Fast current-fall is normally a desired characteristic for power devices because turn-off crossover time and switching power-loss are minimised; but with power-rectifiers, an abrupt termination to reverse-recovery is considered undesirable because high-amplitude voltage-overshoot and oscillations are produced by unavoidable circuit inductance resonating with device junction-capacitance; and the application of RC-snubber circuits, using practical resistors with significant parasitic inductance, is complicated. This has led device manufacturers to examine and modify diode geometry and processing to control current-fall, as well as, total recovered-charge during reverse-recovery. However, the affect of soft current-fall on RC-snubber performance seems not to have been previously examined over a range of fall types and snubber conditions. This paper examines how current-fall shape affects RC-snubber performance, to determine if smaller snubbers can be used which remain tolerant to varying current-fall shape and duration and give lower power-loss. INTRODUCTION The established design procedure for RCsnubbers, controlling diode reverse-recovery transients [13], assumes that the termination of reverse current approximates to an instantaneous current fall, and that peak reverse current, Im, is simultaneously commutated from the diode to an RCsnubber. While this is valid, where circuit inductance controlling reverse-recovery is high enough to necessitate a snubber with a natural period of voltage response much greater than the diode-current fall-time, it is less adequate for soft-recovery diodes o r high-frequency power convertors using lowinductance hardware-practice, where the natural period of snubber response approaches diode-current falltime; because a significant fraction of the energy trapped in stray or circuit inductance, normally absorbed by the snubber (112 LsIm2) is dissipated in the diode. This seems to imply that less capacitance than predicted by the 'abrupt' design procedure can be used with soft-recovery diodes, for the same level of overshoot, providing the diodes can dissipate the resulting higher peak and average power-loss. It will be shown that this is only true for a limited range of circuit conditions; and, where these are met and reduced snubbers are used, an important consideration in their application is shown to be voltage-response sensitivity to current-fall variation. Consistent current-fall behaviour cannot be relied upon, because fall shape and duration are determined by device geometry, processing, and operating conditions [1-7], and are further affected by diodelsnubber interaction because diode reverse-voltage-rise waveform affects current fall [ 8 , 9 ] . The purpose of this paper is to establish if it is worthwhile to assume that current-fall is other than abrupt in RC-snubber design. The data generated to do this, also, serves to illustrate the danger of empirically sizing RC-snubbers, without testing under different operating condition extremes, o r without performing follow-up worst-case analysis. B. W. Williams, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K. RC-SNUBBER PERFORMANCE WITH COMPONENT IMPERFECTIONS The RC-snubber optimization procedure of [131 has more to recommend it that other methods. It uses the fact that for any set of EDC, Ls and Iw values (Fig.1) an optimal pair of R and C values exist which minimizes snubber energy-loss for any overshoot level. Optimal R and C values are specified by the graphs of Figure 2. Initial current factor x , and damping factor (, (Eq.1 and 2) specify, respectively, C and R


In this economic and conventional world, company doing conventional things unconventionally. Company is doing their advertising for the consumer demands through creativity and their budget. In recent times bulk marketing in the sales process of company gain maximum benefit at the minimum cost. Therefore, the term "Guerrilla marketing" is used to describe an unusual system of promotions on a very low budget, relying on time, energy, and the imagination instead of big marketing budgets. This is nothing but to describe aggressive, unusual marketing methods generically. The paper serves to explore the uses and needs for the Guerrilla marketing approach and how they are superior and different from the traditional marketing tactics. In this paper we will describe cost cutting and bearing maximum impact on the consumer will also be highlighted. This paper also will try and understand the terminology, its literature, application to the small business and profitability.


We report on a novel approach toward dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis using crude CO2-rich bio-syngas and biomass char. The crude bio-syngas was derived from bio-oil reforming and was initially conditioned by catalytic conversion into CO-rich bio-syngas using biomass char over the Ni/Al2O3 catalyst. The molar ratio of CO2 to CO significantly decreased from 6.33 in the CO2-rich bio-syngas to 0.21 after bio-syngas conditioning at 800 °C. The yield of dimethyl ether from the conditioned bio-syngas was about four times higher than that from the CO2-rich bio-syngas over the Cu-ZnO-Al2O3/HZSM-5 catalyst. This work potentially provides a useful approach toward producing biofuels and chemicals from bio-syngas and a novel utilization of biomass char.


The sera of 445 persons, mainly patients with various liver diseases, were examined for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and hepatitis B antigens (HB Ag) and antibodies (HB Ab). The presence of AFP was detected in 9 sera by agar-gel precipitation and in 22 additional sera by the more sensitive aggregate haemagglutination technique. HB Ag proved to be present in 74 sera and HB Ab was present in 34 sera. Hepatitis B antigen was present more frequently (42%) in sera containing alpha-fetoprotein than in sera that did not contain it (14.7%). The food habits of the population investigated were also studied.


We discuss a general diagrammatic description of n-point functions in the QCD instanton vacuum that resums planar diagrams, and enforces gauge invariance and spontaneously broken chiral symmetry. We use these diagrammatic rules to derive the pion and kaon quasiparton amplitude and distribution functions at leading order in the instanton packing fraction for large but finite momentum. The instanton and anti-instanton zero modes and nonzero modes are found to contribute to the quasidistributions, but the latter are shown to drop out in the large-momentum limit. The pertinent pion and kaon parton distribution amplitudes and functions are made explicit at the low renormalization scale fixed by the inverse instanton size. Assuming that factorization holds, the pion parton distributions are evolved to higher renormalization scales with one-loop DGLAP evolution and compared to existing data.


During active shooter events or emergencies, the ability of security personnel to respond appropriately to the situation is driven by pre-existing knowledge and skills, but also depends upon their state of mind and familiarity with similar scenarios. Human behavior becomes unpredictable
 when it comes to making a decision in emergency situations. The cost and risk of determining these human behavior characteristics in emergency situations is very high. This paper presents an immersive collaborative virtual reality (VR) environment for performing virtual building evacuation
 drills and active shooter training scenarios using Oculus Rift headmounted displays. The collaborative immersive environment is implemented in Unity 3D and is based on run, hide, and fight mode for emergency response. The immersive collaborative VR environment also offers a unique method for
 training in emergencies for campus safety. The participant can enter the collaborative VR environment setup on the cloud and participate in the active shooter response training environment, which leads to considerable cost advantages over large-scale real-life exercises. A presence questionnaire
 in the user study was used to evaluate the effectiveness of our immersive training module. The results show that a majority of users agreed that their sense of presence was increased when using the immersive emergency response training module for a building evacuation environment.


Research with substance-abusing samples suggests that eliciting commitment language during treatment may improve motivation to change, increase treatment engagement, and promote positive treatment outcomes. However, the relationship between in-session client language and treatment success is not well-understood for youth offender populations. This study evaluated the relationship between commitment language, treatment engagement (i.e., homework completion), and weekly employment outcomes for six gang-affiliated juvenile offenders participating in an employment counseling intervention. Weekly counseling sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded for commitment language strength. Multilevel models were fit to the data to examine the relationship between commitment language and counseling homework or employment outcomes within participants over time. Commitment language strength predicted subsequent homework completion but not weekly employment. These findings imply that gang-affiliated delinquent youth who express motivation to change during employment counseling will be more likely to comply with counselor-initiated homework. Further research on counselor techniques for promoting commitment language among juvenile gang offenders is needed.


The topical administration of medicines is the preferred route in ocular therapy, at least for the anterior segment of the eye. However, the eye's inherent functional and biological barriers all work against the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to efficiently reach the targeted retinal structures. The main objective of this article is to offer a systematic review of the scientific literature in recent years, focusing on the latest developments of topical treatment intended for retinal degenerative diseases. Database search returned 102 clinical studies, focused on topical treatment for age macular degeneration, macular edemas (in diabetic retinopathy, surgery related or in retinal dystrophies) or glaucoma. After the exclusion of low-powered studies and those combining vitreo-retinal surgery, 35 articles remained for analysis. Currently, the topical treatment of retinal degenerative diseases is limited by the difficulty to deliver effective drug concentrations to the posterior eye structures. However, in the case of drug classes like NSAIDs, the presence of certain molecular and metabolic features for specific representatives makes the topical administration currently feasible in several clinical contexts. For other drug classes, either a fine-tuning of the API's pharmacokinetic profile or the use of more advanced formulation strategies, such as rationally designed nanostructured drugs and vehicles, crystalline polymorphs or supramolecular complexes, could bring the much awaited breakthrough for a more predictable and controlled delivery towards the retinal structures and could eventually be employed in the future for the development of more effective ways of delivering drugs to the posterior eye, with the ultimate goal of improving their clinical efficacy.


Although Service Oriented Architecture technologies are becoming widespread, user research to support the exploitation and composition of services by non-programmers is still in its infancy. This paper presents three user studies conducted during the user-centered design of the Serv Face Builder, a service composition tool for non-programmers. Results suggest that end users do not realize that services can be connected together and do not easily understand that information can flow between services. Further conceptual and usability problems of service composition for end users and some guidelines to overcome them are discussed.


In this study, forests in Düzce countryside, camping, picnic, hiking, orientring and so on. A questionnaire was applied to measure the contribution of the families participating in the activities to the physical and psychological development of their children, good parenting. Within the scope of the study, interviews were conducted with 82 families who participated in these activities and the survey results were analyzed in SPSS 22.0 Program. Frequency and percentage, average and one-way analysis of variance were applied. Children of families who spend time with their children in the nature, experience and participate in activities are defined as healthier, more socially, more successful and happier in their classes than children of non-participating families.


