Background Niemann Pick disease (NP) is a rare, lysosomal storage disorder due to deficiency of the intra-lysosomal enzyme acid sphingomyelinase (ASM) resulting in intracellular accumulation of sphingomyelin. We evaluated a tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method to analyze ASM activity in dried blood spots (DBS) that may be suitable for laboratory diagnosis of NP including high throughput screening of at-risk populations and potentially for newborn screening. Methods ASM activity was measured in 3.2 mm punches from DBS. The eluate was incubated with the ASM substrate (N-Hexanoyl-D-erythro-sphingosylphosphorylcholine [C6-sphingomyelin (C29H59N2O6P)]) and an internal standard (N-butyroyl-D-erythro-sphingosine [C4-ceramide (C22H43NO3)]). ASM product and IS were analyzed using MS/MS in multiple reaction monitoring mode for transitions m/z 370.6>264.3 (ASM internal standard) and m/z 398.6>264.3 (ASM product). Results ASM activities were stable for up to 2 months at or below 4℃. Position of the punch in the DBS and/or hematocrit of the DBS had a limited effect on ASM activities. Both intra- and inter-assay variability were below 10%. There was no carry-over. The median ASM activity in 2,085 newborn infants was 9.5 µmol/h/L (mean 10.6) with a SD of 5.06 µmol/h/L. Six of 2,085 (0.3%) infants were found to have ASM activities below the cut-off of 2.5 µmol/h/L. ASM activities were below the cut-off level in all 10 previously diagnosed cases with NP (range: 0.16 to 2.08 µmol/h/L). Conclusions This MS/MS method for the measurement of ASM activity in DBS is robust and suitable for laboratory diagnosis of NP.


Length scales are essential to the understanding of small volume deformation and fracture in emerging technologies. Recent analysis by two groups at the atomistic [1] and mesoscopic [2] levels have shown the importance of the volume to surface ratio to the indentation size effect (ISE) at small depths of penetration. We have interpreted this in terms of the plastic work under the contact and the surface work associated with the creation of new surface or the excess surface stress. Treating this as a modified Griffith criterion the case is made that this same length scale should apply to the delamination of thin films. By making this simple equivalency in length scales, an R-curve analysis for crack growth resistance, GR, in thin film delamination emerges. This recovers the classic E h ys 2 σ term as well as the fact that interfacial toughness should scale with the square root of incremental crack growth. Here σys is yield strength, h is thickness and E is modulus of the film. As applied to thin Cu films bonded to silicon substrates with a thin innerlayer of Ti, the model is in good agreement.


Since the 1960s the urban design discipline has experienced a remarkable turn towards the psychological, social and cultural dimensions of place. This is visible in its expanded body of knowledge to include a wide range of social science disciplines and in its investment in qualitative and cross-disciplinary methodologies in public space research to understand the different user's needs and experiences. Comparatively, little research has been done on the social and interactional potential of public spaces. To fill this knowledge gap, this paper employs original empirical material from one case study with a view to focus on the bodily socio-spatial mechanics of social interactions among strangers in public space and to examine the potential applicability of body-language methods to study them.


Empirical studies have revealed that the conditional Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has a higher explanatory power than its unconditional version, particularly for the model in state-space form where the beta is estimated using Kalman filter. Most empirical analyses are based on stock portfolios to explain financial anomalies, but only a few studies proposed improving investment fund performance. The main contribution of this study is the assessment of Brazilian investment funds through traditional measures estimated from the CAPM model in state-space form with heteroscedastic and homoscedastic errors compared to alternative models, such as the unconditional CAPM and a four-factor model. Using a sample of stock funds from May 2005–April 2015, the results indicate that the conditional CAPM model produces better results than the alternative models, providing better performance evaluation practices for funds in both stock-picking and market-timing ability.


Cloud computing is not a new technology but is to construct computing environment like a big cloud by mixing the virtualization technology for existing grid computing, distributed computing, utility computing, web service, server and storage with the existing base technologies such as open source software. These cloud computing technologies are mostly being studied to be utilized in reducing corporate costs. This study was made on cloud that is practical and available in the field of education, contrary to previous corporate efficiency studies. The smart education promotion strategy of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in 2011, a huge cost was funded for the program to construct smart education system in all of domestic elementary, middle, and high schools by 2015. However, several problems have been found in the actual research model schools, which was an obstacle to the promotion of smart education. Among those problems, it was frequently pointed out that there was difficulty in smart device uses and that there was difficulty in teaching the classroom itself when a student had system problem during smart education. Also, in the aspect of contents use by students, various kinds of contents shall be provided, and standardized environment shall be offered for online-based student rating system in the smart era. As an education system model to solve those problems of smart education, a new cloud service, EaaS service model, is presented in this study.


Pseudotwinning is an important deformation mechanism that can produce reversible deformations similar to the shape memory phenomenon. Pseudotwinning merits further consideration from a modeling viewpoint as it could open new frontiers for discovery of alloys with recoverability of deformation. In this study, we focus on the Fe3Ga (D03 and L12 lattices) with atomistic simulations. We present a pseudotwin nucleation model based on the generalized planar fault energy from first-principles calculations. The minimization of the total energy at the mesoscale associated with pseudotwin nucleation leads to determination of the twinning stress. The low energy barriers and twinning stress demonstrate that pseudotwinning in D03 Fe3Ga is a possible deformation mode, but pseudotwinning is unlikely to occur in L12 Fe3Ga due to the significantly high energy barrier and twinning stress. The predicted twinning stress is compared with experimental measurements, and the results show very good agreement. Hence, we suggest that the results provide a quantitative methodology to understanding and determining pseudotwinning in ordered alloys.


. Introduction . Among the scientific publications that research the features of the language of Kalmyk business letters and their translations, there are currently no works that analyze in detail the principles and strategies for translating Kalmyk business texts. The purpose of this article is to identify the main strategies for translating official letters of Khan Ayuka from Kalmyk language into Russian. Materials and methods . This work was based on material from the letters of the Kalmyk Khan Ayuka of 1714 and Russian translations of these letters, also dated 1714. All materials are preserved in the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia. Transliteration, transcription into modern Kalmyk graphics and literal translation of the original texts into Russian were made by D. B. Gedeeva. Both synchronous and diachronic translations are used to identify translation strategies. The main research methods are descriptive, contextual analysis method, and comparative method. Results and conclusions. A comparison of the original and translated texts of Ayuka Khan letters shows that in Russian translations kept the general structure and content components of the original letter, genre and style features of the original text, although the texts of the translations are not verbatim. Authors of translations adhere to the strategy of transferring essential information while preserving the semantic message dominants, Russian translations are characterized by substitutions and repetitions of lexical units, a lexical addendum reflecting the extra-linguistic features of the communicative situation. Russian translations of letters from Khan Ayuka are made in compliance with the rules for processing business documents that were formed by the beginning of the 18 th century.


Registration of noisy images is a crucial problem in multiple fields. In single-particle electron microscopy a huge number of two-dimensional (2D) image projections of biological molecules must be aligned multiple times to obtain a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. The 3D reconstruction quality is substantially determined by the accuracy and speed of the alignment method. Here, we implemented and validated a real-space correlation method based on Fourier-Bessel functions to perform the matching with a single 3D Fast Fourier transform. Our results show that we achieved faster and more accurate 2D alignments than state-of-the-art methods available in current image EM processing packages. The parallel-CUDA implementation achieves speedups ranging from 23 to 300 folds, depending on the angular sampling used. The achieved over-performance provides an excellent background for developing advanced single particle analysis algorithms towards higher resolutions. Besides, the method presented here is fully applicable to any 2D image rigid-body registration problem.


The local Mach number and heat transfer coefficient over the aerofoil surfaces and endwalls of a transonic gas turbine nozzle guide vane have been calculated. The computations were performed by solving the time averaged Navier-Stokes equations using a fully three-dimensional computational code (CFDS) which is well established at Rolls-Royce.A model to predict the effects of roughness has been incorporated into CFDS and heat transfer levels have been calculated for both hydraulically smooth and transitionally rough surfaces. The roughness influences the calculations in two ways; firstly the mixing length at a certain height above the surface is increased; secondly the wall function used to reconcile the wall condition with the first grid point above the wall is also altered. The first involves a relatively straightforward shift of the origin in the van Driest damping function description, the second requires an integration of the momentum equation across the wall layer. A similar treatment applies to the energy equation.The calculations are compared with experimental contours of heat transfer coefficient obtained using both thin film gauges and the transient liquid crystal technique. Measurements were performed using both hydraulically smooth and roughened surfaces, and at engine-representative Mach and Reynolds numbers. The heat transfer results are discussed and interpreted in terms of surface-shear flow visualisation using oil and dye techniques.© 1996 ASME


ABSTRACT. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly encourages the disclosure of HIV status to school-age children and further recommends that adolescents know their HIV status. Limited information exists on the impact of disclosure. We designed and implemented a disclosure model hypothesized to be associated with healthy psychological adjustment and improved medication adherence. We report the model's design and implementation and results of a quasi-experimental study of the disclosure's effects on health care professionals (n = 16), caregivers (n = 39), and HIV-infected youth (n = 40) in Puerto Rico. Information was collected from youth, caregivers, and professionals by semistructured interviews and questionnaires. Most youth (70%) had feelings of normalcy 6 months post-disclosure, and most also improved their adherence to therapy after disclosure as reported by both patients (58%) and caregivers (59%). Eighty-five percent of youth and 97% of caregivers considered disclosure a positive event for themselves and their families. Fewer health care professionals reported feelings of fear, discomfort, and insecurity after protocol participation.


