance of the downstream radiomic signatures. Particularly, super HRCTs with small pixel size resulted in more accurate radiomic signatures for the invasiveness of GGNs.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE
The dependence of radiomic features on pixel size will affect the performance of the downstream radiomic signatures. The future radiomic studies should consider this effect of pixel size.


In the paper, the present state of scientific knowledge in authorising the types of railway vehicles in Slovakia and abroad is analysed by the authors. The aim of the authorisation of the types of railway vehicles is to take into account the interests of the whole society in the field of transport in the manufacturing of these vehicles or their import from abroad. These interests mainly include a greater security of transport, as well as a greater quality, reliability and lifespan of railway vehicles. The authors also analyse the Commission Recommendation 2014/897/EU of 5 December 2014 on matters related to the placing in service and use of structural subsystems and vehicles under Directives 2008/57/EC and 2004/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, which should contain instructions related to the matters in question. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union, and Directive (EU) 2016/798 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the railway safety. In addition to ensuring the applicability of interoperability regulations (new directives, regulations, decisions, recommendations, etc.), the aim of this paper is to present a methodology of authorising the types of railway vehicles and a software model (SW) of authorising the types of railway vehicles, with European legislation as a possible tool to speed up and simplify the entire process. The paper is concluded by three types of authorisation processes for different railway vehicles and their accessories, comparing the length and complexity of processing using the standard authorisation process and using the SW tool proposed.


This dissertation discusses how the press in Britain helps to maintain and reinforce negative views and attitudes towards immigrants. In order to analyse how the press do so, a sample of articles from conservative and liberal newspapers was subjected to a Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis finds that the conservative newspapers tend to demonise immigrants by primarily focusing on the problems they seem to create and misreport them by exaggerating and overlexicalising certain terms such as criminals, scroungers, spongers and terrorists. On the other hand, the more liberal press tend to focus on victimising the subjects by reporting mainly on the problems immigrants have, such as poverty and discrimination. The analysis finds that neither the conservative nor the liberal press is likely to report on the economic and social benefits of immigration. The study finds evidence that immigration overall has more benefits than detriments not only in economic terms, but also socially; this information is usually neglected by the press. This dissertation suggests there is a link between racism in Britain and the reporting of the press because most readers accept what they read as factually correct. The dissertation proposes a more ample, objective and unbiased type of reporting in order to combat and reduce anti-immigrant ideologies and prejudice in Britain.


The halo fixator may be used for the definitive treatment of cervical spine trauma, preoperative reduction in the patient with spinal deformity, and adjunctive postoperative stabilization following cervical spine surgery. Halo fixation decreases cervical motion by 30% to 96%. Absolute contraindications include cranial fracture, infection, and severe soft-tissue injury at the proposed pin sites. Relative contraindications include severe chest trauma, obesity, advanced age, and a barrel-shaped chest. In children, a computed tomography scan of the head should be obtained before pin placement to determine cranial bone thickness. Complications of halo fixation include pin loosening, pin site infection, and skin breakdown. A concerning rate of life-threatening complications, such as respiratory distress, has been reported in elderly patients. Despite a paucity of contemporary data, recent retrospective studies have demonstrated acceptable results for halo fixation in managing some upper and lower cervical spine injuries.


AUTHORS OF SCIENTIFIC articles have an obligation to obtain informed consent of patients before the publication of data by which those patients can be identified. The purpose of this procedure is to maintain the efficacy and dignity of the individual. The challenge is to avoid the distribution of information that can lead to discrimination, recrimination, and shame; to job disqualification or the loss of work or insurance. The call is now because the spread of medical information can have consequences far into the future. One remedy is to require permission from patients before the publication of research and reports. See also pp 624 and 682. Standards are developed not just to affirm what is right but to avoid what is wrong. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1 for example, asserts rights to work safely, to live healthily, and to speak freely. It also seeks to protect people from slavery


Abstract This article examines the interplay between social risks, welfare state policies and far right voting. Distinguishing between compensatory and protective policies and using data from seven waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) and social policy datasets, the article tests a range of hypotheses about the extent to which welfare state policies moderate the insecurities that drive particular social groups to vote for the far right. Empirical findings confirm theoretical expectations that several welfare state policies reduce the likelihood of supporting the far right among individuals exposed to high risks including the unemployed, pensioners, low-income workers, employees on temporary contracts, individuals in large families, and individuals who are disabled/permanently sick. These findings suggest that in order to understand why some individuals vote for the far right, one should not only focus on their risk-driven grievances, but also on policies that may moderate these risks.


Promotion constitutes part of the marketing mix which consists of advertising, sales support, public relations, personal sale and direct marketing. It may be stated that the law delimits boundaries to all these elements of the communication mix. In the following contribution I will only focus on some methods of direct marketing and I intend to investigate the "purposeful appeal to purchase and consumer behaviour of clients" as viewed by the present Czech law. These communications often disturb the privacy of individuals, harass in an inappropriate time, marketing companies often illegally collect and share customers' personal information. My target is to list legal limits instituted in the sphere of direct marketing for the individual marketing practices by the Czech law.


Summary: The levels of transferrin in seminal plasma of a large sample of infertile men (n = 287) were measured by radioimmunoassay. A group of recently pregnancy‐proven fertile men (n = 20) was used as control and a small group (n = 6) of vasectomized men was studied to determine the origin of seminal transferrin. Infertile men had lower transferrin values than fertile men, although the difference was not significant in the case of normozoospermic infertile men (0,05 < p < 0,1); in the case of oligozoospermic infertile men the difference was highly significant (p < 0,001). The values of transferrin in severely oligozoospermic, azoospermic and vasectomized subjects suggested that 60% of seminal transferrin could be of testicular origin. In infertile patients transferrin fall along with sperm count; there is a strong correlation between transferrin and sperm density. FSH levels were measured in a group of severely oligozoospermic and azoospermic patients (n = 41); although the patients with elevated FSH had lower transferrin levels than the patients with FSH within the normal range, the difference was not significant. The results of this study show that transferrin could be a useful marker of seminiferous tubular function but more work is needed to assess its relevance for clinical practice.


Teaching media is a knowledge of the teaching methods used by a teacher or instructor. The method is the method used to achieve the stated goals. Another technique is the presentation technique mastered by the teacher to teach or present learning material to students in the classroom, so that the lesson can be absorbed, understood and utilized by students properly. The better the teaching method, the more effective the achievement of objectives. In reality, the teaching method or method used conveys different information in ways that are used to strengthen students in mastering knowledge, skills and attitudes (cognitive, psychomotor, affective). Specifically the method of teaching in the classroom, the effectiveness of a method is influenced by the goals, student factors, situation factors, and the teacher's own factors. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the demonstration and recitation methods in increasing student learning motivation in fiqh subjects in class 2 MI. This research is a classroom action research, research instrument using observation sheets and interviews. Data analysis uses a research cycle and is described qualitatively. The results showed an increase in student motivation in fiqh subjects using the method of demonstration and recitation.


