We evaluate the performance of the US bond mutual fund industry using a comprehensive sample of bond funds over a long time period from January 1998 to February 2017. In this one study, we examine bond fund selectivity, market timing and performance persistence. We evaluate bond funds relative to their self-declared benchmarks and in terms of both gross-of-fee returns and net-of-fee returns. We document considerable abnormal performance among funds both to the fund (gross returns) and to the investor (net returns). Bond fund performance is found to be superior in the post financial crisis period. However, past strong performance cannot be relied upon to predict future performance. Finally, while some funds exhibit market timing ability; we find a predominance of negative market timing among US bond mutual funds.


This paper reports results from a search for ν_μ → ν_e transitions by the MINOS experiment based on a 7×10^(20) protons-on-target exposure. Our observation of 54 candidate ν_e events in the far detector with a background of 49.1±7.0(stat)±2.7(syst) events predicted by the measurements in the near detector requires 2sin^2(2θ_(13))sin^2θ_(23)<0.12(0.20) at the 90% C.L. for the normal (inverted) mass hierarchy at δ_(CP)=0. The experiment sets the tightest limits to date on the value of θ_(13) for nearly all values of δ_(CP) for the normal neutrino mass hierarchy and maximal sin^2(2θ_(23)).


The present paper highlights the optical properties change in thermally evaporated As40Sb15Se45 amorphous film of 800 nm thickness with laser irradiation. The as-prepared and illuminated films were studied by X-ray diffraction, Energy dispersive X- ray analysis. The optical properties were calculated from the transmission spectra obtained from Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The band gap is decreased by 0.22 eV due to photo induced effects causing photo darkening. The refractive index is found to be increased due to increase in structural disordering. These optical properties changes are due to the change of homopolar bond densities which can be seen from the core level peak shifting in XPS spectra. The optical constants such as refractive index, band gap of the material plays a major role in the preparation of the device for a particular wavelength. Selecting suitable pairs of chalcogenide glasses with different optical gaps, one can modify the parameters of the light sensitive layers and use them for optical recording. Copyright © 2015 VBRI Press.


While some have observed a positive relationship between blood lead levels and blood pressure, this relationship has been controversial. A recent study examined the hypothesis that bone lead levels, used as a measure of long-term lead accumulation, are associated with an increased risk of hypertension in men. Using a backward elimination logistic regression model, the researchers found that tibia lead, body mass index, and family history of hypertension contributed to the development of hypertension. An increase in tibia lead from 8 to 37 micrograms per gram of bone mineral was associated with an increased odds ratio of hypertension of 1.5. This is an interesting preliminary finding that requires support from additional experimentation.


The in vitro activity of mezlocillin was compared to penicillin G, ampicillin, carbenicillin, and ticarcillin in tests with 195 gram-positive bacteria and 20 Haemophilus influenzae. Against gram-positive isolates excluding enterococci, penicillin was the most active drug, followed by ampicillin, mezlocillin, carbenicillin, and ticarcillin. Ampicillin was the most active of the five drugs against enterococci, whereas mezlocillin was the most active drug against 14 strains of ampicillin-susceptible H. influenzae.


This study examines the construct validity of the Goldberg International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) measure by comparing it to a well-developed measure of the five-factor model, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). A sample of 353 diverse students from a large U.S. university completed both measures. Structural equation modeling was used to conduct the multitrait-multimethod, multiple-group, and latent mean analyses. A model with five correlated trait factors and two method factors provided the best fit to the data. Support for convergent and discriminant validity was also found. Racial and gender differences were relatively small for both instruments. These results support the construct validity of the IPIP. However, neither the NEO-FFI nor the IPIP produced a very good fit when analyzing item-level data, suggesting considerable room for improvement.


This paper presents the influence of lime content on free swell index (FSI) of an expansive clay powder passing through a 425 µm sieve and on some significant swell-compressibility characteristics of oven-dry, expansive clay with grains of a size <4.75 mm. One-dimensional swell-consolidation tests were conducted on the expansive clay passing through a 4.75 mm sieve to which lime powder (CaOH2) was added at 0, 1, 2 and 4% by dry weight of the clay. Swell potential, swelling pressure, coefficient of compressibility (av), compression index (Cc) and linear shrinkage (LS) were evaluated. While av, Cc and LS decreased significantly with increasing lime content, swelling pressure increased. Heave and swell potential also decreased with increasing lime content but only up to 2% and were found to have increased at 4% lime content. The paper also compares the swell-compressibility behaviour of 2% lime-blended expansive clay lumps and powders. Heave and swell potential were higher for clay powder than for clay lumps at 2% lime. However, swelling pressure (ps) was found to be more for clay lumps than clay powder. Furthermore, the paper also presents the variation of FSI and swell-compressibility characteristics of another expansive clay powder (of different properties) blended with pond ash contents of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%. One-dimensional swell-consolidation tests were conducted on clay–pond ash blends in an oedometer. Swell potential and swelling pressure decreased up to 15% of pond ash content and increased thereafter, when pond ash content was increased to 20%. FSI of the ash-blended clay specimens was also determined. FSI continuously decreased with increase in pond ash content.


In this paper, we propose an efficient scheme using a new single-symbol preamble structure for OFDM data-aided synchronization. The preamble symbol is constituted of two successive equal-duration sub-symbols, the second one of which is a differentially encoded version of the first one, using an adequately designed precoding sequence. This structure leads to almost perfect channel autocorrelation profile with sharp in-phase peak and zero out-of-phase correlation. For comparison, we review some previous methods also based on data-aided synchronization for OFDM systems. We here explore the performance of the new method in the case of the AWGN channel. The performance is presented in terms of correct frame start detection rate and estimator's variance for time estimation. For fractional frequency offset estimation, the performance is evaluated in terms of mean squared error. The obtained results prove that the accuracy of the frame start detection and the fractional frequency offset estimation are greatly enhanced, even at very low SNRs. We show that compared to the best benchmark, gains of about 5 dB and 20 dB are achieved for timing precision of one sample and of one tenth of a sample, respectively. We also show that for a target correct detection rate of 95%, our approach provides more than 17 dB gain with respect to the best benchmark. Although we concentrate here on OFDM, the proposed approach can be applied to other systems such as TDMA or CDMA.


Vitamin E and β-carotene affect the immune function and might influence the predisposition of man to infections. To examine whether vitamin E or β-carotene supplementation affects tuberculosis risk, we analysed data of the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study, a randomised controlled trial which examined the effects of vitamin E (50 mg/d) and β-carotene (20 mg/d) on lung cancer. The trial was conducted in the general community in Finland in 1985–93; the intervention lasted for 6·1 years (median). The ATBC Study cohort consists of 29 023 males aged 50–69 years, smoking at baseline, with no tuberculosis diagnosis prior to randomisation. Vitamin E supplementation had no overall effect on the incidence of tuberculosis (risk ratio (RR) = 1·18; 95 % CI 0·87, 1·59) nor had β-carotene (RR = 1·07; 95 % CI 0·80, 1·45). Nevertheless, dietary vitamin C intake significantly modified the vitamin E effect. Among participants who obtained 90 mg/d or more of vitamin C in foods (n 13 502), vitamin E supplementation increased tuberculosis risk by 72 (95 % CI 4, 185)%. This effect was restricted to participants who smoked heavily. Finally, in participants not supplemented with vitamin E, dietary vitamin C had a negative association with tuberculosis risk so that the adjusted risk was 60 (95 % CI 16, 81) % lower in the highest intake quartile compared with the lowest. Our finding that vitamin E seemed to transiently increase the risk of tuberculosis in those who smoked heavily and had high dietary vitamin C intake should increase caution towards vitamin E supplementation for improving the immune system.


The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of finger agnosia in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to determine if level of finger agnosia was related to cognitive impairment. Finger agnosia is a sensitive measure of cerebral impairment and is associated with neurofunctional areas implicated in AD. Using a standardized and norm-referenced approach, results indicated that patients with AD evidenced significantly decreased performance on tests of bilateral finger agnosia compared with healthy age-matched controls. Finger agnosia was predictive of cognitive dysfunction on four of seven domains, including: Crystallized Language, Fluid Processing, Associative Learning, and Processing Speed. Results suggest that measures of finger agnosia, a short and simple test, may be useful in the early detection of AD.


Objective We propose a method that estimates sleep timing from publicly observable activity on online social network sites. The method has the potential to minimise participant-related biases, does not require specialised equipment and can be applied to a large population. Materials and methods We propose a framework that estimates midpoints of habitual sleep time from activity records on a social media—Twitter. We identified sets of before-bedtime and after-wake-up tweets that marked the periods of reduced Twitter activity, which we use as a proxy of sleep. We then estimated the timing of sleep by deriving the median among midpoints of paired before-bedtime and after-wake-up tweets. Visualisations and examples of our estimates comparing sleep timing of users from different countries are provided. Discussion Initial results suggest that the proposed framework could detect differences in sleep timing among user groups of different countries. The proposed framework may be a cost-efficient complement for future research regarding sleep-related health concerns. Researchers and practitioners may benefit from accessing habitual sleep data. While validation is still required prior to actual applications, the proposed framework may be a first step towards a convenient and cost-efficient complement to currently available methods.


