Personal commitment, or individual's intrinsic attitudes toward the long-term development of the relationship, is known to predict relationship stability, and its capacity to motivate relationship maintenance behaviors likely accounts for these beneficial effects. However, commitment in relationships has been assessed typically as a global dimension, confounding efforts to differentiate it from relationship satisfaction and to evaluate how it might be linked to behaviors relevant for relationship maintenance. To address these shortcomings, the current article presents a brief measure devised specifically to assess a person's motivation to routinely engage in relationship maintenance. Using data from two studies involving Italian (N = 320) and Swiss samples (N = 120), we evaluated the psychometric properties of the scale. The results confirmed a single-factor solution with metric invariance across the two samples for five of six items. Significant associations with reports on positive and negative interpersonal behaviors relevant to relationship maintenance supported the validity of the scale.


An understanding of the determinants of trait variation and the selective forces acting on it in natural populations would give insights into the process of evolution. The combination of long-term studies of individuals living in the wild and better genomic resources for nonmodel organisms makes achieving this goal feasible. This article reports the development of a complete linkage map in a pedigree of free-living Soay sheep on St. Kilda and its application to mapping the loci responsible for three morphological polymorphisms for which the maintenance of variation demands explanation. The map was derived from 251 microsatellite and four allozyme markers and covers 3350 cM (∼90% of the sheep genome) at ∼15-cM intervals. Marker order was consistent with the published sheep map with the exception of one region on chromosome 1 and one on chromosome 12. Coat color maps to chromosome 2 where a strong candidate gene, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1), has also been mapped. Coat pattern maps to chromosome 13, close to the candidate locus Agouti. Horn type maps to chromosome 10, a location similar to that previously identified in domestic sheep. These findings represent an advance in the dissection of the genetic diversity in the wild and provide the foundation for QTL analyses in the study population.


12 Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) are central elements in the regulatory 13 network that controls plant heat stress response. They are involved in multiple 14 transcriptional regulatory pathways and play important roles in heat stress signaling and 15 responses to a variety of other stresses. We identified 41 members of the Hsf gene 16 family in moso bamboo, which were distributed non-uniformly across its 19 17 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the moso bamboo Hsf genes could be 18 divided into three major subfamilies; Hsfs from the same subfamily shared relatively 19 conserved gene structures and sequences and encoded similar amino acids. All Hsf 20 genes contained Hsf signature domains. Subcellular localization prediction indicated 21 that about 80% of the Hsf proteins were located in the nucleus, consistent with the 22 results of GO enrichment analysis. A large number of stress response–associated cis23 regulatory elements were identified in the Hsf upstream promoter sequences. Synteny 24 analysis indicated that the Hsfs in the moso bamboo genome had greater collinearity 25 with those of rice and maize than with those of Arabidopsis and pepper. Numerous 26 segmental duplicates were found in the moso bamboo Hsf gene family. Transcriptome 27 data indicated that the expression of a number of PeHsfs differed in response to 28 exogenous gibberellin (GA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). A number of Hsf genes 29 were highly expressed in the panicles and in young shoots, suggesting that they may 30 have functions in reproductive growth and the early development of rapidly-growing 31 shoots. This study provides fundamental information on members of the bamboo Hsf 32 gene family and lays a foundation for further study of their biological functions in the 33 regulation of plant responses to adversity. 34 35


BACKGROUND Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common cutaneous malignancy in humans, affecting approximately 200,000 people in the United States each year. In immunocompromised patients, squamous cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer, and it also tends to behave more aggressively than in immunocompetent patients. OBJECTIVE We describe an immunocompromised patient, previously treated for a squamous cell carcinoma of the left posterior shoulder, who subsequently developed a cord-like, intraneural metastasis of the spinal accessory nerve. RESULTS The patient presented with a 3-month history of lancinating pain of the left neck and shoulder. He had been treated previously for a squamous cell carcinoma of the left posterior shoulder, which subsequently recurred twice. On examination, a cord-like mass was palpable along the path of the spinal accessory nerve. Given the aggressive nature of this patient's squamous cell carcinoma, surgical exploration was performed. Frozen-section analysis of the spinal accessory nerve and of the multiple supraclavicular nerves revealed perineural and intraneural squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a primary cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the trunk or extremity metastasizing to a cranial nerve.


This article argues that there has been a significant turn in the discourse of feminist politics in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The author suggests that the rise of a new feminism – rooted in Islamic discourse, non-confrontational, privatized and personalized, whose objective is to 'empower' women within Islam – is not a post9/11 development but rather a result of unresolved debates on the issue of religion within the progressive women's movement. It has been due to the accommodation of religion-based feminist arguments by the stronger secular feminist movement of the 1980s that paved the way for its own marginalization by giving feminist legitimacy to such voices. The author argues that the second wave of feminism may have become diluted in its effectiveness and support due to discriminatory religious laws, dictatorship, NGO-ization, fragmentation, co-option by the state and political parties in the same way as the global women's movement has. Yet it has been the internal inconsistency of the political strategies as well as the personal, Muslim identities of secular feminists that have allowed Islamic feminists to redefine the feminist agenda in Pakistan. This article voices the larger concern over the rise of a new generation of Islamic revivalist feminists who seek to rationalize all women's rights within the religious framework and render secular feminism irrelevant while framing the debate on women's rights exclusively around Islamic history, culture and tradition. The danger is that a debate such as this will be premised on a polarized 'good' vs 'bad' Muslim woman, such that women who abide by the liberal interpretation of theology will be pitted against those who follow a strict and literal interpretist mode and associate themselves with male religio-political discourse. This is only likely to produce a new, radicalized, religio-political feminism dominating Pakistan's political


A standard approach to Collaborative Filtering (CF), i.e. prediction of user ratings on items, relies on Matrix Factorization techniques. Representations for both users and items are computed from the observed ratings and used for prediction. Unfortunatly, these transductive approaches cannot handle the case of new users arriving in the system, with no known rating, a problem known as user cold-start. A common approach in this context is to ask these incoming users for a few initialization ratings. This paper presents a model to tackle this twofold problem of (i) finding good questions to ask, (ii) building efficient representations from this small amount of information. The model can also be used in a more standard (warm) context. Our approach is evaluated on the classical CF problem and on the cold-start problem on four different datasets showing its ability to improve baseline performance in both cases.


Play is considered to be important for the development of young children in that it provides a means to expand their interests, promote engagement and learning, and increase social interactions. Children with autism, however, display deficits in play skills, such as lack of pretend play and rigid or stereotyped manners of play. Research suggests supported play techniques, such as reciprocal imitation training, play expansions, and scaffolding increase play skills in children diagnosed with autism. The current study evaluated the effects of a training package to teach staff members supported play techniques to six young children diagnosed with autism. The study employed a concurrent multiple baseline design across two preschool classrooms. The results suggest that the training package successfully increased staff member use of the supported play techniques and child and staff engagement. The training, however, did not have consistent effects on child social engagement (proximity, attending, and initiating) or on the types of child play (simple manipulation, advanced manipulation, and pretend play). Staff member responses to the post-intervention satisfaction and feedback survey were positive and the results are discussed in the context of the observation procedures and directions for future studies.


In a hologram type of compact antenna test range (CATR), the feed horn transmits a spherical wave onto one side of a computer-generated amplitude hologram structure which modulates the field such that a planar wave is emanated on the other side of the structure. The antenna under test (AUT) is illuminated with this plane wave. The extent of the volume enclosing the plane wave is called the quiet-zone. The required field-quality of the quiet-zone is driven by the required measurement accuracy of the AUT. Typical requirements are a peak-to-peak amplitude ripple of less than 1 dB and a peak-to-peak phase ripple of less than 10° in the quiet-zone. The advantage of a hologram is its less stringent surface accuracy requirement than that of a reflector which is the traditional collimating element used in CATRs [1,21 Figure 1 illustrates a facility layout employing a hologram CATR.


Geologic models of hydrocarbon reservoirs facilitate enhanced visualization, volumetric calculation, well planning and prediction of migration path for fluid. In order to obtain new insights and test the mappability of a geologic feature, spectral decomposition techniques i.e. Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT), Maximum Entropy, Hilbert Transform (HT), etc. can be employed. This paper presents the results of the application of DFT and HT to a two dimensional, 50Hz low impedance wedge model, representing typical geologic environment around a prospective hydrocarbon zone. While the DFT represents the frequency and phase spectra of a signal, assumes stationarity and highlights the average properties of its dominant portion, assuming analytical, the HT computes the imaginary part and assumes non-stationarity of the signal. Our algorithm is based on fast Fourier convolution technique. It was developed from first principles and outside oil industry's interpretational platform using standard processing routines such as Matlab, Gnuplot, programs. The results of the algorithm, when implemented on both oil industry (e.g. Kingdom Suite) and general platforms, were comparable. The spectral properties of the wedge model indicate that complex attributes can be utilized as powerful tool in exploration problems to enhance visualization of small scale anomalies and obtain reliable estimates of wavelet and stratigraphic parameters. The practical relevance of this investigation is illustrated by means of cross-sections and maps constructed from the model data. These provide enhanced images of the subtle features of the model and serve as basis for the interpretation of similar geologic situations in field data. Keywords: Discrete Fourier transform, Hilbert transform, Maximum Entropy, Short time Fourier transform, Spectral decomposition


Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have detected many disease associations. However, the reported variants tend to explain small fractions of risk, and there are doubts about issues such as the portability of findings over different ethnic groups or the relative roles of rare versus common variants in the genetic architecture of complex disease. Studying the degree of sharing of disease-associated variants across populations can help in solving these issues. We present a comprehensive survey of GWAS replicability across 28 diseases. Most loci and SNPs discovered in Europeans for these conditions have been extensively replicated using peoples of European and East Asian ancestry, while the replication with individuals of African ancestry is much less common. We found a strong and significant correlation of Odds Ratios across Europeans and East Asians, indicating that underlying causal variants are common and shared between the two ancestries. Moreover, SNPs that failed to replicate in East Asians map into genomic regions where Linkage Disequilibrium patterns differ significantly between populations. Finally, we observed that GWAS with larger sample sizes have detected variants with weaker effects rather than with lower frequencies. Our results indicate that most GWAS results are due to common variants. In addition, the sharing of disease alleles and the high correlation in their effect sizes suggest that most of the underlying causal variants are shared between Europeans and East Asians and that they tend to map close to the associated marker SNPs.


