Many applications such as sensor networks, RFID, scientific experimental measurements, stock market prediction, information extraction, etc., need to manage uncertain data and process complex correlations among uncertain data. In probabilistic database systems, uncertain data are represented through attaching probability value to tuples, maybe attributes. Some probabilistic data models assume that tuples are independent of each other and cannot express data correlations effectively. Although others based on probabilistic graph model can capture the representation of uncertainty and complex correlations, the scalability of query and probabilistic inference cannot satisfy the needs of the applications well. In this paper, a novel probabilistic data model RTx-PDM is proposed. RTx-PDM can not only handle arbitrary uncertain data natively at the attribute or tuple level but also represent the correlations among uncertain data with the intuitive BLOCK structure. Especially, RTx-PDM can effectively express shared and schema-level correlations in a compact way through using BLOCK. Traditional relation operators are extended to support manipulating BLOCKs and representing correlations in the operation results. Experimental results validate our approach and demonstrate the effectiveness of exploiting data correlations during query processing.


The spatial restructuring of village systems is an important means by which to promote rural revitalization. A large number of villages with small average areas bring great challenges to the implementation of the Rural Revitalization Strategy (RRS) in China. To promote the implementation of the RRS, it is necessary to restructure the village system. This paper proposes a method of spatial restructuring for the village system at the county level, oriented toward the RRS. This study proposes a village classification system with central villages, characteristic villages, and merged villages. It also accounts for the role of various villages in the RRS and proposes differentiated development strategies. This study involved the construction of a village centrality index system and a central village selection model aligned with the RRS. Taking the district of Jintan in Jiangsu Province as a case study for the empirical analysis, the results show that the applicability of the model to the study area is good. Using this model, 32 central villages and 10 characteristic villages were selected. After restructuring the village system, the number of villages decreased by 69.1%. The results from analyzing the travel time radius of the central villages show that 71.5% of the land in the evaluation area lies within a 15 min commute of the central villages, and 96.5% lies within 25 min, indicating that the locations and number of the selected central villages are reasonable. Compared with the service area of the village system before the restructure, the average service area of the central villages is 3.4 times larger, which helps to improve the infrastructure and public service efficiency of the central villages. By guiding resources to aggregate in the central villages and promoting the comprehensive consolidation of land in the merged villages, the restructuring of the village system can help further the success of the RRS in Jintan.


Briefly reviews issues of palatability, food composition, energy metabolism, and eating behaviour in relation to overeating and obesity, with a particular emphasis on the possible role of popular, sweet and high‐fat "snack" foods. Consumption of such foods may be one contributor to a high overall dietary fat intake. However, while it is increasingly clear that relative intakes of fat (but not carbohydrate) may be causally associated with the development of obesity, it is difficult to relate this condition to the consumption of any single food or food group. Many popular "snack" foods present problems of control for individuals attempting to restrict or reduce their energy intakes and, by virtue of the high fat content and energy density of such foods, they may be viewed as possible contributors to overeating amongst susceptible individuals.


Objectives
The current study examines physical cigarette design characteristics and tobacco metal content of cigarettes obtained from 5 countries to determine how these properties vary for cigarette brands, both within and across countries with different dominant manufacturers.

Methods
Cigarette packs were collected from International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey (ITC) participants in the U.S., the U.K., Mauritius, Mexico, and Thailand. Cigarettes were assessed for physical and design properties (eg, ventilation, pressure drop, rod density, weight) by published methods, and for metal content (As, Cd, Ni, Pb) by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.

Results
Significant differences in cigarette design and toxic metal concentrations were observed between countries and between manufacturers within countries. Filter ventilation, which is strongly predictive of machine-measured tar and nicotine levels, varied most widely across countries. Ni and Cd were highest in Thailand (2.23ug/g and 1.64ug/g, respectively); As was highest in Mexico (0.29ug/g) and Pb was highest in the U.K. (0.43 ug/g).

Conclusions
Parties to the FCTC should consider the adoption of uniform product standards related to cigarette design, emissions, and tobacco content that would reduce population health risks.


BACKGROUND
Several studies have reported the efficiency of immediate loading techniques.

PURPOSE
The aim of this multicenter prospective study was to evaluate the clinical efficiency of the one-piece screw (OPS) implants used by general dentists.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 272 patients were treated with 533 implants at five dental clinics by five general dentists. Some implants were provided with provisional restoration. Implants in partially edentulous spaces were splinted with acryl, composite, and intraoral welding. The implant survival rates, bone resorption, plaque accumulation, and soft tissue health were evaluated after 3, 6, and 12 months. The final restorations were cemented in the maxilla after 6 months and in the mandible after 3 months.

RESULTS
Twelve implants failed (98% survival rate) after 12 months. None of the splinted implants failed during the follow-ups. There were five failures in unsplinted partial cases. The average amounts of bone loss around the implants were 0.40 ± 0.35 mm, 0.56 ± 0.41 mm, and 0.59 ± 0.41 mm after 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Visible plaque was registered in 18% of the implants, and bleeding on probing was observed in 17% of the implants after 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS
High survival rates and favorable host tissue responses support the clinical performance of OPS implants. This study demonstrated that one-piece implants can be efficiently used by well-trained general dentists.


In this paper, we present a multi-fingered robot hand model with 20 Degrees of Freedom (DoF). We have developed a humaniform robot hand which containts 14 servomotors, equipped with several sensors and a wireless communication set. Based on the proposed design of the multi-fingered robot hand, efficient global model equations have been generated by the Lagrange formulation. Furthermore the dynamic model emphasize the coupling dynamic characteristics. The system is split to seven sub-blocs which can be separately simulated. The passivity approach is proposed and properties are illustrated by simulation results. Several simulation results show that the derived dynamic model can predict the motion of the multi-fingered hand in free motion or in constrained behavior.


The introduction and expansion of high-speed rail networks has been a major feature of transport developments over the past 50 years, reducing domestic and international travel times, encouraging modal shift from air transport, in particular, and, in some cases, facilitating economic regeneration. Britain is connected to the European high-speed railway network via the Channel Tunnel and the 'High Speed 1' (HS1) rail link between London and the Tunnel, and plans are in place for the construction of 'High Speed 2' (HS2), connecting the Midlands and the North of England to London and thus to the European network. In addition to journey time reductions and modal shift from more environmentally damaging forms of transport, high-speed rail on dedicated infrastructure provides a significant direct increase in total passenger transport capacity, and, by replacing at least some inter-city rail passenger services on conventional routes, releases capacity on those routes, thus indirectly providing additional capacity for conventional freight and other passenger trains, including commuter and regional services. A critical element of the planning and design of high-speed rail services is the location and spacing of stations, with a view to maximising the number of potential passengers served, while not including so many stations that end-to-end journey time savings are lost or unacceptably reduced. In this respect, the situation in Britain, and in England in particular, differs considerably from that in France, for example: while France's large urban centres are typically separated by long distances through sparsely-populated rural areas, the major cities of England are more closely spaced, and the intermediate areas are typically more heavily populated. The planning of locations for interchange between high-speed and conventional train services is another, related challenge, particularly in the context of an existing, relatively dense, conventional railway network. This aspect of the planning process includes consideration of the options for enabling high-speed services to run beyond the high-speed network to serve locations on the conventional network, as happens with high-speed domestic services on High Speed 1, and on some domestic and international TGV services. By removing at least some higher-speed passenger services from parallel conventional routes, high-speed rail, in addition to directly releasing capacity on these routes, can deliver a reduction in the speed differentials between the remaining passenger and freight services that continue to use them, thus providing further additional capacity within constant capacity utilisation limits. The planning and prioritisation of the residual and additional services needs careful consideration, in order to achieve an advantageous balance between the remaining conventional services while maximising the potential additional capacity. This paper describes work undertaken by Arup and others on the planning and development of high-speed rail in Britain, and to achieve the appropriate relationship between high-speed and residual conventional services on both HS1 and HS2. It also describes the challenges involved in the prioritisation of freight and passenger services with different performance and economic characteristics, and proposed methods and further research to address them and to optimise the prioritisation process and make the best possible use of the available capacity on both conventional and high-speed routes.


Epoxidation of styrenes is efficiently catalyzed by micelle-like molecular capsules providing Mn-porphyrins in water at room temperature. In contrast to usual Mn-porphyrin catalysts, the encapsulated Mn-porphyrin catalysts show higher reactivities (up to 1350 TON for 1 h) even without the addition of imidazole ligands. Spectroscopic studies and competitive-binding experiments demonstrate that the efficient catalytic cycle stems from the enforced proximity of the catalyst and substrates as well as the smooth replacement of the products by substrates in the hydrophobic cavity of the capsule.