Author(s): Nehiba, Cody | Advisor(s): Cohen, Linda | Abstract: This dissertation concerns the measurement and regulation of externalities with a focus on the numerous and interrelated external costs in the transportation sector. The research touches on pollution, congestion, and collisions as well as various modes of transportation. The results have important implications for public policy and the regulation of externalities both within and outside of transportation. Chapter 1 investigates the effectiveness of traffic laws which require drivers to provide a minimum amount of distance between their vehicle and cyclists when passing them on roadways in improving cyclist safety. Many believe these laws are ineffective in reducing the number of bicyclist fatalities because they are difficult for police to enforce, contain loopholes, and the minimum distance required is inadequate. This chapter tests this claim empirically using data on 18,534 bicyclist fatalities from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and a differences-in-differences approach, in a negative binomial model, to identify the effect of minimum distance passing laws on bicyclist fatalities. The analysis fails to find a significant effect of enacting a minimum distance passing law on the number of cyclist fatalities after controlling for differences in weather, demographics, bicycling commuter rates, state level traffic, and time variation. Chapter 2 examines the effects of freight truck weight and miles traveled on both the quantity and severity of truck-involved collisions using a unique panel data set covering the universe of truck-involved collisions and 3.5 billion truck-weight observations. Estimates reveal that, though both measures of trucking activity can increase collisions, increases in truck weight skew the distribution of collisions towards more severe outcomes involving either injury or death. The results are applied to a welfare analysis of diesel fuel taxes, which have been shown to both reduce truck miles traveled and increase truck cargo weight. Though diesel taxes are shown to slightly reduce the total number of collisions, the remaining collisions become more severe. Societal gains from pollution, congestion, and collision reductions are entirely offset by the increased fatal collision costs, reducing total welfare by $39.9 billion annually. The final chapter examines the regulation of heterogeneous externalities. When demand for or damages from an externality producing good vary, uniform policy instruments are an inefficient tool for correcting market failures. This chapter examines how a policy that reflects this heterogeneity can improve efficiency. County travel demand elasticities and congestion damages are estimated to compare the efficiency of a uniform fuel tax to county-specific fuel taxes. Because elasticities, congestion damages, and pollution damages exhibit heterogeneity across regions, county-specific fuel taxes, levied in a subset of major metropolitan areas, provide welfare gains between $7-$26 per capita annually in addition to equity gains relative to a revenue neutral uniform fuel tax.


As an important factor of VGI quality, this paper focuses on uncertainty arisen in assigning tags to features by VGI users. The VGI portals ask their users to assign (or tag) one or more data types to features, from a set of pre-defined types, whose meanings may be vague for the user, or distinctions between some of them are not clear, i.e. depend on the users' semantics. This research believes such uncertainties are the results of perceptual issues arising in serial communication between the system and the user. We categorize the problem, and then utilize semantic modelling to reduce such uncertainties. A hierarchy of feature types is produced. At each step, users are asked a simple question with clear distinct answers, which gradually directs the user to the right type. We will describe the approach and present the initial results for the hierarchy produced for major linear features of OpenStreetMap.


Aim: To find out the effect of dentifrice containing 8% strontium acetate and 8% arginine in reducing dentinal hypersensitivity. Study Design: Randomized clinical trial Place and Duration of Study: Department of Periodontology, Gandhara University Peshawar from 1st June 2014 to 31st October 2021. Methodology: Six hundred and twenty five patients were enrolled. The study was conducted in Sardar Begum Dental Hospital, Gandhara University Peshawar. They were divided into two groups; Group A were using dentifrice that contains 1450ppm sodium monofluorophosphate and 8.0% arginine whereas patients of group B were given dentifrice which contains 1040 ppm fluoride as sodium fluoride and 8% strontium acetate. Results: The mean difference was 0.59 of the initial less than one min Schiff values in both the groups. On the other hand, Schiff values in both the groups after 8 week application was 0.26. Likewise, difference in baseline mean values was 2.32 while 1 min post-application mean difference for strontium acetate and arginine was 7.13 and 2.88 respectively. Conclusion: Significant decreased in hypersensitivity in patient using the arginine and strontium acetate. Therefore it was an effective dentifrices in decreasing in office hypersensitivity. Keywords: Efficacy, Dentifrice, Dentinal hypersensitivity


Babbar's study (1995) on the application of total quality management (TQM) to educational instruction in US universities has provided the idea for the current experimental study. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of TQM implementation in Indonesian higher education educational activities. This study is a causal research that analyzes the effect of independent variable on the dependent variable. It is proposed to find the effect of TQM implementation on the effectiveness of educational activities. The data was collected with experiment methods which involved the researcher to manipulate the variables and observe for the effects. The experimental design that used in the study was a pretest and posttest experimental and control group design, therefore it utilized two group of participants (experimental and control groups). The finding of the study supports the hypothesis that TQM implementation increases the effectiveness of educational activities. TQM implementation as a treatment has a positive effect on the effectiveness of educational activities. Student's evaluation of the effectiveness of educational activities shows the higher score after the treatment.


We introduce the idea that the electronic band structure of a charge density wave system may mimic that of graphene. In that case, a class of materials quite different from graphene might be opened up to exploit graphene's remarkable properties. For such materials, their dynamical rather than static properties are crucial. The charge density wave system requires a wave geometry simply related to graphene and self-consistency among the electrons which requires the net Coulomb and phonon-mediated parts of the electron–electron interactions to be attractive. Our model leads to an analytical expression for the total energy in terms of the effective electron mass µ, the electron density ρ_0, and the strength ${\tilde v_K}$ v ∼ K of the net electron–electron interaction. We examine the limitations set upon ${\tilde v_K}$ v ∼ K by self-consistency, stability, and the approximation in the electronic state calculation and find them to be mutually compatible.


Title: Feasibility of a National Health Insurance Scheme in the Gambia: Health Care Providers and Consumers Perspectives on the Design
Author: Hassan Njie
Thesis advisor: Professor Herng Ching Lin
Background: Developing countries have been and still are grappling with high catastrophic financial payments, which have created financial barriers to health service utilization. Studies have also shown that developing countries including low and middle- income countries (LMICs) are considering reforms in their health care systems to provide universal health coverage (Mills et al. 2012). The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of a national health insurance scheme in the Gambia by sounding the perspectives of health care providers and consumers
Methods and Materials: The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional survey using a questionnaire that has four dimensions. Study participants comprised health care providers (125) and consumers (125) totaling 250 participants. Data was collected in all the six public hospitals in the Gambia from 1st August to 20th August. IBM SPSS (Version 22) was used to analyze data. Data analysis were exclusively descriptive statistics
Results: Overwhelming majorities of study population are strongly in favor of a national health insurance scheme in the Gambia (97.2%) and 88% think it is feasible. Half of the study population thinks tax should be the main source of funding for the health insurance scheme in the Gambia (48.4%) with out-of- pocket payment less preferred (6.0%). Majority of the study population preferred Capitation (40%) as payment method for health care providers. Fee For Performance was ranked second (30.8%) while Per Diem was least preferred (9.2%). About two- third of participants prefer a gatekeeper in the national health insurance scheme (75.2%) while 14.4% disagreed with the remaining 10.4% undecided. 83.2% of study participants thinks health care providers should be accredited before they are reimbursed by the national health insurance scheme
Conclusion: the government of the Gambia must ensure that all stakeholders are consulted during the planning, design and implementation of national health insurance scheme. This will enhance inclusiveness, acceptance and provide support to the scheme.
The government should also look into external sources of funding for the health insurance scheme such as donor agencies and bilateral partners who fund the largest share of total health spending in the country. Discussions should center on providing subsidy for the poor, women and children who are the most vulnerable in society. More research specifically large-scale longitudinal studies surveying key stakeholders is recommended.


Feldspathoids form the main mineral compositions of silica undersaturated magmatic rock units and have general compositional formula of Na, K aluminum silicate. They are indispensable raw materials in glass, ceramics and filler industries. However, nepheline is one of the most common of these compositions. Nepheline syenite or foid bearing syenite is one of the predominant rock units of the alkaline magmatic rocks in CACC. Due to its high alkali and alumina content per unit weight, it has been a formidable competition to feldspar. In ceramic industry, the low fusion point of nepheline syenite lowers the melting temperature, promotes faster melting, higher productivity, fuel savings; the high fluxing capacity of nepheline, allows it to act as a good vitrifying agent. In glass, nepheline syenite also supplies alumina, which gives improved thermal endurance, increased chemical durability and increased resistance to scratching and breaking [4, 7]. The presence of Fe2O3 rich opaque minerals within the foid bearing , may cause to act one of the major factors in preventing the development of many of the worlds nepheline syenite deposits, although magnetic separation can remove Fe2O3 bearing minerals such as biotite, ilmenite and magnetite, its applicaition solely is not found sufficient. Commercial nepheline syenite ore must have less than 2% Fe2O3 content, a property that unfortunately is not very common in deposits that are close to markets. With the exception of colourless glass, nepheline syenite for glass production requires the Fe2O3 content to be reduced to 0.35% through processing [2].


