In modern microwave electronics, it is extremely important to evaluate the possibility of efficient generation of highly stable oscillation modes and the creation of low-noise generators with a millimeter wavelength range. The purpose of the research was to determine the type of wave for the most effective modes of oscillation and to ensure the operation of various modes in the mode of mutual synchronization, which becomes possible because the real design of generators can include a number of reactive elements that form a number of resonant frequencies in the microwave range. This paper shows how it is possible to provide conditions for generation at a particular frequency and simultaneously obtain high stability of vibrations. The main research methods were: analysis and generalization of literature data and results of our own research on the peculiarities of oscillation generation in a multi-circuit system of a Gann diode generator and conditions under which high frequency stability is established; experimental studies using microwave spectrum analyzers, microwave devices. In this paper, the possible generation frequencies are calculated, the operation modes of the diode generator are studied, and their phase noise is experimentally measured. It is shown that when the generation frequency approaches the cut-off frequency of the waveguide with the help of structural elements or by changing the supply voltage, a mode of mutual synchronization of vibrations at high harmonics occurs using the H102 wave type in a very narrow range of frequency (phase) noise. A generator with a multicircuit resonant system was experimentally studied and a small amount of phase noise was obtained for both types of H101 and H102 waves. At the same time, the best parameters and noise characteristics occurred at the lowest types of vibration types. These results have an experimental novelty, which allows us to hope for the development of constructive solutions that provide the creation of highly stable low-noise generators of millimeter wavelength range with the minimum mass dimensional parameters.


Abstract. To properly account the subsurface heterogeneity, geostatistical inverse models usually permit enormous amount of spatial correlated parameters to interpret the collected states. Several reduced-order techniques for the brick domain are investigated to leverage the memory burden of parameter covariance. Their capability to irregular domain is limited. Furthermore, due to the over fitting of states, the estimated parameters usually diverge to unreasonable values. Although some propriate tolerances can be used to eliminate this problem, they are presumed and heavily rely on the personal judgement. To address these two issues, we present a model reduction technique to the irregular domain by singular value decomposition (SVD). Afterward, the state errors and parameters are sequentially updated to leverage the over fitting. The computational advantages of the proposed reduced-order dual state-parameter inverse algorithm are demonstrated through two numerical experiments and one case study in a catchment scale field site. The investigations suggest that the stability of convergence dramatically improves. The estimated parameter values stabilize to reasonable order of magnitude. In addition, the memory requirement significantly reduces while the resolution of estimate preserves. The proposed method benefits multi-discipline scientific problems, especially useful and convenient for assimilating different types of measurements.


There exists the disadvantages such asprematurity in particle swarm optimization because of the decrease of swarm diversity. In order to solve this problem an immune particle swarm optimization(Immune-PSO)algorithm is proposed which is combined with immune clone selection algorithm, Clone copy operator, clone hyper-mutation operator and clone selection operator are performed during the evolutionary. Proportion clone copy according toparticles' affinity can protect eminent individuals and speed up convergence, clone hyper-mutation provides anew mechanism producing new ones and maintaining diversity clone selection which selects best individuals can avoid algorithm degenerate effective. The typical benchmark functions are performed. The numerical simulation results show that the improved algorithm not only can maintain swarm's diversity speed up convergence speed but also help the algorithm escape from local extreme.


Relative to its contribution to the U.S. and other developed countries economies, industrial and business-to-business marketing have been underrepresented in the marketing literature. To determine the extent of this underrepresentation, the authors have evaluated thirty-one marketing journals beginning with the initial publication of the Journal of Marketing in 1936. Without the introduction of journals whose specific focus is industrial marketing, the underrepresentation would have been even more severe than it is currently. Six general research areas were also looked at to determine what trends in industrial marketing research have existed. These areas are: buyer behavior, sales management, marketing relationships, innovation and new product development, marketing strategy, and channels of distribution.


The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate a three‐dimensional single Breath‐hOLd cardiac T2 mapping sequence (3D BOLT) with low‐rank plus sparse (L + S) reconstruction for rapid whole‐heart T2 measurement. 3D BOLT collects three highly accelerated electrocardiogram‐triggered volumes with whole‐heart coverage, all within a single 12‐heartbeat breath‐hold. Saturation pulses are performed every heartbeat to prepare longitudinal magnetization before T2 preparation (T2‐prep) or readout, and the echo time of T2‐prep is varied per volume for variable T2 weighting. Accelerated volumes are reconstructed jointly by an L + S algorithm. 3D BOLT was optimized and validated against gradient spin echo (GraSE) and a previously published approach (three‐dimensional free‐breathing cardiac T2 mapping [3DFBT2]) in both phantoms and human subjects (11 healthy subjects and 10 patients). The repeatability of 3D BOLT was validated on healthy subjects. Retrospective experiments indicated that 3D BOLT with 4.2‐fold acceleration achieved T2 measurements comparable with those obtained with fully sampled data. T2 measured in phantoms using 3D BOLT demonstrated good accuracy and precision compared with the reference (R2 > 0.99). All in vivo imaging was successful and the average left ventricle T2s measured by GraSE, 3DFBT2, and 3D BOLT were comparable and consistent for all healthy subjects (47.0 ± 2.3 vs. 47.7 ± 2.7 vs. 48.4 ± 1.8 ms) and patients (50.8 ± 3.0 vs. 48.6 ± 3.9 vs. 49.1 ± 3.7 ms), respectively. Myocardial T2 measured by 3D BOLT had excellent agreement with 3DFBT2 and there was no significant difference in mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of variation. 3D BOLT showed excellent repeatability (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.938). The proposed 3D BOLT achieved whole‐heart T2 mapping in a single breath‐hold with good accuracy, precision, and repeatability on T2 measurements.


Last week the D.C. Circuit invalidated an important Federal Communications Commission order. No, not the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which has been pending since February and has kept telecom nerds like me glued to the court's website every Tuesday and Friday morning. In United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma v. Federal Communications Commission, the court vacated portions of the Commission's Accelerating Wireless Broadband Deployment Order governing 5G deployment. 1 The court found that the Commission's decision to exempt small cell deployment from the environmental and historic preservation review processes that accompany larger tower deployments was arbitrary and capricious. 2 This doctrine is designed to assure that orders are supported by "reasoned decisionmaking," a low bar that (it seems to me) the 66-page Order should have cleared. The decision also represents a setback to the Commission's ongoing efforts to promote 5G deployment.


Fifteen lithified paleosols, closely spaced in vertical sequence, occur in the top 90 m of the late Albian Boulder Creek Formation in the foothills of northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The paleosols have well-developed profiles 0·5 to 1·5 m thick, including A, B and C horizons. The paleosols are characterized by their grey colour, cutans, vertical roots, peds, spherulitic siderite and absence of sedimentary structures. The paleosols formed during a period when one or more basin wide unconformities occurred as a result of either eustatic sea level fluctuations or local tectonic events. These unconformities represent the terrestrial record of a lowered base level which caused valley incision and decreased rates of sedimentation on the incised flood plain. The climate was humid to subhumid. Overall, the environment in which these soils developed was of low relief and subject to little erosion. The water table was high for part of the year but there is also evidence of periodic drying and oxidation of organic debris. Cumulatively, the paleosols in this interval may represent 150000 yr of non-deposition.


"Insights from the Glass Cage" Blind Women and Gendered Identities G I L I H AMMER M y dissertation research focuses on blind women's gender identity and the cultural representations of sight and blindness in the Israeli public sphere. Arguing for theways blindness as a social, cultural, andphysical phenomenonoffers the opportunity to challenge social binaries and rethink social otherness, the research integrates the scholarships of feminist disability studies, anthropology of the senses, and visual culture into a scholarly conversation. My multisensory methodological and analytic approach focuses on the production of "sensory knowledge" in the field and the tactile, sonic, and olfactory experiences of blind people.Thework is basedon three years of ethnographic study, including interviews with forty women,most of whomare congenitally blind, and observations in several sites offering services to blind and visually impaired people and/or presenting aspects of blindness to the general public. The research provides a detailed account of the ways women who do not rely on sight as a central mode of perception shape their gender identities. It identifies the contradictions inherent in blind women's appearance management that operate simultaneously as a rigorous disciplinary mechanism of the body and as a platform for the experience of sensory pleasure and multisensory gender performance. In addition, the work discusses the similarities and differences between "gaze" and "staring," arguing for the active and creative ways blind women are aware of and respond to the gaze operated on them as blind and as women. JMEWS • Journal of Middle East Women's Studies • 11:2 • July 2015 DOI 10.1215/15525864-2886685 • © 2015 by the Association for Middle East Women's Studies 252 GILI HAMMER is a postdoctoral scholar working in the field of disability culture at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has appeared inDisability Studies Quarterly, Ethnography, and Gender and Society. Contact: email@example.com. H A M M ER • "I n si gh ts fr om th e G la ss C ag e • D is se rt at io n A bs tr ac t


We report a male infant with FATCO syndrome, an acronym for fibular aplasia, tibial campomelia, and oligosyndactyly. Courtens et al. reported an infant with oligosyndactyly of the left hand, complete absence of the right fibula, bowing of the right tibia, and absence of the right fifth metatarsal and phalanges. They noted 5 patients with similar clinical features, and proposed the FATCO syndrome. Our patient had a left-sided cleft lip, cleft palate, oligosyndactyly of the right hand and bilateral feet, and bilateral anterior bowing of the limbs associated with overlying skin dimpling. Radiographs showed a short angulated tibia with left fibular aplasia and right fibular hypoplasia. We consider our case the 6th patient with FATCO syndrome, and the cleft lip and palate, not reported in the previous 5 patients, may allow us to further understand the development of the extremities and facies.


