Despite the increasing importance of water conservation across the world, there is very little understanding about the psychosocial variables that help predict people's water conservational behaviour. This study used a modified model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), including the additional variables of moral norms, self-identity and subjective myths of the nature as general beliefs, to predict intentions and behaviour regarding water conservation through a random sample of agricultural professionals (n= 80) using the survey method in Bushehr Province. Findings revealed that the modified theory of TPB can explain intention and behaviour regarding water conservation. Multiple regression analysis showed that moral norms, perceived behavioural control and risk perception can predict 68 percent of variances in water conservational intention, while subjective norms and perceived behavioural control can predict 49 percent of variances in water conservational intention based on the original TPB model. Therefore, those agricultural professionals who perceived a greater normative and commitment feeling regarding water conservational behaviour had a higher level of intention to engage in such behaviours and the significance of perceived behaviour control revealed that professionals did not have complete volition in their water conservational behaviour. Furthermore, myths of nature can predict about 39 percent, 20 percent and 28 percent of variances in attitude, moral norms and risk perception regarding water conservation.


Our first care when anesthetizing a child having a head injury treated by neurosurgery is to preserve a correct blood perfusion pressure, by using anesthetic agents without vasodilator potency and to control cerebral oedema. The most suitable anesthetic agents are thiopentone, dextromoramide or fentanyl, diazepam and pancuronium. Artificial ventilation is used nearly systematically trying to obtain mild hypocapnia (PaCO2:30-35 Hg pH 7.45) inducing a benefic cerebral vasoconstriction. About the antiedematous agents, mannitol gives best results in case of emergency.


Malware-containing emails can be sent to anyone. Single malware variants can be sent to tens of thousands of recipients without distinction. However, a small proportion of email malware is sent in low copy number to a small set of recipients that have apparently been specifi cally selected by the attacker. These targeted attacks are challenging to detect and if successful, may be particularly damaging for the recipient. The vast majority of Internet users will never be sent a targeted attack. The few users to which such attacks are sent, presumably possess features that have brought them to the attention of attackers, and have caused them to be selected for attack. Applying epidemiological techniques to calculate the odds ratio for features of malware recipients, both targeted and non-targeted, allows the identifi cation of putative factors that are associated with targeted attack recipients. In this paper we show that it is possible to identify putative risk factors that are associated with individuals subjected to targeted attacks by considering the threat akin to a public health issue. These risk factors may be used to identify those at risk of being subject to future targeted attacks, so that these individuals can take additional steps to secure their systems and data.


The book is a culmination of author's doctoral research findings from a study on employee engagement among different age groups. . The author was able to generalize his findings through observing close to 1,000 sample respondents along with the feedback from 72 leaders and 25 human resource heads of major Indian organizations in service, hospitality, infrastructure, manufacturing, and ITES setups. The unique selling proposition of his work is to understand leadership vis-à-vis engagement, while proposing the ways for deriving productivity through applying different strategies for different age groups.


We introduce a strategy to compute EPRL spin foam amplitudes with many internal faces numerically. We work with sl2cfoam-next, the state-of-the-art framework to numerically evaluate spin foam transition amplitudes. We find that uniform sampling Monte Carlo is exceptionally effective in approximating the sum over internal quantum numbers of a spin foam amplitude, considerably reducing the computational resources necessary. We apply it to compute large volume divergences of the theory and find surprising numerical evidence that the EPRL vertex renormalization amplitude is instead finite.


Native aquatic species are in decline, and hatcheries can play an important role in stemming these losses until larger ecological issues are addressed.  However, as more federal and state agencies face budget uncertainty and the number of imperiled species increases, it is necessary to develop a tool to prioritize species for conservation propagation.  Our objective was to create prioritized lists of aquatic species that may benefit from conservation propagation for five states in the United States.  Biologists developed an influence diagram and provided information for multiple attributes affecting prevalence of species.  The influence diagram and information for each species was used in a Bayesian belief network to generate a score to prioritize propagation of a species and the feasibility of propagation.  When all taxa were ranked together within a state, mussels, amphibians, and a crustacean were included among fishes in the top species that may benefit from propagation.  We recognize that propagation is one tool for conservation of imperiled species and that additional factors may need to be addressed to ensure species persistence.  Nevertheless, we contend our quantitative approach provides a useful framework for prioritizing conservation propagation.


Background: Veno-venous (VV) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly being utilized to manage critical COVID-19 associated ARDS (CCAA) in patients who fail medical optimization and mechanical ventilatory support. The aim of this study was to determine the probability of weaning patients from ECMO over time and whether a subset of patients should be considered for lung transplantation. Additionally, we investigated when lung transplant should be considered after VV ECMO support. Methods: 49 patients with CCAA who required ECMO between January 2020 and September 2021 were investigated. Baseline patient demographics, clinical, laboratory, and follow-up data were compared. The change in probability of ECMO weaning based on duration of ECMO support was studied using a univariate analysis. Additionally, patients who received lung transplantation following VV ECMO for COVID-19 during this same period were studied to compare outcomes to those of patients with only VV ECMO support. Cox proportion hazard analysis was performed to determine predictors of survival in patients who required greater than 28 days of ECMO support. Yuden index was used to determine change in probability of survival with time on ECMO. Results: Of 49 patients, 17 (35%) received lung transplants and 32 (65%) remained on ECMO for >28 days. The probability of weaning patients from ECMO was highest within the first 10 days (60%);beyond 40 days, it was 5.1% (Fig. A). The probability of successfully weaning patients from ECMO significantly decreased over time and ECMO support greater than 28 days (Yuden index, Hazard ratio: 1.09, 95% CI;1.00-1.03) was associated with a significantly increased risk of mortality. Additionally, both survival to hospital discharge (p<0.001, Fig. B) and post-discharge survival (p<0.001, Fig. C) were significantly greater in those who were weaned from ECMO prior to 28 days than those who were weaned after 28 days. In those who could not be weaned from ECMO, lung transplantation (HR:0.47, p<0.01, 95% CI 0.17-0.94), ECMO duration (HR:1.09, p=0.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.03) and higher BUN levels (HR:1.02, p<0.01, 95% CI 1.01- 1.46) prior to ECMO initiation were independent predictors of survival. ECMO support of greater than 8 days was associated with a statistically significant increase in mortality compared to those who received fewer than 8 days of support (Yuden index, HR 1.96, CI 1.06-5.51). Furthermore, the projected survival of patients on ECMO support for greater than 8 days was substantially worse than those requiring fewer than 8 days of support (Fig. C and D). Conclusion: This study suggests that survival and accompanying lung recovery is more probable in patients who require a short duration of ECMO support whereas those who require longer durations, particularly exceeding 28 days, is associated with a lower rate of survival. (Figure Presented).


Organogold chemistry reaches back to the beginning of the twentieth century, when Grignard compounds were first reacted with chloroauric acid. Since then, the number of organogold compounds has grown rapidly and now includes species with gold in various oxidation states (0, +1, +2, and +3) and with virtually all classes of organic substituents and ligands (alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, ylide, heteroaryl, ylide, carbonyl, isocyanide, carbenes, alkenes, alkynes, etc.). This development was possible owing to the discovery of many new synthetic pathways that reflect the general upsurge of organometallic chemistry in the last century and to the introduction of new physical and analytical methods as routine tools for the determination of composition and structure. Incentive and motivation for organogold research were also triggered by the emerging applications of gold and its compounds in medicine and pharmacology, as well as in many areas of modern technology, with material science and homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis as the most prominent examples. The discovery of a novel type of bonding interactions, most common between low-valent gold atoms with a closed-shell electronic configuration (aurophilicity), has led to a rapid growth of the supramolecular chemistry of gold. The aggregation of mononuclear compounds to give dimers, oligomers, polymers, and clusters was found to induce novel photophysical properties (luminescence etc.), which attract widespread interest. In polynuclear compounds, aurophilic bonding is responsible for unique configurations and conformations of molecules, including clustering of gold atoms around hypercoordinate carbon atoms as one of the most curious phenomena.

Keywords:

organogold compounds;
gold clusters;
auration;
aurophilicity;
hypercoordinate carbon;
gold catalysis;
gold drugs;
gold films;
luminescence


In this paper we discuss experimental data for the magnetic avalanches associated to the spin quantum reversal in large single crystals of (Mn0.96Cr0.04)-acetate. We have studied the ignition of the magnetic avalanche by sweeping the applied magnetic field at different temperatures in the presence of a magnetic-field gradient along the c-axis (easy axis of magnetization) of the single crystal. Our results show both the determininistic nature of the occurrence of the avalanche at the resonant fields and the fact that the avalanche is always ignited at the extreme of the crystal where the magnetic field is larger. A theoretical model is discussed to explain the results.


The new millennium has brought with it an ever-expanding range of threats to global security: from cyber attacks to blue-water piracy to provocative missile tests. Now, more than ever then, national security and prosperity depend on the safekeeping of a global system of mutually supporting networks of commerce, communication, and governance. The global commons-outer space, international waters, international airspace, and cyberspace-are assets outside of national jurisdiction that serve as essential conduits for these networks, facilitating the free flow of trade, finance, information, people, and technology. These commons also comprise much of the international security environment, enabling the physical and virtual movement and operations of allied forces. Securing freedom of use of the global commons is therefore fundamental to safeguarding the global system. Unfortunately, the fact that civil and military operations in the commons are inherently interwoven and technically interdependent makes them susceptible to intrusion. This intrinsic vulnerability confronts the international defense community with profound challenges in preserving access to the commons while countering elemental and systemic threats to the international order from both state and non-state actors. In response, the authors of this volume-a team of distinguished academics and international security practitioners-describe the military-operational requirements for securing freedom of action in the commons. Collaborating from diverse perspectives, they examine initiatives and offer frameworks that are designed to minimize vulnerabilities and preserve advantages, while recognizing that global security must be underscored by international cooperation and agreements. The book is written for security professionals, policy makers, policy analysts, military officers in professional military education programs, students of security studies and international relations, and anyone wishing to understand the challenges we face to our use of the global commons.


