Theoretical and numerical works on dusty plasmas with cylindrical symmetry are presented. The main purpose has been to investigate behavior of dust particles in strongly coupled dusty plasmas which are expected to be realized in the planned experiments by PK-4 on the International Space Station and experiments by PK-4J, a similar apparatus constructed in Japan. The distribution of dust particles is analyzed on the basis of the drift-diffusion equations and, with the effect of discreteness taken into account, structure formations are numerically simulated.


There were 188 cases of femoral neck fracture of adult below the age of fifty-five years old admitted to our hospital from 1974 to 1989, including 152 cases of fresh fracture, 36 old fracture. The rate of femoral head necrosis after fracture was 11.8 percent in the group of patients under fifty years of age, and 9.8 percent in patients between fifty-one and fifty five years old. The operation adopted in our series was mainly the percutaneous screw-thread pinning for internal fixation. Bone graft transplantation with the pedicle of quadratus femoris muscle was simultaneously performed in some cases, 26.7 percent in patients between the age of fifteen and twenty, along with the increase of age the patient number for transplantation decreased, only 7.8 percent in patients between the age of fifty-one and fifty-five. The author suggests that in treatment of femoral neck fracture of adult generally should not consider the use of artificial prosthesis replacement. We should decide according to the patients general and local status as the basis for the choice of a reasonable internal fixation, and consider whether an operation should be performed to further improve blood circulation of the femoral head.


This paper focuses youths in peer groups who, during their leisure time, play music in a rock band. What I intend to explore in this paper is organizational aspects in relation to how the band came together and how the group manages their interaction and leadership issues, in order to study the relations, positions and the games of negotiations that takes place within the group. My empirical data is collected through observations and interviews with youth in the age of 16-20 year old. All interviews and observations are conducted in one location in the middle part of Sweden. I then use negotiation theories as analytical tools in order to translate young people's experiences of interaction and organizing of peer groups into an understanding of what meanings they hold for their learning of democracy. The purpose with this paper is to develop theoretical concepts based on empirical material. In turn, these theoretical concepts might contribute to a wider understanding of democratic fostering processes within schooling.


This paper describes how an impedance, voltage, and phase model for complicated regulating transformers may be obtained for use in load flow analysis. The explained step-by-step procedure is simple and easy to apply to a wide range of regulating transformers. A typical seven windings per phase regulating transformer is used for a case study and the effectiveness of the proposed procedure was examined. This work should be of interest to design and systems analysis engineers who are looking for an accurate representation of tap changing transformers.


Abstract Targets set by the European Green Deal to increase efficiency, reach towards sustainable development and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have placed additional focus on necessary improvements in heating and cooling sector. This article aims to determine whether the objectives set at the EU and on the member state level for achieving climate and environmental goals are being implemented at the regional and local levels. The case of Latvia is considered. A keyword extraction text analysis method is used to identify whether improving the efficiency of heating and cooling is included in regional and local sustainable development strategies. Results are evaluated by using multi-criteria analysis methods TOPSIS and AHP, to determine how much attention in the strategies is paid to direct heating and cooling supply aspects and overall efficiency aspects. Results obtained while assessing the sustainable development strategies of cities and municipalities are compared with the climate index of their heating supply. Considerable differences can be seen in the inclusion of heating and cooling efficiency improvement plans in the strategies at regional and local levels.


Mathematical models have been vitally important in the development of technologies in building engineering. A literature review identifies that linear models are the most widely used building simulation models. The advent of intelligent buildings has added new challenges in the application of the existing models as an intelligent building requires learning and self-adjusting capabilities based on environmental and occupants' factors. It is therefore argued that the linearity is an impropriate basis for any model of either complex building systems or occupant behaviours for control or whatever purpose. Chaos and complexity theory reflects nonlinear dynamic properties of the intelligent systems excised by occupants and environment and has been used widely in modelling various engineering, natural and social systems. It is proposed that chaos and complexity theory be applied to study intelligent buildings. This paper gives a brief description of chaos and complexity theory and presents its current positioning, recent developments in building engineering research and future potential applications to intelligent building studies, which provides a bridge between chaos and complexity theory and intelligent building research.


OBJECTIVES
Although the association between continuity of care and health outcomes among persons with severe mental illness is beginning to be elucidated, the association between continuity and costs has remained virtually unexplored. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of continuity of care and health care costs in a sample of 437 adults with severe mental illness in three health regions of Alberta, Canada.

METHODS
Service use events and costs were tracked through self-reported and administrative data. Associations between continuity and costs were examined by using analysis of variance and regression analysis.

RESULTS
Mean+/-SD total, hospital, and community cost over the 17-month study period were $24,070+/-$25,643, $12,505+/-$20,991, and $2,848+/-$4,420, respectively. The difference in means across levels of observer-rated continuity was not statistically significant for total cost, but improved continuity was associated with both lower hospital cost and higher community cost. Total cost was significantly lower for patients with a higher self-rated quality of life as indicated on the EQ-5D visual analogue scale, although associations did not hold up in the regression analysis. Patients with higher functioning as rated by the Multnomah Community Abilities Scale had significantly lower total and community costs.

CONCLUSIONS
The study showed a relationship between continuity of care and both hospital and community costs. The data also indicate that a relationship exists between cost and level of patient functioning. It will be necessary to conduct further studies using experimental designs to examine the impact of shifting resources from hospitals to the community, particularly for high-need patients, on continuity of care and subsequent outcomes.


There is a great demand to improve the research landscape among Higher Education Institutions in Cebu City. The objective of the research survey is to provide an inventory of research capability among the HEIs. Thereon, the data can be used to assist each HEI in the formulation of strategy to strengthen its research function. The study used the descriptive survey type of research that ascertains the research capability of the selected public and private higher education institutions in Cebu City. A self-made research operation profile survey questionnaire and interview guide sheet was utilized. The findings revealed that a very important institutional support in cultivating and nurturing the research climate are research incentives. Same importance in boosting the researchers would be the provision of facilities and equipment in support of research function. Primary facilities provide better research sources and output, while incentives provide good attraction to undergo research. HEIs research activities obtained their funding from their institutional budgets; however, they generate other funding sources and linkages to external agencies to support research initiatives. Aggregate of faculty and student researchers were considered to be important resources in research undertaking. An often neglected, but equally important aspect of research is the dissemination and utilization of research results. Research team development, evaluation of research and dissemination of research were the most common management needs of Cebu research directors. The public and private HEIs were generally capable in their research functions and undertakings. However, there are critical points that need attention and improvements. Keywords - Educational Research; Descriptive-survey study; Research Capability of public and private HEI's; Cebu City, Philippines, Asia


Abstract The synthesis and antidiabetic activity of 5-Benzylidene-2,3-diarylthiazolidine-4-one derivatives (6a–w) are presented in the current work. Screening of derivatives 6a–w for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, showed higher inhibitory activity of twenty of the screened compounds (IC50: 105–412 µM) in comparison to acarbose (IC50: 750 µM) as a standard. Compounds 6r, 6b, and 6q exerted the best activity with the IC50 value of 105, 110, and 127 µM, respectively. Performing the kinetic studies, revealed the competitive mode of inhibition for 6r. It binds to the active site on the enzyme and competes with the substrate for binding to the active site. based on molecular docking studies, 6b, 6q, and 6r interact with HIS280, ASP307, and PRO312 residues, which show the important role of these residues inside the active site of the enzyme. Cytotoxicity studies also showed IC50 > 750 µM for 6a–w on different cell lines namely, NIH3T3, MCF-7, and HT-29. Graphical Abstract


Natural killer (NK) cells participate together with T cells in the control of the primary tumor growth and metastatic disease. Since natural cytotoxicity is mostly down-regulated by high levels of self major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, the primary role of NK cells may be to eliminate cells which fail to express these molecules. The NK cell activity clearly correlates with clinical stage and progression of malignant disease: in most patients with disseminated tumors NK cells are lytic incapable and cannot respond to interferon stimulation properties.


The use of unsupervised fuzzy learning classi.cations techniques allows defining innovative classi.cations to be applied on marketing customer's segmentation. Segmenting the clients' portfolio in this way is important for decision-making in marketing because it allows the discovery of hidden profiles which would not be detected with other methods. Different strategies can be established for each defined segment. In this paper a case study is conducted to show the value of unsupervised fuzzy learning methods in marketing segmentation, obtaining fuzzy segmentations via the LAMDA algorithm. The use of an external decision variable related to the loyalty of the current customers will provide useful criteria to forecast potentially valuable new customers. The use of the introduced methodology should provide firms with a significant competitive edge, enabling them to design and adapt their strategies to customers' behaviour.


Threshold collision-induced dissociation techniques are employed to determine the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of complexes of alkali metal cations, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+, to triethyl phosphate (TEP). The primary and lowest energy dissociation pathway in all cases is the endothermic loss of the neutral TEP ligand. Theoretical electronic structure calculations at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory are used to determine the structures, molecular parameters, and theoretical estimates for the BDEs of these complexes. For the complexes to Rb+ and Cs+, theoretical calculations were performed using hybrid basis sets in which the effective core potentials and valence basis sets of Hay and Wadt were used to describe the alkali metal cation, while the standard basis sets were used for all other atoms. The agreement between theory and experiment is excellent for the complexes to Na+ and K+ and is somewhat less satisfactory for the complexes to the heavier alkali metal cations, Rb+ and Cs+, where effective core potentials were used to describe the cation. The trends in the binding energies are examined. The binding of alkali metal cations to triethyl phosphate is compared with that to trimethylphosphate.