Sir .—We read with interest the article "Russell-Silver Syndrome [RSS] and Hypopituitarism" by Cassidy et al, 1 who pointed out the importance of the endocrinologic examination in patients with RSS. The association of endocrinologic abnormalities and RSS has not been well recognized. We have seen seven patients with RSS, with a mean follow-up period of six years. Of these seven patients, three (two boys and one girl) had abnormal endocrinologic data, while the other four did not. Levels of luteinizing hormone and folliclestimulating hormone under basal conditions and after administration of luteinizing hormone—releasing hormone (2 μg/kg by intravenous injection) in three patients with Russell-Silver syndrome. Shaded area represents responses in normal subjects at ages 5 to 10 years. Patients 1 and 2 were boys; patient 3 was a girl. Patient 1 Patient 2 Patient 3 0 30 60 120 Time Elapsed, min Patient 1 Patient 2 Patient 3 0 30


PURPOSE
To evaluate the effect of dentin moisture and application mode of universal adhesives on bond strength (BS) and nanoleakage (NL) of fiber posts bonded to root dentin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The roots of 96 extracted human canines were treated endodontically, and the fiber posts were cemented according to the combination of the following factors: dentin moisture (dry and wet), cementation system [Single Bond Universal/RelyX ARC (SBU) and Prime&Bond elect/Enforce (PBE)], and adhesive application [active (A) and passive (P)] in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. After one week, the specimens were transversely sectioned into six 1-mm-thick disks. From each group, 8 specimens were subjected to the push-out BS test and the other 4 specimens underwent NL analysis. For both tests, the data were subjected to 3-way repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey's tests (α = 0.05).

RESULTS
For BS and NL, the cross-product interaction of all factors was significant (p < 0.05). Lower BS was observed under P application independent of the dentin moisture; for A application, SBU showed higher BS than did PBE in both moisture conditions. Nanoleakage was present in all groups and ranged from 22.9% to 36%.

CONCLUSION
The active application of universal adhesives improves the adhesion in fiber post cementation, independent of dentin moisture condition.


The nucleolus is a subnuclear structure that is involved in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis and ribosome assembly, and it is also the location of viral replication or cellular stress sensing. However, the function of the nucleolus in the immune response is still unclear. Here, we report that the nucleoli are fused in both macrophages and dendritic cells during lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or CpG-DNA stimulation, which activates the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) or Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) signaling pathway. Our results from RNA-sequencing analysis reveal that the nucleolus contains diverse RNA transcripts in response to LPS. Furthermore, gene ontology term analysis shows that these RNA species are highly correlated with immune-related functions. More interestingly, intron-containing RNA transcripts are existed in the nucleolus. Our results provide new insight into another mechanism of nucleolus in the immune system.


Cobalamin deficiency anemia is a type of anemia that present with weakness, fatigue, icteric sclera and neuropathy. Main causes of cobalamin deficiency are low intake or decreased absorption (gastric and intestinal causes). In present case, we report a 65-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with signs and symptoms of cobalamin deficiency including bilateral peripheral neuropathy, icteric skin and sclera, and abdominal pain in right upper quadrant. He had low cobalamin and extremely high bilirubin levels (8mg/dL) in serum. After the diagnosis of cobalamin deficiency established, 1mg daily cobalamin treatment initiated for five days which would follow weekly and monthly intramuscular injections consequently. Hemolysis and other causes of elevated indirect bilirubin levels were excluded in differential diagnosis. Clinical and laboratory improvements were achieved after the treatment. In conclusion, physicians should kept in mind cobalamin deficiency even in subjects with unusual high levels of indirect bilirubin.


The monthly and yearly productivity summaries were developed and applied to a computer spreadsheet to aid the nurse manager in better understanding and communicating budget issues for diverse ambulatory care departments. A computerized spreadsheet using a commercially available personal computer program, such as Lotus, Quattro Pro, or Excel, can be used to more quickly and accurately track and summarize monthly budget reports. The data can be entered into the spreadsheet either manually or imported by query from the financial mainframe system. Contact your agency's finance or information department for information on how to accomplish this. Periodically acuity and resources should be measured and compared with quality monitors to maintain standards. For the past 10 years, our facility has successfully used this tool to make more informed decisions by identifying trouble spots early, and taking corrective action to avoid crisis management.


The success of Deep Learning methods is not well understood, though various attempts at explaining it have been made, typically centered on properties of stochastic gradient descent. Even less clear is why certain neural network architectures perform better than others. We provide a potential opening with the hypothesis that neural network training is a form of Genetic Programming.


Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) which accounts for 15 % of primary lung cancers is known to grow fast and metastasize easily to whole body at early stages. However, the standard care of SCLC has not been changed for over 10 years and effective treatment remains to be developed. System xc(-) comprises xCT (SLC7A11) and CD98hc subunits and is a major plasma membrane antiporter responsible for the cellular uptake of cystine in exchange for intracellular glutamate. Recently, we studied the impact of xCT inhibitor sulfasalazine (SSZ) in various cancers and found that SCLC cells manifest low level of xCT and are highly sensitive to SSZ treatment compared with non-small cell lines. Furthermore, we found that xCT expression in SCLC cells is regulated by the cellular density and the tumorsphere culture which is known to enhance the cancer stem cell properties also enhances the xCT expression in these cells. To examine the functional relevance of xCT expression to cancer stem-like properties in SCLC cells, we established the stably xCT-expressing SBC-5 cells (SBC5-xCT). Similar to other SCLC cell lines, parental SBC5 cells were not able to proliferate from single-cell level, however, SBC5-xCT cells were found to possess an ability to proliferate from single-cell level. Furthermore, SBC5-xCT cells manifested higher resistance to an anticancer agent cisplatin and higher ability of tumor-initiation than parental SBC5 cells. Our findings establish a new functional role for xCT in the promotion of cancer stem-like properties in SCLC cells. Citation Format: Shohei Kamenori, Kentaro Suina, Juntaro Yamasaki, Subaru Shintani, Yuji Otsuki, Yuki Hirata, Shogo Okazaki, Kenji Tsuchihashi, Oltea Sampetrean, Yoichiro Mitsuishi, Fumiyuki Takahashi, Kazuhisa Takahashi, Hideyuki Saya, Osamu Nagano. SLC7A11 expression confers cancer stem-like properties in small cell lung cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4639.


The concept of fana is a concept that developed in the third and fourth centuries hijriyah. A concept of fusion (trance) which later became an experience desired by many Sufism retainers. A Sufistic experience that must be passed and deliver Sufis at the top of the world of Sufism. with the experience that each Sufi feels so that many bring up various differences between one and another, then it also becomes a phenomenon for the fuqoha'. Abu Yazid al-Busthomi and Imam Junaid al-Baghdadi were one of the pioneers of the concept of Fana'. With a distinctly different background, between Sufi philosophy and Sunni. So the author takes the initiative and aims to combine the views between the two by examining a character who is balanced against and a character who has many adherents to this day, in order to get a good understanding and similarities or differences in the concept of Fana''. This research uses library research, by means of qualitative analysis. As well as using primary and secondary sources. The results of this study are the concept of Fana' must be together with the concept of Baqo', awareness of a person's individuality has disappeared even though his physical form is still there. And to reach the peak of Fana', the Salikin must leave the nature, character and personality as humans.


The paper addresses a joint sequential changepoint detection and identification/isolation problem for a general stochastic model, assuming that the observed data may be dependent and non-identically distributed, the prior distribution of the change point is arbitrary, and the post-change hypotheses are composite. The developed detection–identification theory generalizes the changepoint detection theory developed by Tartakovsky (2019) to the case of multiple composite post-change hypotheses when one has not only to detect a change as quickly as possible but also to identify (or isolate) the true post-change distribution. We propose a multi-hypothesis change detection–identification rule and show that it is nearly optimal, minimizing moments of the delay to detection as the probability of a false alarm and the probabilities of misidentification go to zero.


Image resampling is a basic technique that is widely employed in daily applications. Existing deep neural networks (DNNs) have made impressive progress in resampling performance. Yet these methods are still not the perfect substitute for interpolation, due to the issues of efficiency and continuous resampling. In this work, we propose a novel method of Learning Resampling Function (termed LeRF), which takes advantage of both the structural priors learned by DNNs and the locally continuous assumption of interpolation methods. Specifically, LeRF assigns spatially-varying steerable resampling functions to input image pixels and learns to predict the hyper-parameters that determine the orientations of these resampling functions with a neural network. To achieve highly efficient inference, we adopt look-up tables (LUTs) to accelerate the inference of the learned neural network. Furthermore, we design a directional ensemble strategy and edge-sensitive indexing patterns to better capture local structures. Extensive experiments show that our method runs as fast as interpolation, generalizes well to arbitrary transformations, and outperforms interpolation significantly, e.g., up to 3dB PSNR gain over bicubic for x 2 upsampling on Manga109.