The potential for the use of taro as a food ingredient and raw material for the food industry has enormous opportunities, given the very affordable price of taro and its processing into flour which is quite simple for the community and industry to do. This study aims to determine the effect of salt (NaCl) solution temperature which used for immersion of the corms (Xanthosoma sagitifolium) to decrease the oxalate compound. The experiment was designed as a Completely Randomized Design with 28°C (room temp.), 60°C, 70°C, 80°C and 90°C as the treatments. All treatments were repeated 3 times so that 15 experimental units were obtained. The data were analyzed by using a variance analysis tool, and for the treatment showing significant effect was continued to be analyzed by using Duncan Multiple Range Test. The results indicated that temperature of salt solution has a significant effect on water content, calcium oxalate, yield and color of the flour which proceed from the corms. The flour produced from the corm which previously immersed in salt solution with temperature of 90°C has calcium oxalate content of 0.38%.


This article revisits the traditional history of the birth of the Finnish literary language in the aftermath of the Lutheran Reformation in the first half of the 16th century. Contrary to what earlier scholars have assumed, the article argues that the creation of the Finnish literary language cannot be attributed exclusively to the Bishop of Turku, Mikael Agricola, who is known as "the father of the Finnish literary language" because he published the first printed books in Finnish. The article will show that although the first Finnish publications were printed in the name of the Bishop of Turku, they were based on the translations of more authors. The article will also propose answers to the question, who these until now unknown authors could have been. The article is based on the study of relevant contemporary historical source material and close linguistic analysis of the early translations of ecclesiastical texts into Finnish.


A new species, Adamystis ekaterinae Ghasemi-Moghadam Saboori sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on adult females collected from soil in the Chitgar Forest Park, Iran. This new species is distinguished by having dimpled vacuoles between sci and sce on lateral propodosoma; one pair of eyes associated with postocular bodies; smooth dorsal idiosomal shield; setae h1, h2, ps1 and ps2 on smooth platelets and lacking lens like structures.


This dissertation describes a thesis concerned with establishing the algorithmic approach to large scale problem solving.
A framework of systems theory concepts applicable to problem solving is detailed. A new methodology, consisting of a comprehensive set of rules which permit the formalization of designs in CAD and software engineering, is presented. The relationship between the methodology and language is investigated.
A language which supports the methodology is introduced.
The language features are stated and their implications for solving large scale, problems are assessed.
The use of the language and the methodology is demonstrated on a number of diverse examples.


We derive optimal control policies for a Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) cooperating with neighboring CAVs to implement a highway lane change maneuver. We optimize the maneuver time and subsequently minimize the associated energy consumption of all cooperating vehicles in this maneuver. We prove structural properties of the optimal policies which simplify the solution derivations and lead to analytical optimal control expressions. The solutions, when they exist, are guaranteed to satisfy safety constraints for all vehicles involved in the maneuver. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed solution and significant performance improvements compared to maneuvers performed by human-driven vehicles.


This study evaluates progress under the HIPC initiative since the 2003 evaluation of the Independent Evaluation Group. It finds that the Enhanced HIPC initiative (the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) cut debt ratios in half for 18 countries, but in eight of these countries, the ratios have come to once again exceed HIPC thresholds. Debt reduction alone is not a sufficient instrument to affect the multiple drivers of debt sustainability. Sustained improvements in export diversification, fiscal management, the terms of new financing, and public debt management are also needed, measures that fall outside the ambit of the HIPC initiative.


To satisfy the light weight requirements of vehicles owing to the aggravation of environmental pollution, carbon-fiber (CF)-reinforced epoxy composites have been chosen as a substitute for traditional metal counterparts. Since the current processing methods such as resin transfer molding (RTM) and compression molding (CM) have many limitations, an integrated and optimal molding method needs to be developed. Herein, we prepared high-performance composites by an optimized molding method, namely compression resin transfer molding (CRTM), which combines the traditional RTM and CM selectively and comprehensively. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rotational rheometry were performed to optimize the molding parameters of CRTM. In addition, metallurgical microscopy test and mechanical tests were performed to evaluate the applicability of CRTM. The experimental results showed that the composites prepared by CRTM displayed superior mechanical properties than those of the composites prepared by RTM and CM. The composite prepared by CRTM showed up to 42.9%, 41.2%, 77.3%, and 5.3% increases in tensile strength, bending strength, interlaminar shear strength, and volume fraction, respectively, of the composites prepared by RTM. Meanwhile, the porosity decreased by 45.2 %.


Monolayer tungsten disulfide (2D WS2) films have attracted tremendous interest due to their unique electronic and optoelectronic properties. However, the controlled growth of monolayer WS2 is still challenging. In this paper, we report a novel method to grow WS2 through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with ZnO crystalline whisker as a growth promoter, where partially evaporated WS2 reacts with ZnO to form ZnWO4 by-product. As a result, a depletion region of W atoms and S-rich region is formed which is favorable for subsequent monolayer growth of WS2, selectively positioned on the silicon oxide substrate after the CVD growth.


Although online poker is a gold mine of data, until now nobody knows where the players and their money come from. It seems that the knowledge about the online poker market has not been able to keep up with the speed of its evolution in the past years. This paper is the first to shed light on this matter. We use data of 4,591,298 poker identities from the Online Poker Database of the University of Hamburg (OPD-UHH) collected over a six months period from 09/2009 to 03/2010. Since the EU-27 countries are of particular interest in this paper, we identified 2,905,925 active poker players for these countries who paid 1.62 billion US$ rake to the operators in 2010 (on average 558 US$ per player). We found Germany to be the biggest poker market of the EU-27 countries with a market size of 392 million US$ and with 581 thousand players. Even though Germany is the biggest market in absolute terms, Finland is the biggest relative market with 15.40$ spending per head. The main driver of the relative market size in a EU-27 country is the internet activity. Denmark is the country with the highest proportion (1.641%, 1 out of 61) of online poker player in regard to its population. In relation to the number of internet users Hungary has the highest proportion (1.983%, 1 out of 50) of online poker players.


The details of the physical mechanism that drives core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) remain uncertain. While there is an emerging consensus on the qualitative outcome of detailed CCSN mechanism simulations in 2D, only recently have high-fidelity 3D simulations become possible. Here we present the results of an extensive set of 3D CCSN simulations using high-fidelity multidimensional neutrino transport, high-resolution hydrodynamics, and approximate general relativistic gravity. We employ a state-of-the-art 20 M☉ progenitor generated using Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics, and the SFHo equation of state. While none of our 3D CCSN simulations explode within ∼500 ms after core bounce, we find that the presence of large-scale aspherical motion in the Si and O shells aid shock expansion and bring the models closer to the threshold of explosion. We also find some dependence on resolution and geometry (octant versus full 4π). As has been noted in other recent works, we find that the post-shock turbulence plays an important role in determining the overall dynamical evolution of our simulations. We find a strong standing accretion shock instability (SASI) that develops at late times. The SASI produces transient shock expansions, but these do not result in any explosions. We also report that for a subset of our simulations, we find conclusive evidence for the lepton-number emission self-sustained asymmetry, which until now has not been confirmed by independent simulation codes. Both the progenitor asphericities and the SASI-induced transient shock expansion phases generate transient gravitational waves and neutrino signal modulations via perturbations of the protoneutron star by turbulent motions.


Since their inception, the Perspectives in Logic and Lecture Notes in Logic series have published seminal works by leading logicians. Many of the original books in the series have been unavailable for years, but they are now in print once again. In this volume, the third publication in the Lecture Notes in Logic series, Mitchell and Steel construct an inner model with a Woodin cardinal and develop its fine structure theory. This work builds upon the existing theory of a model of the form L[E], where E is a coherent sequence of extenders, and relies upon the fine structure theory of L[E] models with strong cardinals, and the theory of iteration trees and 'backgrounded' L[E] models with Woodin cardinals. This work is what results when fine structure meets iteration trees.


