The firing of rat hippocampal pyramidal cells is determined both by the animal's location and by the state of the hippocampal EEG. Because cholinergic transmission plays a role in EEG activity, we expected that its modification would alter place cell activity. We therefore investigated the effects on place cell activity of blocking muscarinic transmission with intracerebroventricular injections of scopolamine. Scopolamine reduced both the rate of place cell discharge inside firing fields and the spatial coherence of the fields; discharge outside of the fields also showed small increases. After injections, fields were shifted farther from their previous location than for saline controls, indicating reduced reproducibility after muscarinic blockade. Scopolamine increased the time rats were stationary, but changes in place cell activity persisted even after analysis was restricted to periods of walking, suggesting that the behavioral changes cannot account for the cell discharge changes. The scopolamine effects were dose dependent to an extent that varied between different measures. The firing rates of interneurons showed only a minor trend to decrease after scopolamine. Nevertheless, the spatial coherence of interneuron firing patterns was reduced, consistent with the recent demonstration that their positional firing is mediated by the location-specific firing of pyramids (Marshall et al., 2002). These results demonstrate that acetylcholine enhances positional firing patterns in the hippocampus. Muscarinic blockade weakens the positional firing of most place cells and therefore renders them less useful for precise representation of the environment. This effect may underlie the difficulties in spatial learning and problem solving caused by abnormalities of cholinergic transmission.


In recent years, the use of directional antennas in wireless networks has been widely studied. Since the medium access control (MAC) protocol of the IEEE 802.11 standard was initially designed for systems with omnidirectional antennas, it cannot perform efficiently when directional antennas are used. In this paper, an efficient two-channel MAC protocol is designed for ad hoc networks that are equipped with directional antennas. The proposed protocol utilizes the large throughput offered by directional antennas using two frequency-division multiplexed channels. The first channel is used for control information, and the second for user-data transmission. The proposed MAC protocol operates in two main modes: the omnidirectional mode, in which one antenna is used for the transmission of users¿ control frames, and the directional mode, in which antenna arrays are used for the transmission of data frames. The proposed protocol is assessed by means of computer simulations based on randomly generated network topologies reflecting the random movement of nodes in the network. Based on these topologies, performance comparisons with the existing MAC protocols are presented for different system parameters. In all cases, the proposed MAC protocol is shown to offer a significant throughput improvement relative to the existing protocols.


We apply new techniques to compute Gerstenhaber brackets on the Hochschild cohomology of a skew group algebra formed from a polynomial ring and a finite group (in characteristic 0). We show that the Gerstenhaber brackets can always be expressed in terms of Schouten brackets on polyvector fields. We obtain as consequences some conditions under which brackets are always 0, and show that the Hochschild cohomology is a graded Gerstenhaber algebra under the codimension grading, strengthening known results.


The cost structure of the CGAM system, a predefined cogeneration system suggested to unify the different methodologies of thermoeconomic analysis, was investigated by using a thermoeconomic method called modified productive structure analysis (MOPSA). An emphasis has been specially put on how the cost structure of the system is affected by the chosen level of aggregation that specifies the subsystems. It has been found that the unit cost of products is dependent on the chosen level of aggregation of the system only when one considers the entropy flow as one of the parameters to determine the unit cost of products. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


One of the downstream products which can be synthesized from culilawan oil is an analog curcumin compound (AKS) with a dioxolane ring. AKS products can be synthesized using conventional and microwave methods. The method of synthesis can influence physical properties, compound geometry, and pharmacological effects. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the processing method on the hepatoprotective ability of AKS, and to determine a protective dose. AKS was synthesized using insulated safrole compounds from Lawang oil and involved isomerization, oxidation, and aldol condensation of curcumin analogues. At the final stage of the analog curcumin synthesis process, 2 different methods were employed: the conventional method heated the chemical in a water bath at 30 °C for 3 hours, the microwave method heated the chemical using 140 watts of power for 2 minutes. Analogs were tested in vivo in mice (Mus musculus L.) with CCl4 induced liver damage. Hepatoprotective efficacy of AKS products processed by the conventional method and the microwave method were compared using histology and liver enzyme (AST and ALT) assessment. Animals treated with conventionally produced AKS products had lower AST and lower ALT levels—and fewer histological signs of liver damage at a lower dose of AKS—than seen in either untreated animals or those treated with microwave produced AKS. Thus, products that are processed by conventional methods are more hepatoprotective.


The article presents the classical saddle-point problem in a two-dimensional array. Such tasks are highly demanded in geodesy, in the construction of topographic or gravimetric maps of the terrain, in the energy sector – in planning the load on electric or thermal networks. The program code of the proposed project is written within the framework of the structured approach in the C ++ language in the Visual Studio 2017 programming environment.


Abstract A detailed atomistic approach has been used to investigate the molecular segment kinematics as a glassy, atactic polypropylene system was dilated by 30%. The microstructural stress-dilatation response consisted of smooth, reversible portions bounded by sudden, irreversible stress jumps, but when compared to the microstructural stress-strain curve of the shear simulation, the overall trend more closely resembled macroscopic stress-strain curves. The peak negative pressure was in the neighbourhood of 12% dilatation, with a corresponding secondary maximum in the von Mises shear stress. The peak negative pressure was relieved by a stress jump that signalled cavitation, which was most pronounced in the large system. The cavities were found to be flat and irregular; for the large system that had been dilated by 20%, the cavities extended 0.5 to 0.8 nm with a characteristic thickness of 0.080 nm, and the total cavity volume fraction was 0.02. The surface energy of the cavities was estimated to be 53.4mJ...


The public and private sectors are demanding entry-level technical personnel that are well schooled in the fundamental principles of their respective engineering and technology disciplines. Both of these groups are placing a premium on graduates who have had significant design experiences and have participated in a team environment. Finally, these potential employers are demanding graduates that have the ability to communicate effectively in both written and verbal formats. These new hires will, in all likelihood, become members of project teams and participate as team members and eventually as project managers. The Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Technology (EET/TET) Programs at Texas A&M University have established a mandatory technical project management course that is closely linked to its capstone senior design course. With assistance and participation from a number of large and small companies, EET/TET students now learn about the fundamentals of project management while they prepare for entry to their senior design project. The new course provides the opportunity for students to form teams, evaluate potential project opportunities, arrange for faculty and industry support and sponsorship, and prepare the written documentation and technical presentations that culminates in a formal technical proposal. Using the Project Management Institute (PMI) Body of Knowledge, the students plan the work they will accomplish in their capstone senior design course.


Real estate is often used to refer to things that are not movable such as land and improvements permanently attached to the land. Different types of real estate can have very different cyclic properties. Real estates go through bubbles followed by slumps in Meru municipality and some real estate properties take shorter time while others take longer to sell despite that the prevailing conditions seem similar. Several studies done especially on changes in prices of real estates revealed that real estate prices go through bubbles and slumps. The study therefore, investigated factors at play in determining real estate property prices in Meru Munincipality in Kenya. The study investigated factors such as incomes of real estate investors, the influence of location on the price, demand and realtors influence on the price. The study adopted descriptive research design to obtain information on the current status of the phenomenon. Structured questionnaires were used in data collection to obtain the required information needed for the study. The population consisted of all 15,844 registered real estate owners in the 5 (five) selected areas of Meru municipality from which a sample of 390 real estate owners were selected by stratifying the population and then selecting the respondents by use of simple random sampling. The data obtained was analyzed by use of available statistical packages for social sciences to obtain descriptive statistics and a regression model. Findings indicated that incomes alone contributed almost 70% of the variations in prices. Demand alone contributed 20% of the changes in prices of real estate. Location and Realtors were found insignificant in determining real estate prices. A summary regresion showed that the variables consindered could explain up to about 70% of variations in prices. The study  recommends that  further investigation be done on reasons why location and realtors were not significat in determining real estate property prices in Meru municipality.


Background: Brain injury is one of the complications of open heart surgery. Glutamate plays a key role in this process. In this study, we evaluated the neuroprotective effect of memantine as NMDAR inhibitor in patients undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Methods: From July 2019 to May 2020, thirty-four consecutive patients selected for elective isolated on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) enrolled in the trial. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups; memantine and the control group. For the memantine group, 10 mg of memantine twice daily was administered at least 72 h before surgery. Venous blood samples were collected before surgery (T1), at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (T2), 6h and 24h after CPB (T3 and T4). Serum concentration of S100-B was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. Results: Serum S100-B increased during CPB with a peak plasma concentration at the termination of CPB. Then it gradually decreased during the first 24 hours in both groups (P=0.001). The mean S100-B levels were significantly lower in the memantine group compared to the control group at the termination of CPB (0.863±0.203 μg/l vs 1.117±0.304 μg/l), at 6 hours post-CPB (0.731±0.168 μg/l vs 0.938±0.206 μg/l), and 24 hours post-CPB (0.595±0.189 μg/l vs 0.852±0.227 μg/l), respectively (P=0.023). The mean level of serum S100-B in memantine group was about 0.19 μg/l less than the control group during the study (CI, 0.07 to 0.30; P=0.001). One (6.2%) patient in the control group had post-operative left arm paresthesia Conclusion: Administration of memantine before on-pump CABG can attenuate the post-operative concentrations of serum S100-B, which may reduce cerebral damage during surgery.


The nerve agents (NA) are a group of particularly toxic chemical warfare agents. They were developed just before and during World War II. Although chemically related to the organophosphorus insecticides, their clinical presentation and medical management may differ.The principal nerve agents are: GA (tabun), GB (sarin), GD (soman), GF (cyclosarin) and VX (methylphosphonothioic acid). In some countries the "V" agents are known as "A" agents.


