Life history of Ivela auripes (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), a pest of Cornus controversa, was investigated both in laboratory and field condition. At , developmental period from larvae to adult and adult life span was and days, respectively. Developmental period of pupae reared in the laboratory was not significantly different from those collected in the field. Female moths reared in the laboratory laid significantly less eggs than those emerged from the pupae collected in the field. Light trap catches was less effective than direct monitoring in the field. The two monitoring results showed that adult moth emerged from early June to late June, and the time of 50% cumulative emergence was 17 June.


With an increasing number of females participating in sports, coverage of women's sport is still disappointingly unbalanced.  The launch of espnW seemed like an excellent platform to expand coverage of women's sports.  The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the pattern of disproportionate coverage persisted when the content of top headlines/stories presented online by ESPN and espnW were compared.  For five days in each of three weeks in April 2018, two pairs of researchers analyzed: (a) top headlines/stories, (b) buzz articles, and (c) photos located at or near the top of articles.  A content analysis at the article and paragraph level was conducted based on codebooks developed to provide information related to (a) differences in the proportion of the content focused on female sports/athletes on each site, (b) the type of sports covered on each site, (c) the extent to which content was repeated from one day to the next, and (d) differences in the number and content of photos displayed on each site.  Results indicated that differences in the proportion of content coverage of females were present: 23% of espnW article content focused on female athletes versus 31% of espnW article content focused on male athletes, and there was an even greater imbalance on ESPN where only 2% of the top headline articles focused on females.  These results parallel previous studies' findings of gender bias in sport media coverage.


As part of a larger investigation of the thermomechanical fatigue of ceramic matrix composites, this study reports stress analysis of unidirectional SiC fiber-reinforced glass-ceramic composites. The residual stress state developed during cool down from stress free temperature is studied. Several fiber distributions at the microscale are considered. The effects of thermal expansion mismatch are studied by considering two glass-ceramics, viz. Lithium-Aluminum-Silicate (LAS) and Calcium-Aluminum-Silicate (CAS), reinforced by Nicalon fibers. Using simple failure criteria at microscale, assessments of initiation and development of damage modes in the two composite systems are made


Due to the increasing need to handle the noisy label problem in a massive dataset, learning with noisy labels has received much attention in recent years. As a promising approach, there have been recent studies to select clean training data by finding small-loss instances before a deep neural network overfits the noisy-label data. However, it is challenging to prevent overfitting. In this paper, we propose a novel noisy-label detection algorithm by employing the property of overfitting on individual data points. To this end, we present two novel criteria that statistically measure how much each training sample abnormally affects the model and clean validation data. Using the criteria, our iterative algorithm removes noisy-label samples and retrains the model alternately until no further performance improvement is made. In experiments on multiple benchmark datasets, we demonstrate the validity of our algorithm and show that our algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art methods when the exact noise rates are not given. Furthermore, we show that our method can not only be expanded to a real-world video dataset but also can be viewed as a regularization method to solve problems caused by overfitting.


A thesis submitted to The Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of a Master of Arts Degree in Economics, 2016


Segawa Neurological Clinic for Children was founded in 1973, and specializes in neurological disorders that start in childhood. In thirty-one years since the foundation, about 16,000 patients visited this clinic. The ages of the first visit to this clinic of the patients are mostly below 15 years. The main diseases are epilepsy, autism, mental retardation with various etiologies, Tourette syndrome, and other neurological disorders. Most of the diseases follow a chronic course and require long term follow-up. In this clinic those patients who need the continuous follow-up are seen even after reaching to adulthood. The average age of patients who were seen in the clinic during 2003 was about 21 years of age (20.77 +/- 14.28), suggesting that many of the patients are followed in this clinic for 20-30 years. The etiologies and pathophysiologies of most of these diseases are not fully understood. Therefore, the treatments based on the causes are difficult. The pathophysiologies of these diseases are modified by the ages. For example, some patients with epilepsy develop psychiatric symptoms in adulthood, and require the consultation by psychiatrists. The long-term follow up of certain disorders and evaluations of the disorders at different ages up to the adulthood have lead to new scientific discoveries. Examples include age-dependent symptoms observed in Segawa disease, psychiatric symptoms developing in frontal lobe epilepsy cases, alterations of behaviors in autism and Tourette syndrome. This knowledge suggests insights for the early prevention of later adverse outcomes. Social awareness and understanding of these neurological problems occurring in childhood are essential. The medical economic base for child neurology is another challenging and urgent issue to be solved. The importance of child neurology in the life-long neurology is stressed.


The relatively rare occurrence of injury or fatality in fuel-fed fires has received considerable attention in automotive safety rulemaking and products liability litigation. The literature related to fatalities associated with fire is confirmed by recent FARS data, and there are no reliable field data which confirm a need for further injury-reducing effect related to FMVSS 301. NHTSA has acknowledged this by removing crash fire rulemaking from its priorities plan. The police-reported crash fire data now available must be supplemented with in-depth investigation by trained teams before informed judgements can be made regarding further safety improvements with respect to crash fire injury.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory joint disease that can cause cartilage and bone damage as well as a disability. Various cytokines play an essential role in disease formation such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-17, and macrophages; osteoclast is also activated by the cytokines, which cause bone degradation. Early diagnosis is key to optimal therapeutic success, particularly in patients with well-characterized risk factors for poor outcomes such as high disease activity, presence of autoantibodies, and early joint damage. Treatment algorithms involve measuring disease activity with composite indices, applying a treatment-to-target strategy, and using conventional, biological, and new non-biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. After the treatment target of stringent remission (or at least low disease activity) is maintained, dose reduction should be attempted. Although the prospects for most patients are now favorable, many still do not respond to current therapies. The biologics have changed the disease progression over the past few decades, such as TNF-alpha inhibitors (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, golimumab, certolizumab), IL-1 inhibitors (anakinra), IL-6 inhibitors (tocilizumab), CD20 inhibitors (rituximab), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated antigen (CTLA)-4 inhibitors (abatacept). In treatment with biologics, only little is known if "biologic-free" remission is possible in patients with sustained remission following intensive biological therapy. Infliximab and etanercept, in the long run, develop the drug antibody. This article has reviewed the action of the cytokine on joints and biological drug's action in blocking the cytokine degradation effect, benefits of biologics, and adverse effects in the long and short term. They are also effective alone or in combination with other drugs.


Reaction-formed $MnZn$ ferrite was prepared and the decrease in shrinkage after sintering due to the volume expansion accompanying iron oxidation was studied.
Green compacts consisting of the milled raw oxides $Fe_2O_3$, $Mn_3O_4$, $ZnO$ and metallic iron powder were sintered at 1350 °C in air. During the first hold at 800 °C, $Fe$ was oxidized to $\alpha-Fe_2O_3$ and $Zn$ ferrite was formed. Above 1300 °C the reaction bonding was completed and $MnZn$ ferrite, exhibiting a relatively low shrinkage, was formed. The chemical reactions involved during reaction bonding were associated with a volume expansion and porosity formation, compensating for the shrinkage on sintering. Intensive milling decreases the porosity after sintering but induces the oxidation of iron, and partially removes the shrinkage compensation caused by the presence of metallic iron.


There is considerable current interest in the passivation of single crystal silicon surfaces, particularly with reference to the fabrication of epitaxially grown solid state device structures. In this paper, we discuss ordered Si(100) and (111) surfaces prepared by chemical etching in solutions of hydrofluoric acid and studied by use of Soft XPS, XPS and LEED. Despite transfer through the atmosphere before being loaded into the UHV of our analysis instruments, the hydrogen terminated surfaces observed are shown to be among the most perfect yet produced by such chemical means. Under optimum conditions, the etch can yield levels of carbon and oxygen impurities of less than 2% of a monolayer and lead to surfaces where the Fermi level is not pinned. The etched surfaces are modified by the hydrogen termination such that they are electrically passivated and ordered into a (1 × 1) periodicity. Upon annealing at (520 ± 10)°C in UHV, the hydrogen is removed, the surface changes to a (2 × 1) reconstruction and also exhibits band bending due to Fermi level pinning by surface strates. The relationship between residual contamination and etching parameters such as time and etchant concentration has been examined, together with the stability of the passivated surface under exposure to wet and dry environments. This has shown that the surface condition is sensitive to etching procedure and that the optimum surface may be obtained by using a 5% non-aqueous solution, or by pre-cleaning a surface using a UV generated ozone exposure prior to an aqueous etch. It has also been shown that a controlled reoxidation of an etched surface using UV-ozone can produce a non-abrupt Si-SiO2 interface. This may form a useful part of a reduced temperature surface preparation, compatible with any subsequent epitaxial overlayer growth.


We study an industrial computer code related to nuclear safety. A major topic of interest is to assess the uncertainties tainting the results of a computer simulation. In this work we gain robustness on the quantification of a risk measurement by accounting for all sources of uncertainties tainting the inputs of a computer code. To that extent, we evaluate the maximum quantile over a class of distributions defined only by constraints on their moments. Two options are available when dealing with such complex optimization problems: one can either optimize under constraints; or preferably, one should reformulate the objective function. We identify a well suited parameterization to compute the optimal quantile based on the theory of canonical moments. It allows an effective, free of constraints, optimization.


