Several proposals in the literature on conceptual development converge on the claim that information about kinds of things in the world has a privileged status in children's cognition, insofar as it is acquired, manipulated, and stored with surprising ease. Our goal in the present studies (N = 440) was to test a prediction of this claim. Specifically, if the early cognitive system privileges kind (or generic) information in the proposed ways, then learning new facts about kinds should be so seamless that it is often accompanied by an impression that these facts were known all along. To test this prediction, we presented 4- to 7-year-old children with novel kind-wide and individual-specific facts, and we then asked children whether they had prior knowledge of these facts. As predicted, children were under the impression that they had known the kind-wide facts more often than the individual-specific facts, even though in reality they had just learned both (Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 5). Importantly, learning facts about (nongeneric) plural sets of individuals was not similarly accompanied by heightened knew-it-all-along errors (Experiment 4), highlighting the privileged status of kind information per se. Finally, we found that young children were able to correctly recognize their previous ignorance of newly learned generic facts when this ignorance was made salient before the learning event (Experiment 6), suggesting that children's frequent knew-it-all-along impressions about such facts truly stem from metacognitive difficulties rather than being a methodological artifact. In sum, these 6 studies indicate that learning information about kinds is accompanied by heightened knew-it-all-along errors. More broadly, this evidence supports the view that early cognition privileges kind representations.


CONTEXT
Soft tissue sarcomas generally first metastasize to the lungs followed by the involvement of other sites such as lymph nodes and bones as part of the disseminated disease. Cerebellar and pancreatic metastases from tumors of mesenchymal origin such as soft tissue sarcomas are exceptional, more so in the absence of pulmonary metastases.

CASE REPORT
A previously treated case of chest wall sarcoma presented with the sudden onset of neurological symptoms. An MRI brain scan was suggestive of a solitary cerebellar metastasis. A CT scan of the thorax and abdomen showed no evidence of disease. A metastasectomy of the solitary brain lesion confirmed a deposit from a previously treated sarcoma. Within two months he presented with central abdominal pain and low backache radiating down both lower limbs. FDG-PET and CT scans revealed a large pancreatic and left paraspinal mass with intense tracer uptake suggestive of metastatic involvement. There was no evidence of pulmonary metastases. A CT-guided biopsy was suggestive of high-grade sarcoma. He was treated with palliative radiotherapy with good symptomatic relief.

CONCLUSION
Cerebellar, pancreatic, and paraspinal metastases from soft tissue sarcomas are rare, especially in the absence of pulmonary metastases. A high index of suspicion is necessary, and appropriate imaging should be considered for symptomatic patients.


The valence subband structures and optical gain of GaInP/AlGaInP strained quantum wells are theoretically analyzed, using the 4*4 Luttinger-Kohn Hamiltonian. The compressive strain reduces the density of states near the valence band edge. As a result, the differential gain is enhanced for low injection carrier density, and the threshold current is reduced due to the reduction of radiative recombination current. For high injection current, the strain reduces the differential gain, although the threshold current is reduced due to the reduction of the hetero-barrier leakage current.<<ETX>>


Cortical neurons are organized in columns, distinguishable by their physiological properties and input-output organization. Columns are thought to be the fundamental information-processing modules of the cortex. The barrel cortex of rats and mice is an attractive model system for the study of cortical columns, because each column is defined by a layer 4 (L4) structure called a barrel, which can be clearly visualized. A great deal of information has been collected regarding the connectivity of neurons in barrel cortex, but the nature of the input to a given L4 barrel remains unclear. We measured this input by making comprehensive maps of whisker-evoked activity in L4 of rat barrel cortex using recordings of multiunit activity and current source density analysis of local field potential recordings of animals under light isoflurane anesthesia. We found that a large number of whiskers evoked a detectable response in each barrel (mean of 13 suprathreshold, 18 subthreshold) even after cortical activity was abolished by application of muscimol, a GABA(A) agonist. We confirmed these findings with intracellular recordings and single-unit extracellular recordings in vivo. This constitutes the first direct confirmation of the hypothesis that subcortical mechanisms mediate a substantial multiwhisker input to a given cortical barrel.


Taking French ambassadorial reports from the reign of Louis XIV as an example, this chapter argues that in their letters to their superiors, French ambassadors expressed themselves not primarily as professional diplomats, but as eminent members of French court society and potential aspirants to even higher charges and honours. First and foremost, early modern diplomats abided by the ethos of patronage. Far from home, the ambassador still obeyed the social logic of court factions, clientele networks, and competition for prestige. His letters had to compensate for his physical absence from Versailles, as his only currency in the French court society's economy of honour. The ambassador therefore used his letters as a specific means of displaying his skills and abilities, and distinguishing and expressing himself. He could fashion himself as honnête homme, noble warrior, or pious man of letters—or whatever aristocratic virtue seemed appropriate. In this sense, his letters were genuine self-narratives, and diplomatic history could therefore benefit greatly from methods and concepts elaborated in the dynamic research field of early modern ego-documents. By understanding diplomatic writing as noble self-fashioning and analysing diplomatic correspondence as self-narratives, this chapter reassesses the proper role and specific functioning of diplomacy in early modern political culture.


This paper proposes an asynchronous analog to digital converter (ADC) for wireless surveillance video camera applications. The proposed architecture is based on a nonuniform sampling, whose sampling instants depend on the input voltage amplitude. The proposed design has the power performance advantage, by using a power down comparator, for an input voltage close to the extreme values. Thus, the proposed architecture is suitable for the applications in which the input signal rarely assumes voltage values closer to the mid-range amplitude voltage. The design is simulated, at the transistor level, in a 180-nm CMOS technology. The results show that about 96.7% of the power can be saved in the best case (input voltage in the vicinity of extreme values) when compared to a conventional flash ADC.


The development of medical applications is fuelled in the context of steadily growing needs and the requirement of lowering overall costs. Micro systems will have an extremely important impact on medical technology in the future. The great challenges for the wider use of micro structures in health applications are biocompatibility and mass production. Especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need help to overcome these problems by free access to knowledge, the availability of standards and contacts to partners.


A technique of determining the density distribution of an electron plasma column confined by non-uniform magnetic fields is presented. The non-uniform confining fields cause the electron density distribution to be non-uniform not only radially, but also axially. Calculations of the plasma shapes show that for a stable plasma mode the plasma surface follows a flux tube in some range of the z axis and gradually shrinks towards the ends. For the plasma whose surface follows a flux tube, the central density profile can be deduced from the measured axially projected density profile. Analysis of the l=0 plasma wave dispersion relation further supports the diagnostics in the electron density distribution.


An extended life cycle model is used to investigate how variation in the level of expected pensions influences non-pension wealth accumulation. We try to explain why the offset effects between pension wealth and private savings are not one to one by accounting for different risks and market imperfections, which includes uninsured risk on earnings, mortality risk, borrowing constraints and bequest motive. The model is calibrated on Norwegian household data from 1992 to 2005. Based on the calibrated model, simulations are performed to explore consequences of introducing these factors. The result shows that by simply accounting these risks and constraints, we can explain most of the departure between empirical findings and theoretical prediction.


DCPA (Dacthal ®) herbicide was applied preemergence (PE) to the soil surface after onion planting and no crop injury was observed for rates of 5.3, 7.5, and 10.5 lb. a.i. /A at one of two locations. Dacthal® gave good control of London rocket and cheeseweed (90 -94 %) at one location and marginal control at the second location (79 -85 %). Dacthal® did not exhibit a rate response to control the two weeds common to both locations. The lower rate of Dacthal® did not differ in efficacy compared to higher rates to completely control lambsquarters and nettleleaf goosefoot. All rates of Dacthal® marginally controlled yellow sweetclover and other mustard weeds present. Dacthal® provided adequate weed control to allow onion stand establishment.


Abstract Chronic infantile neurological cutaneous and articular (CINCA) syndrome is a severe auto-inflammatory disease, due to mutation of the CIAS1 gene. CINCA syndrome should be considered the most severe of a spectrum of three disorders all due to mutation of the CIAS1 gene. CINCA syndrome produces a triad of symptoms of neonatal onset: maculopapular urticarial rash, chronic meningitis, and chronic non-inflammatory arthropathy with recurrent fever. CINCA syndrome is also associated with sensory organ damage, especially progressive hearing loss and loss of vision. In this case report, we present the first case of cochlear implantation in a 13-year-old child with CINCA syndrome. Cochlear implantation was successful at rehabilitating the hearing loss with the child able to continue mainstream education, with her academic performance and speech discrimination both showing marked improvement. Anakinra (an interleukin 1 receptor antagonist) is now in widespread use to treat CINCA syndrome and is known to rapidly reverse the inflammatory features of CINCA syndrome. However, current evidence suggests that anakinra has limited effectiveness in reversing the sensorineural hearing loss seen in CINCA syndrome. We therefore propose that cochlear implantation is a viable treatment option in this rare yet severe auto-inflammatory disease, if the patient has failed to respond to anakinra. Owing to the unknown pathogenesis of the progressive hearing loss seen in CINCA syndrome and the limited effectiveness of anakinra in reversing the progressive hearing loss, we suggest that cochlear implantation is the modality of choice in rehabilitating severe-to-profound hearing loss not responsive to anakinra.


This paper argues for an interdisciplinary interlocution between social theory and social philosophy in order to recast the problem of normativity in social practices, especially within Brazil's democratic ethos. By resorting to insights from critical theory and social epistemology, the essay proposes to reexamine Bourdieu's conception of habitus so as to contribute to a moderate social constructionism that cannot be reduced to a postmodernist discourse or to a variant of relativism.


