The most recent population survey conducted in Senegal in 1988 found that women comprise 52% of the country¿s total population and that rural women make up 75% of the active female population. The female population is very young overall since 58% of women are under 20 years old. However, women¿s numerical advantage is inversely proportional to their level of representation in decision-making situations. Senegal¿s government in power since 1998 has only 5 women among the 31 ministers, and there were only 3 female ministers in the preceding body of government leaders. This numerical underrepresentation of women is also qualitative in nature, with the female ministers holding relatively less powerful governmental positions compared to the men. Only 19 of the 140 deputies elected to the National Assembly in 1998 were women and no woman is president of a parliamentary body. Women have a greater presence at the magisterial and legislative level, but they are less present in the public sector where they comprise only 4% of the 68,000 state agents. Women overwhelmingly hold teacher and secretarial posts, while men dominate local communities. Among the 470 elected, regional councilors elected in November 1998, only 61 are women. Additional statistics and discussion are presented upon the role of women in Senegalese society, as well as upon their capacity to influence important decisions both in the public sector and at home.


It is widely agreed that complex diseases are typically caused by the joint effects of multiple instead of a single genetic variation. These genetic variations may show stronger effects when considered together than when considered individually, a phenomenon known as epistasis or multilocus interaction. In this work, we explore the applicability of information interaction to discover pairwise epistatic effects related with complex diseases. We start by showing that traditional approaches such as classification methods or greedy feature selection methods (such as the Fleuret method) do not perform well on this problem. We then compare our information interaction method with BEAM and SNPHarvester in artificial datasets simulating epistatic interactions and show that our method is more powerful to detect pairwise epistatic interactions than its competitors. We show results of the application of information interaction method to the WTCCC breast cancer dataset. Our results are validated using permutation tests. We were able to find 89 statistically significant pairwise interactions with a p-value lower than . Even though many recent algorithms have been designed to find epistasis with low marginals, we observed that all (except one) of the SNPs involved in statistically significant interactions have moderate or high marginals. We also report that the interactions found in this work were not present in gene-gene interaction network STRING.


Objectives This study aimed to characterize the cytologic, pathologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) aspects of feline giant-cell sarcoma. Methods Biopsy and necropsy reports from the Department of Veterinary Pathology were retrieved, and 13 cases of pleomorphic sarcoma (PS) were selected according to the established epidemiologic, pathologic and IHC criteria. All samples were fixed in 10% formalin, routinely processed for histology, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Samples also underwent IHC testing for vimentin, ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1), desmin, actin and S-100. Results The mean age of the affected cats was 9.5 years, and females were over-represented. Most neoplasms were observed in the flank, lateral thorax, limbs and interscapular region, and were >2 cm in diameter. Cytology analysis revealed highly cellular preparations with three distinct populations (spindle cells, small round cells and multinucleated giant cells) in a dense eosinophilic stroma. Histologically, PS was composed of a combination of these three populations. IHC labeling for vimentin and Iba-1 was strongly positive for spindle cells and multinucleated giant cells, respectively. Desmin/actin showed variable labeling among the samples. S-100 was negative in all samples. Conclusions and relevance PS is a neoplasm of mesenchymal origin, also known as malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The predominant subtype in this study that affected the cats was the giant-cell type, characterized by the presence of multinucleated giant cells among spindle-shaped cells. These findings are similar to those described in human patients; thus, a comparison between the neoplasms seen in these species might be useful, and the knowledge of biologic behavior and overall treatment approach for humans could be extrapolated to cats.


In this essay I will first give a definition of what fanfiction is within the wider online environment of online participatory cultures, as well examine whether inclusiveness holds up as a defining characteristic when disability is taken into consideration. I then examine how the development of fanfiction as a creative practice and of fanfiction-specific genres, have contributed to the queering of fanfiction spaces and practices Finally I argue that subversion and transgression are not best suited to conceptualize fanfiction, and that instead disruption can generate more apt interrogations. Specifically, disruption allows for us to explore fanfiction as both disrupting heteronormative narratives, gendered and fan behaviour expectations, and as disrupting the notion of the fan as a somehow homogenous construction. This affords disability the possibility of being disruptive in turn.


Cross-connect switches with large port count require broadband signal transfer across long on-chip interconnect. The analysis and design of a matrix core for a 20-input, 20-output 12.5 Gb/s per input cross-connect switch are discussed. First, the signal transfer across an unloaded line is studied. A detailed analysis is used to map measured and simulated line data onto a lumped element model. Both differential and common mode parameters are fitted. The matrix node design procedure is explained, resulting in a multi-stage emitter follower-amplifier circuit. The transmission lines for both rows and columns of a matrix are crossing. Signal transfer across loaded transmission line with crossings is analysed and measurement results are presented. Experiments are performed in a 0.25 µm SiGe technology with 5-layer metal. Feasibility is shown of a 20×20, 12.5Gb/s matrix in this technology.


The two tablets published here for the first time, BM 45642 and BM 28825, are edited together for good reason, for the historical background of both texts is very probably the same episode in King Ashurbanipal's drive to acquire scribal learning. Where BM 28825 concerns the reception of the Assyrian king's demand for tablets among the citizens of Babylon, BM 45642 deals with the reaction of scholars of nearby Borsippa to a similar royal message. BM 45642 is the better preserved of the two tablets, and allows a fuller understanding of both texts' formal characteristics and of the contextual background. Consequently we present it first. The text inscribed on BM 45642 (81-7-6, 35) is a letter, though not a typical one. It begins with an extremely deferential address to Ashurbanipal (11. 1–4). Following a series of standard royal epithets, the address pays homage to the Assyrian king as the divinely appointed suzerain of Assyria and Babylonia. It goes on to record Nabû's patronage of the king, and to acknowledge his skill in Nabû's special field of writing, an expertise already well known from Ashurbanipal's own inscriptions. These clauses are chosen with care, for the writer is evidently a scholar from Borsippa, Nabû's cult-centre. With them he invokes a certain feeling of mutual fellowship. The name of the sender is expected at the end of the address, but although the end of 1. 4 is broken there does not seem to be a name there, and we have restored instead nilt[apra umma] "we send word as follows". In this the text departs from normal Neo-Babylonian usage, perhaps because it is not a regular letter but, as becomes clear, a formal and collective communication on behalf of all the scholars of Borsippa.


The effects of chronic hypervitaminosis A and long-term isotretinoin treatment on bone include cortical hyperostosis, ligament calcification and premature epiphyseal closure. Similar effects have now been reported in patients under maintenance treatment with etretinate in high doses. Etretinate, an oral, aromatic, synthetic vitamin A derivative, is widely used in Europe for disorders of keratinization. We report the cases of two patients--one with lamellar ichthyosis, the other with pachyonychia congenita--who developed such bone diseases during treatment with etretinate over 2 and 6 years respectively. The doses ranged from 0.5 to 1 mg/kg/day. Two years after starting treatment (total dose 25 g), the patient with lamellar ichthyosis complained of mechanical pain in the lumbar region and hips. Radiography showed calcification of the extraspinal tendons and ligaments and hyperostosis of the calcaneus bone at the insertion of the plantar ligament. After six years of etretinate treatment (total dose 50 g), the patient with pachyonychia congenita presented with scoliosis and limb length discrepancy. The musculoskeletal abnormalities resembled chronic hypervitaminosis A, with such osseous changes as demineralization, thinning and increased curvature of long bones with osteopenia, and premature closure of the epiphyses. Acroosteolysis was also present. Etretinate has been implicated in the formation of spinal hyperostoses and calcification of extraspinal ligaments in patients who had taken the drug for many years. The occurrence of premature epiphyseal closure in children certainly is a consequence of therapy with relatively high doses of etretinate for six years. But premature epiphyseal closure may also result from trauma to a fragile bone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In programs like Health Extension Program (HEP), where various stakeholders are involved, it is important to seriously consider what form of interaction is embedded in the overall functioning of the program. Of the stakeholders, Health Extension Workers (HEWs) and nurses are professionals directly or indirectly involved in the provision of health services while supervisors, woreda (district) coordinators and kebele (lowest administrative unit) officials are the most important ones in the administrative arena. Community Health Workers (CHWs), Trained Traditional Birth Attendants (TTBAs) and other voluntary community health agents are the major stakeholders in the informal health system. More than all, the community is the most important stakeholder in HEP. Access, utilization of health services and functioning of the overall program are significantly influenced by the interaction between stakeholders found either in the formal and/or traditional health systems... The book provides a brief analysis on the aforementioned issues and others related to HEP.


We demonstrate a passively cw mode-locked Nd:LuVO4 laser operating on the quasi-three-level at 916 nm with a Z-folded resonator. Using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) as the passive mode-locking device, we achieve stable cw mode locking with 6.7 ps pulse duration at repetition rate of 133MHz and 88mW average output power under the pump power of 17.1 W.


EU-IST Network of Excellence (NoE) IST-2004-507482 KWEB Deliverable D1.3.6 (WP1.3) Abstract. This document reports on the activities of the Ontology Outreach Advisory (OOA), a legal body recently founded by KnowledgeWeb consortium members to assure extension of KnowledgeWeb results and activities into the future. The OOA has been legally registered according to the Belgian law as an international non-profit association (VzW). Currently, there are 28 registered members, and 16 organisations expressed their interest in becoming a member. The OOA mission is to develop strategies for ontology recommendation and standardisation, and promote the ontology technology to industry. The OOA is implementing this mission specially in two domain sectors: Human resources and eHealth. Several activities have been carried out by the OOA in these two domains, including: the successful OOA-HR kick-off workshop, a new OOA-HR roadmap, in-reaching and out-reaching workshops, the HR summit, contribution to HR standards, a repository of eHealth uses cases, quality guidelines for ontology authoring, OnToContent06, and OntoContent'07.