To the Editor: Entamoeba nuttalli parasites are frequently found in fecal samples of nonhuman primates (NHPs) in zoos (1). This gastrointestinal pathogen is the causative agent of invasive amebiasis in NHPs, which may result in hemorrhagic dysentery, liver abscess or other extraintestinal pathologies, and even death (2). E. histolytica infection is the cause of invasive amebiasis in humans and can also cause experimentally invasive amebiasis in NHPs (3). The host specificity of E. nuttalli and E. histolytica parasites remains largely unknown. Although molecular analyses indicate that E. nuttalli parasites are genetically different from E. histolytica parasites (4), and hence provide a unique marker to identify zoonotic transmission, molecular tools have not been applied extensively to determine the presence of E. nuttalli in humans (5). Moreover, studies suggesting transmission have been based on clinical outbreaks in animal caretakers (2), and because infections may not always be symptomatic, the results of those studies may underestimate the incidence.

We conducted a study to assess the occurrence of zoonotic transmission of E. nuttalli and other gastrointestinal parasites in animal caretakers in 5 zoos in Belgium and the Netherlands. A previous cross-sectional survey (6) in these zoos indicated that >80% of the 67 groups of NHPs (40 species, 400 animals, and 1,435 samples) were infected with at least 1 of the 13 gastrointestinal parasites found. In that survey, the most frequently detected parasites were E. nuttalli (found in 7 [10.4%] of the 67 groups of NHPs), Trichuris trichiura (12 [17.9%]), Balantidium coli (14 [20.9%]), and Giardia duodenalis (26 [38.8%]). These parasites can cause clinical symptoms in animals and humans. In our study, caretakers of NHPs in each zoo were screened on a voluntary basis for gastrointestinal parasites; animals other than NHPs were also screened (control group). Fecal samples were processed by the acid-ether concentration method and then examined by microscopy to identify the presence of protozoan cysts and helminth eggs (6). With the exception of fecal samples from 13 caretakers at 2 zoos, all samples were also processed by using real-time PCR to ascertain the presence of E. nuttall, E. histolytica, and E. dispar parasites (7). E. nuttalli can only be detected by PCR targeting the E. histolytica–specific repeat; the parasite cannot be detected by a PCR based on the ribosomal small subunit of E. histolytica. Both PCRs amplified E. histolytica (8). Fisher exact test was applied to determine whether there was a difference in parasite infection, as determined by microscopy, between caretakers responsible for NHPs and those caring for animals other than NHPs. An independent physician gave medication to caretakers who were infected with parasites. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Ghent University (Belgium; no. 2008/359), Antwerp University (Belgium; no. UA A08 21), and Leiden University Medical Center (the Netherlands; no. 26734).

Fifty-four animal caretakers from 5 zoos participated in the survey; 42 of the caretakers were responsible for NHPs and 12 for animals other than NHPs. Microscopy and PCR results showed that 16 (29.6%) caretakers were infected with >1 parasite. We used microscopy to detect cysts of various Entamoeba species in fecal samples from 13 (24.1%) caretakers; samples from 4 (7.4%) caretakers were positive for T. trichiura eggs. Infections with Entamoeba species and T. trichiura were observed only in caretakers of NHPs, suggesting that these caretakers are at higher risk of acquiring parasitic infections (p = 0.03). PCR detected E. nuttalli, E. histolytica, and E. dispar parasites in 1, 1, and 3 of 41 caretakers, respectively. We were not able to perform PCR on all fecal samples from 2 zoos (13 caretakers). E. nuttalli parasites were detected in a caretaker working in a zoo where E. nuttalli infections were prevalent in animals. E. histolytica parasites was detected in a caretaker employed in a zoo where E. nuttalli infections were not detected in animals. All T. trichiura infections were detected in caretakers from 1 zoo, and T. trichiura infections were also prevalent in that zoo's animals. None of the caretakers reported gastrointestinal problems.

The presence of E. nuttalli and T. trichiura parasites in caretakers in zoos where these parasites are also prevalent in NHPs strongly suggests NHP-to-human transmission of these parasites, as was reported for Blastocystis parasites (9). Genotyping of E. nuttalli isolates from NHPs and animal caretakers could be performed for additional confirmation of NHP-to-human transmission of E. nuttalli parasites (10). The E. nuttalli–infected caretaker in this study appeared to be completely asymptomatic. Although E. nuttalli parasites are as virulent as E. histolytica parasites in animal models, it remains unclear whether they are as virulent in humans (4). We recommend that caretakers of NHPs be screened on a regular basis and be provided with appropriate medications if needed.


Background Early identification of children at risk of learning disorders (LD) may mitigate the adverse effects of delayed intervention by guiding children to receive preventive services at an earlier age. However, there is no assessment tool for the early identification of children at risk of LD in Mainland China. Therefore, this study aimed to create a Chinese version of the Preschool Learning Skills Scale and investigate its validity and reliability. Methods Firstly, a pilot scale was designed based on literature review and expert review. Secondly, a pre-survey of the pilot scale was conducted. In phase 3, a formal survey was carried out to test the reliability and validity of the scale by involving 2,677 preschool children from 7 kindergartens. Data were collected using a checklist for demographic characteristics, the preschool learning skills scale, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version (BRIEF-P), and Conners' Rating Scales. Results The final scale included 38 items under seven factors. The reliability and validity tests confirmed that the Cronbach's alpha, split-half reliability, and test–retest reliability coefficients of the scale were 0.946, 0.888, and 0.941, respectively. The Spearman correlations of factor-total score ranged from 0.685 to 0.876. The results of criterion-related validity showed a direct and significant association between the preschool learning skills scale with the BRIEF-P (r = 0.641, P < 0.001) and the cognitive problems factor of Conners' Rating Scales (r = 0.564, P < 0.001). The model had a good fit (χ2/df = 3.489, RMSEA = 0.047, RMR = 0.024, CFI = 0.912, TLI = 0.900, and IFI = 0.912). Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported the structural and measurement invariance on the preschool learning skills scale across gender and grade. Conclusions The developed preschool learning skills scale has good reliability and validity, indicating that the scale can be used to identify preschool children at risk of LD and can be recommended for use in clinical research and practice.


This article is itself a summarized statement concerning the various influences which affect population densities and the population systems these lead to. Known facts concerning animal populations have been analysed. systematized. and critically examined. using the experimental and mathematical approaches in the simpler situations. The more outstanding conclusions are listed below. Populations are self-governing systems. They regulate their densities in relation to their own properties and those of their environments. This they do by depleting and impairing essential things to the threshold of favourability, or by maintaining reactive inimical factors, such as the attack of natural enemies, at the limit of tolerance. The mechanism of density governance is almost always intraspecific competition, either amongst the animals for a critically important requisite, or amongst natural enemies for which the animals concerned are requisites. Governing reaction induced by density change holds populations in a state of balance in their environments. The characteristic of balance is sustained and effective compensatory reaction which maintains populations in being in spite of even violent changes in the environment, and which adjusts their densities in general conformity with prevailing conditions. Far from being a stationary state, balance is commonly a state of oscillation about the level of the equilibrium density which is for ever changing with environmental conditions. Destructive factors do not add to mortality when they continue to operate over long periods, but merely cause a redistribution of mortality, for the intensity of competition automatically relaxes sufficiently to make room for the destruction they cause. Such compensatory reaction causes the effect of destructive factors upon density to be much less when balance is reattained than that which they produce when they first operate.


Tissue engineering may constitute a promising alternative to current strategies in ligament repair, providing that suitable scaffolds and culture conditions are proposed. The objective of the present contribution is to present the design and instrumentation of a novel multi-chamber tension-torsion bioreactor dedicated to ligament tissue engineering. A preliminary biological evaluation of a new braided scaffold within this bioreactor under dynamic loading is reported, starting with the development of a dedicated seeding protocol validated from static cultures. The results of these preliminary biological characterizations confirm that the present combination of scaffold, seeding protocol and bioreactor may enable us to head towards a suitable ligament tissue-engineered construct.


Feature weighting is a technique used to approximate the optimal d egree of influence of individual features. This paper presents a feature weighting method for Document Image Retrieval System (DIRS) based on keyword spotting. In this method, we weight the feature using coefficient of multiple correlations. Coefficient of multiple correlations can be used to describe the synthesized effects and correlation of each feature. The aim of this paper is to show that feature weighting increases the performance of DIRS. After applying the feature weighting method to DIRS the average precision is 93.23% and average recall become 98.66% respectively.