Aim: To access whether coffee consumption in immediate post cesarean period in addition to routine care accelerates the recovery of gastrointestinal motility. Patients and Methods: A randomized controlled study was conducted from October 2014 to March 2015. Women scheduled to undergo elective cesarean section (CS) were assigned to drink coffee beside routine care immediately post cesarean or routine care alone after CS. Women's postoperative charts were reviewed to establish incidence of postoperative nausea, vomiting, use of analgesics, use of antiemetics, cases developing postoperative ileus (POI) (nausea, vomiting, distention, absence of intestinal sound) and its degree mild (resolved spontaneously on basic support), moderate (needing insertion of nasogastric tube beside basic support), severe (POI that resist management lines including antiemetic, different anti ileus intervention for more than 2 days), time to discharge and time from end of surgery to first postoperative hearing intestinal sounds, toleration of fluids intake, toleration of solid food intake, passage of flatus as well as first defecation. Results: A total of 210 women were randomly assigned to drink coffee (n = 105, 8 were excluded, 97 were available for intension to treat analysis) or routine post cesarean care alone (n = 105, 7 were excluded 98 were available for intension to treat analysis). The mean time to flatus, defecation, intestinal sound as well as first hunger, toleration of liquids and solids were significantly shorter in women whom assigned to drink coffee beside routine care (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P = 0.033, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001 respectively). Women assigned to drink coffee were associated with significantly less post cesarean nausea (P = 0.0072), vomiting (P = 0.0093) and POI [(7/97 (7.21%) VS 22/98 (22.44%), (P = 0.002)]. Coffee consumption in immediate post cesarean period was well tolerated and well accepted by women and not associated with side effects. Conclusion: Drinking coffee in immediate post cesarean period accelerates the time of gut recovery, shortened the length of hospital stay as well as reduce the incidence of POI. This simple, inexpensive and well tolerated intervention could added to routine post


Research conducted on the bacterial spot disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria on tomato, bell pepper and hot pepper in Barbados assessed prospects for genetic and chemical control of the disease on the island. Race and chemical resistance profiles of the pathogen, effectiveness of deployment of bacterial spot resistance genes in the field and the genetic basis for pathogen population changes with respect to pathogenicity and sensitivity to copper bactericides were examined. Twenty-four races of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria, 20 of which were previously unreported on bell pepper and tomato in Barbados, were identified. Race specific host selection, mutation and exchange of genetic material are postulated to explain the evolution of the pathogen population in Barbados. The research also reported the disease on hot pepper for the first time, with the most abundant bacterial races isolated being capable of overcoming resistance conferred by most available bacterial spot resistance genes in bell pepper. Chemical resistance profiles of isolates of X. campestris pv .vesicatoria indicated that 18.3 and 78.1 percent of the population were resistant to copper and zinc, respectively. Differentially resistant bell pepper and tomato were shown to succumb to the disease at significantly lower frequencies than susceptible cultivars grown alongside them. Copper resistance of X. campestris pv. vesicatoria was generally associated with the presence of a 0.6-0.9 kb plasmid which was transferable between strains. Reversion from copper resistance to sensitivity occurred at high frequencies in the absence of copper. The successful management of bacterial spot will require a multi-faceted approach including deployment of mixtures of resistance genes and exploitation of the bactericide resistance status of individual pepper and tomato fields.


The association between the laryngeal saccule and a laryngocele is an important clinical relationship. Here, we describe this and other clinical correlations of the saccule including infection and carcinoma and suggest that these should be discussed in medical gross anatomy courses. We also briefly present some descriptive information on the anatomy and function of the saccule in humans and other higher primates. Clin. Anat. 25:647–649, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The study was designed to analyze the nature of occupational stress among the working women in Bhubaneswar with respect to the kind of their employment and individual differences, and to examine the relationship of such stress with personality attributes, and emotional intelligence. The sample consisted of 550 subjects from 11 occupational groups varying in age, level of employment and working hours. For each subject, data were collected on 10 measures of occupational stress, 4 measures of coping resources, 5 measures of big five personality traits, one measure of Type A/B personality, and 7 measures of emotional intelligence. The tests used in the present study were (i) The Occupational Stress Inventory-R, (ii) NEO Personality Inventory-3, (iii) Type-A Personality Test-R, and (iv) The Emotional Intelligence Measures, which are all widely used standardized tests.The findings of the study revealed that four groups of women employees namely police professionals, bureaucrats, corporate engineers and employees in the unorganized sector have both strong maladaptive role stress as well as psychological stress and strain. Bank employees and government engineers have mild maladaptive role stress and psychological stress and strain. All other groups namely doctors, nurses, administrative staff, school teachers, and college teachers have both normal adaptive role stress and psychological stress and strain. When their personal coping resources were examined, it was found that occupational stress accordingly restricted and reduced their coping resources i.e., employees with higher occupational stress have lower coping resources and vice versa.Results relating to individual differences revealed that occupational stress was highest among the employees below 30 years of age when their personal coping resources were very limited. With increasing age, personal coping resources increased and occupational stress gradually decreased. With respect to motherhood, the results indicated that both occupational role stress and psychological stress and strain increased for employees having more children and their coping resources also decreased accordingly. With regard to level of employment, both occupational stress and coping resources were higher for the middle level employees. On the other hand, with more of working hours, occupational stress increased having decreasing personal coping resources. Finally, it was concluded that occupational stress and coping resources of the women employees were significantly influenced by their types of jobs and factors of individual differences.The data were also subjected to correlational analyses and factor analyses to explain the relationship between big five traits, occupational stress and coping resources. Large number significant correlations (159/171) clearly suggested that each of the big five personality traits have significant influence on occupational stress and coping resources of the employees. While four of the traits namely openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness helped to control and manage occupational stress by enhancing coping resources, neuroticism increased the stress and decreased coping resources. Five factors were extracted by factor analysis which showed that some of the big five traits solely and also some of them combined emerged into independent factors which influenced occupational stress. The factors were named as 'Openness-Extraversion', 'Agreeableness-Openness', 'Conscientiousness', 'Neuroticism', and 'Extraversion'. Similarly, the results revealed that Type A personality were more vulnerable to occupational stress compared to Type B and other personality type. Type A personality group has significant higher means in seven of the occupational stress measures, and lower means in 4 of the personal coping resources than the Type B group.Finally, the relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress was examined by correlational analyses and factor analyses. Large number of significant correlations (187/210) among the measures clearly implied that the seven markers of emotional intelligence have strong influence on the development of coping resources and the control of occupational stress. Five independent factors namely 'Emotional-resilience', 'Intuitive-sensitivity', 'Emotional-self-awareness', 'Motivation', and 'Interpersonal-sensitivity' were extracted in factor analysis. All these factors have been shown to influence occupational stress and coping resources of the employees. Finally, the findings of the study pointed several beneficial implications for the women employees in general and women employees of Bhubaneswar in particular.


Although music is typically multi-label, many works have studied hierarchical music tagging with simplified settings such as single-label data. Moreover, there lacks a framework to describe various joint training methods under the multi-label setting. In order to discuss the above topics, we introduce hierarchical multi-label music instrument classification task. The task provides a realistic setting where multi-instrument real music data is assumed. Various hierarchical methods that jointly train a DNN are summarized and explored in the context of the fusion of deep learning and conventional techniques. For the effective joint training in the multi-label setting, we propose two methods to model the connection between fine- and coarse-level tags, where one uses rule-based grouped max-pooling, the other one uses the attention mechanism obtained in a data-driven manner. Our evaluation reveals that the proposed methods have advantages over the method without joint training. In addition, the decision procedure within the proposed methods can be interpreted by visualizing attention maps or referring to fixed rules.


BACKGROUND
The hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency (HGPRT) may have two clinical forms: that of the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (complete HGPRT deficiency) and that of the Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome (partial HGPRT deficiency). The clinical and biochemical features of the HGPRT deficiency are not completely known.

METHODS
A series of 12 patients, 8 with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and 4 with the Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome are described. The plasma and urine concentrations of hypoxanthine, xanthine and uric acid were compared with those obtained in 20 normal subjects and 41 patients with primary gout. The molecular defect which determines the deficient HGPRT activity was studied in one patient with the Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome.

RESULTS
The 8 patients with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome presented choreoathetosis, corticospinal motor system dysfunction, mental retardation and signs of self mutilation. The neurologic manifestations of the patients with the Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome were very heterogeneous: two patients had psychomotor retardation with spastic movement, one was mentally retarded with generalized dystonia and one patient only had gout with no neurologic manifestations. The erythrocytic HGPRT activity ranged between 0.28 and < 0.01 nmol/h and mg of hemoglobin in all the patients. Plasma and urine purine concentrations were very high, being greater than those in normal subjects and patients with gout (p < 0.01). A mutation was identified in exon 3 (substitution of guanine with thymine) conditioning the substitution of the normal glycine amino acid by valine (HGPRT Madrid) on molecular study.

CONCLUSIONS
The hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency has a heterogeneous clinical expression. The activity of this enzyme in erythrocytes and the results of the metabolism of the purines do not allow prediction of the severity of the clinical manifestations.


The article discusses occurrences of topics related to Lviv in Polish opinion-forming newspapers in exile in the United States after World War II. The author followed the New Diaryin the years 1971–1999, together with its appendices, Polish Week (1971–1981) and Polish Review (1981–1999), published in New York. These titles had a wide scope of influence. The analysis of the newspapers' contents revealed that a small, dispersed community from Lviv, who emigrated to the United States and centered around the Lviv Circle, made their works public regularly in the pages of the New Diary. However, compared with the incidence of the same themes in the Polish emigrants' press in Western Europe during the same period, it was a marginal phenomenon about accidental topics. The texts mainly focused on unmasking the Soviet authorities' actions to eliminate traces of Polish culture from Lviv, the devastation of the Lviv Eaglets Cemetery. Additionally, they posted pictures of the Poltva, poems devoted to the city, and anniversary reminiscences of the Lviv defense of 1918. Topics related to Lviv abroad were mostly the domain of its former citizens, who had been forced to leave the city without possibility of return (thanks to the provisions of the Yalta Conference)—journalists, academics, and activists in exile, regularly associated with magazines from the British Isles (the White Eagle, News, Polish Diary, and Soldier's Diary) as well as Culture from Paris.