In this paper, the global asymptotic stability is investigated for a class of neutral stochastic neural networks with time-varying delays. Based on Lyapunov stability theory and stochastic analysis approaches, delay-dependent criterion is derived to ensure the global, asymptotic stability of the addressed system in the mean square. The criterion can be checked easily by the LMI Control Toolbox in Matlab. A numerical example is given to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the results.


Classifying the confusing samples in the course of RGBT tracking is a quite challenging problem, which hasn't got satisfied solution. Existing methods only focus on enlarging the boundary between positive and negative samples, however, the structured information of samples might be harmed, e.g., confusing positive samples are closer to the anchor than normal positive samples.To handle this problem, we propose a novel Multi-Modal Multi-Margin Metric Learning framework, named M$^5$L for RGBT tracking in this paper. In particular, we design a multi-margin structured loss to distinguish the confusing samples which play a most critical role in tracking performance boosting. To alleviate this problem, we additionally enlarge the boundaries between confusing positive samples and normal ones, between confusing negative samples and normal ones with predefined margins, by exploiting the structured information of all samples in each modality.Moreover, a cross-modality constraint is employed to reduce the difference between modalities and push positive samples closer to the anchor than negative ones from two modalities.In addition, to achieve quality-aware RGB and thermal feature fusion, we introduce the modality attentions and learn them using a feature fusion module in our network. Extensive experiments on large-scale datasets testify that our framework clearly improves the tracking performance and outperforms the state-of-the-art RGBT trackers.


Chalcogenide glasses based on Ge-Te-Sb are used in the technology of phase change optical memories. A study of non-isothermal crystallization for Ge15.5-xTe84.5Sbx (0.5 <x< 1.5) by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) show two glass transition temperatures followed by two crystallization peaks and melting point at 385°C . The phase separation in crystallization process corresponds to the precipitation of tellurium in the hexagonal form. The crystallization activation energies of tellurium and GeTe have been determined under dynamics conditions using Kissinger's model and the results are 1.8 eV and 2.7 eV, respectively. The agreement between Kissinger's model and Ozawa's model was demonstrated.


We build on Boltanski and Thevenot's theory of justification to account for the ways in which different stakeholder groups actively engage with discourses and objects to maintain the legitimacy of institutions that are relevant to their activity. We use this framework to analyse a controversy emerging from a nuclear accident which involved a large European energy company and sparked public debate on the legitimacy of nuclear power. Based on the findings, we elaborate a process model of institutional repair that explains the role of agents and the structural constraints they face in attempting to maintain legitimacy. The model enhances institutional understandings of legitimacy maintenance in three main respects: it proposes a view of legitimacy maintenance as a controversy-based process progressing through stakeholders' justifications vis-a-vis a public audience; it demonstrates the role of meta-level 'orders of worth' as multiple modalities for agreement which shape stakeholders' public justifications during controversies; and it highlights the capacities that stakeholders deploy in developing robust justifications out of a plurality of forms of agreement.


Anesthetic experience in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with severe hypotension associated autonomic dysfunction has not yet been reported. Here in case, we report on the case of treatment with vasopressin to refractory hypotension in FTD patient. A 54-year-old male presented with a ten-year history of FTD with frequent syncope. The patient was scheduled to undergo subtotal gastrectomy for resection of stomach cancer. During the operation, sudden hypotension occurred and it was refractory to fluid and 1 unit of blood resuscitation and did not respond to catecholamine. Transesophageal echocardiography showed normal heart with adequate volume state. After intravenous administration of arginine vasopressin, the patient's vital signs returned to baseline values. Arginine vasopressin might be considered as a valuable alternative for treatment of severe refractory hypotension in autonomic dysfunction patients with FTD.


Improved patient management must be a priority if we are to reduce the adverse consequences that genital herpes may have on affected individuals and also the contribution this common cause of genital ulceration makes to the transmission of HIV infection. Many patients experience frequently recurring episodes from the life-long infection which follows first episodes. It has long been recognised that psychological factors, such as emotional stress, can trigger recurrences. In addition, it is clear that the diagnosis of herpes brings with it a psychological burden which impinges on normal social and sexual functioning.' 2 Patients feel controlled by the virus and are often afraid to discuss their predicament with partners and friends for fear of derision and rejection.3 To provide effective management of genital herpes, physicians must address both the medical and psychosocial needs of their patients. At the first diagnosis of genital herpes, patients should be educated about the nature, features and transmission of their infection and individually assessed to determine its likely psychosocial impact. Similarly, patients with frequently recurring or severe disease often need additional counselling and support as part of their overall disease management. Effective reassurance and counselling, together with optimal medical management of symptoms, can help to reduce the frequency of recurrences and allow patients relief from the psychological distress of genital herpes.4 5 Clearly, in patients whose quality of life is significantly impaired by frequent recurrences, suppressive treatment with acyclovir can provide effective control of symptoms.6 However, the use of antiviral treatment should be as an adjunct to patient education, counselling and support rather than as a replacement for it. Patient denial, lack of knowledge and inadequate counselling contribute to spread of disease. It is essential that consultations provide sufficient time to counteract these problems. Educational sessions can also help patients with subclinical infection to identify manifestations of recurrences, when the risk of transmission to sexual partners is greatest.7 Both primary care and specialist physicians are involved in managing patients with genital herpes, and depending on the particular health care system in operation, the job of counselling and providing psychological support may fall to the physician or to another trained healthcare professional. Whatever the division of labour between health-care professionals, it is essential that those at the first point of contact with patients do not overlook the psychological needs integral to the disease and its management. In genitourinary medicine clinics, this requirement should be considered as a measure of service quality which has important planning and resource implications. G R KINGHORN Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Glossop Road, Sheffield S10 27J, UK 1 Woolley PD, Kinghorn GR, The psychological aspects of genital herpes. Stress Medicine 1986;2: 193-5. 2 Goldmeier D, Johnson A, Byrne M, Barton S. Psychological implications of recurrent genital herpes simplex virus infection. Genitourin Med 1988;64:527-30. 3 Rose FB, Camp CJ. Genital herpes: how to relieve patients' physical and psychological symptoms. Postgraduate Medicine 1988;84:81-6. 4 Vanderplate C, Aral SO, Magder L. The relationship among genital herpes simplex virus, stress, and social support. Health Psychology 1988;7:159-68. 5 Drob S, Loemer M, Lifshutz H. Genital herpes: the psychological consequences. Br J Med Psychol 1985; 58:307-15. 6 Carney 0, Mindel A, Ikkos G, Williams P. The effects of suppressive oral acyclovir on psychological morbidity in patients with frequently recurring genital herpes. Proc MSSVD May 1990. 7 Langenberg A, Benedetti J, Jenkins J, et al. Development of clinically recognisable genital lesions among women previously identified as having asymptomatic herpes simplex virus type 2 infection. Ann Intern Med 1989; 110:882-7.


The Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation in (1+1) dimensions dynamically develops sharply connected valley structures within which the height derivative is not continuous. We develop a statistical theory for the KPZ equation in (1+1) dimensions driven with a random forcing that is white in time and Gaussian-correlated in space. A master equation is derived for the joint probability density function of height difference and height gradient P(h-h*, partial differential(x)h,t) when the forcing correlation length is much smaller than the system size and much larger than the typical sharp valley width. In the time scales before the creation of the sharp valleys, we find the exact generating function of h-h* and partial differential(x)h. The time scale of the sharp valley formation is expressed in terms of the force characteristics. In the stationary state, when the sharp valleys are fully developed, finite-size corrections to the scaling laws of the structure functions left angle bracket(h-h*)(n)(partial differential(x)h)(m)right angle bracket are also obtained.


In this paper two eigenfilter techniques are described for designing far-field broadband beamformers with an arbitrary spatial directivity pattern. For both techniques the resulting filter is the generalised eigenvector corresponding to the minimum generalised eigenvalue of two real, symmetric and positive definite matrices. Inthe conventional eigenfiltertechnique areference point isneeded, while in the eigenfilter technique based on a TLS (Total Least Squares) error criterion, this reference point is not needed. It is shown that linear constraints are easily incorporated into the design procedure. Both eigenfilter techniques are compared to the weighted least-squares filter design technique.