One-shot decoupling is a powerful primitive in quantum information theory and was hypothesized to play a role in the black hole information paradox. We study black hole dynamics modeled by a trilinear Hamiltonian whose semiclassical limit gives rise to Hawking radiation. An explicit numerical calculation of the discretized path integral of the S matrix shows that decoupling is exact in the continuous limit, implying that quantum information is perfectly transferred from the black hole to radiation. A striking consequence of decoupling is the emergence of an output radiation entropy profile that follows Page's prediction. We argue that information transfer and the emergence of Page curves is a robust feature of any multilinear interaction Hamiltonian with a bounded spectrum.


Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) has been combined with functional reconstitution of the mouse IgG receptor moFc gamma RII in substrate-supported planar membranes to quantitatively probe IgG-moFc gamma RII interactions. MoFc gamma RII was purified from the macrophage-related cell line J774A.1 using affinity chromatography with Fab fragments of the anti-moFc gamma RII monoclonal antibody 2.4G2. Purified moFc gamma RII was reconstituted into liposomes by detergent dialysis, and the liposomes were fused on quartz substrates to form supported planar membranes containing moFc gamma RII. TIRFM measurements showed that fluorescently labeled 2.4G2 Fab specifically bound to the planar membranes, confirming the presence of moFc gamma RII. The receptor density in the planar membranes was sufficiently high to allow direct detection of bound, fluorescently labeled polyclonal and monoclonal mouse IgG with TIRFM, demonstrating that moFc gamma RII retained Fc-mediated IgG binding activity after planar membrane formation and permitting direct measurement of bound IgG as a function of the IgG solution concentration. Cross-inhibition measurements showed that polyclonal mouse IgG blocked the binding of labeled 2.4G2 Fab and that 2.4G2 Fab blocked the binding of labeled polyclonal IgG. This work provides a direct measure of the relatively weak IgG-moFc gamma RII association constant and demonstrates a new model system in which the chemical and physical properties of IgG-moFc gamma RII interactions can be quantitatively characterized as a function of membrane, antibody, and solution properties.


In this paper we study the problem of finding optimal control policy for probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs). Previous works have been done by using dynamic programming-based (DP) method. However, due to the high computational complexity of PBNs, DP method is computationally inefficient for large networks. Inspired by the state reduction strategies studied in [10], we consider using dynamic programming in conjunction with state reduction approach to reduce the computational cost of DP method. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed method.


The quality controls of blood components, realised in Transfusion Centres, are necessary to check the true conformity of products in accordance with official standards. This controls are insufficient to enhance blood components quality. The practical application of the quality management allows us to reach this aim easier. After the quality display, after it efficiency and regulatory measurement and after a quality objectives selection, we consider that the professional training and the data presentation contribute to the necessary confidence for a better quality management. Finally, standardization and automatization of production processes constitute the only ways to improve the real quality, to decrease waste products and, of course, to increase the productivity.


Characterization of the physical properties of protein surface hydration water is critical for understanding protein structure and folding. Here, using molecular dynamics simulation, we provide an explanation of recent x-ray and neutron solution scattering data that indicate that the density of water on the surface of lysozyme is significantly higher than that of bulk water. The simulation-derived scattering profiles are in excellent agreement with the experiment. In the simulation, the 3-Å-thick first hydration layer is 15% denser than bulk water. About two-thirds of this increase is the result of a geometric contribution that would also be present if the water was unperturbed from the bulk. The remaining third arises from modification of the water structure and dynamics, involving approximately equal contributions from shortening of the average water–water O–O distance and an increase in the coordination number. Variation in the first hydration shell density is shown to be determined by topographical and electrostatic properties of the protein surface. On average, denser water is found in depressions on the surface in which the water dipoles tend to be aligned parallel to each other by the electrostatic field generated by the protein atoms.


This paper describes the development of a seven-axis probe manipulator which is now in service in a wind tunnel facility at the National Taiwan Institute of Technology. The manipulator is composed of commercially available components, and is controlled by an IBM PC based servomotor controller that implements a robust control algorithm. A precision, non-contact calibration method is developed to align the probe manipulator with experimental coordinates and to measure some of the probe positioning errors. An absolute probe positioning accuracy better than 0.05 mm in all directions is achieved. Integrated with measurement instruments and capable of translation and rotation in three orthogonal directions, this computer controlled probe manipulator provides a dramatic improvement in experimental capability, as demonstrated by a flow fluctuation measurement.


ABSTRACT  As important as vocabulary is in reading a foreign language, other factors also appear to be involved. Some of these additional factors are the reader's familiarity with conventions of written texts in the native and foreign languages, awareness of cultural differences between both languages, and knowledge of the macro- and micro-level structures of a text.

This paper examines evidence from different studies indicating problem areas in reading comprehension. Students' mistranslations from English to Hebrew were examined to diagnose difficulties in reading comprehension. Mistranslations and misinterpretations of illocutionary force, logical connectors, and modifiers indicated that many students were either unable to draw on a culturally appropriate memory schema to understand the texts or had preconceived notions about word meanings that dominated their interpretations and prevented them from correctly using contextual clues.


A bewildering variety of devices for communication from humans to computers now exists on the market. In order to make sense of this variety, and to aid in the design of new input devices, we propose a framework for describing and analyzing input devices. Following Mackinlay's semantic analysis of the design space for graphical presentations, our goal is to provide tools for the generation and test of input device designs. The descriptive tools we have created allow us to describe the semantics of a device and measure its expressiveness. Using these tools, we have built a taxonomy of input devices that goes beyond earlier taxonomies of Buxton & Baecker and Foley, Wallace, & Chan. In this paper, we build on these descriptive tools, and proceed to the use of human performance theories and data for evaluation of the effectiveness of points in this design space. We focus on two figures of merit, footprint and bandwidth, to illustrate this evaluation. The result is the systematic integration of methods for both generating and testing the design space of input devices.


Image Captioning (IC) models can highly benefit from human feedback in the training process, especially in cases where data is limited. We present work-in-progress on adapting an IC system to integrate human feedback, with the goal to make it easily adaptable to user-specific data. Our approach builds on a base IC model pre-trained on the MS COCO dataset, which generates captions for unseen images. The user will then be able to offer feedback on the image and the generated/predicted caption, which will be augmented to create additional training instances for the adaptation of the model. The additional instances are integrated into the model using step-wise updates, and a sparse memory replay component is used to avoid catastrophic forgetting. We hope that this approach, while leading to improved results, will also result in customizable IC models.


PURPOSE
To determine whether ingestion of a tooth whitener containing 6% hydrogen peroxide as bleaching agent affected the gastric mucosa of adult, female laboratory rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-six fasting rats were intubated with a single bolus (5 g/kg body weight) of the tooth whitener Natural White which contains 6% hydrogen peroxide. Thirty-two control rats received deionized water. Rats were necropsied 15 minutes, 2 hours, 1 and 2 weeks after whitener ingestion. The gastric mucosa was examined histologically and blood hematocrit, glucose, BUN, and bilirubin measured.

RESULTS
Six of the 36 rats died within 2 hours of receiving whitener. Within 15 minutes of whitener ingestion, stomachs were grossly bloated with gas. Histological observation showed that gastric mucosal cells were vacuolated and gastric glands dilated. After 2 hours, gastric epithelial and glandular cells had sloughed off into the gastric lumen. Mean blood glucose and hematocrit were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated (233 +/- 41 mg/ml and 50.5 +/- 0.9%) over mean control values (129 +/- 8 mg/ml and 42.8 +/- 2.4%). Within 1 week, the stomachs of experimental rats were no longer bloated, the gastric mucosa appeared normal histologically, but mean blood hematocrit was significantly (P < 0.05) decreased (38.0 +/- 1.5%) from mean control value (43.3 +/- 0.5%). There were no significant differences in mean blood values 2 weeks after whitener ingestion.


For many thousands of years, men recognised, collected and cultivated vegetables, fruits, cereals and other herbs not only as food but also as medicine in many cases for fighting various diseases. Ethnomedicine and early scientific medicine incorporated gradually and empirically in their own specific way the aetiology, diagnostics and therapy. The way of recognising and treating conditions included beliefs and rational and irrational elements respectively. The knowledge enhanced over millennia resulted eventually in the development of healing systems. The early medical practices of European people were influenced primarily by Greco-Roman and Asia Minor scientific medicine that was based also on Old-Egyptian traditions. Remarkably, there is no detectable direct impact of Far Eastern or American Indian medicine on the European medical culture, the cause of which is not only the large distance but also the significant difference in understanding health and ill health. This overview based also on the authors' former research in the history of medicine concerns only the findings equally relevant both in nutrition and medicine.


