Using frequency findings from corpus linguistics, this paper explores the relationship between the information presented in ESL-EFL materials and what is known about actual language use based on empirical studies. Three aspects of materials development for grammar instruction are discussed: the grammatical features to be included, the order of grammatical topics, and the vocabulary used to illustrate these topics. For each aspect, we show that there are often sharp contrasts between the information found in grammar materials and what learners encounter in the real world of language use. In our conclusion, we argue that a selective revision of pedagogy to reflect actual use, as shown by frequency studies, could result in radical changes that facilitate the learning process for students.


Aim To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of 0.2% polyhexamethilene biguanide (PHMB) in root canal models infected with Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans and Staphylococcus epidermidis. PHMB was compared in these tests with 2.5% NaOCl and 0.2% CHX. Methods Prepared models of 50 human root canals (n=50) were immerged in mixed, four- weeks old culture that consisted of E .faecalis, S. epidermidis and C. albicans. Roots were randomly divided into three groups: one with 30 (n=30) and two with 10 (n=10) samples. Samples were treated with polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) (0.2%), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) (2.5%) and chlorhexidine (CHX) (0.2%), respectively. Root dentin was sampled before and after the tretment with these solutions. Colony- forming units (CFU) were counted to asses the antimicrobial effects of three solutions on viability of selected microrganisms in specimens before and after the treatment.T-test was used for comparison of results between specimens before and after the treatment, while Newman-Keuls test was used for pairwise comparison at p=0.05. Results The PHMB was significantly more efficient in reducing the number of all three tested microorganisms. NaOCl and CHX made only statistically significant (p<0.05) difference in case of E. faecalis and S. epidermidis. In the case of C. albicans, this difference was not statistically significant due to the small number of positive samples and high initial dispersion of results. Conclusion Both solutions PHMB and NaOCl were successful in eliminating E. faecalis and S. epidermidis from the mature dentin biofilm, CHX was not successful enough.


Background and objectiveIndividuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) may experience a range of behavioral, cognitive, and physiological difficulties that can result from prenatal alcohol exposure. Intervention approaches for individuals with FASD are required to respond to evolving strengths and needs throughout their lifespan.
Material and methodsIn response to these evolving unique needs, best practices were developed by integrating current research findings with the experiences of individuals with FASD and their caregivers. The "Towards Healthy Outcomes" approach has been developed to provide an evidence-informed framework to support intervention for individuals with FASD throughout their lifespan.
ResultsThis framework was developed based on core philosophies that create opportunities for individualized intervention support, including development throughout the lifespan, impact of interacting systems, and a strengths-based approach. These underlying philosophies and core beliefs are actioned throughout the lifespan around the following 12 domains: (1) physical health; (2) attachment; (3) family cohesion; (4) social functioning; (5) mental health and regulation; (6) education; (7) identity development; (8) community engagement; (9) adaptive skills; (10) housing; (11) employment; and (12) parenting skills. To establish its potential use, each of these domains is considered broadly within the context of FASD field, including the new ideas put forward by the studies included in this issue.
ConclusionThe "Towards Healthy Outcomes" framework is an intervention approach that facilitates proactive and evidence-informed approaches to foster the development of individuals with FASD. It provides developmental considerations that are specific to the 12 domains and reflect the whole person. Furthermore, the "Towards Healthy Outcomes" framework allows for the integration of research with the lived experiences of caregivers and individuals with FASD that bridges existing research gaps.


This notice lists HCFA manual instructions, interpretative rules, and statements of policy that were published during April, May and June 1989 that relate to the Medicare program. Section 1871(c) of the Social Security Act requires that we publish a list of our issuances in the Federal Register every three months.


Estimating the effects of missense mutations is a problem with many important applications in a variety of fields, including medical genetics, evolutionary theory, population genetics, and protein structure and design. Many popular methods exist to solve this problem, the most widely used of which are PolyPhen-2 and SIFT. These methods, along with most other popular methods, rely on multiple sequence alignments of orthologous protein sequences. Based on the amino acids observed in each column of the alignment, they produce a profile describing how tolerated each amino acid is at each position. They then compare the wild-type and variant amino acids to this profile to produce a prediction. In practice, these methods are fast, robust, and relatively reliable. However, from a theoretical perspective, they have at least three significant shortcomings: 1. They use effects on selection as a proxy for effects on phenotype and protein structure and function. 2. They treat each position as independent, ruling out most forms of interactions between sites. 3. They do not explicitly model the process of evolution, instead assuming that sequences we observe more or less represent an equilibrium state. With the recent explosion of sequencing technology, as well as the steady increase of computational power, we are now beginning to have enough data to investigate these simplifications and see how much they really affect the performance of these methods. In this dissertation, I present three such investigations. First, I describe a modified predictor designed to predict risk for a specific disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), rather than general seletive effect. This method achieves significantly higher accuracy than methods without such specific domain knowledge. Next, I describe a model of pairwise interactions between sites, demonstrating both statistically and with in vivo evidence that approximately 7–12% of disease-causing variants may be mispredicted by these methods due to such interactions. Finally, I describe a hybrid method that uses an alignment-based estimator to inform a parametric model of evolution, resulting in a small but significant improvement in accuracy.


Abstract Seed priming is one of the methods that can be taken to counteract the adverse effects of abiotic stress, also Seed priming treatments have been used to reduce the damage of aging and invigorate their performance in many crops. Objective of this study was to evaluation the effect of gibberellin on germination characteristics and antioxidant enzymes of safflower seeds after aging. Experimental design was a factorial one with complete randomized design with three replications. The first factor was priming by gibberellin (0 and 50 ppm) and non-primed seeds (control) and the secondary factor was combinations of four levels of aging (0, 1, 3 and 5 days of aging, at 43°C). The results showed that the priming and aging effects on germination percentage, germination index, normal seedling percentage, seedling length, vigor index, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase were significant, but on mean time to germination not significant. Results showed that, the highest germination characteristics such as; germination percentage, germination index, normal seedling percentage, seedling length, vigor index, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase were attained from priming by gibberellins, under non aged conditions. Also, our results indicated that seed aging is related to decrease of enzymes activity and may contribute to low seed germination efficiency, also priming increases enzyme activity and increases enzyme activity with priming treatment may contribute to improve germination characteristics. The general decreases in enzyme activity in the seed lowers the respiratory capacity, which in turn lowers both the energy (ATP) and assimilates supply of the germinating seed.


This study is an attempt to determine the impact of teachers' attitudes on their classroom behaviour and therefore on their implementation of the Communicative Approach. A descriptive case study was conducted at six secondary schools in Harare, Zimbabwe (as ESL environment) to determine the effect of 38 O-level English teachers' attitudes on their classroom practice. Quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, including a questionnaire, an observation instrument and a semistructured interview were used to gauge teachers' attitudes, assessing the extent to which attitudes are reflected in their classroom behaviour, and eliciting teachers' verbalisation of how they conceive of their professional task. The findings show that the effective implementation of the Communicative Approach was critically dependent on teachers' positive attitudes towards this approach in the five categories covered by this study.


An optimizing land-use planning model (OPTPLAN) is used to minimize environmental impact. The development of the natural-resource objective function and natural-resource constraints is described. Application of the model to DuPage County, Illinois is shown. The model's output is transferred to maps and compared with a land-use plan obtained through conventional natural-resource methodology.


The A enhancer of the polyomavirus early promoter is a 110-bp domain located in the late region and it contains the major late RNA initiation site. The 'core' of this enhancer binds several cellular proteins, including proteins PEA1, PEA2 and PEA3. Another element, NF-D/YY1, is also located in this enhancer. The A enhancer is known to stimulate the early promoter, contains auxiliary elements for replication and serves as the initiator for late transcription. It may also be involved in early-to-late switch. We were interested in investigating how the A-core- and NF-D-binding proteins regulate early and late promoter activity under nonreplicating conditions and how the protein-protein interactions affect the function of the individual elements. By point mutational analysis, we show that, except for PEA1, all other proteins activate the early and late promoters differentially under nonreplicating conditions. All three core-binding proteins, and the protein bound to the NF-D site, are activators and have a combinatorial effect on early promoter activity. On late transcription, only PEA1 acts positively and inactivation of the NF-D site is without any effect. In contrast, PEA2 and PEA3 have a repressor-like activity under nonreplicating conditions, indicating that these two proteins might be involved in repressing late transcription, probably early in infection. By increasing the spacing between two consecutive elements, we further show that protein-protein interaction is important for enhancer function. Transactivation of the early promoter was affected by mutations in all four protein-binding sites. Responsiveness of these factors in regard to the late promoter was parallel to their intrinsic promoter strength. The effects of middle and large T antigens are parallel for both the early and the late promoter, suggesting that the pathway(s) for transactivation function of these oncoproteins may overlap downstream. This study with cloned viral promoter will be reflective of situations in vivo, at least partially, under nonreplicating conditions.