Sh2-188 is thought to be an ancient planetary nebula in the galactic disk. It appears to be one-sided with recent observations revealing structure behind the filamentary limb. We postulate that Sh2-188 is interacting with the ISM and simulate it in terms of a ``triple-wind'' model comprising of the usual ``fast'' and ``slow'' interacting stellar winds plus the wind due to motion through the ISM. We have run simulations at various velocities of the central star relative to the ISM and find that a high velocity of 125 km/s best approximates the observed structure. We also suggest that Sh2-188 is younger than previously thought and that much of the mass lost on the AGB has been swept downstream.


The application of epidemiology to the study of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is providing new insights into many aspects of this major public-health problem, including its natural history, prevalence, incidence, morbidity, and mortality in diverse populations around the globe. The main impetus came from the late Kelly West's book Epidemiology of Diabetes and its Vascular Lesions. These studies are providing direction for research into the possible moleculardefect or defects and biochemical mechanism or mechanisms underlying NIDDM and important information on the extrinsic (social, cultural, environmental) risk determinants. Studies have highlighted the importance of regional adipose tissue distribution, particularly upper-body obesity, and physical inactivity in enhancing risk of NIDDM. These findings have important implications for the primary prevention of NIDDM, particularly in populations with increased genetic susceptibility such as Polynesians, Micronesians, American and Asian Indians, Mexican Americans, and Australian aborigines.


The results of the first experiments to demonstrate guiding of high-intensity laser pulses through a hydrogen-filled capillary discharge waveguide are described. Measurements of the temporal behaviour during the discharge of both the pulse energy transmission and the transverse spatial profile of the beam in the exit plane of the waveguide are presented. Guiding of laser pulses with a peak input intensity of greater than 1016 W cm-2 was observed for 20 and 40 mm long waveguides with pulse energy transmissions of approximately 90% and 80%, respectively. The proportion of energy coupled into the waveguide and the propagation loss were determined to be (96±2)% and (4±1) m-1. More than 103 laser pulses were guided through the same capillary.


Abstract
Background/Aims:: In this study, In this study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of Transobturator Tape Operation in the treatment of Stress İncontinence
Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 454 patients who had TOT operations due to stress urinary incontinence between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020, at the İstanbul Kanuni Traning and Research Hospital. The basic clinical characteristics of the participants were recorded. The number of daily peds, values of Q-type test and urinary retention, and scores of urogenital disorder inventory-6 and impact of incontinence inquiry form at the clinical evaluation perioperatively and 6 months after the operation. Data analysis of the study was done with the SPSS version 24.0 package program. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used for normality analysis. Wilcoxon test was used for the comparisons of preop and postop data. It was considered statistically significant when the P value was below 0.05
Results: The study was conducted on 454 patients aged 26-83 years with a mean age of 50.3±10 years. The overall complication rate was 15.9. The rate of those who recovered six months after the operation was 89.6%. The number of daily peds, values of Q-tip test and urinary retention, and scores of questionnaires were significantly reduced after surgery (p=0.001).
Conclusions: The TOT operation can be preferred in treating stress incontinence with acceptable success and outcome. The scales of questionnaires successfully determine patient satisfaction with surgical efficacy for SUI.


The design of adhesively bonded structures requires accurate material property data. These data are often best obtained from bulk test specimens. Such data can give an indication of the cohesive strength of the materials but designers also need to consider the strengths of the interfaces between the adhesive and substrates. Information on interface strengths is normally obtained from adhesives joint tests, such as lap shear or T-peel. However, the complexity of stress distributions in such joints leads to difficulties in obtaining quantitative interface strengths that are applicable to other loading configurations.
As part of a DTI funded Measurements for Materials Systems project, Interfacial Adhesion Strength, a number of alternative test methods for adhesion strength – pull-off, profiled butt joint, pull-out and 3-point bend – have been studied as alternative methods for quantifying adhesion strength. These test methods have been evaluated, in experimental and Finite Element (FE) studies, for their ability to quantify the strength of adhesion between adhesive and adherend. Techniques, such as pull-off, pull-out and three-point bend tests, are superficially easy to perform and interpret using analytical formulations. In principle, these tests might be suitable for large scale screening of adhesives and surface treatments. Work is continuing to evaluate the effectiveness of the pull-off and bend methods for durability assessment.
The tests' suitability for providing design data on adhesion strengths required evaluation. In this report, both analytical interpretations of experimental measurements and FE studies have been undertaken. The results presented indicate that the simple test methods are able to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' adhesion but are relatively insensitive to small differences in the quality of the surfaces. Care must be taken when evaluating results. The failure stresses calculated through analytical methods are often considerably lower than those predicted in the FE stress predictions. Therefore, calculated adhesion strengths will be conservative and likely to be far lower than the bulk material strengths. Only in the profiled butt joint test are the analytical average stresses and the FE predicted peak stresses comparable. However, this test is time consuming in both specimen preparation and performance, and requires special alignment fixtures for bonding and testing specimens.
FE analyses suggest that residual stress, generated by cure shrinkage or differential thermal expansion during cooling from elevated cure temperatures, may be a significant factor in interpreting failure.


Populist politicians increasingly accuse opposing media of spreading disinformation or "fake news." However, empirical research on the effects of these accusations is scarce. This survey experiment (N = 1,330) shows that disinformation accusations reduce audience members' trust in the accused news outlet and perceived accuracy of the news message, while trust in the accusing politician is largely unaffected. However, only individuals with strong populist attitudes generalize disinformation accusations to the media as an institution and reduce their general media trust. The phrase "fake news" does not amplify any of these effects. These findings suggest that politicians can undermine the credibility of journalism without much repercussion—a mechanism that might also threaten other authoritative information sources in democracies such as scientists and health authorities.


Background/Aims Chicken skin mucosa (CSM), surrounding colorectal adenoma, is an endoscopic finding with pale yellow-speckled mucosa; however, its clinical significance is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of CSM, and the association between colorectal carcinogenesis and CSM. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed in 733 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic polypectomy for colorectal adenoma after the screening of colonoscopy at the Asan Health Promotion Center between June 2009 and December 2011. The colonoscopic and pathological findings of colorectal adenoma including number, size, location, dysplasia, morphology, and clinical parameters were reviewed. Results The prevalence of CSM was 30.7% (225 of 733 patients), and most CSM-related adenomas were located in the distal colon (93.3%). Histological analysis revealed lipid-laden macrophages in the lamina propria of the mucosa. Multivariate analyses showed that CSM was significantly associated with advanced pathology, including villous adenoma and high-grade dysplasia (odds ratio [OR], 2.078; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.191-3.627; P=0.010), multiple adenomas (i.e., ≥2 adenomas; OR, 1.692; 95% CI, 1.143-2.507; P=0.009), and a protruding morphology (OR, 1.493; 95% CI, 1.027-2.170; P=0.036). There were no significant differences in polyp size or clinical parameters between patients with and without CSM. Conclusions CSM-related adenoma was mainly found in the distal colon, and was associated with advanced pathology and multiple adenomas. CSM could be a potential predictive marker of the carcinogenetic progression of distally located colorectal adenomas.


The direct infusion-shotgun proteome analysis (DI-SPA) alongside data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry achieved fast proteome identification and quantification without chromatographic separation. However, robust peptide identification and quantification (label and label-free) for the DI-SPA data is still insufficient. We find that in the absence of chromatography, the identification of DI-SPA can be boosted by extending acquisition cycles repeatedly and maximizing the utilization of the featured repetition characteristics, combined with the machine learning-based automatic peptide scoring strategy. Here, we present the repeat-enhancing featured ion-guided stoichiometry (RE-FIGS), a complete and compact solution to (repeated) DI-SPA data. Using our strategy, the peptide identification can be improved above 30% with high reproducibility (70.0%). Notably, the label-free quantification of repeated DI-SPA can be successfully obtained with high accuracy (mean median error, 0.108) and high reproducibility (median error, 0.001). We believe our RE-FIGS method could boost the broad application of the (repeated) DI-SPA method and offer a new choice for proteomic analysis.


Central peaks and acoustic phonons of 0.91Pb(Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 )-0.09PbTiO 3 (0.91PZN-0.09PT) relaxor single crystals have been studied in detail by a micro-Brillouin scattering technique. Two phase transitions from cubic to tetragonal and tetragonal to rhombohedral upon cooling are observed through the frequency shifts and damping of the acoustic phonons. 0.91PZN-0.09PT near morphotropic phase boundary is heterogeneous, and the heterogeneity is studied by scanning the incident laser spot over the crystal sample. Elastic constant c 33 and sound velocity v LA are determined. Central peaks have been directly observed, they show marked temperature dependence both in intensity and width; they are closely related to the fluctuations of polar microregions. Relaxation times are obtained and the mechanisms of central peaks are discussed.