We showed previously that cytochrome P450c21 (CYP21A1) from bovine adrenocortical microsomes has a putative 20beta-oxidase activity for 20beta-hydroxyprogesterone leading to a conversion to progesterone [M. Tsubaki, K. Morimoto, S. Tomita, S. Miura, Y. Ichikawa, A. Miyatake, F. Masuya, H. Hori, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1259 (1995) 89-98]. We have extended the investigation on the 20beta-oxidase activity of cytochrome P450c21. Combination of 17alpha, 20beta-dihydroxyprogesterone with purified cytochrome P450c21 in oxidized form caused an induction of a typical type I difference spectrum (a peak at 390 nm and a trough at 420 nm) with a spectral dissociation constant of 2.3 microM. EPR spectrum at low temperature (15 K) exhibited an appearance of a new low-spin signal at gz=2.42, gy=2.21, and gx=1.966 and an increase in intensity of the high-spin signal (g=8.06, 3.54) upon formation of the enzyme-steroid complex, as previously found for 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and 20beta-hydroxyprogesterone. The enzymatic activity for 17alpha, 20beta-dihydroxyprogesterone was confirmed in a reconstituted system consisting of cytochrome P450c21 and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase. 17alpha,20beta-Dihydroxyprogesterone was converted to 17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone via the 20beta-oxidase reaction. The high turnover numbers of the 20beta-oxidase activity for 20beta-hydroxy-c21-steroids suggests that this activity is likely to have some physiological roles. Cytochrome P450c21 and 20beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase may regulate the androgen biosynthesis catalyzed by cytochrome P450c17alpha with controlling the concentration of 20beta-hydroxy-C21-steroids.


Recently, new methods for calculating unit hydrograph are growing fast. Therefore, an idea to compare each methods is necessary needed to ensure which method fits the most to the caracteristic of a particular basin. These some Synthetic Unit Hydrograph (SUH) methods which are Nakayasu SUH, Snyder SUH (in HEC-HMS), and GAMA I SUH, compared with Unit Hydrograph calculation method Collins, which is based its formula on measured hydrograph data. By doing summary to the results, one conclusion is received that the hydrograph by Snyder SUH in HEC-HMS fits the most to the hydrograph by Collins. Results of this study is aimed to ensure the researchers that Snyder SUH in HEC-HMS can also be alternative to make some hydrograph analysis


Groundwater depth is a critical parameter in assessing regional liquefaction potential. Uncertainties associated with groundwater depth are usually pervasive because of natural variability and spatial separation between data points. These uncertainties often lead to erroneous or doubtful assessments of liquefaction potential. In an attempt to provide more credible estimates of liquefaction potential across a sizable urban area, this study sought to estimate the threshold groundwater depths that could be expected to trigger liquefaction in the St. Louis, MO, metro area, which was damaged by the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes. We used liquefaction potential indexes (LPIs) > 5 and > 15 as the thresholds for moderate and severe liquefaction risks, respectively. The threshold groundwater depth for triggering liquefaction was evaluated using standard penetration test data and a scenario involving an M7.5 earthquake with a peak ground acceleration of 0.20 g. The threshold groundwater depths then were geostatistically contoured and compared with accepted groundwater level scenarios to map the corresponding liquefaction risk. This study revealed that Holocene alluvium in East St. Louis generally exhibits deeper threshold groundwater depths than do the mean groundwater levels and appears to be more prone to liquefaction.


We introduce a novel approach to produce BSP (Bulk Synchronous Programming model) programs and we show their efficiency by implementing the stable sorting problem on clusters of PC. Experimental results on PCs based on Ethernet and Myrinet cards are compared with implementations on an SGI 2000. The algorithms presented in the paper are either developed under the theoretical framework of the Regular Sampling technique which guarantees good load balancing properties or are inspired by the technique in order to decrease the sequential work of each processor comparing to the Regular Sampling technique but impose no (theoretical) bound on load balancing. The main sequential block of code used in the algorithms for local sorting are derivatives of Shellsort (which is stable) and a new code based on Quicksort (which is not stable) plus a property on real numbers that is used for stable sorting under the framework of BSR (Broadcast with Selective Reduction).


A new species of pseudocerotid flatworm Pseudoceros indicus nov. sp. (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida) is described. This species was found to be widespread and abundant from Chuuk Lagoon, Micronesia, common from eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea, and rare from the Indian Ocean. There has been much confusion over the name of this and similarly patterned species. Remarks on other pseudo- cerotids from Micronesia are also presented.


This paper provides empirical evidence on both the magnitude and determinants of unfilled positions for information technology workers using cross-sectional data on 4150 German firms. Vacancies are defined as unfilled positions excluding those created by replacement needs during the first half of the year 2000. The share of unfilled positions created by replacement needs is only about 20 percent, indicating that high turnover rates are not the main reason for high vacancy rates. The adjusted job vacancy rate for ICT workers varies between 5.7 percent in the ICT sector and 6.7 percent in the non-ICT sector. The results of a generalized tobit model show that the adjusted vacancy rate mainly depends on the firm size, the share of ICT workers and actions taken in the past to solve the ICT worker shortage but not on the diffusion of ICT. In the ICT sector, the decision made in the past to train apprentices in the new ICT occupations seems to have reduced the current vacancy rate. In the non-ICT sector, a successful strategy to solve the ICT worker shortage appears to be increased internal training. Finally, in the non-ICT sector, the common practice of completely outsourcing software programming significantly reduces the probability of unfilled positions.


Minimax-optimal interpolation algorithms minimize the error resulting from the worst signal from an allowable class. The result is presented that if this class lies in a Hilbert space, the minimax-optimal algorithm is independent of or invariant to the error norm. The result encompasses a broad class of inverse problems. >


For centuries farm tenancy has been one of the main sources of misery and discontent in the rural areas of the Philippines. Basically it has been the cause of the agrarian disturbances which have so often seriously threatened the peace and security of the nation. Any insurance of the economic stability and general well-being of the people must therefore depend largely upon its satisfactory solution. This brief study was undertaken primarily to throw more light on the prewar condition of this vexing problem, with the hope that it might serve as background material for a more wisely-planned economy in the postwar reconstruction of the Philippines.


Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease transmitted by infected sand flies. During infection, sand fly salivary proteins are inoculated into the host dermis together with Leishmania parasites where proteins from the extracellular matrix are present. In this context, we hypothesize that sand fly salivary proteins interact with the parasite and with proteins from the extracellular matrix. Our preliminary findings show that proteins from sand fly salivary gland homogenate bind to the surface of promastigote forms of the parasite Leishmania infantum. Using recombinant sand fly salivary proteins we identified two major salivary proteins, LJL143 and LJL04, as the main salivary proteins binding Leishmania parasite surface. Furthermore, by a Surface Plasmon Resonance assay we tested the interaction between salivary recombinant proteins with different extracellular proteins. From all the recombinant proteins tested, only LJL04 interacts with Fibrinogen, Fibronectin, Collagen I, Multimeric VTNC and Laminin. Our plans are to confirm the salivary protein-parasite-extracellular matrix biding in vivo, firstly by exposing Balb/c mice ears to uninfected L. longipalpis bites and by detecting the presence of salivary proteins in the ear of mouse dermis post-sand fly bites. As future direction we are also planning to use L. infantum (transgenic fluorescent parasite)-infected sand flies bites to verify the possible co-localization of parasite and sand fly salivary proteins in the skin. Here, for the first time we show interaction between sand fly salivary proteins and Leishmania parasites and sand fly salivary proteins and extracellular matrix proteins.


This paper is based on Helen Kiely's Masters dissertation on MA in Library and Information Service Management, successfully completed at the University of Sheffield in 2018. The aim of the study was to explore the extent to which users of a health care library service understood common terminology used by clinical librarians/information professionals. A survey was developed based on the terminology used for common services and was distributed to staff and students at an acute NHS Foundation Trust. One hundred and eight people participated over a four week period and were asked to provide definitions to the terms. Analysis of the responses for accuracy and common themes indicates that jargon can be a barrier to user access and recommendations are made with respect to the need for outreach to users and the language used in this practice for creating better accessibility. F.J.


Abstract On today's labour markets, the basic characteristics of the quality of the labour force is knowledge, qualifications, skills and experience possessed by it. Today, employers are looking for employees with high interpersonal competences, manners, responsible, hard-working, independent, honest and having the ability to learn quickly. For this, as an asset, they add the higher education, preferably directional, creativity and experience. The taken research area is characterized by economic lag in comparison with Gdańsk agglomeration area, as well as with other regions. In the article the reference was made to the declared needs of employers towards future employees, based on interviews conducted in 101 entities of the city of Słupsk and Słupsk county. The main aim of the research was to determine the usefulness of geographic knowledge for the local labour market. And thus indicating the possibility of increasing the attractiveness of geographical graduates in the labour market. Among the needs of employers of Słupsk labour market in accordance with the overall national trend, there is a large deficit of soft competencies, but also, among others, the gap typically professional related to information technology and engineering skills have been diagnosed. There has been a large gap identified in the ability to apply the knowledge (academic) in practical activities, which is called by the employers 'the professional experience'. In contrast, the studies on the usefulness of (the attractiveness of the labour market) competencies that are possible to learn while studying geography, showed the particular importance, valuable for the modern labour market skills of searching, collecting and processing of information. Currently in Poland, even in conditions of high unemployment existing mismatch between qualification and professional structure of supply and demand for labour can be observed. In the labour market, the presence is noted at the same time, the deficit and surplus professions and employers tend to have difficulty in recruiting people with specific skills and vocational skills. Not innovative small entities (which predominate in the structure of entities, inter alia, in Słupsk local labour market) are not able to take over the education of strictly professional competences due to a lack of capital. The role of practical education courses for universities is visible here. They are accumulating equipment and supplies for practical training which may in a flexible way try to respond to changing economic conditions.