This chapter analyses the position of Eurosceptic parties in Slovakia. The country went through an interesting development in this area. In crucial national election 1998 the topic of EU membership gained a role of a moral symbol and hence effectively limited any prospects of development of Euroscepticism in Slovak party system for nearly one decade. During the most recent years the situation has changed and the country witnessed rise of several parties with prevailingly or fully negative attitude towards the EU. This text identifies four such formations whose ideological positions range from libertarian to extreme right. Although they do not belong to the strongest parties in the system, their public support is not marginal. As the election to European parliament in 2014 showed the political environment in Slovakia may be becoming friendlier and more open to Eurosceptic parties. On the other hand these parties are still far from being a relevant challenge to mainstream political parties which yield a positive stance to EU and are successfully integrated into European party structures.


In the next 10 years, major changes in the pharmacotherapy of diabetes can be expected. Both the currently used groups of drugs classified as dipeptidyl-peptidase IV blockers (gliptins) and so-called incretin mimetics (including both natural substances and incretin analogues) will be significantly expanded by up to ten new drugs. In addition, other completely new groups of drugs that act, for instance, via the hepatal mechanism or by influencing the metabolism of steroids will appear. Blocking the absorption of glucose in renal tubules by gliflozines seems to be very promising. In the treatment of diabetes complications, the inhibition of protein kinase C will probably mostly be applied. So-called insulinotropic peptides will very likely be applied by injection and substances reducing insulin resistance as well as new types of substances influencing PPAR nuclear receptors will be administered. In diabetology, antibodies against receptors will be used, too. However, modern pharmacotherapy will undoubtedly come up against the principles of so-called metabolic surgery and other successful technological procedures.


Background: Wearable technology is used by clinicians and researchers and play a critical role in biomechanical assessments and rehabilitation. Objective: The purpose of this research is to validate a soft robotic stretch (SRS) sensor embedded in a compression knee brace (smart knee brace) against a motion capture system focusing on knee joint kinematics. Methods: Sixteen participants donned the smart knee brace and completed three separate tasks: non-weight bearing knee flexion/extension, bodyweight air squats, and gait trials. Adjusted R2 for goodness of fit (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) between the SRS sensor and motion capture kinematic data for all three tasks were assessed. Results: For knee flexion/extension: R2 = 0.799, RMSE = 5.470, MAE = 4.560; for bodyweight air squats: R2 = 0.957, RMSE = 8.127, MAE = 6.870; and for gait trials: R2 = 0.565, RMSE = 9.190, MAE = 7.530 were observed. Conclusions: The smart knee brace demonstrated a higher goodness of fit and accuracy during weight-bearing air squats followed by non-weight bearing knee flexion/extension and a lower goodness of fit and accuracy during gait, which can be attributed to the SRS sensor position and orientation, rather than range of motion achieved in each task.


This chapter challenges dominant narratives about the civic disengagement of youth from marginalized communities by reconceptualizing what counts as civic participation in public life and how youth are positioned as civic agents. We examine ideologies that undergird traditional forms of civic education and engagement in the United States and offer an alternative vision of civic life grounded in recognition of systemic inequality and struggle for social justice. We consider the ways in which digital media has fundamentally transformed the public sphere and expanded opportunities for youth civic expression and action, as well as the ways that youth participatory action research literature offers a framework for civic education that forefronts youth experience and voice. Our analysis culminates in the development of a new conceptual model for civic learning and engagement that pushes past participation into the realms of interrogation and innovation.


In a restructuring economy on-the-job training plays important role not only in raising the general level of human capital but in retooling workers for the new sectors of economy. The amount of on-the-job training in Russia has however been unsatisfactorily low compared to other countries. Main objective of this paper is to study the incentives of firms and workers to invest into employee training in Russia. Utilizing the data from Russian Longitudinal Monitoring survey for years 1999–2003, we investigate the determinants of training financing with the particular emphasis on the role of labor market characteristics. We exploit heterogeneity in the structure of regional labor markets in Russia to investigate its effect on training outcomes. In line with existing theory, it is shown that imperfections of the labor market, such as higher regional labor market concentration, lower share of small businesses and higher unemployment create incentives for the firms to provide training to employees. Hence, increase in the efficiency of the labor market is likely to bring about further decrease in the amount of employee training in a private sector.


BACKGROUND: Patients with moderate to severe incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) and intertriginous dermatitis (ITD) often experience pain that negatively affects activities of daily living. While traditional treatments, such as skin protectants including ointment or cream-based products, cyanoacrylate-based monomers, and wicking agents, help some patients, those with moderate to severe cases require more aggressive treatments to accelerate healing. CASE SERIES: This article describes a series of 4 hospitalized patients who presented with moderate to severe IAD and/or ITD with and without fungal infections. These patients were treated with therapies that went beyond routine skin care regimens, which included treatment with a combination of 0.25% acetic acid, a topical steroid agent, or a topical antifungal when necessary. The patients included a 74-year-old woman admitted with hypovolemic shock, an 82-year-old obese woman with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure, an 80-year-old woman with medically complicated obesity, and a 54-year-old morbidly obese woman admitted with sepsis. CONCLUSION: The outcome achieved using this novel approach was successful in treating moderate to severe IAD and ITD in these cases.


Soybean and maize are extensively used in animal feed, primarily in poultry, swine, and cattle diets. Soybean meal can affect pig performance in the first few weeks following weaning and elicit specific antibodies in weaned piglets. Though maize is a major component of pig feed, it is not known if any of the maize proteins can elicit immunological response in young pigs. In this study, we have identified a prominent 27 kDa protein from maize as an immunodominant protein in young pigs. This protein, like some known allergens, exhibited resistance to pepsin digestion in vitro. Several lines of evidence identify the immunodominant 27 kDa protein as a gamma-zein, a maize seed storage protein. First, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of different solubility classes of maize seed proteins revealed the presence of an abundant 27 kDa protein in the prolamin (zein) fraction. Antibodies raised against the purified maize 27 kDa gamma-zein also reacted against the same protein recognized by the young pig serum. Additionally, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis of the peptides generated by trypsin digestion of the immunodominant 27 kDa protein showed significant homology to the maize 27 kDa gamma-zein. Since eliminating the allergenic protein will have a great impact on the nutritive value of the maize meal and expand its use in the livestock industry, it will be highly desirable to develop maize cultivars completely lacking the 27 kDa allergenic protein.


A new species, Aphaenogaster iranica Kiran et Alipanah, sp. nov., is described from Iran. This species, belonging to the rothneyi group, is measured, illustrated and compared with other species of the group. Additionally, a key to workers of Aphaenogaster species from Iran is prepared.


The involvement of the cerebellum in Legionnaires' disease has been noted in occasional case reports, but there have been no reviews on this subject to date. We report a previously healthy patient who contracted Legionella pneumonia and developed profound cerebellar dysfunction during his illness. He was treated with antibiotics with improvement of his pneumonia, but his cerebellar symptoms persisted. We review 29 case reports of cerebellar dysfunction in Legionnaires' disease and summarize the clinical course, cultures, cerebrospinal fluid analyses, and neuroimaging. Finally, possible methods of pathogenicity are discussed including data regarding direct bacterial invasion, toxin production, and immune-mediated mechanisms.


type="main" xml:id="irel12124-abs-0001"> This paper reexamines American experience with company unions (also known as nonunion employee representation plans) before they were banned by the Wagner Act (1935). For the half-century following the passage of the act, labor historians and industrial relations scholars painted a bleak portrait of company unions as anti-union sham organizations. Since the 1980s, additional research has documented a more positive side; similarly, concern has grown that the Wagner Act's ban is stifling legitimate employee participation programs. This paper brings new theoretical and empirical evidence to both historical and legal parts of this debate, including examination of company unions through individualist, unitarist, pluralist, and radical frames; demonstration that the pluralists' view of company unions was more diverse and positive than conventionally portrayed; presentation of new historical evidence and testimony on the company union experience; and a substantially revisionist assessment of the merits of the Wagner Act's ban. In particular, the conclusion is that, given any reasonable weighting of the four frames, the company union ban is overly restrictive and should be modified so companies can implement the positive side of nonunion employee committees but not the negative. The paper ends by noting that the unbalanced and narrowly critical treatment of company unions in the mainline industrial relations tradition is a case study of the field's perhaps fatal post–World War II core intellectual-normative contradiction—professed inclusiveness of all frames of employment relations but, in practice, attention to and preference for a narrow union-centric version of one frame.


This paper presents the test cases defined in ACE (European Antenna Centre of Excellence) for benchmarking of facilities for measuring small mobile terminals and antennas, as well as results and experiences of the round robin test. The emphasis is put on measurements in the most popular communication frequency bands. Several test cases for passive antennas as well as for active devices were defined and collected in a test kit that was sent to different test facilities around Europe in a round robin test. The measured parameters include radiation efficiency, total radiated power, diversity gain and receiver sensitivity. The test cases include different locations of the test devices relative to a lossy cylinder that has dielectric characteristics resembling that of a human head.


To induce the landing risk of carrier-based aircraft, and improve the safety of pilots and carrier-based aircraft, tthis paper presents an improved landing risk evaluation of carrier-based aircraft based on Mean-Variance statistics error multi-attribute dynamic decision making. Attribute values is shown as triangular fuzzy numbers, and ordering vectors are achieved through possibility-degree and ordering expression. In accordance with ordering wave from ordering values at different times to desire rank, condition analysis should be conducted. Finally, the rank ordering is acquired. The model simulation results indicate the better performance of the new method in comparison with the traditional controller with more accuracy and practicability.


