Based on citation analysis, this work describes the growth and interdisciplinary patterns of nanoscale research in Iran. It covers all the Iranian ISI papers on nanoscience and nanotechnology indexed in the ISI databases in 2008 and surveys the corresponding data from the beginning to 2007. Moreover, in an international context, a brief comparison is made between our data and those of other countries. A substantial annual growth rate is obtained for the number of publications and their corresponding citations. By the end of 2008, eighteen different subject fields including thirty-eight disciplines comprised the foundations of nanoscale research. The topmost subject field is chemical sciences and the topmost discipline appears to be physics. Hence, nanoscale research in Iran is a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary endeavor (through a convergence among basic sciences and engineering) that pervades among other subject fields and/or disciplines starting with materials and physics and later extending to chemistry and other areas. In an interdependent context, this is possibly due to the dynamic nature and potentials of nanoscience and nanotechnology. In general, nanoscale research in Iran resembles the overall worldwide nanopublication patterns excepting the rather greater concentration on the scientific over the technology orientations.


There is interaction between porcupines that create diggings and the vegetation in a desert biome. Dense patches of diggings may be found in large areas in the Negev and other deserts such as those of South Africa. Porcupines create diggings from 5 to 25 cm deep in the Negev in order to consume subterranean organs of about 18 species of geophytes and hemicryptophytes. There are two main strategies of consumption of these plants: (a), destruction by total consumption of only 20 to 25% of a patch of plants, which are then renewed from seeds; (b), partial consumption of almost all the plants in a patch so that parts of the plants remain below the bottom of the digging and later continue to grow there. In addition to porcupines, there are many other creatures in deserts, such as insects, reptiles, birds, rodents, gazelles, and ibex, that create diggings, depressions, or wallows in the soil for the consumption of subterranean parts of plants or as night beds or nests. In desert soils with low water infiltration, even a rainfall of about 7 mm may cause runoff water. In a 25-cm-deep depression the runoff equivalent to a 250-mm rainfall may accumulate, whereas only 2-4 mm may penetrate the soil in the area surrounding the digging. Diggings may act as wind traps for seeds and organic matter, and their accumulation, together with large amounts of runoff water, make them favorable microhabitats. Seeds of plant species that are consumed, as well as seeds of other species, germinate, and the plants develop in these diggings in large numbers. A succession of events relating to the emergence of annuals in the diggings occurs according to the percentage of filling-in of the digging by soil erosion. In the diggings there is a gradual increase in plant density, plant biomass, species diversity, and seed yield, up to 50% of filling-in. Then there is a gradual decrease of all these factors until the digging is 100% filled-in. During the filling-in process, plant species dominance changes from plant species with wind-dispersed seeds to those with rain-dispersed seeds.


Abstract The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to explore the culture of succession planning and leader development at Lipscomb University, using the 5C's: Strategies for succession planning in the academy model. In the face of unprecedented disruption and complexity, the review of literature suggested the higher education sector in the United States is largely underprepared for the upcoming exodus and shortage of leaders. With religiously-affiliated institutions accounting for more than one in five colleges and universities in the US, there were no visible studies attending to succession planning and leader development in Christian higher education. Given the important contribution of these faith-based institutions to the educational landscape it is both important and significant to understand the culture of succession planning and leader development in this environment. The study identified nine themes related to the culture of succession planning and leader development at Lipscomb University, a member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. These themes were 1) Developing future leaders is a clear priority of the president, 2) Historic cultural and religious traditional norms are influential, 3) Purpose of the programs are clearly understood by participant, 4) Exposure and interaction with other leaders is highly valued, 5) Participants associate deep value with their engagement in programs, 6) Intentional and ongoing efforts to connect with the Nashville community is important, 7) Clarity around ongoing plans for participants is challenging, 8) Board of trustees prioritize succession planning efforts, and 9) Intentionally developing leaders who understand the changing landscape of higher education is critical. The results of the study have significant implications for presidents and board chairs as they consider the need to identify, develop and prepare the next generation of leaders for their institutions of Christian higher education.


A research topic of equal importance to technological and application fields related to quartz crystal is the presence of unwanted responses known as spurious resonances. Spurious resonances are influenced by the surface finish of the quartz crystal, its diameter and thickness, and the mounting technique. In this paper, spurious resonances associated with fundamental resonance are studied by impedance spectroscopy to determine their evolution under load conditions. Investigation of the response of these spurious resonances provides new insights into the dissipation process at the QCM sensor surface. The significant increase of the motional resistance for spurious resonances at the transition from air to pure water is a specific situation revealed experimentally in this study. It has been shown experimentally that in the range between the air and water media, spurious resonances are much more attenuated than the fundamental resonance, thus providing support for investigating the dissipation process in detail. In this range, there are many applications in the field of chemical sensors or biosensors, such as VOC sensors, humidity sensors, or dew point sensors. The evolution of D factor with increasing medium viscosity is significantly different for spurious resonances compared to fundamental resonance, suggesting the usefulness of monitoring them in liquid media.


Background: The question of recognition and enforcement of international commercial arbitration (ICA) decisions, as a prototype of a foreign court decision, finds radically opposite answers in different legal systems and in the doctrine of the ICA. Thus, in the Regulation of the Council (EU) 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on the jurisdiction, recognition, and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, formerly the Brussels Convention of 1968 and the Lugano Convention of 1988, the notion of 'arbitration' was excluded from the sphere of execution and recognition of foreign court decisions.

Methods: Nevertheless, the procedure for recognising and enforcing an ICA award has a unified approach in many countries around the world. Thus, national courts, when deciding on the recognition and enforcement of an ICA award, are increasingly faced with such problematic issues as the grounds for refusing to recognise and enforce such an award. This article reveals that these grounds for refusing to recognise and enforce the award of the ICA are a violation of public order of the country where the arbitral award is subject to recognition and enforcement. Particular attention is paid to the distinction between 'substantive' and 'procedural' public order and the practical approaches of national courts in some countries to this issue.

Results and Conclusions: The authors state that the way to overcome this inconsistency is still a unified approach to understanding 'public order' in all member states of the New York Convention of 1958 and clearer international regulation of this issue.


The development of a stand for maintenance and repair of railway equipment units includes theoretical and practical research. Theoretical research is the basis for obtaining practical results. Special attention is paid to the calculations of critical components and parts. By means of the stand, cars, locomotives, electric locomotives and other rolling stock can be brought into working condition. The purpose of the work is to develop a stand for maintenance and repair of railway equipment units. The object of the study is the technological process of the stand for the maintenance and repair of railway equipment units. The scientific novelty of the work is: theoretical justification of the stand design parameters; design and technological scheme of the stand; optimal design and operating parameters of the stand; estimated performance indicators of the stand. The practical significance lies in the use of the stand on the repair sections of the railway, reducing the labor intensity of the work performed, ease of maintenance, and the lowest cost of manufacturing. Theoretical methods were based on the principles of classical mechanics, mathematical analysis, synthesis, modeling, etc. Experimental data processing was performed using the application programs "Compass-3D", Statistica 6.0, MathCAD. Calculations of the metal structure for bending strength, welded joints, and bed clamps were performed. The calculation of the bending strength of the metal structure was performed and the maximum stresses were found to be within the permissible limits. The condition for the strength of the welded joint is met. The calculation of the bed clips showed that the condition of wear resistance is met.


In addition to the well-studied effects in regulating calcium and phosphorus balance, vitamin D has many non-calcemic effects that include acting as an immune modulator or an antioxidant. Cows acquire vitamin D either from photosynthesis in the skin or through swallowing fungi in the forage or vitamin D supplements. Although vitamin D deficiency is rare, today we are facing an increasing number of vitamin D deficiencies in cows due to the indoor housing away from sunlight exposure. According to the NRC recommendation, to maintain the vitamin D serum concentration in the range of 20 to 50 ng/ ml, it is necessary to administer 21,000 IU/ d of vitamin D in cattle. In addition, considering the involvement of vitamin D in various calcemic and non-calcemic effects, it seems that previously recommend levels of vitamin D supplementation have not been enough for preventing many diseases and disorders in cattle. Vitamin D toxicity may also occur due to over-supplementation of vitamin D or overgrazing in plants with high amounts of vitamin D metabolites. This review article will discuss various roles of vitamin D in dairy cattle health, normal physiology, and disease prevention.


A current-based hybrid formulation is developed for predicting the electromagnetic scattering from conducting bodies of revolution (BOR). The electric field integral equation (EFIE) formulation of the problem is solved by incorporating the Fock solution for the surface currents on the scatterer into the method of moments (MM) solution. To treat oblique illumination, the Fock results are extended to arbitrary surfaces with torsion. The formulation is illustrated for spheres and conespheres with smooth and discontinuous joins. The analysis includes nonspecular phenomena such as creeping wave effects. Application of the physical optics (PO) approximation in this hybrid formulation is discussed. The formulation is shown to be accurate even for scatterers in the near-resonance range (i.e., ka \simgtr 7.5 ).


Attempts at interspecific hybridization were made between Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) and P. acutifolius (tepary bean) using a new pollination method and embryo rescue. The success of interspecific hybridization depended upon the pollination technique, the species and individual genotypes used as female and male parents, and the growth conditions. A high hybridization efficiency was achieved when P. vulgaris was used as female parent. When pods were left on the maternal plants hybrid seeds were obtained which developed into abnormal seedlings. These died at an early stage of growth. Hybrid plants were grown to maturity following embryo rescue, but all showed different developmental abnormalities. The growth of these was determinate like the female parent, P. vulgaris, but leaf morphology was closer to the male parent, P. acutifolius. The utilization of P. acutifolius germplasm for the improvement of common bean remains limited, and further studies are needed to develop promising embryo rescue protocols in such wide crossing programmes.


Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatological proxy data indicate that strong continental monsoons took place under glacial conditions during marine isotopic stage 6.5 (175 ka BP). So far, no climate model has explored the possible coexistence of glacial conditions at mid and high latitudes and of interglacial monsoons in the tropics. Here we use an atmospheric general circulation model and clearly demonstrate that high insolation can generate increased monsoon activity even with surface glacial conditions. Our experiments show that Indian and African monsoons at 175 ka were stronger than nowadays and induced an increase in outflow of the Nile river to the Mediterranean sea. This freshwater supply combined with the local low glacial evaporation may explain the stagnation of the Eastern Mediterranean sea leading to the deposit of sapropel S6. Our simulations show also increased surface winds in the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans which may have affected the bioproductivity in these areas.


Received: 23/Jul/2007, Accepted: 29/Jan/2007 Objective: To study the effects of different matrices and co-culture systems on cultured limbal stem cells (LSCs). Materials and Methods: Limbal explants were co-cultured with limbal fibroblasts (LF) and/or mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) on filter inserts coated with amniotic membrane (AM), matrigel (MAT) and collagen type I (COL). Results: This study revealed that AM facilitated the cell migration and expansion significantly in comparison with other matrices. However, the gene expression profile of stemness markers of LSCs showed no significant differences among the experimental groups. The data indicated that at least in two-dimensional culture systems, the mentioned matrices have no significant effect on switching the expression of genes involved in differentiation process. In addition, the results of the two co-culture systems in case of different feeders, including MEF and LF were similar in growth rate and also preserving stemness quality of cultured limbal cells. Conclusion: To exclude the pollution of transplantable cultivated cells with probable mouse viruses, LF with human origin is recommended as feeder. Hence, limbal explants grown on AM in co-culture with LF will promise a quick and safe model for preparing undifferentiated epithelial sheets suitable for transplantation.


Information systems (IS) is a relatively new discipline with many researchers having their foundation studies in other disciplines. The IS discipline is moving towards some sense of its own identity and some agreement on what constitutes suitable foci of research. Coming from other fields of study, however, our researchers bring perspectives on particular modes of enquiry and methodological paradigms as well as perspectives on what is meant by 'theory'. The argument of this paper is that IS needs to critically examine the types of theorising relevant to its own discipline and recognise the unique nature of the theory that is needed. Perspectives found useful come from the philosophy of science (excluding positivism), interpretivism and Herbert Simon's depiction of the sciences of the artificial. It is shown how these perspectives can be melded, leading to a typology of interrelated theories that is unique to information systems.


In the common-emitter transistor switching application, there are occasions in which the collector supply voltage exceeds the transistor sustain voltage. Consequently, the load line could intersect the negative resistance characteristic of the device in the I /sub C/ -V /sub CE/ plane, resulting in a possible unstable or latch-up condition. The purpose of this paper is to study analytically the avalanche region characteristics and their implications for transistor switching applications. The first part is concerned with the derivation of the direct current-voltage relation that, when viewed from the output terminal, represents a negative resistance. The characteristic of this negative resistance depends on the base-emitter circuit condition. The ac terminal behavior is treated in the second part where consideration of the frequency dependence of alpha leads to an equivalent circuit consisting of an inductance in series with a negative resistance. Both elements are nonlinear as well as frequency-dependent. With an external load connected to this nonlinear circuit, a technique of nonlinear analysis is employed to investigate the circuit stability. From this analysis, latch-up and oscillation phenomena in the transistor switching circuit can be predicted. Since the second breakdown involves additional mechanisms besides avalanche multiplication, it is not discussed in this paper.


In this study, gas-fired kitchens of 54 bungalows and 25 apartments were studied using stationary indoor carbon monoxide (CO) monitoring. The levels of CO were measured in each kitchen for a period of 24 h with a 1 min resolution using data logger EL-USB-CO300. Hourly, 8 h and 24 h, CO means for all the kitchens were calculated. Hourly and 24 h CO means of kitchens for bungalows were 3.72±6.26 ppm and 3.72±3.16 ppm, respectively, while those apartments have 3.74±6.96 ppm and 3.74±2.17 ppm, respectively. 8 h CO means of night, day and evening in the kitchens of bungalows were 2.62±3.22 ppm, 4.85±4.66 ppm and 3.53±3.30 ppm, respectively, while in apartments 2.13±2.02 ppm, 3.79±3.86 ppm and 5.29±4.17 ppm. The mean difference between the 8 h CO concentrations during the evening in bungalows and apartments was 1.76±0.87 ppm (P<0.01). 20% of kitchens apartment and 16.67% of bungalows which exceeded the WHO guidelines for daily exposure limit.


Field-of-view (FOV) expansion is a technology that exceeds the limits of the human FOV, which is approximately covers 200° horizontally and 130° vertically, by compressing and presenting out-of-field images obtained from a wide-angle camera on a head-mounted display (HMD). Previous studies have focused on improving the search efficiency of the human FOV and detecting hazards not covered by blind spots by expanding the visible range; their effectiveness has only been examined in static situations. Therefore, the effect of FOV expansion in dynamic situations, such as during walking and exercise, has not been fully investigated and elucidated. Therefore, we attempted to investigate the characteristics of FOV expansion in dynamic situations that utilized peripheral vision by using a wide-field HMD. Among these, we focused on human motion perception during straight-line motion, which is closely related to human vision.In daily life, we perform linear movements such as walking and driving. In such movements, the human body acquires various types of information from its receptors to understand its own motion and position in relation to the outside world. This cognitive function is called self-motion perception, and visual motion information is the largest component of it. Therefore, there are many cases wherein visual information is manipulated to create an illusion of relative distance and speed to the external world, thereby enhancing motor sensation and altering walking patterns.Returning to the principle of FOV expansion, it is a method of presenting visual information beyond the limits of a defined human FOV. Therefore, the visual distance to external objects and the motion of the external objects change significantly in the FOV during FOV expansion. Utilizing this property, we believe that motion perception can be intentionally manipulated during straight-line walking. In addition, since the effects on perception propagate to the psychological states and physical control of the individual, walking in the state of an expanded visual field may induce mental elevation and improve their motor skills. If these characteristics can be clarified, the technology of visual field expansion can be applied not only to searching for entities and detecting danger but also to improving motion support and gait control.Based on the above, this study aims to investigate whether there are any differences, among normal walking, walking with FOV expansion, and walking with FOV expansion under different angles, in terms of perception, emotion, and gait. Perception and emotion were subjectively evaluated using a questionnaire, and the gait pattern was analyzed using body coordinate information obtained by motion capture. To expand the visual field, we constructed an FOV expansion system using a wide-field head-mounted display (HMD), two omnidirectional cameras, and a control PC. The results of the experiment indicated that the greater the expansion of the FOV, the faster the subject perceived their own walking speed. In addition, there was one case wherein the faster the perceived walking speed was, the shorter the perceived walking distance was. These results suggested that FOV expansion could create the illusion of increased athletic performance.


The mobile device constitutes a highly diffused information communication technology (ICT) around the world and interpersonal mobile communication has certainly become ingrained into contemporary social life. 1 It has also gained traction for conveying news in more and more countries, including those where both legacy news media and new media are subject to censorship 2 . Having its offspring in telecommunications and the telephone, it has typically been known as the mobile- or cell "phone". However, this device has turned into something else than simply a portable "phone". Facilitated by technological convergence and digital developments, the mobile nowadays accommodate for multimedia functions that enable the processing and interaction of content and information through audio, video, graphics, text and animation 3 . It has become equipped with an interface customized for mobile internet experience, involving mobile site browsers and mobile applications 4 , popularly referred to as "apps". It has essentially developed from being a communication technology to becoming internet-empowered information and communication technology (ICT). Equipped also with features such as camera, mp3-player, radio and GPS, the mobile "phone" will hereafter be termed mobile device. With is ubiquitous presence in everyday life, the mobile device has been referred to as the miniaturized mobility par excellence, implying its affordances for media lives on the go. Tablets and laptops constitute other sorts of miniaturized mobilities 5 , and the boundaries between these ICTs are continuously transforming, becoming less and less distinguishable in terms of functionalities. Baron acknowledges that research has tended to lump these devices together, arguing that the functionalities they carry have more influence on our language (writing, reading and speaking when using these devices) than has the fact that these can be carried with us. 6 The use


Ontology is a useful method that can share a common understanding of the structure of information, make domain assumption explicit and analyze the domain knowledge. Representation of territorial knowledge based on the ontology is an approach which explains the nature and reasoning of this knowledge for sustainability. This paper proposes a descriptive ontology for territorial knowledge (DOTK) based on foundation ontology. DOTK ontology is an ontology of domain and its aim is enhancing the sustainable knowledge of actors within industries according to territorial knowledge. Extracting the concepts of the domain is from scientific study. This ontology is a guide for contracting of operational ontology and semantic graph demonstrate the rules between concepts of territorial knowledge. This work is ongoing research for applying of this ontology in the special domain. This study will be considered which part of DOTK and how can help to actors of hierarchical level within industries.


Recent years have witnessed the surge of learned representations that directly build upon point clouds. Though becoming increasingly expressive, most existing representations still struggle to generate ordered point sets. Inspired by spherical multi-view scanners, we propose a novel sampling model called Spotlights to represent a 3D shape as a compact 1D array of depth values. It simulates the configuration of cameras evenly distributed on a sphere, where each virtual camera casts light rays from its principal point through sample points on a small concentric spherical cap to probe for the possible intersections with the object surrounded by the sphere. The structured point cloud is hence given implicitly as a function of depths. We provide a detailed geometric analysis of this new sampling scheme and prove its effectiveness in the context of the point cloud completion task. Experimental results on both synthetic and real data demonstrate that our method achieves competitive accuracy and consistency while having a significantly reduced computational cost. Furthermore, we show superior performance on the downstream point cloud registration task over state-of-the-art completion methods.