In the society with highly developed and successful economy, students tend to lack motivation in mastering knowledge and skills when they are guaranteed a good life in the future. Polytechnics in Singapore were set up with the mission to train professionals to support the technological and economic development of Singapore. Intrinsic motivation (IM) is tapped in the project work of a 3rd year module ET0706 Object Oriented Programming (OOP, in Java) in DCPE (Diploma of Computer Engineering) at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Singapore Polytechnic. Performance approach goals were set for the students who are high in achievement orientation; while mastery approach goals were set for the students low in achievement orientation. In this paper, it is presented how RAMP (Relatedness, Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose) of IM elements are implemented into the module project work to motivate students high in achievement orientation to acquire advanced knowledge and apply it in challenging real-life projects, such as those involved in serving the community; in the meantime, motivate students low in achievement orientation to focus on foundation knowledge through applying it in solving real-life problem with adequate challenge. It is concluded that it is effective to apply IM to motivate students and get them to be work ready, future ready and world ready.


The gene of RNA viruses, encoding RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRp) is relatively conserved due to its crucial function in viral genome replication and transcription making it a useful target for genetic diversity study and PCR detection. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity of 21 tilapia lake virus (TiLV) genome segment 1 sequences predictively coding for RdRp subunit P1. Those sequences were obtained from infected fish samples collected in Ecuador, Israel, Peru, and Thailand between 2011 and 2019 (nine sequences from this study and 12 sequences from GenBank). Primers were then designed from the highly conserved regions among all 21 TiLV segment 1 sequences and used in semi-nested RT-PCR condition optimization. The result revealed that all 21 TiLV segment 1 sequences showed 95.00-99.94 and 99.00-100% nucleotide and amino acid sequence identity, respectively. These isolates were phylogenically clustered into three separate genetic clades, called i) Israeli-2011 clade (containing of TiLV isolates from Israel collected in 2011, Ecuador, and Peru isolates), ii) monophyletic Israel-2012 clade (containing only TiLV isolates collected from Israel in 2012), and iii) Thai clade (containing only sequences obtained from Thailand isolates). The newly established PCR protocol was 100 times more sensitive than our previous segment 3-based protocol when comparatively assayed with RNA extracted from infected fish. The assay was also shown to be specific when tested against negative control samples, i.e. RNA extracted from clinical healthy tilapia and from bacterial and viral pathogens (other than TiLV) commonly found in aquatic animals. Validation experiment with RNA extracted from naturally infected fish specimens collected in 2013-2019 yielded positive test results for all samples tested, confirming that our newly designed primers and detection protocol against TiLV segment 1, have a potential application for detection of all current genetic variants of TiLV.


The purpose of this research is to examine and assess the relation between a pilot's concentration and reaction time with specific brain activity during short-haul flights. Participants took part in one-hour long flight sessions performed on the FNPT II class flight simulator. Subjects were instructed to respond to unexpected events that occurred during the flight. The brainwaves of each participant were recorded with the Emotiv EPOC+ Scientific Contextual EEG device. The majority of participants showed a statistically significant, positive correlation between Theta Power in the frontal lobe and response time. Additionally, most subjects exhibited statistically significant, positive correlations between band-power and reaction times in the Theta range for the temporal and parietal lobes. Statistically significant event-related changes (ERC) were observed for the majority of subjects in the frontal lobe for Theta frequencies, Beta waves in the frontal lobe and in all lobes for the Gamma band. Notably, significant ERC was also observed for Theta and Beta frequencies in the temporal and occipital Lobes, Alpha waves in the frontal, parietal and occipital lobes for most participants. A difference in brain activity patterns was observed, depending on the performance in time-restricted tasks.


QoS routing is one of the key issues in the research of the overlay network. This paper proposes a routing algorithm with Multiple Constrained Balanced Path(MCBP) based on analyzing multiple QoS constraints. It solves the weights allocation among multiple QoS constraints by introducing the methods AHP and Parameter Normalization with including multiple QoS parameters of nodes and links considered. Meanwhile, it also balanced the QoS parameters Bandwidth and Nodes Processing Capacity according to the features of the overlay network. Simulation results show that MCBP is better than other similar algorithms in balancing the network resources with all the QoS parameters are equally considered. Keywords— Overlay Network; QoS Routing; Parameter Normalization; Resource balancing


Drosophila melanogaster locomotor activity responds to different seasonal conditions by thermosensitive regulation of splicing of a 3′ intron in the period mRNA transcript. Here we demonstrate that the control of locomotor patterns by this mechanism is primarily light-dependent at low temperatures. At warmer temperatures, when it is vitally important for the fly to avoid midday desiccation, more stringent regulation of splicing is observed, requiring the light input received through the visual system during the day and the circadian clock at night. During the course of this study, we observed that a mutation in the no-receptor-potential-AP41 (norpAP41) gene, which encodes phospholipase-C, generated an extremely high level of 3′ splicing. This cannot be explained simply by the mutation's effect on the visual pathway and suggests that norpAP41 is directly involved in thermosensitivity.


Graphitic carbon nitride (C3N4) is a carbon-based metal-free semiconductor, which has been widely explored as a photoactive material. In this work, the CdS, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and C3N4 (CdS-rGO-C3N4) composite was synthesized by a simple one-pot hydrothermal method and utilized to construct a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor. Compared with CdS, C3N4 and CdS-C3N4, the CdS-rGO-C3N4 composite exhibited enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance, due to the expanded absorption of C3N4 in the visible region by CdS and promoted the charge carrier separation of a photoelectrode by rGO. Based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with CdS-rGO-C3N4 and a PCB72-binding aptamer (ap/CdS-rGO-C3N4/GCE), a PEC aptasensor for the detection of 2,3',5,5'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB72) was developed. When H2O2 was added into the electrolyte, the PEC sensor exhibited an amplified response toward PCB72, and could be operated in a self-powered mode at a potential of 0 V. Under optimum conditions, the constructed PEC aptasensor exhibited a wide linear range of 10 to 1000 ng mL-1 for PCB72 detection, with a low detection limit (S/N = 3) of 1.0 ng mL-1. Moreover, this aptasensor exhibited high selectivity, good reproducibility and high stability. The applicability of the developed PEC strategy was demonstrated by determining PCB72 in environmental water.


Viral encephalitis remains a significant public health problem worldwide including Bangladesh. The recommended treatment for herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) remains intravenous acyclovir. In resource-poor countries, however, intravenous formulations are usually unavailable or unaffordable. Efficacy of treatment depends upon cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) level of acyclovir. Main concern of use of valacyclovir is central nervous system penetration of drugs. This study reports the comparison of penetration of acyclovir into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with HSE, treated with the oral pro drug valacyclovir at a dose of 1,000 mg three times daily. The oral therapy achieved adequate acyclovir concentrations in the CSF and may be an acceptable early treatment for suspected HSE in resource-limited settings. In our country treatment of HSE by IV acyclovir is costly and needs about 45000 BDT per person to complete treatment and is not available in rural areas, on the other hand it is 10 times cost effective in treatment with oral Valacyclovir.
Faridpur Med. Coll. J. Jan 2019;14(1): 41-43


This paper uses a year of SCADA data from Whitelee Wind Farm near Glasgow to investigate wind turbine wake development in moderately complex terrain. Atmospheric stability measurements in terms of Richardson number from a met mast at an adjoining site have been obtained and used to assess the impact of stability on wake development. Considerable filtering of these data has been undertaken to ensure that all turbines are working normally and are well aligned with the wind direction. A group of six wind turbines, more or less in a line, have been selected for analysis, and winds within a 2 degree direction sector about this line are used to ensure, as far as possible, that all the turbines investigated are fully immersed in the wake/s of the upstream turbine/s. Results show how the terrain effects combine with the wake effects, with both being of comparable importance for the site in question. Comparison has been made with results from two commercial CFD codes for neutral stability, and reasonable agreement is demonstrated. Richardson number has been plotted against wind shear and turbulence intensity at a met mast on the wind farm that for the selected wind direction is not in the wake of any turbines. Good correlations are found indicating that the Richardson numbers obtained are reliable. The filtered data used for wake analysis were split according to Richardson number into two groups representing slightly stable to neutral, and unstable conditions. Very little difference in wake development is apparent. A greater difference can be observed when the data are separated simply by turbulence intensity, suggesting that, although turbulence intensity is correlated with stability, of the two it is the parameter that most directly impacts on wake development through mixing of ambient and wake flows.


