This paper describes the setting up and first call results of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) established by the European Union (Council regulation No 521/2008 of 30 May 2008 setting up the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, Official Journal of the European Union, 2008;L153:1–20). Funding for low carbon energy research on hydrogen and fuel cells in Europe has been gradually increasing since 1990 but has gained significant visibility with the establishment of the Joint Undertaking which is an innovative industry-led scheme, covering the full innovation cycle, from research to market entry. Significant projects led by industry are now running and hydrogen energy has great practical potential in five application areas; transport and refuelling infrastructure; hydrogen production and storage; stationary power production and combined heat and power; early markets; and cross-cutting areas such as codes and standards, regulation, life-cycle assessment, training. Copyright , Oxford University Press.


The basic surgical paradigm for mitral annuloplasty involves placing an undersized ring that encircles the entire mitral valve and uses the force of ring to compress the mitral annulus and leaflets along the septal to lateral axis (Fig. 1B). This septal-lateral compression is sometimes called septal lateral annular cinching (SLAC) [1,2]. Percutaneous adaptations of this procedure have used the coronary sinus as a route to encircle at least part of the mitral annulus to achieve SLAC. This report describes a novel approach in which cinching of the mitral annulus is not the mechanism. Rather, a rigid rod is placed in the coronary sinus behind the posterior leaflet, exerting direct pressure on the middle scallop of the posterior leaflet and compressing the septal to lateral dimension directly, compressing the regurgitant mitral orifice (Fig. 1C). Olivier and coworkers report the results of temporary implantation of a percutaneous mitral annuloplasty (PTMA) device in humans [3]. Four implant attempts were made, and some reduction in mitral regurgitation (MR) was achieved in three of the four. Angulation of the coronary sinus precluded implant in one patient and in one delivery system was displaced in part when the device was manipulated and advanced. The mechanism of this coronary sinus annuloplasty device differs fundamentally from others in the field. While coronary sinus annuloplasty is analogous to surgical annuloplasty and most easy to conceive of as a cinching transmitted through the coronary sinus to the mitral annulus, this PTMA device places a delivery catheter in the coronary sinus and then uses stiffening rods to apply pressure over the mid-segment of the posterior leaflet (Fig. 1C), with resultant compression of the regurgitant orifice in the septal to lateral dimension. This approach has some interesting consequences. Because pressure is being placed in the midportion of the posterior leaflet by stiff rods, just proximal and distal to the point of pressure the rods exert an outward tension away from the mitral annulus. This is in contrast to direct annuloplasty or other coronary sinus annuloplasty approaches where circumferential cinching of the entire annulus is the goal. Because the pressure is placed locally at the mid posterior leaflet area, compression of a circumflex trunk or branch vessel adjacent to the coronary sinus is likely less. The forces of mitral orifice compression are focal, and in the event that some of the regurgitant orifice is eccentric, this might be a potential limitation of this approach. The population of patients in this report had ischemic MR. A large portion of the functional MR population has heart failure without ischemia as the etiology. It is unclear whether the differing mechanical approaches to these different patient populations will have different clinical results. Patients with ischemia and consequent MR have a poor prognosis and relatively poor 1 year results from mitral repair using annuloplasty, and treating the MR alone may not be an adequate therapy. This appears not to be a consequence of the annuloplasty procedure, but of the underlying disease. The potential benefit of reduced MR remains to be seen in ischemic MR and the whole spectrum of new percutaneous devices will help elucidate the utility of reduction of MR in this setting. The American Society of Echocardiography criteria for MR grading were used in this study [4]. In the past, reports of surgical therapy for MR have relied on estimation of MR primarily from color Doppler evaluations. It is clear the rigorous methods employed by these authors are necessary to adequately evaluate the results of both surgical mitral repair approaches and certainly of these new percutaneous technologies. For the color Doppler exam to be estimated as moderate to severe or severe, and then find a semi-quantitative estimation using the ASE criteria to yield a grade of moderate is not uncommon. These authors do not specify whether they used an independent core laboratory for echo analysis, but such core lab evaluations are critical


Abstract: The main purposes of this paper are: (i) to delimitate the importance of the university in the progressive social and political construction of Physical Education as a profession; (ii) to present the sectors of economic activity where are concentrated the opportunities of employment and to show the regional differences about the average wages of the Physical Education workers; and (iii) to discuss the tension relationship between the professional education from the Brazilian universities and the major demands in labor marketing. I intent to suggest that the professional regulation produced a division between two "professional identities" inside Physical Education, and it reinforced the segmentation in this competitive labor marketing, where are much different occupational situations. Beside, I intent to show that the Physical Education labor marketing isn't organized like the Education labor marketing. The professional regulation tries to create exclusive labor marketing, but it isn't able to organize this wide and unequal labor marketing, to diffuse an appropriate employment standard and to increase the wages level.


To successfully infect plants, pathogens secrete effector proteins to the plant apoplast or inside plant cells, where they suppress plant immunity or interfere with other cellular processes to facilitate infection. Plant metabolism is crucial for most cellular processes and plays a key role in defense against pathogens, making it a major target for pathogen effectors. Effector proteins manipulate host metabolism to provide the pathogen with nutrients or to indirectly suppress plant chemical defense responses. Recent studies have shown that pathogens also utilize effectors to shape the microbiota composition by altering the concentration of certain plant metabolites. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the manipulation of plant metabolism by pathogen effectors. We also discuss what remains unknown regarding the manipulation of host metabolism by pathogen effectors.


Houshang Golshiri is among the Iranian leading creative and imaginative fiction writers who managed to open up new horizons in Iranian fiction. Hence he could be claimed to be an innovative avant-garde short story writer with unique stylistic characteristics. Although inspired by fiction writers such as Alavi, Sadeqi, Golestan and Sa'edi in the techniques of narration, Golshiri nonetheless stands out among his Iranian peers in creating the sense of indeterminacy, discovery, and the adequate use of polyphonic narration. Thus, he may justifiably be called a well-established paragon of the relevant views and techniques employed by the preceding generations. On the other hand, Golshiri's style in writing short stories (in terms of polyphony), itself based on Bakhtin's dialogical heteroglossia and uncertainty, seems to be worthy of investigating from post-modernist and phenomenological points of view. The present paper uses such a framework to analyze a corpus of eleven short stories written by Golshiri. It is an attempt to show a postmodernist tinge through the presence of narrative indeterminacy and contextual polyphony based on Bakhtin's ideas. Then through indeterminacy and polyphony Golshiri's narratives are shown to reach discovery. This will lead the author and the reader to realize discovery and anagnorisis about the main theme throughout the story.


Abstract. Levee breach-induced flooding occurs occasionally but always causes considerable losses. A serious flood event occurred due to the collapse of a 15-m-long levee section in Qianbujing Creek, Shanghai, China, during typhoon "Fitow" in Oct, 2013. Heavy rainfall associated with the typhoon intensified the flood severity (extent and depth). This study investigates the flood evolution to understand the dynamic nature of flooding and the compound effect using a well-established 2D hydro-inundation model (Floodmap) to reconstruct this typical event. Our simulation results provide a comprehensive view of the spatial patterns of the flood evolution. The worst-hit areas are predicted to be low-lying settlement and farmland. Temporal evaluations suggest that the most critical time for flooding prevention is in the early hours after dike failure. In low-elevation areas, temporary drainage measures and flood defenses are equally important. The validation of the model demonstrates the reliability of the approach.


Unidirectional wave propagation in nonreciprocal structures enables exciting opportunities to control and enhance wave-matter interactions in extreme ways. Within this context, here we investigate the possibility of using terminated unidirectional plasmonic waveguides to enhance typically weak nonlinear effects by orders of magnitude. We theoretically demonstrate remarkable levels of electric field enhancement and confinement (field hot-spots) when the unidirectional waveguiding structure is terminated with a suitable boundary that fully stops the one-way mode. Such a large field enhancement, originating from a nonresonant effect, is fundamentally different from the narrow-band field concentration effects in resonant plasmonic structures. Instead, it is analogous to the broadband response of plasmonic tapers, but without the need for any adiabatic impedance matching. We show that this effect can indeed lead to a substantial boosting of nonlinear light-matter interactions, exemplified by an improvement of several orders of magnitude in the third-harmonic-generation efficiency, which is of large significance for several applications. More broadly, our findings show the potential of extreme nonreciprocal configurations for enhanced wave-matter interactions.


This work examines the characteristics of polyoxides thermally grown and deposited on polished polysilicon films. A well-controlled chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is also presented to achieve a planar surface morphology for polysilicon films. The thermally-grown and deposited polyoxides on the polished polysilicon films exhibit a lower leakage current, higher dielectric breakdown field, higher electron barrier height, lower electron trapping rate, lower density of trapped charges, and markedly higher charge to breakdown (Q/sub bd/) than the conventional polyoxide. In particular, the deposited polyoxide on the polished polysilicon film has the highest dielectric breakdown field, lowest electron trapping rate, and highest charge to breakdown due to the planar polyoxide/polysilicon interface. In addition, experimental results indicate that the trapped charges of the polished samples are located in the polyoxides' upper portion, which differs from conventional polyoxides. Undoubtedly, the deposited polyoxide on the polished polysilicon film considered herein is the most promising candidate to yield optimum characteristics of polyoxide.