The author reveals peculiarities of interpretation of the essence of economic security of higher education institutions of Ukraine and its accounting and analytical support in the conditions of reforming the market of educational services and in the context of neutralization of endogenous and exogenous restrictions.The article substantiates that at the current stage of development of the national economy of Ukraine, the importance of ensuring a high level of economic security of higher education institutions is conditioned by the increase of their financial autonomy and responsibility for their financial status, the type of financial stability, the quality of provision of educational services and the efficiency of their activities as a whole. All this puts additional demands on the top management of educational institutions to strengthen the control over the organization and implementation of accounting and analytical procedures, the implementation of the budget, the rationality of spending the state and local budgets, the special fund, earned and attracted independently. However, it also gives the freedom to choose the optimal organizational structure of a higher education institution, an educational management system to eliminate ineffective units, and to close educational programs that are not in demand among educational applicants.The specificity of the use of the theory of restrictions in activity of higher education institutions is considered. Specifically, the types of restrictions are described in detail, the system of analytical indicators for improving the educational management of educational institutions in the context of the theory of constraints is refined in order to improve their economic security. Yes, endogenous limitations include power and time constraints. The capacity limitation is caused by a mismatch between the high demand for quality education and the lack of material and technical facilities of the educational institutions, the reduction of budget funding, the lack of highly qualified and motivated scientific and teaching staff, etc. Time constraints, despite the fact that the duration and technology of providing educational services to education recipients are clearly regulated by current legislation and higher education standards, are intensified by the increasing competition between educational institutions to ensure better quality education and to gain leadership in the Ukrainian and world educational services market.Among exogenous constraints, particular attention is paid to market and demographic constraints. Yes, market constraints are related to the imbalance of labor market needs and the supply of specialties and highly qualified graduates of higher education institutions. Increasing competition between entrants of the educational institutions, the solvency of the population, high entrant's requests for quality of education, conditions of study and living in dormitories of higher education institutions also play an important role.Demographic constraints, which are directly dependent on the number and level of knowledge of graduates of general secondary education and their desire to pursue higher education, particularly in Ukraine, and not abroad, have a significant impact on the scope of educational institutions.The relationship between the level of economic security of higher education institutions of Ukraine and the quality of management accounting and strategic analysis of their activity in the context of limiting endogenous and exogenous factors have been identified. The necessity of developing and strict adherence to the higher education institutions of Ukraine, new requirements for accounting and analytical support of economic security on the basis of reliable and relevant information base of management decisions is substantiated.The directions of increasing the economic security of higher education institutions of Ukraine by improving its accounting and analytical support in the context of constraint theory are proposed.


OBJECT
It is not known whether changes in intraradicular blood flow (IRBF) occur during the femoral nerve stretch test (FNST) in patients with lumbar disc herniation. An FNST was conducted in patients with lumbar disc herniation to observe the changes in IRBF, and results were then compared with clinical features.

METHODS
The study was composed of four patients with L3-4 disc herniation who underwent microdiscectomy. Patients were placed prone immediately before surgery, so that their knee flexed on the operating table with the hip joint kept in hyperextension, and the FNST was performed to confirm at which region pain developed in the anterolateral thigh. During the operation, the hernia-affected nerve roots were visualized under a microscope. The needle sensor of a laser Doppler flowmeter was then inserted into each nerve root immediately above the hernia, and the change in IRBF was measured during the intraoperative FNST. After removal of the herniated disc, a similar procedure was repeated and IRBF was measured again. The intraoperative FNST showed that the hernia compressed the nerve roots and there was marked disturbance of gliding, which was reduced to only a few millimeters. During the test, IRBF decreased by 92.8 to 100% (mean 96.9 +/- 3.7% [+/- standard error of the mean]) relative to the blood flow before the test. This study demonstrated that the blood flow in the nerve root is reduced when the nerve root is compressed in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS
The intraoperative FNST showed that the hernia compressd the nerve roots and there was marked disturbance of gliding, which was reduced to only a few millimeters. During the test, IRBF decreased by 92.8 to 100% (96.9 +/- 3.7% [mean +/- standard error of the mean]).


This paper assesses how subjective wellbeing is related to housing and neighbourhood characteristics, controlling for personal variables. The secondary data analysis was based on the English Housing Survey, 2017: Housing Stock Data and the English Housing Survey: Fuel Poverty Dataset, 2017, collected in the period April 2016 to March 2018 (N = 9205). Subjective wellbeing was measured with four variables - life satisfaction, the perception of things being worthwhile in life, feeling happy and feeling anxious - that were dichotomized into low and high wellbeing. Logistic regression analysis showed that personal variables are most strongly related to wellbeing but that both housing and neighbourhood variables are also significantly related to it. Finding it difficult to keep the living room warm, being in fuel poverty, and finding it difficult to meet heating costs were associated with lower wellbeing. Low area satisfaction and not feeling safe were also significantly associated with lower wellbeing. The effects of variables are not constant across all four wellbeing measures used which raises the question 'which wellbeing' should be addressed. Results also showed that targeting householders with lowest wellbeing and hence in greatest need of wellbeing interventions based on publicly available data would be challenging. Finally, the research community needs to address methodological challenges around identifying the most appropriate covariates, defining wellbeing and considering the measurement of key variables.


Every influenza season presents different challenges: Novel viruses emerge, new groups of people are identified as being at high risk for complications, vaccine effectiveness varies, and resistance to antiviral agents develops. Health care providers must partner with public health professionals to prevent influenza and to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this illness.


We conducted a potential efficacy trial examining the effects of classroom-wide implementation of the Pyramid Model for Promoting Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence on teachers' implementation of Pyramid Model practices and children's social-emotional skills and challenging behavior. Participants were 40 preschool teachers and 494 children. Using a randomized controlled design, 20 teachers received a professional development (PD) intervention to support their implementation of the practices. The 20 teachers in the control condition received workshops after all study-related data were collected. Teachers who received PD significantly improved their implementation of Pyramid Model practices relative to control teachers. Children in intervention teachers' classrooms were rated as having better social skills and fewer challenging behaviors relative to children in control teachers' classrooms. Exploratory analyses showed that children at elevated risk for behavior disorders in intervention teachers' classrooms had improvements in their observed social interaction skills relative to similar children in control teachers' classrooms.


Prognostic factors in genitourinary cancers, renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, prostatic cancer, and testicular tumor, were discussed from several aspects on the basis of the analysis of own cases and reviews of literatures. The anatomical distribution of disease, particularly beyond the kidney, and degree of tumor differentiation were mostly related to prognosis in renal cell carcinoma. In bladder cancer, macroscopic growth pattern, histopathological intramural mode of spread, lymphatic and venous invasion, played an important role in prognosis, as do tumor grade and stage including metastasis. Hormone dependency and tumor markers were reconfirmed to be important and complementary as prognostic indicators as well as stage and grade in prostatic cancer. In testicular tumors, the most important factors for survival were extent of disease and tumor size, and histological cell type and determination of tumor markers, AFP and HCG, were also important and complementary as prognostic indicators.


In this work, vibration characteristics of high speed rotary bell cup for paint atomizer are numerically investigated. New type of bell cup model is proposed and additional corresponding models with design parameter variations for length and diameter are constructed. Dynamic characteristics, such as natural frequencies and corresponding mode shapes, are studied for each model as a first step. To investigate operation stability, critical speed of rotary bell cup is numerically analyzed based on Campbell diagram and separation margin between operating speed and critical speed is identified. Unbalance vibration responses are also investigated with respect to design parameter variation, operating speed and balancing quality grade of G. Then the proper design guideline for stable operation of high speed rotary bell cup for paint atomizer is suggested.