There has been much controversy concerning the existence and importance of mandibular lateral translation. However, more sophisticated techniques of registration and evaluation have addressed many of these questions, and there has recently been less discussion of the topic. This report addresses the specific relationship of cuspal contacts in centric occlusion and introduces a modification in typical occlusal morphology to avoid interferences caused by the lateral translation. A specific position of the centric contacting cusps to avoid such interferences is suggested. A spatial registration of the cuspal pathways, using variable posterior and anterior guidances, is said to offer more precise cuspal placement.


Since last few years social network sites (SNSs) have rapidly grown in popularity and user acceptance globally. They have become the main place for social interaction, discussion and communication. Today, many businesses advertise their products on SNSs. The current study aims to assess the effects of SNSs consumers/users' beliefs and concerns of social network advertising (SNA) on their attitudes toward SNA and SNS banner ad-clicking behavior. Data was collected from a sample of 397 university students of Pakistan. Results show the beliefs of SNA as informative and entertaining have positive effects on user attitudes toward SNA and their ad-clicking behavior. Similarly, user concern of SNA as irritating has negative effects on both their attitudes toward SNA and ad-clicking behavior. Good for economy is an important socioeconomic belief which affects user attitudes toward SNA positively. The overall results indicate that utilitarian and hedonic aspects of SNA make SNS banner ads effective.


Background and Aim: The words are the symbolic tools for communication. Nouns are the initial and the most frequent components of language that children acquire and use during the procedure of language development. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the noun perception and expression abilities in Persian-speaking children, as well as gathering the normative data for two picture-pointing and picture-naming tests. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 110 normal Persian-speaking children (54 girls and 56 boys), 2.5 to 4 year-old in four groups, were selected randomly throughout Arak kindergartens. Two pictorial perception and expression tests were performed in this study. Results: Mean scores of perception and expression was statistically different between all age groups, except 3 and 3.5 year-old groups (p<0.05). There was no statistically difference between mean scores of girls and boys. In addition, a significant positive correlation between mean scores of perception and expression was shown (p=0.001, r=0.896). Conclusion: The perception and expression abilities are different in 4 age groups. The two picturepointing and picture-naming tests can show these differences. Regardless of rapid development of perception, perception and expression abilities develop in parallel, and the ability of girls and boys shows similar trends.


In southern Africa, several plants are used ethnobotanically as soap substitutes, however, this information resides in different literature sources. The foaming and cleansing properties of such plants are attributed mainly to the presence of saponins, but other compounds such as alkaloids and terpenoids are also implicated. This study aimed to compile a comprehensive list of plants used traditionally as soap substitutes in southern Africa and to assess the chemical properties of selected species. Qualitative phytochemical analysis was done using five solvents (ethanol, methanol, water, chloroform, and acetone) to determine the presence of saponins, alkaloids, and terpenoids in selected soap plants. Quantitative analysis of the saponin content was done employing spectrophotometric tests of methanol extracts. There are thirty-seven (37) known southern African soap plants from twenty-four (24) different families, with the Fabaceae having the highest number of species (eight). Saponin concentrations of nine previously unstudied selected soap plants are reported for the first time in this study, whereby Calodendrum capense had the highest saponin concentrations are at 107.89 ± 4.89 mg/g, followed by Noltea africana (52.65 ± 6.81 mg/g), Crinum bulbispermum (35.43 ± 4.25 mg/g), and Merwilla plumbea (25.59 ± 0.83 mg/g). The knowledge of plant composition gives a better understanding of plant chemistry and possible use of plants medicinally, industrially and as soap substitutes. Furthermore, this allows the verification and the justification of traditional plant use. Soap plants have been used traditionally for many years, the potential to commercialise the use of these plants has been realised with the increase in the use of organic products by conscious consumers hence, the purpose of this investigation can have bearing on future projects and products.


The endocannabinoids are amides and esters of arachidonic acid that can mimic the pharmacological properties of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC). Anandamide, the most prominent of the endocannabinoids, has been implicated in both metabolic/physiological roles of the central nervous system, making it an attractive medicinal target. As such, we report the first solid-phase methodology that expedites access to various anandamide analogues. Our synthesis features a repetitive Cu-mediated coupling reaction between terminal alkynes and propargyl halides or allylic halides.


Local gradient coils can improve the performance of echo‐planar, diffusion, and short TE imaging in the brain. A modified singular value decomposition algorithm, which allows the rapid optimization and comparison of designs, was employed to optimize head size gradient coils. A theoretical expression for the torque on a cylindrical coil is presented and used to design coils that are free from torque while pulsed within a magnetic field. Gradient coils of various lengths both with and without torque constraints were compared; although torque‐free coils do not perform as well as unbalanced coils, asymmetric torque‐balanced coils can achieve comparable homogeneity with only a modest Increase in inductance and resistance. Both types of coils outperform body size gradient coils by a dramatic margin. A three‐axis head gradient designed using these techniques was constructed and used for brain imaging on a clinical scanner.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biomechanical stability of various rigid internal fixation systems for subcondylar fractures.Fifteen identical synthetic polyurethane mandibles with a cancellous bone structure (Synbone (R), Switzerland) were used. The left condylar processes were cut with a band saw to mimic subcondylar fractures directed perpendicularly to the long axis of the ramus, and the right sides were cut to mimic oblique fractures to the ramus. The fixation systems used were a single 4-hole titanium mini-adaptation plate (Synthes), double fixation with the same plates, a single 5-hole titanium mini-dynamic compression plate (Synthes), an Eckelt lag screw (R) system (Martin), and a Wurzburg lag screw plate (R) system (Leibinger). Biomechanical testing was done as described by Haug et al.(1996). The bone models were held with a custom-made jig to keep the occlusal plane horizontal. The canine region was pressed with a cantilever beam design using a servohydraulic testing machine (Autograph, Shimadzu) at a rate of 1mm/sec. The force-displacement curve, maximum load for breakage, and stiffness were measured.In perpendicular fractures, double mini-plate fixation and Eckelt lag screw fixation provided the best stability. The maximum loads of the former and the latter were 46.7±9.5N and 44.7±11.6N, respectively. Their stiffness was 4.1±1.1N/mm and 4.7±1.9N/mm, respectively. Single mini-plate fixation was weakest, i. e., 13.2±2.4N maximum load and 1.3±1.0N/mm stiffness. In oblique fractures, double mini-plate fixation also had the best tolerance for load and stiffness, i.e., 55.1±11.6 N and 5.2±2.7N/mm, respectively. The Eckelt lag screw, however, showed considerably less fixation strength than that for perpendicular fractures, i.e., 22.8±11.3N for load tolerance and 1.0±0.2N/mm for stiffness.In this laboratory setting, double mini-plate fixation proved superior in both types of fractures with regard to resistance to movement and breakage strength. The Eckelt lag screw showed good stability for perpendicular fractures; however, stability was weak for oblique fractures. Not only single mini-plate fixation but also minidynamic compression plate fixation or a Wurzburg lag screw plate system may provide insufficient fixation strength for this type of fracture on early functional loading.


In this paper, we study wireless networked control systems with energy harvesting sensors. Multiple sensors share a wireless medium over which they transmit measurements to their respective controllers, and due to the shared medium, packet collisions occur if sensors transmit simultaneously. To alleviate this problem, we propose random access policies that satisfy a desired control performance on each control loop, while also satisfying the energy constraints imposed by the energy harvesting process. The optimal scheduling policy is shown to follow a simple thresholding operation. Moreover, we provide a stochastic dual method for their computation, which is shown to be decoupled across sensors. Finally, we verify numerically the properties of the proposed policy.


A promising technique for the large-scale manufacture of micro-fluidic devices and photonic devices is hot embossing of polymers such as PMMA. Micro-embossing is a deformation process where the workpiece material is heated to permit easier material flow and then forced over a planar pat-terned tool. While there has been considerable, attention paid to process feasibility very little effort has been put into production issues such as process capability and eventual process control. In this paper, we present initial studies aimed at identifying the origins and magnitude of variability for embossing features at the micron scale in PMMA. Test parts with features ranging from 3.5-630 µm wide and 0.9 µm deep were formed. Measurements at this scale proved very difficult, and only atomic force micros-copy was able to provide resolution sufficient to identify process variations. It was found that standard deviations of widths at the 3-4 µm scale were on the order of 0.5 µm leading to a coefficient of variation as high as 13%. Clearly, the transition from test to manufacturing for this process will require understanding the causes of this variation and devising control methods to minimize its magnitude over all types of parts.


Glutaric aciduria type I (GA I) is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. This disorder is characterized by progressive dystonia, choreoathetosis, and dyskinesia. It is often misdiagnosed as athetoid cerebral palsy. Laboratory evaluation usually demonstrates increased urinary excretion of gluataric acid and 3-hydroxyglutaric acid. We report a case of a 7-year-old boy presenting with choreoathetosis and dystonia, mimicking as choreoathetoid cerebral palsy. The presence of characteristic neuroimaging and biochemical studies led to the diagnosis of GA I.