Context: Scientific and therapeutic advances Remarkable biomedical research advances have led to innovative and increasingly effective therapies. We highlight several scientific milestones in elucidating the pathophysiology of cystic fibrosis (CF) and review the therapies that have become available over the past 20 years. Impact of the quality improvement initiative In 2002, the CF Foundation launched a multifaceted quality improvement initiative to accelerate improvement in CF care. We present evidence of substantial improvement in process measures, such as more consistent outpatient follow-up, and key medical outcomes, including survival, pulmonary function and nutritional status. Critical success factors We offer our perspective on factors critical to the success of the quality improvement initiative, including a compelling strategic plan and the commitment of the CF Foundation to its implementation; the investment in building improvement capacity at CF care centres; the engagement of people with CF and their families as partners; and the integration of quality improvement into the existing CF care framework. Directions for the next decade In addition to a continued investment in building and sustaining improvement capacity at CF care centres, and deeper patient engagement, we will address the oppressive treatment burden. We will also complement the measurement of clinical outcomes with patient reported outcomes and healthcare costs for a balanced assessment of the quality and value of care. Conclusions Major advances in basic science and therapeutic development coupled with improvements in healthcare delivery have resulted in striking gains in medical outcomes for people with CF.


The extraction of energy from the biomass wastes by its anaerobic degradation with the help of various technologies adopted and will be leading to the use of renewable energy systems effectively and efficiently. In this contest one of the best methods to extract the energy from the biological wastes which includes, Kitchen wastes, Agricultural wastes; Animal wastes etc…are the installation and generation of biogas plant. The biogas released acts as an environmentally sustainable energy source. In our Institute we have two hostels and all are having their own individual mess. The each hostel having about 350 students where daily about 30 kg of kitchen waste is obtained which can be utilized for better purposes. This work is to create an organic processing facility to generate biogas which will be more cost effective, eco-friendly, reduce landfill waste, generate a quality renewable fuel and reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions. Overall by constructing the biogas reactors in campus at the backyard of our hostels will be beneficial. Kitchen (food waste) was collected from boys hostel mess as feedstock for reactor which works as anaerobic digester system to produce biogas energy. Biogas can be used as energy source for cooking and also for numerous purposes. But any possible application requires knowledge and information about design and construction of digester to generate biogas. This work also deals with the pilot study of kitchen waste generation and fuel saving by using biogas plant in engineering college hostels of Karnataka state.


— The continuous technology development has been forcing the world to share information or access to some specific shared data. "Being isolated" is no longer a solution "to protect oneself" against any threats. This project aims to define a new design of a network architecture based on the graph theory. The article shows the method used to design a network component.


Fabrication of nanostructures has become a major concern as the scaling of device dimensions continues. In this paper, a friction-induced nanofabrication method is proposed to fabricate protrusive nanostructures on silicon. Without applying any voltage, the nanofabrication is completed by sliding an AFM diamond tip on a sample surface under a given normal load. Nanostructured patterns, such as linear nanostructures, nanodots or nanowords, can be fabricated on the target surface. The height of these nanostructures increases rapidly at first and then levels off with the increasing normal load or number of scratching cycles. TEM analyses suggest that the friction-induced hillock is composed of silicon oxide, amorphous silicon and deformed silicon structures. Compared to the tribochemical reaction, the amorphization and crystal defects induced by the mechanical interaction may have played a dominating role in the formation of the hillocks. Similar to other proximal probe methods, the proposed method enables fabrication at specified locations and facilitates measuring the dimensions of nanostructures with high precision. It is highlighted that the fabrication can also be realized on electrical insulators or oxide surfaces, such as quartz and glass. Therefore, the friction-induced method points out a new route in fabricating nanostructures on demand.


Spatial relationships between regions containing signatures of electron physics in asymmetric reconnection with a guide field are examined using simulations and space observations that are in excellent agreement. These electron physics regions do not completely overlap, are not confined to sizes ∼electron skin depth, and do not surround the X‐line. The electron ideal Ohm's law, E + Ue × B = 0, is violated over many ion inertia lengths in the outflow direction. Thus, pressure terms and, to a lesser extent, inertia terms in the Generalized Ohm's Law are important in producing electron physics on ion scales. Parallel electric fields that are necessary but not sufficient for reconnection are found in the simulation and in space on ion scales in the outflow direction. They account for ∼10% of j · E, averaged over the current sheet. The electron exhaust jet exists over a shorter length for asymmetric reconnection than it does for symmetric reconnection.


A substitute for plasma in the treatment of shock ideally should increase the reduced blood volume without producing significant untoward effects. Only the presence of large molecules which retain the injected fluid within the circulation produces a sustained rise of the blood volume. Such hydrophilic colloidal solutions have been observed to produce undesirable side effects; therefore, these side effects should be evaluated before the solutions are used as plasma substitutes. Increase of the blood volume with solutions devoid of red cells reduces the red cell concentration, as measured by the hemoglobin concentration or the hematocrit value. Hemodilution is easily recognized by simple laboratory methods, which are sufficiently accurate for clinical evaluation to substitute for the elaborate methods for determination of the blood volume. The production of hemodilution then can be used as a criterion for the efficiency of a plasma substitute in the treatment of shock. Among the undesirable effects


In this paper, we consider the transient queueing response of IEEE802.16 random access protocol with piggyback and automatic repeat request. The random access protocol of IEEE 802.16 is physically based on orthogonal frequency- division-multiple-access (OFDMA)-code-division-multiple-access (CDMA) with time division duplexing (TDD) mode. In medium access control (MAC) layer, the protocol is a type of demand- assigned multiple access (DAMA) with piggyback, in which a bandwidth request can be allowed either before transmitting data or at the end of data transmission. The model of our interest is an M/G/l type queue with set-up times and exhaustive service, which is solved by a generating function approach. In the analysis, we obtain the time dependent mean queue length, the time dependent empty probability of the queue and the time dependent busy period. The random access success probability is derived from the system equilibrium. Retransmission probability is also derived by including a binary exponential backoff algorithm.


Distributed computer control system based on the fieldbus was designed according to the current production process and technology of asphalt concrete mixer. The design of overall structure and software structure of the control system was also made. The program flows of the main program of batch control and the batch submodule were analyzed and designed. The compensation rate learning algorithm of system was developed based on the iterative self-learning control method, and the control process of algorithm routine was provided. By using the field bus structure, the operational reliability and anti-jamming capability of system were improved. With the compensation iterative self-learning algorithm, the precision of measurement and control was raised and the transmission error was reduced. The key problem of computer control technology and the field bus technology used in asphalt concrete mixer control system to realize the field control and the remote communication was solved by the design. It reduces the cost of production, increases the batch precision of production and reduces the waste material rate, which plays an important role in the development of the home-made intelligent control system of road machinery.


As the baby boom generation is aging, more and more people are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, early detection of which is shown to be vital and necessary for better medical treatments and prolonging life expectancies. In this article we propose a Bluetooth-enabled in-home patient monitoring system, facilitating early detection of Alzheimer's disease. We take advantage of shortrange Bluetooth communications for in-home patient location tracking, and the location information can then be recorded in a local database. With knowledge of the movement pattern of a patient, a medical practitioner is more likely to be able to determine whether a target patient is developing Alzheimer's disease. We also conduct a feasibility study, and our study shows that the proposed in-home patient monitoring system is feasible and can be applied in practice. Our proposed e-healthcare solution is expected to facilitate medical treatments, improve the quality of life of senior people, and reduce healthcare costs.


In contrast to chronic lymphocytic lymphoma and low-grade follicular lymphomas, mantle cell lymphoma, formerly known as intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma, rarely transforms histologically into large cell lymphoma. Because of its rarity, little information is available on the prognostic or therapeutic implications of histologic transformation of mantle cell lymphoma to a "blastic" form. Here we report a case of a 68-year-old man whose mantle cell lymphoma transformed into a high-grade lymphoma with blastic cytology, which was associated with an extremely rapid clinical course. Flow cytometric analysis revealed the immunophenotype of the original lymphoma, which had typical mantle cell morphology, and the subsequent bone marrow aspirate was virtually identical, as was the immunophenotype of the small cells versus the blastic cells in the subsequent specimen. The rapid clinical course in the patient reported here is similar to that of other rare cases reported and suggests that mantle cell lymphoma in blastic transformation appears to be a very aggressive lymphoma with a clinical course similar to that of other low-grade lymphomas in histologic transformation.


This authoritative resource for anybody with financial exposure to a company teetering on the edge of, or already in, bankruptcy—either by the investor's design or through an investment gone bad—shows how in this fascinating sector of the market, players follow moves akin to chess moves.


ABSTRACT. Costa K.O., Alzamora Filho F., Costa J.N., Amorim C.R.N.,Yano T. & Conceicao R.A. [Virulence factors of Escherichia coli isolated from calves with diarrhea in the region of Feira de Santana, Bahia.] Fatores de virulencia das amostras de Escherichia coli isoladas de bezerros com diarreia na regiao de Feira de Santana, Bahia. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinaria, 36(4):430-436, 2014. Departamento de Ciencias Biologicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, BR 116 norte, Km 3, Feira de Santana, BA 44032-560, Brasil. E-mail: email@example.com Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium most commonly isolated from intra and extraintestinal infections in both man and in other animals such as pigs and calves. Six distinct groups of E. coli can be identified by the type of toxin and the clinical signals they produce. Among these, E. coli enterotoxigenic (ETEC) is the most commonly found and produces two types of toxin: heat-labile (LT-I and LT-II) and heat-stable (STa and STb). Another virulence factor of E. coli is the presence of adhesive antigens that enable the bacterium linking to host cells. Adhesins more frequently found in bacteria that produces diarrhea in cattle are F5 (K99), F17 and F41. The objective of this study was to identify by PCR virulence factors present in Escherichia coli strains isolated from diarrhoeagenic stool of calves from the region of Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. Of the thirty isolated strains, twenty-eight (93.3%) were positive for at least one of the virulence factors studied in this work. Entorotoxin genes Stx-1 and LT-2 were present in 40% and 46.6% of the strains, while fimbrial adhesins genes F5 and F17, were present in 63% and 30% of the strains, respectively. Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factors (CNF1 and CNF2), STa and F41 genes were not found in any of the strains. Biological phenotypic characterization using in vitro cultivated Vero cells which indicates either the presence of Stx and LT genes were positive in 40% and 46.6% of the strains, respectively.