This essay was supposed to be a review of long-term trends in 'international cultural policy'. Although it has turned out to be something else, it is still worth pausing to inquire what that original brief might mean. 'International cultural policy' could denote two different things: first, the evolution of norms and frameworks articulated by international organizations and/or considered to be good practice internationally; second, the emergence of different 'cultural policy' stances and measures in different countries and regions (this second reading could of course subsume the first). Interested principally in the second reading, I am in fact beginning to envisage a booklength cross-cultural survey of the topic. This project is still only half-formed, however. What is more, neither my decades of direct experience in the policy-making arena, particularly at UNESCO, nor my current co-editorship of The Cultures and Globalization Series of publications, have (yet) afforded me scope for first-hand research. So rather than generalize in ways that could only be impressionistic, I have chosen to discuss not the 'long term trends', but rather some necessary preliminaries to a systematic inquiry into 'cultural policy' worldwide, in the hope that my reflections may provide some useful elements of 'global' context for the Swedish national 'cultural policy' exercise now under way.


In April, 2005, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act ("BAPCPA"), the first major overhaul of bankruptcy law in 25 years. The proponents of BAPCPA were motivated primarily by a desire to put an end to bankruptcy abuse. The types bankruptcy abuse that BAPCPA's proponents wished to discontinue included liquidations by consumers who might be able to fund a repayment plan and the sheltering of assets in high-exemption states. This paper focuses on the second type of abuse, pre-bankruptcy exemption planning. Prior to the enactment of BAPCPA, courts exercised an enormous amount of discretion in determining whether a debtor's conversion of non-exempt assets to exempt assets before bankruptcy was fraudulent as to creditors. The new legislation removes judicial discretion when certain types of asset conversions are involved, primarily conversions of personal property into exempt homesteads. In my article, I analyze whether these changes, which on their face seem to discourage pre-bankruptcy asset conversions, in fact impose any greater penalties on debtors than did the case law pre-BAPCPA.


Forty patients (mean age 5 years) with a spastic disorder treated by botulinum injections (53 sessions) were evaluated for functional outcome in terms of achievement of their individual predetermined goals of treatment, rated on a modified Goal Attainment Scale from 1 (worsening function) to 4 (improved gross motor function). At the 2-week follow-up, 40% had a score of 1, 33% a score of 2, and 13% a score of 3; 12% showed no functional change. Botulinum treatments failed to significantly improve the gross motor function in this patient group. Treatment goals and expectations should clearly be established beforehand.


Teleradiology refers to the transmission of clinical images from their source to remote sites. In this paper a low-cost means of establishing teleradiology using conventional personal computers is described. This is a simple and effective means of transmitting valuable clinical data from hospital to hospital, and hospital to individual, markedly enhancing the quality of clinical communication. The system described herein has proved invaluable in a busy neurosurgical department, in both emergency and more routine settings. Teleradiology has the potential to transform the early management of critically ill and injured patients, especially those from remote parts of Australia.


Summary
The defective adenovirus-associated viruses produce infectious progeny only in cells co-infected with an unrelated helper adenovirus. However, the adenovirus-associated viruses produce antigen detectable by immunofluorescence but not infectious virus in cells co-infected with herpes simplex virus. This incomplete helper effect provided by herpes simplex virus was studied in Hep-2 cells by quantitative kinetic procedures. Dose response studies showed that a single infectious adenovirus associated virus-1 particle and a single infectious herpes simplex virus particle were sufficient to initiate adenovirus-associated virus antigen synthesis. Adenovirus-associated virus-1 antigen was formed 6 hr after infection with both viruses, and at a time before the production of infectious herpes simplex virus. Co-infected cells, deprived of arginine, formed adenovirus-associated virus-1 antigen while undergoing an abortive herpes simplex virus infection in which infectious herpes simplex virus was not produced.
Sequential inoculation studies showed that the 6 hr latent period for adenovirus-associated virus antigen formation was lengthened, rather than shortened, by pre-infection with herpes simplex virus. Cytosine arabinoside treatment of co-infected cells within 4 to 6 hr after infection prevented adenovirus-associated virus antigen formation.


In this report we have taken a closer look at food and the significance of meals during the Christmas season. Among the questions that the report set out to answer are: What is traditional Norwegian Christmas food? What and how do Norwegians eat during Christmas? What social and cultural meanings are attributed to Christmas food and meals? What differences emerge with regard to the choice of Christmas food? Christmas is a ritual in which most Norwegians (80 percent) take part. Both the quantitative and the qualitative studies show that the Christmas season is a very social time – during Christmas the extended family gathers – and food and meals are an important part of the social intercourse. How, then, do Norwegians think and act in shaping their Christmas food and meals? In general we can say that when we choose Christmas food, we do so based on a collective and stable action pattern and more or less unconsciously reproduce many of the traditions that have characterised this ritual throughout generations. Christmas time can almost be described as a food memorial feast where we bring with us memories, habits, traditions and rituals from the family in which we grew up. Furthermore, it is evident that through Christmas food rituals we more or less unconsciously positions ourselves with regard to a number of (food)cultural issues connected with abundance, belonging, authenticity, gender, life phase etc.


This article introduces the special issue on the transformation of German Christian Democracy and sets the context for organisational and policy change in the CDU. As a starting point, it identifies both contemporary challenges to the CDU, locating its discussion within the wider literature on European Christian Democracy, and considers the extent to which these apply to the German case. It then outlines the key dimensions of the contemporary CDU which are examined in this collection.


There is hope for countries such as South Africa that have followed prudent financial policies, provided we have the will to work and grasp the nettle.


Abstract The parasite fauna of cod (Gadus morhus) is well described, but the life cycles of Baltic cod parasites are known only in general terms. Invertebrates commonly found in the stomach of cod are recognized as intermediate hosts in the life cycles of nematodes or acanthocephalans. The aim of this study was to determine the source of infection of Baltic cod with parasites found in situ in invertebrates present in the cod stomach. Our results indicate that Saduria entomon is both a source of infection of Baltic cod with parasites and an intermediate host in the life cycle of Hysterothylacium aduncum in the Baltic Sea.


To monitor electrical indications from the heart and assess its performance, the electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most common and routine diagnostic instrument employed. Cardiac arrhythmias are only one example of the many heart conditions people might have. ECG records are used to diagnose an arrhythmia, an abnormal cardiac beat that can cause a stroke in extreme circumstances. However, due to the extensive data that an ECG contains, it is quite difficult to glean the necessary information through visual analysis. Therefore, it is crucial to develop an effective (automatic) method to analyze the vast amounts of data available from ECG. For decades, researchers have focused on developing methods to automatically and computationally categorize and identify cardiac arrhythmias. However, monitoring for arrhythmias in real-time is challenging. To streamline the detection and classification process, this research presents a hybrid deep learning-based technique. There are two major contributions to this study. To automate the noise reduction and feature extraction, 1D ECG data are first transformed into 2D Scalogram images. Following this, a combined approach called the Residual attention-based 2D-CNN-LSTM-CNN (RACLC) is recommended by merging multiple learning models, specifically the 2D convolutional neural network (CNN) and the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) system, based on research findings. The name of this model comes from a combination of the two deep learning. Both the beats themselves, which provide morphological information, and the beats paired with neighboring segments, which provide temporal information, are essential. Our suggested model simultaneously collects time-domain and morphological ECG signal data and combines them. The application of the attention block to the network helps to strengthen the valuable information, acquire the confidential message in the ECG signal, and boost the efficiency of the model when it comes to categorization. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed RACLC method, we carried out a complete experimental investigation making use of the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database, which is used by a large number of researchers. The results of our experiments show that the automated detection method we propose is effective.


Tests on stable unbonded (SU) square carbon fiber-reinforced elastomeric isolator (FREI) bearings were conducted to investigate their lateral and vertical response. The bearings are intended for seismic isolation of low-rise buildings including those of ordinary importance. To simulate the in-place application of SU-FREI bearings, the contact surfaces of the bearings were not bonded to the platens of the test machine. This unbonded application permitted stable rollover deformation to occur which enhances the bearing's isolation efficiency. The bearings were shown to safely sustain large lateral displacements. When subjected to large lateral displacements, their originally vertical faces completely contacted the horizontal surfaces of the upper and lower platens, which created a stiffening response and ensured the stability of these very large displacements. The sensitivity of SU-FREI bearings to lateral displacement history and vertical pressure applied on the bearings were investigated. Regarding the latter parameter, it was found that the effect of variations in vertical pressure on the lateral response can be neglected when the SU-FREI bearings are subjected to relatively light vertical pressures such as considered for low-rise buildings.