Hydro stations were worked during August/September, 1968, over six basins in the floor of the Median Valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near latitude 45 °N, and in the open Atlantic each side of the Ridge. Measurements were made of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, reactive silica, and dissolved fluoride.Water properties in the valley are practically homogeneous below a depth of about 2390 m, and are controlled by the depths of saddles in the adjacent ridge systems. No thermal or chemical anomalies were found in waters within the basins which might have been due to geothermal action in the valley floor. Relatively high concentrations of dissolved oxygen in basin waters suggest that the valley is efficiently flushed.


In their article in this issue of Neurology®, Lin and colleagues1 provide compelling evidence for the utility of a neurofilament light chain (NfL) blood test in predicting progression in Parkinson disease (PD) and in distinguishing PD from multisystem atrophy (MSA). If confirmed by independent studies, this would be a major advance for clinical and basic research. Such a test also may have complex consequences for clinical care.


This work is aiming at investigating the preparation and characterization of n-butyl acrylate (BA) to be used in oil spill removing applications. N-Butyl Acrylate was prepared by solution polymerization taking into account the effect of monomer concentration, polymerization time, initiator concentration, cross-linker concentration and polymerization temperature on the yield of n- butyl acrylate to optimize the polymerization conditions. Thermal analysis has been done using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in the range of 25oC to 600oC and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the range of 35oC to 400oC. The results showed that n- butyl acrylate is thermally stable to satisfy the requirements of oil spill cleanup applications. The chemical structure of n- butyl acrylate was confirmed using Fourier Transform Infrared analysis (FTIR). The morphology of n- butyl acrylate that controls its ability to absorb oil spills was observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was found that n-butyl acrylate has the ability to absorb gasoline, kerosene, diesel, xylene, octanol and Mobil oil. Sorption capacity of the polymer in dry system, static system and dynamic system in addition to its reusability of sorbent several times were studied.


Despite all of the physics problems engineering majors learn to solve assuming ideal conditions, engineering problems rarely exist in a vacuum. Engineers are impacted in their work by laws, regulations, and policy, standards, business practices, and communication. This paper showcases a research-based course for Honors College students at East Carolina University (ECU). Honors College students from all disciplines across campus are required to enroll in a course that introduces them to research in their chosen field. The various sections of the course were divided based upon the students' chosen major. This paper focuses on one section of the course comprised of students majoring in Engineering, Technology, Political Science, Mathematics, Communication, and several majors in the College of Business. The students worked in teams of 4-5 on research projects with each team having student members from at least 3 different major disciplines. Each project focused on researching a problem that had not only an engineering component, but also an issue related to policy and business. Each team had to research policies or regulations that relate to their topic, determine the stakeholders for the problem, and develop a study to investigate the issue. Given the limited time of one semester to develop and complete their study, all groups conducted survey-based research or observational studies. Each group learned about ethics in research and was required to complete human subjects based research training and to submit their study to the university institutional review board. A total of six research projects were completed with each requiring a problem statement and/or research questions, literature review, development of data collection procedures, experimental design, data analytics, oral presentations, and a final written paper with several chapters submitted as deliverables throughout the semester. Students were introduced to qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis procedures. Research questions were formulated through the lens of researchers from various disciplines. This paper presents an outline for how the course was structured, discusses the projects the students conducted, and describes the findings of the various studies. Included is an evaluation of the strengths in the implementation and some advice for structuring such a course in the future. The course topics are also compared with core competencies identified in the literature for engaging in interdisciplinary scholarly research. End of semester student survey results are analyzed to determine the strengths of weaknesses of this course and project implementation. Overall it is believed that an interdisciplinary research course like this allows students to gain a greater understanding of how their field of study is influenced by professionals in other disciplines through researching public policy, business regulations, marketing strategies, and design decisions that influence their field. This class gave students the opportunity to collaborate with those outside of their own major field, modeling how companies and other agencies assemble professionals from various backgrounds to advance the corporate mission and the state of the art.


Author(s): Hua, Y; Zhu, Q; Sohrabi, R | Abstract: This paper presents a number of fundamental properties of full-duplex radio for secure wireless communication under some simple and practical conditions. In particular, we consider the fields of secrecy capacity of a wireless channel between two single-antenna radios (Alice and Bob) against an unknown number of single-antenna eavesdroppers (Eves) from unknown locations, where Alice and Bob have zero knowledge (except a model) of the large-scale-fading channel-state-information of Eves. These properties show how the secrecy capacity is distributed in terms of the location of any Eve, how the optimal jamming power applied by the full-duplex radio varies with various parameters, and how bad or good the worst cases are. In particular, these properties show how the quality of self-interference cancelation/suppression affects various aspects of the fields of secrecy capacity. The cases of colluding Eves and non-colluding Eves are treated separately and yet coherently. For non-colluding Eves, asymptotically constant fields of secrecy capacity are revealed. For each of the two cases, we also treat subcases with or without small-scale fading.


Abstract : The debate about grand strategy in the Second World War has scarcely ended even in the 21st Century. The present study examines the classical issue of the grand strategy in Europe and the anti-Hitler coalition as concerns the US-UK-Soviet exchange about the Second Front. The great phenomenon of the Second World War was the creation of an unprecedented military alliance between the western powers and the Soviet Union. Due to mutual antagonism the inter-Allied cooperation during the Second World War was very complicated and at times extremely tense. Perhaps the most acute disagreement in the relationship between the Allies was the "Second Front" controversy. Despite desperate Soviet demands to open the Second Front as soon as possible, the Western Allies launched a massive cross-channel operation in the northwestern Europe only in June 1944. This thesis analyses the reasons of why it took the western powers so long to organize and execute such an operation and its implications for the post-war order. The detailed analysis of the grand strategy during the Second World War is one of the ways to comprehend the violent 20th Century amid the carnage of the 21st Century and its own problems of grand strategy.


The present study examined the roles of work factors (i.e. job demands and job resources), work-family conflicts and culture on predictors of healthy intentions (fruit and vegetable consumption, low-fat diet and physical activity) within the framework of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Employees from the United Kingdom (N = 278) and Malaysia (N = 325) participated in the study. Results indicated that higher job demands were significantly related to lower intentions to eat a low-fat diet. Women reported higher intentions to eat a low-fat diet than men did, while participants from the United Kingdom had lower intentions to engage in physical activity compared with those from Malaysia. The efficacy of TPB variables in explaining intentions was verified, with perceived behavioural control (i.e. self-efficacy), attitudes and descriptive norms combined with past behaviour predictive across the samples. The results also suggest the roles of culture and work interference with family variables in moderating TPB-intention relationships and confirm that TPB variables mediate the effects of job demands and job resources on intentions. Practically, to promote health, identifying strategies to reduce stress factors; specifying important cognitive factors affecting work factors and thus, healthy intentions; and acknowledging cultural-specific determinants of healthy intentions are recommended. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Hydroxyapatite is a commonly used scaffold material for bone tissue engineering. However, the osteogenic mechanism of hydroxyapatite scaffolds remains unclear. Recently, we have prepared a hydroxyapatite scaffolds with microchannels and porous structures (HAG) which have good osteogenic effects in vitro and in vivo. In present study, we explained the mechanism of HAG scaffolds promoted the osteogenic differentiation from the perspective of miRNA differential expression. We used microarray assays to analyze the expression profiles of miRNAs from the osteogenic differentiation of hPMSCs with or without HAG; 16 miRNAs were upregulated and 29 miRNAs were downregulated between the two types of cells. And overexpression the differential miRNAs could promote the osteogenic differentiation of hPMSCs. Additionally, gene ontology analysis, pathway analysis, and miRNA-mRNA-network built were performed to reveal that the differentially expressed miRNAs participate in multiple biological processes, including cell metabolic, cell junction, cell development, differentiation, and signal transduction, among others. Furthermore, we found that these differentially expressed miRNAs connect osteogenic differentiation to processes such as axon guidance, MAPK, and TGF-beta signaling pathway. This is the first study to identify and characterize differentiational miRNAs derived from HAG-hPMSC cells.


SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is a fourth-generation programming language consisting of a suite of modules designed for business intelligence and customer relationship management. SAS software is the standard used in statistical analysis in the pharmaceutical industry and in the public health, partially due to the powerful data import, handling, and manipulation functions added to the base package over the years, to extend the analytical capabilities to different types and formats of data. Other modules available provide for construction of applications for such tasks as data entry or validation. SAS also provides data mining, data warehousing, business intelligence, sustainability and business performance management software. The spectrum of offerings is so wide that many users are expert in one area of the SAS package, but have little or no experience in another.


In a quantum Hall effect, flat Landau levels may be broadened by disorder. However, it has been found that in the thermodynamic limit,all extended (or current carrying) states shrink to one single energy value within each Landau level. On the other hand, a quantum anomalous Hall effect consists of dispersive bands with finite widths. We numerically investigate the picture of current carrying states in this case. With size scaling, the spectrum width of these states in each bulk band still shrinks to a single energy value in the thermodynamic limit, in a power law way. The magnitude of the scaling exponent at the intermediate disorder is close to that in the quantum Hall effects. The number of current carrying states obeys similar scaling rules, so that the density of states of current carrying states is finite. Other states in the bulk band are localized and may contribute to the formation of a topological Anderson insulator.