Hydrolysable tannins (HTs), secondary metabolites widely distributed in the plant kingdom, are generally multiple esters of gallic acid with glucose. HTs have been shown to be effective antagonists against viruses, bacteria and eukaryotic microorganisms. The present review examines the antimicrobial and antiviral activity of HTs, the mechanism(s) of action, and some structure-activity relationships.


product of 2.6, and 81 of 83 patients by an LV mass index of 110 g/m2. This small difference is not statistically significant. All three ways of looking at their data show clearly that, contrary to the authors' conclusions, the h * R product is not a better predictor than LV mass of the occurrence of LVH on the ECG. Certainly, the factors responsible for the inscription of LVH on an ECG are complex, and further studies willbe necessary to delineate the potential contribution, if any, of the solid-angle theory to their understanding. MALCOLM PHILLIPS, M.D. RICHARD B. DEVEREUX, M.D. New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center New York, New York


The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was the first major medical society to release a policy statement on the impacts of climate change on pediatric health. It is estimated that globally, children bear the burden of climate-induced disease. However, many undergraduate and graduate medical curricula do not cover this topic. This article builds on previous literature to propose a framework for such a curriculum as well as justify its relevance in light of current accreditation requirements. Some curricular topics include extreme heat and heat-related injury, degradations in air quality and pediatric respiratory disease, spread of vector-borne and diarrheal illness, and mental health effects. Lastly, it addresses clinical applications for this knowledge, including screening vulnerable patients, offering anticipatory guidance, and advocating for the medical benefits of planetary health.


Pomegranate peel is a nutritive-rich byproduct whose amounts are extensively growing due to the exponential increase in the production of pomegranate juice and "ready to eat" arils. Pomegranate peel is a rich source for antioxidants and thus may serve in the prevention of cattle diseases and in the improvement of beef products, making it an attractive component in beef cattle diets. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of commonly used storage practices on the nutritive and antioxidative properties of pomegranate peel. In general, storage conditions preserved most antioxidant capacity. Ensiling ambivalently affected the nutritive values of the peel and promoted increased levels of antioxidative components. In addition to polyphenols, nonphenolic components, such as alpha- and gamma-tocopherols, contributed to the total antioxidative capacity, and several minerals found in the peel added to its nutritional value. Dietary supplementation with fresh peels promoted significant increases in feed intake and alpha-tocopherol concentration in the plasma, with positive tendency toward increased weight gain of bull calves. All in all, the nutritive value and the antioxidant capacity of pomegranate peel turn it into a favorable health-promoting constituent of feedlot beef cattle diet.


In 1887, Madame Blavatsky arrived in London to publicize her occult philosophy, a heady mix of Neo-Platonism, Buddhism, and Kabbalistic mysticism. Despite accusations of fraud from the Society for Psychical Research, Helena Blavatsky's Theosophical Society flourished, reflecting the renewed interest in spiritualism in the 1880s. Reacting against the rise of Darwinism and a society increasingly devoted to scientific and technological progress, spiritualism developed as a counter-cultural movement in which women were dominant as teachers and mediums. Annie Besant, lampooned by Virginia Woolf in The Waves (1931), is just one example of someone who combined campaigning for women's rights with active involvement in the Theosophical Society. The alliance of spirituality and feminism was empowering, as is evidenced in the work of New Woman writers at the turn of the century, when writers like Sarah Grand and George Egerton took up the theme of women's superior spiritual powers in fiction that foreshadows the modernist aesthetic with its emphasis on dreams, the subconscious, and formal stylistic experimentation. Egerton's short stories in Keynotes (1893) and Discords (1894) resist social constructs of femininity, allying women instead with nature, the primitive, and the spiritual in a way that anticipates the work of female modernists. Her writing reveals distaste for organized religion, particularly the Irish Catholicism of her youth, and her argument that women's maternity privileges them over men anticipates Jane Harrison's influential work on early matriarchal civilizations.


Squamous cell carcinoma as a late complication of chronic osteomyelitis is a well known phenomenon in traumatology, often occurring as a consequence of bone fractures. The majority of cases are observed in men between 50 and 60 years of age. The time from onset of inflammatory bone disease to malignant transformation differs but usually takes 30 years. In general, prognosis is thought to be favorable when adequate surgical therapy is carried out. Nowadays, it is important to recall this condition, because it has become rare. The cases reported here illustrate the difficulties that may be encountered in diagnosing malignant transformation, especially in lesions that develop in deep tissue layers and which may be responsible for various biopsies failing to reveal the true pathology.


Russia The quantitative ultrasound characteristics (USC) of the median, ulnar nerve at different levels and the spinal nerves in patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN; n=13; 40,4 ± 12,6 years old) and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP; n = 7; 47,3 ± 11,2 year old) did not reveal statistical difference in cross sectional area (CSA) between analyzed groups. Patients with MMN have more pronounced asymmetry of CSA in comparison with CIDP patients which have a symmetrical pattern of diffuse nerve involvement. Quantitative USC has shown to be not informative enough in differentiation of MMN and CIDP. The qualitative analysis (QA) according to 3 described types of nerve changes has shown that CIDP is characterized by the prevalence of type 3 pattern (85.8 %) while MMN – by type 2 (69.2 %). The sensitivity and specificity of proposed QA patterns in nerve USC need to be analyzed in additional


This study aimed to investigate the conception of women with physical disability regarding the support network for the exercising of motherhood. It is descriptive-exploratory research, with qualitative approach, whose data were collected through semistructured interviews with 12 women with physical disability, undertaken between April and June 2014. The technique of thematic analysis was used for the treatment of the information, and Symbolic Interactionism was used as the theoretical framework. The interviewees reported the importance of the support of the partner, of family members, and of health professionals, during pregnancy and the postpartum, for them to be able to exercise the maternal role. The absence of this support influenced their conceptions regarding their capacity in this function. One can observe the need to promote the reproductive health of the person with a disability, so as to mitigate the stigmas and thus provide them with appropriate support. In addition to this, the health professionals must be trained to understand holistically their needs and rights.


New World parrots are declining throughout their range. Blue and Gold Macaw Ara ararauna was extirpated from the island of Trinidad in the late 1960s through anthropogenic processes. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is assisting the Wildlife Section of the Forestry Division, Trinidad on a mission to restore the species into its historical range within the Bush-Bush Sanctuary in the Nariva Swamp. The Sanctuary has been protected by the government of Trinidad and is the home of the endangered Red-bellied Macaw Ara manilata and West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus. Zoo and Wildlife personnel participated in three separate releases, beginning in December 1999 through to March 2000. The initial release consisted of an identical sex group of macaws followed by two additional releases of pairs/groups of birds. Of 18 Blue and Gold Macaws, 14 were released into the Nariva Swamp and are currently being monitored by the Wildlife Section, Zoo personnel and surrounding community. Translocation of wild populations of parrots has proven to be a viable solution to restocking wild populations that have been regionally extirpated.


The relationship between educational homogamy and fertility in a British national cohort were examined. The families studied were ascertained via the National Child Development Study, which examined all children born in Britain in 1 week in March 1958. The children and their families subsequently were examined when the children were aged 7, 11, 16, and 25. The average age of the mothers in 1958 was nearly 28 years. The fertility data were collected in 1974. Fertility refers to the number of liveborn offspring per family. Using the husband's occupation, households were placed into 1 of the Registrar-General's 5 social classes. Education was classified according to the age at which the individual completed full time schooling or higher education. To assess educational heterogamy, the measure used was the difference between husband and wife in the ages at which they left school or full time education. Since there were few couples where the difference exceeded 3 years, only 4 categories were used, i.e., a difference of less than 1 year (0), of 1, 2, and 3 years or over. There was considerable similarity between spouses in education as measured by age at leaving school or higher education. Over half the sample showed no difference in age. The mean family size was 3.33 with a standard deviation of 1.70. It increased significantly from social class I to V and also with parental age. As educational heterogamy increased, so did average number of offspring per family. An analysis of variance of fertility distinguished the effects of parental ages, social class, and educational homogamy, as well as the interaction between class and homogamy. Age of the mother was associated very strongly with family size while that of the father was not. A multiple classification analysis indicated that fertility increased from social class I to V, but there was trend for decreasing fertility as educational homogamy decreased, overall and within each social class except II and V. A stepwise multiple regression analysis provided similar results, as did an analysis which took the sign of the educational differences into account.


This paper presents Integrated Cooperative Time-variation System (ICTS) and its application for constructional process of complex steel structures. ICTS is based on integrated model comprised of structures, boundary conditions, loads, material properties, construction facilities, where all those are supposed to be time-variation associated with a complex construction process. ICTS can deal with mainly time-variation analysis of construction processes, including pre-set deforming, integrated lifting, temporary support removal, rotation pulling, sliding and tensioning. Besides, several key control technologies of structural force and configuration during structure construction process are introduced, such as obtaining error criteria of cable's length in tensile structures, controlling influence of constructional environmental temperature, estimating differences between internal and external tubes' vertical deformation of skyscrapers due to shrinkage and creep of concrete of internal tube, evaluating residual internal force of complex welding structures. ICTS and these key control technologies reinforce traditional construction analysis by keeping continuity of constructional process and simulating interaction of different parts in integrated model precisely, and reach to a design-required structural state accurately after finishing constructional process.


Implementations of climate models on scalable parallel computer systems can suffer from load imbalances resulting from temporal and spatial variations in the amount of computation required for physical parameterizations such as solar radiation and convective adjustment. We have developed specialized techniques for correcting such imbalances. These techniques are incorporated in a general-purpose, programmable load-balancing library that allows the mapping of computation to processors to be specified as a series of maps generated by a programmer-supplied load-balancing module. The communication required to move from one map to another is performed automatically by the library, without programmer intervention. In this paper, we describe the load-balancing problem and the techniques that we have developed to solve it. We also describe specific load-balancing algorithms that we have developed for PCCM2, a scalable parallel implementation of the Community Climate Model, and present experimental results that demonstrate the effectiveness of these algorithms on parallel computers. The load-balancing library developed in this work is available for use in other climate models.


