Viable diatom and dinoflagellate resting stages were recovered from sediments in Koljö Fjord on the west coast of Sweden. To determine the maximum survival time of buried resting stages, samples from sediment depths down to 50 cm were incubated at temperatures of 3, 10 and 18 °C. Sediment cores were dated by 210Pb and the age of samples containing viable resting stages was determined using the constant rate of supply model. Dilution cultures of surface sediments allowed semiquantitative estimates of the potential seed bank. Dinoflagellate cysts from species such as Diplopsalis sp., Gymnodinium nolleri, Oblea rotunda and Protoceratium reticulatum were viable down to 15 cm depth, or 37 years old. Spores and resting cells of the diatoms Chaetoceros spp., Detonula confervacea and Skeletonema costatum were viable to over 40 cm depth, and may have been buried for many decades. The seed bank of living resting stages in surficial sediments was found to be rich (c. 57000 diatom resting stages g−1 wet weight and c. 200 dinoflagellate cysts g−1 wet weight), and the percentage of viable resting stages was higher for spore- and cyst-forming species. The oxygen-deficient sediments in Koljö Fjord appear to be a natural conservator of cell viability, a condition not easily simulated in laboratory studies. These results are ecologically important since spores and cysts are a repository of genetic material able to repopulate waters if resuspended and exposed to suitable light, temperature and nutrients.


Papillary fibroelastoma is a rare, benign endocardial tumour usually located on the cardiac valves. Before echocardiography, these tumours were chance findings either at surgery or at autopsy. With the advent of echocardiography, the diagnosis has become commoner and they are often the cause of systemic embolism justifying surgical ablation. In this case, an aortic valve papillary fibroelastoma presented with myocardial infarction in a 78 year old woman with normal coronary angiography. The diagnosis was strongly suspected at echocardiography and confirmed by histological analysis of the surgically excised tumour.


A randomized field trial involving 883 students at 23 schools in three urban cities assessed the effectiveness of Experience Corps (EC), a program that places older adult volunteers in elementary schools to tutor students who are poor readers. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the academic year with standardized reading measures. Program effects were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to adjust for clustering effects. Findings demonstrated that EC students made statistically greater gains over the academic year on passage comprehension and grade-specific reading skills. The gains were stronger for students who received at least 35 tutoring sessions. These findings indicate that older community volunteers can be effectively deployed to improve reading achievement in low income, ethnic minority children who are at risk of reading failure.


The one-stop neck lump clinic at Warrington Hospital was established in 2011 in line with NICE head and neck cancer guidelines.1 They recommend that fine needle aspiration (FNA) is performed under ultrasound guidance in the presence of an onsite cytopathologist. This enables an immediate assessment of adequacy and repeat sampling as required on the same day to prevent diagnostic delay.2 The Royal College of Radiologists recommend a minimum adequacy rate of 70% for thyroid lesions. In 2014, a systematic review of 78 papers found an average FNA adequacy rate for all head and neck lesions of 90.7%.3 Methods: This re-audit aimed to evaluate whether local recommendations for improving the performance of ultrasound. Data collected retrospectively between August 2017 and January 2018 were compared to the first cycle audit (December 2015 May 2016). The adequacy of initial FNA samples were recorded and whether repeat aspirations were required. Samples were considered inadequate if the cytology report stated insufficient material for adequate diagnosis.4 The reasons for diagnostically inconclusive reports were documented. Results: FNA cytology reports for 62 patients (53% female) in the second cycle were compared to 56 patients (64% female) in the first cycle. All pathologies were included, except for patients with suspected lymphoma.The adequacy rate for initial FNA reports increased from 76% to 89%. The specific adequacy rates for thyroids, salivary glands and lymph nodes improved by 18%, 18% and 4% respectively Conclusion: Discussion with the local pathology and radiology departments after the initial audit generated recommendations to improve adequacy rates. The introduction of CytoRich fluid for thyroid specimen preparation significantly increased adequacy. Narrower bore needles reduce the risk of haemorrhagic samples and were used for repeat FNA sampling to successfully decrease inadequate reports.


In Web‐based social media (blogs, Internet forums, etc.), readers express their opinions by attaching reply comments to articles and understand others' perspectives by reading these comments. On Web forums, users discuss and argue with others via reply comments. Thus, a series of comments may provide new information, particularly about disputes among participants. Unfortunately, current systems for viewing reply comments are primitive; it is hard to follow disputes and their relationships by using such systems. We examine the characteristics of disputes by using reply comments and propose a novel system for automatically detecting disputes and their relationships among a large set of reply comments. This paper defines a dispute section as a series of comments where the dispute index is sufficiently high. The dispute index is determined using an exponential model with three control parameters. Next, the dispute relationship can be defined according to a pair of arguing commenters. The basic concept is to exploit the order of comment posting times and comment writer information when detecting dispute sections because the comments tend to appear in ordered pairs. The proposed system detects dispute sections and visualizes them according to dispute relationships among commenters, enabling users to appreciate the controversial structure of comments. To test the performance of our system, we constructed a dataset containing comment sequences associated with 40 articles collected from an Web forum. We constructed the set of dispute comments manually. We found that the detection accuracy of our system for disputes and their relationships were 83% and 78% on average. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A COLD cathode tube is a gas discharge device capable of serving as a relay, a rectifier, or a voltage regulator.1,2 It depends for its action upon the properties of gas discharges. The salient property employed is the fact that there is a difference between the breakdown voltage, or voltage necessary to initiate a discharge, and the sustaining voltage, or voltage drop across the tube when conducting. The principles involved are not new but a practical device capable of operating on voltages of 150 volts or less has awaited the relatively recent development of suitable cathode coating materials. The cathode surface employed at present consists of a coating of barium and strontium oxides applied to a nickel base. These oxides are partially broken down to barium and strontium metal during exhaust. During the operation of the tube the barium is continually removed from the cathode by sputtering and is replaced by further reduction of the oxide reservoir. The life of the tube is limited, therefore, by the amount of material present and by the rate of sputtering.


In Between Doctors and Patients, Lilian R. Furst brings together the seemingly incompatible worlds of medicine and literature to illustrate the changing balance of power between doctors and patients since the evolution of modern medicine. Linking popular novels with recent works of medical history, she offers an astute portrait of medicine's emergence from a semi-quack profession to one of the most revered in contemporary society. Furst shows how vividly such novels as Eliot's Middlemarch, Lewis's Arrowsmith, and the stories of Conan Doyle reveal the changing role of doctors from once-modest supplicants to powerful healers. Although there are many books on the mechanics of doctor-patient interaction, none has previously confronted the philosophical and psychological issues of power and trust that bind these figures. One consequence of their changed relationship, Furst asserts, has been the decrease of interest in patients as individuals. In this time of impersonal HMOs and spiraling health-care costs, she hopes that doctors and patients can learn from the past and eventually find a mutually beneficial balance of power that will see medicine as both a science and an art and will recognize human understanding as an integral element of healing.


Abnormalities of the retinal blood supply have been widely implicated in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Impaired blood supply to the retina and optic nerve head (ONH) may be a primary pathophysiologic mechanism contributing to POAG ('vascular hypothesis'). However, the decreased metabolic activity of atrophic tissue is itself known to induce both vascular changes and decreased blood flow due to reduced oxygen demand. Therefore, primary nonvascular factors could potentially induce glaucomatous atrophy, with subsequent secondary vascular pathology ('mechanical hypothesis'). Retinal oximetry holds great promise in the investigation of glaucoma pathogenesis, as it can provide useful data on retinal metabolic oxygen demand, especially when combined with measurements of retinal blood flow. This review surveys the research on retinal metabolism in POAG using spectroscopic retinal oximetry. The use of mathematical models in combination with oximetric data to investigate the role of retinal metabolism and oxygen supply in POAG is also discussed.


DGAT1 which catalyzes the last step of triacylglycerol synthesis has two alleles of the in animals (DGAT1A and DGAT1K), the allele carrying the amino acid Lysine (K) is associated with milk with high fat content and low milk yield, whereas the allele carrying the amino acid Alanine (A) is the contrary. These alleles are known as candidate marker genes in choosing the animals for breeding. The aim of this study was to examine the genetic structures to the DGAT1 gene by PCR-RFLP method in Imroz (n=60) and Chios (n=52) sheep breeds. In this study, it was found that DGAT1 gene's allelic frequencies varied significantly between the two sheep breeds. The AA genotypic frequency was found the highest in Chios sheep breed (11.538%); the KK genotypic frequency was found the highest in Imroz sheep breed (68.333%) and the KA genotypic frequency was found the highest likewise in Imroz sheep breed (36.538%) in DGAT1 gene. In this study, the A allele frequency (0.702) was found higher than the K allele frequency in Imroz sheep breed. But, the K allele frequency (0.817) was found higher than the A allele in Chios sheep breed. It is believed that by increasing the DGAT1-like loci in order to ameliorate the milk yield capacity of native sheep breeds and merging the results obtained from these loci with the data and pedigree records of animals will prove especially useful to make better deductions and discoveries.


The study considers Whitehead's conception of the Reason
(articulated especially in his The Function of Reason) as a regulative factor in every aesthetic experience along with Whitehead's opinion of the basic aesthetic character of every experience. These thoughts are compared with contemporary findings of neuroaesthetics and the Reception
aesthetics, in order to demonstrate how stimulating Whitehead's philosophy is even for the present-day aesthetics.


In the present synopsis, a brief resume of relevant literature published on the early stages of Sardinella species is given, along with keys prepared for identification of the eggs, larvae and posflarvae, to the extent available. Some of the subtle characters to distinguish the eggs, larvae and postlarave of the species described are brought out for their easy separation in plankton studies.