Severe damage to the cornea occurs if it dries. Autologous transplant of the submandibular salivary gland to supply conjunctival moisture is a therapeutic option, although saliva itself may be incompatible with a long-term healthy cornea. A 65-year-old man with previous denervation of his left lacrimal gland resulting from neurosurgical complications presented with chronic keratitis 13 years after an autologous vascularized transplant of his right submandibular gland into the temporal fossa. Its secretory duct was implanted into the conjunctival fomix. The scan was performed to determine the location and extent of functioning graft tissue before possible removal.


Based on the Lamé function and Jacobi elliptic function, the perturbation method is applied to some nonlinear coupled systems, and there many multi-order solutions are derived to these nonlinear coupled systems.


OBJECTIVES
To investigate periodontal status and oral hygiene practices among recent new immigrants from Quara, Ethiopia, with the aim to maintain and promote their periodontal health.

METHODS
Periodontal status was recorded for a total of 487 participants using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Age was grouped into 13-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, and 45-65 years, and its association with 'worst CPI' was tested. Information on oral hygiene behaviour was collected by interview.

RESULTS
The percentage of subjects with calculus is most common in all age groups. Low levels of periodontal pockets in the presence of calculus and very low levels of deep pockets were detected. Differences in CPI scores among the various age groups were statistically significant (p<0.0001). Oral hygiene practice is rare among children in Ethiopia, but a considerable proportion (53%) immediately adopted the local common custom and started brushing their teeth in Israel. Among the adults, oral hygiene practice with chewing sticks was common.

CONCLUSIONS
Periodontal health promotion of this population should be targeted towards the entire population by enhancement of self-care oral hygiene measures. Periodontal treatment of this population, especially scaling and root planing remains controversial. The presence of inferior oral hygiene and high levels of calculus, together with low levels of periodontal pathology, raises important thoughts regarding the natural history of periodontal disease development.


The aim of this study was to select the articles which were available for the research in the database SCIELO on the theme vaccination. The research is of the descriptive king, based on inquiry to the database SCIELO, where we looked for the articles which were associated with the chosen theme. 217 articles were found and, after being read, 87 were selected. The categories which were created were: experimental as well as bibliographical studies and others. The categories "experimental Studies" and "Bibliographical Studies" were divided in three subcategories nominated as homonymous as far as effectiveness of vaccines, biotechnology and prevention are concerned. We got to the conclusion that the research aimed at quite diversified themes, with several kinds of works referring to experimental studies. Keywords: Research; Vaccination; Data bases bibliographic.


Sleep disorders impair the quality of life for many individuals, but often go undiagnosed and untreated due to the cost and sleep-disturbing aggravation of polysomnography, the clinical sleep test. Simpler sleep monitoring systems that could be used at home may provide useful health information. A 2D grid of force sensors within a mat beneath the thorax of a sleeping subject has been reported to enable monitoring of respiration during sleep. A physical model of a thorax over such a 2D grid of force sensors may enable more tests and perturbations of parameters than could be done using only human subjects. The purpose of this project was to develop and test a physical model of a thorax undergoing volume changes, and measuring the changes in force by a grid of force sensors under the model. A prototype system was developed. Early testing shows promise for being able to monitor the changes in force as volume of the model changes. More development and testing are required toward development of improved algorithms and systems for sleep monitoring mats.


A useful method employing liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and a stable isotope was developed for simultaneous examination of major metabolism in adipocytes, de novo fatty acid synthesis, glycerol output, and glucose uptake with high sensitivity. The addition of thiazolidinediones, potent agonists of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors-γ, for 10 d increased glucose uptake in a dose-dependent manner. Fatty acid (FA) synthesis increased at low concentrations of thiazolidinediones (TZDs) and decreased at high concentrations. It is important to assess adipocytes from various examples of metabolism, because each example of adipocyte metabolism is directly related to obesity or metabolic syndrome in various ways. The technique makes metabolic examination easier than conventional methods by means of radioisotopes and makes it possible to identify metabolites and to apply them in biomarker screening.


BACKGROUND
Wireless signal transduction is the future in the field of laparoscopic surgery. Cable-free endoscopic equipment would be the ideal surgical instrument for every laparoscopic surgeon.

INSTRUMENT
Our department has developed a new cable-free laparoscopic setup that couples a rigid 0°, 10-mm laparoscope with a wireless camera modified with a special adapter. We used a portable and rechargeable LED cold light source. The signal was wirelessly transmitted from the camera to a tablet computer using the corresponding mobile application.

EXPERIENCE
Our team has used this setup in 14 laparoscopic operations with excellent results. Two cases performed exclusively with the new setup are presented in the videos. The image quality obtained was comparable with the conventional laparoscopic setup, and the operations performed were unaffected.

CONCLUSION
This report presents the use of a wireless camera throughout the course of a laparoscopic surgery, and the results are promising. The new systems' favorable characteristics, such as wireless signal transmission, cost, flexibility, and size, support this as a feasible new technique for performing laparoscopic surgery.


Introduction: Acanthosis nigricans is broadly classified into malignant and benign forms. Recent attention has been directed toward its benign endocrine associations. Acanthosis nigricans is a significant marker for insulin resistance.Observation: A 20-years-old girl has consulted for macular, hyperpigmented, papillomatic lesions which were on the neck with overflows on the mandibular areas and the ears, in the vertebral groove, the armpits, and the umbilicus. These lesions were associated with a clinical syndrome of hyperandrogenism. The blood sample showed hyperglycemia at 1.3 g/dl, hyperprogesteronemia at 0.63 ng/mL, hypertestosteronemia at 0.87 ng/mL and hypercholesterolemia at 2.63 g/L. Ultrasound of the uterus showed polycystic ovaries. The diagnosis of HAIR-AN syndrome was concluded and the patient was treated.Conclusion: HAIR-AN syndrome is a rare condition which is characterized by an unusual multisystem disorder in women.


Background: Research has suggested that patient expectations are associated with treatment outcome and evolve along with patient communication within the musculoskeletal field. However, few studies have investigated if or how physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR) consultations affect the attending patients' expectations regarding pain and functional improvement. Hence, the aims of the present study were to compare patient expectations regarding pain and functional improvement before and after a PMR consultation and to assess patient characteristics, including diagnosis, that could perhaps predict changes in expectations. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional. Eligible participants were first-time patients with neck/back or shoulder complaints who were referred to a PMR outpatient clinic between January and June 2013. Questionnaires (the Patient Shoulder Outcome Expectancies, or PSOE, questionnaire and a numeric rating scale, or NRS) focused on expectations regarding pain and functioning were completed immediately prior to and after a consultation with a PMR specialist. Results: In total, 257 patients were included. In total, 24% of the subjects expected a more positive outcome after the PMR consultation compared with before the consultation, while 10% of the subjects exhibited a negative change in expectations. Few patient characteristics other than sick leave were associated with changes in expectations; however, patients with shoulder complaints seemed to be more optimistic than patients with neck/back complaints. Conclusion: Expectations can be influenced by a single specialist consultation. Among clinical prognostic factors, only sick leave influenced the change expectations. However, patients with shoulder complaints seemed to be more optimistic than patients with neck/back complaints. Trial registration: The study was approved by the Data Protection Office at Oslo University Hospital, 2012/2574. ISRCTN registration: 40963362 (registered retrospectively 12.12.2016)


Background The Grannum grading system (established in 1979) grades normal placentas from 0-III on their ultrasonic appearance. Little attention has been paid to the appearance on MRI. Adapting Grannum grade so that it can be used for MRI could help differentiate normal features from pathology. Abstract PF.59 Table Trimester 2 Trimester 3 0 32 (25%) 4 (5%) Grade 1 63 (50%) 33 (45%) 2 20 (16%) 6 (8%) 3 11 (9%) 31 (42%) Total: 126 (63%) 74 (37%) Aim To determine the usefulness of Grannum grade in the MRI of normal placentas. Method 200 fetal MRI scans were reviewed retrospectively and graded according to their Grannum grade features1 2 on standard fetal MR sequences. Results Of the 200 MRI scans assessed 63% were from women in their 2nd trimester and 37% from women in their 3rd trimester. The mean GA was 172 days (range: 126-252 days). The MRI Grannum grades are shown in the table. A Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.349 (P value < 0.001) was calculated between the MRI Grannum grade and gestational age. Conclusion Previously it was suggested that grading based on Grannum grade is seen on MRI of the placenta and is potentially clinically useful. Our data challenges its usefulness which is in line with current ultrasound data and questions the value of Grannum grade in clinical practice. Technological developments may have increased the detail of MRI and ultrasound such that the grading of placentas proves difficult.