Flight Lieutenant John Rawlings took power by a coup d'etat accusing the previous Limann regime of being neo-colonialist and being a slave of imperialists in 1981. When he took power, he was mainly supported by radical leftists and Ghana's foreign policy leant towards socialist countries.  However, two years later the regime drastically reversed its foreign policy towards the West.  The paper focuses on the foreign policy change in 1983 and takes a close look at the role of Maoism on the elite in the foreign policy change in Ghana.  During the first two years of the Rawlings regime, the June Forth Movement (JFM) and the New Democratic Movement (NDM) were two main elite groups in the regime. Even though the JFM and the NDM shared the same goal of socialism, the two groups had different visions on how to reach to the goal.  The JFM sought rapid socialism through attacking the rich and severing international links with imperialist countries.  On the other hand, for the NDM, which was influenced by Mao's "New Democracy" as the name indicates, embracement of the rich business people and international players were on its path to the ultimate socialism.  In the middle of the ideological conflicts between the two, Rawlings severed the link with the JFM whose leaders turned out to be threats to survival of the regime, and in the process the NDM emerged as the single influential power group.  The NDM and Rawlings turned Ghana's foreign policy toward the West and sought for aid from the Bretton Woods institutions in 1983.


This research aims to investigate the Criminal Liability of Corporations in environmental pollution (an analysis of the juridical Normative) and Criminal Liability Could studies stresing Against Corporations In pollution of the environment, how does the Criminal Liability of corporations, Properties and Constraints in law enforcement (Criminal) against the Corporation and effort Penanggulangannya. with the approach of the legislation's future is expected to open up the opportunity for researchers to learn is there consistency and alignment of one act with its implementation in the field. The results showed that the criminal liability of Corporations in pollution of the environment in principle there are three groups that can be accounted for in a corporation doing criminal acts as a private person, yait is doing, as the Governing Board of legal entities and legal entities themselves. Seen from the nature of Corporate criminal liability in principle there are three types namely: the first Governing Board of the Corporation as the creator and administrator is responsible. Both Corporations as makers and responsible sysop.The third Corporation as maker and also as responsible. Constraints in law enforcement (Criminal) against the Corporation in the municipality incur three factors i.e., Legal Factors, Factor, factor Means law enforcement While efforts are being made in overcoming the obstacles that occur are legal sanctions imposed upon the perpetrator heavier again so that it can carry a deterrent effect. Keywords: Criminal Liability of Corporations In the environment .


Formation of stationary localized states in one-dimensional chain as well as in a Cayley tree due to a linear impurity and a nonlinear impurity is studied. Furthermore, a one-dimensional chain with linear and nonlinear site energies at the alternate sites is studied and rich phase diagrams of SL states are obtained for all systems we considered. The results are compared with those of the linear and nonlinear systems.


In this paper an analytical model within the framework of life course analysis is outlined, aiming at the multidimensional analysis of professional careers of migrants. Additional to the work cycle, reproduction as well as migration processes are included in the analysis of the occupational biography of migrants. By this, gender and gender relations as well as migration are systematically included in the reconstruction of the life course. This model is presented with reference to a research project on the labour market integration in Germany of highly qualified migrant women from post-socialist states, being qualified in the natural sciences and technology. Focusing on the professional careers of migrant women, the significance within migration studies of labour and migrant women's chances of employment according to their qualifications is highlighted. After sketching the research project in the context of migration history and the regulation of highly skilled migration in Germany, the analysis of professional careers of migrant women in the life course perspective is conceptualized and discussed.


We have recently identified an autosomal recessive mutation in the Norway rat that generates an almost complete absence of normal hair. Here we describe a multilocus backcross analysis that was used to map this mutation, named shorn (gene symbol shn), to the distal end of rat chromosome 7. Although this region in rat carries no previously mapped similar mutations, the homologous genomic regions in mouse and human contain several potential homologues and candidate genes.


ACCORDING to the needs-and gratifications approach, a person actively chooses programmes, articles and films and uses the content of this mass media material to gratify certain needs in him or herself. In this paper, results of a longitudinal study of the relationship between certain personality needs on the one hand and the television viewing behaviour and television programme preferences of adolescents on the other hand, are discussed. Based on a large scale South African study of the influence of television on school-going children, the data of approximately 2 000 adolescents, retested from their 12th to 18th year, are used. Multivariate statistical techniques, e.g. profile analysis, were used to analyze the data obtained by various psychometric instruments and questionnaires.


Malta, Gozo and Comino, the Thrinacia of Homer and the Melitē, Phoebe and Lampas of Scylax, form an archipelago in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea inhabited by both Phoenicians and Greeks before the coming of the Romans to those islands. Many geographers mention them, but other authors refer to their importance as places of production of textiles and other natural goods like oil and honey. Of particular importance was the site of the temple of Juno and Hercules known to Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans as well as to Numidians. Malta and Gozo were also praised for their good harbors and stone. The Grand Harbour itself served as an important Byzantine base with its tower and inner harbour, both places bearing Greek names. Malta was converted to Christianity in AD 60 following St Paul's shipwreck there, where he spent three winter months. The aim of this article is to scrutinize the information about Malta and Gozo in numerous Greek, Roman and Christian sources.


As the worlds of commerce, entertainment, travel, and Internet technology become more inextricably linked, new types of business data become available for creative use and formal analysis. Indeed, this paper provides a study of exploiting online travel information for personalized travel package recommendation. A critical challenge along this line is to address the unique characteristics of travel data, which distinguish travel packages from traditional items for recommendation. To this end, we first analyze the characteristics of the travel packages and develop a Tourist-Area-Season Topic (TAST) model, which can extract the topics conditioned on both the tourists and the intrinsic features (i.e. locations, travel seasons) of the landscapes. Based on this TAST model, we propose a cocktail approach on personalized travel package recommendation. Finally, we evaluate the TAST model and the cocktail approach on real-world travel package data. The experimental results show that the TAST model can effectively capture the unique characteristics of the travel data and the cocktail approach is thus much more effective than traditional recommendation methods for travel package recommendation.


SUMMARY Animal movement and its muscular control are central topics in functional morphology. As experimentalists we often manipulate stimuli in a controlled setting or compare species to observe the degree of variation in movement and motor control of particular behaviors. Understanding and communicating the biological significance of these sources of variability requires a universal terminology that is presently lacking in the functional morphology literature. We suggest that `stereotypy' be used to refer to the degree of variability observed in a behavior across trials under a given set of conditions. The ability of an organism to alter its behavior across experimental treatments is referred to as `flexibility'. We discuss how there has been a tendency to confound the phenomenon of a behavior exhibiting low variability, which we refer to as stereotyped, with inflexibility, or the inability to alter the behavior in response to a change in stimulus. The degree of stereotypy and flexibility in a behavior need not be correlated, nor need they have a common underlying basis. Coordination, a term used to describe the relationship between different body parts during movement, can be stereotyped and can show flexibility. Stereotypy of coordination can be assessed by the strength of correlations between movements of two body parts. The influence of coordination coherence on behavioral performance has rarely been considered, and could shed light on how taxa differ in their ability to perform behaviors. We suggest definitions of the terms stereotypy, flexibility and coordination, and provide examples of how and when these terms could be used when discussing behavioral changes in functional morphology.


Electric-field-induced changes in the absorption, fluorescence, and phosphorescence spectra of 4-(dimethyl-amino)benzonitrile (DMABN) doped in a polymer film were measured, and the electric dipole moment and molecular polarizability in the locally excited (LE) and charge transfer (CT) singlet states as well as in the phosphorescent triplet state were evaluated. Time-resolved fluorescence measurements both in the absence and in the presence of electric fields were also carried out. A field-induced change in the quantum yield of the LE and CT fluorescence as well as of the phosphorescence is found and the charge transfer from the LE to the CT state is shown to be accelerated by an electric field, resulting in the field-induced decrease in the population ratio of the LE relative to the CT state. The dipole moment of the phosphorescent triplet state is found to be smaller than that of the LE state, with a value similar to that of the ground state.


With the demise of the communist governments in the Balkan region in the early 1990s, we have entered a phase in which serious religiously related issues challenging the social cohesion of our societies need serious analysis and action at different levels. Interfaith councils as a way of engaging the different religious communities in one society are not new and not the same. Nor are they unquestionably accepted or easily dismissed as ineffective in addressing challenges of peacebuilding and social cohesion in a religiously pluralistic society. There are political, cultural, ethnic and national considerations beside religious and educational ones which figure large in the role of an interfaith council and influence its character and effectiveness, but their contribution to peacebuilding and the social cohesion of our pluralistic societies cannot be ignored. As such this paper will explore, from different perspectives, the role of an interfaith council as a helpful instrument for the wellbeing of our societies. The virtues of an interfaith council discussed in this paper should give us hope for fruitfully addressing the challenge of different traditions in the same social space, but it remains to be seen if it can win the support of the majority culture's stakeholders with their concerns in providing for a peaceful and harmonious society. The Albanian context with its similarities and differences from the religious pluralistic context of the other countries in the region provides a good case study to evaluate the merits of an interfaith council as an instrument to facilitate tolerance and social cohesion.