The coconut fruits is very useful to be processed into cooking oil and it can meet the needs of cooking for Indonesia people, But before the coconuts processed into oil, The coconuts should be dried first. Usually the drying process is manually, that is dried in the sun. Unfortunately this way is not hygienic and can't be done continuously, causing the coconut fungus overgrow. This paper proposes methode to solve the problem above.This research makes the dryer coconut fruitssystem by using the heater.Dryer system used for dry some coconut fruits that must be reduced the water content up to 5%, this dry coconutis called copra. System requires heater which will be regulated the temperature. Heater temperature setting is done by adjusting the heater supply voltage, and this is the task of ac to ac voltage controller. Ac to ac voltage controller is a circuit converter is capable converting ac voltage with value 220 Vrms at 50 Hz frequency and have waveform pure sinusoidal become ac voltage frequency at 50 Hz with an output voltage suitable with our need but the voltage waveform not impure sinusoidal or defective as a result firing angle effects. The output voltage which we set determines the value of the heater temperature. The output voltage is set from the firing angle of the triac component using the addition and decreasing angle values. Based on the results of experiments that have been done, if the drying chamber which has volume 135.2 liters and the temperature regulated at 70 0 C then the heater with a power requirement of 400 W should receive supply 216 V from ac to ac voltage controller. So the triac of ac to ac voltage controller fired on 0.55 radians so that the to ac voltage controller that gets 220 V input voltage can produce 216 V output voltage.


Synthetic pyrethroids are a class of pesticides widely used for agricultural and household purposes. The use of synthetic pyrethroids has, considerably, increased in recent years. However, the increase in synthetic pyrethroids use has subsequently raised concerns about their effect on aquatic life as they are highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates. Thus, monitoring accumulation of these compounds in the environmental matrices is of great concern. In this book the analytical methods for the analysis of pyrethroids were compared with detailed discussion about their merits and demerits. Also, factors affecting stability of synthetic pyrethroids in environmental samples were discussed. Besides, on the basis of published literature and my experience, suggestions were made concerning the optimum conditions for handling environmental samples of synthetic pyrethroids during transport and storage. Finally, I hope that this book will benefit researchers in the field of environmental analysis.


This paper discusses information warfare and ethical issues by providing an overview to the subject of information warfare, and a brief discussion of warfare and historical notions of just war. Following this, issues are discussed which describe significant areas of interest to both the "underdog" and the "fat cat," those either seeking or holding power, respectively, through the use of information warfare. A brief guide follows recommending how an organization (small or large) may defend itself in light of the material presented, along with an appropriate conclusion.


Aims: The present study was conducted to determine hepatotoxic effect of aqueous and phenolic extracts of Persea americana seed. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. November 2012 to January 2013. Methodology: Wistar albino rats weighing 100 to 110 g were divided into four groups. The aqueous and phenolic extracts were administered orally for 21 days, at a dose of 500 mg/kg body Short Communication Zakariya et al.; IJBCRR, 10(4): 1-6, 2016; Article no.IJBCRR.23196 2 weight. Blood samples were collected for the assessment of serum marker enzymes, while the liver tissue was used for histopathological Studies. Results: The serum levels of AST, ALT, and ALP in aqueous and phenolic extracts groups were found to be significantly higher compared to control group. However, group treated with solution of phenol shows no significant pathology. The Liver biopsy of aqueous and phenolic extracts treated rats shows severe degeneration of the hepatocytes when compared with control group, while group treated with solution of phenol shows little or no significant liver damage. Conclusion: The result suggested hepatotoxic effect of aqueous and phenolic extracts of Avocado seed, therefore administration of P. americana seed extracts may contribute significantly to liver damage, at higher dose.


Expressed sequence tag (EST) and digital Northern analyses of human fetal, adult, and hypertrophic heart cDNA libraries revealed ESTs with high homology to adenomatosis polyposis coli (APC) and its associated protein, β-catenin, as well as their differential expression. Thus, we hypothesize that the APC/β-catenin pathway may play a role in cardiac development and disease. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis exhibited a higher APC expression in adult compared with fetal and hypertrophic heart but no significant difference in β-catenin mRNA level. However, β-catenin protein level was higher in fetal and hypertrophic heart compared with adult heart, suggesting the post-translational regulation of β-catenin by APC in the cardiovascular system. In vitro antisense inhibition of APC resulted a higher β-catenin protein expression leading to an incomplete myotube formation, suggesting APC/β-catenin pathway involvement in myotube development. Western blot analysis further reveals three novel isoforms, APC-F, APC-A, and APC-D, ubiquitously expressed in fetal, adult, and hypertrophic heart, respectively. Isoform switching during development and disease pathogenesis suggests functionally distinct roles for each isoform. These data (i) demonstrate the usefulness of genome-based expression analysis for rapid discovery of differentially expressed genes, (ii) implicate the APC/β-catenin pathway in the cardiovascular development, and (iii) demonstrate APC isoform switching during cardiac development and disease.


This paper comprehends the effects of finish rolling temperature (FRT) and Nb-microalloying on the microstructural evolu-tion and resultant properties of a low carbon direct quenched steel in the yield strength category of ≥ 900 MPa. Results indicate that a decrease in FRT close to A r3 temperature significantly influenced the microstructure following phase transformation, especially at the subsurface (~50-400 μ m) of the rolled strip. On decreasing the FRT, the subsurface microstructure revealed a fine mixture of ferrite and bainite obviously as a result of strain-induced transformation, whereas the structure at the centreline remained essentially martensitic. Further, Nb-microalloying promoted the formation of ferrite and bainite even at higher FRTs, thus influencing the mechanical properties. The microstructures of the hot-rolled strips were further corroborated with the aid of CCT diagrams.


The authors state in the introduction that their purpose is to "give an account of the presently available knowledge on the movement of trace metals along the hydrologic cycle, emphasizing the processes." In order to do this, they have divided the book into two parts. In the first part (chapters 2 and 3) they provide an overview of processes affecting speciation, adsorption/desorption, and diagenesis of trace metals. In the second part of the book, metal behavior in various environmental regimes (atmosphere, continental waters, estuarine and coastal waters, the ocean) is discussed.


This study took a strength based approach in exploring school connectedness, academic selfefficacy, personal variables and how they influence a new concept called norm related pro-social behavior (NRPB). Grounded in theory and logic, norm related pro-social behavior is a concept proposing that social norms held by youths directly affects their behaviors. Correlation research was conducted to investigate the individual and combined influence of school connectedness, academic self-efficacy, and personal variables in elementary school age youths self reported norm related pro-social behaviors. There were 227 participants in second through fifth grades with approximately equal numbers of males and females. Results revealed that school connectedness was among the strongest predictors of norm related pro-social behavior. This study contributes to the knowledge of all practitioners invested in schools and youths by providing further understanding of interactions between norms and behaviors and the importance of school in the socialization of youths.


A fixture is designed, built to hold, support and locate every component to ensure that each is drilled or machined with accuracy and manufactured individually. A fixture can be designed for the particular job using production tools which make the standard machine tool more versatile to work as specialized machine tools. They are normally used in small scale production by semi skilled operators. This dissertation work aims at designing a fixture used for performing machining operations at certain angle (102.5 degree) on the Crank case used in commercial vehicles. The design is proposed so that the required operations are performed properly with the conventional CNC machines to obtain required dimension which includes Design & Structural analysis of fixture is carried out using known and proven methods, i.e., Creo Elements/Direct modelling 17.0 Software.


With recommender systems, users receive items recommended on the basis of their profile. New users experience the cold start problem: as their profile is very poor, the system performs very poorly. In this paper, classical new user cold start techniques are improved by exploiting the cold user data, i.e. the user data that is readily available (e.g. age, occupation, location, etc.), in order to automatically associate the new user with a better first profile. Relying on the existing α-community spaces model, a rule-based induction process is used and a recommendation process based on the "level of agreement" principle is defined. The experiments show that the quality of recommendations compares to that obtained after a classical new user technique, while the new user effort is smaller as no initial ratings are asked.


Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer of women worldwide, with considerable geographic and racial/ethnic variation. Data are generally derived from population based cancer registries in the developed countries but hospital data are the most reliable source in the developing countries. Ten years data from 1st Jan 2000 to 31st Dec 2009 of a cancer hospital in Pakistan were here analyzed by descriptive statistics to evaluate the clinicopathologic profile of local breast cancer patients. Among 28,740 cancer patients, 6,718 were registered as breast cancer. The female to male ratio was 100:2. Breast cancer accounted for 23% of all and 41% of female cancers. Some 46% were residents of Lahore, with a mean age of 47±12 years. Less than 1% were at Stage 0 and 10%, 32%, 35% and 23% were at Stage I, II, III and IV respectively. Histopathology was unknown in 4% while 91%, 2% and 1% had invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and mucinous carcinoma respectively. Rare carcinomas accounted for the rest. Tumor grade 1, 2 and 3 was 11%, 55% and 34% among the known. Profile of breast cancer patients in Pakistan follows a pattern similar to that of other developing countries with earlier peak age and advanced disease stage at presentation. The male breast cancer accounts for higher proportion in the local population. Local women have higher frequency of IDC and lower frequency of ILC and DCIS, owing probably to a different risk profile. Use of hospital information systems and establishment of population based cancer registry is required to have accurate and detailed local data. Promotion of breast health awareness and better health care system is required to decrease the burden of advanced disease.


The carbometalation reaction of allyl- and crotylzinc bromide with metalated disubstituted homoallylic ethers gives tri- or tetrasubstituted 5-hexenyl ethers with excellent control of the diastereoselectivity. The stereochemistry of this reaction is discussed and has been attributed to an early transition state with chelation to the oxygen atom in the energetically favored conformer as the stereodetermining step.


