During community ambulation, anticipatory adaptations in gait are key for navigating built, populated and natural environments. It has been argued that some instability in gait can be functionally beneficial in situations demanding high maneuverability, and while the mechanisms utilized to maintain locomotor balance are well understood, relatively less is known about how the control of gait stability changes to facilitate upcoming maneuvers in challenging environments. The double support phase may be important in this regard; since both feet can push off the ground simultaneously, there is greater control authority over the body's movement during this phase. Our goal was to identify how this control authority is exploited to prepare for upcoming maneuvers in challenging environments. We used synergy indices to quantify the degree of coordination between the ground reaction forces and moments under the two feet for stabilizing the resultant force and moment on the body during the double support phase of curb descent. In contrast to our expectations, we observed that the kinetic synergy indices during curb descent were minimally influenced by expected foot targeting maneuvers for the subsequent step. Only the resultant moment in the frontal plane showed reduced stability when targeting was required, but the synergy index was still high, indicating that the resultant moment was stable. Furthermore, the synergy indices indicated that the main function of the ground reaction variables is to maintain stability of whole-body rotations during double support, and this prerogative was minimally influenced by the subsequent foot targeting tasks, likely because the cost of losing balance while descending a curb would be higher than the cost of mis-stepping on a visual target. Our work demonstrates the salience of stabilizing body rotations during curb negotiation and improves our understanding of locomotor control in challenging environments.


The detailed assessment of fetal breathing movement (FBM) monitoring can be a pre-indicator of many critical cases in the third trimester of pregnancy. Standard 3D ultrasound monitoring is time-consuming for FBM detection. Therefore, this type of measurement is not common. The main goal of this research is to provide a comprehensive image about FBMs, which can also have potential for application in telemedicine. Fifty pregnancies were examined by phonography, and nearly 9000 FBMs were identified. In the case of male and female fetuses, 4740 and 3100 FBM episodes were detected, respectively. The measurements proved that FBMs are well detectable in the 20–30 Hz frequency band. For these episodes, an average duration of 1.008 ± 0.13 s (p < 0.03) was measured in the third trimester. The recorded material lasted for 16 h altogether. Based on these measurements, an accurate assessment of FBMs could be performed. The epochs can be divided into smaller-episode groups separated by shorter breaks. During the pregnancy, the rate of these breaks continuously decreases, and episode groups become more contiguous. However, there are significant differences between male and female fetuses. The proportion of the episodes which were classified into minimally 10-member episode groups was 19.7% for males and only 12.1% for females, even at the end of the third trimester. In terms of FBM detection, phonography offers a novel opportunity for long-term monitoring. Combined with cardiac diagnostic methods, it can be used for fetal activity assessment in the third trimester and make measurement appreciably easier than before.


Internet of Things (IoT) establishes a smart communication system between the human being and the surrounding objects (or "things") while using the internet as the backbone of this system. Cloud is the fundamental constituent of IoT. It offers important application services in numerous application domains. Indeed, many IoT cloud platforms are competing to provide appropriate and very specific IoT services. The LoRa platform in particular presents a long-range, low-bit rate, low-power, wireless telecommunication protocol for IoT. As such, end-devices make use of LoRa through a sole wireless hop in order to communicate to the gateway(s) that is (are) considered as relay messages and transparent bridges between these end-devices and an IoT cloud while connecting to the Internet. This article surveys the most used IoT cloud platforms suitable for the LoRa communication protocol through a deep and detailed study of previously published works related to this topic. Moreover, a comparison is made between these IoT cloud platforms according to their characteristics and application domains. The overall aim of the present paper is to provide researchers in the field with detailed knowledge concerning the IoT cloud platforms appropriate to the LoRa communication system including the advantages and drawbacks of each one of them.


Colette has dreams of packing a rucksack and taking off. But how can she win the school Travel Writing competition when the furthest she's going this holiday is Weston? There may be sand, but it's definitely not Egypt. However, Colette meets two boys, sandy-haired Robert and dark-eyed Caz who turns Colette's stomach to liquid with a single glance. Maybe Robert's right after all - it's not where you go that matters, it's who you meet while you're there.


TUMORS of the cervical portion of the spinal cord present diagnostic difficulties which probably exceed those encountered at other levels. The close anatomic association of the cervical portion of the cord with the medulla results in the production of bizarre pictures with signs referable to both structures when the tumor lies in the upper cervical segments. Moreover, the relatively wide bony encasement of the upper cervical part of the cord permits the development of a relatively large growth without the production of a typical tumor syndrome. Finally, the location of a tumor at the proximal end of the cord, enabling it to affect all descending and ascending pathways, as well as roots mediating impulses to and from the upper limbs, permits the development of a wide variety of syndromes, which may bear close resemblances to other neurologic entities. Consequently, "classic" pictures of tumor of the cord may be found far


Abstract Aim of the study: To assess the relapse-free survival (RFS) and the factors influencing local recurrence in patients with desmoid fibromatosis (DF) treated at our centre and to determine the role of post-operative radiotherapy (RT) in improving local control. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 51 patients treated for DF from January 2004 to December 2013 was undertaken. The RFS was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier curve. Univariate analysis was done to assess correlation with tumour size, site, the extent of surgery, margin status and adjuvant RT with RFS. Results: The median age was 28 years with a male:female ratio of 1:3. The most common location of the tumour was anterior abdominal wall (47%). The median tumour size was 10 cm. Wide local excision was done in most patients. Complete resection with negative margin was achieved in eight patients. Post-operative RT was indicated for 43 patients of whom 19 received RT. At a median follow-up of 37 months, RFS in the complete resection with margin negative group was 100%. RFS for the patients with positive or close margins who received RT was 79% and for those who did not receive RT, it was 87%. Conclusions: Complete excision with negative margins gives the best local control in DF. The benefit of post-operative RT could not be ascertained.


Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) plays an essential role in the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), we aimed to evaluate the influencing factors on the effects of CPR in patients with SCA, to provide insights into the management of SCA.Methods: Patients who underwent CPR in the emergency department of our hospital from January 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021 were selected. We collected and analyzed the clinical characteristics of CPR patients. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the risk factors of CPR failure.Results: A total of 308 CPR patients were included, the incidence of CPR success was 35.71%. There were significant differences in the age, time to the start of CPR, the type of heart rhythm in the first monitoring, duration of CPR and cumulative adrenaline dosage between CPR success and failure group (all P<0.05). No significant differences in the gender, cause of cardiac arrest and ventilation methods were found (all P>0.05). Logistic regression analyses indicated that age≥65y(OR2.132, 95CI%1.127~4.334), time to the start of CPR≥12min(OR2.503, 95CI%1.015~3.583), unable to defibrillation(OR1.856, 95CI%1.107~3.031), duration of CPR≥40min(OR2.162, 95CI%1.242~4.178), cumulative adrenaline dosage≥6mg(OR1.627, 95CI%1.151~2.472) were the independent risk factors of CPR failure(all P<0.05).Conclusions: The success and failure of CPR are affected by many factors. Early and effective interventions should be taken for these influencing factors in clinical practice. Due to the limitation of sample size, future large-sample and multi-center studies need to further explore the relevant influencing factors of CPR.


Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of hypothyroidism in diagnosed cases of cholelithiasis using the patient's ultrasonography data and to find the prevalence of obesity in gallstone disease.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in Govt. medical college, Thrissur. Two hundred and sixty five study subjects were selected from the patients who were attending wards and outpatient department (OPD) of General Surgery with diagnosed cases of cholelithiasis by ultrasound of abdomen. All the participants were subjected to clinical examination and lab investigations. Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was used to assess thyroid function and thereby hypothyroidism. Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to assess obesity.
Results: High prevalence of hypothyroidism (23%) was observed in gallstone disease. In this study only 6% gallstone disease subjects were obese. We also found that 73% of the study subjects with hypothyroidism were obese.
Conclusion: Hypothyroidism may be suggested as a risk factor for developing gallstone disease. Gallstone patients should be checked for serum TSH because of high incidence of hypothyroidism.

Keywords: Cholelithiasis, Dyslipidaemia, Gallstone Disease, Hypothyroidism, Thyroxine.


Classification trees (CT) are nonparametric statistical methods. This method is a trees algorithm, performed to diagnose the disease with the use of one or more risk factors. Although, in recent years availability of this method especially for medical researches has increased, it is not common for the investigation of numerous risk factors of the disease. The aim of the study is to summarize theoretical knowledge related to CT and to investigate Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) risk factors with different approach. For this purpose, 206 patients, with whom a questionnaire form was practiced in the University of Mersin, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology, were included in this study and, CT analysis is used for determination of variables whether these patients have RLS or not. According to the analysis results, the variables which determine RLS disease was parallel with many risk factors reported in literature. Key words: Classification and regression trees (CART), Diagnose, Decision trees, Misclassification error, Restless Legs Syndrome.


We present experimental support for a model of abalone nacre growth that is based on mineral bridges between successive aragonite tablets rather than on heteroepitaxial nucleation. Interlamellar sheets of organic polymers delineate the aragonite tablets but allow the tablets to grow mineral bridges through pores in the sheets. Atomic force microscope images of interlamellar organic sheets from flat pearls made by Haliotis rufescens (red abalone; marine gastropod mollusk) reveal a fibrous core and holes of 5−50 nm in diameter. Scanning ion conductance microscopy shows that these holes are actually pores through the interlamellar sheets. With the help of statistical analysis we can associate the pore-to-pore spacings in the interlamellar sheets with the observed offsets of successive nacre tablets. These results, supplemented by AFM, SEM, and TEM images, support and extend the model of biofabrication of gastropod nacre which is based on mineral bridges between the aragonite tablets.