We demonstrate the fabrication of a new class of epitaxial porphyrin metal–organic framework thin films whose photophysical properties can be tuned by the introduction of electron-donating diphenylamine (DPA) groups into the porphyrin skeleton. The attachment of DPA groups results in strongly improved absorption characteristics, yielding the highest photocarrier generation efficiency reported so far. DFT calculations identify a shift of the charge localization pattern in the VBM (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital), confirming that the introduction of the DPA groups is the main reason for the shift of the optical absorption spectrum and the improved photocurrent generation.


The neoliberal discourse, which becomes prevalent in recent decades, highlights the active role of the consumer. The consumer agency is associated with several factors: advertising rhetoric that emphasizes the complicity with the consumer; technologies of self through which he acts as an entrepreneur of himself; interactive mechanisms which suggest an increase of his participation; appeal to social responsibility in his attitudes. When we look closely at each of these factors, however, the presumed empowerment of the consumer nowadays reveals its limitations.


There are conflicting ideas concerning the correlation between serum levels of 25hydroxivatmin D and side effects of pregnancy. The present research seeks to study the correlation between lack of this vitamin and glucose metabolism in pregnancy. In this Cross-sectional research, as many as 330 women aging 18 to 35 in the 24th to 28th week of their pregnancy and fully aware of the process entered this project after their consent was gained. They underwent public screening for diabetes through 50-gram oral glucose challenge test (GCT). The serum level of HbA1C and 25-hydroxyvitamin D and analysis of urine for glucose were measured at the same time when the level of blood sugar was assessed. As for those people whose blood sugar 1 hour after receiving 50 g oral glucose was equal to or more than 140 mg/dl, the two-hour OGTT diagnosis test was carried out with 75 grams of glucose. The average levels of Vitamin D and HbA1C were compared with one another among the participants. Variables such as mother's age, parity, family history of diabetes, and BMI of mother were recorded in the checklists. Data was analyzed by SPSS20 software using T-test, Correlation, and K2 statistical methods. The average age of the mothers participating in this research and their average level of parity were 26.78 ± 4.5 and 1.89 ± 0.92 respectively. There were 48 cases (14.5%) with pregnancy diabetes, while 282 cases (85.5%) had no sign of diabetes. The serum level of vitamin D was above 30 ng/dl in 9 subjects (2.7%), while this level was below 20 ng/dl in 321 people (93.7%). A reverse significant correlation was observed between the serum level of vitamin D and average levels of HbA1C (p=0.006 and r=0.15). a significant difference was observed in Glucosuria between the diabetic and non-diabetic people (p=0.001) but it had no significant correlation between the level of vitamin D. Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in this research is really high. The routine assessment of this vitamin before pregnancy and the necessity of correcting its deficiency and prescription of vitamin d supplements and its effect on OGTT results,needs more researches.


The study investigated the influence of
ethnicity, gender and grade level on the motivational beliefs and self-regulation in Biology learning
through a non-experimental quantitative study among 317 students in 2
co-educational schools in Nakuru (n = 155 ) and Siaya (n = 162) counties,
Kenya. The study used a modified version of Motivated Strategies for Learning
Questionnaire (MSLQ) which had 44 items to measure motivational beliefs and
self-regulation. A 4 × 2 × 2 MANOVA revealed "ethnicity" as having the largest effect on these
variables. There was a statistically significant difference between the Nakuru group and
the Siaya group in favor of Nakuru with regard to self-efficacy in Biology
learning. They also scored higher in most of the variables. There were no
statistically significant gender differences in motivational beliefs and
self-regulation in Biology learning. However boys were more self-efficacious
with low test anxiety than girls. Girls had higher intrinsic value, cognitive strategy and
self-regulation than boys. There were statistically significant grade level differences in favor of
grade 12 students. Grade 11 students had the lowest scores in all the variables
under investigation. The implications for the study are discussed.


Previous studies have shown that tape medium noise is dominated by surface roughness. Here, we use error rate analysis to evaluate the effects of surface roughness as well as particle size distributions in a partial-response maximum-likelihood (PRML) channel. We use: 1) a modified self-consistent model, incorporating a log-normal particle size distribution and a random packing of the particles to simulate the recording process and 2) a predeveloped error rate model to evaluate the system performance with fixed head/medium combinations. Surface roughness is introduced as a varying random head/tape spacing during both the recording and the playback processes. The impact of mean particle length, roughness variance, and roughness correlation length on system performance is examined for a partial response (PR4) channel. A surface roughness variance changing from 5 to 10 nm yields, at 200 kfci with a particle length of 60 nm, a change of error rate from 10/sup -10/ to 10/sup -5/. Because of the finite head read track width, roughness with shorter correlation lengths can be cross-track-averaged more readily and yields better system performance. We also found that larger particle size media have higher DC noise but lower roughness-induced transition noise. The shorter-particle-size media give better system performance, and the advantage increases with reducing roughness variance.


Explore the feasibility and effectiveness of accepting mind mapping combined with problem-based learning (PBL) teaching method in the standardized training of emergency surgery residents in the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) model of emergency trauma. Eighty-nine doctors under training who rotated in the Department of Emergency Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2021 to January 2022 were selected as the study subjects, and randomly divided into a group receiving mind mapping combined with PBL teaching and a group receiving traditional lecture-based learning teaching. Mini-clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX), direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS), teaching adherence, and satisfaction assessments were completed at the time of discharge from the department. There were no significant differences between the observation and control group trainees in terms of gender, age, education, and entry grades. Both groups of doctors were better able to participate in their respective teaching modes and made significant progress. The participants in the observation group had significantly higher Mini-CEX, DOPS, and teaching satisfaction scores than the control group (P < .05). Under the MDT model of emergency trauma, the combination of mind mapping and PBL teaching can improve the comprehensive clinical ability of the trainees more than participating in the traditional lecture-based learning teaching, which is worth promoting and implementing in the clinical standardized training.


The main goal of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Perception of Parents Scale (POPS) developed by Robbins (1994), with a sample of middle-adolescents with ages between 14 and 18 years. The confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the reliability and validity of a three-dimension model of adolescents' perception of mother and father based on perspective of Self-Determination Theory. Results of the confirmatory factor analyses suggested the original factor structure of the POPS does not fit the data for adolescents ratings of mother and fathers on the measures. As a result of modification indices check, the relationships between the error terms of items were determined. The second confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the new three-factor model provides acceptable fit. It was concluded that the POPS constitutes a useful tool for the assessment of both parent and peer attachment in adolescent aged between 14 and 18 years


We have developed a miniaturized Fourier Transformation Spectrometer (FTS). The spectrometer is designed for application in the near infrared spectrum and can be used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of liquid, solid or gaseous substances. Our FTS is basically a Michelson Interferometer that consists of an optical bench for the passive alignment of the optical components with an integrated electromechanical actuator. All parts such as the collimation optics, the detectors and the actuator are assembled on a chip. The system was manufactured using the LIGA technology.


The X-linked RHOX cluster encodes a set of homeobox genes that are selectively expressed in the reproductive tract. Members of the RHOX cluster regulate target genes important for spermatogenesis promote male fertility in mice. Studies show that demethylating agents strongly upregulate the expression of mouse Rhox genes, suggesting that they are regulated by DNA methylation. However, whether this extends to human RHOX genes, whether DNA methylation directly regulates RHOX gene transcription and how this relates to human male infertility are unknown. To address these issues, we first defined the promoter regions of human RHOX genes and performed gain- and loss-of-function experiments to determine whether human RHOX gene transcription is regulated by DNA methylation. Our results indicated that DNA methylation is necessary and sufficient to silence human RHOX gene expression. To determine whether RHOX cluster methylation associates with male infertility, we evaluated the methylation status of RHOX genes in sperm from a large cohort of infertility patients. Linear regression analysis revealed a strong association between RHOX gene cluster hypermethylation and three independent types of semen abnormalities. Hypermethylation was restricted specifically to the RHOX cluster; we did not observe it in genes immediately adjacent to it on the X chromosome. Our results strongly suggest that human RHOX homeobox genes are under an epigenetic control mechanism that is aberrantly regulated in infertility patients. We propose that hypermethylation of the RHOX gene cluster serves as a marker for idiopathic infertility and that it is a candidate to exert a causal role in male infertility.


This paper explores the mathematical conceptualization and arithmetical operations that are expressed by the linguistic forms of the numeral systems of 'Àbèsàbèsi' (Known in literature as Akpes (etymology ibe), Èkiròmì lect in particular) a member of the Edoid language family of Niger Congo language. Direction of Èkiròmì counting is from left to right . The morphology of the numerals indicates Èkiròmì basic elements as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20 and three basic points of bundles as10, 20 and 400. Thus African Languages may start with the same basic elements but combine them in intricate and create ways and patterns to produce unique and effective numeral systems cf. Oyebade and Agoyi (in preparation).


This study aimed at identifying the differences between gifted students and general students in parental attitude toward science and trust perceived by them and their science self-efficacy. To achieve this purpose, a quantitative research was carried out for elementary gifted and general students. The results were as follows. Firstly, Gifted students recognized more positively their parents" attitude toward science than general students, and both of groups perceived more positively their mothers' than fathers'. Secondly, Parents' trust by gifted students was perceived more positively than by general students, but showed no difference between fathers and mothers. Thirdly, The average of science self-efficacy for gifted students was statistically meaningfully higher than for general students.