Results of optomotor experiments on Musca and Drosophila led to the formulation of a conceptual model which allows the prediction of the insect's response to defined moving stimuli. A basic requirement of the model is that there should exist in the ganglion chain, between the compound eye and the motor output, cross-connections between the channels of information flow in the ganglia. Further optomotor experiments provided evidence about the directions within the ganglion of the cross-connections. The first visual ganglion of Musca is built of sub-units called cartridges, each of which is composed of six retinular cell axons synapsing onto five different neurons; some of which are second order neurons, some of higher order. One of these five neurons, "L4" has two long collaterals at the base of the lamina, which run from the cartridge to the two neighbouring cartridges in the hexagonal array. This configuration is compatible with that suggested by the optomotor experiments for the cross-connections postulated by the conceptual model. Thus it was of interest to examine the synaptic connections made by the terminations or "endfeet" of these collaterals. This study reports the results of examination, by electron microscopy, of serial ultra-thin sections of the first visual ganglion containing L4 collaterals. The results show that the three collaterals which terminate in each cartridge (two long collaterals from neighbouring cartridges plus one short one from the L4 within the cartridge) do so in intimate contact with each other and with the two second-order neurons LI and L2. The three collaterals are presynaptic to each other, each to the other two. Each of them is also presynaptic to the L2 neuron in that cartridge, and it seems that each synaptic contact between two members of the three collaterals is also simultaneously a contact with L2. No contacts are made to the LI fibre, in contrast to the systematic pattern of contacts to the L2 fibre. In addition to this basic scheme of connections the collaterals are also presynaptic to some of the retinular cell axons, usually R3 and R5, apparently in cartridges from the more central parts of the ganglion, or there may be a gradient of connectivity across the ganglion. Since no studies, apart from the anatomical ones, exist on this network, the conclusions drawn about the significance of these results must be tentative. The results are not incompatible with the idea that these collaterals could be the cross-connections postulated in the conceptual model. One function possibly mediated by the network could be lateral inhibition, which has been shown to occur in Musca.


ABSTRACT This result aimed at developing a learning media design in the form of Science Technology Society (STS) based Chemistry Weblog learning media in supporting student scientific literacy on Crude Oil lesson. It was Research and Development (R&D) with Borg and Gall model that was limited to the fifth stage. The stages were collecting preliminary data, planning, developing the product, testing the product, and revising. The product of this research was validated by the experts of learning media and material, its practicality was tested Chemistry subject teachers, and student response was also tested at State Senior High School 1 Kampar. STS based Chemistry Weblog learning media in supporting student scientific literacy on Crude Oil lesson was stated proper based on the research findings. It was obtained that the assessment percentages of validation were 92.5% by the experts of material and 93.33% by the experts of media, and the assessment criteria were very valid. The assessment percentage on teacher practicality test was 93.33% with very practical assessment criterion, student response test was 80% and students supposed that the weblog was interesting. It was needed a further research to test the effectiveness of the product.


ABSTRACT This article frames the problematic explored in the Special Issue, namely, the Maghreb and North Africa's 'crisis of democratization.' Across cases, the crisis is multi-layered, involving first, counter-revolution since the 2011 (and 2019) uprisings and revolutions; second, the breakup of states, particularly those mired in violence (e.g. Libya); and third, setbacks even among states that have to an extent transcended the democratic threshold (e.g. Tunisia). We lay the groundwork for localized and contextualized exploration of 'degenerations of democratizations' playing out in the region. This involves rethinking the teleological ambit of transitology studies as well as the 'reverse transitology' scholarship on democratic backsliding. We propose an alternative 'critical democratization' frame that emphasizes emancipation and attends to the demos. This people-centered approach is fitting for exploring democratization and its setbacks in the context of popular uprisings and revolution. It allows for investigations of local democratic learning and un-learning; local-global and local-regional interactions; entrenched socioeconomic and military structures and disparities; and popular forces of resistance (al-hirak) challenging democratic setbacks. Critical study of democratization necessitates case-by-case explorations probing regional commonalities as well as country-level specificities to investigate how 'degeneration' manifests in the Maghreb, North Africa, and the wider Arab region.


Abstract Comparative assessment of land degradation potential of commodity crops grown in Jaba Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, Nigeria was investigated to provide evidence for crop-specific land management practices in the area. Soil samples collected from plots of four (maize, ginger, mango, and oil palm) main crops grown within three (Ungwan Rana; Kurmin Kwara, and Kyari) communities were analysed for relevant physico-chemical variables using standard laboratory procedures. The preliminary results of laboratory analyses showed that soils, where annual crops were grown had a higher content of sand particles, higher bulk density, pH(water), mineralization (lower carbon content), and gravimetric water content when compared to soils where permanent crops were found growing. Soils, where tree crops were growing, had a higher silt, clay, and organic matter content. Results from the erodibility factor (k) estimation indicated that ginger production in Kurmin Kwara had the greatest impact of all three sites and crops investigated with an annual soil loss of 12 kg/ha/annum. Mango production in Ugwan Rana resulted in the least impact with an estimated loss of 9 kg/ha/annum of soil to erosion. Evidence of two-way analysis of variance of land degradation (erodibility) data at a 95% confidence level in SPSS version 21 indicated that the impacts resulting from the cultivation of different crops in various communities are not significantly different from one another. Therefore, soil conservation measures such as mulching, composting, land fallowing, and cover cropping would be helpful in eliminating the emerging land degradation owing to the cultivation of commodity crops in the study area.


Combining the best features of traditional and modern methods, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, 2/e provides a unique course of instruction that allows students to read connected Greek narrative right from the beginning and guides them to the point where they can begin reading complete classical texts. New to this second edition, Student Workbooks for Books I and II include self-correcting exercises, cumulative vocabulary lists, periodic grammatical reviews, and additional readings.


Images are important material accessed through the internet by a huge number of applications such as medical, social, mining applications. The biggest challenge facing the usage of those billion of images is the retrieving challenge. Two approaches are available to retrieve images over the internet: first one is by using textual matching between user query and image annotation, and second one is by using image contents. This paper introduces a novel approach to remove redundant words used to annotate images; this is done by using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) to build the semantic space that combines queries and annotations, and then use Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to determine variance produced by annotation words. As a last step, words with less variance are omitted.


Abstract Background: One of the authors (PM) did a study of parasuicide patients at Voortrekker Hospital in the Waterberg District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The aim of the study was to develop a deeper understanding of the parasuicide patients' perceptions regarding their reasons for attempting suicide. Method: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted using free attitude interviews in English with eight purposefully selected participants. Participants were recruited from patients admitted to Voortrekker Hospital during the study period after attempting suicide. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Themes were identified through the McMillan method. A combined list of themes was compiled. The results were interpreted, conclusions were drawn and recommendations were made. Results: Reasons identified were multi-factorial and can effectively be summarised by the term bio-psychosocial, which gives an indication of the range of problems. Included were predisposing economic and health-related factors, substance abuse and disturbed interpersonal relationships. Other contributory factors were emotional reactions, unpleasant feelings and thoughts of self-killing with the expectation to die and rest in peace. These factors were interrelated and connected to each other in various ways. The process of parasuicide consisted of a combination of these factors, but was different for each participant. Conclusions and recommendations: A range of psychosocial risk factors contributes to parasuicide. Patients said that they had attempted suicide predominantly because there were faced by too many overwhelming physical or social problems, they felt isolated and that their lives were meaningless and purposeless. In addition to the findings obtained from the research, the process of qualitative free attitude interviewing were helpful in that the process of learning the interview techniques improved the researcher's skills and therefore the quality of care given to patients (participants in the study and others). The participants also felt that ventilating and sharing their problems were beneficial to them.


Percutaneous renal artery angioplasty is an accepted treatment for renal artery stenosis. A variety of complications have been reported related to this procedure. The authors report a case of Type B aortic dissection occurring immediately following renal artery angioplasty, a previously unreported complication of renal artery angioplasty. A mechanism for this complication in this patient is postulated.


Abstract Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has become a powerful technique for trace analysis of biomolecules. The use of SERS-tags has evolved into clinical diagnostics; the enhancement of the intrinsic signal of biomolecules on SERS active materials shows tremendous promise for the analysis of biomolecules and potential biomedical assays. The detection of the de novo signal from a wide range of biomolecules has been reported to date. In this review, we examine different classes of biomolecules for the signals observed and experimental details that enable their detection. In particular, we survey nucleic acids, amino acids, peptides, proteins, metabolites, and pathogens. The signals observed show that the interaction of the biomolecule with the enhancing nanostructure has a significant influence on the observed spectrum. Additional experiments demonstrate that internal standards can correct for intensity fluctuations and provide quantitative analysis. Experimental methods that control the interaction at the surface are providing for reproducible SERS signals. Results suggest that combining advances in methodology with the development of libraries for SERS spectra may enable the characterization of biomolecules complementary to other existing methods.