This developmental research aimed to produce scientific approach-based module in chemistry equilibrium topic, determine its validity, practicality, and effectiveness on grade XI students' learning outcome. It was based on 4-D development model that included defining, designing, and developing stage. Module was validated by expert and tested to senior high school (SMA) students. Research instruments used were questionnaire in the form of validity and practicality sheets and learning outcome test. Validity sheets were completed by 5 chemistry lecturers and 3 chemistry teachers. Practicality sheets were completed by 4 chemistry teachers and 25 grade XI students in public SMA (SMAN) 2 Batusangkar. Data were analyzed with Kappa Moment. The mean score of Kappa Moment for validity was 0.84 indicating a high degree of validity. The mean score of Kappa Moment for practicality were 0.87 (for students) and 0.84 (for teachers) indicating a very high degree of practicality. Effectiveness of the module was obtained from cognitive test score of students in SMAN 4 Padang. Analysis showed that the test score of students taught with module was siginificantly higher than that of students who were not. It can be concluded that the module developed was valid, practical, and effective for senior high school instruction. Key words: chemistry equilibrium, module, scientific approach.


A synthetic jet results from periodic oscillations of a membrane in a cavity. Jet is formed when fluid is alternately sucked into and ejected from a small cavity by the motion of membrane bounding the cavity. A novel moving mesh algorithm to simulate the formation of jet is presented. The governing equations are transformed into the curvilinear coordinate system in which the grid velocities evaluated are then fed into the computation of the flow in the cavity domain thus allowing the conservation equations of mass and momentum to be solved within the stationary computational domain. Numerical solution generated using this moving mesh approach is compared with an experimental result measuring the instantaneous velocity fields obtained by µPIV measurements in the vicinity of synthetic jet orifice 241 µm in diameter issuing into confined geometry. Comparisons between experimental and numerical results on the streamwise component of velocity profiles at the orifice exit and along the centerline of the pulsating jet inmicrochannel as well as the location of vortex core indicate that there is good agreement, thereby demonstrating that the moving mesh algorithm developed is valid.


The Philosophy and Religion Department (https://www.njcu.edu/ academics/schools-colleges/william-j-maxwell-college-arts-sciences/ departments/philosophy-religion) shapes students into reflective thinkers, creative problem solvers, and strong communicators. Philosophy has traditionally been recognized as an integral part of liberal education. Programs and courses in philosophy examine the fundamental problems and questions that arise from reflection upon life and its varied experiences, as well as theories about the solutions to these problems and questions. Philosophy aims ultimately at the improvement of life through the systematic examination and clarification of ideas, values, and meanings.


Abstract. Recent advances on the mechanism and pattern of calcification in coralline algae lead to contradictory conclusions. Coralline calcification appears biologically induced, as suggested by the dependency of its elemental composition on environmental variables. However, evidence of a biologically controlled calcification process, resulting in distinctive patterns at the scale of family, was also observed. In order to clarify the matter, five collections of Lithothamnion corallioides from the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, across a wide depth range (12–66 m) have been analyzed for morphology, anatomy and cell wall crystal patterns of both perithallial and epithallial cells, in order to detect possible ultrastructural changes. L. corallioides shows the alternation of tiers of short-squared and long-ovoid/rectangular cells along the perithallus, forming a typical banding. The perithallial cell length decreases according to water depth and growth-rate, whereas diameter remains constant. Our observations confirm that both epithallial and perithallial cells show primary (PW) and secondary (SW) calcite walls. Rectangular tiles, with the long axis parallel to the cell membrane forming a multi-layered structure, characterize the PW. Flattened squared bricks characterize the SW with roundish outlines enveloping the cell and showing a zigzag pattern. Long and short cells have different thickness of PW and SW, with a thicker SW and PW in short cells. Epithallial cells are one up to three flared cells, with the same shape of the PW and SW crystals. Despite the diverse seafloor environments and the variable L. corallioides growth-rate, the cell walls maintain a consistent ultrastructural pattern, with unaffected crystal shape and arrangement. A comparison with two congeneric species, L. minervae and L. valens, showed similar ultrastructural patterns in SW, but evident differences in the PW crystal shape. Our observations point to a biological control rather than an induction of the calcification process in coralline algae, and suggest a possible new morphological diagnostic tool for species identification, with relevant importance for paleontological application. Finally, secondary calcite, in form of dogtooth crystals that fill the cell lumen, has been observed. It represents a form of early diagenesis in living collections which can have implications in the reliability of climate and paleoclimate studies based on the geochemistry techniques.


In this paper, we present the elitist particle filter based on evolutionary strategies (EPFES) as an efficient approach to estimate the statistics of a latent state vector capturing the relevant information of a nonlinear system. Similar to classical particle filtering, the EPFES consists of a set of particles and respective weights which represent different realizations of the latent state vector and their likelihood of being the solution of the optimization problem. As main innovation, the EPFES includes an evolutionary elitist-particle selection scheme which combines long-term information with instantaneous sampling from an approximated continuous posterior distribution. In this paper, we propose two advancements of the previously published elitist-particle selection process. Further, the EPFES is shown to be a generalization of the widely-used Gaussian particle filter and thus evaluated with respect to the latter: First, we consider the univariate nonstationary growth model with time-variant latent state variable to evaluate the tracking capabilities of the EPFES for instantaneously calculated particle weights. This is followed by addressing the problem of single-channel nonlinear acoustic echo cancellation as a challenging benchmark task for identifying an unknown system of large search space: the nonlinear acoustic echo path is modeled by a cascade of a parameterized preprocessor (to model the loudspeaker signal distortions) and a linear FIR filter (to model the sound wave propagation and the microphone). By using long-term information, we highlight the efficacy of the well-generalizing EPFES in estimating the preprocessor parameters for a simulated scenario and a real smartphone recording. Finally, we illustrate similarities between the EPFES and evolutionary algorithms to outline future improvements by fusing the achievements of both fields of research.


A 30-year-old man was referred for a painful mass in the left calf and planovalgus deformity of the left foot. The pain had been present for 15 years but recently had become severe. On examination there was a visible, exquisitely tender mass in the medial distal aspect of the lower leg. There was valgus deformity of the hindfoot, abduction of the forefoot, and complete loss of the longitudinal arch which was passively correctable to neutral. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a 3.035.5312.0-cm complex mass in the calf with a "bag of worms" appearance consistent with a vascular tumor. An incisional biopsy resulted in diagnosis of benign intermuscular hemangioma. A marginal resection of the mass was later performed. During operative resection, the tumor was found to involve the entire posterior tibialis muscle to the musculotendinous junction. The patient began full weight bearing 4 weeks postoperatively and was placed in an ankle-foot orthosis for correction of the planovalgus. At 19 months postoperative, he reported no pain and mild weakness of the left foot, and he had returned to full-time work. There was no recurrence of the tumor. Intermuscular hemangioma of the calf may cause acquired spasticity and equinus deformity of the foot. In addition, intramuscular hemangiomas have been reported to cause muscle weakness and tendon rupture. In this patient, the authors believe that the posterior tibialis muscle was weakened and elongated secondary to the replacement of the muscle tissue by the tumor, ultimately leading to the planovalgus deformity.


Several mechanical vibration instruments are described and actual problems which these instruments have helped to solve are mentioned. The theory of the seismographic instruments is developed to show the relation between the record or indication and the motion being measured. The limitations in the accuracy of amplitudes recorded or indicated are brought out.


School bus travel is one of the safest forms of transportation, yet each year an average of nine school bus occupants are fatally injured in school bus crashes. Although much has been done to improve the safety of school buses over the years, more research may reflect new ways to better protect school bus occupants. Current school bus occupant protection is based on a concept called compartmentalization, meaning that the seats are closely spaced together, high backed, well padded, and are designed to absorb energy during a crash. Although this design works well in frontal impacts, compartmentalization may not protect occupants as well in side impacts and rollovers. The purpose of this paper is to describe the large school bus crash simulations performed by the National Transportation Safety Board and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in an effort to address safety issues concerning occupant protection in non-frontal collisions and also to compile accurate crash data to evaluate future occupant crash protection systems. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E106540.


Quantitative understanding the kinetics of toxic ion reactions with various heterogeneous ferrihydrite binding sites is crucial for accurately predicting the dynamic behavior of contaminants in environment. In this study, kinetics of As(V), Cr(VI), Cu(II), and Pb(II) adsorption and desorption on ferrihydrite was studied using a stirred-flow method, which showed that metal adsorption/desorption kinetics was highly dependent on the reaction conditions and varied significantly among four metals. High resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that all four metals were distributed within the ferrihydrite aggregates homogeneously after adsorption reactions. Based on the equilibrium model CD-MUSIC, we developed a novel unified kinetics model applicable for both cation and oxyanion adsorption and desorption on ferrihydrite, which is able to account for the heterogeneity of ferrihydrite binding sites, different binding properties of cations and oxyanions, and variations of solution chemistry. The model described the kinetic results well. We quantitatively elucidated how the equilibrium properties of the cation and oxyanion binding to various ferrihydrite sites and the formation of various surface complexes controlled the adsorption and desorption kinetics at different reaction conditions and time scales. Our study provided a unified modeling method for the kinetics of ion adsorption/desorption on ferrihydrite.


