Lake wetlands play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Human activities and climate change impact the carbon sequestration capacity of lake wetlands. However, this process is intricate. Clarifying the decisive factors that affect carbon sequestration is crucial for preserving, utilizing, and enhancing the carbon sequestration capacity of plateau lake wetlands. Here we analyzed the regulatory role of land use under policy guidance on the carbon sequestration capacity of the plateau lake wetland of Caohai (CHLW), SW China. The results show that: (1) The cumulative carbon sequestration varied significantly from 1990 to 2020, with the highest carbon sequestration of 15.80 × 105 t C in 1995 and the lowest of 3.18 × 105 t C in 2020, mainly originating from endogenous carbon sequestration within the plateau lake wetlands. (2) As of 2020, the carbon stock of CHLW was approximately 2.54 × 108 t C. (3) The carbon sequestration in CHLW experienced a dynamic change process of decrease-increase-decrease over 30 years, mainly influenced by land use changes under policy regulation, with human and natural factors accounting for 91% and 9%, respectively. (4) Under three simulated scenarios (Q1, Q2, and Q3), the ecological priority scenario exhibited positive regulation on the carbon sequestration of CHLW and the entire protected area in 2030 and 2060, with the highest increase in carbon sequestration. This scenario is consistent with the current conservation policy, indicating that the current protection policy for CHLW is scientifically reasonable. This research demonstrates how land use and climate changes impact carbon storage in wetlands, with consideration of policy guidance. It provides references for utilizing and conserving lake wetlands worldwide, ultimately achieving the dual goals of wetland conservation and carbon neutrality.


ABSTRACT This article focuses on the early stages of an international project on gamifying national identity. It examines the production of the content required for developing a sophisticated and engaging approach to pedagogical innovation in education, through game-based learning. This will encourage individuals to think about both European and national identity, specifically within the context of the European Union (EU). At a time when the EU faces significant challenges, a better understanding and appreciation of the role of national and supra-national identity and belonging in Europe is clear. RU EU? – an Erasmus+ funded project – aims to develop an innovative online game to help students and others enhance their understanding of their own national and European identities and challenge attitudes and prejudices. The content development of the game has brought together experts with socio-political knowledge, pedagogical understanding and technical expertise. This article discusses the early stages in the content development process, during which we amassed material from literature reviews, academic interviews and student focus groups and surveys. We sought to ensure that the content of the game reflected the issues raised within the game development lifecycle and our article describes our engagement with this material and its integration into game content.


The need for predicting the performance of hydrocarbon reservoirs has led to the development of a number of software in the Petroleum industry. Lots of these available software handled virtually all tasks in reservoir engineering ranging from estimation, forecasting, history matching, among others. That notwithstanding, improvements on these software are still been made and newer versions are released to meet users' requirements. In this work, software "ULTIMATE" was developed based on production rate decline analysis to predict reservoir performance. Also, the developed software "ULTIMATE" handles Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR) prediction. The developed software prediction based on data obtained from two wells were compared with another software MBAL 10.5 developed by petroleum Experts Limited. The results of the comparison indicated that the developed ULTIMATE software predictions were very close to the MBAL 10.5 predictions. Additionally, the incorporated parallel algorithm in the ULTIMATE software enables it to analyze more wells and with more speed than the other software (MBAL 10.5). Therefore, the developed ULTIMATE software can be use as quick tool for predicting reservoir performance based on production rate decline analysis. Furthermore, the developed software would be improved to handle reservoir performance predictions based on Materials Balance Equation (MBE), and other production rate-related predictions like coning parameters estimation.


The first edition of Thomas Robert Malthus' Essay on the Principle of Population is best understood as an exploration of human nature and the role of necessity in shaping the individual and society.  The author's liberal education, both from his father and his tutors at Warrington and Cambridge, is evident in his heterodox views on hell, his Lockean conceptualization of the mind, and his Foxite Whig politics.  Malthus' unpublished essay, "Crises," his sermons, and the the last two chapters of the Essay (which were excised from subsequent editions) reveal a pragmatic, compassionate side of the young author that was under appreciated by both his contemporary critics and modern historians.  The Essay has been mischaracterized by David McNally (2000) as a "Whig response to Radicalism" and by Patricia James (1979) as a reaction by Malthus against his father's liberalism.  This article argues that when he wrote the first edition of the Essay on the Principle of Population , Malthus was himself a liberal dissenter and Foxite Whig rather than an orthodox Anglican or a Burkean defender of traditional class relations.


As waves approach the shore, non-linearity in their dynamics becomes increasingly important. Most of our understanding of wave non-linearity has resulted from theoretical work, laboratory experiments and field studies on beaches slopes steeper than about 1:40. Here, very strong non-linear processes happen locally and on a short time scale, as demonstrated by narrow surf zones with plunging or collapsing breakers. The non-linearity on lower sloping beaches, typical of high-energy dissipative environments, has a different character, as it can now build up over a long period of time in a cross-shore extensive area. This second case of strong non-linearity is not well understood. This contribution serves to introduce the GLOBEX project, during which a high-resolution (in space and time) data set of the cross-shore evolution of short and infragravity waves was collected on a low-sloping (1:80) non-mobile laboratory beach for a range of wave conditions. Various other presentations at the conference will build on this introductory contribution.


Too often, business managers become ensnared by growth targets and financial performance to the detriment of organisational culture and staff satisfaction. What is the solution?


I. A study was made on the folate content of goat's milk in relation to stage of lactation, and on the interrelationship between blood and milk folate concentrations in the dam and in the kid. 2. In seven goats the folate concentration in the colostrum at parturition ranged from 136 to 300 ng/ml, and averaged 205 ng/ml. The concentration fell sharply during the early days of lactation and by day 14 it averaged only 9-5 nglml. This pattern of rapid decline in milk folate concentration with advancing lactation was little affected by daily provision of folic acid parenterally in relatively large amounts. 3. The colostrum and milk contained a minor whey protein that combined strongly with folate, and presumably acts as a trapping mechanism to accumulate the vitamin from the plasma into the milk. The milk folate concentration is determined by the rate of milk secretion in relation to the availability of free folate in the blood plasma. 4. At parturition the plasma folate concentration in the kids was very low about I nglml but by day 2 it had increased to about 28 ng/ml. This folate was protein-bound and accompanied by an excess of free binder protein. It appeared that the folate-protein complex from the colostrum was transmitted intact into the kids' blood circulation. 5 . The possible importance of the folate-binding protein in the regulation of folate metabolism is discussed.


The influence of glucagone on the growth of « in vitro » explants from chick embryo heart has been studied by « roller-tubes » technique. Aim of the present paper is the identification of an eventual promoting action of glucagone on growth. The « in vitro » growth was evaluated by micrometric determination of the explants migration area in a 4 days old culture. Glucagone in concentration 1/1 100 000 was observed to be inactive; in concentration 1/200 000 it exerted a growth activation of the 28,65 per cent and in concentration 1/100 000 an activation of the 44,15 per cent. A certain parallelism may be found with « in vivo » observations according to which glucagone would represent a mediation of the somatotropic hormone effects.


Lysosomes maintain immune homeostasis through the degradation of phagocytosed apoptotic debris; however, the signaling events regulating lysosomal maturation remain undefined. In this study, we show that lysosome acidification, key to the maturation process, relies on mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2), activation of caspase-1, and cleavage of Rab39a. Mechanistically, the localization of cofilin to the phagosome recruits caspase-11, which results in the localized activation of caspase-1. Caspase-1 subsequently cleaves Rab39a on the phagosomal membrane, promoting lysosome acidification. Although caspase-1 is critical for lysosome acidification, its activation is independent of inflammasomes and cell death mediated by apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain, revealing a role beyond pyroptosis. In lupus-prone murine macrophages, chronic mTORC2 activity decouples the signaling pathway, leaving Rab39a intact. As a result, the lysosome does not acidify, and degradation is impaired, thereby heightening the burden of immune complexes that activate FcγRI and sustain mTORC2 activity. This feedforward loop promotes chronic immune activation, leading to multiple lupus-associated pathologies. In summary, these findings identify the key molecules in a previously unappreciated signaling pathway that promote lysosome acidification. It also shows that this pathway is disrupted in systemic lupus erythematosus.


Summary SOX5 plays an important role in chondrogenesis and chondrocyte differentiation. SOX5 defects in humans (often deletions) result in a Lamb-Shaffer syndrome (LSS), presenting with speech delay, behavioral problems and minor dysmorphic features. We present a patient with idiopathic short stature (ISS) who carried a heterozygous novel variant in SOX5. The patient had no dysmorphic features, but a skeletal survey revealed minor skeletal abnormalities. Laboratory and endocrine evaluation for known causes of growth disorders was negative. The missense variant in SOX5 gene (c.1783A>G, p.K595E) was de novo and was predicted to be deleterious by in silico programs. In summary, we present a patient whose presentation may provide evidence that gene defects in SOX5 may contribute to the etiology of short stature and/or mild skeletal defects beyond LSS. Learning points: We report a girl with idiopathic short stature and mild skeletal defects presenting with a de novo variant in SOX5 gene, predicted in silico to be deleterious. Although SOX5 has not been previously specifically associated with short stature, several evidences support its contributing effect on dyschondrogenesis. Missense variants in SOX5 gene may lead to mild phenotypes, differing from typical presentation of patients with Lamb-Shaffer syndrome.


