Urban horticulture is not as new as many people think. Throughout history, different techniques have been used to ensure sustainable urban agricultural production. A good example of this is the chinampa system, which was developed during the time of the Aztecs in the region of Lake Xochimilco, south of Mexico City. A chinampa is a raised field on a small artificial island on a freshwater lake surrounded by canals and ditches. Farmers use local vegetation and mud to construct chinampas. Fences made of a native willow [bonpland willow (Salix bonplandiana)] protect the chinampa from wind, pests, and erosion. The dominating crops are vegetables and ornamentals. The canal water that rises through capillarity to the crops reduces the need for additional irrigation. A considerable portion of the fertility in the soils is system-immanent and generated in the aquatic components of the chinampa. Complex rotations and associations allow up to seven harvests per year. Chinampas also provide ecosystem services, particularly greenhouse gas sequestration and biodiversity diversification, and they offer high recreational potential. Recently, research and community initiatives have been performed to try to recover the productive potential of chinampas and align this sustainable system with the needs of the 21st century. In other parts of the world, some with a history of raised field agriculture, similar efforts are being made. The chinampa model could help supply food and ecosystem services in large cities on or near swamplands, large rivers, or lakes.


Liver diseases caused by Schistosoma japonicum(Sj) infection is one of the most serious pathological changes. Liver inflammation underlies infection-induced fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer but the processes that promote hepatic inflammation by Sj are not well defined. We indicate that interleukin-1β (IL-1β) confers liver inflammation through Sj-induced NLRP3 inflammasome signaling, and tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is the upstream molecule of this signaling. Five weeks after Sj infection, elevated IL-1β levels in mice liver and also in serum compared to non-infection controls coincide with the expression level and activation of caspase-1 and tTG in mice liver. Immunohistochemical analysis of normal control and Sj-infected mice liver sections revealed that infiltrating inflammatory cells around the granuloma and Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) among hepatic cells, are the primary cellular source of hepatic IL-1β and caspase-1 p10 during Sj infection. Sj infection triggers MyD88-mediated TLR4 signaling to induce IL-1β mRNA expression. Administration of cystamine, an inhibitor of tTG, abrogates the increase of IL-1β and caspase-1 p10 in infected mice. This result establishes a novel link between tTG and NLRP3 inflammasome under Sj infection. The important function of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and tTG in Sj infection makes them potential drug targets in preventing Sj-induced liver diseases.


Abstract: The article examines the сorpus of precedent statements and precedent names from the texts of childhood culture, which already have become active nominative-evaluative units of modern Ukrainian communication (journalistic, political, advertising, artistic, conversational, etc.). These units are classified into several functional and thematic groups: 1) which are genetically connected with the texts of children's literature (national and world), 2) which are genetically connected with the texts of children's films and cartoons, 3) which are genetically connected with the texts of children's songs. Much less often speakers use precedent statements and names from texts of Ukrainian national riddles, counters, games, etc. The communicative relevance and pragmatic load of these precedent units in oral and written texts of different styles are analyzed. Structural and semantic types of their exploitation are demonstrated too. It is proved that in modern communicative practice precedent statements and precedent names from the texts of "childhood culture" are functioning as effective tool of secondary nomination of persons, situations, etc. The researched material gives grounds to single out several typical communicative-evaluative models of reactualization of popular precedent phenomena from the texts of children's literature: 1) precedent names that characterize a person, phenomenon, object, etc; 2) precedent names and statements associatively correlated with the situation. Precedent phenomena from the texts of foreign literature for children as well as from many modern cartoons and children's feature films adult speakers are naturally perceived as signs of "foreign" culture and require culturological commentary. In living language practice, under the influence of lingual and extralingual factors, there is usually an expansion of the semantics of precedent phenomena. Keywords: texts of children's culture, modern Ukrainian language practice precedent units, precedent phenomena, precedent names, precedent statements, children's literature, children's movies and cartoons, children's songs.


Purpose
The study aims to inspect the impact of employees' perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their spiritual values on their affective commitment and job satisfaction, which in turn may promote organizational citizenship behavior. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating effect of Islamic work ethics to identify whether they strengthen or weaken the proposed associations.

Design/methodology/approach
A survey instrument was devised to collect data from employees. The statistical analysis of the data was conducted using the Smart PLS software. Additionally, the research uses the "Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM)" technique.

Findings
The findings of the study suggest that employees' perception of CSR exhibits a positive association with affective commitment and job satisfaction. Likewise, employees' spiritual values demonstrate a positive and significant correlation with affective commitment and job satisfaction. Finally, the outcomes reveal that affective commitment and job satisfaction play a major role in fostering organizational citizenship behavior. Moreover, Islamic work ethics positively and significantly moderate the relationship between employee CSR perception and affective commitment and between employee CSR perception and job satisfaction.

Originality/value
This research study endeavors to fill the gaps in the current literature by investigating two crucial aspects of employees: their perception of CSR and spiritual values. Additionally, the study includes Islamic work ethics as a moderator to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how these factors contribute to fostering organizational citizenship behavior. This work highlights the significance of spiritual values and social responsibilities in employees' lives and how Islamic work ethics shape their behavior accordingly.


Total energies of crystal structures can be calculated to high precision using quantum-based density functional theory (DFT) methods, but the calculations can be time consuming and scale badly with system size. Cluster expansions of total energy as a linear superposition of pair, triplet and higher interactions can efficiently approximate the total energies but are best suited to simple lattice structures. To model the total energy of boron carbide, with a complex crystal structure, we explore the utility of machine learning methods ($L_1$-penalized regression, neural network, Gaussian process and support vector regression) that capture certain non-linear effects associated with many-body interactions despite requiring only pair frequencies as input. Our interaction models are combined with Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the thermodynamics of chemical ordering.


The article describes the major networking challenges posed in designing a CCTV system for the Tyne and Wear Metro. 550 high-quality analogue cameras are located in and around 58 Metro stations. Operators can use touchscreens to select stations and individual cameras. The Metro system passes through five different local authority areas within the Tyne and Wear region, and each local authority wanted a control room that could monitor and control cameras within its area. In addition, there is a central control room for the Metro, giving a total of six control centres on the digital network. A crucial aspect of the design remit was for any single control room to be able to take full control of the entire system, accessing every camera on the network if necessary - for example in the event of a major catastrophe or police investigation.


SrAu(3)Ge was synthesized by direct fusion of the mixed elements at high temperature followed by annealing treatments, and its structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction means in space group (Pearson symbol: tP10) P4/nmm, a = 6.264(1) Å, c = 5.5082(9) Å, Z = 2 at room temperature. The structure of SrAu(3)Ge, a reapportioned √2 × √2 × 1 superstructure of CeMg(2)Si(2) (P4/mmm), exhibits checkerboard nets of corner-shared bicapped Au squares (or corner-shared Au(Au(4/2))Ge octahedra), in which the apical Au-Ge pairs in adjoining nets are strongly interbonded in the c direction. This motif contrasts with that of the common BaAl(4) (I4/mmm) prototype in which Al squares in comparable layers are alternately monocapped by Al from the top or the bottom. Typical examples show valence electron counts (vec) between 12 and 16 for the BaAl(4) type and that for CeMg(2)Si(2) is similar, 15. The special stability of SrAu3Ge, with vec = 9, derives from significant relativistic contribution of the Au 5d(10) states to the Au-Ge and Au-Au bonding. These factors are also recognized in the marked redistribution of Au and Ge site occupancies from those in CeMg(2)Si(2). SrAu(3)Ge exhibits a pronounced uniaxial negative thermal expansion along c, with a coefficient of -1.57 versus 2.16 × 10(-5) K(-1) in a and b. The reticulated Au(5)Ge octahedral layers expand in the ab plane on heating, whereas the strong, interlayer Au-Ge bonds remain fixed.


Field measurements of stem extension growth rate in peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) exhibited a consistent diurnal pattern. Stem extension rate was lowest in the early morning and increased throughout the day. In the late afternoon, 2–3-fold increases in extension rate occurred and were sustained for 2 to 4 h. After this growth surge, rates precipitously declined and remained low during the night. The temperature response of stem growth rate at constant water potential was determined using potted trees in a dark growth chamber. Under such conditions, stem growth rate was strongly dependent on air temperature. In the field, the observed stem growth rate deviated from that predicted on the basis of temperature. These deviations were proportional to the rate of change in stem water potential. A model was constructed to predict diurnal patterns of stem extension rate using temperature and water potential data. The model was tested using data from undisturbed trees and from trees in which water potential was artificially manipulated. Growth patterns predicted by the model were in general agreement with observed rates.


Background: From the wide range of previous literature studies indicated that thiazolidinedione's reacts with substituted benzaldehydes undergoes knoevenagel condensation gives respective arylidene derivatives. In our attempt all the titled compounds were designed and developed by replacement of substituted benzaldehydes with furan2-aldehyde, so that furan moiety was introduced in the molecule. Materials and Methods: 5-[(furan-2-yl)-methylene]-thiazolidine-2,4-dione was prepared via knoevenagel condensation by the reaction of thiazolidine-2,4-dione and furfural. Further it was coupled with various alkyl/ aryl halides in alcoholic potassium hydroxide to produce various derivatives 2a-2j. The titled compounds furthermore prepared by microwave assisted synthesis technique. Synthesized compounds were analysed by physical and spectral characterization methods. Developed furan bearing thiazolidine-2,4-diones were evaluated for in-vivo hypoglycemic property. Molecular docking analysis was carried out to observe the binding interaction of designed ligands at PPARγ target receptor protein. Results and Conclusion: Microwave irradiation technique produced high yield at less reaction time in comparison with traditional conventional method. In-vivo hypoglycemic activity evaluation revealed that, electron releasing groups (-OH and –OCH3) containing compounds 2d and 2g found to possess significant activity in acute study as well as in chronic study. Even the molecular docking studies at PPARγ receptor protein (PDB ID2PRG), electron releasing groups containing compounds 2d and 2g exhibit significant binding affinity having high binding energy of -9.02 kcal/mol and -8.61 kcal/mol when compared with standard ligand rosiglitazone.