There are numbers of unit operations in agricultural industries and production industries consuming a measurable amount of conventional energy sources. Regarding implementation of energy conservation in the agricultural and production industry, it is observed that though some measures based on conventional fuel conservation strategy are implemented in large-scale factories, other based on renewable energy sources can be implemented in small and medium scale production factories. There are numbers of renewable energy sources which can easily be integrated in the production or manufacturing industries for conventional energy conservation such as solar energy for cooling, heating, steaming, drying and electricity generation etc., bio-energy for process heat for different unit operation and biomass improved cook stoves & furnace for thermal energy etc. Further, methods for reducing the methane and nitrous oxide emissions from manufacturing operations and developing wastewater treatment technologies that capture methane from wastes and use the methane as an energy source are also additional field for energy conservation in agricultural industries. The scarcity and reduction of the stored conventional energy sources motivated the author to work on the conservation of energy in agriculture industries. This paper deals with the conventional energy conservation measures by the application of Renewable Energy in agricultural and production industries involved in producing value added products. The essential points required for meeting energy conservation based on Renewable Energy Sources are also included in this paper. KeywordsRenewable energy; Production; Agricultural; Energy conservation


Stone-built installations known as 'leopard traps' are found throughout the deserts of the Middle East. They have generally been considered to be recent in date, and to have been built by Bedouin or other local communities to trap carnivores that threatened their flocks. But how much older might they be? Survey in the hyper-arid 'Uvda Valley of the southern Negev Desert in Israel discovered 23 'leopard traps', 19 of them clustered in a relatively small area. This study describes the architecture and function of these structures and presents the first optically stimulated luminescence ages for two of them. These results demonstrate that the traps are ancient and were already in use before the late fourth millennium BC, not long after the adoption of herding by the desert dwellers.


The CreditRisk model has been widely used for calculating the loss distribution of a credit portfolio. However, its basic assumption of independent risk factors is not consistent with reality. Although the dependent structure can be mimicked by setting factor weights, a reasonable way to introduce correlated risk factors is needed. In this paper, an extension of the CreditRisk model, called the mixed vector model, is proposed. This model incorporates some common background factors with positive and negative correlations, so it can accommodate the complicated dependence structure of risk factors. The mixed vector model can rebuild the negative correlations better than other extended CreditRisk models. Moreover, it can be translated into the original CreditRisk framework with conditionally independent risk factors, so the numerical algorithm for calculating the loss distribution for the CreditRisk model can be reused with little modification.


The spontaneous emission characteristics of green- and red-emitting InGaN quantum wells (QWs) on ternary InGaN substrate are analyzed, and the radiative recombination rates for the QWs grown on ternary substrate were compared with those of InGaN QWs on GaN templates. For green- and red-emitting InGaN QWs on In0.15Ga0.85N substrate, the spontaneous emission rates were found as ∼2.5-3.2 times of the conventional approach. The enhancement in spontaneous emission rate can be achieved by employing higher In-content InGaN ternary substrate, which is also accompanied by a reduction in emission wavelength blue-shift from the carrier screening effect. The use of InGaN substrate is expected to result in the ability for growing InGaN QWs with enhanced spontaneous emission rates, as well as reduced compressive strain, applicable for green- and red-emitting light-emitting diodes.


Detergency effects of poly (sodium α-hydroxyacrylate); PHA on artificially soiled cotton fabrics without surfactant were investigated at various values of water hardness and molecular weight of the polymer and compared those of sodium dodecyl sulfate; SDS and other similar-structured polymers, such as poly (sodium acrylate); PA and poly (vinyl alcohol); PVA.The detergency of PHA was found not to depend on water hardness and was much higher than that of SDS for any value of high hardness. Detergency increased with molecular weight and remained constant above 10500. PHA showed higher detergency than PA or PVA.


The present paper investigates the viscoelastic stress-strain responses of laboratory and plant produced warm mix asphalt mixtures containing basalt fiber dispersed reinforcement. The investigated processes and mixture components were evaluated for their efficacy in producing highly performing asphalt mixtures with decreased mixing and compaction temperatures. Surface course asphalt concrete (AC-S 11 mm) and high modulus asphalt concrete (HMAC 22 mm) conventionally and using a warm mix asphalt technique with foamed bitumen and a bio-derived fluxing additive. The warm mixtures included lowered production temperature (by 10 °C) and lowered compaction temperatures (by 15 °C and 30 °C). The complex stiffness moduli of the mixtures were assessed under cyclic loading tests at combinations of four temperatures and five loading frequencies. It was found that the warm produced mixtures were characterized by lower dynamic moduli than the reference mixtures in the whole spectrum of loading conditions, however, the mixtures compacted at the 30 °C lower temperature performed better than the mixtures compacted at 15 °C lower temperature, specifically when highest testing temperatures are considered. The differences in the performance of plant and laboratory produced mixtures were ascertained to be nonsignificant. It was concluded that the differences in stiffness of hot mix and warm mixtures can be attributed to the inherent properties of foamed bitumen mixtures and that these differences should shrink in time.


The aim of this paper was to analyze the influence of feelings of guilt and pride in the intention of buying green products by consumers considered sustainable. Guilt and pride are two constructs that shapes people's actions to avoid guilt-making behaviors and keep those proud, making it important to assess how these two constructs act when it comes to sustainability-related actions, in this case for green products. For this purpose, a descriptive quantitative research was used, with the survey of data performed through a survey and analyzed through multivariate statistics through the SPSS. The results showed that the emotion of guilt was identified as a stimulus factor for the purchase of green products, as a variable that would prevent the consumer to develop unsustainable behaviors, and the feeling of pride was not identified in the respondents, when researching the influence that exerts in the intention of consumers to buy green products. The result contributes to researches in sustainability field by corroborating and at the same time contrasting with research considered incipient that relate emotions to sustainable consumer behavior, opening opportunities for further research on the influence of emotions in consumers behavior in sustainability area.


This study was conducted to investigate changes in the proximate composition, antioxidant activities, and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) cladodes cultivated in Jeju (JJ1, JJ2, JJ3) and Jeonnam (JN1, JN2). The difference in the proximate composition (crude protein, lipid and ash content) of OFI between the two regions was not significant. Ca, Mg and Na were the major mineral components of OFI. The ascorbic acid content of OFI ranged from 57.87 to 143.72 mg/100 g. A 70% ethanol extract was used to investigate the antioxidant content and activity as well as the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of OFI were 38.69~55.29 and 3.33~4.03 mg/g, respectively. The antioxidant activities based on the DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging assays were 45.19~ 61.52% and 39.15~51.96%, respectively, at a concentration of 1 mg/mL. The inhibitory activity of OFI extracts against rat intestinal α-glucosidase was 29.72~45.73% at 1 mg/mL concentration, and JN1 showed the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. This information could be very useful for authentication of Opuntia species with the highest potential as sources of nutritional and therapeutic elements.


AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA

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Concurrent chemotherapy and fractionated radiation are being increasingly used as the initial treatment for many patients with squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN) in an effort to preserve function at the primary site as well as to possibly improve survival. Despite this treatment approach, many patients die from locoregional and distant disease. Adoptive immunotherapy with tumor-draining lymphocytes has been used by some investigators to try and improve survival in patients at high risk for recurrence or regional and distant metastases. In an effort to improve outcomes in this patient population, we undertook experiments to determine the feasibility of adoptive transfer of tumor-draining lymphocytes in mice treated with chemotherapy and fractionated radiation. Mice with 7-day subcutaneous SCCVII tumors were treated with 2 days of systemic cisplatin (4 mg/kg) and 5-fluorouracil (50 mg/kg) and 5 days of fractionated radiation to the flank tumor site (3 Gy/day; 15 Gy total). Tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLN) from untreated mice with 9-day SCCVII tumors were harvested and activated for two days with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 mAbs and subsequently expanded with IL-2 (60 IU/mL) for 3 more days. Mice were given a single intravenous injection of TDLN (30 x 106) three days after the completion of chemoradiation treatment (Day 14). Mice treated with chemoradiation or chemoradiation and TDLN had significantly slower tumor growth and better survival when compared to no treatment or TDLN alone-treated groups (p < 0.05). In addition, 2/20 (10%) of chemoradiation-treated animals and 3/20 (15%) of TDLN/chemoradiation-treated animals had a complete tumor response as compared to 0/20 (0%) in both untreated and TDLN alone-treated animals. Importantly, TDLN/chemoradiation-treated mice with a complete tumor response were completely resistant to multiple, repeat tumor challenges while chemoradiation-treated mice developed tumor with the initial rechallenge of relevant tumor. Consistent with these findings, splenocytes from TDLN/chemoradiation-treated mice had elevated levels of baseline interferon-gamma that was further increased by stimulation with relevant tumor when compared to controls. These experiments suggest a systemic antitumor effect of adoptive immunotherapy with tumor-draining lymphocytes and chemoradiation and support a potential role for this treatment approach in patients with SCCHN undergoing standard chemoradiation protocols.


Indonesian engineers need to design and build their electric car chassis from scratch. These cars need to possess high torsional stiffness and maximum Von Mises Stress value. Therefore, this determines the value of Torsional Stiffness and Von Mises Stress from an electric car scratch chassis using Finite element simulation. A twist load was placed in front, with back support used to determine the torsional stiffness. The stress was analyzed using three types of loading, namely; vertical, lateral, and braking. Meanwhile, the JIS G 3141 galvanized plate with a thickness of 1 mm and 1.2 mm from Indonesia's marketplace was the chassis material used. The simulation results showed that the maximum Von Mises Stress value with a thickness of 1.2 mm produces safe strength, with a torsional stiffness of 11735 Nm/deg. In conclusion, the rigidity and strength of the chassis with a plate thickness of 1.2 mm is in a proper category. Furthermore, this chassis can be used for the development from scratch of an electric car.


The microscale spatial distribution of coastal zooplankton was studied during the month of June at the largest marine reserve of Mallorca: Peninsula de Llevant using light traps. The assemblage was characterized by the most abundant taxa being peracarida crustaceans, including isopods, cumaceans and amphipods. Decapoda larvae, especially brachyuran megalopa larvae, were also abundant with Monodaeus couchii, Pinnotheres sp., Ebalia sp. and specimens from Portunidae family as the most abundant species. Analyses of crustacean abundance between light traps indicated a vertical distribution on the water column, with lower abundance at surface traps and higher at bottom traps. No clear horizontal pattern in total crustacean abundance was found, except in megalopa larvae that showed a gradient in relation to the distance to coastline. Light traps have been corroborated as a valuable tool for sampling crustacean larvae and therefore to assess effects of protection on planktonic stages.