This article was written as part of a comparative law project to consider how different European legal systems (common and civil law) address the problem of legal ignorance in private law, that is, the extent to which the rules of contract, tort and unjust enrichment make allowances for ignorance of the law by legal actors. It also addresses the question of civil procedure and whether legal ignorance can provide a ground for disapplying or postponing the commencement of limitation periods. The aim of this article is to identify both the common law response and the motivation of the courts in this field to facilitate comparison with civil law systems. In seeking to understand common law legal reasoning, the starting point remains that citizens should be encouraged to familiarize themselves with the law. The law needs to set rules for the benefit of society in general. Issues such as security of transactions, legal certainty and efficiency also play a role. Nevertheless, some allowance is made for legal ignorance in the interests of fairness, although such examples are often controversial and subject to ongoing academic debate.


Despite the abundance and diversity of timber tree legumes in the West African rainforest, their ability to form nitrogen-fixing nodules in symbiosis with rhizobia, and their response to rhizobial inoculation, remain poorly documented. In the first part of this study the occurrence of nodulation was determined in 156 leguminous species growing in six natural forest areas in Guinea, mostly mature trees. In the second part, an in situ experiment of rhizobial inoculation was performed on eight selected tree species belonging to three genera: Albizia, Erythrophleum and Millettia. Of the 97 plant species and 14 genera that had never been examined before this study, 31 species and four genera were reported to be nodulated. After 4 months of growing in a nursery and a further 11 months after transplantation of plants to the field, we observed a highly significant (P < 0.001) and positive effect of inoculation with Bradyrhizobium sp. strains on the growth of the eight tree species tested. The importance of determining the nodulation ability of unexplored local trees and subsequently using this information for inoculation in reforestation programmes was demonstrated.


BackgroundMacrophage polarization is vital for coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3)-induced viral myocarditis (VM). However, only a few empirical studies have focused on exploring the relationship between macrophage polarization and VM. MethodsQuantitative real-time PCR was used to determine the ex-pression levels of AK141955 and miR-124-3p in M1/M2 cells. The functional role of macrophage polarization was investigated by in vitro gene silencing assays. Mechanistically, dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were performed to confirm that AK141955 sponged miR-124-3p and alleviated the suppression of target Sema6d expression. ResultsFunctionally, AK141955 knockdown significantly reduced inflammation, inhibited the M1 phenotype, and promoted the M2 phenotype in vitro and in vivo, whereas miR-124-3p inhibitors counteracted these effects. Evidence is presented, showing that AK141955 acted as a "ceRNA" of miR-124-3p to relieve the repressive effect of miR-124-3p on its target Sema6d, then promoted VM development.ConclusionCollectively, our findings reveal that AK141955 functions as a pro-inflammatory factor in pro-moting VM progression through the miR-124-3p/Sema6d axis, providing a solid evidence base for treating VM patients.


The lacunar–canalicular system in human secondary osteons was examined by two complementary techniques: light microscopy analysis of undecalcified thick sections and the SEM cortex‐fractured surface technique. Unlike the earlier definitions of 'osteoblastic domain' presented as the matrix volume produced by osteoblasts in the process of osteon infilling, this study measured the domain by the length of osteoblast dendritic processes. The domain extension was defined along radial vectors advancing from the reversal line towards the central canal. According to their lengths, domains were divided into three classes: peripheral, intermediate and internal. The mean length of peripheral domains was significantly shorter than those of the intermediate and internal domains. This suggests that the infilling process is modulated by an initial preparatory phase characterised by osteoblast adhesion to the wall of the cutting cone, and a limited matrix synthesis, followed by a regular matrix volume apposition organised in concentric layers. In addition to the radial canaliculae arranged along converging vectors in planes perpendicular to the central canal, we distinguished a further class of canaliculae, the equatorial canaliculae originating from the major perimeter of the lacuna and spreading out radially in the plane of the same lacuna (therefore, perpendicularly to the radial canaliculae). The whole lacunar–canalicular network was structured as a closed system around the vascular axis of the central canal with very few canaliculae crossing the reversal line and connecting the neighbouring osteons. These anatomical observations contribute to our knowledge of lacunar–canalicular system development.


Abstract Flame retardancy was imparted in cellulosic cotton textile using banana pseudostem sap (BPS), an eco-friendly natural product. The extracted sap was made alkaline and applied in pre-mordanted bleached and mercerized cotton fabrics. Flame retardant properties of both the control and the treated fabrics were analysed in terms of limiting oxygen index (LOI), horizontal and vertical flammability. Fabrics treated with the non-diluted BPS were found to have good flame retardant property with LOI of 30 compared to the control fabric with LOI of 18, i.e., an increase of 1.6 times. In the vertical flammability test, the BPS treated fabric showed flame for a few seconds and then, got extinguished. In the horizontal flammability test, the treated fabric showed no flame, but was burning only with an afterglow with a propagation rate of 7.5 mm/min, which was almost 10 times lower than that noted with the control fabric. The thermal degradation and the pyrolysis of the fabric samples were studied using a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the chemical composition by FTIR, SEM and EDX, besides the pure BPS being characterized by EDX and mass spectroscopy. The fabric after the treatment was found to produce stable natural khaki colour, and there was no significant degradation in mechanical strengths. Based on the results, the mechanism of imparting flame retardancy to cellulosic textile and the formation of natural colour on it using the proposed BPS treatment have been postulated.


Abstract The following advantages of rain measurements using specific differential phase are examined: 1) immunity to beam blockage, 2) immunity to ground clutter canceling, and 3) case to isolate effects of anomalous propagation. We quantify immunity to beam blockage via examples of measurements that corroborate theoretical expectations. Comparisons of rain accumulations between radar and rain gauges are included. We also contrast beam-filling effects on rain estimates from reflectivity and specific differential phase.


The main purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between individual innovativeness and technology attitudes of teacher candidates. The study was designed based on survey model and the sample was determined through the method of stratified sampling. The sample consisted of 422 teacher candidates enrolled in 12 different departments and grade levels in Faculty of Education at Anadolu University. Data were collected with "Individual Innovation Scale" and "Technology Attitude Scale" that both are valid and reliable scales. A positive, significant and moderate correlation between individual innovativeness and technology attitude was found (r=.472; p<.001). In terms of categories of individual innovativeness and levels of technology attitude, there was a positive and significant association (Cramer's V=.200; p<.001). In addition, no significant common effects of department and grade on teacher candidates' individual innovativeness and their technology attitudes was found.


Abstract Plant‐microbial interactions under N‐limiting conditions are governed by competitive abilities of plants for N. Our study aimed to examine how two plant species of strawberry, Fragaria vesca L. (native species) and Duchesnea indica (Andrews) Focke (an invasive plant in central Europe), growing in intra‐specific and inter‐specific competition alter the functions of rhizosphere microorganisms in dependence on N availability. By intra‐specific competition at low N level, a 2.4‐fold slower microbial‐specific growth rate was observed under D. indica characterized by smaller root biomass and lower N content in roots compared with F. vesca. By inter‐specific competition of both plants at low N level, microbial growth rates were similar to those for D. indica indicating that plants with stronger competitive abilities for N controls microbial community in the rhizosphere. Since a high N level smoothed the differences between plant species in root and microbial biomass as well as in microbial growth rates under both intra‐specific and inter‐specific competition, we conclude that competitive abilities of plant species were crucial for microbial growth in the rhizosphere only under N imitation.


Asphaltene deposition has been identified as one of the top flow assurance challenges in a number of onshore fields in Abu Dhabi with over 100 wells impacted. There was no device in the industry for direct measurement of asphaltene deposition, so the national oil company sponsored an R&D project to develop a sensor that could quantify the percentage of asphaltene in the flowing oil.
 Current ways of identifying an asphaltene problem rely upon accessibility checks with slickline units and hence clean-up operations are reactive and are often too late. In order to detect the problem earlier, an asphaltene specific real-time sensor would be required. The sensor design selected built on the concept of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), wherein free-radicals in the asphaltene are resonated by an external magnetic field. The EPR signal is directly proportional to the amount of asphaltene in the crude, with a signal drop indicating potential deposition upstream of the sensor.
 By focusing on the asphaltene free-radical response, rather than looking for a broad range of molecules, it proved possible to miniaturize and ruggedize a device for oilfield applications. It remained important to prove that this modification did not casuse a loss of resolution. For the first field trial in these onshore fields, instead of having the device installed directly into one well, the system was tested off-line so that daily analysis from 15 different wells could be achieved and device resolution could be tested. The resolution proved to be better than 0.1%. Moreover, some wells showed nearly 5% variation from one day to the next while other wells showed barely 1% variation. The wells with the higher standard deviation were those which had historically seen more asphaltene problems. Results from these 15 wells exceeded expectations, so a decision was taken to launch a second field trial with the device now able to be mounted inline at the wellhead for real-time continuous monitoring. It is anticipated that the application of this system will help plan clean-up jobs before a well gets totally plugged. This should lead to substantial cost savings in addition to minimizing well downtime and loss of production.
 This paper presents a novel solution that was developed from inception or "ideation" all the way to commercialization through a research collaboration between a national oil company, a university and a start-up technology provider. The outcome is an industrial Internet of Things (IoT) real-time monitoring device, the first of its kind, that detects asphaltene deposition and makes it possible to optimize chemical programs by incorporating surface data into an integrated flow assurance management system.