This book is designed to help the managers and researchers in solving statistical problems using SPSS and to help them understand how they can use various statistical tools for their own research problems. SPSS is a very powerful and user friendly computer package for data analyses. It can take data from most other file-types and generate tables, charts, plots, and descriptive statistics, and conduct complex statistical analyses. This book will help students, business managers, academics as well as practicing researchers to solve statistical problems using the latest version of SPSS (16.0). After providing a brief overview of SPSS and basic statistical concepts, the book covers: Descriptive statistics t-tests, chi-square tests, and ANOVACorrelation analysisMultiple and logistics regressionFactor analysis and testing scale reliabilityAdvanced data handling


Analysis of folds carried out in the Klodawa Salt Structure (central Poland) showed that the Upper Permian (Zechstein) siliciclastic-evaporitic bed sequence is heterogeneously folded, which resulted from differences in competence of rocks and from bed stratigraphy. Rock salt and potash-rich complexes of each Zechstein cycle are internally folded and contain multiple sheath folds, interpreted as the early sheath folds, originated during lateral flow of salt. These folds are superposed by upright sheath folds inside thick PZ1-PZ2 rock salt complexes. The lack of superposed folds in younger Zechstein salt complexes (PZ3-PZ4) and unconformities between the PZ1-PZ2 and PZ3-PZ4 beds imply that rock salt beds were internally folded prior to diapirism, independently in each salt bed. Two oldest rock salt beds welded during lateral flow and were folded together into upright sheath folds during the upward flow of salt. These superposed folds clustered into subordinary diapirs and pierced through the younger deposits. The latter sunk in salt masses and formed large-scale synclinoria, consisting of beds with fossil early tectonic and sedimentary structures.


Long-run interactions and short-run dynamics among the fertility rate, the accumulation of human capital and macroeconomic performance are examined in several developing countries. While fertility and human capital influence how fast countries grow as traditionally believed, it is argued that both of these growth-promoting factors may themselves be driven by income changes. Past research also neglects the theoretical possibility that the growth consequences of fertility and human capital are inherently slow to develop and require broader models that incorporate long- as well as short-term effects. Two main inferences emerge from the empirical analysis: (a) there exists a robust long-term (cointegrating) relation linking together fertility, human capital and economic growth in all countries studied. Thus, the failure of previous studies to account for the underlying long-term relation could seriously bias their inferences regarding the impact of fertility and/or human capital on economic growth in developing countries, and (b) coherent evidence is also obtained from a whole range of tests and models supportive of a pivotal role of human capital accumulation in shaping macroeconomic performance in the sample.


OBJECTIVE
Based on our experiences, the biological behavior and perioperative management of the jugular glomus tumor are introduced and discussed in order to prevent the possible mortality and morbidity.

METHODS
Five cases of jugular glomus tumor treated in our institute were reviewed. Laboratory examination, modern imaging techniques such as CT, MRI, 131I-MIBG, DSA, as well as embolization of the blood vessels and/or antihypertensive drugs were selectively used in the preoperative period.

RESULTS
Surgical removal of the tumors was successful in this group.

CONCLUSION
Perioperative management plays an important role in the prevention of surgical complications.


In this paper, we evaluate the performance of WSNs for single and multi mobile events using Two Ray Ground radio model and AODV protocol. We consider good put and routing efficiency metrics to evalute the performance of WSN. The simulation results have shown that for single mobile event, the good put is better than multi mobile events when the number of sensor nodes is higher. In case of boids model, the good put of multi mobile events is better than single mobile event. In case of random model, the RE of single mobile event is better than multi mobile events. The RE of multi mobile events is better than single mobile event in case of boids model.


We introduce an algorithm, SVM-IS, for structured SVM learning that is computationally scalable to very large datasets and complex structural representations. We show that structured learning is at least as fast-and often much faster-than methods based on binary classification for problems such as deformable part models, object detection, and multiclass classification, while achieving accuracies that are at least as good. Our method allows problem-specific structural knowledge to be exploited for faster optimization by integrating with a user-defined importance sampling function. We demonstrate fast train times on two challenging large scale datasets for two very different problems: Image Net for multiclass classification and CUB-200-2011 for deformable part model training. Our method is shown to be 10-50 times faster than SVMstruct for cost-sensitive multiclass classification while being about as fast as the fastest 1-vs-all methods for multiclass classification. For deformable part model training, it is shown to be 50-1000 times faster than methods based on SVMstruct, mining hard negatives, and Pegasos-style stochastic gradient descent. Source code of our method is publicly available.


In this paper, a feedback control strategy for stabilizing vortex-coupled delta wing roll dynamics with state delay and parameter uncertainty in the rolling moment coefficient relying on a robust adaptive tracking neuro-controller, which employs a network of Gaussian radial basis functions (RBF) to adaptively compensate for the rolling moment coefficient, is proposed. The stabilizing controller is shown to render the control system globally practically stable, whereas the robust adaptive tracking neuro-controller provides satisfactory tracking performance. The rolling moment coefficient, as a function of left and right vortex breakdown positions, is estimated online in an adaptive neuro-controller structure using a special feature of RBF networks for the delta wing case. The numerical simulation illustrates the applicability of the developed controller.


The chapter presents the impact of COVID-19 on Thai higher education the national, and university reactions and policies to cope with the situation. Parallel with the technology disruption, most universities have been attempting to promote online teaching due to the new learning environments and learning style of students, while faculty members are still reluctant. However, the COVID-19 has inevitably changed the ways the faculty members handle their classes. In this chapter, the findings on the components of online teaching and learning ecology (OTLE) in Thai higher education during the COVID-19 is summarized and proposed, covering the following topics: learning and teaching method, technology and learning resources, teacher roles, and student roles and responsibilities. Finally, the key success factors for the development of learning ecology at the higher education level are also covered.


The author presents a theoretical discussion with experimental comparison of the factors limiting the performance of a surface acoustic wave spectrum analyser plus digital integrator when used with photodetection pulses at the input. It is shown that photodetection-noise-limited operation can normally be achieved in which case the performance is expected to be similar to that attained with a digital autocorrelator. A discussion of the factors which ultimately limit the performance of such a system is included. Finally, examples of actual optical measurements are given demonstrating that the expected performance can indeed be achieved.


Water is essential in the process of digestion, circulation,
elimination, and the regulation of body temperature. In fact,
the activity of every cell in the body takes place in a watery
environment.


Volumetric variations of human brain are heritable and are associated with many brain-related complex traits. Here we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and post-GWAS analyses of 101 brain volumetric phenotypes using the UK Biobank (UKB) sample including 19,629 participants. GWAS identified 287 independent SNPs exceeding genome-wide significance threshold of 4.9*10−10, adjusted for testing multiple phenotypes. Gene-based association study found 142 associated genes (113 new) and functional gene mapping analysis linked 122 more genes. Many of the discovered genetic variants have previously been implicated with cognitive and mental health traits (such as cognitive performance, education, mental disease/disorders), and significant genetic correlations were detected for 29 pairs of traits. The significant SNPs discovered in the UKB sample were supported by a joint analysis with other four independent studies (total sample size 2,192), and we performed a meta-analysis of five samples to provide GWAS summary statistics with sample size larger than 20,000. Using genome-wide polygenic risk scores prediction, up to 4.36% of phenotypic variance (p-value=2.97*10−22) in the four independent studies can be explained by the UKB GWAS results. In conclusion, our study identifies many new genetic variants at SNP, locus and gene levels and advances our understanding of the pleiotropy and genetic co-architecture between brain volumes and other traits.


Background Patients' beliefs about treatment modalities for knee/hip osteoarthritis (OA) might influence their treatment choices. The Theory of Planned Behavior predicts that patients' beliefs, the norms and values of one's social environment (subjective norm) and one's perceived self-efficacy influence behaviour1. Moreover, symptom severity may influence treatment choices2. However, these relationships have not been studied yet in the context of treatment decision-making. Objectives To test whether treatment beliefs, subjective norm, perceived self-efficacy and symptom severity were associated with intended treatment choices in OA. Methods Patients with knee/hip OA who visited the Sint Maartenskliniek in 2015 and 2016 (N=700) were invited to fill out a booklet. The Treatment beliefs in OsteoArthritis questionnaire was used to assess positive and negative treatment beliefs regarding five treatment modalities: physical activities, pain medication, physiotherapy, injections and arthroplasty. Other measures were demographic and clinical variables, self-efficacy (ASES), and symptom severity (WOMAC). Associations between variables were assessed in three models (Figure 1): 1) whether treatment beliefs are associated with intended treatment choice (model 1); 2) whether treatment beliefs, subjective norm and perceived self-efficacy are associated with intended treatment choice (model 2); 3) whether treatment beliefs, subjective norm, perceived self-efficacy and symptom severity are associated with intended treatment choice (model 3). Path analyses were conducted to examine the hypothesized associations. Results 289 patients filled out the booklet. Model 2 had the highest explained variance for each of the treatment modalities (range 32–45%). Positive treatment beliefs and subjective norm were consistently associated with intended treatment choice across all treatment modalities. Negative treatment beliefs were associated with intended treatment choices for pain medication and arthroplasty. Perceived symptom severity was not related to intended treatment choices. No other associations were found. Conclusions This is the first study that found empirical support for the relationship between treatment beliefs and treatment choices. The findings suggest that positive beliefs about treatment modalities and the norms and values of one's social environment are related to a specific treatment choice for knee/hip OA and should be addressed in the clinician's consulting room. References Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organ Behav Hum Dec 50. 179–211. Rosemann (2007). Health service utilization patterns of primary care patients with osteoarthritis. BMC Health Serv Res 7: 167. Disclosure of Interest None declared


This research was carried out in order to find out the use of self-assessment technique can improve the writing skill of the eleventh grade students of MAN 2 Model Palu. This research used a pre-experimental design. The sample of this research was XI IPA 2 class of MAN 2 Model Palu which consisted of 21 students. The sample was selected by using purposive sampling technique. The instrument of data collection was test distributed to the students. The test consisted of pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed statistically in order to find out the significant difference of the students' improvement in the pre-test and the post-test. Having the analyzed data, the researcher found the result of the pre-test was 64.66 and the post-test was 81.47. By applying 0.05 level of significance with 20 (21-1) degree of freedom (df), it indicated that t- counted (8.61) was higher than t- table (1.725). The result of data analysis showed that the hypothesis was accepted. It indicates that the students' writing skill can be improved by using self-assessment technique.