Jane Spencer, lead continence nurse at South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, has been named Dementia Nurse of the Year.


An array of interesting activities for bioactive 3-substituted thiopyridines have previously been reported. Herein, a series of α- and β-(1-adamantylthio) analogs of 3-picoline and phenylpyridines were prepared and investigated for antimicrobial (agar dilution method against 21 strains of microorganisms) and antimalarial (against P. falciparum) activities. It was found that β-thiopyridines, 5-(1-adamantylthio)-3-picoline (7) and 3-(1-adamantylthio)-4phenylpyridine (8) are novel antimicrobials and antimalarials. Significantly, analogs 7 and 8 are very potent antimicrobials with MIC range of 2-32 µg/mL where 8 being the most potent. The β-sulfides 7 and 8 selectively inhibited the growth of tested gram-positive bacteria, but inactive against gram-negative bacilli including the members of Enterobacteriaceae. This study identified new antimicrobials that represent promising lead compounds suitable for further preclinical and clinical development.


Introduction Cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) predicts all-cause mortality in Eastern Asian and Caucasian populations. However, little is known about SVD impact in individuals of different races/ethnic groups. In this study, we sought to estimate the mortality risk according to the total SVD (tSVD) score in older adults of Amerindian ancestry. Methods Participants aged ≥60 years from the prospective population-based Atahualpa Project cohort underwent brain MRI between June 2012 and June 2017. The tSVD score was calculated based on the presence of moderate-to-severe white matter hyperintensities, enlarged perivascular spaces, one or more lacune, and one or more cerebral microbleed. We ascertained all-cause mortality during post-MRI follow-up. Poisson regression and Cox-proportional hazards models adjusted for demographics and cardiovascular risk were obtained to estimate mortality risk according to the tSVD score. Results Analysis included 375 participants with available brain MRI and clinical data (mean age 69.0 ± 8.3 years, 56.3% women). The tSVD score was 0 point in 216 individuals (57.6%), 1 point in 71 (18.9%), 2 points in 53 (14.1%), and 3–4 points in 35 (9.3%). Increasing tSVD score was associated with advancing age, hypertension, low level of education, and physical inactivity. Using tSVD score of 0 as reference, a multivariate Poisson regression model showed an increased mortality for individuals with a tSVD score 3–4 points (IRR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.20–4.28). Likewise, in the Cox-proportional model adjusted for demographics and cardiovascular risk, participants with a tSVD score 3–4 maintained a greater than two-fold mortality risk when compared to those with tSVD score of 0 points (HR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.23–4.39). Conclusions High-burden SVD as determined by the tSVD score predicts mortality in community-dwelling older adults of Amerindian ancestry. Incidental diagnosis of covert SVD should prompt aggressive control of cardiovascular health.


THIS nonexhaustive survey of applications of variance-covariance designs will pay scant attention to basic principles of experimental design or the results of studies cited. Its simple purpose is to direct the reader to recent research that employs a variety of designs; the suggestions these studies offer may be of help to him in planning his own research. Several excellent texts (31, 50, 52) and general articles (18, 29, 37, 46, 47) have been added to the methodological literature; these should be consulted for rationale and computational details.


Sabbagh & Gelman have written an unusually thorough and careful commentary, and furthermore, I agree with virtually everything they say. Most of what I want to do in this commentary (given the space) is to try to situate these issues in a broader perspective. To start with, I'll assume that my sympathy for statistical analytic processes as an important part of children's language acquisition is well-established (Maratsos & Chalkley, 1980; Maratsos, 1998), even if I think there are qualifications and limits of some sorts that are necessary (Maratsos, 1998). Simultaneously, I strongly agree with the implications of many of Sabbagh & Gelman's remarks: these mechanisms may be variously biased or specially set for various activities, and probably are not the only thing going on, either.


The professional activity of emergency medical service workers is of critical significance, as it aims to preserve, support, and develop the health of individuals and society, in the face of considerable intellectual, emotional, and physical tension. One of the most important qualities that safeguards the mental health of emergencymedical service workers is the psychological stability of the individuals under working conditions. The objective of this study was to explore the psychological content of the motive of service as a determinant of the psychological stability of the emergency medical service worker. Our results show that the desire to help, to serve people, which we call 'the motive of service', relates to higher motives. The motive of service as a psychological category has not been explored, neither in domestic nor international psychological science. The motive of service as a manifestation of an individual's altruistic orientation gives a moral vector to professional behavior and is a system-shaping element in the motivational component of the psychological stabilityof the medical worker.
Keywords: motive of service, psychological stability, medical worker


This study presents the effects of the vibration and thermal cycling on the fatigue life of a power Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) in a power converter circuit. The fatigue mechanism in per loading mode was investigated separately and based on the overlap approach, the synchronous effects were analyzed. The solder creeps' attitudes are depended on the fatigue life for the thermal loops. The success of the deposited strain per thermal loop is in direct relation with the fatigue lifetime. The main source of the stress in the packaging process is the differences between the components' thermal coefficients. To evaluate the effects of the vibration on the fatigue life for the solder layers, the RMS value of the peeling stress was considered. According to the results, the maximum stress and main affected points realized at the corners of the layers. It has been identified that the assembling of the thermal effects and mechanical loads are quickened the failure rate at the solder joints for this device. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is used for the simulation and the results confirm the estimated crack formation places in the layers.


Network coding-aware routing attempts to find coding opportunities between an incoming flow and existing flows in wireless ad hoc networks. However, we find that a problem of most proposed coding-aware routing schemes is that they may misidentify the coding opportunities. Specifically, the opportunity misidentification may appear when a packet is about to be re-encoded. We call this the re-encoding problem. To solve this problem, we propose a principle called consistency of encoding and overhearing (CEO). By adhering to CEO, the encoding node is able to avoid misidentifying coding opportunities, thus ensuring the successful decoding of all encoded packets. In this letter, we first show the importance of CEO by analysis in a simple topology. Then, we introduce a distributed way to apply CEO to a coding-aware routing scheme, and show the improved network performance with CEO by simulation in different scenarios.


Shirayanagi and Sweedler [12] proved that a large class of algorithms on the reals can be modified slightly so that they also work correctly on floating-point numbers. Their main theorem states that, for each input, there exists a precision, called the minimum converging precision (MCP), at and beyond which the modified "stabilized" algorithm follows the same sequence of steps as the original "exact" algorithm. In this thesis, we study the MCP of two algorithms for finding the greatest common divisor of two univariate polynomials with real coefficients: the Euclidean algorithm, and an algorithm based on QR-factorization. We show that, if the coefficients of the input polynomials are allowed to be any computable numbers, then the MCPs of the two algorithms are not computable, implying that there are no "simple" bounding functions for the MCP of all pairs of real polynomials. For the Euclidean algorithm, we derive upper bounds on the MCP for pairs of polynomials whose coefficients are members of Z, 0, Z[6], and Q[6] where ( is a real algebraic integer. The bounds are quadratic in the degrees of the input polynomials or worse. For the QR-factorization algorithm, we derive a bound on the minimal precision at and beyond which the stabilized algorithm gives a polynomial with the same degree as that of the exact GCD, and another bound on the the minimal precision at and beyond which the algorithm gives a polynomial with the same support as that of the exact GCD. The bounds are linear in (1) the degree of the polynomial and (2) the sum of the logarithm of diagonal entries of matrix R in the QR factorization of the Sylvester matrix of the input polynomials. Thesis Supervisor: Alan Edelman Title: Professor of Applied Mathematics


Although time-savings provide the principal economic justification for new road schemes, the expansion of the road network and the increase in traffic does not seem to have given people more free time. This is because pedestrian time is not evaluated, because cars are deceptively time-consuming, and because people tend to use what time savings they do gain to travel further. —————————————————————————————————————————————————— Time is money, we are told; and increasing mobility is a way of saving time. But how successful are modern transport systems at saving time? Michael Ende's novel Momo 1 describes the changes which took place in the daily lives of a small community when 'time thieves' persuaded the residents to save time rather than 'waste' it on idle conversation, caring for the elderly and similar social activities. The effects were dramatic: as the traditional café was converted into a fast-food outlet and other changes took place, people were too busy saving time to find any time for each other. The village barber found that: 'he was becoming increasingly restless and irritable. The odd thing was that, no matter how much time he saved, he never had any to spare; in some mysterious way, it simply vanished. Imperceptibly at first, but then quite unmistakably, his days grew shorter and shorter. Almost before he knew it, another week had gone by, another month, and another year, and another and another.' Ende's novel compresses into a few months the process of community disintegration that has been taking place over the last few decades in Europe. The observation that 'no one has any time for each other any more' is a commonplace, particularly among older people; yet there are few attempts to examine why this. should be so. How can we explain the Momo effect, the paradox that the more people try to save time, the less they seem to have? In other words, what do people do with the time they save?