School climate is a situation formed by a relationship between the principal and teachers, teachers and teachers, teachers and staffs, teachers and students or relationships among students that characterizes a school and distinguishes a school from others.  School climate might influence and determine the success of teaching and learning process at schools.  The school climate consists of at least four dimensions, namely dimension of relationship, personal growth/development, system maintenance and change, and dimension of physical environment.  Based on the studies done in several countries, school climate can be a variable influencing other variables, such as learning achievement, behavior and teacher job satisfaction, teacher work motivation, teacher morale, teacher creativity, teacher work performance, and teacher discipline. So, when the school principal wants to improve those practices, he or she has to make better school climate through common stages namely preliminary assessment, feedback, reflection and discussion, intervention, and finally reassessment.


Background There has been no report on the clinical features or natural history of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in the Korean adult population. This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of AIHA in the Korean adults. Methods Patients newly diagnosed with AIHA between January 1994 and December 2010 at Chungnam National University Hospital were enrolled. Patient characteristics at diagnosis, response to treatment, and the natural course of the disease were documented. Results Thirty-two patients (31 females and 1 male) with a median age of 48 years (range, 17-86) were enrolled. Of these, 21.9% were initially diagnosed with secondary AIHA. Thirteen patients (40.6%) were initially diagnosed with Evans' syndrome. Of the 29 patients who were placed on therapy, 27 (93.1%) showed a partial response or better. Nevertheless, 1 year after initiating treatment, 80% of the patients were still treatment-dependent. During follow-up (median length 14 months; range, 0.5-238), 14 of 25 patients (56.0%) who were initially diagnosed with primary warm antibody AIHA were found to have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Median time to conversion to SLE was 8.0 months (95% CI, 4.3-11.7), and the probabilities of conversion at 12 and 24 months were 63% and 91%, respectively. Younger age (<60 years) and a positive fluorescent anti-nuclear antibody test were associated with a higher probability of SLE conversion (P=0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). Conclusion Primary AIHA is rare. Regular, vigilant testing for SLE is required in patients initially diagnosed with AIHA.


Abstract This article investigates the possibilities of a vocational pedagogy for undergraduate popular music education which is grounded in site and city. The value of work-integrated curricula in tertiary music environments is well established; however, often absent from such discussions is consideration of how geospatial contexts mediate the opportunities and resources available to universities. In response, we provide a critical comparison of how work-integrated learning (WIL) has been developed in two undergraduate popular music degrees in Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. Through comparison, we consider how the geographic locations of both programmes have shaped WIL, as well as identifying the specific economic, cultural and political tensions that emerge.


Each and every organization want to reach to peak as soon as possible, to have more market shares, satisfied employees, to attract more customers and have low percentage of product damage and wastage. These all are possible when organization forgot traditional business approaches to utilize their employee and using new ways to involve their employees in business operations. This study should shed some light on the importance of involving employees and role of managers in involving employee and its outcomes for organization. The study should be useful especially to professionals in Communication and human resource fields or anyone else who want to know importance of involving employees.


The interest of application of liquid membrane (pertraction) processes for recovery of medicinal compounds from dilute ammoniacal leach solutions is demonstrated. Selectivity of the liquid membrane ensures a preferential transport of the desired solute from the native extract into the strip solution, vinblastine was successfully extracted from basic media (pH 9.2) and stripped by acidic media of sulfuric acid (pH= 1.3) applying continuous pertraction in a rotating discs contactor and using n-decane as liquid membrane. Transport of vinblastine in three-liquid-phase system was studied and performed by means of a kinetic model involving two consecutive irreversible first-order reactions. The kinetic parameters (apparent rate constants of the vinblastine extraction and re-extraction reactions (K1, K2), the maximum fraction of the vinblastine in the liquid membrane (XS.Max) and the time when this maximum is reached (TMax)) were calculated. Solute transfer into the LM is mainly diffusion-controlled.


Post-Election Thinking Romesh Thapar THE reverberations of the recent elections are going to be felt for some time. At the moment, the reaction is amusing. The so-called situation- watchers are baffled that the Congress party has done so well in these wretched times, particularly in Orissa. As tor the Congress chieftains, they had given up Orissa for lost and concentrated on Uttar Pradesh; the UP result, considering the input of time, talent and finance, has proved very disappointing. All in all, Indira Gandhi can still pull the votes, but the magnet is beginning to lose its power.


In many parts of the humid Tropics, slash and burn shifting cultivation, incorporating a fallow phase, is the most common farming method, encompassing a broad diversity of techniques. The ecological productivity and sustainability of such systems depend upon the crop:fallow time ratio. Farmers often have biophysical criteria by which to match parcels to cropping systems and decide, for example, when to recultivate a fallow. In this paper, we collate reports of indicators used by farmers to aid in fallow choice from across the agronomic, forestry, ecological, and anthropological literature. We found 27 examples of farmers using such biophysical indicators. Examples found were from eight countries across West and Central Africa. The literature review showed that farmers rank fallow age usually first, followed by vegetation composition, the presence of indicator plants, and earthworm casts. 53 indicator plant species were identified across the region of which 37 were said to indicate soil fertility, 13 soil infertility and 3 either fertility or infertility, depending on their growth characteristics. The most exhaustive lists of indicator plants were reported from southern Cameroon, the Ashante region of Ghana and south west Nigeria. Chromolaena odorata was the most frequently mentioned plant indicator species. The trees Triplochiton scleroxylon and Terminalia superba and the grass were each mentioned, generally as soil fertility indicators, in three areas. Other species mentioned multiple times were Aframomum sp., Andropogon gayanus, Ceiba pentandra, Milicia excelsa, Triumfetta cordifolia and Trema guineensis. Farmers in West and Central Africa have identified indicators for selecting which fallow plots to recultivate. Fallow age, vegetation composition, the presence of indicator plants, particularly C. odorata, and earthworm casts all have some logical scientific basis and farmers observations are supported by the results of scientific studies. There is a lack of documentation of farmers' knowledge and more studies should be conducted. Such knowledge should form the foundation of any suggested interventions in farming systems in the region and provide information to farmers in communities where such knowledge is not currently applied. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND


THE enormous development in the use of rectifiers for the electrolytic reduction of light metals has been an outstanding development of World War II. One important problem in this rectifier development has been the performance at the time of rectifier arc-back. Currents of between 50,000 to 100,000 amperes maybe encountered on an individual rectifier and associated transformer. Still higher currents would obtain if back feed from other units on the same bus were not eliminated by prompt isolation from the circuit or d-c bus.


Foreword Nancy Farriss Preface Part I. Toward an anthropology of things: 1. Introduction: commodities and the politics of value Arjun Appadurai 2. The cultural biography of things: commoditization as process Igor Kopytoff Part II. Exchange, Consumption, and Display: 3. Two kinds of value in the Eastern Solomon Islands William H. Davenport 4. Newcomers to the world of goods: consumption among the Muria Gonds Alfred Gell Part III. Prestige, Commemoration, and Value: 5. Varna and the emergence of wealth in prehistoric Europe Colin Renfrew 6. Sacred commodities: the circulation of medieval relics Patrick Geary Part IV. Production Regimes and the Sociology of Demand: 7. Weavers and dealers: the authenticity of an oriental carpet Brian Spooner 8. Qat: changes in the production and consumption of a quasilegal commodity in northeast Africa Lee V. Cassanelli Part V. Historical Transformations and Commodity Codes: 9. The structure of a cultural crisis: thinking about cloth in France before and after the Revolution William M. Reddy 10. The origins of swadeshi (home industry): cloth and Indian society, 1700-1930 C. A. Bayly Index.


The difficulty of deterministic planning increases exponentially with search-tree depth. Black-box planning presents an even greater challenge, since planners must operate without an explicit model of the domain. Heuristics can make search more efficient, but goal-aware heuristics for black-box planning usually rely on goal counting, which is often quite uninformative. In this work, we show how to overcome this limitation by discovering macro-actions that make the goal-count heuristic more accurate. Our approach searches for macro-actions with focused effects (i.e. macros that modify only a small number of state variables), which align well with the assumptions made by the goal-count heuristic. Focused macros dramatically improve black-box planning efficiency across a wide range of planning domains, sometimes beating even state-of-the-art planners with access to a full domain model.


This paper asks how undergraduate engineering education supports students' ethical development, broadly defined, in a diverse sample of U.S. engineering schools and offers an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of those efforts. The paper draws on observational case studies that were based on site visits to undergraduate mechanical and electrical engineering programs at seven universities or engineering schools in the U.S. It begins by proposing professional codes of ethics in engineering as a useful framework for thinking about the goals for student learning in the area of ethics and professional responsibility. The paper then discusses how and to what degree these goals are being addressed in the case study schools, with additional context provided through reference to published research in the field. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening the teaching of engineering ethics and professional responsibility.


Multidrug-resistant (MDR) N. gonorrhoeae is a current public health threat. New therapies are urgently needed. PBT2 is an ionophore that disrupts metal homeostasis. PBT2 administered with zinc is shown to reverse resistance to antibiotics in several bacterial pathogens. Here we show that both N. meningitidis and MDR N. gonorrhoeae are sensitive to killing by PBT2 alone. PBT2 is, thus, a candidate therapeutic for MDR N. gonorrhoeae infections. ABSTRACT Multidrug-resistant (MDR) N. gonorrhoeae is a current public health threat. New therapies are urgently needed. PBT2 is an ionophore that disrupts metal homeostasis. PBT2 administered with zinc is shown to reverse resistance to antibiotics in several bacterial pathogens. Here we show that both N. meningitidis and MDR N. gonorrhoeae are sensitive to killing by PBT2 alone. PBT2 is, thus, a candidate therapeutic for MDR N. gonorrhoeae infections.