The present review examines the current issues involving the use of drugs in the treatment of the various dementia syndromes. With the introduction of a new cholinesterase inhibitor, galantamine, during 2000, a recap of the symptomatic treatment issues reported during the past year leads on to early attempts at disease modification. Observational reports of the effect of oestrogen and anti-inflammatory drugs have led to therapeutic trials, which have mostly been negative. This may be due to incomplete understanding of mechanism and inappropriate trial design. Statins and vitamin E have been reported as beneficial, and an amyloid vaccine has entered into a clinical trial. The review finishes with some published experience in treating behavioural components of the dementia syndrome, and overall demonstrates how our understanding of the treatment issues continues to unfold.


Spirituality has been explained in numerous ways since ages. In this paper the ego has been related to 'I Consciousness' and in this context the role of ego in spirituality has been discussed. It is strongly emphasized that it is the ego process which is the biggest barrier to spirituality and the spiritual state is basically the state where one gets rid of ego and achieves an orderly state of mind thereby showing morality naturally and not in the forced manner. Ego in the human consciousness can do lot of damage and there has been lot of historical evidences where this ego process has led to unwanted results in the long term to the organizations and individuals. This paper aims at explaining the spirituality from the ego perspective and then connecting it with the management for better understanding of role of ego in the human behaviour and decision making. It needs to be mentioned that this paper is influenced by the thoughts of Prof. P.Krishna expressed during the conference on 'Spirituality and Ethics in Management' held at School of Management Sciences, Varanasi in October, 2010.


This paper presents an overviewon recent development of wireless sensor technologies and standards for wireless communications as applied to wireless sensors. Examples of wireless sensors and sensor networks applied in agriculture and food production for environmental monitoring, precision agriculture, M2M-based machine and process control, building and facility automation and RFID-based traceability systems are given. The paper also discusses advantages of wireless sensors and obstacles that prevent their fast adoption. Finally, based on an analysis of market growth, the paper discusses future trend of wireless sensor technology development in agriculture and food industry


This study examined the behavioral effects of d-amphetamine and recreational activities, alone and in combination, in high and low impulsive sensation seekers. Healthy 18-27 year-old participants, scoring in the upper (N=8) or lower (N=8) third of college students on the impulsive sensation-seeking scale of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, completed eight test days in which sessions were completed before (i.e., baseline) and 60, 120 and 180 minutes after d-amphetamine (0, 10 mg/70 kg) administration. Between sessions, subjects completed recreational activities (movies, music, reading, videogames) identified as high or low in sensation value. Each of four conditions (low and high sensation value activities combined with placebo and active drug) was administered under double-blind conditions on 2 days according to a randomized-block design. Typical stimulant-like cardiovascular and task performance effects were engendered by d-amphetamine; consistent with previous research, the magnitude of drug effects were greater among high sensation seekers. High sensation value activities engendered independent stimulant-like effects on subject ratings. These results suggest that d-amphetamine and high sensation stimulus materials may activate a common neurobiological substrate, likely the mesolimbic dopamine system, and that individual differences in sensation seeking status play a role in vulnerability to stimulant drug abuse.


Context: Evidences have shown the important role of long non-coding antisense RNAs in regulating its cognate sense gene in cancer biology. Objective: Investigate the regulatory role of a long non-coding antisense RNA TNRC6C-AS1 on its sense partner TNRC6C, and their effects on the aggressiveness and iodine-uptake ability of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Design: TNRC6C-AS1 was identified as the target long non-coding RNA in PTC by using microarray analysis and computational analysis. In vitro gain/loss-of-function experiments were performed to investigate the effects of TNRC6C-AS1 and TNRC6C on proliferation, apoptosis, migration, invasion and iodine-uptake ability of TPC1 cells. Expression levels of TNRC6C-AS1 and TNRC6C of 30 cases of PTC tissues and its adjacent normal thyroid tissues were determined. Results: Downregulation of TNRC6C-AS1 or overexpression of TNRC6C inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion of TPC1 cells, while apoptosis and iodine uptake was promoted in TPC1 cells. Suppression of TNRC6C-AS1 significantly increased the expression of TNRC6C in TPC1 cells. The inhibitory effect of TNRC6C-AS1 knockdown on cell proliferation, migration and invasion was attenuated when the expression of TNRC6C was suppressed simultaneously, indicating TNRC6C is a functional target of TNRC6C-AS1. The expression of TNRC6C-AS1 was significantly higher, while the TNRC6C mRNA and protein were significantly lower in PTC tissues than normal adjacent tissues. There was a significant inverse correlation between TNRC6C-AS1 and TNRC6C mRNA in PTC tissue samples. Conclusions: TNRC6C-AS1 promotes the progression of PTC and inhibits its ability of iodine accumulation by suppressing the expression of TNRC6C. Targeting TNRC6C-AS1 - TNRC6C axis may be a new promising treatment for PTC.


We prove the long-standing conjecture stating that Gaussian thermal input states minimize the output von Neumann entropy of one-mode phase-covariant quantum Gaussian channels among all the input states with a given entropy. Phase-covariant quantum Gaussian channels model the attenuation and the noise that affect any electromagnetic signal in the quantum regime. Our result is crucial to prove the converse theorems for both the triple trade-off region and the capacity region for broadcast communication of the Gaussian quantum-limited amplifier. Our result extends to the quantum regime the entropy power inequality that plays a key role in classical information theory. Our proof exploits a completely new technique based on the recent determination of the p→q norms of the quantum-limited amplifier [De Palma et al., arXiv:1610.09967]. This technique can be applied to any quantum channel.


Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is as an effective method to treat spinal metastases. Imaging is a critical component in the workup of patients who undergo stereotactic radiation treatment. Computed tomographic myelography may be more accurate than magnetic resonance imaging in the delineation of neural elements during SBRT. The task we faced was to offer a standardized method to rapidly and safely obtain high-quality computed tomographic myelography as part of a robust spine SBRT program. In detailing our experience, we support the greater, active participation of radiologists in the multidisciplinary care of patients with spinal metastases, while encouraging other radiologists to foster similar collaborations at their own institutions.


We found that a Ni-rich alloy with the composition of Ni50Pd30P20 had high glass-forming ability. Bulk glassy alloy rods with diameters up to 7 mm can be easily formed by a water quenching method. Its mechanical properties were measured under compressive load. The bulk glassy alloy exhibits relatively high yield strength of 1780 MPa and good ductility as is evidenced from a large plastic elongation of 7.6% before final fracture. The elastic properties of this bulk glassy alloy were also investigated.


Aryl schiff bases were efficiently reduced to the corresponding secondry amines by triethylammonium formate/formic acid system under microwave irradiation in solvent-free condition.


Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been considered as key players who can bring innovative medicinal products and/or technologies into the field. However, they may need much regulatory/scientific supports to provide their products, technologies, or services to the market in a timely way. Both the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), regulatory authorities for medicinal products in Japan and the EU, respectively, have prepared supportive measures for SMEs from the early phase of product/technology development to the postmarketing phase. With respect to supports for SMEs, both agencies have provided similar SME-specific supportive activities, including routine administrative assistance, consultations about product development strategy from an early phase, as well as specific regulatory/scientific issues and fee incentives. In addition, there is a system to register SME status in the EU, which can be a tool for regulators to know how much potential SME-driven activities have and with whom they should communicate to provide necessary supports. Furthermore, as new technologies and novel products from SMEs are not limited to the region where they are developed, close communication about these topics between the PMDA and the EMA will contribute to advancing patients' access to necessary medicinal products.


The Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, by agreement with the Council of Europe, is co-ordinating a European register of research in progress in language and language teaching. A description of the register was published in Abstracts, vol. 13 no. 1. Information is being gathered via national agencies nominated by governments; the following countries have so far nominated agencies to collaborate with CILT in the European research information service: Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. A list of the national centres may be obtained from CILT; each centre holds a copy of the (typescript) research register. The research descriptions set out here have been contributed to the register by investigators in Britain direct to CILT. Details of research projects are set out as follows: 1. Principal investigator or correspondent, 2. Associates. 3. Institution. 4. Sponsoring/financing body, and any other organisation supporting the research. 5. Research. 6. Date begun. 7. Progress reported. (The date in brackets at the foot of each entry is the date at which the information was correct.)


Density functional theory was utilized to investigate the growth of an indium nanowire on a Si (001) buckled surface. A site between the edge of two Si dimers is most favorable when the first In atom is adsorbed on the surface at an adsorption energy level of 2.26 eV. The energy barriers for migration from other sites to the most favorable site are low. When the second In atom is adsorbed next to the first In atom to form an In dimer perpendicular to the Si dimer row, the adsorption energy is the highest among all adsorption sites. The third In atom prefers either of the sites next to the In dimer along the In dimer direction. The fourth In atom exhibited the same tendency showed by the second atom. The second and fourth In adsorption energy levels are higher than the first and third levels as the In atoms consume the third valence electron by forming In dimers. Therefore, the In nanowire grows perpendicular to the Si dimer row on the Si (001) surface, as it satisfies the bonding of the three valence electrons of the In atoms.


We present a coevolutionary optimization approach for the automatic and unsupervised extraction of industrial component degradation indicators from a set of signals collected during operation. It embeds a deep sparse autoencoder (SAE) for the extraction of the degradation indicators, into a multi-objective coevolutionary optimization algorithm, which maximizes the SAE's performance by optimizing its architecture and hyperparameters. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown by its application to a synthetic dataset, which mimics the operation of a degrading component in an environment affected by seasonal changes.