Literacy is popularly defined as a person 's ability to read and write. This definition of literacy is a narrow conceptualization and fails to include the knowledge aspect of cognitive ability. When literacy is instead defined as cognitive ability, a broader and plural conceptualization emerges with a vast array of elements, as thinking and understanding involves not only the use of language, but also cultural, computational, and visual cues in one's world. Since human beings do not exist in a vacuum, they are subject to the natural laws within a finite system that is experiencing human-induced climate change, species extinction, and a host of other socio-environmental problems, with environmental literacy becoming ever more important. While knowledge is obviously an important element of environmental literacy, its conceptualization is much broader. According to the 1975 Belgrade Charter, an environmentally literate citizenry is one that possesses environmental awareness, knowledge, attitude, skills, and evaluation ability, as well as a sense of responsibility to participate in the resolution of environmental problems. Similarly, Disinger and Roth (1992) define environmental literacy as including the ability to perceive and interpret the physical condition of environmental systems and take the appropriate action based on those physical conditions. Furthermore, Roth (1992) stresses observable behaviors as key to environmental literacy in that individuals should have the ability to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and concern. Additionally, Iozzi (1989) suggests a directional relationship exists among these elements of environmental literacy in which societal environmental behavior stems from the development of the appropriate knowledge and skills. These definitions ultimately imply that environmental concern is developed through the acquisition of knowledge related to the environment.Recently, a 2001 National Wildlife Foundation report found that universities and colleges are not doing an adequate job of producing students who are environmentally literate. Students need to have an understanding of not only biophysical processes but also the complexity involved with the interaction between ecosystems and social systems (Eagan and Orr 1992). As the definition of environmental literacy implies, this sort of understanding requires obtaining knowledge about environmental issues, problems and solutions. Such knowledge should thereby foster concern in students for the environment or what Orr (1992) calls the affective component of environmental literacy. To date, there is a gap in the literature on the level of knowledge and concern among incoming college students who have completed high school but have yet to start their college education. The present research seeks to address that gap by examining the environmental knowledge and concern of incoming freshmen at a residential liberal arts college. In addition to examining overall environmental knowledge and concern, this research aims to determine if knowledge is a key factor affecting a person's environmental concern. Finally, the results also serve to establish a baseline from which to assess the effect a liberal arts education has on environmental literacy of young adults.Literature ReviewSocial movements focusing on environmental concerns in the United States are nearly as old as the country itself. The difference between the environmental movement and other social movements, though, is the wide range of possible concerns within this single movement. The conservation and preservation movements, for instance, have been strong since the turn of the twentieth century, but have very different perspectives and concerns. It was not until a few definitive moments in the 1960s (the publishing of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the first photo of Earth from space) that a more unified environmental movement formed. It was at this time that the general populace began to be exposed to the interconnections between social and environmental systems. …


Assessments and predictions of driving behavior are very important to improve traffic safety. We hypothesized that there were some patterns of driving behaviors, and these patterns had some correlation with cognitive states and personalities. To test this hypothesis, an evaluation of driving status, based on electroencephalography (EEG) and steering behavior in a simulated driving experiment, was designed and performed. Unity 3D was utilized to design the simulated driving scene. A photoelectric encoder fixed on the steering wheel and the corresponding data collection, transmission, and storage device was developed by Arduino, to acquire the rotation direction, angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration of the steering wheel. Biopac MP 150 was utilized to collect the EEG data simultaneously during driving. A total of 23 subjects (mean age 23.6 ± 1.3 years, driving years: 2.4 ± 1.6 years, 21 males and two females) participated in this study. The Fuzzy C-means algorithm (FCMA) was utilized to extract patterns of driving behavior and the cognitive state within the window width of 20 s. The behaviors were divided into five kinds, i.e., negative, normal, alert, stress, and violent behavior, respectively, based on the standard deviation of steering wheel data. The cognitive states were divided into four kinds, i.e., negative, calm, alert, and tension, respectively, based on the EEG data. The correlation of these data, together with the personality traits evaluated using Cattell 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) were analyzed using multiclass logistic regression. Results indicated the significance of the cognitive state and seven personality traits [apprehension (O), rule consciousness (G), reasoning (B), emotional stability (C), liveliness (F), vigilance (L), and perfectionism (Q3)] in predicting driving behaviors, and the prediction accuracy was 80.2%. The negative and alert cognitive states were highly correlated with dangerous driving, including negative and violent behaviors. Personality traits complicate the relationship with driving behaviors, which may vary across different types of subjects and traffic accidents.


Abstract A technique is described for extracting cloud cover parameters from multispectral satellite radiometric measurements. Utilizing three channels (visible, 3.7 μm and 11 μm) from the AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) on NOAA polar orbiting satellites, it is shown that one can retrieve four parameters for each pixel: cloud fraction within the FOV, optical thickness cloud-top temperature and a microphysical model parameter. The last parameter is an index representing the properties of the cloud particle (e.g., size, shape, thermodynamic phase, etc.) and is determined primarily by the radiance at 3.7 μm. The other three parameters are extracted from the visible and 11 μm infrared radiances, utilizing the information contained in the two-dimensional scatter plot of the measured radiances. The solution is essentially one in which the distributions of optical thickness and cloud-top temperature are maximally clustered for each region, with cloud fraction for each pixel adjusted to achieve m...


The suitability of the analysis of the unsteady flow through the exhaust junction plays an important role in developing a computer program for matching a diesel engine to an exhaust turbocharger. This paper describes an improvement of the calculation procedure for computing the behavior of the unsteady gas flow at the exhaust junction. Measured values of pressure, temperature, and mass flow rate are compared with computer predictions using four different pipe junction computations: constant pressure model, momentum model, simplified model, and the improved exact model developed in this study. This comparison shows that the new technique gives the best agreement with the measured values, while the computer time required is twice as long. Under unsteady flow conditions the exhaust junction gives six types of flow configuration, and calculations indicate that only some of these types of flow dominate; the rest occur for only short intervals.


We propose to utilize encrypted wireless CDMA codes in optical communications to built a secure point-to-point link. The CDMA codes are encrypted by advanced encryption standard (AES) before encoding data. Digital signal processing techniques are utilized for encrypted signal generation and reception without substantial hardware cost. Our experiment successfully transmits data at 1.56 Gb/s with a bit-error rate below forward error correction limit. Our analysis indicates that the system can be robust against various types of attack models.


This paper discusses the use of modern and effective heating systems, using fossil fuels and renewable energy sources on the example of a comparative analysis of a gas boiler and heat pump for a single-family building. The aim of the work was to conduct a comparative analysis of heating systems in terms of energy, economy and ecology. The concepts of heating systems based on a gas boiler and a heat pump are proposed. An economic analysis based on the LCC and ecological method was carried out, related to the equivalent emission, in order to compare the degree of environmental nuisance of the proposed heat sources. For the building in question, a more advantageous solution was the use of a system based on a condensing gas boiler. The economic analysis shows that in the assumed life cycle (20 years), the total cost for a heating system based on a gas boiler is lower than in the case of a heat pump by 11%. Also, the initial costs in this variant are lower by nearly half compared to the heat pump system. Environmental analyzes have shown lower annual emissions of pollutants and a 6-fold lower equivalent emission for a gas-fired heating system.


Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether sufentanil can reduce emergence delirium in children undergoing transthoracic device closure of ventricular septal defect (VSD) after sevoflurane-based cardiac anesthesia. Methods From February 2019 to May 2019, 68 children who underwent transthoracic device closure of VSD at our center were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups: 36 patients in group S, who were given sufentanil and sevoflurane-based cardiac anesthesia, and 32 patients in group F, who were given fentanyl and sevoflurane-based cardiac anesthesia. The following clinical data were recorded: age, sex, body weight, operation time, and bispectral index (BIS). After the children were sent to the intensive care unit (ICU), pediatric anesthesia emergence delirium (PAED) and face, legs, activity, cry, consolability (FLACC) scale scores were also assessed. The incidence of adverse reactions, such as nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and dizziness, was recorded. Results There was no significant difference in age, sex, body weight, operation time or BIS value between the two groups. Extubation time (min), PEAD score and FLACC scale score in group S were significantly better than those in group F (P<0.05). No serious anesthesia or drug-related side effects occurred. Conclusions Sufentanil can be safely used in sevoflurane-based fast-track cardiac anesthesia for transthoracic device closure of VSD in children. Compared to fentanyl, sufentanil is more effective in reducing postoperative emergence delirium, with lower analgesia scores and greater comfort.


With the dwindling prices of oil and its accompanying global shocks, agriculture in Nigeria is beginning to enjoy some form of economic apotheosis despite the volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, risky and turbulent environmental conditions that characterize the Nigerian business environment. This case note is not a deliberate contribution to apotheosize the Nigerian agric-sector, but an attempt to present a narrative which initiates a methodical examination of the opportunities the agric-sector portends for Nigeria's macroeconomic stability. The case narrative was amplified with a time-series data, which was analyzed and interpreted to substantiate the basic economic premise underlying the case, which states that—Nigeria as an emerging market economy plagued with the "Dutch Disease�?, should return to its non-resource tradeable sector, that is, agriculture, where it has a comparative advantage, so as to position the country for effective and proactive socioeconomic responses critical for economic growth and development. The question is: How? While an attempt is made to establish the attractiveness of the Nigerian agric-sector/industry, it must also be said that many assumptions about the transformation potential of an agricultural revolution in Nigeria remains bound in theoretical and exoteric colloquialism. And that is why in praxis, policy and project implementation in this direction remains quixotic. From a strategic management perspective, this case note presents a robust mix of data and information, which will be useful in exploring how to cannibalize the basis of the previous success of the Nigerian agric-sector/industry for two decades after political independence, subsequent to the "oil curse�? taking centre stage, which of course led to the neglect of the sector. The outcome is expected to improve the collective understanding of the competitive and comparative advantage embedded in the sector, especially owing to the sector's position as the dominant sector ahead of other critical sectors in contributing to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 1960.


Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is characterized by a lung lymphocytosis. Most individuals exposed to HP antigens remain asymptomatic. The mechanisms involved in the impaired immune tolerance leading to HP are unclear. Normally, T regulatory cells (Treg) control the immune response. Could Treg suppressive function deficiency explain the uncontrolled inflammation in HP? Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and blood samples were obtained from normal subjects, asymptomatic individuals, and HP patients. BAL and blood Treg were isolated. The ability of Treg to suppress T cell proliferation and the role of IL-17 was verified. BAL and blood Treg cells from normal subjects suppressed the proliferative response of activated T cells by 47.1% and 42% respectively. BAL and blood Treg cells from asymptomatic subjects had a slightly decreased activity and suppressed proliferation by 29.4% and 31.8% respectively. BAL and blood Treg from HP patients were totally non functional and unable to suppress proliferation. Low levels of IL-17 were detected in sera and BAL from both normal and asymptomatic individuals whereas measurable levels were found in patients. Treg may be involved in the antigen tolerance in asymptomatic subjects. A defective Treg function, potentially because of increased IL-17 production, could account for the exacerbated immune response characteristic of HP.


This technical note presents a solution to the problem of regulating a general nonlinear dynamical system to an economically optimal operating point. The system is characterized by a set of exogenous inputs as an abstraction of time-varying loads and disturbances. The economically optimal operating point is implicitly defined as a solution to a given constrained convex optimization problem, which is related to steady-state operation. The system outputs and the exogenous inputs represent respectively the decision variables and the parameters in the optimization problem. The proposed solution is based on a specific dynamic extension of the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker optimality conditions for the steady-state related optimization problem, which is conceptually related to the continuous-time Arrow-Hurwicz-Uzawa algorithm. Furthermore, it can be interpreted as a generalization of the standard output regulation problem with respect to a constant reference signal.


Plasma adiponectin levels and expression of its receptors, AdipoRs are decreased in obesity, which cause insulin resistance and diabetes. AdipoR-deficient mice exhibit insulin resistance and impaired glucose tolerance. Moreover, newly identified AdipoR agonists not only improve insulin resistance but prolong lifespan shortened by obesity via AdipoR. Furthermore, efforts to promote structure-based drug discovery research at our laboratory have led to the first ever successful crystallization of AdipoR as well as to clarification of their structures. Structural analysis of AdipoRs as key molecules in lifestyle-related diseases is thus expected to lead not only to the acceleration of structure-based drug discovery but to the elucidation of novel aspects of the AdipoR structures and functions in the years to come. Finally, with the development of novel AdipoR-targeted antidiabetic agents also capable of prolonging lifespan, the attainment of healthy longevity may finally be brought within reach.


A wavelet-based neural network is described. The structure of this network is similar to that of the radial basis function (RBF) network, except that in the present paper the radial basis functions are replaced by orthonormal scaling functions that are not necessarily radial-symmetric. The efficacy of this type of network in function learning and estimation is demonstrated through theoretical analysis and experimental results. In particular, it has been shown that the wavelet network has universal and L/sup 2/ approximation properties and is a consistent function estimator. Convergence rates associated with these properties are obtained for certain function classes where the rates avoid the "curse of dimensionality". In the experiments, the wavelet network performed well and compared favorably to the MLP and RBF networks. >


Proposes a fast algorithm for nonlinear receding horizon control. The control input is updated by a differential equation to trace the solution of an associated two-point boundary-value problem. A linear equation involved in the differential equation is solved by the generalized minimum residual (GMRES) method, one of the Krylov subspace methods, with Jacobians approximated by forward differences. The error in the entire algorithm is analyzed and is shown to be bounded under mild conditions. The proposed algorithm is applied to a two-link arm whose dynamics is highly nonlinear.


The purpose of this study was to use network pharmacology, biomedical images and molecular docking technology in the treatment of breast cancer to investigate the feasible therapeutic targets and mechanisms of trastuzumab. In the first place, we applied pubchem swisstarget (http://www.swisstargetprediction.ch/), (https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) pharmmapper (http://lilab-ecust.cn/pharmmapper/), and the batman-tcm (http://bionet.ncpsb.org.cn/batman-tcm/) database to collect the trastuzumab targets. Then, in NCBI-GEO, breast cancer target genes were chosen (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/). The intersection regions of drug and disease target genes were used to draw a Venn diagram. Through Cytoscape 3.7.2 software, and the STRING database, we then formed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Besides, we concluded KEGG pathway analysis and Geen Ontology analysis by using ClueGO in Cytospace. Finally, the top 5 target proteins in the PPI network to dock with trastuzumab were selected. After screening trastuzumab and breast cancer in databases separately, we got 521 target genes of the drug and 1,464 target genes of breast cancer. The number of overlapping genes was 54. PPI network core genes include GAPDH, MMP9, CCNA2, RRM2, CHEK1, etc. GO analysis indicated that trastuzumab treats breast cancer through abundant biological processes, especially positive regulation of phospholipase activity, linoleic acid metabolic process, and negative regulation of endothelial cell proliferation. The molecular function is NADP binding and the cellular component is tertiary granule lumen. The results of KEGG enrichment analysis exhibited four pathways related to the formation and cure of breast cancer, containing Drug metabolism, Glutathione metabolism, Pyrimidine metabolism and PPAR signaling pathway. Molecular docking showed that trastuzumab has good binding abilities with five core target proteins (GAPDH, MMP9, CCNA2, RRM2, CHEK1). This study, through network pharmacology and molecular docking, provides new pieces of evidence and ideas to understand how trastuzumab treats breast cancer at the gene level.


Purpose: Although frequently used in pediatric rehabilitation settings, the WeeFIM has not been tested in surgical pediatric orthopaedic patients. Methods: The WeeFIM was administered to patients with surgical cerebral palsy at defined intervals preoperatively and at both 6 and 12 months postoperatively. The age-adjusted change scores from baseline to follow-up were tested both parametrically and nonparametrically. Results: Four hundred sixty-eight patients had baseline evaluations. There were 161 six-month follow-up assessments and 108 twelve-month follow-up assessments. The baseline WeeFIM was able to separate children with different patterns of cerebral palsy. Hemiplegic patients had higher scores than diplegic and tetraplegic patients. Overall age-adjusted scores were improved at both 6 (mean increase 2.0) and 12 months (mean increase 2.2). The instrument showed significant ceiling effects for diplegic and hemiplegic patients with lower or upper extremity surgery and limited responsiveness for lower extremity surgery in tetraplegic patients. Parametrically, it showed improvements in mobility for both rhizotomy and tetraplegic upper extremity surgery. Nonparametric tests were not significant for rhizotomy mobility improvement. Conclusions: Although the WeeFIM adequately reflects the severity of neurological involvement in pediatric orthopaedic patients with cerebral palsy, it has a significant ceiling effect in diplegic and hemiplegic patients limiting responsiveness and lacks content validity for tetraplegic patients. The instrument may have some use in tetraplegic patients with upper extremity surgery and in rhizotomy patients. We recommend against its general use for orthopaedic surgery in patients with cerebral palsy lower extremity or spine surgery and in hemiplegic patients with upper extremity surgery.


The human lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) gene has been sequenced to completion. The gene is divided into six exons spanning approximately 4,200 bp. Exon five codes for amino acids homologous to the interfacial active site of several lipases, and also codes for an amphipathic alpha-helix resembling the carboxy terminus of apolipoprotein E. Blot hybridization data suggest that there is only one LCAT gene in humans. The 1550 base LCAT mRNA can be detected in liver and HepG2 (hepatocyte) cells, but not in small intestine, spleen, pancreas, placenta or adrenal tissue.


We consider a class of hybrid systems which is modeled by continuous-time linear systems with Markovian jumps in the parameters (LSMJP). Our aim is to derive the best linear mean square estimator for such systems. The approach adopted here produces a filter which bears those desirable properties of the Kalman filter: A recursive scheme suitable for computer implementation which allows some offline computation that alleviates the computational burden. Apart from the intrinsic theoretical interest of the problem in its own right and the application-oriented motivation of getting more easily implementable filters, another compelling reason why the study here is pertinent has to do with the fact that the optimal nonlinear filter for our estimation problem is not computable via a finite computation (the filter is infinite dimensional). Our filter has dimension Nn, with n denoting the dimension of the state vector and N the number of states of the Markov chain.


We demonstrate an approach to efficient excitation and detection of high-order multiple quantum (MQ) 13C NMR signals in solids under high-speed magic angle spinning (MAS). This approach combines homonuclear dipolar recoupling by the finite-pulse radio-frequency-driven recoupling (fpRFDR) pulse sequence with multiple quantum excitation pulse sequences developed for static solids based on time reversal. MQ 13C NMR spectroscopy is demonstrated on the model compounds 1-13C-L-alanine,13C -L-methionine, andU-13C,15NL-valine, at an MAS frequency of 20.0 kHz. MQ signals resulting from coherences of 8 -10 spins are observed experimentally in the singly labeled model compounds. The fpRFDR-based MQ NMR technique is also applied to both singly labeled and multiply labeled peptides in the form of amyloid fibrils. Additionally, the competition between the dipolar recoupling mechanisms of fpRFDR and delta-pulse RFDR is explored by numerical effective Hamiltonian calculations.