Background : The increased number of population living in urban areas causes the increase of requirement of basic life needs as well as the increase of household and human excreta waste. If these wastes were not well managed, this situation would contaminate the environment. This study aimed to analyze the relatioship between environmental factors, knowledge and hygiene behavior among mothers who lives in Bandung slum area. Methods : An analytic cross sectional study was carried out on 132 mothers who lived in Tamansari subdistrict in Bandung city (RW 06, 07, 15, and 16) from May to October 2014. The primary data were collected using 2 sets of questionnaire and an observation checklist. The environmental factors and knowledge variables were catagorized into good and poor, while hygiene behavior was catagorized into good, moderate, and poor. The collected data were statistically analyzed using Chi-Square test. Results : More than half of the participants had good environmental factors (60.6%), 59 participants (44.6%) had good knowledge about hygiene and 83 participants (62.9%) had good hygiene behavior, 43 participants (32.6%) had a moderate hygiene behavior, and 6 participants (4.5%) bad hygiene behavior. Environmental factors was related to hygiene behavior (p=0.002). However, knowledge was not related to hygiene behavior (p=0.539). Conclusions : Environment is a significant factor to hygiene behavior


To avoid depth-of-field mismatches caused by the changes in pipe structure and image overexposures caused by highly reflective surfaces while radial imaging irregular pipes, this paper proposes a novel all-in-focus, adaptable, and low scene-coupling method that suppresses overexposures in support of fault detection. Firstly, the pipeline's radial depth distribution data are obtained by sensors, and an optimal all-in-focus imaging scheme is established by combining camera parameters. Secondly, using digital imaging technology, the high reflection effect produced by disparate light sources is comprehensively evaluated for overexposure suppression. Thirdly, a device is designed for imaging non-Lambertian free-form surface scenes under low illumination, providing the sequence images needed for the next step. Lastly, specific digital fusions are made to the sequential images to obtain an all-in-focus final image without overexposure. An image-quality analysis method is then used to measure the efficacy of the system in obtaining the characteristic information of the inner surfaces of an irregular pipe. Results of the experiment show that the method and device used are able to distinguish small 0.5 mm wide lines ranging from 40–878 mm depth and are capable of providing efficient image support for defect inspection of irregular pipes and free-form surfaces amongst other irregular surfaces.


In intertemporal choice experiments people usually choose between smaller-sooner and larger-later amounts of money. That is, they make tradeoffs in terms of nominal amounts. Yet the factor governing intertemporal tradeoffs in the marketplace is usually the interest rate. In this study, we tested whether two major phenomena that occur when trading off nominal amounts, excessive discounting and the hyperbolic-interval effect, would also occur when trade-offs are made in terms of interest rates. They don't. In a large-scale (N=1,960) internet study of Spanish consumers who made intertemporal tradeoffs for money, tradeoffs described in terms of nominal amounts induced high discount rates and a considerable hyperbolic-interval effect (replicating earlier studies). However, when they were described as both amounts and interest rates, discount rates were much lower, and there was no effect for how finely the interval was partitioned. When the tradeoffs were described as interest rates only, discount rates were even lower, and the hyperbolic-interval effect was reversed. Thus, some of the most-cited results in intertemporal choice research are unique to a specific way of eliciting discount rates.


Abstract:This report describes a new research resource: a searchable database of 4,700 naturally occurring instances of sluicing in English, annotated so as to shed light on the questions that have shaped research on ellipsis since the 1960s. The paper describes the data set and how it can be obtained, how it was constructed, how it is organized, and how it can be queried. It also highlights some initial empirical findings, first describing general characteristics of the data, then focusing more closely on issues concerning antecedents and possible mismatches between antecedents and ellipsis sites.


On the basis of the attractive possibility of efficient hydrogen storage in light metal hydrides, we have examined a large variety of Mg(n)H(m) nanoclusters and (MgH(2))(n) nanocrystals (n = 2-216, m = 2-436) using high level coupled cluster, CCSD(T), ab initio methods, and judicially chosen density functional calculations of comparable quality and (near chemical) accuracy. Our calculated desorption energies as a function of size and percentage of hydrogen have pinpointed optimal regions of sizes and concentrations of hydrogen which are in full agreement with recent experimental findings. Furthermore, our results reproduce the experimental desorption energy of 75.5 kJ/mol for the infinite system with remarkable accuracy (76.5 ± 1.5 kJ/mol).


Nano powder of aluminium nitride (AlN) is one of the materials necessary for developing solid insulating materials with high thermal conductivities. This paper describes the results of chemical equilibrium composition calculations and the results of experiments in synthesizing AlN nano powder using transferred type arc plasma. In order to increase the AlN content in synthesized powder, ammonia was recommended as a reacting/quenching gas, to be blown into aluminium gas in a temperature range between 2000 and 2400 K. The AlN content increased by more than 99% on passing the synthesized powder through ethanol.


In the last decade of the 19th Century a third party threatened the established party system of the United States. The People's Party, whose members were referred to as Populists, tried to unite in a single electoral coalition the rural sections of the country, divided between the two major parties: the Democrats being the party of the "solid" South, the Republicans the dominant force in the vast area stretching from the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains. Populists missed this ambitious goal and were soon absorbed by the Democrats. In 1896 the Democratic–Populist ticket led by William J. Bryan lost to William McKinley and the Republicans would dominate, with few exceptions, American politics for four decades. In the early 2000s the South–West alliance became a reality through the coalition that propelled George W. Bush, a Republican, to the White House. The article traces the history of the populist movement and its short-term and long-term influence on American politics.


The equilibrium water contact angles of vertically aligned nanorod Si films were measured by the sessile drop method. For as-deposited hydrophilic films, there was a contact angle transition from a rough surface to a 'hemi-wicking' porous surface at normal film thickness d = 500 nm; while for the HF treated hydrophobic films, a transition from a partially composite to a composite surface was observed at the same film thickness. The observed results can be reasonably interpreted within the framework of the classical Young theory.


Movies are among the most prominent contributors to the global entertainment industry today, and they are among the biggest revenue-generating industries from a commercial standpoint. It's vital to divide films into two categories: successful and unsuccessful. To categorize the movies in this research, a variety of models were utilized, including regression models such as Simple Linear, Multiple Linear, and Logistic Regression, clustering techniques such as SVM and K-Means, Time Series Analysis, and an Artificial Neural Network. The models stated above were compared on a variety of factors, including their accuracy on the training and validation datasets as well as the testing dataset, the availability of new movie characteristics, and a variety of other statistical metrics. During the course of this study, it was discovered that certain characteristics have a greater impact on the likelihood of a film's success than others. For example, the existence of the genre action may have a significant impact on the forecasts, although another genre, such as sport, may not. The testing dataset for the models and classifiers has been taken from the IMDb website for the year 2020. The Artificial Neural Network, with an accuracy of 86 percent, is the best performing model of all the models discussed.


A delay in the first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) may contribute to outbreaks of measles, resulting in a high age-specific incidence in infants <1 y of age. To determine the factors associated with delayed MCV1 vaccinations, we used data from the China Information Management System for Immunization Programming. Additionally, the parents/guardians of 430 children whose MCV1 vaccinations were delayed, as well as the parents/guardians of 424 children who received timely vaccinations, were surveyed by telephone. Children were less likely to receive timely MCV1 vaccinations if they belonged to an immigrant group, were male, had poor health status, had a father whose occupation e.g., a manager, had a history of delays in other Expanded Programs on Immunization (EPI) vaccinations, had parents who did not believe vaccinations were important for their children, and experienced shorter travel times to and longer waiting times in EPI clinics. The children of mothers whose occupational status (technician) were more likely to receive timely MCV1 vaccinations. The timeliness of MCV1 vaccinations should be considered as an additional indicator of the quality of vaccination programs.


Padro begins by defining a social safety net and discussing the economic health of various nations and their definition of poverty. Traditional safety net programs, such as social security, unemployment insurance and workers compensation, Medicare and Medicaid, and the welfare system in the United States and other countries are discussed in depth. Additional chapters provide detailed analysis devoted soley to programs affecting women and children. The availability of statistical information has increased dramatically on the Internet, yet it can be difficult to find and interpret. The Statistical Handbook on the Social Safety Net presents a carefully selected array of 300 tables, graphs, and charts, placing valuable statistics into context with introductory text. Detailed source information in each table, figure, and chart allows the user to pursue further information and uncover the stories behind the numbers. Each chapter concludes with a glossary of key terms. A bibliography, guide to information sources available on the Internet, and a detailed index are included.


This article concerns the role of teachers as street level bureaucrats in Swedish vocational healthcare education for adult students. At the centre of the analysis are the challenges related to policy implementation when many of the students are second language speakers and language and communication play a role. Policy documents provide the analysis with a normative framework. Interviews with teachers give the analysis its standpoint. As a societal context, the field of elderly care suffers from labour shortages with difficulties recruiting trained staff. Policy stakeholders place high expectation on adult care education to both supply the labour market with trained staff, and to contribute to a smooth integration of migrants into society. As a matter of fact, half of the students in Swedish adult vocational healthcare education are migrants and the majority of those who complete the education get employment within elderly care. Thus, healthcare teachers are incremental to the implementation of policies. In their role as street level bureaucrats, they use different strategies to handle the press transferring sometimes contradictory policies into practice in the direct encounters with students. The results stress the importance of communication and language in healthcare education – and in elderly care practice.


Abstract Patient safety is a fundamental aspect of a healthcare system. The aim of this study was to assess the perception and determinants of the patient safety culture of pharmacists in hospitals, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A survey was conducted with pharmacists in the pharmacies of governmental, /military and private hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The pharmacy survey on patient safety culture questionnaire developed by Agency for Healthcare Research and Qualtity, a hard copy was distriuted to the pharmacists. The positive response rate (RR) was calculated and compared across hospitals using a chi-square test. The predictors of patient safety grades were identified using the generalized estimating equation. The data was analyzed using SAS. A total of 538 questionnaires were distributed, of which 411 responded (RR 76.4%). Of the participants, 229 (56%) were females. The majority 255 (62%) were in the 18 to 34 years age range, and 361 (88%) had a bachelor's degree. The majority of the sample 376 (92%) was a pharmacist. The Positive RR (PRR) ranged between (25.6%–74%). The highest PRR was observed in teamwork (74.4%), followed by 'staff, training and skills' (68%), and 'organizational learning continuous improvement' (66%). The lowest PRR was observed in 'staffing, work pressure, and pace' (25.5%). Comparing the PPR of the various healthcare sectors, the governmental hospitals scored the highest in all patient safety domains. Generalized Estimating Equation analysis showed that with increase in scores of all patient safety culture domains increased the likelihood of reporting a better patient safety grade, whereas respondents' demographic characteristics had no effect except the working experience years 6 years and above had odds of poor reporting of the patient safety grade (odds ratio = 2.54, 95% confience interval (1.543, 4.194), (P = .0003). The grades achieved in the various domains of patient safety culture by pharmacists in Riyadh are below the expected standard. The highest scores were achieved in teamwork, with the lowest scores in staffing, work pressure and pace. Overall, pharmacists in government hospital settings have a better perception of patient safety than their peers in other settings. These results provide the baseline evidence for developing future interventional studies aiming at improving patient safety culture in hospital pharmacy settings.