In 2006, a paper in the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine described a novel case of growth attenuation therapy and other treatments carried out on Ashley, a severely cognitively, neurologically and physically disabled 6-year-old girl. Some of the moral arguments that have sprung up in respect of the so-called "Ashley treatment" are considered, and it is suggested that they all miss something—that the proper treatment of Ashley may have as much to do with doctors' duties to themselves as with their duties to her. It is suggested that the Ashley treatment may have been in violation of doctors' self-regarding duties and that this possibility is worthy of further investigation.


The synthesis of serotonin transporter imaging agent [125I] -2-((2-((dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl) thio)-5-iodophenylamine([125I] ADAM) was reported. The chemical structure of the labeling precursor 5- (tributyl- stannyl) -2-((2-((dimethylamino)methyl)phenyl)thio)phenylamine and all its intermediates were verified by IR,1HNMR and MS. The radioiodinated compound was prepared using iododestannylation reaction by hydrogen peroxide. Final radiochemical purity was above 95% determined by TLC.


From experimental results of adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on zeolite, we propose simulations of the breakthrough curves based on the Linear Driving Force model. Experiments were run on fixed beds of hydrophobic commercial zeolites. Pollutants chosen are from several chemical classes with different polarities. A good agreement between experimental and numerical results is found when an adjustable value of the internal mass-transfer coefficient is used. A constant value of effective diffusivity is found independent of the nature and the amount of VOCs adsorbed. A relation linking intrapellet mass-transfer coefficient and equilibrium constant is proposed, including the average effective diffusivity, to make predictions of breakthrough curves for any kind of volatile organic pollutant in gaseous effluents.


This Essay concerns the Supreme Court's free speech rulings, which do not take a textualist approach. Instead, the Court draws and builds upon a large body of precedents, which contain and reflect a complex web of doctrines, exceptions, and exceptions to the exceptions. Likewise, the Court uses a varying mix of analyses. Not surprisingly, this leads to unpredictable and inconsistent rulings. To support these conclusions, this Essay will quote two federal judges from opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. First, Ninth Circuit Judge Marsha Berzon has said of free speech cases, lower court judges "do what [they] want because that's what" the Supreme Court does. (1) Justice Clarence Thomas agreed in Morse v. Frederick, (2) a case where the Court carved out yet another exception to the free speech rights that it had upheld for public school students in the landmark Tinker case. (3) Justice Thomas summed up the Court's rulings on point this way: "students have a right to speak in schools except when they do not." (4) Alas, Justice Thomas's summary applies not only to students, but also to the rest of us. In a recent article, First Amendment scholar Ron Collins documented forty-eight distinct exceptions to speech protection that the Court has either created or continued to enforce during the past several decades under the leadership of Chief Justices Rehnquist and Roberts. (5) In another recent article that analyzes all the free speech rulings of the Rehnquist-Roberts Court, Professor David Kairys concluded that this case law entails "an incoherent tangle of rules, doctrines, distinctions, and results that lacks cohesive principles or themes. Functionally, it provides an easy basis for either vindicating or rejecting any plausible free speech claim." (6) Despite its many inconsistencies, the Court's free speech jurisprudence does reflect some noteworthy general patterns, and this Essay will outline those that I consider to be the most important and interesting. Overall, I want to highlight what this Essay will call the "dark side" of the Court's free speech rulings, dark both in the sense that they are negative for free speech and in the sense that many people are unaware of them. The conventional wisdom is that this Court has been very speech protective, and it certainly has issued some important decisions that strongly protect controversial types of expression. For example, in the last three years, the Court has held that the Free Speech Clause protects corporate and union campaign expenditures, (7) videos depicting cruelty to animals, (8) protestors spouting hate speech near military funerals, (9) violent video games sold to minors, (10) lies about having received military honors, (11) and the nonconsensual disclosure of doctors' prescriptions to pharmaceutical marketers. (12) These rulings have understandably drawn a lot of attention, but viewed in isolation, they do not give an accurate impression of the Court's overall free speech jurisprudence. Several recent analyses have aimed to do precisely that, and they belie the conventional wisdom about the Court's alleged speech protectiveness. For example, Adam Liptak of the New York Times wrote about an analysis of the Court's free speech cases from 1953 to 2011 under Chief Justices Warren, Burger, Rehnquist, and Roberts; the study concluded that the Roberts Court hears fewer such cases and rules in favor of free speech at a lower rate than all three prior Courts. (13) Likewise, other studies have documented the following patterns in the Roberts Court's rulings: it rejects free speech claims much more often than it upholds them; in many cases in which it upholds free speech claims, it does so by votes of 9-0 or 8-1; and it affirms the lower court rulings when there was no circuit split, indicating that these were easy cases. (14) Conversely, in many cases in which the Court rejects free speech claims, it does so over strong dissents and overturns lower courts, (15) indicating that it is ignoring or cutting back on speech-protective precedent. …


Summary  Indigenous people demonstrably lived along rivers and around lakes and wetlands of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin in pre-European times. Waterways were, and continue to be, of major significance to the society and culture of Aboriginal peoples throughout Australia. Historically, they exploited most of the fauna – from mussels and crayfish, to fish and birds – and either ate, or used for other purposes, many species of aquatic plants. Such practices placed them in the role of environmental modifiers, a role played by all human groups from both past and present. They built sophisticated fish traps, cut gaps in river banks to allow fish to move on to floodplains, and there is evidence that they practised a form of fish culture by creating small impoundments in which small fish could live and grow in normally ephemeral tributary streams away from predatory larger fish. Knowledge of the numbers of Aboriginal people inhabiting the riverine regions of the Murray-Darling Basin are sketchy, but at times large groups congregated for cultural reasons, facilitating fishing with extensively engineered fish traps, such as that at Brewarrina, on the Barwon River in New South Wales. At other times, densities may have been about 0.5 person per river kilometre, although this was certainly not evenly distributed and the calculation postdated deaths from smallpox. From archaeological and anthropological evidence, aquatic fauna and flora would have constituted between about 30% and 100% of the diets of Indigenous people historically, depending on season and location. As such, Indigenous people were very much a part of the ecology of aquatic ecosystems and their effects may have been profound. Despite this, their role in influencing these ecosystems has largely been ignored by contemporary freshwater ecologists and managers. Current management practices do not seem to have considered the loss of this component of riverine ecosystems, and there is little debate about how the historical part that Indigenous people played in shaping these systems and their biota might be incorporated into management generally.


Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is a new advancement in hematology and oncology with its use in treating many refractory malignancies. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is CAR-T's clinically hazardous side effect, ranging from mild to life-threatening events. It was one of the first side effects detected with CAR-T. We conducted a literature review using PubMed (MeSH) to study CRS incidence after the administration of CAR-T to reflect its clinical importance. Nine studies are mentioned, with a total of 1357 patients enrolled for different types of refractory/relapsed cancers, and an average incidence of CRS of 64% is being noted. We have also stated numerous studies which mentioned the use and effectiveness of the commonly used drugs like tocilizumab, corticosteroids, and some new drugs. Although statistical data on CRS's conservative and supportive management is not available, the role of different supportive measures is evident. An overview of how it sets the framework of a peri-management approach has been considered. Through heightened incidence and relatively complex management of CRS, we would like to raise the question of the need for early prophylaxis against CRS when considering CAR-T. The need for more clinical trials in the future to prove the effectiveness of the latter is stated.