Abstract Leading European social thinkers like Jurgen Habermas and Niklas Luhmann wax eloquently on the importance of having a well-developed public sphere, a sort of "fourth power" or social sphere apart from government where ideas are freely exchanged, "discontents" find a hearing, and new social compromises or at least understandings are generated. In order to overcome the current crisis of the European unification project, Europe needs a common, transnational public sphere which despite some efforts still doesn't exist. The article compares the current status of public spheres in the United States and the European Union, which it finds to be substantially different. In the United States, there is a real sense of nation (the existence of a single "country" identity) and highly developed media outlets, which these days reflect and amplify severely polarized left/right political identities. In contrast, in (Continental) Europe, a true transnational media sphere has not (as yet) developed; media outlets remain primarily national in orientation. We contend that – although few would wish for the political polarization that exists in the U.S. – the EU urgently needs a genuine public sphere that would help transcend the existing 28 national identities. Unlike in the U.S., in Europe the cultural unification which is the – still undervalued – basis of the political project can't consist of "melting" languages, national myths, historic memories or ethnic habits, but only in the generation of a joint, multi-lingual, multicultural and multi-national public sphere. The creation of such a sphere is not on the priority agenda of European governments, nor of the European Commission; but it should be. However, such a joint public sphere cannot develop until there is greater institutional integration, that is, an advance of European federalism at the governmental level to a much higher degree. Keywords: Public Sphere – Public Debate – Europe – USA – Media – European unification – U.S. polarization – Transatlantic relations


Social media and strategic communication sit at the heart of the war of ideas between the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the West. The West is critically vulnerable to ISIL's use of social media, shrewdly exploited in the recruitment of potential jihadists. This article argues that the Western world is losing the digital propaganda war waged by ISIL. At the strategic level, ISIL plans, synchronises and coordinates its social media efforts. Commanders provide operational updates and select content relevant to their strategic needs. From the battlefield, Western recruits tweet predominantly in their native language. Disseminators residing in the West and not officially aligned with ISIL, share and pass on ISIL's propaganda. These proxy disseminators perform the vast majority of ISIL's strategic narrative propagation. ISIL uses social media technologies that make the discovery and tracking of its recruitment propaganda difficult, exploiting the 'deep web' and 'dark web', severely hampering Western tracking agencies' efforts to identify and isolate it. This article concludes that the West's qualified moderate voice must be legitimised, encouraged and empowered to win the war of ideas. To do this the West must reform its strategic communication approach; it must comprehensively increase the volume of proactive participation in the ideological discourse conducted within the social media space.


Ovipositional responses of Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) to hexane extracts of leaves of two maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars, one resistant (Kisan) and one susceptible (Basilocal), were studied in two-choice bioassays. Gravid females laid a significantly higher percentage of eggs on substrates smeared with extract of Basilocal leaves (HEBL) (69%) than on those smeared with extracts of Kisan leaves (HEKL) (31%). Several chemicals were isolated from HEKL, three of which were characterized as dotriacontanol, heptadecanol, and nonadecanol. These chemicals were either absent or were present in very small amounts in HEBL, but in HEKL they were detected in much larger amounts. Each isolated chemical was tested for its effect on C. partellus oviposition in two-choice bioassays. Maximum ovipositional deterrence (90%) was observed for the compound MR-22a, followed in decreasing order by nonadecanol, MR-7, and heptadecanol. The identity of the remaining compounds is being investigated. The results indicate that the relative resistance of Kisan maize compared to Basilocal is partly due to the presence of certain ovipositional deterrents in its leaves.


Progress in the study, treatment and cure of hematologic malignancies in children is one of the most gratifying accounts in the entire history of cancer therapy. It is important to note that progress in treatment and cure have been the direct result of formal study of childhood cancers and the development and clinical trial of new treatments designed to improve the response and cure rate. In the experience of the Children's Cancer Study Group (CCSG), approximately half of the children with cancer which are registered have hematologic malignancies. By far the most significant of these is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which accounts for 33% of all the cancers registered with the Group. Acute non-lymphoblastic types of leukemia have amounted to 6% of all cancers in our experience, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for another 6% and Hodgkin's disease for approximately 5%. The cancer death rate in children under the age of fifteen years has declined very significantly in the United States since 1950. In 1955 the National Cancer Institute organized the first national cooperative groups in order to develop and test new treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The CCSG was the first of these. The success which has been achieved in treating acute leukemia is remarkable, particularly when one recalls that in 1950 the disease was 100% fatal. The death rate due to Hodgkin's disease has also shown a sharp decline, and more recently, deaths due to non-Hodgkin's lymphomas have also declined.


Tomato cultivation generates great profits for Mexico; however, the distribution of the fruit faces limitations due to the postharvest losses caused by its rapid deterioration. The reduction in fruit firmness is due in part to the degradation of pectin located in the primary cell wall. Several fruits such as strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and mango (Mangifera indica L.) show an increase in the expression of genes that code for the enzyme rhamnogalacturonan lyase (RGL) during ripening. In tomato RGL is encoded by a family of 13 multigenes, of which three are active in the fruit. Rhamnogalacturonan l (RG-l) is a polysaccharide that is part of the pectins of the cell wall and is degraded by the RGL enzyme. Thus, the study of changes of RGL in the expression of genes that code for RGL during the development and ripening of tomato fruit will help to elucidate the physiological function of this family of genes. The objective of the present study was to assess the expression profile of genes Solyc04g076630, Solyc04g076660 and Solyc11g011300 and the ethylene production during the development and ripening of the tomato fruit. The Solyc11g011300 gene showed an increase in activity that correlated with the increase in ethylene production in fruits, suggesting that this gene plays a role in the loss of firmness of the fruit during ripening. The high levels of expression of genes Solyc04g076630 and Solyc04g076660 recorded during fruit development suggest their participation in the re-engineering of the RG-I polymer during the initial stages of fruit development.


The drama activities carried out in the period 1759–1781 on school stage of the Basilian College of Buchach helped to transfer the standards applied in the Enlightenment era to the gentry at the periphery of the former Polish Republic. The Enlightenment trends were evidenced by the observed tendencies in building theatre repertoires. Undoubtedly, the Basilian monks made use of the oeuvre of Jesuit and Piarist stages. Following the Enlightenment ideals, they attempted to impart civic and moralizing significance to the performances, in line with the slogan "teaching by entertaining".


In all the major asset class, implied volatility is obtained from the quotations of the derivatives market. However, in real estate, derivatives market is almost inexistent and volatility pricing face many difficulties. This paper proposes a methodology to determine implied volatility of real estate market based on options embedded in lease contracts. Leases are generally agreed for long term with possible options to leave in favour of the tenant during the course of the lease. Tenants that have no break-options during the life of their lease expect either to pay a lower rent or to receive more gratuities (rent free, financial incentives...) than those with options to leave. We built up a model that allows estimating implied volatility based on the leasing transactions by analogy between lease options and financial options.


This chapter provides a general overview on the structural variety of rare earth metal complexes supported by N-heterocyclic carbenes. The synthetic procedures and strategies are discussed in some detail. The general trends with respect to structures and bonding situations are elucidated, based on experimental and theoretical studies. This chapter also covers tentative reactivity studies and possible catalytic applications of these metal complexes.


Cancer genomic research is a relatively new method.
It has shown great potential but faces certain challenges. Researchers often
have to deal with tens of thousands of genes with a relatively small sample
size of patient cases—a dilemma referred to as the "Curse of Dimensionality" [1]—and it makes it hard to learn the data well because
of relatively sparse data in high dimensional space. To deal with the dilemma,
this study uses p-values of individual genes for pathway enrichment to find
statistically significant pathways. The aim of this study is to find
significant genes and biological pathways that are related to lung cancer by
statistical method and pathway enrichment analysis. Several significant genes,
such as WNT2B, VAV2, and significant pathways, such as Metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450-Homo sapiens
(human) and Fatty acid degradation-Homo sapiens (human), are found to be both
statistically significant and biological studies supported. Significant genes-including TESK2, C5orf43, and ZSCAN21—and significant pathways such as Pentose and
glucoronate interconversions-Homo sapiens (human), are found to be new
cancer-related genes and pathways that worth laboratory studies. The idea and
method used in this research can be applied to find more significant genes and
pathways that worth study experimentally.


Active control of friction coefficient by applying external electric voltage is one of the objectives pursued by many tribologists for a long time. The influence of different externally applied electrical factors, such as polarities and short-circuit electric currents of D. C voltages and frequencies of A. C voltages, on friction and lubrication performance was examined experimentally for GCrl5/45 rubbing pairs lubricated by 150SN oil by using a ball-on-disk type friction tester, and their interacting mechanism was analyzed as well. Experimental results showed that the polarity of a D. C voltage has a fundamental effect on friction and lubrication behaviors of GCrl5/45#rubbing pair, and the strength of electric current just affects these tribological behaviors to a certain extent. A. C voltage influences the friction and lubrication performance as a result of combining effects of polarity and amplitude, and the frequency of A. C voltage is thus found to be an important influencing factor. The mechanism of voltage effect on friction and lubrication behaviors are analysed, and the changing of the properties and the conditions of boundary oxide films formed electrochemically during rubbing of the metal surfaces is found to be resposible for this effect.


Robert Dodge is the Laboratory Director for Immunochemistry and Cell Biology at Taylor Technology, a Pharmanet company in Princeton, NJ, USA. Taylor Technology is a contract research laboratory specializing in assay development and sample testing in a good laboratory practice environment. Robert oversees a staff of scientists responsible for the development of assays for use in protein drug quantitation, antidrug antibody screening and biomarker detection. Protein drugs may elicit an immune response in the form of production of antidrug antibodies (ADAs) by a subject. This ADA response may have serious safety implications for subjects or, at a minimum, may affect drug efficacy. Bioanalytical testing for antidrug antibodies has therefore become a required part of safety testing for subjects receiving protein drugs. Regulatory guidance and scientific white papers recommend a tiered approach for bioanalytical ADA testing. The first assay in the tiered testing scheme is a screening assay, which tests all subjects in the study for the presence of ADAs. The screening assay is quasiquantitative, typically lacks a specific positive control and must be designed to detect numerous isotypes and subclasses of antibodies. These characteristics of an ADA screening assay differ from a those of a standard immunoassay designed to quantitate a specific protein in matrix and thus present unique challenges. This article reviews the unique challenges encountered during the development of an ADA assay.