Printed inks or pastes based on silver nanoparticles are promising alternatives for the metallization of temperature-sensitive silicon solar cells. We show that the sintering of silver nanoparticles strongly depends on the nature of the capping agent used to stabilize the particles during synthesis and in ink formulation. Particles capped by agents containing nitrogen as coordinative anchor group (between agent and silver surface) show poorer sintering under same conditions compared with particles capped by oxygen containing stabilizers. Polymers also hinder sintering more than shorter oligomers. In order to avoid unwanted spreading of the metal ink or paste during printing, the formulation has to be adjusted to the requirements given by the surface. If samples covered by a layer of indium tin oxide are stored in air, the surface energy rapidly decreases, dropping by around 30-50 % within one day. Thus, wettability and the work of adhesion also become poorer. This has to be taken into account by formulating inks for metallization on ITO layers.


The oxidizing species are generated from the radiolysis of groundwater in the pore of buffer material around the canister used for the disposal of spent fuels. A mathematical model was introduced to calculate the cathodic current density induced by the oxidant around the canister, which determined the corrosion of carbon steel. An analytical solution was derived to get the cathodic current density in the cylindrical coordinate. The cathodic current densities from both the rectangular coordinate and cylindrical coordinate were compared with each other. The source terms and absorbed dose rate for the calculation of the radiolysis were calculated using the ORIGEN2 and MCNP computer code, respectively. The radius of the canister was determined with the new model in order to prevent the local corrosion. The results showed that the new solution made the cathodic current density around 25 % lower than the Marsh model.


1. The effects of type I (BZ1) and type II (BZ2) benzodiazepine receptor ligands on monosynaptic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) and on responses to exogenously applied GABA were studied using intracellular recordings from CA3 pyramidal cells of rat hippocampal slices taken at different postnatal stages [postnatal day 4 (P4)-P35)]. 2. The effects of midazolam, a BZ1 and BZ2 receptor agonist, were tested on the monosynaptic IPSPs at different stages. Monosynaptic, bicuculline-sensitive IPSPs were evoked by hilar stimulation in presence of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists [6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (10 microM) and D(-)2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (50 microM)]. Midazolam at 300 nM maximally increased the duration and amplitude of monosynaptic GABAA-mediated IPSPs in neurons from pups (P4-P6, n = 6) and young (P7-P12, n = 8) and adult (P25-P35, n = 9) rats. All the effects of midazolam on IPSPs were reversed by the antagonist Ro 15-1788 (10 microM). 3. The effect of midazolam was also tested on the response to exogenously applied GABA (5 mM) in the presence of tetrodotoxine [TTX (1 microM)]. In neurons from young rats (n = 9), midazolam (1 nM-1 microM) did not change the responses to exogenously applied GABA, whereas in adult rats (n = 8) midazolam maximally increased GABA currents at 30 nM. 4. The effect of zolpidem, a BZ1 receptor agonist, was tested on monosynaptic IPSPs and GABA currents at different stages. Zolpidem (10 nM-1 microM) was inactive in cells from young rats (n = 12). In neurons from adult rats, zolpidem maximally increased the duration and amplitude of the monosynaptic IPSPs at 300 nM (n = 5) and the amplitude of GABA current at 30-100 nM (n = 5). 5. Methyl-6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-beta-carboline-3-carboxylate (DMCM) (300 nM), an inverse agonist of BZ1 and BZ2 receptors, decreased the amplitude and duration of monosynaptic IPSPs in neurons from pups (n = 3) and young (n = 4) and adult (n = 5) rats. In all cases, full recovery was obtained after exposure to R0 15-1788 (10 microM). DMCM (300 nM-10 microM) failed to reduce GABA responses in cells from young (n = 3) or adult (n = 7) rats. 6. Results indicate that the regulation by benzodiazepine of GABAA-mediated IPSPs varies with the developmental stage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


This paper is dedicated to research into the geological peculiarities, shape of the ore body and the occurrence of the host rocks in the hanging wall of the Pivdenno-Bilozerske deposit , as well as their influence on the degrees and quality of high-grade iron ore extraction. It is noted that in the interval of 480 – 840 m depths, a decrease is observed in the stability of the natural and technogenic massif, which is caused by the increase in rock pressure with depth, the influence of blasting operations on the massif and the difference in geological conditions. This has led to the collapse of hanging wall rocks and backfill into the mined-out space of chambers in certain areas of the deposit, the dilution of the ore and deterioration of the operational state of the underground mine workings. Attention is focused on the causes and peculiarities of consequences of the collapse of the hanging wall rocks during ore mining, which reduce the technical and-economic indexes of the ore extraction from the chambers. A 3D-model of an ore deposit with complex structural framework has been developed, which makes it possible to visually observe in axonometric projection the geological peculiarities and the shape of the ore body. The parameters have been studied of mining chambers in the 640 – 740 m floor under different changing geological conditions of the ore deposit and hanging wall rocks occurrence – the northern, central and southern parts. The difference in the iron content in the mined ore relative to the initial iron content in the massif has been defined as an indicative criterion of the influence of changing conditions on the production quality. The reasons have been revealed which contribute to the collapse of the rocks and the subsequent decrease in the iron content of the mined ore in ore deposit areas differing by their characteristics. It has been determined that within the central and half of the southern ore deposit parts with a length of 600 m, an anomalous geological zone is formed, the manifestation of which will be increased with the depth of mining. It was noted that within this zone, with the highest intensity and density of collapse of hanging wall rocks, the influence of decrease in the slope angle and change in the strike direction are of greatest priority, and such geological factors as a decrease in hardness, rock morphology, deposit thickness increase this influence significantly. To solve the problems of the hanging wall rocks' stability, it is recommended to study the nature and direction of action of gravity forces on the stope chambers in the northern, central and southern parts, as well to search for scientific solutions in regard to changes in the geometric shapes of stope chambers and their spatial location, improving the order of reserves mining in terms of the ore deposit area, the rational order of breaking-out ore reserves in the chambers with changing mining and geological conditions of the fields' development.


A highly efficacious malaria vaccine that prevents disease and breaks the cycle of infection remains an aspirational goal of medicine. Whole parasite vaccines based on the sporozoite forms of the parasite that target the clinically silent pre-erythrocytic stages of infection have emerged as one of the leading candidates. In animal models of malaria, these vaccines elicit potent neutralizing Ab responses against the sporozoite stage and cytotoxic T cells that eliminate parasite-infected hepatocytes. Among whole-sporozoite vaccines, immunization with live, replication-competent whole parasites engenders superior immunity and protection when compared with live replication-deficient sporozoites. As such, the genetic design of replication-competent vaccine strains holds the promise for a potent, broadly protective malaria vaccine. In this report, we will review the advances in whole-sporozoite vaccine development with a particular focus on genetically attenuated parasites both as malaria vaccine candidates and also as valuable tools to interrogate protective immunity against Plasmodium infection.


Cooperative Search Engine (CSE) is a distributed search engine, which can update indexes in a very short time for the purpose of fresh information retrieval. In CSE, the retrieval performance is dependent on cache contents because communication delay occurs at retrieval time. On the other hand, however, cache is invalidated as soon as indexes are updated. Therefore, we need persistent cache that can hold valid data before and after updating. In this paper we describe the principle and evaluations of persistent cache.


Relying on the global energy Interconnection, considering the energy implementation, carrying out clean energy alternative is mainly to use the clean energy to take place of fossil energy. Under the green development scenario, This research gives the global energy interconnection development model, makes the Artic and the Equation as the connection points, gives the Northern hemisphere interconnection model and equator interconnection model unite the whole world energy. This research also identifies the factors effecting the transmission changes cost, including generation cost, transmission cost and landing cost. And take two continents connection as the prediction example, estimate these two continents cost benefit and variable power-jointed scheme cost competitiveness. It showed that under the global energy interconnection mode, the trans-continent mode had better benefit, and the landing cost is good to be used, can solve the pollution and energy restriction.


Twitter is increasingly being used by Extension educators as a teaching and program-marketing tool. It is not enough, however, to simply use Twitter to disseminate information. Steps must be taken to evaluate program impact with quantitative and qualitative data. This article described the following Twitter evaluation metrics: unique hashtags, clicks on unique links, online surveys of professionals and their followers, pre- and post-project Klout scores, and TweetReach reports. A triangulated evaluation combining several of these metrics can provide substantial evidence of program effectiveness.


Geospatial data provenance records the derivation history of a geospatial data product. It is important in evaluating the quality of data products. In a Geospatial Web Service environment where data are often disseminated and processed widely and frequently in an unpredictable way, it is even more important in identifying original data sources, tracing workflows, updating or reproducing scientific results, and evaluating reliability and quality of geospatial data products. Geospatial data provenance has become a fundamental issue in establishing the spatial data infrastructure (SDI). This paper investigates how to support provenance awareness in SDI. It addresses key issues including provenance modeling, capturing, and sharing in a SDI enabled by interoperable geospatial services. A reference architecture for provenance tracking is proposed, which can accommodate geospatial feature provenance at different levels of granularity. Open standards from ISO, World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), and OGC are leveraged to facilitate the interoperability. At the feature type level, this paper proposes extensions of W3C PROV-XML for ISO 19115 lineage and "Parent Level" provenance registration in the geospatial catalog service. At the feature instance level, light-weight lineage information entities for feature provenance are proposed and managed by Web Feature Services. Experiments demonstrate the applicability of the approach for creating provenance awareness in an interoperable geospatial service-oriented environment.