Abstract Understanding the impact severity of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) collisions with the human body remains a challenge and is essential to the development of safe UAS operations. Complementary to performing experiments of UAS collisions with a crash dummy, a computational impact model is needed in order to capture the large variety of UAS types and impact scenarios. This article presents the development of a multibody system (MBS) model of a collision of one specific UAS type with the human body as well with a crash dummy. This specific UAS type has been chosen because data from experimental drop tests on a crash dummy is available. This allows the validation of the MBS model of UAS impacting a crash dummy versus experimental data. The validation shows that the MBS model closely matches experimental UAS drop tests on a crash dummy. Subsequently, the validated UAS MBS model is applied to predict human body injury using a biomechanical human body model. Head and neck injury from the frontal, side and rear impact on the human head are predicted at various elevation angles and impact velocities. The results show that neck injury is not a concern for this specific UAS type, but a serious head injury is probable.


We measured citalopram and desmethylcitalopram concentrations in serum from 169 psychiatric patients, who were treated with common therapeutic drug doses. Altogether 202 serum samples were assayed by a nonenantioselective high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The results indicate that the kinetic variability (maximum concentration/minimum concentration) in dose- and weight-related serum citalopram (10.6-fold) and desmethylcitalopram (7.2-fold) is large even during monotherapy. Log serum citalopram (r = 0.36, p < 0.05) and desmethylcitalopram (r = 0.51, p < 0.01) concentrations of individual patients increased significantly with increasing drug doses. Dose- and weight-related (calculated as mg/kg dose basis) log serum citalopram (r = 0.29) but not desmethylcitalopram (r = 0.06) concentrations increased with aging (p < 0.001). No sex-related differences were found. Nineteen patients (19 samples) had concomitant treatment with neuroleptics, 84 patients (101 samples) with benzodiazepines, and 18 patients (28 samples) with tricyclic antidepressants. The concentrations in these patients were compared with those of 48 nonsmoking patients (54 samples) without any concomitant psychotropic drug treatment. None of the single neuroleptics alone had a significant effect on dose- and weight-related serum citalopram or desmethylcitalopram concentrations. However, citalopram concentrations increased by 121% (338 +/- 165 vs. 747 +/- 505, mean +/- SD; p < 0.01) and desmethylcitalopram by 85% (124 +/- 53 vs. 229 +/- 138; p < 0.05) when neuroleptics were pooled. Among single benzodiazepines, only alprazolam increased serum citalopram (338 +/- 165 vs. 391 +/- 267; p < 0.01) and desmethylcitalopram (124 +/- 53 vs. 186 +/- 175; p < 0.01) concentrations. When all the benzodiazepines were pooled, they still increased the serum concentration of the parent drug by 23% (338 +/- 165 vs. 414 +/- 303; p < 0.05) and those of the metabolite by 47% (124 +/- 53 vs. 182 +/- 163; p < 0.01). In patients who were simultaneously treated with clomipramine, serum citalopram (338 +/- 165 vs. 655 +/- 409; p < 0.001) and desmethylcitalopram (124 +/- 53 vs. 435 +/- 347; p < 0.001) concentrations were consistently higher than those of the controls. Even when the tricyclic antidepressants were pooled, they increased citalopram concentrations by 44% (338 +/- 165 vs. 486 +/- 312; p < 0.001) and desmethylcitalopram concentrations by 111% (124 +/- 53 vs. 261 +/- 260; p < 0.001). The results suggest that interindividual variability in serum citalopram concentrations is pronounced and that increased serum citalopram levels are related to advancing age and concomitant treatment with other psychotropic drugs. The citalopram dose should therefore ideally be individualized by therapeutic drug monitoring.


Today, 95 percent of diamonds set in jewellery worldwide are cult and polished in India, and surprisingly, in a so-called in-organized industry supported by more than a million artisans, workers and entrepreneurs with minimal formal education. Further, it is noteworthy that the global hub of cutting and polishing of diamonds has shifted from Antwerp, Belgium (considered a developed nation) to Gujarat, India (considered an emerging economy). It has happened in the last two decades due to emergence of these new organizational forms.
This book traces the historical evolution of the Indian diamond industry and is a compilation of findings from systematic , scientific investigations of the cultural aspects of organizing of firms in this industry. It suggests that, in the so-called informal and in-organized Indian diamond industry, there exists a well-organized network of thousands of small and medium sized firms where shared values and a culture of trust and loyalty governs efficient and globally successful business. It challenges the western, modern business and management literature which suggests that formal strategy, structure and processes govern successful firms and industry. This qualitative study spans a decade of work with a high level of dedication to developing rich, thick description, from an insider-perspective with ethnographic immersion.


A literature research is presented concerning the five different starches which were used. Also covered were size presses and how they affect paper properties. BOD was also covered, and how starch has a tremendous effect on it. The literature research indicates there are few quantitative results in this area. The objective of the experimental work was to compare five dif ferent starches, applied at the size press, for physical and optical properties, and also BOD. The starches used were an ethylated, an oxidized, a cationic, a thermal-chemical and a thermal-chemical cationic. These five starches were applied at three solids levels and then tested. Looking at the experimental results on an overall basis, the thermal-chemical cationic seemed to have come out on top on just about every test. Most impressive were the BOD results for the thermal-chemical cationic at 7 percent solids. It showed a con siderable difference in BOD levels when compared to the other starches at the same consumption level.


TV viewers suffer very often a psychical surrender in front the screens. This is a way of defencelessness against different levels of reality and veracity of TV contents. The mental attitude of viewer is a learning process usually hidden by appearance of naturalness of quotidian television device presence. But TV language is not natural, but rather a complicate system of message structures built in clearly intentional purpose. Human mind develops his learning process, that configures a life meaning, under very important psychical pressure. In which stage or step of this process the viewer mind configuration begins? Can we modify such configuration improving a critical judgement in front of television messages? All these questions move us to the most basic initial learning in childhood and adolescence periods inspiring searching works about the possible awakening of TV viewer intelligence through active technical training: we need unmasking the trick showing how television makes new realities or visions in which sometimes is difficult discriminate between truth and point of view. DESCRIPTORES/KEYWORDS


The thesis investigates how one local mainstream primary school in Hong Kong is
making multicultural education possible. Learner and learning diversity is an
increasingly complex issue in schools world-wide. In Hong Kong, the current education
policy has as a core value that all students have the right to learn. Yet finding effective
ways to manage students with diverse educational needs is problematic for local schools.
This research is a case study of one primary school that is trying to implement
multicultural educationto improve equitable learning opportunities for all their students.
The current research topic emerged following findings from a previous project in which
one hundred local Hong Kong teachers were found to have negative perceptions
regarding catering for student diversity in their teaching (Yeung, 2005, 2006). The
teachers' perceptions of students' abilities were influenced by students' test scores or
socio-cultural backgrounds. The local teachers are trained to work effectively with only
one dominant culture and they are unprepared to acknowledge the cultural differences in
schools. Teaching students from a range of backgrounds with diverse needs brings
about feelings of anxiety in schools.
In the current study, I emply a constructivist approach, that is, I discuss how
teachers re-shaped their perceptions, beliefs and behaviours as they developed and
implemented a school-based multicultural education project. I sought to understand and
examine how multicultural education was socially constructed and enacted by teachers
in one school. The two major research questions are: Firstly, how is multicultural
education socially constructed and enacted by teachers in mainstream school through
the integration of organizational, collegial and student-teacher factors? Secondly, if
there are any barriers, what are appropriate strategies or supportive measures that foster
implementation of multicultural education in a local school?
This is qualitative study that uses ethnographically-oriented methods comprising
document analysis, observations, semi-structured interviews and focus group meetings.
I examine Hong Kong education policies and multicultural education theories and
develop a transformative and holistic approach to achieving multicultural change in a
whole school.
In conclusion, it is expected that the study findings all assist educators in Hong
Kong to further understand present challenges in the school system regarding managing
diversity and attaining multicultural education goals. In particular, the study provides
positive teaching and learning strategies that could be implemented to address problems
of diverse learning needs, and to promote or develop equitable opportunities for all
students.


The Piran and Williams (1986) second-order formulation of 3+1 Regge calculus is used to calculate the evolution of a model of the Taub universe. The model displays qualitatively the correct behaviour, thereby giving some verification of the 3+1 formulation.


The rapid economic development and increasing consumption of electrical energy requires people to generate more energy. The new energy sources developed are required to be clean and environmentally friendly. Microfluidic energy harvesting device is relatively less known compared with other popular renewable energy sources, such as solar cell and bio-fuels, but can provide such a clean and environmentally-friendly source.