ABSTRACT To investigate the effect of expanded property rights and, in particular, village democracy under China's Collective Forest Tenure Reform (CFTR) on household forestry income, we employ quantile regression, drawing on the survey data from 658 rural households in three provinces belonging to China's southern collective forest regions. The results indicate that: (1) both the expansion of household forestland property rights caused by CFTR and the village democratic procedure involved in the reform exert significant income effect; the income effect intensity of the expansion of forestland use right and disposal right is greater than that of beneficiary right, and the effect shows no significant difference among rural households with different forestry income scale. (2) the village democracy cannot only directly motivate rural household forestry income but also notably moderate the income effect of property rights expansion. Based on the above findings, this paper suggests that the forestland property right policy aimed at rural households be further refined, the rural households' policy awareness of CFTR be enhanced and the grass-roots bureaucratic system be prevented from over-intervening in the implementation of public policy so as to further improve CFTR and enhance rural households' forestry income.


In this work, a switch from n-type to p-type conductivity in electrodeposited Cu3(2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene)2 [Cu3(HHTP2)] has been observed, which is most likely due to oxygen molecular doping. The synthesis of electrically conductive 2D metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has been achieved through the introduction of highly conjugated organic linkers coordinated to their constituent metal-ion centers. However, the porous structure and unsaturated metal sites in MOFs make them susceptible to ambient adsorbates, which can affect their charge transport properties. This phenomenon has been experimentally investigated by GIXRD, Hall effect and Seebeck measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.


The instructional metaphor is an important bridge to understanding, particularly when students are undertaking tasks that are conceptually difficult and outside their previous experience. It is suggested that the limitations of the implicit metaphor of the procedural control languages are the main cause of the problems experienced with delivering the control topic within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum. These continue to dominate classroom practice despite Papert warning more than 25 years ago of the conceptual restrictions that they place on children's thinking. It is also claimed that the procedural control languages do not provide an adequate representation of the underlying input–process–output model of control, and that this contributes to a systematic pattern of misunderstanding. Classroom trials of a graphic object-orientated language are related to a prior study made with the procedural control language Control Logo. The relatively more sophisticated mental models developed by students working with actor-lab are discussed in terms of the different underlying metaphors and the problem representation provided.


Using proprietary Public Company Accounting Oversight Board data, we examine the determinants and consequences of auditors' use of in-house specialists (i.e., employed by the auditor). The use of in-house specialists among the six largest global network U.S. audit firms reached an average of about 90% of inspected audits in 2017-2018. First, we document that client size, complexity of accounting estimates, fair value measurements, and the audit team's experience are associated with the use of specialists. Second, involving specialists is associated with higher team hours and fees but lower engagement profitability, suggesting that specialists are costly. Third, there is a debate on the use of specialists and audit quality. Specialists bring unique expertise in complex areas, but academics and regulators argue that auditors may not always supervise specialist work properly. Our results support the latter argument; quality problems are more prevalent when there is comparatively more specialist involvement. However, increased coordination with specialists, as well as the audit team's experience, mitigate audit quality problems.


Purpose: Romidepsin dosing recommendations for patients with malignancy and varying degrees of hepatic dysfunction was lacking at the time of regulatory approval for T-cell lymphoma. We conducted a multicenter phase I clinical trial (ETCTN-9008) via the NCI Organ Dysfunction Working Group to investigate safety, first cycle MTD, and pharmacokinetic profile of romidepsin in this setting. Patients and Methods: Patients with select advanced solid tumors or hematologic malignancies were stratified according to hepatic function. Romidepsin was administered intravenously on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle and escalation followed a 3 + 3 design in moderate and severe impairment cohorts. Blood samples for detailed pharmacokinetic analyses were collected after the first dose. Results: Thirty-one patients received one dose of romidepsin and were evaluable for pharmacokinetic analyses in normal (n = 12), mild (n = 8), moderate (n = 5), and severe (n = 6) cohorts. Adverse events across cohorts were similar, and dose-limiting toxicity occurred in two patients (mild and severe impairment cohorts). The MTD was not determined because the geometric mean AUC values of romidepsin in moderate (7 mg/m2) and severe (5 mg/m2) impairment cohort were 114% and 116% of the normal cohort (14 mg/m2). Conclusions: Data from the ETCTN-9008 trial led to changes in the romidepsin labeling to reflect starting dose adjustment for patients with cancer and moderate and severe hepatic impairment, with no adjustment for mild hepatic impairment.


This study dealt with defense mechanisms in Rambo : The First Blood Movie. It employed descriptive qualitative research method. This study was aimed to analyze: (1) The kinds of defense mechanisms experienced by Rambo and (2) why defense mechanism affected the utterance and action of Rambo in reference of semiotic. The data of this study were dialogues statement and figure that contained defense mechanisms. The theories were applied by the writer from Sigmund freud (1993) about defense mechanism and Chandler (2007) about semiotic. Based on the analysis, there were five kinds of defense mechanism used by Rambo, namely Denial (23,8%), Displacement (4,8%). Projection (42,9), Repression (14,3%), and Reaction Formation (14,3%) where Rambo used projection defense mechanisms the most. Fear that steam from trauma and to avoid conflict were the defense mechanism that happened and used by Rambo.
Keywords: Defense mechanisms, semiotic, Rambo: The First Blood


Abstract : This research investigates and evaluates routing procedures for large store-and-forward message switched computer communication networks. Existing network topologies are examined. An adaptive routing algorithm is developed dealing with message routing when the full length message is transmitted in its entirety. A thresholding technique is used to work with variations in message length. The algorithm's performance is evaluated by comparison with the performance of the exact mathematical deterministic routing problem. In order to apply the routing strategy to large networks, a partitioning approach is used. A partitioning algorithm is developed for communications network topologies. This algorithm uses a generalized labeling technique to find the appropriate partitions of the original network. The adaptive routing algorithm is modified in order to take into account large network considerations. Then it is applied to the partitioned network in a two-level hierarchical structure. The exact two-level modified adaptive routing algorithm is described. Some new network topologies found in the literature are examined from the routing problem point of view. All the algorithms are tested by computer simulation. The adaptive routing algorithms have been implemented using two different simulation languages. (Author)


Abstract. Human activity recognitions have been widely used nowadays by end users thanks to extensive usage of smartphones. Smartphones, by self-containing low-cost sensing technology, can track our daily activities for serving healthcare, sport, interactive AR/VR games and so on. However, smartphone technology is evolving and the techniques of using the data that smartphones go through are also improving. In this study, we used built-in sensing technologies (accelerometer and gyroscope) available in nearly every smartphone to detect the most common 5 daily activities of human by taking the data of these sensors and extract the features for a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model. We prepare a dataset and use TensorFlow to train the collected data from the sensors then filtered it to be processed. We also discuss the differences in CNN model accuracy with different optimizers. To demonstrate the model, we developed an android application that successfully predict an activity. We believe that after improving this application, it can be used for especially lonely old people to immediately warn authorities in case of any daily incidents.


Resumen
From the point of view of two classics of the frontier thesis, Frederick Jackson Turner and Owen Lattimore, the author developed his own thesis about the formation and consolidation of the border between Mexico and Guatemala. The author remarks the process of colonization in the jungles of Mexico's southwest, as a result of National Mexican State policies and the role of the state of Chiapas in those policies. In the author's opinion, globalization is a colonial process and in this context it is very important to note the migrations to the United States in order to understand the contemporaneous situation of the border Mexico-Guatemala.


Analysis of the skeletal effects of thick tail (Tht), a radiation-induced mutation, has revealed numerous anomalies in the axial skeleton. The affected regions include the atlantal-occipital region as well as the lumbar (Lu) and caudal (Ca) vertebrae in which the ossified adult structures are either missing or reduced in size. Skeletons of juvenile Tht heterozygotes exhibit a malformed occipital bone, atlas, smaller Ca vertebrae, and delayed ossification of the affected adult structures. The diminished amount of cartilage and bone suggests that the Tht gene may be functioning during the formation of these tissues.


The Indonesiancrime rate until May 2020 increased due to public orders and crime disturbances in the last 22 weeks.Data from correctional institutions in February 2021 showed that some regional offices were over capacity while others were normal. The 1945 IndonesianConstitution recognises traditional institutions in the criminal justice system and requires judges to consider legal values and a sense of justice in society. This study aims to determine Indonesia's customary criminal justice system as a form of restorative justice. This research used a socio-legal approach and found that public participation in Indonesia, through customary groups, can help prevent crime and solve problems through discussion and following applicable customary law processes. As a result, Indonesian researchers have regulated and recognised customary justice's existence and implemented it to deal with cases in their environment. Restorative justice is a criminal mechanism that aims to restore the relationship of the conflicting parties to the state before the conflict and is carried out informally. This concept is also an acknowledgement of oriental legal philosophy which, in resolving any conflict, always seeks to restore relations; macro stability or society can even affect the stability of the universe. The practice of Restorative Justice occurs in customary law. As a legal philosophy, the legal policy of implementing Restorative justice should be interpreted mainly as revitalising customary law if conflicts occur between fellow supporters of the same customary law. The settlement of cases in the Baduy community is straightforward. The settlement prioritises forgiving each other. Restorative justice is performed by combining criminal justice mechanisms with public participation in a discussion mediation.