This paper presents an indicator of the fiscal stance that combines features of the bottom-up, narrative approach on the revenue side with a refined version of the top-down, traditional approach of the structural balance on the expenditure side. With these characteristics the indicator offers an image of fiscal policy that avoids both the 'endogeneity problems' of the structural balance and the 'indeterminacy' of the narrative approach. This indicator is used to shed light on EU fiscal policies and estimate the average short-term output effects of fiscal policy. Results suggest that, with exceptions, fiscal policy has been conducted in a more stop and go and pro-cyclical fashion over the past decade than suggested by traditional indicators. The average fiscal multiplier is estimated at at a bit below unity on average, with higher (resp. lower) multipliers associated with expenditure (resp. revenue) shocks, and higher (resp. lower) multipliers in times of declining (resp. increasing) output gaps. JEL Classification: E62, H60.


In order to promote the mobile games to keep up with the new technologies development, the mobile game of Gallant Fighter with Double Blade based on the Android OS designed in this paper applies various techniques, especially for the gravity sensing, such as object pool, multi-threaded, socket connection, maps and etc.. The game management, the service class, the sound manager class, the game view class, the pass tips window class, the rank window class, game activity class, skin class collision detection and bit map util class are designed by UML model respectively. Experiments demonstrated its performance and proved that this model is meaningful and useful to develop other online mobile games. The UML model supports the game development and provides happiness for players in the leisure time.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the sustainability of an improvement in symptoms of depression using CPAP therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

PATIENTS/METHODS
Patients referred to our center for evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea who had a respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of > or =15 and who demonstrated a significant response to CPAP (50% or greater drop in RDI), were evaluated for symptoms of depression using the Beck Depression Inventory-Fast Screen for Medical Patients (BDI). These individuals were asked to complete the BDI assessment again after 4 to 6 weeks of treatment with CPAP (short-term follow-up), and then reassessed approximately one year later (long-term follow-up).

RESULTS
In this group of patients, the institution of CPAP therapy resulted in a significant decrease in those symptoms of depression assessed by the BDI at both the short-term and long-term follow-up periods.

CONCLUSIONS
For patients with OSA who continue CPAP therapy, we noted a statistically significant, sustained improvement in those symptoms of depression measured by the BDI.


Unrelieved neuropathic pain continues to be a substantial health problem in a cancer patient arises either due to disease itself or its treatment. Review of literature showed that neuropathic pain has high prevalence rate, greater severity and analgesic requirement with worse quality of life. Underreporting by patient and under treatment by physician is an important causative factor of indefinite persistence of neuropathic pain. Careful history taking, elaborated physical examination, patient's self report and diagnostic tools with high sensitivity and specificity are needed for accurate assessment of neuropathic pain. Neuropathic cancer pain is difficult to treat and also shows poor response to opioids so in this situation alternate a treatment strategy that also includes psycosocial and spiritual counseling with yoga and meditation exercises under the palliative care framework should be practiced. To find out the burden and estimation of resource generation of this widely recognized problem, accurate establishment of incidence, prevalence, severity, and effectiveness of treatment is quite mandatory. Complex phenomenon of neuropathic pain abolishes establishment of early diagnosis and accurate etiology of this symptom, emphasizes the need of sensitive and reliable clinical grading scale, international classification system and validated diagnostic tools that correspond with clinical assessment. Multiple studies towards this direction has been culminated and some are still going on, though the data and literature is very scant and require further research for the complete evaluation of neuropathic pain.


In the paper the problem of the ground clutter rejection for airborne SAR is discussed. The features of space-time clutter filtering and clutter spectrum of airborne SAR imaging are analysed. It is pointed out that there exist some problems such as Doppler ambiguity and blind speed band expansion when STAP filtering is applied to the ground clutter cancellation. Aiming at the solving of difficulties in detecting and imaging the slowly moving target with single-channel airborne SAR, a new method suitable for multi-channel airborne SAR to detect and image the slowly moving target is proposed, which can effectively avoid the blind speed and Doppler ambiguity and keep the processed data rate lower. Computer simulation results show that this method is valid. Compared with other method for detecting and imaging the slowly moving targets, the improvement factor obtained by the proposed method is narrower than that.


To the Editor.— In this column in the past 1 I reported two unusual complications of topical fluorouracil therapy—the activation of herpes labialis and the development of telangiectasia. The subsequent course of patient 4 has been interesting. Report of a Case.— A 35-year-old healthy woman, in whom infraorbital telangiectasia had developed as a consequence of the chemotherapeutic treatment, had noticed gradual fading of this cosmetic defect within three years. Recently, however, another case of herpes labialis, proved by cell culture, was diagnosed in a 64-year-old healthy woman who had been examined at the University of Maryland Hospital, Baltimore, three days after she completed a seven-day course with 5% fluorouracil cream that was applied three times daily. The topical fluorouracil therapy had produced considerable erythema and edema in the area later affected by the viral disease. Cultures that were positive for herpes simplex virus were obtained in HeLa cells for vesicle


Abstract A growing body of research supports widespread future reliance on apatite for radioactive waste cleanup. Apatite is a multi-functional radionuclide sorbent that lowers dissolved radionuclide concentrations by surface sorption, ion exchange, surface precipitation, and by providing phosphate to precipitate low-solubility radionuclide-containing minerals. Natural apatites are rich in trace elements, and apatite's stability in the geologic record suggest that radionuclides incorporated into apatite, whether in a permeable reactive barrier or a waste form, are likely to remain isolated from the biosphere for long periods of time. Here we outline the mineralogic and surface origins of apatite-radionuclide reactivity and show how apatites might be used to environmental advantage in the future.


Recently gut bacterial populations seem to be involved in many functions and in the pathogenesis of several medical conditions. Traditionally the intestinal microbiome has been recognized to play an important role in metabolizing food compounds in simpler chemical structures for the absorption of different nutrients, and in maintenance control of gastrointestinal pathogens species. Bacterial populations are implicated in a complicated network of interactions within the immune system, epithelial cells local endocrine system, that affects the peripheral and the central nervous system, via blood circulation. Microbiome influencing the mind via immune, endocrine and metabolic signalling, is able to exert some clinical effects in different mental diseases. It releases endocrine substances through several pathways involved in the modulation of neuroinflammation and production of several neurotrasmitter precursors. It has recently been named psychobiome. It is known that phenolic compounds are able to influence microbiome proliferation and to exert several roles, especially regarding neuroinflammation in depressive and anxious behaviour. The clinical effects are reported in the literature. The aim of this study is to highlight the interaction between polyphenols and microbiota- gut-brain axis.


ABSTRACT Long before Thomas Hobbes wrote systematic works on political philosophy, he produced the first English translation of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War directly from Greek. Published in 1629, it was a result of several of his formative years spent in Thucydides' close company. Starting from the premise that such an experience could have informed Hobbes's own ideas to a certain extent, this article tries to establish points of connection between Thucydides' text and Hobbes's conception of the state of nature. The aim is to identify ideas that might be at work behind different aspects of one of the focal points of Hobbes's political thought. The analysis begins with Thucydides' Archaeology depicting the manner of life of the ancient Hellenes; moves to 'the three greatest things' that, working on both individual and collective levels, impelled Athens to build an Empire and consequently trigger the war with Sparta; subsequently turns to the disintegration of Corcyraean polis during stasis; and in the end engages with the same problem that in Athens was caused by the plague.


The aim of this study is to identify daily rainfall patterns of wet days linked to the topography of Peninsular Malaysia using two different configurations of points in the data. The data used in this study were obtained from 75 rain gauge stations in Peninsular Malaysia from the year 1975-2007. We only consider data for the period in which southwest monsoon occur from June until September yielding a total of 153 days.A typical classification approach in identifying daily rainfall patterns requires the use of configuration points of entities between the rows and column of the data based on correlation matrices. In this study, we compare effect on the cluster of daily rainfall patterns on two types of correlation matrices: T-mode correlation matrix and Pearson correlation matrix. These matrices are then used as inputs for Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to reduce the dimension of the dataset before clustering the rainfall patterns of wet days. We have found that although Tmode correlation matrix is popularly used in subtropical climate studies, it is unable to show clear classification in defining daily rainfall patterns in tropical climate data. Using Calinski and Harabasz Index, only two-rainfall pattern cluster can be identified on T-mode correlation matrix. On the other hand, Pearson correlation matrix showed three different rainfall patterns and each cluster are identified to be linked to certain topographic characteristics. These three clusters indicate that the rainfall pattern during the southwest monsoon experiencing the most heavy rain in the western part of the Peninsula, particularly in characterizing the rainfall pattern of the northwestern and western region of Peninsular Malaysia. These clusters are mapped out using ARCGIS software.

 Keywords: T-mode Correlation Matrix; Pearson Correlation Matrix; PCA; k-means clustering; Calinski and Harabasz Index; Southwest Monsoon; Daily rainfall pattern.