The classical electrokinetic energy conversion mechanism relies on a single stage conversion by forcing liquid through a channel with charged walls. When the net charges inside the electrical double layer (EDL) are transported by water flow, the produced electrical energy can be harvested via connection of electrodes at two ends of a channel.

Different from traditional single phase flow energy conversion, the liquid microjet was used for energy conversion. Applied pressure forces water flow through a micropore, forming a liquid jet. Then the jet broke into droplets, which are absolutely isolated by air. Droplet kinetic energy is converted to electrical energy when the charged droplets decelerate in the electrical field that forms between membrane and target. It operates entirely different with traditional energy conversion from streaming potential, hence we term it "ballistic energy conversion". Conversion occurs in two stages: first pressure is converted to kinetic energy and subsequently kinetic energy is converted to electrical energy. In the first stage a stream of high-velocity high-charge droplets is produced by forcing water through a micropore. In the second stage the charged droplets travel through an electrical field towards a high-potential target, decelerating them to zero speed. The target acquires its potential by droplet impact. Current is drawn from the target to do useful work. We strongly reduced loss factors by optimizing the setup from the physical model. At present this resulted in an energy conversion efficiency of almost 50% with as main loss factor hydrodynamic friction losses in the micropore.

Now, inspired by Kelvin's water dropper, we apply the electrostatic charge self-induction mechanism to an inertia-driven (ballistic) energy conversion system, and show the disadvantages of Kelvin's water dropper do not any more apply. The droplet charge thereby is derived from the same inductive charging mechanism as in Kelvin's droplet generator, employing two separate systems and cross-connecting targets and induction rings. To prevent overcharging of the droplets by the inductive mechanism and consequent droplet loss by repulsion from the target, we use voltage dividers, trying both a resistor divider and a diode divider, to enable stable energy conversion with a self-induction system. The current rapidly increased once the electrical circuit was connected. With reversely connected diodes, the induction voltage could be properly controlled to a saturated value (about 500V), whereby experimentally maximal 17.9% energy conversion efficiency was obtained with the diode-induced system.


A paradoxical finding from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in plants is that variation in metabolite profiles typically maps to a small number of loci, despite the complexity of underlying biosynthetic pathways. This discrepancy may partially arise from limitations presented by geographically diverse mapping panels. Properties of metabolic pathways that impede GWAS by diluting the additive effect of a causal variant, such as allelic and genetic heterogeneity and epistasis, would be expected to increase in severity with the geographical range of the mapping panel. We hypothesized that a population from a single locality would reveal an expanded set of associated loci. We tested this in a French Arabidopsis thaliana population (less than 1 km transect) by profiling and conducting GWAS for glucosinolates, a suite of defensive metabolites that have been studied in depth through functional and genetic mapping approaches. For two distinct classes of glucosinolates, we discovered more associations at biosynthetic loci than the previous GWAS with continental-scale mapping panels. Candidate genes underlying novel associations were supported by concordance between their observed effects in the TOU-A population and previous functional genetic and biochemical characterization. Local populations complement geographically diverse mapping panels to reveal a more complete genetic architecture for metabolic traits. This article is part of the theme issue 'Genetic basis of adaptation and speciation: from loci to causative mutations'.


We report the novel MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) FPTF (Fabry-Perot Tunable Filter) and its calibration system that controls the wavelength of the transmission peak accurately in the wide wavelength range of visible light. The MEMS FPTF consists of the Fabry-Perot filter with Ag alloy mirrors, the electrostatic actuator and the capacitive gap sensor. The calibration system consists of the capacitive gap sensor, the capacitance measurement circuit and the voltage controller. By introducing the calibration system to MEMS FPTF, we had accomplished the wavelength accuracy less than ±1nm, which is required to the highly accurate spectrum measurement in the range from 400nm to 700nm.


BACKGROUND
In addition to exogenous risk factors, the development of head and neck cancer is based on genetic alterations and individual mutagen sensitivity. DNA damage caused by xenobiotics is not uniformly distributed over the DNA, as certain chromosomes and genes are more likely to be damaged than others. The DNA damaging effect of xenobiotics and the specific sites of chromosomal changes require further investigation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In order to evaluate mutagen sensitivity in macroscopically healthy mucosal tissue of 30 patients with (15) and without cancer (15) of the oropharynx, three different chromosomes (chromosomes 3, 5 and 8) involved in carcinogenesis of the oropharynx and one control chromosome (chromosome 1) were examined. After incubation with benz[a]pyren-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE), a tobacco-associated carcinogen, comet fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was applied to assess DNA damage of these chromosomes. Furthermore, lymphocytes and macroscopically healthy mucosal cells of the oropharynx were assessed using FISH after their incubation with BPDE in order to evaluate loss and gain of DNA in these chromosomes.

RESULTS
BPDE caused significant DNA damage compared to the negative control in oropharyngeal mucosa cells of patients with and without carcinoma. No difference was observed between mutagen sensitivity of patients suffering from cancer of the oropharynx and patients without malignancy. In cells from patients suffering from squamous cell carcinoma, significantly higher DNA damage was found in chromosome 5 and 8 after incubation with BPDE and application of comet FISH. No difference was found in patients without cancer of the head and neck. After application of FISH, no difference in the amount of DNA was found in chromosomes 1, 3, 5 and 8, neither in lymphocytes nor in mucosal cells from both groups. No DNA gain or loss was detected.

CONCLUSION
Our results confirm the higher sensitivity of chromosomes 5 and 8 of normal epithelial cells of oropharyngeal cancer patients to BPDE. These effects were shown in macroscopically healthy tissue of such patients for the first time. Therefore, we suggest that these are early onset effects in carcinogenesis of the head and neck. No such effect was shown for chromosome 3 and control chromosome 1.


In this paper, real-time video transmission with quality of service (QoS) assurance over orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless systems is studied. Three quasi-optimal subcarrier allocation schemes, namely regular, delay tolerant and adaptive, are proposed. In the proposed schemes, effective throughput per subcarrier employing adaptive forward error correction (FEC) coding in a Rayleigh fading channel is evaluated, and a capacity matrix that governs all active users and all assignable subcarriers is formulated. The Munkres algorithm is used in the schemes to achieve optimal subcarrier assignment. Performance analyses in terms of spectral efficiency and packet loss probability are presented. Multi-user multichannel diversity is investigated to exploit the innate capacity gain in terms of fading variation and delay tolerance. The proposed schemes are scalable to both single-cell and multi-cell circumstances. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed schemes can effectively achieve quasi-optimal spectral utilization and significantly improve system throughput.


PurposeTo evaluate a novel contact lens-embedded pressure sensor for continuous measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP). MethodsRepeated measurements of IOP and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) were recorded in 12 eyes of 12 subjects in sitting and supine positions using 3 configurations of the dynamic contour tonometer: slit-lamp mounted (DCT), hand-held (HH), and contact lens-embedded sensor (CL). The IOP and OPA for each condition were compared using repeated measures ANOVA and the 95% limits of agreement were calculated. ResultsThe sitting IOP (mean and 95% CI) for each configuration was DCT: 16.3 mm Hg (15.6 to 17.1 mm Hg), HH: 16.6 mm Hg (15.6 to 17.6 mm Hg), and CL: 15.7 mm Hg (15 to 16.3 mm Hg). The sitting OPA for each configuration was DCT: 2.4 mm Hg (2.1 to 2.6 mm Hg), HH: 2.4 mm Hg (2.1 to 2.7 mm Hg), and CL: 2.1 mm Hg (1.8 to 2.3 mm Hg). Supine IOP and OPA measurements with the CL and HH sensors were both greater than their corresponding sitting measurements, but were significantly less with the CL sensor than the HH sensor. The mean difference and 95% Limits of Agreement were smallest for the DCT and CL sensor comparisons (0.7±3.9 mm Hg) and widest for the CL and HH sensors (−1.9±7.25 mm Hg); these wider limits were attributed to greater HH measurement variability. ConclusionsThe CL sensor was comparable to HH and DCT sensors with sitting subjects and is a viable method for measuring IOP and OPA. Supine measurements of IOP and OPA were greater than sitting conditions and were comparatively lower with the CL sensor. HH measurements were more variable than CL measurements and this influenced the Limits of Agreement for both sitting and supine conditions.