The present paper consists firstly in developing mathematical models to predict tensile strength of a glass fiber reinforced polyamide. Based on response surface method (RSM) a mathematical model has been determined, in which three factors with three levels are implemented. Glass fiber content, temperature and strain rate are chosen as the main input parameters in this study. The tensile strength is considered as output response which is evaluated through experimental tests. Secondly the reliability of tensile strength is proposed based on the developed mathematical models, where the dispersions of: (i) the Glass fiber content and (ii) the temperature are taken into account using the Strength Load method with the Monte Carlo simulation. The proposed approach can be used as a powerful and an interesting method for engineering design, to determine with more secure the tensile strength behavior of a glass fiber reinforced polyamide


The decision when to make chest X-ray examination is important for early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and community-acquired pneumonia as well. And for early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, differential diagnosis with community-acquired pneumonia is important. For this reasons, guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia should include when to make chest X-ray examination, and how to exclude the possibility of pulmonary tuberculosis. For example, empiric choice of anti-microbial for apparent pneumonia should be an agent without anti-tuberculosis effect. Clinical evaluation of the effect of anti-microbial should be done carefully, because pulmonary tuberculosis can be clinically improved spontaneously. In the guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia could include the above-mentioned views on early diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, the guideline could be much more helpful for the tuberculosis program.


Three groups of patients have been studied in order to elucidate the relationship between childhood hospitalization and chronic intractable pain in adults. The groups were: patients referred to a pain clinic, psychiatric patients with a depressive illness, and patients attending a rheumatology clinic. The findings suggest that early hospitalization is related to the genesis of both depressive illness and intractable pain: in the former occurring in the preschool years and in the latter, during school age. The significance of these relationships is discussed.


This paper sets out to examine the efficacy of monitoring and evaluation in achieving project success in Kenya. The victory of project management is usually gauged by the project success. Project success is achieved as a result of various contributing factors. One of the major factors leading to project success is monitoring and evaluation. This study therefore examined the efficiency of monitoring and evaluation function and its effect in achieving project success. This was done by assessing whether various attributes monitoring and evaluation such as; strength of monitoring, monitoring approach adopted, political influence and project lifecycle stage affects project success. Each of these attributes was regressed against the project success. The study found out that all the monitoring and evaluation attributes assessed had some impact in achieving the Project success. This study concluded that a number of projects that fail were as a result of weak a monitoring and evaluation function which was partly contributed by lack of management support. The study contributed new knowledge in that it established that projects may be unsuccessful despite having monitoring and evaluation function due to the weakness of M&E, lack of management support on the project functions, and political interference especially in Africa and developing countries. Keywords: Monitoring and Evaluation, Project Success, Kenya, County Governments.


Obstacle-anchored vortices can be terminated by the application of high-frequency wave trains in excitable media. We theoretically derived the dependency between the obstacle radius and the maximum unpinning period through reinterpretation of the well-known eikonal equation. Our theoretical result was confirmed by experiments with cardiomyocyte monolayers. This result may be useful for improving the stimulation protocol of implantable cardiac pacemakers.


Tier-1 mental health education programs are designed to educate young people about general mental health issues in school settings and everyday life situations. In practice, however, they have not been efficient at delivering a generalized mental health education to individual's ages 5-18 years old, because these programs do not consider socioeconomic, sociocultural, and gender differences; and these factors are important to effectively educate individuals. The thesis of the present study is that if these factors are included in the design and implementation of tier-1 programs, they will succeed in educating individuals about mental health issues. Accordingly, the present study reviewed research assessing socioeconomic, sociocultural and gender factors in determining the successful implementation of tier-1 mental educational programs. The main findings and their implications to the development and implementation of tier-1 programs are discussed in this paper.


Background There has been an increase in the prevalence of drug abuse (DA) in the national opioid epidemic. With increasing DA, there is an increased risk of infective endocarditis (IE). There are limited recent data evaluating national trends on the incidence and geographical distribution of DA‐IE. We aim to investigate those numbers as well as the determinants of outcome in this patient population. Methods and Results Hospitalized patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of IE based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth and Tenth Revisions (ICD‐9, ICD‐10) were included. We described the national and geographical trends in DA‐IE. We also compared DA‐IE patients' characteristics and outcomes to those with IE, but without associated drug abuse (non‐DA‐IE) using Poisson regression models. Incidence of DA‐IE has nearly doubled between 2002 and 2016 All US regions were affected, and the Midwest had the highest increase in DA‐IE hospitalizations (annual percent change=4.9%). Patients with DA‐IE were younger, more commonly white males, poorer, had fewer comorbidities, and were more likely to have human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C, concomitant alcohol abuse, and liver disease. Their length of stay was longer (9 versus 7 days; P<0.001) and were more likely to undergo cardiac surgery (7.8% versus 6.2%; P<0.001), but their inpatient mortality was lower (6.4% versus 9.1%; P<0.001). Conclusions DA‐IE is rising at an alarming rate in the United States. All regions of the United States are affected, with the Midwest having the highest increase in rate. Young‐adult, poor, white males were the most affected.


A multi-element receiver strategy is proposed in this paper for a multi-user shallow-water acoustic network (SWAN). The base station receiver, equipped with prior knowledge of the synchronization and training sequences of all intended users, has the task of demodulating the received signals of each user independent of the presence of other users. The adopted receiver strategy enables robust communications through the challenging underwater environment which is limited by both environmental and system factors. The channel is characterized by inter-symbol interference due to multipath propagation and multiple access interference. In this paper, we propose a number of multi-user detection receiver structures employing adaptive decision feedback equalization and spatial diversity to mitigate the effect of these two types of interference. Computer simulations and experimental sea trials conducted in the North Sea in 1999 were used to test the receiver strategies' performance for a two user near far scenario. Amongst a number of strategies tested, the structure based on recursive successive interference cancellation demonstrated improved performance overall.


Introduction: Family Planning Amidst Multiple Stressors Many countries in southern Africa are home to a large number of poor rural people, dependent on rainfed agriculture, barely subsisting even in years without shocks, and highly vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather, the economy, and government policy. Within this context of multiple livelihood stressors, including the effects of the AIDS epidemic, families attempt to plan and act to secure their own livelihoods and the future for their children. The context of multiple stressors and decreasing resilience has left many communities more vulnerable to external shocks than in the past. The increase in vulnerable households means that any crisis, whether it is due to climatic shocks, civil disturbance, or economic mismanagement, becomes increasingly difficult to absorb. Gaining an understanding of how parents plan and act to ensure the welfare of their children is a complex task. The interaction of various social, economic, and political factors necessitate the adoption of a range of interdisciplinary methods. This brief is based on a report commissioned by the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (www.jlica.org) in early 2007. The approach was to review published and unpublished literature largely from southern Africa to identify the major issues emerging around family decision-making, and then to utilise this to analyse recent case study material documenting how families are coping with stress across sites in the region. Continual interaction with JLICA Joint Learning Group I (Strengthening Families) helped refine the analysis and arguments.


Ultrafast ultrasound imaging using plane waves has advanced a myriad of novel ultrasound imaging methods such as ultrafast contrast-enhanced imaging and shear wave elastography. However, due to the lack of transmission focusing and the beam steering operation in plane wave imaging (PWI), the presence of clutter noise on the B-mode image is unavoidable. The reduction of clutter noise is expected to increase the image contrast and spatial resolution, the two main criteria in ultrasound medical B-mode imaging for better diagnosis. Researchers have looked into this problem in depth and proposed many solutions. Many of the proposed solutions come with trade-offs. Attenuating the clutter noise may reduce the frame rate (FR), broaden the main lobe or increase the overall computational complexity. Thus, an advanced solution is warranted, with which reducing the clutter noise will not affect the FR and the image quality can be improved with a low computational complexity.

In this thesis, the clutter noise problem has been tackled with various approaches, the first implementing a new filtered delay multiply and sum (FDMAS) beamforming technique, the second being a new compounding method based on autocorrelation and the final being a new version of unsharp masking (UM) filter. In FDMAS, the optimization of the imaging point step in lateral direction has been investigated. By calculating the received echoes with a smaller imaging point in the lateral direction, it helps to lower the side lobe levels and improve the lateral resolution of B-mode images. The proposed compounding method that is based on the autocorrelation process has proved effective to reduce clutter noise even with a very low number of compounding angles. The modified version of the UM filter suites ultrasound B-mode imaging and it provides promising results granting the improved image contrast and resolution without compromising the FR.

The benefit of reducing clutter noise on the B-mode image was demonstrated with its application to contour segmentation. Attenuating clutter noise not only speeded up the segmentation process but also benefited the measurement accuracy of the intima media thickness, which has the potential to add diagnostic value for the early detection of stokes, among other vascular diseases.


Graph query languages feature mainly two kinds of queries when applied to a graph database: those inspired by relational databases which return tables such as SELECT queries and those which return graphs such as CONSTRUCT queries in SPARQL. The latter are object of study in the present paper. For this purpose, a core graph query language GrAL is defined with focus on CONSTRUCT queries. Queries in GrAL form the final step of a recursive process involving so-called GrAL patterns. By evaluating a query over a graph one gets a graph, while by evaluating a pattern over a graph one gets a set of matches which involves both a graph and a table. CONSTRUCT queries are based on CONSTRUCT patterns, and sub-CONSTRUCT patterns come for free from the recursive definition of patterns. The semantics of GrAL is based on RDF graphs with a slight modification which consists in accepting isolated nodes. Such an extension of RDF graphs eases the definition of the evaluation semantics, which is mainly captured by a unique operation called Merge. Besides, we define aggregations as part of GrAL expressions, which leads to an original local processing of aggregations.