Land use change patterns are the result of the complex interactions between man and his physical environment. Specifically, land use conversion occurs when a particular land is changed from the use that was originally allocated as a result of invasion and succession. The study investigated the reasons for and level of conversion of land use in Minna and its environmental implications. The study area were Old Airport road, Hospital Road, Kuta Road, Ogbomosho Road and Lagos road. Data for the study were gathered through questionnaire administration to 350 randomly selected property owners in the study areas out of which 324 questionnaires were successfully completed and used for the study. The findings revealed that traffic congestion, shortage of housing and inadequate infrastructure were responsible for land use conversion in the study area. Therefore the study calls for review of Minna master plan, imposition of fines on landlords that converted the use of their properties without following appropriate procedure and increased funding of planning authority. Key words : Landuse, Conversion, Environmental and Housing.


This study introduces a fuzzy based optimal state estimation approach. The new method is based on two principles: Adaptive Unscented Kalman filter, and Fuzzy Adaptive Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm. The approach is designed for the optimization of an adaptive Unscented Kalman Filter. To find the optimal parameters for the filter, a fuzzy based evolutionary algorithm, named Fuzzy Adaptive Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm, is developed where its efficiency is verified by application to different benchmark functions. The proposed optimal adaptive unscented Kalman filter is applied to two nonlinear systems: a robotic manipulator, and a servo-hydraulic system. Different simulation tests are conducted to verify the performance of the filter. The results of simulations are presented and compared with a previous version of the unscented Kalman filter. For a realistic test, the proposed filter is applied on the practical servo-hydraulic system. Practical results are discussed, and presented results approve the capability of the presented method for practical applications.


WITH this issue of theArchives of Dermatology, two new names appear at the top of the masthead. We do not assume the position lightly—as a matter of fact, the past three months have taught us the amazing complexity of the problems we will face in the next few years. At the outset no major editorial changes are contemplated; we think theArchivesis an excellent scientific journal and we will strive for its continued success. Yet no editor will be able to succeed unless the communications submitted have scientific validity in all its dimensions. For that reason, we urge you to submit your best. There will be errors on our part, but we hope to keep these to a minimum. We may accept copy that should not be submitted; we may be vulnerable when we reject manuscripts that should be published. For these errors of commission and omission we


The aim of the article is to analyze the attempts to conceptualize post-Soviet regime changes that have been undertaken over the past thirty years. For convenience, all concepts are grouped around three main approaches. The first one examines regime transformations in the former USSR from the point of view of a possible transition to democracy (transition paradigm); the second approach emphasizes the continuity between the post-Soviet political regimes and previous ones, overlooking fundamental differences between them; the third approach assumes that the post-Soviet transition did take place, however, it was "autocracyto-autocracy transition" (from one-party communist dictatorship to hybrid regimes or consolidated personalistic autocracies). The author considers regime change as transformation of some basic formal and informal rules of the game that determine the functioning of a given political system (from the way of making key decisions and allocating resources to the main channels for recruiting to the elite). As a result, the author proves that the third approach is the most relevant for understanding post-Soviet politics. Inter alia, its advantage is that it allows us to fit post-Soviet studies into the wider field of comparative political science: the analysis of post-Soviet politics, on the one hand, can significantly enrich our ideas about "how dictatorships work" at large, on the other hand, empirical knowledge about autocracies outside post-Soviet Eurasia and theories built on this basis will help us to understand the nature of authoritarianism in Russia's "near abroad".


This article explores how the concept of genre can enrich our understanding of gender inequality in media industries. All media work takes place within genre-specific production worlds, which seem to be gender-segregated. By examining the gendered and gendering ideology of genres, an outcome of genre-gender discursive, historical and cultural crossover, we obtain a holistic view of the complexities of the psycho-biographical gender dynamics of media work. To this end, I trace the ways in which the andocentric genre of travel writing (a genre based on a masculine ideology) causes professional anxiety and constrains female travel writers' biographical identity work. By treating genres as mediators of work experiences and practices, I elucidate how contemporary female travel writers experience and cope with genre-induced anxiety.


Animals may act as bioindicators for potential human health problems associated with mining and refining. Eight cattle died after a vanadium mine dam collapsed close to the area in which they were grazing. Necropsies were conducted on five cattle. Affected animals had shown a watery bloody diarrhea, red urine and listlessness before collapsing. On necropsy (n = 5) there was a moderate bilateral multifocal granulomatous-like conjunctivitis. The most prominent lesions were eosinophillic granulomatous-like inflammation of the thymus, mediastinal and mesenteric lymph nodes, oesophagus, abomasum and colon. There was also marked hyperaemia of the abomasal mucosa with petechiation. Pulmonary and tracheal haemorrhage was also present. Histopathology showed severe inflammatory cell infiltration (mainly eosinophils with lesser numbers of neutrophils and macrophages) of lymphoid tissue associated with the thymus, lymph nodes, esophagus, abomasum, colon and conjunctiva. There were also areas of tissue necrosis, congested blood vessels and haemorrhage. Conjunctival lesions point to a systemic rather than a local effect as the cattle in this case died following ingestion rather than inhalation of vanadium. The causal relationship between intoxication and death is conventionally based on the level of that toxin present in tissues at necropsy. The variability in demonstrating vanadium in biological samples may have been due to the rapid excretion of vanadium by the living animal, or the solubility of the salts, which results in the substance leaching into the fluid portion of the samples. Cross-reactions with colorimetric tests for arsenic should also be noted.


Purpose.  To determine the content of radionuclides 137Сs, 90Sr and heavy metals in water bodies within the boundaries of settlements of Kamyn-Kashirsky, Lyubeshivsky and Manevychi administrative districts of Volyn region.
Methods.  During the expedition and laboratory work, standard methods of sampling, preparation and measurement of samples were used according to the current methods of radiochemical, radiospectrometric, ichthyological, hydrochemical, statistical analyses, etc.  The determination of the total content of heavy metals was performed in laboratory conditions by conventional methods.
Results.  The research is based on its own analyses, as well as the stock materials of the Scientific Information Center for Water Management and Ecological Monitoring and Optimization of Water Use.  Features of 137Сs, 90Sr  radionuclides distribution in reservoirs (water, sediments, fish, birds) within the zone of radioactive contamination in Volyn Region are considered. The maximum concentrationі of 137Сs, 90Sr in the studied area were determined.  The anthropogenic impact and excess of the maximum permissible concentrations and maximum permissible levels of toxic substances in the ecosystem links of certain water bodies of the partially contaminated region are identified.
Conclusions.  As a result of the study on the level of concentrations of 137Сs and 90Sr and heavy metals in water (within the boundaries of settlements) of the investigated area, it was found that reservoirs in village of
Prylisne, village of Velyka Osnytsya, village of Cherevakha in Manevitsky District, village of Nuyno in Kamin-Kashirsky District and the village of Vetly in Lyubeshiv Administrative Distict  are affected by the highest concentrations of 137Сs and 90Sr.  The significant content of heavy metal salts is recorded in the reservoirs, namely in the village of Serhiv – lead, village of Prylisne in Manevytskyi District– zinc, cadmium;  in the village  Berezna Volia in Lyubeshiv District – copper;  in the village  of Nuyno in Kamin-Kashirsky District – lead.


Two Taiwanese siblings presented with clinical and histological findings of dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria, which is an uncommon hereditary skin disease. A 26‐year‐old Taiwanese man had developed diffuse hyperpigmentation with hypopigmented spots over his whole body from the age of 4 years. His 34‐year‐old brother had also developed a similar skin pigmentary defect from about the same age. Histological examination of the hyperpigmented lesions found an increase in melanin in the basal layer, pigmentary incontinence, and some melanophages in the upper dermis but no increase in the number of melanocytes. The unique clinical, histological, and genetic features of this condition are outlined.


The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of binary mixture of o-chlorophenol (OCP) with diphenyl ether (DPE), t-butyl methyl ether (TBME), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 1,4 dioxane (DN) have been recorded over the entire composition range at room temperature in the regions 4000-400 cm-1. The study indicated bonding interaction between the components of liquid mixtures. These spectra have been investigated in terms of various fundamental modes of vibration. The molecular structures of the binary complexes have been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) using B3LYP functional and 6-31 G (d) basis sets. Computed values have been analyzed and their characterization was made with the help of Gauss View visualization program utilizing the data obtained from Gaussian 03 W calculation. The results of the calculations are compared with the experimentally determined data.


Kuramoto oscillator networks have the special property that their trajectories are constrained to lie on the (at most) 3D orbits of the Möbius group acting on the state space TN (the N-fold torus). This result has been used to explain the existence of the N−3 constants of motion discovered by Watanabe and Strogatz for Kuramoto oscillator networks. In this work we investigate geometric consequences of this Möbius group action. The dynamics of Kuramoto phase models can be further reduced to 2D reduced group orbits, which have a natural geometry equivalent to the unit disk Δ with the hyperbolic metric. We show that in this metric the original Kuramoto phase model (with order parameter Z1 equal to the centroid of the oscillator configuration of points on the unit circle) is a gradient flow and the model with order parameter iZ1 (corresponding to cosine phase coupling) is a completely integrable Hamiltonian flow. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for general Kuramoto phase models to be gradient or Hamiltonian flows in this metric. This allows us to identify several new infinite families of hyperbolic gradient or Hamiltonian Kuramoto oscillator networks which therefore have simple dynamics with respect to this geometry. We prove that for the Z1 model, a generic 2D reduced group orbit has a unique fixed point corresponding to the hyperbolic barycenter of the oscillator configuration, and therefore the dynamics are equivalent on different generic reduced group orbits. This is not always the case for more general hyperbolic gradient or Hamiltonian flows; the reduced group orbits may have multiple fixed points, which also may bifurcate as the reduced group orbits vary.