The effect of periodate oxidation on the chemical and sorption properties of cotton yarn was investigated by determining aldehyde group content, moisture sorption, water retention and iodine sorption. Oxidation of cotton yarn was performed by varying concentration of sodium periodate solution and reaction time. To measure the aldehyde content present in the oxidized cotton, the aldehyde groups were selectively oxidized to carboxyl groups with sodium chlorite at pH 4-5, at room temperature for 48 h, and carboxyl group content was determined by modified calcium-acetate method. Differences in the sorption properties of untreated and oxidized cotton samples were obtained using conventional methods. The aldehyde groups were introduced into the oxidized cotton up to 99.2 μmol/g. Compared to the untreated fibers, oxidized cotton samples exhibited higher moisture sorption (up to 9%) and lower water retention values (up to 19%) and iodine sorption values (up to 31%). Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the crystalline structure of cellulose is not significantly changed by periodate oxidation, which is of great importance for textile material production.


Survival rate of liver transplanted patients is depending on management of postoperative complications. These complications include technical problems related to the operation, dysfunction of the allograft, and variety of medical complications. Differentiating and appropriately managing these diverse complications is a formidable challenge. Given the complexity of liver transplantation, it is not surprising that a variety of technical complication can occur following the operation. The most prominent of these include intraabdominal bleeding, hepatic artery thrombosis, portal vein thrombosis, and obstruction of or leak from the biliary anastomosis. In addition to these technical complications, each of which can result in dysfunction of the graft, there are a number of intrahepatic causes of graft dysfunction. The most common of these are allograft rejection, viral hepatitis and non-specific postoperative jaundice. In living related liver transplantation, primary graft non-function is rare. Accurate diagnosis and management of the various causes of graft dysfunction, whether intrahepatic or extrahepatic in origin, is very important.


This study aimed to evaluate the effect of milking systems and cooling on total bacterial count (TBC), and the amount of milk samples with TBC < 105, which represents high-quality milk. A total of 12,221 records of milk TBC were obtained from a dairy industry in the western region of Parana State, Brazil, from January to October 2006. After the sampling was conducted, the milk quality was analyzed in the laboratory by the method of flow cytometry. The TBC data were classified by milking system, type of coolers and intervals of the TBC, in accordance with Normative Instruction 62, and submitted to the chi-square test for independence. The proportions of milk TBC among types of coolers at each milking system were compared using the calculated statistic Z. A lower TBC value (p < 0.01) was observed in milk obtained from cows milked using a piped system and from bulk cooled milk. The proportion of milk samples evaluated at three levels of TBC cooled by the immersion system did not differ (p = 0.1549) from bulk cooled milk when the milk was obtained from herds milked with a piped system. The best microbiological quality of milk in the western region of Parana was achieved with a piped milking system and bulk cooling.


N-Acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) are used as quorum-sensing signal molecules by many gram-negative bacteria. We have reported that Shewanella sp. strain MIB015 degrades AHLs. In the present study, we cloned the aac gene from MIB015 by PCR with specific primers based on the aac gene in Shewanella oneidensis strain MR-1, which showed high homology with the known AHL-acylases. Escherichia coli expressing Aac showed high degrading activity of AHLs with long acyl chains. HPLC analysis revealed that Aac worked as AHL-acylase, which hydrolyzed the amide bond of AHL. In addition, expression of Aac in fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum markedly reduced AHL production and biofilm formation. In conclusion, this study indicates that Aac might be effective in quenching quorum sensing of fish pathogens.


Text generation models can generate factually inconsistent text containing distorted or fabricated facts about the source text. Recent work has focused on building evaluation models to verify the factual correctness of semantically constrained text generation tasks such as document summarization. While the field of factuality evaluation is growing fast, we don't have well-defined criteria for measuring the effectiveness, generalizability, reliability, or sensitivity of the factuality metrics. Focusing on these aspects, in this paper, we introduce a meta-evaluation framework for evaluating factual consistency metrics. We introduce five necessary, common-sense conditions for effective factuality metrics and experiment with nine recent factuality metrics using synthetic and human-labeled factuality data from short news, long news and dialogue summarization domains. Our framework enables assessing the efficiency of any new factual consistency metric on a variety of dimensions over multiple summarization domains and can be easily extended with new meta-evaluation criteria. We also present our conclusions towards standardizing the factuality evaluation metrics.


A series of cubic phase Co3O4 nano-leaves were prepared via a combined approach of solution reaction and calcination. According to x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, we find that the Co3O4 grain size increases with calcination temperature. This can induce many gaps in the products. M-T and M-H magnetization measurements reveal the typical antiferromagnetic behavior of nano-leaves. The effective moments of the samples prepared at 300, 400 and 500°C are 5.6, 5.8 and 5.7μB per formula unit (FU), respectively, larger than the bulk value of 4.14μB/FU.


INTRODUCTION
In this article we would like to make an institutional report and our early experience in video-assisted right minithoracotomy approach for mitral valve surgery.

CASE REPORT
Surgical technique include mitral valve repair or replacement through right lateral minithoracotomy, percutaneous cannulation for venous drainage and optional femoral or distal ascendant aortic cannulation for vacuum assisted CPB, direct cross clamping of the aorta with anterograde administration of the cardioplegic solution for inducing cardiac arrest. Mean CPB time was 128 min +/- 41 min, mean Cross clamping time was 70 min +/- 14 min. Mean ICU stay was 1.2 days, while mean blood transfusion was 0.8 package/patient, no complications has occurred and the patients were discharged between the 4th and 7th postoperative day. Echocardiographically follow-up (2-6 months) showed absence of mitral valve regurgitation in the mitral repair patients and good functioning of prosthetic valves.

CONCLUSION
Minimally invasive mitral valve procedures through right lateral minithoracotomy might be effective alternative to full sternotomy approach in mitral valve surgery.


Abstract Corruption is diverse in its forms and embedded in health systems worldwide. Health-sector corruption directly impedes progress towards universal health coverage by inhibiting people's access to quality health services and to safe and effective medicines, and undermining systems for financial risk protection. Corruption is also a cross-cutting theme in the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs) which aim to improve population health, promote justice and strong institutions and advance sustainable human development. To address health-sector corruption, we need to identify how it happens, collect evidence on its impact and develop frameworks to assess the potential risks and put in place protective measures. We propose that the SDGs can be leveraged to develop a new approach to anti-corruption governance in the health sector. The aim will be to address coordination across the jurisdictions of different countries and foster partnerships among stakeholders to adopt coherent policies and anti-corruption best practices at all levels. Combating corruption requires a focused and invigorated political will, better advocacy and stronger institutions. There is no single solution to the problem. Nevertheless, a commitment to controlling corruption via the SDGs will better ensure the integrity of global health and human development now and beyond 2030.


The objective of this study was to develop chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with deferoxamine mesylate (DFO) for slow release of this iron-chelating drug. Drug nanoencapsulation was performed via ionic gelation of chitosan using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as cross-linker. Nanoparticles with a size ranging between 150 and 400 nm were prepared for neat CS/TPP with a 2/1 molar ratio while their yield was directly dependent on the applied stirring rate during the preparation process. DFO at different content (20, 45 and 75 wt %) was encapsulated into these nanoparticles. We found that drug loading correlates with increasing DFO content while the entrapment efficiency has an opposite behavior due to the high solubility of DFO. Hydrogen-bonding between amino and hydroxyl groups of DFO with reactive groups of CS were detected using FT-IR spectroscopy while X-ray diffraction revealed that DFO was entrapped in amorphous form in the CS nanoparticles. DFO release is directly dependent on the content of loaded drug, while model analysis revealed that the release mechanism of DFO for the CS/TPP nanoparticles is by diffusion. Treatment of murine RAW 264.7 macrophages with nanoencapsulated DFO promoted an increased expression of transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) mRNA, a typical homeostatic response to iron deficiency. These data provide preliminary evidence for release of pharmacologically active DFO from the chitosan nanoparticles.