It is well documented that the antitumour activity of the Pt(II)-complex cisplatin, and similar anticancer active complexes, is a result of metalation of DNA, and thereby inhibition of cell proliferation. Since nucleic acids are polyanions at physiological pH, the rate of adduct formation with positively charged complex, as the hydrolyzed Pt(II) complexes studied in this work, is influenced by the ionic environment surrounding the polymer. Such effects have been investigated in different nucleic acid models. The type and concentration of bulk cations highly affect the reaction rate, e.g. divalent ions are more efficient in retarding the platination reaction than monovalent ions, due to the better neutralization of the phosphate charges. The rates of adduct formation between cis-[PtCl(NH3)(c-C6H11NH2)(OH2)]+ and a model with single-stranded oligonucleotides were found to decrease significantly in the presence of manganese(II) in comparison to magnesium(II). This is suggested to be a result of a direct interaction for manganese(II) with the platination site, G-N7. Furthermore, the reactivity was found to depend on the location of the target site within the oligomers, where the central position possessed the highest rate. The influence from the oligomeric length on the reaction rate with cis-[PtCl(NH3)(c-C6H11NH2)(OH2)]+ and d(TnGTn), where n = 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 and 24, was studied. A length-dependent rate enhancement was found up to n = 8, at low concentration of bulk cations. These results present evidence for the presence of a rate enhancing preassociation step in the reaction mechanism. Studies of addition of tri- and tetravalent polyamines to the platination reaction of single stranded oligomers and dsDNA were performed. Results varied on the bulk cation concentration and type of polyamine. The overall trend was a decrease in platination rate in the presence of polyamines. Polyamine competition with the platinum(II) complex for the condensation layer, including direct association with the platination site, was assumed to be responsible for the decreased platination rate. Platination of nucleic acids is known to induce structural distortions, resulting in duplex destabilization and higher rigidity of the structure. Both these effects were separately studied with two different RNA–models. An RNA oligonucleotide with a potential to adopt a pseudoknot structure, was platinated and found to be more stable towards intramolecular transesterification than the unmetalated one. This observation was interpreted as a result of higher rigidity of the whole molecule. The other model used was short duplex RNAs, with function as efficient siRNAs in a model system. Incorporation of oxaliplatin in the sense strand results in duplex destabilization, but with retained efficiency as siRNAs. This is promising for future studies of metalated siRNAs. (Less)


Cloned DNA copies of rotavirus genomic segment 6 from simian 11 (subgroup 1) and human strain Wa (subgroup 2) rotaviruses have been used to determine the nucleotide sequences of the gene that determines viral subgroup specificity. Both genomic segments are 1,356 nucleotides in length and possess 5'- and 3'-terminal untranslated regions of 23 and 142 nucleotides, respectively. The inferred amino acid sequence reveals VP6 to be a polypeptide of 397 amino acids in which more than 90% of the amino acid sequence is conserved between the two viruses. There are 34 amino acid changes between the subgroup 1 and 2 polypeptides, most clustered in three regions of the molecule at residues 39 through 62, 80 through 122, and 281 through 315.


A high-performance plasma-display-panel 'sustain' power supply is proposed. The proposed convertor consists of a boost convertor for power-factor correction (PFC) and a half-bridge flyback convertor for DC–DC power conversion. The boost convertor reduces the reverse-recovery loss of the diode by adding a simple inductor–diode branch. The half-bridge flyback convertor is driven in complementary control for zero-voltage switching and also its output diode commutates with zero-current switching. The proposed convertor is analysed and optimised for high power efficiency. Experimental results for a 300 W convertor at a constant switching frequency of 100 kHz are obtained to show good performance of the proposed convertor.


Overview: Digital transformation is reshaping entire segments and industries: communications, retail, and, increasingly, health care, medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing. While a few companies reach front-runner status, most seem to lag. Digital transformation is a top concern of senior leaders worldwide and motivated the development of this study. This article describes the results of the Patterns of Digitization survey designed to assess how companies are implementing digital transformation. The survey covers the various strategies companies employ, the technologies they invest in, and, in particular, the actions they take to overcome the organizational resistance that is common in most large-scale transformations. We highlight important actions all companies are taking to digitally transform their businesses and the differentiated actions of digitally mature organizations. The insights gleaned from the study should help lagging companies understand what is involved in implementing a digital transformation and what they need to do to catch up.


This paper describes an optical repeater circuit that uses an InAlAs/InGaAs HEMT digital integrated circuit (IC) chip set. The chip set includes a 64-Gb/s 2:1 multiplexer (MUX), a 40-Gb/s demultiplexer (DEMUX), a 46-Gb/s decision circuit (DEC), and a 48-GHz frequency divider (DIV). Electrically multiplexed and demultiplexed 40-Gb/s 300-km transmission is successfully demonstrated.


With reference to a brief description of inherent properties of the international news reporting process in a free press tradition, Verschueren criticizes their being neglected in linguistic approaches to the language of the media. In an attempt to illustrate the potential contribution of functional linguistic analyses to a better understanding of the printed media as a channel for international communication, he investigates the use of metapragmatic metaphors (in particular metaphorical verbs of speaking) in the reporting by The New York Times on the U-2 incident in May 1960. The framing of the incident as a communicative event is evaluated along the dimensions of factual truth, interpretational accuracy, and understanding.


Site-specific labeling of proteins with lanthanide ions offers great opportunities for investigating the structure, function, and dynamics of proteins by virtue of the unique properties of lanthanides. Lanthanide-tagged proteins can be studied by NMR, X-ray, fluorescence, and EPR spectroscopy. However, the rigidity of a lanthanide tag in labeling of proteins plays a key role in the determination of protein structures and interactions. Pseudocontact shift (PCS) and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) are valuable long-range structure restraints in structural-biology NMR spectroscopy. Generation of these paramagnetic restraints generally relies on site-specific tagging of the target proteins with paramagnetic species. To avoid nonspecific interaction between the target protein and paramagnetic tag and achieve reliable paramagnetic effects, the rigidity, stability, and size of lanthanide tag is highly important in paramagnetic labeling of proteins. Here 4'-mercapto-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine-6,6''-dicarboxylic acid (4MTDA) is introduced as a a rigid paramagnetic and fluorescent tag which can be site-specifically attached to a protein by formation of a disulfide bond. 4MTDA can be readily immobilized by coordination of the protein side chain to the lanthanide ion. Large PCSs and RDCs were observed for 4MTDA-tagged proteins in complexes with paramagnetic lanthanide ions. At an excitation wavelength of 340 nm, the complex formed by protein-4MTDA and Tb(3+) produces high fluorescence with the main emission at 545 nm. These interesting features of 4MTDA make it a very promising tag that can be exploited in NMR, fluorescence, and EPR spectroscopic studies on protein structure, interaction, and dynamics.


Severe sepsis and septic shock remain the most serious problem of critical care medicine today with a mortality of 25-80%. Bacterial endotoxin is of considerable importance in the pathogenesis of sepsis. A selective hemosorbent in which endotoxin adsorption is accomplished via its binding to a synthetic peptide (LPS-A) has been recently designed in Sweden. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of using the LPS-A in the complex treatment of patients with severe sepsis. Eight patients in whom the course of the underlying disease was complicated by the development of gram-negative sepsis in the postoperative period were examined. The patients had an APACHE II score of 20.4 +/- 4.5 LPS-A was performed using the hemosorbent Alteco LPS (Lund, Sweden) and an Aquarius hemoprocessor (Edwards Lifesciences) (U.S.A.). The use of LPS-A caused a significant reduction in endotoxin levels by 2.9 times. The level of procalcitonin was increased in all patients; after a LPS-A session, it was significantly decreased by 1.9 times. The use of LPS-A resulted in diminished tachycardia, elevated blood pressure and could reduce the doses of vasopressor amines. There was an improvement in lung gas exchange parameters. A study of the effect of LPS-A on the immune system showed a significant reduction (36.6%) in neutrophil oxygen-dependent metabolism according to the data of the spontaneous HCT test, a 2.4-fold decrease in large circulating immune complexes, and a rise in the count of mononuclear cells that died both by necrosis and apoptosis, the count of the cells significantly increased by 5.3 times in late apoptosis. A LPS-A session caused a significant drop in the blood level of endotoxin and procalcitonin and it was accompanied by a trend toward better hemodynamics and lung gas exchange and alleviated organ dysfunction. At the same time LPS-A showed the ambiguous effect on immune system parameters, which calls for further study.