The cancellous bone in the lower end of the human tibia is divisible into 3 broad categories, according to the density and disposition of its lamellae. Parallel fenestrated tubes of cancellous bone arise perpendicular to the inferior articular facet of the tibia and meet the shaft obliquely. They diverge from the neutral axis which inclines posterolaterally from the centre of the inferior articular facet. Horizontal lamellae course the medial malleolus, at right angle to its articular facet. The density of the cancellous bone decreases from the periphery to the neutral axis. Spicules of thin bone can be traced from the attachment of ligaments into cancellous bone lying perpendicular to the articular facets.


Turbidite-hosted orogenic Au deposits are commonly enriched in W, along with a variety of other trace elements. A mineralogical source for W has recently been shown in the Otago Schist of southern New Zealand (Cave et al. 2016), with detrital rutile in the metasedimentary rocks recrystallizing to metamorphic titanite and making W available to be mobilized from the rock mass. In this study, we investigate the availability of W through prograde metamorphic mineral recrystallization in two additional turbidite-hosted orogenic Au provinces, one containing orogenic Au mineralization with associated subordinate W (Meguma Terrane, Canada), and the other containing orogenic Au mineralization without associated W (Bendigo-Ballarat Terrane, Australia). This was undertaken to assess whether W availability during prograde metamorphism is a key process in controlling the presence of W in turbidite-hosted orogenic Au mineralization. Like the Otago Schist, in both terranes detrital rutile is identified as being the most important host mineral for W in the lowest metamorphic grade rocks, and its prograde metamorphic recrystallization (to ilmenite) makes significant amounts of W available for mobilization (0.65 and 1.85 g of W per tonne of rock from the Goldenville and Halifax groups of the Meguma Terrane, respectively, and 0.16 g of W per tonne of rock from the Castlemaine Group of the Bendigo-Ballarat Terrane). This release of W in the Meguma Terrane is likely the source of W in these orogenic Au deposits. The lack of W in the orogenic Au deposits of the Bendigo-Ballarat Terrane suggests that W availability is not the only process controlling the presence of W minerals in turbidite-hosted orogenic Au mineralization. Alternatively, it might reflect a lower greenschist facies metasedimentary (Castlemaine Group) source for these deposits (i.e., a lower metamorphic grade source than the rutile to ilmenite conversion), as has been previously suggested.


The efforts to communicate gospel values in the Filipino context and in its native language bring out an authentic inculturation as it ensures not only the relevance of the gospel but also the clarity of the message to the receptor culture. By articulating theology, Filipinos will able to form consciousness, thought, and understanding of their faith in their own cultural way. The more we can communicate and express our faith through our native language, the more that our feeling becomes intensified, deepened, and sharpened. And because of deepened feeling and willing, Filipino Christians can actualize what their Christian faith requires them to do. Hence, the objective to make theology more understandable to Filipino Christians, teaching theology using the dynamic equivalence of Theological and doctrinal terms in Filipino language in the classroom setting can be an important tool in learning where individuals can encounter and enhance further their understanding of their faith. This will lead Catholic students to communicate, express, think, and discuss their faith using their own native language so as to live the faith they professed and to live by it in their own cultural way.


This paper presents a new approach to partially automating a human expert's proficient interpretation skills for data and knowledge fusion in signal-understanding tasks. The authors start by recognizing the fact that signal interpretation is attributed much to a human expert's domain-specific, pattern-perceiving capability of grasping raw signals by structured representations having multiple levels of abstraction, rather than to some objectively defined knowledge. In other words, that is an emergent or self-organizing process, where information is regarded as perceptual as opposed to objectively defined. First, they attempt to organize such structured representations by usage of a hierarchical clustering method of data analysis. Then, based on these representations they model a human expert's interpretation skill as an activity of searching for an optimum combination of those perceptual units within that structured representation space being constrained by the data. In order to implement this activity, they introduce a genetic algorithm and apply it to the structured representation space assimilating a human analyst's creative interpreting task in flexibly shifting the focal view of attention from the coarse to the precise. They implement a working system for signal understanding of the remote sensing data of seismic prospecting and show the results output by the system.


The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to get involved in scope-of-practice issues. South Carolina dental regulators have already felt the FTC's wrath. That worries organized medicine and state licensing boards. They fear the powerful agency may place a higher value on competition than on patient safety.


OBJECTIVE
To develop and test the metrologic qualities of a questionnaire for a survey on determining factors in initiating hormone replacement therapy (HRT), using Ajzen's planned behaviour theory.

DESIGN
Semistructured interviews to collect the behavioural beliefs needed to develop the questionnaire and the test-retest.

SETTING
Family medicine practices and the community.

PARTICIPANTS
In two family medicine practices, 42 women completed semistructured interviews that yielded the beliefs needed to design the questionnaire for the core survey. Thirty other women from the community took part in the test-retest 2 weeks later.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The internal consistency of the constructs (tendency of answers within a group of questions) was determined using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Stability of the global constructs (proportion of subjects who had an absolute difference in their scores of less than 1 between the two measurements) was determined using the adjusted agreement coefficient (adjusted Po).

RESULTS
Findings for 12 of the 14 global constructs were above the acceptance threshold of 0.60. In one case alpha could not be measured because there was only one question for measuring it. On the test-retest, 12 of the 14 adjusted Pos had a reliability rating at or above 80%.

CONCLUSION
The questionnaire developed using Ajzen's planned behaviour theory had the requisite metrologic qualities for integration into the core survey on determining factors for initiating HRT.


Predatory pricing is the act of pricing below a rival's costs in order to drive the rival out of the market. Predatory behavior and competitive behavior often look alike, and as such, require appropriate standards to detect truly anticompetitive conduct. A number of standards to identify predation have been offered in the antitrust literature since the 1970s. Oliver Williamson offered an output-based test to detect predation. In this article, I discuss the contribution of Williamson's proposal, relative to the other prominent offerings in the literature. I examine these tests relative to existing Supreme Court precedent, which has adopted a standard resembling the ideas of Areeda & Turner. I provide some analysis of the differences between theoretical predatory pricing and the alleged predatory behavior that has been examined by the Court.


Gout is one of the oldest diseases recorded. A description of it is found as early as the fifth century B. C. in the writings of Hippocrates.1Despite its antiquity, there is much that is still unknown. The term gout is derived from the Latingutta, a drop. According to Antonius Guainerius,2of the faculty of Pavia (fifteenth century),guttasignifies a humor that trickles downward from the head on some internal organ. It also indicates an articular pain, because the humor enters the joints in a manner resembling raindrops dripping from trees and housetops. The Greeks called gout [ill] (a trap), because it grips the patient's foot as a trap grips the foot of an animal.3 The first use of the termguttato designate gout is erroneously credited to Ralph Bocking (Radulphus),4who about 1270 wrote a biography of St. Richard of Wyche, bishop


Although the process of reforestation of grassland has been widely studied in Europe, little is known about the effect of deforestation on grassland development. Thus, the specific objective of this study was to evaluate early changes in plant species composition, functional group, yield and biomass quality after deforestation of long-term abandoned pastures. The experiment was established immediately after deforestation on sparse herbaceous vegetation (mean initial cover 27%) with the following treatments: grazing management only (G0), cutting and grazing aftermath (CG), grazing after seeding of grassland mixture (GS), grazing after a burning treatment in which branches were burned after deforestation (GB) and unmanaged control (U). Very rapid recovery of bare ground by germination and/or sprouting of grassland species was similar under all types of grazing management. Total plant species richness increased in all managed treatments except GB. Similarities according to redundancy analyses in plant species composition were found among G0, CG and GB treatments, especially for forbs with correlated rosette or creeping growth. The woody species, tall grasses and tall forbs had higher abundance in the U treatment. The restoration of grassland following deforestation of formerly reforested grassland area by grazing management was a relatively fast process, and swards were created after 3 years. The highest biomass yield was observed under treatments GS and GB. Forage quality of all managed treatments was sufficient for the demands of beef cattle grazing. However, for subsequent grassland preservation, some type of grazing management is necessary to prevent reforestation, which can occur immediately after deforestation in unmanaged places.


"Sustainability" is only one of the many new definitions in the coating industry over last decade, but one, which has the greatest potential to affect change. To achieve sustainable development we must consider all kind of coatings impact into the environment, including environmental economic and social load. This kind of conceptual thinking can be applied at any level and for any decision-making process. The workshop method, developed in this study, expedites the selection of coating during conceptual design by developing a set of expressions that relate coating technical performance indicators (colour change, flaking, etc.) to environmental and economic impacts. These performance-based relationships provide a common ground for choosing among similarly functioning coating systems and provide insight for minimizing the environmental burdens. This paper has also described the process of testing a workshop technique for involving stakeholders and decision makers in generating "sustainable design" for exterior wood coatings. In this sense, the workshop method developed in this study is a tool in this process. One important element in the process of policy formulation in any workshop method is procedural justice, which is based on the multiple criteria analysis here.


This text ranges widely over the field of different writing systems, the attitudes to the act of writing in different cultures and the use and influence of different writing implements. The field of English as a second language is well documented, whereas the subject of how to acquire the Latin alphabet as a second writing system, or how to alter from any particular writing system has not received as much attention. This book aims to offer a conceptual base to open people's minds to the task of learning a second writing system, allowing them to work between any two. The book is in two sections: the first covers the writing systems of different cultures today. It deals with the letters, characters and postural aspects, as well as the cultural attitudes, differences in educational atttitudes, political aspects of writing systems and systems in transition. The second section of the book looks forward to the future of iconographies taking in contributions from specialists working in a wide variety of fields. It includes sections on developing iconographies for the deaf and visually impaired, as well as systems of notation of movement from choreography, physiotherapy and music.