This study documents the fishing practices and local knowledge of marine resources of a group of Polynesian Tikopians who were resettled to Nukufero Village in the Russell Islands in the 1950s. Both the exploitation of the marine resources and cultural attitudes associated with the resource utilization in their new location are described. Technological advances like the use of monofilament lines, metal fishhooks, and iron spears have been incorporated into the fishing practices. Marine organisms have provided food, materials for tools and utensils, weapons, ornaments, and medicine for many generations for this society. With the introduction of commercial fishing there has been a gradual change in the perception of the utilization of marine resources. The people of Nukufero are presently reevaluating the values they place on their marine resources and considering ways that traditional approaches to the resource exploitation can be respected and yet development can proceed without damage to either cultural values or fish stocks.


The Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are characterized by the severe constraints in the com- putational, storage and energy resources. Though there has been significant improvement in the available computational resources due to the proliferation of the next-generation sensor nodes, the energy and stor- age resources of sensor nodes are still limited. As the sensor nodes are often deployed in ubiquitous and pervasive environments, it is necessary to ensure communications security in a WSN. However, the use of the security protocols adds to the associated overhead. Therefore, ensuring communications security in a WSN is a challenge. We believe that since the core component of any security protocol is the cipher used therein; the overhead due to a security protocol can be largely reduced, by employing essentially a lightweight cipher. But at the same time, the cipher so employed must ensure appropriate levels of security with standard key-sizes. Currently, Skipjack (80-bit key-size) is the cipher of choice, for the software based security protocols like TinySec, SenSec and MiniSec, used in WSNs. However, with the help of exhaustive simulation, experiments and analysis, in this paper, we show that our optimized implementation of the Corrected Block Tiny Encryption Algorithm (XXTEA) (128-bit key-size), can be a good alternative to Skipjack; at least in the resource constrained WSN environments.


This study investigated the influence of supergravity on the segregation of components in the Zn–Bi monotectic system and consequently, the creation of an interface of the separation zone of both phases. The observation showed that near the separation boundary, in a very narrow area of the order of several hundred microns, all types of structures characteristic for the concentration range from 0 to 100% bismuth occurred. An additional effect of crystallization in high gravity is a high degree of structural order and an almost perfectly flat separation boundary. This is the case for both the zinc-rich zone and the bismuth-rich zone. Texture analysis revealed the existence of two privileged orientations in the zinc zone. Gravitational segregation also resulted in a strong rearrangement of the heavier bismuth to the outer end of the sample, leaving only very fine precipitates in the zinc region. For comparison, the results obtained for the crystallization under normal gravity are given. The effect of high orderliness of the structure was then absent. Despite segregation, a significant part of bismuth remained in the form of precipitates in the zinc matrix, and the separation border was shaped like a lens. The described method can be used for the production of massive bimaterials with a directed orientation of both components and a flat interface between them, such as thermo-generator elements or bimetallic electric cell parts, where the parameters (thickness) of the junction can be precisely defined at the manufacturing stage.


The article investigates the actual problem of paremiology and studies proverbs, their role in maintaining cultural heritage of different nations. Moreover, it demonstrates comparative and typological analysis of proverbs in two languages (English and Uzbek) with corresponding examples and equivalents in these languages.


Modern buildings provide an enormous amount of data available from various sources ranging from modular wireless sensors to smart meters. As well as enhancing energy management and building performance, the analysis of these datasets can enhance the management of decentralized energy systems (electrical storage, PV generation, heat storage, etc.). To optimize the interaction between the building and the grid, it is essential to determine the total energy flexibility of the user and the building. A building has different possibilities for demand side management, energy storage and energy exchange for which a functional-layered approach is proposed from the user up to building and its interaction with the energy infrastructure. Central is the principle of the human-in-the-loop, where a bottom-up approach places the human needs as a central starting point for the energy interaction optimisation. The combination of Big Data with deep learning techniques offers new possibilities in the prediction of energy use and decentralized renewable energy production (e.g. from local weather data taking into account local phenomena such as urban heat islands). This combined with a more bottom-up approach of multi-agent systems with a gossip-based cooperative approach using Small Data offers decentralized control and monitoring autonomy to reduce the complexity of the energy system integration and transition. This makes it possible to relate the outcomes of the urban energy system integration on a neighbourhood level. The approach is being applied to a typically medium-sized office building. A first application of the human-in-the-loop controlling the lighting systems in the open-plan workplace of the test-bed office building showed some estimated annual energy saving of around 24%. Practical application : Analysis of a large database containing so called Big Data of clusters of buildings seems promising. Therefor there is the need to study the potential impact of utilization of big building operational data in building services industry. Besides this there is also a need for a data mining-based method for analyzing massive building operational data of a specific building, Small Data. This work sets out a general framework and method for doing both and to combine the strength of both approaches. The presented combined approach and results will be of interest to engineers and facility managers wondering what the key constraints to optimal use data to optimize low energy/carbon control strategies might have within their work.


Dopaminergic modulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) plays an important role in cognitive functions, including working memory. At optimal concentrations, dopamine (DA) enhances pyramidal cell (PC) firing to increase task-related activity. However, spatial and temporal "tuning" of the persistent firing that underlies this mnemonic activity requires inhibitory control from gamma-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) interneurons. How DA modulates the inhibitory control provided by different types of interneurons in the primate cortex is not known. We studied the effects of DA and DA receptor-specific agonists and antagonists on GABAergic inhibition and interneuron excitability in slices from primate DLPFC. Using whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons, we examined the effects of DA on spontaneous (action potential dependent) and miniature (action potential independent) inhibitory postsynaptic currents. We found that DA can increase inhibition via a presynaptic, action potential-dependent mechanism. In current-clamp recordings from physiologically and morphologically identified interneurons, we investigated the pharmacology and cell type specificity of this effect. DA increased the excitability of fast-spiking (FS), nonadapting interneurons via activation of D1- but not D2-type receptors. In contrast, DA had no effect on interneurons with adapting firing patterns. Thus, DA and D1 receptor activation affect local recurrent circuits by selectively modulating FS interneurons that control the firing of PCs through perisomatic innervation.


Polyporus umbellatus is a traditional Chinese medicinal mushroom. The growth of P. umbellatus sclerotia requires the rhizomorphs of Armillaria spp. to supply nutrition. Whether the main components (MC) of sclerotia of P. umbellatus are related to the phylogeny of Armillaria associates or other environmental factors is largely unknown. In this study, we collected 17 sclerotia and soil samples from northeast to southwest China. In total, 17 Armillaria associates were isolated, and sclerotial MC contents and soil characteristics (total N, P, K, and organic matter) were determined. The analysis revealed that the MC content of P. umbellatus did not resemble a Brownian motion process in phylogeny of Armillaria associates, but were significantly influenced by the total N content of the soil. These results provide clear evidence that sclerotia of P. umbellatus associating with phylogenetic related Armillaria associates possess differing MC content. The mechanisms of nutrient exchange in P. umbellatus-Armillaria associations now require further elucidation.


In data analysis new forms of complex data have to be considered like for example (symbolic data, functional data, web data, trees, SQL query and multimedia data, ...). In this context classical data analysis for knowledge discovery based on calculating the center of gravity can not be used because input are not $\mathbb{R}^p$ vectors. In this paper, we present an application on real world symbolic data using the self-organizing map. To this end, we propose an extension of the self-organizing map that can handle symbolic data.


This study examines factors conditioning the fishing location decisions of the Chilean fleet operating in the South-east Pacific straddling jack mackerel fishery, considering voyage data for the1987-2004 period. As from the early 1990s, this fleet began to move beyond the 200 nm zone, responding to changes in the spatial distribution of the species. It is thought that this change dynamics may have been intensified by the strong 1997-98 El Nino event. The return of distant water-fishing-nation's fleets to this fishery, as from the year 2000, has increased interest in understanding effects related with this spatial change dynamics. This paper is an econometric analysis of the effect of environmental, regulatory, technological and economic factors on the fishing location decisions of the Chilean fleet working in this fishery. The possible influence of El Nino events on the spatial operations of this fleet is tested.