The aim of this research was to study the extent to which university students at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM) and Shiraz University (SU) were able to understand the vocabulary in the user interface of two Iranian OPACs namely Simorgh (SIM) and Pars Azarakhsh (PAZ). For the first phase, data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed among 380 students. In the second phase, and to acquire some qualitative information, an interview was administered with 30 Masters students in a real searching situation. Findings showed that the understandability rate of interface vocabulary in the subjective method was %35.1 for the SIM OPAC and %33.9 for the PAZ one. No significant difference was observed in the understandability of interface vocabulary among students of different grads. The understandability rate of vocabulary used in the SIM OPAC interface (in the objective way) did not show any significant difference with the same rate in the PAZ OPAC interface. However, there was a significant difference between SIM and PAZ with respect to the vocabulary understandability in the subjective method. Students believed that short phrases in the interface were easier to understand. The influence of users' experience with SIM and PAZ OPACs on their understanding of the interface vocabulary in the two methods (objective and subjective) did not show any significant difference among students of different grads. The influence of students' area of study on vocabulary understandability showed a significant difference among the three areas in Ferdowsi University (SIM OPAC), but in the subjective method, the difference was not significant. In Shiraz University, the results acquired through the two methods were vice versa. Findings, from the interview session, showed that the accuracy rate of anticipation about the function of various pages of the SIM OPAC was different from one page to another. %57 of students were satisfied, %25 were somewhat satisfied, and %18 were not satisfied with the interface vocabulary. %25 of the respondents preferred the use of general vocabulary, %20.8 the use of simple, comprehensible vocabulary, and %12.5 the use of explanation about the vocabulary.
Keywords: User interface, Interface vocabulary, OPACs, Simorgh software, Pars Azarkhsh software, Library softwares


In recent years, biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are gaining importance due to their unique properties and tremendous applications. This study aimed to fabricate ZnO NPs by using extracts from various parts (i.e. stems, leaves, and inflorescences) of the traditional medicinal plant Heliotropium indicum (H. indicum) and to identify their photocatalysis, photoluminescence, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) efficacy. The Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrum was used to monitor the nanoparticles (NPs) formation, which exhibited a hypsochromic shifted absorption band between 360-370 nm. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was carried out for the plant extracts and NPs to identify possible functional groups involved in the capping process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed NPs were spherical in shape and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results shown their wurtzite, hexagonal crystalline nature. Further, TEM and XRD consistently determined the average particle size ranging from 19 to 53 nm with more accuracy than scanning electron microscope (SEM). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that the particles were well distributed and monodispersed. The maximum photocatalytic degradation of 95% was evaluated for biogenic ZnO NPs spectrophotometrically by monitoring the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye (λmax = 662.8 nm) under solar irradiation. Photoluminescence (PL) analysis, revealed differentiated spectra with high-intensity emission peaks for biogenic ZnO NPs compared to chemically synthesized ZnO NPs. Eventually, the highest efficiency of FRET (80%) was found in ZnO NPs synthetized from the leaves. This remains the first attempt to synthesize multifunctional ZnO NPs using H. indicum for potential environmental and biomedical applications.


Summary
The growth of Ross River virus in cultured mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and monkey kidney (Vero) cells shows similar latent periods (5 to 6 h) and maximum yields.
In Aedes albopictus cells the virus establishes a persistent, non-cytopathic infection with no significant change in cell division rate. Virus matures within large, electron-dense cytoplasmic inclusions and also at the cell membrane. Virus accumulates within the inclusions but nucleocapsids do not. 'Type-1 cytopathic vacuoles' (Grimley, Berezesky & Friedman, 1968) are not found. Between 40 and 60 h after infection, the cell-associated virus titre falls by 1 log unit. Cytoplasmic inclusions lose electron-dense material and are transformed into microvesiculated vacuoles. Virus progressively disappears from these structures and from the cell membrane. It is suggested that during the establishment of the persistent infection, digestion of the contents of the inclusions occurs, resulting from fusion of lysosomal microvesicles with the inclusions.
In Vero cells infection leads to cell lysis. Early in infection virus is found in small cytoplasmic vesicles: 'type-1 cytopathic vacuoles' are also present. Accumulation of nucleocapsids is marked, particularly late in infection. Thus, although the pathogenesis of Ross River virus in mice is atypical (Mims et al. 1973; Murphy et al. 1973), its ultrastructural development is similar to that of other alphaviruses in cultured vertebrate cells.


The water surfaces detected by a conventional intensity based method from JERS-1 SAR images do not always coincide with the flood-damaged areas especially existing paddy fields. The authors propose morphological methods as spatial information. The result roughly agree with the reported flood-inundated areas. We concluded that this kind of methods has an advantage of the disaster monitoring using SAR satellite.


Thermoelectric power generation has the potential to recover a large amount of energy loss at the vapor condensers in the steam-based power plants. A suitable arrangement of thermoelectric modules was designed from the heat transfer theory in the cylindrical heat exchanger. Even under the practical operation limits, 150 kW can be generated by the thermoelectric conversion.


In this letter, we propose a compact spiral striplineloaded monopole antenna on a vertical ground plane. The measured results show that the antenna has a fractional bandwidth of 12.1% for a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) less than 2 at the center frequency of 1.10 GHz, as well as a good omni-directional radiation pattern. The small size of 0.04 o 0.04 o 0.04 o makes it promising for use as an internal antenna in mobile handsets. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 250–252, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop. 23043


Fish oil microcapsules c ould be stored long longer than fish oil. Storage of the fish oil microcapsules to be more stable and effective to note factors such as temperature and storage time. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of temperature and storage time on the stability of fish oil (MI) and microencapsulated fish oil (MMI). The research method used was a completely randomized design method factorial 2 x 3 and 3 replications for each MI and MMI. Factor A (storage temperature: refrigerator temperature and room temperature) and factor B (storage time: 15, 30 and 45 days). The variables measured were peroxide, TBA numbers and the total number of oxidation. The results of this study found that the more stable MMI stored in the refrigerator compared to room temperature and the MMI is more stable compared with MI. Temperature and storage time is best for the oxidative stability of microencapsulated fish oil and fish oil are refrigerator temperature and storage time of 45 days.


Purpose: This study was intended to investigate the effects of boron on a rat renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage model on biochemical and histopathological grounds. Methods: The control, sham, I/R, and Boron groups in the study included a total of 24 female Wistar rats with weights of 250-350 grams. Groups I/R and B underwent laparotomy under the general anesthesia and the researchers dissected left kidney pedicles of all experimental animals. A kidney artery clamp was applied for 1 hour to generate ischemia, which was followed by 6 hours of reperfusion. Group C also received 10 mg/kg boron intra peritoneally after I/R. Once blood samples were taken from the rats, they were sacrificed and tissue samples were taken by means of nephrectomy. The study analyzed the serum samples seeking Myeloperoxidase (MPO), Ischemic Modified Albumin (IMA), Malondialdehyde (MDA), Nitric Oxide (NO), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), Antioxidant Activity (AOS), Urea, and Creatinine. The researchers also measured MPO, MDA, NO, SOD, GPx, and AOS in the tissue samples. Results: The IMA level in the serum samples was significantly lower in group B than group I/R (P<0.05). The MDA level in the serum samples was significantly higher in group I/R than in groups C and S (P<0.05). The AOS level in the serum samples was significantly lower in groups B and I/R than in groups C and S (P<0.05). The histopathologic scoring was significantly lower in group B than in group I/R (P<0.05). Conclusion: Boron in the renal I/R injury model makes a protective effect against I/R damage by decreasing oxidative stress in serum and tissue samples. This result was supported by histopathological examination.


This research studies the distribution network redesign of an actual electronics company. The problems are formulated based on multi-echelon capacitated Location Routing Problem (LRP) with two commodities: home products and service items. The objective function consists of three components: facility cost, closing cost of facility and transportation cost. We propose solution method based on clustering technique. The problem is decomposed into the Facility Location Allocation Problem (FLAP) and the Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem (MDVRP). MDVRP is solved by clustering method and feed the results to the modified FLAP to allocate the demand nodes to facilities and configure all distribution networks, for the 2nd and 3rd echelon. The distribution is divided into five region zones. Previously, each region was operated independently but this research compares the solutions from solving each region independently and solving all five zones simultaneously. The results indicate that the proposed solution method can achieve computation time and total cost that are comparable to ones obtained from solving the problem to optimality. Exact approach can only solve small and medium problems, whereas the proposed solution method provides the acceptable solution of real-life largest problem in limit of computation time. Finally, we perform sensitivity analysis on the results.


The catalyst reactivity and reusability for the lanthanide triflate-catalyzed three component synthesis of alpha-amino phosphonates have been examined in room temperature ionic liquids, [bmim][X], in which the catalytic activities were very dependent on the counter anion, X, as well as on the phosphorus nucleophile, and moreover, the catalyst immobilized in an ionic liquid was reused several times without any loss of activity.


The Ag/Si(110) system has been studied by RHEED-TRAXS (reflection high-energy electron diffraction-total reflection angle X-ray spectroscopy). The (9, 3)×(,3) and 5×4 structures were formed depending on the amount of Ag adsorption. When Ag adsorbed to 2.47 monolayers or more, Ag crystals grew epitaxially in the StransKi-Krastanov mode. A two-dimensional phase diagram was made for this system.


Gravitational waves provide us with a new window into our Universe, and have already been used to place strong constrains on the existence of light scalar fields, which are a common feature in many alternative theories of gravity. However, spin effects are still relatively unexplored in this context. In this work, we construct an effective point-particle action for a generic spinning body that can couple both conformally and disformally to a real scalar field, and we show that requiring the existence of a self-consistent solution automatically implies that if a scalar couples to the mass of a body, then it must also couple to its spin. We then use well-established effective field theory techniques to conduct a comprehensive study of spin-orbit effects in binary systems to leading order in the post-Newtonian (PN) expansion. Focusing on quasicircular nonprecessing binaries for simplicity, we systematically compute all key quantities, including the conservative potential, the orbital binding energy, the radiated power, and the gravitational-wave phase. We show that depending on how strongly each member of the binary couples to the scalar, the spin-orbit effects that are due to a conformal coupling first enter into the phase at either 0.5 PN or 1.5 PN order, while those that arise from a disformal coupling start at either 3.5 PN or 4.5 PN order. This suppression by additional PN orders notwithstanding, we find that the disformal spin-orbit terms can actually dominate over their conformal counterparts due to an enhancement by a large prefactor. Accordingly, our results suggest that upcoming gravitational-wave detectors could be sensitive to disformal spin-orbit effects in double neutron star binaries if at least one of the two bodies is sufficiently scalarised.