Minorities and women who are engaging in activities which place them at high risk for infection with HTLV-III are developing HTLV-III related illnesses including AIDS. In Northeastern urban areas the relatively large number of minorities who use intravenous drugs are responsible for producing large numbers of patients with AIDS (PWAs). Eighty percent of heterosexual male and female PWAs are Black or Hispanic. The development and implementation of effective prevention and education programs for these individuals rests upon an understanding of the less traditional approaches which may be necessary to reach these groups. The general public must be made aware of the hazards of HTLV-III related diseases and that the risk of infection is restricted to very well defined high risk groups. Minorities must be made to understand that they are at increased risk for HTLV-III related diseases only because of the high incidence of drug abuse in their community.


This paper essentially introduces a new statistical technique of data analysis together with a practical application. The technique is Correspondence Analysis and it is designed to extract the maximum information from a two dimensional array of positive numbers, such as the concentrations of various elements in several samples. It combines the advantages of R– and Q–mode analysis and also considerably reduces the problems encountered in the practical application of these techniques: Scaling problems and computer costs. The diagrams, which are produced by projecting at the same time samples and variables on the same plane with proper scaling, aid the interpretation of geological processes. The example that is discussed concerns the Bourlamaque batholith, where igneous differentiation and metamorphism have been clearly identified as the major factors controlling its geochemistry. The complete mathematical formulation is given since it has apparently never been published in the geological literature of North...


Icefish (Champsocephalus) were taken as bycatch during krill fishing operations from a research vessel. The data indicate that the bycatch of fish in the commercial krill fishery may be significant in some areas of the South Georgia shelf. The problem is thought to be least in open ocean krill fishing.


Titration of stimulant, plus behavioral therapy, can reduce need for medications for aggression in ADHD Treating unremitting aggressive behavior in children with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be challenging, and solutions often involve additional medications. While stimulant medications are the first-line pharmacotherapy for ADHD, aggressive behavior requires additional treatment. There's little evidence for its benefit, however, and the adverse effects are well-known. This study compared the efficacy of risperidone, divalproex sodium, and placebo in reducing aggressive behavior in children with ADHD. The medications were only added to the stimulant in children whose aggression persisted after carefully titrated optimization of the stimulant dose. The trial found that titration of the medication and concurrent behavioral therapy may prevent the need for either risperidone or divalproex sodium. There was a high response rate during the open stimulant optimization phase, the researchers reported. Among those patients whose aggression did not remit, both risperidone and divalproex were efficacious, although risperidone was associated with weight gain. The double-blind trial enrolled 175 children ages 6 to 12 years with ADHD, a disruptive disorder, significant aggressive behavior, and prior stimulant treatment. Using the parent-completed Retrospective Modified Overt Aggression Scale, the researchers found that 96 (63%) of the patients remitted aggressive symptoms during the optimization phase. The remaining 45 were randomly assigned to adjunctive treatment with risperidone, divalproex, or placebo. The risperidone group and the divalproex group had greater reductions in aggression than the placebo group, but more weight gain resulted from risperidone. Aggressive behavior is one of the most common reasons children are taken for mental health treatment. [Blader JC, Pliszka SR, Kafantaris V, et al. Stepped treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and aggressive behavior: A randomized, controlled trial of adjunctive risperidone, divalproex sodium, or placebo after stimulant medication optimization. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2020 Jan 30. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2019.12.009. Epub ahead of print.] CDC: PrEP effective for teens, may need counseling for adherence Preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretroviral medication has long been known to protect adults from acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that it is also effective for adolescents. There are unique considerations where adolescents are concerned, including the need to promote medication adherence with more frequent supports. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)/emtricitabine (FTC) for adults for PrEP. In 2018, the FDA approved revised labeling for TDF/FTC that expanded the indication for PrEP to include adolescents weighing at least 77 pounds who are at risk for acquiring HIV. In 2019, the FDA approved the combination product tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)/FTC as PrEP for adolescents and adults weighing at least 77 pounds, excluding those at risk for acquiring HIV through receptive vaginal sex, due to the lack of clinical data regarding the efficacy of TAF/FTC in cisgender women. Among the topics important to consider caregivers if a doctor or health professional told them that their child has ASD. Based on this data, the ASD prevalence is 25 per 1,000 children aged 3 to 17 years. The ADDM Network, on the other hand, uses information from qualified professionals and monitors ASD among children aged 8 years in participating communities. The authors suggest that the three sources of data be used in complementary ways. While the ADDM sites show lower ASD prevalence than parent surveys, this might mean the ADDM site communities need better ASD identification. Study limitations include the ADDM reliance on quality and completeness of existing documents to ascertain cases; record completeness in terms of diagnosis, IQ testing, and first evaluation; sites that are not nationally representing as a result of the competitive funding process; and the geographic changes in ADDM sites over time. "The ADDM Network will continue data collection for the 2018 and 2020 surveillance years," the authors conclude. In 11 states, children aged 4 and 8 years will be monitored for ASD prevalence; five of the sites added a description of outcomes for children aged 16 years who were first identified by the ADDM Network at age 8. "To provide the most comprehensive information on how communities identify, serve, and support persons with ASD, the ADDM Network increasingly will focus on community indicators of ASD identification, disparities in service use, and co-occurring conditions among persons with ASD," the authors write. They also note concerns that black children are not given enough attention early on in the assessment process, "which might limit opportunities to receive services that could improve their outcomes and quality of life." Because ASD is a public health concern, there is an ongoing need for "timely and accessible developmental assessments, educational supports, and services for persons with ASD and their families," they write. ▪


In parallel (IR) systems, where a large-scale collection is indexed and searched, the query response time is limited by the time of the slowest node in the system. Thus distributing the load equally across the nodes is very important issue. Mainly there are two methods for collection indexing, namely document-based and term-based indexing. In term-based partitioning, the terms of the global index of a large-scale data collection are distributed or partitioned equally among nodes, and then a given query is divided into sub-queries and each sub-query is then directed to the relevant node. This provides high query throughput and concurrency but poor parallelism and load balance. In this paper, we introduce new methods for terms partitioning and then we compare the results from our methods with the results from the previous work with respect to load balance and query response time.


The restricted isometry property plays an important role in the theoretical study of compressed sensing. However, the verification of any given restricted isometry conditions is a complex combinatorial optimization problem. To remedy this issue, in this article, we propose a coherence theory of nonconvex block-sparse compressed sensing and obtain two types of sufficient conditions for block-structured signal recovery. The obtained results extend the coherence theory used in the traditional convex sparse recovery case to the nonconvex block-sparse recovery case. With constructing a sort of measurement matrices whose block coherence were proved to be very small, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategy for nonconvex block-sparse compressed sensing via a series of simulation studies.


The maze turning behavior of Armadillidum vulgare, a terrestrial isopod crustacea, was studied in order to test the possible operation of C. L. HULL's principle of reactive inhibition. The mazes used for the experiments were made of frosted glass plates and were shown diagrammatically in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The number of animals turning right or left at T choice-points was counted for each maze. Experiments were carried out in dark-room under constant illumination. The results obtained were summarized as follows : (1) The distribution of right or left turns at a T choice-point preceded by a straightaway approach agreed exactly with chance expectancy.(2) The strong tendency of alternation of turning directions at succeeding T choice-points was clearly observed.(3) When an animal approached a T choice-point along a pass requiring two preceding right turns (two-turn maze), the tendency of its turning in opposite direction was further enhanced in comparison with the situation of only one preceding right turn (one-turn maze).(4) In the one-turn maze, as the length of straightaway between T choice-point and its preceding right turn (OF in Fig. 2) was increased, the opposite turning tendency at T choice-point became less pronounced, and in the case of 16cm length, the effect of preceding turning was not recognizable and the distribution of right and left turnings at T choice-point closely approximated chance expectancy.(5) In the two-turn mazes, the increase of length of straightaway, may it be either of F2T or F1F2 in Fig. 3, had an effect of decreasing the tendency of the animals to turn in the opposite direction at T choice-point. However, the straight-away as long as 16 cm, which was enough to diminish the acquired tendency of alternative turning in one-turn maze, was not sufficient to diminish the effect of preceding turning in two-turn mazes.The results above mentioned are all be interpreted as conforming the expectation based upon the reactive inhibition principle.