In the Malaysian education system, attention is highly paid on reading words. Visual images are often treated as "decoration", or are dismissed altogether (Kress & Leeuwen, 1996). Many local researchers (Saedah 1990, Bahiyah et al., 2008) have only analysed written texts to see how social practices deemed negative such as gender biasness are reflected in the words (lexical items) and linguistic structures. Currently, no systematic research has been undertaken in Malaysia to analyse visual images in English language school textbooks to study how visual images can reflect gender biasness. This research project addresses gender biasness found in visual images in school textbooks, i.e., the treatment of one gender over the other especially of women and girls. The project adopts three widely used approaches for analyzing visual images; content, socio semiotic and ethno-methodology analyses. This paper will however highlight its preliminary analysis focusing on image analysis based on participation, gender and representational meanings. Its aim is to identify the types of images and the representation of gender biasness and stereotyping found in the textbook. The preliminary findings should expose the sexism and gender biasness in the visual images of a sampled textbook; i.e. an English school textbook that is abound with visual images that sometimes, more so than written texts, can articulate more forcefully social and cultural meanings.


In this research, in order to optimize the multi-objective function effectively, we suggested the optimization model to maximize the total destruction of ground targets and minimize the total damage of aircrafts and cost of air munitions by using goal programming. To satisfy the various variables and constraints of this mathematical model, the concept of air strike package is applied. As a consequence, effective attack can be possible by identifying the prior ground targets more quickly. This study can contribute to maximize the ROK air force's combat power and preservation of high value air asset in the war. Keywords: Air-Strike Package, WTA(Weapon Target Assignment), Goal Programming, Combinatorial Optimization


The ascomycetous fungus Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg & O'Donell is the causal agent of pine pitch canker disease (PPC), one of the most devastating forest diseases worldwide. PPC has been reported in fourteen countries throughout America, Africa, Asia and Europe. So that, it is though that more than ten million hectares of pine forests and plantations are threatened by this disease in Europe. F. circinatum is mainly considered a necrotroph when it infects conifers via stem, however its ecological role as an endophyte in several herbaceous plants as well as a possible saprophyte in litter have been recently reported. The overall aim of this Thesis was to analyze the interactions that take place among members of the PPC pathosystem. For this purpose, we carried out six scientific works focused on the study of relationships between three main elements of the PPC: viruses, fungi and insects. Firstly, a review about the use of fungal viruses (mycoviruses) in biocontrol of forest diseases was elaborated. Secondly, the complete genome of F. circinatum was used as query for in silico annotating five candidate genes putatively related with fungal virulence. The proposed annotation was based in the comparison with previously characterized genes in other Fusarium species and gene ontology. Fungus-virus interaction was addressed in a third study by high throughput sequencing of RNA. In this work, we studied the anti-viral response performed by the fungus against three previously described Mitovirus spp. (FcMV1, FcMV2-1 and FcMV2-2). As a result, new data about FcMV2-2´s genome were provided in addition to new insights about the RNA silencing process in the fungus. In a fourth study, deletion mutants of F. circinatum lacking the earlier annotated gene Fcrho1 were generated. Our results revealed not lethal effects of gene deletion even though Fcrho1 was an effective regulator of vegetative growth in vitro. Otherwise, we evaluated the effect of single and co-infection by FcMV1 and FcMV2-2 in laccase enzyme production, mycelial growth and fungal pathogenicity in Pinus radiata D. Don seedlings. The results of this article showed a main cryptic effect of virus infection in the fungus although FcMV1 significantly increased in planta virulence of its host. This study also proved a rather high rate of extracellular laccase activity in F. circinatum. On a larger scale, we studied the mycobiota phoretically associated with two bark beetles (Coleoptera; Scolytinae) considered as main forest pests (i.e. Tomicus piniperda L. and Tomicus destruens Wollaston) in both infected and asymptomatic pine stands. Fungal community showed a moderate diversity and was dominated by Sydowia polyspora (Bref. & Tavel) E. Mull, a fungus considered as an endophyte, a saprophyte as well as a pathogen of conifers. This Thesis provided novel information about ecological interactions between trees, insects and filamentous fungi under an approach based on a network analysis. The results show the high complexity of interaction virus-fungus-insect in the pathosystem of the PPC and provide information on forest pathology from the point of view of virology applied to biocontrol as well as on cell biology and ecology of communities applied to the protection of forests.


Thermal stratification can occur in pressurizer surge lines when flow rates are low and large temperature differences between the pressurizer fluid and reactor coolant loop fluid exist. NRC Bulletin 88-11 requires that utilities address this issue with respect to the licensing basis. Additionally, significant fatigue usage can develop due to insurges and outsurges from the pressurizer that occur when the temperature difference (ΔT) is large. An important aspect of the surge line fatigue analysis is determination of global pipe moment loads due to insurges, outsurges, and related stratification effects.
 The Westinghouse AP1000® plant surge line is designed to limit the global effects of stratification using a surge line geometry that is inclined more than that of the previous generation plants. However, this design provides unique challenges to the analytical solution in comparison to the mostly horizontal geometries in previous PWR designs. The main challenge is due to the location of the stratified fluid hot/cold interface. The horizontal geometry has historically allowed conservative (based on analytical testing) treatment of the stratified interface profile. The inclined geometry requires consideration of positional changes, as the stratified interface moves through the line due to flow changes. Because of this, iterative calculations were required to predict global piping moment loads through the transient histories based on the movement of the stratified interface. Software was developed to solve a series of correlative equations representing moment loads due to pipe temperatures and stratification ΔT within discretized portions of the surge line throughout each transient. The correlative equations, which are based on the matrix solution of piping analysis load cases, predict the global pipe moment loads to a high degree of precision.
 The surge line is also a significant location in the online fatigue monitoring program implemented at the sites. The complexity of the design analysis that is reflected in the monitoring model requires a more detailed accounting for the location of the stratification interface, the effect on prediction of moment loadings for controlling locations, and the effect on local stresses at the monitoring locations. This paper describes the approach used to address all of these factors in the design evaluation and subsequent fatigue monitoring application.


Biomass utilisation as a fuel in power generation has become an increasingly attractive prospect due to legislation and consumer awareness surrounding fossil fuels and their effect on climate change. However, a large portion of the world relies upon energy produced from readily available local coal sources. Large quantities of these local coals have low combustion efficiencies and energy outputs. An investigation was conducted to improve the combustion performance of these unreactive coals through the addition of small quantities of biomass in co-fired pulverised fuel conditions.
To assess whether unreactive coal co-fired with biomass produced improved combustion performance a study of slow heating interactions was undertaken. Through the use of laboratory thermal conversion techniques, thermogravimetric analysis and horizontal tube furnace, slow heating ramp rates were achieved. Samples blended on a 50% coal loading experienced these conditions. Slow heating pyrolysis on a 50% coal loading displayed no synergistic improvement to VM content of coal blended with biomass, whilst catalytic increases of char reactivity were observed for coal blended with high ash biomass species through burn-out testing, such as OC.
Following the baseline observations for slow heating conditions, blended samples were subjected to fast heating ramp rate conditions, through the use of a drop tube furnace. At fast heating pyrolysis conditions on a 50% coal loading synergistic improvements of VM yield were observed for coal blends with low ash biomass species, such as W. High ash biomass species showed minimal evidence of synergetic increase to VM, instead displaying the catalytic improvements to char burn-out performance, as seen with slow heating rates.
A trail of varying coal loading ratios was conducted to determine the quantity of biomass required to observe the greatest improvements and to ascertain the viability of findings at industrially relevant conditions.
Synergistic improvements in VM yield were caused by a steam gasification mechanism during fast heating ramp rates whilst catalytic improvements were caused by the presence of high quantities of alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEMs). Fast heating rate coal blend trials conducted with partially demineralised biomass fuels provided a deeper understanding of the influence that AAEMs had on char reactivity. A regression analysis provided a quadratic model that demonstrated a strong relationship between AAEMs and char reactivity, with a correlation coefficient R2 value in excess of 95%.
A fast heating rate combustion test was conducted to determine whether improvement to ignition distance could be achieved through co-firing. Both qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis of the captured particle images were inconclusive as to improvements in ignition distance.


Study of pelitic schists in the Rangeley area, Maine, by means of petrographic, x-ray, and electron-microprobe techniques enables definition of the isogradic reaction relating the Staurolite and lower sillimanite zones. The reaction is a discontinuous one and can be shown on an AFM projection as the tie line change from Staurolite + chlorite to sillimanite + biotite. This topology change, in conjunction with the mineralogical data provides the equation: Staur + M g -Chte + Na-Musc + (Garn?)→Sill + Bio + K-richer Musc + Ab + Qtz + H 2 O. This reaction should result in a sharp isograd in the field but in fact is found to be spread out over a zone which is called the transition zone. It is proposed that this zone results from buffering of f H 2 O by means of the equation above. Buffering of f H 2 O by continuous reactions also appears to be taking place in the lower sillimanite zone. Metamorphic conditions for the isogradic reaction are believed to be near 4 kb and 600°C. P fluid was probably equal to P total but somewhat greater than P H 2 O .