In this paper, a novel and simple method is employed to automatically construct domain knowledge base for query classification from large-scale Web pages. Besides, using context as the feature of words, the resource of relevant words is built automatically in order to extend the user's query. On the basis of domain knowledge base and extension of the query using relevant words, satisfactory performance in query classification is achieved. Experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves precision of 77.68% and recall of 75.34% in Chinese query classification. In English experiments, in spite of the scarcity of English Web pages and absence of stemming, precision achieves 58.83% and recall achieves 54.13%, which is a great improvement compared to state-of-the-art query classification algorithms.


We investigated if salt tolerance can be inferred from observable cues based on a woody species' native habitat and leaf traits. Such inferences could improve species selection for urban landscapes constrained by soils irrigated with reclaimed water. We studied the C3 tree species Acer grandidentatum Nutt. (canyon maple; xeric-non-saline habitat) that was hypothesized to have some degree of salt tolerance based on its semiarid but non-saline native habitat. We compared it with A. macrophyllum Pursh. (bigleaf maple) from mesic/riparian-non-saline habitats with much larger leaves and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. (eucalyptus/red gum) from mesic-saline habitats with schlero- phyllous evergreen leaves. Five levels of increasing salt concentrations (non-saline control to 12 dS·m L1 ) were applied over 5 weeks to container-grown seedling trees in two separate studies, one in summer and the other in fall. We monitored leaf damage, gas exchange, and hydric behavior as measures of tree performance for 3 weeks after target salinity levels were reached. Eucalyptus was the most salt-tolerant among the species. At allelevatedsalinitylevels,eucalyptusexcludedsaltfromitsrootzone,unlikeeithermaple species. Eucalyptus maintained intact, undamaged leaves with no effect on photosyn- thesis but with minor reductions in stomatal conductance (gS). Conversely, bigleaf maple suffered increasing leaf damage, nearly defoliated at the highest levels, with decreasing gas exchange as salt concentration increased. Canyon maple leaves were not damaged and gas exchange was minimally affected at 3 dS·m L1 but showed increasing damage at higher salt concentration. Salt-tolerant eucalyptus and riparian bigleaf maple framed canyon maple's moderate salt tolerance up to 3 dS·m L1 that appears related to seasonal soil drying in its semiarid native habitat. These results highlight the potential to infer a degree of salt tolerance from either native habitat or known drought tolerance in selecting plant species for urban landscapes limited by soil salinity or brackish irrigation water. Observable cues such as xeri-morphic leaf traits may also provide visual evidence of salt tolerance.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of this review was to assess what types of socioeconomic positions (SEP) are being considered in randomized controlled intervention studies and estimate the moderation of SEP in workplace intervention effects on body mass index (BMI), fruit and vegetable consumption, musculoskeletal symptoms, and job stress.

METHODS
A meta-analysis of randomized controlled workplace interventions was undertaken. Studies were classified by participants' SEP. The overall standardized mean difference (SMD) for each outcome was estimated with random-effects models. Additionally, a random-effects model with SEP as moderating variable was calculated in order to assess intervention effect modification (EM).

RESULTS
This review covers 36 studies. Altogether 40 reports of intervention effects were considered. The overall mean differences in the models, without SEP as moderating variable, were significant for all outcomes. BMI, self-reported musculoskeletal symptoms, and self-reported job stress decreased [SMD -0.16, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) -0.29- -0.02, SMD -0.32, 95% CI -0.51- -0.14, and SMD -0.37, 95% CI -0.71- -0.04, respectively], whereas daily consumption of fruit and vegetables increased (SMD 0.12, 95% CI 0.01-0.22). There were no statistically significant differences between occupational classes for the health outcomes considered (SMD -0.102, 95% CI -0.264-0.060, EM -0.141, 95% CI -0.406-0.125; SMD 0.117, 95% CI -0.049-0.282, EM 0.000, 95% CI -0.230-0.231; SMD -0.301, 95% CI -0.494- -0.107, EM -0.369, 95% CI -1.169-0.430; and SMD -0.200, 95% CI -0.524-0.124, EM -0.598, 95% CI -1.208-0.012, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Workplace interventions can achieve small positive effects on major health outcomes. We could not confirm whether these effects are moderated by occupational class.


A substantial quantity of research has explored whether readers' eye movements are sensitive to the distinction between function and content words. No clear answer has emerged, in part due to the difficulty of accounting for differences in length, frequency, and predictability between the words in the two classes. Based on evidence that readers differentially overlook function word errors, we hypothesized that function words may be more frequently skipped or may receive shorter fixations. We present two very large-scale eyetracking experiments using selected sentences from a corpus of natural text, with each sentence containing a target function or content word. The target words in the two classes were carefully matched on length, frequency, and predictability, with the latter variable operationalized in terms of next-word probability obtained from the large language model GPT-2. While the experiments replicated a range of expected effects, word class did not have any clear influence on target word skipping probability, and there was some evidence for a content word advantage in fixation duration measures. These results indicate that readers' tendency to overlook function word errors is not due to reduced time spent encoding these words. The results also broadly support the implicit assumption in prominent models of eye movement control in reading that a word's syntactic category does not play an important role in decisions about when and where to move the eyes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


Brian, a first-year international graduate student from China, presented in the first-quarter ESL class in a clear, well-organized manner, and exuded confidence while he spoke. By all measures, his presentation combined with the other academic work that he produced indicated that he was on the track to academic success. I came to realize that, as the instructor of the class, it was not entirely clear to me how the presentation skills learned in my class would transfer to other academic classes, and in which ways this class would contribute to the overall language development of my students. Additionally, I later found out in an interview with Brian that he was socially isolated and not integrating easily into the local culture. Studies have suggested that international students ought to make more native English speaking (NES) friends (see Liu 2011); however, there are other viable social strategies, as this study will show. Brian was just one of the approximately one hundred international graduate students that were enrolled in this ESL class. What were the students' social and academic experiences outside of this class? How were the academic writing and presentation skills that they learned in this class being applied in their other academic classes? These were some of the questions that drove this research project.There is a growing trend in American universities of recruiting and admitting an increasing number of international students, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. In fact, according to Open Doors (2012), there are over 700,000 international students in the United States, and about half of them are at the graduate level. At the university where the current research project was conducted, international students make up over 20% of the entire graduate student population, where in some fields, such as Statistics and Computer Science, the majority of graduate students are now international. The trend seems to show that STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math) tend to host the highest amount of international students, followed by social sciences, and lastly humanities, which attracts the fewest number of IGSs (Open Doors 2012). This means that the STEM fields have a distinctly high concentration of IGSs, many of which singularly come from China, which inevitably leads to an increase in opportunities to communicate in their first language (L1) and a decrease in incentive to communicate in English.The aim of this paper is to shed light on the choices that international graduate students make in terms of developing their social network, which in turn will provide insights regarding factors that influence language learning for this particular group of people. Particularly of importance are these early experiences, from which ultimately may account for not only the wellbeing of the student, but also the likelihood of academic success. I argue that while the social experience of the IGSs will have a great influence on their academic experience and success, it is not necessarily the case that more interactions with NESs is the optimal situation, as some of the literature has suggested.The research questions for the current study are as follows:1. How often are first year international graduate students using English in academic and social settings?2. What kinds of social networks do IGSs form?3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of social networks?LITERATURE REVIEWWhile there are numerous studies that examine the social and academic experiences of international undergraduate students, fewer are concerned with international graduate students. The studies that solely look at undergraduate international student issues may have implications for IGSs, but the lack of literature surrounding IGSs suggests that more research needs to be done for this growing population. Of those studies that focus on IGSs, many look at acculturative stress (Constantine, Okazaki, & Utsey, 2004; Lee, Koeske, & Sales, 2004; Mori, 2000; Sandhu & Asrabadi, 1994; Yeh & Inose, 2010), and come from a psychological/counseling perspective rather than a linguistic one. …


We used several case-findings methods and strict criteria for case ascertainment to diagnose parkinsonism and idiopathic Parkinson's disease(PD) in the Faroe Islands. In the last few years before the prevalence date of July 1, 1995, we searched various registries from pharmacies, hospitals, and general practices, and found 195 patients with suspected parkinsonism out of 43,709 inhabitants. After excluding those who died before the prevalence date or were treated with levodopa (LD) for other diseases, a total of 124 patients remained for study, of whom 122 participated. We found 102 patients with parkinsonism and 82 with PD versus the expected 53 (p < 0.001, age-specific prevalences in the county of Rogaland, Norway). The overall prevalence of PD was estimated to be 187.6 and the age-adjusted prevalence to be 183.3 versus 110.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in the county of Rogaland. Compared to the study from Rogaland, the mean age at onset of PD symptoms, the mean age at the prevalence date, and the duration of PD indicated that the higher prevalence was not due to either an early onset nor to a longer duration of PD. A lower proportion of definite PD, a lower mean score on the Hoehn-Yahr scale, and a lower average dose of LD suggest that the high prevalence may be due to early diagnosis and a higher ascertainment of cases with mild disease. However, a high incidence cannot be excluded.