BACKGROUND
 Diabetes mellitus is a chronic burden, with a prevalence that is increasing worldwide. Telemetric interventions have attracted great interest and may provide effective new therapeutic approaches for improving type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) care.

 OBJECTIVE
 The objective of this study was to analyze the clinical effectiveness of telemetric interventions on glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) specifically and T2DM management generally in a systematic meta-review.

 METHODS
 A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science Core Collection, and EMBASE databases from January 2008 to April 2020. Studies that addressed HbA1c, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, BMI, diabetes-related and health-related quality of life, cost-effectiveness, time savings, and the clinical effectiveness of telemetric interventions were analyzed. In total, 73 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 10 systematic reviews/meta-analyses, 9 qualitative studies, 2 cohort studies, 2 nonrandomized controlled studies, 2 observational studies, and 1 noncontrolled intervention study were analyzed.

 RESULTS
 Overall, 1647 citations were identified. After careful screening, 99 studies (n=15,939 patients; n=82,436 patient cases) were selected by two independent reviewers for inclusion in the review. Telemetric interventions were categorized according to communication channels to health care providers: (1) "real-time video" interventions, (2) "real-time audio" interventions, (3) "asynchronous" interventions, and (4) "combined" interventions. To analyze changes in HbA1c, suitable RCTs were pooled and the average was determined. An HbA1c decrease of –1.15% (95% CI –1.84% to –0.45%), yielding an HbA1c value of 6.95% (SD 0.495), was shown in studies using 6-month "real-time video" interventions.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Telemetric interventions clearly improve HbA1c values in both the short term and the long term and contribute to the effective management of T2DM. More studies need to be done in greater detail.


We consider the efficiency of self-phoretic colloidal particles (swimmers) as a function of the heterogeneity in the surface reaction rate. The set of fluid, species, and electrostatic continuity equations is solved analytically using a linearization and numerically using a finite-element method. To compare spherical swimmers of different size and with heterogeneous catalytic conversion rates, a "swimmer efficiency" functional η is introduced. It is proven that in order to obtain maximum swimmer efficiency, the reactivity has to be localized at the pole(s). Our results also shed light on the sensitivity of the propulsion speed to details of the surface reactivity, a property that is notoriously hard to measure. This insight can be utilized in the design of new self-phoretic swimmers.


The guidelines for early cancer detection of the American Cancer Society are critically reviewed. It is concluded that only for some elements of the guidelines relating to breast, cervix and colorectal cancer is there good evidence of effectiveness sufficient for public health policy. However, for breast cancer screening under the age of 50, and prostate cancer screening at any age, the evidence currently does not justify the approaches recommended by the Society.


There are two main modes of transport of molecules across any biological membrane. These are passive and active transport. Passive transport, most commonly by diffusion, occurs along a concentration gradient from high to low concentration. No energy is necessary for this mode of transport. Examples will include diffusion of gases across alveolar membranes and diffusion of neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine across the synapse or neuromuscular junction. Osmosis is a form of passive transport when water molecules move from low solute concentration(high water concentration) to high solute or low water concentration across a membrane that is not permeable to the solute. There is a form of passive transport called facilitated diffusion. It occurs when molecules such as glucose or amino acids move from high concentration to low concentration facilitated by carrier proteins or pores in the membrane. Active transport requires energy for the process by transporting molecules against a concentration or electrochemical gradient.Active transport is an energy-driven process where membrane proteins transport molecules across cells, mainly classified as either primary or secondary, based on how energy is coupled to fuel these mechanisms. The former constitutes means by which a chemical reaction, e.g., ATP hydrolysis, powers the direct transport of molecules to establish specific concentration gradients, as seen with sodium/potassium-ATPase and hydrogen-ATPase pumps. The latter employs those established gradients to transport other molecules. These gradients support the roles of other membrane proteins and other workings of the cell and are crucial to the maintenance of cellular and bodily homeostasis. As such, the importance of active transport is apparent when considering the various defects throughout the body that can manifest in a wide variety of diseases, including cystic fibrosis and cholera, all because of an impairment in some aspect of active transport.


Objective In cardiac surgery, the lung, renal and neurological events are the most frequent complications. Less common, acute liver failure is a serious complication that adds high morbidity, mortality, and costs. Therefore, this communication aimed to retrospectively evaluate five patients who presented, in 2014, severe acute liver failure in the immediate postoperative period. Methods Retrospective data analysis of patients' medical records that showed severe liver failure has been computed in the medical records of five patients undergoing cardiac surgery at the Hospital da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto – USP in the immediate postoperative period from February 1, 2014 to December 12, 2014. The study selected five males patients, 60 to 67 years old, cardiopulmonary bypass mean time of 101.4 minutes (varying from 80 to 140 minutes), who presented acute perioperative liver failure. Results The five patients showed an impressive increase of blood transaminase (serum alanine aminotransferase), suggesting acute hepatitis. The evolution of all patients was catastrophic, with severe hemodynamic effects and death. Many studies suggest that systemic hypotension is an important pathogenic factor for ischemic hepatitis. However, our data and previous studies raise the possibility that other yet unknown factors other than hypotension may be part of the pathophysiology of cardiopulmonary bypass after ischemic hepatitis (anticoagulation inadequate for the quality of heparin and protamine, etc.). Conclusion Currently, there are no conclusive studies on the prevention of perioperative liver failure. More well-designed studies are needed on the introduction and evolution of liver dysfunction after cardiac surgery.


The presence of Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) from electronic devices such as personal computers,
laboratory equipment and television sets in selected laboratories and offices at the College of Science and
Technology Building, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria was characterized using an ELF Detection Meter.
The study revealed that exposure to ELF fields could be controlled to the minimum depending on the
awareness of the occupant. As with all electromagnetic fields, the ELF field decays rapidly with distance
from source or hot spots. The average observed value of ELF in the offices ranged from 3.5 to 5.0 mG. A
significant hot spot with ELF of approximately 10 mG in an office was detected close to the magnetic board
fixed on the wall. From the results, the maximum ELF fields of between 30–50 mG were observed close to
some electronic devices, while other areas recorded significant ELF fields of between 4 mG and 25 mG due
to the presence of electrical internal conduit wiring with no electrical gadgets in their vicinities. Minimum
ELF fields of between 0.1 mG and 0.5 mG were observed in one of the locations surveyed


BACKGROUND
Many patients in German hospitals complain of inadequate treatment of their postoperative pain. Hospital-related structural and procedural variables may affect pain perception and patient satisfaction. We studied the association of individual variables with outcome quality.

METHODS
Data from the years 2011 to 2014 from the world's largest acute pain registry (QUIPS) were evaluated. The analysis was performed with mixed linear regression models.

RESULTS
We studied registry data from 138 German hospitals concerning four commonly performed types of operations (total number of operations, 21 114) and found that the intensity of pain, functional impairment, and satisfaction with postoperative pain therapy were all highly variable from one hospital to another. Patients in university hospitals complained more often than those in standard care facilities of highly intense pain (odds ratio [OR] 2.44; 95% con - fidence interval [CI] [1.18; 5.04]) and dissatisfaction (OR 3.58 [1.85; 6.93]). In specialized centers as well, pain intensity (OR 1.39 [1.06; 1.83]) and dissatisfaction (OR 1.59 [1.25; 2.02]) were higher. Pain-related limitation of movement was also reported more commonly in university hospitals (OR 2.12 [0.87; 5.16]) and specialized centers (OR 1.87 [1.33; 2.65]) than in standard care facilities. Less pain-related limitation of movement and higher satisfaction were reported in hospitals in which pain was documented in the patients' charts and the patients felt adequately informed about the treatment options.

CONCLUSION
The current state of postoperative pain therapy leaves much room for improvement. Quality indicators in the field of acute pain medicine might help improve patient care.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous injection of recombinant human interleukin-2 (Proleukin) in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

METHODS
Forty-one patients with pathologically confirmed metastatic RCC after radical nephrectomy were enrolled into this study. Two or four consecutive cycles of subcutaneous injection of rhLL-2 were given, with each cycle duration of five weeks consisting of 4 weeks of treatment and one week of rest. The rhLL-2 was injected twice daily subcutaneously at a dose of 9 MIU on D1-D5 during week one, then 9 MIU twice daily on D1-D2 and followed by 9 MIU daily on D3-D5 during week 2-4. Patients were evaluated after the second cycle of treatment. If an objective response or stable disease was observed, the patient would receive another two cycles of treeatment.

RESULTS
Of the 41 patients, the overall objective response rate was 17.1% (95% confidence interval, 5.6% to 28.6%) with a complete response (CR) rate of 0.0% and partial response rate (PR) of 17.1%. However, nineteen patients (46.3%) still had a stable disease (SD), and 15 (36.6%) had progressed disease (PD). The disease control rate was 63.4% and the median time to progression (mTTP) was 6 months. The 1-year survival rate was 71.2% with a median overall survival (mOS) rate of 22.5 months. Among 36 PP population, the overall objective response rate was 19.4% (95% confidence interval, 6.5% to 32.3%) with CR rate of 0.0% and PR rate of 19.4%. Sixteen patients(44.4%) had stable disease, and 13 (36.1%) progressed disease. The disease control rate was 63.9%. The 1-year survival rate was 66.7% with a median time to progression of 6 months. The median overall survival (mOS) had not reached yet. The follow-up data showed that the long term survival of the patient who responsed to the IL-2 therapy can be prolonged. Severe toxicity (> or = grade III) was rarely observed. Grade I or II toxicities such as fatigue (100.0%) and fever (82.9%) were frequently observed but reversible.