Crabs are economically important and a protein rich commodity in the coastal as well as offshore fisheries in Sri Lanka. Crabs are one of the potential aquaculture candidates and also form important commercial and recreational fishery. The present study was conducted with the aim of documenting the species composition and diversity of crabs inhabiting in the Navanthurai coastal area of Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. The current investigation was carried out from November 2011 to October 2012 in Navanthurai coastal waters, which is a part of the Jaffna estuary situated between latitudes 9°36'– 9°50'North and longitudes 79° 40'– 80°40' East. Specimens were collected using different types of nets; mainly driftnet, gill net, hoop net and 'Sirahuvalai'. All crabs were brought to the laboratory and identified up to species level based on the morphological characters. Accordingly, five edible species of crabs namely; Scyllaserrata, Portunus pelagicus, Thalamita craneta, Charybdis notator and Portunus sanguinolentes , belong to four genera of the family Portunidae were recorded. . Among them P.pelagicus is the dominant species contributing 93.5% followed by T.craneta and S.serrata representing 5.5% and 1.5%, respectively. However, S.serrata is the most demanded species of crabs both for local and export markets. Only a few individuals of C.natator and P.sanginolentus were observed representing 0.37% and 0.13%, respectively of the harvest. The information and observations in this study will be of use in formulating management policies for the crab fishery off the Navanthurai coastal area. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (4): 595 – 601 (2014)


Decomposition of soil organic matter connects the global carbon (C) cycle with the turnover of nitrogen (N), but exactly how the availability of N affects the soil C turnover is unclear. In boreal forest soils, fungi are essential to litter decomposition. Most litter decomposing fungi form large mycelia and have a well developed capacity to translocate resources, such as carbohydrates and nutrients, within their mycelia. Translocation by litter fungi may enable efficient utilization of spatially separated substrates differing in respect to their quality and thus have a major influence on decomposition and nutrient dynamics. In order to isolate the different mechanisms controlling C and N turnover by litter decomposing fungi, controlled laboratory studies were conducted with the known, common litter fungi Marasmius androsaceus and Mycena epipterygia. Furthermore, some litter fungi with unknown functional capability were tested for their ability to decompose pine needles and potential effects of interspecific interactions for C and N dynamics were also assessed. The low initial N content of recently abscised pine needles limited the catabolism as well as growth and needle decomposition by both M. androsaceus and M. epipterygia. Accordingly, when colonizing new needle litter both fungi translocated assimilated N into the needles leading to a net gain in the total N pool. This way, both fungi were able to increase their growth in the new substrate. In addition, both fungi translocated C to low C:N ratio substrates, thereby overcoming local C deficiency and subsequently restricted mineralization of N. When able to connect substrates of different quality, both fungi increased their efficiency by allocating a larger proportion of assimilated C into biomass production, thereby reducing the release of CO2. Interspecific antagonistic interactions prevented mycelial linking of substrates colonized by different species, and thereby hampered translocation. This thesis demonstrates that the capacity of litter decomposing fungi to translocate resources within their mycelia may have a decisive influence on the C and N cycle in boreal forests.


Twenty-four sediment samples were collected seasonally during one year from the partially closed Montevideo Bay and the adjacent coastal zone, in Uruguay, in order to determine the impact of chromium and lead in the sediments. Analysis of related environmental variables included bottom water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and several sedimentological variables such as redox potential and total organic matter. Concentrations and range of variation of these two metals were similar to those found in urbanized and industrialized estuarine environments. Metal enrichment is higher in the bay than in the adjacent coastal zone, however an important increase especially in Pb content was detected in an area previously considered as a pristine one. Considering both metal content and benthic environment characteristics, the study area can be clearly divided in at least two well-defined regions. One is the inner region of the bay near the streams, and the outermost stations of the bay and the adjacent coastal zone form the other. The first one can be considered highly polluted and the other moderately polluted. The values of the metals studied indicated that adverse biological effects are probably occurring, specially in the innermost region of Montevideo Bay.


PURPOSE
Accurate recording of diagnosis (DX) data in electronic health records (EHRs) is important for clinical practice and learning health care. Previous studies show statistically stable patterns of data entry in EHRs that contribute to inaccurate DX, likely because of a lack of data entry support. We conducted qualitative research to characterize the preferences of oncological care providers on cancer DX data entry in EHRs during clinical practice.

METHODS
We conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups to uncover common themes on DX data entry preferences and barriers to accurate DX recording. Then, we developed a survey questionnaire sent to a cohort of oncologists to verify the generalizability of our initial findings. We constrained our participants to a single specialty and institution to ensure similar clinical backgrounds and clinical experience with a single EHR system.

RESULTS
A total of 12 neuro-oncologists and thoracic oncologists were involved in the interviews and focus groups. The survey developed from these two initial thrusts was distributed to 19 participants yielding a 94.7% survey response rate. Clinicians reported similar user interface experiences, barriers, and dissatisfaction with current DX entry systems including repetitive entry operations, difficulty in finding specific DX options, time-consuming interactions, and the need for workarounds to maintain efficiency. The survey revealed inefficient DX search interfaces and challenging entry processes as core barriers.

CONCLUSION
Oncologists seem to be divided between specific DX data entry and time efficiency because of current interfaces and feel hindered by the burdensome and repetitive nature of EHR data entry. Oncologists' top concern for adopting data entry support interventions is ensuring that it provides significant time-saving benefits and increasing workflow efficiency. Future interventions should account for time efficiency, beyond ensuring data entry effectiveness.


To gain further insights into intraspecific evolution of Ulva mitochondrial genomes, the mitogenomes of three morphotypes of the green-tide forming alga, Ulva compressa Linnaeus from China and United States, were sequenced and compared with the available data from Ulvophyceae. The U. compressa mitogenomes displayed substantial genome size variation at intraspecific level ranging from 61,700 to > 66,587 bp, due to different acquisitions of foreign DNA fragments, gain or loss of both group I and II introns, and non-coding intergenic spacer regions. The U. compressa mitogenomes harbored variable gene content ranging from 69 genes (including orfs) in Uco1 to 76 in Uco5, and contained different intron content from 4 introns in Uco3 and Uco4 to 7 in Uco1. A total of 63 genes and only two group IB introns (intron cox1-1107 and cox1-1125) were shared by these five mitogenomes. The U. compressa mitogenomes accumulated many more inverted repeat (IR) elements, ranging from 45 in Uco1 to 88 in Uco2, than that of the other Ulva species (3–34). A locally collinear block of eight genes (rps11-rps19-rps4-rpl16-trnR-trnQ-trnE-trnS) with the size of 3,631 bp has been inverted only in Uco1 indicating that the rearrangement event happened after its divergence from Uco2–5 and might be related to a specific IR element. The majority of the common genes (~76%) displayed high identity (>98%) among these five mitogenomes, while some low values were observed in six genes mainly due to duplication and insertion/deletion mutations of small DNA fragments. Our study presented the first case of multiple intraspecific variations in ulvophycean mitogenomes, and indicated that the mitogenome will be a valuable tool for understanding the native or non-indigenous nature of the cosmopolitan Ulva species.


The ring rolling design includes geometry design and optimization of process variables. In ring rolling, the finished ring dimensions include both the cross-sectional shape and the diameter. Therefore, the blank volume assumes would alter the final product dimensions, because the volume remains unchanged during the rolling operation. So, it is significant to design initial blank sizes. In this study, optimized dimension of blank according to target ring dimension was predicted by using FEM analysis and physical modeling experiment with lead-based was used. A commercial FEM code, Forge2008 was used to simulate the effect of various blank sizes.


In this work, the core objective is to implement an automatic and reliable system for the classification of plants into two plant categories named as monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous using the microscopic images of plant stem cross sections. The system can be used for the classification of plants when a large number of new plant species are discovered and it can be applied in plant disease detection project. A digital microscope is used for gathering the cross sectional images. Here, the proposed system mainly consists of three sections. The first section is image gathering and pre-processing and the next section is the feature extraction by spatial methods. The texture features are extracted using GLCM method in this project. The last section is the classification of the feature sets corresponding to the images into two categories such as monocots and dicots. Support vector machine is used as the classifier.


Although less effective than xylene and Kovacs reagent as indole extractants, Hemo-De and Shandon xylene substitute can be used in the Ehrlich indole test if a less toxic solvent is desirable. In doubtful cases, xylene should be used. Because of the blocking action shown in the test, use of indole-nitrite broth cannot be recommended.


Bride trafficking is a form of human trafficking that severely affects women and girls. Although some literature has described the causes and impacts, there have been relatively few studies to shed light on the efforts to overcome the problem. By using a theoretical framework, this study limits the research scope and defines the specific viewpoint to analyse the topic. This article aims to examine the efforts of the government of India and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in combating bride trafficking. It pinpoints the causes of bride trafficking in India, such as economic demands, the poverty level, high demand for dowry, the practice of foeticide, and social marginalization leading victims to re-trafficking, as well as the impacts: physical and mental health problems, social exclusion, infectious diseases, and the damage to India's reputation. This article found that the government of India and UNODC has been relatively effective in handling bride trafficking. The number of trafficked women (victims) cases in India declined significantly between 2016 and 2020. The UNODC also plays a pivotal role in strengthening the law enforcement capacity of the government of India. KEYWORDSBride Trafficking; Government of India; UNODC


The aim of this work is to present an optimization computational tool for the material design of 3D elastic composites, by means of inverse homogenization. The specific problem here studied consists of determining the material micro-architecture, such that the elastic effective properties copy those of a target elasticity tensor. Given unit cell, which is the design domain, the spatial distribution of the faces is found through a rather conventional topology optimization problem. The specific methodology here proposed is to analyze the symmetry class of the target tensor, and use this information to deduce the shape of the unit cell. An analysis of the correlation between physical properties of the target tensor (symmetry properties) and geometric properties of the micro-architecture is presented. Given the relation between both properties, the proposed inverse design algorithm select an appropriate unit cell shape, that will be the domain of the topology optimization problem. In addition, with the goal of guaranteed the wanted effective properties, an imposition of predefined geometric symmetries to the topology is evaluated.