Addressing the needs of students in entry-level Computer Science courses, an online social-network-based learning environment, PeerSpace, was successfully developed to enhance student learning and performance. PeerSpace integrates a suite of Web 2.0 tools that promote student interactions on course-related topics as well as purely social matters. Part of this suite is a practice tool, Preparation Station, developed to strengthen and reinforce students' grasp of concepts learned in class, to encourage student participation in PeerSpace, and to trigger course-related communication among students. PeerSpace is implemented atop the open-source Elgg social network framework. This paper presents design of Preparation Station as well as an assessment of its effectiveness in improving student learning.


In this paper heat and mass transfer phenomena are studied in a catalytic monolith with a fast exothermic reaction taking place at the walls at fully developing laminar flow for different values of the kinetic parameters. A two-dimensional model has been adopted to simulate the behaviour of the monolith reactor. The unsteady Navier–Stokes equations have been discretized by adopting the control volume approach and solved by means of the CFD-ACE+ package. The model surface reaction is parametrically varied to account for the effects of the perturbation generated by heat production associated with the reaction on flow field, temperature and concentration profiles and then on transport. Results show that Nu and Sh trends are not monotonic functions but that there exists a transfer enhancement due to the perturbation of the flow field. This increase is shown to be dependent on the kinetics parameters of the surface reaction. We show that the definition of the new driving force we previously proposed, which relates the transfer coefficients to the adiabatic temperature rise, is also able to describe the effect of the kinetic parameters if the pre-exponential factor and the activation energy are included in the correlation.


»Väter zwischen Schuldenmoral, Gericht und Medien in den USA der 1980er Jahre«. This article explores the "deadbeat dad" – fathers short on child support payments – as a contemporary figure originating in the Reagan era. It questions risks that were morally redirected in the 1980s, addressed towards particular groups of fathers and their relatives. After setting the question in relation to contemporary masculinity studies, the author brings "deadbeat dads" in line with the history of indebtedness and default. By scrutinizing how the claim to secure single mothers' alimony was integrated into a neoconservative project and the state's retreat from welfare in the United States, the paper analyses TV newscasts displaying the prosecution of delinquent fathers publicly. Adopting a discourse-analytical perspective, the author sketches out how the figure of the male breadwinner resonated in claims for economic and biological responsibility that were revived in the Reagan years. Exemplified by the context of the current case of Walter Scott, the contemporary history of child support debtors demonstrates how black fathers do not only face a higher risk of becoming victims of police violence, but also how ascribing default to African American fathers tied irresponsibility to black masculinity.


Circular targets are commonly used in vision applications for its detection accuracy and robustness. The eccentricity error of the circular target caused by perspective projection is one of the main factors of measurement error which needs to be compensated in high-accuracy measurement. In this study, the impact of the lens distortion on the eccentricity error is comprehensively investigated. The traditional eccentricity error turns to a quasi-eccentricity error in the non-linear camera model. The quasi-eccentricity error model is established by comparing the quasi-center of the distorted ellipse with the true projection of the object circle center. Then, an eccentricity error compensation framework is proposed which compensates the error by iteratively refining the image point to the true projection of the circle center. Both simulation and real experiment confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in several vision applications.


The increasing interest for distributed user interfaces needs languages that better support their specification in multidevice environments. In this paper we discuss an approach to specifying this type of user interfaces, and how it is applied to an extension of the MARIA language aiming to provide flexible support for the description of distributed user interfaces.


BACKGROUND
Thymidine phosphorylase (TdR-Pase) is an essential enzyme for the metabolism of fluorouracil-related drugs and it is also recognized as a potent angiogenic factor. We measured the TdR-Pase activity in human transitional cell cancers (TCCs) of the urinary tract to assess the relationship between TdR-Pase activity and degree of tumor malignancy. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between TdR-Pase activity and chemosensitivity to fluorouracil-related drugs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sixty-two TCC tissues and 12 normal bladder tissues were obtained. TdR-Pase activity was measured with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The in vitro histoculture drug response assay was also performed to investigate tumor sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and doxifluridine (5'-DFUR).

RESULTS
The TdR-Pase activity of TCCs was three-fold higher than that of normal tissues. The TdR-Pase activity increased along with the histological grade, and the TdR-Pase activity of invasive cancers was significantly higher than that of superficial cancers. However, TdR-Pase showed no relationship with the sensitivity to 5-FU or 5'DFUR.

CONCLUSION
A high TdR-Pase activity in human TCCs was confirmed to predict a high tumor grade and stage. However, the anti-tumor effect of fluorouracil-related drugs was independent of the TdR-Pase activity.


Earth Systems Science (ESS) is emerging rapidly as a discipline and is being used to replace the older earth science education that has been taught as unrelated disciplines—geology, meteorology, astronomy, and oceanography. ESS is complex and is based on the idea that the earth can be understood as a set of interacting natural and social systems. An analytic, metalevel framework is needed to understand the complexity. The framework specifies a set of metalevel essential ideas and analytic concepts that can be applied to understand the substantive structures of ESS—the essential ideas describe the general nature of earth systems, and the analytic concepts describe types of discipline-specific concepts such as the materials, processes, and variables of earth systems. An analysis for the phenomenon of carbon cycling is provided as an example. The framework allows one to determine whether what is to be taught is complete and coherent and can be used to conduct research and evaluations of curriculum, teachers' knowledge, and students' knowledge in a systematic manner. Sets of studies completed using the ESS analytic framework will allow comparability across subjects that is currently lacking. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 95:1066–1085, 2011


Analysis of IC technology trends indicates that Iddq testing may be approaching its limits of applicability. The new concept of the current signature may expand this limit under the condition that an appropriate current-signature-based test methodology is developed. This paper is a first step toward such a goal. It is focused on current signature step detection in a noisy test environment. Application of current signatures in die selection and defect diagnosis is discussed as well.


Microprocessors have grown tremendously in its computing and data crunching capability since the early days of the invention of a microprocessor. Today, most microprocessors in the market are at 32 bits, while the latest microprocessors from IBM, Intel and AMD are at 64 bits. To further grow the computational capability of a microprocessor, there are two possible paths. One method is to increase the data bus size of the microprocessor to 128/256/512 bits. The larger the data bus size, the more data can be crunched at any one time. The second method is to implement multiple microprocessor core in a single microprocessor unit. For example, Intel's Pentium 4 Dual Core and AMD's Athlon Dual Core both have two microprocessor core within a single microprocessor unit. Latest from Intel and AMD are quad core microprocessors with four microprocessor core within a single microprocessor unit. Both methods have its advantages and disadvantages. Both methods yields different design issues and have different engineering limitations. This research looks into the possibility of implementing a large data bus size VLIW microprocessor core of 256 bits on the data bus. VLIW is chosen as opposed to CISC and RISC due to its ease of scalability.


Coconut pulp contains up to 18.2% protein which is one of the wastes from coconut oil processing. Protein from coconut pulp can be used in the manufacture of protein concentrates which are widely used in the food industry. The purpose of this research is to determine the concentration of NaOH that can produce the yield and protein content of coconut pulp protein concentrate. Coconut pulp protein was extracted with NaOH at various concentrations of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 M, then continued with salting out using salt (NH4)2SO4 with a saturation of 65%. The crude protein content of coconut pulp protein concentrate was determined by the Kjeldahl method. The results showed that the use of 0.5 M NaOH resulted in the highest protein content of coconut pulp protein concentrate, which was 71.30% with a yield of 14.42%.


Diurnal hysteresis between evapotranspiration (ET) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was reported in many ecosystems, but justification for its onset and magnitude remains incomplete with biotic and abiotic factors invoked as possible explanations. To place these explanations within a holistic framework, the occurrence of hysteresis was theoretically assessed along a hierarchy of model systems where both abiotic and biotic components are sequentially added. Lysimeter evaporation (E) measurements and model calculations using the Penman equation were used to investigate the effect of the time lag between net radiation and VPD on the hysteresis in the absence of any biotic effects. Modulations from biotic effects on the ET‐VPD hysteresis were then added using soil‐plant‐atmosphere models of different complexities applied to a grassland ecosystem. The results suggest that the hysteresis magnitude depends on the radiation‐VPD lag, while the plant and soil water potentials are both key factors modulating the hysteretic ET‐VPD relation as soil moisture declines. In particular, larger hysteresis magnitude is achieved at less negative leaf water potential, root water potential, and soil water potential. While plant hydraulic capacitance affects the leaf water potential‐ET relation, it has negligible effects on the ET‐VPD hysteresis. Therefore, the genesis and magnitude of the ET‐VPD hysteresis are controlled directly by both abiotic factors such as soil water availability, biotic factors (leaf and root water potentials, which in turn depend on soil moisture), and the time lag between radiation and VPD.