CONCLUSION
Subcutaneous injection of recombinant human interleukin-2 may prolong the survival of patients with a metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This regimen is tolerable with rare severe toxicities.


In this study, a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim]PF6), N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyacetophenone)ethylenediamine (BZE) and Nafion to form a MWCNT-BZE-[bmim]PF6-Nafion-GCE. The electrochemical behaviour of the modified electrode with respect to silver (Ag(I)) ion detection was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Furthermore, the experimental parameters including the pH value of Britton–Robinson Buffer (BRB), Nafion, MWCNTs, BZE and ([bmim]PF6) concentrations and the deposition potential and time were optimized. The detection limit of the modified electrode for the Ag(I) ion was found to be 70 ng L−1 (6.49 × 10−10 mol L−1). Repetitive measurements revealed good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation (RSD) value of 0.4%. The system performance of the modified electrode was highly satisfactory and the recoveries for river water samples were found to be 96–121%. This study proved that the MWCNT-BZE-[bmim]PF6-Nafion-GCE is a highly selective and sensitive modified electrode for the detection of the Ag(I) ion in river water samples with good recovery value.


Semantic segmentation based on sparse annotation has advanced in recent years. It labels only part of each object in the image, leaving the remainder unlabeled. Most of the existing approaches are time-consuming and often necessitate a multi-stage training strategy. In this work, we propose a simple yet effective sparse annotated semantic segmentation framework based on segformer, dubbed SASFormer, that achieves remarkable performance. Specifically, the framework first generates hierarchical patch attention maps, which are then multiplied by the network predictions to produce correlated regions separated by valid labels. Besides, we also introduce the affinity loss to ensure consistency between the features of correlation results and network predictions. Extensive experiments showcase that our proposed approach is superior to existing methods and achieves cutting-edge performance. The source code is available at https://github.com/su-hui-zz/SASFormer.


Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), a new form of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT), optimizes the concept of computer-controlled radiation deposition in tumor (target) while sparing adjacent normal structures. A retrospective review was done on the initial 185 patients with tumors in different sites including prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, pediatric tumors, adult brain tumors, and previously irradiated recurrent tumors treated with IMRT. Preliminary findings indicate that IMRT is a new clinically feasible tool in radiation oncology. Treatment-related morbidity profile was favorable. Tumor response, local control, and the ability to palliate previously irradiated patients are encouraging. Intensity modulated radiation therapy will allow dose escalation, leading to better tumor control.


The quality of wheat flour presents some differences due to the different extracting section of the milling process. Compared with the control bread flour,the new wheat No. 26 as the raw material was milled by laboratory mill to extract flour from three break systems and three reduction systems. The milling flow for bread flour was designed by determining the main component,farinograph parameters,RVA pasting properties and bread TPA parameters of the flour. The results showed that the protein and wet gluten content in the flour from break system was higher than that from reduction system,that from head break system lower than that from tail break system,and that from head reduction system higher than that from tail reduction system. The dough development time,stabilization time,peak viscosity,setback of the flour from each system,and the elasticity and resilience of bread was consistent with the change of protein content. The ash content of the flour from 1M was the lowest,both water absorption and fat content of the flour from 3M was the highest,while the bread hardness,chewiness,degree of softening and breakdown of the flour from 3B were the lowest. Compared with the control group bought from market,the flour from tail break system and from head reduction system could be utilized as bread flour. The flour from 3B was the best among break system and that from 1M was the best among reduction system.


This paper is concerned with near-optimal approximation of a given function $f \in L_2([0,1])$ with elements of a polynomially enriched wavelet frame, a so-called quarklet frame. Inspired by $hp$-approximation techniques of Binev, we use the underlying tree structure of the frame elements to derive an adaptive algorithm that, under standard assumptions concerning the local errors, can be used to create approximations with an error close to the best tree approximation error for a given cardinality. We support our findings by numerical experiments demonstrating that this approach can be used to achieve inverse-exponential convergence rates.


This article discusses the role played by the latency period and time for understanding in learnings. The authors posit that from Lacan (1959), if on the one hand, the neurotic inhibition can be taken as a paralyzation in the time for understanding, on the other hand, it is possible to conclude that the structural inhibition reveals a intrinsic experience of the time for understanding, in learnings. Structural inhibition whichs antecedes and supports the conclusive act of learning and its usufruct. For such an argument, this article extracts consequences from the latency period approached by Freud (1939) in "Moses and monotheism", claiming that the latent phase becomes closer to the time for understanding approached by Lacan (1946).


The first publication to focus on the Art Institute's outstanding collection of American modernism, this volume includes over 175 important paintings, sculptures, decorative-art objects, and works on paper made in North America between World War II and 1955. Together they fully reflect the history of American art in these decades, including examples of early modernism, Social Realism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism. Among the paintings are such iconic works as Hopper's Nighthawks and Wood's American Gothic, along with notable pieces by Davis, De Kooning, Hartley, Lawrence, Marin, O'Keeffe, Pollock, and Sheeler. Among the sculptors represented are Calder, Cornell, and Noguchi. Spectacular decorative artwork by the Eameses, Grotell, Neutra, Saarinen, F. L. Wright, and Zeisel are also featured. Reproduced in full color, each work is accompanied by an accessible and up-to-date text, complete with comparative illustrations. The introduction traces the formation of this important collection by a number of noted curators, collectors, and patrons.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the differentially expressed gene profile in cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues with and without pelvic lymph node metastasis by microarray technique and to screen tumor metastasis-related genes.

METHODS
Cancer tissue samples were collected from 4 cervical squamous cell carcinoma patients with pelvic lymph metastasis and 6 patients without metastasis before the treatment. Differentially expressed gene profile was identified between cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues with and without pelvic lymph node metastasis by NimbleGen microarray. Fluorescent real-time quantitative PCR was employed to validate the accuracy of the microarray by detecting the expression of genes picked from the differentially expressed gene profile. We screened tumor metastasis-related genes through the gene bank, PUBMED and gene ontology analysis.

RESULTS
With the application of microarray, 329 genes were identified as markedly differentially expressed genes between cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues with and without pelvic lymph node metastasis. Real-time PCR was in accordance with microarray. Forty-four genes associated with tumor metastasis were identified from the differentially expressed gene profile.

CONCLUSION
Gene profile in cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues associated with pelvic lymph node metastasis is preliminarily identified, indicating that lymph node metastasis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma is a process involving numerous genes.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is considered a movement disease; it is a progressive and degenerative neurological disorder, causing disabling motor dysfunctions. Investigate the body instability of PD patients through the stabilometry test is the aim of this study. A sample of 40 participants with PD were staged between the stages of the disease using Hoehn and Yahr Modified Scale 1.5 to 3.0 in static posture with eyes open and closed to assess stabilometry in the distance from the center of pressure (CoP), as well as anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral axis (ML). There were found no differences in the body oscillation variables on the AP and ML axis. There was a difference in CoP displacement and oscillation speed between stage 1.5 to 3.0. It was concluded that participants with PD in stage 3.0 had greater distances from the CoP and greater speed of body sway, and that these instabilities become more evident with the progression of the disease.


Objective(s): Nanoparticles (NPs) are particles with the size range approximately from 1 to 100 nanometers that are made in different shapes. Nanotechnology is an emerging technology that expected to open some new opportunities in order to destroy and control of microorganisms using of materials and systems at the scale of the atom. Echinococcus granulosus is the agent of cystic echinococcosis (CE), which has a cosmopolitan distribution. This parasite causes hydatid cysts that can afflicted at various organs of mammalian host such as liver, lung even in heart, brain and bone which may lead to death. The current methods for treatment of human CE include surgery. Methods: This study was undertaken for the first time to evaluate the scolicidal effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO- NPs) against hydatid cyst protoscolices in vitro. The scolicidal activities of the zinc oxide nanoparticles were tested in concentrations of 50,100 and 150 mg/ml following 10, 30 and 60 min of incubation and tested were repeated at three times. Data were analyzed by SAS software. Results: The results showed that the zinc oxide nanoparticles at the concentration of 50 mg/ml leads to killing 19/6% protoscolices at 10 minutes. In 150 mg/ml concentration, the black ZnO particles were covered on all protoscolices, and they could not be seen or counted. Conclusions: This investigation showed that ZnO-NPs a statistically significant difference in the protoscolicidal activity with different dilutions but, is not recommended as a powerful scolicidal agent.


Moisture is a crucial factor in the durability and performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, frequently managed with external humidification of reactant gases. Membrane humidifiers have been utilized to maintain proper water content levels of cathode air in vehicular fuel cell systems, avoiding fuel cell operation limits, especially in high temperature conditions.
 Since the precise measurement of hollow fiber membrane performance ensures the design capability of the shell-tube membrane humidifier, it is necessary to understand the measurement uncertainty of vapor transport through the hollow fiber membrane. In this study, the uncertainty of the water vapor transport rate is analyzed with experimental data. Parametric investigation of vapor transport was carried out with isothermal conditions and variation of operating parameters including temperature, pressure, and inlet relative humidity. The vapor transport is presented by the vapor transfer rate from the wet air to the dry air through the membrane, which is affected by the sensitivity of the foregoing operating parameters and the reliability of sensors. The reliable data of humidifier performance is of vital importance in fuel cell system optimization. Therefore, the uncertainty analysis of individual parameters and the vapor transfer rate was conducted to confirm the reliability of vapor transport experiments.