Background: Sustained arrhythmias are frequently encountered in cardiac care units (CCU), but their types and outcomes in Africa are unknown. Studies from high-income countries suggest arrhythmias are associated with worse outcomes. Objectives: To determine the types and proportion of cardiac arrhythmias among patients admitted to the CCU at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), and to compare 30-day outcomes between patients with and without arrhythmias at the time of CCU admission. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of a cohort of all patients admitted to MTRH-CCU between March and December 2021. They were stratified on the presence or absence of arrhythmia at the time of CCU admission, irrespective of whether it was the primary indication for CCU care or not. Clinical characteristics were collected using a structured questionnaire. Participants were followed up for 30 days. The primary outcome of interest was 30-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were 30-day all-cause readmission and length of hospital stay. The 30-day outcomes were compared between the patients with and without arrhythmia, with a p value < 0.05 being considered statistically significant. Results: We enrolled 160 participants. The median age was 46 years (IQR 31, 68), and 95 (59.4%) were female. Seventy (43.8%) had a diagnosis of arrhythmia at admission, of whom 62 (88.6%) had supraventricular tachyarrhythmias, five (7.1%) had ventricular tachyarrhythmias, and three (4.3%) had bradyarrhythmia. Atrial fibrillation was the most common supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (82.3%). There was no statistically significant difference in the primary outcome of 30-day mortality between those who had arrhythmia at admission versus those without: 32.9% versus 30.0%, respectively (p = 0.64). Conclusion: Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias were common in critically hospitalized cardiac patients in Western Kenya, with atrial fibrillation being the most common. Thirty-day all-cause mortality did not differ significantly between the group admitted with a diagnosis of arrhythmia and those without.


In the paper, we propose a TV-anytime codec that encodes and decodes TV-Anytime metadata according to the TV-Anytime specification so that the resulting binary TV-Anytime metadata can be transferred efficiently through the broadcasting network where the data bandwidth is restricted.. We describe the broadcasting environment that the TV-Anytime codec will be applied to, and the required functionalities of the software modules in detail. For the design of software modules, we show how to Implement the modules for metadata fragmentation. encoding, decoding, and the fragments management. The proposed TV-Anytime codec can be utilized as the core components to a personalized digital broadcasting system providing ECG(Electronic Content Guide) and segmentation information services according to TV-Anytime standard.


The Vera Institute of Justice, funded by the Prison Law Office, facilitated a project whose aim was to coordinate discussions between American and European policymakers about successful corrections policies and practices in the respective countries. The Colorado Department of Corrections was honored to be one of 3 state correctional teams to participate in this project. The teams spent 3 days in Germany and 3 days in the Netherlands in which much time was spent collaborating with Corrections officials to determine the practices of the respective countries and discussing best practice efforts. The significant differences in cultures affect not only the way the offenders are managed, but also the crimes that are committed in European countries. These variables were fascinating to the American Correctional counterparts as we explored the means by which European offenders are sentenced, managed during incarceration and reintegrated into their communities. The various American state agencies came back with innovative strategies to evolve the management of offenders in the United States – even to the point of challenging century old philosophies of imprisonment.


BACKGROUND
Variations in dentists' provision of services have been documented, but information about contributing factors is limited.

METHODS
The authors used responses to a 2003 survey of general dentists in private practice in California (46 percent response rate; 3,098 dentists included in the final sample) to assess variations in service provision and its correlates. They used logistic regressions to assess the correlation of various characteristics with the self-reported percentage of time spent providing services.

RESULTS
The results show variations in services provided by general dentists in private practice. Multiple factors, including the dentist's sex, region of practice, employment of hygienists, patients' race and population income in the area of practice were significantly and independently associated with provision of services.

CONCLUSIONS
The survey results reflect practice variations that existed before the latest economic downturn, which resulted in a loss of jobs and medical and dental insurance. The data serve as the baseline for future studies of changes in dental practice and for assessing the impact of the 2010 health care reform legislation on dental practice. Practice Implications. Improvements in oral health care, the recent economic decline and health care reform may lead to changes in dental practice and in the dental workforce.


Goa Gudawang is a natural cave site located in Bogor Regency. It was believed as a meditation by a number of warriors from the land of Pasundan and also often seen 'striped tigers' who owned the pasundan land. The purpose of the study is to discover the potential development of dark tourism in Goa Gudawang. The methods used in this research are qualitative and quantitative method. The authors do direct exploration to the research site to get primary data regarding Goa Gudawang. Interviews and questioners were also conducted to Goa Gudawang Guards, local communities, Bogor Regency Culture and Tourism Office, and also visitors. In addition, the authors obtained data from literature related to research that is being done. The results found that Goa Gudawang has potential to become a dark tourism attraction as a dark exhibition. It has a symbol for dark tourism, but need more support from the local Government in order to make it as a dark exhibition. Nowadays, Goa Gudawawan is only focus on natural tourism. Its need added value to make it as special interest tourism especially for dark tourism. Moreover, Goa Gudawang only has one attraction to develop dark tourism, as a cave tourist usually uses it for meditation. But Goa Gudawang is rarely found in other places and has its own uniqueness for conducting dark tourism.


Early arrival at the breeding area after spring migration determines several fitness benefits to migratory birds, including an early start of reproduction and a greater seasonal reproductive success. Environmental conditions determine the onset of migration at the population level, while physiological costs associated with migration and imposed on individuals determine the level of asynchrony in the pattern of arrival. These costs include several physiological changes, suppression of immune response, and an increased risk of oxidation by production of free radicals due to energetically expensive activities. According to the condition-dependent hypothesis of arrival date, only healthy individuals in prime condition can afford to arrive and thus reproduce early in the season.

We investigated condition-dependence of arrival date in male barn swallow (Hirundo rustica L.), a migratory passerine, in two years that differed in environmental condition, and the role of carotenoids in mediating arrival date. We show that male tail length, the main secondary sexual character, body condition, and hematocrit were negatively correlated with arrival date in the first year, indicating better quality of early arriving males. In the second year, better environmental conditions advanced arrival of the entire population by weeks. In this season we could show no relationship between arrival and tail length or body condition. Moreover, a lower value of sedimentation rate and a brighter colour of the red throat feathers indicated better health status of the population. Arrival date is a condition-dependent character in barn swallows, since we found high repeatability of arrival date, lower values of carotenoids in blood and a lower depletion of carotenoids in blood shortly after arrival in early arriving males. This suggests that early arriving males either use fewer antioxidants for free radical scavenging, or they have differential access to antioxidants.


This study aimed to investigate the important predictors related to predicting positive mammographic findings based on questionnaire-based demographic and obstetric/gynecological parameters using the proposed integrated machine learning (ML) scheme. The scheme combines the benefits of two well-known ML algorithms, namely, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) logistic regression and extreme gradient boosting (XGB), to provide adequate prediction for mammographic anomalies in high-risk individuals and the identification of significant risk factors. We collected questionnaire data on 18 breast-cancer-related risk factors from women who participated in a national mammographic screening program between January 2017 and December 2020 at a single tertiary referral hospital to correlate with their mammographic findings. The acquired data were retrospectively analyzed using the proposed integrated ML scheme. Based on the data from 21,107 valid questionnaires, the results showed that the Lasso logistic regression models with variable combinations generated by XGB could provide more effective prediction results. The top five significant predictors for positive mammography results were younger age, breast self-examination, older age at first childbirth, nulliparity, and history of mammography within 2 years, suggesting a need for timely mammographic screening for women with these risk factors.


A new method for conversion of the state-space reduced model into a second order representation is proposed. It is an important step to recover the second order structure of the system in model reduction, in particular when we are dealing with mechanical systems with second order structure which frequently happen in micro-technology. The conversion method is straightforward and easily applicable for both SISO and MIMO systems. The method can be applied to the reduced order systems for the second order model reduction. The proposed method is better than previous works in this context because it does not impose any constrain for implementation and each system in the state-space form can be an input for the proposed conversion method.


Abstract The multilingual education in the Ladin area, Italy, presents an interesting case of multilingualism. Almost all inhabitants are at least trilingual speakers. The more prestigious languages are Italian and German, which are the main school languages in a balanced bilingual model. Ladin as the minority language is the mother tongue of most pupils, but after preschool Ladin is taught only as a subject for a limited number of hours. In teaching religion, all three languages are used. Later on, English is also taught as an additional language. The results for German and Italian competence of the schoolchildren are comparable to other areas in Italy and the results for Ladin are also very positive. The strong influence of Italian and German on the proficiency in Ladin and the increased use and perceived importance of English in this tourist area are challenges for the future teaching of four languages in the Ladin schools.


We present two concepts for systems with language identification in the context of multilingual information retrieval dialogs. The first one has an explicit module for language identification. It is based on training a common codebook for all the languages and integrating over the output probabilities of language specific –gram models trained over the codebook sequences. The system can decide for one language either after a predefined time interval or if the difference between the probabilities of the languages succeeds a certain threshold. This approach allows to recognize languages that the system can not process and give out a prerecorded message in that language. In the second approach, the trained recognizers of the languages to be recognized, the lexicons, and the language models are combined to one multilingual recognizer. Only allowing transitions between the words from one language, each hypothesized word chain contains words from just one language and language identification is an implicit by-product of the speech recognizer. First results for both language identification approaches are presented.


Normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) is a multifactorial optic neuropathy which, similar to open-angle glaucomas, is characterized by progressive retinal ganglion cell death and glaucomatous visual field loss. The major distinction of NTG from open-angle glaucomas is that the intraocular pressure (IOP) does not exceed the normal range. Missing the major risk factor and target of therapy, the elevated IOP, NTG poses a clinical challenge. Several insightful reviews have been published on the pathophysiology of NTG describing the possible underlying mechanisms. The current literature available also suggests that a significant percentage of patients with NTG (as high as 21%) have a family history of glaucoma, indicating a genetic predisposition to the disease. These facts strengthen the indication that NTG remains an enigmatic process. The aim of this review was to summarize the vascular, mechanical and genetic components considered to be responsible for NTG development and to discuss the mechanisms through which they are involved in the pathogenesis of NTG.