Diverse groups of ototoxic agents and gene mutation induce hearing disorders. Several studies showed that increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and glutamate are involved in the initiation and progression of hearing disorders. Therefore, reducing these biochemical defects before and after exposure to ototoxic agents may prevent and improve the management of hearing loss. Previous studies with a single agent have yielded variable benefits in hearing disorders. This review briefly presents evidence for the involvement of oxidative stress, inflammation, and glutamate in the initiation and progression of hearing disorders. It proposes a novel concept that simultaneous elevation of the levels of antioxidant enzymes, dietary and endogenous antioxidant compounds, and reduction in the levels of glutamate may be necessary for the optimal benefits in prevention and improved management of hearing disorders. Supplementation with micronutrients can elevate the levels of antioxidant compounds and reduce the levels of glutamate. However, increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes is complex requiring an activation of the nuclear transcriptional factor-2 (Nrf2). This review briefly describes the regulation of activation of Nrf2, and proposes a micronutrient mixture that can simultaneously activate Nrf2, enhance the dietary and endogenous antioxidant compounds levels, and inhibit the release and toxicity of glutamate for prevention and improved management of hearing loss.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one part of the promiscuous signaling network that regulates proliferation, growth and differentiation of mammalian cells and its overexpression, aberrant or enhanced activation are frequent events in human cancers. EGFR signaling is realized by recruiting specific adaptor proteins to the activated intracellular receptor tyrosine kinase domain. We hypothesize that the pattern of recruited adaptor proteins is characteristic for respective EGFR related cellular responses. Therefore, we developed a method to decode the EGFR adaptor protein pattern in relation to its activation state. A431 cells were stimulated with 100 ng/ml EGF for 30 minutes and the EGFR-adaptor protein-complex was isolated by immunoprecipitation after gentle lysis using the specific EGFR antibody cetuximab biotinylated and bound to magnetic beads. Controls were precipitated from lysates of unstimulated A431 cells. After pre fractionation by 1D SDS PAGE and in gel digestion, protein complexes were characterized by LC-ESI-tandem high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). LC-MS/MS analyses reproducibly identified 68 proteins in three replicates of precipitates from lysates of unstimulated A431 cells. 64 of these proteins were assigned to gene ontology (GO) annotations and significantly enriched domains included intracellular localisation and protein transport proteins (29 proteins) and the EGFR signaling pathway (5 proteins). The first domain contained structural proteins such as actin and tubulin subunits as well as importins, exportins and transportins. Proteins within the EGFR signaling category included growth factor receptor bound protein 2 (Grb2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). Biogrid analyses identified an interacting EGFR network consisting of 14 known interacting proteins including several subunits of the clathrin related adaptor protein complex. Semi-quantification showed that the interactions of these proteins with the EGFR were markedly pronounced upon EGF stimulation suggesting increased receptor internalization. These data were confirmed by Western Blotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, several proteins were found which associations to the EGFR are as yet unknown such as Hook homolog 2, MON2 homolog or FRG1 proteins. Quantification of dynamic changes will further be carried out by stable isotope labeling (SILAC) technology. As proof of principle, we were able to identify proteins which are part of the EGFR signaling pathway as well as proteins that relate to cellular localization and protein trafficking and which abundances changed upon EGFR stimulation. Using this approach will provide further insights into mechanisms of EGFR signal activation from a systems biology point of view.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4915. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4915


Designing connected objects or introducing them in industry processes is complex because it requires many skills. These skills can be found in different places. Research labs are studying advanced topics and can provide focused expertise. Some projects offer a shared infrastructure to elaborate and test new products and algorithms. Some organizations provide guidance and technological advice. The Fab-IoT-Lab project brings all these skills and competencies in a single place so that entrepreneurs and industries can benefit from the strengths of these existing structures without sacrificing the high-level, multidisciplinary point of view.


This study examined the effect of the full moon on agitation manifested by nursing home residents (N = 24). Observations of agitation were recorded on a behavioral mapping instrument, and occurrence of the full moon was operationalized in the three ways most commonly cited in the literature. The hypothesis that elderly nursing home residents become increasingly agitated during a full moon was not supported by this study. In all analyses, agitation was observed less often when the full moon was full than during the other three lunar phases, although differences were not statistically significant.


University teachers (UT) evaluation system refers to a system built by the institutions of higher education based on their own internal needs to judge the value or level of teachers¿ comprehensive or special qualities, abilities or achievements. Comprehensive and development-oriented evaluation has been an essential development trend in UT evaluation, meanwhile, as the improvement of Internet many universities have carried out teacher¿s evaluation online. But it is limited to the assessment from students. The informationalized assessment should also be comprehensive and from various perspectives. Therefore, in this paper we propose uniform and comprehensive evaluation criteria with four perspectives from students, teachers-peers, managers and self-evaluation. Based on these evaluation criteria, a Web-based UT evaluation system with the integration of UML and ASP.NET is developed and detail analysis, design and implementation methods of this system are presented.


hUBEW, a newly identified class I ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, probably plays an important role in tumorigenesis and DNA repair processes. RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in cells to degrade specific homologous mRNA by forming duplex RNA and has been developed into a powerful tool to study gene functions. In this study, the H1-U6 dual promoter RNAi plasmid was constructed and the target sequence for hUbe2w could be transcribed from both strands and form a double stranded RNA with two 5'Uridine overhangs, which closely resembles endogenous functional siRNA. The hUbe2w cDNA was amplified from reverse transcription of the 293FT total RNA by RT-PCR, and then cloned into the pGL3-Control, pCMV-myc and pDsRed-express-C1 plasmids respectively, which were selected as report vectors to detect the RNAi effects. The plasmids were co-transfected into HEK293FT cells, and then the luciferase activity and hUBE2W protein expression were measured respectively. The Resulted reduction of mRNA and protein level demonstrate that the targets of 125 and 259 could significantly inhibit the hUbe2w expression.


Abstract Objective This study aims to compare mechanography, measuring force in jumping, and rising, with the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and time function tests in pediatric patients with hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies. Methods A cohort of 23 patients performed the 6MWT and time function tests (time to run 10 m, to rise from a supine position, and to climb four stairs), as well as the chair rising test (CRT) and the single two-legged jump (S2LJ) on a mechanography ground reaction force platform. Results were correlated calculating linear regression. Results Correlation revealed high or moderate correlation between mechanography and the 6MWT and the time function tests: S2LJ/6MWT = 0.64; CRT/6MWT = 0.52; S2LJ/rising from floor = 0.63; CRT/rising from floor = 0.67; S2LJ/10 m run = 0.74; CRT/10 m run = 0.66; S2LJ/climb four stairs = 0.56; CRT/climb four stairs = 0.47. Conclusion Jumping mechanography is a good additional tool for the assessment of pediatric patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and might be used for primary outcome measures. It was not feasible in more advanced stages of the disease. In less disabled children, the S2LJ, which quantifies force generated by proximal and distal muscles, might be superior to other tests.


In this paper, we present the results of a usability study in interface design for scheduling systems. We show that providing possibilities to interactively create schedules improves the quality of decision making. The considered ways of interaction are tailored to the needs of human schedulers. They facilitate and optimize planning decisions at all stages of the scheduling procedure. Based on a study with 35 test subjects and overall 105 hours of usability testing we verify that the use of some features improves both quality and practicability of the produced schedules.


Background: Keloids and hypertrophic scars are benign growths of dermal collagen that usually cause major physical, psychological, and cosmetic problems. Numerous treatment modalities have been used to treat keloids and hypertrophic scars, but the optimal treatment has not been established. Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether bleomycin intralesional injection has an therapeutic effect on both keloids and hypertrophic scars. Methods: Thirteen patients with keloids or hypertrophic scars were administered with intralesional injection of bleomycin (1.5 IU/ml). Scar height was measured, and scar pliability and erythema were scored at baseline and then monthly during the treatment and follow-up period. Patient's self-assessments of subjective symptoms (pruritus and pain) were also scored. Pre- and post-treatment mean values for scar height, scar pliability, erythema, pruritus and pain were statistically compared. Results: The clinical response was positive in all cases: highly significant flattening in one case, significant flattening in one case, moderate flattening in five cases and minimal flattening in six cases. The mean scores for pruritus and pain also improved. The observed side-effects were hyperpigmentation (two cases), hypopigmentation (one case) and skin infection (one case). No exacerbation was noted during follow-up period of 4 months. Conclusion: Bleomycin intralesional injecton may be one of the effective and safe method of treating keloids and hypertrophic scars. (Korean J Dermatol 2008;46(5):604∼610)


In this Perspective, we describe current challenges and recent advances in efficient delivery and targeting of nanoparticles in vivo. We discuss cancer therapy, nanoparticle-biomolecule interactions, nanoparticle trafficking in cells, and triggers and responses to nanoparticle-cell interactions. No matter which functionalization strategy to target cancer is chosen, passive or active targeting, more than 99% of the nanoparticles administered in vivo end up in the mononuclear phagocytic system, mainly sequestered by macrophages. Comprehensive studies, such as the one reported by MacParland et al. in this issue of ACS Nano, will help to close the gap between nanotechnology-based drug-delivery solutions and advanced medicinal products.


The main objective of this project is the analysis and modeling of shunt APF with document control loop, it is proposed to compensate forward feed the load current to improve the dynamic behavior of the APF route. three stage inverter cascade H- bridge airway (APF AAPF) is determined. And increased levels of control to improve the performance of the APF. Increase the level of control can increase the reliability of the power and quality of aircraft energy system. And it provided a framework and functioning of the proposal of the International School of AAPF in detail. The application of the control strategy and cascading fountain I topology DC converter in AAPF proposed. power quality characteristics of the traditional system does not meet. EPS performance characteristics with traditional systems are not the best. The proposed method is to solve EPS quality characteristics of jets force the issue. To overcome the stability problems. total harmonic distortion (THD) of the power supply in a wide range of system frequency is reduced. To check the performance of the AAPF compensation proposal and implementation of this system with the control system in mat lab / Simulink.


Litsea cubeba is an ethnic woody oil plant, in which essential oil rather than oil has been the main foreign trade product through the decades. Concerning large amounts of residue generated from L. cubeba essential oil processing, a sustainable valorization pathway of these biowastes is proposed in this study. First, such biowastes have been systematically investigated for the first time regarding their oils extracted by three extraction methods, where ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) could significantly improve the extraction rate of traditional pressing and solvent extraction without any changes in oil quality. Moreover, the composition of acylglycerols and fatty acids in L. cubeba fruit, kernel, and peel oils were also first identified, which further proved that peels with abundant free fatty acids could lead to high acid value of L. cubeba fruit oils. Compared to virgin coconut oils, L. cubeba kernel oils have a more balanced fatty acid composition with a high lauric acid level, which could be applied as a promising lauric oil resource. Considering the high acid value in L. cubeba kernel oils, both decoloration using activated clay and alkali deacidification were attempted, where the combination of alkali deacidification and 10% of activated clay performed the best considering both quality and cost.