The reconstruction of particle trajectories and their associated vertices is an essential task in the event reconstruction of most high energy physics experiments. In order to maintain or even improve upon the current performance of tracking and vertexing algorithms under the upcoming challenges of increasing energies and ever increasing luminosities in the future, major software upgrades are required. Based on the well-tested ATLAS tracking and vertexing software, ACTS ( A Common Tracking Software ) aims to provide a modern, experiment-independent set of track- and vertex reconstruction software, specifically designed for parallel execution. Exploiting modern software concepts, thread-safe implementations of iterative and multi-adaptive primary vertex finding algorithms, as well as a full Billoir vertex fitter, Z-Scan- and Gaussian track density seed finder, are available in ACTS and being deployed in the multi-threaded version of the ATLAS software framework AthenaMT. In addition to these computationally optimized reimplementations of classical primary vertexing algorithms, all of which have been validated against the original ATLAS implementations, ACTS provides a solid code base for evaluating new approaches to primary vertex finding, such as applications of sophisticated deep learning methods. Associating tracks to the correct vertex candidate is a crucial step in vertexing and will become even more important in the high-pileup environments expected for HL-LHC or FCC-hh in order not to merge close-by vertices. Learning a track representation in an embedding space in such a way that tracks emerging from a common vertex are close together while tracks from neighboring vertices are further separated from one another allows for the determination of a similarity score between a pair of tracks. Constructing undirected, edge-weighted graphs from these results allows the subsequent usage of classical graph algorithms or graph neural networks for clustering tracks to vertex candidates. The current status of the ACTS vertexing as well as new results on deep learning approaches to vertex finding will be presented in this talk.


Multi-speed transmissions with 2–3 speed are considered to be an effective and compact equipment for pure electric vehicles' (PEV) dynamic and economical improvement. However, the characteristics of fewer gears and larger speed ratio gap not only request uninterrupted shifting quality but also smooth pedalpower pattern to derive demand power of motor from drivers' input. Due to these features of multi-speed transmissions for PEV, using one fixed pedal-power pattern in conventional ways will cause output torque shock after shifting or force drivers to passively adjust the pedal for constant acceleration. A speed-based unified pedal-power pattern (SUPP) is proposed to interpret the demand power of motor according to the vehicle speed instead of motor speed. The SUPP contains three components including a base, a feedforward and a feedback part to satisfied the different dynamic request under different gears and different speed. Furthermore, the SUPP is integrated with the innovative clutch-to-clutch shifting algorithm which achieves uninterrupted shifting on PEV, and realizes in optimal trajectory of motor operating points during and after shifting. A case study of SUPP is conducted with a two-speed transmission for PEV through both simulation and experiments. The simulation and experimental results prove that the SUPP is able to obtain uninterrupted wheel torque during and after shifting with constant drivers' intention, and prevent drivers from unnecessary adaptation.


We demonstrated the proposed optical path monitoring method, which is scalable to the number of nodes and wavelengths, in a simplified 4 /spl times/ 4 optical cross connect (OXC) with path dependent loss compensation. This simple and scalable scheme is suitable for optical path monitoring of transparent optical networks.


ABSTRACT Primary rhombohedrons of calcite are more common in sedimentary carbonates than previously suspected. The reliability of identification of dolomite on the basis of rhombic habit is therefore questioned, especially where rhombic crystals line voids.


In order to improve production efficiency, large-diameter wafer substrates (300-mm diameter) and large-area glass substrates (from 400 cm/sup 2/ to 1 m/sup 2/) have been adopted recently. As a result, the development of large and high-density plasma source has become essential. To investigate the discharge phenomenon in the chamber that consists of embedded antenna coil in the rectangular system (1020 /spl times/830 /spl times/437 mm), we have developed a two-dimensional fluid simulation model. In order to check our model, the results from our simulation have been compared with available experimental data. The comparison is generally in a good agreement with experiments. Depending on the current direction and powered method, the distribution of plasma parameters has many differences. In our simulation with a chamber larger than is usually used in other experiments, we examine three effects: the distance between antenna coils, structure in the chamber, and the depth of the chamber. The parameters, which affect nonuniformity, electron temperature, and others, can be explained in a manner similar to the inductively coupled plasma source with a cylindrical chamber. Our simulation results confirm that the embedded antenna coil system with a suitable environment can be extended by many antenna coils as a large-area plasma source.


The frequency of hypodontia (but for the third molar) was studied in a series of 600 patients with cleft lip and/or palate. The series was subdivided into three groups according to the type of facial cleft. As compared to the general normal population the occurrence of hypodontia was markedly increased in patients with clefts. The highest percentage of hypodontia was recorded in patients with cleft lip and palate, the lowest frequency was present in cleft lip only. In cleft lip and in cleft lip and palate girls were affected significantly more frequently than boys. The occurrence of hypodontia in the lower and in the upper jaw differed according to the type of cleft. The upper jaw was affected more often in cleft lip and in cleft lip and palate, the mandible was involved more frequently in isolated cleft palate. The dental bud of the upper lateral incisor was affected most commonly in cleft lip and in cleft lip and palate, while the second lower premolar was most frequently absent in isolated cleft palate.


High resistance to class IIa bacteriocins in Listeria monocytogenes has been clearly linked to lack of expression of the mptACD operon, encoding the EIIt Man mannose PTS permease. Also, intermediate resistance has been associated with membrane phospholipid modifications in the spontaneous mutants L. monocytogenes B73-V1 and B73-V2. We constructed a new mutant of L. monocytogenes that was interrupted in mpoA, and which also exhibited an intermediate resistance phenotype. The mpoABCD operon putatively encodes a PTS permease of the mannose family similar to that encoded by the mpt operon. In silico analysis indicated that mpo transcription might be dependent on sigma54. Our study demonstrated that the three intermediate resistant mutants have a slight decrease in mptACD expression, showing that the level of sensitivity is correlated to the level of mpt expression. We show a cross-regulation between mpo and mpt. In particular, the mpo mutant has a defect in mpt expression that possibly could explain its intermediate resistance phenotype.


It is tempting to inflate along one of the many flat directions that arise in supersymmetric theories. The required flatness of the potential to obtain sufficient inflation and to not overproduce density fluctuations occurs naturally. However, the density perturbations (in the case of a single moduli field) that arise from inflaton quantum fluctuations are too small for structure formation. Here we propose that topological defects (such as cosmic strings), which arise during a phase transition near the end of moduli inflation can provide an alternative source of structure. The strings produced will be `fat', yet have the usual evolution by the time of nucleosynthesis. Possible models are discussed.


This handsomely produced volume, the first in a series, covers aspects of fibroblast, collagen, hormone effects, elastase, calcification, diabetes, and atherosclerosis. Even admitting the bounds of eclecticism permitted by the field, it is a vaguely unsatisfactory package. Duplication of subject matter was noted editorially. Atherosclerosis, for example, permeates three chapters in addition to its own. More serious is the problem of over-reviewing. While the topic of collagen is probably unavoidable in an introductory volume, some of its phases are quite well known, and we may question whether really enough is happening in the realms of collagen molecular structure or in fibrillogenesis to justify their review almost annually. Critical appraisal and controversy, though encouraged editorially, is evidently for the future. All this is not to deny that individual chapters are excellent. Yet, perusal of the chapter on hormonal control of connective tissue would lead to the curious conclusion that everybody is


A previously healthy 71-year-old man sustained a non-penetrating chest trauma. The chest CT scan revealed cardiac tamponade and then emergent operation was performed. We opened the pericardium through median sternotomy and found a laceration of the distal left anterior descending coronary artery (seg. 8). We ligated the artery and he showed signs of a limited myocardial infarction on the postoperative ECGs, but echocardiography revealed symmetric contraction and normal ejection fraction. His postoperative course was uneventful. We think that injuries of distal coronary arteries could be successfully ligated.


E/sup 2/PROM memory devices are widely used in embedded applications. For an efficient design flow, a correct modeling of these memory cells in every operation condition becomes more and more important, especially due to power consumption limitations. Although E/sup 2/PROM cells have being used for a long time, very few compact models have been developed. Here, we present a complete compact model based on an original procedure to calculate the floating gate potential in DC conditions, without the need of any capacitive coupling coefficient. This model is designed as a modular structure, so to simplify program/erase and reliability simulations. Program/erase and leakage currents are included by means of simple voltage-controlled current sources implementing their analytical expression. It can be used to simulate memory cells both during read operation (DC conditions) and during program and erase (transient conditions) giving always very accurate results. We show also that, provided there are good descriptions of degradation mechanisms, the same model can be used also for reliability simulations, predicting charge loss due to tunnel oxide degradation.


Caprine papillomaviruses (ChPVs, Capra hircus papillomaviruses) were detected and quantified for the first time using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) in blood samples of 374 clinically healthy goats from farms located in Italy, Romania, and Serbia. Overall, ddPCR revealed ChPV DNA in 78 of the 374 examined samples, indicating that ~21% of the goats harbored circulating papillomavirus DNA. In particular, in Italian goat farms, ChPV genotypes were detected and quantified in 58 of 157 blood samples (~37%), 11 of 117 samples from Serbian farms (~9.4%), and 9 of 100 from Romanian blood samples (9%). Blood samples from Italian goat farms showed a high prevalence of ChPV1, which was detected in 45 samples (28.6%). The ChPV2 genotype was detected in 13 samples (~8.3%). Therefore, significant differences in prevalence and genotype distributions were observed. On Serbian and Romanian farms, no significant differences were observed in the genotype prevalence of ChPVs. Molecular findings are consistent with ChPV prevalence, characterized by a territorial distribution similar to that of papillomaviruses in other mammalian species. Furthermore, this study showed that ddPCR is a very sensitive and accurate assay for ChPV detection and quantification. The ddPCR may be the molecular diagnostic tool of choice, ultimately providing useful insights into the molecular epidemiology and field surveillance of ChPV.