 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 62H25; 62H30


A matheI?atical ~odel of the magneto~pheric electric field imposed upon the ionosphere is presented. The model ~rovldes a~ mte~planetary magn~tlc field (I~F) dependent description of the magnetospheric electric field at IOno~~her~c altltude~ for glob~llOnosphenc and thermospheric modelers. Although many theoreti cal and empmcallonosphenc convection mo?el~ have been published, none give both a quantitative and a general Kp, IMF (Bx, By, B~) dependent descnp~IO~. The need for such a model is particularly pressing with the success ~f the I?ynaffilc ~xplorer (DE) mISSIon. As a result of this mission, extensive data sets of thermosphenc a.nd lOnosphenc parameters for well-defined IMF orientations have been acquired. These data sets, especlal.ly for northward I~F orientations, are so complex that global models of both the thermosphere and lOnosphere ~re reqUlre.d to help unrav~l the physics. Our convection model is an empirical model ~ased up~n a syntheSIS of published observatIOns and current understanding. It describes the convectIOn electriC field by a set of simple functions which are dependent on Kp and IMF (B B B ) Th . If ese simp e ~nctlOns create a .rame~o~k by which current and future empirical data can be used to adjust the model. Smce no recent ~aJor statlstlcal surveys have been made of ionospheric electric fields these functions (based upon a few pubbshed case studies) are exceedingly simple.


Root nodule symbioses (nodulation) and whole genome duplication (WGD, polyploidy) are both important phenomena in the legume family (Leguminosae). Recently, it has been proposed that polyploidy may have played a critical role in the origin or refinement of nodulation. However, while nodulation and polyploidy have been studied independently, there have been no direct studies of mechanisms affecting the interactions between these phenomena in symbiotic, nodule-forming species. Here, we examined the transcriptome-level responses to inoculation in the young allopolyploid Glycine dolichocarpa (T2) and its diploid progenitor species to identify underlying processes leading to the enhanced nodulation responses previously identified in T2. We assessed the differential expression of genes and, using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), identified modules associated with nodulation and compared their expression between species. These transcriptomic analyses revealed patterns of non-additive expression in T2, with evidence of transcriptional responses to inoculation that were distinct from one or both progenitors. These differential responses elucidate mechanisms underlying the nodulation-related differences observed between T2 and the diploid progenitors. Our results indicate that T2 has reduced stress-related transcription, coupled with enhanced transcription of modules and genes implicated in hormonal signaling, both of which are important for nodulation.


Cloud computing has recently emerged as one of the buzzwords in the IT industry. Several IT vendors are promising to offer computation, data/storage, and application hosting services, offering Service-Level Agreements (SLA) backed performance and uptime promises for their services. While these "clouds" are the natural evolution of traditional clusters and data centers, they are distinguished by following a pricing model where customers are charged based on their utilization of computational resources, storage and transfer of data. They offer subscription-based access to infrastructure, platforms, and applications that are popularly termed as IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service), and SaaS (Software as a Service). In order to improve the profit of service providers we implement a technique called hybrid pricing , where this hybrid pricing model is a pooled with fixed and spot pricing techniques.


Previously, we demonstrated that initial acquisition of a lever-press task resulted in higher levels of activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) mRNA induction than did overtrained performance (Kelly and Deadwyler, 2002). The present study extends this finding by characterizing (1) the behavioral regulation of Arc protein expression, (2) the time course of decay of Arc mRNA signal in different brain regions immediately after the initial acquisition session, and (3) the persistence of Arc mRNA induction in those same brain regions across sessions. Rats killed after initial acquisition of a simple lever-press response demonstrated significantly elevated levels of Arc protein. Interestingly, of the brain regions that demonstrated Arc mRNA induction 30 min after the acquisition session, there was a differential rate in signal decay, with only half of the regions continuing to demonstrate elevated levels of Arc at 60 min. Similarly, the extent to which Arc mRNA induction persisted across days also varied across brain regions. An unexpected outcome was that areas such as CA1 and CA3 that showed the least persistence in Arc activation immediately after the initial acquisition session showed the greatest perseverance of induction across days of training. Finally, animals less proficient at the task expressed higher levels of Arc mRNA than animals that acquired the task more quickly. Taken together, the results show that Arc mRNA and protein were regulated in an experience-dependent manner; however, the fact that the time course of Arc mRNA expression differed across brain structures suggests a differential rate of consolidation of the newly acquired behavior across specific brain regions.


A shaped-beam reflectarray based on patches, aperture-coupled to delay lines is demonstrated for local multipoint distribution system (LMDS) central station antennas, in the 10.10-10.70 GHz band. The antenna must cover a 60deg-sector in azimuth with a squared cosecant pattern in elevation. The design process consists of two steps. First, a phase-only pattern synthesis technique is applied to obtain the required phase-shift distribution on the reflectarray surface which generates the shaped pattern. The second stage consists of determining the length of the delay lines, aperture-coupled to the square patches, in order to achieve the phase distribution synthesized in the previous step. Two reflectarray antennas have been designed, one for vertical (V) and the other for horizontal (H) polarization. A breadboard for V-polarization has been manufactured and tested in an anechoic chamber, showing a good agreement between theoretical and measured radiation patterns.


We worked on clique minimal separator decomposition. In order to compute this decomposition on a graph G we need to compute the minimal separators of its triangulation H. In this context, the first efforts were on finding a clique minimal separators in a chordal graph. We defined a structure called atom tree inspired from the clique tree to compute and represent the final products of the decomposition, called atoms. The purpose of this thesis was to apply this technique on biological data. While we were manipulating this data using Galois lattices, we noticed that the clique minimal separator decomposition allows a divide and conquer approach on Galois lattices. One biological application of this thesis was the detection of fused genes which are important evolutionary events. Using algorithms we produced in the course of along our work we implemented a program called MosaicFinder that allows an efficient detection of this fusion event and their pooling. Another biological application was the extraction of genes of interest using expression level data. The atom tree structure allowed us to have a good visualization of the data and to be able to compute large datasets.


1) Analogues of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA were prepared in which the substituents at C-3 of the acyl residue were altered. The same analogues were additionally modified by replacement of the thioester oxygen by hydrogen to yield reduction-resistant CoA-thioethers. The interaction of both types of CoA derivatives with a 58-kDa catalytic fragment of human 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase was studied. 2) This enzyme reduces glutaryl-CoA at a very low rate whereas 3-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA is well reduced, the maximal rate of reduction being 7% that of the physiological substrate. Only half of total 3-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA was attacked, thus reflecting the stereo-specificity of the enzyme for (3S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA. The results invalidate the hitherto assumed absolute substrate specificity of the enzyme. 3) The affinity of both 3-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA and its thioether variant S-(4-carboxy-3-hydroxybutyl)CoA to the reductase, Ki = 0.3 microM and Ki = 0.4 microM, respectively, is higher than that of the physiological substrate, Km = 1.5 microM (data related to (S)-diastereomer). The results show for the first time that the methyl-group effect observed with the inhibitor lovastatin is an intrinsic property of the enzyme. 4) All of the prepared CoA derivatives are purely competitive inhibitors of the reductase, the affinities varying within a range of two powers of ten (Ki = 0.3-32 microM). On variation of the substituents at C-3 of the acyl residue of the physiological substrate the affinity of both CoA-thioesters and CoA-thioethers increases in the sequence CH2, C(CH3)2, CH(CH3), C(OH)CH3, CH(OH).


For the early recognition of dapsone resistance, it is essential to regularly examine patients at risk for suspicious new lesions, backed by regular clinical treatment records including smear results. The earlier the recognition and starting on alternative treatment, the better is the response. However, it is not advisable to change treatment without attempting at least clinical confirmation, and endorsing the chart so that the problem is not missed on subsequent occasions.


Objective: This study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B and its associated factors among students of medical colleges at Kuantan Campus, the International Islamic University Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used, and data collection was carried out using a self-structured close-ended questionnaire. Descriptive and analytic statistics were performed with independent t-test, One Way ANOVA and a correlation analysis determine any significant differences between the groups with p < 0.05 significance value Results: According to the results, there was a significant (p < 0.001) association between the type of Faculty with knowledge and awareness about hepatitis B. In addition, the results showed an association between year of study with the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B (p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was an association between duration of clinical experience with knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B (p < 0.001). The results showed that there was no association between gender with knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B (p > 0.05). Conclusion: levels of knowledge showed a strong correlation with levels of awareness, meaning that students with high knowledge also had a high awareness of hepatitis B. On the whole, students were aware of and knowledgeable about hepatitis B.


This guide is intended as a resource for LGBTQIA+ people who live in Oswego, either as residents or to attend school here.


We present results of a population synthesis study for semidetached short orbital period binaries which contain lowmass ( < 1.5 Mo) donors and massive (> 4 M^) compact accretors, which in our model represent black holes. Evolution of these binaries is determined by nuclear evolution of the donors and/or orbital angular momentum loss due to magnetic braking by the stellar wind of the donors and gravitational wave radiation. According to our model the estimated total number of this type of black-hole binaries in the Galaxy is it 10000. If the magnetic braking removing angular momentum in semidetached black-hole binaries is described by the Verbunt & Zwaan formula, the model predicts that among them around 3000 systems with periods > 2 hours would be transient. In addition one finds several hundreds of luminous and stable systems with periods between 3 and 8 hours. Several dozens of these bright systems should be observed above the RXTE ASM sensitivity limit. The absence of such systems implies that upon Roche-lobe overflow by the low-mass donor angular momentum losses are reduced by a factor more than 2 with respect to the Verbunt & Zwaan prescription. In such a case short period black-hole soft X-ray transients (SXT) may have donors that overflow the Roche lobe in the core hydrogen-burning stage. We show that it is unlikely that the transient behaviour of black-hole short-period X-ray binaries is explained by the evolved nature of the stellar companion. On the other hand a substantial fraction of black-hole binaries with periods > 3 hours could be faint with truncated, stable cold accretion discs as proposed by Menou et al. Most of the semidetached black-hole binaries are expected to have periods shorter than ~ 2 hours. Properties of such, still to be observed, very small mass-ratio (q = M2/M1 < 0.02) binaries are different from those of their longer period cousins.


Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are evoked by two stimulus tones with frequency f1 and f2 of ratio f2/f1  in the range between approximately 1.05 and 1.4. This study theoretically and experimentally analyzes the cubic 2f1-f2 DPOAE for different stimulus levels of one of the tones while the other is constant. Simulations for f2/f1 of 1.2 and moderate stimulus levels (30-70 dB sound pressure level) indicate that cubic distortion products are generated along a relatively large length of the basilar membrane, the extent of which increases with stimulus level. However, apical from the place of maximum nonlinear force, the wavelets generated by these distributed sources mutually cancel. Therefore, although the spatial extent of the primary DPOAE sources broadens with increasing stimulus level (up to 1.5 oct), the basilar-membrane region contributing to the DPOAE signal is relatively narrow (0.6 oct) and level independent. The observed dependence of DPOAE amplitude on stimulus level can be well-approximated by a point source at the basilar-membrane place where the largest distortion product (maximum of the nonlinear force) is generated. Onset and offset of the DPOAE signal may contain amplitude overshoots (complexities), which are in most cases asymmetrical. Two-tone suppression was identified as the main cause of these onset and offset complexities. DPOAE measurements in two normal-hearing subjects support the level dependence of the steady-state DPOAE amplitude and the asymmetry in the onset and offset responses predicted by the theoretical analysis.


Introduction: Renal ectopia is an uncommon congenital condition, where kidney is misplaced and malrotated. Results: In the present study, it was found that the right kidney had a lower position (at the level of L2 to L5) than usual. The hilum of the right kidney was facing anterolaterally and had two renal pelvises. The right kidney was supplied by five renal arteries and the left one by two renal arteries. Discussion: Renal ectopia occurs due to abnormal ascend and rotation of the kidney. The majority of ectopia cases were reported in the pelvic region, but in the present study it was found in the abdominal region. Conclusion: Ectopic kidney may occur due to abnormal ascent and rotation of kidney. It may be associated with vascular and ureteric anomalies.


Although vaccination is widely accepted as an effective method of preventing and controlling the COVID‐19 pandemic, many people are concerned about possible cutaneous side‐effects, which can delay or prevent them from being vaccinated. The objectives of this systematic review were to assess the global prevalence and clinical manifestations of cutaneous adverse reactions following COVID‐19 vaccination. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched for articles published from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021, and reference lists for each selected article were screened. Case reports, case series, observational studies and randomized controlled trials that provided information on cutaneous adverse reactions following COVID‐19 vaccines were included. A total of 300 studies were included in a systematic review of which 32 studies with 946 366 participants were included in the meta‐analysis. The pooled prevalence of cutaneous manifestations following COVID‐19 vaccination was 3.8% (95% CI, 2.7%–5.3%). COVID‐19 vaccines based on the mRNA platform had a higher prevalence than other platforms at 6.9% (95% CI, 3.8%–12.3%). Various cutaneous manifestations have been reported from injection site reactions, which were the most common (72.16%) to uncommon adverse reactions such as delayed inflammatory reactions to tissue filler (0.07%) and flares of pre‐existing dermatoses (0.07%). Severe cutaneous reactions such as anaphylaxis have also been reported, but in rare cases (0.05%). In conclusion, cutaneous adverse reactions are common, especially in those receiving mRNA vaccines. Most reactions are mild and are not contraindications to subsequent vaccination except for anaphylaxis, which rarely occurs. COVID‐19 vaccination may also be associated with flares of pre‐existing dermatoses and delayed inflammatory reactions to tissue filler. Patients with a history of allergies, pre‐existing skin conditions or scheduled for filler injections should receive additional precounselling and monitoring. A better understanding of potential side‐effects may strengthen public confidence in those wary of new vaccine technologies.


Posterior dislocation of an intraocular lens (IOL) into the vitreous cavity can be a serious problem, and probably will become more frequent because of increasing popularity of posterior-chamber lenses. We describe techniques for managing a posteriorly dislocated lens that cannot be repositioned in its proper location by medical means. Vitrectomy instrumentation and techniques through a pars plana approach provide optimal visualization during manipulation of the intraocular lens, minimize vitreoretinal traction and permit one to reposition the IOL in its proper location relative to the iris or to position it in the anterior chamber in preparation for removal. A modification of the McCannel iris-fixation suture technique is also presented.


Since the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq, the private military sector has seen the largest growth of profit for decades. As Iraq continues to be the focal point of private military clients, staff and related actors, the recurring issue of legitimacy must be addressed. While many texts focus only on existing or proposed legislation, this book analyses the public perception of private military companies (PMCs) and, of wider significance, how their use by states affects how the general public perceives state legitimacy of monopolizing force. Furthermore, this book provides a timely overview of how the energy sector and PMCs are challenging the established sovereignty of politically fragmented oil states, illustrating how energy firms may become as culpable as states in their partnerships with the private military sector and subsequent political ramifications


It has frequently been shown that speakers prosodically reduce repeated words in discourse. This phenomenon has been claimed to facilitate speech recognition and to be language universal. In particular, the relationship between the information value of a word in a discourse context and its prosodic prominence have been shown to correlate. However, a literature review provided in this paper reveals that most evidence comes from English, where prosodic marking of information status often coincides with repetition reduction. The current study investigates to what extent repetition reduction occurs in Papuan Malay, spoken in the western part of the island of New Guinea (Indonesia). The work on Papuan Malay prosody available to date suggests fundamental differences compared to English and other Germanic languages. An acoustic analysis is carried out on repeated words in short stories produced by native Papuan Malay speakers. The results show that upon repetition, words were shortened and produced with higher F0. In a subsequent word identification task, it was found that first and second mentions were equally intelligible. Conclusions partially confirm previous work and challenge theories on how the prosody and information value of a word are related.


Separations using polymer membranes is a rapidly growing field due to membrane advantages such as energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, and compact size. Among the materials considered for membrane use are perfluoropolymers, which offer unprecedented stability for operation in challenging conditions such as those required in industrial gas separations. Despite this favorable attribute, the relative lack of material choices has hindered perfluoropolymer adoption as membranes. Here, we report gas transport properties in a new family of amorphous perfluorodioxolane copolymers that show permselectivities above the polymer upper bound for important gas pairs (e.g., He/CH4, H2/CH4, N2/CH4). For example, the most selective of these membranes has a He/CH4 selectivity more than 5 times higher than any previously reported for a perfluoropolymer. The new copolymer membranes exhibit tunable transport properties through variation in the amount of monomers that function as "selective enhancers". Such monomers, which show a tendency to crystalize as homopolymers, improve chain packing in the copolymer, enhancing the membrane ability to sieve molecules by size. In this manner, these materials open a new route to achieving tailored performance with inherently stable membranes. Moreover, these copolymers are soluble in fluorinated solvents, and thus are solution processable making their scale-up and conversion to membrane devices straightforward using existing industry methods.


We use land‐subsidence observations from repeatedly surveyed benchmarks and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) in Antelope Valley, California, to estimate spatially varying compaction time constants, τ, and inelastic specific skeletal storage coefficients, S*kv, in a previously calibrated regional groundwater flow and subsidence model. The observed subsidence patterns reflect both the spatial distribution of head declines and the spatially variable inelastic skeletal storage coefficient. Using the nonlinear parameter estimation program UCODE we estimate compaction time constants between 3.8 and 285 years. The S*kv values are estimated by linear estimation and range from 0 to almost 0.09. We find that subsidence observations over long time periods are necessary to constrain estimates of the large compaction time constants in Antelope Valley. The InSAR data used in this study cover only a three‐year period, limiting their usefulness in constraining these time constants. This problem will be alleviated as more SAR data become available in the future or where time constants are small. By incorporating the resulting parameter estimates in the previously calibrated regional model of groundwater flow and land subsidence we can significantly improve the agreement between simulated and observed land subsidence both in terms of magnitude and spatial extent. The sum of weighted squared subsidence residuals, a common measure of model fit, was reduced by 73% with respect to the original model. However, the ability of the model to adequately reproduce the subsidence observed over only a few years is impaired by the fact that the simulated hydraulic heads over small time periods are often not representative of the actual aquifer hydraulic heads. Errors in the simulated hydraulic aquifer heads constitute the primary limitation of the approach presented here.


The fidelity of postselecting devices based on direct photon number detection can be significantly improved by insertion of a phase-insensitive optical amplifier in front of the detector. The scheme is simple, and the cost to the probability of obtaining the appropriate detector outcome is low.


A solvable model for velocity profiles in confined liquids under shear is presented. We investigate the influence of structuring at the interface on the flow with emphasis on exact behaviour at low shear rates. Approximate results are derived for high shear rates. We derive the Brinkman equation for the velocity profile and obtain interesting dependencies on the liquid-film thickness and on the liquid-liquid and liquid-solid interactions which should be amenable to experimental and numerical testing.


BACKGROUND
Population-based organized screening programmes for colorectal cancer (CRC) are underway worldwide, with many based on the faecal immunochemical test (FIT). No clinical trials assessing FIT compared with no screening are planned, and few studies have assessed the population impact of such programmes.