The presence or absence of older siblings influenced the social interactions of 17 wild infant chimpanzees between the ages of 6 and 24 months living at the Gombe National Park, Tanzania. The total amount of time spent in social interaction (contact, grooming and play) was similar for infants with and without siblings, as was the overall level of social interaction with the mother. However, subjects with siblings spent more time with their siblings, while subjects with no siblings interacted with other group members. These results indicate a possible set-point for infant chimpanzee social interaction. Developmental changes were also similar in both groups, but the infants with siblings had lower levels of interaction with the mother and higher levels of interaction with other group members during the age period of 12-18 months. The levels of social behaviors were not related to the sex of the infant.


Abstract Objectives: To investigate psychotherapy training for psychiatry trainees in N.Ireland. Method: A detailed survey of both trainee's current experience and completion of Royal College requirements. Results: While trainees rated experience highly in terms of enjoyment and relevance to psychiatry, we found a large proportion (94%) were failing to meet requirements for psychotherapy training, despite awareness being high (91%). Both cognitive-behavioural and psychodynamic therapy were the predominant models of therapy trainees had experience in and although most supervision was rated highly, a number of trainees had irregular or no case supervision. Conclusions: At a time when it is becoming increasingly recognised that psychological therapies play a central role in the treatment of many psychiatric disorders, current training fails to provide a substantial experience. With such a high proportion of trainees not meeting the mandatory requirements and similar findings being replicated in other parts of the UK, serious consideration must be given to both the nature of the guidelines and the opportunities for psychotherapy training if future psychiatrists are going to be equipped to deliver a truly biopsychosocial model of care.


Background The 2019 Global Health Security (GHS) Index measured the capacities of countries to prepare for and respond to epidemics and pandemics. However, the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that GHS Index scores were poorly correlated with ability to respond to infectious disease threats. It is critical to understand how public health policies may reduce the negative impacts of pandemics. Objective To identify non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that can minimize morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 and future pandemics, this study examined associations between country characteristics, NPI public health policies, and COVID-19 outcomes during the first year of the pandemic, prior to the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. This global analysis describes worldwide trends in policy implementation and generates a stronger understanding of how NPIs contributed to improved health outcomes. Design This cross-sectional, retrospective study relied on information drawn from publicly available datasets through December 31, 2020. Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures We conducted multivariate regressions to examine associations between country characteristics and policies, and policies and health outcomes. Results Countries with higher health service coverage prior to the pandemic implemented more policies and types of policies. Countries with more bordering countries implemented more border control policies (0.78**), and countries with denser populations implemented more masking policies (0.24*). Across all countries, fewer COVID-19 cases and deaths per million were associated with masking (−496.10*, −7.57), testing and tracing (−108.50**, −2.47**), and restriction of movement (−102.30*, −2.10*) policies, with stronger associations when these policies were mandatory rather than voluntary. Conclusions Country characteristics, including health service coverage, number of bordering countries, and population density, may predict the frequency and nature of public health interventions. Countries with higher health service coverage may have the infrastructure to react more efficiently to a pandemic, leading them to implement a greater number of policies. Mandatory masking, testing and tracing, and restriction of movement policies were associated with more favorable COVID-19 population health outcomes. While these results are consistent with existing COVID-19 mathematical models, policy effectiveness depends on how well they are implemented. Our results suggest that social distancing policies were less effective in reducing infectious disease risk, which may reflect difficulties with enforcement and monitoring.


Emotion play an essential role in human's life and it is not consciously controlled. Some of the emotion can be easily expressed by facial expressions, speech, behavior and gesture but some are not. This study investigates the emotion recognition using electroencephalogram (EEG) signal. Undoubtedly, EEG signals can detect human brain activity accurately with high resolution data acquisition device as compared to other biological signals. Changes in the human brain's electrical activity occur very quickly, thus a high resolution device is required to determine the emotion precisely. In this study, we will prove the strength and reliability of EEG signals as an emotion recognition mechanism for four different emotions which are happy, sad, fear and calm. Data of six different subjects were collected by using BrainMarker EXG device which consist of 19 channels. The pre-processing stage was performed using second order of low pass Butterworth filter to remove the unwanted signals. Then, two ranges of frequency bands were extracted from the signals which are alpha and beta. Finally, these samples will be classified using MLP Neural Network. Classification accuracy up to 91% is achieved and the average percentage of accuracy for calm, fear, happy and sad are 83.5%, 87.3%, 85.83% and 87.6% respectively. Thus, a proof of concept, this study has been capable of proposing a system of recognizing four states of emotion which are happy, sad, fear and calm by using EEG signal.


Sickle cell disease (SCD) pain remains difficult to manage. This pilot study evaluated single-session biofeedback-assisted relaxation training (BART) for SCD pain in children. Ten participants (mean=12.1 y) completed a 1-hour BART session using thermal biofeedback and home practice. Participants demonstrated changes in peripheral body temperature after the training session (d=1.08) and at 6-week follow-up (d=0.97) relative to their baseline visit. Reductions in patient-reported pain frequency were found after completing BART. Health-related quality of life and pain-related disability improvements were observed; however, effect sizes were small to minimal. Single-session BART may be a promising, complementary approach to medical management of pediatric SCD pain.


Chlamydia pneumoniae and Heart Desease The aim of this paper is to review the current data concerning the associations between Chlamydia pneumoniae and heart disease. Chlamydiae have been placed in their own order, Chlamydiales, with one family, Chlamydiaceae, and a single genus Chlamydia. Molecular evaluation of rRNA sequences confirms that chlamydiae are eubacteria with very distant relationships to other eubacterial orders. The genus Chlamydia consists of four major species, Chlamydia trachomatis, C. psitacci, C. pneumoniae. and C. pecorum. These microorganisms are obligate parasites that replicate in vacuole in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. Chlamydia spp. cause a variety of diseases and are mostly prevalent pathogens causing sexually transmited diseases. Since the known Chlamydia spp. are obligate intracellular parasites, pure cultures are not available for studying of many of their biochemical properties. Molecular sequence provides a comprehensive outline of the phylogenetic organization of the Chlamydiae. Chlamydiae are known to cause various heart diseases. Endo-, myo- and pericarditis were associated with chlamydial infections during the first epidemics of psittacosis due to Chlamydia psittaci. The most common Chlamydia of humans, C. pneumoniae has also been incriminated in these diseases. Recently, greatest attention has been afforded to the association of C. pneumoniae with atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD).


RODOS (Reverse-Order source/drain formation with Double Offset Spacer) was proposed for low-power, high-speed and low-noise amplifiers. Relying on simulation data, we confirmed the high feasibility of the RODOS process. It showed improved performance in linearity (V/sub IP3/). Additionally, by optimizing process parameters, we achieved small gate delay (CV/I) and low static/dynamic power consumption. The process satisfied most of the requirements of LOP and LSTP in ITRS 2002. Finally, we found that devices with the RODOS structure can be a promising alternative to implement low-power, high-speed and low-noise amplifiers for radio on a chip.


Effects of a booster inducer on the suction performance of turbopumps are investigated in this paper. To see the effect of the booster inducer, suction performance tests are conducted with and without the booster inducer for three turbopumps. It is shown that the booster inducer can enhance the suction performance of turbopumps when the tip clearance of the main inducers are relatively large. Numerical analysis are also carried out to see the effects of the booster inducer on the performance of the main inducer. The booster inducer is shown to increase the static pressure at the inlet of the main inducer and prevent growing of inlet back flows which are believed to have deleterious effects on the suction performance of the inducer.


Thirty-nine children with suspected pathology involving the vertebral column were investigated haematologically, radiographically, and by bone scintigraphy using technetium 99M pyrophosphate. Fifteen children were shown to have inflammatory disease of the vertebrae. A further six suffered from Scheuermann's disease, two from benign tumours, and the remainder from miscellaneous diseases not specifically involving bony pathology. The nuclide scan was abnormal in all cases of discitis and osteomyelitis, and in the two tumours. All of the other conditions were associated with a normal bone scan. This finding is of considerable diagnostic importance, and leads support to the theory that discitis is due to bacterial infection.


To the Editor:— I read with interest the editorial entitled "A Screening Test for Pulmonary Embolism" (199:576, 1967). I should like, however, to refer the readers to a paper entitled "Post-Operative Changes in Regional Pulmonary Blood Flow" by Lester Bryant.1Bryant made it quite clear that the incidence of false positives was very high. Ninety-seven patients were studied with photoscans, and 12 of these patients showed evidence suggestive of pulmonary embolism. However, only two patients did indeed have an embolus. Therefore, as suggested by Bryant, the photoscan is only of value when there is a normal study, for this rules out pulmonary embolism as a diagnostic consideration. Any institution equipped for the performance or interpretation of photoscans should be, or in all likelihood is, capable of performing pulmonary arteriography. Highly specialized personnel is not a prerequisite, for even I, as a thoracic surgeon and indeed even some radiologists can


Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) belong to a group of multigene detoxification enzymes, which defend cells against oxidative stress. Tannery workers are at risk of oxidative damage that is usually detoxified by GSTs. This study investigated the genotypic frequencies of GST Mu1 (GSTM1) and GST Theta1 (GSTT1) in Bangladeshi tannery workers and healthy controls followed by their status of oxidative stress and total GST activity. Of the 188 individuals, 50.0% had both GSTM1 and GSTT1 (+/+), 12.2% had GSTM1 (+/−), 31.4% had GSTT1 (−/+) alleles, and 6.4% had null genotypes (−/−) with respect to both GSTM1 and GSTT1 alleles. Among 109 healthy controls, 54.1% were double positive, 9.2% had GSTM1 allele, 32.1% had GSTT1 allele, and 4.6% had null genotypes. Out of 79 tannery workers, 44.3% were +/+, 16.8% were +/−, 30.5% were −/+, and 8.4% were −/−. Though the polymorphic genotypes or allelic variants of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were distributed among the study subjects with different frequencies, the differences between the study groups were not statistically significant. GST activity did not vary significantly between the two groups and also among different genotypes while level of lipid peroxidation was significantly higher in tannery workers compared to controls irrespective of their GST genotypes.