ABSTRACT A completely confluent endothelial cell (EC) monolayer is required to maintain proper vascular function in small diameter tissue-engineered vascular graft (TEVG). However, the most effective method for EC attachment to the luminal surface and formation of an entire endothelium layer that works in vitro remains a complicated challenge that requires urgent resolution. Although pulsatile flow has been shown to be better suited for the generation of functional endothelium, the optimal frequency setting is unknown. Several pulsatile flow frequencies were used to implant rat bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) into the lumen of decellularized porcine carotid arteries. The endothelium's integrity and cell activity were investigated in order to determine the best pulse frequency settings. The results showed that MSC were maximally preserved and exhibited maximal morphological changes with improved endothelialization performance in response to increased pulse stimulation frequency. Increased pulse frequency stimulation stimulates the expression of mechanoreceptor markers, cytoskeleton reorganization in the direction of blood flow, denser skeletal proteins fibronectin, and stronger intercellular connections when compared to constant pulse frequency stimulation. MSC eventually develops an intact endothelial layer with anti-thrombotic properties on the inner wall of the decellularized tubular lumen. Conclusion: The decellularized vessels retain the three-dimensional structure of the vasculature, have a surface topography suitable for MSC growth, and have good mechanical properties. By increasing the frequency of pulsed stimulation, MSC endothelialize the lumen of the decellularized vasculature. It is expected to have anti-thrombotic and anti-neointimal hyperplasia properties after implantation, ultimately improving the patency of TEVG.


Antidepressant response could be from 42 to 50% genetically determined. Venlafaxine (VEN) was the sixth most-prescribed antidepressant in the USA in 2017. Therefore, we reviewed studies which focused on the pharmacogenetics of VEN and found that there is a lack of guidelines for pharmacogenetic testing for VEN. Within investigated genetic polymorphisms, few of them can be indicated as potential predictors of VEN efficacy and tolerance. However, additional pharmacogenetic studies of VEN should be performed to reproduce already obtained results or explain contradictory ones. The individualization of pharmacotherapy is a key issue in providing patients with the highest possible quality of treatment, therefore pharmacogenetic studies should be one of the components of therapy optimization.


The perspectives investigated by Physics/Science Teaching researchers in the context of youth and adults are diverse. They research on innovations in the classroom, new technologies, experimental activities, evaluation, among others subjects. In the children context, Physics/ Sciences teaching is poorly explored. This article discusses the results of a bibliographical research on this theme, whose main objective was to gather theoretical and methodological subsidies for the teaching practice in this context. The data sources used were articles, dissertations and theses available in the Capes/ MEC Journal Portal, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Bank of Theses and Dissertations and Theses and Dissertations Digital Library (BDTD), as well as papers published and presented at the National Symposium on Physics Teaching (SNEF) and Meeting on Physics Teaching Research (EPEF) among years 2000 and 2017. In this context, the sources were grouped and analyzed from the following categories: level of education, with the possibility of insertion of Physics/Science teaching from the age of 3, in the context of both formal and nonformal education, as long as the scientific activities are appropriate to the children's age group and whose main objective is to motivate their interest in scientific contents; content covered, with works on the various Physics themes, with predominance of Mechanics, Fluids and Astronomy; and methodology, didactic resources and theoretical foundation, where we highlight the occurrence of experimental and ludic activities based predominantly on Piaget, Vygotsky and Ausubel theories. Thus, from this article, the reader will contemplate a general overview about the possibilities and potentialities for the insertion of Physics/Science teaching in children's context, in order to make possible the interest for Science, as well as scientific literacy.


OBJECTIVES
Accurate prediction of safe remnant liver volume to minimize complications following liver resection remains challenging. The aim of this study was to assess whether quantification of steatosis improved the predictive value of preoperative volumetric analysis.

METHODS
Thirty patients undergoing planned right or extended right hemi-hepatectomy for colorectal metastases were recruited prospectively. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess the level of hepatic steatosis and future remnant liver volume. These data were correlated with data on postoperative hepatic insufficiency, complications and hospital stay. Correlations of remnant percentage, remnant mass to patient mass and remnant mass to body surface area with and without steatosis measurements were assessed.

RESULTS
In 10 of the 30 patients the planned liver resection was altered. Moderate-severe postoperative hepatic dysfunction was seen in 17 patients. Complications arose in 14 patients. The median level of steatosis was 3.8% (range: 1.2-17.6%), but was higher in patients (n= 10) who received preoperative chemotherapy (P= 0.124), in whom the median level was 4.8% (range: 1.5-17.6%). The strongest correlation was that of remnant liver mass to patient mass (r= 0.77, P < 0.001). However, the addition of steatosis quantification did not improve this correlation (r= 0.76, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to combine volumetric with steatosis quantifications. No significant benefit was seen in this small pilot. However, these techniques may be useful in operative planning, particularly in patients receiving preoperative chemotherapy.


Wet and dry weights of 12-, 16-, and 20-d-old embryos from Hybrid strain and Nicholas strain commercial cross turkeys were determined, and the relationships between embryo weights and the preincubation weight of the eggs in which they were developing was determined by regression analyses. The wet weight of Hybrid strain male embryos was significantly greater than that of females at each age, whereas wet weight of male Nicholas embryos was greater than females at 16 and 20 d. Average dry weights of male embryos of both strains exceeded those of females at 16 and 20 d but differences were not significant. Significant linear regressions of embryo wet and dry weights on egg weight were present in the Hybrid strain males at 12 and 16 d of incubation and in females at 16 d only. The regression of Nicholas embryo wet weight on egg weight approached significance in 12-d-old males and 20-d-old females.


A group of 106 adult Panamanian men were skin tested with a standard human tuberculin (RT 23) and three sensitins prepared from atypical mycobacteria. Two of the sensitins (prepared from Mycobacterium kansasii and Battey organism) are commonly used to detect atypical mycobacterial infections. The third (prepared from M. xenopi) had not been used in Panama previously. Skin sensitivity proved to be significantly higher to the M. xenopi sensitin than to the others. The known epidemiology of M. xenopi is briefly reviewed.


In this paper, we propose an innovative photoelectric material made of a mixture of liquid crystal and spiropyran which can be used to tailor the performance of piezoelectric sensors. The impedance variation of this photoelectric material can be controlled using different ultraviolet (UV) irradiation times. We found that the impedance of the liquid crystal–spiropyran mixture remains stable after the UV irradiation. Results showed that UV irradiation at 180 s resulted in the lowest mixture impedance. It appears that the electrical properties of the mixture have great potential to modulate a piezoelectric system since UV irradiation can be used to tailor the impedance of a photosensitive electrode made of a liquid crystal–spiropyran sensor for PZT (i.e. lead zirconate titanate) modal actuator/sensor applications. The main innovation of this paper is the demonstration of a new approach towards producing a positive and negative bias voltage in different regions of a sensor by using UV illumination for different time periods. A one-dimensional mode 2 sensor for a cantilever beam was designed and tested to verify the validity of this innovative approach. Since UV illumination can be changed in situ or in real time, this research also represents the creation of an optically defined/tailored modal sensor. In the future, a two-dimensional optical modal control could also be obtained using the method demonstrated.


It is of great practical and theoretical significance to identify driver fatigue state in real time and accurately and provide active safety warning in time. In this paper, a non-invasive and low-cost method of fatigue driving state identification based on genetic algorithm optimization of generalized regression neural network model is proposed. The specific work is as follows: (1) design simulated driving experiment and real driving experiment, determine the fatigue state of drivers according to the binary Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), and establish the fatigue driving sample database. (2) Improved Multi-Task Cascaded Convolutional Networks (MTCNN) and applied to face detection. Dlib library was used to extract the coordinate values of face feature points, collect the characteristic parameters of driver's eyes and mouth, and calculate the Euler Angle parameters of head posture. A fatigue identification model was constructed by using multiple characteristic parameters. (3) Genetic Algorithm (GA) was used to find the optimal smooth factor of Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) and construct GA-GRNN fatigue driving identification model. Compared with K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Random Forest (RF), and GRNN fatigue driving identification algorithms. GA-GRNN has the best generalization ability and high stability, with an accuracy of 93.3%. This study provides theoretical and technical support for the application of driver fatigue identification.


Abstract A glutaraldehyde fixative developed for preserving the radula superior epithelium of the adult chiton Acanthopleura hirtosa (Blainville, 1825), was used in conjunction with conventional and microwave-assisted sample processing to produce high quality tissue preservation for light and electron microscopy. In addition, high-pressure freezing (HPF) and cryo-substitution were used to fix the radula tissue of juvenile specimens. Microwave-assisted fixation was preferred to conventional bench-top techniques due to the superior preservation of fine cell structure together with reduced processing times and chemical exposure. Although restricted to very small (<200 μm) samples, the quality of juvenile radulae processed by HPF was excellent. The improvements in tissue preservation using microwave and cryo-preservation techniques are therefore critical for obtaining accurate ultrastructural information on the radula in marine molluscs. In particular, these findings highlight additional processing options available for the study of cellular structures in biomineralizing tissues.


In order to make robot manipulators work more compliantly when contacting with the environment, it is necessary to reduce the contact force caused by positioning errors. One effective way to solve this problem is impedance control, which makes the robot manipulator a second-order mass-spring-damping system in principle. In this paper, a position-based fractional-order impedance control design method is proposed for the robot manipulator force control. The end-effector/environment contact model is established, and the closed-loop system is analyzed with the reference force as input. A fractional-order impedance parameters design method is proposed for better force-control performance, which calculates and optimizes parameters through frequency-domain specifications (i.e., phase margin and gain crossover frequency) and time-domain specification (i.e., the minimum JITSE). With the Robotics ToolBox for MATLAB (RTB), the performance comparison between integer-order and fractional-order impedance controls is illustrated in simulation. The fractional-order impedance control system has a faster response, smaller overshoot, and better resistance to external disturbances from the environment.