With ongoing innovation in process technology, the challenges of concrete technology are more and more focused on the rheological optimisation for these processes, since improper mixture stability or poor compaction ability negatively affect the concrete homogeneity and quality. However, along with the increasing complexity of today's concrete mixture compositions, concrete becomes more prone to failure regarding the casting process. Variable properties of the raw materials typically cause changing workability. The reasons can be found among others in scattering water contents, physical or chemical properties of the cement or varying environmental temperatures. Robustness in the delicately adjusted rheology, however, is of utmost importance for modern and future process technology, from sprayed concrete over pumpable concrete towards 3D-printing, with regard to the long-term strength, the function and the durability. Typically, material induced changes cannot be identified easily due to the complex interactions of concrete constituents. Therefore, a precise and prompt counteraction is impossible. However, it is known that the yield stress can be controlled by addition of supplementary superplasticizer or stabilising agent. In combination with computerized process observation tools that can rapidly interpret and react on changes in the rheology, it is therefore thinkable, that only these two admixture types can adjust the rheology steadily and permanently, regardless of the actual root cause for observed macroscopic rheology change. The presentation will firstly give a comprehensive overview of effects at the interface between pore solution, particles and hydrates, which affect the rheology of fresh concrete. Secondly, ways are recommended how the rheology can be actively manipulated before eventually computerized methods are demonstrated that help to actively and rapidly assess and counteract performance scatter during steady casting processes.


... to grasp historical being in its external historical determination, there where it is most historical, as itself natural being, or to grasp nature, there where it apparently resides most profoundly within itself, as historical being. Theodor W. Adorno The 'new world order' proclaimed by George Bush 1 more than a decade and a half ago presents us with the deadly spectacle of current and future wars --Afghanistan, the Balkans and Iraq yesterday and today; Iran, Latin America and perhaps China tomorrow. It is also a spectacle where the 'environmental' is increasingly embedded into the social, political and military dimensions of conflict. That 'Palestine' names a series of historic struggles for specific rights over land, water and housing is taken to be common knowledge. (1) That 'Iraq' is a short-hand for pre-emptive US attempts to secure energy resources and therefore a position of strength in future bargains for power against rival bidders like China is the stuff of broad-sheet editorials. That the march to the Gulf wars was accompanied by rhetorical drumbeats about Iraq's alleged capacities of degrading the environment of the Gulf area with its chemical/ biological weapons merely confirms this entwining. (2) There is nothing startling anymore about Andrew Ross's suggestion that Gulf War 1 was the first explicitly ecological war of our times. (3) The various current and predicted water/minerals/narcotics 'wars' in Africa, Asia, and Latin America seem to be gloomy confirmations of his jeremiad. These analyses and debates about the 'new world order' are further quickened by routine pronouncements about 'global warming' and its possible impact on access to resources, human migration and habitats. The only surprising thing about this conceptual importance accorded to 'environment' seems to be its relative novelty. Surely, any field purporting to theorise the global conditions of colonialism/imperialism, decolonisation and neo-colonialism (let us agree to call it 'postcolonial studies') cannot but consider the complex interplay of 'environmental' categories such as water, land, energy, habitat, migration, with political or cultural categories such as state, society, conflict, literature, theatre, visual arts. Equally, any field purporting to attach interpretative importance to 'environment' (let us call it eco/environmental studies) must be able to trace the social, historical and material co-ordinates of categories such as forests, rivers, bio-regions and species. The fact that the traffic between postcolonial and eco studies can be chronologically framed within the 'new world order' calls for some periodisation of the two fields. If we take the number of impressively thick readers or anthologies as an indicator, both 'eco/green' and post-colonial studies are in ruddy institutional health. If these collections can also be seen as chronological markers of a field's maturing, postcolonial and eco studies seem to have developed and entrenched themselves in northern academes around roughly the same historical moment. Four leading eco/green readers appeared between the mid-nineties and 2003--Glotfelty and Fromm's in 1996, Laurence Coupe's in 2000, Adamson, Evans and Stein's in 2002, and Branch and Slovic's in 2003. (4) Among the truly dizzying numbers of introductions, readers and anthologies of postcolonial criticism and theory are those edited by Mongia (1996), Gandhi (1998), Brydon (2000), Chrisman and Parry (2000), Schwarz and Roy (2000), Young (2001 and 2003), Goldberg and Quayson (2002), Lazarus (2004) and Desai (2005). (5) The contents of these volumes seem to suggest that while institutionally, these fields were formed in the mid-to-late 1980, their constitutive theories and reflective practices were fleshed out largely from the early 1970s onwards. (6) To be more specific, although both postcolonial and eco studies claim an intellectual inheritance of at least two centuries and counting (to Romanticism and various eighteenth- and nineteenth-century anti-colonial struggles), their contemporary lives may be dated roughly from Earth Day in 1970 to the second invasion and occupation of Iraq 2004-05. …


The alarming low immunization rates in Malopolskie voivodeship in the last years of XX century required introducing a program aiming at improvement of vaccination performance in this area. The high efficacy of these, both educational and organizing, efforts were documented by increase of vaccination coverage by approximately twenty percent within six years. The study based on structured questionnaires was conducted among health care providers to identify the essential factors that had influence on improvement of vaccination coverage. The higher level of knowledge and the changing of physicians and parents attitudes to vaccinations have been revealed as a main factors contributing a better immunization rates. The conclusions of this study could be used by public health institutions to continue the efforts of achievement a high and stable level of vaccination coverage in Malopolskie voivodeship.


The aim of this work is to explore the performance of active appearance models (AAMs) in reconstruction and interpretation of bones in hand radiographs. AAM is a generative approach that unifies image segmentation and image understanding. Initial locations for the AAM search are generated by an exhaustive filtering method. A series of AAMs for smaller groups of bones are used. It is found that AAM successful reconstructs 99% of metacarpals, proximal and medial phalanges and the distal 3 cm of radius and ulna. The rms accuracy is better than 240 microns (point-to-curve). The generative property is used (1) to define a measure of fit that allows the models to self-evaluate and chose between the multiple found solutions, (2) to overcome obstacles in the image in the form of rings by predicting the missing part, and (3) to detect anomalies, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis. The shape scores are used as biometrics to check the identity of patients in a longitudinal study. The conclusion is that AAM provides a highly efficient and unified framework for various tasks in diagnosis and assessment of bone related disorders.


The objective of this research is the identification of burned forest areas that occurred in Syria from September 2nd to October 15th, 2020. Forest fire risk classes were determined using Sentinel-2 images. Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR), Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR), and Burned Area Index for Sentinel-2 (BAIS2), and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used for the identification how much the forests have been destroyed and to establish fire risk classes. According to the study results, the size of the vegetation area that was destroyed due to fire was determined, and the probability of the forest fire exposure of these areas was established. The fires also altered some chemical properties in the soil during the combustion process. Thus, this study was focused on the impact of fire on the availability of soil nutrients. Soil samples were collected from three depths (0–10 cm, 10–20 cm and 20–30 cm) under the forest land a month after the fire in three locations: Al-Fazeen, Sawda and Gard Al-rihan. Pine (Pinus brutia) trees cover these areas. The results of this study indicated that the fire increased pH, EC and sand, the fire also led to an increase in the solubility of the available major soil elements N, P and K. There was an increase in the solubility of the soil microelements Zn, Cu, Mn and Fe while the content of organic material and silt and clay ratio decreased at the three sites in comparison with unburned soil.


The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), the most important food legume for human nutrition globally, contributes greatly to the improvement of soil fertility in semi-dry lands where most of the soil is already salinized or alkalized, such as in the Songnen Plain of China. In this study, we investigated the effects of salt stress (neutral and alkaline) on the salt-tolerant common bean. Seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthesis, and osmotic adjustment were assessed. Neutral and alkaline salt growth environments were simulated using NaCl and NaHCO3, respectively. The results indicated that at ≥60 mmol·L−1, both NaCl and NaHCO3 caused significant delays in seedling emergence and decreased seedling emergence rates. NaHCO3 stress suppressed seedling survival regardless of concentration; however, only NaCl concentrations >60 mmol·L−1 had the same effect. Alkaline salt stress remarkably suppressed photosynthesis and seedling establishment. The common bean compensated for the increase in inorganic anion concentration (influx of Na+) by synthesizing more organic acids and soluble sugars. This adaptive mechanism enabled the common bean to balance the large inflow of cations for maintaining a stable cell pH environment under alkaline salt stress.


Mice were immunized against hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) isolated from sera of asymptomatic carriers of hepatitis B virus. Their spleen cells were fused with mouse myeloma (NS-1) cells, and 5 clones of hybridoma cells secreting antibody against HBeAg (anti-HBe) were isolated. For the production of anti-HBe in large scale, cells were cultivated both in vitro and in the peritoneal cavity of ascitic mice. Although monoclonal antibodies produced by these clones showed a strong reactivity of anti-HBe in hemagglutination tests, individual monoclonal anti-HBe did not reveal any precipitin line in immunodiffusion. When 2 of the 5 monoclonal antibodies were mixed together, however, some combinations showed a precipitin line against HBeAg, whereas others did not. Utilizing solid-phase radioimmunoassay involving a number of combinations of monoclonal antibodies used for solid-phase and radiolabeling, the 5 antibodies were classified into 2 groups. Three of the anti-HBe antibodies were found to be directed to 1 determinant of HBeAg (determinant a); the remaining 2 to the other determinant (determinant b). Determinants a and b were detected on HBeAg in the serum, as well as on the polypeptide of 19,000 daltons (P19) derived from the nucleocapsid of hepatitis B virus. Monoclonal anti-HBe antibodies with different specificities may provide useful tools in delineating the antigenic structure of HBeAg and also in evaluating immune responses of the host directed to its subdeterminants.