Shock‐induced melting textures and high‐pressure polymorphs in 178 ordinary chondrites of all chemical groups and petrologic types were investigated. The shock‐induced melting modes were classified into three types, namely pocket, line, and network. The type of shock‐induced melting depends on the petrologic type. The width of the shock‐induced melt increased with increasing the petrologic type number. The approximate estimated shock‐pressure ranges recorded in and around the shock‐induced melts of the H‐group ordinary chondrites based on the identified high‐pressure polymorphs were as follows: H3, less than 2 GPa; H4–H6, 2–6 GPa. For ordinary chondrites of the L/LL group, the values were as follows: L/LL3, 2–6 GPa; L/LL4, 2–14 GPa; L5: 14–20 GPa; LL5, 2–14 GPa; L6, 17–23 GPa; and LL6, 14–18 GPa. After adopting the estimated shock pressures into the onion shell‐structured parent body model, the shock pressure on the surface was much lower than in the interior. One possibility is that the apparent lower shock pressure on the surface is due to spallation during the impact. Considering the features of the high‐pressure polymorphs, the major disruption history of the parent bodies is different in each chemical group, although the L/LL chondrite parent bodies may have a similar major disruption history.


The present study was designed to investigate the effects of diazepam, a benzodiazepine (BZ) with high affinity to central BZ receptors and moderate affinity to mitochondrial BZ receptors, and of Ro 5-4864 and PK 11195, ligands specific for mitochondrial BZ receptors, on cardiac function in the isolated working rat heart model. Five concentrations of these drugs (10(-9)-10(-5) mol/l) were used, and the chronotropic (heart rate) and inotropic [maximum elastance of the left ventricle at end systole (Emax), maximal first derivative of left ventricular (LV) pressure (dP/dtmax), LV pressure at dP/dtmax (pressure at dP/dtmax), aortic flow, stroke work, and total pressure-volume area] cardiac parameters were measured. Diazepam, Ro 5-4864, and PK 11195 showed no significant chronotropic activity up to 10(-5) mol/l. Diazepam did not alter the inotropic properties of the heart. Ro 5-4864 at 10(-5) mol/l significantly decreased the indices of contractility, namely, Emax, dP/dtmax, and pressure at dP/dtmax. Aortic flow, stroke work, and total pressure-volume area were significantly depressed at the same concentration. The negative inotropism of PK 11195 appeared to be identical, by most indices, to that of Ro 5-4864, both qualitatively (same pattern) and quantitatively (similar maximal variations); however, for some indices a depressant effect was also found at 10(-7) mol/l. These results show that at high concentrations Ro 5-4864 and PK 11195, but not diazepam, have a depressant effect on mechanical function.


Over the last two decades privatization programmes in a variety of different countries have radically reduced the role of the state as a major owner of productive assets. While there is empirical evidence to show that the switch in ownership generally improves productive efficiency and profitability at company level, its effects on research and development (R&D) activities, which can impact strongly on long-term performance, have been largely ignored in the literature. In this paper we address this issue by analyzing seven cases of privatization that have recently occurred in Italy and France in order to gauge how R&D activities may be affected by privatization in terms of objectives and organization. The organizations studied show that R&D units within privatized companies are subject to profound restructuring actions, generally designed to boost efficiency and to strengthen integration with the goals of the business units and of the final customers. A new role for R&D thus emerges: the aim is no longer to generate new knowledge in the broad national interest, but rather more directly to create value for the company and its clients, by emphasizing the assessment and integration of external knowledge.


OBJECTIVE
Pain is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and disability worldwide. The efficacy of several nonpharmacological approaches for pain management has been established, but significant gaps exist between this evidence and their limited availability and use in routine clinical practice. Questions remain about their effectiveness and how best to integrate them in usual care to optimize patient-centered outcomes. Pragmatic clinical trials (PCTs) may help address this gap. Informed by the Pragmatic Explanatory Continuum Indicator Summary (PRECIS-2), we sought to describe the key features of optimized PCTs of nonpharmacological approaches for the management of pain and common co-occurring conditions.

METHODS
To accomplish this objective, we searched the published literature on PCTs of nonpharmacological pain management approaches from 2010-2019 and applied the PRECIS-2 criteria. We discuss key PRECIS-2 domains of interest for designing and performing PCTs and cite specific examples from the published literature as potential models for future PCTs.

RESULTS
We found 13 nonpharmacological PCTs. They were heterogeneous in size, recruitment, follow-up time, and location. The lessons learned from these studies led us to explicate key features of trials on the explanatory-pragmatic continuum across the PRECIS-2 domains that can be used by future investigators when designing their clinical trials of nonpharmacological approaches to pain management.

CONCLUSIONS
We encourage the increased application of PCTs to produce timely and valuable results and products that will inform the development of safe and effective integrated pain care plans that optimize important patient-centered outcomes.


How should we read Daphnaïda—as Spenser's worst poem or as covert advocacy on Spenser's part for Arthur Gorges? In the light of such divergent recent approaches, this essay considers the poem through its formal choices and the ways in which such framing devices ironize and complicate its protagonist. It begins by rereading the monotonous quality of Alycon's long lament, suggesting that Spenser uses devices that critically align Alcyon with poets of the previous age in the choice of a particular line shape. It then explores the ways in which this characterization draws on aspects of contemporary drama in the presentation of him as an affectively problematic figure—in this reading, metrical allusion to the drama contributes to the ironic characterization of the poem's protagonist. The connection between Daphnaïda and contemporary poetry is enhanced by a detailed account of the way Alcyon's complaint rewrites and "denatures" the famous contemporary sonnet "Like to a Hermite poore in place obscure" before turning to the poem's complex bibliographical relationship with the Complaints volume. Finally, analysis of the stanza reveals it as denatured rhyme royal, designed to frustrate the eloquent tonalities of the original form.


This study analyzes quantitative data, acquired by mail-out questionnaire survey to evaluate the professional architects' perception regarding architectural knowledge in need within the context of professional practice. One hundred questionnaires were distributed to architects/architectural designers in ten large architectural design firms. The return rate was 83 percent. The architectural subjects, provided by architectural schools, were categorized by history/environment/behavior, technology, professional practice, and architectural design. The survey data were sorted by utilizing three categories, including intern group(1-4 years work experiences), experienced group(5-10 years), and managing group(over 11 years). The findings are that: (1) economic motives, under the political-economic production system of capitalism, force architectural profession to be combination between an independent profession and a managing/entrepreneur group; (2) continuous education for professional architects is urgent due mainly to knowledge obsolescence and knowledge gap between educated subjects and subjects in need within professional practice; and (3) criteria judging fitness of architectural subjects need to be revised with practical perspectives responding to the change of business environments. This study was conducted by focusing on the large architectural design firms. With this reason, the research findings may not be applicable to small or medium-sized architectural design firms. Thus, further research is needed to get complete understandings regarding suitable subjects in the professional practice.


Abstract Standard conditionals $\varphi > \psi$, by which I roughly mean variably strict conditionals à la Stalnaker and Lewis, are trivially true for impossible antecedents. This article investigates three modifications in a doxastic setting. For the neutral conditional, all impossible-antecedent conditionals are false, for the doxastic conditional they are only true if the consequent is absolutely necessary, and for the metaphysical conditional only if the consequent is 'model-implied' by the antecedent. I motivate these conditionals logically, and also doxastically by properties of conditional belief and belief revision. For this I show that the Lewisian hierarchy of conditional logics can be reproduced within ranking semantics, provided we slightly stretch the notion of a ranking function. Given this, acceptance of a conditional can be interpreted as a conditional belief. The epistemic and the neutral conditional deviate from Lewis' weakest system $V$, in that ID ($\varphi > \varphi$) or even CN ($\varphi > \top$) are dropped, and new axioms appear. The logic of the metaphysical conditional is completely axiomatised by $V$ to which we add the known Kripke axioms T5 for the outer modality. Related completeness results for variations of the ranking semantics are obtained as corollaries.


The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap has widespread use throughout the body because of the many engineering options. The ALT has a complex local vasculature, which can be of importance for the surgical approach. In general, the flap receives its perfusion from branches of the lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA). The LCFA, however, has a large anatomic variance. CT angiography can guide the surgeon in the selection of the most suitable site and aid in the surgical approach.


Over the last few years, Argonne National Laboratory has been developing room-temperature-setting chemically-bonded phosphate ceramics for solidifying and stabilizing low-level mixed wastes. This technology is crucial for stabilizing waste streams that contain volatile species and off-gas secondary waste streams generated by high-temperature treatment of such wastes. Magnesium phosphate ceramic has been developed to treat mixed wastes such as ash, salts, and cement sludges. Waste forms of surrogate waste streams were fabricated by acid-base reactions between the mixtures of magnesium oxide powders and the wastes, and phosphoric acid or acid phosphate solutions. Dense and hard ceramic waste forms are produced in this process. The principal advantage of this technology is that the contaminants are immobilized by both chemical stabilization and subsequent microencapsulation of the reaction products. This paper reports the results of durability studies conducted on waste forms made with ash waste streams spiked with hazardous and radioactive surrogates. Standard leaching tests such as ANS 16.1 and TCLP were conducted on the final waste forms. Fates of the contaminants in the final waste forms were established by electron microscopy. In addition, stability of the waste forms in aqueous environments was evaluated with long-term water-immersion tests.