A method combining the urine cancer reaction, purple reaction and heat tolerance test (combined method of urine-purple-heat tolerance) was used to examine 112 normal persons, 110 non-cancer patients and 93 cancer patients. It was found that the accuracy rate of the urine reaction was 82%, of the purple reaction 77.4%, and of the heat tolerance 79%. The combined method showed great diagnostic value for cancers in the digestive tract, such as stomach, biliary duct, colon, pancreas and liver, as well as other cancers, e.g., lung cancer, lymphosarcoma and brain tumor. This method may be best for screening the above tumors. Its positive rate was also high in malignant reticuloma, chronic granulocytic leukemia and reticulosarcoma. The mechanism of the combined method and the influential factors, such as the freshness of the specimen, reactive time, temperature and quality of the reagents are discussed.


The Android platform used for mobile devices can be applied to embedded systems, such as robot control systems. Developers should create applications by using Java language provided by Android SDK for embedded systems operated via Android platforms. However, in many existing embedded systems, developers have written applications for controlling the system by using C language. Android NDK makes it possible for developers to easily reuse such legacy code written in C/C++ languages. In this paper, we show the difference in terms of performance between an Android application using native code library from C source and an Android application using the same algorithm written in Java language only. We conducted an experiment on five parts: JNI communication delay, integer calculation, floating-point calculation, memory access algorithm, and heap memory allocation algorithm. This paper presents a guideline for an effective way to use native code libraries in Android applications.


The growing requirements for broadcasting and streaming of high quality video continue to trigger demands for codecs with higher compression efficiency. AV1 is the most recent open and royalty free video coding specification developed by Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) with a declared ambition of becoming the most popular next generation video coding standard. Primary alternatives to AV1 are the VP9 and the HEVC/H.265 which are currently among the most popular and widespread video codecs used in applications. VP9 is also a royalty free and open specification similar to AV1, while HEVC/H.265 requires specific licensing terms for its use in commercial products and services. In this paper, we compare AV1 to VP9 and HEVC/H.265 from rate distortion point of view in a broadcasting use case scenario. Mutual comparison is performed by means of subjective evaluations carried out in a controlled environment using HD video content with typical bitrates ranging from low to high, corresponding to very low up to completely transparent quality. We then proceed with an in-depth analysis of advantages and drawbacks of each codec for specific types of content and compare the subjective comparisons and conclusions to those obtained by others in the state of the art as well to those measured by means of objective metrics such as PSNR.


We present the dialogue component of the speech-to-speech translation system VERBMOBIL. In contrast to conventional dialogue systems it mediates the dialogue while processing maximally 50% of the dialogue in depth. Special requirements (robustness and efficiency) lead to a 3-layered hybrid architecture for the dialogue module, using statistics, an automaton and a planner. A dialogue memory is constructed incrementally.


Abstract Digital mammograms are a useful tool for breast cancer detection. The quality of digital mammogram image can have a negative effect on the computer-aided diagnosis system. We investigate the use of automatic image thresholding methods for microcalcification detection in mammographic images. Experimental results on the BI-RADS 4 images dataset confirm the proposed approach.


Probiotic research and clinical trials have been forging ahead over the last decade. Although much has been learnt in relation to probiotic intestinal epithelial-mucosal immune interactions, the evidence for substantial clinical efficacy of probiotics continues to progress much slower. This review outlines the probiotic clinical studies before 2005 that formed the foundation of probiotic clinical trials in inflammatory bowel disease and then examines indepth those inflammatory bowel disease probiotic clinical trials published after 2005 that are leading to new understanding of the role of probiotics in the induction and remission of inflammatory bowel disease in humans.


The state of histamine in mast cells was studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Spectra were measured for histamine in situ in intact mast cells, for histamine in suspensions of mast cell granule matrices that had been stripped of their membranes, and for histamine in solutions of heparin. The 1H NMR spectrum of intact mast cells is relatively simple, consisting predominantly of resonances for intracellular histamine superimposed on a weaker background of resonances from heparin and proteins of the cells. All of the intracellular histamine contributes to the NMR signals, indicating it must be relatively mobile and not rigidly associated with the negatively charged granule matrix. Spectra for intracellular histamine and for histamine in granule matrices are similar, indicating the latter to be a reasonable model for the in situ situation. The dynamics of binding of histamine by granule matrices and by heparin are considerably different; exchange of histamine between the bulk water and the granule matrices is slow on the 1H NMR time scale, whereas exchange between the free and bound forms in heparin solution is fast. The chemical shifts of resonances for histamine in mast cells are pH dependent, decreasing as the intragranule pH increases without splitting or broadening. The results are interpreted to indicate that histamine in mast cells is relatively labile, with rapid exchange between bound histamine and pools of free histamine in water compartments confined in the granule matrix.


China's project of the century- Belt and Road Initiative - is a signature foreign policy project of President Xi Jinping. Launched in 2013, BRI contains two components- overland belt connecting China with Central Asia, Russia, South Asia and Europe, and Maritime Silk Road for enhancing connectivity, and maritime cooperation linking Chinese ports with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. BRI wraps up these two initiatives in it and intends to cover the number of countries along the route that happens to be the biggest market in the world with enormous potentials for trade and investment cooperation. BRI has both economic and strategic messages behind a massive infrastructure plan covering a vast network of connectivity linking 60 countries.
BRI has sparked a variety of responses, some welcoming and supporting it, some expressing reservations, some willing to participate "for shaping the outcome from within", and some wanting it to firmly match the international standards of transparency, openness, and the fiscal soundness of the country. Nepal formally became a part of BRI by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Framework Agreement in May 2017 for enhancing more connectivity and integration, though Nepal is not included in any of the six economic corridors unveiled by China. China recently suggesting Nepal to trim projects from 35 to 9 reflects the standard of the work done by the Nepali government and its lack of preparedness and seriousness. Infrastructure development is key to progress and prosperity. As China remains engaged in improving connectivity in the neighborhood, there is a great optimism about BRI in Nepal. Against this background, this article looks at the significance of BRI, examines past attempts made at connectivity, responses to BRI and Nepal's participation in it.


Tungiasis exists worldwide with varying degrees of incidence and prevalence. The aim of this paper was to review the existing literature concerning Tungiasis. Tungiasis has been shown to be a public health concern for resource-poor rural communities in developing countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Trinidad, Tobago, and Brazil, where its prevalence has been known to reach 50%. As a literatures reviewed, poor hygienic conditions, increased poverty levels, prolonged dry season and fear of stigmatization are among the most important risk factors, severely influencing the persistence of the tungiasis. The presence of the jigger in the skin causes itching sensation, and in a severe cases causes loss of nails, formation of ulcers, inflammation, suppuration, chronic lymphedema, sepsis and could be death. Jigger infestation affects the education of children as they might be unable to walk to school, write properly, or participate in regular learning activities. Tungiasis is likely to increase and cause livelihood of communities in developing countries. Thus, new prevention and control approaches should be designed through multi-interdisciplinary team to mitigate the persistence of the disease, particularly in vulnerable communities.

 Key words: Jiggers fleas, poverty, risk factors, school children.


Drying off cows with antibiotics is an effective method to cure existing infections at drying off and to prevent new infections during the dry period. In the recent years, a shift has been observed from contagious to environmental pathogens. This influences the general preventive measures and the choice for the drying off treatment. Important factors influencing the efficacy of dry cow products are general hygienic measures, length of the dry period, production at drying-off, somatic cell count at drying-off and the udder pathogens circulating on the farm.