Length-frequency and growth of one of the dominant species, Tellina foliacea (Linnaeus, 1758) (Bivalve, Tellinidae) in the Hendijan coast, Khuzestan province (Persian Gulf) were studied from summer 2005 to spring 2006. Sampling was done seasonally with vanveen grab from 5 stations. Stations were located 0.5 mile apart and samples were collected from approximately 8 m depth. The population structure presented a size range between 0.5 and 6.5 mm length, being mainly formed by individuals 3 to 4 mm, that were dominant in winter. Recruitment rate was low and the major contribution of recruits was found in spring. Growth parameters of the Von Bertalanffy growth function were estimated to be L = 7.70 mm, K = 1.200 y(-1), t0 = 0.9 y.


A microfluidic passive cavity interferometer based biosensor was developed in this work. Polystyrene microspheres were used to test the device performance. Measured transmission spectra of single microspheres were compared to the modeled results.


Propafenone is an effective antiarrhythmic drug used widely for the treatment of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. Although it is generally well tolerated, 30 to 45% of patients may experience adverse cardiac effects. In 15 to 20% of patients, adverse effects may involve other organ systems. A wide variety of adverse central nervous system effects have been reported in association with propafenone; dizziness is the most common. Ataxia caused by propafenone has been reported to the pharmaceutical companies and drug monitoring agencies, but has not been well described or emphasized in the medical literature. We describe 3 elderly patients with moderate to severe ataxia that occurred while they were taking propafenone.


National stereotypes are inherently evaluative, often negatively, and potentially prejudicial. While research has examined
 stereotypes from an organisational perspective, this is overwhelmingly in experimental settings involving students (Landy, 2008); in other words not in workplaces, and not involving employees doing their jobs. Through a
 corpus-assisted discourse analysis of 53 authentic business meetings, this study finds that among certain communities, national stereotypes
 are used in workplace narratives, and argues that such narratives constitute a contextual, situated social practice. The novel methodology
 pinpoints and categorises all stereotypes in business-meeting narratives, before discussing what role they play in indexing the identities
 of the stereotyped and the stereotyping. Finally, evaluation, ideology and power are critically engaged with to explain their use or
 non-use, thus making a theoretical contribution to studies of evaluation, workplace narratives, and stereotyping in discourse. While
 ethically problematic, and potentially detrimental to business success, their use may be motivated by local workplace goals.


Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between the Beg Balance Scale(BBS) and Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment(POMA) as a fall risk screening tool in individuals with stroke. Methods Participants were recruited that they were receiving physical therapy during inpatient rehabilitation. The individuals with stroke voluntarily participated in the study, and BBS and POMA data from 3 hospital a retrospective review of 132 patient(male: 90, femalr:42) records were included. Results The intra class correlation coefficient indicated that the BBS(ICC=.925) and POMA(ICC=.923) were good reliability. The mean BBS score was 40.71±9.28, whereas the mean POMA score was 20.14±5.23. Statistically significant correlation were not found between the BBS total scores and POMA total scores (r = 0.167). Statistically significant correlation between POMA fall risk scores and BBS fall risk scores were found (r = 0.268). Conclusion The results of this study suggest that to use the degree of falls risk forecast of POMA and BBS in individuals with stroke. Further study that will need the correlation between subject sex, age and sub factors as balance and gait in POMA and BBS.


The optical chirality of a bilayer twisted tetramer nanostructure is investigated theoretically. The difference of transmission spectra under left- and right-handed circularly polarized extinction produces very large optical chirality of 91% due to the different plasmonic hybridization patterns between the nanorods. This structure also allows the generation of a perfectly right/left-handed system at certain modes, because this mode nearly vanishes under the illumination of the left/right-handed light. Moreover, tunable optical chirality is achieved, which is also found to be easily affected by geometric parameters such as the separation distance between the two layers, the length of the nanorod, and the arrangement of nanorods. We consider the charge vibrations of four nanorods at the same layer as an equivalent dipole and explain the dependence of the circular dichroic spectrum on the geometric parameters. This work suggests that the bilayer twisted tetramer nanostructure can be considered a potential candidate for achieving large optical chirality, applicable to the fields of polarization polarizer fabrication and biological detection.


The lung volumes, ventilatory capacity, and transfer factor of young adult male and female New Guineans living at sea level, after standardization for age, height, and, in the case of transfer factor, the haemoglobin concentration, resemble those of people of Indian and West African descent. The inspiratory capacity and expiratory reserve volume are smaller than for comparable Europeans. The highland New Guineans have a larger total lung capacity and transfer factor than the coastal dwellers due mainly to a larger inspiratory capacity. Compared with representative Europeans, the highlanders have a similar total lung capacity but larger transfer factor. The exceptional lung function of the New Guinea highlanders is not closely related to altitude and is probably determined at least in part by their present mode of life entailing a high level of habitual activity. This factor needs to be taken into account when considering `normal values'.


We found an error in the affiliation list of our article "Simple method for efficient reconfigurable optical vortex beam splitting" [Opt. Express25(16), 18722 (2017)]. We corrected the affiliation list by adding the following organization: Institute for Automation and Control Processes FEB RAS, 5 Radio Str., Vladivostok 690041, Russia. All our results and conclusions have remained unchanged.


A liquid crystal device with micrometer-scale hexagonal electrodes has been fabricated and characterized. By using weak anchoring at the liquid crystal interfaces, the orientation of the director is completely governed by the applied electric fields. The appropriate voltage waveforms applied to electrodes allow the director in the liquid crystal layer to be rotated in the plane parallel to the substrates over large angles, exceeding 180 deg. This paper is a technological and experimental verification of an earlier proposed device concept


Two new species of the aulopiform family Aulopidae are described from waters off northern New Zealand, eastern Australia and the Tasman Sea. Hime pyrhistion sp. nov., previously confused with Hime japonica (Gunther, 1877), differs from that species in having a higher dorsal fin in both males and females, together with slight differences in colouration. Specific recognition of the two is supported by genetic evidence, with genetic distances of CO1 separating the two of a similar magnitude as distances between H. curtirostris (Thomson, 1967), H. diactithrix (Prokofiev, 2008) and H. japonica. A morphological redescription of H. japonica is provided for comparison. A new genus Leptaulopus is erected for Aulopus damasi
Tanaka, 1915 and a second new species L. erythrozonatus sp. nov. is described from four specimens collected in northern New Zealand and eastern Australian waters. Leptaulopus is distinguishable from the other three genera of the family, Aulopus Cloquet, 1816, Hime
Starks, 1924 and Latropiscis Whitley, 1931, most noticeably in having a more slender body, a more posteriorly placed dorsal fin, and finer, more cardiform teeth in the jaws, as well as relatively great genetic distances of CO1. The new species is separable from L. damasi by its more numerous dorsal fin rays (15 or 16 vs 13 or 14), lateral line scales (44 vs 33–37) and vertebrae (44 vs 36), smaller eye and longer, more depressed snout. A neotype is designated for L. damasi, and a revised description of the species is provided.


The Murchison Bay catchment in the northern shoreline of Lake Victoria basin is a high valued ecosystem because of the numerous human-related activities it supports in Uganda. The catchment has undergone tremendous human-induced land use/cover changes, which have not been quantified. This study aimed at quantifying the land use/cover changes as well as the rate at which these changes occurred over the last three decades in the catchment. This was achieved using remote sensing techniques and Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyse and contextualize the changes. To that effect, images of Landsat satellites MSS, TM, ETM+ and OLI were interpreted using supervised image classification technique to determine the land use/land cover changes from 1984 to 2015. The obtained results indicated that the catchment has undergone huge land use and land cover transformations over the last three decades attributable to rapid population growth and urbanization. The prevailing changes in footprint between 1984 and 2015 were expansions of built–up land (20.58% to 49.59%) and open water bodies (not detected in 1984 to 1.74%), and decreases in the following sectors: agricultural lands (from 43.88% to 26.10%), forestland (from 23.78% to 17.49%), and wetlands (from 11.76% to 5.08%). The changes pose a threat to the environment and water quality of the Murchison Bay and consequently increases National Water and Sewerage Corporation water treatment costs. Therefore, there is the need to take critical and practical measures to regulate and police land use, water use rights and conserve the environment especially wetlands.


In this paper, making use of the truncated Laurent series expansion method and symbolic computation we get the auto-Backlund transformation of the (2 + 1)-dimensional Nizhnik–Novikov–Veselov equation. As a result, single soliton solution, single soliton-like solution, multi-soliton solution, multi-soliton-like solution, the rational solution and other exact solutions of the (2 + 1)-dimensional Nizhnik–Novikov–Veselov equation are found. These solutions may be useful to explain some physical phenomena.