Prevention of cell spreading or disruption of actin filaments inhibits growth factor stimulated cell cycle re-entry from quiescence, mainly because of a failure to induce cyclin D expression. Ectopic cyclin D expression overrules anchorage-dependency, suggesting that cell spreading per se is not required as long as cyclin D is otherwise induced. We investigated whether cyclin D expression in cells exiting mitosis is sufficient to drive morphology-independent cell cycle progression in continuously cycling (i.e. not quiescent) cells. Disruption of post-mitotic actin reorganization did not affect substratum reattachment but abolished the formation of filopodia, lamellipodia and ruffles, as well as stress fiber organization, focal adhesion assembly and cell spreading. Furthermore, integrin-mediated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) autophosphorylation and growth factor stimulated p42/p44 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation were inhibited. Despite a progressive loss of cyclin D expression in late G1, cyclin E and cyclin A were normally induced. In addition, cells committed to DNA synthesis and completed their entire cycle. Our results demonstrate that post-mitotic disruption of the actin cytoskeleton allows cell cycle progression independent of focal adhesion signaling, cytoskeletal organization and cell shape, presumably because pre-existing cyclin D levels are sufficient to drive cell cycle progression at the M-G1 border.


A systematic study of the Colombian species of the genus Digitaria is presented. The aspects related to the classification, nomenclature, generic affinities, and macro and micromorphological variation are discussed. Some anatomical features of the spikelet and upper anthecium are analyzed. The genus Digitaria is represented in Colombia by 18 species and five sections: Digitaria sect. Calvulae (one species), Digitaria sect. Digitaria (seven species), Digitaria sect. Ischaemum (three species), Digitaria sect. Ternatae (four species), and Digitaria sect. Trichachne (three species). Two species are endemic to Colombia (Digitaria cardenasiana and Digitaria andicola). Digitaria argillacea, Digitaria neesiana, and Digitaria fragilis are excluded from Colombian Flora. Keys to recognize all sections and species that inhabit Colombia are given, as well as description of the species, iconography, uses, vernacular names, specimens examined, geographical distribution, and morphological and ecological observations. The phenomenon of 3-flowered spikelets is recorded for the genus Digitaria and it was verified in two species: Digitaria dioica and Digitaria nuda.


: In this paper, a predictive artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed and validated for the purpose of prediction whether a watermelon is good or bad, the model was developed using JUSTNN software environment. Prediction is done based on some watermelon attributes that are chosen to be input data to the ANN. Attributes like color, density, sugar rate, and some others. The model went through multiple learning-validation cycles until the error is zero, so the model is 100% percent accurate for the purpose of prediction whether good or bad the watermelon is.


Data from 190 Pennsylvania hospitals in 1995 were used in regression analysis of the determinants of uncompensated care and profitability. Uncompensated care as a percentage of operating expenses was negatively related with hospital size and positively associated with obstetrical services emphasis, emergency visit mix, area unemployment rate, and sole community hospital status. Hospital profitability was not associated with uncompensated care; it was negatively associated with HMO penetration, Medicare and Medicaid share of admissions and religious ownership; and it was positively associated with medium size. Pennsylvania hospitals may have been shielded from the financial burdens of uncompensated care by the availability of funds from other sources that may not be available in the future. Consequently, unless new sources of funding are developed or insurance coverage expanded, financial pressures from providing uncompensated care may cause hospitals to face the dilemma of abandoning uninsured patients or risking financial insolvency.


Anger detection is a topic that is gaining more and more attention with voice portal carriers, as it can be useful for quality measurement and emotion-aware dialog strategies. In the context of a prototype voice portal we describe methods to search for training data, report on the performance of the prosodic classifier under real world conditions and explore the use of dialog information for anger prediction. The results show that, although significantly worse than under laboratory conditions, anger detection still works well above chance level and can be used to enhance real world voice-portal usability. Index Terms: Emotion Recognition, Voice Portal, Speech Classification, Dialogue System.


By using a dipole-layer model for the scattering of electrons at a metal surface in a laser field, we show that, at relatively moderate laser intensities of some of a Nd:YAG laser, photo-electrons of very high nonlinear order are generated having energies of up to about 500 eV. Similarly, we predict harmonics of very high order under the same parameter conditions. The high-order electron-energy spectrum agrees very well with recent observations by Farkas et al (Phys. Rev. A 41 4123 (1990); Opt. Eng. 32 2476 (1993)). With our model predictions one does not need to resort to the mechanism of Coulomb explosion in order to explain the observed high-energy photo-electrons.


High-power electromagnetic pulse sources are of interest for a variety of applications such as transient radar and for investigations concerning radio-frequency effects on electronic systems. For such work, a simple, mobile, and robust source system has been developed at the Defence Science and Technology Organization, Edinburgh, Australia. It is comprised of a pulsed-resonant transformer, a spark-gap switch, and a modified biconical antenna. The antenna is charged to a high voltage, in the order of hundreds of kV, by the transformer and then is shorted at the bicone center by the spark-gap switch. The charge energy stored in the antenna then oscillates at the resonant frequency of the system and produces high-power electromagnetic pulses. In this paper, we describe the system design, present results of numerical simulations and measurements, and discuss areas for further improvements in energy-transfer efficiency, and power output.


A 34-year-old female patient was transferred to our hospital due to "more than 5 days of chest, left shoulder, left forearm pain, swelling, and limited activity caused by car accident". After injury, the patient had collapsed chest and pain, swelling and pain of the left shoulder, bleeding, and limited activity of the left forearm and hand. Physical examination revealed absent left upper limb, collapsed left thorax, extensive soft tissue injury, paradoxical left thoracic movement with tenderness. Breath sound was rough and diminished on the left. Her hemoglobin (HGB) was 79 g/L.


Six novel metabolites, nodulisporins D–F (1–3), (3S,4S,5R)-2,4,6-trimethyloct-6-ene-3,5-diol (4), 5-hydroxy-2-hydroxymethyl-4H-chromen-4-one (5) and 3-(2,3-dihydroxyphenoxy)butanoic acid (6) were isolated together with seven known compounds (7–13) from the culture extract of the endophytic fungus Nodulisporium sp. The relative configurations of these new compounds were determined by means of spectroscopic data, including HREIMS, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and 2D NMR (HMQC, HMBC and NOESY). The novel compounds exhibit antifungal and antialgal activities and most of them were also antibacterial.(© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)


Abstract The present work deals with a frequently detected failure of the uncovered interest rate parity (UIP) – the absence of bivariate cointegration between domestic and foreign interest rates. We explain the non-stationarity of the interest differential via central bank reactions to exchange rate variations. Thereby, the exchange rate in levels introduces an additional stochastic trend into the system. Trivariate cointegration between the interest rates and the exchange rate accounts for the missing stationarity property of the interest differential. We apply the concept to the case of Turkey and Europe, where we can validate the theoretical considerations by multivariate time series techniques.


: Estradiol and progesterone cytosol receptors, tamoxifen relative binding capacity in endometrial tissue samples, serum estradiol and progesterone levels were studied in 60 postmenopausal patients with hyperplastic processes in the endometrium. Estradiol and progesterone receptor levels were increased in glandular cystic polyp tissue, in atypical hyperplastic tissue samples, and in well-differentiated adenocarcinoma tissue. High estradiol levels were detected in the blood sera of patients with glandular cystic polyps, atypical and glandular hyperplasia. Tamoxifen relative binding capacity was the highest in glandular cystic polyps and glandular hyperplasia. Forty patients were treated with 17-hydroxyprogesterone capronate. The data on the status of cytosol receptors and tamoxifen relative binding capacity as well as clinical findings give grounds to include antiestrogens into therapeutic complex for postmenopausal patients with endometrial hyperplasia.