Optimization models generally aim for efficiency by maximizing total benefit or minimizing cost. Yet a trade-off between fairness and efficiency is an important element of many practical decisions. We propose a principled and practical method for balancing these two criteria in an optimization model. Following a critical assessment of existing schemes, we define a set of social welfare functions (SWFs) that combine Rawlsian leximax fairness and utilitarianism and overcome some of the weaknesses of previous approaches. In particular, we regulate the equity/efficiency trade-off with a single parameter that has a meaningful interpretation in practical contexts. We formulate the SWFs using mixed integer constraints and sequentially maximize them subject to constraints that define the problem at hand. After providing practical step-by-step instructions for implementation, we demonstrate the method on problems of realistic size involving healthcare resource allocation and disaster preparation. The solution times are modest, ranging from a fraction of a second to 18 seconds for a given value of the trade-off parameter.


Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has seen remarkable success in the control of single robots. However, applying DRL to robot swarms presents significant challenges. A critical challenge is non-stationarity, which occurs when two or more robots update individual or shared policies concurrently, thereby engaging in an interdependent training process with no guarantees of convergence. Circumventing non-stationarity typically involves training the robots with global information about other agents' states and/or actions. In contrast, in this paper we explore how to remove the need for global information. We pose our problem as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, due to the absence of global knowledge on other agents. Using collective transport as a testbed scenario, we study two approaches to multi-agent training. In the first, the robots exchange no messages, and are trained to rely on implicit communication through push-and-pull on the object to transport. In the second approach, we introduce Global State Prediction (GSP), a network trained to forma a belief over the swarm as a whole and predict its future states. We provide a comprehensive study over four well-known deep reinforcement learning algorithms in environments with obstacles, measuring performance as the successful transport of the object to the goal within a desired time-frame. Through an ablation study, we show that including GSP boosts performance and increases robustness when compared with methods that use global knowledge.


Background and Aims: Transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) has proven useful for loco-regional staging of rectal carcinoma in specialised centres, but the investigation is not widely used. The aim of this study was to audit the introduction of TRUS performed by surgeons without previous experience with ultrasonography. Material and Methods: All patients admitted with rectal carcinoma in the period 1996–2002 entered this prospective, comparative study. TRUS with a stiff endorectal probe was performed preoperatively in 118 consecutive patients, 91 of whom subsequently had rectal resection without preoperative radiotherapy (PRT), and seven who had rectal resection after PRT. Twenty patients did not have resection. The main outcome measures was the feasibility of TRUS in staging of rectal cancer, and the accuracy of T- and N-staging, comparing TRUS with the histopathological examination of resected specimens. Results: TRUS was successful in 81/91 patients who underwent rectal resection without PRT. The accuracy of T-staging was 74 % overall; 40 % in five pT1 tumours, 81 % in 26 pT2 tumours, 80 % in 45 pT3 tumours and 25 % in four pT4-tumours. With regard to perirectal tissue invasion, the sensitivity and specificity of TRUS was 82 % and 84 %, respectively, and the positive and negative predictive values were 89 and 71 %, respectively. The accuracy of TRUS for N-staging was 65 %. The sensitivity for detection of lymph node metastases was 41 % and the specificity 68 %. TRUS was unsuccessful in 21/118 patients, in 12/98 who had rectal resection, and in 9/20 who did not have resection, because of stenosis or high location of the tumour precluding correct placing of the probe. Conclusions: TRUS is often unsuccessful in patients with advanced tumours, especially when the tumour is located in the upper rectum. The predictive values for perirectal tumour invasion were acceptable, but the sensitivity for detection of lymph node metastases was low. These results were obtained by surgeons without previous experience with ultrasonographic examinations.


Ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene/high-density polyethylene (UHMWPE/HDPE) blends prepared using polyethylene glycol PEG as the processing aid and hydroxyapatite (HA) as the reinforcing filler were found to be highly processable using conventional melt blending technique. It was demonstrated that PEG reduced the melt viscosity of UHMWPE/HDPE blend significantly, thus improving the extrudability. The mechanical and bioactive properties were improved with incorporation of HA. Inclusion of HA from 10 to 50 phr resulted in a progressive increase in flexural strength and modulus of the composites. The strength increment is due to the improvement on surface contact between the irregular shape of HA and polymer matrix by formation of mechanical interlock. The HA particles were homogenously distributed even at higher percentage showed improvement in wetting ability between the polymer matrix and HA. The inclusion of HA enhanced the bioactivity properties of the composite by the formation of calcium phosphate (Ca-P) precipitates on the composite surface as proven from SEM and XRD analysis.


AIM
To show the safety and effectiveness of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage of pelvic abscess that were inaccessible for percutaneous drainage.

METHODS
Eight consecutive patients with pelvic abscess that were not amenable to drainage under computed tomography (CT) guidance were referred for EUS-guided drainage. The underlying cause of the abscesses included diverticulitis in 4, postsurgical surgical complications in 2, iatrogenic after enema in 1, and Crohn's disease in 1 patient. Abscesses were all drained under EUS guidance via a transrectal or transsigmoidal approach.

RESULTS
EUS-guided placement of one or two 7 Fr pigtail stents was technically successful and uneventful in all 8 patients (100%). The abscess was perisigmoidal in 2 and was multilocular in 4 patients. All procedures were performed under conscious sedation and without fluoroscopic monitoring. Fluid samples were successfully retrieved for microbiological studies in all cases and antibiotic policy was adjusted according to culture results in 5 patients. Follow-up CT showed complete recovery and disappearance of abscess. The stents were retrieved by sigmoidoscopy in only two patients and had spontaneously migrated to outside in six patients. All drainage procedures resulted in a favourable clinical outcome. All patients became afebrile within 24 h after drainage and the mean duration of the postprocedure hospital stay was 8 d (range 4-14). Within a median follow up period of 38 mo (range 12-52) no recurrence was reported.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that EUS-guided drainage of pelvic abscesses without fluoroscopic monitoring is a minimally invasive, safe and effective approach that should be considered in selected patients.


ABSTRACT Fuelled by the popularity of citizen participation in community safety and by an ongoing pluralisation of policing, there is increasing acknowledgement of volunteer policing around the Western world. Starting with a review of the small body of knowledge that has been built up, our paper outlines the origins and background of police volunteers, their management, their role and the activities they carry out, and records their job satisfaction and working experience. Empirical findings from the Netherlands show that most police volunteers are positive about having the opportunity to do something worthwhile for society, to improve personal skills, and to make connection with regular police colleagues. Yet, at the same time, they are disappointed with their position within the force and feel uncertain about their role. As an institution, the Dutch police tends to undervalue and neglect the work of police volunteers, not least because of slow policy making processes, an unclear vision about the future of volunteer policing, and suspicion about the unwanted substitution of salaried work by voluntary work. This ambiguous attitude runs counter to the current political agenda in favour of a participatory society and active citizenship in the Netherlands, and bears striking resembles to what is known about the position of police volunteers in UK and in the US.


This study aims to examine the role of services marketing mix 7p's on achieving competitive advantagesfrom perspectives of a number of teaching staffin the Paitaxt technical institute in Erbil city, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. A survey questionnaire has been administrated to collect data, and the questionnaires distributed randomly to (60) teaching staff, (42) of them were able to fill and return the questionnaires and they represent the study sample. This study use analytical descriptive method, since this method is considered to be the most used in humanities and social studies. The questionnaire encompassed three sections with 59 closed-ended questions and Five point Likert scale implemented. Data collected analyzed quantitatively by using SPSS program version 20. The results of study concluded that there is a significant positive correlation as well as a significant impact of the services marketing mix 7p's on achieving competitive advantages.


We prove that a polygonal product of polycyclic-by-finite groups amalgamating subgroups, with trivial intersections, is cyclic subgroup separable (hence, it is residually finite) if the amalgamated subgroups are contained in the centres of the vertex groups containing them. Hence a polygonal product of finitely generated abelian groups, amalgamating any subgroups with trivial intersections, is cyclic subgroup separable. Unlike this result, most polygonal products of four finitely generated abelian groups, with trivial intersections, are not subgroup separable (CSTZ^F). We find necessary and sufficient conditions for certain polygonal products of four groups to be subgroup separable.


Effective functioning is the ultimate goal of every organization and this gives justification for the intense empirical interest to identify and understand the predictors of organizational effectiveness. This study examined the role of organizational strategy and entrepreneurial orientation on organizational effectiveness. The design was cross-sectional as data were collected at one point in time, and the instrument was self-administered questionnaires. One hundred and ninety-four participants were sampled from twenty-two privately-owned organizations. The respondent sample comprises 55% males and 45% females. Simple regression analysis revealed that organizational strategy and entrepreneurial orientation have positive predictive relationship with organizational effectiveness; however, for entrepreneurial orientation the relationship was not statistically significant. Multiple regression analysis revealed that two dimensions of organizational strategy and one dimension of entrepreneurial orientation have significant positive predictive relationship with organizational effectiveness. It was recommended that in a mixture of organizational strategies for organizational effectiveness, prospector and defender types should dominate, while for entrepreneurial orientation constituents, competitive aggressiveness should dominate.