The article poses the urgent task of increasing the efficiency of functioning of active phased antenna arrays (APAA) radar stations. Particular attention is paid to the development of modern multifunctional phased L-band arrays. Contradictions in the main criteria for ship antennas are revealed, and ways to eliminate them are proposed. Based on the study of radar and classification systems for ship-based targets and on the analysis of the results, a new method for constructing L-band multifunctional APAA for these systems has been proposed. It is proposed to use a dipole-type emitter in antenna arrays, which operates in the decimeter range and the lower part of the centimeter range. It has high mechanical and electrical strength. The article presents a scheme for constructing an APAA classification system, simulation results and an example of the practical implementation of the proposed method.


The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) is under construction to measure the expansion history of the Universe using the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation probe. The KPNO Mayall telescope will deliver light to 5000 fibers feeding ten broadband spectrographs. A consortium of Aix-Marseille University (AMU) and CNRS laboratories (LAM, OHP and CPPM) together with the WINLIGHT Systems company (Pertuis-France) has committed to integrate and validate the performance requirements of the full spectrographs, equipped with their cryostats, shutters and other mechanisms. An AIT plan has been defined and dedicated test equipment has been designed and implemented. This equipment simulates the fiber input illumination from the telescope, and offers a variety of continuum and line sources. Flux levels are adjustable and can illuminate one or several fibers along the test slit. It is fully remotely controlled and interfaced to the Instrument Control System. Specific analysis tools have also been developed to verify and monitor the performance and stability of the spectrographs. All these developments are described in details.


Serial intraperitoneal passage of interferon (IFN)-sensitive Friend leukemia cells (FLCs) and L1210-S and RBL-5 tumor cells in syngeneic mice resulted in the selection of tumor cells exhibiting a marked decrease in the capacity to release reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. The virus nonproducer phenotype was a stable characteristic of clones derived from in vivo-passaged IFN-sensitive 745 FLCs. In contrast, in vivo passages of IFN-resistant 3Cl-8 FLCs and L1210-R cells did not result in any significant decrease in the capacity of these tumor cells to release in vitro RT activity. Although in vitro treatment of IFN-sensitive FLCs with mouse alpha/beta IFN (IFN-alpha/beta) for 1 or 10 passages resulted in a marked inhibition in the release of RT activity, these effects were completely reversible after removal of IFN from the culture medium. In addition, in vitro treatment of 745 FLCs with IFN resulted in a marked increase in the expression of H-2 (class I) and gp70 Friend virus antigens on the cell membrane. These effects were not observed in IFN-resistant 3Cl-8 cells. To investigate the possible role of endogenous IFN in the in vivo selection of virus nonproducer tumor cells, IFN-sensitive virus producer FLCs were serially passaged intraperitoneally in mice treated with antibodies to IFN-alpha/beta and in control mice, and the recovered tumor cells were cloned in vitro. Most (83 to 91%) of the clones derived from 745 cells recovered from control mice did not produce any detectable RT activity in the culture supernatants. In contrast, 96% of the clones (26 of 27) derived from 745 cells recovered from mice serially treated with antibodies to IFN-alpha/beta were still capable of releasing high levels of RT activity in the culture medium, indicating that endogenous IFN-alpha/beta was indeed an important host component for the in vivo selection of virus nonproducer tumor cell variants. The results reported in this article indicate that both direct effects of IFN on tumor cells and host-mediated effects are involved in this phenomenon.


In this paper a new presentation is given of known results about the asymptotics of the flow problem. The question of the construction of higher terms of the asymptotics is studied.


Organizational social practices (e.g., corporate social responsibility and corporate citizenship practices), as well as their costs and the benefits companies accrue from undertaking them, have been widely described and analyzed in the business and society literature. However, the debate over the mechanisms that motivate such practices has yet to evolve. This study aims at contributing to the explanation of these mechanisms. Using the institutional framework and Scott's (2001) concept of institutional pillars, I present a theoretical framework that reconciles strategic, principled, institutional, and emotional mechanisms that motivate organizational social action. I propose that commitment, calculation, conformance, and caring mechanisms motivate organizations to adopt social practices. Analyzing social practices used by companies in their interaction with the stakeholder "local community," this study examines the effects of environmental conditions and decision-maker orientation on the four motivation mechanisms.


Antimicrobial resistance is an existential threat to the health sector, with far-reaching consequences in managing microbial infections. In this study, one hundred and ninety-four Listeria monocytogenes isolates were profiled for susceptibility using disc diffusion techniques. Possible foodborne listeriosis risk associated with ready-to-eat (RTE) foods (RTEF) and the risk of empirical treatment (EMPT) of L. monocytogenes infections, using multiple antimicrobial resistance indices (MARI) and antimicrobial resistance indices (ARI), respectively, were investigated. Twelve European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) prescribed/recommended antimicrobials (EPAS) for the treatment of listeriosis and ten non-prescribed antimicrobials (non-PAS)] were evaluated. Antimicrobial resistance > 50% against PAs including sulfamethoxazole (61.86%), trimethoprim (56.19%), amoxicillin (42.27%), penicillin (41.24%), and erythromycin (40.21%) was observed. Resistance > 50% against non-PAS, including oxytetracycline (60.89%), cefotetan (59.28%), ceftriaxone (53.09%), and streptomycin (40.21%) was also observed. About 55.67% and 65.46% of the isolates had MARI scores ranging from 0.25–0.92 and 0.30–0.70 for EPAs and non-PAs, respectively. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) between the MARI scores of the isolates for EPAs and non-PAs (means of 0.27 ± 0.21 and 0.31 ± 0.14, respectively). MARI/ARI scores above the Krumperman permissible threshold (>0.2) suggested a high risk/level of antimicrobial-resistant L. monocytogenes. The MARI risks of the non-success of empirical treatment (EMPT) attributed to EPAs and non-PAs were generally high (55.67% and 65.463%, respectively) due to the antimicrobial resistance of the isolates. MARI-based estimated success and non-success of EMPT if EUCAST-prescribed antimicrobials were administered for the treatment of listeriosis were 44.329% and 55.67%, respectively. The EMPT if non-prescribed antimicrobials were administered for the treatment of listeriosis was 34.53% and 65.46%, respectively. This indicates a potentially high risk with PAs and non-PAs for the treatment of L. monocytogenes infection. Furthermore, ARI scores ≤ 0.2 for EPAs were observed in polony, potato chips, muffins, and assorted sandwiches, whereas ARI scores for non-PAs were >0.2 across all the RTE food types. The ARI-based estimate identified potential risks associated with some RTE foods, including fried fish, red Vienna sausage, Russian sausage, fruit salad, bread, meat pies, fried chicken, cupcakes, and vetkoek. This investigation identified a high risk of EMPT due to the presence of antimicrobial-resistant L. monocytogenes in RTE foods, which could result in severe health consequences.


Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) has been used as a standard post-processing procedure in many state-of-the-art speaker recognition tasks. Through maximizing the inter-speaker difference and minimizing the intra-speaker variation, LDA projects i-vectors to a lower-dimensional and more discriminative subspace. In this paper, we propose a neural network based compensation scheme(termed as deep discriminant analysis, DDA) for $i$-vector based speaker recognition, which shares the idea with LDA. Optimized against softmax loss and center loss at the same time, the proposed method learns a more compact and discriminative embedding space. Compared with the Gaussian distribution assumption of data and the learned linear projection in LDA, the proposed method doesn't pose any assumptions on data and can learn a non-linear projection function. Experiments are carried out on a short-duration text-independent dataset based on the SRE Corpus, noticeable performance improvement can be observed against the normal LDA or PLDA methods.


Abstract This research aims to reveal and to refine attendance meaning of the gender stereotype in the illustrative pictures of Elementary School textbook, based on curriculum 1994, with male object, female object, and male-female objects. From the existing tendency description, the social relation quality of the equal or unequal can be analyzed. This research uses a quantitative-descriptive perspective approach, particularly with a content analysis method. The research objects are all illustrative picture of all elementary school textbooks, based on curriculum 1994, published by Education and Culture department.  They involve six textbook groups, id est. 1) Civic Education 2) Natural Science 3) Social Science 4) Body and Health Education, 5) Indonesian and 6) Mathematics. Those pictures, then, are classified sequentially, into some kinds, id est.  Textbooks, picture categorization, and seven areas of development analysis (Women Affair Minister Office, 1995). The instrument used in collecting data is documentation-based guideline, which is developed by coding system. The data analysis is the description of frequency distribution and percentage models. From the research results, the research concludes that the illustrative picture with male objects tend to have male gender stereotype meaning, with female objects tend to have female gender stereotype, and with male-female objects reflects a gender equality. The implication of the research results and conclusion recommends that, in the future, there will be an improvement of the elementary school illustrative textbooks quality, with larger gender equality perspective, in order to make students understand the right concept of gender as early as possible. Moreover it needs a more extended research in the form of developing an illustrative picture design guideline that reflects gender equality. Keywords: gender stereotype, illustrative picture, and textbook


The purpose of this study is to develop the education content that induce energetically the adolescent's participation and learning for the education of suicide prevention. In order to realize it, we suggested the novel education methods based on virtual reality and HMD (Head Mounted Display), and developed the prototype system. This study intends to evaluate the effect of the proposed prototype system as a new education method with experiment and survey. This approach can show us the different possibility of adolescent's suicide prevention education.