Owing to the widespread presence of electromagnetic interferences, it is necessary to develop new materials with excellent high-temperature electromagnetic wave (EM) absorption properties. In the present work, ZnO is infiltrated into porous ZrSiO4 substrates to form ZnO/ZrSiO4 composite ceramics using sol-gel process. The doping of aluminum results in the improvement of electrical conductivity and the significant change in the morphology of ZnO. With the increase in environment temperature during measurement, the permittivity of the composite ceramics increases first and then decreases dramatically, which is attributed to the change in conductive loss. The electrical conductivity increases with increasing measurement temperature. However, the concentration of oxygen vacancies decreases under air atmosphere when the measurement temperature increases continuously, which results in the reduction in conductivity. Therefore, permittivities of the undoped and doped ceramics measured at 673 K are higher than the ones at the other temperatures. The composite ceramics maintain a relatively high EM absorption coefficient, low reflection coefficient (RC), and wide effective absorption bandwidth at environment temperatures up to 773 K. As a result, we conclude that the ZnO/ZrSiO4 composite ceramics exhibit a promising prospect as a kind of high-temperature EM absorbing material.


AS land users require more and better soil mapping information, those processing the information need more efficient methods of assembling data in understandable terms.

Mircocomputers can take data and assemble it into digitized soil maps and interpretive records. This is especially helpful because interpretations for one state may contain several hundred thousand pieces of information.

In Pennsylvania, for example, where mapping is nearly complete, there are over 3,000 different soil mapping units. Interpretations for most of these units are found on 312 records with 7,194 lines each. In addition, about 700 pedons with more than 8,000 horizons have been analyzed for up to 50 properties. The resulting data set contains in excess of 400,000 items ( l ).

The combinations of these data sets through organization by computers quickly provides the answers to soil survey questions that can otherwise only be obtained from a soil survey report by a trained soil scientist. These answers are suitable for tabular or graphic display in hard copy, on a color monitor, or as electronic input into other land use and management models.

Some examples: terrain elevation models, which are available for some areas Pennsylvania, can be used to overlay elevation data …


This thesis is based on the conviction that the greatest musical performers of history can and should be granted the same level of academic scrutiny and study as is so often received by the greatest composers. Composers had the early advantage of producing durable manuscripts, while performers prior to the age of recording were unable to leave more than impressions in the minds of those who heard them. With the recent successes of numerous investigations into performance and recordings, including the CHARM and CMPCP projects, such studies are becoming ever more viable and significant.

The thesis focuses on the violinist Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) and primarily his performances of the Bach solo violin works (BWV 1001-1006). While there have been studies of individual pieces, of particular performers, and of multiple recordings of the same piece, a study focussing on specific repertoire played by a specific performer is something that has been somewhat overlooked in the literature. The thesis draws on numerous methods to distil what is distinctive and unique about Heifetz. This includes an examination of what and how the performer played, why the performer played that way, and how that way of playing compares to other performers. The study concludes with a discussion of Heifetz's unique performer profile in the context of violin performance history.

Focussing on one of the most famous and successful performing musicians of the twentieth century along with some of the most frequently played pieces, this case study will suggest research methods and approaches transferable to related studies. The thesis draws on original interviews with former Heifetz students, friends, and colleagues, and on over thirteen months of archival research in the Jascha Heifetz Collection held by the Library of Congress. This array of previously untapped material aided the analytical and empirical investigations into Heifetz's uniqueness.


Issues with fiber fault in fiber to the home (FTTH) customer access network often become a challenge to the network service providers. The most important issues troubled the service providers and customer premises are regarding the service reliability and safety. Conventionally, optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) is used to detect the fiber fault and address the failure location in FTTH upwardly from customer sides toward
central office (CO). However, OTDR can only display a measurement result of a testing line in a time and also
time and cost misspend. By looking at the stated issues, a simple, attractive and user friendly graphical user
interface (GUI) is developed for Centralized Failure Detection System (CFDS) based on MATLAB programming in this study. The developed program will be installed with optical line terminal (OLT) at the CO to centralized monitoring each optical fiber line's status and identifying the failure location that occurs in the drop region of FTTH downwardly from CO towards customer sides. CFDS is interfaced with OTDR to accumulate every network testing result to be displayed on a single computer screen for further data analyzing. The analysis results will be sent to field engineers or service providers for promptly actions.


Mangrove ecosystems are in serious decline around the world and various initiatives are underway to assess their current coverage and loss in cover. These ecosystems occur as thin strips along coastlines or rivers and, due to the strong environmental gradients present, mangroves show high spatial variability along short transects. Remote sensing tools that offer high spatial resolution mapping and high information content are needed to provide good differentiation of the various mangrove zones and types. The added complexities of tropical atmospheric conditions provide further challenges in terms of the selection of sensors and image analysis methodologies. This paper explores the possibility of combining a high spatial/spectral resolution scanner, 'Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager' (CASI), with the airborne National Aeronautics @ Space Administration's polarimetric radar, 'AIRSAR', for mapping and monitoring of mangrove estuaries. The Daintree River estuary in far North Queensland, Australia was chosen for this study due to its diversity of mangrove species. Imagery acquired by both the CASI airborne scanner (14 bands, 2.5 m pixel) and the AIRSAR (L- and P-band polarimetry, C-band interferometry, 10 m pixel) has been used to produce detailed maps of the mangrove zones in the estuary. The advantages and difficulties associated with multi-source data integration are investigated in this paper. While radar provides general structural information in relation to mangrove zonation, high-resolution hyperspectral scanners allow for finer-detailed analysis and green-biomass information. Classifications (maximum likelihood) of both the individual and integrated datasets are performed, with the latter producing more accurate results. Application of a hierarchical neural network classification is also explored, where the more general mangrove zones are separated first based on structural information, then species or specie-complexes are extracted in subsequent levels using spectral differences.


In this paper we address the problem of active query selection for clustering with constraints. The objective is to determine automatically a set of user queries to define a set of must-link or cannot-link constraints. Some works on active constraint learning have already been proposed but they are mainly applied to K-Means like clustering algorithms which are known to be limited to spherical clusters, while we are interested in clusters of arbitrary sizes and shapes. The novelty of our approach relies on the use of a k-nearest neighbor graph to determine candidate constraints coupled with a new constraint utility function. Comparative experiments conducted on real datasets from machine learning repository show that our approach significantly improves the results of constraints based clustering algorithms.


Plasma androgen sulfates were measured in 92 patients with myasthenia gravis. Plasma androgen sulfates were strongly associated with thymic pathology. The presence of germinal centers was associated with decreased androgen levels. A weak but significant positive correlation existed between androgen sulfates and lymphocyte counts. Low lymphocyte counts in patients with germinal centers were associated with subnormal androgen concentrations. Plasma androgen sulfate levels decreased immediately after thymectomy, but overall no significant differences were found between prethymectomy and post thymectomy levels. A trend toward higher concentrations of plasma androgens was noted 5 or more years post thymectomy. Plasma androgen sulfate levels in myasthenia gravis patients with breast cancer were markedly depressed. The lowest androgen sulfate levels were observed in patients who had previous bilateral breast cancer and those who, subsequent to the determination of the steroid sulfates, developed a second primary lesion of the breast.


SUMMARY This is the case of a 42-year-old male patient, with past history of good health, active worker, who referred refusal to the period of tooth loss both for his own personality and work responsibility. On intra-buccal examination, his central superior and inferior incisors showed plenty of tooth decay that got most of his teeth structures; besides, on X-ray examination, horizontal bone loss is observed at third apical level of the present teeth and mobility grade III and IV, for what their extraction is indicated. From the prosthetic point of view, he was diagnosed as a superior and inferior partial edentulous patient, Kennedy class I. It was decided to rehabilitate by immediate superior and inferior total denture, performing previous multiple extractions with corrective alveoloplasty and alveolectomy. With the surgical and appliances treatment, excellent results were achieved, showing the effectiveness of this treatment.


In the chapter, we adopted a chaos logic map and a quadratic map to develop the chaos- based multi-maps EEG encryption software. The encryption performances of the chaos-based software were studied. The percent root-mean-square difference (PRD) is used to estimate the accuracy of a correctly decrypted EEG signal with respect to the original EEG signal. Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is used to estimate the correlation between the original EEG signal and an incorrectly decrypted EEG signal. The seven encryption aspects were testing, the average PRD value of the original and correctly decrypted EEG signals for the chaos-based multi-maps software is 2.59 x 10 -11 , and the average encryption time is 113.2857 ms. The five error decryption aspects were testing, the average PCC value of the original and error decrypted EEG signals for the chaos-based multi-maps software is 0.0026, and the average error decryption time is 113.4000 ms. These results indicate that the chaos-based multimaps EEG encryption software can be applied to clinical EEG diagnosis.