Lenvatinib is an orally administered, tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting VEGFR1–3, FGFR1–4, PDGFRβ, RET, and KIT, which is currently being studied in patients with solid tumors in doses of 24 mg daily. A previous study in patients with solid tumors treated continuously with 25 mg QD, suggested that Lenvatinib had little or no effect on the QTc interval (mean change-from-baseline QTcF [ΔQTcF] of 2.4 ms). This thorough QT study was conducted to exclude a QTc effect of concern in preparation for phase 3 development. Methods: The effect of Lenvatinib on the QTc interval and on other ECG parameters was studied in 52 healthy male and female volunteers in a randomized, partially double-blinded, 3-way crossover study. The effect of a single dose of 32 mg Lenvatinib on ECG parameters was assessed and the study9s ability to detect a small QTc effect was tested by the inclusion of a positive control, moxifloxacin. Using 12-lead continuous ECG recordings, up to 10 ECGs were collected at each predefined time point before and after dosing. Measurements were performed with the High Precision QT (HAQT) measurement technique. Results: The mean placebo-corrected change from baseline QTcF (ΔΔQTcF) was negative at most timepoints post-dosing and the upper bound of the 90% confidence interval did not exceed 10 ms at any timepoint. Concentration effect modeling (CEM) demonstrated a negative slope of −0.0045 ms/ng/mL with an intercept of −2.96 ms. At the observed geometric mean peak Lenvatinib plasma concentration (370 ng/mL; 90% CI 332 to 412), the predicted ΔΔQTcF was −4.62 ms (90% CI: −5.86 to −3.38), which is consistent with the time matched analysis. Based on CEM, it can also be shown that the ΔΔQTcF effect at plasma concentration up to levels observed in patients with impaired clearance of the drug will not exceed 10 ms. Moxifloxacin prolonged ΔΔQTcF with a peak effect of 12.6 ms and the lower bound of the 90% confidence interval (CI) exceeded 5 ms at all 4 pre-specified timepoints, thereby demonstrating the study9s ability to detect a small QT effect. The precision of the QTc measurement using High Precision QT was very high with a standard deviation of ΔQTcF across treatments of 5.85 ms. No effect of Lenvatinib on the PR and QRS intervals or on T-wave morphology was observed. Lenvatinib seemed to exert a mild heart rate lowering effect of 3 to 8 beats per minute, without correlation to the peak plasma levels. The incidence of treatment emergent AEs (TEAEs) in subjects who received Lenvatinib was similar to that observed in subjects who received moxifloxacin or placebo. Most TEAEs were mild in severity. No severe AEs were observed in this study. Conclusion: In this Phase I thorough QTc study in healthy subjects, at clinically relevant plasma concentrations, Lenvatinib did not prolong the QTc interval and had no other clinically relevant ECG effects. A single dose of 32 mg Lenvatinib was safe and well tolerated. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C116.


This study was designed to test the reliability and dimensionality of the revised New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale constructed by Dunlap et al., (2000) and to examine the extent to which university students in Turkey are endorsing the NEP. A sample of 1295 undergraduate students from four universities in Turkey was selected for the study. Students' worldviews were measured by the NEP scale which consisted of 15 statements. A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect the necessary data. Findings from the study indicate that there is no widespread support for the NEP: 56.0% of students hold pro-NEP views while 24.9% embrace pro-DSP views and 19.1% have ambivalent views. It was found that the NEP scale has low consistency and four dimensions, thus, the NEP items should be taken cautiously as a single (unidimensional) internally consistent measuring device. It was concluded that the NEP scale should be carefully constructed and evaluated according to the historical and cultural context and characteristics of the population under study.

 Key words: Environmental worldviews, dominant social paradigm, new ecological paradigm, ecology, environmental measurement.


Hydrogen is regarded as an ideal energy carrier for the hydrogen economy that could replace the current hydrocarbon economy in order to achieve global energy security and mitigate climate change. For this purpose, H2 has to be produced from renewable sources (e.g., solar and wind) without producing global-warming CO2. (Photo)electrolysis of water into H2 and O2 is one of the most promising technologies for the production of renewable H2, which requires (photo)electrocatalysts of high efficiency, chemical robustness, and scalability. An essential attribute required for high-efficiency (photo)electrodes is high crystallinity with few defects to facilitate charge transfer without recombination. To this end, fabrication of photoelectrodes is usually completed with high temperature thermal annealing in a furnace. However, conventional thermal annealing (CTA) always results in undesirable crystal sintering, which reduces the surface area, and damage to the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrate. An emerging alternative method, hybrid microwave annealing (HMA), offers the beneficial effect of the high-temperature annealing (crystallinity) while minimizing its negative effects of sintering and TCO damage, enabling the fabrication of efficient (photo)electrodes for water splitting. HMA combines direct microwave heating with additional heating from an effective microwave absorber (called a susceptor), thereby avoiding a nonuniform temperature distribution between the interior and exterior of the synthesized material. More importantly, an extremely high temperature of the entire sample can be reached in only a few minutes. Compared with CTA, HMA has several advantages in the preparation of (photo)electrodes: (i) formation of a high-purity phase; (ii) high crystallinity with fewer defects; (iii) preservation of the original nanostructure; (iv) less damage to the TCO substrate for photoelectrodes; (v) smaller nanocrystals and uniform dispersion of catalyst particles. Overall, HMA is a convenient, ultrafast, and energy-economical technology for the synthesis of efficient (photo)electrodes. In this Account, we discuss recent progress made in our laboratory on HMA for preparing photoanodes (Fe2O3, BiVO4, ZnFe2O4, and Fe2TiO5), photocathodes (Cu2O and CuFeO2), and a graphene-based electrocatalyst (MoS2/graphene composite), which exhibit distinctive behavior and efficient performance in (photo)electrocatalytic water splitting. In particular, we have advanced the HMA technique further to synthesize hematite-based photoanodes with core-shell heterojunction nanorods (Nb,Sn:Fe2O3@FeNbO4 and Ta,Sn:Fe2O3@FeTaO4) by solid-solid interface reaction, which simultaneously achieves multiple doping effects (Nb or Ta, Sn) to improve the photoelectrocatalysis of water splitting. Thus, this Account focuses on the synthetic aspects of HMA, which may offer new research opportunities for the synthesis of other metal oxide (photo)electrode materials and hybrid electrocatalysts in the fields of solar energy conversion and storage, secondary batteries, and H2 fuel production.


SUMMARY Whole-breast irradiation in combination with breast-conserving surgery is a recognized standard alternative to mastectomy for the local treatment of early breast cancer. This article will review the evidence on the relationship of local control in the treated breast and survival, the indications of a boost dose to the tumor bed and the need for breast irradiation in ductal carcinoma in situ. Novel, shorter fractionation schemes allow the constraints of daily treatment courses over several weeks to be reduced, and recent technical improvements in treatment delivery will improve the results of treatment – in terms of local control and reduction of toxicity, and long-term sequelae. Research should focus on identifying molecular markers of radiation sensitivity and designing specific, targeted modulators of the radiation response in breast cancer.


The ability to accurately locate the boundaries of speech activity is an important attribute of any modern speech recognition, processing, or transmission system. The effort in this paper is the development of efficient, sophisticated features for speech detection in noisy environments, using ideas and techniques from recent advances in speech modeling and analysis, like presence of modulations in speech formants, energy separation and multiband filtering. First we present a method, conceptually based on a classic speech-silence discrimination procedure, that uses some newly developed, short-time signal analysis tools and provide for it a detection theoretic motivation. The new energy and spectral content representations are derived through filtering the signal in various frequency bands, estimating the Teager-Kaiser energy for each and demodulating the most active one in order to derive the signal's dominant AM-FM components. This modulation approach demonstrated an improved robustness in noise over the classic algorithm, reaching an average error reduction of 33.5% under 5-30-dB noise. Second, by incorporating alternative modulation energy features in voice activity detection, improvement in overall misclassification error of a high hit rate detector reached 7.5% and 9.5% on different benchmarks


Black men are at increased risk for prostate cancer (PCA), particularly with a family history (FH) of the disease. Previous reports have raised concern for suboptimal screening of black men with an FH of PCA. The extent of FH of PCA are reported from a prospective, longitudinal PCA screening program for high‐risk men.


We calculate, for the first time using unquenched lattice QCD, form factors for the rare decay B→Kl+l− in and beyond the Standard Model. Our lattice QCD calculation utilizes a nonrelativistic QCD formulation for the b valence quarks and the highly improved staggered quark formulation for the light valence quarks. We employ the MILC 2+1 asqtad ensembles. The form factor results, based on the z expansion, are valid over the full kinematic range of q2. We construct the ratios f0/f+ and fT/f+, which are useful in constraining new physics and verifying effective theory form factor symmetry relations. We also discuss the calculation of Standard Model observables.


Interleaved trellis coded systems with continuous phase modulation (TCCPM) are considered. It is shown that the combination of a trellis code, interleaver and the CPM modulator results in a significantly enhanced distance spectrum for the transmitted signals. Upper bounds on the bit error rate are derived by considering the combination of the trellis code, interleaver and the CPM modulator as serially concatenated code. Finally, iterative coherent and non-coherent receivers are proposed and their performance is evaluated through computer simulations.


INTRODUCTION: Various programs are implemented internationally to promote the mental and social health of the students in schools. This study systematically reviewed and categorized all resources, indicators, and criteria for evaluating mental and social programs of schools. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This systematic review was conducted by collecting data from the PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases using the keywords of "evaluation, mental health program, social health program, behavioral and emotional program." In the initial review, 4295 studies were found, which reduced to 75 after removing the repetitions and evaluating the studies' quality. The articles were selected using the PRISMA chart. RESULTS: The findings resulted in three main categories of structure, process, and outcome; 16 subcategories; and 166 codes. The category of structure included the subcategories of human resources, physical space, facilities, training, needed committees and teams, financing, and implementing mental and social programs. The subcategories of process category were functional indicators, guidelines and protocols, communication, documentation, planning/coordination, time management, and monitoring. The subcategories of behavioral-therapeutic, satisfaction, and educational outcomes were associated with the outcome category. CONCLUSION: Application of the structure, process, and outcome indicators, derived from the findings of this study, will greatly improve evaluation of the international mental health programs in schools.


Focussing on earnings-related rather than different classes of corporate announcements as in Chae (2005), we examine trading volume behaviour and the role played by informed and uninformed investors around routine and nonroutine announcements. Prior to preliminary final earnings announcements, there is a consistent decline in trading volume consistent with higher adverse selection costs. For interim announcements, there is an increase in pre-announcement trading volume while no significant volumes are observed for Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and nonroutine Management Earnings Forecast (MEF) announcements. As for post-announcement, trading volume is negatively related to firm size and number of analysts, suggesting a positive link between volume and information asymmetry. However, the news content of any MEF contained in nonroutine, AGM or interim announcements does not appear to have an impact upon pre- and post-announcement abnormal trading volume.