The in between city is often used to name areas which are neither urban nor rural, where "the sharp distinction between city and landscape has dissolved into an ecological and cultural continuum of a built structure between city and landscape". Sieverts in (Huhlmann, 2007). The Thesis aims to gain a better understanding of how these territories function and how they perform according to social, economic and ecological planning goals, by developing an approach using the concept of 'Permeability', which I define as the property and capacity of the territory that facilitates connections and therefore flows. As a first step a classification on the regional scale to identify the 'Territories in Between' using two deliberately distinct and different case study areas (the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and the state of The Tyrol in Austria), is undertaken to later be able to draw conclusions which are valid in the European context. An integrated approach using the concept of permeability based on the understanding of these territories as both a place (a site or territory) and as a number of often just loosely bounded, relatively disconnected and dispersed, perhaps sprawling activities, made in and through many different kinds of networks, is used to gain a better understanding of the 'Territories in Between' in the two test case areas. Through the combination of economic, social and ecological as well as mapable permeability indicators, the territories can be investigated in a moderate relationalism which allows overcoming the 'network versus territories' as well as the 'human versus nature' divide. "On the one hand, networks should not be seen as non-spatial and without 'geographical anchors' and on the other hand, territories and scales should not be viewed as closed and static." (Jones, 2009) Following this idea the indicators are chosen according to their suitability to establish a relationship between the territory and the flows within the landscape, describing the traces of these flows. Finally general planning and design principles are developed, which are based on a relational and not functional understanding of the 'Territories in Between', by comparing the indicators and the results within the different case study areas.


The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and total suspended solids (TSS) in water on an indigenous fish species, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (Bleeker, 1854), and an exotic fish species, Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Malaysia. The survival rate, growth performance, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of juvenile fish were tested in different water quality conditions for 30 days. The water temperature of 30°C, DO value of less than 4 mg L-1, and TSS content of 1000 mg L-1 are believed to be harmful to fish life. The result indicates that the O. niloticus juveniles are relatively tolerant of high water temperature and TSS in term of survivorship, whereas the B. schwanenfeldii juveniles are more vulnerable to the two parameters. Reduced DO value had influenced the survival rate of both fish species in a similar way where 100% mortality of both fish species occurred at DO value less than 2 mg L-1. The growth performance of juvenile B. schwanenfeldii was less susceptible to the changes of water temperature and DO whereas the growth performance of juvenile O. niloticus was influenced by the two parameters. The results show that the FCR of both fish increased with high water temperature and TSS. The juvenile B. schwanenfeldii was able to sustain its growth by consuming additional food in high water temperature. Increased DO value significantly improved the FCR of O. niloticus juvenile but not of B. schwanenfeldii juvenile. © 2018, BIOFLUX SRL. All Rights Reserved.


Background/Aims: Diabetic nephropathy remains a major clinical problem. The effects of prorenin might be adverse, but the literature data are controversial. We compared the renal effects of the (pro)renin receptor ((P)RR) blockade and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition on the progression of diabetic nephropathy in rats. Methods: Diabetes (DM) was induced by ip. streptozotocin administration in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, followed by eight weeks of treatment with the (P)RR blocker "handle region" decoy peptide (HRP, 0,1 mg/kg/day) or with the ACE inhibitor Quinapril (Q, 50 mg/kg/day) and grouped as follows: 1. Control (n=10); 2. DM (n=8); 3. DM+HRP (n=6); 4. DM+Q (n=10); 5. DM+Q+HRP (n=10). Renal functional parameters, histology and gene expressions were evaluated. Results: HRP reduced glomerulosclerosis and podocyte desmin expression, but did not affect proteinuria and tubular ERK(1/2) phosphorylation. Both Q and Q+HRP treatment reduced proteinuria, glomerular and tubular damage, tubular TGF-ß1 expression and ERK(1/2) phosphorylation to the same extent. Conclusion: The effects of HRP were partially beneficial on diabetic kidney lesions as HRP reduced damage but did not improve tubular damage and failed to reduce ERK(1/2) phosphorylation in rats. The combination of HRP with Quinapril had no additive effects over Quinapril monotherapy on the progression of diabetic nephropathy.


In this interconnected political and social situation we are witnessing an increase in social and economic inequalities together with a weakening of democratic values that urgently require a reflection in terms of social justice and equity within democratic societies themselves being at risk the same inviolability of the dignity of the individual. In this critical situation, returning critical to social andpolitical reflection is undoubtedly the central role played by education in the implementation of justice and in the very possibility of social democracy. Having taken note of the context at the time, education must rediscover its social value as a vital space for the construction of knowledge, a critical knowledge of the world and capable of imagining new and fairer worlds in terms of justice and permeated by a democratic format.From this premise that is based on the close relationship between education, justice and democracy, our pedagogical reflection is established, which sees Freire's liberating education as an anticipation and, as we shall see, an enrichment of the critical-emancipatory pedagogical current. A current thatdevelops in the second half of the 20th century and which becomes a valid theoretical, but also practical terrain, in which to develop meta reflections on education itself in its ontological and finalistic foundation by reconstructing an idea of education in its social and political value as place of developmentof the infinite human potentialities that enclose in a sense the value of critical reason and of imagining new worlds. Today, pedagogy, school and education, including their social actors, are called to rethink places, tools, goals that can achieve greater freedom and justice for all, able to positionyoung people with awareness and autonomy in the complexity of the world, able to be aware of the structuring of collective powers and responsibilities in situations of oppression. Because, in the wake of Freire, only a conscious and collectively constructed knowledge will be able to implement a real transformation of the real.


A significant part of hydrocarbons is transported by rail. At the same time, oil products are considered dangerous goods, accidents during transportation of which can lead to emergency situations. The emergency situation caused by the depressurization of the tank car with gasoline was considered, as a result of which gasoline got into the river Volkhov (Kirishi, Leningrad Region). Presents the calculation of damage from emergency situations when transporting gasoline in a tank car. Defined the economic losses, as well as damage to the environment: atmospheric air, water and land resources. The total environmental damage is calculated. When the damage assessment analysis of the relationship between damage caused to the environment from the time elapsed from the moment of an emergency, prior to commencement of works on localization and liquidation of emergency transport. It was revealed that the least environmental damage would be if proceed to emergency response within the first hour. In the second hour, environmental damage increases by 68 %, and in the third hour it increases by another 23 %. The conclusion is made about the effectiveness of rapid response and work on localization of an emergency situation related to the spill of petroleum products into a water body.


The rarity of the superior sulcus tumor has led to varying treatment techniques. Generally, radiation therapy followed by surgery has been used. En bloc resection combined with lobectomy and nodal dissection remains standard therapy. The unique location of this tumor, surgical approach thought to be important. Involvement of the anterior areas such as subclavian vessels can be resected by anterior transcervical approach, and vertebral body or brachial plexus through the classic Shaw Paulson approach. Preoperative computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is beneficial to the evaluation of the vessels, nerves, and surgical planning. Recent studies showed that induction concurrent chemoradiation therapy improved the resectability and curability. This article reviews the treatment of superior sulcus tumor.


Rapidly growing information regarding the rocks of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has led Melson & Thompson to postulate a basement consisting of an upper layer of oceanic tholeiites with subsidiary hydrothermal metabasalts, and a lower plutonic layer of peridotites, serpentinites and gabbros. These layers may correspond to the second and third layers of refraction seismology. The same data permit the assumption that the oceanic tholeiites are underlain by an intermediate layer of metabasalts resulting from iso-chemical regional metamorphism under increased temperature and pressure. Laboratory measurements of magnetic properties have shown that the Koningsberger ratio of oceanic metabasalts is generally less than unity. Thus, such a regional metamorphic layer would place a floor under the zone responsible for the observed geomagnetic anomaly patterns.


In 2006, the introduction of the Places to Grow Act required municipalities to meet a 40% intensification target through infill development. This has transformed the development industry as many underutilized sites, such as Greyfields, are prime locations for mixed-use and densification. Although many developers have not harnessed the potential of Greyfield redevelopment as barriers exist, which has led to continued Greenfield development and urban sprawl. This paper, through a literature review, case study analysis, and key informant interviews, examines existing barriers to Greyfield redevelopment. Findings from the study were than applied to a Greyfield site that has immense opportunity for redevelopment. A preliminary site plan proposal and recommendations are presented to illustrate strategies that should be adopted to ensure successful redevelopment.


Abstract Asymptotic extremal combinatorics deals with questions that in the language of model theory can be re-stated as follows. For finite models M, N of an universal theory without constants and function symbols (like graphs, digraphs or hypergraphs), let p(M, N) be the probability that a randomly chosen sub-model of N with ∣M∣ elements is isomorphic to M. Which asymptotic relations exist between the quantities p(M1,N),…, p(Mh,N), where M1,…, M1, are fixed "template" models and ∣N∣ grows to infinity? In this paper we develop a formal calculus that captures many standard arguments in the area, both previously known and apparently new. We give the first application of this formalism by presenting a new simple proof of a result by Fisher about the minimal possible density of triangles in a graph with given edge density.