Learn from Pro SharePoint Migration on how to migrate your existing farm - infrastructure, upgrade approaches, code, branding, and impact of new features of SharePoint 2010 - in a strategic way that results in smooth transition. Noted author Sahil Malik, with Srini Sistla, work together to provide detailed strategies and tools to assess, plan and execute a SharePoint 2010 migration that is efficient and cost-effectiveand that doesn't use expensive third-party software. The "clean slate" approach embraced by this book, coupled with flexible tools designed byMicrosoft and the author,will provide you with the statistics, charts, and diagrams necessary to perform a meaningful assessment of your current SharePoint 2007 environment.You'll thenbe able to planthe lowest-cost, least-hassle way to migrate your current environment, and its applications and data, to SharePoint 2010, and how to map your existing use of SharePoint 2007 to the new features and enhancements in SharePoint 2010. Pro SharePoint Migration will help you: Gain a better understanding of high level comparison and changes you need to learn between the two versions To migrate or not? Learn about new functionality that might replace your existing custom built code or non-code based solutions. Build a strong toolset to create, update, administer, and migrate 90% of the most commonly used SharePoint objects Grasp the intricacies of the SharePoint 2010 application programming interface (API) Become a better SharePoint 2010 administrator in your newly-migrated environment What youll learn A high level comparison of MOSS 2007 and SharePoint 2010, asking what's new Available supported and unsupported upgrade choices Migration strategies to minimize disruption Strategies for migrating old settings to new Changes to security model, lists, libraries, and more Visual changes, the impact on branding, and how to address overall branding artifacts Statistics, monitoring and usage analysis of existing and new farms Learn about ribbon changes and customizations A discussion of being a savvy business user developer, using SharePoint designer 2010 and InfoPath 2010 Overview of new changes and enhancements to enterprise content management features Changes to SharePoint APIs Who this book is for Pro SharePoint Migration is for intermediate to advanced SharePoint administrators, and developerswho are interested in migrating from SharePoint 2007 to SharePoint 2010 without third-party software.


Aim: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the association of physicochemical properties and antimicrobial peptide levels of saliva with caries activity in children. Materials and Methods: The required volume of unstimulated saliva was collected from 41 children aged 3–12 years with no systemic diseases. Caries activity was calculated using DMFS and dmfs records for each participating child. Collected saliva samples were then examined for their flow rate, pH, and buffering capacity. The concentration of three peptides was assessed including LL-37, human neutrophil peptide (HNP) 1–3, and human beta-defensin (HBD)-3 through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation between caries activity score (CAS) and salivary variables was looked using the linear regression and Spearman's correlation method. The comparison of CAS means between high- and low-value groups of salivary items was performed using independent sample t-test while the association of CAS and salivary parameters in categorical scale was tested by Chi-square test. Results: No statistically significant differences were found between the CAS means at low and high categories of each salivary physicochemical parameter and those of antimicrobial peptides. There was a negative correlation between HNP1–3 and CAS and also between HBD-3 and CAS, but these results were not statistically meaningful. High HNP1–3 concentration was noted in 67% of the low caries rate group and 29% of the high caries rate group, with a statistically significant difference between the low and high caries rate groups (P = 0.019). Conclusion: Salivary inherent factors are not dominant determinants in caries activity. The current results may suggest that α-defensins (HNP1–3) have a protective role against dental caries.


Background: Craniofrontonasal syndrome (CFNS) is a rare X-linked disorder that results from pathogenic variants in the EFNB1 gene. The syndrome paradoxically presents with greater severity of the symptoms in heterozygous females than hemizygous males.Results: Our primary finding was the description of monozygotic twins, i.e., patients 5 & 6, discordant for the CFNS phenotype. Intriguingly, patient 5 presented classical CFNS gestalt, whereas patient 6 manifested only very subtle craniofacial features, not resembling CFNS. Besides, we have expanded the mutational spectrum of the EFNB1 gene through reporting four novel pathogenic variants – p.(Trp12*), p.(Cys64Phe), p.(Tyr73Metfs*86), p.(Glu210*). All those alterations were found applying either targeted NGS of a custom gene panel or PCR followed by Sanger sequencing and evaluated using in silico predictors. Lastly, we have also expanded the CFNS phenotypic spectrum by describing in patient 3 novel features of the syndrome, such as bifid hallux, bicornuate uterus, and abnormal right ovary segmented into six parts Conclusions: We have described the unreported so far differences of the clinical phenotype in the monozygotic twin patients 5 & 6 harbouring an identical p.(Glu210*) variant located in the EFNB1 gene. With our finding, we have pointed to an unusual phenomenon of mildly affected females with CFNS, who may not manifest features suggestive of the syndrome. Consequently, this study may be valuable for geneticists consulting patients with craniofacial disorders.


Abstract Recently, many studies have reported the anticancer properties of flavonoid luteolin against a variety of tumors, but there is still a lack in the description of its mechanism of action. In attempt to better contribute to the literature, we evaluated the antiproliferative activity of luteolin extracted by Fridericia platyphylla in a panel of tumor cell lines representative of six different tissues. Luteolin presented antiproliferative activity for all the assessed tumor cell lines, being glioblastoma the most sensitive one. This compound was able to inhibit U-251 cells migration and tumorigenesis. Besides, luteolin leads U-251 tumor cells to apoptosis death by depolarisation of the mitochondrial membrane, ERK proteins phosphorylation, cleavage of PARP and Caspase 9, further inducing DNA damage by H2AX phosphorylation, which had not yet been described for glioblastomas. Altogether, our results reaffirm luteolin as a potential therapeutic drug. Graphical Abstract


Abstract The Cayman Islands are one of the SISODs, located in the Caribbean Sea, with a high number of foreign visitor arrivals and a GDP based to a large extent on tourism. They are also considered to be SITE islands and may even be characteristic of the subtype, PROFIT-SITE islands. The aim of the article is to provide an answer to the question of whether the increase in the number of tourist and one-day visitor arrivals1 had a positive impact on the creation of GDP in the Cayman Islands during the period 1983-2011. The hypothesis was that such a correlation should exist and it should be a strong positive correlation, but only between the increase in number of tourist arrivals and increase in GDP. The second question was: which year is the most economically affected by the increase in tourist and visitor arrivals (the same or the following year)? The hypothesis was that the biggest impact is recorded in the year in which the increase in tourist and visitor arrivals occurs (not in the following year). The third question was: has the global economic crisis affected the tourism sector in the Cayman Islands? The hypothesis was that the Cayman Islands were not as badly affected by the global economic crisis as other SISOD countries. The methods used by the author were literature analysis, data analysis and the Spearman correlation ratio.


Expression of the amidase operon of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated by the AmiC and AmiR proteins using a version of the bacterial two-component signal transduction system. The negative regulator, AmiC is the amide ligand sensor and regulates activity of AmiR by a steric hindrance mechanism. AmiR, the response regulator functions as a transcription antitermination factor. Once released from the AmiC/AmiR complex, AmiR binds to the operon leader transcript to prevent formation of the rho-independent terminator thus allowing transcription of the entire operon. AmiR has a CheY-like N-terminal response regulator receiver domain without the conserved phosphate-acceptor residues and a long coiled-coil C-terminal domain terminating in a three-helix bundle ANTAR domain. Within this family are a number of highly conserved residues. These residues have been changed by site-directed mutagenesis and the mutants tested for antitermination activity by amidase assay. Random mutagenesis has also revealed key residues in this domain, changes which led to reduced antitermination efficacy. To define the minimal transcript length sufficient for AmiR antitermination, constructs have been made and analysed containing leader region mutations and deletions. The results show that the encoded leader ORF has no biological function and that sequences upstream of the previously defined L recognition region are not necessary for AmiR-dependent antitermination. The ANTAR domain has been expressed and purified as a cleavable, GST tagged fusion protein in E. coli. Dynamic light scattering data and gel filtration elution profiles of ANTAR suggests this domain is a dimer in solution. The ANTAR-RNA interaction was investigated in vitro using band shift assays. Radiolabeled in vitro transcribed ami leader RNA was incubated with the ANTAR protein under various buffer conditions. The mixtures were analysed by PAGE to monitor the formation of protein-RNA complexes. Amidase assays were also performed with the ANTAR domain for analysis of antitermination activity in vivo. These results show that the ANTAR domain alone is not sufficient for antitermination in vivo or binding to the RNA in vitro.


Multilingual machine translation (MMT), trained on a mixture of parallel and monolingual data, is key for improving translation in low-resource language pairs. However, the literature offers conflicting results on the performance of different methods of including monolingual data. To resolve this, we examine how denoising autoencoding (DAE) and backtranslation (BT) impact MMT under different data conditions and model scales. Unlike prior studies, we use a realistic dataset of 100 translation directions and consider many domain combinations of monolingual and test data. We find that monolingual data generally helps MMT, but models are surprisingly brittle to domain mismatches, especially at smaller model scales. BT is beneficial when the parallel, monolingual, and test data sources are similar but can be detrimental otherwise, while DAE is less effective than previously reported. Next, we analyze the impact of scale (from 90M to 1.6B parameters) and find it is important for both methods, particularly DAE. As scale increases, DAE transitions from underperforming the parallel-only baseline at 90M to converging with BT performance at 1.6B, and even surpassing it in low-resource. These results offer new insights into how to best use monolingual data in MMT.