A simple radiochemical method for evaluating the action of antibiotics on Escherichia coli cells in biofilms is reported. After growth, biofilms of E. coli ATCC 25922 on disks of urinary catheter material were suspended in fresh medium containing or lacking an antibiotic, incubated for 4 h at 37 degrees C, and pulse-labeled with [3H]leucine for 5 min. Radioactivity in trichloracetic acid-precipitable material in the biofilm and in the surrounding medium (planktonic E. coli) was then measured. Antibiotic-induced inhibition of incorporation of [3H]leucine into the cells in the biofilm was far less pronounced than incorporation into planktonic cells and, furthermore, correlated well with loss in viable counts. The method is simple, inexpensive, and extremely timesaving.


IT is well known that the refraction of the eyes may change in the course of a lifetime, but we do not know the reasons and the rhythm that rule such changes of shape and function. The interest of research workers has long been exclusively focused on the question of the origin of short-sightedness. On this there are two opinions: the endogenous theory that considers the germ-plasma as the basis for the development of the eye and its parts, and the exogenous theory that attributes short-sightedness to the observation of close objects and other mechanical factors. If we talk of refraction we mean total refraction. However, this does not mean a degree which is directly measurable, but a figure that results from the proportion of all optical constant values to the length of the eye's axes. This fact and the approximate value of any subjective measurement explain the difficulties that hinder work in this field. The first step was an investigation of the frequency of different stages of refraction among certain sections of the population. Long-sightedness and short-sightedness, like all biological characteristics, exist in innumerable finely graduated degrees. The proportion of the different states of refraction found at various stages of life confirm that myopia increases more rapidly in the course of the school years than later in life. Until recently it has been maintained that learning to read and write is the chief cause of the development of myopia. In contrast to the study of large-scale statistics, the investigation of refraction-changes during the lives of individuals has a more personal character. It is an important condition that a series of patients should visit the same oculist over a long period.


Abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the learning models TAI, TSI, and direct learning model on mathematics learning achievement viewed from the students logical mathematical intelligence. The type of this study was quasi experimental study with 3x3 factorial design. The population were the eighth-grade students of junior high schools in Boyolali Regency in the academic year of 2015/2016. Instruments used for data collection were mathematics achievement test and logical mathematical intelligence test. The data analysis technique used was the two-way ANAVA with unequal cell. Based on the hipothesis test, they were concluded that: (1) The mathematics learning achievement of TAI was better than TSI and direct learning model, the mathematics learning achievement of TSI was better than direct learning model. (2) The mathematics learning achievement of students with high logical mathematical intelligence were better than average and low logical mathematical intelligences. Students with average logical mathematical intelligence were better than low logical mathematical intelligences. (3) Students with high logical mathematical intelligence who were treated by TAI, TSI, and direct learning models had same mathematics learning  achievement; students with average logical mathematical intelligence who were treated by TAI was same of TSI and was better than direct learning model, TSI was better than direct learning model; students with low logical mathematical intelligence who were treated by TAI had better mathematics learning achievement than TSI and direct learning model, TSI students were better than direct learning model model. (4) In TAI learning model, the mathematics learning  achievement of high logical mathematical intelligence were better than the average and lower logical mathematical intelligence, the mathematics learning achievementof average has equal with low logical mathematical intelligence; in TSI learning model, students with high logical mathematical intelligence has equal of average logical mathematical intelligence, the mathematics learning achievements of high and average logical mathematical intelligence were better than the low logical mathematical intelligence; in direct learning model, students with high logical mathematical intelligence has better mathematics learning achievement than high and average of logical mathematical intelligence,  students with average logical mathematical intelligence has better mathematics learning achievement than low of logical mathematical intelligence. Keyword s : Team Assisted Individualization, Three Steps Interview, Direct Learning Model, Logical Mathematical Intelligence, Achievement.


The current study sought to identify groups of navigation students and master mariners (captains) characterized by different constellations of the Big Five personality traits and aggression levels. We hypothesized that master mariners would exhibit the resilient personality type and that navigation students would additionally exhibit personality types other than the resilient (e.g., over- or undercontrolled). A sample of 108 navigation students (men, in their second or third year of naval school, all active athletes) and 76 master mariners took part in the study and completed the Polish version of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992; Zawadzki et al., 1998) and the Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992; Tucholska, 1998). The hypothesis about the resilient personality type among master mariners was confirmed. The second hypothesis about personality types other than the resilient among navigation students was also confirmed: 33% of the students exhibited the overcontrolling personality type. The article also highlights the need to include psychological assessment in naval school enrolment procedures.


Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) are two key techniques for enabling massive connectivity in future wireless networks. A massive MIMO-NOMA system can deliver remarkable spectral improvements and low communication latency. Nevertheless, the uncontrollable stochastic behavior of the wireless channels can still degrade its performance. In this context, the idea of an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) has emerged as a promising technology for smartly overcoming the possibly detrimental effects of the wireless environment. The disruptive IRS concept of controlling the propagation channels via software can provide attractive performance gains to the communication networks, including higher data rates, improved user fairness, and possibly higher energy efficiency. In this article, we demonstrate the main roles of IRSs in MIMO-NOMA systems. Specifically, we identify key challenges and perform a comprehensive discussion of the main performance gains that can be achieved in IRS-assisted massive MIMO-NOMA (IRS-NOMA) networks. We outline exciting futuristic use case scenarios for IRS-NOMA and expose the main related challenges and future research directions. Furthermore, throughout the article, we support our in-depth discussions with representative numerical results.


We propose a new technique for Mixed Reality (MR) remote collaboration that uses live and static 360 panoramas inside a 3D scene. Prior work on MR remote collaboration demonstrated benefits of using a 360 panorama, or using a 3D scene. However, collaboration using 360 panorama offers limited spatial information. Our prototype system allows viewing and manipulating of 360 panoramas and visual cues inside a 3D scene, adding spatial information for enhanced contextual understanding between the remote collaborators. We designed a system that combines Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to bridge the visual cues and information relative to the 3D space to help enhance the user experience and interaction in a larger scale MR remote collaboration. We describe our implementation in detail with a discussion of the design implications and potential benefits that could help improve MR remote collaboration.


Diabetes Mellitus type 2 (DM2) is a metabolic disease that develops by a decrease in sensitivity of insulin receptors as an effect of the disruption certain metabolic functions in the processing of glucose. DM2 patients have, uncontrolled glucose levels, and commonly have problems with obesity and cardiovascular disease. Patients are treated with standard diet, insulin, diabetic oral agents and antihypertensive drugs, but this approach does not completely stops tissue deterioration since it does not address the metabolic root of the disease. Metabolic correction is proposed as a suitable adjunct treatment to improve clinical outcomes. Metabolic correction is based on diet modification, proper hydration and scientific supplementation directed to improve cellular biochemistry and metabolic efficiency. In addition, other possible benefits may include reduction in medication use, disease complications and medical costs. To test the results of a metabolic correction program, 25 patients with DM2 participated in an education program about adequate food consumption that promoted control of blood glucose levels. Anthropometric measurements and blood tests were performed during a 13 week program based on a low carbohydrate diet, proper hydration and magnesium supplementation. The metabolic correction program implemented by a proprietary educational system resulted in significant reductions in glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, weight and waist circumference. Improvements in these values could represent an important reduction of coronary heart disease risk factors as well as other chronic degenerative diseases. In addition there was medication dosage reduction in one or more medications in 21 of the 25 participating patients, which suggest that the program has the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs.


Extraneural metastases are a relatively rare manifestation of the primary brain tumors, and a major part of the cases has been associated with initial medulloblastoma. Herein, we present the case of a young female adult diagnosed and operated for medulloblastoma. The patient developed extraneural metastases in the first postoperative year. The condition exhibited an aggressive course of development, and the applied treatment approaches were unable to halt its progression. A short literature review identifies the predictive factors determining both prognosis and treatability of the condition; the current limitations and future perspectives of the treatment options are discussed.


This article reports key findings from a project that focused on the academic literacy development of children who are born and/or begin their formal schooling in Canada but are raised in homes where the societally dominant language is not the primary idiom. Analyses involved characterizing students' home ecological environments; assessing the nature of students' challenges in relation to schoolbased literacy demands; and documenting collaborations with professional educators in generating cognitively and pedagogically differentiated instructional approaches. Findings are interpreted as three disjunctive conditions that impede the development of academic literacy competencies and, thus, schooling success of G1.5 linguistic minority students.


In image-guided bone surgery, sample points collected from the surface of the bone are registered to the preoperative CT model using well-known registration methods such as Iterative Closest Point (ICP). These techniques are generally very sensitive to the initial alignment of the datasets. Poor initialization significantly increases the chances of getting trapped local minima. In order to reduce the risk of local minima, the registration is manually initialized by locating the sample points close to the corresponding points on the CT model. In this paper, we present an automatic initialization method that aligns the sample points collected from the surface of pelvis with CT model of the pelvis. The main idea is to exploit a mean shape of pelvis created from a large number of CT scans as the prior knowledge to guide the initial alignment. The mean shape is constant for all registrations and facilitates the inclusion of application-specific information into the registration process. The CT model is first aligned with the mean shape using the bilateral symmetry of the pelvis and the similarity of multiple projections. The surface points collected using ultrasound are then aligned with the pelvis mean shape. This will, in turn, lead to initial alignment of the sample points with the CT model. The experiments using a dry pelvis and two cadavers show that the method can align the randomly dislocated datasets close enough for successful registration. The standard ICP has been used for final registration of datasets.