Stable angina is the most common form of presentation of ischemic heart disease, being more common in women (65%) than men (37%), while the reverse is true for the prevalence, being present in about 3.5% of men over 55 as opposed to 1.5% of women. The overall 10 year survival for individuals with stable angina at a mean age of 60 years is 58% for men and 68% for women. Prognosis is related to several factors: age, sex, the number of coronary vessels involved, collateral flow, ventricular function, and the extent of myocardium at risk. It is estimated that stable angina of recent onset is associated with single-vessel disease in about 40% of cases. Angina is a clinical diagnosis but, if doubt exists, one should exclude coronary atherosclerosis or spasm by cardiac catheterization and not rely on noninvasive techniques. Therapy for unstable angina or acute infarction receives considerable attention and is reasonably well defined, but such is not the case for stable angina. Conventionally, it consists of secondary prevention and prescription of nitrates, calcium blockers, or beta-blockers. There are several problems: No studies have been performed to assess efficacy in reducing the development of unstable angina. The group of drugs most appropriate for first-line therapy has not been identified. It has not been determined if nitrate tolerance is a major problem. The effect of beta-blockers on prognosis in patients with unstable angina has not been defined. A noninvasive means of identifying high and low risk patients with unstable angina has not been developed.


Eileen Spring presents an interpretation of the history of inheritance among the English gentry and aristocracy. In a work that recasts both the history of real property law and the history of the family, she argues that one of the principal and determinative features of upper-class inheritance was the virtual exclusion of females from land holding. Tracing the gradual nullification of common law rules under which 40 per cent of English land would have been inherited or held by women, Spring seeks to makes possible a fuller understanding of the social history of land law.


Objective: To test the effects of Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) on cell viability, cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy of human glioma cell U251 by regulating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signal pathway. Methods: Tan IIA and PI3K agonist (740 Y-P) were used to treat glioma cells U251. MTT assay was used to assess cell viability and flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis and cell cycle. The expressions of apoptosis-related proteins (Bcl-2 and Bax), autophagy-related proteins (LC3B and Beclin 1) and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway-associated proteins (p-PI3K, p-Akt and p-mTOR) were evaluated by Western blotting. Results: Tan IIA decreased the expression of p-PI3K and p-Akt proteins, inhibited cell viability and promoted apoptosis. Meanwhile, the expression of Bax increased, while the expression of Bcl-2 decreased. In addition, Tan IIA promoted autophagy in U251 glioma cells and raised the expression of LC3B and Beclin 1. However, 740 Y-P played a reversed role of Tan IIA in cell viability, cycle, apoptosis, and autophagy of U251 cells. Conclusion: Tan IIA could suppress the viability of U251 cells and induce cell apoptosis and autophagy, which might be related to the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway.


We live in a globalized world characterized by rapid changes. These circumstances force public educational systems to innovate and introduce new policies that may potentially enhance the quality of their educational processes and outcomes and increase the relevance of educational services that schools provide to their communities.
 The complexity of educational policy setting and the constant flow of ideas and information coming from all around the world increase the attractiveness of policy plans that have been proved successful elsewhere. The tendency to learn from the positive experiences of others and use successful educational policies created in one national context in another is termed educational policy borrowing. The cross-national transfer of educational best practices which has become prevalent allows local policymakers a better understanding of their own systems of education. It may also raise the quality of educational policies and encourage the application of specific practices and ideas in local educational contexts.


First-year microbiology practical classes can be chaotic environments with more than 30 inexperienced laboratory users in close proximity to microbial cultures and flames from bunsen burners. Whilst Charles Sturt University (CSU) prides itself on giving first year students extensive hands-on experience, time constraints and class size can make it difficult to ensure every student receives adequate individual attention as required for the development of competency in key microbiological skills. To address these issues, we provided an introductory microbiology class (N=277) with short videos demonstrating key microbiological skills. The subject serves eight courses: Clinical Science, Forensic Biotechnology, Health Science (Nutrition and Dietetics), Medical Science, Pharmacy, Science and Animal Science. Further, 29 of the 277 students were distance education students who completed the practical component during a four-day residential school. The vodcasts were designed to give each student access to demonstration of key microbiological skills as performed by a highly-skilled individual. Towards the end of the semester, a survey was administered to all students to gauge their use of the vodcasts and their perceptions of how the vodcasts assisted their development of skills or understanding of key concepts. This paper describes the process of developing and delivering the vodcasts and provides an evaluation of their suitability as identified by their consumers, the students.


A new method for the synthesis of the influenza antiviral drugs oseltamivir and tamiphosphor starting from 4-hydroxycyclohexenone has been developed. Stereoselective aziridination of a protected 4-hydroxycyclohexenone was used as a key step and the aziridine formed was resolved enzymatically with a very high yield and enantiomeric excess. The subsequent conversion to oseltamivir and tamiphosphor diethyl ester in 10 or 12 additional steps and 22% or 19% yield from intermediate 7, respectively, is described.


We present a framework based on the eXtended Finite Element Method and explicit dynamics for the simulation of dynamic crack growth. First, a new mass lumping technique is proposed for arbitrary enrichment functions. We focus on the case of singular enrichment functions for cracks on piece-wise linear elements and on the case of free boundary and hole enrichment functions for quadrilateral and hexahedral elements. Based on a systematic study for these cases, we propose reasonable critical time step estimates. For singular enrichment, respectively hole enrichment, 50%, respectively 66%, of the standard finite element critical time step is sufficient for accurate explicit dynamics simulations. Second, we propose a partitioned element-by-element Stable-Explicit / Explicit time integrator. The element partitioning is based on the implicit-explicit element-by-element time integrator proposed by Hughes and Liu. For the non-enriched elements, we use the central difference explicit time integrator. For the enriched elements we use the explicit unconditionally stable time integrator proposed by Chang. The stability of the method is demonstrated by the energy method. It shows that the overall stability is conditional and governed by the explicit group. Combining the general mass lumping formula with this time integrator, and defining features such as cracks, holes and free boundaries using enrichment allows us to use a regular mesh with standard finite element critical time step. Moreover, the use of a regular mesh, without any constraint from the enrichment on the critical time step, allows us to minimize the computational time and maximize accuracy. Comparisons with previously published numerical simulations and experiments illustrate the performance of the method.


The demand for small-size multi-standard receivers leads to the design of modern receiver architectures with wide tuning range. The performance of these receivers is related to the image rejection ratio, which makes the improvement of the quadrature accuracy mandatory. Hence, minimizing the quadrature error of the receiver's quadrature oscillator is an important goal. In this work, we analyse the sources of quadrature error in the two-integrator oscillator, working in quasi-sinusoidal regime, and propose compensation techniques to minimize the error. Simulation results confirm the amplitude and phase error equations, and show that the quadrature error can be reduced with no impact on the phase noise. We show that the quadrature error increases with the amplitude and circuit component mismatches, and decreases with the amplifier's gains. Based on the theoretical analysis, a novel quadrature error compensation technique to minimize the quadrature error is proposed.


Control of porosity and structure and modification of surface and framework are the golden rules to adapt carbon materials to targeted applications. The former has been fairly well developed for the soft-templated FDU-type mesoporous carbons while there is still a large need for the latter. In this paper, a simple post-synthetic route is adopted to incorporate nitrogen-containing functionalities into the frameworks of these carbon materials. The basic principle relies on the confinement of melamine molecules in the mesochannels of an ordered mesoporous carbon matrix such that they self-condense into carbon nitride uniformly dispersed under a heat treatment at ∼500 °C and subsequently lead to the formation of mesoporous nitrogen-enriched carbon materials at 700–900 °C with well-retained ordered mesostructure and high surface area. The structure, porosity, composition and the nitrogen-containing functionalities are extensively studied. The integration of regular and open mesostructure, uniform and large mesopore size, high mesoporosity, and nitrogen enrichment makes these materials highly efficient for phenol removal, not only through physisorption with fast adsorption kinetics and large capacity but also by a newly found photo-degradation property with remarkable catalytic activity. Furthermore, the mesoporous nitrogen-enriched carbons deliver promising properties for CO2 capture with greatly enhanced heats of adsorption and well-retained high capacity. Given that the FDU-type mesoporous carbon materials hold variable structures, tunable pore sizes, flexible morphologies and an ease for large-scale synthesis, the success in nitrogen-enrichment would significantly accelerate the progress of their practical applications in pollution control, environment management, supercapacitors and fuel cells.


Background: In a previous effectiveness study (Havnen et al., 2014), 35 obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) patients underwent Concentrated Exposure Treatment (cET), which is a newly developed group treatment format delivered over four consecutive days. Aims: The primary aims of the present study were to evaluate the treatment results for a new sample of OCD patients receiving the cET treatment approach and to replicate the effectiveness study described in Havnen et al. (2014). Method: Forty-two OCD patients underwent cET treatment. Treatment was delivered by different therapists than in Havnen et al. (2014), except for two groups led by the developers of the treatment. Assessments of OCD symptom severity, treatment satisfaction, and occupational impairment were included. Results: The results showed a significant reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores from pre-treatment to post-treatment, which was maintained at 6-month follow-up. At post-treatment, 74% of the sample was remitted; at 6-month follow-up, 60% were recovered. The sample showed a very high degree of overall treatment satisfaction. The results from the present study were statistically compared with those obtained in the previous study. The analyses showed that the study samples had comparable demographic data and equal application of treatment. The outcome of the present and original study did not differ significantly on primary and secondary outcome measures. Conclusions: This study shows that cET was successfully replicated in a new patient sample treated by different therapists than the original study. The results indicate that cET is well accepted by the patients, and the potential for dissemination is discussed.


As we have seen in the cases of Serbia and Israel, collectives can be mobilised to perpetrate grave wrongs on the basis of patently ideological claims about the harms they have suffered. This article seeks a theoretical understanding of this troubling phenomenon. It does so, first, by contrasting mobilisation based on vicarious victimhood with revenge. The groups in question do not exhibit the contact with reality and clear sense of agency that are prerequisites for revenge. However, these evasions of agency and reality are not specific to group identities centred on victimhood. Second, therefore, the article considers the attractions of such an identity and how it reinforces groups' tendencies to myth-making and irresponsibility. Among its more harmful effects, it obscures the realities of state power and forecloses meaningful accountability to those outside the group. It also sets in train a vicious circle, whereby the group discovers perverse incentives to harm others—and to harm itself. Yet these harms only reinforce the group's self-anointed status as victim: as always done by, never doing to.