The saltatory movement of intracellular particles in the living water-mold cells was observed in vivo.The number of stops in saltatory movements of intracellular particles was quantitatively measured. The average velocities before and after the stop were quantitatively compared. The experimental results are explained with the theory of active movement of intracellular particles in the living cells.


Large model size and high computational complexity prevent the neural machine translation (NMT) models from being deployed to low resource devices (e.g. mobile phones). Due to the large vocabulary, a large storage memory is required for the word embedding matrix in NMT models, in the meantime, high latency is introduced when constructing the word probability distribution. Based on reusing the word embedding matrix in the softmax layer, it is possible to handle the two problems brought by large vocabulary at the same time. In this paper, we propose Partial Vector Quantization (P-VQ) for NMT models, which can both compress the word embedding matrix and accelerate word probability prediction in the softmax layer. With P-VQ, the word embedding matrix is split into two low dimensional matrices, namely the shared part and the exclusive part. We compress the shared part by vector quantization and leave the exclusive part unchanged to maintain the uniqueness of each word. For acceleration, in the softmax layer, we replace most of the multiplication operations with the efficient looking-up operations based on our compression to reduce the computational complexity. Furthermore, we adopt curriculum learning and compact the word embedding matrix gradually to improve the compression quality. Experimental results on the Chinese-to-English translation task show that our method can reduce 74.35% of parameters of the word embedding and 74.42% of the FLOPs of the softmax layer. Meanwhile, the average BLEU score on the WMT test sets only drops 0.04.


We assess a model of late cosmic reionization in which the ionizing background radiation arises entirely from high-redshift quasars and other active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The low optical depth to Thomson scattering reported by the Planck Collaboration pushes the redshift of instantaneous reionization down to z = 8.8 − 1.4 + 1.7 ?> and greatly reduces the need for significant Lyman-continuum emission at very early times. We show that if recent claims of a numerous population of faint AGNs at z = 4–6 are upheld and the high inferred AGN comoving emissivity at these epochs persists to higher, z ≳ 10, redshifts, then active galaxies may drive the reionization of hydrogen and helium with little contribution from normal star-forming galaxies. We discuss an AGN-dominated scenario that satisfies a number of observational constraints: the H i photoionization rate is relatively flat over the range 2 < z < 5, hydrogen gets fully reionized by z ≃ 5.7, and the integrated Thomson scattering optical depth is τ ≃ 0.056, in agreement with measurements based on the Lyα opacity of the intergalactic medium (IGM) and cosmic microwave background polarization. It is a prediction of the model that helium gets doubly reionized before redshift 4, the heat input from helium reionization dominates the thermal balance of the IGM after hydrogen reionization, and z > 5 AGNs provide a significant fraction of the unresolved X-ray background at 2 keV. Singly and doubly ionized helium contribute about 13% to τ, and the He iii volume fraction is already 50% when hydrogen becomes fully reionized.


Muscle regeneration depends on satellite cells (SCs), quiescent precursors that, in consequence of injury or in pathological states such as muscular dystrophies, activate, proliferate, and differentiate to repair the damaged tissue. A subset of SCs undergoes self‐renewal, thus preserving the SC pool and its regenerative potential. Unacylated ghrelin (UnAG) is a circulating hormone that protects muscle from atrophy, promotes myoblast differentiation, and enhances ischemia‐induced muscle regeneration. Here we show that UnAG increases SC activity and stimulates Par polarity complex/p38‐mediated asymmetric division, fostering both SC self‐renewal and myoblast differentiation. Because of those activities on different steps of muscle regeneration, we hypothesized a beneficial effect of UnAG in mdx dystrophic mice, in which the absence of dystrophin leads to chronic muscle degeneration, defective muscle regeneration, fibrosis, and, at later stages of the pathology, SC pool exhaustion. Upregulation of UnAG levels in mdx mice reduces muscle degeneration, improves muscle function, and increases dystrophin‐null SC self‐renewal, maintaining the SC pool. Our results suggest that UnAG has significant therapeutic potential for preserving the muscles in dystrophies. Stem Cells 2017;35:1733–1746


P IRs were first identified by Hayami et al1 during a search for mouse orthologs of the Fc receptor for immunoglobulin A (IgA). PIR-A and PIR-B are not IgA receptors, but have since been characterized as orthologs of the human leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptors (LILRs); PIR-B has 6 Ig-like domains and 4 immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs), binds to MHC class I ligands, and typically serves to diminish cellular activation.2,3 The finding that eosinophils express PIR-B is in and of itself not particularly surprising, as PIR-B has already been detected on the surface of mast cells, macrophages, and neutrophils. Similarly unsurprising is the finding that eosinophils isolated from PIR-B gene-deleted mice are effectively "unleashed," and display augmented responses to the chemoattractant eotaxin-1 both in vitro and in vivo. However, rather more remarkable are the observations that eosinophils (and neutrophils) from the same PIR-B gene-deleted mice display diminished responses to the stimulatory ligand LTB4, and that eosinophil accumulation is reduced in response to chitin and thioglycolate, both stimuli that elicit chemotaxis at least in part based on responses to LTB4. The first question is, of course: what are the molecular mechanisms underlying this original and unexpected finding? Moreover, how does a molecule with consensusinhibitory motifs turn around and effectively augment specific cellular inflammatory responses? Is this unusual response unique to the LTB4-BLT1 ligand-receptor pair? In other words, might the PIR-B gene deletion or PIR-B functional blockade have a unique and unexpected impact on BLT1 receptor expression and/or its signal transduction response? Furthermore, there have been no published reports addressing the expression of the paired activating receptor PIR-A in mouse eosinophils, nor is there any information available on the role of PIR-A in modulating the responses of wild-type and/or PIR-B gene-deleted eosinophils to specific inflammatory stimuli. In summary, Munitz and colleagues present an intriguing and unexpected finding, one that will certainly unleash our intellectual inhibitions as we continue to explore the role of eosinophils together with this class of immunomodulatory cell-surface receptors. Acknowledgment: Ongoing work in Dr Rosenberg's laboratory is supported by the NIAID Division of Intramural Research. Please address all correspondence to Dr Rosenberg at firstname.lastname@example.com. Conflict-of-interest disclosure: The author declares no competing financial interests. ■


Classification of textual documents (text classification) is one is one of the disciplines of Natural Language Processing (NLP) which is usually use a machine learning technique to performs. The goal of classifying text is to assign one or more classes or categories to a document, making it easier to manage and sort. In this study, there are two main issues to be studied, the first is how to reduce the attributes in the text document using text summarization and the second is to analyze the effectiveness of using this methods. In order to see the impact of using document summarization methods on the accuracy of the classification process, two approaches were used in this research. The first approach is the classification process without the automatic document summarization method and the second approach is the classification process using the automatic document summarization method. The results of the two approaches are compared to find out whether the use of the automatic document summarization method is useful as a feature reduction method so that it can improve the accuracy of the classification process. From the experiment, it can be conclude that there is a significant increase in accuracy, from 72.22% to 83.33%, which is equal to 11%. This means that using automatic document summarization methods as an attributes reduction can improve classification accuracy using Support Vector Machine.


Background Despite being widely accepted by Brazilians Rheumatologists there are significant barriers to implementation of Treat to Target (T2T) recommendations. Objectives to evaluate acceptance by RA patients of these recommendations as well as their knowledge of their disease and its treatment. Methods Twelve rheumatologists from 11 reference hospitals distributed throught all regions of Brazil participated in this study. A structured questionnaire with 27 questions (17 "Yes, No, Maybe") questions and 17 multiple choice) was developed based on the fundamentals of T2T recommendations and presented to randomly selected RA patients, subjects of this survey. Student's T and chi square tests were used; p<0.05 considered significant. Results 230 RA patients answered the questionnaire: 90.1% female, mean age(SD)=52(SD12)yrs, disease duration=11(8)yrs. Most patients were under traditional DMARDs treatment (96%) vs. 27.5% on biologicals (p<0.01). Public health system cared for 77% of the patients; 45% were at the grade IV of Graffar scale (p=0.001);. mean years of study=8(5.2)yrs. The majority would like to share treatment decision with their doctors (95%) and to be aware of treatment goals (98% = highest concordance) and strategies (94%). Sixty-five percent of the patients search for more information on RA but 93% would like to obtain more information from the medical staff. In agreement with the patients need for more information, the concepts of disease activity and remission were not completely understood with no predominant answer to the respective multiple choice questions). Interestingly, fatigue was considered important either as manifestation of disease activity or as an important symptom by few (<4%) patients. The above answers suffered no influence of disease duration, instruction degree and use of public or private medical care. Most patients are not familiar with biological treatments (52%), particularly if attended by the public system (p=0.01). Monthly visits until achieving remission status were well accepted (86%), -less by private patients -66.7% - and justified by better control of disease activity; joint counting examination was considered relevant (90%) at each visit (71%). Conclusions RA patients are eager to know more about their disease, treatment options and goals as well as to share treatment decisions. Specific barriers to T2T, such as too frequent visits, were not identified. Meaningful differences related to disease duration, study years or public vs. private medical care were not observed. Unfortunately, many patients are still unaware of medications and treatment strategies; educational programs and effective communications between doctors and patients are a serious unmet need in Brazil. References Boulos Haraoui et al. Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis to Target:multinational recommendations assessment questionnaire. Ann Rheum Dis 2011, 70:891. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Experiences are described about the hemostasis in parenchymatous organs by means of a self-constructed hot air coagulator. Bleedings in liver, spleen, and kidney were caused experimentally in 15 dogs. A certain control of hemorrhage were carried out by hot air. The own hot air coagulator was superior to other coagulators by the little weight and the fast and noiseless working.