This paper enumerated the 66 events of red tide causing in coastal sea Guangdong, and conduct study and analysis on them. Concluding the results showed the following characteristics: the frequency causing red tide was heightening, the red tide could cause for any time in the whole year, the area causing was expanding, the holding time was longer, the degree causing disserve was greater, there were new species recorded and more red tides are noxious, etc. Through studying on the causing of the red tides, it considered that there was following four causes: ① There were more and more species causing red tides in coastal Guangdong sea, it was the important result causing red tide;\{② The\} marine polluting and the polluting from the marine breed aquatics were the basic consideration of the red tide causing continually;③ The causing of red tide related closely in the change of the season, the red tides mostly happen during March and May in coastal Guangdong sea, it was the change from northeast monsoon to southwest monsoon;④ It was resulted in the global climate. In addition, it advanced four countermeasures for preventing the disservice and decreasing economical losing causing the red tides in coastal Guangdong sea.


Examination of lexical items in naturally occurring vernacular prose shows patterns of ambiguities in how Americans discuss health issues. Samples from the Freiburg-Brown corpus of American English and varied registers of popular health writing found online reveal two principles of naming beliefs that crosscut the uses of many ambiguous terms: the semantic principle of 'lexical conflation' and the semiotic principle of 'edible iconicity'. Both are shown to reflect sources of nutritional conceptualizations. Lexical conflation is illustrated by uses of fat, cholesterol, sugar, oil, and germ, with modifiers shown to help disambiguate terms. Edible iconicity, where meaning is attached to the visible form of what is ingested and characteristics of a food are believed to transfer to the person who eats it, is illustrated through aspects of hard, white, and hot. Applications are suggested that take into account the influence on nutritional choices that can occur when lay people misinterpret specialized information as signifying a nonspecialist sense. Recognition of these two principles has the potential to affect public health policy by helping practitioners to identify and modify ambiguous words, and to take into account tendencies to interpret metaphors literally, especially regarding iconic ingredients and their presumed effect upon the body.


The research objective is to examine and analyze the effect of Return On Asset, Earning Per Share, Debt to Equity Ratio and Current Ratio on Dividend Policy in manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in the 2016-2018 period. The research approach used in this research is a quantitative approach method. The population to be used in this study were 174 companies, and the sample criteria were assessed using the sampling technique so that 26 companies were obtained as samples. The data translation technique used in this study is multiple linear regression analysis. Based on the results of the hypothesis of the coefficient of determination obtained from the amount of adjusted R square (R2) of 11.5%, it can be denied that Return On Assets, Earning Per Share, Debt to Equity Ratio and Current Ratio have an effect on Dividend Policy by 11.5% while the remaining 88.5% believe in other variables that are not examined in this study


Purpose
Learning effectiveness research increasingly turns to mixed modalities of instruction. We aim to provide guidance to designers of blended learning which combines traditional instructional methods with various multimedia formats.

Design, Methodology
We conducted a meta-analysis. In a categorical model of fixed effects we explored a matrix of three dimensions: 1. e-learning formats versus different non-e-learning comparators (e.g. print material or lectures), 2. deployment of e-learning in blended teaching (supplement) or as substitute for traditional instruction and 3. types of knowledge transferred. Particular attention is paid to potential confounders in trial design.

Findings
Analyses of 54 studies yielded a weighted effect size of 0.2. Ten variables correlate with effectiveness, of which four can be considered as indicators of quality and/or potential confounders and six as modulators. The former, including test methods, robustness of design, instrumentation and statistical power, help to assess original research. The latter, e.g. blended versus pure e-learning, comparator (learning aids of the control group in experimental situations), time on task, degree of interactivity and user control, help to design teaching concepts and media.

Practical implications
Variables providing guidance for rational choice of e-learning formats were assessed. In pure or blended e-learning, the category of knowledge transferred should guide formats, e.g., procedural knowledge is more effectively transferred by hypermedia or drill & practice than by tutorials.

Originality/value
This paper thus seeks to make a substantial contribution to the use, design and interpretation of e-learning.


We propose a data-driven learning framework for the analytic continuation problem in numerical quantum many-body physics. Designing an accurate and efficient framework for the analytic continuation of imaginary time using computational data is a grand challenge that has hindered meaningful links with experimental data. The standard Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt)-based method is limited by the quality of the computational data and the availability of prior information. Also, the MaxEnt is not able to solve the inversion problem under high level of noise in the data. Here we introduce a novel learning model for the analytic continuation problem using a Adams-Bashforth residual neural network (AB-ResNet). The advantage of this deep learning network is that it is model independent and, therefore, does not require prior information concerning the quantity of interest given by the spectral function. More importantly, the ResNet-based model achieves higher accuracy than MaxEnt for data with higher level of noise. Finally, numerical examples show that the developed AB-ResNet is able to recover the spectral function with accuracy comparable to MaxEnt where the noise level is relatively small.


One of the most widely publicized aspects of computer security has been the presence and propagation of malware. Malware has adapted to many dierent changing technologies, including recently-popular P2P systems. While previous work has examined P2P networks and protocols like KaZaA and Gnutella for malware, little has been done so far that examines BitTorrent. This project explored BitTorrent for the presence of malware, and discovered a signicant portion of malware in the downloaded le set. Statistics on torrents infected with malware were gathered and analyzed to nd patterns that are helpful in creating basic ltering heuristics. While these heuristics may work in simple cases, several easy ways they can be defeated were found.


We find that opinion divergence among professional investment managers is commonplace, using a large sample of transaction-level institutional trading data. When managers trade together, future returns are similar regardless if they are all buying or selling, inconsistent with the notion that professional investment managers possess stock picking ability or private information that is of investment value. However, when managers trade against each other, subsequent returns are low, especially for stocks that are difficult to short. This U-shaped disagreement-return relationship is consistent with Miller's (1977) hypothesis that, in the presence of short-sale constraints, opinion divergence can cause an upward bias in prices. Copyright (c) 2008 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.


In terms of ligand-directed synthetic strategy, multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could be assembled by employing organic ligands with nitrogen-containing heterocycles, which could serve as Lewis base sites in crystallized porous frameworks. Here, the acidic one-pot hydrothermal reaction of CaCl2, Zn(NO3)2, and 2,4,6-tri(2,4-dicarboxyphenyl)pyridine (H6TDP) generates one robust honeycomb-shaped double-walled material of {[(CH3)2NH2]2[CaZn(TDP)(H2O)]·3DMF·3H2O}n (NUC-21), which has the excellent physicochemical characteristics of nanoscopic channels, high porosity (58.3%), large specific surface area, and high heat/water-resisting property. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first 3s-3d dinuclear [CaZn(CO2)6(OH2)]-based nanoporous host framework, whose activated state possesses the coexistence of Lewis acid-base sites including four-coordinated Zn2+ ions, four-coordinated Ca2+ ions, uncoordinated carboxyl oxygen atoms, and Npyridine atoms. As expected, because of the coexistence of Lewis acid-base nature, desolvated NUC-21 displays satisfactory catalytic activity on the chemical cycloaddition of various epoxides with CO2 into the corresponding alkyl carbonates under comparatively mild conditions. Furthermore, the efficient conversion of benzaldehydes and malononitrile confirms that NUC-21 is simultaneously a bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst for Knoevenagel condensation reactions. Hence, the achievements broaden the way for assembling nanoporous multifunctional MOFs by employing ligand-directed synthetic strategy, which can accelerate the transformation from simple structural research to socially demanding applications.


Adoption of an 'ethics of reversibility' can seem fashionably enlightened, even democratic, but appears less radical when issues of power are opened up. Adopting the motif of keeping, this paper sets its questioning of an on-going individuation of ethics within the context of an insidious reduction of institutional mores to business parlance. Keeping Derrida's 'philosophy of reversals' in view, the discussion resists the double bind of attempts to make higher-level decisions ever more 'irreversible' on the one hand, while devolving ethical responsibilities for outcomes downwards on the other. In criss-crossing, back and forth, on variations of these themes, the aim of the paper is to contest a division of moral labour in which the more powerful style themselves as 'not for turning', while those dispossessed of authority are left to vacillate within the market agendas of flexibility and transparency.


We express the Hessian discriminant of a cubic surface in terms of fundamental invariants. This answers Question 15 from the \emph{27 questions on the cubic surface}. We also explain how to compute the fundamental invariants for smooth cubics of rank 6.


This study was about the effect of financial management on debt servicing of women vending business in Nakawa market. The study was prompted by the pathetic financial performance and poor debt servicing. The objectives of the study were to analyze the effects of cash flow management on debt servicing, the effects of cost control on debt servicing and the effect of revenue levels on debt servicing. These misgivings were reflected by defaulting levels and closure of some businesses in Nakawa market, and the prevailing situation required an investigation. The study adopted a cross-sectional design where both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. The purposive and simple random sampling techniques were applied. The methods used to collect data were the questionnaire, document review and interview. Data was coded and analyzed using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) whereby tallies or counts and their corresponding percentages were generated and used to discuss the findings of the study. The study findings show that women vendors know little about cash flow management. The findings also show that women vendors incur a number of costs and have no saving culture. The study concluded that vendors cannot control their income and expenditure.