This paper describes MoPy, a port of the Python 1.5.2 interpreter to the Psion 5/Epoc32 platform and Koala, a CORBA-style Object Request and Event Broker implemented natively in Python. While primarily a direct POSIX-based port of the standard Python interpreter, MoPy also adds thread, socket and serial support for the Psion platform. The Koala ORB is designed particularly with MoPy in mind and aims to support interoperation of devices over the low-power Prototype Embedded Network. The low-power requirements of PEN impose severe bandwidth and latency penalties to which conventional RPC technologies are not typically well suited.


BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS
Capsule endoscopy is a new, noninvasive diagnostic technique which enables visualization of the mucosa of the small intestine in physiological conditions and without the need to subject the patient to external radiation. Wireless capsule video endoscopy is contraindicated in patients with a cardiac pacemaker. However, on the basis of the characteristics of the radiofrequency band used by the endoscopic capsule, together with a series of other factors, it is possible that the patient's use of a pacemaker should not be a contraindication to capsule endoscopy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
This work had two phases: an in vitro study, using an interference detector, and an in vivo study involving 20 patients with cardiac pacemakers who showed symptoms or signs that justified a capsule endoscopy investigation.

RESULTS
No interference was observed during the first, in vitro, phase of the study. In the second phase, patients wore a Holter recorder for a mean time of 10 hours, during which the average number of recorded QRS complexes exceeded 30,000. All the pacemakers functioned normally. Interference due only to myopotentials was detected in a single patient in whom modification of the pacemaker programming was necessary. In the other 19 patients, neither sensing nor stimulation failures were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
No interference between the pacemaker and the endoscopic capsule was observed. All the pacemakers functioned normally, and no increased incidence of adverse effects was observed. Neither was any pacemaker-induced interference observed on the capsule endoscopy images.


There are no reliable figures on contemporary Shakespeare reception around the world. However, we can provide such figures by analysing which of the 303 global Wikipedias (in about as many languages) have Shakespeare entries and how often these entries have been viewed. These statistics enable us to concretely identify which works are the most viewed in different contexts around the world. We will see, for instance, which cultures are more interested in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories, and poetry. We will find out which single plays are preferred in different cultures, and which plays, instead, are practically ignored abroad. In short, we can distinguish different levels of popularity of his works in different settings. Thus, we will discover that for a plurality of Wikipedias, almost fifty, Romeo and Juliet is number one in pageviews, while in many, but fewer others, it is Hamlet . In seven Wikipedias, on the other hand, Macbeth is number one, while Julius Caesar is first in still several others. Othello, King Lear , A Midsummer Night's Dream , As You Like It , and Antony and Cleopatra are the only other rare leaders in specific Wikipedias. In short, this article will present the basic popular global reception information about all of Shakespeare's works, filling a lacuna in critical research; this will allow researchers to pursue more detailed levels of investigation of Shakespeare's canonicity in different contexts across the globe. Keywords : World literature, Canon, Shakespeare reception, Wikipedia, Sociology of literature, Digital humanities


Tocopherols and tocotrienols (vitamin E), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and the carotenoids react with free radicals, notably peroxyl radicals, and with singlet molecular oxygen (1O2), which is the basis for their function as antioxidants. RRR-alpha-Tocopherol is the major peroxyl radical scavenger in biological lipid phases such as membranes or low-density lipoproteins. Ascorbic acid is present in aqueous compartments (eg, cytosol, plasma, and other body fluids) and can reduce the tocopherol radical; it also has several metabolically important cofactor functions in enzyme reactions, especially hydroxylations. These micronutrients need to be regenerated on oxidation in the biological setting, hence the need for further coupling to nonradical reducing systems such as glutathione-glutathione disulfide, dihydrolipoate-lipoate, or NADPH-NADP+ and NADH-NAD+. Carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, lycopene, and some oxycarotenoids, eg, zeaxanthin and lutein, exert antioxidant functions in lipid phases by quenching 1O2 or free radicals. There are pronounced differences in tissue carotenoid patterns, extending also to the distribution between the all-trans and various cis isomers of the respective carotenoids. Physical quenching leaves the structure intact, so that in this mode the carotenoids do not require a regeneration reaction.


Interrupted aortic arch associated with an aortopulmonary window is a rare congenital malformation that requires an early diagnosis and surgical treatment to avoid irreversible pulmonary vascular changes. We describe herein successful one‐stage repair in a neonate without the use of pericardium or other prosthetic material. Use of a transaortic approach permitted both accurate planning of the appropriate size of pulmonary trunk flap and also facilitated easy repair of the aortopulmonary septal defect. The growth potential of both great arteries was optimized.


Abstract Two vertical ice temperature profiles from locations in the Antarctic Peninsula unaffected by meltwater are presented. A simple time-dependent heat diffusion-advection model is used to infer broad surface temperature variations in the Antarctic Peninsula over the century prior to the start of local meteorological records. Air temperature records from two representative meteorological stations (Faraday and Halley) are used to determine the ice surface boundary conditions in the later stages of the model runs. Earlier temperature histories are then devised to provide best fits between the modeled and observed ice temperature profiles. Results of the modeling suggest that the surface temperature in the Antarctic Peninsula dropped by 1.6° ± 0.2°C between the beginning of the nineteenth century and the start of the Faraday record in 1944. On time scales of several decades the Faraday air temperature record began during a period colder than the average, and temperatures in the early 1800s were probably...


This study utilizes the GM/KM immunoglobulin allotype system to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships of sub-Saharan Africans. The importance of understanding the relatedness of these peoples stems from the sub-Saharan region being the possible birthplace of humans. Haplotype distributions were determined for 19 populations and compared using chi-square analysis. Published data of other sub-Saharan Africans and representative populations worldwide were also added for comparison. Genetic distances between populations were calculated based on haplotype frequencies, and genetic relationships were observed through principal components analysis. Data from the GM/KM system showed a genetic homogeneity of the Bantu populations, with some exceptions, supporting the possibility of a common origin of these peoples. The Malagasy appeared as a divergent population, most likely due to Southeast Asian/Austronesian admixture, as indicated by the presence of the GM*AF B haplotype. The Cape Coloured also showed a divergence, with their genetic structures containing Caucasoid and Khoisan contributions. Finally, the Mbuti Pygmies appeared genetically isolated and had the highest frequency of the GM*A B haplotype out of all studied populations.


The effects of attention were assessed on novelty P3 amplitude and scalp distribution elicited by environmental sounds in young and elderly volunteers who participated in either actively attended or ignored oddball conditions. For the young, novelty P3 amplitude decreased with time on task during both attend and ignore sequences. Amplitude decrements were greatest at frontal sites during the attend condition, but at all sites during the ignore condition. A reliable amplitude decrement was not observed for the elderly in either the attend or ignore oddball series. The data suggest that attention differentially activates multiple generators that contribute to scalp-recorded novelty P3 activity. The lack of novelty P3 habituation seen in the elderly is consistent with changes in frontal lobe function as age increases.


Pahutoxin a quaternary ammonium salt surfactant serves as an active ingredient in the defensive skin secretion of various marine trunkfish (Ostracociidae). In the defensive skin secretion of the Red Sea trunkfish, Ostracion cubicus the effect of PHN is amplified due to the existence of non toxic polypeptides which act as (a) PHN - chelators and (b) potentiators. The secretion of the Red Sea trunkfish includes an additional category of pharmacologically active polypeptides represented by boxin [7] which similarly to PHN they independently kill fish exclusively through medium application. By the aid of radiolabeled PHN and a fish gill membrane preparation a series of equilibrium saturation binding assays were carry out which demonstrate that PHN performs its biological defensive function via receptors and not due to its surface activity. The gill membranes of the trunkfish were shown to be devoid of PHNreceptors. The pharmacological, ecological and environmental implications of the above data are discussed.


Objectives: When used correctly, child safety seats reduce the risk of injury to a child passenger compared to seat belts. The objectives of this study are to (1) describe restraint use among Canadian children ages 4–8 years in 2010; (2) compare child safety seat use between provinces with new legislation (post-2006), old legislation (pre-2006), and without legislation; and (3) compare child safety seat use rates from 2006 to 2010. Methods: Roadside observational surveys of child restraint use were performed in 2006 and 2010 using a nationally representative stratified sample. Proportions of restraint use, correct use (i.e., child safety seats and booster seats) in 4- to 8-year-old children was examined between 3 groups: provinces with new legislation (i.e., child safety seat legislation that included implementation of specific legislation for booster seat use for child passengers ages 4–8 years), old legislation, and no legislation. Results: There were 4048 children observed as passengers in motor vehicles. In provinces with new legislation, 84 percent (95% confidence interval [CI], 72.2–90.8) of children were restrained compared to 94.9 percent (95% CI, 93.0–96.7) in provinces with old legislation, and 81.8 percent (95% CI, 77.3–86.3) in provinces without legislation. Correct use of child restraint was 54.1 percent (95% CI, 48.0–60.3) in provinces with new legislation, 29.5 percent (95% CI, 25.9–33.2) in provinces with old legislation, and 52.0 percent (43.0–61.0) in provinces without legislation in 2010. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that child safety seat legislation has an impact on restraint use in Canada. Despite the increase in rates of child safety seat use in provinces with new legislation and stable rates in provinces with old legislation, use rates remain low. Injury prevention strategies including further surveillance, interventions, and enforcement of restraint use in children are important to decrease motor vehicle related injury and death.