A Ru/Ta capping layer for magnetic tunneling junctions (MTJs) was used to replace the routinely used Ta capping layer. The MTJs with CoFeB used as the free layer were shaped to ellipses of 0.36 times 0.60 mum. The magnetoresistive (MR) ratio of Ru/Ta capped MTJs was found to be 47.3%, slightly lower than the value of 52.8% of Ta capped MTJs. In the meantime, the switching field of Ru/Ta capped MTJs with 30Aring of Ru was found to be 37.7 Oe, greatly reduced from 63 Oe of Ta capped MTJs. The switching field variation of Ru/Ta capped MTJs was 6 Oe, also better than the value of 11 Oe of Ta capped MTJs. The different switching behaviors of Ru/Ta and Ta capped MTJs were discussed from the aspects of oxygen diffusion, intermixing, and magnetostriction


Building materials almost certainly consist of some form of binders. Presently used binders, such as cement, consume a high amount of energy consumption in its manufacturing and transportation. This paper reports a biomimetic strategy for production of binders at ambient conditions based on microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP). Microorganisms such as Sporosarcina pasteurii and Bacillus megaterium are used for precipitation of calcium carbonate on substrates such as concrete and brick. The deposition reduces permeability and corrosion in the substrate. The paper demonstrates the methods of increasing efficiency and cost reduction of the process. Effect of microbial action on strength, permeability of concrete, particularly near its surface, and ingress of moisture and chloride are discussed. Result of calcite deposition on reinforced concrete in terms of current passed when exposed to harsh corrosive conditions and Icorr is presented. Further, the role of MICP has been presented to develop highly efficient and durable soil-cement brick that requires very low embodied energy for production and also emit least CO2.The current work demonstrates that production of biocalcification by urease producing bacteria can at least partially replace the industrial binders and provide a more sustainable alternative.


In Multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) systems, precoding is essential to eliminate or minimize the multiuser interference (MUI).
However, the design of a suitable precoding algorithm with good overall
performance and low computational complexity at the same time is quite challenging, especially with the increase of system dimensions.
In this thesis, we explore the art of novel low-complexity high-performance precoding algorithms with both linear and non-linear processing strategies.

Block diagonalization (BD)-type based precoding techniques are well-known linear precoding strategies
for MU-MIMO systems.
By employing BD-type precoding algorithms at the transmit side, the MU-MIMO broadcast channel is decomposed
into multiple independent parallel SU-MIMO channels and achieves the
maximum diversity order at high data rates. The main computational complexity of BD-type precoding algorithms comes from
two singular value decomposition (SVD) operations, which depend on the number of users and the dimensions of each user's channel matrix.
In this thesis, two categories of low-complexity precoding algorithms are proposed to
reduce the computational complexity and improve the performance of BD-type precoding algorithms.
One is based on multiple LQ decompositions and lattice reductions. The other one is based on a channel inversion technique, QR decompositions, and lattice reductions to decouple the MU-MIMO channel into equivalent SU-MIMO channels.
Both of the two proposed precoding algorithms can achieve a comparable sum-rate performance as BD-type precoding algorithms, substantial bit error
rate (BER) performance gains, and a simplified receiver structure, while requiring a much lower complexity.

Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) is a prominent nonlinear processing technique employed at the transmit side and is a dual to the successive interference cancelation (SIC) detection at the receive side. Like SIC detection, the performance of THP strongly depends on the ordering of the precoded symbols.
The optimal ordering algorithm, however, is impractical for MU-MIMO systems with multiple receive antennas. We propose a multi-branch THP (MB-THP) scheme and algorithms that employ multiple transmit processing and ordering strategies along with a selection scheme to mitigate interference in MU-MIMO systems.
Two types of multi-branch THP (MB-THP) structures are proposed. The first one employs a decentralized strategy with diagonal weighted filters at the receivers of the users and the second uses a diagonal weighted filter at the transmitter.
The MB-MMSE-THP algorithms are also derived based on an extended system model with the aid of an LQ decomposition, which is much simpler compared to the conventional MMSE-THP algorithms. Simulation results show that a better BER performance can be achieved by the proposed MB-MMSE-THP precoder with a small computational complexity increase.


The total magnetic field near the surface of the Earth is a sum of several constituent fields. Part of the total field consists of fields that are transient or rapidly varying. These fields are caused, either directly or indirectly, by electric currents in the upper atmosphere and beyond. The part of the total field that is more permanent arises from sources that are located inside the Earth. Evidence suggests that this part has two principal constituents: the main field and the crustal field.


Based on the music of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt, jazz manouche is a popular genre that emerged during the late twentieth century. This article examines the historical development of jazz manouche in relation to ideologies about ethnoracial identity in France. Jazz manouche is strongly associated with French Manouches, the subgroup of Romanies ("Gypsies") to which Reinhardt belonged. In the decades following Reinhardt's death in 1953, some Manouches adopted his music as a community practice. Simultaneously, critics, promoters, and activists extolled the putative ethnoracial character of this music, giving rise to the "jazz manouche" label as a cornerstone of both socially conscious and profit-generating strategies. Drawing on analysis of published criticism, archival research, and interviews, I argue that ethnoracial and generic categories can develop symbiotically, each informing and reflecting ideologies about cultural identity and its sonic expressions. Jazz manouche grew out of essentializing notions about Manouche identity, while Manouches have been racialized through reductive narratives about jazz manouche. In this case, an investigation of genre formation can inform understandings of ethnoracial identity and national belonging.


In this article, we describe several aspects of the problems linked with the informed consent for medical research in the particular environment of intensive care. The specific elements of this singular context are analysed in taking account the present laws in Europe as well as in Switzerland, including the future project of law under current discussion.


The characteristic of worsted fore-spinning working procedure and the BP neural network modeling technology all have been summarily analyzed. Based on roving craft parameters' relevant characteristic, the principal component analysis method is proposed to pretreat the sample data set, which results are the new sample data of the BP neural network. The input layer node numbers reduce; the relevancies among every input factors are eliminated simultaneously; the network architecture is simplified that the network's study speed and the performance are all enhanced greatly. The relative mean error percent (MEP) between the roving unevenness and weight's prediction value and their mean value, reduce to 3.35% and 1.95% respectively. While the former values respectively are 4.86% and 2.24% The network precision, the correlation coefficient between the forecast value and the actual value all have the remarkable enhancement.


An experiment is suggested for high-precision verification of the assumption concerning isotropy of the ambient space. The key element of the experimental setup is a ring laser with the cavity partially filled with a condensed matter.


Introduction: There is large variability in kidney function and injury in neonates with neonatal encephalopathy (NE) treated with therapeutic hypothermia (TH). Acute kidney injury (AKI) definitions that apply categorical approaches may lose valuable information about kidney function in individual patients. Centile serum creatinine (SCr) over postnatal age (PNA) may provide more valuable information in TH neonates. Methods: Data from seven TH neonates and one non-TH-treated, non-NE control cohorts were pooled in a retrospective study. SCr centiles over PNA, and AKI incidence (definition: SCr ↑≥0.3 mg/dL within 48 h, or ↑ ≥1.5 fold vs. the lowest prior SCr within 7 days) and mortality were calculated. Repeated measurement linear models were applied to SCr trends, modeling SCr on PNA, birth weight or gestational age (GA), using heterogeneous autoregressive residual covariance structure and maximum likelihood methods. Findings were compared to patterns in the control cohort. Results: Among 1,136 TH neonates, representing 4,724 SCr observations, SCr (10th–25th–50th–75th–90th–95th) PNA centiles (day 1–10) were generated. In TH neonates, the AKI incidence was 132/1,136 (11.6%), mortality 193/1,136 (17%). AKI neonates had a higher mortality (37.2–14.3%, p < 0.001). Median SCr patterns over PNA were significantly higher in nonsurvivors (p < 0.01) or AKI neonates (p < 0.001). In TH-treated neonates, PNA and GA or birth weight explained SCr variability. Patterns over PNA were significantly higher in TH neonates to controls (801 neonates, 2,779 SCr). Conclusions: SCr patterns in TH-treated NE neonates are specific. Knowing PNA-related patterns enable clinicians to better assess kidney function and tailor pharmacotherapy, fluids, or kidney supportive therapies.


Chemokines, a superfamily of polypeptide mediators, are a key component of immune surveillance and are implicated in the initiation of the inflammatory cascade. This study investigated whether serum concentrations of the chemokines regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and presumably secreted (RANTES) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) change in the perinatal period because of the transition from intra- to extrauterine life, and compared determined values in mothers (MS) (n = 30) with those in their fetuses (UC), neonates (day of life 1 [N1] and 4 [N4]), and controls (CS) (n = 20). RANTES serum concentrations were higher in MS than in UC ( p < 0.006), N1 ( p < 0.0001), N4 ( p < 0.0001), and CS ( p < 0.0001). IL-8 serum concentrations in MS and UC, respectively, were significantly lower than in N1 ( p < 0.0002 and p < 0.0007) and N4 ( p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001). Thus, after birth, neonatal serum concentrations of RANTES decrease, possibly because of elimination of the placenta (probable production site), and neonatal serum concentrations of IL-8 increase, possibly triggered by environmental antigenic stimuli to which the neonate is exposed.