Study abroad programs have been identified as one of the most effective methods of globalizing curricula and students. The purpose of this study was to examine the current framework of the Leading Change in Costa Rica Study Abroad Program and its ability to diffuse leadership theory to the participating students and to students who are not able to take part in a study abroad opportunity. This study abroad program used reusable learning objects (RLOs) as an assignment to develop global leadership competencies by applying the learned leadership theory in an international context. Students were impacted by the experience. They gained knowledge of the course content, developed and expanded their cultural competencies, and expanded their views of developing countries. The Leading Change in Costa Rica Study Abroad Program also made an effort to develop the intercultural competencies and global leadership abilities of students who are unable to study abroad. The student-created RLOs have been used in class presentations and made available to interested faculty to use in classrooms across disciplines.


Tigray, the most northerly of Ethiopia's ethnic based Regional States, covers an area of 53 386 km sq and has a population exceeding 5.17 million of whom some 24.3% are urban dwellers. Wide agroclimatic variations result from altitudinal differences (600–3000 + meters) and rainfall patterns. The area is a center of origin of many cultivated and wild plants. The mainly agricultural rural population, farming small areas of non-contiguous plots, makes wide use of these conditions to ensure its livelihood. Crops grown include ten species of cereals, seven pulses legumes), six oilseeds, and numerous fruits, vegetables and spices. Within these groups and species several varieties or landraces are recognized and used to advantage. Wild species are exploited for food, especially at times of crop failure, and for medicines. Crop production is beset by many biotic (weeds, pests, diseases), abiotic (infertile soils) and anthropic (government policy, civil strife, military actions) constraints. Drought is a frequent occurrence and leads to crop failure and famine. In normal times crop yield are low but some of the production is marketed to provide cash for other necessities. Tigray's population is poverty stricken and often in need of food aid.


Diatoms are known to be efficient bioindicators for water quality assessment because of their rapid response to environmental pressures and their omnipresence in water bodies. The identification of benthic diatoms communities in the biofilm, coupled with quality indices such as the Indice de polluosensibilité spécifique (IPS) can be used for biomonitoring purposes in freshwater. However, the morphological identification and counting of diatoms species under the microscope is time-consuming and requires extensive expertise to deal with a constantly evolving taxonomy. In response, a molecular-based and potentially more cost-effective method has been developed, coupling high-throughput sequencing and DNA metabarcoding. The method has already been tested for water quality assessment with diatoms in Central Europe. In this study, we applied both the traditional and molecular methods on 180 biofilms samples from Northern Europe (rivers and lakes of Fennoscandia and Iceland). The DNA metabarcoding data were obtained on two different DNA markers, the 18S-V4 and rbcL barcodes, with the NucleoSpin Soil kit for DNA extraction and sequenced on an Ion Torrent PGM platform. We assessed the ability of the molecular method to produce species inventories, IPS scores and ecological status class comparable to the ones generated by the traditional morphology-based approach. The two methods generated correlated but significantly different IPS scores and ecological status assessment. The observed deviations are explained by presence/absence and abundance discrepancies in the species inventories, mainly due to the incompleteness of the barcodes reference databases, primer bias and strictness of the bioinformatic pipeline. Abundance discrepancies are less common than presence/absence discrepancies but have a greater effect on the ecological assessment. Missing species in the reference databases are mostly acidophilic benthic diatoms species, typical of the low pH waters of Northern Europe. The two different DNA markers also generated significantly different ecological status assessments. The use of the 18S-V4 marker generates more species inventories discrepancies, but achieves an ecological assessment more similar to the traditional morphology-based method. Further development of the metabarcoding method is needed for its use in environmental assessment. For its application in Northern Europe, completion and curation of reference databases are necessary, as well as evaluation of the currently available bioinformatics pipelines. New indices, fitted for environmental biomonitoring, should also be developed directly from molecular data.


This paper clarifies the differences in the alternative estimators of the error covariance matrix X in the SUR model with unequal numbers of observations. It identifies a sample statistic which represents their essential differences and hence is a useful guide for the choice of an estimator in practice. The paper also presents an alternative estimator of E based on the specification in Telser (1964).


Surface wind vector measurements over the oceans are vital for scientists and forecasters to understand the Earth's global weather and climate. In the last two decades, operational measurements of global ocean wind speeds were obtained from passive microwave radiometers (Special Sensor Microwave/ Imagers); and over this period, full ocean surface wind vector data were obtained from several National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency scatterometry missions. However, since SeaSat-A in 1978, there have not been other combined active and passive wind measurements on the same satellite until the launch of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II in 2002. This mission provided a unique data set of coincident measurements between the SeaWinds scatterometer and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR). The AMSR instrument measured linearly polarized brightness temperatures (TB) over the ocean. Although these measurements contained wind direction information, the overlying atmospheric influence obscured this signal and made wind direction retrievals not feasible. However, for radiometer channels between 10 and 37 GHz, a certain linear combination of vertical and horizontal brightness temperatures causes the atmospheric dependence to cancel and surface parameters such as wind speed and direction and sea surface temperature to dominate the resulting signal. In this paper, an empirical relationship between AMSR TB's (specifically A . TBV - TBH) and surface wind vectors (inferred from SeaWinds' retrievals) is established for three microwave frequencies: 10, 18, and 37 GHz. This newly developed wind vector model function for microwave radiometers can serve as a basis for wind vector retrievals either separately or in combination with active scatterometer measurements.


The National Health and Medical Research Council, at its 97th Session (June 1984) modified one of its earlier recommendations relating to the radiological examination of young women. This was made on the recommendation of its Radiation Health Committee and the Council have requested publication of the new recommendation so that all people who prescribe radiological examination should be aware of the Council's recommendation. With the mean age of menarche in Australian girls now being before their 13th birthday, a substantial proportion of a paediatric population will be affected by these recommendations.


Saccharomyces cerevisiae has both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial C1-tetrahydrofolate (THF) synthases. These trifunctional isozymes are central to single-carbon metabolism and are responsible for interconversion of the THF derivatives in the respective compartments. In the present work, we have used 13C NMR to study folate-mediated single-carbon metabolism in these two compartments, using glycine and serine synthesis as metabolic endpoints. The availability of yeast strains carrying deletions of cytoplasmic and/or mitochondrial C1-THF synthase allows a dissection of the role each compartment plays in this metabolism. When yeast are incubated with [13C]formate, 13C NMR spectra establish that production of [3-13C]serine is dependent on C1-THF synthase and occurs primarily in the cytosol. However, in a strain lacking cytoplasmic C1-THF synthase but possessing the mitochondrial isozyme, [13C]formate can be metabolized to [2-13C]glycine and [3-13C]serine. This provides in vivo evidence for the mitochondrial assimilation of formate, activation and conversion to [13C]CH2-THF via mitochondrial C1-THF synthase, and subsequent glycine synthesis via reversal of the glycine cleavage system. Additional supporting evidence of reversibility of GCV in vivo is the production of [2-13C]glycine and [2,3-13C]serine in yeast strains grown with [3-13C]serine. This metabolism is independent of C1-THF synthase since these products were observed in strains lacking both the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial isozymes. These results suggest that when formate is the one-carbon donor, assimilation is primarily cytoplasmic, whereas when serine serves as one-carbon donor, considerable metabolism occurs via mitochondrial pathways.


ABSTRACT The issues of mental health such as depression and anxiety create impact to the psychological, social and economic of society. Public libraries as a community center play a great role in taking actions toward mental health and well-being through bibliotherapy services. This study aims to describe the public libraries experienced in bibliotherapy and to determine the criteria of bibliotherapy services in public libraries. A systematic literature search of studies was carried out based on the PRISMA framework. The analysis of the literatures revealed a large variety of bibliotherapy framework and models – most of them are developed in country-specific and only applicable in western countries, others could be applied by public libraries across borders. The review makes clear that bibliotherapy services are importance in libraries and requires specific criteria for bibliotherapy development. It also clearly outlines the potential of bibliotherapy services in libraries as a method of improving mental health and well-being. The article raises important issues with regards to how public library should go about developing bibliotherapy services. This study contributes to the field of library and information management as it highlights the public libraries experienced in implementing bibliotherapy. Library practitioners could use the results to develop their strategies to ensure the success of the bibliotherapy as part of library services.


The fantasy genre is popular among the readers of different ages, geographical and social background and new novels are being published on a daily basis. Motion films are continuously being published on the basis of fantasy novels, as are video games and new editions of older books.

The present paper discusses one of the possibilities, why the fantasy genre is ever present and some fantasy novels continue to impress new readers. The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter were chosen as representatives of the fantasy genre because of their popularity and critics reviews; they were also adapted to motion films. When analyzing these works and also other fantasy novels, one can notice similarities; sometimes they can be seen at the first glance, sometimes they occur on the deeper level of symbols and ideas. Broadening the scope of research leads to similarities with fairy-tales, mythologies and religious texts – texts that help many people survive their daily lives. Carl Gustav Jung argued that these texts are based on archetypes, innate concepts that are hidden in the human unconscious and have to be realized in order for the human psyche to function properly. He dedicated most of his time to five main archetypes that can be projected in various forms. Projections of the wise old man, the hero, the shadow, the anima, and the trickster can be found in myths and religious texts around the world, which was also discussed by Joseph Campbell. Jung and Campbell stress the importance of archetypes and argue that they can be realized through myths and religious texts.