Security Systems plays a very important role in today's modernized industrialized era. Throughout our life, the hard earned assets and valuables things are expected to be safeguarded under certain security features which meet the inquest of the requisite. It is basically designed in order to avoid the risk of vulnerabilities to our valuable items. So there is a lot of robbery, theft going on in and around the world. So, people fear to keep any of their valuables in their homes. Henceforth, many people prefer to keep it in banks. However, in this insecure world even banks are not too safe enough to satisfy people needs. A common man feels his valuables are secured if there is efficiency in security. Hence the project can give effective security in minimal cost.


Problem definition: Estimating customer demand for revenue management solutions faces two main hurdles: unobservable no-purchases and nonhomogenous customer populations with varying preferences. We propose a novel and practical estimation and segmentation methodology that overcomes both challenges simultaneously. Academic/practical relevance: We combine the estimation of discrete choice modeling under unobservable no-purchases with a data-driven identification of customer segments. In collaboration with our industry partner, Oracle Hospitality Global Business Unit, we demonstrate our methodology in the hotel industry setting where increased competition has driven hoteliers to look for more innovative revenue management practices, such as personalized offers for their guests. Methodology: Our methodology predicts demand for multiple types of hotel rooms based on guest characteristics, travel attributes, and room features. Our framework combines clustering techniques with choice modeling to develop a mixture of multinomial logit discrete choice models and uses Bayesian inference to estimate model parameters. In addition to predicting the probability of an individual guest's room type choice, our model delivers additional insights on segmentation with its capability to classify each guest into segments (or a mixture of segments) based on their characteristics. Results: We first show using Monte Carlo simulations that our method outperforms several benchmark methods in prediction accuracy, with nearly unbiased estimates of the choice model parameters and the size of the no-purchase incidents. We then demonstrate our method on a real hotel data set and illustrate how the model results can be used to drive insights for personalized offers and pricing. Managerial implications: Our proposed framework provides a practical approach for a complicated demand estimation problem and can help hoteliers segment their guests based on their preferences, which can serve as a valuable input for personalized offer selection and pricing decisions.


The paper presents the basic idea involved in information retrieval using fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic. It attempts to clarify the definition and some terms and discuss the possible sources of fuzziness within this sub-field. It also tries to prove that how this way retrieving information is more realistic and expressive than their crisp counterparts.


The purpose of this study was to examine the physical characteristics, body composition, and health-related fitness components in Slovak high school students. Data on body composition and health-related fitness were obtained from 848 students attending 14 high schools in the Prešov self-governing region. Health-related fitness levels were determined using the FITNESSGRAM test battery. Body composition was measured using a direct segmental multifrequency bioelectric impedance analyzer InBody 230. The results of the study showed gender differences in anthropometric measures, body composition parameters, and health-related fitness components. Analysis of variance among subgroups with different performance levels in particular tests showed an effect on anthropometric measures and body composition, especially on abdominal strength and endurance and upper body strength and endurance. Regarding gender differences, boys were found to be taller and heavier in all age groups. The BMI values showed a normal rate of physical development in all age groups and both genders. Overall, body composition was more optimal for boys than for girls. Girls were found to have a higher degree of abdominal fat and visceral adiposity. Boys were found to have higher levels of upper body strength and endurance and abdominal strength and endurance. The difference in flexibility level was statistically significant between 16 year-olds.


The International Biological Program (IBP: 1964–1974) was initiated by the International Council of Scientific Unions (now the International Science Council, ISC) to promote the worldwide study of production on land, in freshwaters and in the seas, the potentialities and uses of new and existing natural resources, and human adaptability to changing conditions. The IBP was the first of a series of global initiatives created to promote international collaboration around big environmental science questions since the Second World War. We present a brief review of its international context, and then describe the operations and outcome of the IBP in Australia based largely on the personal experience of Raymond L. Specht (RLS), who was convenor of the Australian PCT section: productivity of terrestrial communities; production processes; and conservation of terrestrial communities. Despite the absence of any dedicated funding for the IBP in Australia, RLS was able to bring a team of interdisciplinary researchers to The University of Queensland and provide them with state-of-the art research facilities. This was the focus for many national and international exchanges, and several important outcomes. RLS, with the support of the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), enabled the first national survey of the conservation status of plant communities (a target of the IBP for each country) and developed it into an objective assessment long after the IBP itself had ended, laying the founda tions for a comprehensive, adequate and representative national reserve system. Much more could have been produced if adequate funding had been provided for the program, reducing the reliance on the commitment and enthusiasm of individual researchers.


This is the report of the International Commission on the Development of Education, set up at the beginning of 1971 and chaired by Edgar Faure. The report aims to assist governments in formulating national strategies for the development of education in a changing universe. Emphasis is upon the need for an international community which reflects common problems, trends, and goals; the promotion of democracy through education; the opportunity of every individual for self actualisation; and the need for life-long education. The book is arranged into three major parts: (1) findings; (2) futures; and (3) towards a learning society. The first part traces the past roots and development of education; examines contemporary educational practice; identifies the needs, resources, and means for education; and suggests a basic reconsideration of educational structures and concepts. The second part examines the challenges of education, including progress in science and technology which offer great potential and knowledge but contribute to problems concerning the distribution of wealth, environmental destruction, and threats against justice. Focus is upon pedagogic discoveries. Aims of education work toward a scientific humanism, social commitment, creativity, and the complete man. The last part examines the role and functions of educational strategy, elements for contemporary strategy, and ways to build solidarity among all countries.


Selective recovery of platinum group metals including Pt, Pd, and Rh from the spent automobile catalysts is investigated by functionalized magnetite nanoparticles as a novel adsorbent. Magnetite nanoparticles are synthesized by co-precipitation of ferrous and ferric salts with ammonium hydroxide, and then coated with a tetraethyl orthosilicate to form well-dispersed silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles. The silica-coated nanoparticles are then functionalized with three different types of organosilane ligands including monoamine (FeSiORA), ethylenediamine (FeSiORDA), and diphenylphosphino (FeSiORP). The effects of initial pH, amount of adsorbent, contact time, and chloride concentration in a multi-component leaching solution are examined in batch tests on [PdCl4]2-, [PtCl4]2-, [PtCl6]2-, and [RhCl6]3-. Among the different types of organosilane ligands examined, the FeSiORA nanoparticles and FeSiORDA, for selective sorption of PGM from the leaching solution, are unsuccessful. It is found that FeSiORPs can effectively adsorb Pt and Pd but exhibit no affinity towards Rh and base metal ions. Under the optimum conditions, the adsorption rates of Pt, Pd, and Rh are estimated 97.5%, 97.0%, and 15.0%, respectively.


Recently, the requirement for learning is constantly increasing. MOOC – massive open online courses represent educational revolution of the century. A MOOC is an online course accessible to unlimited number of participation and is an open access via the web. Mayor participants in the MOOCS are: Coursera, Udacity (Stanford, since 2012) and edX (Harvard, MIT, since 2012). In this paper two MOOCs are considered: Introduction for Robotics and Robotics Vision, both from the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.


This is a case-study of a graduate course conducted over IDEAnet, a network created by the Indiana Department of Education. This study looked at the people involved in this course during the Spring 1993 semester; using the five attributes suggested by Harasim (1990), this case-study also looked at how these five attributes shaped this course. The study found that there were many levels of interaction that occurred in this course. At the lowest level, there was the participative monologue where participants would give out their thoughts without "listening" to others on-line. There were also
instances of one-time dialogue, where an interaction occurred between two individuals once, and then stopped. At the highest level, there were instances of interactive communication where many individuals interact, discussing on a common topic. These three types of interaction were quite common on the conference space; these, however, do not promote collaborative learning. Participation is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for interaction; interaction is a necessary but not sufficient condition for collaboration. For collaboration to happen there must be a
shared and immediate goal between participations. This does not occur naturally on the conference space. Other instructional activities must be incorporated into the course to allow for collaboration to occur. In this online
course, collaborative learning occurred during one of the small group interaction. Lastly, the history of computer education and suggestions for the future of computer networking in the the researcher's country, Malaysia,
were discussed.


Although freedom of association has been more than a decade old, workers in Indonesia still face enormous challenges in exercising their collective rights. this is inseparable from the problem of law enforcement against anti-union / labor crime. This study aims to explain and analyze how the form of legal protection of trade unions in Law No. 21 of 2000 concerning Trade Unions / Trade Unions and what are the barriers to law enforcement in the imposition of criminal sanctions against union busting perpetrators in Gorontal Province. The method used in this study is a merger between normative research and empirical research methods. The results of this study indicate that the form of protection and law enforcement against violations or criminal acts against the union that occurred especially in the Province of Gorntalo is still very weak, there has been no decisive action from all law enforcement. The workings of the law are inseparable from the law enforcers themselves, law enforcement against criminal acts of the Anti Trade union basically still encounters several obstacles among which are understanding concepts among law enforcers of Law No.21 of 2000 concerning Trade Unions / Labor Unions and lack of coordination among PPNS Employment investigators and Police Investigators.


St.Davids or Fishguard. Derek Gobbett conspicuous in the centre (pale anorak) talking to Mike Fuller; and William Durran the tallest chap in the back row near the door. Dr.Hay just visible behind the chap on the left who appears to be 'conducting' things.