We conduct molecular-dynamics computer simulations of a system of Lennard-Jones particles, polydisperse in both size and mass, at a fixed density and temperature. We test for and quantify systematic changes in dynamical properties that result from polydispersity, by measuring the pair-distribution function, diffusion coefficient, velocity autocorrelation function, and non-Gaussian parameter, as a function of the degree of polydispersity. Our results elucidate the interpretation of experimental studies of collective particle motion in colloids, and we discuss the implications of polydispersity for observations of dynamical heterogeneity, in both simulations of simple liquids and colloid experiments.


Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the role of Islamic banking in improving the agricultural sector as well as providing alternative solutions such as financing scheme for agricultural financing.
Methodology: The research method is qualitative. A review of the extant literature was carried out for collecting primary and secondary data. In-depth interviews with key informants such the farmer and Islamic bank financing manager were also conducted. Data analysis was performed by adopting data reduction, data display with SWOT matrix, verification, and conclusion.
Main findings: This paper finds that Islamic banking allocates financing for agricultural sector which is less than 10 percent of total financing. The finding is in line with the problem faced by the farmer. Based on the interview, it is known that the main problem of agriculture industry is limited access to the source of capital. The second finding pertains to the lack of Islamic banking's role in agricultural financing caused by high risk perception and minimum competence of human resources to maintain the agricultural financing.
Applications: This paper suggests the implementation of Ba'I As Salam scheme as an alternative for agricultural financing. Salam Financing Scheme is more suitable for agricultural financing than the murabaha financing that are commonly used today. Because the salam financing scheme intends to finance the sale and purchase of new commodities that are to be processed or produced and the delivery of their goods in the future, as well as allow for irregular payment schemes made in the harvest. Some of these advantages can be agricultural financing solution that is more in line with the characteristics of agricultural sector cash flow.
Novelty/Originality of this study: Previous Studies related to the agricultural sector only deals with the impact of agricultural finance without offering low cost financing models as the solution to the main problem in the agricultural sector. This study provides solutions to these problems.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
Estimate the genetic and environmental influences on the relationship between onset of regular cannabis use and young adult insomnia.

METHODS
In a population-based twin cohort of 1882 twins (56% female, mean age = 22.99, SD = 2.97) we explored the genetic/environmental etiology of the relationship between onset of regular cannabis use and insomnia-related outcomes via multivariate twin models.

RESULTS
Controlling for sex, current depression symptoms, and prior diagnosis of an anxiety or depression disorder, adult twins who reported early onset for regular cannabis use (age 17 or younger) were more likely to have insomnia (β = 0.07, p = 0.024) and insomnia with short sleep on weekdays (β = 0.08, p = 0.003) as young adults. We found significant genetic contributions for the onset of regular cannabis use (a2 = 76%, p < 0.001), insomnia (a2 = 44%, p < 0.001) and insomnia with short sleep on weekdays (a2 = 37%, p < 0.001). We found significant genetic correlations between onset of regular use and both insomnia (rA = 0.20, p = 0.047) and insomnia with short sleep on weekdays (rA = 0.25, p = 0.008) but no significant environmental associations between these traits.

CONCLUSION
We found common genetic liabilities for early onset of regular cannabis use and insomnia, implying pleiotropic influences of genes on both traits.


This paper will critically reflect on the authors experiences visiting a number of tourist sites in China at the end of 2007. Collaborations with colleagues at Chinese universities point to a range of challenges in the development of tourism in a region which is arguably the most important source and destination for the foreseeable future. Few countries offer the tourist potential of China, with its unique natural resources, scenic variety, ethnic diversity and cultural heritage. China is one of the world's most ancient civilisations with a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years. However, it is also very culturally diverse, being a united multi-ethnic nation of 56 ethnic groups. Many of these peoples have combined with and adapted to the natural environment of the area where they lived, and that has formed a wide range of cultural tourism resources. Differing traditions of belief, sociality, amenity, festivals, housing, marriage, funeral rites and religions are the foundations for much of this folk derived diversity, much of it sourced from relationships between humans and nature.


BACKGROUND
Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is used in the diagnosis and risk stratification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and can detect myocardial replacement fibrosis (anindependent predictor of adverse cardiac outcomes) using late gadolinium enhancement (LGE).

METHODS
We retrospectively analysed CMR studies carried out over a 2 year period identifying those which were diagnostic of HCM. 117 cases were analysed. Mean age of subjects was 53 years and 78 (67%) were male. Mean ejection fraction (EF) was 68.3% with a mean left ventricular (LV) mass index of 89.4 g/m². Hypertrophy was predominantly asymmetric in 94 (80%).

RESULTS
All subjects received gadolinium and 80 (68%) had evidence of LGE. LVEF was lower (67 vs. 71%; p = 0.015) and LV mass index higher (94 vs. 81 g/m²; p = 0.007) in the LGE group. The proportion of patients with at least 1 clinical risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD) was similar in groups with and without LGE (48% vs. 32%; p = 0.160). In this study, a significant proportion (62%) of patients without clinical risk factors for SCD were found to have LGE on CMR. These patients would not currently be considered for therapy with an implantable cardiac defibrillator.

CONCLUSIONS
1. Patients with HCM are at increased risk of SCD, but identifying patients who may benefit from implantable defibrillators is difficult. 2. LGE is associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in HCM, but is present in a large proportion of patients. 3. Many patients without clinical risk factors for SCD have LGE and would not currently be considered for an implantable cardiac device.


The purpose of the studies reported in this paper was to develop isotope-based procedures to measure plasma volume, red cell volume, extracellular fluid volume, and total body water individually. Subsequently, techniques would be developed to use a combination of these procedures to measure some or all of the fluid spaces in the pig simulaneously. A procedure was developed for simultaneously estimating the volume of all major body fluid compartments. Splenectomized pigs, 20 to 25 kg, with chronically-implanted carotid artery catheters, received a bolus injection (per kg) (1 uCi 125 I-albumin, 11.7 uCi 51Cr-EDTA, 0.6 uCi 22Na, and 5.3 uCi 3H2O) followed by a 5.2 uCi ml/kg injection of 51 Cr-tagged red cells. Estimated lean body mass averaged 822 g/kg and body fat, 178 g/kg. The new procedure was rapid, technically simple, required small amounts of blood and was applicable to conscious animals.


Type II collagen (CII) protein is the main component of hyaline cartilage. The clinical importance of CII in arthritis, aging, and osteoarthritis is significant, but its ability to induce specific immune tolerance has not been extensively studied previously. We have recently proven that CII is capable of inducing Anterior Chamber Associated Immune Deviation (ACAID) when injected into the eye. Here, we hypothesized that ACAID-mediated tolerance could be induced in Balb/c mice that receive an intravenous administration of CII-induced in vitro-generated ocular-like antigen-presenting cells (APCs) or T regulatory cells (Tregs). Delayed hypersensitivity (DTH) assays were used to examine this hypothesis. In mice injected with CII-specific ACAID APCs, the specific regulatory activities resided in the spleen cells, splenic T cells, and ACAID CD8+ T cells, as proven by local adoptive transfer (LAT) assays. Conversely, there was a lack of regulatory activity in the CD4+ CD25+ T cell compartment of the recipient mice. Thus, ACAID CD8+ Tregs generated in vitro could be directly responsible for the expression of CII-driven ACAID-mediated tolerance and could be used as potential therapeutic tools in the treatment of CH-associated autoimmune diseases.


The authors describe clinical, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging findings in a 70-year-old man with a cystic lesion in the midline cerebellum. He presented with pathological crying in parallel to a worsening of his ataxia. This report suggests a role for the cerebellum in the regulation of emotional expression.


The present investigation concerns the issues of the control condition and type of related prime-target relationship operationalization in the lexical-decision paradigm. It is shown that the use of a row of asterisks produces strong inhibitory effects on reaction time to the target relative to a control condition formed with the word "neutro" ("neutral"). The operationalization of prime-target relatedness by means of association of category norms seems equally adequate, although category exemplars do not prime category exemplar targets. Both sets of data are discussed in relation to current research trends using lexical-decision time.


Discussions about the relationship between 'religion' and 'human rights' often focus on the problems that arise from 'religion'. Within a European historical perspective this is understandable since one of the most important aspects of the historical development of the 'human rights' tradition in the Europe has been the struggle for the right not to believe.However, the concept of the 'secular' is also not unproblematic. Thus this article explores the contested relationship between 'human rights' and 'religion' by bringing into focus also the relatively hidden factor of the 'secular'. This is done by exploring the forms of secularity exemplified in the traditions and approaches that are found in the USA, France, Turkey, the Netherlands and India. Finally, reference is made to traditional Islamic models for integrating cultural and religious plurality, before concluding with some discussion of the thought of Marc Luyckx in relation to the future of Europe.


One of the most common reasons why patients attend emergency departments in Australia is chest pain that is potentially due to coronary artery disease (myocardial infarction, unstable or stable angina pectoris). A number of models for the investigation and treatment of these patients have been employed over the last five to ten years. This paper describes the evolution of a model for managing ischaemic chest pain that aims to avoid potentially preventable deaths from undiagnosed myocardial infarction, to admit to hospital patients who could benefit from inpatient treatment, to admit to a coronary care unit patients at significant risk of complications, and to avoid inter-hospital transfer of patients. Introduction of the model has led to an increase in the appropriate hospital admission of patients with ischaemic chest pain, a marked reduction in inter-hospital transfers, and better utilisation of coronary care beds. Unmonitored, general ward management of low risk patients with clinical unstable angina has not resulted in compromised outcomes.