The three novels include projections of all major archetypes. These projections have great similarities among themselves, among other projections in fantasy literature, and similarities to the most well-known projections of these archetypes in myths and religious texts. Jung emphasized that fairy-tales and myths offer a way of realizing the need for archetypes, however; these archetypes can also be met in fantasy novels. Thus the fantasy genre is also one of the ways how people can satisfy their need for archetypes and this can be one of the reasons why the fantasy genre is very popular.


Part 1 Hegemony and co-operation in the international economy - early statements of the theory tests and critiques of the theory. Part 2 The international system and state structures and strategies - the international economy and the formation of state goals the international economy and the historical development of national economic and political structures economic growth waves and the international system.


This article provides information about the geological structure of the territory of Azerbaijan Republic, the results of the analysis of tectonic movements, analysis of the plan geodetic networks, assessment of deformations in geodetic networks, interpretation of the results of repeated leveling works on the Absheron Peninsula, about the mud volcanoes and seismic situation and also describes the geodynamic polygons created in order to study the recent movements of the Earth's crust on the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic. These polygons were experimental in the territory of the former Soviet Union. ARTICLE INFO


This study aims to examine and analyze the factors affecting income tax revenues with tax compliance as an intervening variable. The study consists of three independent variables that tax penalties, the service tax authorities, and awareness of the taxpayer. While this research is tied in income tax revenues and intervening variable is tax compliance.This study used purpose sampling technique and survey method with questionnaires in collecting data. Respondent were sampled in this study is an individual taxpayer who performs is 120 respondent in Semarang. Research data analysis using multiple analysis with the path analysis.The results showed that the variable tax penalties and service tax authorities an effect on tax compliance, awareness taxpayer has no effect on tax compliance, tax penalties, awareness of taxpayers and taxpayer compliance effect on income tax revenue, the service tax authorities had no effect on tax revenue income. Tax compliance successfully mediate the relationship between the variables of service tax authorities against income tax revenue. Tax compliance  not successfully mediate the relationship between the tax penalties and awareness taxpayer against income tax revenue.


We show that a regular curve in Minkowski space with a light-like tangent will have Hausdorff dimension D = 1/2. We present a light-like curve with D = 1/2 exhibiting complete self-similarity. We also present a Lorentz invariant formulation of the neighbourhood of a curve with "diameter" l with a volume scaling as l 4-D, where D is the fractal dimension of the curve. The connection to the theory of a massless relativistic string is briefly discussed.


Background

The health benefits of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), such as cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory and hypo-triglyceridemic properties, have been well documented. However, current dietary modification can easily lead to excessive concentrations of n-6 PUFA and an imbalance in the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio, resulting in the pathogenesis of obesity and related diseases. This study investigated the effects of various dietary n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios on the growth performance, blood lipid and cytokine profiles, tissue fatty acid composition, and gene expression involved in lipid metabolism in finishing pigs. Seventy-two crossbred [(Duroc × Landrace) × Yorkshire] finishing pigs (68.5 ± 1·8 kg) were fed one of four isoenergetic diets with n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios of 2:1, 3:1, 5:1 and 8:1.
Results

Pigs fed diets with n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios of 3:1 and 5:1 had a higher average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (P < 0.05) and a lower feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P < 0.05). The concentrations of triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) of pigs fed diets with n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios of 1:1 to 5:1 decreased (P < 0·05), whereas the ratio of concentrations of high-density to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C:LDL-C) in pigs fed a diet with an n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio of 2:1 increased (P < 0·05) compared with those fed a diet with an n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio of 8:1. Pigs fed a diet with n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios of 2:1 and 3:1 had lower concentrations of leptin (LEP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) (P < 0·05), and higher concentrations of adiponectin (APN) (P < 0·05) than those fed diets with n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios of 5:1 and 8:1. Diets with n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios of 2:1 and 3:1 markedly down-regulated the expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) in both the longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT), but up-regulated the expression level of adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (aP2) in the LM. The expression levels of aP2 and hormone- sensitive lipase were similar to those of PPARγ in the SCAT.
Conclusions

This study demonstrated that dietary n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios between 3:1 and 5:1 beneficially affected growth performance, optimize blood lipid and adipocytokine levels, enhanced absorption and deposition of n-3 PUFA and regulated lipid metabolism-related genes.


In recent years scholars have observed a process of organizational nationalization in both the Democratic and Republican parties. This study updates data from two earlier studies, which attempted to determine if organizational nationalization of the parties was associated with ideological nationalization of party platforms. State and national party platforms between 1956 and 1992 are content analyzed to determine the extent of ideological integration. Similar to the two earlier studies of ideological integration, the data show only a modest movement toward intra-party integration, and little evidence of the development of a highly ideological and nationalized party system.


We study the training of deep neural networks by gradient descent where floating-point arithmetic is used to compute the gradients. In this framework and under realistic assumptions, we demonstrate that it is highly unlikely to find ReLU neural networks that maintain, in the course of training with gradient descent, superlinearly many affine pieces with respect to their number of layers. In virtually all approximation theoretical arguments which yield high order polynomial rates of approximation, sequences of ReLU neural networks with exponentially many affine pieces compared to their numbers of layers are used. As a consequence, we conclude that approximating sequences of ReLU neural networks resulting from gradient descent in practice differ substantially from theoretically constructed sequences. The assumptions and the theoretical results are compared to a numerical study, which yields concurring results.


Synthesis and secretion of Ig by chicken lymphoid cells was studied. Both spleen and bursa cells synthesize and secrete IgM and IgG whereas Ig was not detected in thymus cells. In contrast to the spleen cells which synthesize H and L chains in balanced quantities, the bursa cells synthesize and secrete free L chains. In addition to the lymphoid cells which secrete IgM or IgG, the bursa appears to contain a cell population which synthesizes nonsecretory Ig. The structure of this Ig was studied by specific serological precipitation and by SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The H chains of this nonsecretory Ig are serologically related to µ-chains and exhibit a smaller molecular weight (i.e., ∼50,000) in SDS-acrylamide gel electrophoresis than H chains of IgG and IgM synthesized by the spleen cells (i.e., ∼70,000).


Recruitment of peripheral leukocytes to intestine is an essential process for intestinal inflammation. This study examined the localization of a novel molecule, 4C8 antigen, in inflammatory bowel disease; this molecule is involved in the transendothelial migration of T lymphocytes. Surgical specimens of human intestine were obtained from nine patients with ulcerative colitis, 13 with Crohn's disease, and eight controls. Immunohistological staining was performed using antibodies against 4C8 antigen, and CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD68, CD45RA, CD45RO, CD11a, and CD62 (E‐ and P‐selectin) by the peroxidase method. Immunological double staining was subsequently performed for the same specimens stained with anti‐4C8 antibody using the alkaline phosphatase method. In normal controls, 4C8‐positive cells were mainly found in lamina propria. 4C8‐positive cells were increased in lamina propria and submucosa of specimens with Crohn's disease. Accumulation of 4C8‐positive cells surrounding CD62‐positive vessels was found in the submucosa of specimens with inflammatory bowel disease, but not in controls. Immunohistological double staining revealed that the major subsets of 4C8‐positive cells were positive for CD3, CD4, CD45RO, and CD11a. 4C8‐positive cells in human intestine belong to the subset of helper/inducer memory T cells newly recruited from the peripheral pool. Inhibition of the 4C8‐ligand system could have potentially uses in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


We present a new tool to analyze three queueing systems which have defied exact analysis so far: (i) the classical M/G/k multi-server system, (ii) queueing systems with fluctuating arrival and service rates, and (iii) the M/G/1 round-robin queue. We argue that rather than looking for exact expressions for the mean response time as a function of the job size distribution, a more fruitful approach is to find distributions which minimize or maximize the mean response time given the first n moments of the job size distribution.
 We prove that for the M/G/k system in light traffic, and given n=2 and 3 moments, these 'extremal' distributions are given by principal representations of the moment sequence. Furthermore, if we restrict the distributions to lie in the class of Completely Monotone (CM) distributions, then for all the three queueing systems, for any n, the extremal distributions under the appropriate "light traffic" asymptotics are hyper-exponential distributions with finite number of phases. We conjecture that the property of extremality should be invariant to the system load, and thus our light traffic results should hold for general load as well.


OBJECTIVE: To find out the medicinal plant resources of Heizhu Ravine in Ebian County and put forward some principles and measures for their sustainable utilization. METHOD: On-the-spot investigation and sample measuring, calculating, visiting and assessing. RESULTS: The general situation about these resources was expounded. New curative effects of 3 species, distribution and region output of 7 superiority resource species, 1 plant pesticide species, 3 species suitable for extensive propagation and 7 rare species on the verge of extinction were also reported. CONCLUSION: This area has more than 1500 species of medicinal plants, of which about 300 are original traditional Chinese medicinal herb in most use and 1200 are used in folk medicine or as important medicinal raw mAterials.