Abstract ER stress-mediated induction of a new vertebrate-specific autophagy cargo receptor, CCPG1 (cell-cycle progression gene 1), drives degradation of endoplasmic reticulum. CCPG1 acts via ATG8-family interaction and, non-canonically, via discrete interactions with FIP200. CCPG1 ameliorates ER stress in the exocrine pancreas. This has potential implications for inflammation and cancer, discussed here.


Political advertisement is a chamber's window of a political party. It can connect political parties with the society, electors in particular. None of the political parties, legislative applicants, nor the president and vice president candidates want to win the competition of the general elections 2009 without the use of political advertisements. Such is the importance of the political advertisement in "political parties' business" that one of the exclusive parameters of political parties is how much fund is used for the political advertisements talked about.


The impacts of Pleistocene glaciation on groundwater flow systems in sedimentary basins are widely recognized, but the timing and distribution of subglacial recharge events remain poorly constrained. We investigate the spatial and temporal variability of recharge events from glaciations over the last 2 million years in the Williston Basin, Canada. Integration of fluid chemistry, stable isotope data, and transport modeling indicate that meltwater arrived at depths of ∼600–1000 m in the northcentral region of the Williston Basin at two separate time periods, 75–150 and 300 ka, which we attribute to permeability differences between stacked aquifer systems. Our findings indicate that meltwater recharge extended along the northern margin of the Williston Basin as well as previously identified recharge areas to the east. Given the distance of measurements from recharge areas, evidence of recharge from the early to mid‐Pleistocene appears to be preserved in the Williston Basin.


The Upper Triassic to Upper Jurassic sequence of the John Day inlier was deposited along the seaward flank of a major forearc basin. The clastic strata mask the buried contact between the coeval Huntington arc terrane on the southeast and an uplifted melange belt on the northwest. Counterparts elsewhere may be important mid-Mesozoic tectonic elements of the Cordillera.


In order to study the chemical compositions and surface properties of longan seed (Daw) activated charcoal, the influences of a phosphoric acid activation process was investigated before and after carbonization. Carbonization temperatures in this study were ranged from 400 - 800°C. It was found that higher carbonization temperatures resulted in a high amount of organic carbon and ashes, while the volatile matters were reversely lowered at higher carbonization temperatures. For carbonization temperatures studied between 400 - 800°C, the activated charcoal possessed a higher iodine number in comparison to the longan seed activated charcoal. Also, the longan seed activated charcoal, being activated by phosphoric acid prior to carbonization, had a greater iodine number than the one being activated by phosphoric acid and then undergoing carbonization. The highest iodine number was obtained from longan seed activated charcoal carbonized at 500°C. Surface properties of activated charcoal showed a loss of its side chains and inherent functionalities while being run through high carbonization temperatures, however, the P-O-C remained intact, especially under carbonization temperatures lower than 700°C. The surface images of the activated charcoal showed more rough.


Recently, water jet cutting is widespread, because almost any material can be machined by this machining method. The technique and technology of cutting has also improved a lot. Further utilising of waterjet cutting advantages could Application of waterjet cutting for machining surfaces with different geometries (rotationally symmetric parts) beyond simple cutting tasks, could be a further utilisation of this method. This paper demonstrates a solution for machining cylindrical surfaces by abrasive waterjet. For this examination of kinematics at machining of cylindrical parts could be the starting point Appropriate movement conditions can be created by considering the machine as a basic machine and complementing it with a water jet cutting head or a device which can be installed on the water-jet cutting machine. We have developed an equipment for this latter solution. Design aspects and the device are presented in the paper.


Abstract Reactor grade (RG) plutonium, accumulated as nuclear waste of commercial reactors can be re-utilized in CANDU reactors. TRISO type fuel can withstand very high fuel burn ups. On the other hand, carbide fuel would have higher neutronic and thermal performance than oxide fuel. In the present work, RG-PuC/ThC TRISO fuels particles are imbedded body-centered cubic (BCC) in a graphite matrix with a volume fraction of 60%. The fuel compacts conform to the dimensions of sintered CANDU fuel compacts are inserted in 37 zircolay rods to build the fuel zone of a bundle. Investigations have been conducted on a conventional CANDU reactor based on GENTILLYII design with 380 fuel bundles in the core. Three mixed fuel composition have been selected for numerical calculation; (1) 10% RG-PuC + 90% ThC; (2) 30% RG-PuC + 70% ThC; (3) 50% RG-PuC + 50% ThC. Initial reactor criticality values for the modes (1), (2) and (3) are calculated as k∞,0 = 1.4848, 1.5756 and 1.627, respectively. Corresponding operation lifetimes are ∼2.7, 8.4, and 15 years and with burn ups of ∼72000, 222000 and 366000 MW.d/tonne, respectively. Higher initial plutonium charge leads to higher burn ups and longer operation periods. In the course of reactor operation, most of the plutonium will be incinerated. At the end of life, remnants of plutonium isotopes would survive; and few amounts of uranium, americium and curium isotopes would be produced.


Introduction: Ocular drug delivery is a very challenging endeavor due to the unique anatomical and physiological barriers. The low ocular bioavailability (<10%) obtained from conventional formulations has forced the scientists to develop new formulations to deliver drugs to ocular tissues at a controlled rate to reduce frequent instillations. The natural polymers have represented the potential to deliver drugs topically through the limited precorneal area and release over a prolonged time period. Areas covered: The important points to be considered during the fabrication of ophthalmic formulations for example, properties of drug molecule and polymer which affect the release rate are discussed. Novel polymers, like arabinogalactan, xyloglucan, gum cordia, locust bean gum, carrageenan and Bletilla striata polysaccharide, besides the conventional polymers like chitosan, starch, sodium alginate, sodium hyaluronate, xanthan gum, gelatin, gellan gum, guar gum, collagen and albumin, have demonstrated the potential to safely deliver drugs at a controlled rate in different ophthalmic formulations. Expert opinion: The limitations of topical delivery of genes and chemotherapeutic drugs can be overcome by using natural polymers with characteristic properties. Despite the wide applicability, tremendous efforts are required to establish natural polymers in novel formulations on a commercial scale.


To analyze the molecular events that occur in the developing mandible, we examined the expression of 8803 genes from samples taken at different time points during rat postnatal mandible development. Total RNA was extracted from the mandibles of 1-day-old, 1-week-old, and 2-week-old rats. Complementary RNA (cRNA) was synthesized from cDNA and biotinylated. Fragmented cRNA was hybridized to RG-U34A GeneChip arrays. Among the 8803 genes tested, 4344 were detectable. We identified 148 genes with significantly increased expression, and 19 genes with significantly decreased expression. A comprehensive analysis appears to be an effective method of studying the complex process of development.


OBJECTIVE
Ischemia with nonobstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) is a prevailing finding in patients with angina. However, the main factors underlying the risk of being rehospitalized for chest pain in patients with INOCA remain mostly unknown.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We evaluated INOCA patients referred to the "Casa di Cura Montevergine" in Mercogliano (Avellino), Italy, from January 2016 to January 2021 for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In these subjects, we assessed the impact of the stress hyperglycemia ratio (SHR), defined as the ratio of mmol/L blood glucose and % HbA1c, on the risk of rehospitalization for chest pain.

RESULTS
A total of 2,874 patients with INOCA successfully completed the study. At the 1-year follow-up, the risk of rehospitalization for chest pain was significantly higher (P < 0.001) in INOCA patients with SHR >1 compared to patients with SHR ≤1. These findings were confirmed by multivariable analyses (adjusting for potential confounders, including age, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, chronic kidney disease, and cholesterol), propensity score matching, and inverse probability of treatment weighting.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate, to our knowledge for the first time, that SHR on hospital admission significantly and independently increases the risk of rehospitalization for chest pain in INOCA patients.


In this article Shulamith Lev-Aladgem focuses on The Bride from the Sea, a community performance by three young Israeli-Palestinian mothers, presented in a sand box in a multi-functional kindergarten in Jaffa in 2008. From the beginning of the creative process, the Jewish facilitator and the performers had to struggle to overcome the various barriers erected by the intricate, oppressive daily life of the young Palestinian women. They eventually managed to perform a 'short, thin performance', which, despite resembling a misperformance, had an emotional and even exceptional effect on the audience. This performance is examined as a special kind of women-based community theatre, termed here 'the bare theatre', to indicate a form that articulates the bare daily life of women trapped between internal and external oppressive power regimes. Shulamith Lev-Aladgem is chair of the Theatre Arts Department at Tel Aviv University, a trained actress, and a community-based theatre practitioner. Her recent publications include Theatre in Co-Communities: Articulating Power (2010) and Standing Front Stage: Resistance, Celebration, and Subversion in Israeli Community-Based Theatre (2010), as well as articles in Research in Drama Education and Israeli Sociology.


This longitudinal study aimed at evaluating the relationships between socio-economic status (SES) and early literacy and numeracy skills, testing home literacy and home numeracy as mediators. It also investigated the interaction of home literacy and numeracy on early literacy and numeracy skills. The study involved 310 preschool children attending the second and the third year. Parents completed questionnaires on SES and home literacy and numeracy. In the first session, children were administered language measures and non-symbolic numeracy skills and, in the second wave, tasks of early literacy and symbolic numeracy skills. Structural equation models (SEMs) showed that SES was predictive of early language and literacy skills and non-symbolic numeracy skills. In addition, home literacy and home numeracy significantly mediated the relationships between SES and children's skills. Finally, home literacy and home numeracy showed a significant negative interaction on symbolic numeracy skills. Implications for research and educational settings are discussed.