We address the algorithmic complexity of a profit maximization problem in capacitated, undirected networks. We are asked to price a set of m capacitated network links to serve a set of n potential customers. Each customer is interested in purchasing a network connection that is specified by a simple path in the network and has a maximum budget that we assume to be known to the seller. The goal is to decide which customers to serve, and to determine prices for all network links in order to maximize the total profit. We address this pricing problem in different network topologies. More specifically, we derive several results on the algorithmic complexity of this profit maximization problem, given that the network is either a path, a cycle, a tree, or a grid. Our results include approximation algorithms as well as inapproximability results. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. NETWORKS, 2009


Indonesia is an archipelago country lies on the pacific ring of fire, which has a greater risk for disaster due to its geographic location . Indonesia had experienced both natural disaster and man made disaster. However, now days man made disaster often occurred that lead towards destruction of human mankind. Modern weapon of mass destruction are either nuclear, biological or chemical can bring a huge damage to societies and civilization.  The method used in this literature review was collected and analyzed the article of biological weapon of mass destruction. Articles collected through electronic databases such as CINAHL; ScienceDirect; Center for Disease Control (CDC); American Medical Association (AMA); National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) and textbook of emergency preparedness response. The criteria of articles have full text and published in the period of time between 2004-2014. In this article mainly focused on explaining plague as a biological weapon of mass destruction that including description of the agents, historical background occurring plague as a biological organism, historical use plague as a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), transmission/dispersion/incubation, diagnosis and treatment, detection, responder safety consideration, environmental impact, medical surge consideration and future implications. The huge number of casualties due to sudden event can cause increasing demand for health care resources including facilities, health care providers, hospital resources, infrastructures and other resources. Preparing for medical surge are always in the first priority and can be consisting medical services facilities, medical care providers, hospital resources as well as infrastructures. During tremendous outbreak health care center will probably run out of space, furthermore it is essential to establish the alternate care facilities such as school, mosque, churches, community center, mall, government building, stadium, medical professional offices and so forth to deal with large casualties. In addition, totally eliminating plague is less possible, and so improving prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotic regimen as well as rapid diagnostic and technical laboratory microbiology standards are essential to response plague outbreak. Key word: plague, biological weapon of mass destruction, bioterrorism-related epidemics


The economic literature acknowledges that labor markets can often be described by monopsonistic competition. In such a structure, employers have market power and in the long run, zero profits due to the free entry and exit of firms. This article builds a model to analyze the role of minimum wages when employment is differentiated. It shows that first best and second best minimum wages can increase employment and improve efficiency by reducing market power, at the expense of having firm exit, higher concentration among employers, and less employment variety. As such, this article can provide insights on the higher firm exit rates observed among new, small and lower productivity firms.


In recent years, the life course perspective has received increasing support from researchers across a number of behavioral science disciplines. The purpose of this article is to examine the relevance to social work of selected findings of the last 15 years of empirical investigation of life course concepts and themes. This discussion is organized around five basic concepts (cohorts, transitions, trajectories, life events, and turning points) and six interrelated themes (interplay of human lives and historical time, timing of lives, linked or interdependent lives, human agency in making choices, diversity in life course trajectories, and developmental risk and protection). Implications of life course theory and research for social work are overviewed.


Choice-based conjoint (CBC) is used to understand how individuals develop preferences for decision alternatives. When decision alternatives can be described in terms of attributes, researchers want to determine the value respondents attach to various attribute levels. Popular in psychology, marketing, economics and other areas, CBC is now finding applications in healthcare to understand patient choice in healthcare policy, drug development, doctor-patient communications, etc. However, a lack of standard methodologies has served as a barrier to its use in healthcare. Therefore, there is a need to identify good research practices for CBC in healthcare. We review recent advances in CBC such as Pareto optimal choice sets, information per profile and reducing choice set sizes, as applied to patient choice.


The calculus of looping sequences is a formalism for describing the evolution of biological systems by means of term rewriting rules. In this paper we enrich this calculus with a type discipline which preserves some biological properties depending on the minimum and the maximum number of elements of some type requested by the present elements. The type system enforces these properties and typed reductions guarantee that evolution preserves them. As an example, we model the hemoglobin structure and the equilibrium between cell death and division: typed reductions prevent undesirable behaviors.


This study examined effects of type of and cumulative burden of childhood adversities on bullying and cruelty to animals in the United States. Data were derived from Waves I and II of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Structured psychiatric interviews were completed by trained lay interviewers between 2001-2002 and 2003-2004. Although the effects of childhood adversity diminished with the inclusion of confounding variables, several adversities remained significant. For bullying, these included being made to do chores that were too difficult or dangerous, threatening to hit or throw something, pushing, shoving, slapping, or hitting, and hitting that left bruises, marks, or injuries. With respect to cruelty to animals, swearing and saying hurtful things, having a parent or other adult living within the home that went to jail or prison, and adult/other person fondling/touching in a sexual way were significant. The final models indicated that the cumulative burden of childhood adversities had strong effects on the increased likelihood of bullying behavior but not cruelty to animals.


Antibiotic residues above tolerance levels are not allowed in foods derived from farm animals. Microbial inhibition assays are used to screen antibiotics in U.S. regulatory laboratories. We developed a screening approach to classify beta-lactams through selective hydrolysis of the beta-lactam ring with Penase or lactamase II, thereby inactivating the beta-lactam activity. Optimum conditions for hydrolysis of beta-lactams with Penase and lactamase II were determined. beta-Lactams were detected by a microbial inhibition assay and with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays before and after hydrolysis. beta-Lactams (10-100 ppb) were spiked in kidney extracts and hydrolyzed. Results indicate a pattern that tentatively classified the beta-lactams into 3 subgroups. Desfuroyl-ceftiofur-cysteine, a major metabolite of ceftiofur, was clearly detected. Penicillin G, ampicillin, amoxicillin, and cloxacillin were distinguishable from cephapirin, ceftiofur metabolite, and high levels of hetacillin. Liver and kidney tissue samples were analyzed with the combined enzyme hydrolysis and screening assays, which tentatively identified the residues. This approach can speed up screening analysis of beta-lactam residues prior to identification and quantitation by chromatographic analysis, thus enhancing positive identification of residues to provide a safer food supply.


Background: Noise and vibration are considered as harmful physical agents in the environment which have adverse effects on cognitive performance. One of the occupations at risk is driving, where there is a possibility of simultaneous exposure to road traffic noise and whole body vibration (WBV) transferred through the vehicle. This study aims to assess the effects of single and combined exposure to road traffic noise and WBV on different types of attention in men. Methods: The experiment was conducted on 24 men in 4 steps, executed on each participant inside an acoustic room. After recording a number of various attention scores at background conditions (27 dBA noise, no vibration) the participants were given single and combined exposure to noise levels at 55 and 85 dBA and vibration magnitude of 0.65 and 0.95 m/s2 r.m.s. Results: As for combined exposure to noise and vibration, increasing vibration acceleration and noise levels at the same time compared to background condition caused a rise in the score of all visual attention types among groups exposed to low vibration acceleration and those exposed to medium acceleration and low noise. Nevertheless, when noise level and vibration acceleration is increased at the same time compared to background, auditory attention type scores mostly fell among groups with similar vibration accelerations. Conclusions: Overall, single and combined exposure to environmental stressors under investigation had a predominantly negative effect on auditory attention while the effects on visual attention were inconclusive. Definitive conclusions however require further systematic and comprehensive experiments.


Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) is the one of the important tools to study the brain behavior. Therefore, we have investigated the brain signals function of children with learning disabilities (LD) in order to compare the EEG signals during writing and after relaxing with eyes open. Aims: The aim of this work is comparing the brain electrical activity of dysgraphia children during writing task with their signals during the rest condition. Materials and Methods: The used method in this work is based on power spectral density (PSD) proposed with Welch. Participants in this study were included 6 girls and 10 boys with age of 9.2±0.64 who have dysgraphia disorder. Results: The results show that a frequency ratio of writhing mode is more than the resting mode. It is also indicated that the brain signals during writhing are more complex for dysgraphia children. Conclusion: Our results reveal that insufficient maturity of the brain increase during writing rather than relaxing mode. Finally, to overcome the LD situation neurofeedback can be proposed.


We present a theoretical and experimental study of boundary-driven acoustic streaming in an inhomogeneous fluid with variations in density and compressibility. In a homogeneous fluid this streaming results from dissipation in the boundary layers (Rayleigh streaming). We show that in an inhomogeneous fluid, an additional nondissipative force density acts on the fluid to stabilize particular inhomogeneity configurations, which markedly alters and even suppresses the streaming flows. Our theoretical and numerical analysis of the phenomenon is supported by ultrasound experiments performed with inhomogeneous aqueous iodixanol solutions in a glass-silicon microchip.


Gender mainstreaming emerged on the European policy scene in the mid-1990s as an innovative and controversial policy tool for reducing gender inequalities. The European Union seeks to propagate the practice of gender mainstreaming both within EU institutions and among member states. Feminist scholars and policy elites have discussed and debated gender mainstreaming widely but have yet to consider how local feminist activists, who could play a central role in diffusing gender mainstreaming, understand, interpret, and respond to this agenda. This article examines whether and why local feminist movements in two cities in eastern Germany adopt gender mainstreaming into their advocacy agendas. Consideration of the characteristics of the contexts in which local feminist movements are embedded clarifies the conditions under which social movements rally around new policy paradigms.