Konsep

The ancient art of shadow play, or "wayang kulit" (lit. leather figures), is a unique combination of ritual, lesson, and entertainment. Lacy shadow images are projected on a linen screen with a natural oil lamp or electric light. The Dalang, or shadow artist, manipulates carved leather figures between the lamp and the screen to bring the shadows to life. A Balinese shadow play troupe typically consists of three to ten people, a Dalang and several musicians. A Javanese shadow play production is usually larger, with a full orchestra of twenty or more musicians.
One or two assistants to the Dalang help prepare and maintain the large inventory of shadow figures, lamp and screen, often functioning as impromptu stage managers. Gamelan musicians round out the ensemble, performing the ceremonial overtures and appropriate music throughout the play. Timing between the Dalang and musicians is critical, requiring strong communication skills.
Wayang, in modern Indonesian language, is loosely translated to mean puppet. Kulit means leather, the material from which the figures are carved. The Javanese hold that wayang originates from the word "bayang" which means shadow. This definition may represent a re-translation of the word, possibly originating with the influx of Islam in Java. The Balinese believe the term Wayang originated from two early Sanskrit words: Waya-glorious ancestors returning, and Ang- meaning a symbol, hence Wayang- a homecoming of family spirits through zymbology . To the Hindu, a person's shadow holds a portion of the spirit. Recreating the shadow allows part of that spirit to appear with it. Thus, the importance of shadow play throughout Hindu Asia. Many believe this definition actually predates the import of the Indian stories Mahabarata, Ramayana, et al.
Although most characters in shadow play come from India (with modifications) many are purely Indonesian, such as the translators: Tualen, Merdah, Sangut, and Delem in Bali, and Semar, Bagong, Petruk, etc., in Java. Strong evidence of their pre-Hindu origins can be observed in the name Tualen, actually two words: Tua- old, len- different, meaning the oldest one and separate from the others.
Refined characters speak in the language of Kawi (lit. inspiration), or Java Kuno, archaic Javanese. Indonesian udiences generally do not know this language well. The translators impart details of the story, providing their own insight and sense of humor. In America, the translators often tend to work double duty to firmly convey the story to an audience who hasn't seen it countless times.


Phytopharmaceuticals and phytochemicals evaluation on two species of Calophyllum (C. inophyllum and C. soulatri) had been done. Phytopharmaceuticals had been carried out by macroand microscopic observation and also phytochemical screening by Ciuley Method (1984). Macromorphology of two species of Calophyllum was quite different. Leaf surface of C. inophyllum were obovate lamina, entire margin, obtuse apex, symmetrically base, petiole 1.5-2.0 cm, upper surface were green, shine, glabrous, occurrence of oil gland, and lower surface were long (hirsute), midrib, pinnate venation. C. soulatri were ovate lamina, entire margin, acute apex, symmetrically base, petiole 1.5-2.0 cm, upper surface were green but not shine, glabrous, no occurrence of oil glands and lower surface were long (hirsute), midrib, pinnate venation, green, and glabrous. Leaf dimension of C. inophyllum (± 20x10 cm) was wider than C. soulatri (± 10x5 cm). Leaf micromorphology of two species was also different in stomata type, C. inophyllum was paracytic type while C. soulatri was anisocytic type. Oil glands in C. inophyllum were higher than C. soulatri. There were no hair glands that found in these species. Micromorphology bark identified of two species showed that the number of oil glands in C. inophyllum is more than C. Soulatri, Ca oxalate of C. inophyllum is in simple and twin forms which C. soulatri is loose aggregates of numerous prisms which have grown together to form a roughly spherical mass which has projecting points and angles all over surface. Phytochemical screening identified that these species contents are have similar chemical groups (volatile oil, fatty acids, steroids/ triterpenes, tannin, flavonoids and reducing sugar). © 2006 Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNS Surakarta


INTRODUCTION
Working with people with a personality disorder (PD) can arouse strong feelings, and cause difficulties as well as different attitudes among mental health workers (MHWs). While attitudes towards people with PD and the difficulties experienced by MHWs have been previously investigated, the reciprocal relationship between the two has not been thoroughly investigated.

AIM/QUESTION
This study aims to investigate (1) affective reactions of MHWs to people with personality disorders, (2) the difficulties that MHWs experience while working with these patients, (3) their attitudes towards these patients, and (4) the interaction between these variables.

METHOD
The data for this study were collected through a Personal Information Questionnaire, the Difficulty of Working with Personality Disorders Scale and the Attitudes towards Patients with Personality Disorders Scale from 332 MHWs from several mental health clinics in Turkey, all of whom were experienced in working with people with PD.

RESULTS
The results indicate that the participants described 'difficulty in forming a relationship, understanding the client, and establishing cooperation' among the primary reasons of difficulties. This study also shows that there is a strong relationship between MHWs' feelings of boredom/discontent, guilt/pity and a tendency to display positive behaviours/an inability of establishing borders against people with PD.

DISCUSSION
The findings of this study imply that the level of education, expertise, psychotherapy treatment and clinical supervision of MHWs all affect perceived difficulties and attitudes towards people with PD. It is also noted that among nurses, a higher level of education results in reduced experience of difficulties while working with patients with PD.

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE
The results foreground the need for specific skills to be developed in MHWs through theoretical training, case-focused supervision and receiving personal psychotherapy for MHWs.


No safe and effective cure currently exists for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, antiretroviral therapy can prolong the lives of HIV patients and lowers the secondary infections. Natural compounds, which are considered to be pleiotropic molecules, could be useful against HIV. Curcumin, a yellow pigment present in the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa), can be used for the treatment of several diseases including HIV-AIDS because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, and antibacterial nature. In this review we have summarized that how curcumin and its analogues inhibit the infection and replication of viral genes and prevent multiplicity of HIV. They are inhibitors of HIV protease and integrase. Curcumin also inhibits Tat transactivation of the HIV1-LTR genome, inflammatory molecules (interleukins, TNF-α, NF-κB, COX-2) and HIV associated various kinases including tyrosine kinase, PAK1, MAPK, PKC, cdk and others. In addition, curcumin enhances the effect of conventional therapeutic drugs and minimizes their side effects.


______________________________________________ Abstract This paper reports on a sub-study based on a bank of test items developed and calibrated for a computerized adaptive reading test for primary and secondary students in Singapore schools. In the main study (as reported in various papers by Lim Tock Keng et al, 1994, 1995), a bank of multiple-choice test items constructed for primary 3 and 5 and secondary 1 and 3 students was found to contain a relatively large number of test items that were quite difficult for these students. While generally it was feasible to guess the (rather obvious) reasons for the very easy items, it was thought necessary to check empirically on the factors that contribute to item difficulty. This sub-study attempts to answer directly the research question (What makes test items in reading comprehension difficult?) in relation to the items developed for the primary 5 students (beween 10 and 11 years old). This was done empirically from the perspectives of the linguistic features of the item texts, propositional analysis, decision processing, and the cognitive demand of the test items. The paper will be in five parts, namely, (a) a brief discussion of the cognitive model of text processing that underpins this exploratory analysis and the idea of text difficulty, (b) the operationalisation of the variables, (c) the statistical findings, (d) the sources of difficulty in English reading comprehension tests of the type studied, for students whose first language is not necessarily English, and (e) implications for test development. _________________________________________________________


Established more than 50 years ago, Procesadora Nacional de Alimentos, C.A., or Pronaca, is Ecuador's largest food processing company. Pronaca's operations include the production, distribution and sale of meat and poultry products. Pronaca also produces pet foods and agricultural inputs and processes and manufactures value-added goods such as canned meats. Pronaca is a multilatina with operations in Colombia, Brazil and Costa Rica.


This paper takes a reflexive look at the production of scientific discourses by exploring the context and practice of political geography within the Francophone world. This article builds on the idea that the fundamental difference between Anglo and Francophone geographies relates to how theoretical writings and texts circulate, rather than to fundamental differences of content or topic. It examines how certain texts, ideas and thinkers have circulated, suggesting in particular that it is timely to reconsider Claude Raffestin's contributions on power, territory and territoriality. It argues that his critical theoretical framework, inspired by a number of authors including Michel Foucault, Henri Lefebvre and Luis Prieto, has been overlooked by Francophone and Anglo geographers for a number of institutional, conceptual and personal factors. By focusing on institutional structure, the nature of the academy and styles of debate in the Francophone world, and in confronting Claude Raffestin to both John Allen and Yves Lacoste's geographies of power, this paper questions the divide between these two academic traditions.


A Lion-Glass from the RhinelandOn the farm of Højvang near Skodborg, on a field in which the discovery of Celtic Iron Age pottery testified to prehistoric settlement in the vicinity, lay a low mound, about 15 X 20 metres in size and only 25 ems. high.This was investigated by Haderslev County Museum, and revealed two graves of rather complicated construction. Beneath the topsoil the sandy gray earth, containing numerous stones and a few Iron Age potsherds, was broken in two places by large irregular layers of clay marking the graves. The clay had sunk above the actual grave shaft as a result of later subsidence.Grave 1 (fig. 3). Beneath the clay layer a large shaft was found, 3.75 x 1.9 metres in size, full of clay, soil and stones. The shaft went a metre down, narrowing to 2.9 X 1.0 metres. At this level a little piece of paving was found at the east end of the shaft, and in front of this lay the actual grave, a further excavation measuring 210 by 60-70 ems., going down to a total depth below the surface of 165 cms. It was lined by vertical planks, pointed and driven into the ground. The bottom of the grave was 45 cms. lower in the middle than at the sides and was covered with a layer of planks. Upon these planks lay 4 broken pottery vessels and the sherds of a glass beaker. It appears likely that the bottom of the grave was originally horizontal with an empty space beneath it, and that the grave later subsided.Grave 2 (fig. 4) resembled grave 1 in many ways. A shaft measuring 2.8 X 1.6 metres led down to a grave with a small paving besides it (fig. 5). A millimetre-thin brown earth layer coating the sides of this shaft suggests some sort of lining, perhaps of wood or of cloth. The grave itself, unlike grave 1, contained an oak-trunk coffin, with no lid but with its sides continued upwards by means of two horizontal planks laid on edge. The body lay on its side with flexed legs. A little silver fibula lay at the throat, a knife and an iron ring by the upper arm. Three pottery vessels lay at the foot of the coffin.The pottery vessels from both graves are of types found in the 3rd and 4th Centuries A. D. and the fibula belongs to the 4th Century, probably to its first half.The glass beaker (fig. 1) is of greenish glass with a small hase. Two lions' heads (fig. 6), 3.7 cms. wide and surrounded by a raised ring, have been fastened by pressing them on the soft glass. The height of the beaker is 9.5 cms., its width 9.5 cms. and 10 cms. across the rim. There can be no doubt that it was produced in the Rhineland and certainly in the city of Cologne, where the glassworks commenced activity in the first century A. D., and exported their products, after 200 A. D., to almost the whole of Europe. Lion-heads on Cologne glass are rare and no exact parallel to this beaker is known. Medusa masks, however, are known from the 3rd and 4th Centuries A. D. and it would seem reasonable to date this specimen to the end of the 3rd or to the 4th Century.This discovery, together with others along Kongeaa, suggests that the Roman traders who followed the seacoast from the mouth of the Rhine used the valley of this river as a short cut across Jutland to Funen and the Baltic.Hans Neumann