Achieving the room-temperature self-healing of polymer materials with mechanically robust and tough features is a challenging project due to their conflicting attributes. Herein, a novel design concept of dynamic but mechanically robust and tough polymer networks was proposed derived from dynamic diselenide bonds and dual H-bonds, in which flexible fluorinated siloxane units and H-bonded urethane and urea groups are embedded simultaneously. Through adjustment of the mass fraction of fluorinated siloxane units incorporated, waterborne polyurethanes with good mechanical performances (tensile strength: 16.31 MPa; toughness: 69.8 MJ m−3) could be constructed. Meanwhile, this optimized sample could also be healed at room-temperature within 2 h under visible light. Therefore, the fast room-temperature self-healing of our elaborated polymers with mechanically robust and tough features is achieved, which has never been achieved for the contemporary polymer materials. The reconstruction of dual H-bonding interactions of urethane and urea moieties is responsible for the prophase healing after reconnecting the fracture surfaces, and macromolecular chains containing fluorinated siloxane units with excellent flexibility could promote the visible-light-triggered diselenide metathesis in a highly efficient manner subsequently. Moreover, much improved water resistance properties could also be achieved. The elaborated strategy will provide inspiration for developing mechanically robust and tough water-dispersed polymer materials with fast room-temperature self-repairing performance and desirable water resistance properties, which are of vital importance to the next generation of smart materials.


ABSTRACT. Sixty‐seven children who were hospitalized with a verified RSV infection were reexamined after 4 years at the age of 4 to 7 years. Twenty‐four children had had no subsequent respiratory symptoms, 22 had wheezed 1–3 times and 21 had recurrent wheezing. A family history of atopy and a personal history of neonatal respiratory problems were more common in the group with recurrent wheezing, whereas paternal smoking was more frequent in the group with occasional wheezing. RSV infection in early infancy was more related to occasional wheezing than recurrent episodes. The spirometric data obtained from the forced expirograms were normal, compared to the predicted normal values. In the children with recurrent wheezing, however, the values for PEF and the MEF25 were significantly lower in comparison with all the other children showing a mild obstruction.


Objective: To determine the levels of knowledge, attitudes and practices towards Covid-19 among residents of the Plateau Boyoma neighborhood.
Methods: A questionnaire was designed and a cross- sectional survey was carried out among 214 households in the Plateau Boyoma district between September 27 and October 27, 2020. Participants were questioned on knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the COVID-19. The data was analyzed by SPSS.
Results: The majority of respondents were males aged 39 to 45 years. Most of the participants had higher education (68.7%). The main sources of information on COVID-19 were radio and television. The majority of respondents had a positive attitude towards complying with government infection control measures, 43.9% said they frequently wash their hands with soap and water, cover their mouth and their skin, respectively nose when coughing or sneezing. However, household concern about COVID-19 is very great. In this study, the surveys had a high level of knowledge about COVID-19 and adapted attitudes towards this disease. However, community health campaigns are necessary to have optimistic attitudes and practice appropriate intervention measures without misconceptions.


Introduction: Oral and dental health form an integral part of complete well being of an individual and society at large. Promoting oral health and societal progression go hand in hand. Aim: To investigate dentists' attitudes about pain and infection control while treating children and adolescents by assessing their recommendations of pre- and postoperative analgesics and antibiotics, and use of local anesthesia (LA) for definitive treatment in different clinical scenarios. Materials and Method: A total of 400 dentists, both general dental practitioners (GDPS) as well as specialist dentists, were surveyed over a period of 2 months by using a pre-tested close-ended questionnaire. The data was statistically analyzed using Pearson's Chi-square test and backward logistic regression analysis for analysis of categorical variables and independent variables, respectively. Level of significance was set at 5%. Results: It was found that there was a gross overuse of antibiotics and analgesics and under use of LA by GDPs compared to specialist dentists. Postoperative antibiotics and analgesics were used more commonly than preoperative antibiotics and analgesics. These strategies were used more often in permanent teeth than primary teeth except the use of LA, which was used with equal frequency in both primary as well as permanent dentition. Conclusion: Dependence on antibiotics and analgesics for achieving pain and infection control in children has to be minimized and focus has to be shifted on judicious definitive treatment involving use of LA, aseptic techniques, and behavior management techniques.


Abstract.
 Retention of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., bolls and squares (referred to as fruit retention), boll damage, and resulting lint and seed weight loss were assessed when two (2010) and three (2011) age classes of sympodial fruiting branches with different ages of squares and bolls where exposed to verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus Distant (Hemiptera: Miridae), in cages in the field. An increasing trend was observed in fruit retention from the youngest to the oldest branch age treatment for both years, and the effect was primarily determined by the age of the fruiting body. Low fruit retention (<20%) was seen in young bolls <7 days old in the first two fruiting positions from the main stem compared with >80% retention in checks not exposed to verde plant bug. In infested cages, fruit retention of young bolls was significantly less (P = 0.016) than older bolls and squares 2–3 days before bloom or younger. Similar to fruit retention results, damage of harvested bolls and lint and seed weight (using zero for abscised fruit) differed among the age of the fruiting body primarily for fruiting positions one (2010 and 2011) and two (2011) (P < 0.0001). The first two fruiting positions were the main contributors to plant productivity differences in lint and seed weight. Overall, verde plant bugs given a feeding choice reduced fruit retention in young bolls <7 days old, damaged retained bolls <11 days old, and larger bolls and young squares at least 2–3 days from bloom incurred significantly less abscission and damage. These results supported the interpretation that less fruit retention and more damage of young bolls justified a focus on protecting young bolls in a pest management program, especially during early to peak bloom when young bolls are abundant.


Using radioimmunoassay of human melanotropic hormone (beta-MSH), were studied in one female patient with Nelson's syndrome the properties of the immunoreactive beta-MSH (beta-MSH-IR) secreted in the circulation in vitro by a pituitary adenoma. With Sephadex G-50 gel, beta-MSH-IR of plasma or from a culture mediium is eluted in greater part in a volume corresponding to a molecular weight of some 6,000 to 10,000. In the radioimmunological systems employed, the dilution curve of beta-MSH-IR in a culture medium is not parallel to that of synthetic human beta-MSH; by contrast, it is parallel to that a lipotropine, purified human beta-LPH.


In many urban areas where traffic congestion does not have the peak pattern, conventional traffic signal timing methods does not result in an efficient control. One alternative is to let traffic signal controllers learn how to adjust the lights based on the traffic situation. However this creates a classical non-stationary environment since each controller is adapting to the changes caused by other controllers. In multi-agent learning this is likely to be inefficient and computationally challenging, i.e., the efficiency decreases with the increase in the number of agents (controllers). In this paper, we model a relatively large traffic network as a multi-agent system and use techniques from multi-agent reinforcement learning. In particular, Q-learning is employed, where the average queue length in approaching links is used to estimate states. A parametric representation of the action space has made the method extendable to different types of intersection. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed Q-learning outperformed the fixed time method under different traffic demands.


We present a new approach to performing program analysis through profile-guided random generation of instruction traces. Using hardware support available in commercial processors, we profile the behavior of individual instructions. Then, in conjunction with the program binary, we use that information to fabricate short (1,000-instruction) traces by randomly evaluating branches in proportion to their profiled behavior. We demonstrate our technique in the context of critical path analysis, showing it can achieve the same accuracy as a hardware critical path predictor, but with lower hardware requirements. Key to achieving this accuracy is correctly identifying memory dependences in the fabricated trace, for which purpose we use a form of abstract interpretation to identify aliasing store-load pairs without explicitly profiling them. We also demonstrate that our approach is very tolerant of the quality of profile information available.


Electroluminescent properties of thin silicon-rich oxide (SRO) films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) were studied. The gas flow ratio Ro = N2O/SiH4 was changed to obtain different silicon concentrations within the SRO films. After deposition, SRO films were thermally annealed at 1100ºC for 3h in N2 atmosphere in order to create silicon nanoparticles (Si-nps). Simple capacitive structures like Polysilicon/SRO/n-Si were used for the study. These light emitting capacitors (LECs) show intense blue (~466) and red EL (~685) at room temperature depending on the silicon excess within the SRO films. Electroluminescence in these LECs is obtained at direct current (DC) at both forward and reverse bias conditions. Nevertheless, a stronger whole area EL is obtained when devices are forwardly biased.


A facile five step synthesis of N-benzyl-2,3-substituted morpholines (i-iii) was performed. The key steps were microwave assisted Friedel-crafts acylation and diol cyclization carried out via an ultra sonication of Mitsunobu reaction using DEAD (diethylazodicarboxylate), TPP in THF for 1 h. The morpholine products were generated as diasteriomers (ii andiii) which has been separated by the column chromatography to good yield. The structure of compounds (i-iii) has been characterized by the spectral and chemical studies.


Rhizobia form nodules on legume roots in which they carry out biological nitrogen fixation. The location and number of nodules is tightly regulated. Exchange of signal molecules that activate responses in the symbiotic partner takes place: plant flavonoids induce the production of rhizobial Nod factors; Nod factors induce gene expression and morphogenesis in the legume root. ENOD40 is a plant gene induced by Nod factors that is involved in root nodule formation. ENOD40 encodes a peptide of 12 amino acids in soya bean that can induce tolerance of high auxin concentrations in tobacco protoplasts.