Ab s t r Ac t Introduction: The attendee (relatives) profile of clubfoot child for initiating treatment is probably a gross measure of family responsibility and social awareness regarding the disease in Indian circumstances. We conducted a prospective pilot study with primary research question "Who brings the clubfeet patient to the clubfeet clinic?" Further, the patients were followed up to 7 visits to see any gross changes in the attendee trend. The involvement of second-degree relatives was also closely monitored. Materials and methods: The CURE counselors recorded the relatives accompanying the newly enrolled clubfoot patients (July–December 2017). Patients already in follow-up, with irregular follow-up, lost to follow-up, and not willing to participate in the study were excluded. For the purpose of statistical analysis, the total opportunities to accompany patient (100 patients × 7 visits = 700 occasions) were taken as the base measurement. Results: Out of 100 studied patients, only 39 children sought treatment within 6 weeks. Mother accompanied the child most (88.5%) followed by father (71.7%) (p < 0.000001). Both parents accompanied the child on 62.4% occasions. The second-degree relatives accompanied the child on 32.7% occasions (p < 0.000001). The most persistent attendee over 7 weeks was child's mother, followed by father and next by parents together. The second-degrees relatives were least persistent of all. Conclusion: Our study showed a high percentage of parental participation and its persistence during the casting phase of Ponseti method in Indian clubfoot children. There seems to be a lot of scope for further community education and awareness in view of the relatively older child being brought for treatment and lesser involvement of second-degree relatives.


Dialysis disequilibrium syndrome (DDS) is a central nervous system disorder, which occurs during hemodialysis (HD) or within 24 h following the first HD. DDS commonly occurs in patients suffering from end-stage renal failure undergoing HD for the first time. In a critically ill patient suffering from severe sepsis or septic shock, the combined effects of post-HD brain edema and changes in the brain due to septic encephalopathy, may become amplified leading to DDS. Here we report 2 cases with acute renal failure (ARF), undergoing HD for more than a week and being ventilated and who developed DDS. DDS might have contributed to the sudden deterioration and death in these septic patients. The first case was a 31-year-old male, involved in a motor vehicle accident and had a severe abdominal injury. Underwent laparotomy and hemostasis was achieved. On day 4, the patient developed hemorrhagic shock associated with ARF, which prompted daily HD. On day 8, he went into septic shock. On day 16, 1 h after his daily HD, he became unresponsive and his pupils became dilated and fixed and he expired 2 days later. The second case was a young male who suffered severe abdominal and chest injury after a fall from a height. He developed ARF on day 3 and required HD. On day 9, he had septic shock. Three days later, during his daily HD, he became unconscious and his pupils were not reacting to light and the patient died on day 12. Conclusion: In patients with severe sepsis/septic shock, DDS may occur even after repeated sessions of HD. The acute care physicians, intensivists, and nephrologists should be aware of the risks of DDS.


The aim of this article is to visually demonstrate the utilization of an interferometric method for encoding complex fields associated with coherent laser radiation. The method is based on the coherent sum of two uniform waves, previously encoded into a phase-only spatial light modulator (SLM) by spatial multiplexing of their phases. Here, the interference process is carried out by spatial filtering of light frequencies at the Fourier plane of certain imaging system. The correct implementation of this method allows arbitrary phase and amplitude information to be retrieved at the output of the optical system. It is an on-axis, rather than off-axis encoding technique, with a direct processing algorithm (not an iterative loop), and free from coherent noise (speckle). The complex field can be exactly retrieved at the output of the optical system, except for some loss of resolution due to the frequency filtering process. The main limitation of the method might come from the inability to operate at frequency rates higher than the refresh rate of the SLM. Applications include, but are not limited to, linear and non-linear microscopy, beam shaping, or laser micro-processing of material surfaces.


Digital pulse-position modulation (PPM) is attractive to apply in wireless optical-telemetry systems because of its power efficiency. Usually, the bit-error rate is assumed to depend solely on the noise level. The detrimental influence of optical interference is overlooked. In this paper, interference measurements are reported, models that describe interference are presented, and it is shown that the influence of interference can be significant. Further, new rules for system design in the presence of interference are reported. It appears that, compared with the influeuce of noise, the flicker of incandescent lamps is usually negligible, but the flicker of fluorescent lamps is not negligible.


This paper proposes a new approach to designing alternate routing algorithms for all-optical wavelength-division multiplexing networks in order to reduce the connection blocking probability. The key idea is to try to route traffic in approximately the optimal way of splitting the traffic among the multiple routing paths between each source-destination pair. The optimal way of splitting the traffic among the multiple routing paths between each source-destination pair is obtained by solving a nonlinear multicommodity flow optimization problem. Two alternate routing algorithms, namely, traffic intensity based fixed-alternate routing algorithm and traffic intensity based dynamic-alternate routing algorithm, are proposed based on this approach. Simulations are performed to study the performances of the proposed alternate routing algorithms. Our simulation results show that the alternate routing algorithms designed according to the optimal way of splitting the traffic can effectively reduce the connection blocking probability.


Malaysian portrait paintings were introduced in the 1930s where local artists started using the subject in their art-making. In art, portraits are generally known as the likeness of a person, especially a face and shoulders, but in fact, there are more ways to define portrait and painting. There is a lack of understanding and interpretation on the subject. Consequently, this study aims to trace the chronology of the development of Malaysian portrait paintings. The stylistic and contextual issues, including its formalistic format, media, themes and styles, and artists, are also examined in this study using a mixed-mode of research method.
Keywords: Portraits; Painting; Iconography
eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI5.2936


The Multiple Diagnostic Digital Dyslexia Test for Adults (MDDDT-A) consists of 12 newly developed tests and self-report questions in the Dutch language. Predictive validity and construct validity were investigated and compared with validity of a standard test battery of dyslexia (STB) in a sample of 154 students. There are three main results. First, various analyses of principal components showed that six or more factors of dyslexia can be distinguished (rapid naming, spelling, reading, short-term memory, confusion, phonology, attention, complexity). All factors are represented by the MDDDT-A. Second, various discriminant analyses showed good predictive validity for both the tests of the MDDDT-A (90%) and the STB (90%). However, predictive validity of the questionnaire was highest (97%). Third, we analysed the best predictors of dyslexia and found that predictive validity is higher when construct validity is high, that is when a set of predictors represents many characteristics of dyslexia. The main conclusion is that a digital test battery can be a reliable screening instrument for dyslexia in students, especially when it is accompanied by self-report questions. A theoretical conclusion is that dyslexia is characterized by at least six cognitive impairments in a complex way. In students, this structure may be modulated by high intelligence and good schooling through various compensation strategies. It is therefore recommended to include assessments of all characteristics of dyslexia to achieve the most reliable diagnoses in di ff erent samples and in di ff erent countries.


Introduction: Prehospital sepsis alerts assist paramedics in identifying patients with sepsis and in communicating this diagnosis to receiving facilities. Following the prospective implementation study of our regional systemic inflammatory response syndrome-based alert criteria (Alert), the purpose of this sub-study was to determine the cause of Alert false negatives (patients without an Alert that subsequently met sepsis criteria in the Emergency Department (ED)). Additionally, the sensitivity of the Alert for detecting sepsis was compared to the Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) and Hamilton Early Warning Score (HEWS). Methods: This study was an additional analysis of the prospective Alert implementation study. Included patients were ≥ 18 years old, transported by a regional Emergency Medical Service and met severe sepsis or septic shock criteria (SS/SS, 2012 Surviving Sepsis Guidelines) in regional EDs in 2013. False negative patients were identified prospectively and reviewed by comparing paramedic determined Alert status to the retrospective application of the Alert criteria to Paramedic Call Report (PCR) data. The Alert sensitivity was first calculated from prospective data, then retrospective sensitivities of the Alert, qSOFA and HEWS were calculated by retrospectively applying these tools to PCRs, using ED diagnosis of SS/SS as reference standard. Results: In 2013, 229 patients met SS/SS criteria in the ED and had PCRs available; 115 (50.2%) were male and median age [interquartile range] was 76.0 [63.0-84.0]. Of 229, 149 (65.0%) arrived in the ED without an Alert (false negatives) and 46 (30.9%) of these met Alert criteria retrospectively and were therefore missed by paramedics. Sensitivity of the Alert was 34.9% when applied by paramedics and 41.5% when applied retrospectively to PCRs. The retrospective sensitivities of the qSOFA and HEWS were 37.6% and 67.7%, respectively. Conclusion: In ED patients diagnosed with SS/SS who arrived with no Alert, the majority (69.1%) were missed by the Alert criteria, rather than by paramedic application of the tool. The Alert had a sensitivity of 34.9%. When applied retrospectively and compared to the Alert, qSOFA had similar sensitivity and HEWS had increased sensitivity. Future research should focus on deriving improved alerts or implementing those with higher accuracy, such as HEWS.