OBJECTIVES: To learn about the behavior of the retinopathy of prematurity in newborns under 1750 grams of weight or 35 weeks of gestation. METHODS: Prospective longitudinal descriptive and observational study of all low birthweighed children at "Iván Portuondo" hospital, from January to December of 2009. A total of 129 low birth weight children were detected; the research protocol was formed by under 1 750 g birth weight or gestational age under 35 weeks in addition to assessing some risk factors. Those children who died in this period were excluded. RESULTS: The incidence was 0,24 per 10 000 live births according to the ophthalmologic exam. The 69,35 % of the screened newborns were born at 32 to 35 weeks of gestation and 40,32% weighted 1500-1999 grams. Among these children, 93,54% presented with immature retina and 3,22% developed retinopathy of prematurity. The same number of cases was treated with laser and topical therapy (50% respectively) CONCLUSION: The values found in patients with retinopathy of prematurity in Cuba were within those internationally accepted figures and they change according to the increase in the survival of the newborns. Among the influential factors are the gestational age and the birth weight. Laser is considered as standard treatment.


This article provides an analysis of the correlation between a competitive advantage derived from improved decision-making processes and knowledge management through enterprise content management (ECM) platforms. Therefore, it expands literature on knowledge management and explicates the relationships among knowledge management systems, ECM systems, and decision-making processes. In other words our research question is: are the ECM systems able to create value for organizations? If Yes, how? In the studied case, we have seen that decision makers achieve their best performance through improved quantity and quality of input to the decisional process, as well as better formalization of knowledge included through all phases of the process thank to the adoption of ECM systems.


BACKGROUND
Bone sarcomas are a significant cause of pain, disability, and mortality in dogs. A variety of surgical limb salvage options are available to preserve limb function with comparable prognosis to amputation.

CASE REPORT
This report describes successful healing after plate fixation of an undifferentiated sarcoma pathologic femoral fracture in a dog. The fracture was treated surgically with curettage of the tumour site, placement of autogenous bone graft, and then stabilized using a locking plate rod construct. The patient regained excellent mobility after surgery and was managed with monthly pamidronate therapy. Serial radiographs demonstrate progressive healing of the pathologic fracture. Ultimately, the patient developed a maxillary fibrosarcoma and was euthanased 1 year after treatment of the femoral fracture. Postmortem histopathological evaluation of the pathologic fracture site demonstrated complete bone healing.

CONCLUSION
This case highlights the possibilities of limb salvage by fracture stabilization and bone healing as a viable option in select patients.


Abstract. The hydrological responses of a catchment are sensitive to, and strongly coupled to, land use and climate, and changes thereof. The hydrological responses to the impacts of changing land use and climate will be the result of complex interactions, where the change in one may moderate or exacerbate the effects of the other. Further difficulties in assessing these interactions are that dominant drivers of the hydrological system may vary at different spatial and temporal scales. To assess these interactions, a process-based hydrological model, sensitive to land use and climate, and changes thereof, needs to be used. For this purpose the daily time step ACRU model was selected. However, to be able to use a hydrological model such as ACRU with confidence its representation of reality must be confirmed by comparing simulated output against observations across a range of climatic conditions. Comparison of simulated against observed streamflow was undertaken in three climatically diverse South African catchments, ranging from the semi-arid, sub-tropical Luvuvhu catchment, to the winter rainfall Upper Breede catchment and the sub-humid Mgeni catchment. Not only do the climates of the catchments differ, but their primary land uses also vary. In the upper areas of the Mgeni catchment commercial plantation forestry is dominant, while in the middle reaches there are significant areas of commercial plantation sugarcane and urban areas, while the lower reaches are dominated by urban areas. The Luvuvhu catchment has a large proportion of subsistence agriculture and informal residential areas. In the Upper Breede catchment in the Western Cape, commercial orchards and vineyards are the primary land uses. Overall the ACRU model was able to represent the high, low and total flows, with satisfactory Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency indexes obtained for the selected catchments. The study concluded that the ACRU model can be used with confidence to simulate the streamflows of the three selected catchments and was able to represent the hydrological responses from the range of climates and diversity of land uses present within the catchments.


Introduced path connects the topics in common concept: integral information measure and symmetry. Initial path' sequence axiomatic probability distributions of stochastic multidimensional process transfers each priory to posteriori probabilities alternating probabilities over process trajectory. Emerging Bayesian probabilities entropy defines process uncertainty measure. Probability transitions model interactive random process generated by idealized virtual measurements of uncertainty as observable process of potential observer. When the measurements test uncertainty by interactive impulses its inferring certain posteriori probability starts converting uncertainty to certainty information. Observable uncertain impulse becomes certain control extracting maximum information from each observed minima and initiating information observer with internal process during conversion. Multiple trial actions produce observed frequency of the events measured probability actually occurred. Dual minimax principle of maxmim extraction and minimax consumption information is mathematical law whose variation equations determine observer structure and functionally unify regularities. Impulse controls cutoff the minimax, convert external process to internal information micro and macrodynamics through integral measuring, multiple trials, verification symmetry, cooperation, enfoldment in logical hierarchical information network IN and feedback path to observations; IN high level logic originates observer intelligence requesting new quality information. Functional regularities create integral logic selfoperating observations, inner dynamical and geometrical structures with boundary shaped by IN information geometry in timespace cooperative processes, and physical substances, observer cognition,intelligence. Logic holds invariance information and physical regularities of minimax law.


The competitive environment of the broadcasting sector is changing; under this change, public broadcasters have to adapt to keep being relevant to their users. Big-data technologies play an essential part in the technological side of these changes. Our objective is to identify the public broadcasters' big-data technology trajectories in this changing environment. We propose two research questions to narrow down the objective: What are the big-data technology trajectories of public broadcasters? Also, which are the directions of big-data technologies proposed by the public broadcasters? We propose as the method, to analyze scientific paper's keywords and combine it with network analysis. We compare two datasets, big-data, and public broadcasters. The big-data set is borrowed from a previous work done by the authors which detected big-data keywords proxy of knowledge convergence. The public broadcasters' dataset is created from the scientific publications reported by BBC and NHK. We match the big-data converging keywords to the keywords of the BBC and NHK publications and visualize their behavior over the time (2008–2016). We analyze the documents linked to the shared keywords on both datasets to identify the big-data technology trajectories and propose future directions. We identified as big-data technological trajectories for BBC, Linked open data, recommender system, semantic web, and Image processing; For NHK, speech recognition, Generate metadata to index NHK's programs and Augmented reality (AR). Concerning their future, the detected trajectories are expected to be useful for broadcasters an organizations related to their value chain.


The Late Bronze Age was a period of profound transformation on the island of Cyprus. Through investigations at the Maroni complex and at Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios—two urban centers in south-central Cyprus—the Kalavasos and Maroni Built Environments (KAMBE) Project seeks to understand the relationship between these changes and the coeval rise of the island's first cities. Here we discuss the results of new work at Ayios Dhimitrios, where the collection of high-resolution data is providing new insights into the emergence and development of this Late Bronze Age urban landscape. Our work has focused on two areas: (1) a monumental court-centered building (Building XVI) with possible evidence for feasting and (2) the approach to the city's administrative core, which was monumentalized through a series of construction phases. We argue that cities are produced by the place-making activities of their inhabitants at various scales, and our investigations in these two areas of Ayios Dhimitrios provide compelling evidence for elite place making through which the urban environment shaped, and was shaped by, new patterns of movement, social interaction, and daily practice. Comparison with the nearby and largely contemporaneous Maroni complex reveals that the first cities on Cyprus took rather divergent paths to becoming urban.


This paper develops an approach towards the study of trust in emerging robotics in a context of technology governance. First, a notion of robotics' speculative character as an emerging technology is developed, thereby pointing at the different expectations regarding its societal impact. Furthermore, robots as speculative objects are explained as important to engage with, thereby arguing for a narrative approach towards robot trajectories. Finally, based on the above, a concept for the analysis of trust building through technology governance is developed. A concept that can engage with the speculative character of emerging robotics on a societal level.


This doctoral thesis examines the association between social capital and local economic success at the level of the District Council Area in Northern Ireland. A number of challenges have had to be addressed to progress this analysis. "Economic success" has had to be defined as a series of outcomes. These outcomes have each been shown to be sufficiently distinctive to justify their being synthesised into an Economic Success Index which can provide a more comprehensive measure of economic success. "Local' has been defined as the District Council Area in Northern Ireland. That spatial parameter has constrained the data available for analysis. Cross-sectional and time-series data has had to be combined in one analytical framework. "Social capital" has been defined as one of a series of potential economic success inputs. A set of social capital indicators has been identified. In order to put the association between social capital and local economic success into context, clusters of other potential inputs have been identified. Their association with economic success has also been measured.
The subsequent analysis of economic success outcomes, social capital and other potential economic success inputs, has revealed how internally complex Northern Ireland is. The region's heterogeneity has been proposed as an explanation for the relatively small number of inputs whose association with local economic success prevailed across enough of Northern Ireland's local economies to be statistically significant. Notably, social capital has been found not to have been associated with local economic success across Northern Ireland as a whole. This is in line with studies of social capital and economic performance at the level of large intra-national regions in the UK, Europe and the US which had found either no association or contradictory and inconclusive sets of statistical relationships.
This thesis has analysed social capital and local economic success outcomes at the intra-regional district level. This has revealed that at a sub-regional level in Northern Ireland there was in 2001 a high level of co-terminosity in some areas between the presence of social capital and the attainment of local economic success. In particular, a sub-region of contiguous Catholic District Council Areas has been identified which was economically successful and in which social capital was also highly developed.
Other conclusions drawn from this analysis are that: social capital in Northern Ireland was a distinctively Catholic phenomenon; by 2001 the West/East, Catholic/Protestant intra-regional differential in economic success no longer seems to have prevailed; a new geographical disparity appears to have emerged between an economically less successful northern coastal arc and the rest of the region; Catholics overall were more likely to have been living in economically successful areas, a significant improvement in their historic position of relative economic disadvantage; self-employment, which in 2001 was positively associated with economic success, was much higher in Catholic areas than in Protestant areas.
The thesis has also generated two potentially important findings in respect of women: The presence of female small business employers was not associated with economic success, whereas women leaving the home to become economically active was. Cause and effect remains an open question in respect of these and other findings. However, at the very least this thesis suggests that the relationship between females becoming employers, females becoming economically active, social capital and economic success is a complex one which needs more research.
This thesis unravels some of the complexity of economic success and of the functioning of social capital in a complex region.