Severe, symptomatic carotid artery disease is most often diagnosed by conventional cerebral angiography. Noninvasive tests are commonly used to identify candidates for angiography and endarterectomy. The purpose of this study, a mail and telephone survey of academic and community neurologists, neurosurgeons, and vascular surgeons in Rhode Island in 1994, was to determine which noninvasive tests physicians used to evaluate these patients and how the test results were used to select patients for angiography. One hundred (86%) of a possible 116 responses were collected. Seventy‐six percent of physicians chose carotid duplex ultrasound as the first diagnostic test, a percentage significantly higher than that for any other test (p < 0.0001). Fourteen percent chose angiography without a prior screening test, 3% chose magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) prior to angiography, 6% chose carotid duplex ultrasound plus MRA prior to angiography, and 1 % chose MRA without angiography. The specific noninvasive test results required for angiography referral were surprisingly variable, both within and across the three physician specialties. Vascular surgeons and neurosurgeons were more likely to choose angiography without prior screening tests than were neurologists. In conclusion, the majority of specialty physicians in the state of Rhode Island chose carotid ultrasound as the screening test of choice for the evaluation of a potential endarterectomy candidate. Few responding physicians chose MRA in combination with carotid duplex ultrasound prior to angiography, or MRA prior to angiography or MRA alone. Awareness of the actual practice patterns of specialists may lead to programs of education for physicians to improve practice and patient outcome through more refined use of diagnostic tests prior to angiography or endarterectomy.


The alpha-thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome, X linked, also named ATR-X syndrome is a X-linked mental retardation syndrome. Mutations have been found in the ATRX gene in about one half of the patients. We report a typical clinical case. The clinical evidence leads us to continue the analysis of the gene despite a negative first screening. Indeed a new mutation was found, just behind the helicase domain, bringing up the interest of an effective collaboration between physicians and biologists.


Building on recent ethnographic accounts that have drawn attention to the nuanced ideologies of contemporary gentrifiers, this article brings cultural considerations to bear on the geography of gentrification's fringes. Through a case study of a neighbourhood at the gentrification frontier in Chicago, it examines the factors driving first-wave 'pioneers' into an area with little prior popular identity or interest. Conscious of the wider gentrification process, these individuals are essentially seeking (and creating) a particular time and place within it—they idealise the 'edge' itself. Yet while they are actively fleeing advanced gentrification, their actions pave the way for its further expansion. The study finds that gentrification's borders are subjective and relative in the minds of the newcomers themselves, who frame the process in terms of their own ideologies. These sub-cultural ideals are central to understanding the expansion of the gentrification frontier today.


Morphometric data were collected from 105 Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in northwestern Greenland in the periods 1977–78 and 1989–91. Of these 21 walruses were subjected to a detailed study on body composition.

The asymptotic maximum standard body length of Atlantic walruses in NW Greenland was 269 cm for females and 314 cm for males. This is similar to Pacific walruses, but significantly longer than Atlantic walruses from Hudson Bay. Despite this, walruses from NW Greenland apparently do not attain the same total body mass as Pacific walruses (O.r.divergens).

The asymptotic maximum body weights for walruses in NW Greenland were estimated to be 720 kg for females and 1114 kg for males.

Total body surface area was proportional to the two-thirds power of total body weight.

The percentage proportion of blubber and viscera were both negatively correlated to body mass, while skin and muscles constituted a nearly fixed proportion. On average, blubber constituted 19% of total body mass of adult females, 15% of adult males and 24% of subadults of both genders. The average walrus consisted of 18% blubber, 12% skin, 12% viscera and 58% blood, muscle and skeleton. Muscles were estimated to constitute 44% of total body weight.

Allometric functions for weight of internal organs relative to body mass are presented.


This study was conducted to measure the implementation gap of forest and land rehabilitation (RHL) policy against its objectives, namely maintaining life support systems, and designing strategies to strengthen its subsequent implementation. This study took a case study on the implementation of RHL at Bangunjaya Village, Cigudeg District of Bogor. The assessment used three parameters based on Permenhut No P.39/Menhu-II/2010 including regional, institutional, and technological parameters as well as community participation. Each parameter was weighed by the ranking method based on interviews with the experts. The strategy design was conducted using the Analytic Network Process (ANP). The research results showed that the level of successful implementation in Bangunjaya RHL is 66.3%, categorized as "medium level". The lowest result is in the technological conformity parameter i.e. 11.57%. The design strategy is focused on increasing the success of the conformity of the technology and increase of community participation. The results of the weighting using ANP strategic priority, the priority strategy for the following RHL policy implementation to reach its target is the strengthening of the capacity in conducting activities and involving the community with a weight of 34.8%. The strengthening of the capacity includes streamlining the RHL paradigm RHL by not only growing but also enriching knowledge of overall forest utilization and technical optimization of land use.


The development of highly efficient tumor-targeted delivery systems is crucial for successful tumor treatment. Previously, a novel cell-penetrating peptide TAT and cleavable polyethylene glycol (PEG) co-modified liposome delivery system (C-TAT-Lipo) showed enhanced accumulation in tumor regions. Under the control of cysteine (Cys), the liposomes were activated extracellularly and achieved increased delivery of their cargo into tumor cells efficiently. In this study, we developed an optimal formulation for the encapsulation of Doxorubicin (DOX) by this delivery system for tumor treatment. The in vitro study showed that the C-TAT-Lipo with Cys delivery system not only enhanced the amount of DOX delivered by at least 100% compared to other DOX-containing formulations, but also displayed high cytotoxicity against tumorigenic cell lines. Compared to other groups, the DOX-loaded C-TAT-Lipo formulation in the presence of cysteine enhanced treatment efficacy by lowering the IC50 (1.67 +/- 0.14 microM) and increasing the cancer cell apoptosis percentage (37.10%). Moreover, the in vivo antitumor activity also showed that DOX-loaded C-TAT-Lipo with injection of cysteine achieved the best tumor growth inhibition with a tumor growth rate of only 58.40 +/- 16.33% (% of initial volume/day), which was significant less than that achieved by other DOX formulations.


Department of Spatial Economics, Free University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands E-mail: email@example.com PN229mfcmc Abstract This paper aims to provide a statistical analysis of the relative economic performance of Italian tourist areas. It uses two modelling approaches to estimate the competitiveness of these regions, viz. data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist method. Our results show that the competitiveness position of several Italian regions has not improved over the years under consideration.


Purpose

Data mining is the process of detecting knowledge from a given huge data set. Among the data set, multimedia is the data which contains diverse data such as audio, video, image, text and motion. In this growing field of video data, mining the video data plays vital role in the field of video data mining. In video data mining, video data are grouped into frames. In this vast amount of video frames, the fast retrieval of needed information is important one. This paper aims to propose a Birch-based clustering method for content-based image retrieval.

Design/methodology/approach

In image retrieval system, image segmentation plays a very important role. A text file, normally, is divided into sections, that is, piece, sentences, word and character for this information which are organized and indexed effectively like in a video, the information is dynamic in nature and this information is converted to static for easy retrieval. For this, video files are divided into a number of frames or segments. After the segmentation process, images are trained for retrieval process, and from these, unwanted images are removed from the data set. The noise or unwanted image removal pseudo-code is shown below. In the code image, pixel value represents the value of the difference between the two adjacent image pixel values. By assuming a threshold for the image value, the duplicate images are found. After finding the duplicate image, it is removed from the data set. Clustering is used in many applications as a stand-alone tool to get insight into data distribution and as a pre-processing step for other algorithms (Ester et al., 1996). Specifically, it is used in pattern recognition, spatial data analysis, image processing, economic science document classification, etc. Hierarchical clustering algorithms are classified as agglomerative or divisive. BRICH uses clustering attribute (CA) and clustering feature hierarchy (CA_Hierarchy) for the formation of clusters. It perform multidimensional data objects. Every BRICH algorithm based on the memory-oriented information, that is, memory constrains, is involved in the processing of the data sets. This information is represented in Figures 6-10. For forming clusters, they use the amount of object in the cluster (A), the sum of all points in the data set (S) and need the square value of the all objects (P).

Findings

The proposed technique brings an effective result for cluster formation.

Originality/value

BRICH uses a novel approach to model the degree of inter-connectivity and closeness between each pair of clusters that takes into account the internal characteristics of the clusters themselves.


The proliferation of ethnic entrepreneurship varies not only from country to country, but also from sector to sector, from city to city, and – within cities – from neighbourhood to neighbourhood. In evaluating the interrelationship of ethnic entrepreneurship and urban governance, we discuss three specific points: ethnic variety and varieties; spatial levels in opportunities and constraints; and urban governance and institutions. In analysing the literature and positioning the four special issue articles in a spatiality-governance framework, we identify 'roads less travelled'. Finally, we suggest scholars to move forward along five distinct pathways.


Including biologically active substances containing vitamin E and selen to the ration of hens-layers of cross "Hi-sex white" influence positively on the protein metabolism reactions, resistance, normalizes amino-acid content of meat and eggs, increases their biological value and productive qualities of poultry.


Background: Few studies have examined health literacy in the United Arab Emirates and a limited number of tools for use in Arabic speaking populations exist. The aim of this study was to describe health literacy level and related factors such as education and exposure to nutrition education, among patients visiting the emergency room. Methods: Data were collected from 590 patients in 2018 at the emergency department in a multinational setting. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between health literacy, education and other demographic variables. Results: The mean age of patients was 32.9 (±10.7), of whom 44.3% had less than a college education. The average Newest Vital Sign score was 2.69 (±2.33) out of 6. Over a third of the patients (38.5%) had a high likelihood of limited health literacy, 17.2% had the possibility of limited health literacy and 44.3% had adequate health literacy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that having less than a college level education was a significant predictor for inadequate health literacy among participating patients [odds ratio (OR) = 2.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.52, 3.30, p < 0.001]. This was also true for those who never attended a nutrition education session (OR = 1.86; 95% CI:1.24, 2.79, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The current study results lend support to expanding health literacy research in this multinational population where the majority have a secondary education. How patients obtain information, interact with health care providers and become empowered to participate in their care must be further explored to improve health literacy outcomes.