Implementing integrated electric-heat systems (IEHSs) with coupled power distribution networks and district heating networks is an essential means to solve current energy problems. However, prosumers with multiple energy forms coupled and renewable energy sources with natural uncertainties pose challenges to the operation of IEHSs. This paper proposes a joint energy and reserve dispatch model for IEHSs based on transactive energy, which is a coordinated combination of a bi-level Stackelberg game and two-stage robust optimization. The bi-level Stackelberg game is used to realize the equilibrium of interests among three transacting parties, namely, integrated energy service provider (IESP), multi-carrier prosumer (MCP), and load aggregator (LA). The two-stage robust optimization is employed to ensure the reliability of the system operation under renewable energy uncertainty. In the upper level of the Stackelberg game, the IESP perform pricing and reserve dispatch, while the MCP and LA maximize their benefits via energy management in the lower level. Linearization techniques are utilized to approximate the bi-level Stackelberg game model into a single-level mixed-integer linear programming problem. The converted single-level game model is subsequently regarded as the first stage, while the real-time feasibility check is regarded as the second stage to form a two-stage robust optimization model, which is solved by a modified C&CG algorithm. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed joint energy and reserve dispatch method effectively achieves economic and reliable operation.


ABSTRACT Knowledge of hydrodynamic behaviour is imperative for the water resource management and the sustainable development of basins. Hydraulic and hydrologic modelling are essential tools for the simulation of this behaviour. However, lack of basin assessment makes modelling input data scarce. This is the case for the Juqueriquere River basin, which comprises the major floodplains of the northern coastline of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. This region is susceptible to floods and is under pressure from real estate speculation, gas exploitation, and infrastructure development for port facilities. The purpose of this study was to estimate and calibrate Manning's roughness coefficients of the Juqueriquere River basin, as they are mandatory data for hydraulic modelling. The estimation of Manning's n values was based on field observations. These data were inserted into the Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) model for the calibration of the roughness coefficients in a trial and error process. The findings of this study proved that the estimation and calibration methods were efficient, with mean absolute deviations lower than 10% in the studied sections.


Islam is the Deen that fits to the man's nature. Allah Almighty sent his various messengers to convey His Commandments to the mankind. For His final Command-ments, Allah Almighty sent Prophet Muhammad (SWA).He also introduced His personalityas a explanatory status in Quran, This act has been mentioned on several occasion in Holy Quran which is fully agreed by the whole Umaah. For this, Holy Quran and hadith share the same importance for the guidance of Muslims. The companions of Rasool (SAW), Tabi' in, Tabi al- Tabi'in and Muhdseen tried their level best to collect and do rearrangement of  the Hadith., according to their potentialMohedseen compiled the collection of Hadith  at different places during different time periods. This collection of Hadith is known as Sihah, Sitta in Islamic history. With the passage of time, there are so many controversial personalities who tried to damage the importance of this Islamic castle. Moreover, there came some personalities who didn't have the command on Hadith and its sciences. They even brought their own changes in this regard. Among such names, Al- Sheikh Nasir ur Din Albani is the one, who challenged the authenticity of SihahSitta and other books of Hadith such as Al- AdabulMufrid and Al TarghebwaTerhaib etc. But Allah Almighty always sent such people who defended the matters related to the authenticity of Haidth. In this very article, Sheikh Al bani , his knowledge, his research and his challenges related to the authenticity of Haidth will be analyzed.


We commend the efforts of Jabbar et al. to determine vitamin D deficiency in a CKD population and compare it with a healthy control population. We find the results in their control (male) population intriguing. They raise several questions regarding the validity of defining hypovitaminosis D based on blood levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D). Although there is no consensus on the optimal 25(OH)D concentration for skeletal health, most agree that a 25(OH)D concentration below 20–30 ng/mL constitutes deficiency. This is based on the 25(OH)D concentration at which maximum suppression of serum parathormone (PTH) levels and calcium absorption from the gut occur. However, there are some problems with the studies on which these recommendations are made with regard to their validity and general applicability. Lamberg-Allardt et al. found intact PTH concentration started to increase with 25(OH)D concentrations below approximately 80 nm/L (32 ng/mL) in women and lower than approximately 40 nm/L (16 ng/mL) in men. Need et al. in postmenopausal women found that maximal suppression of PTH occurred at 25(OH)D concentrations of approximately 50 nm/L (20 ng/ mL). Heaney et al. studied postmenopausal women to show that even higher 25(OH)D concentrations (34 vs 20 ng/mL) were associated with greater calcium absorptive efficiency, by studying the area under the curve for calcium, but not by a more reliable radiocalcium absorption technique. We feel that these recommendations are based on a select population mostly drawn from women of European ancestry and may not be applicable to a South Asian male population. Indeed, defining vitamin D deficiency in clinical practice has been a difficult problem. The studies based on which the recommendations for vitamin D deficiency are made observed the level at which maximum suppression of PTH occurred, a cut-off point above which no further biochemical benefit is likely in terms of calcium bone metabolism. However, experts use this instead to define deficiency, as a cut-off point below which deficiency occurs. In recent years, investigators have turned to the use of biomarkers or functional end-points to more clearly define the adequacy of circulating 25(OH)D levels with respect to the calcium homeostatic function of vitamin D. These biomarkers include the functional indicators PTH, calcium absorption and bone mineral density. An early physiological response to vitamin D deficiency is hypophosphataemia followed by hypocalcaemia and secondary hyperparathyroidism. The healthy male population studied by Jabbar et al. were apparently in good health and did not exhibit clinical symptoms and signs of skeletal disease. Also, this control population, despite having very low 25(OH)D concentrations, did not exhibit any biochemical features to suggest subclinical deficiency of vitamin D, such as hypophosphataemia, hypocalcaemia or hyperparathyroidism. This raises doubts about the validity of terming them vitamin D deficient. We believe that current recommendations for normal 25(OH)D levels are not based on firm evidence and their universal application is suspect. More importantly, we feel that the definition of deficiency of vitamin D based on the 25(OH)D concentration remains a subject of contention. We need larger studies in a healthy South Asian population to clearly define the clinical relevance of this worldwide epidemic of the entity called 'biochemical hypovitaminosis D'.


Digital forensics gained significant importance over the past decade, due to the increase in the number of information security incidents over this time period. Further that our society is becoming more dependent on information technology. Digital forensics is the process of employing scientific principles and processes to analyze electronically stored information and determine the sequence of events which lead to an incident. Mobile forensics recovers digital evidences from a mobile device under forensically sound conditions based on accredited methods. The biggest challenges faced by the discipline are the ever-changing technology of mobile devices and the lack of a customary digital forensic investigation models. HDFI (Harmonized Digital Forensic Investigation) Process Model is currently premature; however, it is expected to qualify for ISO/IEC-27043 (International Standard Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission). This demands thorough testing of this model, by taking different types of the digital evidences plus various types of digital forensic investigations into account. CDRs (Call Detail Records) are very significant digital evidence that can contribute a towards a successful investigation and in achieving concrete results.  In this paper, HDFI Model has been evaluated using CDRs. The aim is to validate the said model in mobile forensic investigations using CDRs, as the basic digital evidence. An anonymous real-life case scenario is taken for the testing purpose and the CDRs analysis is successfully accommodated in the model. It is established that the model is reasonable enough to ensure the admissibility of the digital evidence in the court.


This paper represents an account of the text of the "Nonquest of Qinghai" stele erected in 1725 in the context of the suppression of the rebellion against the Qing Empire initiated by Gushi Khan's (1581-1655) grandson Lobsang Danjin in 1723–1724. This event became pivotal in the history of the eastern Inner Asia having influenced the situation not only in Qinghai itself, but also in Jungaria and Tibet. Why was the reduction of the rebellion of such a great importance and why did it lead to massive massacres of the lamas and destruction of the Buddhist monasteries? What was the official position of the Qing court on these events? This research offers a revision of the motives lying behind turbulent events in Qinghai of 1723–1724, based on the Yongzheng Emperor's words carved in stone, shows his official attitude to the circumstances of the Rebellion; besides, it reveals significant aspects of his policy toward the peoples of eastern Inner Asia and outlines some aftermath of the Rebellion.


Leishmaniasis is a painless chronic skin disease that is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania. Due to the importance of this disease and the side effects of chemical drugs, use of drugs of plant origin to treat Leishmaniasis is very important. In the present study, the chemical composition and the anti-Leishmania major activity of the essential oils obtained from Satureja bakhtiarica were evaluated in vitro. The oils were extracted using a Clevenger apparatus and then the chemical composition was analyzed by GC-MS. Promastigotes of L. major were cultured in both N.N.N and RPMI1640 media. GC-MS analysis showed 13 compounds, in which the major components were the phenolic (37.4%) compounds, thymol (22.6%) and p-cymene (19.3%). The essential oil of S. bakhtiarica showed higher activity against L. major than the standard anti-Leishmania drug, glucantime,. Perhaps because of the high concentration of phenolic compounds in the essential oil, all the parasites were killed after 24 hours. The essential oil from S. bakhtiarica is a potential plant drug against leishmaniasis. Further studies are necessary to evaluate this oil in animal models (in vivo) for future drug applications.


Writing is one of the productive skills which sometime seems difficult to acquire to the learners. There are many approaches to teach writing. Creative writing is one approach of teaching writing which has become more familiar in recent era. In our country many schools of Bangla medium are implementing this approach now-a-days to teach writing in the secondary level. This aim of this study is to find out the effectiveness and difficulties of creative writing in language learning. In order to conduct this research I have taken interviews of 40 students from Bangla medium schools. The findings showed that students like creative writing classes and it influences their language learning. Moreover, they are facing difficulties in various stages of creative writing classes. Therefore, it can be said that creative writing can be used as an effective language learning tool.