With the ever-deepening economic reform and international trend of ICT application in education, the Chinese government is strengthening its basic education curriculum reform and actively facilitating the application of ICT in education. Given the achievement gap of ICT infrastructure and its application in middle and primary schools between urban and rural areas, a divide exists between the needs of constructing ICT infrastructure and the patterns of promoting ICT application in education. This paper reports a survey conducted on the infrastructure and application of ICT in middle and primary schools in urban areas (city and county) and rural areas in China based on their demands for promoting ICT in education. The survey focused on 2,168 middle and primary schools, including 717 schools in cities (33.1%), 487 schools in counties (22.5%) and 964 schools located in rural areas (44.5%). Based on stepwise regression analysis, it was revealed that ICT infrastructure had different influences on its application for schools in urban and rural areas. Schools' proportion of ICT aided courses in counties, and utilization of multi-media classrooms in rural areas may be more associated with the infrastructure. These conclusions would be particularly useful for policy-makers in Asia. Moreover, the analysis model could highlight some areas where improvement plans could be implemented to reduce the digital divide. However, ICT infrastructure was found to play an insignificant role in "utilization of multi-media classrooms" or "proportion of ICT aided courses" in city schools, and thus its role in city schools should be reinterpreted.


The real-time monitoring of the flow environment parameters, such as flow velocity and direction, helps to accurately analyze the effect of water scour and provide technical support for the maintenance of pier and abutment foundations in water. Based on the principle of the Fiber Brag Grating sensor, a sensor for monitoring the flow velocity and direction in real-time is designed in this paper. Meanwhile, the theoretical calculation formulas of flow velocity and direction are derived. The structural performance of the sensor is simulated and analyzed by finite element analysis. The performance requirements of different parts of the sensor are clarified. After a sample of the sensor is manufactured, calibration experiments are conducted to verify the function and test the accuracy of the sensor, and the experimental error is analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the sensor designed in this paper achieves a high accuracy for the flow with a flow velocity of 0.05–5 m/s and the flow velocity monitoring error is kept within 7%, while the flow direction monitoring error is kept within 2°. The sensor can meet the actual monitoring requirements of the structures in water and provide reliable data sources for water scour analysis.


The Western World proudly considers the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948 to be a miracle. But no work of the Human mind can ever be free from error. Because this manifesto has no guidance on the rights of orphans, issues of inheritance, rights of the mentally retarded, virtue of amnesty, self-defense and abolition of force. Is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights heavenly law or an innovation of human intellect which is obviously flawed? In the article it is discussed a lot under Orphanage, Inheritance and Extinction. This Declaration has been passed under a specific agenda, in which the interests of certain countries have been taken into account.The world's major religion "Islam" and the beliefs of its followers have been openly opposed.Human beings have been given their original position by Islam. Every moral, social and legal system in the world has been thrown into the dustbin in respect of "human desire. The high position that Islam has given to man in terms of rights and duties has not been given by any law or manifesto in the world. Therefore, Islam, which is a collection of divine instructions, can give the world a better, just and sustainable system.


In 60 baby-rats born to pregnant animals with toxic hepatitis, the development and process of forming of the small intestine was studied together with a number of morphometric and functional parameters. In a comparative investigation, the intrauterine development of the animals, of their small intestine, other parameters studied were found out to have lagged behind. Going further into the organ structures development and formation we succeeded in identifying significant differences in parameters for villi and crypts, the absorbing surface, enzymatic system of the small intestine in those animals born to mothers having had toxic hepatitis during pregnancy.


Preeclampsia is responsible for 10-15% of maternal deaths during pregnancy. According to recent hypotheses on the pathogenesis of the disease, two factors play a key role in the process of remodeling of the maternal arteries: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Placental Growth Factor (PlGF). The VEGF may be particularly active during pregnancy. The receptor of this growth factor, called sVEGFR-1, just because of placental ischemia, appears to be over-expressed in preeclamptic placentas of women and, consequently, this may antagonize the effects of VEGF and PlGF. Other studies have demonstrated the involvement in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia of another antiangiogenic soluble factor produced by the placenta, the soluble endoglin (sEng). Our study evaluates the values of PlGF, sVEGFR-1 and sEng in maternal serum in order to assess their predictive value for the onset of preeclampsia. Between 2011 and 2012, at the Institute of Pathology Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University Hospital "Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele" of Catania were enrolled 20 women in the first trimester of pregnancy divided into two groups, at-risk group (12) and control group (8). For 3 of the 12 patients in the risk group, was given the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. The median concentration of sEng and sVEGFR-1 was significantly higher in women compared to diseased women at risk and to the controls while the median concentration of PlGF was much lower in women sick than the other two groups, with highly significant differences (P <0.01).


The initial reaction of the As‐rich c(2×8) GaAs(100) surface with trimethylgallium (TMGa) has been studied by x‐ray and ultraviolet photoemission. TMGa was found to chemisorb dissociatively at temperatures below 300 °C with many of the methyl radicals remaining on the surface. Bonding requirements and steric effects limit the saturation coverage to about 0.1 monolayer. At temperatures above 300 °C, TMGa was observed to dissociate on the surface, release all the methyl groups, and deposit Ga up to a self‐limiting coverage. This process is most effective at high temperatures. We propose a model for the temperature dependence of the chemisorption which explains and unites many reported observations in the atomic layer epitaxy of GaAs using TMGa and arsine.


A series of LiBixLaxMn2−2xO4 (x = 0, 0.002, 0.005, 0.010, 0.020) samples were synthesized by solution combustion synthesis in combination with calcination. The phase structure and morphology of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transition electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that a single-phase LiMn2O4 spinel structure was obtained for the LiBixLaxMn2−2xO4 (x = 0, 0.002, 0.005) samples, whereas impurities were observed for the LiBixLaxMn2−2xO4 (x = 0.010, 0.020) samples as a result of the doping limit. The electrochemical properties were investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling and cycling voltammetry in a voltage range of 3.2–4.4 V. The substitution of Mn3+ by equimolar Bi3+ and La3+ could significantly improve the structural stability and suppress the Jahn–Teller distortion, thereby resulting in improved electrochemical properties for the Bi and La co-doped samples in contrast with the pristine LiMn2O4 sample. In particular, the LiBi0.005La0.005Mn1.99O4 sample delivered a high initial discharge capacity of 130.2 mA h g−1 at 1C, and following 80 cycles, the capacity retention was as high as 95.0%. Moreover, it also presented the best rate capability among all the samples, in which a high discharge capacity of 98.3 mA h g−1 was still maintained at a high rate of 7C compared with that of 75.8 mA h g−1 for the pristine LiMn2O4 sample.


Background During permanent non-selective (ns) His bundle (HB) pacing, it is crucial to confirm HB capture / exclude that only right ventricle (RV)-myocardial septal pacing is present. Because the effective refractory period (ERP) of the working myocardium is different than the ERP of the HB, we hypothesized that it should be possible to differentiate ns-HB capture from RV-myocardial capture using programmed extra-stimulus technique. Methods In consecutive patients during HB pacemaker implantation, programmed HB pacing was delivered from the screwed-in HB pacing lead. Premature beats were introduced at 10 ms steps during intrinsic rhythm and also after a drive train of 600 ms. The longest coupling interval that resulted in an abrupt change of QRS morphology was considered equal to ERP of HB or RV-myocardium. Results Programmed HB pacing was performed from 50 different sites in 32 patients. In 34/36 cases of ns-HB pacing, the RV-myocardial ERP was shorter than HB ERP (271.8±38 ms vs 353.0±30 ms, p < 0.0001). Programmed HB pacing using a drive train resulted in a typical abrupt change of paced QRS morphology: from ns-HB to RV-myocardial QRS (34/36 cases) or to selective HB QRS (2/36 cases). Programmed HB pacing delivered during supraventricular rhythm resulted in obtaining selective HB QRS in 20/34 and RV-myocardial QRS in 14/34 of the ns-HB cases. In RV-myocardial only pacing cases ("false ns-HB pacing", n=14), such responses were not observed – the QRS morphology remained stable. Therefore, the PHB pacing correctly diagnosed all ns-HB cases and all RV-myocardial pacing cases. Conclusions A novel maneuver for the diagnosis of HB capture, based on the differences in ERP between HB and myocardium was formulated, assessed and found as diagnostically valuable. This method is unique in enabling to visualize selective HB QRS in patients with otherwise obligatory ns-HB pacing (RV-myocardial capture threshold < HB capture threshold). What this study adds Programmed His bundle pacing – a novel and straightforward method for unquestionable diagnosis of His bundle capture during non-selective pacing was developed and assessed. A method for visualization of selective HB capture QRS in patients with obligatory non-selective pacing (myocardial capture threshold < His bundle capture threshold) was discovered and physiology behind it explained.


Religion can be the life vision for its followers. Religion philosophy comes up to and integrates into personality, creating man's personality and character that follows. When religion becomes ethical control, then it will meet conventional tradition. Therefore, Allah sent His messenger similar to his character and language where His messenger lived. Not only verbal communication was delivered but also man's tradition communication and the way of thought. Partai Keadilan Sejahtera is a political party which had enough strong religion militancy patterns. One of its forms present on woman force in this Islamic party, especially when meeting the society where they live. The writer assumed woman force of Partai Keadilan Sejahtera is an interesting subject to discuss further. Moreover, they do religion activities regularly and fully. In the other side, most of them are housewives who are identically with the house deed. From this assumption, the writer started doing educational study through field investigation to be written in thesis procedure. The study of woman force in Partai Keadilan Sejahtera is quite extensive. Therefore, it is limited and formulated into three questions of investigation. Through these three questions, the writer wants to reveal religion activities of woman force in PKS on Bandung city, their political motivation, and their public roles. The purpose of this thesis investigation is to know the woman force's activities in PKS on Bandung city, political motivation, and their public roles as written in three questions. The method which is used in this research is qualitative method. The data which is produced is descriptive, taken from the field and supported books. The object of data in the field is women force in PKS and it's supported by other forces. Besides that, books and literal data of internal party were included in this category. The books mean by supported books that related into research, directly or not. The data from field work results and literal investigation results then processed by classifying into one data, synthesizing, and deciding to be quotations until becoming a full argumentation. The result of the research shows that woman forces in PKS on Bandung city have regularly activities such as, liqo, sekolah ibu, and they are active in party structure because their motivation is worship. This motivation makes them active in public area. In the other hand, the husbands from the woman force give their licenses as much as they need if the activities give benefits for her, family, nation, and country.