This presents a systematic approach to the organisation of early stage design information, and the associated interactions among various types of representation. Scene-level representations are introduced as the complement of traditional object-level representations in an integrated information system. A cross-representational approach is proposed. The advantage of this approach is in the support of both user-definable representations, and cross-representational manipulations, including organisational transformation, information filtering, information aggregation, and simulations, which are essential for designers to dig into raw data. A prototype program called NetworkBuilder is being developed in order to explore the approach.


Multi-chip embedded PCBs were in resent years the mainstream technology of electronic packaging size reduction and at the same time providing improved performance. Ultra-small package size obviously strongly impacts the SiP module thermal behaviour. Unfortunately the complete thermal design methodology was not developed for this technology till now. In this work the problem of thermal design is completely solved using quasi-3D approach taking into account the main features of embedded PCB constructions: 1) 3D integration of ICs and board; 2) a large number of thinned layers of different materials; 3) vertical z-axis interconnections through the package layers. A ten times decrease of central processing unit (CPU) time is achieved as compared with the full 3D solutions obtained by commercial universal 3D simulators, while saving the sufficient accuracy. The simulation error of maximal temperature TMAX determination for different types of packages is not more than 10-20%.


Yomogin (1), an eudesmane sesquiterpene isolated from Artemisia princeps, was tested for the effects on the degranulation process of cultured mast cells and on the nitric oxide production in LPS-activated murine macrophages. It demonstrated a significant inhibition on the release of beta-hexosaminidase from the cultured RBL-2H3 cells in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 value, 50 microM) and also exhibited a potent inhibition on the nitric oxide production from the activated RAW264.7 cells (IC50 value, 3 microM).


ABSTRACT Although remote teaching and learning is not new to medical education, the Covid-19 pandemic has heightened its importance as a mode of education delivery. This scoping review aims to provide a narrative/iterative summary of the current literature in assessing the acceptability, educational value and technological feasibility of remotely facilitated (RF) simulation-based training (SBT) – 'telesimulation', for medical students and facilitators. The review was conducted using the method described by Arksey and O'Malley. A systematic process was followed to search multiple electronic databases supplemented with a general internet search to identify any relevant grey literature. The search strategy was developed in collaboration with medical students and educators familiar with SBT. Nine articles were identified as fitting the review inclusion criteria. The results indicated that RF SBT was positively viewed by participants but may not be viewed as equivalent to locally facilitated SBT. Participants of RF SBT felt confident to deal with common acute scenarios, believed it could expand their knowledge and skills and in turn would improve patient care in the clinical setting. Facilitators found RF SBT to be technologically feasible, promoting the acquisition of desired learning outcomes. Future research should assess the reaction to, and learning acquired during RF SBT, particularly, the perception and attitudes of facilitators. A clear research gap was identified in literature assessing the role of RF SBT in behavioural change and improved clinical care outcomes. Addresing these gaps will clarify the role of RF SBT in medical education.


Abstract Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, one of the most common reasons for infection-related death worldwide. Causes of CAP include numerous viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens, though frequently no specific organism is found. Beginning in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused incredible morbidity and mortality. COVID-19 has many features typical of CAP such as fever, respiratory distress, and cough, and can be difficult to distinguish from other types of CAP. Here, we highlight unique clinical features of COVID-19 pneumonia such as olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, lymphopenia, and distinct imaging appearance.


A primipara, who reported no unusual history, gave birth to a male infant with extopia vesicae and a large umbilical hernia. The child died on the twenty-seventh day of inanition and bronchopneumonia. At necropsy the infant was markedly wasted, and there was a large tumor extending from the umbilical scar cranially to the epispadic glans penis caudally. The tumor was the size of a grapefruit and in its upper three-quarters was covered with thin skin and distended by coils of intestines. The lower portion of the tumor presented a dark red mass that was the posterior wall of the extroverted bladder from which urine had dribbled continuously. Between the area of thin skin and the area of bladder mucous membrane was a narrow crescentic zone of pinkish epithelium that showed a fine wartlike proliferation and excoriation. The left testis was visible as a subcutaneous swelling in the groin, but there


Prehypertension, defined as blood pressure between 120–139/80–89 mmHg, is a major public health concern. The condition is very prevalent (30% of the adult population), is often associated with other cardiovascular risk factors and independently increases the risk of hypertension and subsequent cardiovascular events. The mechanism of elevated risk for cardiovascular events associated with prehypertension is presumed to be the same as that of hypertension. In the general population, prehypertension can be lowered by lifestyle modifications, but often not reliably. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-7) recommendation for prehypertension management with optimal weight control (largely through diet and exercise) remains the mainstay, except for individuals with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and perhaps known coronary artery disease, because of the shot-term cost considerations and unproven long-term prognosis. The recently published Trial of Preventing Hypertension (TROPHY) is the first study of pharmacologic intervention among those with prehypertension. Results from this trial demonstrated that angiotensin receptor blockade (ARB) retards age-related blood pressure increases in prehypertensive patients. In this review, we discuss the options for pharmacologic intervention of prehypertension, with a focus on the TROPHY trial results.


Aim of the study. To study genetic polymorphisms rs10798 KCNQ1, rs3010396 CASQ2, rs20455 KIF6, rs2298566 SNX19, rs12143842 NOS1AP of subjects who died due to sudden cardiac death in Trans-Baikal Territory. Material and Methods. Over the period of 2017-2020, a total of 2211 autopsy protocols of subjects who died due to SCD were analysed. Th ese patient constituted the 1st study group (n=113). The control group consisted of healthy volunteers (n=70). The groups were comparable in age and gender. Molecular and genetic typing of the studied genes was performed. Results. The CC genotype of the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs3010396 CASQ2 showed statistical signifi cance in comparison with the control group(the chi-squared=26.95, df=2, p=0.001). The TT genotype was predominant in the control group amounting to 60% against 19.5% in the study group. Single-nucleotide polymorphism rs2298566 of gene SNX19 was also observed to be of statistical significance in the group of subjects who died from myocardial infarction. In the group of patients with SCD, rs20455 KIF6 and rs12143842 NOS1AP were of signifi cance along with rs3010396 CASQ2. Conclusion. Single-nucleotide polymorphism rs3010396 of the CASQ2 gene can be a predictor of sudden cardiac death, since in the 1st study group with this genotype showed its statistical signifi cance in all nosological groups. However, in the group, in which sudden cardiac death (cases coded I46.1 according to ICD-10) was indicated as the fi nal diagnosis, in addition to their statistical signifi cance single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the gene KIF6 rs20455, rs12143842 NOS1AP gene were noted; in the group where the cause of death was myocardial infarction, rs2298566 SNX19 gene polymorphism had statistical signifi cance. The results obtained make it possible to consider these polymorphisms as possible predictors of sudden cardiac death in the population of the Trans-Baikal Territory.


SUCCINIC dehydrogenase in mouse cortical explant cultures was inhibited by 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA). ATP concentrations declined upon application of 3-NPA. At 4 h, ATP levels of cultures treated with 3-NPA alone were no different from those in cultures treated additionally with MK-801 (20 μM), 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX; 10 μM) or a combination thereof. However, MK-801 and MK-801 plus CNQX mitigated morphological lesions caused by 3-NPA. CNQX alone did not influence the extent of morphological damage. In conclusion, MK-801, at concentrations which were neuro-protective against 3-NPA lesions in cortical explant cultures, did not modify 3-NPA dependent decreases in cellular ATP levels. These data indicate that the neuropro-tective effects of glutamate receptor antagonists in this model are probably receptor mediated and do not involve effects on cellular metabolism.


Methods The genomes of 22 E. coli ST73 isolates were sequenced using the 25 Illumina HiSeq platform. High resolution SNP typing was used to create a 26 phylogenetic tree. Comparative genomics were also performed using a 27 pangenome approach. In silico and S1-PFGE plasmid profiling was conducted, 28 and isolates were checked for their ability to survive exposure to human serum 29 Results E. coli ST73 isolates circulating in clinically unrelated episodes show a 30 high degree of diversity at a whole genome level, though exhibit conservation in 31 gene content, particularly in virulence associated gene carriage. The isolates also 32 contain a highly diverse plasmid pool that confers multi-drug resistance via 33 carriage of CTX-M genes. All strains are highly serum resistant and uniformly 34 carry genes shown to be essential for serum resistance. 35 Conclusions Our data shows that a rise in incidence of multi-drug resistant E. 36 coli ST73 clinical isolates is not due to a circulating outbreak strain as in E. coli 37 ST131. Rather the ST73 circulating strains are distantly related and carry a 38 diverse set of resistance plasmids. This suggests that the evolutionary events 39 behind emergence of drug resistant E. coli differ between lineages.


A method based on measured S-parameters for extracting a polynomial electro-thermal model of a 30W RF power transistor is presented. Once the package is de-embedded, the model for the intrinsic transistor can be calculated and distortion can be simulated. Simulated results match well with the measured values, revealing both thermal and electrical bandwidth dependencies of 3rd order intermodulation distortion (IM3). Component-wise Volterra analysis also shows that IM3 distortion is dominated by the nonlinearities of the input capacitance and gm in LDMOS type of transistors.


A detailed analysis of the stimulated parametric down-conversion (PDC) process is performed to investigate the effects of the spatiotemporal degrees of freedom. The analysis provides information that would be useful for PDC-based metrology applications. Using a Wigner functional approach, we obtain the parametric down-converted state as the Bogoliubov transformed input state, in terms of Bogoliubov kernel functions. The result is used to consider the case for a coherent state seeding stimulated PDC. We also compute the background which is obtained from spontaneous PDC.