METHODS
Before 2010, 11 out of 50 Spanish provinces initiated population-based organized screening programmes with FIT for an average-risk population aged 50-69 years. We used a quasi-experimental design across Spanish provinces between 1999 and 2016 to evaluate their impact on population age-standardized mortality and incidence rates due to CRC. Difference-in-differences and synthetic control analyses were performed to test for validation of statistical assumptions and to assess the dynamics of screening-associated changes in outcomes over time.

RESULTS
No differences in outcome trends between exposed (n = 11) and control (n = 36) provinces were observed for up to 7 years preceding the implementation of screening. Relative to controls, exposed provinces experienced a mean increase in age-standardized incidence of 10.08% [95% confidence interval (CI) (5.09, 15.07)] 2 years after implementation, followed by a reduction in age-standardized mortality rates due to CRC of 8.82% [95% CI (3.77, 13.86)] after 7 years. Results were similar for both women and men. No associated changes were observed in adjacent age bands not targeted by screening, nor for 10 other major causes of death in the exposed provinces.

CONCLUSIONS
FIT-based organized screening in Spain was associated with reductions in population colorectal cancer mortality. Further research is warranted in order to assess the replicability and external validity of our findings, and on gender-specific use of FIT in organized screening.


Matrix Hartree–Fock calculations are reported for 3d transition metals in a configuration chosen to represent, as closely as is possible with integral occupation numbers, an atom in an fcc metal. The cubic symmetry shell (3dt)6 is assumed to be fully occupied, and electrons are successively removed from the (3de)4 shell to represent atoms from Cu to Mn. A single 4s orbital is included, with independent calculations for the two possible choices of relative spin of the 4s orbital and 3de shell. Orbital energies are computed for each of the nonequivalent 4s and 3d orbitals, and the relationship of these quantities with transition metal energy bands is discussed. Intra-atomic orbital energy splittings are found to be comparable in magnitude to energy band splittings. Radial densities of the 4sα and 4sβ orbitals are computed. These densities are found to be compatible with a proposed explanation of recently observed negative magnetization regions within the unit cell of ferromagnetic transition metals.


During the 1980s the 'experiential view' of a consumers buying process was proposed in literature. Since then, the experience a consumer has when interacting with a brand (Brand Experience) has been a frequently discussed topic in research and practise. Different disciplines propose measurement scales to capture this brand experience (BE). However literature does not agree on one generally accepted method. The marketing practise extensively utilises simple evaluative surveys such as the NetPromotorScore (NPS) and CustomerSatisfaction (CSat) to evaluate the BE of a consumer. As the world is becoming more and more digital oriented, consumers leave digital behavioural traces. This brings new measurement possibilities. Accordingly, this thesis proposes a data- driven method for measuring BE. The method is manifested through the design of a digital tool. This resulted in the MerkMonitor, a digital dashboard which analyses the experiences consumers have when interacting with a brand. Originating back to psychology, literature identifies that this brand experience consists of Sensorial, Affective, Cognitive and Behavioural responses. Literature shows a call for new types of measurement to capture these dimensions. The design process proposes a set of variables (measurements) to give insight in the four dimensions. Each dimension is made up of three attributes, which can be measured either with observant variables or surveying variables. Measurements are mostly done at digital touch points, such as social media, the website of the brand or through surveys via for example e-mails. As different attributes are valuable for different clients of GP, a selection toolkit is made. When a selection of fitting variables is decided upon, they form the metrics of the dashboard together. The thesis proposes a dashboard containing ten variables as starting point. When the dashboard is implemented and used right, both GP and the client will be able to analyse the BE and anticipate on this analysis. The launch of the dashboard will make GP able to monitor BE through real-time measurement. This contributes to GP being an expert in BE. Finally, the Merk Monitor was evaluated through six sessions with Strategists, Technology experts and clients. Also a MVP was developed and a prototype was explored to ensure feasibility. This led to recommendations for futher developping and implementations of the product.


This article offers a new historiographical overview of the military history of Spain in the early modern period, covering recent works published by English-speaking scholars as well as the latest studies by Spanish and Italian historians. Differences tend to focus on whether the rival paradigms of 'decline' or 'resilience' offer the better insights into the period after the end of Spanish military supremacy (c. 1648). A survey of recent work on this topic leads us to some very significant observations about factors underpinning power, such as a common or shared culture and identity, as well as the more obvious and traditional components of military and naval power. The nature of royal power and monarchy are analysed, as are the structure of the army and the construction of the state in Spain. The relationship between the state and civil society, and the debate about the militarization of Iberian society and the study of cultural and religious values, are also examined. On balance, recent literature leads us to a more positive assessment of the resilience of Spanish military power in the second half of the 17th century.


The limit characteristics of switches based on open discharge (OD) with counter-propagating electron beams were studied. Such switches (kivotrons) are able to generate high-voltage pulses with a sub-nanosecond leading edge. Separately obtained limit values of the switch parameters are as follows: current density up to 1000 A cm−2, operating voltage up to 100 kV, switching time down to 100 ps, the degree of pulse compression up to 100, a pulse repetition frequency up to 100 kHz (in burst mode), and an efficiency of more than 0.9. It was shown that the fast current development arises when the discharge self-sustaining mode is caused by the photoemission from the cathodes due to the resonant radiation emitted by fast helium atoms that have a large Doppler shift with respect to the line center. As a result, the emitted radiation reaches the cathodes without absorption by the helium gas. The presence of a fast atom group with an energy determined by the applied voltage was experimentally demonstrated. The dynamics of the plasma decay was studied. It is shown that the radiative, collisional-radiative, and three-body collision recombination mechanisms significantly contribute to the afterglow decay only when the plasma density remains higher than 1012 cm−3. The main mechanism of the further plasma decay is the diffusion of plasma particles onto the wall. Therefore, the effect of recombination in the plasma bulk is observed only during the first 10–20 μs of the afterglow. The results of the lasing characteristics of a copper vapor laser excited by pulses generated by an OD-based switch are presented.


The aim of the present study was documentation of some wild species of Basidiomycetous Fungi (Polypores and Mushrooms). The specimens were collected from Daunne Devi temple and its adjoining area, Daunne, Parasi district in October, 2021. Total of 15 species of Basidiomycetous fungi were collected. The identified species represent five orders belonging to seven families and 13 genera. Polyporales was found to be the dominant order in the study area with 8 species which are Daedaleopsis confragosa, Lenzites betulinus, Microporus sp., Microporus xanthopus, Polyporus spp. (2 species), Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, Steccherinum albo-fibrilosa and Trametes versicolor followed by Agaricales belong to the species of Echinoderma asperum and Schizophyllum commune and Hymenochaetales includes Hymenochaete sp. and Phellinus gilvus. Auriculariales and Corticales are represented by single species each.


Scholars have addressed how the socially marginalized, individuals with fringe viewpoints, or the politically marginalized in authoritarian regimes use social media to organize or connect in secret. Yet intensifying partisan polarization and prejudice in the United States has made it necessary to study how mainstream partisans in liberal democracies use social media to organize in secret. This study explores why mainstream partisans in the United States—average Republicans or Democrats—organize in secret online and analyzes the unique functions of social media for political organizing amid contextual marginalization. Through interviews with group leaders and a digital ethnography of a secret Facebook group in the United States, I find that mainstream partisans use social media to form secret political groups when they are the minority in their local community and that the online secret group serves several unique functions for members. First, the group operates as a community of solidarity for those reticent to disclose their political beliefs and as a community of contention to criticize and revitalize the minority Party in their region. The group also operates as a community of practice, allowing members to learn and rehearse communication among like-minded others. These findings hold implications for how scholars study communication in a digital and polarized era and how practitioners gauge public opinion.


An in situ controllable approach for fabrication of a well-designed graphene oxide-based ternary magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer hybrid (T-MMIP hybrid) was developed. The GO sheet was firstly modified with Fe3O4 microspheres via a one-pot solvothermal method to prepare GO-Fe3O4. Then, the synthesized GO-Fe3O4 was used as the desired substrate for further in situ co-polymerization in the presence of a functional monomer (acrylamide, AM), cross-linking agent (divinylbenzene, DVB), and template molecule (microcystin-LR, MC-LR), followed by elution of the template molecule. The morphologies and structures of the T-MMIP hybrid were verified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometer analysis (VSM), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), and fluorescence spectroscopy. The obtained T-MMIP hybrid showed an outstanding affinity towards eight similar structural microcystins (MC-RR, MC-YR, MC-LR, MC-LW, MC-LY, MC-LA, MC-LF, and MC-WR) in aqueous solution under the optimum conditions, and the enrichment factors of this material for the eight MCs were found to be above 2000. Compared with the literature, it showed that the synthesized T-MMIP hybrid binding with the optimal original template MC-LR had a significant improvement on the affinity and selectivity for a group of structurally related compounds.


We investigate trajectory generation algorithms that allow a satellite to autonomously rendezvous and dock with a target satellite to perform maintenance tasks, or transport the target satellite to a new operational location. We propose different path planning strategies for each of the phases of rendezvous. In the first phase, the satellite navigates to a point in the Line of Sight (LOS) region of the target satellite. We show that the satellite's equations of motion are differentially flat in the relative coordinates, hence the rendezvous trajectory can be found efficiently in the flat output space without a need to integrate the full nonlinear dynamics. In the second phase, we use model predictive control (MPC) with linearized dynamics to navigate the spacecraft to the final docking location within a constrained approach envelope. We demonstrate feasibility of this study by simulating a sample docking mission.