A 72-year-old patient received 0.1 mg morphine by the intrathecal route and 2 x 1.5 mg midazolam as adjuvant therapy. Severe respiratory depression and somnolence supervened 3.5 h later, which lasted over the next 24 h and necessitated intubation and mechanical ventilation. Continuous administration of >6 mg naloxone to antagonize the supposed effect of the morphine had no effect. The patient's condition was not normalized until a single dose of 0.3 mg flumazenil was administered. For the time being, especially in the case of elderly patients, we recommend that strict indications are adhered to when intrathecal administration of morphine is considered and that less than 0.1 mg morphine is given. Diazepines should be avoided. Respiration should be monitored for quite some time.


Rhein (4,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid) is purified from rhubarb (Rheum officinale), a widely used traditional Chinese herb. In our previous studies, rhein was shown to be effective in ameliorating diabetic renal pathological changes and attenuating hyperlipidemia. Statins have also been proven to ameliorate renal pathological changes associated with diabetic nephropathy (DN) through lipid-dependent and -independent mechanisms. We here study the protective and regulatory effects of rhein on renal injury and dyslipidemia in db/db mice with DN, using simvastatin as the control, and provide information on the mechanisms by which rhein protects against renal damage from DN. The results indicated that urinary albumin excretion (UAE) was reduced after 8 weeks of treatment in the rhein group, and 12 weeks in the simvastatin group. The morphometric analysis revealed that levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) significantly decreased in the rhein group after the full treatment course, but not in the simvastatin group. The more powerful effects of rhein on decreasing transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and fibronectin immunohistochemistry expression in renal tissue were also observed. And the plasma levels of cholesterol (Chol), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and ApoE all decreased in both the rhein and the simvastatin groups. Together, our data suggested that both rhein and simvastatin regulate dyslipidemia. The powerful effect of rhein in renal protection is due to its widespread effects. Rhein is a new drug that can decrease lipid levels and protect against DN progression in a different fashion with simvastatin.


Metonymy, as well as metaphor, are the subject of numerous studies, both from a more general theoretical aspect and through specific studies of metaphors and metonymies in individual languages. The interest in these means of nomination is rooted in the imagery and expressiveness they create, and the various functions they perform. Since the time of Aristotle, interest in the tropics has not ceased to interest people. Ancient rhetoric pays attention to the effects that are achieved through them, in contrast to more modern research, which pays attention to their role in creative thinking.Our interest in metonymy is in connection with the study of the peculiarities of Naiden Gerov's Dictionary and the place that this means of naming occupies in its general corpus. The nature of the article is descriptive - to describe the metonymies found in the dictionary, which would be the basis for comparison with later language stages.


We present an approach for parallel optical interconnect channels using a single light source and a single multimode waveguide. Parallel transmission is achieved by exploiting the modal diversity of the multimode waveguide, thus improving the channel density, compared to other optical interconnect schemes. The proposed system facilitates packaging and requires relatively simple components, which can be integrated using silicon technology. The performance of such a system is analyzed for different modulation schemes. Based on the analysis, improved modulation schemes that reduce the system error probability are suggested.


With a new computer network automated investigative tools, and more channels for sharing information, the FBI hopes to finally know what it knows. The fall of 2001 saw the start of an ambitious program of modernization, which seems to recognize that the barriers that prevent the FBI from analyzing and sharing data are as much cultural as technological. These include accelerating a bureau-wide overhaul of basic computer hardware, software, and network infrastructure and replacing the FBI's ancient DOS-based Automated Case Support (ACS) database with a more user-friendly Windows-based system that can search on not just text but also photos, video and audio records, known as the Virtual Case File system.


Decision-making is a process of choosing among alternative courses of action for solving complicated problems where multi-criteria objectives are involved. The past few years have witnessed a growing recognition of Soft Computing technologies that underlie the conception, design and utilization of intelligent systems. Several works have been done where engineers and scientists have applied intelligent techniques and heuristics to obtain optimal decisions from imprecise information. In this paper, we present a concurrent fuzzy-neural network approach combining unsupervised and supervised learning techniques to develop the Tactical Air Combat Decision Support System (TACDSS). Experiment results clearly demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed technique.


This article deals with the management of instructional development projects for computer-based training (CBT), and is primarily aimed at project managers working with a team of instructional developers for a corporate client. Two issues are discussed: a) estimating the size of a CBT project, and b) performing a cost-benefit analysis. These issues are important for projecting costs, tracking performance and justifying development expenditures. This is a fictionalized case study. The methodology, examples, concepts and estimates are composite sketches drawn from several projects, based upon the author's experiences while working as a CBT project manager. Actual figures and clients have been intentionally obscured to protect the proprietary rights of all parties involved. The reader should be cautioned that the article presents only one approach to project development and estimation. Wholesale application of the approach described is not recommended, as every project will introduce novel interactions of resources and variables which mandate different treatment. Still, it is hoped that the reader will draw upon the ideas presented to refine project management approaches already used.


The aim of this study was to analyse carboplatin-induced ototoxicity in a recent study trial. Twenty patients who had received carboplatin for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma were investigated prospectively for ototoxicity in a multi-centre trial. Hearing function was tested by audiometry. All patients but one were treated with a cumulative dose of 1500 mg/m(2), the remaining with 500 mg/m(2). We evaluated the incidence and dependencies of hearing loss, and compared hearing thresholds to those of an untreated control group (n=60). Hearing thresholds in the carboplatin treated group were only marginally poorer compared with those of the control group. After carboplatin therapy no patient (0%; 95%-KI: 0-17%) had a hearing loss >20 dB. Hearing thresholds were not dependent on age, sex or cranial irradiation. We conclude that ototoxicity after carboplatin was low in our group of patients.


The production of particles from the gas phase is one of the main physical methods for the synthesis of nanostructured materials, the obvious advantages of which include good control of the target composition of the resulting nanomaterial. However, the determination of clear dependences between the initial parameters of experimental setups and the size of nanoparticles is not an easy task, requiring a detailed study of the processes of formation, growth, and agglomeration of nanoclusters. Another problem is that metal nanoparticles of identical chemical composition and size can be in different structural states or have different levels of defects. The processes underlying the formation of the structure of such nanoparticles are also not completely clear, especially at the very initial stage of synthesis from the moment of decomposition of precursors to the formation of primary stable nuclei. Therefore, in the presented work, the molecular dynamics method was used to simulate the process of synthesis of Cu-Au nanoclusters of various target compositions from the high-temperature gas phase. Based on the data obtained, conclusions were drawn about the main stages of the evolution of the model system. It is shown that the initial stage of synthesis consists of five different stages, gradually leading to the formation of primary spherical CuAu binary alloy nanoparticles with a clear extrusion of gold atoms to the surface.


-paper Humnan Blood Coagulation and its Disorders, 2nd ed. lower plate By Rosemary Biggs and R. G. Macfarlane. (Pp. xxi +476; 53 figures. 42s.) Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications. 1957. itiolpaper The literature on blood coagulation is as voluminous si fp as it is incomprehensible to the outsider. The authors say in their opening pages: ' It is the modest purF.I. M. L.T pose of this book to attempt to reduce this profusion to the smallest possible residue of useful and sober facts; to sort out the different names which really belong to the same thing. the different things which have had the same name, the things which probably ondon, 1958 do exist from the things which probably do not, and ,ondon, 1958 to present what is known about the probable ways in .nternational which the things which remain react together to prot the Royal duce a clot." From this we may deduce that they 2, 1958, are are masters of the English language and that they received at approach their subject in the trLie spirit of Oxford Ids, London. scholarship. Add to this that they lead one of the is not to be most active and fertile schools of study in this field; tained from then one has the ingredients of this model of all that a medical textbook should be. The first half of the book sets out in less than 200 pages our present knowledge of blood coagulation. Beginning with the thrombin-fibrinogen reaction the authors work backwards through prothrombin to the accelerators and thromboplastins that initiate the clotting reaction. Their approach is broadly historical. setting down an ever-growing pile of observations and hypotheses in the order of their discovery, and yet by superb marshalling and masterly selection leaving the reader with a coherent grasp of the substance as well as the complexities of their subject. The next part of the book describes the clinical states that arise from, or produce. defective clotting. The authors' deep theoretical knowledge of these conditions is clearly supported by great practical experience of their management. althouLgh it is the principles rather than the details of treatment that they set OuLt. This section includes a very clear and balanced account of the principles of anticoagulant therapy. The following chapter, describing the systematic investigation of coagulation defects, has been much clarified and improved. A very useful glossary has been added to this edition (but it omits proconvertin). Finally there is a detailed and authoritative description of technical methods, an excellent index, and a list of some 1,400 references. MARTIN HYNES.


A microbial depolymerization process of exogenous type is studied with experimental data introduced into the analysis. A mathematical model for exogenous depolymerization processes is described together with the numerical techniques to analyze it. Given an initial weight distribution of polyethylene glycol with respect to the molecular weight and its final weight distribution obtained after cultivation of a microbial consortium E1, an inverse problem of an initial value problem determines an oxidation rate. Given the oxidation rate, the initial value problem was solved to simulate the transition of weight distribution. A numerical simulation shows that the mathematical method of analysis of an exogenous depolymerization process is practically acceptable. The numerical techniques illustrated here are applicable to the analyses of other exogenous depolymerization processes.