Valid and reliable measures of dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) remain a critical area in rehabilitation medicine for determining the patient's progress and assessing program effectiveness. This paper describes a new approach to ADL evaluation which utilizes a diary method to record the amount of time the patient receives assistance during the course of a normal day as an index of dependency. Results from a validity study using this approach on hospitalized patients in which staff members made on-the-spot time recordings of assistance provided suggest the following conclusions: (1) a diary-type record of information indicating the length of time (time measurements) an activity lasted is relatively inaccurate; and (2) the same kind of diary approach provides a highly accurate record of the number of times (frequency measurements) an activity occurred and the distribution of assistance throughout the day. In five of six activities studied, frequency measurements recorded by staff members agreed with those of an independent observer 84 percent or more of the time. Frequency measurements in a diary format appear to represent a feasible and useful method for quantifying and evaluating patient performance in nontest situations.


(1) Background: Tumor hypoxia leads to metastasis and certain immune responses, and interferes with normal biological functions. It also affects glucose intake, down-regulates oxidative phosphorylation, and inhibits fatty-acid desaturation regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α). Although tumor hypoxia has been found to promote tumor metastasis, the roles of HIF-1α-regulated genes and their application are not completely integrated in clinical practice. (2) Methods: We examined the correlation between HIF-1α, metadherin (MTDH), and interleukin (IL)-10 mRNA expression, as well as their expression patterns in the prognosis of breast cancer using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases via a web interface; tissue microarrays (TMAs) were stained for MTDH and IL-10 protein expression using immunohistochemistry. (3) Results: HIF-1α, MTDH, and IL-10 mRNA expression are highly correlated and strongly associated with poor prognosis. MTDH and IL-10 protein expression of breast cancer patients usually harbored negative estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) status, and late-stage tumors have higher IL-10 expression. With regard to MTDH and IL-10 protein expression status for using univariate and multivariate analysis, the results showed that the protein expression of MTDH and IL-10 in ER-negative or PR-negative breast cancer patients have the worse prognosis. (4) Conclusions: we propose a new insight into hypoxia tumors in the metabolism and immune evidence for breast cancer therapy.


Dietary methionine restriction (MR) produces a rapid and persistent remodeling of white adipose tissue (WAT), an increase in energy expenditure (EE), and enhancement of insulin sensitivity. Recent work established that hepatic expression of FGF21 is robustly increased by MR. Fgf21−/− mice were used to test whether FGF21 is an essential mediator of the physiological effects of dietary MR. The MR-induced increase in energy intake and EE and activation of thermogenesis in WAT and brown adipose tissue were lost in Fgf21−/− mice. However, dietary MR produced a comparable reduction in body weight and adiposity in both genotypes because of a negative effect of MR on energy intake in Fgf21−/− mice. Despite the similar loss in weight, dietary MR produced a more significant increase in in vivo insulin sensitivity in wild-type than in Fgf21−/− mice, particularly in heart and inguinal WAT. In contrast, the ability of MR to regulate lipogenic and integrated stress response genes in liver was not compromised in Fgf21−/− mice. Collectively, these findings illustrate that FGF21 is a critical mediator of the effects of dietary MR on EE, remodeling of WAT, and increased insulin sensitivity but not of its effects on hepatic gene expression.


Accurate performance modeling is essential for its usage in a circuit synthesis flow. Only a small fraction of the entire design space is occupied by designs with meaningful behavior and performance. In this work, we have focussed on modeling these feasible regions accurately in contrast with modeling the entire design space. Macromodels for the feasible regions were built hierarchically until the desired accuracy was achieved. An accuracy driven synthesis methodology is proposed to guide the identification of the feasible regions and dynamically enhance the performance of the macromodels. Dynamic performance modeling ensures true convergence of our synthesis approach as opposed to existing static macromodel based techniques. We applied the proposed methodology for modeling and synthesis of several analog and RF circuits and the results demonstrate that our approach yields highly accurate design solutions in a much smaller time compared to simulation based approaches.


PURPOSE: A device for transceiving serving HS-SCCH(High Speed-Shared Control Channel) set information in a communication system using an HSDPA(High Speed Downlink Packet Access) system and a method therefor are provided to directly transmit HS-SCCH related information between a base station and a UE(User Element), and to directly transmit state information of queues for transmitting or retransmitting user data between the base station and the UE, thereby improving system performance and preventing unnecessary retransmissions. CONSTITUTION: When an MAC-hs controller(1330) senses that a control channel set to be assigned to one of user terminals has to be changed, the MAC-hs controller(1330) determines to change control channel set information to a new control channel set at a predetermined time. An HS-SCCH transmitter transmits an indicator presenting that the control channel set is to be changed, and transmits the control channel set information to the user terminal through a downlink. An HS-SCCH receiver receives the indicator presenting that the currently assigned control channel set information is to be changed to new control channel set information, and receives the control channel set information including the new control channel set information. An MAC-hs controller(1330) controls to monitor the control channel set by applying the new control channel set information at the predetermined time.


Dynamic models based on non-linear differential equations are increasingly being used in many biological applications. Highly informative dynamic experiments are valuable for the identification of these dynamic models. The storage of fresh fruit and vegetables is one such application where dynamic experimentation is gaining momentum. In this paper, we construct optimal O2 and CO2 gas input profiles to estimate the respiration and fermentation kinetics of pear fruit. The optimal input profiles, however, depend on the true values of the respiration and fermentation parameters. Locally optimal design of input profiles, which uses a single initial guess for the parameters, is the traditional method to deal with this issue. This method, however, is very sensitive to the initial values selected for the model parameters. Therefore, we present a robust experimental design approach that can handle uncertainty on the model parameters.


The pore-forming inflammatory cell death pathway, pyroptosis, was first described in the early 1990s and its role in health and disease has been intensively studied since. The effector molecule GSDMD is cleaved by activated caspases, mainly Caspase 1 or 11 (Caspase 4/5 in humans), downstream of inflammasome formation. In this review, we describe the molecular events related to GSDMD-mediated pore formation. Furthermore, we summarize the so far elucidated ways of SARS-CoV-2 induced NLRP3 inflammasome formation leading to pyroptosis, which strongly contributes to COVID-19 pathology. We also explore the potential of NLRP3 and GSDMD inhibitors as therapeutics to counter excessive inflammation.


Indonesian President Sukarno established the Games of the New Emerging Forces ( GANEFO ) not only as an alternative to the Olympic Games in the 1960s, but also as part of a systemic challenge to the international status quo. They occurred twice, once in Indonesia in 1963 and again (as "Asian GANEFO ") in Cambodia in 1966. The GANEFO drew on Asian left-nationalism and neutralism and foreshadowed a possible alternative United Nations that Sukarno planned to call the Conference of the New Emerging Forces ( CONEFO ), with membership from the People's Republic of China and other Asian states. This research note explores the link between sports, Indonesian nationalism and neutralism, ideas of Indonesian martial masculinity, and global politics during the 1960s in East Asia. Contrary to the ideal of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) to keep sports and politics separate, it suggests that both the IOC and Sukarno's Indonesia mixed sports and politics, but in very different ways.


The article discloses the problem of interactive technologies application at Ukrainian and German higher educational establishments that has been under study for the last twenty years. The definition of the notion "interactive technologies" and different interpretations of this concept that were given by Ukrainian and foreign scholars are highlighted. The peculiarities and varieties of interactive technologies (simulations, role-games, discussions, debates, cooperative and group learning, brainstorming, projects, graffiti, synthesis of ideas, collaborative work, fishbowl, roundabout and others) are brought to light. The article singles out similarities and differences of interactive technologies application in Ukraine and Germany. The author emphasizes on the organization of interactive activities at the lectures, the purpose of use of each kind of interactive technology in Ukrainian and German educational process. The detailed study, analyses and comparison of experience of foreign language teachers training in the above-mentioned countries are carried out.


This study aims to shed light on the cultural models of literature and literature education reflected in Nordic L1 curricula by investigating how literature is given discursive significance in the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish L1 curricula for lower-secondary school, both within and across those four countries. Education in the Nordic countries is a field well suited for comparative analysis as the languages used are closely related and the countries' educational systems and policies are similar. In the study, we discuss how literary texts are given significance compared with other texts and what purposes of literature education are given a prominent place in the L1 curricula. The theoretical framework used derives from Gee's (2014) description of cultural models; we understand the national curricula as linguistically created realms of reality. The comparative analysis suggests that there are similar tendencies as well as distinct national differences. Prominent cultural models identified across the countries are a double position of literary texts and a high expectation on literature education. The study points to a need to discuss the status and purpose of literary texts in the Nordic L1 subjects in order to promote further mutual understanding and inspiration across borders.