Women's perceptions of their environment in two remote communities (Monxhill and Butmas, in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu) were explored, as their perception is though to guide their involvement in environmental education. Qualitative insights from participatory fieldwork, using ranking exercise, community resource mapping and perception activities, showed that women of Monxhill see the forest as a place to live, to know and to learn about, to plan for and to take care of. In turn, women of Butmas see it as a resource, which has to be managed in order to provide the communities with food, materials and medicines; however, they also see it as a problem, which has to be solved. Furthermore, this research showed that these women are a key actors in community environmental education.


Measurements of propagation time or phase of a signal at two frequencies enable us to eliminate the first ionospheric correction and improve accuracy of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) from tens of meters to centimetres. This paper explores possibilities of eliminating higher-order ionospheric errors in going to measurements at more frequencies. It is shown that the second-order correction, associated with the geomagnetic field effect on the refractive index, may be taken into account already in dual-frequency measurements. Further improvement of accuracy in the triple-frequency GNSS in view of phase scintillations is complicated by diffraction effects.


Aim: RACK1 is a multifunctional scaffolding protein that is expressed in many cellular compartments, orchestrating a number of signaling processes. RACK1 acts as a signaling hub to localize active enzymes to discrete locations; therefore tight control of RACK1 is vital to cellular homeostasis. Our aim was to identify the mechanisms responsible for RACK1 turnover and show that degradation is directed by the ubiquitin proteasome system. Results: Using siRNA screening, we identified RAB40C as the ubiquitin E3 ligase responsible for ubiquitination of RACK1, and that the action of RAB40C in controlling RACK1 levels is crucial to both cancer cell growth and migration of T cells. Conclusion: Our data suggest that manipulation of RACK1 levels in this way may provide a novel strategy to explore RACK1 function.


An efficient method to precipitate and refine cellulose from ionic liquids (ILs) using compressed CO2 as a gas anti-solvent was proposed. 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([Bmim]OAc) was used as the solvent of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The yield and degree of polymerization (DP) value of the regenerated cellulose can be finely tuned by controlling the temperature, pressure, reaction time and addition of aprotic polar solvents. For gaining a better understanding of the possible cellulose precipitation mechanism, the possible carboxylation reaction, volume expansion and solvatochromic parameters of the solution caused by compressed CO2 were investigated. The solvent strength of the system can be adjusted by the pressure and temperature of CO2. The regenerated cellulose samples from [Bmim]OAc by addition of different anti-solvents were characterized by solid-state cross-polarization/magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) 13C NMR, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, the energy consumption analysis during the anti-solvent process was discussed. The precipitation and staged bio-refining of cellulose from IL is easy, sustainable and cost-efficient.


This article treats the place of "justification" within the soteriology of Galatians. Galatians appears to lack some elements in other literature, including Pauline letters (esp. Romans), that cue one to read justification's conceptual backdrop as a legal-theological one of forgiveness or divine approbation in view of one's sin. More dominant are images of conflict between God and inimical powers. Some have thus argued that the soteriology of Galatians is incompatible with legal readings of justification, seeing instead a battle between God and cosmic powers replacing a divine courtroom. Building on recent research, this article argues first that the legal conceptualization of justification is itself one of conflict in Jewish and Pauline contexts. Second, it sketches the place of humans, "anti-God powers," and the redemptive act within the conflict as portrayed in Galatians. It concludes that the legal and conflict images are complementary and that the latter offers a framework in which the former is implied.


This paper deals with the time delay problem in the context of pose based teleoperation using the wave variable approach. Motivated by the problem of performance degradation with increased delays in wave based teleoperation, the paper explores the use of a wave based Kalman predictor to enhance the system performance and robustness. The resulting performance of the teleoperation system in the presence of varying delays is illustrated by simulation studies.


Bovine respiratory diseases (BRD) are associated with various predisposing factors, such as physical and physiological stress factors, and bacterial and viral pathogens. These stressors and viruses suppress immune defenses, leading to bacterial growth in the upper respiratory tract and invasion of pathogens into the lower respiratory tract. Therefore, continuous monitoring of the causative pathogens would contribute to the early detection of BRD. Nasal swabs and sera from 63 clinically healthy calves were continuously collected from seven farms in Iwate prefecture from 2019 to 2021. We attempted to monitor dynamics of BRD-associated pathogens by multiplex real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) using their nasal swab samples. In addition, we attempted to monitor fluctuation of antibody titers against each BRD-associated pathogen by virus neutralization test (VNT) using their sera. In contrast, nasal swabs from 89 calves infected with BRD were collected from 28 farms in Iwate prefecture from 2019 to 2021. We attempted to analyze their nasal swab samples by multiplex RT-qPCR aim to detect BRD-associated pathogens that are dominant in this region. As a result, our analyses using samples from clinically healthy calves showed that positive results by multiplex RT-qPCR were closely related to a significant increase of antibody titers by VNT in bovine coronavirus (BCoV), bovine torovirus (BToV), and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). In addition, our data exhibited that BCoV, BToV, BRSV, bovine parainfluenza virus 3, and Mycoplasma bovis have been more frequently detected in calves infected with BRD compared to those detected in clinically healthy calves. Moreover, the data presented herein revealed co-infections by combination multiple viral pathogens with bacterial pathogens are closely involved in the onset of BRD. Taken together, our study demonstrates multiplex RT-qPCR which can simultaneously analyze multiple pathogens, including viruses and bacteria, and is useful for the early detection of BRD.


We report new observations of _> 15 MeV/nuc trapped heavy ions with Z_> 2, made on the polar-orbiting SAMPEX spacecraft in late 1992 and early 1993. A trapped population that includes He, N, O, and Ne is found to be located at L -- 2. We conclude that the observed N, O, and Ne ions are "anomalous" cosmic rays, trapped by the mechanism proposed by Blake and Friesen. While it is not expected that this mechanism would also trap anomalous He, the characteristics of the trapped He population are generally consistent with those of N, O, and Ne.


Drug users have a higher incidence of colonization with Staphylococcus aureus than does the general population, and, as a result, they are at increased risk of infection with their colonizing strain. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of drug-use risk networks in S. aureus transmission, the similarity of S. aureus isolates within these networks, and the possible role of inhalation drug use paraphernalia in the transmission of S. aureus. Strains of S. aureus are shared among colonized inhalation drug users within drug-use risk networks. It suggests that patterns of drug use and the geographic location where drug sharing occurs are major contributors to the transfer of staphylococci and, as a result, to the high prevalence of staphylococcal colonization and perhaps disease in this population.


Background: In the patients with chronic liver disease chronic increase in serum transaminases may remain of undetermined cause despite thorough investigations. Celiac disease (non tropical sprue) has been reported as one of the causes of elevated levels of serum transaminases. The aim of this cross sectional study was to evaluate the frequency of celiac disease among patients with liver disease with chronic unexplained hypertransaminasemia. Methods: One hundred patients with unexplained elevated liver enzymes who referred to gastroenterology and hepatology clinic of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran from March 2009 to March 2010 , and no cause were found for this elevation after initial clinical and paraclinical assessments and tests were enrolled in a cross sectional study. After measurement of Anti t TG I g A antibody in the serum of the patients, the biopsy of second part of duodenum were performed in cases with positive results and were assessed regarding evidences of celiac and finally the diagnosis of celiac diseas was confirmed. Results: The mean age of patients was 39.79±16.77 and 55% of patients were male. The celiac disease was confirmed in 6% of patients ( CI: 95%: 2.78- 12.48% ). There were no significant differences between frequency of both sexes and means of age, ALT , and AST in the study patients. Conclusion: In our study, the frequency of celiac disease among patients with chronic liver disease with unknown elevated liver enzymes was 6% which is near the frequency derived from other studies that has been reported. Abstract


When assessing a green initiative, the standard approach is an application of the classical discounting of future gains converted into monetary terms. In doing so, significant uncertainties about the future value of CO2 reductions are introduced. The current alternative is to measure the CO2 reductions in a single reference year, e.g. 2030 or 2050. This does not take into account the CO2 reduction trajectory process during the years up to, and after, the reference year. In this paper, a new basis for decision making is presented, in which discounting of the CO2 reductions is measured in tonnes. In this approach, the discount factor takes into account the impatience implied from the tipping point theory. Furthermore, such a measure would adequately reflect the entire CO2 reduction profile of the initiative in question, rather than being restricted to focusing on the impact in a (single) selected reference year.


The increasing use of amiodarone as antiarrhythmic drug has raised the possibilities of dangerous effects from amiodarone-digitalis interaction. We have studied twelve patients who were taking digitalis and to whom amiodarone was administered because of arrhythmias. We found a 75,42% increase of digitalis plasma levels (p less than 0,001) in the early days of amiodarone therapy, and a 52,1% increase (p less than 0,001) in the medium term. An inverse correlation was found (r = -0,65; p less than 0,05) between the plasma levels of digitalis during the steady-state control period and during the following 2-to-6 months evaluation. Acute episodes of cardiac failure caused in our patients an abrupt increase of digitalis plasma levels: in three patients digitalis toxicity occurred. Based on our experience, we recommend that the dose of digitalis be halved when the two drugs are given together in patients with various degree of cardiac failure; moreover digitalis plasma levels should be frequently monitored in these patients. On the other hand digitalis administered according to age, sex, weight, kidney function, together with amiodarone, can be given at full dosage in patients without cardiac failure.