Thirteen seed vigor parameters were compared in two 2-row and four 6-row barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars to determine selection criteria for predicting rate of field emergence. The materials also represented four spring and two winter types. Seed weight, 3-day seedling adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content, 3-day seedling total adenosine phosphates (TAP), 5-day endosperm α-amylase activity, 3-day endosperm c~-amylase activity, 4-hour hydrated embryo TAP, 4-day hydrated embryo ATP content, 7-day seedling dry weight, 3-day seedling dry weight, and 3-day seedling shoot length were all significantly correlated (P≤0.01) with field emergence rate but in decreasing order, respectively. Based on the results of stepwise multiple regression analysis, it appeared that seed weight, 3-day seedling ATP content, TAP content of hydrated embryo, and 7-day seedling dry weight would be good seed vigor indices for predicting field emergence rate.


One of the central tasks of Asian American literature, argues Patricia P. Chu, has been to construct Asian American identities in the face of existing, and often contradictory, ideas about what it means to be an American. Chu examines the model of the "Anglo-American" bildungsroman and shows how "Asian American" writers have adapted it to express their troubled and unstable position in the United States.By aligning themselves with U.S. democratic ideals while also questioning the historical realities of exclusion, internment, and discrimination, Asian American authors, contends Chu, do two kinds of ideological work: they claim Americanness for Asian Americans, and they create accounts of Asian ethnicity that deploy their specific cultures and histories to challenge established notions of Americanness. Chu further demonstrates that Asian American male and female writers engage different strategies in the struggle to adapt, reflecting their particular, gender-based relationships to immigration, work, and cultural representation.While offering fresh perspectives on the well- known writings-both fiction and memoir-of Maxine Hong Kingston, Amy Tan, Bharati Mukherjee, Frank Chin, and David Mura, "Assimilating Asians" also provides new insight into the work of less recognized but nevertheless important writers like Carlos Bulosan, Edith Eaton, Younghill Kang, Milton Murayama, and John Okada. As she explores this expansive range of texts - published over the course of the last century by authors of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Indian origin or descent - Chu is able to illuminate her argument by linking it to key historical and cultural events. "Assimilating Asians" makes an important contribution to the fields of Asian American, American, and women's studies. Scholars of Asian American literature and culture, as well as of ethnicity and assimilation, will find particular interest and value in this book.


This paper covers the two approaches for sentiment analysis: i) lexicon based method; ii) machine learning method. We describe several techniques to implement these approaches and discuss how they can be adopted for sentiment classification of Twitter messages. We present a comparative study of different lexicon combinations and show that enhancing sentiment lexicons with emoticons, abbreviations and social-media slang expressions increases the accuracy of lexicon-based classification for Twitter. We discuss the importance of feature generation and feature selection processes for machine learning sentiment classification. To quantify the performance of the main sentiment analysis methods over Twitter we run these algorithms on a benchmark Twitter dataset from the SemEval-2013 competition, task 2-B. The results show that machine learning method based on SVM and Naive Bayes classifiers outperforms the lexicon method. We present a new ensemble method that uses a lexicon based sentiment score as input feature for the machine learning approach. The combined method proved to produce more precise classifications. We also show that employing a cost-sensitive classifier for highly unbalanced datasets yields an improvement of sentiment classification performance up to 7%.


Abstract Introduction Diabetes is a common disease that, besides affecting the physical health, also affects the mental health of patients. Therefore, promoting mental health along with drug therapy seems essential. The purpose of this study was to find the effectiveness of group hope therapy on the mental health of type II diabetic patients who were referred to the diabetes clinic of Imam Reza Hospital in Sirjan City. Materials and methods This was a semi-experimental study. The statistical population consisted of type II diabetic patients referred to a diabetes clinic in southeastern Iran. Forty subjects were selected according to the goals of study and inclusion criteria and were assigned into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received group hope therapy in eight sessions. The instrument was General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and was completed by both groups before and after intervention. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests and paired t-tests. Results The results showed that the mental health after the group hope therapy significantly increased in the study group compared to the control group (p = 0.02). Conclusion The results showed that the mental health of diabetic patients is more favorable using group hope therapy. This method can be used in diabetic patients.


Abstract Objective: To present a conservative surgical approach, via the transorbital route, for selected cases of infratemporal fossa involvement or inferolateral orbital tumours extending to the infratemporal fossa. Design: Case series report. Setting: Department of ENT, CSM Medical University (King George Medical College), Lucknow, India. Participants: One patient. Main outcome measures: Operative feasibility, intra-operative access, post-operative morbidity and cosmesis. Results: This novel and relatively conservative technique provides excellent exposure in selected cases of infratemporal fossa involvement and has minimal post-operative morbidity. Cosmesis is excellent, as osteotomy is not required and scarring is minimal. There is no risk of trismus, Vth or VIIth cranial nerve injury, or cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and haemostasis is easily achieved. Conclusion: Classical, open approaches to the infratemporal fossa involve considerable morbidity, while conservative approaches have their limitations. Diagnostic uncertainty over a small infratemporal fossa mass (perhaps an extension from an inferolateral orbital tumour) is an uncommon clinical challenge. The transorbital approach described is suited to benign and early malignant tumours, and has excellent results when combined with orbital exenteration (if needed). This paper discusses this approach's technical details and feasibility in different clinical situations, and compares it with other infratemporal fossa approaches.


This essay investigates the well-known, yet understudied, Bengali Theosophist Mohini Mohun Chatterji. In this essay, Mohini Chatterji's life and career will be discussed in relation to the Theosophical Society. His case will be seen as an example of how Bengali Theosophists played a significant role in the transcultural, entangled history of the global Theosophical movement, thus connecting Vedantic philosophy with occultism.


The disappearance pattern of prostate-specific antigen from serum after a standard radical prostatectomy was studied in eight patients with cancer confined to the prostate. The results were used to plot an elimination curve and calculate the best fit. A biphasic pattern was found with an average biological half-life of 1.63 hours in the alpha-phase, and 4.63 days in the beta-phase. Based on these results it is concluded that determination of prostate-specific antigen concentrations less than one month after a standard radical prostato-vesiculectomy has no value for the detection or exclusion of residual malignant processes.


CONTEXT
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) increases appetite and food intake in animals. Conflicting evidence has been found for the association between polymorphisms of the NPY gene and obesity in humans.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the investigation was to study four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the NPY gene [rs17149106 (G>T), rs16147 (C>T), rs16139 (T>C), rs5574 (C>T)] with body adiposity.

DESIGN
The study design included a candidate gene association study from two cohorts.

PARTICIPANTS
Two thousand seventy-one women from the Nurses' Health Study and 1268 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up study participated in the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Weight and height were self-reported at baseline and updated every 2 yr to calculate body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS
Two SNPs (rs17149106 (G>T) and rs16139 (T>C)), with minor allele frequencies of 4%, were associated with elevated risks of obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) in both cohorts. The pooled adjusted odds ratios [95% confidence interval (CI)] were 1.72 (95% CI 1.20-2.47) and 1.79 (95% CI 1.24-2.60), respectively. Haplotype analyses reflected the associations with the individual SNP. TTCC carriers, with the minor allele of both SNPs, had an increased risk of obesity (odds ratio 1.89; 95% CI 1.29-2.75) compared with those carrying the common haplotype GCTT. Carriers of the rs16139 C allele had greater BMI than noncarriers with a pooled mean difference of +0.58 kg/m(2) (95% CI 0.01-1.15) among women and men. Both rs17149106 and rs16139 were associated with weight gain since adolescence/early adulthood but were not associated with abdominal adiposity as measured by waist circumference and waist to hip ratio.

CONCLUSIONS
NPY gene variants were significantly associated with weight changes from young adulthood to middle age and with risk of obesity.


SUMMARY

We searched for earthquake swarms in South America between 1973 and 2009 using the global Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE) catalogue. Seismicity rates vary greatly over the South American continent, so we employ a manual search approach that aims to be insensitive to spatial and temporal scales or to the number of earthquakes in a potential swarm. We identify 29 possible swarms involving 5–180 earthquakes each (with total swarm moment magnitudes between 4.7 and 6.9) within a range of tectonic and volcanic locations. Some of the earthquake swarms on the subduction megathrust occur as foreshocks and delineate the limits of main shock rupture propagation for large earthquakes, including the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule, Chile and 2007 Mw 8.1 Pisco, Peru earthquakes. Also, subduction megathrust swarms commonly occur at the location of subduction of aseismic ridges, including areas of long-standing seismic gaps in Peru and Ecuador. The magnitude–frequency relationship of swarms we observe appears to agree with previously determined magnitude–frequency scaling for swarms in Japan. We examine geodetic data covering five of the swarms to search for an aseismic component. Only two of these swarms (at Copiapo, Chile, in 2006 and near Ticsani Volcano, Peru, in 2005) have suitable satellite-based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations. We invert the InSAR geodetic signal and find that the ground deformation associated with these swarms does not require a significant component of aseismic fault slip or magmatic intrusion. Three swarms in the vicinity of the volcanic arc in southern Peru appear to be triggered by the Mw= 8.5 2001 Peru earthquake, but predicted static Coulomb stress changes due to the main shock were very small at the swarm locations, suggesting that dynamic triggering processes may have had a role in their occurrence. Although we identified few swarms in volcanic regions, we suggest that particularly large volcanic swarms (those that could be detected using the PDE catalogue) occur in areas of infrequent eruption and may be related to large regional fault zones.