Objective To study the relationship between the genetic polymorphism of PGC-1α -482 and insulin resistance to exercise intervention.
Methods Databases including PubMed (includes MEDLINE), SCOPUS (a large, multidisciplinary database) and the Cochrane Library were searched to collecting the literatures that were with information on relationship between the genetic polymorphism of PGC-1α -482 and insulin resistance to exercise intervention. The odds ratio (OR) o f PGC-1α genotype distributions in cases-control groups was calculated. The Meta-analysis software RevMan5.3 was applied to heterogeneity test and pooled OR calculation.
Results A total of 11 case-control studies met the criteria and were selected for the Meta-analysis. Among the studies, there were totally 718 cases of insulin resistance and 732 cases of control were included. The pooled OR of the PGC-1α genotype G/G vs. G/S+S/S was 0.97 (95% CI = 0.78 ~ 1.20), which showed statistically no significant difference (Z = 0.32,P = 0.75). This indicates that the frequency distribution of PGC-1α genotype may be related to the increased risk of insulin resistance, and this association is statistically significant; however, the frequency distribution of this genotype is not necessarily related to exercise intervention in insulin resistance.
Conclusions The genetic polymorphism of PGC-1α may be a susceptible factor for insulin resistance but not an independent influence factor of exercise intervention in insulin resistance.


Natural nanoparticles have been extensively studied due to their diverse properties and easy accessibility. Here, the nanoparticles extracted from cuttlefish ink (CINPs) with significant antitumor efficacy are explored. These CINPs, with spherical morphology, good dispersibility, and biocompatibility, are rich in melanin and contain a variety of amino acids and monosaccharides. Through the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, CINPs can efficiently reprogram tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) from immune-suppressive M2-like phenotype to antitumor M1-like phenotype. Besides, under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation, CINPs exhibit high photothermal effect and tumor cell killing ability, which make them a potential candidate in photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumor. In vivo, CINPs can increase the proportion of M1 macrophages and foster the recruitment of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) to tumors, leading to reduced primary tumor growth and lung metastasis. In combination with their photothermal effect, which can induce tumor-specific antigens release, CINPs could almost completely inhibit tumor growth accompanied by more active immune responses. Collectively, these CINPs described here can provide both tumor immunotherapy and PTT, implying that CINPs are promising for tumor treatment.


Aggression is a phenomenon that encompasses some very significant subscales and can be manifested through aggressive behaviors, hostility to friends, anger, uncontrolled / inconsistent reactions, and verbal and indirect aggression. These factors need to be carefully considered and followed up with research in order to give young people room to improve behaviors and achieve high achievement, otherwise it can affect adolescent anxiety and depression. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of underlying aggression such as anger, hostility, verbal aggression, indirect aggression, inconsistent response to anxiety, and depression in adolescents aged 16-18. This study included three groups of students, 16 years old, 17 years old and 18 years old, with 50 adolescents in each group, so the total sample is 150 adolescents aged 16-18 years. The research belongs to the quantitative type and the case study was selected 'Luciano Motroni' High Secondary School in Prizren municipality during January 2020. Research results show that depression scales such as verbal aggression have an impact on anxiety and depression (rho = .163 *, p value = .047), anger (rho = .385 **, p value = .000), hostility (rho = .174 *, p value = .033), indirect aggression (rho = .261 **, p value = 001), and inconsistent response (rho = .170 *, p value = .037) which are statistically significant at 1 % and 5% confidence level. Compared to a research conducted in 2019, entitled '' Association between anxiety and aggression in adolescents: a cross-sectional study '' we see that aggression has a significant impact on youth anxiety. Thus, the subscales of aggression represent an important significant link in adolescent anxiety and depresion. Finally, we conclude that sub scales of aggression have a statistically significant impact on adolescent anxiety and depression among young people aged 16-18, in the municipality of Prizren. What we recommend is the training and support of young people during their secondary education journey.


To realize the application of reactive joint process to electronic packaging, we analyze thermal resistance for solder joints fabricated by using Al/Ni self-propagating exothermic reaction. Laser flash method with response function analysis is used for thermal resistance measurement. The specimens with 4–8-µm-thick Sn–3.5Ag solder joint have thermal resistances ranging from 5.0 × 10−6 to 8.1 × 10−6 m2 K/W. In the specimen with 12-µm-thick SnAg solder joint, periodical heating analysis suggests that high and low thermal resistance areas happen to coexist due to incomplete bonding. Micro thermo-reflectance (m-TR) analysis suggests that thermal effusivity of reacted NiAl layer is lower than expected. Thermal resistance of the joints will be influenced by voids, cracks, and grain boundaries in reacted NiAl layer.


Arterio-enteric fistula is a very rare cause of massive lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage. We report here on a case of massive hematochezia caused by iliac arterio-colic fistula in a 60-year-old woman who had a recent history of spinal surgery for herniated nucleus pulposus. Abdomen computed tomography showed the extravasation of radiocontrast media from right iliac artery encased by an intraabdominal abscess into the adjacent dilatated colon. Also, diagnostic angiography revealed the active extravasation of radiocontrast media via a fistula between right iliac artery and colon. Although successful endovascular exclusion of the fistula with stent graft and coils was performed, disseminated intravascular coagulation and multi-organ failure were developed.


A new method is proposed to improve the numeri- cal simulation of time dependent problems when the initial and boundary data are not compatible. Unlike earlier methods limited to space dimension one, this method can be used for any space dimension. When both methods are applicable (in space dimen- sion one), the improvements in precision are comparable, but the method proposed here is not restricted by dimension.


A series of studies of the humoral renal antihypertensive system in normotensive and 2K 1C-renal antihypertensive rats is outlined. The rapid structural upward resetting of the cardiovascular system in renal hypertensive rats was associated with a structural downward resetting in the vasculature of the hypotensive clipped kidney. Unclipping of this kidney caused a pronounced release of renomedullary depressor agents, explaining the rapid normalization of pressure seen after unclipping. This normalization of pressure masks a state of pronounced functional hypotension in a structurally still hypertensive cardiovascular system, characterized by marked splanchnic vasodilatation and a lack of neurogenic counter-regulation. Only when this state has lasted long enough to normalize the structural upward resettings, characteristic of hypertension does the cardiovascular system return to normal. Further, cross-circulation techniques have shown that the humoral antihypertensive agents suppress tonic sympathetic activity, thereby inhibiting normal reflex counter-regulation of their vasodilator effects. Presumably this occurs via both vagal cardiac afferents and central actions. Further, behavior and awareness become depressed during intense and prolonged renomedullary release. Finally, experiments for which a normotensive kidney is cross-circulated from a normotensive rat suggest that the humoral renomedullary antihypertensive system has its threshold of release set so low as to contribute to normal blood pressure regulation, presumably in reciprocal balance with the renocortical renin-angiotensin system. Stepwise pressure elevations increasingly enhance release of the depressor agents from the cross-perfused kidney.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


ABSTRACT Introduction Peyronie's disease (PD) is a connective tissue disorder with an uncertain etiology that causes penile deformity. The interest in PD and our understanding of the disorder has grown significantly in recent years. Data have shown that several previous beliefs regarding the prevalence, natural history, and treatment of PD were incorrect. The prevalence is significantly higher than the previously reported 1%, and most cases of PD do not spontaneously resolve. Aim To determine the extent to which newer information about PD has reached physicians who are likely to encounter men with PD and to determine practice patterns regarding this disorder. Methods We created a survey of 20 questions and mailed it to primary-care physicians (PCPs) and urologists (UROs) in Illinois and Wisconsin. Main Outcome Measures Responses to individual survey items were totaled. Results We received 152 responses from PCPs and 98 from UROs for response rates of 43% and 44%, respectively. Survey results revealed the following: 63% of PCPs and 41% of UROs thought the prevalence is less than 1%; 17% of PCPs and 38% of UROs believed PD spontaneously resolves in greater than 50% of cases; 17% of PCPs and 9% of UROs did not think PD occurs in men younger than 40 years of age; 48% of PCPs and 37% of UROs did not believe that PD is frequently associated with ED; 51% of PCPs and 1% of UROs were unsure if any effective medical or surgical treatment for PD existed. Conclusion These data suggest that many physicians who are very likely to encounter men with PD have incorrect assumptions about the disease, and this can negatively affect diagnosis and treatment of men with PD. LaRochelle JC, and Levine LA. A survey of primary-care physicians and urologists regarding Peyronie's disease.


Under the right conditions, living cells such as bacteria can create inorganic minerals. Several studies have shown that this biomineralization takes place at the cell wall or just inside cells. How and why these minerals are formed, however, is unclear. In her Perspective,
 Fortin
 discusses work reported by
 Chan
 et al.
 on the formation of iron oxides by bacteria in a flooded mineshaft. The researchers used a variety of x-ray spectroscopic tools to understand how polymers secreted by the bacteria were able to act as a template for mineral formation. The mineral formation may aid in bacterial survival and may also enhance the cells9 energy-producing capability.


An embryonic gross differentiation study was conducted on the stomach of 35 foetuses of the one-humped camel collected from the Sokoto metropolitan abattoir, over a period of five months at different gestational ages. The approximate age of the fetuses was estimated from the crown vertebral rump length (CVRL) and samples were categorised into first, second and third trimester. The mean body weight of the foetus at first, second third trimester ranged from 1.40 ± 0.06 kg, 6.10 ± 0.05 kg and 17.87 ± 0.6 kg, respectively. The mean weights of the entire digestive system at first, second and third trimester were 0.80 ± 0.07 kg, 2.13 ± 0.04 kg and 4.86 ± 0.08 kg respectively. The mean weights of the digestive tract at first, second and third trimester were 0.53 ± 0.07 kg, 1.03 ± 0.05 and 2.43 ± 0.07 kg, respectively. Camels' stomach was observed to comprise of the voluminous smooth compartment rumen, a relatively small beans shape reticulum and a tubular abomasum at first trimester. At second and third trimester the stomach was found to comprise of a voluminous compartment I (rumen) which is subdivided by a strong muscular pillar into a dorsal smooth part and a ventral coarse part, a relatively small compartment II (reticulum) and a tubiform compartment III (Abomasum). Based on the findings in the study, camels' stomach had little/few similarities with true ruminant in terms of development.