The aim of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) is to induce multiple morphologically and functionally adequate follicles with the aim of harvesting multiple fertilizable oocytes. We compared several treatment regimens with different FSH/LH ratios: group I was the basic 2 human menopausal gonadotropins (2hMG) protocol in which 2 ampules of hMG were administered starting on day 3 of the cycle; group II was the basic 2hMG in which 2 ampules of "pure" follicle stimulating hormone (p-FSH) were added on day 3 and 4; group III was the 2 FSH protocol in which 2 ampules of p-FSH were administered beginning on day 3; finally, group IV was the 4FSH: 4 ampules of p-FSH on day 3 and 4 followed by 2 ampules of p-FSH daily. The reference regimen was the 2hMG. Except for the higher rate of immature oocytes in 2FSH and 2hMG protocols, the number of preovulatory oocytes and fertilization rate were similar in all protocols. No differences occurred in the pregnancy outcome. The low dose Lupron (LDL) stimulation was an experimental protocol applied to two groups of women who had previously failed COH. Eight women who had a premature luteinization and 8 women who showed a low response agreed to participate in the protocol. Ten micrograms of the GnRH agonist leuprolide acetate (Lupron) were injected subcutaneously every 6 hours starting on cycle day 2 and menotropin stimulation was begun on day 3-5, according to individual patient response. The LDL protocol was successful in determining a favourable estradiol pattern and fertilizable oocytes.


R. F. DAVIS. 99. [P. 2. a.] Extension of Problem 394. Problem 394 will be found true for a curve 8 of any order, the theorem on which it depends being the following : Let K be the curvature of a curve S at a point P, the radius vector from the origin 0 to which is r. Corresponding to the tangent at P is a point P' on the reciprocal curve 2 (taken with respect to centre 0, radius k). Let K, r' be the curvature and radius vector at /". Then KT = -,-," so that the Kri quantity KT is inverted by reciprocation. The following corollaries are obvious : If S has a cusp at P, 2 has an inflexion at P'. If 8 has a tacnode at P, the curvatures of the branches being KV K2, 2 has a tacnode at P', the curvatures being K/, K2', where 1 I K< : «»==—; : —;• Kl K2 We may also obtain from this theorem an expression for the curvature of a conic S at any point P. Take the origin 0 at a focus of the conic S. Let Pbe a point on the conic, OP=r. Reciprocate S with respect to origin 0, radius r. The reciprocal conic 2 is a circle of radius -=-, where I is semi latusrectum of 8. Since the circle whose centre is 0, radius r, reciprocates into itself, the tangent at P to this circle will touch the circle 2 at a point P'. £4 l/r\ Let OP'' = )•', then the theorem Kr=—i-!^ gives K = J\ -,) or radius of curvature at P=lsec6 where 9 = PUP'.


This study investigates landslide caused disturbances to ecosystem-vegetation burial and overturning of soil horizons which can accelerate vegetation loss, or even lead to complete deforestation of the landscape. A summary is presented of the historical development and recent advances in understanding and prediction of landslides/debris flows, which are major global natural hazards that have caused great loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. The focus here is on rainfall triggered landslides/debris flows, and their deforestation effects. Debris flows have large destructive power because the solid and fluid forces interact within the sliding mass (Iverson 1997): the embedded boulders can exert great impulsive loads on objects they encounter; while the high fluid contents make debris flows travel long distances even in channels with modest slopes and therefore can inundate vast areas. Thus the whole spectrum of debris flows has deforestation effects (even small scale debris flows can denude vegetation). The first two sections of this chapter are concerned, respectively, with understanding ecosystems in terms of their soil and vegetation types, especially in regions that have sloping terrain. The emphasis is on the impact of landslides on deforestation, and this aspect has not yet been studied extensively. The third section focuses on the dynamics of landslides and provides a comprehensive description of their lifecycles, and the fourth section discusses the development and application of empirical and descriptive landslide models. Such models have contributed to knowledge of storm-triggered shallow landslides/debris flows. However, the deficiencies of empirical models are well-known and an alternative modelling technique, pioneered by the first author, is described in detail. This modeling approach is to solve the fully three dimensional, Navier-Stokes, and to that end a multi-rheological scalable, extensible geofluid model modeling system, known as SEGMENT, was developed. When coupled with a landslide model the system is called SEGMENT-landslide. The SEGMENT-landslide model has been used extensively in a predictive mode for both relatively short lead decadal times, and for century long predictions of landslides, in several very different locations. Here, the performance of SEGMENT-landslide is assessed for the Yangjiashan creeping slope in China, in predictive mode for the decade 2010-2109. Investigation of the impact of possible future precipitation morphological changes over this region utilizes 21st century simulations


Purpose
Internet of Things (IoT), a strategic emerging industry, has brought a new driving force to the global economic growth, as well as an effective solution to break the barrier of economic development. However, standards system of IoT is not yet mature, existing obvious overlapping and even conflicting standards, and enterprises lack mature technology standardization model, which severely restricts the structural upgrading and development of IoT. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach
In this regard, this study combs the research context of the IoT, technology standardization and competition behavior, and analyze technology standardization models of IoT by combining theory with practice. Using game theory and profit function, this paper analyzes the selection mechanism of standardization model of IoT enterprises, and explores practical application of these models using competitive behavior theory.

Findings
First, in the process of standardization, technology standardization model n enterprises is not single, nor is it immutable. Second, the trend of internationalization of technical standards is becoming more and more obvious. Third, if LoT enterprises want to achieve their own technology standardization, the corresponding competitive behavior is essential. Fourth, with the change of innovation capability and market forces, the competitive behavior of enterprises should be improved accordingly to better adapt to the changes of internal and external environment and ensure the realization of the standardization of enterprises. Fifth, if IoT attempts to achieve the same globalization as the internet, there must be a set of support systems.

Originality/value
Finally, some suggestions are given for the future development in the field of IoT. This study will provide some theoretical support for promoting the development of standards and enhancing the competitiveness of IoT enterprises.


The clathrate compound Ba 6Ge25 and its relatives consist of a rigid germanium skeleton, into which barium or other metal atoms are coordinated. These guest atoms can "rattle" freely at high temperatures, but in Ba 6Ge25 some of them lock randomly into split positions below T(S) approximately 200 K. The resulting bad metal undergoes a BCS-like superconducting transition at T(c) approximately 0.24 K. T(c) increases more than 16-fold, as T(S) is suppressed by hydrostatic pressure p, but changes only slightly with p from T(c) approximately 0.84 K in the undistorted sister compound Ba 4Na2Ge25. The large enhancement of T(c) in Ba 6Ge25 may be attributed mainly to the pressure tuning of strong disorder caused by the random displacement of Ba atoms at T(S).


Using Phase Locked Loop based single channel Direction Finding (DF) system to estimate the bearing angle or the coordinates of an incoming radio signal(s) has much more advantages than multiple receiver system does in many practical scenarios such as mobile communication. This method utilizes a bank of Phase Locked Loops (PLLs) to calculate the differential phase of signal received by an M-element uniform circular antenna array with a commutative switch followed by single channel Software Defined Radio (SDR) receiver. One important factor when using conventional phase locked loop is the requirement of the small convergence rate of the algorithm compared to the switching cycle. In order to achieve small convergence rate, we propose a method for DOA estimation with low computation complexity that improves significantly the performance of conventional PLLs system. An analysis of the challenges of computation complexity in this algorithm is presented. The simulation results for DOA estimation using the proposed structure with low complexity are shown to verify the performance of the system.


SUMMARY Organically grown lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) should ensure sufficiently high forage and seed yields to sustain the profitability of organic production chains. Twenty lucerne populations were evaluated for forage dry matter (DM) yield over 3 years (2005–7), and for seed yield and its components in the third year, under organic management and a mowing regime in Lodi (sub-continental climate with sandy-loam soil) and Perugia (sub-Mediterranean climate with silty-clay soil). The objectives were to assess the impact on lucerne forage and seed yield of: (i) type of germplasm (landrace or commercial cultivar); (ii) plant growth habit (erect or non-conventional); (iii) area of germplasm origin or selection (northern Italy north of the Po river, NI-N; northern Italy south of the Po river, NI-S; central Italy, CI). The populations included seven cultivars selected under conventional management and one selected under organic management, seven landraces and five breeding selections, of which one was semi-erect and one was semi-prostrate. On average, cultivar and landrace germplasm types did not differ for forage or seed yield in any geographic set of populations (NI-N, NI-S or CI), except for the higher seed yield of landraces in one set. Compared with erect germplasm, semi-prostrate germplasm exhibited distinctly lower forage and seed yield, especially where weed competition was severe (Lodi) because of poor competitive ability. Semi-erect germplasm tended to have lower forage yield across locations. Specific adaptation was the main determinant of forage and seed yield responses of landraces and cultivars. Erect populations originated in NI-N were high yielding in the test site similar to NI-N environments (Lodi) and low yielding in the location representing CI environments (Perugia). Populations that originated in CI, including the cultivar selected under organic management, displayed the opposite adaptive response. Populations that originated in NI-S, whose major environmental characteristics were somewhat intermediate between NI-N and CI, tended to be mid-ranking for forage and seed yield in each site. The large cross-over population×location interaction was confirmed by the lack of genetic correlation for forage yield (rg=−0·25, P>0·20) and the negative genetic correlation for seed yield (rg=−0·68, P<0·05) of populations across locations. No genetic correlation across locations was found for density of fertile tillers and pod fertility. The association of population seed yield with its component traits was site-specific. Cropping and seed multiplication of locally adapted erect cultivars have paramount importance for mown organically grown lucerne in Italy.