This study designs and analyses a range of options for applying split payment mechanism as an alternative VAT collection method in both the current and definitive VAT regime. The options encompass different types of transactions (B2B, B2C and B2G) as well as different types of payment (EFTs, credit cards, cash payments). The design of the policy options for applying split payment mechanism takes into account previous studies, ongoing VAT policy developments and examples of split payment or similar mechanisms implemented or considered for implementation within the EU and in third countries. The analysis is based on available literature and datasets, as well as data collected especially for the study from Member States, business and their representative organisations and other stakeholders (including banks and payment providers). Data gaps have been filled with a set of proxies and (expert-based) assumptions. The study found no strong evidence that the benefits of split payment would outweigh its costs. The main identified effects were that a wider scope of split payment would potentially provide a larger decrease of the VAT gap and hence have a positive impact on the Member States' budgets, but would also significantly increase the related administrative costs for businesses, especially when applied on broad scale.


Summary Purpose: To compare the effects of four culture media on the quality of human zygotes and embryos. Methods: Prospective study analyzing 2289 human embryos cultivated simultaneously in two different culture media: HTF, the default medium, with either Universal IVF, Global or IVF-30 as the secondary media. The sibling oocytes by each patient were randomly divided between the two culture media following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). On day 1 the pronuclear stage of zygotes were evaluated and on day 2 embryos were evaluated according to the number of cells, percentage of fragmentation and number of nuclei. Z-test and odds ratios were used in the statistical analysis. Results: There was a higher percentage (55.2%) of class A1 + A2 zygotes with IVF-30 compared with HTF, Global or Universal IVF media (49.1%, 44.7% and 44.2%, respectively). The percentage of Top embryos was significantly higher with Global (40.2%) compared with HTF (21.3%), IVF-30 (25.0%) or Universal IVF media (11.2%). Conclusions: Global medium produced more Top embryos evaluated on day 2 of development.


This article evaluates the operational efficiency of the Victorian prison system since the introduction of the neoliberal prison privatisation policy in 1992 through to the period of the next Government (from 1999), ending in 2010. The analysis explores the origin of the Victorian prison system's reform, before focussing on an evaluation of the prison privatisation policy and the prison system's consequent transition from a public to a mixed public-private system. This partially-privatised system comprised various combinations of public and private management and infrastructure. One of the Government's dominant pro-privatisation promises was that introducing private sector competition to the prison system would ensure a more cost-efficient prison system. This study investigates the policy claim that competition and privatisation would yield cost savings for the prison system. The findings indicate that whilst significant cost savings were achieved in the period shortly after privatisation reforms occurred, longer term costs rose significantly as well. Overall, then, Government policy promises about efficiency gains associated with prison privatisations were not realised in the long-term.


The prediction of mortality of a human is a foremost challenging task in today's era. By the advancement of technology in medical science as well as in computer science has now lead us to a path where we are capable of predicting the mortality of a person by using machine learning techniques. The prediction of mortality will be based on some parameters or tests that are taken by the doctors when a patient is admitted to the hospital with the help of sensors, machines, syringes, etc. In this work, we will be evaluating the prediction model on 79999 patients with 342 features. Here we have predicted the mortality of a patient, i.e. (dead or alive), who is admitted in the hospital using deep learning model and various machine learning models methods like logistic regression, linear SVM, random forest, etc. Out of this linear SVM gave the best accuracy of 74 percent.


A backprojection filtering algorithm is presented for variable orbit fan-beam tomography. Expressions for the fan beam projection and backprojection operators are given for a fan-beam geometry with flat detector. The backprojection operator is derived such that the impulse response for the composite of the projection and backprojection operations is equal to l/r if the data are acquired over 360 degrees. The algorithm first backprojects the variable orbit fan-beam projection data using the newly derived backprojector, takes the two-dimensional (2D) Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the backprojected image, multiplies the transformed image by the 2D ramp filter function, and finally takes the inverse 2D FFT to obtain the reconstructed image. The backprojection operator includes a factor which is a function of the flux density along the flat detector which is a function of the rate of change of the orbit radius as a function of angle. The algorithm is verified using computer simulations.<<ETX>>


The Schwinger-Lanczos method proposed recently by Meyer et al. (1991) is applied to the calculation of dissociative attachment cross section of electrons to diatomic molecules within a nonlocal resonance model. As a specific example the dissociative attachment cross section for e-+HCl is calculated.


The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle damage and reinforcement by electrical muscle stimulation (EMS).The first experiment involved two groups of athletes (Group 1 and Group 2) and one group of healthy volunteers who did not engage in daily exercises (Group 3 served as the control). The subjects' triceps brachii muscles were stimulated electrically (EMS, subjectRs variable tolerance: Group 1) and mechanically (concentric- and eccentric-resistance training of 60% MVC, RT: Group 2). For one of the subjects with EMS, the serum CPK levels of 3 and 4 days after the stimulation were approximately six times as high as that before the stimulation. The serum CPK levels of other subjects with EMS increased to twice or less of those before the stimulation. The serum CPK levels of subjects with RT did not change. The levels showed significant difference between subjects with EMS and RT, 2 and 5 days after the stimulation (Mann-Whitney test, pL0.05).In the second experiment, the quadriceps femoris muscles were stimulated. EMS generating a force of 60% MVC was applied to each subject in Group 4 for 30 minutes every other day for a week. RT of 60% MVC was applied to each subject in Group 5. The subject did 30 trials, with 60 s resting time between every 10 trials, every other day for a week. The serum CPK levels of the subjects with EMS increased, but the increase rate varied with subjects. One of the subjects had more than six times as high serum CPK levels as that before the stimulation. Another subject had only one and half times as high serum CPK levels as that before the stimulation. There were significant changes with time after the stimulation (Friedman test, p 0.05).In the third experiment, EMS was applied to the triceps brachii muscles of Group 1 and Group 3 for eight weeks. The non-athletes with EMS showed 30% increase of the maximum voluntary contractile force and they showed 38-54% improvement of endurance. The maximum voluntary contractile force of athletes with EMS did not change but the endurance showed 59% improvement. However the maximum voluntary contractile force of athletes without EMS decreased and the endurance did not change.In conclusion, we suggest that EMS could cause more severe muscle damage than concentric-, eccentric-resistance training. EMS reinforced the muscles of both athletes and non-athletes. Moreover, EMS showed stronger effects on non-athletes compared with the athletes.


Abstract. In the global network of institutions engaged with the realization of International Atomic Time (TAI), atomic clocks and time scales are compared by means of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and by employing telecommunication satellites for two-way satellite time and frequency transfer (TWSTFT). The frequencies of the state-of-the-art primary caesium fountain clocks can be compared at the level of 10−15 (relative, 1 day averaging) and time scales can be synchronized with an uncertainty of one nanosecond. Future improvements of worldwide clock comparisons will require also an improvement of the local signal distribution systems. For example, the future ACES (atomic clock ensemble in space) mission shall demonstrate remote time scale comparisons at the uncertainty level of 100 ps. To ensure that the ACES ground instrument will be synchronized to the local time scale at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) without a significant uncertainty contribution, we have developed a means for calibrated clock comparisons through optical fibers. An uncertainty below 40 ps over a distance of 2 km has been demonstrated on the campus of PTB. This technology is thus in general a promising candidate for synchronization of enhanced time transfer equipment with the local realizations of Coordinated Universal Time UTC. Based on these experiments we estimate the uncertainty level for calibrated time transfer through optical fibers over longer distances. These findings are compared with the current status and developments of satellite based time transfer systems, with a focus on the calibration techniques for operational systems.


The study undertakes an econometric analysis of the contribution of remittance, education expenditure and investment to economic growth rates in the Philippines. Remittance is the most important source of finance for the Philippines. Hence, this paper is an attempt to provide insights into understanding the implications and verifying the hypothesis that remittance is the engine that drives growth and economic development in the Philippines. The ARDL model used enables the researchers to examine long-run as well as short-run relationship between the dependant variable and independent variables. The results show a positive relationship between the rate of economic growth and remittance as well as education expenditure. However, the findings show that there is no evidence of a long-run relationship between investment in the Philippines and the rate of economic growth. A deeper understanding of the OFWs and the economic activities in the Philippines enabled the researchers to draw the conclusions that direct as well as indirect effects of remittance including expenditure on education and consumption expenditure drives economic growth in the Philippines. The Philippines thus has 'a consumption led growth'.


In the dynamic nature of today's engineering components the use of nanolubricants and the control of micron and sub-micron surface texture features can greatly aid in reducing frictional losses and thus reduce energy consumption. The primary purpose of this paper is to define texture and analyze the effects of an isotropic surface texture and lubrication on the frictional response of contacting surfaces in boundary lubrication. This experiment was carried out using a steel ball-on-disk tribometer set-up where the steel disk had a sandblasted surface texture using 40-60 grit glass beads to produce an average roughness, Sa, of 2.120 μm uniformly distributed as shown by an Str value of 0.9. The disks were tested in the tribometer using three different lubrications: without the presence of a lubricant, with PAO base oil, and with MoS2 nanoparticle lubricant. The MoS2 nanolubricant frictional response showed the lowest amount of observable and quantifiable wear based on the areal surface texture parameters measured using a profilometer.