Knowledge of heat transfer coefficients is important in the design and operation of CFB boilers. It is the key to determining the area and the layout of the heat transfer surfaces in a CFB furnace. Local bulk density has a close relationship to the local heat transfer coefficient. Using a heat flux probe and bulk density sampling probe, the local bed to wall heat transfer coefficient in the furnace of a 75 t/h CFB boiler was measured. According to the experimental results and theoretical analysis of the facts that influence the heat transfer, the heat transfer coefficient calculation method for the CFB furnace was developed. The heat transfer surface configuration, heating condition, and the material density are considered in this method. The calculation method has been used in the design of CFB boilers with a capacity from 130 t/h to 420 t/h. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(7): 540–550, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/htj.10056


In addition to the four canonical gospels of the Bible's New Testament, some so-called apocryphal gospels have also been discovered to exist. Although the process by which the four gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were determined to be the core gospels was completed by the late second century AD, it is generally held that the exclusion of other gospels was an incremental process that was finalized more than a century later. This article explores the inclusion and exclusion of texts in the New Testament canon by reference to the sociological notion of ignorance, or "nonknowledge." It is argued that the strategic use of nonknowledge can be shown to have achieved an "unknowing" of things that had previously been known among the early Christian community. Underpinning this argument is the suggestion that at least part of the success of Christianity during the first 100 to 200 years AD was due to many Christian women not only occupying a special position in their communities but also being seen as having been favored with knowledge about God. Such women were subsequently marginalized and knowledge about their role suppressed. The article concludes by noting that the formal exercise of control over what ought (not) to be known is part of the normal process of establishing stability and order in a bounded institution. This in turn promises to deliver insights for the sociological analysis of historical cases in many other areas.


We provide a sketch grammar of a new bilingual mixed language based on data gathered through interaction with its last native speakers. The language, which we call Posha of Çankırı, is spoken in central Turkey. The source languages are Turkish and Lomavren, another bilingual mixed language for which the source languages are Armenian and some Central Indo-Aryan varieties. In Posha of Çankırı, the mixing happens in the nominal morphology and in the lexicon while the verbal roots and verbal morphology are entirely from the ancestral language, Lomavren, albeit with certain minor changes. The Indo-Aryan layer of vocabulary is rather thin and the Indo-Aryan retentions in grammar can only be speculated. We show that the emergence of Posha of Çankırı has been initiated by language shift, but that its ultimate defining characteristic is L2 insertions into (some distorted version of) the L1. The study contributes to the documentation of lesser known new varieties and touches upon topics such as the mechanism involved in the emergence of bilingual mixed languages.


The objective of regional development policies in the modern economies is the decrease of the disparities in the living conditions of the population. The interventions of the regional policies aim at the transformation of the economic sectors, the increase of the employment possibilities and the improvement of the different infrastructural and institutional conditions having an impact on the living conditions. The focus of the efforts is to guarantee possibilities by the renewal of the spatial factors promoting development and by the safeguarding of the conditions for a catching up. This latter factor serves spatial equalisation and the moderation of the regional disparities, the effects of which of course can only be felt in the long run. Work culture and the and culture of activities show definite regional characteristics, the accumulated experiences show different levels of activity, thus the adaptation to the new skills is very much differentiated in space, just because of these social and cultural correlations (Hahne, 1985). The former paradigm of regional development - import of the factors of production, top-down controlled transformation with a predominantly economic view - was questioned and replaced by a new way of thinking and action. This new, shaping paradigm has two central elements: the first is bottom-up approach; the second - basically connected to and deriving from the first - is the activation of the human resources, the promotion of its basic elements. The first part of our study focuses on the new factors of regional development, including the elements generated by the human resources. The subsequent chapters deal with the regional structure of a few dimensions of human resources, demonstrating the regional characteristics that have stabilised or emerged in the 1990s and nowadays. Finally we summarise the characteristic features, implying the trends of regional development and thus the presumed methods of the activation of human resources.


Localized cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to antibiotic eyedrops are not unusual. To our knowledge, however, a diffuse cutaneous reaction to eyedrops containing dexamethasone/polymyxin B/neomycin has never been reported. We describe the diffuse skin changes noted in a 72-year-old patient five days after starting eyedrop therapy.


We report the case of an elderly female patient who presented with dangerous space emphysema occurring after a dental procedure. This case presented a diagnostic and management dilemma because of the development of an unusual complication of dental disease. In our review of the medical literature, we were unable to find any cases with similar manifestations and clinical courses.


As a multicultural city, Macao has a long history of multicultural education and training. Macao's Multicultural Vocational Education and Training (MVET) is one of the important pillars of the One Base development plan. From this One Base, Macao will serve as a base for exchange and cooperation to promote a moderately diversified economy in which Chinese culture is the mainstream and diverse cultures coexist. This study analyzes how to build Macao's MVET center and utilizes a semi-structured interview method with 20 interviewees including professors, entrepreneurs, and government officials. The study then uses thematic analysis to divide the topics into 3 core training project categories: professional training enterprises, offline branch training centers, and online cloud training centers. Macao's MVET center should have the full support of all parties and can be divided into three aspects: first, building a professional training enterprise that is privately owned, university supported, government aided, and has association participation; second, developing an offline branch training center in the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin and providing multicultural courses for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; third, building a multicultural training cloud platform and providing bilingual training for the Belt and Road countries, particularly Portuguese-speaking countries. This study is an integrated analysis of Macao's MVET offline and online centers and provides a sound foundation for future research on Macao's MVET center. It would be of interest to scholars and policymakers, as well as enterprises.


A new nonparametric estimation procedure is introduced for the distribution function in a class of deconvolution problems, where the convolution density has one discontinuity. The estimator is shown to be consistent and its cube root asymptotic distribution theory is established. Known results on the minimax risk for the estimation problem indicate the estimator to be eecient.


Traditional views on women in relation to men in almost all aspects of life have always been in favour of the male gender across cultures. In deed women and the girl child have been subjected to all forms of discriminations, exclusions and segregations from birth to old age. This phenomenon has been a challenge to many scholars, government and International Agencies the world over. Efforts have therefore been made to address the negative effects of male dominance in all sphere of life to the detriment of women. This paper is yet another attempt at contributing to the existing knowledge on how to tackle the challenges of gender discrimination in relation to development of humanity. The attempt here however is a departure from the usual focus on how women have been denied opportunities to contribute to development. It rather focuses on how some women have been able to remove or jump over the barriers mounted by patriarchy and patriarchal structures in a developing society. The paper examines propertied women in South West, Nigeria in relation to how they escaped from men's domination in a male dominated society. About 195 out of 225 sample propertied women who owned landed and movable properties were selected for the study. The paper argued that the propertied women in this study area has actually experienced a remarkable change, against all odds, in their status majorly as a result of their mastery of the patriarchal structure of the study area and their own successful combination of both attitude of submission and achievement. This is what the paper termed 'Diatude' – a combination of cooperation and resistance mental sets that shape and influence ones feelings about something.


Activities of a surprisingly large number of herbicide families are directly or indirectly influenced by light. Herbicide mechanisms that are dependent on light or are enhanced by light fall into several different categories. These herbicides inhibit electron flow in photosystem II in the photosynthetic light reaction (e.g., triazines, phenyl ureas, and uracils), capture electrons in photosystem I in the photosynthetic light reaction (e.g., bipyridiniums such as paraquat), inhibit glutamine synthetase in the nitrogen assimilation pathway (e.g., glufosinate), inhibit protoporphyrinogen oxidase during chlorophyll biosynthesis (e.g., diphenyl ethers [DPEs] and N-phenyl heterocycles), directly inhibit carotenoid biosynthesis by inhibiting one of the desaturase enzymes (e.g., norflurazon and fluridone), or indirectly inhibit carotenoid biosynthesis by inhibiting a quinone cofactor involved in the desaturase reaction (e.g., triketones and isoxazoles). Surprisingly, in all instances the involvement of light in herbicide action is not a direct interaction of light and herbicide at the primary site of action. In addition, the events that cause tissue damage (necrosis) are not associated with the primary target and are always due to membrane damage caused by lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids.