Nowadays, the focus on renewable energy and alternative fuels has increased due to increasing oil prices, environment pollution, and also concern on preserving the nature. Biodiesel has been known as an attractive alternative fuel although biodiesel produced from edible oil is very expensive than conventional diesel. Therefore, the uses of biodiesel produced from non-edible oils are much better option. Currently Jatropha biodiesel (JBD) is receiving attention as an alternative fuel for diesel engine. Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable, high lubricant ability, highly renewable, and its use therefore produces real reduction in petroleum consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Although biodiesel has many advantages, but it still has several properties need to improve, such as lower calorific value, lower effective engine power, higher emission of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and greater sensitivity to low temperature. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is effective technique to reduce NOX emission from diesel engines because it enables lower flame temperature and oxygen concentration in the combustion chamber. Some studies succeeded to reduce the NOX emission from biodiesel by EGR but they observed increasing soot emission. The aim of this study was to investigate the engine performance and soot emission by using blended Jatropha biodiesel with different EGR rates. A CI engine that is water-cooled, turbocharged, using indirect injection system was used for the investigation. Soot emission, NOX, CO2, carbon monoxide (CO) were recorded and various engine performance parameters were also evaluated. Keywords— EGR, Jatropha biodiesel, NOX, Soot emission.


The impacts of climate change and increasing atmospheric CO 2 concentration on the terrestrial uptake of carbon dioxide since 1860 in the Canadian province of British Columbia are estimated using the process-based Canadian Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (CTEM). Model simulations show that these two factors yield an enhanced carbon uptake of around 44 gC m −2 yr −1 (or equivalently 63 gC m −2 yr −1 over the province's forested area), during the 1980s and 1990s, and continuing into the 2000s. About three-quarters of the simulated sink enhancement in our study compared to pre-industrial conditions is attributed to changing climate, and the rest is attributed to increase in CO 2 concentration. The model response to changing climate and increasing CO 2 is corroborated by comparing simulated stem wood growth rates with ground-based measurements from inventory plots in coastal British Columbia. The simulated sink is not an estimate of the net carbon balance because the effects of harvesting, insect disturbances and land-use change are not considered.


It is believed that overdispersion or extravariation as often re- ferred is present more in survey data due to the existence of heterogeneity among and between the units. One approach to address such a phenomenon is to use a generalized Dirichlet-multinomial model. In its application the generalized Dirichlet-multinomial model assumes that the clusters are of equal sizes and the number of clusters remains the same from time to time. In practice this may rarely ever be the case when clusters are observed over time. In this paper the random variability and the varying response rates are accounted for in the model. This requires modeling another level of variation. In effect, this can be considered a hierarchical model that allows varying response rates in the presence of overdispersed multinomial data. The model and its applicability are demonstrated through an illustrative application to a subset of the well known High School and Beyond survey data.


Tsetse flies Glossina palpalis gambiensis and G. tachinoides are among the major vectors of sleeping sickness (Human African Trypanosomiasis‐HAT) and nagana (African Animal Trypanosomiasis – AAT) in West Africa. Both riparian species occur sympatrically in gallery forests of south west Burkina Faso, but little is known of their interspecies relationships although different authors think there may be some competition between them. The aim of this study was to check if sympatric species have different strategies when approaching a host. A man placed in a sticky cube (1 m × 1 m × 1 m) and a sticky black‐blue‐black target (1 m × 1 m) were used to capture tsetse along the Comoe river banks in a Latin Square design. The number and the height at which tsetse were caught by each capture method were recorded according to species and sex. Glossina p. gambiensis was more attracted to human bait than to the target, but both species were captured at a significantly higher height on the target compared with the human bait (P < 0.05). No significant difference in heights was found between G. tachinoides and G. p. gambiensis captured on targets (33 and 35 cm, respectively, P > 0.05). However, catches on human bait showed a significant difference in height between G. tachinoides and G. p. gambiensis (22.5 and 30.6 cm, respectively, P < 0.001). This study showed that these sympatric species had different attack behaviours to humans, which is not the case with the target. The implications of these findings are discussed.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Bone disease, characterized by the presence of lytic lesions and osteoporosis is the hallmark of multiple myeloma (MM). Stromal cell-derived factor 1α (SDF-1α) and its receptor, CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), has been implicated as a regulator of bone resorption, suggesting that agents that can suppress SDF1α/CXCR4 signaling might inhibit osteoclastogenesis, a process closely linked to bone resorption. We, therefore, investigated whether gambogic acid (GA), a xanthone, could inhibit CXCR4 signaling and suppress osteoclastogenesis induced by MM cells. Through docking studies we predicted that GA directly interacts with CXCR4. This xanthone down-regulates the expression of CXCR4 on MM cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The down-regulation of CXCR4 was not due to proteolytic degradation but rather to transcriptional regulation, as indicated by down-regulation of CXCR4 mRNA expression, inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activity, and suppression of p65 binding at CXCR4 promoter analyzed by quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation (qChIP) assay. Suppression of CXCR4 expression by GA correlated with both inhibition of SDF-1α-induced invasion of MM cells. GA also inhibited phosphorylation of Akt, p38, and Erk1/2 in MM cells. GA suppressed the RANKL-induced differentiation of macrophages to osteoclasts in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Finally, we found that MM cells, induced differentiation of macrophages to osteoclasts, and that GA suppressed this process. Overall, our results show that GA is a novel inhibitor of CXCR4 expression and thus has a strong potential to suppress osteoclastogenesis mediated by MM cells.

Citation Format: Manoj K. Pandey, Vijay P. Kale, Chunhua Song, Shen-shu Sung, Arun K. Sharma, Sinisa Dovat, Shantu G. Amin. Gambogic acid inhibits chemokine receptor CXCR4 signaling pathways and osteoclastogenesis in multiple myeloma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3786. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3786


In order to make technological systems and platforms more equitable, organizations must be able to measure the scale of potential inequities as well as the efficacy of proposed solutions. In this paper, we present a system that measures discrepancies in platform user experience that are attributable to perceived race (experience gaps) using anonymized data. This allows for progress to be made in this area while limiting any potential privacy risk. Specifically, the system enforces the privacy model of p-sensitive k-anonymity to conduct measurement without ever storing or having access to a 1:1 mapping between user identifiers and perceived race. We test this system in the context of the Airbnb guest booking experience. Our simulation-based power analysis shows that the system can measure the efficacy of proposed platform-wide interventions with comparable precision to non-anonymized data. Our work establishes that measurement of experience gaps with anonymized data is feasible and can be used to guide the development of policies to promote equitable outcomes for users of Airbnb as well as other technology platforms.


This article introduces a special collection of papers that discuss issues in training nonpsychologists and psychologists in behavioural and cognitive procedures. It is argued that while this has been a neglected issue, it is an important strategy in achieving the overall goal of the large-scale dissemination of cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT), a stated aim of the Australian Behaviour Modification Association and like organisations. It is proposed that to successfully train nonpsychologists in CBT a number of conceptual issues need to be clarified. The first concerns the nature of CBT; it is argued that CBT is not an entity in itself, but the process of applying the science of psychology to human problems. Second, CBT knowledge is a continuum, with various levels of complexity. Therefore attempts to train nonpsychologists need to consider the trainees' level of psychological knowledge in determining the goals of training. Needs for (a) a comprehensive conceptual framework to guide the training of nonpsychologists, (b) research to identify the best ways of accomplishing training, and (c) "top-down" strategies, such as changing service-system philosophies, to complement the "bottom-up" strategy of training individuals, are highlighted.


This is a reply to the preceding comment by E N Franklin titled `Is oxygen a detachment-dominated gas or not?' on our earlier work `On the plasma parameters of a planar inductive discharge' (2000 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 33 1323). We show that the density of the metastable oxygen molecule O2(a1Δg) is significant in low pressure high density discharge. Furthermore, we demonstrate that detachment has little influence on the electron density, electron temperature and the overall density of negative ions at these low pressures (1-20 mTorr).


The aim of this study was to characterize the leaf-litter entomofauna in degraded areas under restoration process with different restoration techniques, using the native forest as a reference and ecological indexes as parameters to select bioindicator groups. The study was conducted at "Serra do Itajaí" National Park (PNSI). The survey was conducted from winter/2014 to autumn/2016. The characterization of sampled communities was performed using identification, order, families and faunal indexes such as frequency, constancy and dominance. Overall, 11,241 insects from 57 taxonomic groups were collected in pitfall traps. The native forest showed the greatest richness observed. Groups classified as frequent, constant and dominant in all environments were the Formicidae family and Diptera Order. Significant differences were observed in the frequencies of Ptiliidae, Staphylinidae and Cicadellidae families and also Diptera Order. Coleoptera Ptiliidae, Staphylinidae families and Scolytinae subfamily showed potential as bioindicators of environmental quality at PNSI.


Résumé In this article, we study the De Rham cohomology of the first cover in the Drinfel'd tower. In particular, we get a purely local proof that the supercuspidal part realizes the local Jacquet-Langlands correspondence for GL n by comparing it to the rigid cohomology of some Deligne-Lusztig varieties. The representations obtained are analogous to the ones appearing in the ℓ -adic cohomology if we forget the action of the Weyl group. The proof relies on the generalization of an excision result of Grosse-Klönne and on the explicit description of the first cover as a cyclic cover obtained by the author on a previous work.