With rising health care costs, often health research is viewed as a major cost driver, calling to question the role and value of provincial funding of health research. Most agree that the quality of healthcare provided is directly linked to our ability to conduct quality research; however currently there is little empirical evidence supporting the link between engagement in health research and healthcare performance. In Canada this has resulted in funding for health research that varies over time and between provinces. While medical knowledge is a public good, we hypothesize there are local benefits from health research, such as the attraction of a specialized human capital workforce, which fosters a culture of innovation in clinical practice. To address this question, we look at whether health outcomes are impacted by changes in provincial research funding in Alberta compared to other provinces. Provincial funding for medical research, which varies greatly over time and among provinces, is used as a proxy for medical treatment inputs. Trend rates of reduction in mortality from potentially avoidable causes (MPAC) (comprised of mortality from preventable causes (MPC) and mortality from treatable causes (MTC)), are used as a proxy health outcome measure sensitive to the contributions of technological progress in medical treatment. Our analysis suggests that investment in health research has payback in health outcomes, with greater improvements in the province where the research occurs. The trend declines seen in age standardized MPAC rates in different Canadian provinces may be impacted by shifts in provincial research funding investment, suggesting that knowledge is not transferred without cost between provinces. Up until the mid-1980s, Alberta had the most rapid rate of decline in MPAC compared to the other provinces. This is striking given the large and unique investment in medical research funding in Alberta in the early 1980s through AHFMR, the only provincial health research funding agency at the time. However in recent years, Alberta's rate of decrease in MPAC has occurred at a rate slower than the other provinces (British Columbia, Ontario or Quebec) with provincial medical research funding. This is striking at a population level, where Alberta's failure to achieve a reduction in age standardized rates of MTC comparable to British Columbia, Ontario or Quebec after 1985 represents 240 unnecessary deaths in 2011 and 48,250 Potential Life Years Lost worth around $4.8 billion. The findings from our study suggest that some of the divergence in the rates of reduction in MPAC between provinces may be due to beneficial changes in institutional structure and human capital, resulting in differences across provinces in the capacity to adopt new effective healthcare innovations. While health indicators such as MPAC are the result of complex interactions between the patient, treatment and the healthcare system, as well as socioeconomic and demographic factors, this analysis suggests that a different capacity for health research within the provinces impacts health outcomes. The findings from this analysis are limited by the lack of data related to research funding and the health research workforces within provinces. This analysis has important implications for health research policy and funding allocations, suggesting that decision makers should consider the long-term impact provincial funding for health research has on health outcomes. This study also highlights the lack of longitudinal public data available for provincial health research funding. This information is critical to inform future health research policy.


The article analyzes the change and adaptation process of miners who became agricultural settlers on the coast of Hermosillo. All of them had been unemployed because of the closure of the copper mine in Pilares, Sonora, in 1949. The methodological perspective applied instruments of social and cultural history with concepts of memory studies. It is possible to identify a fractured identity through the broken projections for the future, forcing settlers to re-elaborate their life stories. The study involved work with orality, which resulted in some limitations that had to be solved with contrast of documentary and historiographic sources. The visibility of a community with a strong presence in the social imagination of Sonora defined the originality of the study, concluding further that there is a pilgrim cultural identity that was formed outside the mining space but with symbolic elements of it.


Author(s): Mobley, David L | Abstract: This work provides a curated database of experimental and calculated hydration free energies for small molecules in water, along with experimental values and input files. Experimental values are taken from prior literature and will continue to be curated, with updated experimental references and data added as it becomes available. Calculated values are based on the GAFF small molecule force field in TIP3P water with AM1-BCC charges, as in the provided parameter files. Values were calculated using the GROMACS simulation package, with full details given in references cited within the database itself. This database builds on previous work from the Mobley lab and others, and extends the prior database. With deposition in eScholarship, the database is now versioned, allowing citation of specific versions of the database, and easier updates. A change log is provided in the PDF file associated with each version.Latest version, v0.32, Sept. 29, 2015.


Objective Migraine is one of the most common complaints in children. This study aimed to determine the effect of probiotics (KidiLact) on headaches in children aged six to 15 years with migraine treated with sodium valproate. Materials & Methods This double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on eighty children with migraine treated with sodium valproate. Patients were divided into two groups. All patients in the intervention and control groups received two sachets of probiotics and a placebo daily for four months, respectively. They were compared in terms of frequency and severity of headaches and painkiller consumption before and two and four months after initiating probiotics. Results The mean number of headaches in the second and third visits in the probiotic group was 1.27 and 1.18, and 2 and 1.50 per month in the placebo group, respectively. The authors observed a significant difference between the two groups in the second (P = 0.010) and the third visit (P = 0.019). Moreover, the mean severity of headache in the second and third visits in the probiotic group was 1.38 and 1.23, and 1.60 and 1.53 in the placebo group, respectively. The authors demonstrated that the daily consumption of painkillers in the probiotic group was significantly reduced compared to the placebo group (P = 0.007). Conclusion Using probiotic supplements seems to significantly affect the severity and frequency of migraine headaches compared to the placebo, and daily consumption of painkillers was significantly reduced in the probiotic group compared to the placebo group.


Many attempts have been made in the past to bring order to the near-bewildering array of eutectic morphologies. These have met with limited success due mainly to the fact that the morphology of a particular eutectic may be highly dependent on both chemical composition and the rate of freezing. This paper shows for binary alloys, at least, that a more complete understanding of eutectic growth may be obtained by applying a few simple 'rules'. With these it is possible to so characterize eutectic growth that the unknown structure of a particular eutectic may be prodicted at a given growth rate if the entropy of solution and relative volume of each phase are known. The characterization scheme embraces the growth behaviour of the thirty or so systems for which thermodynamic data are more readily available.


As concerns over growing levels of student loan debt continue to mount for both students and taxpayers, many have called for an improved accountability system in the U.S. higher education system. In this policy brief, I discuss the many flaws in our current system, and outline how a system known as "risk-sharing" could drastically improve incentives and outcomes. I present a framework for how risk-sharing could be structured, and illustrate the distributional impacts (both positive and negative) across the higher education landscape.


The results are described of statistical investigations made in the F region during magnetic storms. The characteristics of the daily variation of the deviation from the mean critical frequency and of the height of the maximum electron density, Δf0F2 and ΔhPF2, respectively, are shown over the wide range of latitude from the equator to the auroral zone and for the principal seasons of the year. After a brief survey of theories to interpret the observed results, it is shown that the ionization-drift theory, which is associated with the dynamo theory, is almost satisfactory for the consistent interpretation of the various facts observed.


This study explores the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and their main determinants, which include real income and energy consumption in Russia, employing data for the period 1990-2016. The hypothesis of agriculture being an important determinant of environmental quality in Russia is also tested. For estimating the short-run and long-run relationships the ARDL bounds test approach is employed in this study. The results are consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and show that the real income and energy consumption have a statistically significant positive impact on the carbon emission and its square has a significant negative effect on the carbon emissions both in the short-run and long-run. Agricultural sector is found to be a relatively important statistically significant determinant of carbon emission in Russia as well. The pairwise Granger causality test also reveals unidirectional causality running from agriculture to the carbon emissions.


This study proposes a systematic approach that capitalizes on the quantitative advantages of corpus linguistics and caters to researchers' needs for extremely large amounts of text that can address regional American speech. The Bounded Virtual Corpus (BVC), an online virtual corpus is constructed within finite boundaries and contains a ten-year span (1998 to 2007) of 25 American newspapers distributed over five different regions. The BVC thus reflects regional frequency of word use and supports lexicographic decision making. A separate British component reflects lexical activity in British English and contains the full text of 5 newspapers over the same ten-year span, which enables direct comparisons between British and American English. The BVC's virtual corpus methodology allows for calculation of rates of occurrence and other metrics for word use that cannot be achieved by using the Internet as a corpus. Estimated word counts for each component—5 billion words for the American regions and 1 billion words for the British section—provide a baseline for such calculations. The BVC is unusually large in comparison to other currently well-known corpus projects and provides more evidence than smaller corpora for the study of careers of words, especially lower frequency words. The LexisNexis Academic interface includes a robust downloading interface that allows BVC search results to be saved conveniently and uploaded to offline concordancing applications as needed for analyses. Through results from the BVC, this study shows some recent differences in use of American and British English in the phrase go missing as well how the BVC can be used to identify and describe the trajectory of a neologism, carb, before and after it has reached its peak in frequency. There is also a demonstration of how the BVC can be a useful lexicographic tool regarding potential revision of A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles. The BVC can be replicated using detailed instructions included in the dissertation, and can be used free of charge by any researcher who has legal access to LexisNexis Academic.


BACKGROUND
Pyelonephritis is a serious infection associated with significant morbidity and mortality in the elderly with an estimated annual incidence rate of around 10% from previous studies. Older people are at a higher risk for pyelonephritis due to multiple factors including structural, functional and co-existent conditions. There is very little data on the incidence, clinical features and outcomes among elderly patients with pyelonephritis in India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We performed a retrospective review of case records of 100 consecutive patients over the age of 60 years with pyelonephritis admitted to a tertiary care hospital.

RESULTS
One fourth of our patients (26%) did not have fever, 49% had delirium and 52% had systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Sixty five percent of the patients were diabetic and 60% had infections caused by extended spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) producing organisms. As in other studies, the commonest organism isolated was E.coli (49%). A low serum albumin level was a predictor of mortality (p<0.001) and increased length of hospital stay (p<0.005). Delirium was also associated with a poor outcome (p=0.009) in these patients. Patients with pyelonephritis secondary to ESBL producing organisms had a higher length of stay (p<0.005).