The transmission of encoded video streams over heterogeneous networks, characterized by congestion losses in wired links and high bit error rate in the wireless channel, is under consideration in this paper. First of all, it is necessary to make a distinction between the different kinds of losses to achieve a high channel utilization. Then, when dealing with wireless losses, the robustness of the encoded stream has to be improved. This article shows an easy way of implementing a global adaptive algorithm for wireless networks. It proposes a new algorithm to adequate the parameters of video error resilience tools to the changing characteristics of the wireless channel. The aim of this algorithm is guaranteeing the quality of the video. Simplicity is the key, as the receiver of the video stream will be a handheld device (i.e. PDA, mobile phone, etc.) with limited processing capacity


Most of the current oncology drug discovery and development work has shifted towards molecularly targeted therapies. A key focus has been on identifying inhibitors against components of pathways that drive tumor cell proliferation, survival, and metastasis such as the PI3K/mTOR pathway, reported to be implicated in many human cancers through various mechanisms, such as, somatic PIK3CA missense mutations that occur at high frequency. These mutations are largely point mutations predominantly clustered within three hotspots in the helical and kinase domains of p110α: E542K, E545K and H1047R, which represent about 80% of the mutations observed, and confirmed to be oncogenic gain-of-function mutations. Based on these findings cancer-specific mutants of p110α appear to be ideal targets for drug development and p110α specific inhibitors, such as NVP-BYL719, could then have potential anti-cancer activity without causing the potential side effects that could be expected from interference with other Class I PI3K isoforms or other members of the PIKK family. NVP-BYL719 is best described as a PI3Kalpha inhibitor as in biochemical assays, it inhibits p110α as well as p110α most common somatic mutations (IC 50 =5 nM) much more potently than p110α and ≤ and has weak or no activity against p110α, Vps34 and mTOR and is selective against a wide range of protein kinases (> 50-fold). The potency and selectivity profile of NVP-BYL719 is confirmed at the cellular level, is correlated with inhibition of various PI3K/Akt downstream signaling pathway components and is associated with anti-proliferation of breast cancer cell lines harboring PIK3CA mutations. In vivo, NVP-BYL719 shows dose and time-dependent inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway which correlates with compound exposure and is associated with good tolerability and significant dose-dependent anti-tumor efficacy in PIK3CA mutant tumor xenograft models in rodents. Moreover, plasma insulin levels are significantly increased while blood glucose levels remained normal at all tested doses and time points indicating on-target effects of NVP-BYL719 on the regulation of metabolism. Overall, as a PI3Kalpha inhibitor, NVP-BYL719 has good drug-like and pharmacological properties and presents all the characteristics required for its ongoing Phase I clinical development in adult patients with advanced solid malignancies whose tumors have an alteration of the PIK3CA gene. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3748. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3748


A strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm (SPEA) is proposed and was modified by incorporating logic-preserving crossover and mutation operators and employed to devise a set of optimum finance-based schedules of multiple projects being implemented simultaneously by a construction contractor. The problem involves the minimization of the conflicting objectives of financing costs, duration of the group of projects, and the required credit. The modified SPEA was employed to obtain the Pareto-optimal fronts for the two-objective combinations as well as the three objectives. In addition, a fuzzy-based technique was used to help the contractors select the best compromise solution over the Pareto-optimal solutions. The proposed approach has been developed and implemented on projects with different sizes. The results obtained by the modified SPEA, fuzzy-based approach demonstrated its potential and effectiveness in finance-based scheduling of multiple projects.


The work presented in this paper is part of an extensive European research project on horizontal seismic links subjected to strong full‐reversing cyclic loading. Both experimental testing and numerical simulations were conducted. The link specimens were subjected to combined shear and bending, representing the actual conditions acting on a seismic link during severe earthquake action. Large‐scale tests were performed under constant and increasing amplitude schemes, and parameters studied included steel material grade, length and cross‐section type of the link. The experimental setup employed consisted of a special two‐part steel loading frame that imposed on the steel link specimen a combined bending and shear type deformation. The experiments are supported by finite element model analysis. Three dimensional models have been employed for the simulation of the tests, and the numerical results agree well with the experimental results.


Abstract Modern healthcare systems are increasingly investing in advanced sensing and information technology, leading to data-rich environments in hospitals. For example, when patients are admitted into an intensive care unit (ICU), it is a common practice to monitor a number of clinical variables, such as blood pressure, heart rate, gas exchange, pulse oximetry and metabolic panel. However, heterogeneous sensing and measurement methods often lead to data uncertainty and incompleteness. Missing values exist pervasively for ICU clinical variables pertinent to a patient's health condition. This adversely affects time-critical decision making in patient care. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop advanced analytical methods that address the challenges of ICU data uncertainty, provide a robust estimate of health conditions and derive in-depth knowledge for decision making from heterogeneous healthcare recordings. This article presents a novel nested Gaussian process (NGP) model that is tailored to represent multi-dimensional covariance structure of time, variable and patient for high-dimensional data imputation. We evaluate and validate the proposed NGP method on both simulation and real tensor-form ICU data with high-level missing information. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology effectively handles the data uncertainty in ICU settings, which helps further improve the biomarker extraction, patient monitoring and decision making. The proposed NGP model can also be generally applicable to a variety of engineering and medical domains that entail high-dimension data imputation and analytics.


Neuroinflammation is traditionally defined as the brain's innate immune response and is also considered to be a glial-cell propagated inflammation. Increasing evidence indicates that neuroinflammation plays an important role in some cases of major depression and also that antidepressants possess anti-neuroinflammatory properties. Inhibition of neuroinflammation may represent a novel mechanism of action of antidepressant treatment. In vivo studies with animal models of neurological conditions have shown that various types of antidepressants exert inhibitory effects on the expression of inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, as well as on both microgliosis and astrogliosis in the inflamed CNS. In vitro studies using pathologically activated rodent microglia or mixed glial cells have demonstrated that various types of antidepressants diminish glial generation of inflammatory molecules. One of the most plausible mechanisms of such anti-neuroinflammatory efficacy of the drugs, as well as their antidepressant actions, seems to involve elevated intracellular cAMP levels. But the exact mechanism has still to be elucidated.


Self-certified public keys are proposed to eliminate the burden of verifying the public key before using. To alleviate reliance on system authority and strengthen the security of system, Chang et al. propose a new digital signature schemes, no redundancy is needed to be embedded in the signed messages in this scheme. Moreover, Chang et al claimed that the schemes are still secure even without the trustworthy system authority, and only the specified recipient can recover the message in his authentication encryption schemes. Unfortunately, In this work, we analyze the security of Chang et al. scheme and show that if the system authority is trustless, the scheme is insecure, namely, the system authority can recover the message without the private key of the recipient in Chang' authentication encryption schemes. Finally, we propose an improve scheme to overcome the weakness of Chang et al scheme.


New ammonites collected bed-by-bed from the upper part of Ataxioceras hypselocyclum Chronozone deposits in the eastern Iberian Chain are described as Geyericeras gen. nov. The new genus includes micro- and macroconchiate Ataxioceratinae of small size, with moderate to loose coiling and subpolyplocoid ribs, a character crucial for its identification. Key points for the comparative identification of Geyericeras gen. nov. are: (i) microconchiate Geyericeras show morphological convergence with evolute specimens of the stratigraphically older genus Schneidia [m]; (ii) contemporary Ataxioceratinae genera such as Ardescia [m, M] and Lithacosphinctes [m, M] did not develop subpolyplocoid ribbing; (iii) smoothing of sculpture combined with short primary ribs are not realized in Geyericeras gen. nov. [M] and can be therefore used to separate the new genus from Ataxioceras [M]; and (iv) smaller shells, and weaker and less dense ribbing with no parabolic structures differentiate Geyericeras gen. nov. [m, M] from Parataxioceras [m, M], as well as the type of subpolyplocoid ribs seen among microconchiate specimens of these two genera. The new species Geyericeras aragoniense sp. nov. is the index and guide fossil for identification of a biohorizon occurring below the first occurrence of the genus Crussoliceras in the eastern Iberian Chain.


We investigate the combination of the weak second-order monadic logic of one successor (WS1S) with higher-order logic (HOL). We show how these two logics can be combined, how theorem provers based on them can be safely integrated, and how the result can be used. In particular, we present an embedding of the semantics of WS1S in HOL that provides a basis for coupling the MONA system, a decision procedure for WS1S, with an implementation of HOL in the Isabelle system. Afterwards, we describe methods that reduce problems formalized in HOL to problems in the language of WS1S. We present applications to arithmetic reasoning and proving properties of parameterized sequential systems.


knowledge of nature and extent of genetic variation and diversity available in the germplam or breeding materials helps breeder for planning sound breeding program. Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate 47 coffee germplam accessions, which were collected from Gomma wereda of Jimma zone and two standard check varieties. The experiment  was conducted in simple lattice design with two replications during 2011/12 cropping season. Data on eight organoleptic traits were recorded and the analysis revealed that all organoleptic quality traits showed significant variation among the accessions at (P<0.05). High phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation was observed for bitterness and astringency. Organoleptic traits such as flavor, overall standard, acidity and aromatic quality had high heritability. Bitterness and astringency showed moderate heritability coupled with high genetic advance. Similarly, flavor had high heritability and moderate genetic advance as percent of mean. Hence, bitterness, astringency and flavor can be improved through selection. Cluster analysis based on organoleptic traits grouped the accessions into three groups which make them also moderately divergent. Besides, inter-cluster distances were significantly different and crossing coffee accession from these divergent clusters will result in heterosis and recombinant in segregating generation. The principal component analysis showed the variation in first principal component, 63.7%, had been attributed to overall standard, flavor, acidity and aromatic quality. Hence, these traits should be given importance during hybridization and selection in the segregating population. In general , the present study indicated the presence of variability for organoleptic traits among the accessions. Therefore, the observed variability should be exploited in order to improve the quality of Gomma wereda coffee. However, since high quality variation between accessions is not a guarantee for a high genetic variation, biochemical studies need to be considered as complementary to organoleptic studies. Keywords: Genetic variability, principal component, organoleptic traits, genetic diversity, heritability