While labour provisions have been inserted in a number of EU free trade agreements (FTAs), extant clauses are widely perceived as ineffective. This article argues that there is a need to rethink the dispute settlement mechanisms related to labour provisions if their effectiveness is to be increased. It proceeds in three steps. First, we look at the current state of the art of labour provisions in EU FTAs in terms of legal design and practice and argue that the current arrangements are ill-equipped to foster compliance with labour standards. Second, we explore avenues to enhance the design of FTA labour provisions by reconsidering basic elements of the dispute settlement structure. Examining US FTA labour provisions, we highlight the importance of a formal complaint mechanism, on the one hand, and the availability of economic sanctions, on the other. Based on a review of existing practice, we contend, however, that these elements alone are not sufficient to effectively enforce FTA labour provisions. We argue that for FTA labour provisions to be effective, the current state-to-state model of dispute settlement needs to be complemented by a third-party-state dimension and that, additionally, there are good reasons to consider a third party–third party dispute settlement component. We ground these reflections in experiences with already existing instruments in other areas, namely investor-state dispute settlement and voluntary sustainability standards. Thirdly, we discuss options to better connect the dispute settlement mechanisms of FTA labour provisions to other international instruments for labour standards protection with a view to creating synergies and avoiding fragmentation between the different regimes. The focus here is on the International Labour Organization's supervisory mechanism and the framework of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.


Workforce Aging in the New Economy (WANE) is an international study of information technology workers in small- and medium-sized workplaces. The study was designed to explore life course issues, placing individuals in structural contexts that themselves change over time and addressing both life course management of the employees and how globalization and life course—related dimensions of the workforce jointly influence the management and survivability of small enterprises. Thus, the study links micro- and macroapproaches to understand life course issues. This article illustrates the approach with findings in two areas: how people make careers in changing work structures, and age and generational stratification issues. The article is dedicated to the memory of Chuck Longino, dear friend and colleague on the study research team, whose untimely death prevented him from seeing the project through to completion.


The authors propose a new model parameter compensation algorithm based on parallel model combination (PMC). It differs from PMC in that the amount of adaptation for the parameters is varied depending on the states and mixture components of continuous density HMM. A state-dependent association factor which determines the adaptation is employed and obtained by an EM algorithm.


Extensive documentation is available on plant essential oils as a potential source of antimicrobials, including natural drugs against Candida spp. Yeasts of the genus Candida are responsible for various clinical manifestations, from mucocutaneous overgrowth to bloodstream infections, whose incidence and mortality rates are increasing because of the expanding population of immunocompromised patients. In the last decade, although C. albicans is still regarded as the most common species, epidemiological data reveal that the global distribution of Candida spp. has changed, and non-albicans species of Candida are being increasingly isolated worldwide. The present study aimed to review the anti-Candida activity of essential oils collected from 100 species of the Lamiaceae family growing in the Mediterranean area and the Middle East. An overview is given on the most promising essential oils and constituents inhibiting Candida spp. growth, with a particular focus for those natural products able to reduce the expression of virulence factors, such as yeast-hyphal transition and biofilm formation. Based on current knowledge on members of the Lamiaceae family, future recommendations to strengthen the value of these essential oils as antimicrobial agents include pathogen selection, with an extension towards the new emerging Candida spp. and toxicological screening, as it cannot be taken for granted that plant-derived products are void of potential toxic and/or carcinogenic properties.


A directcurrent current-voltage (DCIV) technique for the measurement of interface traps and oxide charges in LDD pMOSFETs with n-well in p-substrate is demonstrated. The interface trap densities are monitored using the bulk current of the MOS transistor. The DCIV results for pMOSFETs after substrate hot camer injection and channel hot carrier injection are presented and analyzed. There are two peaks in the DCIV spectrum after channel hot carrier injection,, corresponding to hotcarrier-generated interface traps located in the channel region and tlie lightly-doped drain (LDD) region respectively. The stress-induced oxide charge results in the shifts of two peaks.


The automated Magnet Testing Facility (MTF) is a computer controlled, 60 kJ, parallel capacitor bank that was constructed to pulse test solenoidal magnets. Coil sets from different vendors were evaluated on two criteria: uniformity of field and coil reliability. The first criterion, uniformity of field, is evaluated by installing a pair of coils into stainless steel housings and pulse mapping the fields at a low energy level. Forty field-strength samples were easily collected with the one button operation of the MTF. Two thousand high field pulse tests, at a 20 kG level, is the second criterion for magnet acceptance. In a manually operated system a single operator can achieve this goal in six months. In a continuous operating mode, MTF can achieve the same goal in 42 days.


This paper deals with number system constructions using block diagonal bases. We show how easy is creating new generalized number systems from the existing ones via homomorphic constructions. We prove that diagonal extensions can always be performed even if the basic blocks are not number systems. As a special case we consider simultaneous systems in the Gaussian ring. We present a searching method and verify by computer that except 43 cases the Gaussian integers are always able to serve as basic blocks for simultaneous number systems using dense digit sets. §


Hypocenter locations are essential information for evaluation fracking area. It is necessary to build realistic velocity model to get accurate locations. Anisotropic velocity models could represent actual travel times much more than isotropic ones in shale dominant fields. Therefore, anisotropic velocity optimization using perforation shots data is important. In this case study, gamma logs and sonic logs are available. Considering 3D reflection seismic survey interpretations, geological structure is assumed as horizontal layers. In the target depth, 8 sequences are defined in gamma logs. The sequences are classified into 5 velocity layers, and linear fitting functions are applied to the velocity trends. Anisotropic velocity model optimization procedure is carried out with perforation shots data. To take into account the velocity trends, the next 3 items are set as velocity model parameters, (1) Scaling factor for Vp, (2) Vp/Vs ratio, and (3) Thomsen parameters. The total number of the parameters becomes 19 in this study. Newton's method is applied to solve velocity model optimization problem. The Jacobian matrix is derived by finite differences of calculated travel times. The travel time residuals of the results indicate improvements of velocity model from the original velocity model. This procedure reflect much geological setting.


Ore mining has served as a predictor of economic wellbeing since it brought development to countries. However, these benefits do not always extend to all localities that comprised the center of this industry. This paper examined the contribution of mining to local communities. An index of local sustainability was constructed based on economic, social, and land-use data from twelve localities where mining and forestry are their major economic activities. Land-use variables were obtained from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM 5) images for 2000, and Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI8) for 2014, while the socio-economic variables were collected in twelve localities with an 85-question survey. A sustainability index was developed for each group of variables—economic (ESI), social (SSI) and land-use sustainability index (LUSI)—to further build a local sustainability index (LSI). Three localities showed the highest ESI (0.61, 0.53 and 0.43) and SSI (0.90, 0.79 and 0.78), while two localities had the lowest values in the ESI and SSI. In contrast, the highest value of LUSI was found in two other different localities and in one with lower SSI. Income from mining activities is positively associated with the ESI and SSI, but there was no evidence of linear association with the LUSI. A local index of sustainability provides useful information for planning and development strategies.


Abstract. Dissolved surface active species, or surfactants, have a tendency to partition to solution surface and thereby decrease solution surface tension. Activating cloud droplets have large surface-to-volume ratios, and the amount of surfactant molecules in them is limited. Therefore, unlike with macroscopic solutions, partitioning to the surface can effectively deplete the droplet interior of surfactant molecules. Surfactant partitioning equilibrium for activating cloud droplets has so far been solved numerically from a group of non-linear equations containing the Gibbs adsorption equation coupled with a surface tension model and an optional activity coefficient model. This can be a problem when surfactant effects are examined by using large-scale cloud models. Namely, computing time increases significantly due to the partitioning calculations done in the lowest levels of nested iterations. Our purpose is to reduce the group of non-linear equations to simple polynomial equations with well known analytical solutions. In order to do that, we describe surface tension lowering using the Szyskowski equation, and ignore all droplet solution non-idealities. It is assumed that there is only one surfactant exhibiting bulk-surface partitioning, but the number of non-surfactant solutes is unlimited. It is shown that the simplifications cause only minor errors to predicted bulk solution concentrations and cloud droplet activation. In addition, computing time is decreased at least by an order of magnitude when using the analytical solutions.


This paper presents two new pulse-width modulation (PWM) methods for a high frequency ac-link (HF-link) inverter commutation which uses a form of four-step switching scheme for safe commutation. A HF-link inverter topology enables galvanic isolation and voltage step-up, with a reduced-size transformer, but eliminates the secondary-side rectification so it has less power conversion stages than other inverter topologies. However, converting the HF-link voltage to the desirable inverter output voltage adds complexity to the control of the circuits because it is a form of ac-ac converter with both the inverter bridge input and output voltages time-varying. The voltage-reference four-step switching technique was previously presented as a safe commutation technique for the ac-ac converter with bidirectional switches. The method provided safe commutation without detailed information of the exact output current zero-cross and without needing lossy snubber circuits. However, it assumed that the input voltage polarity remained constant during the current commutation interval. This paper proposes methods to overcome the limitation of the previous method to ensure so call safe-commutation even when the HF-link voltage is changing polarity and that can be implemented by modification of conventional triangular carrier PWM methods. Therefore, the four-step switching scheme can be safely applied to the HF-link inverter. Simulations of the proposed new PWM methods are conducted using Simulink and Plexim software to demonstrate the concepts. The proposed PWM methods were experimentally verified using the dSpace 1007 HIL platform.