Climate change (CC) is impacting the hydrology in the basins of the Himalayan region. Thus, this could have significant implications for people who rely on basin water for their lives and livelihoods. However, there are very few studies on the Himalayan river basins. This study aims to fill this gap by presenting a water balance for the Brahmaputra River Basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Results show that snowmelt contributed about 6% of the total annual flow of the whole Brahmaputra, 21% of the upper Brahmaputra, and 5% of the middle Brahmaputra. The basin-wide average annual water yield (AWY) is projected to increase by 8%, with the maximum percentage increase in the pre-monsoon season. The annual snowmelt is projected to decrease by 17%, with a marked decrease during the monsoon but an increase in other seasons and the greatest percentage reduction in the upper Brahmaputra (22%). The contribution of snowmelt to AWY is projected to decrease while rain runoff will increase across the entire Brahmaputra and also in the upper and middle Brahmaputra. The impact assessment suggests that the upper Brahmaputra will be most affected by CC, followed by the middle Brahmaputra. The results can be used to support future water management planning in the basin taking into account the potential impact of CC.


ISCHEMIC necrosis (avascular necrosis, osteonecrosis) may occur in almost any bone of the skeleton. The most common site for ischemic necrosis is the head of the femur, and it is here that early diagnosis has proved to be most difficult. The patient often complains of pain, sometimes during a period of several months before any specific radiological findings become visible. It is possible to make the diagnosis earlier if clinical suspicion is high and certain specific roentgenograms are obtained. Many centers are using radioisotopes in an attempt to demonstrate changes before those observed radiologically. Although the computed tomographic (CT) scanner is an excellent method for confirming advanced disease, so far it has not proved useful in the diagnosis of early ischemic necrosis. The Etiology of Ischemic Necrosis The causes of osteonecrosis may be subdivided into three categories: posttraumatic (the most common), nontraumatic (including embolic small-vessel disease and abnormal deposition of


The aim of this paper is to understand recent economic observations, female labor force participation, and fertility in Korea drawing on various aggregate data. More detailed attention is then given to issues concerning the changing composition of fertility and labor force participation. This paper presents a review of available data on the role played by economy, labor force participation, and fertility. Fertility stands as a critical factor in females' efforts to improve their labor force. We analyze the effect of fertility on female labor force participation in Korea using the data from the government survey. Fertility is negatively related to labor force participation in Korea.


This study aims to determine the impact of board size, the proportion of independent board, audit committee, board meetings, audit committee meetings, block holder ownership of the company's financial perfomance (RETURN ON ASSET) The population of this study are the entire manufacturing companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange in the period 2011-2012. This study is as much as 122 companies. Sampling was done using purposive sampling technique These result of the study indicate that board size, the proportion of independent board, audit committee, board meetings, block holder ownership give significantly affect the company's financial performance. while meeting the audit committee doesn't have a significant effect on the company fiancial perfomance


Parallel runtime systems such as MPI or task-based libraries provide models to manage both computation and communication by allocating cores, scheduling threads, executing communication algorithms. Efficiently implementing such models is challenging due to their interplay within the runtime system. In this paper, we assess interferences between communications and computations when they run side by side. We study the impact of communications on computations, and conversely the impact of computations on communication performance. We consider two aspects: CPU frequency, and memory contention. We have designed benchmarks to measure these phenomena. We show that CPU frequency variations caused by computation have a small impact on communication latency and bandwidth. However, we have observed on Intel, AMD and ARM processors, that memory contention may cause a severe slowdown of computation and communication when they occur at the same time. We have designed a benchmark with a tunable arithmetic intensity that shows how interferences between communication and computation actually depend on memory pressure of the application. Finally we have observed up to 90 % performance loss on communications with common HPC kernels such as CG and GEMM.


R ecently, the results of the Prevention Regimen for EFfectively avoiding Second Strokes trial (PRoFESS) were published after they had been presented at the European Stroke Conference in Nice, May 2008. 1 It was a large multicenter clinical trial among over 20 000 patients with a recent (mainly (cid:1) 3 months) ischemic stroke that was of noncardioembolic origin in virtually all. The trial had 2 treatment contrasts that were studied simultaneously, one on 2 antiplatelet regimens, the other on telmisartan versus placebo. 2 This comment addresses only the comparison of aspirin (25 mg) plus extended-release dipyridamole (200 mg) twice daily (ASA-ERDP) versus clopidogrel (75 mg) once daily. Primary outcome was recurrent stroke and secondary outcome the AntiPlatelet Trialists' composite of vascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke.


With the increasing popularity of cloud networks, serious issues around security for ubiquitous hosts will need to be addressed. In this paper we focus on a virtual intrusion detection system (V-IDS). We present a new architecture that uses the basic principles of cloud computing, virtualization, and the Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane and applies them to intrusion detection systems, in order to protect cloud networks characterized by a constantly changing underlying infrastructure and physical topology. Our research is not focused on new algorithms or products capable of solving the security problem in cloud networks: our goal is to define a process and a novel architecture that minimizes the security risk in distributed networks, implementing the principle that network security and reliability is not a "product," but a well defined "process." On the basis of the defined architecture we have implemented a prototype cloud-based IDS that validates our thesis. The prototype is realized though the integration of two open source technologies: OpenNebula and Dynamic Resource Allocation via GMPLS Optical Networks (DRAGON). © 2012 Alcatel-Lucent.


The efficiency of fire prevention and fire-fighting organization are strictly related with the identification of the elementary Administrative Units, whose physical characteristics and number/quality of resources affect significantly the occurrence and the dynamics of the considered phenomenon. In fact, wildland fire risk is determined by several factors such as vegetation, local climate condition, topography, socio-economical aspects, and, of course, wildfire fighting available resources. A power law distribution can be used to represent the frequency-area relationship empirical wildfire data. Thus, it is possible to think of characterizing a region by its wildland fire regime, which can be defined by the power law parameters estimated on the basis of the historical data relevant to fire occurrences. In this paper, a methodology for optimal regional partitioning, in connection with wildfire risk characterization, is proposed and discussed in detail. In particular, the paper defines a procedure to identify, on the basis of the available data set, over a wide regional area, a number of zones (regions) characterized by different wildfire regimes. These zones are composed by groups of contiguous elementary territorial units, which have the same characteristics, as regards the wildland fires phenomenon. Such a characterization can be used to identify the static risk distribution over the considered territory. Liguria, a small region (5400 km2) placed on the northwestern coastline of Italy and frequently affected by severe wildland fires occurrences, is the basis for case study relevant to the implementation of the proposed approach.


A wheel rim is a highly stressed component in an automobile that is subjected to bending and torsional loads. Because of the long life and high stresses, as well as the need for weight reduction, material and manufacturing process selection is important in rim design. There are competitions among materials andmanufacturing processes, due to cost, performance, and weight. This is a direct result of industry demand for components that are lighter, to increase performance, and cheaper to produce, while at the same time maintaining fatigue strength and other functional requirements. Lighter wheels can improve handling by reducing unsprung mass , allowing suspension to follow the terrain more closely and thus improve grip, however not all alloy wheels are lighter than their steel equivalents. Reduction in overall vehicle mass can also help to reduce fuel consumption. Nowadays cars have been using steel alloy for its wheel rim. On moving with advancements the magnesium alloy can be used for the wheel rim .In this part structural analysis of wheel rim with magnesium alloy is done and compared the results with steel alloy. As magnesium alloy (ZK60A) matches the target of lighter wheel and having many benefits compared to othermetals, it can compete with exists.


The researcher chooses to analyze humor translation. The thesis is entitled "TRANSLATION ANALYSIS OF HUMOR IN WEBTOON SI JUKI : AS A BOARDING HOUSE". The researcher organized the analysis into Multimodality, Humor Techniques, and Translation Techniques. The data were taken from www.webtoons.com, the gobal digital comic service platform. Based on the analysis, the researcher can find correlations among multimodality, humor techniques, and translation techniques. Multimodality is explicit content based on visual picture. From the visual picture, the researcher find the humor techniques. Based on the analysis undertaken, it can be concluded that the humor techniques used are scale and visual surprise 6 findings (21%), Absurdity 4 findings (14%), ignorance and misunderstanding 2 findings (7%), Conceptual surprise, coincidence, satire, peculiar sound, reptition and irony 1 findings (5%). The translation techniques applied are established equivalence 19 findings (30%), amplification 8 findings (15%), variation 7 findings (13%), Modulation and generalization 4 findings (8%), particularization 3 findings (6%), Borrowing, linguistic amplification, substitution, discrusive creation, and transposition 2 findings (3%), literal and description 1 findings (1%). The translation techniques reach the relevance, since humor techniques and translation techniques have correlations. For instance, visual description can support a description in the story or vice versa.


The paper deals with the functions of irony in the English and Russian political discourse. Such functions of irony as aggression and entertainment are analyzed. Modern tendencies in political speech, such as the loss of official style and wide usage of obscene lexis are regarded. An attempt to reveal similarities and differences in the two cultures is made. It is based on the results of empirical study. Speeches of English and Russian political leaders, taken from TV programmes and news broadcast served as the material for the research, as well as literature and the internet resources. Special attention is paid to the successfully developing genre of political parody. The author concludes that irony in political speeches is a key to success of a political leader and ensures the most powerful effect on the audience.