The effects of KSG-504 after intravenous administration on behavior and other central functions were studied. KSG-504 did not affect the general behavior of dogs up to the dose of 30 mg/kg, but the drug (100 mg/kg, i.v.) caused vomiting in 3 out of the 5 dogs. Moreover, KSG-504 (1-30 mg/kg, i.v.) had no effects on spontaneous motility, thiopental-induced sleep, acetic acid-induced writhing in mice and satiety in rats. A high dose of CCK-8 (100 micrograms/kg or more) suppressed spontaneous motility, writhing and satiety, and prolonged sleep when administered subcutaneously. The behavioral changes induced by CCK-8 were antagonized by KSG-504 in a dose-dependent manner (1-30 mg/kg, i.v.). When KSG-504 was administered intravenously to rabbits at the dose of 10 mg/kg or 0.5 mg/kg/min for 120 min, we could not detect the drug in the cerebrospinal fluid, indicating that KSG-504 does not cross the blood-brain barrier after peripheral administration of the drug. Thus, the inhibitory effect of KSG-504 on CCK-8-induced behavioral changes may be the result of antagonism at peripheral CCK-A receptors.


The article presents the results of the development of a method-ological approach to the analysis of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for improving the efficiency of flotation processing of polymetallic raw materials.The kinetic dependences of flotation, the hydrophobizing ability of butyl potassium xanthogenate, and the effect of reagents on preliminary mechanical activation were studied, and flotation modeling with and with-out an oxidizer was performed. The best results of convergence with the kinetic dependences of flotation are shown by the Beloglazov equation, the Kelsall and the modified Kelsall models. Technological indicators of sul-fide flotation in the presence of oxidants are higher, which can be ex-plained by the intensive oxidation of the formed transient ions on the sur-face of minerals, which contributes to the alignment of the flotation properties of the surface.It is possible to integrate the proposed research methods into technological schemes in order to optimize technological in-dicators and increase profits.


The question this special issue would like to address is how to harvest big data to help decision-makers to deliver better fact-based decisions aimed at improving performance or to create better strategy? This special issue focuses on the big data applications in supporting operations decisions, including advanced research on decision models and tools for the digital economy. Responds to this special issue was great and we have included many high-quality papers. We are pleased to present 13 of the best papers. The techniques presented include data mining, simulation and expert system with applications span across online reviews, food retail chain to e-health.


AUXIN-BINDING PROTEIN 1 (ABP1) is not easily accessible for molecular studies because the homozygous T-DNA insertion mutant is embryo-lethal. We found that the heterozygous abp1/ABP1 insertion mutant has defects in auxin physiology-related responses: higher root slanting angles, longer hypocotyls, agravitropic roots and hypocotyls, aphototropic hypocotyls, and decreased apical dominance. Heterozygous plants flowered earlier than wild-type plants under short-day conditions. The length of the main root, the lateral root density and the hypocotyl length were little altered in the mutant in response to auxin. Compared to wild-type plants, transcription of early auxin-regulated genes (IAA2, IAA11, IAA13, IAA14, IAA19, IAA20, SAUR9, SAUR15, SAUR23, GH3.5 and ABP1) was less strongly up-regulated in the mutant by 0.1, 1 and 10 μm IAA. Surprisingly, ABP1 was itself an early auxin-up-regulated gene. IAA uptake into the mutant seedlings during auxin treatments was indistinguishable from wild-type. Basipetal auxin transport in young roots was slower in the mutant, indicating a PIN2/EIR1 defect, while acropetal transport was indistinguishable from wild-type. In the eir1 background, three of the early auxin-regulated genes tested (IAA2, IAA13 and ABP1) were more strongly induced by 1 μm IAA in comparison to wild-type, but eight of them were less up-regulated in comparison to wild-type. Similar but not identical disturbances in regulation of early auxin-regulated genes indicate tight functional linkage of ABP1 and auxin transport regulation. We hypothesize that ABP1 is involved in the regulation of polar auxin transport, and thus affects local auxin concentration and early auxin gene regulation. In turn, ABP1 itself is under the transcriptional control of auxin.


Background: Many recent studies have demonstrated the predominant role chronic inflammation plays in cancer cell propagation, angiogenesis and immunosuppression. Cancer-related inflammation (CRI) has been shown to correlate with poor cancer prognosis. Our study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) who have undergone liver resection. Methods: Between 2012 and 2015, 239 patients with HCC who had undergone liver resection at XiangYa Hospital Central South University were included in this study. The values of simple inflammatory markers including the NLR and PLR, used in predicting the long-term outcomes of these patients ,were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models. Results: The cutoff values of the NLR and PLR were 2.92 and 128.1, respectively. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high NLR (≥ 2.92) and high PLR (≥ 128.1) were independent risk factors predicting poorer outcomes in patients with HCC. However, high NLR and high PLR were prognostic factors in tumor size and tumor number. Conclusions: In this study, we identified that high NLR (≥ 2.92) and high PLR (≥128.1) are useful prognostic factors in predicting outcomes in patients with HCC who underwent liver resection. Abstract 18 Background: Many recent studies have demonstrated the predominant role chronic inflammation 19 plays in cancer cell propagation, angiogenesis and immunosuppression. Cancer-related 20 inflammation (CRI) has been shown to correlate with poor cancer prognosis. Our study aimed to 21 evaluate the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-22 lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have undergone 23 liver resection. Methods: Between 2012 and 2015, 239 patients with HCC who had undergone liver resection at Hospital Central South University were included in this study. The values of simple inflammatory markers including the NLR and PLR, used in predicting the long-term outcomes of these patients ,were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models. Results: The cutoff values of the NLR and PLR were 2.92 and 128.1, respectively. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, high NLR ( ≥ 2.92) and high PLR ( ≥ 128.1) were independent risk


Harvesting energy for execution from the environment (e.g., solar, wind energy) has recently emerged as a feasible solution for low-cost and low-power distributed systems. When real-time responsiveness of a given application has to be guaranteed, the recharge rate of obtaining energy inevitably affects the task scheduling. This paper extends our previous works in (1) (2) to explore the real-time task assignment problem on an energy-harvesting distributed system. The solution using Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and several significant improvements are presented. Simu- lations compare the performance of the approaches, which demonstrate the solutions effective- ness and efficiency.


The quality assurance (QA) program for meteorological measurements must begin with a QA plan which identifies the purposes for which the measurements will be made. Assume a monitoring task where a one-year data set of hourly values of wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation amount is needed to describe the air quality measurements being automatically recorded. The QA plan will define the accuracy needed for this description and will give the quality control tasks necessary to produce data of this accuracy. The plan will also address the auditing tasks necessary to assure that the data, in their final use form, meet these requirements. Each variable must be addressed in terms of measurement method or instrument type, sensor siting, data handling (especially averaging or editing), and representativeness. The question of representativeness has many facets. First, one must be sure that the measurement itself has no bias or that the bias is understood. Given an unbiased measurement at the sensor location, one must be sure that location is what the use requires. Finally, the hourly value used should represent the time period the use requires. For example, if a back-trajectory analysis is needed to estimate the volume location more » from which the air quality instrument was sampling, the hourly wind data should be a vector average for the hour and not an instantaneous or few-minute average taken once an hour. 7 references. « less


A short term comparative ecological study of the use of two agro-forestry species, Leucaena leucocephala , Lam De. Wit and Bauhinia monandra , Kurz, in bioremediation of oil polluted environment was carried out, focusing on the evaluation and enhancing potential of the macrophytic species for degradation of hydrocarbon (crude oil) in the soil relative to their nodulation efficacy. Results show that L. leucocephala had nodules with levels ranging between 1.40 ± 1.40 to 11.60 ± 2.20 plant -1 and relative to various pollution levels and 15.10 ± 6.10 plant -1 in the control condition. Though L. leucocephala experienced pollution depression upon time lag in nodulation, the depression was directly proportional to the intensities of pollution. Bauhinia monandra had none at the end of the experiment both in the polluted and controlled conditions. Total hydrocarbon level following treatment of the soil by L. leucocephala and B. monadra has been deduced in relation to post-pollution concentration, disappearance and net % loss on such treated soil environment. A comparatively high value of 60% total loss of crude oil was indicated in L. leucocephala treated soil. This shows that natural biodegradation could be a major and ultimate mechanism for elimination of oil in terrestrial environment. The highest total % loss of crude oil was recorded in Leucaena leucocephala than Bauhinia monandra treated soil. Leucaena leucocephala showed an enhanced performance than Bauhinia monandra at the end of the study. Leucaena leucocephala was thus considered more ideal and more promising for remediation work than B.monandra . Keywords : Leucaena leucocephala, Bauhinia monandra , bioremediation, crude oil, nodulation Global Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol.4(1) 2005: 11-18


with electrophysiological activity, also reduce heart rate. Therefore, could heart rate reduction be the simple explanation for the amazing results of 'complicated' large clinical trials on mortality? Thus, let's bring back heart rate — not only as a risk factor for cardiovascular patients (and the general population) — but also as a specific therapeutic target for ischaemic heart disease, heart failure and hypertension. For this to be meaningful, the concept of heart rate is proposed to you in modern terms in all the topics of this European Heart Journal Supplement. We hope you enjoy reading this Supplement as much as we enjoyed preparing it. All the papers have been peer-reviewed and we would like to thank Roche for making this supplement possible. R. FERRARI* C. RAPEZZI† F. LOMBARDI‡ *Editor, European Heart Journal Supplements †University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy ‡University of Milan, Milan, Italy 854 Editorials