Hydrodynamic cloaks have attracted extensive attention because of their ability to significantly reduce the surface resistance of designated target. However, most of parameters of traditional hydrodynamic cloaks present inhomogeneous and anisotropy, which increases the challenge of manufacturing hydrodynamic cloaks for us. To overcome this limitation, equivalent medium theory and integral median theorem are used to homogenize the parameters of hydrodynamic cloaks. Numerical simulations verify that the simplified homogeneous hydrodynamic cloaks exhibit the equivalent cloaking effect as inhomogeneous hydrodynamic cloaks, which can be applied to different flow fields as well. This simplified method not only can simplify inhomogeneous hydrodynamic cloaks to homogeneous hydrodynamic cloaks, but also can be applied to other physical fields, such as optics, acoustics, electromagnetics, and thermodynamics among other areas for the homogenization of metamaterial design, providing a new method to relax the difficulty of metamaterial design. In addition, based on the applicability of homogeneous hydrodynamic cloaks to different flow fields, hydrodynamic camouflage devices are designed that can camouflage the flow fields generated by the original objects into fields caused by arbitrary objects, offering a scheme for achieving hydrodynamic camouflage. Finally, as Reynolds numbers increase, the cloaking and drag reduction performance of hydrodynamic cloaks are quantitatively compared and analyzed. The results show that hydrodynamic cloaks still exhibit high performance in cloaking and drag reduction in non-creeping flows.


This note clarifies the issues involved in interpreting summary measures arrived at through life-table analysis of cross-sectional survey data and shows how wrong the comparison of such measures with observed rates can be. This short investigation emphasizes the need for greater understanding in choosing the right summary measure and in interpreting the measure for a hypothetical cohort. It is important to realize that the life table is not a projection or prediction but rather allows us to answer certain questions conditionally.


The article deals with a vital problem of the specifics while mastering a foreign language (English) by the students studying at the training department of "Public and municipal administration". The aim of this scientific article is to analyze the peculiarities of studying a foreign language by students of management specialties, which can allow one to explore English-language sources with a complex vocabulary and conceptual apparatus. The author of the article uses theoretical and empirical research methods. The research material is the content of professional training, while the means of education are authentic English texts of professional subjects, allowing students to master international terminological tools. The results of the research show the need to develop critical, analytical thinking among the students, in addition to mastering the general course of a foreign language (English). The scientific direction of ESAP is depicted in the article, which allows professional and language skills' teaching in a specific disciplinary context. It can be concluded that the attention of the students studying a foreign language in the direction of preparation 'State and municipal management' should be focused on various types of analysis, such as logical, comparative, lexical and terminological, contextual ones, which, in turn, can require critical and analytical thinking development, selection of information, its processing, interpretation, as well as its adequate use.


This research aims at exploring the effect of the press freedom on the newspapers' framing of the issue of corruption in Sudan. A qualitative method was adopted using in-depth interviews to adequately explore the perspectives of the Sudanese journalists and editors towards the press freedom effect on the Sudanese newspapers in terms of framing the issues of corruption. A purposeful sampling was employed in selecting 20 Sudanese journalists and editors across both the governmental and private newspapers. Therefore, the study has significantly contributed to the overall perspectives of how newspapers framing affects public awareness about corruption and possible remedies in Sudan. The findings revealed that the legislation is significant in developing the press industry which has a great role in addressing the issues of corruptions.


The paper presents a survey done in the Ophthalmological Clinic of Cluj on 140 children, 3 years old, for which the "Baby Vision" was applied. The examination consisted of strabismic angle determination, alternance estimation, visual acuity, stereoscopy, optokinetic nystagmus, refraction and eye fundus investigation. The results, particularities and difficulties in the examination and treatment of those little children are summarized.


In recent years, due to inconsistency and sensitivity of the Maximum Likelihood
Estimator (MLE) in the presence of high leverage points and residual outliers,
diagnostic has become an essential part of logistic regression model. High
leverage points and residual outliers have huge tendency to break the covariate
pattern resulting in biased parameter estimates. The identification of high
leverage points and residual outliers are believed to be vital in order to improve
the performance of the MLE.
The presence of high leverage points and the residual outliers give adverse effect
on the inferences by inducing large values to the Influence Function (IF). For the
identification of high leverage points, Imon (2006) proposed the Distance from
the Mean (DM) diagnostic method. The weakness of the DM method is that it
tends to swamp some low leverage points even though it can identify the high leverage points correctly. Deleting the low leverage points may lead to a loss of
efficiency and precision of the parameter estimates.
The Robust Logistic Diagnostic (RLGD) is proposed as an alternative approach
that performs well compared to the DM method. The RLGD method
incorporates robust approaches and diagnostic procedures. Robust approach is
firstly used to identify suspected high leverage points by computing the Robust
Mahalanobis Distance (RMD) based on Minimum Volume Ellipsoid (MVE)
estimator or Minimum Covariance Determinant (MCD) estimator. For
confirmation, the diagnostic procedure is used to compute potential. The RLGD
method ensures only correct high leverage points are identified and free from the
swamping and masking effects. The performance of the RLGD method is
investigated by real examples and the Monte Carlo simulation study. The real
examples and the simulation results indicate that the RLGD method correctly
identify the high leverage points (increase the probability of the Detection of
Capability (DC)) and manage to reduce the number of swamping low leverage
points (decrease the probability of the False Alarm Rate (FAR)).
The Standardized Pearson Residual (SPR) only successful in identifying a single
residual outlier. The SPR method is less effective when residual outliers are
present in the covariates. The Generalized Standardized Pearson Residual
(GSPR) proposed by Imon and Hadi (2008) is a successful method in identifying
residual outliers. However, in the initial stage of the GSPR method utilizes the
graphical methods which are based on the observation's judgement and not suitable for higher dimensional covariates. The Modified Standardized Pearson
Residual (MSPR) based on the RLGD method is proposed which is more
reliable. The MSPR method provides an alternative method to the GSPR method
that produces similar result. The attractive feature of the MSPR method is that it
is easier to apply.
This research also utilizes the RLGD method in bootstrap procedures. The
Classical Bootstrap (CB) procedure by Random-x Re-sampling is not robust to
the high leverage points. To accommodate this problem, the newly develop
bootstrap procedures based on the RLGD method which are called the
Diagnostic Logistic Before Bootstrap (DLGBB) and the Weighted Logistic
Bootstrap with Probability (WLGBP) are proposed. In the DLGBB procedure,
the high leverage points are excluded before applying the re-sampling process.
Meanwhile in the WLGBP procedure, the high leverage points are attributed
with low probabilities and consequently having low chances of being selected in
the re-sampling process. Simulation results show that the DLGBB and the
WLGBP procedures are more robust to the high leverage points compared to the
CB procedure.


Abstract Introduction. The increased level in competition and growing interest in sports for the disabled means that the training process of these people is the subject of studies and analysis. The main objective of this study was to identify the structure of the training loads in athletes with visual impairments in the 800 and 1500 m runs, in relation to sports performance. Material and methods. Seven annual trainings cycles of two groups (A, n=8, B, n=5) of athletes with visual impairments (medalists and participants of the Paralympic Games, World Championships, European Championships and multiple Polish masters), engaged in the 800 and 1500 m races, from the years 1998-2000 and 2003-2008 were evaluated. To analyze and evaluate the training loads, based on training logs two methods were used: Method I - based on an analysis of training documentation developed in the Department of Theory of Sport at the University of Physical Education in Warsaw. Method II - based on an assessment of the energy cost incurred for the implementation of training. Results. The analysis showed significant differences in the training process of the athletes of the two groups. The training of athletes from group A, was carried out mainly with the directed training method (61% of total load - TL) with low intensity - range 1 on a 5 point scale (74% TL), while group B - with special training method (76% TL) in second (2) range of intensity (71% TL). Conclusions. Training carried out by athletes from group B better reflects the specifications of middle distance runs, in comparison with group A, which could lead to a higher level of performance presented by the athletes of group B.


Preview Of the 14 million Americans who have diabetes mellitus, more than 2 million will at some point have foot ulcers. The prevalence of this complication, its impact on the activities of daily living, and the cost of treating it make it a problem of immense magnitude. Primary care physicians who emphasize prevention and early treatment of foot ulcers can greatly reduce the likelihood of serious sequelae. This article tells you what to look for in examining the feet, how to advise patients in foot care, and what to do if ulcers occur despite preventive efforts.


Nonsense mutations introduce premature termination codons and underlie 11% of genetic disease cases. High concentrations of aminoglycosides can restore gene function by eliciting premature termination codon readthrough but with low efficiency. Using a high-throughput screen, we identified compounds that potentiate readthrough by aminoglycosides at multiple nonsense alleles in yeast. Chemical optimization generated phthalimide derivative CDX5-1 with activity in human cells. Alone, CDX5-1 did not induce readthrough or increase TP53 mRNA levels in HDQ-P1 cancer cells with a homozygous TP53 nonsense mutation. However, in combination with aminoglycoside G418, it enhanced readthrough up to 180-fold over G418 alone. The combination also increased readthrough at all three nonsense codons in cancer cells with other TP53 nonsense mutations, as well as in cells from rare genetic disease patients with nonsense mutations in the CLN2, SMARCAL1 and DMD genes. These findings open up the possibility of treating patients across a spectrum of genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations.


Snake species within genus Bothrops are responsible for more than 80% of the snakebites occurring in South America. The species that cause most envenomings in Argentina, B. diporus, is widely distributed throughout the country, but principally found in the Northeast, the region with the highest rates of snakebites. The venom proteome of this medically relevant snake was unveiled using a venomic approach. It comprises toxins belonging to fourteen protein families, being dominated by PI- and PIII-SVMPs, PLA2 molecules, BPP-like peptides, L-amino acid oxidase and serine proteinases. This toxin profile largely explains the characteristic pathophysiological effects of bothropic snakebites observed in patients envenomed by B. diporus. Antivenomic analysis of the SAB antivenom (Instituto Vital Brazil) against the venom of B. diporus showed that this pentabothropic antivenom efficiently recognized all the venom proteins and exhibited poor affinity towards the small peptide (BPPs and tripeptide inhibitors of PIII-SVMPs) components of the venom.