The original Prevent Strategy, launched by the previous Labour government in 2007, aimed to stop radicalisation, reduce support for terrorism and violent extremism and discourage people from becoming terrorists. The strategy had five central objectives, which were to:
 challenge violent extremist ideology and support mainstream voices
 disrupt those who promote violent extremism and support the institutions where they are active

support individuals who are being targeted and recruited to the cause of violent extremism1

increase the resilience of communities to violent extremism

address the grievances which ideologues are exploiting.
I
n 2008, under the original Prevent Strategy, the Youth Justice Board (YJB) secured resources from the Office of Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) at the Home Office to fund the development of programmes within youth offending teams (YOTs) and the secure estate to prevent at-risk young people2 (primarily young Muslims) from becoming involved in Islamic radicalisation and violent extremism.3 The money was directed towards YOTs located in areas which intelligence suggested were at the highest risk of violent extremism. For the most part, the projects were given responsibility for designing their own interventions within the parameters of the 2007 Prevent objectives and with the OSCT exercising high-level oversight.
The aims of this evaluation, which was commissioned4 by the YJB, were to:
 collate and assess the existing evidence relating to preventing violent extremism (PVE)
 describe and evaluate the implementation of the funded PVE programmes within the youth justice system
1 Later changed to "support individuals who are vulnerable to recruitment or who have already been recruited by violent extremists" (Home Office, 2009).
2 'At-risk young people' were defined by both the YOT age range (from 10 to 18 years old) and by more pragmatic concerns at the individual project level. Therefore, it was not unusual for the project staff to extend their programme provision to older youths where there was a perception of a persistent vulnerability and risk, or to make allowances for natural peer groups.
3 'Radicalisation' can be defined as the move towards active support for violent extremism, and, as such, it is a process of change which is downstream of, and prior to, violent extremism, although importantly it does not necessitate it. Therefore, a radicalised individual may not become involved in any violent action (and indeed could be opposed in principle to such action).
4 The research was commissioned to run from February 2009 to February 2011.
6

identify emerging good and promising practice by relating the findings of the process evaluation to the evidence identified in the literature review.


Managerial overconfidence is known as a cognitive bias which leads managers to overestimate their ability and judgments and induces riskier capital investments. Research explored the influence of managerial overconfidence on labor investment efficiency. Author found a significantly positive association between CEO overconfidence and labor overinvestment. This result indicates that overconfident managers tend to invest more in labor, thus worsening labor investment efficiency under labor overinvestment. Further analysis reveals that internal funds increase negative impact of the managerial overconfidence on labor investment efficiency.


The nurse educators in a small sub-Saharan African country decided to change their content-driven hospital-based nursing curriculum to a competency-based curriculum (CBC) with a primary health care focus. The high burden of disease and the inability of the country to meet the Millennium Development Goals formed the basis of the decision. The author employs a case study to explain the process used to develop a CBC with the aim to reduce curriculum drift. The role players were the nurse educators, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nurse Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI), Nurse Capacity Building Programme (ICAP), and Lesotho Nursing Council. A selected task team explained the characteristics of a CBC; facilitated the process to reach consensus on the key competences; and applied four educational principles in the process of developing the curricula. Consensus on the core competencies was reached by using the nominal group technique. Benchmarking of these competencies was done against international standards.


The in vitro formation of phenylhydronitroxide and 2-methylphenylhydronitroxide free radicals from nitrosobenzene (NB) and 2-nitrosotoluene (NT), respectively, in either red blood cells (RBC) or RBC hemolysates, was confirmed by electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR). Free radicals were generated nonenzymatically from reaction of the respective nitroso compounds with a number of biological reducing agents as corroborated by model studies of NB or NT with NAD(P)H. Under aerobic conditions, phenylhydronitroxide and 2-methylphenylhydronitroxide underwent a subsequent one-electron transfer to oxygen, which then resulted in the formation of superoxide anion (O2-). The latter product was confirmed by the superoxide dismutase (SOD)-inhibitable reduction of cytochrome c (cyt c). Apparently, oxygen is needed for continuous formation of the hydronitroxide radical derivatives. On the other hand, under anaerobic conditions, no phenylhydronitroxide radical was generated from NB in the presence of NADH, but the formation of phenylhydroxylamine from NB was detected by the absorption spectrometry. These results suggest that oxygen is a preferential electron acceptor for hydronitroxide radical derivatives.


Currently, the conventional license plate location method fails to detect the license plate under complex road environments such as severe weather conditions and viewpoint changes. Besides, it is difficult for license plate location method based on machine learning to precisely locate the area of license plate. Moreover, license plate location method may incorrectly detect similar objects such as billboards and road signs as license plates. To alleviate these problems, this article proposes a new approach to vehicle license plate location based on new model YOLO-L and plate pre-identification. The new model improves in two aspects to precisely locate the area of license plate. First, it uses k-means++ clustering algorithm to select the best number and size of plate candidate boxes. Second, it modifies the structure and depth of YOLOv2 model. Plate pre-identification algorithm can effectively distinguish license plates from similar objects. The experimental results show that authors' proposed method not only achieves a precision of 98.86% and a recall of 98.86%, which outperforms the existing methods, but also has high efficiency in real time.


Amentoflavone (AF) isolated from Selaginella tamariscina was screened for antioxidant activities in vitro, and lowering blood lipid and hepatoprotective activity in vivo. AF had no antioxidant activity in DPPH and ABTS assay and poor reducing power in FRAP assay. Intragastric administration of AF (75 mg/kg body weight per day), ethyl acetate fraction of S. tamariscina (STEA) (150 mg/kg) and acidic extract of S. tamariscina (STAE) (150 mg/kg) to groups of hyperlipidemia mice for 21 days, they all significantly decreased the level of blood triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in serum. The level of blood high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) significantly increased (P<0.001). Intragastric administration of AF (200 mg/kg body weight per day), AF (100 mg/kg), and AF (50 mg/kg) to mice injected with carbon tetrachloride to induce acute hepatic injury for 8 days, the level of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) in group of AF (200 mg/kg) significantly decreased (P<0.001). The level of hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) in groups of AF (200, 100, and 50 mg/kg, respectively) significantly decreased (P<0.001), and the level of hepatic SOD only in group of AF (200 mg/kg) significantly increased (P<0.01). The result showed that AF had a high hypolipidemic activity and hepatoprotective effect in vivo.

 Key words: Amentoflavone, Selaginella tamariscina, hypolipidemic activity, hepatoprotective.


The present study is focused on understanding how the image of the girl designated "in distress" in official regulations guiding the provision of public social services to girls in Israel can be structured. The study takes a qualitative approach, and employs the critical-feminist paradigm to the analysis and interpretation of discourse, combining thematic content analysis and deductive critical discourse analysis. Its main findings disclose an organized process of establishing the normative authorities dominating the discourse on public social services for girls; classifying groups of service recipients to which a girl can belong; constructing their forms; and ultimately circumscribing the girls thereto, determining the performative acts on which receiving state assistance is conditional. Through discursive maneuvers of construction, the image of the girl is "born" as an undisputed "truth" deriving from the deviance attached to her every move. In this trajectory, basic epistemic injustices are perpetuated and solidified, and a new form of epistemic injustice—existential epistemic injustice—is revealed. This process's implications are proposed.


We undertook an investigation of the lateral tongue reflex to determine whether reflex sensitivity was systematically related to selected perinatal factors. The subjects were 24 male and 27 female newborns with a mean age of 28.9 hr. (SD = 16.8, range 5–72 hr.). The lateral tongue reflex was elicited by applying tactile stimulation of varying intensity to the lateral edge of the tongue approximately 1 cm off midline. Eight different stimuli from the Semmes-Weinstein esthesiometer were used; forces ranged from 68 mg to 3.6 gm. A total of 32 stimulations were given in two repetitions of 16 each (8 on the right side and 8 on the left side). The mean number of positive responses was 19.9 (SD = 3.2, range 13–25), with a 5% response at the lowest level of stimulation and a 100% response at the highest level. There were no differences in total number of positive responses or thresholds on the right and left sides, or in Repetitions I and II. There were no differences between males and females, vaginally and caesarian delivered infants, or resuscitated and non-resuscitated infants. No systematic differences were observed as a function of length of labor, obstetric medications, postnatal age at time of testing, Apgar scores, birth weight, or gestational age. The results suggest that the lateral tongue reflex is a stable and reproducible response that could be used to measure oral sensation, both in normal neonates and in subjects with various anatomical and/or neurosensory deficits.