Forward [creatine phosphate (CP)----adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP)] and reverse (ATP----CP) fluxes of myocardial creatine kinase (CK) measured by using 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and conventional saturation transfer (CST) methods are unequal; this is a paradoxical result because during steady state fluxes into and out of the CP pool must be the same. These measurements, however, treat the CK reaction as a two-site exchange problem and ignore the presence of the ATP gamma in equilibrium Pi exchange involving the ATPases. We have applied a method [Uğurbil, K. (1985) J. Magn. Reson. 64, 207] based on the saturation of multiple resonances, by which a single unidirectional rate constant can be measured unequivocally in the presence of multiple exchanges, to the measurement of CK fluxes in isovolumic rat hearts perfused under three different conditions; two of the three perfusion conditions showed a large discrepancy in the CK fluxes determined by CST, and one did not. In contrast, when the effect of the ATP gamma in equilibrium Pi exchange on the CK rate measurements was eliminated, multiple saturation transfer (MST) measurements on the same hearts yielded equal forward and reverse fluxes in all cases. The rate constant for the ATP gamma----CP conversion measured by MST was larger than the value obtained by the conventional methodology whereas both methods gave the same rate constant in the CP----ATP direction. These results demonstrate that the cause of the paradoxical data obtained by CST measurements of CK kinetics is the ATP gamma in equilibrium Pi exchange and that CK rates when determined rigorously are consistent with the CK reaction being in equilibrium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Smart grid is a future self-healing power system which will combine with the novel control, information and management techniques, realize a series of intelligent interactive activities from power transmission to electricity end users, and optimize electricity generation, transmission and distribution scientifically and systematically. This paper analyzes features and recent progress of smart grid firstly. Then, based on the requirements of detection for high voltage transmission equipments as well as plans of smart grid construction in China, the importance of on-line monitoring techniques for smart grid are highlighted. Meanwhile, aiming at the difference of smart grid and traditional grid, it also presents some specific and step by step proposals for the realization of on-line monitoring of high voltage transmission equipments. It suggests that the future work should be focused on the high voltage equipment such as intelligent equipments development, reliability analysis and residual life estimation according to on-line monitoring data, life cycle management and accurate evaluation system, intelligent maintenance using expert systems and et al. Solution of the above problems will be helpful to deep research and application of smart grid.


Abstract Some of the world's most powerful corporations practise what Shoshana Zuboff (2015; 2019) calls 'surveillance capitalism'. The core of their business is harvesting, analysing and selling data about the people who use their products. In Zuboff's view, the first corporation to engage in surveillance capitalism was Google, followed by Facebook; recently, firms such as Microsoft and Amazon have pivoted towards such a model. In this paper, I suggest that Karl Marx's analysis of the relations between industrial capitalists and workers is closely analogous to the relations between surveillance capitalists and users. Furthermore, three problematic aspects of industrial capitalism that Marx describes – alienation, exploitation and accumulation – are also aspects, in new forms, of surveillance capitalism. I draw heavily on Zuboff's work to make these parallels. However, my Marx-inspired account of surveillance capitalism differs from hers over the nature of the exchange between users and surveillance capitalists. For Zuboff, this is akin either to robbery or the gathering of raw materials; on the Marx-inspired account it is a voluntary sale. This difference has important implications for the question of how to resist surveillance capitalism.


In his long and productive life Joseph Margolis approached many subjects that had been the concern of philosophy all through history. However, when his texts are read carefully it is clear that his main interest was to understand humanity and its cultural values. In my text I will first introduce Margolis philosophy in general and the underlying premises that he defended throughout his work, moving on to specific claims and arguments.
I will pursue my analysis through several of Margolis' texts concerning his main philosophical arguments, such as the definition of the human, relativity, ethics and aesthetics. Margolis was a prolific writer who developed his philosophy in consecutive phases, arriving in his later years to arguments that became more pointed as well as far reaching in scope. Margolis' reasoning and argumentation proceeds in three steps: defining the problem at hand, understanding the reasonings applicable to his claim and to opposing views, reaching a solution suitable and appropriate according to the context.


The article presents historical data about the life of Victor Khris-tianovich Frauchi and memories of him, which raises the appearance of not only an outstanding scientist and educator, but also of an easy-going, expansive, highly decent man, with his personal features and little maggots that cause a kind smile. And they are not contradictory.


We analyse 20th century trends in six indices for precipitation extremes and four indices for temperature extremes, calculated from daily observational data for European stations. The indices chosen reflect rather moderate extremes. Most of the ∼80 stations used are situated in central and western Europe; therefore, results mainly refer to this region. Trends are calculated over 1901–99, 1921–99, 1901–50 and 1946–99. Two different trend estimators are used, and significance is assessed with a bootstrap technique. We find that: Significant increasing precipitation trends over the 20th century dominate in winter for both average precipitation intensity and moderately strong events. Simultaneously, the length of dry spells generally increased insignificantly. There are few significant trends of any sign for precipitation indices in summer, but there are insignificant drying trends over Scandinavia and wetting trends over central and western Europe for 1921–99. The length of dry spells in summer generally increased insignificantly. Both the warm and cold tails of the temperature distribution in winter warmed over the entire 20th century. Notably low values in the cold tail for daily Tmax and Tmin occurred in the early 1940s, leading to strong but insignificant negative trends for 1901–50, whereas little change occurred before 1940. Warming of winters during 1946–99 occurred in both the warm and cold tails for both Tmax and Tmin, with the largest warming in the cold tail for Tmin. The warm tail of daily Tmin (and to a smaller extent Tmax) in summer warmed significantly during the past century. There is more evidence for summer warming in the first half of the century compared with the second half. During 1946–99, the warm tail of daily Tmax in summer was generally warming while the cold tail was cooling (both insignificantly). More digitized daily observational data from various European sub‐regions are needed to permit a spatially more extensive analysis of changes in climate extremes over the last century. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society


The effectiveness of alert systems for civil protection purposes, defined as the ability to minimize the level of risk in a region subjected to an imminent flood event, strongly depends on availability and exploitability of information. It also depends on technical expertise and the ability to easily manage the civil protection actions through the organization into standardized procedures. Hydro-geologic and hydraulic risk estimation, based on the combination of different technical issues (in this case meteorological, hydro-geological, hydraulic matters), but also socio-economic ones, requires the integration between quasistatic and time-varying information within the same operative platform. Beside the real-time data exchange, a Decision Support System must provide tools which enable knowledge sharing among the civil protection centres. Moreover, due to the amount and heterogeneity of information, quality procedures become necessary to handle all forecasting and monitoring routines within operative centres, according to the latest national directive. In Italy procedures on the civil protection matter have been condensed into the Prime Minister's Directive (27 February 2004)1. STORM3, an innovative management and monitoring System for real-time flood forecasting and warning, takes in the Directive, supporting the operator step by step within the different phases of civil protection activities.


Propoxur (2-isopropoxyphenyl N-methylcarbamate) is widely used as an acaricide in agriculture and public health programs. Studies have shown that sub-chronic exposure to propoxur can cause oxidative stress and immuno-suppression in rats. Carbamates are also known to exhibit inhibitory effect on cholinesterase activity, which is directly related to their cholinergic effects. In the present study, the effect of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha), a widely used herbal drug possessing anti-stress and immunomodulatory properties was studied on propoxur-induced acetylcholine esterase inhibition and impairment of cognitive function in rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Group I was treated with olive oil and served as control. Group II was administered orally with propoxur (10 mg/kg b.wt.) in olive oil, group III received a combination of propoxur (10 mg/kg b.wt.) and W. somnifera (100 mg/kg b.wt.) suspension and group IV W. somnifera (100 mg/kg b.wt.) only. All animals were treated for 30 days. Cognitive behaviour was assessed by transfer latency using elevated plus maze. Blood and brain acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity was also assessed. Oral administration of propoxur (10 mg/kg b.wt.) resulted in a significant reduction of brain and blood AChE activity. A significant prolongation of the acquisition as well as retention transfer latency was observed in propoxur-treated rats. Oral treatment of W. somnifera exerts protective effect and attenuates AChE inhibition and cognitive impairment caused by sub-chronic exposure to propoxur.


In this work we simulated in a mouse model a naturally occurring situation of humans, who overcame an infection with epidemic strains of influenza A, and were subsequently exposed to avian influenza A viruses (IAV). The antibody response to avian IAV in mice previously infected with human IAV was analyzed. We used two avian IAV (A/Duck/Czechoslovakia/1956 (H4N6) and the attenuated virus rA/Viet Nam/1203-2004 (H5N1)) as well as two human IAV isolates (virus A/Mississippi/1/1985 (H3N2) of medium virulence and A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1) of high virulence). Two repeated doses of IAV of H4 or of H5 virus elicited virus-specific neutralizing antibodies in mice. Exposure of animals previously infected with human IAV (of H3 or H1 subtype) to IAV of H4 subtype led to the production of antibodies neutralizing H4 virus in a level comparable with the level of antibodies against the human IAV used for primary infection. In contrast, no measurable levels of virus-neutralizing (VN) antibodies specific to H5 virus were detected in mice infected with H5 virus following a previous infection with human IAV. In both cases the secondary infection with avian IAV led to a significant increase of the titer of VN antibodies specific to the corresponding human virus used for primary infection. Moreover, cross-reactive HA2-specific antibodies were also induced by sequential infection. By virtue of these results we suggest that the differences in the ability of avian IAV to induce specific antibodies inhibiting virus replication after previous infection of mice with human viruses can have an impact on the interspecies transmission and spread of avian IAV in the human population.