High-dimensional data arises in numerous applications, and the rapidly developing field of geometric deep learning seeks to develop neural network architectures to analyze such data in non-Euclidean domains, such as graphs and manifolds. Recent work has proposed a method for constructing manifold neural networks using the spectral decomposition of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. Moreover, in this work, the authors provide a numerical scheme for implementing such neural networks when the manifold is unknown and one only has access to finitely many sample points. They show that this scheme, which relies upon building a data-driven graph, converges to the continuum limit as the number of sample points tends to infinity. Here, we build upon this result by establishing a rate of convergence that depends on the intrinsic dimension of the manifold but is independent of the ambient dimension. We also discuss how the rate of convergence depends on the depth of the network and the number of filters used in each layer.


: There are clear advantages in the establishment of reliable, direct cone penetration test (CPT) based methods for assessment of the axial capacity of driven piles. These advantages motivated the formation of a joint industry project (JIP) under the management of the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), which initially led to the creation of a unified database of high-quality pile load tests in sand and clay. The unified database has the consensus approval of representatives of the profession and personnel in multiple companies from the offshore energy sector. This paper presents a component of the research from the second phase of the JIP, which had the objective of developing a new CPT-based method for driven piles in clay to unify several CPT-based methods that are in use today. First, a rational basis for the CPT-based formulation is described, using trends from instrumented pile tests; the description facilitates an understanding of the approach and illustrates its empirical nature and limitations. The unified database was used to calibrate the formulation and it led to good predictions for an independent database of pile load tests and for measured distributions of shaft friction. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002847. © 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.


This paper deals with the robust control problem of a stepper motor subject to parameter uncertainties and load torque perturbation. The developed algorithm is based on third-order sliding-mode control such that a desired angular motor position is accurately tracked. The proposed scheme requires the measurement or the estimation of the motor speed and acceleration for feedback. To avoid the use of tachometers and accelerometers which add cost and energy consumption, a robust second-order sliding-mode observer is presented. Experimental results illustrate the performance and the advantages of the proposed controller.


This thesis explores how different components of natural and human disturbance regimes shape the distribution of a key boreal forest herbivore, the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus). I investigated both broad-scale changes in hare abundance during forest succession and fine-scale responses to heterogeneity created by canopy gap dynamics in old-growth forests. I then evaluated how hare respond to silvicultural treatments designed to maintain the irregular structure of old-growth stands using patterns of density-dependent habitat selection and browse history reconstruction. Snowshoe hare followed a bimodal abundance distribution with stand age, with a pronounced peak in density between 40-50 years post-disturbance followed by a second more subtle increase phase during latesuccession. Within old-growth stands, canopy gaps offered areas of higher food availability, but foraging and movement behaviours indicated that hares perceived a greater risk of predation within openings. The structure of old-growth stands thus appears to impose a trade-off between acquiring food and avoiding predation. The response of snowshoe hare to forest harvesting depended on both disturbance intensity and local population density. Preference for uncut forest stands over harvest treatments with >50% tree retention quickly diminished as local populations increased. In contrast, preference for uncut forests over treatments with <20% tree retention became more pronounced with increasing local population density. Similarly, in the first years following harvesting, browse use patterns of white birch (Betula papyrifera) stems in low intensity treatments (>50% retention) remained similar to those in uncut old-growth forest stands, whereas browse use declined rapidly in intensive harvest treatments (<20% retention) over the same period. These findings suggest that silvicultural treatments that conserve old-growth forest structure can also maintain distributions of hare that are characteristic of late-succession. This thesis helps to further our understanding of the links between snowshoe hare distribution and regional disturbance regimes in managed boreal forests.


An important application of haptic technology to digital product development is in virtual prototyping (VP), part of which deals with interactive planning, simulation, and verification of assembly-related activities, collectively called virtual assembly (VA). In spite of numerous research and development efforts over the last two decades, the industrial adoption of haptic-assisted VP/VA has been slower than expected. Putting hardware limitations aside, the main roadblocks faced in software development can be traced to the lack of effective and efficient computational models of haptic feedback. Such models must 1) accommodate the inherent geometric complexities faced when assembling objects of arbitrary shape; and 2) conform to the computation time limitation imposed by the notorious frame rate requirements---namely, 1 kHz for haptic feedback compared to the more manageable 30-60 Hz for graphic rendering. The simultaneous fulfillment of these competing objectives is far from trivial.
This survey presents some of the conceptual and computational challenges and opportunities as well as promising future directions in haptic-assisted VP/VA, with a focus on haptic assembly from a geometric modeling and spatial reasoning perspective. The main focus is on revisiting definitions and classifications of different methods used to handle the constrained multibody simulation in real-time, ranging from physics-based and geometry-based to hybrid and unified approaches using a variety of auxiliary computational devices to specify, impose, and solve assembly constraints. Particular attention is given to the newly developed 'analytic methods' inherited from motion planning and protein docking that have shown great promise as an alternative paradigm to the more popular combinatorial methods.


This study aimed to explore the effect of coptisine on non-small-cell lung cancer and its mechanism through various in vitro cellular models (A549). Results claimed significant inhibition of proliferation by coptisine against A549, H460, and H2170 cells with IC50 values of 18.09, 29.50, and 21.60 µM, respectively. Also, coptisine exhibited upregulation of pH2AX, cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase, and downregulation of the expression of cyclin B1, cdc2, and cdc25C and upregulation of p21 dose dependently. Furthermore, induction of apoptosis in A549 cells by coptisine was characterized by the activation of caspase 9, caspase 8, and caspase 3, and cleavage of poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase. In addition, coptisine was found to increase reactive oxygen species generation, upregulate Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, disrupt mitochondrial membrane potential, and cause cytochrome c release into the cytosol. Besides, treatment with a reactive oxygen species inhibitor (N-acetyl cysteine) abrogated coptisine-induced growth inhibition, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species generation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Thus, the mediation of reactive oxygen species in the apoptosis-induced effect of coptisine in A549 cells was corroborated. These findings have offered new insights into the effect and mechanisms of action of coptisine against non-small-cell lung cancer.


Interest in Emotional Intelligence can, in part, be gauged by the amount of research activity it has stimulated since first making an appearance in the psychological literature about 20 years ago. Everyone can profit from enhancing his or her emotional intelligence, because this important construct has a positive impact on human performance, leading to personal effectiveness and eventually to overall well-being. Conventionally, a teacher brings two things to the classroom that are of value to the learners, one is expertise in the subject and the other is knowledge of teaching learning methods. Emotional Intelligence is the unrecognized third component what a teacher possess and also delivers to her learners indirectly. From the last two decades educational professionals understood the importance of feelings in the overall development of their pupils and in their own daily tasks. Teachers are aware of the role played by emotions in their daily effort. Emotions and skills for coping with them affect learning processes, mental and physical health, the quality of social relationships and academic and work performance (Brackett & Caruso, 2007). Teaching is considered to be one of the most stressful occupations, especially because it involves daily work based on social interactions where the teacher must make great effort to regulate not only his or her own emotions, but also those of students, parents, colleagues etc., (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002). As emotional intelligence is playing vital role in teaching the present study is attempted to adopt emotional intelligence based teaching strategies to enhance emotional intelligence which in turn influence teaching competence. The objective of this study is to develop knowledge among student teachers about their strengths and development of opportunities related to the emotional intelligence competencies. In the present study the researcher identified Self awareness, Managing Emotions, Motivating Oneself, Empathy and Handling Relationship (Goleman 1998) from the different models proposed by Bar-On, Goleman & Boyatzis, Mayor, Salovey & Caruso, Orioli & Cooper. The investigator developed an emotional intelligence package with activities for each component. Pre – Post Two group experimental design was adopted in study with a sample of 25 each in experimental and control group. The result showed that the emotional intelligence package was successful as it evinced an increased Emotional intelligence on the sample. Further, the study revealed that the student teachers are able to understand their innate potentials and the ability to tackle stressful situations. They also expressed their emotions openly and also read the minds of colleagues. The present study is a lime light for the student teachers to prepare them in a holistic approach to uphold their emotional intelligence and promote better emotional intelligence among their students by designing their classroom activities in a more refined manner.


The cloud-supported Internet of Things (Cloud-IoT) has been widely used in smart grid. The amount of data related to the power grid is huge and sensitive. In order to improve the security of data storage and achieve fine-grained access control with flexibility, a multi-authorization center and fixed-length ciphertext policy attribute encryption access control scheme with attribute revocation is proposed in this paper. The multi-attribute authority is introduced to generate keys to defend against collusion attack, and partial decryption is delegated to the proxy server to reduce user's computing cost. In addition, user revocation updates and attribute revocation updates are used to improve system flexibility. The security of the scheme is proved by Diffie-Hellman hypothesis, and comparative analysis is carried out. The results show that the scheme effectively improve the speed of encryption and decryption, as well as reduce time cost of the system.