One hundred Chinese patients who received induction cytotoxic therapy for malignant lymphoma were prospectively studied to determine the incidence, morbidity, mortality, and predisposing factors for reactivation of hepatitis B virus replication during cytotoxic therapy. In 18 (67%) hepatitis B surface antigen-positive and 10 (14%) hepatitis B surface antigen-negative patients, hepatitis developed during cytotoxic therapy (P less than 0.0001). Hepatitis could be attributed to exacerbation or reactivation of chronic hepatitis B in 13 (72%) hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients but in only 2 (20%) hepatitis B surface antigen-negative patients (P less than 0.0001). Sudden increase or reactivation of hepatitis B virus replication gave rise to icteric hepatitis, nonfatal hepatic failure, and death in 22.3%, 3.7%, and 3.7% of patients who were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen; in 2%, 2%, and 0% of those positive for hepatitis B antibodies; and in none of those who were seronegative. Among the hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients, male sex was the only factor that was associated with an increased risk of reactivation of hepatitis B virus replication. We recommend that hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients with malignancies receiving cytotoxic therapy be closely monitored.


also represents one of the most important breeding and feeding habitat for sperm whales yet identified in the south western Indian Ocean, with spatial range extending to La Perouse seamount, Reunion and Rodrigues. The Mascarene Islands and associated oceanic features, including La Perouse Seamount and St Brandon shoal, represent suitable breeding habitats for humpback whales, which connect with other breeding sites and other IMMAs of the southwest Indian Ocean.


Abstract It is known that the majority of oil fields in the world are in the final stages of development at the moment. Oil that is left behind after water flooding is there because either it has not been contacted by the injected fluid, or because of the capillary forces that exist between oil, water, and the porous rock. To capture this residual oil, the petroleum industry is devoted to research and development of enhanced oil recovery technologies. Thus, considerable efforts have being made on the potential use of thermal methods (steam injection and in-situ combustion) for the recovery of residual crude oil. This review describes progress and recent utilization trends in petroleum recovery in steam injection and in-situ combustion techniques; its physical, environmental, and economical impact on total oil production; as well as worldwide snapshot and difficulties in the realization with some conclusions.


In the field of cardiovascular risk and treatment of menopause, only one instruction can be currently given to the prescribers: caution. Since the publication of heart and estrogen/progestin replacement study, the dogma of the cardioprotection induced by hormonal replacement therapy began to crumble. This paradigm had set up with observational studies, which for the majority had neglected in their retrospective analysis the socio-economic factor. Since shock caused by HERS, nine randomized studies are accumulated. All are negative, except for EPAT. At present, all confirms the prophetic recommendation of J.E. Rossow, in 1996: "Putting the brakes on the bandwagon". The last guidelines formally prohibit HRT in coronary women or with the aim of primary prevention of chronic conditions in healthy postmenopausal women.


For the correction of astigmatism, many different approaches have been tested, with different degrees of success, through the years1. Patient satisfaction in any refractive surgery, wavefront-guided or not, is primarily dependent on successful treatment of the lower order aberrations (LOA) of the eye (sphere and cylinder). Achieving accurate clinical outcomes and reducing the likelihood of a retreatment procedure are major goals of refractive surgery. LASIK has been successfully used for low to moderate myopic astigmatism, whether LASIK is acceptably efficacious, predictable, and safe in correcting higher myopic astigmatism is less documented, especially with regard to the effects of astigmatic corrections in HOA's. The correction of astigmatism has been approached using several techniques and ablation profiles. There are several reports showing good results for compound myopic astigmatism using photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and LASIK, but ablation profiles usually cause a hyperopic shift because of a coupling effect in the flattest corneal meridian. A likely mechanism of this coupling effect is probably due to epithelial remodeling and other effects such as smoothing by the LASIK flap. In cases of large preoperative amounts of astigmatism, deviations from the target refractive outcome are usually attributed to "coupling factors." Nevertheless, the investigation of the coupling factor remains a rather difficult task, because it seems to be dependent on various factors. Individual excimer laser systems may have different coupling factors, cutting the flap could alter the initial prescription and different preoperative corneal curvatures (K-reading) may have influence on coupling factor.


Introduction/Background The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the 5-year survival outcomes of cervical cancer patients who underwent an open radical hysterectomy (ORH) or laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) after its introduction in our center for the treatment of this disease. Methodology We conducted a retrospective review of cervical cancer patients managed in Kielce Oncology Center, Poland with an ORH or LRH between 2011 and 2016. Results A total of 115 women with cervical carcinoma stage IB1 or IIA1 were included in the study. Eighty-eight patients were treated with ORH, 27 were managed via LRH based on surgeon preference. Clinical characteristics did not differ between groups. Duration of total surgery time was longer in patients with ORH compared with that in the LRH group (p<0.001) contrary to blood loss that was higher in the ORH group than in LRH (p<0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed a progression-free survival at 3 and 5 years (PFS) rate of 95.68% and 90.91% for the LRH group and 95.68% and 85.52% for the ORH group, respectively (p=0,95). Overall survival at 5 years was 89.00% for the ORH group and 100% for the LRH group and 96.6% for the RRH patients (p=0.389). Conclusion Results from this retrospective study suggest that introduction of a laparoscopic procedures in the surgical staging and treatment of cervical cancer patients did not have a detrimental effect on surgical or disease outcome, irrespective of operative approach. Disclosure Nothing to disclose.


A reconnaissance survey of the domestication of the African palm weevil (APW) (Rhynchophorus phoenicis), which produces the edible larvae that are cherished as a delicacy among many tribes in Ghana, was conducted. Out of a total number of 560 semi-trained farmers, 271 (48.39%) were actively engaged in R. phoenicis farming near their homes or gardens, while 289 (51.61%) were non-active. Economic viability analyses showed that the active farmers would break even and repay their loans of GH¢1000 when they produce 3020 larvae at unit selling price of GH¢0.33, within a period of 4 months and 7 days (17 weeks). In a year, a farmer would have three production cycles and generate a total revenue of GH¢3018.79, at average monthly production of 755 edible larvae, net cash availability of GH¢1448.79, and projected net profit of GH¢448.79 in the first year of production. The farmer would make more profit and become wealthy in business in subsequent years. The pilot scheme of palm weevil farming was viable and ameliorated poverty and malnutrition of rural farmers in Ghana.


Background For decades, high dose intravenous cyclophosphamide (ivCY) given for 24-30 months was regarded as standard therapy for proliferative lupus nephritis (LN), despite serious side effects.(1) Objectives To evaluate the effect of induction therapy with short-term high dose ivCY followed by mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) on renal function and mortality in patients with proliferative LN. Methods Between January 2003 and November 2006, 74 patients with biopsy-proven proliferative LN were included in the second Dutch LN Study. All patients were treated with ivCY (750 mg/m2, 6 pulses in 5 months) plus oral prednisone (OP; initially 1 mg/kg/day), followed by MMF (2000 mg/day) plus OP (10 mg/day) for 18 months, and then AZA (2 mg/kg/day) plus OP (10 mg/day) (CY/MMF group). Study endpoints included the occurrence of renal relapse, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and mortality. Results were compared to 4-year follow-up data (median 4.0 years, range 0.1-4.5) of the first Dutch LN Study.(2) In this randomized controlled trial, patients with proliferative LN were treated with high dose ivCY (750 mg/m2, 13 pulses in 2 years) plus OP (initially 1 mg/kg/day) (CY group; n=50) or AZA (2 mg/kg/day) combined with intravenous methylprednisolone (3x3 pulses of 1000 mg) and OP (initially 20 mg/day) (AZA/MP group; n=37). After 2 years, all patients continued with AZA (2 mg/kg/day) plus OP (10 mg/day). Results After a median follow-up of 3.8 years (range 0.1-4.5), 4 patients (5%) of the CY/MMF group had a renal relapse, one patient (1%) reached ESRD, and 2 patients (3%) died. The occurrence of renal relapses in the CY/MMF group was comparable to the CY group (HR: 1.4, 95% CI: 0.3-7.5). Significantly less renal relapses occurred in the CY/MMF group compared to the AZA/MP group (HR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7). The occurrence of ESRD and mortality were comparable between treatment groups. Conclusions This open-label study shows that induction therapy with short-term (5 months) high dose ivCY followed by MMF is as effective as long-term (24 months) high dose ivCY in preventing renal relapses, ESRD, and mortality in patients with proliferative LN. References Steinberg AD, Steinberg SC. Long-term preservation of renal function in patients with lupus nephritis receiving treatment that includes cyclophosphamide versus those treated with prednisone only. Arthritis Rheum 1991;34:945-50. Grootscholten C, Ligtenberg G, Hagen EC, et al. Azathioprine/methylprednisolone versus cyclophosphamide in proliferative lupus nephritis. A randomized controlled trial. Kidney Int 2006;70:732-42. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


The dichloromethane solvates of the isomers tetrakis(mu-1,3-benzothiazole-2-thiolato)-kappa(4)N:S;kappa(4)S:N-dipalladium(II)(Pd-Pd), (I), and tetrakis(mu-1,3-benzothiazole-2-thiolato)-kappa(6)N:S;kappa(2)S:N-dipalladium(II)(Pd-Pd), (II), both [Pd2(C7H4NS2)4] x CH2Cl2, have been synthesized in the presence of (o-isopropylphenyl)diphenylphosphane and (o-methylphenyl)diphenylphosphane. Both isomers form a lantern-type structure, where isomer (I) displays a regular and symmetric coordination and isomer (II) an asymmetric and distorted structure. In (I), sitting on an centre of inversion, two 1,3-benzothiazole-2-thiolate units are bonded by a Pd-N bond to one Pd atom and by a Pd-S bond to the other Pd atom, and the other two benzothiazolethiolate units are bonded to the same Pd atoms by, respectively, a Pd-S and a Pd-N bond. In (II), three benzothiazolethiolate units are bonded by a Pd-N bond to one Pd atom and by a Pd-S bond to the other Pd atom, and the fourth benzothiazolethiolate unit is bonded to the same Pd atoms by, respectively, a Pd-S bond and a Pd-N bond.


Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the hearing outcomes of chronic suppurative otitis media surgery. Chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) surgery composed of two procedure; canal wall up mastoidectomy (CWU) and canal wall down mastoidectomy (CWD). Material and Methods:The study included 29 patients with CSOM diagnosis and patients a mean age of 37.02 ± 2.4 years (y). The demographic features (age, gender), clinical features and intraoperative findings of the patients were recorded. Patients' hearing was evaluated with pure tone audiometry (PTA) at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 kHz and pre-postoperative air bone gap (ABG) difference. Preand post-operative air-bone gap (ABG) at 12 months after ossiculoplasty. There were 8 patients who underwent CWD and 21 patients who underwent CWU. Results: TWhen preoperative and postoperative ABG for the patients are compared, there were statistically significant differences identified at 0.5, 1, 2 and 8 kHz. However, there was no statistically significant difference identified at 4 kHz. Conclusion: Regardless to the surgical technique, statistically significant levels of hearing gain were provided at 0.5, 1, 2 and 8 kHz; however, there was no hearing gain at 4 kHz after the surgical procedure.


In this paper, we present our study of a method to improve nonuniform erasing speeds caused by slow edge cells (cell 0 and cell 31). Simulation and measurement results showed that the slow erasing speed at edge cells is resulted from the coupling effect of select gate (SG) transistors. Moreover, several extra bias voltages were forced on the pass wordlines to evaluate the electrostatic potential difference and to improve erase uniformity. Simulation result and measurement data demonstrated that 0.4 V of the extra bias voltage can improve the uniformity of the erasing speed in nano-scale NAND flash memory.


The research objective was to determine the coffee farmers' group dynamics and the coaching partern of coffee farmers. The research area was determined purposively. Determination of research respondents was carried out by snowball sampling with a total of 54 respondents. The research was conducted descriptively. Indicators of farmer group dynamics including farmer group objectives, task functions, group coaching and development, group unity, group atmosphere, group pressure, group effectiveness, and hidden intentions. The results showed that 56.5% of respondent understood the group's objectives, 60% of respondent replied that there was a clear division of tasks in the coffee farmer groups. The selection of administrators in the group structure is based on aggrement among member group. 70.2% of respondent farmers said that groups provide information about group activities. 77.7% of respondents said that groups invite and involve their members to participate in group activities based on the abilities and skills of the members. 80.2% of respondents said that the group has a strong sense of unity. 60% of farmers feel that the conflict and pressure that occurs in the group does not disturb the atmosphere within the group because it has been managed well. 58.6% of farmers think that there is no conflict and internal competition among members of the group. 69.1% of respondents think that the goals in the group are easy to understand.
Keywords: Group dynamics, Coaching Pattern and Coffee Cluster


Knowledge of the anatomy of Thermosbaena is extended as follows: (i) The topography of the head and anterior thoracic region, and the orientation and relationships of the mouthparts and anterior appendages are described, (ii) A branchial chamber is located underneath each lateral carapace flap, (iii) 'Skin' glands are demonstrated to occur at the bases of the paragnaths, maxillules, and maxillipedes; in the labrum and in the mandibular palps; in the groove leading from the food basin to the paragnath bases; and in the basal segments of the endopodites of peraeopods II-V. The function of these glands is obscure; histochemical tests indicate that they do not secrete mucus, (iv) The posterior aorta is traced from the heart to the level of the first abdominal segment, where it bifurcates into 2 lateral vessels which diverge to each side of the intestine, (v) Four conditions of the female reproductive system are distinguished, namely, the immature, mature, copulatory, and brood-pouch conditions; temporary seminal receptacles are formed by dilatation of the oviducts in the copulatory condition. An inhalant respiratory current is produced by oscillation of the maxillipede epipodites in the branchial chambers. The exhalant respiratory current emerges via carapace lappets on either side of the head. Thermosbaena feeds on particles of detritus suspended in a mucilaginous matrix that is probably derived from the mucilaginous sheaths of the Cyanophyceae in the diet. A main food-stream appears to be driven forwards between the peraeopods, through a channel formed by the maxillipede bases to the food basin, and from thence along a ventral groove and between the paragnath bases to the oral cavity. It is possible that the main food-stream is augmented by detritus brought by the inhalant respiratory current, and by lateral feeding currents drawn in from the sides. Following internal fertilization, early segmentation of the embryo occurs within the ovaries. The blastomeres are first formed within the body of the yolk and subsequently rise to the surface, the segmentation thus resembling that of Hemimysis and Mesopodopsis . The embryos are transferred to the dorsal brood-pouch shortly after segmentation begins, probably by expulsion from the posteriorly directed vaginae while the female is upside down, followed by suction into the brood-pouch with the inhalant respiratory current. The embryos emerge from the brood-pouch as miniature adults with the full complement of peraeopods. There appears to be no transitory 7th abdominal ganglion. Thermosbaena is probably paedomorphic in certain respects and less primitive than Monodella . There are insufficient grounds for establishing a new malacostracan division Pancarida, as advocated by Siewing (1958), to receive the Thermosbaenacea.


Background While prions play a central role in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, the biology of these proteins and the pathophysiology of these diseases remain largely unknown. Since no case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has ever been reported in buffalo despite their phylogenetic proximity to cattle, genetic differences may be driving the different susceptibilities of these two species to BSE. We thus hypothesized that differences in expression of the most recently identified member of the prion family or Shadoo (SPRN) gene may relate to these species-specific differences. Principal Findings We first analyzed and compared the polymorphisms of the SPRN gene (∼4.4 kb), including the putative promoter, coding and 3′ regions, and further verified the entire ORF and putative promoter. This yielded a total of 117 fixed differences, remarkably: 1) a 12-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the hydrophobic domain of the cattle but not buffalo gene, introducing a four amino acid expansion/contraction in a series of 5 tandem Ala/Gly-containing repeats; 2) two fixed missense mutations (102Ser→Gly and 119Thr→Ala), and three missense mutations (92Pro>Thr/Met, 122Thr>Ile and 139Arg>Trp) in the coding region presenting different (P<0.05) genotypic and allelic frequency distributions between cattle and buffalo; and, 3) functional luciferase-reporter experiments for the predicted promoter region, consistent with a significantly higher activity in buffalo than cattle. Supporting these findings, immunoblotting revealed higher relative expression levels of Sho protein in cerebrum from buffalo than from cattle. In addition, for cattle, highest Sho expression was detected in obex, as compared to cerebrum or cerebellum. Significance Our findings support Sho as a non-PrP specific marker for prion infections, with obex as the best tissue source for the detection of Sho in TSE rapid tests. Moreover, these discoveries may prove advantageous for further understanding the biology of prion diseases.


A large number of shaking table tests were performed on model buildings with lead rubber isolated bearing and fixed base. The experimental results of the two models are presented and compared in this paper. The results show that the rubber isolated bearing is very effective in reducing the seismic response and dissipating the input energy of the superstructure'


The influence of undersized solute additions on radiation-induced segregation (RIS) at grain boundaries was examined for austenitic model alloys. High-purity Fe-15Cr-20Ni alloys, doped with either 0.5 mass% silicon or 0.025 mass% phosphorus, were exposed to electron irradiation at several temperatures in a high-voltage electron microscope. The grain boundary depletion of chromium and segregation of nickel were significantly suppressed by the addition of silicon and phosphorus, and the addition of phosphorus significantly reduced the RIS at a grain boundary. It was shown by numerical simulation that the present results stem from the strong interaction between the additives and interstitial atoms produced by the electron irradiation.


This article examines the manner in which definitions of the role of a European employers' organization and the actors responsible for setting it in motion have evolved. It considers the various, coexistent forms for legitimating action within the European employers' federation since 1952. While the fact that the latter represented heterogeneous interests no longer requires demonstration, the evolution of the actors involved in its operation has yet to be studied. The historical approach reveals that some representatives of national member-organizations, who long held a central position, gradually came to be challenged by European professionals of employers' representation employed by the European federation. Far from succeeding one another, these forms for legitimating action coexisted within the organization. Interviews and the consultation of archives allow one to historicize the various forms taken by the action of national representatives within the European employers' federation. In so doing, the article casts light on the evolving manner in which the national and European levels came to be interwoven. ■


The need for education of pulmonary patients stems from bad symptom perception, problems in using instruments for assessment of the severity of obstruction, problems in understanding and using (inhaled) medications, and lack in insight in the process of the underlying disease. Education of asthma patients usually leads to better management of the disease, less visits to doctors, less hospital admissions, and less days lost at school or at work. The use of medication often increases. Quality of life improves after an education program. The cost-benefit balance usually is favourable. The effects of education in COPD patients is equivocal. The costs usually are high; the benefits are substantially less than in the asthma group.