Abstract. Flow-like landslides, such as
flow slides and debris avalanches, have caused serious infrastructure damage
and casualties for centuries. Effective numerical simulation incorporating
accurate soil mechanical parameters is essential for predicting post-failure
landslide mobility. In this study, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)
incorporating soil ring shear test results were used to forecast the
long-runout mobility for a landslide on an unstable slope in China. First, a
series of ring shear tests under different axial stresses and shear
velocities were conducted to evaluate the residual shear strength of slip
zones after extensive shear deformation. Based on the ring shear test
results, SPH modeling was conducted to predict the post-failure mobility of a
previously identified unstable slope. The results indicate that the landslide
would cut a fire service road on the slope after 12 s and cover an expressway at the
foot of that slope after 36 s. In the model, the landslide would finally
stop sliding about 38 m beyond the foot of the slope after 200 s. This
study extends the application of the SPH model from disaster simulations to
predictive analysis of unstable landslide. In addition, two sets of
comparative calculations were carried out which demonstrate the robustness of
the SPH method.


This article presents and validates active interaction force control and planning for fully actuated and omnidirectional aerial manipulation platforms, with the goal of aerial contact inspection in unstructured environments. We present a variable axis-selective impedance control which integrates direct force control for intentional interaction, using feedback from an on-board force sensor. The control approach aims to reject disturbances in free flight, while handling unintentional interaction and actively controlling desired interaction forces. A fully actuated and omnidirectional tilt-rotor aerial system is used to show capabilities of the control and planning methods. Experiments demonstrate disturbance rejection, push-and-slide interaction, and force-controlled interaction in different flight orientations. The system is validated as a tool for nondestructive testing of concrete infrastructure, and statistical results of interaction control performance are presented and discussed.


An improved concept of the best analogs method is used to reconstruct the climate of the last glacial maximum from pollen data in Europe. In order to deal with the lack of perfect analogs of fossil assemblages and therefore to obtain a more accurate climate reconstruction, we used a combination of pollen types grouped according to plant phenology and present climate constraints rather than pollen percentages for each individual taxon. The distribution of pollen taxa into plant functional types (PFTs) is aimed to reflect the vegetation in terms of biomes which have a wider distribution than a species. The climatic variables are then calibrated on these PFTs using an artificial neural network technique. The use of PFTs allowed us to deal with situations where pollen assemblages have only partial modern analogs. The method is applied to the glacial steppic vegetation in Europe, using 15 pollen records. North of the Pyrenees–Alps line, the reconstructed temperatures were lower than today: −30 ± 10°C for the temperature of the coldest month ( T c) and −12 ± 3°C for the annual mean ( T ann). South of that line, T c and T ann anomalies were respectively, −15 ± 5°C and −10 ± 5°C. The available moisture index and annual precipitation were also lower than present: −60 ± 20% north of Mediterranean Sea, (−800 ± 100 mm for precipitation). In Italy and Greece, the available moisture was 20% lower, with a precipitation anomaly of ca. −600 ± 200 mm. Southward, the moisture index was close to that at present (±20%), and precipitation was lower (−300 ± 300 mm).


The 8q24 locus has been found to be involved in many types of cancers as a consequence of somatic changes associated with chromosome instability including amplification, translocation or deletion or frequent viral integration (HPV). A number of SNPs in Genome Wide Association (GWA) studies have also implicated the 8q24 locus as a region of susceptibility for many types of cancer. The most likely 8q24 candidate target may be the MYC proto-oncogene that is a well characterized transcription factor. However, the assumed correlation between MYC expression and disease is lacking suggesting a connection between 8q24 involvement and disease is much more complicated than simply targeting MYC. While other transcription units also reside within the 8q24 locus (PRNCR1, POU5F1P1, PVT1 and the miRNA cluster miR-1204∼1208), they are remarkable in that no coding potential has been readily associated with any of these genes. Thus, the region has been referred to as the "8q24 Gene Desert". With the renewed realization that many noncoding RNAs do have a functional role, the location of the miR-1204∼1208 cluster of miRNAs within the PVT1 lincRNA transcriptional unit actually suggests an "Oasis of transcription" that could be the additional or alternative target to MYC. We have now compared expression of transcripts of the miR-1204∼1208 cluster with MYC and PVT1 in multiple cancer cell lines and we have found them to be uniformly up-regulated in expression, particularly in those cell lines with amplified or translocated 8q24. These results confirm a pilot study of microdissected primary prostate tumors that also show correlated high expression in MYC, miR-1204∼1208 and PVT1. To further analyze the functional role of the 8q24 transcripts, we have now introduced mimics or inhibitors of each miRNA and siRNAs corresponding to MYC and PVT1 into prostate or colon cell lines (with and without amplified 8q24). In amplified prostate cell lines, mimics of miR-1204, miR-1206 and miR-1208 appear to be as effective as MYC or PVT1 siRNAs in arresting cell growth and inducing apoptosis. This result is not seen in normal prostate cells. Predictably, inhibitors of the miR-1204, miR-1206 and miR-1208 seem to have no effect or seem to enhance cellular proliferation. In colon cell lines with amplified 8q24, miR-1204, miR-1206, miR-1207 and miR-1208 mimics all appear to be as effective in arresting growth as silencing MYC or PVT1. What is particularly striking is that down-regulation or silencing of PVT1 produces the same effect as over-expression (mimic) of the embedded cluster of miRNAs suggesting opposing actions of miRNAs and host transcript. Experiments to determine whether synergy or promoter competition of the PVT1/miR-1204∼1208 cluster is specifically active in amplified 8q24 will be presented. Nevertheless, we can already assign viable functional roles to transcripts besides MYC that could represent alternative molecular targets within the 8q24 locus for cancer susceptibility. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 199. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-199


Foreign currency denominated loans (FCDLs) are an important part of corporate funding as well as an operational risk management tool. We show that Australian borrowers use FCDLs to hedge their foreign exchange risk exposure. FCDLs are found to carry an interest rate premium over domestic currency loans after controlling for borrower characteristics, loan characteristics and macroeconomic conditions. We argue that borrowers are willing to pay this premium since the marginal benefit of FCDLs as a natural hedge outweighs the marginal cost. From a lender's perspective, this premium reflects a compensation for additional foreign exchange risk exposure and intensified monitoring efforts. These results are robust to endogeneity-corrected estimations.


AbstractThe livelihoods of the majority of people in semiarid areas of developing nations are based on rain-fed agriculture. In the wake of climate variability and change, communities in these regions are the most vulnerable because of their limited capacities to adapt to environmental changes. Smallholder farmers in the study area, Lower Gweru in central Zimbabwe, ascertain that they have observed changes in some rainfall and temperature patterns. These changes include higher temperatures, an increased number of seasons without enough rainfall, and an increased frequency of droughts and lengths of dry spells. The aim of this study was to find out whether farmers' perceptions are supported by mean and extreme event trends in observed historical climate data. Gweru Thornhill meteorological data were analyzed for significant trends. The analysis showed that temperatures are increasing significantly, consistent with farmers' observations that temperatures are getting hotter. This study revealed that farmer p...


To perform a pilot study to examine a range of cognitive flexibility tasks early in cocaine withdrawal. Background:Previous neuropsychological investigations of cocaine withdrawal have conflicted regarding whether impaired cognitive flexibility occurs. However, most studies have examined patients later in withdrawal. Anxiety and yohimbine-induced panic are greatest early in withdrawal, and both anxiety and increased noradrenergic tone can impair cognitive flexibility. Method:Twelve patients acutely withdrawing from cocaine were compared with gender-, age-, and estimated premorbid intelligence-matched control subjects on tests of cognitive flexibility as well as verbal fluency, verbal memory, spatial memory, and attention. Results:As predicted, impairments were found on the cognitive flexibility tasks. Impairments also were present in verbal fluency and verbal memory but not spatial memory or attention. Conclusions:We propose that the cognitive flexibility impairment may relate to the increased noradrenergic activation recently described in cocaine withdrawal. Impairments on verbal tasks may also relate to an impaired flexibility in the search of semantic networks. Further research will explore the effects of pharmacologic manipulation of the noradrenergic system on cognition in acute withdrawal. Recently, propranolol has been shown to benefit patients in cocaine withdrawal. Further research will explore whether impaired cognitive flexibility related to altered noradrenergic tone could serve as a mechanism for this treatment response.


With the use of enriched isotopes of ruthenium, the isotope shifts in six lines of the arc spectrum of 44Ru were studied. A Fabry-Perot etalon, with multiple dielectric coatings, provided the high resolution required. Shifts between all the stable isotopes were measured accurately in the line λ4372 Å, and several shifts were measured in the other five lines. A treatment of the combined results made it possible to derive a relation between the various specific mass shifts. From this, all the specific mass shifts could be determined if one were known. An estimate was made of the proportion of the shift due to mass effects and that due to nuclear volume effects in the different lines. The estimated nuclear volume shifts in λ4372 Å were: 96-98 39.6 mK, 98-99 11.3 mK , 99-100 23.7 mK , 100-101 7.1 mK, 101-102 24.9 mK, and 102-104 35.2 mK. The order of magnitude of the configuration mixing in some odd levels was also found.