Previous studies with p-aminohippurate (PAH) and fluorescein (FL) have shown that cellular uptake and tubular secretion of organic anions is driven by indirect coupling to sodium. Here we used killifish proximal tubules and laser-scanning confocal microscopy to study the transport of a larger organic anion, fluorescein-methotrexate (FL-MTX, mol mass 923 Da). When tubules were incubated in medium containing 2 microM FL-MTX, dye accumulated in both cells and tubular lumens. At steady state, luminal fluorescence was 4-5 times higher than cellular fluorescence. Ouabain (0.1 mM) did not affect cellular or luminal fluorescence, and replacement of medium sodium by N-methylglucamine had only a modest effect; preincubation with glutarate had no effect. KCN did not affect cellular uptake but abolished secretion into the lumen. Uptake and secretion of FL-MTX were inhibited by micromolar concentrations of other organic anions (MTX, folate, probenecid, bromocresol green, bromosulfophthalein), but 1 mM PAH had a relatively small effect. FL-MTX secretion into the lumen was inhibited by leukotriene C4, cyclosporine A, and verapamil, none of which affected FL transport. Thus a substantial component of FL-MTX secretion is Na independent and ouabain insensitive. Both the basolateral and luminal steps in the Na-independent pathway differ from those usually associated with FL and PAH secretion.


Spectral broadening in silicon waveguides is usually inhibited at telecom wavelengths due to some adverse effects related to semiconductor dynamics, namely, two-photon and free-carrier absorption (FCA). In this Letter, our numerical simulations show that it is possible to achieve a significant enhancement in spectral broadening when we properly preshape the input pulse to reduce the impact of FCA on spectral broadening. Our analysis suggests that the use of input pulses with the correct skewness and power level is crucial for this achievement.


The unconventional revolution in North America has firmly established unconventional resource plays as an integral component of global hydrocarbon production. The established North American resource plays are heterogeneous and vary considerably in terms of play type, stratigraphic organization, and the lithology of the target unit. The Middle East has several world-class source rocks that have charged giant and supergiant conventional fields, which implies many opportunities to develop unconventional resource plays. Within this study, the stratigraphic organization of two prolific source rock intervals within the Early Silurian (Qusaiba Member) and Middle-Late Jurassic (Tuwaiq Mountain Formation and equivalents) is characterized from public-domain data sets. From this, a variety of unconventional plays are conceptualized within these resource intervals.
 The systematic classification of established resource plays in North America facilitates analogue identification for these emerging resource intervals across the Middle East. The Montney play is identified as an analogue for the Silurian resource interval and can be used to help validate unproven unconventional play concepts. Within the Jurassic resource interval, multiple analogues are identified that characterize different aspects of the emerging unconventional play types. For instance, stratigraphic architecture within the emerging Tuwaiq Mountain shale play is comparable to the Vaca Muerta play of the Neuquén Basin in South America, while mineralogy is similar to that within the Eagle Ford play and porosity development is akin to the Marcellus play. Applying understanding from these analogues can enable more informed and efficient exploration, appraisal, and development decisions within these frontier and emerging Middle East resource plays.


Arguing that the capacity to organize is not foreign to Solomon Islands women, this paper demonstrates their resourcefulness, resilience, and significant but neglected national potential by focusing on a key domain of women's practice and management expertise women's groups, organizations, and associations, most of which are church-based, and government programs or projects directed to women. The paper surveys the establishment and operation of different categories of women's groupings before and since independence in 1978. It highlights the commitment to voluntarism and self-financing that has enabled many groups and organizations to function and even flourish despite recent armed conflict and the resultant near collapse of the economy and the state, especially in the capital, Honiara. It exemplifies the priority shift which has seen many women and their organizations supplement the traditional concerns of home economics, health, education, and community service with overt attention to questions of economic development, political participation, and human rights. The paper concludes by considering the problems facing women's groupings in Solomon Islands, including those generated by women's own attitudes and behaviour as well as gendered and other external constraints.


The association of enterobacteria with mouse intestinal mucosa has been investigated by pumping heat-killed, radioactively-labelled bacteria through the gut lumen in vitro. Approximately 20 cm of the small intestine proximal to the ileo-caecal valve was rinsed, excised and maintained in an organ bath. By using two different bacteria labelled with different radioactive isotopes, the relative association of the two bacterial pumped through the same piece of gut was determined. Cross-labelling showed that choice of isotope did not affect the association. Salmonella typhimurium 395 MR10 was used as reference and the other bacteria investigated related to it. S. typhimurium MR10 and Escherichia coli O 14 K7, which are relatively lipophilic, showed greater association than S. typhimurium 395 MS and E. coli O 111 K58, which are more hydrophilic. Prolonged incubation of bacteria with the length of intestine in vitro leading to damage of the brush border of the mucosal epithelium enhanced the association of the bacteria. These data suggest that similar physico-chemical surface properies govern the association certain enterobacteria to the intestinal mucosa as in phagocytosis with professional phagocytes.


This study is concerned with the learning of medical terminology by nursing students at the Northern College of Nursing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It aims to investigate the use of learning strategies in relation to medical vocabulary use. The subjects under study included Four college nursing majors at Northern College of Nursing. Participants' mid-term scores and medical terminology learning strategy questionnaire were used to inquire students' use of learning strategies. The results of this study indicated that students in general prefer to use written repetition, verbal repetition, bilingual dictionary strategies. In addition, the students most proficient in medical terminology used various kinds of strategies more often than the less proficient students. Implications of these and other findings are discussed and suggestions are made regarding the teaching of strategies of learning medical terms in medical terminology courses.


Th is article examines the resurgence of tribalism as a sociological component of contemporary Qatari society. Utilising an ethnographic, mixed-methods design, the article begins with a survey of the substantial scholarship concerning tribes in Arabia. Th at scholarship provides ideas and understandings that only partially explain the vitality of contemporary tribalism. Th e article then demonstrates tribalism's ongoing social importance by analysing data from a quantitative survey of 800 Qatari citizens. Th e article concludes with the ethnographically situated contention that tribalism functions as a mechanism for asserting social power in the contemporary Qatari state, and is therefore an emblematic component of Qatari citizenship.


Abstract Background and Aims Systemic inflammation is well recognised to be associated with ulcerative colitis [UC], but whether these effects are causal or consequential remains unclear. We aimed to define potential causal relationship of cytokine dysregulation with different tiers of evidence. Methods We first synthesised serum proteomic profiling data from two multicentred observational studies, in which a panel of systemic inflammatory proteins was analysed to examine their associations with UC risk. To further dissect observed associations, we then performed a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation [TSMR] analysis from both forward and reverse directions using five genome-wide association study [GWAS] summary level data for serum proteomic profiles and the largest GWAS of 28 738 European-ancestry individuals for UC risk. Results Pooled analysis of serum proteomic data identified 14 proteins to be associated with the risk of UC. Forward MR analysis using only cis-acting protein quantitative trait loci [cis-pQTLs] or trans-pQTLs further validated causal associations of two chemokines and the increased risk of UC: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 9 [CXCL9] [OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.08, 1.95, p = 0.012] and C-C motif chemokine ligand 11 [CCL11] [OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.09, 1.18, p = 3.89 × 10-10]. Using both cis- and trans-acting pQTLs, an association of caspase-8 [CASP8] [OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03, 1.05, p = 7.63 × 10-19] was additionally identified. Reverse MR did not find any influence of genetic predisposition to UC on any of these three inflammation proteins. Conclusion Pre-existing elevated levels of CXCL9, CCL11 and CASP8 may play a role in the pathogenesis of UC.


Written educational materials and consent forms are often given to patients with little regard for their ability to read them. Nationwide sampling and data from the 1990 census suggest that 10% of U.S. adults are functionally illiterate. In this study, 100 adult patients (64 female, 36 male) seen consecutively in an oncology clinic were tested for reading vocabulary (RD-VOCAB) and reading comprehension (RD-COMP) using the Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery. The mean grade levels of education (last grade completed), reading vocabulary, and reading comprehension of all participants were 12.5, 11.3, and 10.5, respectively. The discrepancy between the grade level of education and RD-COMP varied by age, the largest discrepancies being found in the 30-39 (three grades) and 60-69 (2 1/2 grades) age groups. After controlling for educational level, it was found that the mean grade level of RD-COMP was statistically lower than educational level. Statistically assuming all subjects to have completed high school, the mean levels of RD-COMP ranged from ninth grade in the 30-39 age group to twelfth grade in the 40-49 age group. This study underscores the fact that the health professional cannot assume that a patient who has completed a certain grade level in school can read at the corresponding level. Consent forms and other health education materials should be written at least three grade levels lower than the average educational level of the target population.


This article provides practical thoughts and insights on the essence of Process Safety Management (PSM), distilled from the author's 34 years in the industry, the past 19 of which have been spent solely in PSM practice. It focuses on several key elements, which make up the "heart and soul" of PSM and comments on the importance of and a few of the challenges presented by each of these elements. It offers some thoughts on key focus areas as PSM continues to move forward and briefly touches on a few of the frustrations that can be encountered in PSM practice. A key takeaway relates to the importance of never losing a sense of one's own vulnerability with regard to future PSM events. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 32: 260–263, 2013


Bob Hunter is the operations manager for a medium sized manufacturing plant that produces after market automobile parts. The line of products includes: alternators, starters, rebuilt air-conditioner compressors, disk-brake pads and replacement kits, and electric motors for power windows and seats. Bob has been having difficulty meeting deadlines due to increased orders and he met with his boss, the director of operations saying: "Mr. Conner, I am pushing my crew to the limits, I seem to be running around from department to department since I lost my assistant, and meeting production deadlines is becoming difficult. Can I hire at least two more employees to increase production? "Sorry Bob, but the budget will not allow it and you will have to increase efficiency. Our raw materials costs have increased and the competition is not raising their costs." "Do you have any suggestions that can help me?" asked Bob. "First I have a couple of questions for you; are your employees cross trained and how much work do you delegate? If not, you should give it some serious consideration. As you know Bob, changes in management are essential in order for us to remain competitive. When you hired your employees, did you give any thought to how flexible they were?" No organization can survive today without employees that can meet the challenge of rapid change. This paper is not to discuss change, but how cross training employees can increase efficiency, and how education is helping to prepare future employees.