CONCLUSION
Hypoalbuminemia and delirium predicted poor outcomes in our patients. We found a high prevalence of ESBL infections in this study. Further research is required to assess the efficacy of aggressive management of delirium and low albumin in improving health and cost outcomes.


Three-dimensional quasistatic finite element codes are being used at S andia National Laboratories to simulate large room and pillar mines in rock salt. The two examples presented in this paper are of mines supported by the US DOE, under the auspices of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) program. One of the mines is presently used as an oil storage facility. These simulations, validated by field measurements and observations, have provided valuable insight into the failure mechanisms of room and pillar mines in rock salt. The calculations provided the basis for further investigation and the ultimate decision to decommission the DOE oil storage facility. Although the simulations were performed in the interest of the DOE'S program, these results should be of general interest to mine operators.


Abstract Cohort splitting has been described as differences in time until maturation and / or life span in the same age group. Cohort splitting generally occurs when individuals of a cohort originating from the same season experience different environmental conditions, such as in early and late progenies. However, in the wolf spider Pardosa agrestis (Westring, 1861) spiderlings of the same clutch may follow either slow or rapid development, leading to a second adult peak within a year comprised of the rapidly developing individuals. We hypothesized that weather conditions experienced by the spiderlings in their early ontogeny may contribute to a life history decision between slow and rapid development. To test this hypothesis, we have used long term collection data and non-parametric habitat modeling. We found that highest abundance of the rapidly developing phenotype was correlated with a narrow range of early weather conditions. This result is in accordance with our early choice hypothesis, although the possibility remains that differential survival of the developmental morphs also contributes to the observed pattern.


Internet penetration is growing dramatically in the emerging economy of India. This study examines whether the internet maven construct, first identified in the United States, exists amongst the online population in India. Internet mavens, an extension of the market maven, are savvy Internet users who act as sources of consumer information for others. In this study, internet mavens are identified in the Indian population. Various aspects of Internet usage (amount, purpose, and enjoyment) are found to be predictors of Internet mavenism. Further, Internet mavens are found to trust the Internet more fully as a source of consumer information and to see the Internet as more essential to their day-to-day life than do non-mavens. Mavens were found to have significantly higher household incomes than non-mavens. However, despite looking across a variety of additional variables, no clear demographic profile of the Indian Internet maven emerged.


The paper explains the working definition of management, specifically, how it functionally deduces from the managerial performance. It concentrates on the roles of managers as found in the textbook elements, three different authors; Gavetti, Kanter and Mintzberg as well as collaborating conventional literatures. It underscores various terms that have been in use frequently; assessing how they affects corporate outcomes. The methodology is to analyze the three main articles on the role of CEOs and enumerate their functionsthe attempt to evaluate few efficient methods to measure an effective enterprise performance.


Although tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-1 (IL) induce the expression of the IL-8, TNF-stimulated gene 6, and plasminogen activation inhibitor-2 genes and the activation of NF-kappa B with nearly identical kinetics, the two cytokines differ significantly in the induction of the IL-6 gene in all primary fibroblasts tested. IL-1 induces IL-6 gene expression after 30 min of IL-1 treatment, reaching a maximum level by 7 h, and is sustained for up to 14 h. TNF also induces the IL-6 gene expression at 30 min but the induction was low. A similar differences in the amount of IL-6 secreted was observed in the IL-1/TNF-treated cells. Measurement of IL-6 gene transcription by nuclear run-on transcription assays indicated a 4-fold higher rate of IL-6 gene transcription in IL-1-treated than in TNF-treated cells. The IL-1-induced IL-6 mRNA has a significantly longer half-life (> 6 h) compared to 30 min for TNF-treated cells. These results suggest that the induction of the IL-6 gene expression in primary human fibroblasts by TNF and IL-1 is differentially regulated at the transcriptional as well as at the post-transcriptional level.


Clinical evaluations of index and control children from the point of view of the clinical interview, observations of the subjects during testing, the subjects' parents, and their teachers were compared. There was general agreement that index children showed more psychopathological symptoms, poorer ego development, poorer interpersonal relations, and poorer use of leisure time than their controls. By contrast, behaviors related to aggression, phobias, shame, sleep pathology, eating disorders, frustration tolerance, sexual behavior, and verbal communication skills failed to show consistent group differences. Index boys showed greater anxiety than their controls, while there were no such differences among the girls. Rearing environment exerted no apparent effect on the psychosocial functioning of the children. Factor analysis disclosed that a general factor, accounting for 32.6 percent of the variance, discriminated between index and control children, while several special factors, which represented rarely seen traits, did not discriminate. Group differences, therefore, appeared to stem from global impairment of psychosocial functioning rather than from several distinct patterns of deficit. The present results are in general agreement with previously reported evaluations of children at risk for schizophrenia.


Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) have been introduced to clinical practice to avoid some limitations associated with the presence of permanent metal prostheses in coronary arteries. Due to elimination of the natural vasomotion of the vessel and flow disturbance, stents impair endothelial function, increasing the risk of adverse events such as late and very late thrombosis or accelerated neoatherosclerosis. Additionally, the presence of metallic stents hinders non-invasive imaging of coronaries and may exclude the possibility of bypass graft anastomosis within the stented segment. The use of fully bioresorbable scaffolds would allow for an effective treatment of coronary lesions while overcoming the limitations related to the prolonged presence of metal prostheses in coronary vessels. After early positive clinical results of BRS implanted in simple lesions in small number of patients, large randomised trials revealed numerous limitations of this technology, with unacceptably high incidence of scaffold thrombosis and myocardial infarction. Nevertheless, the negative results of the studies render the learning curve of interventional cardiologists introducing into clinical practice this novel technology. Optimal stenting technique combined with extensive use of intravascular imaging may contribute to obtaining promising results also in patients with complex stenosis, like thrombotic lesions, bifurcations, chronic total occlusions, long and calcified lesions.


Currently in regional branches of Rostelecom the different networks architectures from access to IP/MPLS core, different approaches of service layer implementation, and finally, the different service models are used. Approaches to unification of service models are based on customer VLAN (C-VLAN) and they have essential advantages in comparison with service VLAN (S-VLAN). Offered unified broadband access service model has passed benchmark testing and currently in commercial operation for 180 thousands GPON subscribers.


Tactile displays have been extensively studied for several decades. However, owing to their bulkiness and stiffness, it has been difficult to integrate these displays with information devices to enable tactile communication between the devices and their users. This paper proposes a novel sheet-type electrovibration tactile display that consists of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate conductive layers and an insulation layer of polydimethylsiloxane. The tactile display is sufficiently thin and flexible for attaching onto various surfaces. In this study, the tactile display was micro-fabricated and characterized through experiments. The experimental results indicated that the tactile display exhibited good durability under bending and that it could present various tactile sensations depending on the type of voltage waveform. In addition, the effect of using a combination of electrovibration and thermal stimuli was also demonstrated. The sheet-type display was attached onto a Peltier element; the thinness of the structure enabled the display to conform to the element and ensure good heat transfer. In the experiment, subjects were asked to scan the display with their fingertips. The results showed that multiple tactile stimuli were also successfully perceived by the subjects.


Automated Teller Machine (ATM's) are devices used for the personal and business financial transactions or banking functions. It can be used without the help of the banking official. The ATM's have become popular among the public for their availability and the user friendliness. Nowadays ATMs are available in many locations such as college, supermarket, gas station, banking center, airport, work location, hotels, and entertainment establishment, having a consistent high volume of user traffic. The existing ATM machine uses the ATM cards for the user access to authenticate their account in order to use the services of the ATM. There are several problems which includes card expiring, cost of maintenance, accessing customer account by others, waiting time before the issuance of the new card, card damaging, card cloning, shoulder surfing attack, skimming attack, eavesdropping attack, guessing attack. This paper presents the prototype for the card-less electronic Automated Teller Machine without the use of the card. The proposed system uses the face recognizer using the HAAR algorithm. Using the help IoT the unauthorized users could be tracked and if there is any mismatch with the authorized users the mail and SMS could be send to the registered users.


Abstract Plant assisted bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil is considered an effective green technology whereby accelerated degradation occurs due to converged effect of microorganisms and plants. However, survival and growth of microbes and plants under stress conditions is challenging task for success of the technology. In this study, plant growth promoting bacteria containing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC)-deaminase activity and tolerance to petroleum hydrocarbon contamination were used in association with alfalfa for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil. Eight pre-isolated bacterial isolates from soil having previous history of petroleum contamination were used in convergence with alfalfa on sand soil which was artificially contaminated (10 g crude oil per kg−1 of coarse textured soil). Combined effect of bacteria and plants on the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons under controlled conditions of light and temperature was observed for a period of 60 days. The results of the study revealed that four bacterial isolates Bacillus subtilis strain PM32Y, Bacillus cereus strain WZ3S1, Bacillus sp. strain SM73 and Bacillus sp. strain WZ3S3 in association with alfalfa significantly degraded petroleum hydrocarbons. The most significant biodegradation (47%) of petroleum hydrocarbons was recorded in the experimental unit receiving PM32Y inoculation in association with alfalfa. Biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons was 33% with alone inoculation (without alfalfa) of PM32Y. The study revealed that combined use of bacteria and alfalfa plant is more efficient than alone application of either bacteria or plants for degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. NOVELTY STATEMENT This study provides the evidence for phytoremediation and significant degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons by using plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), containing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC-deaminase) in association with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). The most significant biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons was recorded with a new combination of Bacillus subtilis strain PM32Y in association with alfalfa.