Proteins and the networks they determine, called interactome networks, have received attention at an important degree during the last years, because they have been discovered to have an influence on some complex biological phenomena, such as problematic disorders like cancer. This paper presents a new parallel computation technique that allows for an accurate and fast analysis of the human interactome network to be conducted. It constitutes, essentially, a proteomic data analysis process that takes into consideration the sparse nature of interactome networks. Thus, the first stage of the analysis involves the parallel computation of each proteins betweenness centrality measure through a parallel sparse networks-dedicated approach. Then, the second phase detects the functionally-related communities of proteins. In order to accomplish this purpose, we make use of a community detection algorithm that is based on the edge betweenness calculation and that has been already described in one of the authors previous papers. The new protein data analysis technique was carefully tested on real biological data and the results acknowledge the existence of some important properties of those proteins that participate in the carcinogenesis process. Apart from being particularly useful for research purposes, the novel technique also speeds up the proteomic databases analysis process, as compared to our own sequential approach. The results of the comprehensive battery of tests that were applied prove some unique topological features of cancer mutated proteins, and a possible optimization solution for cancer drugs design is suggested.


Prominent scholars in recent years have expressed alarm about political polarization, weakened civil liberties, and growing support for authoritarianism in the United States. But discussions of democratic backsliding pay short shrift to the value citizens place on one of the most fundamental democratic institutions: the act of voting. Drawing on nationally representative survey data, we show that despite traditional portrayals of the U.S. as the embodiment of a democratic "civic culture," a substantial share of Americans express readiness to sell their votes for cash: 12% of respondents would do so for just $25, as would nearly 20% for $100. Citizens who place low importance on living in a democracy are significantly more willing to sell their votes. We argue that heightened attention to US voters' attitudes toward clientelism would provide an additional barometer of democratic skepticism, help to integrate the study of American and comparative politics, and stimulate novel research agendas about the historic decline of vote buying in the United States.


Rhabdomyosarcoma is a soft tissue neoplasm arising from primitive embryonal mesenchyma. Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma mostly affects children younger than 10 years of age, but it also occurs in adolescents and young adults. Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare variant that almost always arises in adults older than 45 years of age. Mesentery is a rare site for botyroid embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma and on extensive search we found only one case of a botryoid rhabdomyosarcoma in a child of 2 years. We report a rare case of botyroid embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma occurring in the mesentery of a 30 year old female.


Cyanobacteria are photoautotrophic prokaryotes with a remarkable metabolic flexibility. Many species of cyanobacteria produce hydrogen, and the efficiency of this process can be improved by genetic engineering. Isolated photosynthetic complexes of cyanobacteria that are capable of light absorption and charge separation can be utilized in hydrogen-producing devices that are driven by solar energy. As photosynthetic microorganisms, cyanobacteria present a unique opportunity for creating low cost systems for hydrogen production in vivo and in vitro. This review is focused on recent advances in cyanobacterial hydrogen research.


The stereoinversion of one enantiomer into its mirror-image counterpart within a racemate furnishes a single stereoisomeric product in 100 % theoretical yield. This extremely efficient type of deracemization, whereby substrate and product possess an identical chemical structure, can be achieved by using bio- or chemo-catalysts or combinations thereof and is applicable to secondary alcohols, amines and α-substituted carboxylic acids. Special emphasis is devoted to the theoretical background of the one-pot, single-step deracemization of sec-alcohols.


The study was conducted to investigate the achievement motivation of Muslim Malay secondary school students compared with that of Catholic Australian secondary students. Two methods of measuring achievement motivation, the Mehrabian Achievement Scale (MAS) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) were administered to the Malay subject (from English Medium (EM) and Malay Medium (MM) schools) and the Australian subject (AS). The results indicated that there was a significant difference in achievement motivation between the Malay and Australian subjects. However, the direction of the difference on one scale was the reverse in the case of the other. The differences in the results obtained and the efficacy of the two scale were discussed. http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/penerbit/jdem1-7.html4/17/2012 8:56:22 AM


The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the effects of recombinant bovine somatropin (rbST), and the reuse of the progesterone (P4) releasing devices in resynchronization, on the pregnancy rates of Nellore cows submitted to fixed-time artificial insemination. A group of 123 multiparae Nellore cows, was submitted to a resynchronization protocol: on day 0 a Bovine Intravaginal Device (DIB ® ) with 1,0g of P4 was implanted, associated with intramuscular administration of 2,0mg of estradiol benzoate (IM); on day 8 DIB was removed; and 1,0mg of estradiol cypionate, 0,15mg of prostaglandin F 2α and 300 UI of equine chorionic gonadotropin were administered; on day 10, fixed-time artificial insemination was conducted (FTAI). The cows were randomized into G1 (n=12) – without rbST / with used Bovine Intravaginal Device, G2 (n=50) – without rbST / with new DIB, G3 (n=11) - with rbST / with used DIB and G4 (n=50) – with rbST/ with new DIB.  rbST was introduced on the eighth day of the protocol. Sixty days after TAI, pregnancy diagnoses were conducted, via rectal palpation. Blood samples were taken on day 0, 8 and 10 of the protocol, in order to assess P4 plasma concentrations. Pregnancy rates were statistically evaluated through Generalized Linear Models Theory and their significance was tested with Analysis of Deviance. Pregnancy rates were 58%, 40%, 81% and 48% for G1, G2, G3 and G4, respectively, with significant statistical difference for G3. Plasma concentrations of P4 were not statistically different among groups, or collections. In view of the results obtained, we concluded that the administration of rbST in association with P4 DIB, used for the third time, improves pregnancy rates. Estrus resynchronization and re-insemination positively impacted pregnancy rates.


Range forecasts have emerged as the predominant form of management forecasts, but prior research has overlooked the information conveyed by forecast ranges. This study fills this void by examining the information content of the extent to which managers' forecast ranges overlap with the range of individual analysts' pre-existing estimates (i.e., overlap). We expect managers to signal their superior private information by issuing low-overlap forecasts. We predict and find that, compared with high-overlap forecasts, low-overlap forecasts are associated with stronger market reactions and higher accuracy of management forecasts relative to analyst estimates. Moreover, when responding to low-overlap management forecasts, analysts with prior estimates out of management forecast ranges are more likely to revise into the management forecast range, less likely to revise toward the consensus, and more likely to improve in revised forecast accuracy. Our findings suggest that investors and analysts view low-overlap management forecasts as signals of superior private information.


The cyclic deformation in Cu and Cu-35Zn alloy were studied using ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique to measure the ultrasonic velocity, attenuation coefficient and a nonlinear parameter. These materials were cyclically deformed under total strain amplitude control to investigate their ultrasonic reaction to different dislocation substructures, depending on the stacking fault energy difference. The microstructure evolution was observed using a transmission electron microscope, and the ultrasonic NDE parameter was measured after several cycles of fatigue deformation, in order to clarify the relationship between them. In both materials, the ultrasonic velocity was observed to decrease as the fatigue life fraction increased, which was attributed to the increasing dislocation density caused by the cyclic deformation. In the case of Cu, with its cell structure evolving during cyclic deformation, the rate of increase of the ultrasonic attenuation coefficient and the ultrasonic nonlinear parameter was higher than that observed in the case of the Cu-35Zn alloy with its planar array structure. This result implies that the dislocation cell structure is more sensitive to the ultrasonic parameter changes than the planar array structure formed during cyclic deformation.


It is noted that problems of testing robust stability of linear systems with structured uncertainty are formulated, from the mathematical viewpoint, as methods for testing the nonvanishing of a polynomial whose coefficients are functions of interval (uncertain) parameters, in a certain domain in the complex plane. In the present work, a recently derived theorem is reformulated (with new direct proof) to be pertinent in particular to such problems, where the domain is the closed right-half complex plane. Applying this reformulated theorem to the two-parameter multilinear dependency case, the author obtains explicit necessary and sufficient conditions. >


This paper's objective is to question whether management and organization knowledge (MOK) is able to speak a language other than English and discuss how the hegemony of this language in the scientific field has contributed to the reproduction of the same colonial logic that for centuries prevented native peoples from making sense of what they thought, spoke and wrote. We show that the main instrument of power that guarantees this hegemony is control over the criteria used for the publication and circulation of MOK, which tends to marginalize everything that is produced outside the linguistic basis controlled by the North. The main effect of this logic is that native researchers to submit to control by the North; they find themselves in a subaltern position, condemned in their own country to operate under an external logic that defines what is and what is not quality scientific knowledge in the management and organizational field.


In recent years, an increasing amount of work has focused on differentiable physics simulation and has produced a set of open source projects such as Tiny Differentiable Simulator, Nimble Physics, diffTaichi, Brax, Warp, Dojo and DiffCoSim. By making physics simulations end-to-end differentiable, we can perform gradient-based optimization and learning tasks. A majority of differentiable simulators consider collisions and contacts between objects, but they use different contact models for differentiability. In this paper, we overview four kinds of differentiable contact formulations - linear complementarity problems (LCP), convex optimization models, compliant models and position-based dynamics (PBD). We analyze and compare the gradients calculated by these models and show that the gradients are not always correct. We also demonstrate their ability to learn an optimal control strategy by comparing the learned strategies with the optimal strategy in an analytical form. The codebase to reproduce the experiment results is available at https://github.com/DesmondZhong/diff_sim_grads.