Within Early Judaism the Qumran Community is widely perceived as a strictly exclusivist group. A thorough analysis of Qumran texts, however, reveals, apart from the dominant strand of exclusivism, remarkably clear inclusivist tendencies. In Qumran literature inclusivist tendencies can be seen both in eschatological texts and in materials dealing with the self-understanding of the Qumran Community in historical time. The legal texts discussed basically confirm this pattern: the Community is to separate from Gentiles and from members of those Jewish groups with whom it earlier entertained close relations. At the same time it is to support the poor and the proselytes. Strictly legal statements prohibiting contacts with non-Essene Judaism as such are missing. In the literature discussed inclusivist and exclusivist tendencies have diff erent weight. A pan-Israelite, e.g. inclusivist, perspective can be seen in 4QpNah, 4QFlor, 4QSM and especially in 4QMMT, 1QSa, and CD/4QD whereas in 1QS exclusivist tendencies predominate.


Background: Hereditary haemochromatosis is a heritable disorder caused by an inborn error in the metabolism of iron. It results in over absorption of iron by the body, which can manifest clinically as fatigue, arthritis, diabetes and cardiovascular problems. The highest prevalence for the genetic mutations that cause hereditary haemochromatosis can be found in the Irish population. Individuals with diabetes may also have haemochromatosis (and vice versa), due to the bi-directional relationship between iron metabolism and glucose metabolism. Objectives: To determine the incidence of the three haemochromatosis mutations C282Y, H63D & S65C, in a population from the North West of Ireland and to investigate whether there is an increased frequency of these three mutations in a diabetic population from the same region. Method: DNA was extracted from 500 whole blood samples (250 diabetic samples and 250 'control' samples) using a WizardTM kit. PCR was conducted utilising specific primers for each mutation and in accordance with a set protocol. Following amplification, PCR product was subjected to restriction endonuclease digestion, where different restriction enzymes (Rsa I, Nde II & Hinf I) were employed to determine the HFE genotype status of samples. Results: The incidence of C282Y homozygosity (1/83) and C282Y heterozygosity (1/6) in the 'control' group was similar to those reported for the general Irish population (1/83 and 1/5, respectively). Incidences of H63D homozygotes and H63D heterozygotes or 'carriers' in the diabetic population were greater than that of the 'control' population. A significant finding of this study was that of an incidence of 1/32 S65C carriers in the control population. This is, to our knowledge, the highest incidence of the genotype reported to date in the general Irish population. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant differences between the HFE genotype frequencies in the Diabetic and Control Populations. Conclusion: Results of the study concord with published literature in terms of C282Y homozygosity and C282Y heterozygosity in the general Irish population. An increased frequency of the H63D mutation in diabetic individuals was also found but was not statistically significant. The biochemical effect of the H63D mutation is still unknown. The significance of such a high incidence of S65C carriers in the 'control' population warrants further investigation. _______________________Abstract ________________________________


Background: There is ample evidence that since the turn of the millennium German health policy made a considerable step towards prevention and health promotion, putting the strategies of 'personal empowerment' and 'settings based approach' high on the federal government's agenda. This phenomenon has challenged the role of ethics in health policy. Concurrently, increasing relevance of the Concept of Human Dignity for health and human rights has been discussed. However, a direct relationship between Human Dignity and Public Health Ethics (PHE) has surprisingly not yet been established. Methods: We here conduct a systematic ethical analysis of eminent German health prevention policy case-examples between the years 2000–2016. Specifically, our analysis seeks to adapt and apply the principalism (autonomy, beneficence, justice)-based Concept of Human Dignity of Italian philosopher Corrado Viafora, contextualizing it with the emerging field of PHE. To further inform this health policy analysis, index databases (PubMed, Google Scholar) were searched to include relevant published and grey literature. Results: We observe a systematic approach of post-millennial health policy decisions on prevention and on defined health targets in Germany, exemplified by (1) the fostering of the preparedness against pandemic infectious diseases, (2) the development and implementation of the first cancer vaccination, (3) major legal provisions on non-smokers protection in the public domain, (4) acts to strengthen long term care (LTC) as well as (5) the new German E-Health legislation. The ethical analysis of these health prevention decisions exhibits their profound ongoing impact on social justice, probing their ability to meet the underlying Concept of Human Dignity in order to fulfill the requirements of the principle of non-maleficence. Conclusion: The observed health policy focus on prevention and health promotion has sparked new public debates about the formation of/compliance with emerging standards of PHE in Germany. We believe that the overall impact of this novel policy orientation will gradually show over mid- and long-term periods, both in terms of improvements in health system performance and concurrently in diagnostics, therapies and health outcome on individual patient level. The Concept of Human Dignity may soon play an even greater role in European PHE debates to come.


The reaction of the singlet biradical [P(μ-NTer)]2 with various aldehydes selectively yielded the corresponding [2.1.1]-bicyclic addition products in a very fast reaction. All products were fully characterized, including by NMR and vibrational spectroscopy as well as single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The mechanism of the addition was investigated theoretically using high-level ab initio methods (CCSD(T) with triple- and quadruple-zeta basis sets) and corresponds to a concerted cycloaddition reaction with a very low activation barrier. For comparison, the mechanisms of the literature-known cycloadditions of H2, alkenes, and alkynes were also studied, indicating a similar reaction profile for all unsaturated reactants.


The problem of estimating time-varying regression is inevitably concerned with the necessity to choose the appropriate level of model volatility ranging from the full stationarity of instant regression models to their absolute independence of each other. In the stationary case the number of regression coefficients to be estimated equals that of regressors, whereas the absence of any smoothness assumptions augments the dimension of the unknown vector by the factor of the timeseries length. The Akaike Information Criterion is a commonly adopted means of adjusting a model to the given data set within a succession of nested parametric model classes, but its crucial restriction is that the classes are rigidly defined by the growing integer-valued dimension of the unknown vector. To make the Kullback information maximization principle underlying the classical AIC applicable to the problem of timevarying regression estimation, we extend it onto a wider class of data models in which the dimension of the parameter is fixed, but the freedom of its values is softly constrained by a family of continuously nested a priori probability distributions.


This is really a 52-minute video-tutorial in volcanology, using the Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat as the single field example. The volcano's convulsions between 1995 and 1998 have been documented graphically on video by David Lea. Professor Steve Sparks provides the on-camera explanations and voiceovers describing and the rich variety of eruption phenomena exhibited by this volcano.

This publication is clearly aimed at teaching some important aspects of volcanology to first-and second-year geoscience students. The presentation is rather too technical for the general public or school students, but should be of interest to amateur geologists.

The presentation style reminds one of an updated version of the OU geology course videos made in the 1970s and 80s. A major difference is that Prof. Sparks attempts to be more natural than most of the old OU presenters were, while still clearly following a script.

In terms of factual correctness there is nothing to criticize concerning the historical and volcanological aspects of the video. However, one or two pronouncements, early on in the piece, may cause igneous petrologists to sit more erect in their arm chairs. One example is the apparent suggestion that andesitic …


In the East African community (EAC), there has been an increasing recognition that significant welfare gains could be realized through deep forms of regional integration which entail harmonization of legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks for the telecommunication sector. Implementation of the EAC common market and rapid technological progress especially in mobile wireless technology, have made greater coordination and harmonization of telecommunications policy more attractive. Moreover, the EAC consists of less wealthy nations and therefore an interest in regionalization is essential as a means to pool regulatory resources. This paper assesses the potential gains from regionalized telecommunications policy in the EAC. The paper seeks to assist stakeholders in the EAC and Member States in designing an effective regional regulatory process. To this end, the paper: (i) discusses how EAC regional cooperation can overcome national limits in technical expertise, enhance the capacity of Member States to commit to stable regulatory policy in the EAC and ultimately facilitate infrastructure investment in the region; (ii) identifies trade-distorting regulations that inhibit opportunities for regional telecommunication development and so are good candidates for regional negotiations that reduce indirect market entry barriers; (iii) discusses the EU's ongoing reforms towards a single market for electronic communication for a connected continent as a case study that the EAC can draw lessons from and there after describes substantive elements of a harmonized regional regulatory policy that can deliver performance benefits.


The materials received in the course of inspection of 104 patients with chronic hepatitis С are presented in article. In work it is shown that at patients with chronic hepatitis C the wide range of the autoantibodies which frequency of identification and expansion of their range is combined with emergence of biochemical signs and the subsequent clinical manifestation of the admixed cryoglobulinemia, and also accession of other extrahepatic implications is registered. The highest maintenance of the admixed cryoglobulins, rhematoid factor of IgM, circulating immune complexes in blood serum is registered at patients with existence of cliniko-biochemical signs of the HCV associated admixed cryoglobulinemia in combination with other extrahepatic implications.


The influence of deposition rate and rapid thermal annealing on the electrical properties of MoSi2/p-Si contacts were examined. It was experimentally determined that contacts formed at deposition rate of 0.6 nm/s have a better quality compared with the contacts formed at other deposition rates. Also, these contacts showed a better thermal stability than the contacts formed at other deposition rates. The formation of surface charges associated with defects and different grain sizes and their variation with deposition rate and annealing temperature and possible intermixing of elements at the interface were used to explain the observations.