Spreading a large file consisting of many packets over a mobile network is challenging due to the short meeting duration for each transmission. Moreover, two typical causes of inefficient file spreading are duplicate packet reception at the destination nodes and excessive overhead exchanges. We propose to employ fountain codes at the source node to jointly addresses the three issues: (i) each coded packet can be small enough to fit into the meeting duration; (ii) duplicate packet reception is significantly reduced since each coded packet is innovative; (iii) overhead is greatly saved by using file-level ACK instead of packet-level ACK. We conduct performance analysis in terms of the source-to-destination file delay and source-todestination file spreading time in both non-relaying and relaying scenarios. While packet duplication can be eliminated in the former scenario, there is still a non-trivial duplication probability if relaying is allowed. Therefore, we propose a FounTain-coded Two-hop Relaying (FTTR) protocol to further reduce the packet duplication ratio so that the spreading performance does not degrade with network size. The file spreading time and packet duplication ratio of FTTR are derived in closed form and verified through simulations.


In this paper, we present BAD, an application-level multicast infrastructure. BAD is designed to improve the performance of multicast dissemination trees, under both a static and a dynamic environment, where the effective bandwidth of the network links changes with time. Its main goal is to improve the data rate that end users perceive during a multicast operation. BAD can be used for the creation and management of multicast groups. It can be deployed over any DHT retaining its fundamental advantages of bandwidth improvement. BAD consists of a suit of algorithms for node joins/leaves, bandwidth distribution to heterogeneous nodes, tree rearrangement and reduction of overhead. We have implemented BAD within the FreePastry system. We report on the results of a detailed performance evaluation which testifies for BAD's efficiency and low overhead. Specifically, our experiments show that the improvement on the minimum bandwidth ranges from 40% to 1400% and the improvement on the average bandwidth ranges from 60% to 250%.


To what degree could chaos and complexity have organized a Peptide or RNA World of crude yet necessarily integrated protometabolism? How far could such protolife evolve in the absence of a heritable linear digital symbol system that could mutate, instruct, regulate, optimize and maintain metabolic homeostasis? To address these questions, chaos, complexity, self-ordered states, and organization must all be carefully defined and distinguished. In addition their cause-and-effect relationships and mechanisms of action must be delineated. Are there any formal (non physical, abstract, conceptual, algorithmic) components to chaos, complexity, self-ordering and organization, or are they entirely physicodynamic (physical, mass/energy interaction alone)? Chaos and complexity can produce some fascinating self-ordered phenomena. But can spontaneous chaos and complexity steer events and processes toward pragmatic benefit, select function over non function, optimize algorithms, integrate circuits, produce computational halting, organize processes into formal systems, control and regulate existing systems toward greater efficiency? The question is pursued of whether there might be some yet-to-be discovered new law of biology that will elucidate the derivation of prescriptive information and control. "System" will be rigorously defined. Can a low-informational rapid succession of Prigogine's dissipative structures self-order into bona fide organization?


An efficient implementation of Generalized Predictive Control using a multi-layer feedforward neural network as the plant''s nonlinear model is presented. In using Newton-Raphson as the optimization algorithm, the number of iterations needed for convergence is significantly reduced from other techniques. The main cost of the Newton-Raphson algorithm is in the calculation of the Hessian, but even with this overhead the low iteration numbers make Newton-Raphson faster than other techniques and a viable algorithm for real-time control. This paper presents a detailed derivation of the Neural Generalized Predictive Control algorithm with Newton-Raphson as the minimization algorithm. Simulation results show convergence to a good solution within two iterations and timing data show that real-time control is possible. Comments about the algorithm''s implementation are also included.


BACKGROUND
In blunt trauma, orthopedic injuries are often associated with cerebral and torso injuries. The optimal timing for definitive care is a concern. The aim of the study was to develop evidence-based guidelines for damage-control orthopedic (DCO) and early total care (ETC) of pelvic and long-bone fractures, closed or open, and mangled extremities in adult trauma patients with and without associated injuries.

METHODS
The literature since 2000 to 2016 was systematically screened according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-analyses protocol. One hundred twenty-four articles were reviewed by a panel of experts to assign grade of recommendation and level of evidence using the Grading of recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system, and an International Consensus Conference, endorsed by several scientific societies was held.

RESULTS
The choice between DCO and ETC depends on the patient's physiology, as well as associated injuries. In hemodynamically unstable pelvic fracture patient, extraperitoneal pelvic packing, angioembolization, external fixation, C-clamp, and resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta are not mutually exclusive. Definitive reconstruction should be deferred until recovery of physiological stability. In long bone fractures, DCO is performed by external fixation, while ETC should be preferred in fully resuscitated patients because of better outcomes. In open fractures early debridement within 24 hours should be recommended and early closure of most grade I, II, IIIa performed. In mangled extremities, limb salvage should be considered for non-life-threatening injuries, mostly of upper limb.

CONCLUSION
Orthopedic priorities may be: to save a life: control hemorrhage by stabilizing the pelvis and femur fractures; to save a limb: treat soft tissue and vascular injuries associated with fractures, stabilize fractures, recognize, and prevent compartmental syndrome; to save functionality: treat dislocations, articular fractures, distal fractures. While DCO is the best initial treatment to reduce surgical load, ETC should be applied in stable or stabilized patients to accelerate the recovery of normal functions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Systematic review of predominantly level II studies, level II.


Clonal selection algorithm is an algorithm that belongs to the class of immune algorithm inspired form clonal selection principle of biological immune system. Initially clonal selection algorithm was designed for machine learning approach and was used in pattern recognition process of artificial intelligence. The other implementation of clonal selection algorithm is in the field of function optimization, which had gained a tremendous attention of the researchers. We too had used the clonal selection algorithm for the software test data generation technique for branch coverage with some modification according to the requirement.


Purpose : The main aim of this study was to determine the attitude towards the use of SNSs for trip organisation and its precursors. Problem investigated: Tourism organisations and destination policy makers need to understand factors that influence tourist use of SNSs for trip organisation in order for them to be able to effectively utilise SNSs. Methodology : The methodological approach followed was exploratory and quantitative in nature. Data were collected from a total of 340 respondents using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling through the use of Partial Least Squares was for data analysis. Findings and implications : The results show that attitude towards the use of SNSs for trip organisation is affected by perceived benefits, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, with perceived usefulness having the greatest influence. The implication is that managers of tourism organisations need to ensure that their sites are informative, easy to use and able to safeguard users' online privacy if they are to attract more and loyal users to their sites. Value of the research : Very little research in the South African context exists with specific reference to how SNSs are being utilised for trip organisation. This article contributes by unravelling factors that influence the use of SNSs for trip organisation. Conclusion : Perceived usefulness measured by functional benefits and social benefits is the key factor that influences attitude towards the use of SNSs for trip organisation. It is the responsibility of destination marketers to provide all the necessary or valuable information on their SNS accounts, in order to encourage travellers to use SNSs


Background Interleukin (IL)-15 is a proinflammatory cytokine that is overexpressed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Overproduction of IL-15 is generally considered to induce T cell activation and proliferation, possibly contributing to the pathogenesis of RA. Recently, genetic variants in IL-15 were reported to be associated with progression of joint destruction in RA in a European multi-cohort study.1 Thus far, some variants among the genetic predisposition factors identified in past reports have been found to be limited to particular ethnic groups, revealing the presence of genetic heterogeneity in RA. We investigated these associations in Japanese RA patients. Objectives The purpose of this study is to explore the association between genetic variants in IL-15 and progression of joint destruction in Japanese RA patients. Methods We studied 865 RA patients of whom Sharp/van der Heijde scores (SHS) of the hands were available at a disease duration of 5 years. DNA samples of the subjects were obtained from the IORRA (Institute of Rheumatology Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort study) DNA collection. IORRA is a project of a large-scale observational RA cohort. All of the patients who donated DNA samples consented to participate in this study in accordance with the process approved by the Tokyo Women's Medical University Genome Ethics Committee. All of the patients satisfied the American College of Rheumatology 1987 revised criteria for the classification of RA. Two of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reported by Knevel R, et al.1 were selected: rs6821171 and rs7667746. The other SNPs were not polymorphic in the Japanese population. We genotyped rs6821171 and rs1521761 in absolute linkage disequilibrium with rs7667746, r2 = 1 in the Japanese population. Genotyping of SNPs was performed using the TaqMan fluorogenic 5' nuclease assay (Applied Biosystems, Tokyo, Japan). Univariate regression analyses was performed for radiographic progression during the first 5 years after onset of RA and calculated as SHS of hands at the 5-year disease duration. For all statistical analyses, SHS were log-transformed to obtain a normal distribution. Results Univariate linear regression analyses showed that neither of the SNPs were associated with progression of joint destruction in Japanese RA patients. Conclusions No association was found between genetic variants in IL-15 and progression of joint destruction in Japanese RA patients. These results indicate the presence of IL-15 genetic heterogeneity among different ethnic populations. References Knevel R, et al. Genetic variants in IL15 associate with progression of joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis: a multicohort study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2012 Oct; 71(10): 1651-7. Disclosure of Interest S. Yoshida: None Declared, K. Ikari Speakers bureau: Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., Eisai Co. Ltd., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. Japan, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Y. Toyama: None Declared, A. Taniguchi: None Declared, H. Yamanaka Grant/research support from: The IORRA cohort was supported by non-restricted research grants from following companies; Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Asahikasei Kuraray Medical Co. Ltd., Asahikasei Pharma Corporation, Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Daiichi Fine Chemical Co. Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd., Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., Dentsu, Sudler & Hennessey Inc., Eisai Co. Ltd., GlaxoSmithKline K.K., Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. Japan, Tobacco Inc., Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Kowa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Maruho Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Chemical Medience Corporation, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., MSD K.K., Mundipharma K.K., Nippon Chemiphar Co. Ltd., Nippon Shinyaku Co. Ltd., Novartis Pharma K.K., Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Pfizer Japan Inc., Sanofi-Aventis K.K., Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co. Ltd., Sekisui Medical Co. Ltd., Shionogi Co. Ltd., Taishotoyama Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Teijin Pharma Limited, Torii Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., UCB Japan Co. Ltd., ZERIA Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Speakers bureau: Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., AstraZeneca K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Eisai Co. Ltd., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. Japan, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Pfizer Japan Inc., Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Teijin Pharma Limited, UCB Japan Co. Ltd., S. Momohara: None Declared