The authors report the results of combined treatment including application of magnetolaserotherapy and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for the management of patients presenting with hypertensive disease. These data give evidence of the accumulation of atherogenic fractions of plasma lipids and pathological modification of the fatty acid composition in erythrocyte membranes. They suggest the appropriateness of lipid-correcting and membrane-protective treatment for patients presenting with hypertensive disease. It is concluded that the proposed combination of magnetolaserotherapy and polyunsaturated fatty acids may be instrumental in the normalization of the serum lipid profile and the correction of the cellular fatty acid composition.


The extended finite element method (X‐FEM) has proven to be an accurate, robust method for solving problems in fracture mechanics. X‐FEM has typically been used with elements using linear basis functions, although some work has been performed using quadratics. In the current work, the X‐FEM formulation is incorporated into isogeometric analysis to obtain solutions with higher order convergence rates for problems in linear fracture mechanics. In comparison with X‐FEM with conventional finite elements of equal degree, the NURBS‐based isogeometric analysis gives equal asymptotic convergence rates and equal accuracy with fewer degrees of freedom (DOF). Results for linear through quartic NURBS basis functions are presented for a multiplicity of one or a multiplicity equal the degree. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Book synopsis: France's presence on the African continent has often been presented as 'cooperation' and part of French cultural policy by policy-makers in Paris – and quite as often been denounced as 'the longest scandal of the republic' by French academics and African intellectuals. Between the last years of French colonialism and France's sustained interventions in former African colonies such as Chad or Cote d'Ivoire during the 2000s, the legacy of French colonialism has shaped the historical trajectory of more than a dozen countries and societies in Africa. The complexities of this story are now, for the first time, addressed in a comprehensive series of essays, based on new research by a group of specialists in French colonial history. The book addresses the needs of both academic specialists and those of students of history and neighbouring disciplines looking for structural analysis of key themes in France's and Africa's shared history.


In his book entitled Semiotic of Poetry, Riffaterre describes his theory called superreader. Initially, Riffaterre's semiotic theory was specifically used to analyze poetry, but in its development this theory could also be used to analyze other literary works. The literary meaning in Riffaterre's semiotics is in the form of (1) the unsustainability of poetic expressions (literary works) caused by displacing of meaning, distorting of meaning, and creating of meaning, (2) reading heuristic and hermeneutic or retroactive, (3) matrices, models, and variants, (4) hypograms or intertextual relationships. In Riffaterre's semiotics the conflict between meaning and significance plays a very important role. In the process of development, the meaning of the text of the Qur'an in this case QS. al-Baqarah verse 223 will give birth to various dynamics of meaning behind the verse to how the verse speaks with the verse maqashid coledors if elaborated the meaning of the verse using Riffaterre's semiotic theory. In connection with the Qur'an, the study of semiotics of the Qur'an begins by placing the Qur'an as a text. Text in the sense as a form of the use of signs (verses or signs) in the form of a combination or collection of a set of language and cultural signs that are combined in certain ways in order to produce certain meanings as well. This research is considered important because there are still few previous studies that discuss Riffaterre's semiotic theory using Alquran verses. The analysis of Alquran with the semiotic approach can be started by analyzing the building structure of the combination of the Alquran code that exists in Riffaterre's semiotic theory.


With federal and state Healthy Marriage Initiatives, greater attention is on education aimed at helping couples form and maintain healthy relationships. Emerging adults attending college are one population of focus for these efforts. Here we briefly describe a relationship education intervention for this population and provide participant feedback from a recent year of the project. Overall findings were that participants perceived the program and the facilitators positively. When asked what was helpful, they identified curriculum delivery (e.g., use of movie clips) and the teaching of skills among other things. Their assessment of the intervention differed by facilitator's gender and years of experience. Implications for relationship education for emerging adults and college instructors are discussed.


Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development Journal. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by /4.0) ABSTRACT Acidic attack on concrete imparts a unique set of damage mechanisms and manifestations compared to other durability issues of concrete. Sulfuric acid attack limits the service life of concrete elements and, thus, results in increased expenditures for the repair or in some cases replacement of the whole structure. To date, there is lack of standardized tests for specifically evaluating the resistance of concrete to sulfuric acid attack, which has caused great variability, for example in terms of solution concentration, pH level/control, etc., among previous studies in this area. Accordingly, there are conflicting data about the role of key constituents of concrete (e.g. supplementary cementitious materials [SCMs]), and uncertainty about building codes' stipulations for concrete exposed to sulfuric acid. Hence, the first objective of this thesis was to assess the behaviour of the same concretes, prepared with single and blended binders, to incremental levels (mild, severe and very severe) of sulfuric acid solutions over 36 weeks. The test variables included the type of cement (general use [GU] or portland limestone cement [PLC]) and SCMs (fly ash, silica fume and nano-silica). The severe (1%, pH of 1) and very severe aggression (2.5%, pH of 0.5) phases caused mass loss of all specimens, with the latter phase providing clear distinction among the performance of concrete mixtures. The results showed that the penetrability of concrete was not a controlling factor, under severe and very severe damage by sulfuric acid attack, whereas the chemical vulnerability of the binder was the dominant factor. Mixtures prepared from PLC performed better than that of counterparts made from GU. While the quaternary mixtures comprising GU or PLC, fly ash, silica fume and nano-silica showed the highest mass losses after 36 weeks, binary mixtures incorporating GU or PLC with fly ash had the lowest mass losses.


The objective of this project is to adapt an automatic pilot for unmanned aerial vehicles, written in C#, so that it can be used with the flight simulator XPlane, in addition to its test and validation. This way we will obtain a didactic tool to design and validate automatic pilots for unmanned aerial vehicles. Initially the choice of the simulator, aircraft models, programming language, integrated development environment and functions implemented will be justified and some of the existing open source autopilots will be analysed. Next the classes used and how the different functions and flight modes have been implemented in the program will be explained. Rotary wing aircraft models created by third parties will be added and the program will be adapted to their operation. Finally the results obtained with the selected aircraft models will be shown. The final outcome consists of an automatic pilot which works together with XPlane10. This autopilot, specially made for the EETAC students, can be a learning tool for the design of PID controllers for unmanned aircraft, which can be easily modified with new functions, flight modes and aircraft models. We expect that this software can be adapted and translated to a language that can be supported by a single-board computer, e.g. C++ for Raspberry Pi, so we can validate its performance on board an unmanned aircraft in real flight conditions and compare the results with those obtained with our program in simulated flights.


The classic divine attribute of omnipresence has been somewhat neglected in contemporary theology. One area that is seldom addressed is the relationship between divine presence, especially with respect to the Holy Spirit, and divine absence, especially with respect to evil spirits (the spirit world being of particular interest to Pentecostal/charismatic theology). This paper examines the theological conundrum relating to the ubiquity of the Spirit and the presence of evil, and then surveys the biblical portrayals of divine presence and absence. Potential solutions are presented and evaluated for an understanding of omnipresence that is compatible with experiential evil. A model based on the cultic concept of graded holiness is suggested as an aid for conceptualizing divine presence and absence.


Instruction in peer assessment of complex task performance may cause high cognitive load, impairing learning. A stepwise instructional strategy aimed at reducing cognitive load was investigated by comparing it with a combined instructional strategy in an experiment with 128 secondary school students (mean age 14.0 years; 45.2% male) with the between-subjects factor instruction (stepwise, combined). In the stepwise condition, study tasks in Phase 1 were domain-specific and study tasks in Phase 2 had both domain-specific and peer assessment components. In the combined condition, these two components were present in all tasks in both phases. Final performance (i.e. speed and accuracy in domain-specific skills and peer assessment skills) showed no significant differences, but performance improved more from Phase 1 to Phase 2 in the stepwise condition than in the combined condition. The results suggest that, with complex study tasks, it might be beneficial to teach domain-specific skills before peer assessment skills.


INTRODUCTION Modern human rights are dynamic. Through their interpretation, and reinterpretation in new situations and contexts, human rights adapt to new challenges and societal risks to basic human interests. This volume addresses how this insight can be demonstrated through the expanding field of human rights studies in business entities. It presents and examines experiences of the new regulatory turns of commercial actors, and discusses recent developments in human rights standard-setting and advocacy. Human rights have long been understood as being state-centric: The basic model of human right claims that the individual is the rights-holder and the state (i.e. by all state organs and actors) the duty-bearer. This remains the basic model of human rights, but it is increasingly being modified and developed in a world of rapid change in terms of a relative decline in state authority and the rise of a polycentric world with comparably more powerful non-state actors. Alluding to these changes, Alston argues that there is a need for a re-imagining of 'the nature of the human rights regime in order to take adequate account of the fundamental changes' that have occurred globally in recent decades. The present volume takes account of this insight, and situational human rights theory acknowledges that as part of contemporary globalisation, some types of non-state actors – notably business enterprises – are rapidly gaining influence and power that the human rights regime can no longer neglect. Legal development – including human rights law – is generally reactive. It responds to new societal experiences that provoke a quest for regulation, restriction, and control. This is indeed what has happened in the field of human rights and business. Accidents and events that uproar ethical consciousness and public morals, outright violations of workers rights, and communities suffering from ruthless environmental exploitation are all types of experiences that have triggered demands for rights protection. Albeit slowly, attempts to define more precisely the human rights duties of commercial actors have been in process in response to experiences of economic globalisation. Accelerating rapidly with the neo-liberal economic policies introduced in the 1980s, globalisation has been structured by three interrelated processes: First, the growth of international economic, cultural, and normative interaction, ignited by the end of the Cold War, the economic reforms initiated in China under Deng Xiaoping, the invention of the World Wide Web, and a cascade of information technology innovations.