Many organs of higher organisms are heavily branched structures and arise by an apparently similar process of branching morphogenesis. Yet the regulatory components and local interactions that have been identified differ greatly in these organs. It is an open question whether the regulatory processes work according to a common principle and how far physical and geometrical constraints determine the branching process. Here, we review the known regulatory factors and physical constraints in lung, kidney, pancreas, prostate, mammary gland and salivary gland branching morphogenesis, and describe the models that have been formulated to analyse their impacts.


This paper is a preliminary investigation of the organization of a parallel micro-computer designed to emulate a wide variety of sequential and parallel computers. This micro-computer allows tailoring of the control structure of an emulator so that it directly emulates (mirrors) the control structure of the computer to be emulated. An emulated control structure is implemented through a tree type data structure which is dynamically generated and manipulated by six primitive (built-in) operators D This data structure for control is used as a syntactic framework within which particular implementations of control concepts, such as iteration, recursion, co-routines, parallelism, interrupts, etc., can be easily expressed. The major features of the control data structure and the primitive operators are: 1) once the fixed control and data linkages among processes have been defined, they need not be rebuilt on subsequent executions of the control structure; 2) micro-programs may be written so that they execute independently of the number of physical processors present and still take advantage of available processors; 3) control structures for I/O processes, dataaccessing processes, and computational processes are expressed in a single uniform framework. This method of emulating control structures is in sharp contrast with the usual method of micro-programming control structures which handles control instructions in the same manner as other types of instructions, e.g., subroutines of micro-instructions, and provides a unifying method for the efficient emulation of a wide variety of sequential and parallel computers.


Detection of spatial relations between objects in images is currently a popular subject in image description research. A range of different language and geometric object features have been used in this context, but methods have not so far used explicit information about the third dimension (depth), except when manually added to annotations. The lack of such information hampers detection of spatial relations that are inherently 3D. In this paper, we use a fully automatic method for creating a depth map of an image and derive several different object-level depth features from it which we add to an existing feature set to test the effect on spatial relation detection. We show that performance increases are obtained from adding depth features in all scenarios tested.


doctor, and the administration of the thrombolytic agent (either at home or in hospital), and I believe that it might well be possible to show important correlations. Drs Radford and Richards, and Dr M S Stead, state, as if it was fact, that anistreplase produces an excess of four in 1000 strokes compared with streptokinase. Is it not remarkable that the major study from which this figure derives, for which the analysis is still incomplete, has been announced to the world and yet not published, and that our information is being received at second hand through the medium of a medical journalist, however distinguished and amusing'? Without being able to see the original data relating to analysis of the whole of the study it is premature to discuss these findings. I have spoken on the telephone to Dr Rory Collins, the main organiser of the third international study of infarct survival (ISIS-3), and he has made it clear-as also become apparent in Dr Michael O'Donnell's report'-that there is no difference in survival at the end of one month between patients who are given streptokinase, tissue plasminogen activator, or anistreplase. As most of the patients who suffered stroke died the disadvantage of the stroke has already been largely discounted four weeks later by a compensatory reduction in mortality from other causes, presumably cardiac causes, among patients given anistreplase. These are curious observations, and they cannot be interpreted without much more information about the patients who suffered the strokes and their particular characteristics. Dr Stead hopes that nobody will be persuaded to give anistreplase to him should he be unfortunate enough to suffer a myocardial infarction, and his belief that he would be at risk of a four in 1000 increase in stroke is emotionally understandable but needs to be put into perspective. On the basis of the present tentative, interim, and unpublished data, if Dr Stead was administering anistreplase rather than receiving it he might encounter one patient in whom his treatment was associated with a stroke once or possiblv twice in 500 years.


Objective:To optimize the reflux extraction of total flavonoids from leaves and stems of Cupressus chengjana S.Y.Hu.Methods:One-factor-at-a-time design and response surface methodology(RSM) were used to determine optimal conditions for the extraction of total flavonoids through regression analysis of the relationship between the extraction efficiency of total flavonoids and various process parameters.Results:The optimal extraction process was soaking for 37 min in 70% ethanol solution at a solid-to-solvent ration of 1:40(g/mL) followed by reflux extraction repeated 3 times for 70 min each time,resulting in an extraction efficiency of 7.211%.Conclusion:Response surface methodology can provide an accurate and convenient way to predict the reflux extraction of total flavonoids to obtain optimal process with high effectiveness and applicability.


The article manifests three projects of society development: Marx's – materialistic, Gefter's – anthropological and Latour's – geological. The choice of manifestos is explained by the coincidence of their characteristics of the Modern era, where history is presented as the era of Copernican humanity, implementing its plans through revolution. The first project is considered not from the usual dialectical-materialist position, but from the point of view of the performativity of the sign, which has the ability to instantly switch what is said into action (into exchange, war, trade, relations with each other). Relying on the performativity of the sign is a scientific experiment with the aim of understanding the power of the thing in its entirety. Gefter's main concepts in relation to Russia are the "country of countries" entering the "World of Worlds" (a form of dwelling of mankind) as one of the poles. Gefter presents history as a world of multidirectional, i.e. alternative developments. Latour presented the whole world through actor-network theory, including the activities of humans and invisible hybrid beings (viruses) affecting human life. The network is revealed through mapping and reveals the ways in which spatio-temporal coordinates expand, contract or break, revealing shifting trajectories of development.


From ancient times, mankind has tried to protect their settlement from predators and enemies. This promoted to creation of comfortable living conditions. This contributed to the emergence of fortified settlements. On the territory that archaeologists associate with the Slavs tribe Drevlyany, settlements began to appear in the IX century. when the Great Migration of the Slavs was finally completed. Bohdan Zvizdetsky, researcher of drevlyan՚s antiquity, provided information about 20 fortified settlements between the Horyn and Teteriv rivers. Such settlements are called in Ukrainian «horodyshche». Unfortunately, researchers rarely turned to archaeological research of the fortifications of drevlyan՚s fortified settlements. They primarily paid attention to the filling of cultural layer and archaeological excavation of ancient cemeteries. Therefore, few fortifications have been studied: Rayky, Secont fortified settlement in Korosten, Malyn and Third fortified settlement in Korosten. In general, it is worth mentioning the researchers who studied and analyzed the fortifications of the settlements of Kyiveian Rus՚ in the IX - XIII centuries. P. Rappaport was one of the first to pay attention to the construction of defensive bulwarks in his opinion, main types of wooden structures were palisade and the pillar structure, when horizontal logs are clamped between two verticals, or in the grooves of one vertical. Another archaeologist who paid attention to the study of fortifications was M. Kuchera. In his opinion, the most used was a framework structure. As a basis of a design, he put three-, or four-walled framework. They could be separate segments of the defense wall, or be structurally combined into a single line. Another option for fortifications, the researcher considered the walls of the pillar structure. Archaeologist Yuri Morgunov is also tried to study of fortifications of Kyievian Rus՚. He singled out separate elements: Escarpments; ditches; wooden-earthen defense constructions. In the middle of XX century. military engineer B. Sperk considered various types of defensive walls of fortified settlements of Ancient Rus՚. He wrote that, the main types of walls were three- or four-walled framework. They could be separate segments of the defense wall, or be structurally combined into a single line. Also, architect Vadym Lukyanchenko was engaged in architectural analysis. He turned his attention to the construction of wooden and earth defense construction. According to him, the earliest type of fortifications was a palisade, and later there were several types of fortifications: three, or four-walled frameworks. Based on the work of other researchers, as well as on analogies from the monuments of Poland (Motych; Naszacowice; Zawada Lanckorońska), Czech Republic (Uherské Hradiště- Rybárny; Breclav-Pohansko; Vlastislav) , Slovakia (Spišske Tomášovce; Pobedim), Germany (Behren-Lübchin; Lenzen; Oldenburg; Berlin-Spandau) and Austria (Gars-Thunau), was created a graphic reconstruction of the south-eastern section of the defensive wall of fortified settlement №3 in Korosten. The main structure was a 4-walled framework. We assume that the diameter of the deck could be 250 mm. In addition, frameworks, as the main structure of the defensive wall, were also found on the early medieval fortified settlement near Olevsk, which is also considered as drevlyan՚s fortress. Hypothetical size of each framework could reach 2x2 m in plan and up to 3 m in height. On the top of framework could be a palisade. It was protection for the defenders of the fortress. It was system of fences. The diameter of the deck of a single pile could be 200 mm and a height of 1.8 m. The difference in the height of individual piles formed loopholes. The piles were located on the inside, near the outer wall of the framework. A similar construction can be traced on the already mentioned settlement of Motych and Gars-Thunau. For construction of wooden and earthen construction was required a wide range of tools. It was partially represented by archaeological finds: wooden shovels with metal shells, axes of various types, saws, etc. Despite the fact that other segments of the defensive line of third fortified settlement in Korosten have not been studied. Based on the plan published by I. Samoilovsky, it is possible to draw a conclusion that such a construction of the defensive wall was not found along the entire defensive perimeter. So, the section on the eastern side adjacent to the steep cliffs on the Uzh river does not have clear protective fortifications. Therefore, Therefore, it was possible that this area was fortified only with a palisade. Also, according to I. Samoilovsky's plan, the western and northern parts of the defensive perimeter are surrounded by a powerful bulwark, which most likely had a more complex structure with larger parameters of fortifications. Unfortunately, the worst studied element of the lines of defense of the settlements of the IX - X centuries is the entrance remains. Therefore, were used analogies from well-researched monuments in Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In all cases, it had pillar structure withn the gate tower. It has an exclusively observation function, because they do not have loopholes. That is why in visualization gate structures is also only as observation and guard points. The outer wall of such a gatehouse could be made of boards. The volume of the watchtower could be covered with a gabled roof. This design required the installation of a roof ridge and the placement of wooden brackets for the stability of the structure. A wooden bridge over the defensive moat could be located in front of the entrance, which would facilitate access to the settlement in peacetime.


Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the outcomes of a study conducted to explore the perceptions and expectations of undergraduate engineering learners on the potential of incorporating sustainability within the Professional Communication Skills (PCS) module, via blended learning.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed methods case study approach was used, using surveys, learner reflections and interviews.

Findings

Key findings include (a) learners finding a heightened sense of awareness of environmental, social and cultural dimensions of sustainability, (b) development of sustainability literacy and communication skills for the real world, (c) scepticism and apprehension of blended learning teaching and learning methods, (d) development of capacity for self-directed learning resulting from flipped learning and (e) differences in quality of peer and lecturer interaction online and in the traditional classroom set up.

Originality/value

Sivapalan's (2015) study suggests that Malaysian engineering graduates lack sustainability knowledge, competences and values, and often struggle to cope with professional responsibilities that require them to exercise these literacies. Much of this is attributed to the lack of sustainability integration within the undergraduate engineering curriculum, and within teaching approaches used. To date, there is little research within the Malaysian engineering education context to gauge the extent to which non-technical academic modules such as the PCS module could be used as a platform to incorporate sustainability learning outcomes. Research to gauge learners' feedback and reflections on the integration of sustainability via non-technical modules and blended learning approaches is also scarce.


Purpose of the paper – This research paper aims to expand and clarify how customer satisfaction in Pakistan's Islamic banking industry is conceptualised and measured.
Design/methodology/approach – The authors discuss the set of characteristics that can be used to measure customer satisfaction scores for shariah compliant Islamic banks. The likelihood of categorising these characteristics into quality dimensions is then raised. Subsequently, the confirmatory factor analysis methodology is used to evaluate numerous alternative structures and test their validity and reliability.
Findings – The results of this study show that there are two factors that influence service quality in Pakistani banking that uses Islamic services in the commercial format: the "quality of the value" proposition and the "quality of the service itself"


Introduction : The expression of CTC and CK19 holds prognostic value for patients with breast cancer but their clinical significance remains still controversial. Methods : This clinical observational study included 58 preteated metastatic breast cancer patients who started a standard new treatment line. CTC and CK19 was measured with CellSearch® and RT-PCR respectively at inclusion time. Progression-free survival (PFS) was defined as the time elapsed between the initiation of the treatment and either the date of clinical or radiological progression or death or the last follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the univariate prognose value of CTC and CK19 on PFS, and Kaplan-Meier estimates. A multivariate Cox model was also performed to additionaly account for ER and visceral disease. CTC and CK19 positivity was considered when a value of 1 or more was observed. Results : Mean age was 59.68 (range 35-86), the average number of previous treatments was 2.98 (range 1-10), 38 patients (65.52%) were ER+ and 22 (37.93%) had visceral disease. Median PFS was 7 months (CI 95% 4-9). Univariate analyses showed a significant effect of the positivity of CK19 (HR=2.22, CI 95% 1.15-4.29, p=0.01) but did not reach statistical significance for CTC (HR=1.86, CI 95% 0.93-3.72, p=0.07). The estimate disease-free survival rate at 6 and 12 months were 63.6% and 43.4% for patients with CK19 =1, respectively. The estimate disease-free survival rate at 6 and 12 months were 77.8% and 28.8% for patients with CTC=0 and 43.6% and 21.5% for patients with CTC>=1, respectively. In the multivariate analysis the effect of CK19 and CTC were similar (HR=2.12 and 1.86, p=0.03 and 0.08 respectively), ER was statistically significant (HR=0.48, p=0.05, + vs -) but visceral diseases appeared not significant (HR=1.57, p=0.17, yes vs no). Conclusions : The expression of CK19 appeared clinically meaningful in pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients, even when adjusting by ER and visceral diseases. CTC showed a similar but minor effect and not statistically significant. These results support CK19 as an interesting biomarker for predicting clinical response in metastatic breast cancer. Citation Format: Serafin Morales, Ana Velasco, Jose Vidal, Anna Serrate, Joan Valls, Juan Carlos Samame, Rafael Gisbert, Desamparados Moral, Antonio Llombart, Antonieta Salud, Xavier Matias-Guiu. Expression of circulating tumor cells (CTC) and CK-19 mRNA (CK19) as prognostic factors in heavily pretreated metastatic breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-01-17.


Cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cellular proliferation. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the two main modalities for cancer treatment. However, some cancer types have been found to be refractory to these treatments. Additionally, certain chemicals that are used in clinical trials produce high cytotoxicity as a secondary effect. Hence, current research is focused on finding ways by which cancer cells can be specifically sensitized to apoptotic death with minimal or no secondary effects on normal healthy cells. Since the resistance of cancer cells to DNA damaging agents stems from the modulation of DNA repair pathways, pharmacological inhibition of these pathways has been emerging as an effective tool for cancer treatment. Inhibition of key proteins involved in the molecular cascade of DNA damage detection and repair such as poly (ADP) ribose polymerase I (PARP-1) and its interacting proteins [DNA dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and Cockayne syndrome group B (CSB)] has recently proven to be successful for the treatment of various types of cancer cells and tumor xenografts in vitro. This review summarizes some of the recent findings and the potential application of DNA repair inhibitors in cancer treatment.


We present a general method to quickly generate high-fidelity control pulses for any continuously-parameterized set of quantum gates after calibrating a small number of reference pulses. We find that interpolating between optimized control pulses for different quantum operations does not immediately yield a high-fidelity intermediate operation. To solve this problem, we propose a method to optimize control pulses specifically to provide good interpolations. We pick several reference operations in the gate family of interest and optimize pulses that implement these operations, then iteratively re-optimize the pulses to guide their shapes to be similar for operations that are closely related. Once this set of reference pulses is calibrated, we can use a straightforward linear interpolation method to instantly obtain high-fidelity pulses for arbitrary gates in the continuous operation space. We demonstrate this procedure on the three-parameter Cartan decomposition of two-qubit gates to obtain control pulses for any arbitrary two-qubit gate (up to single-qubit operations) with consistently high fidelity. Compared to previous neural network approaches, the method is 7.7x more computationally efficient to calibrate the pulse space for the set of all single-qubit gates. Our technique generalizes to any number of gate parameters and could easily be used with advanced pulse optimization algorithms to allow for better translation from simulation to experiment.


The results from the radiation monitoring equipment (RME) experiments, flown onboard STS-41C, 41D, 41G, and 51A are presented and discussed. The RME consists of the HRM-III gamma-ray counter and PRM neutron/proton dosimeter. The gamma-ray data agree with data from previous flights with somewhat higher readings on STS-41G. Large increases in count rates are observed when the Orbiter is in the South Atlantic and Southeast Asian Anomalies. Increases in count rate are also observed at higher latitudes. Neutron/proton dosage is consistent with NASA predictions.


Utilization of low-input feed resources rich in plant bioactive compounds is a promising strategy for modulating the fatty acid profile in ruminant products. They manipulate microbes involved in rumen biohydrogenation and increase the accumulation of desirable fatty acids at the tissue level. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of aniseed straw and eucalyptus leaves on growth performance, carcass traits and fatty acid profile of finisher lambs. Thirty-six Malpura hogget were divided into three treatment groups of 12 each, reared individually in pen (1.6 m × 1.1 m) and fed ad libitum complete feed blocks made up of 55 parts concentrate, 5 parts molasses and 40 parts roughage. Roughage in control (Con) was 20 parts each of ardu (Ailanthus excelsa) leaves and oat (Avena sativa) straw. In test diets, that is, Con-as and Con-el, 10% aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) straw and Eucalyptus rudis leaves, respectively, were added by replacing 5% each of oat straw and eucalyptus leaves. The lambs were weighed weekly; and at the end of 3 months of feeding trial, the lambs were slaughtered to study the carcass traits, composition and product evaluation. Average daily gain (ADG) and DM intake (DMI) was higher (P < 0.05) in Con-as compared to Con and Con-el, while ADG and feed conversion ratio decreased (P < 0.05) by 29.4% and 36.4%, respectively, in Con-el compared to Con. Carcass traits showed lower (P < 0.05) loin eye area and chilling loss in the Con-el group compared to the Con-as and Con, and the total carcass fat compared to Con-as. However, the keeping quality of meat improved in both Con-as and Con-el which was reflected by lower (P < 0.05) thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances values. Nuggets prepared from Con and Con-as meat had superior (P < 0.05) sensory attributes with an overall palatability. Fatty acid profile of longissimus thoracis muscle showed lower (P < 0.05) atherogenic and thrombogenic indices in Con-as and higher (P < 0.05) in Con-el group. Moreover, in Con-as group, the proportion of C16:0 was lower (P < 0.05) and C18:3n-3 was higher (P < 0.05), but no effect was observed on the amount of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA; C18:2 c9t11). In case of adipose tissue, the content of CLA was higher (P < 0.05), and the ratio of n-6:n-3 was more nearer to desirable levels in Con-as group. Therefore, it can be concluded that aniseed straw is a promising feed supplement compared to eucalyptus leaves for improving meat quality and fatty acid profile in lambs.