The article presents the results of the All-Russian sociological study of academic and sociocultural adaptation of students in Russian universities. The purpose of the article was to identify and interpret the problems of students' adaptation to the educational process, research activities, project training, sociocultural environment of the university. The subject of the study was the selfassessment of the adaptability of junior students, as well as the factors influencing it. The novelty of the research consists in a comprehensive consideration of students' adaptation to key activities at the university, including a new type of project activity. The empirical study was implemented through a massive online survey of students in May-July 2022. The respondents were first and second-year students enrolled in bachelor's and full-time specialty programs in various areas of training. The total volume of the sample was 15,902 people, the maximum sampling error didn't exceed 1%.Based on empirical data, the article shows the main problems of students' adaptation to learning, namely, a significant amount of new information, the pace of the educational process, the format of practical classes and coursework that require more independence and activity than in school education. The authors reveal the connection between the level of students' educational activity and initiative and the degree of their integration into the university community. The negative trend of decreasing student activity in the research field compared to the school period of study , as well as the preservation of a high proportion of those who are prone to academic fraud due to the lack of adaptive resources, is shown. It is concluded that the adaptation of students to project activities is complicated by their unwillingness to responsibility and independence, an attitude towards individualism and autonomy, an insufficiently high level of professional culture and professional knowledge, which is at odds with the expectations of project customers. At the same time, positive effects have been recorded in the field of sociocultural adaptation of nonresident and foreign students. Getting used to the specifics of Russian culture, the academic environment, and the new urban society occurs without much difficulty. The conclusion is made about the effectiveness of university programs of adaptation and support of foreign students and students with disabilities, reasoned by the absence of significant differences in adaptation problems in all groups of students.


Most ad hoc networks do not implement any network access control, leaving these networks vulnerable to packet injection attacks where a malicious node injects a large number of packets into the network with the goal of depleting the resources of the nodes relaying the packets. To prevent such attacks, it is necessary to employ authentication mechanisms that ensure that only authorized nodes can inject traffic into the network. We design a Lightweight Inter-layer Protocol (LIP) for network access control based on efficient local broadcast authentication mechanisms. In addition to preventing attacks by unauthorized nodes, LIP can also detect and minimize the impersonation attacks by compromised insider nodes. Through detailed simulation study, we show that LIP incurs small bandwidth overhead and has little impact on the traffic delivery ratio even in the case of high node mobility. Moreover, the transparency and independence properties of LIP allows it to be turned on/off as desired and to be integrated seamlessly with secure routing protocols, providing stronger security services for ad hoc networks.


Histopathological changes and energy charge of the canine brain under the experimental obstructive jaundice were investigated. The common bile duct was ligated in group A (n = 25), and biliary decompression was carried out in group B after the duration of the obstructive jaundice, (n = 11). The results were as follows. 1) Simple atrophy, pyknosis, neuronophagia, and ghost cell were observed in nerve cells. 2) The changes of nerve cells appeared after 7 days of the obstructive jaundice at the basal ganglia, putamen and red nucleus. After 13 days of the obstructive jaundice, they spread widely to the thalamus, cerebral cortex and substantia nigra. 3) According to decreasing ratio of serum bilirubin concentration, B group was classified into 4 groups. Poorly decompressed groups III and IV showed severe histological changes than fairy decompressed groups I and II. 4) Energy charge of the substantia nigra after 7 days of the obstructive jaundice decreased to 0.65 comparing with 0.77 of control group. The results indicate that obstructive jaundice should be decompressed as early as possible.


The bacterial genus Providencia is Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens, which have been isolated from a variety of environments and organisms, ranging from humans to animals. Providencia alcalifaciens, Providencia rettgeri, and Providencia stuartii are the most common clinical isolates, however, these three species differ in their pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance and environmental adaptation. Genomes of 91 isolates of the genus Providencia were investigated to clarify their genetic diversity, focusing on virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes, and environmental adaptation genes. Our study revealed an open pan-genome for the genus Providencia containing 14,720 gene families. Species of the genus Providencia exhibited different functional constraints, with the core genes, accessory genes, and unique genes. A maximum-likelihood phylogeny reconstructed with concatenated single-copy core genes classified all Providencia isolates into 11 distant groups. Comprehensive and systematic comparative genomic analyses revealed that specific distributions of virulence genes, which were highly homologous to virulence genes of the genus Proteus, contributed to diversity in pathogenicity of Providencia alcalifaciens, Providencia rettgeri, and Providencia stuartii. Furthermore, multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotypes of isolates of Providencia rettgeri and Providencia stuartii were predominantly due to resistance genes from class 1 and 2 integrons. In addition, Providencia rettgeri and Providencia stuartii harbored more genes related to material transport and energy metabolism, which conferred a stronger ability to adapt to diverse environments. Overall, our study provided valuable insights into the genetic diversity and functional features of the genus Providencia, and revealed genetic mechanisms underlying diversity in pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance and environmental adaptation of members of this genus.


Since the early 1990s, the UK occupational health community has attempted to minimise the use of the term 'work-related' in the context of upper limb disorders (ULDs). Whilst acknowledging that symptoms can be caused, or made worse, by work, the tautology of the term has been thought unhelpful, particularly when carrying out epidemiological research. Our system of compensation for work-related injuries or diseases is called the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Prescription is based upon recommendations from the independent Industrial Injuries Advisory Council. Currently, the only ULDs which are 'prescribed' are: task specific focal dystonia of the hand or forearm (writer's cramp); subcutaneous cellulitis of the hand; bursitis or subcutaneous cellulitis arising at or about the elbow due to severe or prolonged external friction or pressure at or about the elbow; tenosynovitis; vibration white finger; carpal tunnel syndrome and Dupuyten's contracture legislation is just passing through Parliament. These are however only prescribed in relation to strictly defined occupational exposures and awarded after consideration of the disablement caused. The case definitions and exposure assessment will be presented in detail. Our group developed the Southampton examination proforma for epidemiological research into ULDs based upon the Harrington criteria in the late 1990s. The published validation of this proforma was used extensively in developing the Sluiter assessment criteria. Some of these data will also be shared.


Pricing options quickly and accurately is a well known problem in finance. Quantum computing is being researched with the hope that quantum computers will be able to price options more efficiently than classical computers. This research extends the quantum binomial option pricing model proposed by Zeqian Chen to European put options and to Barrier options and develops a quantum algorithm to price them. This research produced three key results. First, when Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics are assumed, the quantum binomial model option prices are equivalent to the classical binomial model. Second, options can be priced efficiently on a quantum computer after the circuit has been built. The time complexity is O((N−τ) log2(N−τ)) and it is in the BQP quantum computational complexity class. Finally, challenges extending the quantum binomial model to American, Asian and Bermudan options exist as the quantum binomial model does not take early exercise into account.


To assist in the development of engine vibration isolation techniques for new transverse front wheel drive vehicles, simulations of engine and vehicle structural response were developed. A simulation of engine vibration response to engine imbalance forces and firing pulses is presented which provided mount forces as input to a vehicle structure simulation. Current design techniques using properties of engine rigid body motion are discussed. Simulation predictions of engine modal characteristics and response correlate well with laboratory measurements of engine motion and mount forces. These results show that connections other than engine mounts between engine and vehicle structure such as hoses, drivetrain, and exhaust system are important vibration transmission paths.


Eclipse is an integrated project support environment (IPSE) whose purpose is to support the development of software systems from the specification stage through to their operation and maintenance. It is being developed by a consortium of universities and companies with funding from the UK Science and Engineering Research Council and the national Alvey programme. Eclipse is a distributed IPSE using high-powered workstations and both local and wide area networks. This paper presents an overview of the Eclipse project and a more detailed description of Eclipse's distributed architecture.


The mechanism of T cell receptor signaling is unclear. Included among models for TCR signaling is ligand-induced oligomerization in a fashion analogous to other cell surface receptors. Published kinetic, saturation binding, and light scattering experiments have been interpreted to suggest a propensity for soluble alpha beta TCR/peptide/MHC ectodomain complexes to oligomerize. Upon performing these experiments with soluble ectodomains of human class I and class II restricted alpha beta TCRs, we find no evidence for dimerization or oligomerization of complexes. Apparently, oligomerization in solution to a detectable extent is not a general property of soluble alpha beta TCRs or their complexes with ligand. Our results suggest that membrane-anchored, fully assembled TCRs should be studied to determine the role oligomerization plays in T cell signaling.