Heating elements are one of the important components of High Temperature Helium Loop. By means of heating elements the heating of test section of the loop to required temperature is provided even in high gas flow rates in the loop. The insulation of heating elements was manufactured of cordierite ceramics. With these elements the maximum projected temperature 900 °C could not be reached because of decreasing of electric resistance among the spirals. Therefore several tests were done in order to discover the reason of the problem. Consequently properties of new ceramic material based on corundum for manufacturing of the new heating elements were verified.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Background: Evidence from healthcare studies demonstrates that patients' health insurance affects service accessibility and the outcome of treatment. However, assessment on how colorectal cancer survival relates to health insurance is limited. Objective: The study examined the association between health insurance and colorectal cancer survival in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted with 1,931 colorectal cancer patients from Khon Kaen cancer registry between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2012, and was followed-up until December 31, 2015. Relative survival was used to estimate the survival rate. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the relationship between health insurance and colorectal cancer survival, represented with the hazard ratio. Result: Most of the participants were males, and the median age was 62 years. The median survival time was 2.25 years (95% CI: 2.00-2.51). The five-year observed survival rate and relative survival rate were 36.87 (95% CI: 34.66-39.08) and, 42.28 (95% CI: 39.75-44.81), respectively. The factors that showed significant associations with poorer survival after adjustment for gender and age were non-surgical treatments (HRadj=1.88;95%CI=1.45-2.45), advanced stage (III+IV) (HRadj=2.50; 95%CI=2.00-3.12), histological grading in poorly differentiated (HRadj=1.84; 95%CI=1.32-2.56), and Universal Coverage Scheme (HRadj=1.37;95%CI=1.09-1.72). Conclusion: The survival of colorectal cancer patients in the Universal Coverage Scheme was likely to be poorer than in the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme. This indicates an urgent need for a national program for colorectal cancer screening in the general population and access to health insurance.


We developed a brand-new method that fits the non-invasive blood component concentration measurement: the dynamic spectrum (DS) method. With use of this method, it was possible to eliminate the main interference of the individual discrepancy and extract some kinds of the blood component concentration by the analytic method. The definition, principle and measure method of the dynamic spectrum are presented in this paper. According to the theory, this method can get rid of main influence from the skin individual discrepancy theoretically. The achievement, study progress and remain work of this method are also introduced in this paper. Three kind of study of the DS are discussed in this paper


This paper is dealing with the problem of communication security for automated systems. This problem became more and more stringent along with the growing use of automation in many technological procedures and keeping the pace with the increase of performance in the digital communications area. In the first part, it is made a critical analysis of a SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system's vulnerabilities against cyber-attacks, with a case study - a SCADA monitoring system of a pipeline network for oil products transportation. In the second part, there are presented, with advantages and disadvantages, possible solutions for security communication in the system. Cyber-attack is defined as a computer-to-computer attack that undermines the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of a computer or information resident on it.


Intradermal injection of naked DNA results in gene transfer to skin cells, but the efficiency of this gene transfer method is relatively low and variable. We have systematically optimized several parameters to obtain reproducible, high-level gene transfer to the mouse skin. Older mice (approximately 7 weeks) showed a significant decrease in gene expression compared with younger mice (4-5 weeks old). The composition of the solvent vehicle (electrolyte versus nonelectrolyte) strongly affected gene expression in the skin. A higher level of gene expression was achieved when naked DNA was dissolved in isotonic phosphate buffered saline solution compared with isotonic dextrose solution. Finally, transfection efficiency in older mice was greatly improved by increasing the ionic strength of the solvent vehicle. The improved transfection efficiency was due to an enhanced DNA uptake by the skin cells. Gene transfer was most evident in the subdermal smooth muscle cells and epidermal cells. With the optimized conditions, gene transfer mediated by intradermal injection of naked DNA was comparable in efficiency to electroporation. However, cellular distributions of the gene transfer of the two methods were different.


Nuu/Mutaitho springs in the arid and semi-arid Kitui County in Eastern Kenya are important sources of water for communities and livestock. In the recent past, there has been significant reduction in the discharges of springs in the area. The deforestation of Nuu/Mutaitho hills is thought to be main cause of this reduction. Therefore, this study sought to determine the main causes of decline in spring discharges in Nuu and Mutaitho Hills. Attempt was made in the study to establish the relationship between spring discharges, rate of deforestation and rainfall variability. The study also involved determination of the impacts of decreasing spring discharges and examination of the perceptions of the local communities on the causes of decline in spring discharges. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Geographical Information system (GIS) and various Microsoft Excel statistical tools. The results of the study show that annual rainfall in the Nuu hills is exhibiting significant seasonal and inter-seasonal variations and the spring discharges have decreased by 30%. The annual total rainfall amount has also decreased from 800mm to around 700mm per annum. The analysis of land use/land cover change using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) showed that the dry lands forest cover has decreased by almost 40% with the current forest cover in the area being about 6%. The main cause of the decrease in the forest cover is mainly anthropogenic activities particularly burning and opening land for various purposes, illegal harvesting of trees for timber and charcoal production and high rates of livestock grazing. The study recommends implementation of a comprehensive awareness creation campaign focusing on conservation of the Nuu/Mutaitho hill forests. There is also a need for enforcement of forest regulations in order to protect the forests. This will ensure sustained spring flows in the area.


This study extends research on creativity by exploring the boundary conditions of the creativity-job effectiveness relationship. Building on social exchange theory, we argue that the extent to which employee creativity is related to sales - an objective work effectiveness measure - depends on the quality of leader-member exchange (LMX). We hypothesize that the relationship between creativity and sales is significant and positive when LMX is high, but not when LMX is low. Hierarchical linear modelling analysis provided support for the interaction hypothesis in a sample of 151 sales agents and 26 supervisors drawn from both pharmaceutical and insurance companies. Results showed that sales agents who were more creative generated higher sales only when they had high quality LMX. An ad-hoc qualitative study provided a more detailed understanding of the moderator role played by LMX.


We consider permutations sortable by $k$ passes through a deterministic pop stack. We show that for any $k\in\mathbb{N}$ the set is characterised by finitely many patterns, answering a question of Claesson and Guðmundsson. Moreover, these sets of patterns are algorithmically constructible.
Our characterisation demands a more precise definition  than in previous literature of what it means for a permutation to  avoid a set of barred and unbarred patterns. We propose a new notion called $2$-avoidance.


The human papilloma virus (HPV) is a DNA virus associated with benign and malignant lesions of skin and mucous membranes and is the most common sexually transmitted viral infection worldwide. We investigated the prevalence of HPV infection and associated risk factors in Italian and Turkish women population attending the gynecology outpatients clinic in Naples (Italy) and Pamukkale (Turkey). Women were enrolled from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" in Naples (Italy) and of "Pamukkale University" in Denizli (Turkey) between January 2014 and June 2015. A questionnaire that included sociodemographic and sexual behavior characteristics, questions about HPV awareness, vaccine status, and reasons for not wanting to get vaccinated, and HPV-related knowledge was completed for each participant, and cervical cytology samples were collected. The prevalence of HPV infection was higher in the Italian group (52.6% vs 32.6%, p < 0.001), while the distribution of genotypes is similar (p=0.325). Moreover, the differences in cytological alterations in these patients are significant (p < 0.001). The analysis showed a higher prevalence of sexual behavioral characteristics (p < 0.001) and better attention to the execution of the screening test in the Italian population (p < 0.001). Italian women showed more knowledge and propensity to vaccination compared to Turkish women (p < 0.001). Our data highlighted three relevant aspects: the different prevalence of cytological abnormalities, the different distribution of risk factors and, above all, the different attitude of women towards the primary prevention of cervical cancer between an Italian and a Turkish population group.


Large amounts of plant nutrients are transported from rural to urban areas in the form of food. To reach circulation of these nutrients, a transport of plant nutrients back to the countryside is necessary. Food residues may be processed in biogas plants where anaerobic processes take place and biogas is produced. The effluents from biogas production can be used as fertilizers in agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of effluents from digestion of food residues as a fertiliser to cereals. The study has been based on results from a field trial with oats run by JTI at a farm just north of Uppsala. The field trial was arranged with randomised blocks with four replicates. Effluents from digestion of food residues from the biogas plant of SKAFAB/SRV in Sofielund, Stockholm, were applied at two different times. The first application of effluents was in spring just before sowing and the second application during growth, when the crop was 20 cm high. For comparison of nitrogen efficiency mineral fertilisers were also applied in separate treatments. The total amount of nitrogen in the crop was analysed at two occasions, starting when the oat plants had one node and at time for harvest. On these occasions soil samples were also analysed for ammonium and nitrate nitrogen. The weather had a large impact on the development and yield of crops during the growing season. The persistent rainfall resulted in a large mineralisation of organic nitrogen in the soil. A large uptake of nitrogen and a lush crop growth resulted in lodging for most of the treatments. The untreated plots yielded most grain and lodging was less severe than in treated plots. The differences in yield were small in plots fertilised with effluents from digestion at sowing time and those fertilised during growth. Treatments with effluents from digestion and mineral fertilisers produced equal yield when they were based on the same amount of ammonium nitrogen. No significant differences in the analysis of nitrogen content were found in the different treatments, but there were differences in protein content between them. Grains from the untreated control part had a lower protein content than grains in the fertilised parts. During the end of the growing season, there were large amounts of nitrogen left in the soil, mainly in the fertilised parts. Since weather conditions largely influence yields of crops, there is a need for a long period of field trials with effluents from digestion of food residues to eliminate the influence of weather conditions.