The Vietnam's new general education curriculum is transferring from content orientation to students' capacity and quality development orientation. STEM (is acronym words of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education contributes to the development of 21st century skills of students. In order to successfully implement STEM education, in addition to leaders, managers and programmers, teachers have an important role in directly building and organizing STEM education. And pre-service teachers need to be trained to deal with complexities of education. The purpose of this research is to assess the pre-service chemistry teachers? existing STEM teaching capacity in Vietnam. Research method was survey through a set of unstructured and structured questions, and participants of this research are 57 pre-service chemistry teachers (who are 3rd and 4th grade learners of 5 Universities of Education representing all three regions of Vietnam). Content analysis was used to analyze the data from unstructured questions while the data from structured questions were transformed into frequency, percentage and descriptive statistic analyze. The findings indicated that most of participants have conceptualized the aspects of STEM in accordance with a number of researches in the world. However, they were less capable in designing their teaching STEM and performing teaching STEM in the classroom, beside assessment abilities were not good and lack diversity. They also suggested that there should be a specific guide material on how to design and conduct STEM teaching. Therefore, the study also suggested measures to develop STEM teaching competences for pre - service chemistry teachers in Vietnam: 1) redesign the teacher training program to include STEM educational modules, 2) provide STEM teaching instruction modules from STEM fields in Chemistry, and 3) combine Blended Learning approach to enhance their ICT ability.


Nowadays, Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) and Graphene Oxide (GO) have attracted enormous interest in various applications such as thin film transistors, chemical sensors, field emission devices and transparent conductive coatings. In this report, thin films of CNT and GO networks were fabricated as a two-terminal device for gas sensing applications. These devices were fabricated using vacuum filtration and drop casting methods at room temperature in order to get a thin and uniform film. The electrical measurement was conducted in order to investigate the film resistance as the solution concentration increased. The multi – walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) solutions were acid treated by attaching carboxylic acid (-COOH) groups, in order to form a stable aqueous suspension with a neutral pH. The conductivity of the networks film was increased as the solution concentration increased where the sheet resistance at the highest concentration (0.125 mg/ml) was around 7.09 kΩ/sq. The single – walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) suspension was produced using an organic dye in order to improve its solubility in water. Raman spectroscopy showed that no damage to the structure of SWCNTs was occurred. The GO suspension was produced by the chemical exfoliation of graphite through oxidation. The basal plane and edges of GO were decorated by oxygen functional groups, hence improving its solubility in water. To decrease the concentration of solutions, the solutions were diluted with methanol or water and various concentrations were achieved. The extreme sensitivity to changes in CNTs and GO local chemical environment makes them an ideal candidate for gas sensing application. The devices were tested by exposure to gasses such as NO2 and NH3. Results show a tremendous sensitivity towards NO2 and NH3 gasses. The sensitivities of the MWCNTs sensor device were ranging from 2 to 20 %. Whereas for the SWCNTs sensor device, the sensitivities were ranging from 20 to 50 %. For the GO sensor devices, the optimum sensitivity was achieved when the device was exposed at room temperature. The changes in resistance of the devices reflected the interaction mechanism that happened between exposure gasses (NO2 and NH3) and the materials.


Under the enlightenment of the scheme of Mancini and Bose [Phys. Rev. A 70 (2004) 022307), we discuss two-atom entanglement in a fibre-connected triple-distant-atom system. Under adiabatic approximation, we obtain an effective Hamiltonian in form of the triple-body Ising-model interaction. The existence of a third atom is found to damage the other two-atom entanglement. The nearest-neighbouring two atoms that share a larger Ising strength are more strongly entangled.


The present study examined socio-economic characteristics of commuters patronizing street traders, assessed factors responsible for patronizing street trader, investigated the perceived environmental hazard and assessed perceived spatial implications of street trading in Ikorodu motor park, Lagos State, Nigeria. The experimental survey research design was employed to first determine the average daily carrying capacity of the motor park (15,830 persons per day), while the sample size was 100, based on the Taro Yemane sample size formula. The 100 sets of questionnaires were used as the data collection instrument and it was administered to the patronizers of street traders. The purposive non-probability sampling technique was used. Data analysis adopted both descriptive (tables, Likert Scale) and Inferential (Factor analysis). The study established a preponderance of males over females and the majority of respondents had attained secondary education and were single (unmarried). Affordability, availability and location were revealed by the 5-point Likert scale output as factors most responsible for street trading patronage. Results of factor analysis for factors responsible for patronage of street revealed a K.M.O. value of 0.735, at Bartlett's test significance level of 0.000. The communality of values revealed attractiveness (47.1%) as the least and availability (77.7%) as the highest. There was a cumulative total of 64.74% with a variance of 5.35% and 8.51 "at" and "after" extraction. It was also revealed that noise pollution, air pollution, and violence were the major perceived environmental hazards, while congestion, waste disposal, and obstruction of drainage systems were the perceived spatial implication of street trading activities in Ikorodu garage. The study concluded that street trading is properly included in the formal urban setting to enhance effectiveness, functionality and aesthetics.


Digital technologies are an opportunity to overcome disabilities, provided that accessibility is ensured. In this paper, we focus on visual accessibility and the way it is supported in Operating Systems (OS). The significant variability in this support has practical consequences, e.g., the difficulty to recommend or select an OS, or migrate from one OS to another. This suggests building a variability model for OS that would classify them and would serve as a reference. We propose a methodology to build such a variability model with the help of the Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) framework. In addition, as visual accessibility can be divided into several concerns (e.g., zoom, or contrast), we leverage an extension of FCA, namely Relational Concept Analysis. We also build an ontology to dispose of a standardized description of visual accessibility options. We apply our proposal to the analysis of the variability of a few representative operating systems.


The ancient Muslim tradition of commerce along the silk roads and spice trade routes has been given a facelift and rebranded into a phenomenon termed 'Brand Islam' by Wilson et al. (2013). Here is a revival of the celebration of profiting from prophet hood (Wilson, 2012a). Today, the terms Islamic marketing and branding have emerged as new business specialisms, following the caravan of Islamic finance and halal commerce, founded on a desire to bring Islamic principles and for them to travel beyond the Muslim world. At the 9th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), held for the first time outside of the Muslim world, in London on 29–31 October 2013, the Malaysian prime minister, H. E. Dato' Sri MohdNajibTun Abdul Razak, recounted the story of Khadijah, the first convert to Islam: 'Of all the merchants in Mecca, she was the most successful; an entrepreneur who managed an international trading empire. One day, she hired a young man by the name of Mohammed (pbuh), who she would eventually marry.' This was the same Mohammed (pbuh) who at the age of 25 married 40-year-old Khadijah and then, later, as a 40-year-old man, received a revelation from the angel Gabriel, thus anointing him as the Prophet of Islam. We are seeing Muslims searching for a way to reach out and harness the spirit of spirituality in a post 9/11 era.


We reported a case of acute embolic occlusion of the middle cerebral artery with a patent accessory middle cerebral artery. Because of the presence of sufficient collateral blood supply from the accessory middle cerebral artery, the patient only underwent transient ischemic attack and did not need endovascular treatment. There was mild infarction in the basal ganglia and temporal lobe, NIHSS score of the patient at discharge seven days after stroke onset was 0, and modified Rankin scale score at 90 days was 0.


The article considers the problems of introduction and use of interdisciplinary approach in the formation of innovative and entrepreneurial universities of the third generation. Interdisciplinary connections, which provide an interdisciplinary approach in the field of education, scientific base, as well as the system of education as a complex of fundamental and taxonomic disciplines are studied in the article. The use of an interdisciplinary approach in the training of future professionals is seen as part of the process of forming their professional competence through the implementation of links with the disciplines of humanities, socio-economic and scientific training. In a competency-based approach, interdisciplinary connections allow knowledge, skills and abilities to be transferred from one area of science and professional activity to another. The interdisciplinary approach is aimed at the connection of disciplines, when the contradictions in the mastery of ideas, methods and techniques of research between sciences are smoothed out and there is a complex use in professional activity of theory and practice obtained on the basis of studied disciplines. Both significant advantages and problems that arise when using an interdisciplinary approach are considered. It is proved that the demand for specialists with universal skills and abilities, formed under the influence of the study and interconnection of disciplines of different fields, is relevant. The necessity of strengthening the role of the interdisciplinary approach in the formation of "third generation" universities as innovative forms of entrepreneurial activity is substantiated.
Key words: interdisciplinary approach, competence, integration, innovation, information technology revolution, entrepreneurship.