We compared the glucose-lowering effect of proinsulin, the precursor molecule of insulin, with that of insulin itself. In patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in whom proinsulin (0.2 U per kilogram of body weight) was subcutaneously injected at 9 a.m., fasting glucose levels (247 +/- 22 mg per deciliter [+/- SEM]) became normal within six hours and elevated rates of hepatic glucose output were lowered. The response to regular insulin (0.2 U per kilogram) was of similar magnitude but faster. Glucose clearance was stimulated less by proinsulin, reflecting its preferential action in suppressing glucose output. Hypoglycemia occurred in five of nine insulin-treated patients, but in only one of nine proinsulin-treated patients. After proinsulin injection at bedtime (30.5 +/- 4 U), serum proinsulin concentrations reached a peak by five hours and declined gradually thereafter. Fasting hepatic glucose output became normal, and euglycemia was sustained without overnight hypoglycemia. Proinsulin reduced plasma glucose more effectively than an equal unit dosage of NPH insulin, but since higher doses of NPH insulin were not used, no conclusions could be drawn about the relative desirability of these preparations for clinical use. We conclude that subcutaneously injected proinsulin has prolonged pharmacokinetics in plasma and can normalize plasma glucose in NIDDM characterized by severe hyperglycemia; as compared with the hypoglycemic effects of regular insulin, those of proinsulin are mostly due to suppression of hepatic glucose output, with little stimulation of glucose disposal and less hypoglycemia; and proinsulin may have a role in the treatment of NIDDM.


Plasma amino acids were determined before and after orally administered alanine loads in five women using an estrogen-containing oral contraceptive and four healthy female controls. Oral contraceptive users and significant reductions in fasting plasma valine, methionine, isoleucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, histidine, glutamic acid, and alpha-aminobutyric acid. With the exception of alpha-aminobutyric acid, these differences between the two groups were eliminated within 3 hr of alanine ingestion. This effect was due to a gradual increase in the plasma amino acids of the oral contraceptive-treated women, plus no change or slight reductions in the controls.


To understand the sulfur recovery behavior during regeneration of SO2-adsorbed sorbents in NH3, the reactions of SO2−NH3−H2O in the absence of O2 are studied in a temperature range of 10−80 °C and feed NH3/SO2 molar ratios of 1−3. The solid products are analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis, the element analysis, and the wet chemical analysis. The results show that the reactions are very fast and the products are mixtures of various types of ammonium−sulfites with (NH4)2SO3 as the main component. A lower temperature, a greater NH3/SO2 molar ratio, and a higher water vapor content favor the SO2 conversion to the sulfites. The amount of the sulfites collected and their composition are correlated to temperature and the feed NH3/SO2 molar ratios.


The study was undertaken to evaluate the implementation of ICT to support learning, teaching, school administration and use of E-communication between cooperating rural secondary schools in Western Kenya under the Rotary project, Forssa Rotary Club of Finland District 1410. The study was conducted in two selected rural schools namely: Anin secondary school (Keiyo County) and Cheplaskei secondary school (Uasin-Gishu County) under a Finnish project "Enabling rural Western Kenyan schools to exploit information technology" funded by the Suomen Rotaryn between May 2007-December 2009. A case study research design was adopted for this study where interviews, observation and open-ended questionnaires including document analysis were used to collect qualitative data. The respondents interviewed in each school were mainly head teachers, ICT instructors, ICT technicians, teachers (4), students (7), and Board of Governors (BOG) and Parents Teachers Association (PTA) members (2).The findings indicate that largely the initial objectives of the project had been realized. Teachers, students and the school administrators were now using computers to access educational resource material from the Internet, prepare and process examination results, manage, monitor and process financial reports, and communicate using email. There was also evidence that quality of teaching, learning and students' level of interaction, reasoning, recall, synthesis and evaluation had improved tremendously. School discipline and student sense of self-esteem and pride had significantly been enhanced.


We measured submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) for the first time in Antarctica, at Lützow‐Holm Bay, using a newly developed automated seepage meter. Measured SGD rates ranged from 10−8 to 10−6 m s−1 are substantially greater than previously observed discharge rates at similar depth. The obtained SGD rates are accurate to within 3%–5%. Using a fast Fourier transform, we found that variations in the power spectrum density had a predominant period of 12.8 h, similar to that of the M2 tide, with peak values differing from average SGD rates by a factor of three. The high SGD rates obtained at the Antarctic marginal ice zone may reflect the contribution of significant volumes of subglacial meltwater from the rugged subglacial mountains located about 20 km inland from the coast. We discuss a possible mechanism of meltwater discharge to this coastal region.


A 79-year-old woman had a sudden onset severe headache and became somnolent. On the first day in the hospital, diagnostic cerebral angiography revealed a small broad-necked basilar tip aneurysm with a bleb near the neck. Due to the unfavorable configuration of aneurysm, we decided to use a Y-configured stent with a double microcatheter technique. Although procedural rupture on the bleb near the neck occurred, perioperative neurological state was not changed and her clinical course was uneventful. Because of the stent, complete packing of the aneurysm was possible, hemodynamic stress at the inflow area was reduced and consequently the chance of rebleeding may decrease. Stenting with a double microcatheter technique can be an effective treatment for highly complex intracranial aneurysms.


The efficacy of keto acids and essential amino acids on a two-year-old female dog, Labrador, suffering from Leishmaniasis and acute renal failure was evaluated by clinical and laboratorial analyses based on urea and creatinine dosages. An improving in the animal general condition and an increasing in the appetite, activity and weight gain, were observed and favorably contributed to the treatment of the primary disease. Ketoanalogueswere oraly administered during 76 days and the levels of urea and creatinine remained within acceptable limits, even after this period of time. Ketoanaloguescontributed positively for the treatment of acute renal failure and appears to be an important alternative for the leishmaniasis treatment.


Some scholars have presented models of the United States as a set of "nations" with distinct settlement histories and contemporary cultures. We examined personality differences in one such model, that of Colin Woodard, using data from over 75,000 respondents. Four nations were particularly distinct: The Deep South, Left Coast, New Netherland, and the Spanish Caribbean. Differences between nations at the level of the individual person were typically small, but were larger at the level of community, revealing how aggregation can contribute to differences in the lived experience of places in nations such as Yankeedom or Greater Appalachia. We represented effects in a three-dimensional model defined by Authoritarian conventionalism (which differentiated 'Red' and 'Blue' nations) as well as Cognitive resilience and Competitiveness (which differentiated among the Blue nations). Finally, we adjusted Woodard's model to better fit the data, and found that nations largely maintained their boundaries, with the most drastic changes occurring on the East Coast.


Watershed analyses of nutrient removal in riparian buffers have been limited by the geographic methods used to map buffers and by the statistical models used to test and quantify buffer effects on stream nutrient levels. We combined geographic methods that account for buffer prevalence along flow paths connecting croplands to streams with improved statistical models to test for buffer effects on stream nitrate concentrations from 321 tributary watersheds to the Chesapeake Bay, USA. We developed statistical models that predict stream nitrate concentration from watershed land cover and physiographic province. We used information theoretic methods (AIC(c)) to compare models with and without buffer terms, and we demonstrate that models accounting for riparian buffers better explain stream nitrate concentrations than models using only land cover proportions. We analyzed the buffer model parameters to quantify differences within and among physiographic provinces in the potentials for nitrate loss from croplands and nitrate removal in buffers. On average, buffers in Coastal Plain study watersheds had a higher relative nitrate removal potential (95% of the inputs from cropland) than Piedmont buffers (35% of inputs). Buffers in Appalachian Mountain study watersheds were intermediate (retaining 39% of cropland inputs), but that percentage was uncertain. The absolute potential to reduce nitrate concentration was highest in the Piedmont study watersheds because of higher nitrate inputs from cropland. Model predictions for the study watersheds provided estimates of nitrate removals achieved with the existing cropland and buffer distributions. Compared to expected nitrate concentrations if buffers were removed, current buffers reduced average nitrate concentrations by 0.73 mg N/L (50% of their inputs from cropland) in the Coastal Plain study watersheds, 0.40 mg N/L (11%) in the Piedmont, and 0.08 mg N/L (5%) in the Appalachian Mountains. Restoration to close all buffer gaps downhill from croplands would further reduce nitrate concentrations by 0.66 mg N/L, 0.83 mg N/L, and 0.51 mg N/L, respectively, in the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Appalachian Mountain study watersheds. Aggregate nitrate removal by riparian buffers was less than suggested by many studies of field-to-stream transects, but buffer nitrate removal is significant, and restoration could achieve substantial additional removal.


This article explored the protective effects of zinc supplementation on diabetic liver injury and studied the underlying mechanisms that zinc supplementation reduced ER stress and autophagy in diabetic liver. Type 2 diabetes mellitus-like Wistar rat models were intragastrically administrated with ZnSO4 15 mg/kg daily for 53 days. Liver changes were examined by biochemical assay of serum, histopathological assay, immunohistochemical assay, radioimmunoassay and Western blotting. In results, compared with diabetes model control, zinc supplementation reduced the lipid peroxidation MDA levels, and enhanced the anti-oxidation T-AOC levels (P<0.05). H&E staining showed that pathological changes in diabetic liver were improved by zinc supplementation. Zinc supplementation enhanced MT protein expression in diabetic liver. In immunohistochemical assay, the amount of p-Akt positive cells was apparently increased, and the amount of LC3-II positive cells were lowered. Western blots of autophagy-associated LC3-II protein and endoplasmic reticulum(ER) stress-associated GRP78 proteins were lowered following a long-term zinc supplementation. In conclusion, zinc supplementation enhanced MT protein synthesis and Akt/PKB phosphorylation, which relieve GRP78-linked ER stress and LC3-II-linked autophagy. Zinc supplementation improved liver conditions in T2DM rat models through multiple pathways, in which GRP78-linked ER stress and LC3-II-linked autophagy are ameliorated to some degree. This finding is conducive to understanding the mechanisms that zinc supplementation prevent diabetic liver injury.