Plasmid pCXC100 from the Gram-positive bacterium Leifsonia xyli subsp. cynodontis uses a type Ib partition system that includes a centromere region, a Walker-type ATPase ParA and a centromere-binding protein ParB for stable segregation. However, ParB shows no detectable sequence homology to any DNA-binding motif. Here, we study the ParB centromere interaction by structural and biochemical approaches. The crystal structure of the C-terminal DNA-binding domain of ParB at 1.4 Å resolution reveals a dimeric ribbon–helix–helix (RHH) motif, supporting the prevalence of RHH motif in centromere binding. Using hydroxyl radical footprinting and quantitative binding assays, we show that the centromere core comprises nine uninterrupted 9-nt direct repeats that can be successively bound by ParB dimers in a cooperative manner. However, the interaction of ParB with a single subsite requires 18 base pairs covering one immediate repeat as well as two halves of flanking repeats. Through mutagenesis, sequence specificity was determined for each position of an 18-bp subsite. These data suggest an unique centromere recognition mechanism by which the repeat sequence is jointly specified by adjacent ParB dimers bound to an overlapped region.


− Friction reduction between machine components is important for improving their efficiency and life-span. In recent years, surface texturing has received considerable attention as a viable means to enhance the efficiency and tribological performance of highly sliding mechanical components such as parallel thrust bearings, mechanical face seals, and piston rings. In this study, we perform lubrication analysis to investigate the effect of dimple shapes and orientations on the lubrication characteristics of a surface textured parallel thrust bearing. Numerical analysis involves solving the continuity and Navier–Stokes equations using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, FLUENT. We use dimples consisting of hemispherical and different semi-ellipsoidal orientations for simulation. We compare pressure and streamline distributions, load capacity, friction force, and leakage flowrate for different numbers of dimples and orientations. We find that the dimple shapes, orientations, and their numbers starting from an inlet influence the lubrication characteristics. The results show that partial texturing of the bearing inlet region, and the ellipsoidal dimples with the major axis aligned along the lubricant flow direction exhibit the best lubrication characteristics in terms of higher load capacity and lower friction. The results can be used in the design of optimum dimple characteristics for parallel thrust bearings, for which further research is required.


Inspired by the success of contrastive learning (CL) in computer vision and natural language processing, graph contrastive learning (GCL) has been developed to learn discriminative node representations on graph datasets. However, the development of GCL on Heterogeneous Information Networks (HINs) is still in the infant stage. For example, it is unclear how to augment the HINs without substantially altering the underlying semantics, and how to design the contrastive objective to fully capture the rich semantics. Moreover, early investigations demonstrate that CL suffers from sampling bias, whereas conventional debiasing techniques are empirically shown to be inadequate for GCL. How to mitigate the sampling bias for heterogeneous GCL is another important problem. To address the aforementioned challenges, we propose a novel Heterogeneous Graph Contrastive Multi-view Learning (HGCML) model. In particular, we use metapaths as the augmentation to generate multiple subgraphs as multi-views, and propose a contrastive objective to maximize the mutual information between any pairs of metapath-induced views. To alleviate the sampling bias, we further propose a positive sampling strategy to explicitly select positives for each node via jointly considering semantic and structural information preserved on each metapath view. Extensive experiments demonstrate HGCML consistently outperforms state-of-the-art baselines on five real-world benchmark datasets.


Investigations were carried out in 2010 to determine the influence of abiotic factors on the incidence of the two spotted spider mite; Tetranychus urticae Koch and to determine the influence of pesticides on orchid flower production. Initially, in January, the mite population was very low (1.0 mite/10 cm2 leaf area). The population gradually increased and peaked to 22.98 mites/10 cm2 leaf area in the first fortnight of May along with the rise in temperature and sunshine. Then, the population declined to a low level of 3.43 mites/10 cm2 leaf area in the first fortnight of December. Maximum and minimum temperatures had a significant positive correlation and sunshine had a non-significant positive correlation, whereas relative humidity and rainfall had a non-significant negative correlation with the mite population. Infestation of the two spotted spider mite was more severe in untreated conditions in comparison to the treated ones. The dif- ference was due to various abiotic factors and natural pest infestation occurrence which drastically affected the flower quality and yield. In unprotected conditions, the number of flower spikes/plant (1.90±0.44 spikes), number of flowers/spike (7.35±1.04 flowers), spike length (42.59±5.69 cm), flower spike diameter (5.26±0.66 mm), and flower size (6.27±0.86 cm) was very low. In protected conditions, flower qual- ity and yield were superior than in unprotected conditions i.e. number of flower spike/plant (2.92±0.57 spikes), number of flowers/spike (11.78±1.16 flowers), spike length (57.59±7.35 cm), diameter of flower spikes (9.09±1.01 mm), and flower size (6.73±1.16 cm).


At sufficiently high velocities, a microparticle impacting a metal substrate can cause ejection of material from the substrate and impact-induced melting, both of which can result in erosion. Here we directly image the impact of individual hard steel microparticles on soft tin substrates, at controlled impact velocities in the range of ~100 to 1000 m/s. Using scanning electron and laser-scanning confocal microscopy, we characterize the surface morphology, depth, and volume of each impact crater. We observe a gradual onset of impact-induced melting in the craters, as well as the production of increasing amounts of ejecta from the target metal. By comparing measurements of impact and rebound velocity to an elastic-plastic model, we observe that at a high enough impact velocity, melting and ejection begin to consume additional kinetic energy beyond that expected by plastic deformation of the target material alone. By calculating the excess energy dissipation using this elastic-plastic model, we show that although this divergent behavior is associated with the onset of melting, the majority of the ejected volume must be solid rather than liquid.


This study aimed to review the different pharmacological effects of garlic. Garlic, Allium sativum, is a herbal plant which has been used in different food preparations since long time. Many studies have shown that allicin is the main compound in garlic which is generated from alliin with the help of alliinase enzyme and is responsible for many pharmacological effects. Different studies have shown that garlic has pharmacological effects such as antihypertensive, antihypercholesterolaemic, antiplatelet, hypoglycaemic, cardioprotective, antimicrobial, antineoplastic, etc. However, studies in the literature have some confl icting fi ndings and meta-analyses are also slightly different for different effects. Despite these fi ndings, most of the studies, including meta-analyses, have shown signifi cant antihypertensive and hypolipidaemic effects of garlic. Based on the data in the literature, regular dietary consumption of raw garlic, two to four grams, equivalent to one clove of garlic, or 600-900 mg garlic powder per day, if not contraindicated, may be effective for different benefi cial pharmacological effects.


This paper addresses the problem of narrowband interference suppression in direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DS/SS) techniques, which have been adopted to implement code division multiple access (CDMA) systems for wireless mobile communications. The theory of cyclic Wiener filtering, based on the cyclostationarity assumption for the signals involved in the reception problem, is applied to design single-channel adaptive frequency-shift filters which exploit both temporal and spectral correlation properties, i.e., the correlation between time- and frequency-shifted versions of the received signal. The numerical results show that receiving structures based on the proposed cyclostationarity-based interference suppression schemes largely outperform receivers that utilize conventional linear time-invariant suppressors, when they operate in highly contaminated interference environments.


A new application of the space-based approach is in knowledge coordination. This knowledge is being published on the "Semantic Web" and is concurrently accessed and used by large numbers of agents distributed across the world. Present coordination models assume that the tuples contain plain data, but when knowledge is the focus of the coordination, some aspects of coordination systems must be revised. In this paper, we concentrate on the issues of tuple-space views and the destructive retrieval of information from the tuple spaces. Knowledge is a concept that is not universally agreed, rather different groups share different views of the world. It is also something that does not cease suddenly to exist, rather it tends to be forgotten as new knowledge replaces it. Hence, coordination systems require new constructs to handle knowledge. Here we introduce the concepts of scoping and fading and describe how these can be applied to support knowledge-based multi-agent coordination on the emerging Semantic Web.


This study explores the importance of mid-level moisture for tropical cyclone (TC) formation in monsoon and easterly environments over the western North Pacific in regional simulations (15-km resolution). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to simulate 22 TCs that form in monsoon environments (MTCs) and 13 TCs that form in easterly environments (ETCs) over the period 2006–2010. To characterize the moisture contribution, simulations with mid-level moisture improved through assimilation of global positioning system (GPS) radio occultation (RO) data (labeled as EPH) are compared to those without (labeled as GTS). In general, the probability of TC formation being detected in the simulations is higher for MTCs than ETCs, regardless of GPS RO assimilation, especially for the monsoon trough environment. Fifty-four percent of ETC formations are sensitive to the mid-level moisture patterns, while only 18% for MTC formations are sensitive, indicating the importance of mid-level moisture is higher for ETC formations. Because of a model dry bias, the simulation of TC formation in an observed environment with lower vorticity but higher moisture is sensitive to the moisture increase through GPS RO data. Sensitivity experiments show that if the moisture in GTS is replaced by that in EPH, the TC formation can be detected in the GTS simulations. In turn, the TC formation cannot be detected in the EPH simulations with GTS moisture. The mechanism causing the difference in simulation performance of TC formation is attributed to more diabatic heating release and stronger positive potential vorticity tendency at mid-levels around the disturbance center caused by the higher moisture magnitudes.


Two full-length cDNA clones (2.2 kilobases) encoding a newly recognized form of mammalian flavincontaining monooxygenase (FMO) have been isolated from independent libraries constructed with mRNA from different rabbits. The cDNAs encode a polypeptide of 533 amino acids which contains two putative pyrophosphate binding domains and a hydrophobic carboxyl terminus characteristic of FMOs. This sequence is 52 and 57% identical to sequences of the rabbit "hepatic" and "pulmonary" FMOs, respectively, and 65% identical to the sequence of "liver form 2" published recently by Ozols (Ozols, J. (1991) Arch. Biochern. Biophys. 290, 103-115). cDNA for the new FMO (FMO 1C 1) hybridizes with two species of mRNA, one of 2.6 kilobases and one of about 5.4 kilobases, from liver or kidney, but not lung. Guinea pig, hamster, rat, and mouse all express this form of FMO in liver, kidney, and lung. FMO 1C1 has been tentatively characterized following expression in Escherichia oli. It is inactive with methimazole as substrate but highly active with n-octylamine. The temperature lability, responses to ions and detergent, and pH optimum of FMO 1C1 are similar to values reported for hepatic FMO. Sequence comparisons and analysis of rabbit and human genomic DNA indicate that FMO 1C1, as well as the pulmonary and hepatic FMOs, comprise a single gene family made up of distinct gene subfamilies (A, B,C, D, . . . N ) , each appearing to contain a single gene. A nomenclature, based on these interrelationships and following the same designations used for classifying cytochromes P-450, is proposed.