Gain-of-function missense mutations of voltage-gated sodium channel Na(V)1.7 have been linked to the painful disorder inherited erythromelalgia. These mutations hyperpolarize activation, slow deactivation and enhance currents evoked by slow ramp stimuli (ramp currents). A correlation has recently been suggested between the age of onset of inherited erythromelalgia and the extent of hyperpolarizing shifts in mutant Na(V)1.7 channel activation; mutations causing large activation shifts have been linked to early age of onset inherited erythromelalgia, while mutations causing small activation shifts have been linked to age of onset within the second decade of life. Here, we report a family with inherited erythromelalgia with an in-frame deletion of a single residue--leucine 955 (Del-L955) in DII/S6. The proband did not show symptoms until the age of 15 years, and her affected mother only experienced mild symptoms during adolescence, which disappeared at the age of 38 years. Del-L955 shows no effect on Na(V)1.7 current density and fast inactivation, but causes an approximately -24 mV shift in activation, together with increases in amplitude of persistent currents and ramp currents. The mutation also produces an approximately -40 mV shift in slow inactivation, which reduces channel availability. Comparison of the effects of the Del-L955 mutation on dorsal root ganglion neuron hyperexcitability with those produced by another inherited erythromelalgia mutation (L858F) that does not enhance slow inactivation suggests that a delayed age of onset and milder symptoms in association with a large shift of channel activation, enhanced persistent and enhanced ramp currents may be related to the approximately -40 mV shift in slow inactivation for Del-L955, the largest shift thus far demonstrated in mutant Na(V)1.7 channels. Our results suggest that despite the pivotal role of activation shift in inherited erythromelalgia development, slow inactivation may regulate clinical phenotype by altering channel availability.


Parental involvement is interpreted as a key form of support that can contribute to the establishment of inclusive practices in schools, but this can be difficult in sparsely populated areas. Using ethnographic methods of participant observation, informal conversations and document analysis, this article therefore focuses on family involvement practices in two small rural schools in Aragon (Spain) that carry out creative teaching practices as a way to encourage parental participation. Our data show that teachers promote parental involvement using strategies such as acceptance, expression and communication in school. These strategies seem to be negotiated in each situation based on the values prioritised by the teachers as a result of their interaction within the context they find themselves in. Factors such as family mobility, dispersion of homes and sociocultural status appear to condition these strategies.


This study was conducted at peach and nectarine orchards in Adana and Mersin provinces, between the years 2005–2007. In this study, the adult population fluctuations of peach twig borer (Anarsia lineatella) was determined by using pheromone traps in two nectarine and one peach orchards. The pest did not reach high population levels in the peach orchard in Adana/Midik and in nectarine orchard in Mersin/Alifakili. However, high population densities of A. lineatella occured in the nectarine orchard in Adana/Hadirli. Adults emerged on the first week of April in all three years and their activity continued until November depending on years. During this period, at least 2 and at most 4 flight periods were seen which the first flight was in April-May intervals. Adult population generally reached to the peak level (17 June 2005: 229 adults/trap; 26 June 2007: 57 adults/trap) in June. The occurence of 4 to 5 adult peaks in three years implies that the pest has 4 to 5 generations in a year. The pest caused serious shoot damage in the trial orchard. However, in this orchard where the early ripening species were cultivated, fruits free of A. lineatella damage can be grown without insecticide application.


A cognitive radio system using a frequency from 400 MHz to 6 GHz requires tunable filters with a wide variable frequency range. The cognitive radio also requires a tunable filter in high frequency such as 5 to 6 GHz among them. Ultra wide band resonators are effective to realize their tunable filters. A Lamb wave on a LiNbO3 this plate having a high velocity and a large electro-mechanical coupling factor is suitable for their resonators. Ultra wide band resonator in high frequency requires an optimum large reflection coefficient and a substrate with a large electro-mechanical coupling factor and a high velocity. This time, authors attempt to fabricate a higher frequency Lamb wave resonator on a LiNbO3 single crystal thin plate instead of the LiNbO3 thin film, though it has been considered that it is difficult to make a very thin LiNbO3 plate such as thinner than 1 μm. A new one-port Lamb wave resonator was fabricated on an Al-electrode/LiNbO3 crystal thin plate/air gap/Si substrate with the plate thickness of 0.15λ (actual thickness=395 nm). It showed a high resonant frequency (fr) of 5.44 GHz, a high anti-resonant one (fa) of 6.09 GHz, a wide band-width of 12%, and a large impedance ratio of 62 dB at the fr and the fa. Moreover, the authors attempted to construct theoretically the ladder type of tunable filter using this Lamb wave resonators. The filter with the tunable range of 9% from 5.58 to 6.06 GHz have been obtained.


A new form of I-type PSC bridge girder, which has hole in the web, is proposed in this paper. Three different concepts were combined and implemented in the design. First of all, a girder was precast at a manufacturing plant as divided pieces and assembled at the construction site using post-tensioning method, and the construction period at the site will be reduced dramatically. In this way, the quality of concrete can be assured at the manufacturing factory and concrete curing can be well controlled, and the spliced girder segments can be moved to the construction site without a transportation problem. Secondly, a numerous number of holes was made in the web of the girder. This reduces the self-weight of the girder. But more important thing related to the holes is that about half of the total anchorages can be moved from the girder ends into individual holes. The magnitude of negative moment developed at girder ends will be reduced. Also, since the longitudinal compressive stresses are reduced at ends, thick end diaphragm is not necessary. Thirdly, Prestressing force was introduced into the member through multiple stages. This concept of multi-stage prestressing method overcomes the prestressing force limit restrained by the allowable stresses at each loading stage, and maximizes the magnitude of applicable prestressing force. It makes the girder longer and shallower. Two 50 meter long full scale girders were fabricated and tested. One of them was non-spliced, or monolithic girder, made as one piece from the beginning, and the other one was assembled using post-tensioning method from five pieces of segments. It was found from the result that monolithic and spliced girder show similar load-deflection relationships and crack patterns. Girders satisfied specific girder design specification in flexural strength, deflection, and live load deflection control limit. Both spliced and monolithic holed web post-tensioned girders can be used to achieve span lengths of more than 50m with the girder height of 2 m.


Hybrid spatial topologies are those spatial configurations that dynamically span multiple local and remote physical spaces, at times across a mediating virtual 3D space. They are constructed through always-on, multi-user and shared video-mediated communication links. When such technologies become embedded into places, through large screens that are always on, architecture can be visually and interactionally extended. In this way, the space that can be acted upon or interacted within becomes enlarged beyond local physical space, which for a long time has been the exclusive frame for social interaction. Video communication technologies have become a core part of our lives. They are technically and economically available and are now used in workspaces, homes and urban environments. This general availability of video communication technologies to be deployed in a variety of spatial situations broadens the architect's palette. This paper systematically investigates the effects of introducing video communication into architecture. It demonstrates how architectural topology becomes extended into remote space, how it becomes fractured and how it becomes dynamic. Such topological opportunities can be employed to increase the spatial integration of connected spaces and it is shown how the placement of screen and camera directly impacts on the opportunities for social interaction. The concept of the spatio-technological isovist is introduced to capture how dynamic camera properties shape architectural visibility into connected spaces. The paper concludes with demonstrating how video communication embedded into architecture provides an entirely new architectural interface, where those interfaces are understood as spatial manifestations of social relationships. In hybrid spatial topologies it is social life that dynamically drives topologies in an immediate and observable way, with topology in turn having a demonstrable effect on social life.


The studies of the International Monetary Fund offer a model for recommending sustainable budget policy to oil-exporting countries including Russia. The model does not contain any resource as a factor of production and assumes that Russian oil reserves will be exhausted by the middle of the 21st century. The current paper examines the sustainability of open and closed models, which are calibrated on Russia's data and include a resource as a factor of production. The open-model case shows that monotonic economic growth is impossible given the current state of the Russian economy. This paper offers an approach for estimating changes that improve long-term sustainability.


ABSTRACT Projects for the very high temperature reactor (VHTR) Technology Development Office provide data in support of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of the VHTR. Fuel and materials to be used in the reactor are tested and characterized to quantify performance in high temperature and high fluence environments. The VHTR program has established the NGNP Data Management and Analysis System (NDMAS) to ensure that VHTR data are qualified for use, stored in a readily accessible electronic form, and analyzed to extract useful results. This document focuses on the first NDMAS objective. It describes the High Temperature Materials characterization data stream, the processing of these data within NDMAS, and reports the interim FY2010 qualification status of the data. Data qualification activities within NDMAS for specific types of data are determined by the data qualification category assigned by the data generator. The High Temperature Materials data are being collected under NQA-1 guidelines, and will be qualified data. For NQA-1 qualified data, the qualification activities include: (1) capture testing, to confirm that the data stored within NDMAS are identical to the raw data supplied, (2) accuracy testing to confirm that the data are an accurate representation of the system or object being measured, andmore » (3) documenting that the data were collected under an NQA-1 or equivalent Quality Assurance program. Currently, data from two test series within the High Temperature Materials data stream have been entered into the NDMAS vault: 1. Tensile Tests for Sm (i.e., Allowable Stress) Confirmatory Testing – 1,403,994 records have been inserted into the NDMAS database. Capture testing is in process. 2. Creep-Fatigue Testing to Support Determination of Creep-Fatigue Interaction Diagram – 918,854 records have been processed and inserted into the NDMAS database. Capture testing is in process.« less