Numerous fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods for buildings have been developed but many faults are still undetectable. There are also several crowdsourcing applications developed to collect building occupants' input. However, there is no solid framework enabling building operators to make the most of the collected data and directly integrate it into FDD. To end this, a framework is proposed to transform occupant feedback into insightful technical contextual information, which supports building operators to make more informed decisions. According to the spread (e.g., multiple on a floor or zone) of problems and their severity computed from sensor readings, local and/or central rulesets are used. Through this framework, the data collected by crowdsourcing occupants' feedback applications are used more effectively for FDD purposes. The advantages of this framework are demonstrated through occupants' feedback and measured data extracted from maintenance management and building automation systems, respectively, for an academic office building in Ottawa, Canada.


Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how knee compression affected kinetic variables during vertical jumps. Ten healthy males, age 20s, performed a single maximum vertical jump and a ten-consecutive vertical jump trial without knee compression (control condition) and with knee compression. The collected data of ground reaction force were used to analyse the vertical jump height (VJH), peak active force (PAF), decay rate (DR), peak passive force (PPF), loading rate (LR), and the coefficient of variation (CV). During a maximum vertical jump, knee compression increased the magnitudes of DR, PAF, and VJH by 19.8%, 3.41%, and 4.87%, respectively, compared to those under a control condition. During ten consecutive vertical jumps, PAF and VJH showed statistically significant difference according to the repetition count. Also, the mean and CV of PAF, DR, LR, and VJH over consecutive jumps were higher in magnitude under knee compression condition than under the control condition.


Generally, electromagnet equipment such as an electric transformer is designed with the air gap as narrow as possible for assuming that the magnetic flux in the air gap does not spread. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the magnetic flux density in the air gap of the electromagnet using the magnetic circuit theorem. However, some equipment requires a wide air gap to use the spatial magnetic field. In this case, the magnetic circuit theorem cannot design the electromagnet because of the spread of magnetic flux in the air gap. Then, it becomes difficult to estimate the magnetic reluctance of the wide air gap. Therefore, it is difficult to formulate the center magnetic flux density in the wide air gap. In this work, the authors assume that the wide air gap of the electromagnet can be assembled by an infinite length solenoid with the reverse magnetomotive force finite length solenoid. In this model, the magnetic flux density in the wide air gap can be formulated using the magnetic circuit and the Biot–Savart law. The proposed model was tested in comparison to the experimental results of test electromagnets. The result shows that the proposed model can be used in the engineering design of electromagnets with a wide air gap.


This purpose of this study was to reveal the emergence of alphabetic writing stage of the expressive drawings of the children aged 5-6 years in Early Childhood Education Services Post in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. The study, conducted October 2013, employed quantitative method using survei techniques. The participant of this research involved 75 children ranged from the ages of 5 years 0 month to 6 years. Data were collected by using structured interview guides and analyzed with percentage technique. The findings show that the emergence of alphabetic writing stage when the children are able to write letters and their own names appears at the age of 5 years 0 month. The emergence of writing integrated letters to form a word, phoneme writing, and word writing appears at the age of 5 years 1 month. The emergence writing short sentence appears as from the ages of 5 years 7 months to 6 years, while the emergence of writing story writing appears as from the ages of 5 years 10 months to 6 years. The findings have implication to the parents and teachers in identifying the development of the children's writing ability.


The purpose of this research was to describe the increase in description essay writing skills of the IV grade students through Example Non Example models at the 41 Kayu Jao Elementary School Solok District. The theory used in this research is writing theory stated by Mulyati (2014:2.24), and the Example Non Example models stated by Shoimin (2014:73). The type of this research was a class action research, which the subject is the IV grade students of 41 Kayu Jao Elementary School Solok District, totaling 13 students. The research was conducted in the second semester of the 2015/2016 academic year. The research instrument used was a teacher activity observation sheet, student writing test research sheet. The implementation of Indonesian lerning through Example Non Example models of the IV grade students went well. Based on the research, the results of the tes writing on the I cycle is 46,15% with an average 68,53, increase in the II cycle into 84,61% with an average 78,15. This means learning Indonesian through Example Non Example can improve the writing skills of the grade students of 41 Kayu Jao Elementary School Solok District. Based on the research, can be concluded that the Example Non Example models can improve the writing skills of the IV grade students of 41 Kayu Jao Elementary School Solok District. Keywords: Increase, Essay Description, Example Non Example model, Indonesian.


We developed a new experimental technique named magnetophoretic velocimetry to determine a small amount of paramagnetic species in a single microdroplet. The magnetophoretic velocity of an aqueous droplet containing paramagnetic metal ion dispersed in an organic medium could response to a very small amount of the metal ion under an inhomogeneous magnetic field. The paramagnetic droplet (2 approximately 8 microm diam) used as a test sample in this study was the aqueous droplet of manganese(II) chloride dispersed in ethylbenzoate whose density was nearly equal to water. A pair of small Nd-Fe-B magnets placed with a gap of 400 microm generated an inhomogeneous magnetic field between the edges, at which the product of the magnetic flux density and the gradient, B(dB/dx), was as high as 410 T2 m(-1). When a silica capillary containing the emulsion was inserted into the gap between the magnets, the magnetophoretic migration of the droplets was observed with a video microscope. The magnetophoretic velocity divided by the squared radius of the droplet was proportional to the MnCl2 concentration in the droplet, as predicted by a theoretical calculation. The estimated detection limit in this simple method was lower than 10(-16) mol for manganese(II).


The frictional behavior of stamping process is a function of interface parameters such as sheet and tool material, lubricant, surface roughness, contact pressure, sliding speed etc. Among these parameters the thing that can be controlled by a steel maker is the surface roughness of sheet. In this study, effects of surface roughness on the frictional behavior of steel sheet for automotive were investigated to find out the way to improve the frictional characteristics of steel sheet. The cold rolled steel sheets with various surface roughnesses were prepared for the test. The flat type friction test was conducted with different lubricant conditions. The surface roughness effect on frictional behavior depends on the viscosity of lubricant. The frictional characteristic of steel sheet was influenced by the amplitude of roughness as well as the shape of that.


Oil palm (Elaeis spp.) is one of the world's most rapidly
expanding crops. Especially prevalent in Malaysia and Indonesia, oil-palm plantations are also increasing rapidly
across tropical regions as diverse as New Guinea, Equatorial
Africa, Central America, and the Amazon (Butler & Laurance 2009; Koh & Wilcove 2009). Oil palm is an important driver of tropical deforestation, in part, because plantation owners often use timber revenues from old-growth forests to subsidize the initial costs of plantation establishment and maintenance (Fitzherbert et al. 2008). Expansion of oil palm imperils both lowland rainforests and peat-swamp forests, which are, respectively, among the biologically richest and most carbon-dense ecosystems on Earth (Butler & Laurance 2009; Koh et al. 2009a). The rapid expansion of oil palm seems likely to continue for many years because of its high profitability and the growing global demands for edible oils and biofuel feedstocks. Proponents of palm oil emphasize that its main alternatives, including soy, sunflower, and canola (rapeseed) oils, have production efficiencies just 10–20% as high as palm oil on a per-hectare basis and would therefore require much larger areas of cultivated land to have a similar benefit (Basiron 2009). Nevertheless, from climate-change and biodiversity perspectives, the advantages of palm-oil production are greatly diminished when it contributes either directly or indirectly to deforestation (Gibbs et al. 2008; Danielsen et al. 2009).

Growing concerns about the environmental impacts of palm oil helped initiate the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a nonprofit, industry-led trade organization whose stated mission is to "provide RSPO-certified palm oil to the market in a clear and transparent manner" and to "promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil" (www.rspo.org/What_is_RSPO@.aspx). As implied by the word roundtable, the RSPO professes to advocate a balanced, multistakeholder approach, with considerable emphasis on environmental sustainability. According to the RSPO, this is evidenced by the fact that four of the 16 members of its executive board are from conservation or social-developmental organizations. The RSPO also takes pains to draw a distinction between itself and industry-advocacy groups, such as the Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, by emphasizing its efforts to improve the industry's sustainability and transparency (V. Rao, personal communication). The RSPO has considerable potential to improve the environmental performance of producers and users of palm oil. Although established only in 2004, it is strategically positioned within the palm-oil industry and is particularly influential in Malaysia. The growing membership of RSPO already accounts for approximately 35% of the global production of palm oil, although only about one tenth
of this oil is currently certified as sustainable (RSPO
2008). To define sustainability in the oil-palm sector, the
RSPO has developed 39 sustainability criteria, organized
under eight general principles, which are designed to limit environmental impacts of growing and processing palm oil. These criteria focus on issues, such as reducing herbicide impacts, air pollution, and losses of biodiversity as well as on social and legal concerns (RSPO 2006). Nevertheless, some environmental organizations have repeatedly criticized the RSPO and its members, particularly for enabling tropical deforestation and atmospheric carbon emissions under the guise of stated, but unfulfilled, sustainability criteria (e.g., Down to Earth 2004; Greenpeace 2008; Maitar 2009). Here, we critique the RSPO from an environmental perspective and identify some specific ways it can become more effective in reducing threats to tropical ecosystems.


This paper examines the development of the element of fraudulence in larceny and its recasting as dishonesty in modern theft offences. It examines the diverging approaches in England, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and attempts to explain the implications of the various approaches. It suggests that historical debates over the term arose because of the lack of clarity in early decisions, and that those debates continue today. Consequently, the principled basis for dishonesty as a legal term remains fundamentally unclear and discussion of the term requires further consideration.