The wild tetraploid species Triticum dicoccoides (L.) Korn has many traits that may be useful to hexaploid wheat (T. aestivum L.). accessions of this species (PI 428042 and PI 428109) were found to have similar-sized leaves, but they differ by approximately equal to 30% in net CO2 assimilation per unit leaf area (A). We sought to identify physiological and anatomical factors that would explain the difference in photosynthetic rate between the two accessions, and between these accessions and the hexaploid wheat 'TAM W-101'. Photosynthetic responses to CO2 (at 20 and 210 mL O2 per liter air), light, and humidity, and also ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (rubisco) activity and sucrose concentration, were determined on new fully expanded leaves of each genotype. Anatomical features associated with photosynthesis were determined using light and electron microscopy. PI 428109 showed consistently higher A than PI 428042 at varying levels of CO2, light, and humidity. Higher rubisco activity was observed in leaves of PI 428109 than PI 428042, as also indicated by a greater slope of the initial linear portion of the A vs. c1, (intercellular leaf CO2 concentration) curve. A higher sucrose concentration was observed in the leaves of PI 428042 than in PI 428109. No anatomical differences were detected between the two T. dicoccoides accessions. Therefore, photosynthetic differences between the two T. dicoccoides accessions were biochemically, and not anatomically, driven.


The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of combined autologous conditioned plasma and recombinant human collagen type I injections on lateral epicondylitis. Outcome was measured in 5 patients before the single application of ACP+rhCollagen type I (Arthrex ACP® Tendo) and after 10.60±3.58wks by means of (i) the Visual Analogue Scale for pain, (ii) range of motion for wrist extension/flexion as well as supination/pronation, and (iii) MRI-scans. VAS-scores significantly decreased from 6.40±1.14 at baseline to 1.80±2.49 at follow- up, and the effect was very large (p=0.04, dz=2.22). In addition, range of motion either improved or remained unrestricted, and MRI-scans showed healing of the extensor carpi radialis brevis tendon in most cases. A combined ACP+rhCollageninjection successfully reduces pain in lateral epicondylitis. Due to the small sample size, however, these promising preliminary results need further investigation in future research.


Blood is one of the vital fluids of the human body. Measurement of its viscosity and other properties is very important in detecting and understanding different cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the blood flow in a concentric cylinder viscometer was simulated numerically. The blood flow patterns were analyzed by applying different rotational speed of inner cylinder. Creation of a Couette flow, end effects and suitable rotational speed limit were analyzed. The amount of the torque applied to the inner cylinder which prevents the generation of the Taylor vortices was also predicted. From the obtained results, one can conclude that these vortices were not as important as the end effects were. In order to keep the blood sample temperature within a constant and acceptable range a thermal bath was used. Heat removal rate with different inflow rates of coolant was also predicted numerically.


The COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) pandemic is a global health threat that seriously affected the lives of Chinese people. This chapter is concerned with analyzing and interpreting various kinds of COVID-19-related texts in Chinese by reference to descriptions of context. We first introduce Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), which is one kind of appliable linguistics developed to empower researchers to solve the problems in human life. Then we locate texts along the dimensions of stratification and instantiation in SFL. In addition, we explore the COVID-19-related texts from the perspective of field, one of the three contextual parameters, and categorize such texts based on Matthiessen's functional text typology. It is found that the COVID-19-related texts are pervasive and play a central role in human life. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, Weixiao Wei.


Social relationships are enacted and remembered through interpersonal relationships and replayed through the media as the author uses a defining personal experience, that of her son's drug addiction, to rethink, analyze, and resituate herself in the world. The result draws attention to the messy juxtaposition of social structures and policies with personal loss, grief, anger, and episodes of joy and courage. Crack, whether drug, fissure, gibe, highlights remembered fragments which allow the author to tell her stories in ways other than those originally considered. As those personal stories are interwoven with public moments such as school desegregation and changes in telecommunications and popular culture, a social commentary is offered that defamiliarizes the familiar, evokes rather than represents, and therefore offers the reader entry into the narrative, the cultural critique.


In Colombia the increasing trend in the consumption habits of electrical and electronic equipment, EEE, is notable, though it is not as high as in developed countries due to the population´s socio-economic and cultural conditions. Those conditions make the reuse as well as storing, a predominant practice. In this paper the question of which conditions influence the shaping of a system for dealing with waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is addressed. The existing literature is reviewed to uncover traditional conditions, and then the results of an empirical study focusing on consumer behavior are presented, including a survey among the population of Bogota. This study focuses on the Tv sets, the EEE with highest penetration in Colombian households, allowing to find differences in the socio-economical strata, dissimilar to developing Asian or African countries conditions. Currently, in Colombia there exist approximately 19 million of Tv sets and this amount is expected to increase at an annual rate of 20%. If a WEEE system is introduced in 2011 it will be expected to collect 0.2 kg/person/year and would rise up to 0.35 kg/person/year in 2019. Based on consumer behavior analysis and from the physical flow is possible to determine the appropriate operation conditions of a WEEE system for the region


If the letter is an ideal lens through which to view late 19th century American society as it underwent radical change, then Henry Adams is an ideal correspondent. Joanne Jacobson shows how Adams used letters to broker authority, and to construct alliances with correspondents. She demonstrates the rhetorical complexity of the letter and underscores its role in the struggle over cultural authority which shaped much of the late 19th-century American literature. "Authority and Alliance" takes the reader through the evolving stages of Adam's letter writing. His earliest letters, to his older brother Charles Francis Adams, Jr, and to his friend Charles Milnes Gaskell, provided him with an arena in which he could claim authority to establish parity with his correspondents. In succeeding letters the priority of equalising authority between himself and his correspondents shifted to that of building alliances which bound Adams and his correspondents in shared, private opposition to the public discourse of mass democratic culture. Ultimately, Adams emerged in his letters with aggressive authorial control over "reality" by writing himself and his correspondents into narratives whose terms were advantageous to Adams himself. Jacobson also discusses the unity between Adam's letters and his other literary work, to demonstrate the extent to which authority and alliance remained fundamental concerns for him, bound up with and shaped by the problematic status of authorship and audience. In an important final chapter, she compares Adam's letters with those of Alice James and Walt Whitman, demonstrating the readiness of all three to deploy the letter as a means of reinforcing the writer's own rhetorical authority, by exploiting the tension between narrative and authorship and between public and private discourse.


began to crumble. In that time, the political context and content of development aid to the Third World has changed rather dramatically. 'Political conditionality' – the tying of official aid disbursements to the quality of government (or 'governance') that recipients provide – has become the norm. The idea of relating foreign aid to the type or quality of government has a long history. However, it has been applied only sporadically and inconsistently; and, in practice, it was often a matter of supporting one's actual or potential allies in the Cold War context.


OBJECTIVE
To detect the effects of ANO1 overexpression on the biological behaviors of human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma Hep-2 cells.

METHODS
A Hep-2 cell line stably overexpressing ANO1 were examined with flow cytometry, soft agar assay, wound healing assay, siRNA experiments, and chloride channel block with DIDS to observe the effect of ANO1 overexpression on the growth, migration and invasion of the cells.

RESULTS
Flow cytometry revealed a comparable cell percentage in G0/G1 phase between ANO1-overexpressing cells and the control cells (P>0.05). The two cells showed no significant difference in soft agar assay (P>0.05), but in wound healing experiments, ANO1-overexpressing cells showed significantly accelerated migration (P<0.05), whereas siRNA-mediated silencing of ANO1 significantly inhibited the cell migration (P<0.05). Treatment with DIDS resulted in an effective block of the ANO1 chloride channel activity and obviously decreased the migration speed of Hep-2 cells.

CONCLUSION
ANO1 overexpression does not significantly affect the proliferation of cancer cells, but can enhance the migration ability of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, suggesting the value of ANO1 as a new gene therapy target for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.


Coronavirus pandemic has been a huge jeopardy to human health in various systems since it outbroke, early detection and prevention of further escalation has become a priority. The current popular approach is to collect samples using the nasopharyngeal swab method and then test for RNA using the real-time polymerase chain reaction, which suffers from false-positive results and a longer diagnostic time scale. Alternatively, various optical techniques, namely, optical sensing, spectroscopy, and imaging shows a great promise in virus detection. In this mini review, we briefly summarize the development progress of vibrational spectroscopy techniques and its applications in the detection of SARS-CoV family. Vibrational spectroscopy techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy received increasing appreciation in bio-analysis for their speediness, accuracy and cost-effectiveness in detection of SARS-CoV. Further, an account of emerging photonics technologies of SARS-CoV-2 detection and future possibilities is also explained. The progress in the field of vibrational spectroscopy techniques for virus detection unambiguously show a great promise in the development of rapid photonics-based devices for COVID-19 detection.


This study investigated the characteristic of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) process to treat the sewage having low carbon/nitrogen ratio (Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5): Total nitrogen (T-N), 4.5: 1) in sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The removal efficiency of BOD5, suspended solid (SS), T-N and phosphorus (PO4 3-P) were 92.6%, 64.3% and 90.1%. Concentration and size of AGS were changed in proportion to the organic matters and nitrogen concentration of the influent (Concentration and size of AGS: 1,700-3,000 mg/L, 0.5-1.0 mm). Mixed liquor suspended solid (MLSS) also changed with the concentration of AGS (MLSS: 2,000-3,500 mg/L). When the settling time was shortened from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, size and shape of AGS were maintained (Size of AGS: 1.0-1.5 mm). In addition, the concentration of AGS and MLSS increased (Concentration of AGS: 3,500 mg/L, MLSS: 4,000 mg/L). Concentration, size and shape of AGS were affected the settling time of the reactor more than the concentration of organic matter and nitrogen in the influent. In the results of removal efficiency and changes in AGS, we confirmed that the SBR process using AGS can be used to treat the sewage having low carbon/nitrogen ratio by applying short settling time.