AIM: The current study aimed to evaluate sonographic and Doppler portal hypertensive parameters in patients with hepatic periportal fibrosis; either with mild or advanced disease, and to assess if there are any correlations between these parameters. METHODS: This case/control study included 50 patients; 44 males and 6 females and 40 subjects as a control group. Diagnosis of bilharziasis was established by history, examination and investigations. Patients were classified into patients with fine and thick periportal fibrosis (PPF) by abdominal US. All included subjects underwent hepatosplenic Color Doppler Ultrasonographic examination. RESULTS: 50 patients with their mean age 34±9 years were included. No statistically significant differences in portal vein diameter (PVD), portal vein velocity (PVV) and portal vein flow volume (PVFV) between patients and control. Patients with thick PPF showed statistically significant higher values in PVD (P value=0.001) and PVFV (P value=0.05) than those with fine PPF. Congesion index of the portal vein (CI) was significantly higher in patients than control (P value=0.001), also in patients with thick than those with fine PPF (P value=0.000). Statistically significant higher values of splenic vein diameter (SVD) (P value=0.026), splenic Index (SI), splenoportal index (SPI) (P value=0.000) were detected in patients than control, also in patients with thick than those with fine PPF (P value=0.000). CONCLUSION: Color Doppler portal hypertensive parameters are significantly higher in patients with more advanced bilharzial periportal fibrosis.


This series of articles will address the performance of cell counts and differential cell counts on the three most common categories of body fluids: cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serous or body cavity fluids (pleural, pericardial, peritoneal), and synovial or joint fluids. Each has unique characteristics and cell counts, and differentials are performed for different purposes on each one. When a fluid is received in the laboratory, information that can be helpful in determining the cell counts is obtained from the gross appearance of the fluid. A point to be remembered is that the specimen is obtained by a physician who also observes the gross appearance of the fluid. This is especially significant in CSF if only one tube is obtained and it is bloody. Every body fluid should be examined—cell count performed and slide for evaluation of cell morphology prepared—immediately after collection since cells, especially neutrophils, begin disintegrating within 30 minutes. Cytocentrifuge concentration of cell preparations improves cell identification over attempting to differentiate cells while performing hemacytometer cell counts. With appropriate dilution, a monolayer slide can be prepared to enhance morphology of cells. Cytocentrifuge concentration provides enough nucleated cells to perform a 100-cell differential count if the nucleated cell count is greater than 3/μL. Since there will be some cell yield even if the cell count is zero, important diagnostic information can be obtained especially in leukemic patients when blast cells may be present. The presence of red blood cells (RBCs) in fluids can interfere with nucleated cell morphology due to… ABBREVIATIONS: AIDS = acute immunodeficiency syndrome; CSF = cerebrospinal fluid; HIV = human immunodeficiency virus; RBC = red blood cell.


A 3D structure production method for microstereolithography is a useful way that produces complex structures with flexible processes and low cost. Several UV curable resins were blended and the optimal resin for micro-lens fabricate was selected through viscosity, workability and transmission tests. It consists of 1, 6 - Hexanediol diacrylate with 15 Apha and Isobornyl acrylate for reducing some shrinkage. When fabricating a micro-lens array on large surface, some distortion of shape occurred because of the surface tension between cured part. To overcome this problem, the optimal processing conditions were derived from considering amount of the resin and surface tension. Large surface Micro-lens array, which are a type of elliptical convex and consist of 18,000 micro-lens in the range of 2cm*2cm were fabricated. The focal length to the X-axis and Y-axis were calculated. To verify the performance, measure an energy distribution of transmitted light from the Large surface Micro-lens array.


Article history: Received on:04/06/2017 Accepted on: 20/07/2017 Available online: 30/09/2017 Over the last few decades, numerous bacterial exopolysaccharides have been extensively studied for their composition, structure, biosynthesis and functional properties, owing to their unique properties over traditional plant-derived gums and synthetic polysaccharides. They have been employed in food processing industries as rheology modifiers, gelling agents, in oil drilling and cement industries. But their full-fledged commercialization is yet to be achieved and their scope and possibilities in pharmaceutical field and optimized drug delivery are yet to be explored. The present review outlines, critically evaluates and summarizes the research outcomes on structure, solubility, solution behavior, rheological characterization, gelation mechanism and potential industrial and pharmaceutical applications of curdlan, polysaccharide 13140, Fucopol, levan, sphingans, succinoglycan and several other bacterial exopolysaccharides in their native form and also their derivatives. It also aims to identify and propose potential drug delivery systems where gelling and non gel-forming exopolysaccharides can be utilized successfully for development of stable, acceptable and effective dosage form.


Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and it is considered by many researchers as one of the dimensional components of the disorder. Cognitive dysfunction occurs in 85% of schizophrenic patients and it is negatively associated with the outcome of the disorder, the psychosocial functioning of the patients, and non-compliance with treatment. Many different cognitive domains are impaired in schizophrenia, such as attention, memory, executive functions and speech. Nowadays, it is argued that apart from clinical heterogeneity of schizophrenia, there is probable heterogeneity in the accompanying neurocognitive dysfunction. Recent studies for cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia employ computerized assessment batteries of cognitive tests, designed to assess specific cognitive impairments. Computerized cognitive testing permits for more detailed data collection (e.g. precise timing scores of responses), eliminates researcher's measurement errors and bias, assists the manipulation of data collected, and improves reliability of measurements through standardized data collection methods. The aims of the present study are: the comparison of cognitive performance of our sample of patients and that of healthy controls, on different specific cognitive tests, and the testing for possible association between patients' psychopathological symptoms and specific cognitive impairments, using the Cogtest computerized cognitive assessment battery. 71 male inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic spectrum disorders (mean = 30.23 ± 7.71 years of age), admitted in a psychiatric unit of the First Department of Psychiatry, Athens University Medical School, Eginition Hospital (continuous admissions) were studied. Patients were excluded from the study if they suffered from severe neurological conditions, severe visual or hearing impairment, mental retardation, or if they abused alcohol or drugs. The patients' diagnoses were based on the semi-structured diagnostic interview "Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis" (DIP) and were clinically confirmed by two independent expert psychiatrists, according to the criteria of DSM-IVTM. Our healthy control group consisted of 20 healthy male participants (mean = 31.65 ± 5.90 years of age), who met the same inclusion criteria for the study as the patient group, as well as the same exclusion criteria from the study, having no history of psychiatric disorders. All statistical analyses were conducted using the statistical package SPSS.17. According to our results, healthy controls cognitively outperform our patient sample in all cognitive tests, with the differences between performances being statistically significant. Results concerning the association between psychotic symptoms and cognitive deficits of our patients indicated that hallucinations, highly organized delusions, persecutory delusions, agitation, catatonia and inappropriate affect did not associate with any subtype of cognitive deficit. Blunted affect associated significantly with response inhibition ("GoNoGo test", p = 0.007), and poor speech associated significantly with declarative memory of faces ("FMT test", p = 0.002). Moreover, psychomotor ability (non-dominant hand) associated significantly with generalized delusions ("TST test", p = 0.033), and with constricted affect ("TST test", p = 0.026). Furthermore, there was a tendency towards significance association between persecutory delusions and executive function ("CPT test", p = 0.053), inappropriate affect and declarative face memory ("FMT test", p = 0.056), and psychomotor ability and poor speech (p = 0.086).


Poland's transformation occurs in individuals' attitudes and behaviour. Several years ago, the entrepreneur in Poland was associated with corruption and borderline legal activities. Today, many entrepreneurs are looked upon as positive role models. Social acceptance of entrepreneurial attitudes in Poland is growing. Increased susceptibility to entrepreneurial behaviour in a society will increase the rate at which new businesses are established, enhancing market dynamics, and accelerating innovative changes. But in Poland entrepreneurs are not seen as a positive example, unlike in the United States. Willingness to take risks, self-expression and independence are not met with social acceptance, especially if rewarded with high incomes. The research undertaken by the author is aimed at analysing the essence of entrepreneurial attitudes and changes in the social acceptance of entrepreneurial behaviour.


Based on obstacle avoidance of orange fruit harvesting robot, the real-time fruit tree model reconstruction is studied. Modular modeling method is adopted for the reconstruction, which extracts a standard module from the orange fruit tree by configuration study and then gets the fruit tree model after combining the module. Through the comparison between truncated cone module and cylinder module, step cylinder section is chose as the standard module. In order to supply the tree model in time, polygonal approximation is used in the standard module construction for the data reduction. The experiment for middle complexity tree model proved, that this method can realize real-time reconstruction of orange tree model, and the model is precise enough for obstacle avoidance.


Intestinal epithelium provides the largest barrier protecting mammalian species from harmful external factors; however, it can be severely compromised by the presence of bacteria in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Antibiotics have been widely used for the prevention and treatment of GI bacterial infections, leading to antimicrobial resistance in human and veterinary medicine alike. In order to decrease antibiotic usage, natural substances, such as flavonoids, are investigated to be used as antibiotic alternatives. Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are potential candidates for this purpose owing to their various beneficial effects in humans and animals. In this study, protective effects of grape seed oligomeric proanthocyanidins (GSOPs) were tested in IPEC-J2 porcine intestinal epithelial cells infected with Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium of swine origin. GSOPs were able to alleviate oxidative stress, inflammation and barrier integrity disruption inflicted by bacteria in the co-culture. Furthermore, GSOPs could decrease the adhesion of both bacteria to IPEC-J2 cells. Based on these observations, GSOPs seem to be promising candidates for the prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal bacterial infections.