This laboratory study explored buffering and recovery effects of viewing urban green and built spaces on autonomic nervous system activity. Forty-six students viewed photos of green and built spaces immediately following, and preceding acute stress induction. Simultaneously recorded electrocardiogram and impedance cardiogram signal was used to derive respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and pre-ejection period (PEP), indicators of respectively parasympathetic and sympathetic activity. The findings provide support for greater recovery after viewing green scenes, as marked by a stronger increase in RSA as a marker of parasympathetic activity. There were no indications for greater recovery after viewing green scenes in PEP as a marker of sympathetic activity, and there were also no indications of greater buffering effects of green space in neither RSA nor PEP. Overall, our findings are consistent with a predominant role of the parasympathetic nervous system in restorative effects of viewing green space.


ABSTRACT Humanitarian forensic science is the application of the knowledge and skills of forensic medicine and science to humanitarian action, especially following conflicts or disasters. It sprouted from the experience of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and was shaped by International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law. It has been further developed by the International Committee of the Red Cross, especially since 2003. Since then, there have been many lessons learned. Forensic science has a humanitarian application as well as being a tool for justice. Identification of the dead is an essential component of the proper involvement of a forensic professional in dealing with human remains. Managing large numbers of deaths following a disaster or in a post-conflict environment, from the point of view of human identification, is a completely different exercise compared with everyday work. Meaningful forensic action in large-scale post-conflict or post-disaster settings may not be the exclusive preserve of forensic experts. Improving the capacity of a forensic system to identify the dead requires improvement of the forensic system generally.


Abstract. The source-oriented Weather Research and Forecasting chemistry model (SOWC) was modified to include warm cloud processes and was applied to investigate how aerosol mixing states influence fog formation and optical properties in the atmosphere. SOWC tracks a 6-D chemical variable (X, Z, Y, size bins, source types, species) through an explicit simulation of atmospheric chemistry and physics. A source-oriented cloud condensation nuclei module was implemented into the SOWC model to simulate warm clouds using the modified two-moment Purdue Lin microphysics scheme. The Goddard shortwave and long-wave radiation schemes were modified to interact with source-oriented aerosols and cloud droplets so that aerosol direct and indirect effects could be studied. The enhanced SOWC model was applied to study a fog event that occurred on 17 January 2011, in the Central Valley of California. Tule fog occurred because an atmospheric river effectively advected high moisture into the Central Valley and nighttime drainage flow brought cold air from mountains into the valley. The SOWC model produced reasonable liquid water path, spatial distribution and duration of fog events. The inclusion of aerosol–radiation interaction only slightly modified simulation results since cloud optical thickness dominated the radiation budget in fog events. The source-oriented mixture representation of particles reduced cloud droplet number relative to the internal mixture approach that artificially coats hydrophobic particles with hygroscopic components. The fraction of aerosols activating into cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at a supersaturation of 0.5 % in the Central Valley decreased from 94 % in the internal mixture model to 80 % in the source-oriented model. This increased surface energy flux by 3–5 W m−2 and surface temperature by as much as 0.25 K in the daytime.


Neural prostheses are systems that interact with the human nervous system to recover function lost as a result of disease by recording or stimulating neural signals. Neural implants have a variety of components, but among them, designing highly efficient wireless power transmission systems is particularly important. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to design a wireless power transmission system with high transmission efficiency because power transmission efficiency is affected by various coil parameters. In addition, nerve implants are mainly designed based on polymer substrates, but studies have not been conducted on the process of manufacturing coils based on polymer substrates. In this study, to overcome the mentioned problems, an easy and fast manufacturing process was proposed before designing a precise coil on a polymer substrate. Coil was made by manually winding the 200um copper wire, and the coil was packaged using COC. The coil feasibility test was conducted after fabrication to evaluate the performance of fabrication process. It did not fit the expected frequency because the wire was manually wound to make a small size coil. However, the wire wound coil is expected to be more efficient than the coil made through the PCB process, and if the sophistication is supplemented, it can be used as a highly efficient coil for wireless power transmission.


Fish cultivation has become a livelihood of most people in Indonesia. In general, Indonesian people careless about feeding and water circulation schedule. Therefore
required automation for fish cultivation, that in this discussion is fish ponds. This automation system using Arduino microcontroller to drive the servo motor as a tap
opener and fish feed container tap opener, infrared sensor as an obstacle detector used to detect there are feed on the container or not, and relay as an electrical switch for faucet that stream the fresh water to the pond. When the water in the pool is dirty, then it automatic activate the relay so the water pump is on and the tap also will open to drain the dirty water. While for feed, given LED as indicator that will light up if sensor detect no obstacle in the form of feed. It indicates that feeds must be refilled. This test is done for 3 weeks straight to maximize of collecting data. On every week, applied different
time for opening the faucet. On first week, it takes 1 minute to drain the water until it become clear. six minutes for the second week, and 8 minutes for the third. The more
turbid the water, it takes longer time to drain, because the water become dirtles in week 53. For the feed, it has been done twice a day, on the morning and afternoon. Data
collection was done in a week to monitor how often the feed need to be refilled after the sensor detect that feed are run out. It is twice in a week for LED to light up that indicate feed runs out, there are on day 3 and 6, it also can be defined that feed must be filled in
every three days.


As a result of a field trip organised by the Spanish Lichen Society in Serrania de Ronda, south Spain, a catalogue of 360 taxa is presented (336 lichens, 24 lichenicolous fungi). The list includes three new records for the Iberian Peninsula: Arthonia paretinaria, Micarea myriocarpa and Niesslia keissleri , 51new ones for the Autonomous Andalusian Community, and three and 81 new ones for the province of Cadiz and of Malaga, respectively. After these results, the total updated number of the province of Malaga rises to 556 lichens and lichenicolous fungi. The best represented lichen genus is Cladonia (18) with the most species, unlike Lecanora (15), Pertusaria (12), Physconia (12) and Collema (9). As regard habitat, most lichen species are mainly corticolous (55%), as opposed to saxicolous (24%), terricolous (14%) as the species growing on other lichens as lichenicolous fungi (7%). The percentages of lichen growth forms are mainly foliose (50%) and crustose (31%), while fruticose (7%), crustose squamulose (6%) and dimorphic (6%) are less represented. The lichen wit


The crucial step for organisations which are recruiting Generation Y into their workforce is to understand their perceptions and expectations. This would help organisations emerge with the right strategies to attract and retain the Generation Y cohort. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the body of knowledge base in respect of Generation Y expectations and perceptions on their career choices and its influence on leadership. However, due to lack of academic research on the career expectations and perceptions of Generation Y that deems to be important, popular literature and researches were included in this research (Vieira, 2010). The target sample and population were focused on Generation Y who is undergraduates within the Selangor area. A qualitative method was used in this study to gather perceptions. Although twenty participants were targeted as the sample, the findings and discussions of this research are based on fifteen responses due to the invalidity of the remaining five. The findings generated from the responses were found in line with the theories adopted and explained. Moreover, recommendations for both organisations in Malaysia and future researches are discussed


Mixed fermentation of cow milk was performed by sequential co-cultures with Bacillus subtilis and Lactococcus lactis. After a first fermentation step with B. subtilis for 6 h, the number of viable cells increased to 2.5×108 CFU/mL. The second fermentation step with L. lactis resulted in increased viable cells 1.09×1010 CFU/mL for 3 days and increased acidity. However, the number of viable B. subtilis cells was decreased greatly to 5×101 CFU/mL following fermentation with L. lactis. Milk proteins were markedly hydrolyzed by the first fermentation after 2 h, and the second fermentation induced curd formation in milk. However, after 4 h, the first fermentation resulted in higher whey separation and 80 mg% tyrosine content. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production was dependent upon the degree of protein hydrolysis by first fermentation. Second fermentation resulted in 0.14% GABA. The milk fermented by B. subtilis -indicated the rough surface of yogurt depended upon the degree of protein hydrolysis. In conclusion, set-type yogurt was efficiently produced by co-culturing of milk, and fortifying with peptides, GABA, and probiotics.


We report a case of scrotal-hemangioma in a 14-year-old boy. Subcutaneous scrotal-perineal hemangioma may mimic an inguinal hernia, thus forming a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Histopathological study confirms the diagnosis. Definitive treatment by en bloc excision is recommended.


The authors examined the effects of the type of mentoring relationship and the gender composition of the relationship on mentoring functions and career outcomes reported by 352 female and 257 male protégés. Protégés of informal mentors viewed their mentors as more effective and received greater compensation than protégés of formal mentors. Protégés with informal mentors also received more career outcomes than nonmentored individuals, but no significant differences were found between nonmentored and formally mentored individuals. The gender composition of the relationship affected mentoring functions and outcomes, and protégé gender interacted with the type of relationship to affect mentoring functions.