The transferability of transportation planning data used to estimate travel-demand models is investigated. It is noted that several traveldemand models can be estimated by using aggregate data, such as trip rates, mode shares, and trip-length frequency distributions. Aggregate data of this type were extracted from the National Personal Transportation Survey of 1995 (NPTS 95) and the North Central Texas Council of Governments Survey of 1996 and compared with those from the Baton Rouge Personal Transportation Survey conducted in 1997. The measures were similar in certain cases and dissimilar in others. Bayesian updating was used to update values from the NPTS 95 survey with values from a small survey conducted in Baton Rouge in 1998. Transferability was marginally improved, although it is expected that the improvement would have been more pronounced if a larger sample of approximately 500 households were available. A panel of 500 households surveyed on an annual basis and used to update transferred data from a variety of sources appears to present a more cost-effective solution to the provision of urban transportation planning data for model estimation than a periodic full travel survey.


The fault diagnosis in multilevel converters is of great importance since they are comprised of more solid-state switches, compared with the conventional two-level converters. In this article, we propose a fast and efficient real-time fault detection and faulty component identification for an open-switch fault diagnosis based on the failure-mode algorithm for a single-phase five-level neutral-point-clamped inverter. Component modeling, complicated calculations, and load parameters are not required for realizing the proposed approach. Furthermore, the proposed strategy does not require any extra sensors. The signals already available in the control system, such as the applied switching pattern and terminal voltage, fulfill the fault diagnosis. Thanks to the proposed fault detection strategy, any misdiagnosis arising from noise existence, response time of the sensors, turn on and turn off delay times of the power switches, and measurement errors are avoided. The simulations and experiments are carried out to confirm the performance and effectiveness of the presented strategy.


To evaluate the fatigue behavior of the austenitic cladding of pressurized components, the fatigue design curves are usually based on experiments on specimens taken from plates, pipes or bars. Due to rapid heat transport into the ferritic base material, the cladding has a distinctive anisotropic structure that results from the manufacturing process. Therefore, it may not be assumed a priori that the fatigue curves of the various austenitic product forms used in the Safety Standards are also representative for the material of austenitic cladding. It is therefore necessary to determine and assure experimentally a fatigue curve of the cladding material and compare the results with the database of austenitic stainless steels used in German NPPs.Flat specimens specially adapted to the geometric conditions were prepared out of the austenitic cladding of a RPV which had been manufactured according to nuclear specifications. To check a possible influence of the specimen geometry, flat specimens were prepared in advance from an austenitic pipe of known fatigue behavior and tested at different strain amplitudes. A comparison of the results with the fatigue curve determined with cylindrical specimens showed no influence at the higher strain amplitudes. Altogether, the fatigue data with flat specimens made of the austenitic cladding fit well into the scatter of the fatigue database of austenitic base materials tested with cylindrical specimens.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Patient nutrition is back on the agenda but there is still work to be done before the only validated screening tool--MUST--is used universally.


Kepler-452b is currently the best example of an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star, a type of planet whose number of detections is expected to increase in the future. Searching for biosignatures in the supposedly thin atmospheres of these planets is a challenging goal that requires a careful selection of the targets. Under the assumption of a rocky-dominated nature for Kepler-452b, we considered it as a test case to calculate a temperature-dependent habitability index, $h_{050}$, designed to maximize the potential presence of biosignature-producing activity (Silva et al.\ 2016). The surface temperature has been computed for a broad range of climate factors using a climate model designed for terrestrial-type exoplanets (Vladilo et al.\ 2015). After fixing the planetary data according to the experimental results (Jenkins et al.\ 2015), we changed the surface gravity, CO$_2$ abundance, surface pressure, orbital eccentricity, rotation period, axis obliquity and ocean fraction within the range of validity of our model. For most choices of parameters we find habitable solutions with $h_{050}>0.2$ only for CO$_2$ partial pressure $p_\mathrm{CO_2} \lesssim 0.04$\,bar. At this limiting value of CO$_2$ abundance the planet is still habitable if the total pressure is $p \lesssim 2$\,bar. In all cases the habitability drops for eccentricity $e \gtrsim 0.3$. Changes of rotation period and obliquity affect the habitability through their impact on the equator-pole temperature difference rather than on the mean global temperature. We calculated the variation of $h_{050}$ resulting from the luminosity evolution of the host star for a wide range of input parameters. Only a small combination of parameters yield habitability-weighted lifetimes $\gtrsim 2$\,Gyr, sufficiently long to develop atmospheric biosignatures still detectable at the present time.


In order to reduce the number of defective products caused by the unreasonable baking time during the tobacco production process, this paper proposes a method for establishing a multi-model reasoning tobacco baking quality prediction model. Conduct data mining and analysis on the data of various indicators of the original tobacco, and screen out the data that have an impact on the quality of tobacco baking. In order to reduce the complexity of the model and eliminate the influence between different dimensions, the data are carried out and standardized processing. Next, the normalized data is explored for the multi-input and multi-output mapping relationship. Finally, a mapping matrix is given for the multi-input and multi-output mapping relationship so as to establish a tobacco baking quality prediction model. The test results show that the predicted value of this model is basically the actual value, and the prediction accuracy rate is more than 90%. It has a high prediction accuracy rate. The cured tobacco leaves are basically the same as the actual cured yellow expected value. This model provides a practical guide method for tobacco baking, which has certain practical value in actual tobacco baking.


Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyric acid, have a broad range of applications in chemical and fuel industries. Worldwide demand of sustainable fuels and chemicals has encouraged researchers for microbial synthesis of SCFAs. In this study we compared three thioesterases, i.e., TesAT from Anaerococcus tetradius, TesBF from Bryantella formatexigens and TesBT from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, for production of SCFAs in Escherichia coli utilizing native fatty acid synthesis (FASII) pathway and modulated the genetic and bioprocess parameters to improve its yield and productivity. E. coli strain expressing tesBT gene yielded maximum butyric acid titer at 1.46 g L-1, followed by tesBF at 0.85 g L-1 and tesAT at 0.12 g L-1. The titer of butyric acid varied significantly depending upon the plasmid copy number and strain genotype. The modulation of genetic factors that are known to influence long chain fatty acid production, such as deletion of the fadD and fadE that initiates the fatty acid degradation cycle and overexpression of fadR that is a global transcriptional activator of fatty acid biosynthesis and repressor of degradation cycle, did not improve the butyric acid titer significantly. Use of chemical inhibitor cerulenin, which restricts the fatty acid elongation cycle, increased the butyric acid titer by 1.7-fold in case of TesBF, while it had adverse impact in case of TesBT. In vitro enzyme assay indicated that cerulenin also inhibited short chain specific thioesterase, though inhibitory concentration varied according to the type of thioesterase used. Further process optimization followed by fed-batch cultivation under phosphorous limited condition led to production of 14.3 g L-1 butyric acid and 17.5 g L-1 total free fatty acid at 28% of theoretical yield. This study expands our understanding of SCFAs production in E. coli through FASII pathway and highlights role of genetic and process optimization to enhance the desired product.


1. A low input approach to the establishment of vegetation on mine and coal ash wastes is illustrated by application to a pulverized fuel ash (PFA) dam in a hot semi-arid part of Zimbabwe. 2. Chemical analysis indicated that salinity, very high pH, moderately high concentrations of boron, and moderately low levels of K and Mg may limit plant growth on the PFA. 3. Glasshouse trials demonstrated that nitrogen (N) was extremely deficient, but that other essential nutrients were present in non-limiting amounts. Plants grown on PFA, with N-fertilization, grew less than on a similarly fertilized soil, further suggesting the presence of toxic factors. Comparison of numerous species on N-fertilized PFA with those on soil resulted in relative shoot growth ranging from 0 to 56%. In general, herbaceous legumes were more sensitive to the PFA than were grasses or trees. 4. Field trials confirmed N deficiencies observed in pot trials, but to a lesser degree. Covering the PFA dam wall with a thin layer of fire-clay subsoil led to the growth of an abundance of aggressive annual weeds which out-competed many planted species. These weeds were not suitable for stabilizing the dam walls since their roots were confined to the fire-clay and because they died annually. The indigenous leguminous tree Acacia gerrardii was the best performing species on site probably because, apart from being N-fixing, it was well adapted to the PFA (its roots, therefore, could penetrate the deeper moist layers) and because its tall perennial growth habit allowed it to out-compete annual weeds. Moderately PFA-tolerant stoloniferous perennial grasses, preferred by engineers for dam stabilization and erosion control, were successfully established on site using a combination of pre-plant herbicide and nitrogen fertilization. 5. The low input approach did not work as well on the PFA as in concurrent experiments on tin mine tailings because of the greater toxicity problems and constraints imposed by the active status of the lagoon. In the longer term, after the lagoon is no longer active and weathering can reduce the toxicities, it is envisaged that this approach may yet lead to the successful establishment of a self-sustaining ecosystem.


This paper examines the question of why so many ordinary Hutu participated in genocidal killing of Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. I find that mass mobilisation was contingent on the fulfilment of two main conditions. Firstly it required a mindset – the internalisation of a set of historical and ideological beliefs – within the Hutu population. These were predominantly beliefs in a historical Hutu oppression at the hands of Tutsi and in an ideological definition of the ongoing civil war as an ethnic one, a Tutsi attempt to reinstate this historical order. Secondly, it required the commitment of State institutions to the genocidal project. This commitment provided the initial trigger, legitimacy and impunity for civilian participation in an anti-Tutsi programme. However, once triggered the degeneration into genocidal violence was the product of a complex interaction of other motives ranging from coercion, opportunism, habituation, conformity, racism, and ideological indoctrination.