Background: COPD is one of the most important diseases that affect quality of life.Although its effect on central nervous system is well known, but on the peripheral nervous system not well known.Peripheral neuropathy and/or myopathy are known to worsening quality of life of COPD patients Objective: To evaluate the presence of peripheral neuropathy and myopathy in COPD patients. Methods: 40 subjects were included in the study divided into 2 groups, group A included 20 patients with severe COPD and group B included 20 patients with moderate COPD.and 15 healthy subjects as a control group. All patients subjected to clinical assessment. All subjects were subjected to respiratory functions tests, Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) and neurophysiological examination. Results: 16 patients had peripheral neuropathy. 8 patients had proximal muscle weakness. Patients with neuropathy- myopathy were more hypoxic and hypercapnic. There is significant association between high scores of CCQ and poor quality of life in patients with neuropathy-myopathy. Conclusion: Presence of neuropathy and myopathy added more burden on quality of life on COPD patients.Careful examination of COPD patients for subclinical neuropathy or myopathy is needed for early interference, management and slowing progression of the disease. Ref. Fabbri LM, Luppi F, Rabe KF. Complex chronic co-morbidities of COPD. Eur Respir J. 2008; 31: 204–12.


Background. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common cancers in the world. Experimental evidence indicates that autophagy-related genes (ARGs) are associated with the initiation and progression of HNSCC. However, it's not well de�ned whether ARGs have the predictive ability of prognostic signi�cance in patients with HNSCC. In this study, we aimed to identify critical ARGs associated with the prognosis of HNSCC, and establish a prognostic signature for the risk assessment. Methods. Differential expression and functional enrichment analysis were conducted to analyze the datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Human Autophagy Database (HADb) with R software. The prognosis-related ARGs were screened by univariate Cox regression and LASSO regression analysis. The multivariate Cox regression analysis were applied to identify the prognosis-related ARGs signature of HNSCC. Results. We established the prognostic signatures based on 9 ARGs by multivariate Cox regression analysis for the overall survival (OS) analysis. The following risk scoring was based on this 9-gene prognostic signature. Kaplan-Meier curves showed that high-risk score group had worse survival than low-risk score group. ROC curves revealed that the risk signature was a predictive indicator in the outcomes of patients with HNSCC. Moreover, nomogram in the prognosis of HNSCC patients con�rmed the �ndings that the predicted probabilities and OS rates at 1, 3-and 5-years were relatively consistent. Conclusion. In this study, we identi�ed a novel ARG-based prediction signature, which could predict the prognosis of patients with HNSCC.


Two kinds of piezoelectric actuator are applied to the valve for controlling the direction, the flow and the pressure of the fluid. One is a stack type piezoelectric actuator which has very fast response characteristics but very tiny displacement. The other is a bender type piezoelectric actuator which has also fast response characteristics but lower than the stack type one, and has longer displacement than the stack type one. So, the bender type piezoelectric actuator has advantage to apply to the valve for controlling a large amount of flow and fast on-off operating. In this study, the bender type piezoelectric pneumatic valve for color sorter is designed and fabricated. The new type high speed piezo valve with the both side supporting mechanism for high operating frequency and high reliability is discussed for separating the foreign body from the grains. Finally, the performance characteristics of a fabricated valve are analyzed and the frequency characteristics are also discussed for substituting the conventional type solenoid actuator.


The most common tumor induced by UV radiation in haired mice is considered to be a fibrosarcoma on the basis of its presentation as a nodule in the skin and on the basis of a spindled appearance upon light microscopic examination. A squamous cell carcinoma is thought to be a much less common tumor. In the present report this concept was reevaluated in mammary tumor virus-free C3H/HeNCr (C3H-) mice. From first appearance, almost all lesions upon gross morphologic examination have an epidermal component and initially are similar to solar keratoses in humans. The lesions then become nodular and eventually develop central ulceration, often with a rolled border characteristic of squamous cell carcinomas. The morphology upon light microscopic examination ranged from well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma to a poorly differentiated spindle cell neoplasm. Occasionally, variable patterns of squamous differentiation were seen in the same lesion. Immunoperoxidase examination with a polyclonal antikeratin serum demonstrated the presence of keratin in 84 of 87 tumors. Frequent, poorly formed desmosomes were found on ultrastructural examination. These tumors usually had a regressor phenotype upon transplantation into recipients. In conclusion, almost all UV radiation-induced tumors in C3H- mice are squamous cell carcinomas, and these tumors are usually antigenic.


Within the research on improving polyester vascular prostheses DALLON there was made a superficial alkaline hydrolysis in the manufactured product, which greatly enhanced the prostheses wettability without lowering their resistance parameters. In preliminary laboratory research and in biological studies in vitro, made with model prostheses and with those having been hydrolyzed, the results were better for hydrolized ones. Biological studies in vivo were made on piglets by implanting the prostheses into surgical defects of the thoracic aorta. In the course of the operations it was found that the prostheses were, apart from having better wettability, far more tight intraoperationally, as compared to the model ones. Pathomorphological studies, carried out 3 and 6 months after the operation, showed that, besides the hydrolized prostheses being less calcified, there were no significant qualitative and quantitative changes in the tissues around the implanted prostheses.


OBJECTIVES: Cancer is second most serious health problem and leading cause of death . Many treatment options for cancer includes surgery, chemo -therapy, radiation therapy and music therapy, hormonal therapy. Music therapy in oncology is very beneficial to patients and used to reduce the symptoms of cancer and supports the palliative cancer care. Hence effect of Music therapy on the reduction of fatigue , anxiety levels and improving quality of sleep for cancer patients were assessed. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of music therapy on cancer related Fatigue, quality of sleep and anxiety among cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quantitative approach, Randomized control trial was used among 60 cancer patients visiting the outpatients and inpatients by probability simple random sampling technique. Cancer patients were randomly selected and allocated to experimental group and control group. Structured interview schedule stools, that is socio demographic variables, clinical variables, standardized fatigue scale, Hamilton anxiety rating scale and Pittsburgh sleep quality index scale were used. The experimental group (N = 30) were subjected to music therapy and control group (N = 30) were not exposed. Data analysis was performed using statistical package for the social sciences version 20. RESULTS: The study findings revealed that the mean score of cancer related fatigue, Quality of sleep and Anxiety during pre test was 50.13,57.35 , 42.07 in experimental group and 52.2, 59.53 , 44.47 in control group respectively. Similarly Post test mean score was 35.37, 34 , 20.93 in experimental group and 54.53,57.1, 46.01 in control group respectively. The Paired t test P value was < 0.001 in post test which was highly statistically significant at


ABSTRACT
We determined which educational and/or psychological interventions were most effective in atopic dermatitis (AD). A systematic review of published studies evaluated the effectiveness of educational and/or psychological interventions in MEDLINE, Embase, SCOPUS, LILACS, Cochrane, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Taiwan Electronic Periodical Services, and CiNii. Two reviewers conducted title/abstract, full-text review, and data extraction. Twenty-four prospective studies were included, including 20 randomized controlled trials. Educational (4/7 studies) and combined educational and psychological (5/6 studies) interventions reduced AD severity; psychological (10/11 studies) interventions showed the greatest benefit. The most commonly studied psychological intervention was habit reversal training (8/11 studies), which was most frequently incorporated in studies that reduced AD severity (8/10 studies). The most commonly studied educational interventions were education on AD triggers (7/7 studies) and skin care (7/7 studies); they were incorporated in all studies that reduced AD severity. Different psychological and/or educational interventions successfully reduced AD severity, especially habit reversal training.


In this paper, which is one of the part of the development for the automation system in the navigation process, covers the car system. Local detection system based on pseudo-satellite was used to be able to detect the space coordinates and the absolute location with four ultrasonic transmitters and two receivers. Using this system w H ∞ e get the lateral dynamic model of a reduced car by using system identification methods and design a lateral controller. The system input is the steering wheel angle of the car with constant speed and the output is the yaw of the car. With system identification for a basis, to achieve a control objective, we design a controller using the model equation.


During the ongoing transition towards cleaner energy production to tackle climate change, it is important to identify economically viable solutions. While Renewable Energy Sources (RES) offer clean energy, they cannot consistently meet energy demand. Therefore, energy storage technologies are necessary, particularly for thermal demand where thermal energy storage is the most sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective solution. In this study, a combination of RES, thermal storage, and electrical resistors converting electrical energy into thermal energy is proposed to hypothetically meet the energy requirements of a sludge drying facility. The implementation feasibility of such a setup is assessed, by using commercially available software tools but also developing a new methodology. This methodology calculates the efficient dimensioning of the initial setup (RES and storage technology), based on the hourly energy demand and RES production. Two main technical scenarios were identified. At the end, the most energy efficient scenario was chosen. The economic benefits were extracted, using the setup and the dimensioning proposed from this scenario. The future step of this assessment is to evaluate the environmental profitability of this setup, under the third sustainability development pillar.