Abstract Introduction: In the last years there is a great interest for the theory of the "psychotic continuum", which accepts that there is a transition between schizophrenia and affective pathology, including bipolar disorder with psychotic interferences and the recently introduced diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. There are few studies that analyze bipolar disorder with mood-incongruent psychosis. The purpose of this study was to observe the way in which the interference of mood-incongruent psychotic symptoms can influence the long term evolution of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the similarities that exists between this type of pathology and schizoaffective disorder. Material and methods: Sixty subjects were selected, who are now diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, with and without psychotic features. All cases have at least 15 years of evolution since the first episode of psychosis and were analyzed in term of their age of onset and longitudinal evolution. Results: The results showed that bipolar patients who had mood incongruent psychotic symptoms had an earlier age of onset and a higher rate of hospitalizations in their long term evolution compared to bipolar patients without psychotic features, which brings them closer to patients with schizoaffective disorder in term of their pattern of evolution. Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that the interference of mood-incongruent psychosis with bipolar disorder determines a worse prognosis of this disease, very similar with the evolution of patients with schizoaffective disorder


Optical properties of dust aggregates are important at various astrophysical environments. To find a reliable approximation method for optical properties of dust aggregates, we calculate the opacity and the asymmetry parameter of dust aggregates by using a rigorous numerical method, the T-Matrix Method, and then the results are compared to those obtained by approximate methods: the Rayleigh–Gans–Debye (RGD) theory, the effective medium theory (EMT), and the distribution of hollow spheres method (DHS). First of all, we confirm that the RGD theory breaks down when multiple scattering is important. In addition, we find that both EMT and DHS fail to reproduce the optical properties of dust aggregates with fractal dimensions of 2 when the incident wavelength is shorter than the aggregate radius. In order to solve these problems, we test the mean field theory (MFT), where multiple scattering can be taken into account. We show that the extinction opacity of dust aggregates can be well reproduced by MFT. However, it is also shown that MFT is not able to reproduce the scattering and absorption opacities when multiple scattering is important. We successfully resolve this weak point of MFT, by newly developing a modified mean field theory (MMF). Hence, we conclude that MMF can be a useful tool to investigate radiative transfer properties of various astrophysical environments. We also point out an enhancement of the absorption opacity of dust aggregates in the Rayleigh domain, which would be important to explain the large millimeter-wave opacity inferred from observations of protoplanetary disks.


The characteristics of the photonic crystal vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (PhC-VCSELs) were investigated by using the full vector finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method through the transverse mode loss analysis. PhC-VCSELs with different photonic crystal structures were analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Through combining the dual mode confinement of oxide aperture and seven-point-defect photonic crystal structure, the PhC-VCSELs with low threshold current of 0.9 mA and maximum output power of 3.1 mW operating in single fundamental mode were demonstrated. Mode loss analysis method was proven as a reliable and useful way to analyze and optimize the PhC-VCSELs.


In experiment on rats in the immunodeficiency the use of recombinant epidermal growth factor was substantiated that let to speed up reparative regeneration at concentration 500 ppb/l drinking water.


AIM
The aim of this study was to provide a synthesis of patients' experiences of uncertainty in illness and the interventions outlined, based on qualitative research.

BACKGROUND
There is a need to explore various patient experiences from a nursing perspective in order to achieve evidence-based practice and improve the quality of care. Uncertainty in illness is a dynamic experience - a stressor with a major impact on patients' illnesses.

METHODS
A literature search performed on PubMed and Cinahl yielded 15 qualitative studies that met the inclusion criteria and which were analysed and interpreted.

RESULTS
Experienced uncertainty was one of two main areas comprising three themes: explaining, feeling and facing uncertainty. The second main area was suggested intervention strategies consisting of three themes: organizing the patient trajectory throughout the health-care system, supporting patients through relationships and providing knowledge through clear and accurate communication.

CONCLUSION
Providing insight, confidence and supporting the patients' feeling of control are of importance for health-care professionals.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT
Structured organization of the trajectory system should be followed up, while outcome measures (patient satisfaction), education and training programmes for patients and families after discharge to improve coping strategies and reduce uncertainty should be developed. Nurse leaders should work towards the establishment of clinical academic nursing positions to integrate knowledge, skills, experiences and research into everyday routines.


Abstract Small and medium sized companies (SMEs) assure economic growth in Europe. The Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) concentrated and mobilized Member State and stakeholder efforts bringing eco-innovation from research to market, improving market conditions, opening up global markets. Rapid and reinforced actions are now required, building on the experience of ETAP helping SMEs to have benefits by introducing eco-innovative approaches into their operations. Particularly start-ups, can be the ideal incubators for eco-innovation, and can bring to market new, less environmentally damaging products, services and processes. Generally many SMEs are struggling to survive in an ongoing global recession and often they are becoming reluctant to release innovation, particularly eco-innovation (Assante et al., 2016). In this paper we present first the differences between eco-innovation based business models and those based on regular innovations. Secondly we give some approaches tested in national and European projects with participation of the authors in order to help SMEs to develop business models of eco-innovations. The first one is to build cooperation between researchers, educators and SME staff in order to explain SMEs the advantages of such models and to implement models designed by researchers. Secondly we used practice oriented forms of training for SMEs like Problem Based Learning (PBL) as an efficient form for SMEs and entrepreneurship education to learn to solve problems like the building of an eco-innovation business model. Thirdly we use in our projects eco-innovation biographies (EIBs) reflecting the evolutionary character of such innovations and the dynamics of related policy streams.


The review of the data has been conducted of the long-term laboratory methods of studies of stability and origin of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of Precambrian crystalline rocks of the Ukrainian Shield (USh). Generalization of the data gives weighty arguments for considering the Precambrian rocks of the Ukrainian Shield as promising objects for paleomagnetic studies. Statistical analysis has been made as to directions of NRM in exposures different by their age, composition and origin of crystalline rocks of the USh. It has been found that everywhere within the limits of the Ukrainian Shield in the exposures with magnetically stabile single-component magnetization of thermoremanent origin (according to laboratory and mineralogical criteria) NRM directions in contemporary coordinate system are distributed heterogeneously and are characterized by considerable dispersion. The most probable source of dispersion of NRM vectors within the limits of considered exposures of crystalline rocks of the USh is local tectonics, which produced reorientation within the area of the surface of initial magnetization of rocks.


Aim: The study aims to evaluate experimentally the calorific value and the chemical composition of the sample (sawdust and rice husk).
Methodology: This study was based on an experimental analysis to determine the potential of sawdust and rice husk (a combined sample) as a source of energy generation. Samples were collected from seven different areas, considering one sawmill and two rice mills in each area. The samples collected were mixed with various mass ratios, dried in an oven, and then sieved to obtain homogeneous sizes. The samples were tested for chemical composition using ultimate and proximate analysis, while the caloric values were tested using a bomb calorimeter.
Place and duration: Ebonyi South region of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, between October 2022 and June 2023
Study Design: With respect to potentiality and availability, the quantity of the combined sample generated per year was obtained from mill personnel. The data collected were carefully computed and analyzed to reflect the stated aim.
Results: The results showed that the combined sample contains 36.20 MJ/kg calorific value, 3.13% carbon, 38.31% hydrogen, 6.65% sulfur, 0.11 carbon monoxide, 45.11% oxygen, and 50.96% fixed carbon. Therefore, at 80% utilization per year, 7949.69 MWh of electricity would be generated using 10334.60 tons of the sample (sawdust and rice husk) on an average scale.
Conclusion: The study carried out has shown that the Ebonyi South region of Nigeria has the required quantity of sawdust and rice husk that can be used to generate electricity if properly harnessed. There is no doubt that the study has raised awareness about the benefits of  the proper harnessing of agricultural waste to reduce the emission of dangerous gases into the environment.


The article focuses on the development of an on-board system design method for optimal control of an autonomous mobile group of objects. It is assumed that the group consists of a leader and some agents. A new method for the synthesis of an optimal multivariable control system, which is needed for preserving desired position of the agent relatively to the leader was substantiated in the article. The leader passes along a random trajectory and measurement of the agent position with respect to the leader is accompanied with random noise. All group members experience the action of random disturbances.


Advancements in targeting technology have allowed firms to engage in more precise targeting based on several aspects of consumers' preferences. Exposed to more targeted ads, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of being targeted and respond accordingly. This paper provides a theoretical analysis of multidimensional targeting under which consumers can draw inferences about multiple components of their utility from the advertised product. We show that the firm can be worse off under multidimensional targeting than under single-dimensional targeting, in which the firm targets consumers based only on a single component of their utility. This is because, with multidimensional targeting, targeted consumers may face greater uncertainty about on which specific dimension(s) they can expect to enjoy the advertised product. Therefore, they may be less willing to exert a costly effort of clicking the ad and making a purchase decision. When this result holds, the firm may want to adopt a single-dimensional targeting strategy. However, we show that the firm cannot credibly commit to such a strategy once given access to multiple dimensions of customer data. Interestingly, a higher unit cost of advertising can mitigate the firm's commitment problem for using customer data and thus increase the firm's profit. Moreover, the firm can sometimes lower the price to recover some of, but not entirely offset, the drawbacks of multidimensional targeting. We discuss the implications of our results regarding the current practice of targeted advertising and data privacy protection policies. This paper was accepted by Dmitri Kuksov, marketing. Funding: This work was supported by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology [Grant G04210017]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4604 .