Speaking skills in English is a very important skill in general communication. This skill is needed even since school age children. SD Negeri Jombor 03 Bendosari Sukoharjo is located in Jombor sub-district, Bendosari sub-district, Sukoharjo regency, which has students with relatively low English speaking ability. This is evidenced from the document a student's grade is relatively lace that obtained by the researchers through observation.The purpose of this study is to provide convenience for students of SD Negeri Jombor 03 Bendosari Sukoharjo to improve their speaking skills, especially to introduce themselves and their families. The method used by researchers is practice individually, in pairs, and in groups. This method provides an opportunity for students to be more active and expressive to express ideas, and bring up peer tutors to reduce the tension or pressure that obtained indirectly in a foreign language learning. In addition to the planned method, researchers also made use of LCD media and letter cards along with plastic boards to help students more easily absorb the material. This media was contributed quite a lot.The students feel happy, enthusiastic and more expressive in accepting the material provided.The researchers obtained the data by  field observations, then the researchers made other instruments such as questionaire sheets, pretests and evaluations. The results of this study are quite significant. The students was increased by 30.66% than of the results of the pretest and posttest. This method is expected to be carried out elsewhere so that the benefits can be felt in the wider community.


AIM
To evaluate the effect of resorbable membranes on one-stage ridge augmentation procedures in small (2-4 mm) buccal bony dehiscences in anterior maxillary single-tooth replacement.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Patients with a buccal bony dehiscence after implant placement in the esthetic zone were randomly allocated to one-stage ridge augmentation with (M+) or without a membrane (M-). Second-phase surgery was performed after 8 weeks, and follow-up was performed 1, 6, and ≥12 months after loading. Outcomes included implant survival and success, complications, clinical and radiographic parameters, esthetic results and patient satisfaction.

RESULTS
Fifty-two patients were randomized to one-stage ridge augmentation with (n = 25) or without use of a membrane (n = 27). No significant differences in implant survival and success have been observed. The risk of having a small mucosal dehiscence was more than six times higher in the M+ group than in the M- group (RR 6.24, 95% CI 0.81 to 48.21). At the last follow-up, the bleeding index (BI) was marginally higher in the M+ group (14/9/2/0) compared to the M- group (24/2/0/0) (U = 205, Z = -2.97, p = .003, r = .42). The median change in marginal bone level was statistically lower in the M+ group (0.06 mm) than the M- group (0.60 mm) at last follow-up (U = 120, Z = -2.73 a p = .006 r = .42). Total pink esthetic index (PES) and white esthetic score (WES) and combined PES/WES were not significantly different between treatment groups at more than 12 months after loading. Only the subcategory root convexity/soft tissue color scored significantly lower in the M+ group (1.5) compared to the M- group (2.0) at the last follow-up (U = 172, Z = -2.34, p = .019 r = .34). No differences were found in patient satisfaction.

CONCLUSION
The use of a resorbable membrane in small buccal bony dehiscences in anterior maxillary single-tooth replacement resulted in less marginal bone loss, but showed more mucosal dehiscences, higher bleeding scores and lower scores on root convexity and soft tissue color after at least one year of loading. No effect was seen on implant survival and success, overall esthetic results, and patient satisfaction. The research protocol was registered at the Dutch Trial Register (NTR) with ID NTR6137.


We propose an algorithm to denoise speakers from a single microphone in the presence of non-stationary and dynamic noise. Our approach is inspired by the recent success of neural network models separating speakers from other speakers and singers from instrumental accompaniment. Unlike prior art, we leverage embedding spaces produced with source-contrastive estimation, a technique derived from negative sampling techniques in natural language processing, while simultaneously obtaining a continuous inference mask. Our embedding space directly optimizes for the discrimination of speaker and noise by jointly modeling their characteristics. This space is generalizable in that it is not speaker or noise specific and is capable of denoising speech even if the model has not seen the speaker in the training set. Parameters are trained with dual objectives: one that promotes a selective bandpass filter that eliminates noise at time-frequency positions that exceed signal power, and another that proportionally splits time-frequency content between signal and noise. We compare to state of the art algorithms as well as traditional sparse non-negative matrix factorization solutions. The resulting algorithm avoids severe computational burden by providing a more intuitive and easily optimized approach, while achieving competitive accuracy.


Moisture infiltration into earth slopes and structures constructed of high-plasticity clays will lead to a reduction in soil suction and strength that can ultimately result in stability failure. This research presents a rational analysis of this process that: establishes a relationship between soil suction and strength, and provides a framework for predicting the time rate of strength loss due to moisture infiltration into an earth mass. This research utilizes a generalized form of the Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion to characterize the effects of suction on soil strength. A diffusion equation governs changes in soil moisture and suction. This equation is in general non-linear for unsaturated soils; however, this research uses a linearized formulation through appropriate transformation of variables. This research also presents methods for estimating the necessary material parameters needed for input into the moisture diffusion model. The suction-strength relationships and moisture diffusion analyses are applied to back-analyzing a number of shallow slope failures in Texas high-PI (plasticity index) clays. The moisture diffusion analysis is also extended to typical Texas Department of Transportation earth-retaining structures to predict decreases in suction during the life of these structures. Based on these suction predictions, estimates of soil strength within an earth structure as a function of location and time are possible.


Polylactide (PLA) was toughened by a PLA-based thermoplastic elastomer (PLAE). PLAE was prepared by chain extension of PLA copolymer derived from polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(tetramethylene ether glycol) (PTMEG) via melt polycondensation. The tensile strength of the toughened-PLA (PLAE30) reached 70 MPa, while the elongation at break was found to be above 140% compared to its plain PLA counterpart. The relationship between the phase morphology of the blends and their mechanical behavior was investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM). It was found that the well-dispersed nanoscale structures in the matrix of PLA/PLAE blends are mainly responsible for the significantly enhanced mechanical properties. Also discussed are the detailed microstructural development in PLAE and the toughening mechanism.


Rice cultivation is hindered by biotic and abiotic stresses. Among the biotic stresses, weeds like barnyard grass can cause significant reduction of rice yield. The efficacious approach to control barnyard grass is by using allelopathic rice genotype integration management with minimum chemical control method. Zinc (Zn) deficiency is one of the critical problems of global malnutrition for humans. The problem affected approximately half of the world's population. The genetic biofortification together with agronomic biofortification of staple food crop is considered the most effective approach to prevent Zn deficiency. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) can potentially hasten breeding programs for varietal development. Marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) is one of the most-useful ways of transferring specific gene(s) or QTL(s) into a popular variety. In this study, high grain Zn QTLs were transferred from an indica rice donor BRRI dhan62, using MABC method, into an allelopathic elite indica rice variety, MR73 to develop one superior genotype which has both allelopathic trait along with high grain Zn. Twenty eight microsatellite markers linked to the Zn QTLs or grain Zn content were selected and used in this study to determine potential association with Zn QTLs. These polymorphic foreground markers were used for confirmation of Zn QTLs or presence of grain Zn content gene in the F1 population. Subsequently, only three microsatellite markers, RM152, RM3331 and RM3909 that indicated Zn QTLs located on chromosomes 8, 12 and 9 respectively, were used on BC1F1, BC2F1 and BC2F2 populations. Out of 405 microsatellite markers, 75 were found to have polymorphism between parental varieties and were used for recurrent parent genome recovery (RPG) analysis in each generation. Chi-square analyses of foreground markers showed an expected segregation ratio of 1:1 in BC1F1 and BC2F1 generations indicating inheritance in simple Mendelian fashion. This result confirmed that grain Zn content trait in BRRI dhan62 is governed by single dominant gene. The genotypic segregation of BC2F2 population applying RM152, RM3331 and RM3909 exhibited 1:2:1 ratio. Results confirmed that single dominant gene control high grain Zn in BRRI dhan62 located on chromosomes 8, 12 and 9 are linked to RM152, RM3331 and RM3909 markers respectively. The RPG analysis of the improved genotypes indicated recurrent parent genome recovery ranging from 70.20-91.40% in BC1F1 generation, 80.50-93.00% in BC2F1 and 93.10-95.40% in BC2F2. The average RPG in BC2F2 selected improved genotypes were 93.86%, explaining the very close similarity at phenotypic level with the recipient parental variety MR73. Ten homozygous dominant Zn QTLs plants which are phenotypically closely similar for agro-morphological traits to MR73 were selected as improved high grain Zn breeding genotypes. The agronomic traits showed no significant difference between MR73 parent and Zn QTLs containing MR73 improved genotypes except the trait days to 50% flowering. Moreover, average Zn content in brown rice of improved genotypes was 40 mg kg-1 which was higher than the recurrent parent MR73 (27.99 mg kg-1). Furthermore, the ability of newly improved rice genotypes to suppress the growth of barnyard grass which is expressed through average percent inhibition was 39.98%. The improved rice genotypes including these research findings could be used as valuable source for further high grain Zn rice breeding programmes in future.


Underfilling with capillary liquid encapsulants is a common process for the majority of flip-chip packages. A secondary process with plastic encapsulation using a molding compound may follow, serving to protect the die from mechanical damage. Due to the need to cost savings, recent developments of suitably engineered epoxy molding compounds have made a single step transfer underfilling/overmolding technically feasible. In this paper, solder joint fatigue, which perhaps represents a failure mode that receives the most attention in flip-chip devices, is studied for a flip-chip based molded package. The solder joint reliability for the transfer molded underfilled package as well as for a conventional underfilled design (molded and non-molded) was assessed and compared via a nonlinear viscoplastic finite element analysis (FEA) under accelerated temperature cycling conditions. The investigation found that the overall package reliability with the more rigid molding compound underfill was much improved over that with the conventional epoxy underfill.


Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome caused by breakdown of skeletal muscle with release of muscle cell contents into the bloodstream, may cause lactic acidosis, hyperphosphatemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, hyperkalemia, compartment syndrome, renal failure, and may even jeopardize the patient's life. The triad of symptoms including myalgia, weakness and urine - chocolate - red color as a cardinal manifestation, against which must be set before the differential diagnosis erythrocyturia apparent and question the use of drugs that turn red urine. Clinical ignorance and delay in diagnosis slow down specific treatment. The diagnosis can be confirmed swiftly demonstrating elevated levels of serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK), metabolic analysis, myoglobinuria, analysis of intracellular glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase/aspartate aminotransferase enzymes (ALT/AST), glutamic pyruvic transaminase/alanine aminotransferase (GPT/ALAT). Treatment is aimed at accelerating recovery, identifying any reversible cause of muscle injury, prevent and treat complications, timely and aggressive crystalloid infusion is the mainstay of treatment, the use of mannitol, bicarbonate and antioxidants even is controversial. This case report shows the typical clinical manifestations of rhabdomyolysis in two men in the first week of training, in whom this condition was precipitated by dehydration, intense physical activity, inadequate clothing and exposure to high ambient temperature (above 25°C). These patients were quickly diagnosed and received timely treatment so no present any complications, actually they are asymptomatic.


Blog post 'China's catching up on competition policy enforcement'China's Anti-Monopoly Law, adopted in 2007, is largely compatible with antitrust law in the European Union, the United States and other jurisdictions. Enforcement activity by the Chinese authorities is also approaching the level seen in the EU. The Chinese law, however, leaves significant room for the use of competition policy to further industrial policy objectives.The data presented in this Policy Contribution indicates that Chinese merger control might have asymmetrically targeted foreign companies, while favouring domestic companies. However, there are no indications that antitrust control has been used to favour domestic players. A strategy to achieve convergence in global antitrust enforcement should include support for Chinese competition authorities to develop the institutional tools they already have, and to improve merger control by promoting the adoption of a consumer-oriented test and enforcing M&A notification rules.


In this work, we address the problem of scheduling loops with dependences in the context of speculative parallelization. We show that the scheduling alternatives are highly influenced by the dependence violation pattern the code presents. We center our analysis in those algorithms where dependences are less likely to appear as the execution proceeds. Particularly, we focus on randomized incremental algorithms, widely used as a much more efficient solution to many problems than their deterministic counterparts. These important algorithms are, in general, hard to parallelize by hand and represent a challenge for any automatic parallelization scheme. Our analysis led us to the development of MESETA, a new scheduling strategy that takes into account the probability of a dependence violation to determine the number of iterations being scheduled. MESETA is compared with existing techniques, including fixed-size chunking (FSC), the only scheduling alternative used so far in the context of speculative parallelization. Our experimental results show a 5.5 percent to 36.25 percent speedup improvement over FSC, leading to a better extraction of the parallelism inherent to randomized incremental algorithms. Moreover, when the cost of dependence violations is too high to obtain speedups, MESETA curves the performance degradation


Emigrants arriving in New Zealand in the 1840s who had some architectural training were rarely able to find full‐time employment in that profession. Some sought to make a living in related fields where their drafting skills could be used (as artists or surveyors); others changed completely to become farmers or real estate agents. A few sought civil service positions or moved into politics. The most persistent bided their time in other employment but moved back to architecture when conditions became more favourable.
Here we describe a number of examples of these categories. Edward Ashworth arrived in Auckland in 1842. Unable to find architectural work, he taught drawing to the Governorʹs children and also produced several paintings of early Auckland. Henry St Hill arrived in Wellington as the New Zealand Companyʹs Architect ‐ but followed a career as magistrate and sheriff. W Robertson practised as an architect in Auckland from 1847 ‐ but also advertised as a real estate agent. S Kempthorne arrived in 1842 as a church architect but did not adapt well to New Zealand conditions and fell out of favour with Bishop Selwyn. By 1864 he was Secretary of a Public Buildings Commission. Reader Gillson Wood, famous or infamous for New Zealandʹs first parliament building, the "Shedifice" in Auckland, became a well‐known politician ‐ but returned to practising as an architect several times during a long career. William Mason thought he was coming to New Zealand as Colonial Architect in 1840. Downgraded to Superintendent of Public Works, he resigned after two years. Mason then moved into auctioneering and farming for the next ten years before returning to architecture and, later, a highly successful career in Dunedin. T O'Meara of Wellington claimed to be an architect but was probably a builder. Either way his drafting ability was found to be wanting when he forged a series of government debentures and tried to pass them for payment. (This resulted in a ten‐year jail sentence, with transportation to Tasmania).
We also explore some of the social reasons for the apparent lack of work for early skilled architects, including the slow‐growing economy, immediate needs for basic shelter/food production and major differences in building material resources compared with settlersʹ countries of origin.


Sarah Teichmann is Head of Cellular Genetics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and visiting research group leader at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL‐EBI). Sarah was appointed to the Sanger Institute and EMBL‐EBI in 2013; prior to this she was a research group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), where she first set up her group in 2001. The Teichmann lab is interested in global principles of protein interactions and gene expression, and in recent years has exploited cutting‐edge single‐cell genomics technologies to explore key questions relating to immune system function. In 2016, she co‐founded the Human Cell Atlas initiative to map every cell type in the human body using single‐cell transcriptomic technologies and spatial methods. Sarah has received many prestigious awards in recognition of her contributions to understanding protein complex assembly and gene regulatory networks. In this interview, she relays the story behind some of her research breakthroughs, discusses her career path and most influential mentors, and tells us why looking at biology at the level of a single cell can be so powerful and illuminating.


The objectives of this study were to assess the range of genotypic variation in the vulnerability of the shoot and root xylem of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings to water-stress-induced cavitation, and to assess the trade-off between vulnerability to cavitation and conductivity per unit of stem cross-sectional area (k(s)), both within a species and within an individual tree. Douglas-fir occupies a broad range of environments and exhibits considerable genetic variation for growth, morphology, and drought hardiness. We chose two populations from each of two varieties (the coastal var. menziesii and the interior var. glauca) to represent environmental extremes of the species. Vulnerability curves were constructed for shoots and roots by plotting the percentage loss in conductivity versus water potential. Vulnerability in shoot and root xylem varied genetically with source climate. Stem xylem differed in vulnerability to cavitation between populations; the most mesic population, coastal wet (CW), was the most susceptible of the four populations. In the roots, the most vulnerable population was again CW; the interior wet (IW) population was moderately susceptible compared with the two dry populations, coastal dry (CD) and interior dry (ID). Root xylem was more susceptible to cavitation than stem xylem and had significantly greater k(s). The trade-off between vulnerability to cavitation and k(s), however, was not evident across populations. The most vulnerable population (CW) had a shoot k(s) of 0.534 +/- 0.067 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1) MPa(-1), compared with 0.734 +/- 0.067 &mgr;mol m(-2) s(-1) MPa(-1) for the less vulnerable CD stems. In the roots, IW was more vulnerable than ID, but had the same k(s).


Members of hospital boards are fiduciaries with a legal responsibility to fulfilling the hospital's mission. Members represent a variety of community members and are responsible for ensuring patient safety and quality of care as well as evaluating the chief executive. Clinicians serve on the board but their numbers are limited and generally under 20%. We review the current state of hospital boards and suggest that physicians, nurses and other clinicians contribute considerably to expertise related to patient safety and more of them should be appointed to hospital boards


This article analyzes the Greek concept of truth. The truth is conceptualized as a phenomenon belonging to the sphere of hidden and secrecy. The essential relationship of the true and hidden (false) can be determined by analysis of four aspects of the value ?\ ?fή?c?`?d?\. On this basis, the interpretation of the sayings of Heraclitus «secret harmony better than explicit» is interpreted.


From Rio to Rio: A global carbon price signal to escape the great climate inconsistency Two decades after the 1992 Rio Conference,we must admit to collective failure in combating human induced climate change. We cannot escape serious climate disruption if we keep going down that road. We must change direction, and we must move quickly. To this end, we call in this paper for a fine tuning of the international negotiations on climate. We propose refocusing these international efforts on negotiating a global carbon price signal, harmonized in principle but flexible in practice, instead of doggedly spending the next few years attempting to convince countries to accept stricter national targets for quantitative reduction of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.


Most documentation systems allocate a variable number of descriptors to their documents. From a consideration of indexing as a stochastic process it is suggested that the distribution of indexing depth in such a system might represent samples of a (truncated) mixed Poisson process. Examination of five different systems showed that indexing depth does appear to be distributed in this manner, since a reasonable fit to negative binomial distributions can be made statistically. Factors in the art of indexing which influence the distribution are discussed. As a first approximation the distribution of indexing depth, i, of a system, or of any subset of descriptors in it, is simple Poisson, p(i) = e−m(mi/i!), where m is the average depth of indexing. The results contradict previous reports that a log‐normal distribution of indexing depth is to be expected.


This research examines the impact of two organisational factors on the innovative behaviour of nurses. More specifically, this research applies the dimensions of social exchange theory as a lens to develop an understanding into the mediating effect of perceived organisational support on the relationship between leader-member exchange and the innovative behaviour of nursing employees. This study uses a mixed-methods approach, including a survey in which 104 nurses responded with useable results and semi-structured interviews with 12 nursing unit managers (nursing supervisors). The findings confirm that perceived organisational support mediates the relationship between leader-member exchange and the innovative behaviour of nursing employees. This research adds to the current body of literature by providing insight into the impact of workplace relationships upon the individual innovativeness of nurses. In summary, this research provides new information for management seeking to develop an environment that fosters the innovative behaviour of employees.