' ties' (p. 1). . The authors use different types of methodology traditional empirical survey methods, case studies and reflective essays thereby illustrating the current range of methodological approaches used in the field of organizational behaviour. The unique contribution of this book lies in the gathering of articles under different, yet related, topics. However, further integration of the different articles could have been provided had the edi-


During the last ten years, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have become one of the most important pieces of technology for companies, assisting in streamlining a company's information infrastructure. As vendor technology has improved, this has led to the possibility of small companies being offered ERP solutions to implement and integrate into their existing systems, or to buy an ERP system 'off the shelf'. All too often companies select an ERP without looking into what the needs of the company are, and particularly the Quality Attributes (QA) of a system are ignored. Identifying these attributes could assist small companies and vendors in assessing, choosing, and implementing the correct systems in the future. This study examines the QA associated with ERP systems, paying particular attention to the QA associated with ERP systems for small companies. This paper will use interviews, related work, and a thematic analysis to identify Quality Attributes, and identify which are the perceived Quality Attributes for staff at a small company, and discuss if the attributes found are useful to small companies when choosing an ERP system.


Background One of the hallmarks of overt Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is the interstitial and perivascular fibrosis resulting in functional impairment of affected organs. During the fibrotic process, the increased collagen synthesis has been correlated to the increase of some biomarkers of collagen metabolism, but it is not know how early these biomarkers can be detected during the disease course. Objectives To evaluate the ongoing fibrotic process based on collagen biomarkers in a cohort of patients in different phases of the disease: from isolated Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) to overt SSc. For this purpose tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1), hyaluronic acid (HA), aminoterminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP) and Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) test were chosen. Methods 140 consecutive adult subjects referring in approximately 6 months time were enrolled. They were classified as: 1) primary RP (pRP) [1]; 2) RP suspected secondary to SSc; 3) very early SSc [2]; 4) limited cutaneous (lc)-SSc; and 5) diffuse cutaneous (dc)-SSc. Patients with any other fibrosing disorder or treated with interferon were excluded. TIMP-1, HA, PIIINP and ELF score (derived from an algorithm of the above mentioned biomarkers) were blindly determined by an independent commercial service (iQur, UK). Statistical analysis was performed by regression modelling and ROC curve analysis adjusting for age. Results The study population consisted in 50 pRP (47 women, median age 44.5 yrs), 43 RP suspected secondary to SSc (43 women, median age 43 yrs), 16 very early SSc (16 women, median age 57.5 yrs),15 lc-SSc (14 women, median age 67 yrs), and 15 dc-SSc (13 women, median age 65 yrs). 1 patient was excluded for a recent treatment with interferon. The ELF test and HA were significantly higher in patients with very early SSc compared to subjects with RP suspected secondary to SSc (ELF test: median 8,46 vs 7,84 ng/ml, p= 0.0286; HA: median 30,62 vs 13,6 ng/ml, p= 0.03). PIIINP was significantly higher in patients with dc-SSc compared to very early SSc (median 7,23 vs 5,42 ng/ml; p= 0.006). These differences were not confirmed when these results were weighted for age. When patients with overt SSc were studied an increase of these biomarkers was observed as a trend, but only PIIINP reached a statistical significance. This last result was also confirmed once being weighed for age. Conclusions In our study, the selected biomarkers were not able to distinguish among subjects between pRP, suspected secondary RP, and patients with very early SSc. Nevertheless, these fibrosis biomarkers showed an increasing trend in different subgroups and with age, with no relation to RP duration. These data support the hypothesis that the immune perturbations and vascular injury precede the development of fibrosis, which, in turn, further exacerbates vascular and immune damage. References LeRoy EC, Medsger TA, Jr. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1992;10:485-8. Avouac J, Fransen J, Walker UA, Riccieri V, Smith V, Muller C, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011;70:476-81. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Research was carried out at Ngurdoto research station in Tanzania to ascertain the potential development of a water filter made of bauxite, gypsum and magnesite in an attempt to enhance the availability of low-fluoride water. The materials were sourced within Tanzania. The X-Ray fluorescence technique showed that the major components of the materials were: bauxite: Al2O3 (30.33%), SiO2 (15.0%) and Fe2O3 (14.3%); gypsum: CaO (28.09%), SO3 (34.96%), and SiO2 (9.01%); and magnesite: MgO (34.57%) and SiO2(19.3%). The materials were calcined at 350, 400, 450 and 500°C. The activated materials were then mixed in mass ratios of 1:2:3, 1:3:2, 2:1:3, 2:3:1, 3:1:2 and 3:2:1 (bauxite: gypsum: magnesite). One gram of each composite was employed in the batch defluoridation of 1 L of water with fluoride concentration of 12.62 mg/L. The highest defluoridation capacity, 11.89 mg F-/g, was obtained with the 3:2:1 to 500°C composite. The quality of the treated water fell short of WHO standards on sulphates and iron but residual concentrations of Cl-, Al3+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+ were within the prescribed limits. Sorption behavior followed strongly to Langmuir isotherm, except for the 450°C calcined samples for which the Temkin isotherm behavior was pronounced. Despite the limitations of high residual sulphates and iron, a composite filter of bauxite, gypsum and magnesite was shown to be workable.

 Key words: Defluoridation, bauxite, gypsum, magnesite, composite, calcine, isotherm.


Statement of purpose In 2014, the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) was expanded from 18 to 32 states. This system now covers 50% of all violent deaths that occur in the US. NVDRS facilitates the pursuit of new state-level violence prevention partnerships while providing a wealth of data elements that could be used to better understand the complex nature of violent deaths. This panel session will detail next steps around expanding and discuss collaboration and partnerships that make programs successful. Methods/Approach A panel member from the CDC NVDRS program will provide an overview of current system and share future directions. Panel members from state NVDRS programs will provide presentations on state partnerships and innovative data uses or linkage projects that demonstrate utility of data. Partner organisations may also present their work. Results By the end of this session, participants will: 1) be aware of CDC NVDRS program, 2) understand future directions, 3) learn how state programs utilise data to better inform prevention programs, 4) exchange ideas around potential partnerships and collaboration, 5) learn about data methods that have been developed by programs to demonstrate program capabilities, and 6) learn about the Safe States Alliance NVDRS Special Interest Group (SIG). Conclusions Over 50,000 violent deaths occur in the US every year. NVDRS provides substantial information about these deaths for the 32 participating states. Injury programs need to take full advantage of the data to maximise prevention potential. Significance and contribution to the field Injury programs need to utilise data on violent deaths to better inform and direct prevention efforts. As more and more states collect data, injury programs need to develop strategies to incorporate violent death data into strategic partnerships.


In a wireless network using CSMA for MAC, packet collisions can result either because of the vulnerability stemming from the idle channel detection delay of the radio device or because of the hidden terminal problem. Both of these collision scenarios can be addressed by applying some additional structure to carrier sense-based channel access, sacrificing throughput to improve collision protection. Specifically, we assign a unique time slice to each contending transmitter that is designed to allow collision-free access to each data slot while still using carrier sense as the mechanism to determine channel state. The width of each time slice is equal to the idle channel detection delay of the radio. We prepend a fixed-length time interval to each transmitted packet whose length is proportional to the idle channel detection delay of the radio device and the node density. We discuss this method of channel access including tradeoffs and requirements, and analyze the performance in comparison with existing MAC strategies


With a constantly changing environment and an increasing competition, organizations face new challenges. In order to meet customers' requirements and ensure the growth of activity and finance results, organizations are interested in quality improvement, in the increase of the quality of work as well as in the implementation of new technologies and modern working methods. The meeting of the above mentioned interests could be reached only by organizations having necessary competences, which are created by the workers of enterprises. The most important thing is that every employee should to the maximum open up his potential as well as effectively use personal and professional competences when striving to coordinate the objectives of an organization. At present, the importance of employee (as the most important factor of the activity of an organization) showed up in the development of management theory. Only properly motivated and able to meet his interests, an employee strives for better working results. Organizations face a number of problems connected with human resources management, they are as follows: how to attract necessary competitive employees and what measures should be taken in order to hold these employees; how to properly stimulate employees and what measures should be predicted for the meeting of employees' interests. The limited resources and possibilities of organizations handicap the situation. In order to obtain optimal results the coordination of interests should be striven for. One of the possible interests of coordination measures can be the modern career system allowing clearing up personnel's interests and integrating various possibilities, which coordinate interests. It is not so easy for organizations to evaluate employees' interests. Employees' interests are defined by a number of personal and demographical characteristics. Employees' interests constantly change subjected to the social economic changes occurring in the environment. Interests expressed by the employees are determined by common orientations of individual and attitude towards work. The article considers the actual problem of the management science – formation of modern career on the ground of interest coordination. The question of the employee's interests in modern career is analysed in the article written by Ciutiene, Sakalas and Neverauskas "Influence of personnel interests on formation of modern career" (2007). In this article interests are analysed in the aspect of the attitude towards work, i.e. it was solved how interests forming employee's career vary subject to the employee's sacrifice in the name of his work. The carried out empirical research showed that employees, expressing different attitudes, motivate their main interests with different priorities. It only confirms that every employee is unique and an organization should create possibilities for the realization of individual interests. It should be noted that the differences of employees' interests determined during the investigation should not be considered as typical in the context of today's Lithuania subject to the indicated attitude towards work. The research should be carried out to a larger extent.


This article presents the most commonly used types of spinal orthoses, their effectiveness in the prevention of progression of scoliosis, and the impact of various factors on treatment outcome in patients qualified for conservative treatment. Spinal orthoses achieved the apex of their popularity in the 1960s, but in later years their role in the treatment of scoliosis has diminished. Nevertheless, the results of long-range observation of the outcome of conservative treatment with spinal orthoses have shown that this is the only treatment method other than surgery that can stop the progression of curvature of the spine.