Biologics have revolutionized the treatment of inflammatory arthritis, but their impact on T cell function is unknown. We evaluated the effect of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-17A (IL-17A), and IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) blockers on T cell function in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from PsA patients (n=111) and healthy controls (n=20) were co-cultured with adalimumab (ADA), ixekizumab (IXE), tocilizumab (TCZ), or medium alone for 5 days. T cell activation and proliferation were determined by flow cytometry and cytokines in supernatants were measured by ELISA. Activated CD4+CD25+ T cells were significantly down-regulated by ADA in naive, conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (cDMARD)- and biologic-treated PsA patients compared to medium (p < 0.04, p < 0.01, respectively), IXE, and TCZ. In healthy, ADA reduced the activated CD4+CD25+ T cells proportion but non-significantly as compared to the other groups. Inhibition of PsA patients derived lymphocytes proliferation by the biologics was determined in response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). The strongest ability to suppress the extent of PHA-induced proliferation was exerted by ADA (p < 0.01) compared to IXE and TCZ. IL-1β, IL-17A, and MMP-3 levels were down-regulated by ADA compared to medium (p < 0.02, p < 0.0001, p < 0.002, respectively). IXE reduced IL-17A (p < 0.0001) but not IL-1β or MMP-3 levels. TNF and IL-17A blockades are suitable for PsA treatment, but exhibit different activity on T cells. Moreover, the study reveals part of the mechanism exerted by ADA and provides a possible explanation for TCZ inefficacy in PsA.


This paper presents a capacitor-free CMOS low dropout voltage regulator which has high PSR performance and low chip area. Pole splitting and gm boosting techniques are employed to achieve good stability. The capacitor-free chip LDO was fabricated in commercial 0.18 μm CMOS technology provided by GSMC (Shanghai, China). Measured results show that the capacitor-free LDO has a stable output voltage 1.79 V, when supply voltage changes from 2.5 to 5 V, and the LDO is capable of driving maximum 100 mA load current. The LDO has high power supply rejection about −79 dB at low frequency and −40 dB at 1 MHz frequency, while sacrifice of the LDO's active chip-area is only smaller than 0.02 mm2.


The enzyme involved in hexenuronic acid (HexA) removal from kraft pulp was identified in Paenibacillus sp. strain 07. Extracellular and intracellular enzymes of Paenibacillus sp. were assessed for their hexenuronosyl-xylotriose (∆X3) degradation activity. First, ∆X3 was obtained from hardwood kraft pulp by enzymatic hydrolysis using three commercial enzymes. Crude extracellular and intracellular enzyme fractions were obtained from Paenibacillus cultures cultivated in 0.5% (w/v) birch wood xylan as the sole carbon source. The ∆X3-degrading activities of the enzyme fractions were measured by hydrolysis assays in sodium acetate buffer containing ∆X3 substrate (pH 6) at 50 °C. The reaction products were analyzed by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. The enzyme fractions displayed different chromatogram patterns. After treatment with the intracellular enzyme fraction, the chromatograms displayed xylose and hexenuronosyl xylobiose (∆X2) peaks. The chromatogram patterns of the extracellular fraction assays indicated xylose, xylotriose, and ∆X2 production. Thus, the intracellular enzymes of Paenibacillus can hydrolyze the xylosidic linkages at the reducing ends of ∆X3, whereas a specific extracellular enzyme can hydrolyze HexA. This enzyme is potentially applicable to HexA removal during bio-bleaching.


Two patients presented to us with very similar clinical and radiological presentation of huge hydatid cysts in the lung and liver. The first patient was an 11-year-old female child and the second one was a 9-year-old male child. The clinical features in both were breathlessness on exertion, pain abdomen, and abdominal distension. Chest Roentgenogram along with computed tomogram of the chest and abdomen revealed presence of thin-walled homogenous large cysts, one in the right lung and two in the liver, in both the cases. Although the liver cysts were of larger size and occupying most of the right lobe of the liver and part of the left lobe, liver function tests were normal. All three cysts were enucleated in the same sitting by a combined thoracic and abdominal approach (thoracotomy followed by laparotomy). After enucleation of the cyst, capitonnage of the cavity in the lung was done and the liver cavities were filled with omentum to prevent collection of fluid and abscess formation. Both patients recovered well, although the second patient required abdominal drain for a long period of 1 month for bile leakage which decreased gradually and eventually stopped.


Although cell number generally correlates with organ size, the role of cell cycle control in growth regulation is still largely unsolved. We studied kip related protein (krp) 4, 6 and 7 single, double and triple mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana to understand the role of cell cycle inhibitory proteins in leaf development. We performed leaf growth and seed size analysis, kinematic analysis, flow cytometery, transcriptome analysis and mathematical modeling of G1/S and G2/M checkpoint progression of the mitotic and endoreplication cycle. Double and triple mutants progressively increased mature leaf size, because of elevated expression of cell cycle and DNA replication genes stimulating progression through the division and endoreplication cycle. However, cell number was also already increased before leaf emergence, as a result of an increased cell number in the embryo. We show that increased embryo and seed size in krp4/6/7 results from seed abortion, presumably reducing resource competition, and that seed size differences contribute to the phenotype of several large-leaf mutants. Our results provide a new mechanistic understanding of the role of cell cycle regulation in leaf development and highlight the contribution of the embryo to the development of leaves after germination in general.


Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are multi-functional growth factors belonging to the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily. BMPs are expressed in a large variety of tissues and organs, where they exhibit pleiotropic functions during development as well as in the adult organism. Thus maintenance of the BMP signaling pathways requires strict control and regulation by antagonists, co-receptors and inhibitors. BMPs exert their signals by binding to hetero-oligomeric signaling complexes composed of type I and type II receptors with serine/threonine kinase activity. They play a decisive role in the development of several diseases but are also involved in self-renewal of stem cells and tissue regeneration. These insights may lead to the design of future therapeutic treatments. This review focuses on the differential BMP signaling pathways initiated at distinct oligomerized signaling complexes as well as on the pathological aspects of BMP signaling in diseases and their potential for tissue regeneration.


Best practice in early childhood assessment supports a comprehensive multi-method, multi-source measurement approach, with tools validated for use with culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse populations (National Research Council, 2008). This study employed this approach, by incorporating teachers' and outside observers' perspectives on children's positive and conflictual engagement with peers in the preschool classroom to examine how peer social competence was related to gains in academic readiness skills for 527 Head Start children. Children's positive engagement with peers was related to increased gains in language and literacy skills and conflict engagement with peers was associated with fewer gains in alphabet knowledge and mathematics. Findings support the need for a comprehensive measurement approach that includes multiple perspectives and methods for examining peer social competence with culturally and linguistically diverse preschool children from low-income backgrounds.


Anatomical evidence suggests an interplay between the dorsal CA1 of the hippocampus (CA1), the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the entorhinal cortex (EC), but their specific interactions in the context of emotional memory remain obscure. Here, we sought to elucidate the activation pattern in these areas following spatial learning under different stress conditions in the Morris water maze, using cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB) activation as a marker. Stress levels were manipulated by maintaining the water maze at one of two different temperatures: lower stress (warm water) or higher stress (cold water). Three groups of animals were tested under each condition: a Learning group, trained in the water maze with a hidden escape platform; a No‐Platform group, subjected to the maze without an escape platform; and a Naïve group. To evaluate the quality of the spatial memory formed, we also tested long‐term memory retention of the initial location of the platform following an interference procedure (reversal training). In the CA1 and EC, we found different CREB activation patterns for the lower‐ and higher‐stress groups. By contrast, in the BLA a similar pattern of activation was detected under both stress levels. The data reveal a difference in the sensitivity of the memory to interference, with reversal training interference affecting the memory of the initial platform location only under the higher‐stress condition. The results suggest that stress‐dependent alterations in limbic system activation patterns underlie differences in the quality of the memory formed.


Nature and landscape are increasingly appreciated as public goods and community assets in need of protection. Policy schemes aiming to protect vulnerable nature and landscape assets affect options for farm development and thus the opportunities for farm income strategies. Farmers as small business owners need to counter an ongoing income squeeze in their strategic decision. Farmers' perception of the options affects strategic decision making. In a case study with dairy farmers operating in a highly comparable biophysical and socio-economic context, farmers differed in the perception leading to three main income strategies: 'maximising' or 'ending' of milk production and 'diversification of farm business' with the most dominant strategy being 'maximising'. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the significance of seven drivers for the differences between farmers' perception of farm development options. The 'personal views and preference' is the most significant explanatory driver for all three income strategies. 'View on markets' is of less significance and 'view on urban-rural relation' is not significant in explaining differences between farmers. 'Maximising' and 'diversifying' are opposites in their drivers. To increase the effectiveness of policy schemes and support programmes, personal views and preferences of farmers need to be taken into account.