Abstract Hepatocytes, the major epithelial cells of the liver, maintain their morphology in culture dishes coated with extracellular matrix (ECM) components such as collagen and fibronectin or biodegradable polymers (e.g. chitosan, gelatin). In these coated dishes, survival of cells and maintaining of liver-specific functions may increase. The aim of this study was to determine a suitable, cost-effective and simple system for hepatocyte isolation and culture which may be useful for various applications such as in vitro toxicology studies, hepatocyte transplantation and bioartificial liver (BAL) systems. In order to obtain primary cultures, hepatocytes were isolated from liver by an enzymatic method and cultured on plates coated with collagen, chitosan or gelatin. Collagen, gelatin-sandwich and gelatin-cell mixture methods were also evaluated. Morphology and attachment of the cells were observed by inverted microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). An MTT assay was used to determine cell viability and mitochondrial activity.


Chill block melt spun ribbons of Ni-Mo binary alloys containing 8.0 to 41.8 wt % Mo have been prepared under carefully controlled processing conditions. The growth velocity has been determined as a function of distance from the quench surface from the observed ribbon thickness dependence on the melt puddle residence time. Primary arm spacings measured at the midribbon thickness locations show a dependence on growth velocity and alloy composition which is expected from dendritic growth models for binary alloys directionally solidified in a positive temperature gradient.


A supernumerary nipple (SN), usually arises within the embryonic milk lines but can also occur in locations such as back, thigh, vulva and neck. The frequency of SN ranges from 0.2% to 5.6% depending on various factors. Although much has been written on the association of SN with other conditions, it still remains as a controversial and speculative area. SN can be associated with several disorders notably urological malformations and urogenital malignancies. To the our knowledge, the association of SN with childhood cancer has rarely been reported before.


This paper presents a high quality-factor (Q-factor) quartz tuning fork (QTF) with a glass probe attached, used in frequency modulation tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) for the surface profile metrology of micro and nanostructures. Unlike conventionally used QTFs, which have tungsten or platinum probes for tapping mode AFM, and suffer from a low Q-factor influenced by the relatively large mass of the probe, the glass probe, which has a lower density, increases the Q-factor of the QTF probe unit allowing it to obtain better measurement sensitivity. In addition, the process of attaching the probe to the QTF with epoxy resin, which is necessary for tapping mode AFM, is also optimized to further improve the Q-factor of the QTF glass probe. The Q-factor of the optimized QTF glass probe unit is demonstrated to be very close to that of a bare QTF without a probe attached. To verify the effectiveness and the advantages of the optimized QTF glass probe unit, the probe unit is integrated into a home-built tapping mode AFM for conducting surface profile measurements of micro and nanostructures. A blazed grating with fine tool marks of 100 nm, a microprism sheet with a vertical amplitude of 25 µm and a Fresnel lens with a steep slope of 90 degrees are used as measurement specimens. From the measurement results, it is demonstrated that the optimized QTF glass probe unit can achieve higher sensitivity as well as better stability than conventional probes in the measurement of micro and nanostructures.


This paper presents the results of laboratory model tests performed on strip footings supported on unreinforced and geotextile-reinforced sand bed under a combination of static and repeated loads. Footing settlement due to initial static applied load was recorded, until its value become stable or failure occurred due to excessive settlement. The response under the first few cycles was found to be a significant behavioural characteristic of footings under repeated loads. The influence of various amplitudes of repeated load on foundation and different numbers of geotextile layers below the footing base on dynamic behaviour of footing were investigated. Footing settlement patterns due to repeated loading of reinforced soil is found to be comparable with increases in the numbers of geotextile layers reducing the magnitude of the final settlement and usually acting as a settlement retardant against the effects of repeated loading. The reinforcement's efficiency in reducing the maximum footing settlement decreased as numbers of geotextile layers was increased. Keywords— Repeated loads; Strip footing; settlement; Geotextile reinforcement.


Deepening shortages of highly qualified scientists, managers, and technical professionals seriously threatens American agriculture. The purpose of this study is to investigate the degree to which gender differences exist in former agricultural students' acquiring employment in the agricultural industry after leaving college. Data were obtained using a 30 percent random sample (n=1,730) of students enrolled in 1977 at two major land-grant universities in the Southwest. A mail survey conducted in late 1986 resulted in 707 respondents. Male out-numbered female respondents 3 to 1, which was approximately the same enrollment ratio in 1977. Findings of the survey indicate that 9 out of every 10 respondents received a bachelor's degree with some type of agricultural major. Twenty-three percent had attained graduate-level education and about 10 percent are currently in graduate and professional degree programs; almost half were or are involved with agricultural disciplines. Few respondents used university placement, administration, and faculty as sources for obtaining employment after graduation. Job changes subsequent to first employment after college were toward nonagricultural jobs. In the transition from education to employment attainment, women were disproportionately under-represented in agricultural-related jobs. Moreover, their employment outcomes conformed to traditional gender-defined career patterns.


Objective: This study investigated the effects of Chinese herbal medicine and prednisone on CD4FoxP3 T cells (Tregs) and Th17 cells in the MRL/lpr mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus. Methods: MRL/lpr mice were treated with herbal medicine (yin-nourishing and heat-clearing therapy), prednisone, and a combination of both for 7 weeks. The proportions of CD4CD25FoxP3 cells, CD4CD25FoxP3 cells, and CD4IL-17 cells in splenic mononuclear cell suspension were determined by flow cytometry. Histological slices of kidneys were stained by H&E, PAS, and Masson's method. Activity indexes (AI) of glomerular lesions were scored. Results: The result showed that both herbal medicine and prednisone significantly increased the proportion of CD4CD25FoxP3 cells (P<0.05), but lowered the proportion of CD4CD25FoxP3 cells (P<0.05) and CD4IL-17 cells (P<0.05) in MRL/lpr mice. Consequently, CD4CD25FoxP3 cells became dominant CD4 FoxP3 cells after either treatment. AIl the glomerular lesions in both herbal medicine group and prednisone group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0.05). AI was positively related with the proportion of CD4IL-17 cells (Spearman's rho= 0.4958, P<0.05), but was negatively correlated with the proportions of CD4Foxp3 cells(Spearman's rho= -0.5934,P<0.05) and CD4CD25FoxP3 cells (Spearman's rho= -0.5914,P<0.05). Conclusion: Both Chinese herbal medicine and prednisone significantly enhanced the proportion of CD4CD25FoxP3 cells and reduced the proportion of Th17 cells in lupus-prone MRL/lpr mice. Increased proportion of CD4CD25FoxP3 cells was correlated with less severe glomerular lesions, indicating that CD4CD25FoxP3 cells might play a regulatory role in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.


We propose an identification method of sound source locations in outdoor areas by employing direction-of-arrival (DOA) measurements obtained from a microphone array. In determining the locations of sound sources, at least two microphones must record the same sound. Existing methods implicitly assume that sound sources are distributed in an area surrounded by the microphone arrays. They also imply that the "sound-observable" range of the microphones should exceed the maximum distance between microphones. In an outdoor field, however, microphone-array-deployable areas are limited as just in our field case. That is, those conditions are not always met, and accurate microphone positions cannot be obtained. By locating microphone arrays close to each other, the overlapping area observed by them is enlarged and also their positions can be accurately measured. However, since most existing localization methods do not consider sound sources outside the area surrounded by the microphone arrays, they cannot achieve both of real-time and accurate localization. We propose a method with less computational complexity while obtaining high level of accuracy. Simulation results show that the proposed method can reduce the computation time by 90% while obtaining the same estimation accuracy as the existing method. Moreover, our proposed method achieves a good estimation accuracy with an average error of less than 60 cm in outdoor experiments.


An open-source software framework suitable for integrating many research tasks could be advantageous in various areas of geophysics. Two examples of the most successful and broadly used of such frameworks are the Seismic Un*x, which is used in seismic reflection data processing (SU) [Stockwell, 1999], and Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), used to produce various map projections in PostScript [Wessel and Smith, 1995]. Such large, shared projects bring clear benefits of versatile and uniform software support to the research community yet require decades of consistent development effort. However, SU and GMT are still limited to their respective application areas, and their interactive visualization capabilities are limited.


Estimating the economic impact of a pest requires linking biological and economic systems via a damage function. The most common damage function approach links exogenous pest populations to cumulative commodity yield losses at harvest. This type of representation is a reduced form because is not pest population levels per se that drive damage, but the underlying factors that affect pest populations and the susceptibility of the host. We specify and estimate a structural damage function and compare the results with those of the reduced form. We do so using two alternative models, one that explains the level of crop damage from a pest, and one that explains the timing of that damage during the host's growing season. We address our objectives within an empirical application to the olive fruit fly in California. In formulating the structural damage function, we draw from current scientific literature on olive fly and olive fruit phenology. The structural damage function takes into account the feedback between climate, host susceptibility, and pest populations. Moreover, the structural approach disaggregates damage rates across space and time, unlike the typical reduced form. The estimation results indicate that endogeneity is a salient concern in both the timing of initial crop damage, and in the levels of damage evidenced in some cultivars. The structural damage function dominates the trapping-based reduced form in terms of explanatory power in every model estimated.